Christina’s punches came fast, and her angles were frighteningly tricky. This time, after using her hidden trump card, her strength had surged dramatically, reaching a true Dan Jin level. With a single punch, she could split mountains and shatter rocks.
But no matter how powerful her punch was, as long as she chose to engage Jiang Fei in close combat—especially when he was actively using the Northern Dark Divine Art to absorb others’ inner energy—she was doomed to fare poorly.
When that heavy, forceful fist, carrying a fierce gust of wind, came hurtling toward him and was about to collide with Jiang Fei’s palm, there was no earth-shattering dull thud.
Because Christina’s punch suddenly stopped midair, unable to advance even an inch further!
This wasn’t because Jiang Fei’s palm possessed some overwhelmingly majestic power that could keep even a Dan Jin–level attack at bay. Rather, Christina felt as if her fist had suddenly sunk into a muddy swamp—the air ahead had become impassable, completely entangling her!
“How is this possible! I’ve seen Chinese martial artists project their inner energy outward before, but it absolutely cannot have such formidable power just by externalizing inner force! What on earth is so strange about Jiang Fei’s body? Could it be that… he’s like me, not an ordinary person…” Christina’s eyes widened as she stared at Jiang Fei in utter shock.
She hadn’t expected that not only was she no match for Jiang Fei, but she also seemed to lack even the qualification to rescue someone from him or trade blows with him!
Northern Dark True Qi—externalized inner energy!
Just as Christina tried to pull her fist back and launch another attack, another change occurred—one that made her deeply uneasy and even more astounded.
She felt the inner energy released from Jiang Fei’s palm suddenly tremble slightly, as if he had executed some kind of transformation—a special technique for circulating inner energy. And with that, the nature of Jiang Fei’s inner energy abruptly shifted.
In an instant, his inner energy was no longer like a swamp holding her back. Instead, it first turned into a peculiar dissolving force that completely wore away all the power behind her furious punch, like snow melting swiftly under the sun.
Then, that very force morphed into a suction power, spreading up along her arm and taking control of her entire body, making it impossible for her to retreat. Instead, she was pulled involuntarily toward Jiang Fei.
Boom!
At last, Christina’s fist landed squarely in Jiang Fei’s palm.
But this time, it was no longer her attacking Jiang Fei with a punch; rather, her fist was firmly enveloped by his hand, and a strange force connected to her body. The cultivation she had painstakingly built up over many years began pouring out of her like flowing water, streaming into Jiang Fei’s body!
“So this—is the reason this guy can dissolve a person’s cultivation and drain away decades of hard work in a short time?” Christina’s inner shock reached its peak.
Although earlier, outside Jiang Fei’s countryside villa in Jincheng, China, one of the Round Table Knights accompanying her had already served as a cautionary example—losing most of his years of cultivation mysteriously after being grabbed by Jiang Fei—still, unless you experienced it yourself, you could never truly grasp what it felt like. And without firsthand experience, you couldn’t even be sure if it was real, or if some bizarre energy could actually erase a person’s cultivation.
Now, Christina finally believed it.
This guy—once you engaged him in close combat—could genuinely turn over a decade’s worth of hard-earned cultivation into nothing in a single stroke!
This was practically cheating!
If he possessed this move, didn’t that mean he was invincible in close-quarters combat? No matter how formidable an expert fought him up close, they could only lose, never win?
Christina’s flawless face, reminiscent of a black widow, lost its composure and showed a trace of panic.
In this world, there weren’t many people or things that could make her—a lady of the Vatican—feel alarmed.
Jiang Fei still wore a faint smile on his face. With his right hand, he hoisted the hairy Round Table Knight into the air, while his other hand gripped Christina’s fist, simultaneously activating the Northern Dark Divine Art to drain both their cultivations.
What Westerners cultivated was different from what Easterners cultivated, and the Northern Dark True Qi couldn’t directly convert their power. But using it as a technique to dissolve their skills posed no difficulty at all.
“What are you doing! Let go!”
