Chapter Thirty-Five: Perilous Situation

Liu Feng looked up and saw that the speaker was a youth in a blue short tunic, his frame small and lean. The youth held himself with a self-important air; his voice, sharp and piercing, grated on the ear, and a cunning gleam flickered in his eyes.

Liu Feng regarded him calmly and said, “It seems I have no feud with any of you.”

The small youth replied, “Indeed, we have no feud. But a friend of ours has asked us to give you a good beating.”

“Why bother talking so much?” Another person approached, impatience written across his face.

“So, you’re determined to make things difficult for me,” Liu Feng said unhurriedly.

At that moment, the girl in green interjected, “Don’t blame us, we’re merely carrying out a request, nothing more.”

Liu Feng fixed his gaze on the girl in green, his eyes emanating a forceful intensity. Unnerved by his stare, she stepped back two paces and turned her head away, avoiding his gaze.

“Boy, I advise you to surrender quietly and accept the lesson we’re about to give you,” the small youth said, his tone carrying a hint of menace.

“If you try to resist, you’ll only suffer all the more,” another youth said arrogantly, a threat lacing his words.

Liu Feng pondered to himself, “It seems there’s no easy way out of this today. If that’s the case, there’s nothing more to be said.”

Having made up his mind, Liu Feng addressed them, “Since you insist on making an enemy of me, any further discussion is pointless. Let us settle this with our skills.”

“Haha! You’ve got some nerve, kid. Facing so many of us and you still have the courage to make a move,” the small youth said with a roguish grin.

“Even Old Zhao here has to admire you. So many opponents and you show no sign of fear,” a burly youth rumbled, his voice deep and resonant.

Then, his tone shifted to seriousness: “But you’ll still have to suffer a little pain.”

With that, he strode forward, instantly arriving before Liu Feng, and swung his massive fist downwards.

The punch sliced through the air with a howling wind, its force crashing down like Mount Tai itself, making the air reverberate with a thunderous roar.

Liu Feng felt a surging current of energy descend with the fist. He raised both palms, swiftly gathering true energy until a thin shield formed between his hands, meeting the mountain-like blow head-on.

A tremendous boom erupted. Both men’s bodies shook violently and each was forced back.

Liu Feng halted after a single step, then pressed his foot to the ground, launching himself at the burly youth with greater speed.

He brought his fingers together into a sword shape, a sharp aura forming between them, glinting cold and fierce—like the blade of a divine sword thrusting forward.

Facing the imminent sword aura, the burly youth thrust out his palm. A massive hand of energy appeared out of thin air, slamming down on the sword aura with unstoppable might.

Sword aura and energy palm collided, both shattering in a thunderous explosion that sent waves of force rippling outward. Nearby trees shuddered violently under the impact, some weaker ones uprooted entirely.

The two figures wove past each other, then both extended their palms simultaneously. Four arms struck out, their movements swift as lightning, ferocious as tigers, palm clashing against palm in rapid succession.

Each collision resounded with a deafening crash, energy rippling outward in waves, forcing the onlookers to retreat.

“This kid’s got some skill. I wonder how long he can hold out against the big guy?” the small youth remarked, nodding as he watched.

The girl in green said, “I think the big guy’s no match for him. It won’t be long before he’s defeated.”

The others simply watched intently, withholding any opinion.

Suddenly, a loud bang rang out and everyone saw the burly youth stagger back wildly to one side.

Liu Feng charged forward in great strides, arriving before his opponent in an instant, and brought his hand down in a chopping motion.

The air split open, the swirling currents exploding with a crack, and the hand chop descended upon the burly youth in a blink.

With no time to dodge, the burly youth hurriedly raised both arms to block.

The hand chop struck his arms directly. The immense force sent him flying, crashing to the ground and coughing up blood.

“You’ve got some skill, kid. Let me test you myself,” the small youth declared, stepping forward and striking at Liu Feng.

Liu Feng did not evade. He raised his own palm to meet the attack.

With a muffled bang, wild energy erupted in all directions.

Without pause, Liu Feng swung his fist at the small youth, the blow carrying a wild, unstoppable power.

The small youth met it with both palms, two torrents of energy surging forth to meet Liu Feng’s thunderous strike.

A thunderous crash resounded, and the small youth was forced back by the tremendous force.

Liu Feng pressed the attack, his fists raining down with blinding speed, tearing spinning vortices in the air, each blow as unyielding as crashing waves.

Caught off guard, the small youth was driven back again and again.

“This is bad—we underestimated this guy. Zhao Guang is about to lose,” the girl in green said anxiously.

“He’s truly formidable; I sense he hasn’t even shown his true strength yet,” the burly youth said, having steadied himself after the exchange. Based on their fight, this was his assessment.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a figure tumbled violently backward toward them.

With a heavy thud, someone crashed to the ground.

They hurried over and found Zhao Guang lying there, spitting blood, his face ashen.

The girl in green asked, “Zhao Guang, are you alright?”

Zhao Guang, pale, replied, “He held back. Otherwise, I’d be done for.”

“If one of us can’t do it, then we’ll all go together,” someone said slyly.

“He’s pulled his punches twice now. Do we really have to keep pushing him?” the girl in green said angrily.

“From these two fights, I think he’s a decent person. That’s enough for me—I won’t take part in this any further,” someone else said.

Several others nodded in agreement.

The girl in green, Zhao Guang, the burly youth, and the others turned and left.

Only three remained, clearly those with close ties to the one who had hired them. Thus, they were unwilling to leave.

Liu Feng watched most of them depart without a word.

“Kid, you’re a good sort. Even though we started this fight, you showed restraint,” one of them said.

Another added, “We really should have left with the others, but our relationship with the one who hired us is too tight. We have no choice but to fight.”

With that, he struck first, hurling a punch at Liu Feng’s face.

Liu Feng dodged to the side and countered with a palm strike, a fierce surge of energy crashing into his opponent.

A thunderous boom sounded as the man was forced back two steps.

Liu Feng was about to pursue when he suddenly sensed the air behind him crackle—two immense forces were striking for his legs and back simultaneously.