At Jiang Fei’s request, Jingzhe and the others had withdrawn to the sidelines, not daring to interfere. Their eyes were bloodshot as they stared fixedly at the bald Augustus and the ascetic Michael.
The moment Jiang Fei showed any sign of being overwhelmed or losing, they would rush forward to help without hesitation. Even if all four of them ended up dying here, they had to make sure Jiang Fei got away.
Because only if Jiang Fei escaped alive, and then returned with their Seven Kills Group founder, the Lion King, would they have any hope of avenging their fallen comrades. If they managed to survive and make it back to their home country, their strength alone would be useless—they could never come back for revenge on their own.
Jiang Fei watched them pull back, a faint smile still lingering on his face.
He had a pretty good idea what these Seven Kills Group members were thinking—just as he knew exactly what Augustus and Michael were plotting.
They obviously believed he was no match for those two. After all, not even two minutes had passed since he’d been forced to jump from the building to escape. These two Dan Jin-level experts fighting together were simply too lethal; he alone couldn’t hold his ground.
So in their eyes, this wasn’t him “coming back to fight”—it was him “coming back to die.”
The Seven Kills members were unwilling to let Jiang Fei do this, to throw his life away trying to save them. They were prepared to die themselves, if only to ensure Jiang Fei didn’t perish here.
Honestly, Jiang Fei was deeply moved by Jingzhe, Lie Shou, and the others’ decision to stop fleeing without hesitation and turn back to support him.
For the first time, he truly understood the weight of the Seven Kills Group token and realized just how hard-won that status really was.
Sure, having that token essentially granted you immense authority back in the country—even the scions of prestigious families had to step aside and show respect. You could push people around however you wanted.
But most people only saw the overbearing, intimidating side of the Seven Kills Group. They never witnessed these men and women spilling their blood and sacrificing their lives for the nation’s interests, putting their lives on the line without a second thought, with complete disregard for their own survival!
People like that? They absolutely deserved whatever privileges they had.
However—
Today, Jiang Fei had no intention of letting these people actually spill their blood and lay down their lives in this foreign land.
On the contrary, he was going to make this vile, detestable Sky Net organization disappear completely!
He’d come back—not to die, but to kill!
Jiang Fei turned his head, a sly glint in his eyes, and thought to himself: “I don’t care who you two really are or what powerful forces stand behind you. Since you wanted me dead and crossed my path today, I’ll use your blood to show off the power of my Northern Darkness Divine Art’s second level—true qi released externally, forming a sword of pure energy!”
Yes.
The second level of the Northern Darkness Divine Art.
External release of Northern Darkness true qi, channeled through the third level of the Nine Swords of Dugu—the principle of “no sword, yet the sword prevails”—forming an energy sword!
Augustus and Michael felt increasingly unsettled by that faint, ever-present smile on Jiang Fei’s face. Something felt off. The guy clearly wasn’t their match, yet he stood there so calm and confident, as if victory was already his.
Honestly, they were starting to feel a bit uneasy.
But they were top-tier Dan Jin experts—how could they be scared off by mere posturing? They’d waited so long for Jiang Fei to return; there was no way they’d let him slip away today!
“Die!”
Without further hesitation, they exchanged a glance, let out a deep roar, and charged at Jiang Fei from both sides.
The tactic remained unchanged—Michael, the Church ascetic, took the front, tanking Jiang Fei’s attacks head-on. Meanwhile, the bald Augustus circled with his eerie, impossibly unpredictable soft sword, waiting for an opening. The moment Jiang Fei revealed any flaw, that soft blade would draw blood and leave another gash on him.
Jiang Fei’s tattered, bloodstained clothes were proof of how effective that strategy had been.
But this time, things were different—
Michael still radiated that mysterious power, as if he were bathed in holy light, blessed by divine force. His staff moved with extraordinary might, swung in an impenetrable defense.
His defensive capabilities had already been proven in their earlier fight. When Jiang Fei struck with full force, he could suppress Michael, but breaking through his guard in single combat would take at least ten moves before any vulnerability appeared.
