Two supreme experts, both on par with the Dan Jin level, had fallen in mere moments—one with his heart pierced, the other with his throat slit!
The situation had shifted so quickly, so dramatically, that no one could even process it. By the time Jiang Fei’s fingers wreathed in sword energy claimed the life of the Church ascetic Michael, Jingzhe and Lie Shou from the Seven Kills Group were still frozen in stunned disbelief.
“How… how is this possible!” Even Jingzhe, who had witnessed her fair share of grand spectacles and seen many Dan Jin experts in action, was utterly dumbfounded.
Because she had never seen anyone take down two Dan Jin powerhouses in such rapid succession!
Even her master, the Lion King, could never have pulled that off!
Surely that would require someone who had surpassed the Dan Jin level entirely and stepped into an entirely unknown realm?
And Jiang Fei was so young—how could he have achieved something like this? What’s more, just minutes ago on the fifth floor, he had clearly been outmatched by Augustus and Michael, completely suppressed to the point where he was forced to leap from the building to save his life!
How could a brief disappearance of a minute or two completely reverse the tide and unleash such a terrifying surge in power? It was utterly inconceivable!
Could it be that Jiang Fei had been holding back on the fifth floor and only now revealed his true strength? That didn’t make any sense either!
Had he staged all that just to show off?
It was too strange—completely baffling.
The Seven Kills members, who had been prepared to step in the moment Jiang Fei faltered and give their lives for his escape, were now completely thrown into chaos.
The surprise had come too fast—like a tornado sweeping them off their feet!
“Hey, you lot, stop gawking and get to work, will you?” Jiang Fei clapped his hands and strolled over with a grin. “A huge incident just went down in this hotel—I’d bet the London police switchboard is flooded with calls by now. People are going to show up to investigate soon, so you’d better handle the aftermath.”
Thanks to prior arrangements, this five-star hotel had been mostly cleared of ordinary guests. Still, there were a few staff members and customers who hadn’t left.
If anyone had witnessed what just happened, they’d be absolutely shocked out of their minds.
But thankfully, the Seven Kills Group had connections with this country’s special organizations, so they could take care of it. Jiang Fei didn’t need to worry.
“Oh—uh, right!” Jingzhe, usually sharp and efficient, found herself flustered in front of Jiang Fei. She nodded quickly and turned to another female member, Shuimo, saying: “Call the Sea Lion Team’s captain immediately. Tell them we’ve mostly dealt with the Sky Net organization and ask them to send someone over for handover!”
The Sea Lion Team was, of course, Britain’s equivalent of the Seven Kills Group. Once they arrived, the local London police would know exactly how to handle things.
Jiang Fei nodded and asked: “By the way, how did your operation go before this? Were the other S-class assassins and the Sky Net’s European and American leaders wiped out completely?”
“All the key S-class assassins attending the meeting have been eliminated! Most of the leadership has been purged as well. The few remaining are like toothless tigers—we can clean them up anytime.” Jingzhe and the others finally allowed themselves a rare smile—the first since learning of Qiao Qiao and Handgun’s deaths.
They didn’t know what secret Jiang Fei was hiding, how he had gone from being outmatched on the fifth floor to slaying both Augustus and Michael in a counterattack.
But regardless, it was incredible news.
No more sacrifices would be needed. Their comrades could all return home safely. And Sky Net would eventually be destroyed, avenging Qiao Qiao and Handgun—giving them the closure they deserved.
“Good.” Jiang Fei nodded.
Now all that was left was to wait patiently for the Sea Lion Team to arrive.
About twenty minutes passed—long enough to try anyone’s patience—before the Sea Lion Team’s leader finally arrived at the Brown Hotel with a contingent of London police.
“Back home, people always complain that our cops are slow and useless. But seeing these capitalist country’s public servants today, I’d say they’re not much better…” Lie Shou muttered under his breath with a smirk.
Jiang Fei chuckled at that.
He wasn’t some public intellectual or a blind patriot, but he certainly didn’t buy into the idea that everything abroad was superior.
Everywhere—every country—had its fair share of injustice and fairness. What kind of treatment you got ultimately depended on your own strength.
But Jiang Fei’s mind didn’t wander for long. His gaze was soon drawn past the police and the Sea Lion Team members—to a woman walking among them.
She had medium-length, slightly wavy auburn hair, wore a tight leather suit that highlighted her explosive figure, and her zipper wasn’t pulled all the way up to her neck—almost like a low-cut top, with a hint of cleavage visible.
Jiang Fei recognized her. And he remembered her well.
This image—so reminiscent of a Marvel heroine or a certain famous widow, an absolute Western bombshell—was impossible to forget.
Christina.
Known by some in the Vatican as “Princess,” obsessed with Qiao Yiyi, a hopeless lesbian with an unyielding crush.
Why was she showing up with the Sea Lion Team?
Jiang Fei felt a faint sense of foreboding.
She wouldn’t be here for no reason. She must have some purpose—or caught wind of something. Most likely, it had to do with the man who looked like a beggar but was actually a Dan Jin-level expert wielding a staff!
Jiang Fei was certain that Michael was a high-level expert from the Vatican—though his exact title remained unclear.
“Is she here to cause trouble because she knows I killed a Vatican powerhouse?” Jiang Fei speculated.
That was the only plausible explanation for Christina’s presence.
But even if the Vatican knew he had killed one of their top experts, Jiang Fei wasn’t the least bit intimidated.
