[Ding! Host has became a First-Rate Martial Artist.]
Gazing at the assassin’s lifeless, wide-eyed corpse, the sheer horror of the dead body made Chen Feng’s stomach churn.
A wave of nausea hit him, but he quickly forced it down, taking a deep breath as he crouched down slightly.
His body was still throbbing with pain in multiple places. It was undeniably dangerous—he muttered to himself that he would never take such a deadly risk again.
Just then, the door in front of him burst open.
Suyun hurried inside, looking thoroughly terrified.
She was dressed in a loose, disheveled nightgown-like outfit, her hair messy as if she had just rolled out of bed and rushed straight toward Chen Feng’s room without a second thought.
"Master! Master, something’s wrong!" Suyan said, her voice trembling. "Someone just tried to kill me with a blade... but they suddenly stopped mid-strike, as if someone had intervened. It felt like... like someone protected me!"
Chen Feng was stunned upon hearing this. Is someone else protecting Suyun? Could it be a secret relative from her own family who secretly cares about her? A hidden guardian?
He immediately dismissed the thought. No...if that were the case, why didn’t they help her when she was starving to death? What kind of ’protector’ lets her starve to death inch by inch, yet refuses to let anyone suddenly assassinate her?
A storm of questions brewed in Chen Feng’s mind.
At that moment, Suyun’s gaze fell upon the dead assassin lying on the floor. She gasped, "Master! You were attacked too?!"
Chen Feng nodded grimly.
Suyun’s face turned pale with fear. "Master, we must escape from here immediately! I have a bad feeling that there might be more of them around."
Chen Feng shake his head.
’Your idea isn’t bad, Suyun. But we can’t run right now. If we flee at this moment, we’ll definitely die. Suwang must be sitting on the rooftop right now, waiting for the assassin to come out and report that both of us are dead.’
Deliberately, Chen Feng kept it from Suyun that her own family wanted her dead, knowing it would send her into an absolute panic.
Suyun asked anxiously, "Then what should we do, Master?"
Right then!
Chen Feng felt a subtle vibration in the air. The air pressure shifted directly behind Suyun’s back.
Eagle Step!
Without wasting a single second, Chen Feng poured all his remaining strength into his legs and lunged forward like a flash, shoving Suyun aside into a safe spot.
SWISH!
At that exact microsecond, a lethal kunai tore through the air right where Suyun had been standing, embedding itself deep into the wall behind.
The next second, another assassin emerged from the dark shadows of Suyun’s room. He was clad entirely in black robes and wore a veil. The moment he stepped out, he drew a short sword from his waist.
Simultaneously, heavy footsteps began echoing up the stairs from below. A normal person could never have detected those faint sounds, but because Chen Feng was now a First-Rate Martial Artist, his heightened senses caught every minute rustle in his surroundings.
Then, another shadow detached itself from the gloom. Yet another assassin!
Two... and one more to go.
Chen Feng had originally spotted four assassins. This meant three had surfaced, and one was still lurking in the shadows.
"Stay back!" Chen Feng ordered Suyun sharply, standing tall to face the incoming threat.
Close by, a dagger dropped by one of the fallen assassins lay on the floor.
Without bending down, Chen Feng flicked it upward with a precise kick of his foot, catching the weapon midair with his hand.
Utilizing the Eagle Step, he charged forward toward the two assassins with blistering speed. His velocity was vastly superior to before.
The first assassin didn’t even see him coming. He tried to raise his blade to counter, but suddenly realized his neck had gone completely numb. A split second later, a crimson geyser erupted from his slit throat.
This was the lethal combination of the Cleaver Knife Technique and the Eagle Transformation Technique!
The fusion of a high-grade technique 5% mastery and a rare low-grade technique 20% mastery had turned Chen Feng’s battered body into a terrifying, living weapon. Both speed and raw power were now under his command.
When the second assassin saw his comrade drop dead in the blink of an eye, panic gripped him.
Desperate, he pulled a few small, black sphere-like objects from his sleeve and smashed them onto the floor.
BOOM!
The moment they struck the ground, thick, black smoke billowed out, rapidly filling the entire room.
Poisonous smoke! Chen Feng realized instantly.
Without hesitation, he triggered the Eagle Step again, hurtling straight toward the remaining assassin.
Anticipating that Chen Feng would target his neck once more, the assassin threw up his arms and blade to guard his throat.
Little did he know that Chen Feng’s bare hands were deadlier than any steel weapon!
