After experiencing great ups and downs, he entered a state of calm like still water. His state of mind was like a clear crystal, at least at this moment it was.
Not a single distracting thought remained. He devoted himself fully to blade training.
“Hm?”
After practising for a while, Luo Feng would stop and stand there in deep thought, sometimes making a few gestures before continuing to train, then stopping again to reflect, then training again.
This feeling was just like when he was at school doing mathematics problems.
A very difficult maths problem required reasoning step by step from known conditions, constantly refining and correcting the direction until the problem was solved. The big questions in the college entrance exam were very difficult. Some of them, when done in normal practice, could take one or two hours and still not be solved.
Right now, Luo Feng was like he was “solving problems”, using the same mindset to study blade techniques.
But unlike before, his state of mind was unprecedentedly empty and lucid. His control over subtle bodily movements and his brain’s processing speed were far stronger than usual.
A night of hard cultivation passed, and the next morning he continued training.
On the afternoon of the second day, Luo Feng sat on the balcony holding his Blood Shadow battle blade, deep in thought for three hours.
After that, he continued studying blade techniques.
He forgot to eat, forgot the sky high bounty, forgot his suspicions and doubts.
…
On the second night, inside the dim hall of the eighth floor of that high rise residential building, Luo Feng kept moving and swinging his blade again and again. The blade light was icy cold, chilling to the soul.
Whoosh.
No one knew how many times he had swung already. The Blood Shadow battle blade moved slightly, and a streak of cold light lit up the entire hall, faintly carrying a strange rhythm like lightning. Crackling sounds of air explosion echoed, as if the air itself was being struck.
“Hm?” Luo Feng widened his eyes and froze.
“Success?”
“I actually succeeded. Ninth Level Thunder Blade, third level, I actually mastered it.”
Luo Feng could not help but let out an unrestrained roar of excitement.
Third level Thunder Blade.
It was mastered shortly after the sky high bounty had just been announced.
“This Ninefold Thunder Blade gets harder with each level. I only just mastered the second level not long ago, and now I have already reached the third level.” Luo Feng showed a smile. “I really should thank Li Wei’s parents.”
If Li Wei’s mother, Vina Polenas, knew this outcome, she would probably be so angry she would vomit blood.
Ninefold Thunder Blade becomes harder at each level. Looking across the world, only one person has reached the ninth level, Thunder God.
This ultimate technique is extremely abnormal.
The third level alone increases power by 2.8 times.
Luo Feng’s physical condition was currently that of an experienced advanced warrior. With a 2.8 times boost, his attack power could match a mid level general warrior.
2.8 times.
One full combat level difference is only about 2 times.
“My strike now contains four layers of hidden force, already comparable to a mid level general warrior. If I use spiritual force to enhance the Blood Shadow blade, adding a fifth and sixth layer of force, I might reach the level of an experienced high level general warrior.”
Luo Feng clearly understood the power of spiritual force. When combined with physical strength, the destructive power increased even more.
A pleasant surprise.
An unexpected gain brought by the sky high bounty.
The pressure from the bounty was indeed enormous. Some people collapse under pressure, while others become even more determined and improve rapidly.
Luo Feng was the latter.
“I really should thank Li Wei’s parents.”
Luo Feng’s face was full of joy.
That sky high bounty had indeed caused fear deep inside him, making him suspicious of everyone. Fortunately, chatting with Xu Xin had improved his mood.
Extreme emotional ups and downs had actually pushed him into an extremely calm state.
A mind like still water, without a single distracting thought.
This extremely calm and lucid state is very hard to maintain for long. Usually, people only enter it briefly in life and death situations, and their strength temporarily explodes.
Luo Feng had once entered this state for only 1.2 seconds when escaping from a beast horde outside a supermarket. But this time, because of the emotional upheaval, he remained in that state for more than 20 hours.
During those 20 hours, he focused entirely on blade training, and directly broke through to the third level of the Ninefold Thunder Blade.
After his breakthrough excitement, he finally exited that still water state.
“The sky high bounty really can affect mentality. It makes people suspicious and uneasy. According to history books, the fall of many ancient dynasties began when the emperor started distrusting his officials.”