So Michael was confident—he just had to hold Jiang Fei off from the front, and Augustus would land the killing blow from the shadows, forcing Jiang Fei to split his attention.
Jiang Fei swung his longsword. His moves were still simple, clean, and direct—unremarkable at first glance—yet they always struck the weakest point of any technique.
Swish!
With a flicker of movement, Jiang Fei didn’t wait passively—he went on the attack. His sword tip shifted through only two changes before settling on a single target: Michael’s left shoulder.
Michael gripped his staff with both hands and heaved it upward with tremendous force.
Boom!
The sword clashed with the staff.
Based on their exchange on the fifth floor, Michael’s block would have only made him stumble back a step or two—he would have held firm without any real harm.
But this time, the moment Jiang Fei’s blade landed on his staff, Michael’s expression changed completely. His eyes went wide, his mouth dropped open—stunned, and terrified.
Because the very next instant, an overwhelming force slammed into him, nearly shattering his internal organs. The protective power within his body was utterly useless against this strike.
Not only that—Jiang Fei’s sword didn’t just connect with his wooden staff. The floor beneath them was split open by an invisible blade, gouging a deep trench into the ground.
This was external sword qi!
The power was immense—plain to see.
Without any physical medium—no leaves, no petals to carry it—the pure energy sliced straight through the air to strike the enemy.
Even after being blocked by Michael, the residual qi still carved a gash into the hard floor from a distance. If Michael hadn’t had that mysterious holy power shielding his body, he’d have been crippled or dead from that single blow.
Even so, he was in bad shape.
The sword qi was too powerful. Channeled by Jiang Fei’s sword intent, the Northern Darkness true qi barely weakened at all as it erupted outward. Part of it invaded Michael’s body, sending his blood and energy into chaos. Hot blood surged up his throat, almost spilling out—he’d already suffered internal injuries.
Meanwhile, Augustus, following the pattern from their fight on the fifth floor, saw this as his perfect chance to strike. After Jiang Fei delivered one blow, he’d need a moment before he could swing again—and that’s when Augustus would pounce.
Michael was also supposed to lock Jiang Fei’s blade in place, making it harder for him to pull back.
Augustus’s soft sword shot forward like a venomous black snake, aimed viciously at Jiang Fei’s left cheek.
Ding!
Right then, Jiang Fei’s left hand shot out. With perfect timing, he extended his index and middle fingers—forming a sword gesture—and thrust them straight at Augustus’s soft sword, meeting steel with bare flesh!
“This fool’s asking for death! He dares use his fingers against my blade? Fine—I’ll take his hand off first!” Augustus sneered inwardly.
But at that very moment, Michael—already injured—shouted in panic: “Pull back! For some reason, this bastard’s strength just skyrocketed! I can’t hold him anymore!”
“What?” Augustus was baffled. He was still savoring the thought of slicing through Jiang Fei’s fingers.
But reality soon told him exactly what Michael meant.
When his soft sword was still half a meter from Jiang Fei’s hand, a sharp ding rang out—and the blade could advance no further. It was as if Jiang Fei’s fingers weren’t flesh at all, but an invisible, razor-sharp sword—a majestic wave of sword qi shooting straight at him.
“This is—sword qi?” Augustus, being a soft-sword master, naturally recognized the concept from Eastern sword cultivation. “But how is it this powerful?!”
“Impossible!” Augustus’s face twisted in disbelief. He poured more strength into his blade, straightening it, refusing to accept what was happening.
That’s when Jiang Fei’s energy sword exploded with full force. The perfected third-level sword intent of the Nine Swords of Dugu, wrapped in Northern Darkness true qi, surged toward Augustus like a tidal wave.
Though it was only one thrust, to Augustus it felt as if thousands of swords were bearing down on him at once—too fast to react to, nowhere to hide. It was like being pierced by a rain of arrows.
Meanwhile, Jiang Fei, having wounded Michael with his right-hand sword, smoothly slid the blade downward and swept it sideways in a horizontal slash. Michael, face flushed red, swung his staff up desperately to block again.
