The donkey-faced big man and the crew-cut brawny man looked at the severed head in Xu Nian's hands in disbelief, their eyes reddening instantly.
"Fuck, you actually killed Gangzi! I'm going to kill you!" The donkey-faced young man exploded in rage, roaring as he swung his battle saber towards Xu Nian.
Leaping forward, his saber swung down like it was splitting heaven and earth, savagely aiming for Xu Nian's brow.
The saber was covered with an overwhelming Spiritual Energy; a single strike could split a tree with a diameter of one meter in two.
Murong Xue was startled, her face immediately flushing with tension.
Yet Xu Nian stood motionless as a mountain, his eyes piercing as he watched the donkey-faced big man charging with his saber.
"Ling Feng Thirteen Swords, Seventh Style: Sword Swinging Mountains and Rivers!"
With a light cry, Xu Nian's sword edge swiftly turned, and a fierce Spiritual Energy covered the long sword in his hand.
"Whoosh!"
He executed the Gale Dragon Step to perfection, his form like a phantom, brushing past the donkey-faced big man.
Everyone watched the scene in astonishment, eager to know what had just happened in that instant, and who had won the battle.
"Thud!"
As everyone was puzzled, the donkey-faced big man suddenly knelt, a vacant look in his eyes filled with disbelief, as a fine line of blood on his neck slowly widened.
"No... Impossible!" The donkey-faced big man managed to grind out three words from his throat before he fell to the ground, dead.
The people around were also dumbstruck, their faces blank, not understanding how Xu Nian had done it.
Only Xu Nian himself knew that in that instant he didn't use a single sword technique but two. First, he blocked the donkey-faced big man's earth-shattering strike with the Seventh Style, then with his long sword he unleashed the Hand-off Tornado Eighth Style, severing the neck of the donkey-faced big man.
Both sword techniques were executed subtly to connect so seamlessly.
The Hand-off Tornado involved letting the sword leave the hand for an instant, circling the enemy's neck. It was an extremely sharp and tricky technique, capable of astonishing results when used unexpectedly.
Murong Xue, who had also practiced Ling Feng Thirteen Swords, finally realized what Xu Nian had just done, but she was even more shocked upon this realization.
Executing two Subtle sword techniques in an instant, and connecting them so smoothly?
This was not something achievable with three days of cultivation—it clearly required three years to reach this level of skill.
What was most shocking was that Xu Nian was only a Seven-star Warrior, and he had just killed two Three-star Warriors. Though it was based on the element of surprise, this deed would be considered shocking and extraordinary if word got out.
Xu Nian ignored everyone's stunned gazes and turned his attention to the crew-cut brawny man.
At that moment, the crew-cut brawny man's eyebrows were furrowed to the extreme, with two brothers dead, his heart was filled with unbearable pain.
"Speak. Who sent you guys?" Xu Nian suddenly asked.
"Hmph, why should I tell you? You killed our two brothers. I, Tie Shan, swear not to rest until I have my revenge," the crew-cut brawny man said fiercely.
They had gone through life and death together so many times as three brothers, yet they had never expected to fall here.
"Looks like someone did send you after all. Let me guess, was it Qin Hen, or Ouyang Tianlan?" Xu Nian sneered, his eyes sharply observing the buzz-cut burly man.
Realizing he had been tricked into talking, the buzz-cut burly man felt a surge of anger. Surveying the watchful crowd around him, he let out a cold snort and then fled towards the dense forest nearby.
Yu Feng and the others wanted to give chase but were stopped by Lin Feng.
Xu Nian seemed to suddenly lose all his strength and collapsed to the ground. After performing several sword moves in a row, his body's spiritual energy was drained. Although he still had Gang Qi to protect his body, he needed to put on an act to avoid suspicion.
"Xu Nian, are you okay?" Murong Xue hurried over to him and asked as she saw Xu Nian fall.
"I'm fine, just overused my spiritual energy. I'll recover after a while," Xu Nian replied with a smile.
Murong Xue immediately breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, and the tension on her pretty face eased.
However, Lin Feng witnessed her anxious expression, which sparked a strong sense of jealousy in his heart.
Originally, Lin Feng didn't consider Xu Nian a threat, but the strength Xu Nian had just displayed had taken everyone by surprise. Although it involved opportunistic tactics, being able to consecutively kill two Three-star Warriors indicated that he possessed the strength to fight on par with a Two-star Warrior.
For a Seven-star Warrior to have strength comparable to a Two-star Warrior, from any perspective, it made Lin Feng envious.
"Xu Nian, thank you. If it hadn't been for you, we probably would all have been doomed here," Lin Feng said to Xu Nian with a smile, yet his smile held a hint of coldness.
"It's nothing, Captain. I'm also a member of the Wind Snow Team, so it's only right that I do my part. However, I might not have the energy to fight anymore for the time being," Xu Nian responded with a smile.
"That's okay, rest well. The rest of us will take care of things," Lin Feng said with a smile. After finishing, he turned and left, but a flash of killing intent crossed his eyes the moment he turned around.
Although Xu Nian didn't see the killing intent in Lin Feng's eyes, how could he not feel the falseness in Lin Feng's concern? He knew his displayed prowess had aroused Lin Feng's jealousy, and with Murong Xue's attention added to the mix, if Lin Feng didn't harbor ill intentions towards him, Xu Nian would write his name backwards.
Yet, Xu Nian didn't care. If Lin Feng dared to lay a finger on him, he wouldn't mind giving the Wind Snow Team a new captain.
For the remaining time, Xu Nian feigned illness to rest, while Murong Xue stayed faithfully by his side, as if deeply afraid some sudden danger would injure Xu Nian. While pleased, Xu Nian also felt a bit helpless about it.
Ever since he had saved her, Murong Xue's concern for him had increased. Perhaps she was simply grateful to Xu Nian for saving her life.
As for the possibility of Murong Xue having feelings for him, Xu Nian thought it was too soon for that, especially since she still had 'him' occupying her heart.
However, Murong Xue's concern only deepened Lin Feng's hatred for Xu Nian. On the road, Xu Nian caught Lin Feng looking back at him with a chilling gaze at least three times.
Later on, Lin Feng even secretly discussed something with Yu Feng, who was casting covert glances at Xu Nian, a sly smile on his lips.
Seeing this, Xu Nian knew these two were planning how to deal with him, creating a cold feeling in his heart.
As for Lu Morning, he not only stopped looking down on Xu Nian but actually changed his attitude significantly, genuinely treating Xu Nian as a team member, which in turn made Xu Nian view him in a more favorable light.
"Alright, here we are! That ahead is the Earth Dragon's lair!"
After sneaking and battling their way through, they had finally arrived at their destination.
Everyone's expressions turned grave, for they knew a tough battle awaited them next.