Among the several members of the Sea Lion team who had come with Christina—two men and one woman—the leader was a bearded middle-aged man.
Though the three of them weren’t sure exactly what was happening, or what was wrong with Christina and her guard, anyone who wasn’t an idiot could see that both were being suppressed by Jiang Fei and were in a bad spot.
The Sea Lion team members knew Christina’s identity all too well. They understood exactly what this woman represented. If something happened to her while under their watch today, their entire team would be in deep trouble.
So even though they knew Jiang Fei was from the Seven Kills Group and had come to wipe out Net, a top-tier assassin organization, they couldn’t just stand by and watch Jiang Fei kill Christina.
“Captain William!” Jing Zhe stepped forward with a big stride, spreading his arms to block the three, and stared at the bearded leader. “Don’t you dare make a reckless move!”
“Tell him to let her go right now!” The bearded man was frantic, offering no explanation. The two behind him were about to step forward and help hold Jing Zhe off.
But Lie Shou, Shui Mo, and Dan Qing, who had been watching from the sidelines, weren’t pushovers either. They immediately stood beside Jing Zhe, glaring coldly at the Sea Lion trio, and demanded, “What’s this? On your British soil, your Sea Lion team wants to bully our Seven Kills Group? We worked hard to wipe out Net, and instead of thanking us, you want to avenge them? Does your Great Britain still want to act as arrogantly and unchecked as it did a hundred years ago?”
Pressed hard by the Seven Kills members, the Sea Lion trio’s momentum faltered considerably. But they didn’t back down either. They could only shout back in frustration, “It’s not what you think! This woman has absolutely nothing to do with Net. She cannot come to any harm whatsoever! Otherwise, even your Seven Kills Group won’t be able to bear the consequences!”
Just as the two sides were locked in a standoff, something shifted between Jiang Fei and Christina.
Jiang Fei held Christina’s fist, draining her cultivation for a short while. At first, everything proceeded as usual, smoothly dissolving her power.
But then, once Christina realized something was wrong, instead of cursing Jiang Fei after her initial shock, she closed her eyes, her expression turning serious and solemn.
When she suddenly opened her eyes again, it was as if golden rays of light shone forth from within her body, bathing her entirely in that sacred radiance.
And then, from within her, erupted a bizarre, overbearing energy of extreme intensity, as if a seal had been broken and it had burst forth in overwhelming waves.
This energy made even the current Jiang Fei feel a bit alarmed. Without even competing, he knew he was no match for this force—it wasn’t something his present self could unleash.
So when this power surged from Christina’s arm to her fist, Jiang Fei’s palm felt like it had been struck by a bullet. While still executing the Northern Dark Divine Art, he was forcibly interrupted by this force!
Bam!
Under that immense, majestic power, Jiang Fei’s body jolted violently. Both his hands were jarred loose from Christina and her guard, and he staggered back two steps.
Jiang Fei hurriedly took a deep breath, raised his hands to mouth level, and slowly pressed them down, rapidly circulating the Northern Dark Divine Art to neutralize that domineering yet sacred force. But in the end, he fell just short. His throat felt sweet, and a trace of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
This force had actually injured him through backlash while he was absorbing inner energy!
“This woman is no ordinary person. She actually has such a terrifying force hidden inside her body!” Jiang Fei stared at her with a rather grave expression, deeply shocked.
After all, his Northern Dark Divine Art had already broken through to the second level, fully capable of absorbing and converting even a Dan Jin–level expert’s inner energy!
And this lesbian woman—her true strength was at most at the peak of Hua Jin, roughly on par with Miyamoto Ichishin, Little Drunkard, Bai Kedi, and the like—or even slightly inferior!
She was still a long way from reaching the Dan Jin level.
Yet she could unleash such formidable power—truly unbelievable.
This level of strength was already beyond Dan Jin, barely qualifying as something only a Xiantian Gang Jin–level expert could produce.