For one thing, the Vatican was in the wrong here. A high-ranking Vatican cleric taking orders from a killer organization to assassinate him? If that scandal ever came to light, they’d be the ones in hot water. And there was no way Jiang Fei would just stand there and let assassins come after him without fighting back.
Besides, even if the Vatican chose to be unreasonable and sought revenge, with Jiang Fei’s current strength, he had nothing to fear.
Now that he had reached the second level of the Northern Darkness Divine Art, capable of releasing true qi externally, even against Innate Gang Jin experts—unless they had reached the internal gang level like his cheap master Xuanjizi—he could put up a real fight!
Give him a few more years to raise his system level, absorb the internal energy of a few more Dan Jin experts like Yagyu Munetoshi, and even if he never cultivated legendary techniques like the Eternal Life Manual or War God’s Conquest, which supposedly could shatter the void itself, he’d still sweep through the world unchallenged. Surpassing his cheap master Xuanjizi was only a matter of time.
In Jiang Fei’s eyes, the Vatican’s lofty status in the Western world and the reverence it commanded meant absolutely nothing.
Hell, he already harbored a natural aversion to the Vatican. If they tried to escalate things, he wouldn’t hesitate to make an example of them and give them a proper warning!
Clack, clack, clack!
The sharp tapping of high heels echoed across the floor. Christina, with her tall, striking figure, stood out like a crane among chickens—even among the police and Sea Lion Team members, who surrounded her like she was royalty.
“Elder Michael!”
True enough, the moment Christina entered the lobby, her gaze locked onto the tattered, beggar-like ascetic Michael. She hurried over, crouching down as if trying to wake him, as if she could still save him.
But he’d been dead for half an hour. There was no bringing him back.
She rose quickly, and in a flash, she was right in front of Jiang Fei, her face less than ten centimeters from his. He could almost feel her breath and catch a faint whiff of her perfume.
“Did you kill Elder Michael?!” Christina’s eyes were red, her voice trembling with rage, each word ground out through clenched teeth.
Her fists were clenched so tight that if Jiang Fei so much as said “yes,” she’d attack him on the spot to avenge Michael.
Faced with her interrogation and threat, Jiang Fei remained perfectly composed. He thought about it seriously for a long moment, and then—
“Yep. I killed him.”
“I’ll—I’ll kill you!”
Christina was about to snap, ready to beat this bastard to a pulp.
Even if—even if you killed him, could you at least be a little more low-key? A little more tactful? What’s wrong with you!
But Jiang Fei just smiled faintly and asked: “Are you sure you want to fight me? You’d better think that through carefully.”
Though his smile was gentle and harmless, the look in his eyes jolted Christina back to her senses.
She knew him well enough by now. He wasn’t joking—he was dead serious.
If she attacked now, he would treat her as an enemy, a legitimate target, and show no mercy whatsoever.
Realizing that, the usually decisive Christina hesitated.
Because… she had no confidence against him anymore!
Back when she’d chased Qiao Yiyi all the way to China, she’d faced Jiang Fei with full confidence, certain she could crush him—she had a powerful trump card that would temporarily boost her combat strength.
But ever since she’d witnessed Jiang Fei’s battle with Yagyu Munetoshi—and seen him come out on top—she’d lost that confidence.
Even with her trump card, she could only push herself to the Dan Jin level. No higher.
And Jiang Fei—this madman—had defeated Yagyu, then slaughtered both her Church’s elder and Augustus, both Dan Jin-level warriors…
Just how strong was this guy? Christina could no longer even guess.
“Bastard! You dare kill our Church elder and still act so arrogant! There’s no place in this world that can shelter you! From the highest heavens to the deepest hells, you are doomed!”
Christina held back, but the hulking, hairy brute behind her stepped forward, pointing at Jiang Fei and roaring with fury.
This guy was definitely one of the Vatican’s Round Table Knights. The one who’d accompanied Christina to China last time had been crippled by Jiang Fei, so they’d sent a replacement.
Hearing that, Jiang Fei couldn’t help but laugh. Had this guy been reading too much online fantasy?
Why did that sound so melodramatically overblown?
“Nowhere in the world can shelter me? Are you prepared to take responsibility for those words?” Jiang Fei asked with a grin.
“How dare you! Still acting so cocky! Of course I take responsibility for what I say! That’s why you’re not going anywhere today—” The burly, ape-like man, who had none of a knight’s noble bearing, never got to finish his sentence.
“Watch out!” Christina shouted, lunging to pull her reckless guard away—but it was too late.
Jiang Fei blurred into motion, appearing before him in an instant. His right hand shot out, fingers curled like a claw, and seized the man by the throat, hoisting him clean off the ground!
Normally, if an ordinary person tried that, the Round Table Knight would easily break free and turn the tables. But as Jiang Fei lifted him, he struggled desperately—only to find that he couldn’t move a muscle.
An utterly peculiar force flowed from Jiang Fei’s palm—like a magnet—and began draining the ‘holy power’ he’d painstakingly cultivated for over a decade!
“Wha—what is this?” the hairy brute stammered, trembling uncontrollably.
Christina’s brow shot up. “Jiang Fei, let him go!”
She channeled all her power, even activating her trump card, and threw a devastating punch straight at Jiang Fei.
This punch was meant to test his true strength—and to probe the nature of that eerie power he wielded. She needed to know for herself whether she stood a chance against him.
“Just in time.” Jiang Fei’s lips curled into a cold smirk.
Now that he’d reached the second level of the Northern Darkness Divine Art, capable of external qi release, he wasn’t completely defenseless even while absorbing someone else’s internal energy.
He raised his left hand and sent a palm strike straight toward Christina’s fist…
