Xuanwu War Sovereign

Qin Feng gripped the Hunter’s claw with one hand and slowly pulled it from his chest. The process was gruesome and brutal. The agony of the claw being extracted inch by inch made his eyes turn crimson, and every pore on his body contracted violently from the intense pain.

As the Poisonous Claw was pulled out, the medicinal power of the Mystic Turtle Divine Pill began to release. A surging torrent of potency flowed from his Dantian, bringing his injuries under control.

Panting heavily, Qin Feng struggled to use his Ancient Sword to prop himself up. Even this simple action caused sweat to bead on his forehead. He glanced at his wounds; the Poisonous Claw had nearly torn his chest open, and several of his ribs were broken. An injury this severe would not be easy to heal, even with the divine efficacy of the Mystic Turtle Divine Pill.

After a while, some of Qin Feng’s strength returned. He pushed through the pain, and once he had regained some mobility, he gritted his teeth and used the Ancient Sword as a crutch, dragging his heavily injured body toward the exit of the Crystal Jade Ore mine.

A pressing sense of crisis washed over Qin Feng, urging him to get out of the underground as quickly as possible. ’There’s something even more terrifying behind me!’ Even though he was gravely injured, he knew he had to escape this subterranean Crystal Jade Ore mine immediately.

Qin Feng’s intuition was correct. A quarter of an hour after he left, several low, bestial roars echoed near the tunnel where he had fought the Hunter. The stench of blood still lingered in the passage.

Several strange, terrifyingly Zheng Ning-like dark figures appeared in the tunnel. The bizarre, sinister aura emanating from each of them was no weaker than that of the dead Hunter. One of them, a monster with a human face and a scorpion’s body, had an aura that far surpassed the Hunter’s—its tyrannical presence bordered on the Martial Arts Eighth Layer Heaven.

The monsters paced in the tunnel for a moment before their cruel, violent gazes landed on the passage Qin Feng had used to escape. With a flicker of dark shadows, they swiftly followed the residual traces of his aura in pursuit.

The monsters shot forward like lightning, covering hundreds of yards in the blink of an eye. But suddenly, they stopped. The bizarre Demon Fiends grew agitated and milled about restlessly at a fork in the path, letting out low, angry roars at the various tunnels, completely unsure which direction to follow.

Traces of Qin Feng’s residual aura had appeared in many of the tunnels!

Qin Feng had anticipated this and was already prepared. He had scattered torn pieces of his clothing at the entrance of various tunnels along the way.

Just then, the elites from the Qin, Song, Ning, and Yu Families of Shanghe Town arrived at the outskirts of the Crystal Jade Ore mine. The large group emerged from a tunnel and, in an instant, ran straight into the frenzied, savage Demon Fiends...

By the time Qin Feng emerged from the exit in the Qi Yang Mountain Range, color was gradually returning to his face. His injuries were almost halfway healed; at the very least, the horrific wound on his chest had completely closed.

The Mystic Turtle Divine Pill truly lived up to its name as a Divine Pill! Just a minuscule fraction of its medicinal power had been enough to get the mortally wounded Qin Feng up and about again!

"Young Master, you’re back!" At the exit, Qin Shou and Qin Gang were waiting anxiously. They were overjoyed to see Qin Feng walk out of the tunnel.

Beside them, however, Yu Yao stared at Qin Feng in astonishment, looking as though she had just swallowed a fly.

Her eyes were filled with disbelief and shock. Qin Feng had actually returned unharmed from his encounter with that terrifying Hunter!

「Three days later.」

In a courtyard on Qi Yang Mountain, Qin Feng’s injuries had completely healed. His chest rose and fell gently. He exhaled a breath of turbid air and opened his eyes, a faint, sharp light flashing within them before vanishing.

The moment he opened his eyes, the aura around Qin Feng fluctuated for a second before instantly stabilizing.

Although Qin Feng had nearly died at the hands of the Hunter this time, the experience was not without its rewards. After a life-and-death battle, his Primordial Qi Internal Breath had become purer. His Inner Breath now flowed through his meridians like a gentle stream. The three wisps of Inner Breath had grown to six!

"My Five Senses are much stronger. Indeed, in the crucible of life and death, there is great terror, but also great opportunity. In that extremely dire situation, my potential was pushed to its absolute limit. My Five Senses have been greatly enhanced, and I’ve already begun to touch the Realm of Spiritual Sense!"

As Qin Feng spoke, a hint of joy appeared in his eyes.