But this time, he couldn’t hold. Under the unstoppable sword qi, he was sent flying backward. His staff slipped from his grip and clattered to the ground. Midair, he finally lost control of his surging blood and coughed up a mouthful of crimson.
Jiang Fei turned around, looking at Augustus who was trying to flee, and said calmly: “I told you—you’d die first.”
Vwoom!
Augustus flicked his wrist, curving his soft sword into a half-moon shape. Using the rebound force, he launched it like a disposable projectile straight at Jiang Fei, then turned and ran without a backward glance.
Jiang Fei didn’t chase. He circulated his Northern Darkness true qi, directing it with his will. A burst of energy flared outward, forming a barrier that seized the rebounding soft sword in midair. He then wrapped his true qi around it and hurled it like a missile at Augustus’s fleeing back.
Swish—
Shunk!
Augustus was fast—but not faster than a sword. The soft blade caught up to him in an instant. He barely managed to twist aside, but the sword still pierced clean through his shoulder.
“AHHH!” The agonizing cry tore from his throat as the blade ran him through, but he didn’t dare stop or look back.
Right now, he was just like the Seven Kills members had been earlier—his only goal was to escape this hotel. Only then would he have even a sliver of a chance to survive.
How the hell had Jiang Fei, who’d been barely holding his own against both of them on the fifth floor, suddenly grown so powerful that he shattered their combined assault in seconds and left them practically defenseless?
A stray dog, desperate and broken.
But even so, not long after being pierced through, another flying sword came for him.
This time, it drove in from his back—and burst out through his heart.
The blade was too fast, too sudden. His heart was already pierced before his brain could even process it. He managed a few more stumbling steps before looking down at the bloodied sword tip jutting from his chest. Then he turned his head in disbelief, blood trickling from his lips, eyes wide with terror. He pointed a trembling finger at Jiang Fei and rasped: “You… you… I won’t accept this!”
“Not accepting it? You thought I was joking when I said I’d kill you?” Jiang Fei sneered coldly.
After finishing Augustus, Jiang Fei didn’t pause. With a flash of movement, he gave chase to the Church ascetic, Michael.
Michael had just scrambled up from the ground. He didn’t bother retrieving his staff—he just turned and ran without a second thought.
He knew exactly how terrifying Jiang Fei’s newfound strength was. He was utterly shaken. Now that Augustus was dead, how could he possibly stand a chance alone?
Even against the Jiang Fei from the fifth floor, one-on-one, he wouldn’t win—let alone now.
Unfortunately, this was exactly the same situation as earlier, when Augustus and Michael had been hunting Jingzhe and the others. There was no escaping just because he wanted to.
Jiang Fei had already made up his mind to kill. Regardless of their identities or backgrounds, anyone who came for him on behalf of Sky Net would not be spared.
Michael hadn’t taken his staff. Jiang Fei had no sword either—but he didn’t need one. He closed the distance barehanded. Just as Michael was about to flee the Brown Hotel, Jiang Fei sent a blast of sword qi hurtling through the air, piercing Michael’s thigh and leaving a bloody hole behind.
Michael stumbled, his pace slowing. Jiang Fei leaped forward, closing in, and raised his hand to fire another blade of qi.
The Church ascetic wasn’t like Augustus—he wasn’t a sword cultivator, so he wasn’t as easily countered. Though he was no match for Jiang Fei, he wasn’t completely helpless either. That strange “holy light” power in his body was absurd—great for defense and healing, able to protect him from external attacks.
But even so, it wasn’t enough against the second level of the Northern Darkness Divine Art. On the sixth exchange, Michael finally broke. Under the relentless assault of Jiang Fei’s sword qi, a flaw appeared in his defense. Jiang Fei seized it instantly—a single sword qi to the throat, and the Church ascetic was no more.
“Phew! Looks like the second level of the Northern Darkness Divine Art is pretty solid. My strength’s taken a huge leap.” Jiang Fei let out a satisfied breath.
By turning the tables and killing two Dan Jin-level powerhouses in quick succession, Jiang Fei had firmly established himself as a top-tier expert within that realm.
Even if he hadn’t quite reached the Innate Gang Jin level, he wasn’t far off!
