The Almighty Martial Arts System

The situation took an utterly unexpected turn. One of the two blades originally aimed at the assassination squad leader suddenly changed its target, thrusting toward Jiang Fei’s completely unguarded back!

Witnessing this, the squad leader—whose heart was already pierced by a hunting knife, certain to die—actually revealed a look of grim satisfaction in his eyes. That smile meant his death would be worth it; today’s efforts had borne fruit. Jiang Fei would accompany him to the grave!

Yes, his earlier encounter with Pang Xiong wasn’t a coincidence where Pang blocked his path—it was all a prearranged act. Their fierce, seemingly deadly struggle was just a performance for Jiang Fei, designed to lure him into the trap.

Their original plan was to pretend to be enemies, trick Jiang Fei into descending from the sky, and then attack him together, with Pang Xiong seizing the chance to strike from behind when Jiang Fei least expected it.

Then, Pang and the squad leader would join forces to kill Jiang Fei.

Unfortunately, Jiang Fei’s formidable reputation was well-deserved—his combat skills were overwhelming. The moment he moved, the squad leader knew that even working together, they might not be a match for him.

Moreover, Jiang Fei clearly knew qinggong (lightness skill), and with the help of that strange, giant bird that could carry him through the air, even if they had the upper hand, Jiang Fei could escape easily.

So Pang Xiong didn’t dare reveal his identity prematurely. He waited for a sure, one-hit kill opportunity to strike Jiang Fei down.

That chance was hard to find. It only came when the squad leader was being killed by Jiang Fei…

“Die!”

Pang Xiong’s seemingly frail body erupted with all its stored energy at that moment. He aimed to drive the nearly 30-centimeter hunting knife completely into the back of Jiang Fei’s neck in the blink of an eye.

Pang’s face was twisted with ferocity, eyes wide with excitement. From Jiang Fei’s earlier exchange with the squad leader, he knew that he—the so-called number one expert of the Jinling Military District—was far from Jiang Fei’s equal. In a fair fight, his outcome wouldn’t be much better than the squad leader’s; he’d likely be defeated in under ten moves.

Now, his teammate had used his own life to buy him this opportunity…

Clang!

A clear, sharp sound rang out.

Pang Xiong was stunned. Shouldn’t the sound of a blade piercing flesh be a dull thud? Why was it so sharp and metallic?

His knife had hit what felt like solid steel, unable to advance even a millimeter. When Pang focused his eyes, he realized it wasn’t just like steel—it was steel!

“How is this possible?!” Pang’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. He stared in disbelief, roaring inwardly like he’d seen a ghost.

Jiang Fei’s posture remained unchanged: his right hand still held the hunting knife buried in the squad leader’s heart. He hadn’t turned around or pulled the knife out. Both he and the squad leader were frozen in a strangely artistic pose.

But his left hand had moved unnoticed, and somehow he’d drawn a long sword!

This wasn’t a flexible sword that could be hidden like a belt; it was a rigid long sword, impossible to conceal on one’s person without it being obvious.

Where had he pulled it from?

Before entering the mountains, he’d only carried a hunting knife—nothing else! Had Jiang Fei, like them, set up an ambush in advance?

No, when Jiang Fei descended from the sky, there was no sign of this sword. It was as if it had materialized out of thin air!

“Damn it! Hell!” Pang Xiong cursed furiously. He didn’t know how Jiang Fei had produced the sword, or how Jiang Fei could so precisely block his thrust from behind as if he had eyes on the back of his head!

But no matter how angry or shocked he was, Pang had no time to hesitate. His best chance to assassinate was gone.

However, his identity was now exposed.

There was no way back now—today would end with only one of them walking away.

Screech!

Pang’s hunting knife, blocked by the sword, slid sideways, changing from a thrust to a slash aimed at Jiang Fei’s neck. But Jiang Fei’s sword moved with it, clanging as it once again parried the blade.

Finally, Jiang Fei turned around. He pushed off the ground with his feet, moving sideways to face Pang directly. As for the squad leader, he was no longer a threat. Though not dead yet, he staggered back, clutching his chest, vomiting blood, before collapsing against a tree trunk. His eyes were wide open, body convulsing.

He refused to accept this death!

He’d sacrificed himself to ensure Jiang Fei died too—so why was Jiang Fei still standing?

