Chapter 35: Feng Yi's True Intention

Shui Dai's words were spoken boldly, but in fact everyone could see that the Southern Four Oddities, facing Feng Yi, had fallen into a desperate situation.

In the jianghu's struggle for reputation, there is no doctrine of many bullying the few; however, in one-on-one duels they have no chance of winning, yet they cannot shirk the fight.

Shui Dai wants to fight Feng Yi; he has resolved that he would rather lose his own reputation than let Hua Tiegan's prestige be diminished.

Feng Yi naturally understood Shui Dai's thoughts, furrowed his brow slightly and said, "Hero Shui, Hero Hua said I'm talking big; just right, he claims to be invincible at middle level, hearing that I also feel displeased, so I want to see what this so-called invincibility is! Step aside!"

Hua Tiegan stepped forward, blocking Shui Dai and shouting loudly, "Fourth brother, he has personally challenged you; just stand aside and watch! Let's see what second brother..."

Shui Dai grabbed his sleeve and raised his voice, "Today's affair rests solely on me; whoever interferes looks down on me, Shui Dai!"

But then Lu Tian Shu shouted, "Fourth brother, with this elder brother here, when has it ever been your turn to speak?"

Saying that, he grabbed Shui Dai and pulled him over.

Shui Dai understood his elder brother's intention and urgently said, "Elder brother, my martial arts may lose, but I cannot lose face!"

Lu Tian Shu snorted angrily, his white beard fluttering, glared and snapped, "I am the leader of the Southern Four Oddities; how dare you not listen when the elder brother speaks?"

Feng Yi saw this old man's anger blazing, huffing and puffing, blowing a bunch of moustache into the air, and secretly praised, "No wonder he's the elder brother; he truly steps up when needed!"

A twitching bitter smile rose from Shui Dai's lips as he whispered, "Older brother... why do you do this to yourself?"

Lu Tian Shu then looked at Feng Yi and said, "We brothers have been honored by jianghu friends with the title Southern Four Oddities; as I am the leader of the Southern Four Oddities, my martial arts are naturally first, and in all matters we should strive bravely to be ahead."

"You are merely a yellow-mouthed brat, yet you dare point your sword at the Southern Four Oddities; good, if you can defeat this old man, you will have made a name for yourself."

"We four old fellows will go train our skills properly, then the gang can pick a date for a rematch—would that be fair?"

Lu Tian Shu, facing his brothers, elevated his own status while deliberately belittling Feng Yi, nothing more than wanting to come to blows with Feng Yi.

Having sworn brotherhood, their bond runs deep; none can bear to see the other lose face, so they all simply wish to stake their old lives and settle this matter.

Yet everyone also sees the other's intentions and would not agree; each rushes forward, afraid to lag behind, so that the ignorant might think Feng Yi is a soft persimmon and several people scramble to pinch him.

Shui Sheng and Wang Xiao Feng also perceived the stakes; Shui Sheng's eye sockets reddened as she said, "Cousin, this jianghu is not fun at all!"

Wang Xiao Feng said, "How so? What's there to fear? A real man would rather die than yield!"

Shui Sheng gave him an angry glance and spat, "If you want to die, go die; I don't want my father and several uncles to die!"

Wang Xiao Feng was left speechless.

Feng Yi watched the several people quarreling, and a hint of bleak loneliness showed between his brows.

Now it appears these four good brothers are men of righteousness, yet in the campaign to chase the Blood Blade Old Ancestor they ended up in such a tragic fate—truly fate playing tricks.

Suddenly Shui Dai's expression hardened as he faced Feng Yi and said, "Watch the sword!"

Just as he was about to rush out, someone suddenly pulled his back; he felt a tremendous force surge, unable to stand firm, and was involuntarily driven back several steps.

Only then did Lu Tian Shu stand before him, having drawn the great saber from his back, holding it horizontally and shouting, "Young hero Feng, draw your precious sword!"

As the leader of the Southern Four Oddities, Lu Tian Shu would rather not gain the reputation of being unable to withstand a blade with bare fists, even if he were to lose.

Seeing Lu Tian Shu's face flushed red, his beard and eyebrows bristling, obviously furious, Feng Yi was also moved by the brothers' deep affection and felt compassion; he immediately clasped his fists and said, "Old Master Lu, I dare not conceal it: I wish for Hero Shui to draw his sword not to look down on you all, but because my Divine Illumination Skill has just been completed, I excel only in fists and feet, and I want to test whether my bare hands can block the weapons of several experts; hence this plan."

Everyone thought it was sarcastic irony, but seeing his sincere expression, they knew it was no falsehood.

Feng Yi added, "Since you all share deep brotherly bonds, good; please let Hero Hua and Hero Shui come up together, and the three of us can exchange pointers."

