"Whoosh!~ Whoosh!~"
"Clang!~ Clang! Bang!~"
As Ye Feng dodged and weaved with Xiao Xiao, the whistling sound of breaking wind, crossbow bolts hitting stone slabs, and wood echoed continuously.
Before long, the area where Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao were located was littered with crossbow bolts, a scene of disarray.
"Phew!~"
The shadowy figures that had been firing crossbows at Ye Feng flickered and appeared not far in front of him.
The opponent was clad in a black robe and wore a mask, his face obscured.
"Who are you?"
Ye Feng was not panicked, but rather looked at the other party with a hint of bewilderment. "Wang Bantian just warned me to be careful, and now I'm being assassinated?"
"Kid, you're too close to the young lady!"
The robed figure's voice was icy.
The next second, he fired several more crossbow bolts at Ye Feng and simultaneously lunged towards him at extreme speed.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!~"
The crossbow bolts streaked towards Ye Feng. He subtly shifted his body, easily evading them.
By this time, the robed figure had reached Ye Feng and was swinging a Nepalese military knife towards Ye Feng's neck, simultaneously kicking fiercely towards Ye Feng's groin.
"Damn it..."
Seeing this, Ye Feng's eyes narrowed. He shifted back slightly, then suddenly exerted force. His fist, glowing with white light, struck the robed figure's chest first.
"Bang!~"
"Crack~ Crackle~"
A flash of white light and a dull, heavy impact sound erupted instantly, followed by a series of crisp bone-snapping noises.
"Pfft!~"
The robed figure was sent flying backward, spitting out a large cloud of blood in mid-air. The Nepalese military knife clattered to the ground.
"This power fluctuation... You... You're actually a cultivator..."
The robed figure crashed heavily to the ground. He struggled to prop himself up, his eyes filled with shock as he looked at Ye Feng. He managed to utter a few words before his body went limp, and he fell silent.
"What the heck is going on?"
Ye Feng was bewildered and quickly stepped forward to examine him.
He hadn't used a great deal of strength with that punch; he just wanted to push the opponent away, not kill him.
After all, he still needed to question the person...
"His ribs seem to be completely shattered... And the blood mist he spat out contained fragments of internal organs..."
After a thorough inspection, Ye Feng was both puzzled and astonished, as the robed figure was truly dead.
Then, Ye Feng removed the robed figure's mask, revealing a middle-aged man with a rather stern face. However, Ye Feng didn't recognize him.
"This insignia... It looks like it belongs to the Imperial Guard?"
Ye Feng fumbled through the man's belongings and found a somewhat familiar metal token. He had seen the Imperial Guard present theirs for identity verification when he went to see Shen Yunyao before.
"Young lady... Imperial Guard token... Is this guy from the Shen family?"
Looking at the metal token in his hand, Ye Feng couldn't help but frown.
"Big brother, look!"
At this moment, Xiao Xiao's surprised voice rang out, and she pointed in the direction of the robed figure.
Ye Feng turned his head and was immediately astonished, for the robed figure's face was now melting, contorting and deforming...
"This guy isn't dead?"
Ye Feng quickly got up, pulled Xiao Xiao a few steps back, and watched the robed figure with caution.
After a while, apart from the strange contortion of his face, the robed figure made no other moves.
"Big brother, it's the yellow-mouthed man we saw in the hall just now!"
Once the robed figure's face stopped changing, Xiao Xiao blinked and said in surprise.
"Indeed... This guy... was his face disguised earlier? Is this his true appearance now?!"
Looking at the not-unfamiliar face on the ground, Ye Feng's expression became quite serious.
"First the young lady, then the Imperial Guard token... Is Wang Bantian trying to create conflict between me and the Shen family?"
"He used crossbows instead of firearms earlier; he didn't want to attract others?"
"What a shame, to be punched to death by me... Otherwise, I might have been able to ask some questions!"
Ye Feng muttered, looking at the undeniably dead, yellow-mouthed, robed man on the ground.
Immediately, Ye Feng walked to a nearby boulder, his eyes fixed on it. Arcane energy surfaced in his hand, and then, just like before, he punched it.
"Bang!~"
The boulder instantly shattered into countless small pieces, disintegrating.
"After advancing to Silver, my arcane energy seems to have undergone some changes. It feels a bit different now."
Looking at the white light emanating from his fist, Ye Feng frowned slightly and then looked at the yellow-mouthed, robed man again. "Did the other party say he was... a cultivator just now?"
"Xiao Xiao, let's go!~"
After a moment of thought, Ye Feng decided to leave the area with Xiao Xiao first, as the commotion earlier was bound to have attracted attention.
"Caw!~ Caw!~"
Not long after Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao walked away, a series of sharp screeches echoed from the sky. A large eagle swooped down rapidly and, in an instant, snatched the yellow-mouthed, robed man from the ground. Its sharp black talons pierced several large holes in the man's body, like iron hooks holding pork...
"Uh... This night is indeed quite dangerous~"
Ye Feng couldn't help but mutter upon witnessing this scene.
...
Late at night,
Wang Bantian returned to the Wang family mansion with a gloomy expression. He looked at the bloodstained palm of his right hand. "The power I just gained... is indeed a bit difficult to adapt to..."
...
The next day,
Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao woke up early, as Ye Feng had decided it was time to leave Mech City. The two planned to buy some supplies, as the refresh rate of the [Shop] was quite random.
Soon, Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao were browsing various supermarkets in Mech City...
...
At noon,
Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao took a break at a juice shop in a shopping mall.
Perhaps because they were about to leave Mech City, or perhaps because they had just shopped with Ye Feng and bought many things, Xiao Xiao seemed quite excited, her cheeks flushed.
"Miss, what a coincidence!"
As Xiao Xiao was drinking bubble tea and happily organizing the large bags and packages beside her, a young man with a slicked-back side-parted hairstyle, a pointed chin, and a slender face walked up to her.
Ye Feng looked in the direction of the voice and saw Guo Zhenchen, whom he had met twice. Beside Guo Zhenchen was a young woman with a ponytail, whom Ye Feng remembered as Guo Zhenchen's cousin.
Hearing Guo Zhenchen's words, Xiao Xiao turned her head to look and frowned slightly, not responding.
Seeing Xiao Xiao look at him, Guo Zhenchen's face lit up with joy. He completely ignored Ye Feng and greeted Xiao Xiao enthusiastically, "Miss, long time no see!"
Guo Zhenchen acted as if he were reuniting with an old acquaintance, and as he spoke, he even reached out to grab Xiao Xiao's hand.
"Scram!"
Ye Feng roared, grabbed Guo Zhenchen's hand with force, and threw him away.
"Ah~!"
"Bang bang~! Bang!~"
Guo Zhenchen cried out in surprise, his body hitting a stone pillar before falling to the ground.
"You... You... Do you know what you've done, damn it?"
Although Ye Feng hadn't used excessive force, the impact and fall from being thrown had made Guo Zhenchen almost pass out from pain. He struggled to get up and then shouted at Ye Feng, "Let me tell you, my name is Guo Zhenchen, I'm from the Guo family, and I'm currently a prospective Armor Forger!"
"How dare you hit me!"
"Kid, you've gotten yourself into trouble. Big trouble!"
This Guo Zhenchen was clearly filled with resentment towards Ye Feng and continued to roar at him for a while...
...