“Why?! Why?!” the convulsing squad leader gasped weakly, unwilling to accept it.

Jiang Fei switched the long sword to his right hand. His expression showed no surprise, anger, or urgency to attack. Instead, he smiled coldly and mocked, “Brother, this isn’t very honorable. Weren’t we competing to see who could kill this assassin first? How did it turn into you teaming up with him to trap me? Is your nickname ‘Bear Blinder’ because you’re actually blind?”

Pang Xiong’s face was dark with fury, veins bulging on his forehead. “How did you find me out?” he growled.

Jiang Fei chuckled. “How did I find you out? Good question.” He spun the sword in an elegant flourish, glanced at the blade, and flicked it with his finger, producing a clear ring. Then he looked at Pang with amusement. “What if I told you I knew you were up to no good from our first meeting yesterday at noon? Would you believe me?”

“Impossible!” Pang snapped, feeling Jiang Fei was toying with him.

During their first meeting yesterday, though he hadn’t been friendly and had been quite provocative, that was perfectly in line with his usual behavior!

After all, the personality he’d crafted was impulsive and battle-hungry, always eager to challenge skilled fighters. That was how he’d earned the “Bear Blinder” nickname in the military.

His defiance upon seeing Jiang Fei and proposing a hunting competition was completely reasonable.

Hadn’t even Wu Ke and Ye Yuanyuan found nothing suspicious about his behavior?

If Pang had acted warmly toward Jiang Fei from the start, like an old friend, that would have been suspicious!

Seeing Pang’s shocked expression pleased Jiang Fei. Before killing an enemy, making them feel terrified and leaving them with unsolvable mysteries—dying with eyes wide open—was the best way to vent his anger!

“Nothing’s impossible. I’ve been waiting for you to make a move,” Jiang Fei said easily. “I thought you’d attack me together with that guide of mine. But after I took care of all of them, you still didn’t show yourself. I never expected you’d pull this stunt. Tell me, when you and that guy were putting on that act to trick me, did you think I was an idiot?”

Jiang Fei pointed with his sword at the now-dead squad leader.

Pang Xiong gripped his hunting knife so tightly his knuckles turned white.

Jiang Fei was no fool—they were the fools!

If they’d known Jiang Fei was aware of his identity from the start, why bother with this act? They should’ve just teamed up against Jiang Fei from the beginning—their chances would’ve been better!

Jiang Fei shook his head and sighed. “Don’t just focus on being angry. Things have reached this point; there’s no room for you to struggle. If you don’t mind, you could tell me your background and why you went to such lengths to kill me. Of course, you don’t have to tell me. I believe Ye Yuanyuan can help me investigate later.”

To be honest, Jiang Fei was quite curious about who was behind this elaborate attempt on his life—even willing to use a trump card agent like Pang Xiong.

After all, Pang was now a famous expert in the Jinling Military District—equivalent to a mole deep within the enemy’s fortress. Such moles were incredibly valuable and must have required immense effort to plant.

Once used, the risk of exposure increased dramatically, and they might become unusable.

Of course, if this operation had succeeded and Pang had killed him, given his acting skills, he probably wouldn’t have been exposed.

“Want to know? Then ask the King of Hell!” Pang Xiong roared, charging at Jiang Fei with agile movements, hunting knife in hand.

Jiang Fei curled his lip sneered. “Looks like you’re ready to die for your cause.”

When he only had a hunting knife, he could easily handle these people. Now, with a long sword drawn from his storage space and using the Dugu Nine Swords technique, this so-called number one expert of the Jinling Military District was no more than a clay chicken or pottery dog—easily shattered.

Jiang Fei didn’t even need to try hard. Intentionally holding back to avoid killing Pang outright, within a dozen moves, Pang had several bloody wounds on his abdomen and arms, and both thighs were pierced by the sword, leaving him unable to stand. He could only kneel on the ground.

Jiang Fei stood before him, the tip of his sword pressed against Pang’s throat. “Ready to talk?” he sneered.

Pang’s face was twisted with rage. Suddenly, ignoring the sword at his throat, he lunged forward to grab Jiang Fei, his left hand pulling a round object from his clothes.

Jiang Fei’s eyes narrowed. He used his Triple Cloud Step light-body technique, rapidly retreating over ten meters.

Boom!

A loud explosion erupted from Pang Xiong’s position, flames shooting toward the sky. Nothing remained of his body…