Qin Feng stood up and stretched his limbs. His bones groaned and popped with a CRACKLING sound. A powerful aura radiated from him. As he clenched his fists, the immense force faintly triggered a series of air bursts. The weakness he’d felt upon his return was completely gone, and it even seemed his power had increased.

"You’ve already touched upon Spiritual Sense?" Nearby, Yu Yao, who had been practicing her Swordsmanship, heard Qin Feng muttering to himself. Her Longsword trembled in her hand as she stared in astonishment at the vigorous Qin Feng.

Qin Feng glanced at the beautiful girl’s jealous expression and smiled. "That’s right. I’ve begun to touch upon the state of Spiritual Sense. The Five Senses are sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch. A Martial Artist perceives the world through them, but the Five Senses have their limits. To comprehend that profound and mysterious realm, one must first grasp how the Five Senses condense into Spiritual Sense. Only then can you begin to touch the gate to that mystical domain!"

"Spiritual Sense... that’s a sense unique to experts at the Martial Arts Seventh Layer Heaven!" Yu Yao was practically going mad with jealousy. She felt that Qin Feng’s luck was just too good. To touch upon Spiritual Sense at the Martial Arts Fourth Layer was simply infuriating.

Spiritual Sense was also known as Innate Spiritual Sense. It was a profoundly mysterious sensation. Experts at the Martial Arts Seventh Layer Heaven could perceive changes within a three-foot radius of their bodies even with their eyes closed, relying solely on this sense!

For an ordinary Martial Artist to comprehend Spiritual Sense, they had to cultivate step by step, tempering their Inner Breath to unlock their potential and strengthen their Five Senses. Only at the Martial Arts Sixth Layer Heaven could they begin to grasp Spiritual Sense, which they would then use to condense a Heaven and Earth Realm and bridge the gap with the world.

The Martial Arts Seventh Layer Heaven was called the True Qi Realm, or the Innate Realm. At that stage, what one’s body contained was no longer Inner Breath, but a High Level Innate True Qi that carried a degree of Attribute Power.

The difference between Inner Breath and True Qi was like the difference between flowing water and solid ice—a complete qualitative transformation.

Yu Yao felt a great sense of dejection. She was a genius, the favored child of the Yu Family, always the center of attention. Yet before Qin Feng, a man once called ’trash,’ she had not only been surpassed but had also been outdone time and time again! A sullen look fell over Yu Yao’s beautiful, jade-like face, and her heart was heavy with frustration. Her face remained dark for the rest of the day!

...

Although the treasure hunt underground had come to nothing, Qin Feng had not been without gains. At the very least, he had discovered the Qin Family’s fatal weakness—one that was enough to cause the Shanghe Town Qin Family to collapse.

A day later, Qin Feng sent Qin Shou to bring back his maid, Honglian, who was living in seclusion on a small mountain at the edge of the Barbaric Mountain Range.

Qin Feng decided to leave Shanghe Town. With powerful Alien Races like the Hunter emerging from beneath the town, the place would soon become the eye of a storm. If he remained, it would certainly cause him no small amount of trouble.

While Qin Feng wasn’t afraid of trouble, he didn’t want to be needlessly drawn into such a dangerous mess, especially one involving the ferocious Alien Races and terrifying Demon Fiends from the Earth Abyss.

Of course, the main reason was the news Yu Yao had brought back a few days ago after a trip out of town: the All Stars Academy, the most famous and only academy in the Yan Kingdom, had begun its public enrollment. Powerful representatives from the academy would soon arrive in Mountain and River City to conduct on-site tests and select the most talented candidates.

Shanghe Town was too small a stage. Staying here was like being a dragon trapped in shallow waters. It would be impossible for Qin Feng to break through to the Condensing Vein Realm in a short amount of time. This was far from his original goal!

The vast world beyond Shanghe Town was his true stage!

To better integrate himself onto this stage, the best choice was undoubtedly to join a major power.

Sects and academies were the best options. However, joining a sect meant being bound by its rules, and all future actions would have to conform to the sect’s regulations. For someone as free-spirited as Qin Feng, this was unbearable.

An academy, on the other hand, was different. After graduation, there were no compulsory requirements.

But before he left, there was one last thing Qin Feng had to do. He still remembered the oath the ’original’ Qin Feng had made as he lay mortally wounded.

Bring Po Mie to the Shanghe Town Qin Family, avenge a life-and-death feud, and let this corrupt family be utterly reduced to dust and ashes!

Therefore, before leaving, and to repay the Qin Family—and especially its Clan Leader—for so many years of "special care," Qin Feng decided to prepare a grand gift for them!