Luo Feng’s mental resilience had improved again.
The bounty’s psychological impact on him was now much weaker.
“The captain and the others have no evidence. Without evidence, they cannot claim the reward. And without the reward, who would risk exposing me?”
He suddenly moved his ear slightly and quickly rushed to the balcony to look down. He saw dozens of monsters gathering below the building.
Luo Feng paused, then smiled.
“It seems my earlier excited shout after mastering the third level attracted them.”
“Time to leave. Return to the base city.”
He immediately packed his bag, weapons, and shield, then leapt from the eighth floor balcony like lightning. He landed on the rooftop of a nearby three storey villa, then vanished in an instant.
Train station.
The station was always the busiest place, filled with roaring noise and crowds. A long train slowly entered the platform, brakes screeching as it stopped. As the doors opened, passengers poured out.
“The base city is home.”
Luo Feng stepped off the train and smiled at the surroundings.
“Home.”
Using a special vehicle from the Limit Hall, he returned to Mingyue Community as the evening sun set.
The neighbourhood was as peaceful as ever.
The car stopped at the entrance of the Limit Hall.
Luo Feng got out, and saw a large group of people waiting, including warriors, their families, and even the rest of the Firehammer Team, as well as his parents and younger brother.
“Xiao Feng.” his parents called out.
“Brother.” Luo Hua smiled happily.
“Luo Feng.”
“Fengzi.”
Everyone greeted him warmly.
“Captain, you all came too?” Luo Feng smiled in surprise.
Gao Feng laughed. “Didn’t you say you were coming back these two days? We also need to discuss how to handle the monster materials. It has also been a while since we saw Old Zhang, so we came together.”
Luo Feng nodded.
“Captain, I will talk with you all tonight. I will go home first.”
“Alright.”
Gao Feng watched him leave and thought to himself.
“His expression looks relaxed and happy. No signs of pressure. It seems the killer really is not him.”
Even Gao Feng himself did not fully understand his feelings. He wanted to confirm whether Luo Feng was the killer, because the 100 billion was too tempting. Yet at the same time, he also hoped it was not Luo Feng, so he would not be conflicted.
“Very few people can stay calm and happy under such a bounty,” he thought. “Especially someone under twenty.”
He shook his head.
“Forget it, stop overthinking.”
“Let’s go, brothers, drink something.”
“Let’s go.”
The Firehammer Team, including the one armed Zhang Ke, entered the hall together. Only Luo Feng went home.
…
Second floor of Luo Feng’s home.
After returning, he placed the bag containing the dragon egg, combat suit, and weapons into his bedroom safe. In reality, even leaving it on the floor would have been fine, since no one would dare steal anything in a Limit Hall warrior district.
Without doubt, Li Wei’s parents had the authority to track nearby warriors. Considering the number of warriors gathered near City 023, they must have scanned hundreds or thousands of people. He was only one of them, and his suspicion level was low.
Since Li Wei’s parents suspected a spiritual force master, they would likely also investigate bank accounts.
From now on.
Any large sums of money he earned must not be stored in his real name bank account. They should be placed in anonymous accounts.
He listed his rules.
- Large amounts of money go into anonymous accounts.
- Spiritual force master identity must not be revealed until necessary.
- The killing of Li Wei must not be told to anyone.
- Dragon egg and combat suit sales must not be told to anyone, including family.
A leak in a thousand mile dam often starts from an ant hole. Before having enough strength to confront Vulture and Scorpion head on, he could not expose anything.
Millions or tens of millions were not much for a general level warrior.
But if over a hundred billion suddenly appeared in a bank account, Li Yao and Vina would definitely become suspicious.
Only anonymous accounts were safe.
Even banks would not know the account owner.
“My priority now is visible strength. I should buy the deeper levels of Ninefold Thunder Blade.”
Just then, his phone rang.
“Hello, Luo Feng, are you ready?”
“Coming now.”
He smiled.
“We are at the first floor bar of the hall. Come over.”
He hung up and walked towards the Limit Hall inside the community.