Such an exchange is already quite courteous; after all, martial artists sparring is proper and does not involve contention for fame or profit.

But before Hua Tiegan and Shui Dai could react, suddenly a clang rang out: "Liu Chengfeng respectfully seeks your instruction!"

Liu Chengfeng had already drawn his sword, leapt high into the air, performed a somersault, vaulted over the three brothers, and pointed straight at Feng Yi.

Feng Yi saw his yellow silhouette fluttering, his footwork exquisite, the three-foot green blade transforming into blossoming sword flowers, aiming at the thirty-six major acupoints around his body.

The "Soft Cloud Sword" move is plain and gentle, appearing effortless, yet when the tip thrusts it emits a hissing sound. This sword art was created by Wudang masters based on Taiji sword principles, containing hardness within softness, light and agile in motion, and harboring strong internal energy within.

Feng Yi recognized him as a formidable opponent; facing the sky-filling sword shadows, he did not dodge or evade, and shouted loudly, "Good!"

He raised his large sleeve, and a hand suddenly shot out from within, aiming at the incoming sword's trajectory and pointing at the blade's edge—a move extremely ordinary.

Liu Chengfeng, unaware of any trickery, flashed his sword light, thrusting toward Feng Yi's throat while also slicing his fingers.

Feng Yi's index finger suddenly bent and flicked; where finger met sword, a clear "zheng" rang out, like a dragon's roar and tiger's growl.

Liu Chengfeng's long sword, accompanied by strong wind, came with mighty and fierce force, but after that flick the sword shadow scattered, and the blade seemed to flow like water.

Liu Chengfeng never expected Feng Yi to dare use such an extremely "clumsy" move to break his own intricate, marvelous, and nimble sword technique.

Yet his martial arts were indeed formidable; his sword momentum remained undiminished, his body turning with the sword, changes unfathomable, one strike following another as swift as a wind wheel, quickly turning into a sheet of cold haze that enveloped Feng Yi.

The onlookers couldn't help but utter an "oh" at the sight of such momentum.

Wang Xiao Feng's joy was plain to see; he hoped Elder Liu would vent his anger on his behalf, even though he thought the chances were slim.

But Lu, Hua, and Shui couldn't help worrying for Liu Chengfeng, for Feng Yi remained calm amidst the sword curtain, praising, "Fine swordsmanship, fine swordsmanship..."

While he clicked his tongue in praise, he merely threw out a palm or flicked a finger, appearing unremarkable, yet each move was just right.

No matter how Liu Chengfeng's sword flashed with lightning speed, whether thrusting, sweeping, or cutting, exhausting all its variations, Feng Yi would either press, lift, or hold it, resolving it with apparent ease.

Moreover, Feng Yi's feet were firmly planted on the ground; facing Liu Chengfeng's wave after wave of attacks, he never moved a single step! Everyone saw this scene, and the gap in martial prowess was as vast as heaven and earth; they all grew solemn and speechless.

Even though Lu Tian Shu, Hua Tiegan, and Shui Dai are renowned throughout the world, peerless masters, their faces turned deathly pale; they glanced at each other, secretly marveling, "This kid is only about twenty; even if he had started training in the womb, that's at most twenty years of skill—how can his hands be so formidable? Could this Divine Illumination Skill truly be that miraculous?"

They simply could not comprehend that someone in this world could actually resist Liu Chengfeng's Soft Cloud Sword technique with bare hands alone.

Even though the Southern Four Oddities are well‑versed and knowledgeable, they never imagined that the Divine Illumination Skill gathers the utmost purity under heaven, embodies the utmost subtlety, and is the foremost extraordinary manual of martial arts.

Once mastered, its internal strength is unparalleled under heaven; Feng Yi has already reached the stage where the divine art is internalized, not showing outward, the highest realm of perceiving gaps like water seeing a crack; what he still lacks is the ultimate perfection of internal energy reaching the pure‑fire stage, and combat experience against top experts.

And this is why, when facing the Evil Daoist, he did not rush to kill him but let him draw his sword again; only when the opponent refused did he then force a contest of internal power, shaking him to death.

Because the opponent's value had been squeezed dry by him!

Likewise, facing Falling Flowers Flowing Water is the same.

His aim is not to slay opponents for fame, but to use their formidable martial arts as a whetstone, accumulating experience and enhancing his overall strength—that is his true intention.

Because he knows well that the system granted him only internal energy.

And a person's strength is a combination of martial skill, internal energy, experience, and actual combat performance, etc.

If one only cultivates behind closed doors, no matter how high one's martial arts or how deep one's internal energy, even if ranked number one under heaven, in actual combat one will surely collapse to the lowest point and fail to display the proper might.

(End of chapter)