Chen Feng’s hand punched straight through the assassin’s defensive guard, driving his razor-sharp, talon-like fingers deep into the man’s chest. With a single vicious twist, he tore the beating heart right out of the assassin’s chest!
The assassin looked down in absolute horror at the open cavity in his chest and then at Chen Feng holding his still-beating heart. His eyes rolled back in shock, and he crashed heavily to the floor.
Chen Feng quickly tossed the blood-stained dagger into his System Inventory, keeping it hidden so he could launch a surprise attack on the remaining, fourth assassin whenever the chance arose.
However, the toxic gas was thickening fast.
"Suyun, get out!" Coughing, Chen Feng grabbed Suyun’s arm and dragged her downward toward the kitchen.
As they ran, Suyun’s breathing hitched. Her face, already pale with fright, was turning a bluish-white from the creeping poison. She whimpered, "Master... I think... I’ve been infected by the poison..."
Chen Feng threw a brief glance at her turning-blue face, his heart sinking. As a First-Rate Martial Artist practicing high-grade techniques, his physique possessed a high degree of immunity to toxins. But Suyun? She was just an ordinary, fragile human being!
Should I go back and check the assassins’ bodies?
No.
That would be far too dangerous for me as well.
Suddenly, an idea flashed through Chen Feng’s mind.
He dragged Suyun straight into the kitchen. As they entered, Suyun nearly screamed—lying on the floor was the dead body of the kitchen chef, brutally murdered by the assassins earlier since he slept inside at night.
"We don’t have much time! Eat this, quickly!" Chen Feng grabbed some fruit, dried nuts, and cold, leftover dumplings from the kitchen shelf and shoved them into Suyun’s hands.
Suyun stared at her master with blank, bewildered eyes. In the middle of this life-or-death crisis, why is Master telling me to eat? Is this any time for food?!
But seeing the intense, commanding look in Chen Feng’s eyes, she didn’t dare question him.
Whimpering, Suyun began stuffing the cold dumplings and fruit into her mouth, frantically swallowing them down with trembling hands.
And then... right before Chen Feng’s eyes, a miracle occurred!
Suyun’s face, which had been turning deathly blue and discolored from the poison, suddenly began to regain its normal color. Her skin tone returned to life.
The ordinary food she had just consumed was rapidly generating a surge of miraculous, vital nutrition inside her body, neutralizing and purging the deadly poison!
What a truly terrifying and powerful special physique! A faint smile of relief touched Chen Feng’s lips.
[Investment Target: Su yun]
[The Host has saved Suyun’s life and prevented her from being poisoned.]
[Likeability: 60%]
[Critical investment Return!]
[Investment Return: 300 Investment Points + Martial Arts Mastery Card]
[Martial Arts Mastery Card: Can be used to completely master any one martial art.]
The moment Chen Feng saw the card, his eyes lit up.
If he used this card to completely master the Heavenly Eagle Transformation Art, he could very likely break through to the next stage beyond the First-Rate Martial Artist realm.
Not only that, he would also gain a complete understanding of the technique’s Next moves.
However, there was one problem.
The card’s description didn’t mention how long it would take to achieve complete mastery.
And right now, Chen Feng couldn’t afford to be distracted for even a moment.
A lingering tension weighed on his mind—where was the fourth assassin?
"If you’re waiting for the fourth assassin, you can stop waiting. He isn’t coming."
Chen Feng instantly turned around.
The voice had come from behind him.
An elderly man was sitting casually on a chair beside the table. His beard was completely white, and he wore a red robe. In one hand, he held an old wine gourd, calmly drinking from it.
A faint red flush covered his face, as though the wine had already begun to take effect.
The old man looked at Chen Feng and smiled.
"I still can’t believe you managed to kill those three First-Rate Assassins."
Chan Feng’s expression became serious.
The old man’s gaze swept over him.
"And you’re a First-Rate Martial Artist yourself."
"It’s a good thing you haven’t crossed the boundary between a First-Rate Martial Artist and a Martial Expert yet."
When did he get here?
I didn’t notice any disturbance in the wind.
Every part of Chan Feng’s body was screaming one thing.
Dangerous.
This was Su Wang, the elder of the Su Family.
A Martial Expert.
Chen Feng still had no idea how powerful a Martial Expert truly was.
But looking at the old man sitting—before him, he could already understand one thing.
Even after becoming a First-Rate Martial Artist, he could still feel an overwhelming sense of danger simply from standing in front of this man.
The difference between them...
Was terrifying.