Of course, the fact that Christina’s body could burst forth with such terrifying power didn’t mean she herself had surpassed Dan Jin and reached the Xiantian Gang Jin level.
After unleashing that surging force and breaking free from Jiang Fei’s Northern Dark Divine Art’s restraint, she was clearly not in good shape either.
Though she hadn’t been shaken enough to spit blood like Jiang Fei, her face was deathly pale, her steps unsteady, and she looked as if she could barely stand.
Clearly, releasing such power could injure an enemy, but it also harmed herself—it came at a price.
This scene startled both Jing Zhe and the others from the Seven Kills Group, as well as the Sea Lion team’s bearded Captain William.
Bearded William was worried about Christina’s safety. But Jing Zhe and the others were shocked that Jiang Fei—who had effortlessly slain two Dan Jin–level experts, Mikhail and Augustine—was now injured and spitting blood!
This young woman in leather, with a face and figure that anyone would envy—was she really that formidable?
“Princess, are you all right?”
“Jiang Fei, are you okay?”
Jiang Fei and Christina both waved their hands simultaneously, signaling that they didn’t need help and that they were fine.
“Back in China, you said you weren’t afraid of me because you had a trump card. This… is that trump card, isn’t it?” Jiang Fei narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Christina.
“Hmph!” Christina snorted coldly, neither confirming nor denying, and shot back, “Who exactly are you? And what is that strange energy inside your body?”
“Who I am doesn’t matter. What matters is that you know I’m not someone to be pushed around, right?” Jiang Fei wiped the trace of blood from the corner of his mouth with his hand.
Although that sudden burst of force was indeed very strong and had caught him off guard, injuring him, it hadn’t damaged his bones or tendons. A bit of internal energy adjustment would set him right.
“Is that a threat?” Christina, still not learning her lesson, growled fiercely at Jiang Fei.
Jiang Fei unhesitatingly nodded and said, “Of course it is!”
“You————”
Pale-faced Christina nearly couldn’t resist rolling up her sleeves for another three hundred rounds with Jiang Fei.
Jiang Fei waved his hand and said, “I have no intention of making enemies of your Vatican. As long as you don’t come after me, I won’t go out of my way to cause you trouble. As for me killing one of your ascetics today—well, he brought it on himself! He worked for Net to kill me, and frankly, even taking him out didn’t fully satisfy me. Still, I’ll let this slide and not hold you responsible.”
Hold it in, hold it in!
Christina clenched her fists, her eyes practically popping out as she stared at Jiang Fei, barely restraining herself from throwing a punch.
She gritted her teeth for what felt like an eternity before finally speaking, each word deliberate: “Today’s matter won’t end just like that! Exactly how Elder Mikhail got caught up in this and how he was killed by you—the Vatican will investigate thoroughly! If things aren’t as you claim, no matter how strong you are, you won’t have peace in the future!”
That statement was at least somewhat reasonable—not an outright, irrational insistence on making trouble, but at least acknowledging the need for an investigation first.
Jiang Fei shrugged indifferently. “Investigate all you want. Better yet, dig deep and find out everyone involved behind the scenes. If there are any remaining Net members, or some big shot pulling the strings, and you can’t handle them, feel free to call me for help. Free of charge.”
“I’ll remember that!” Christina shot Jiang Fei a fierce glare, snorted coldly, then turned and walked away.
The guard beside her, after being taught a lesson by Jiang Fei, was much more subdued. He no longer dared to act tough or show off, and followed silently without uttering a word.
Watching Christina leave safely, Captain Bearded William let out a sigh of relief.
Finally, they’d seen off that young lady without any mishap on his watch. No one had anticipated that wiping out Net would stir up such a huge mess.
Clearly, this Net organization was far more complicated than it appeared on the surface.
Next, he began arranging for the London police to handle the aftermath.
Jiang Fei, meanwhile, was wrapping things up. His trip to London had come to a successful close, and he discussed with Jing Zhe whether it was time to head back to China…
He also wondered how the Lion King in the Middle East was doing—whether he needed to go over and provide support.
