Chapter Thirty

A sharp whissss cut through the air as a figure dressed in black robes swung his sword with fast, sharp, and lethal grace.

Qi surged through his body, amplifying his strength and increasing the lethality of his blade as he slashed toward his opponent... a Two-Spiked Gorilla that was far from being a weak beast itself.

The gorilla punched forward, and anyone witnessing the scene would have believed that the beast had a death wish, but that wasn’t what happened at all. In the very next moment, a shocking sight unfolded before the young man’s eyes; a sharp spike suddenly jutted out from the gorilla’s fist and collided head-on against the young man’s sword.

BAM! The collision sent tremors through the young man’s arm. Pain shot through his hand, causing his grip to tighten instinctively. Yet despite that, his sharp instincts picked up on something. Danger. His eyes snapped open wider as he sensed it. Then he saw it. The gorilla’s second arm flashed forward.

Another spiked punch was hurtling straight toward his skull. If that attack connected cleanly, he would be finished. So he moved. His sword flashed swiftly with practiced skill. Pulling it away from the deadlock of the first punch, he redirected the blade and parried the second strike aside.

The gorilla seemed momentarily stunned by the young man’s reaction speed and sharpness. Unfortunately, it didn’t have the luxury of remaining shocked. Because in the very next second, the young man appeared directly before it. His sword flashed.

Then... Whoosh! Black blood sprayed through the air as the young man’s blade buried itself deep into the Two-Spiked Gorilla’s neck.

The beast’s eyes flickered toward the young man’s face. It saw those piercing dark eyes one last time. Then its massive body collapsed lifelessly before the young man’s feet.

The young man was none other than Li Feng. Li Feng only glanced briefly at the dead beast before him before pulling his sword free from its throat. Sincerely, that battle had been a close one.

The reason he had managed to secure such a swift and decisive victory came down to two factors. The first was that Li Feng was simply more skilled. He possessed several high-mobility techniques and had spent years training relentlessly since childhood.

He had pushed his body to its limits and sharpened his combat instincts to an incredible degree. The second reason... and perhaps the more important one... was that the beast had underestimated him.

The moment it had lowered its guard, it had paid the ultimate price. Its life. Li Feng exhaled slowly. That beast had been strong. Very strong. After all, Li Feng was only at the Seventh Stage of the Qi Gathering Realm, while the beast had been at the peak of the Ninth Stage.

The gap between them was real. Yet even so, Li Feng could tell that the beast wasn’t just strong because of its cultivation. It was genuinely powerful. If he hadn’t ended the battle the moment an opportunity presented itself, the fight could have dragged on for far longer than necessary.

"Wait..." Li Feng frowned. "Where are the others?" His gaze swept across the surroundings. The other three members of their group were nowhere to be seen. However, before he could continue searching, the sound of battle echoed from his right.

Without hesitation, he rushed toward the noise. Soon, he arrived at the scene. Two young men were locked in combat against another Two-Spiked Gorilla. One wore crimson robes.

The other wore green robes. And from the looks of things, they were losing. Or at the very least, it appeared that way. The duo constantly retreated whenever the beast attacked.

They only chose to confront attacks that wouldn’t cause them serious damage. Overall, they were in a dire situation. Yet despite their predicament, neither of them seemed willing to give it their all.

Li Feng’s teeth clenched tightly. "I told her we shouldn’t have brought those two along. They’re nothing but distractions." His voice was filled with frustration. Drawing his sword, Li Feng immediately charged forward.

The blade collided with the gorilla’s incoming strike. BANG! The force pushed the beast two steps backward. The two retreating young men turned around. The moment they saw Li Feng, relief flooded their faces. "Brother Feng! You’re here!"

The two almost sounded like they had seen a savior descend from the heavens.

Li Feng didn’t waste time exchanging greetings. "You two support me. I’ll act as the vanguard." The moment the words left his mouth, he struck once more. His sword sliced through the air with deadly precision as he launched himself toward the Two-Spiked Gorilla.

Another fierce battle erupted instantly. The Spiked Gorilla felt no fear and immediately launched forward to meet him head-on. The two exchanged moves rapidly. Fists collided against steel. Sword met spikes.

The battle intensified within seconds. And the one who quickly gained the upper hand was none other than Li Feng. His sword flashed. Slash! One of the gorilla’s ears was cut clean off. Blood sprayed through the air. Yet Li Feng gave the beast no opportunity to recover.

Before it could even react, another strike followed. The blade descended with ruthless precision. Shink! One of the beast’s arms was severed cleanly from its shoulder. The Two-Spiked Gorilla roared in pain and fury. The two young men also joined the battle and provided support.

Although their help was minimal at best. Soon enough, the battle ended. The beast collapsed heavily to the ground. Dead. Li Feng calmly cleaned the blood from his sword.

His gaze remained steady and unwavering as he looked at the corpse before finally turning toward the two young men who were staring at him with shining eyes.

"You two. If you would stop acting like crybabies and actually deal with the beasts that come our way, it would be greatly appreciated. That would be far more useful than whining and asking for help every few minutes."

What annoyed Li Feng the most wasn’t their lack of strength. Quite the opposite. Both of them were at the Sixth Stage of the Qi Gathering Realm, only one stage below him. Not only that, but their combat abilities were far from weak. In fact, they were extremely talented.

Yet neither of them ever fought seriously. And that was what frustrated him the most.

"Hey, Brother Feng. The beast was just too scary. That’s why we were afraid to fight it." The young man dressed in red robes spoke while rubbing his jelly-black hair.

The other young man immediately scoffed. "It wasn’t scary. The spikes were the problem. They could ruin my clothes. Or worse..." He gently brushed his perfectly styled dark hair with graceful elegance. "My hair." Li Feng stared at the two with a completely blank expression.

These two were famously known as the anomalies of the Li Clan. The brothers, Xie and Jie. Both possessed monstrous talent. Perhaps only three or four members of the younger generation in the entire clan could rival them. Their combat skills were equally terrifying.

Truthfully, if the two brothers teamed up against him and actually gave it their all, even Li Feng knew there was a high chance they would defeat him. Unfortunately... The two suffered from very unique flaws.

Xie, the younger brother, was overly cheerful and friendly. But he was terrified of fighting anything that looked remotely dangerous. Meanwhile, Jie, the older brother, simply disliked fighting.

As long as a battle carried even the slightest chance of ruining his clothes, messing up his appearance, or damaging his perfectly styled hair, he would avoid participating whenever possible. The two possessed immense potential. Yet despite that, they were among the worst teammates one could ever ask for.

"It is over, right?" Xie asked as he sat down on a nearby rock and wiped the sweat from his forehead. That Spiked Gorilla had almost given him a heart attack. "No." Li Feng answered sharply. "It isn’t over." His eyes narrowed as he stared into the distance.

"We still need to find Sister Yue. I believe she’s fighting over there." Li Feng pointed toward the left side of the forest. The brothers immediately followed his gaze.

When the group had been ambushed by the Spiked Gorillas, they had been caught completely off guard and separated from one another. There had originally been six gorillas. Two had already been killed. Which meant four still remained.

And if his guess was correct... Then Yue was currently dealing with all four of them by herself. The thought made Li Feng’s expression darken. Even for someone as talented as her, facing four Two-Spiked Gorillas alone was an extremely dangerous situation.

"We need to move." Li Feng’s voice turned serious. Without waiting for a reply, he immediately rushed forward. The two brothers looked at each other. Then they hurried after him.