Upon hearing this explanation, Zou Feng immediately understood.
The Heart Demon Poison Oath sworn by Bian Yixia and Sun Kai was a separate matter from Song Sixing colluding with the Mountain and River Association to rebel.
A duel was a duel. Sun Kai hadn’t violated the terms of the oath; he was, in fact, engaged in a one-on-one fight with Bian Yixia.
In short, no matter what he had schemed beforehand, he hadn’t broken any rules during the duel itself.
Even Bian Yixia’s current, clearly abnormal state must have been caused by some trickery arranged beforehand.
The methods were so brilliant that Bian Yixia hadn’t noticed a thing before the duel began.
Therefore, if Zou Feng were to interfere, Bian Yixia—who had been manipulated into swearing the Heart Demon Poison Oath—would be the one to break her vow, no matter the circumstances.
For a Martial Fool like Bian Yixia, who was obsessed with advancing to the Gang Qi Realm, breaking her oath would almost certainly give rise to a Heart Demon.
Although breaking the vow would save her life, to completely lose all hope of advancing to the Gang Qi Realm—to have her path to the peak of the Martial Dao severed—would be a fate worse than death for Bian Yixia.
Now, Zou Feng was truly starting to panic.
Saving her was wrong, and not saving her was also wrong.
Every choice was the wrong one!
’Tch, what a goddamn pain. Can’t things just be simple for once? Why can’t I just slaughter this whole bunch from the Mountain and River Association!’
Zou Feng grew increasingly agitated. A dense killing intent erupted from him, making the hair on the necks of the surrounding Black Flood Dragon Gang members stand on end. They involuntarily took a few steps back.
’Wait a minute... am I an idiot? I *can* just slaughter everyone from the Mountain and River Association...’
In the midst of his vexation, Zou Feng’s eyes suddenly lit up.
’That’s right. Just let Bian Yixia and Sun Kai continue their duel.’
’But Song Sixing is colluding with the Mountain and River Association to rebel. As a member of the Black Flood Dragon Gang and one of Bian Yixia’s trusted subordinates, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with me leading our men to attack them.’
’Bian Yixia is clearly losing, but she can still hold on for a while.’
’And that’s enough time for me to turn every member of the Mountain and River Association here into a blooming "blood flower."’
’Once I’ve slaughtered them until blood flows like a river and their wretched cries fill the air, let’s see if you, Sun Kai, can still focus on your duel.’
This would indirectly apply psychological pressure on Sun Kai without violating the Heart Demon Poison Oath.
’And if Sun Kai cares about his subordinates and gets distracted enough to show killing intent toward me...’
’Once he’s on my list, Bian Yixia turning the tables will be a sure thing.’
At this thought, Zou Feng quickly shouted, "Miss, you continue your fight! We will not interfere, but it’s time to settle the score between the rest of the Mountain and River Association and our Black Flood Dragon Gang!"
"Brothers! The Mountain and River Association and Song Sixing are colluding to rebel! Are we just going to sit here and wait to die? Slaughter those sons of bitches!"
Having said his piece, Zou Feng shot forward, leading the charge toward the Mountain and River Association.
Seeing this, the Black Flood Dragon Gang members behind him followed without a moment’s hesitation.
After all, everyone Bian Yixia had brought with her was loyal to her. This included her third and fourth sworn brothers, who had never gotten along with Old Sixth, Song Sixing.
However, even as the Black Flood Dragon Gang members charged forward with Zou Feng...
...most of them wore expressions of grim resolve.
It couldn’t be helped. The members of the Mountain and River Association were no pushovers.
They even had Gu Yufan, a Seventh Grade Expert, on their side.
The number of their Eighth and Ninth Grade Martial Artists also surpassed that of the Black Flood Dragon Gang.
It was no wonder they were so pessimistic; charging in like this was a suicide mission, a journey of no return... Huh?!
A crimson lotus bloomed. Two Ninth Grade Martial Artists who had rushed out to intercept Zou Feng were suddenly, inexplicably, blown to smithereens.
Inner Qi Release?!
"Ah! Master Zou... he’s... he’s Seventh Grade!"
"Is... is that true?"
Surprise was quickly followed by wild joy.
The Black Flood Dragon Gang members were no longer pessimistic. With a Seventh Grade Expert at the vanguard, it was anyone’s guess who would emerge victorious.
At this moment, Zou Feng was like a tiger among sheep, slaughtering his enemies with utter abandon.
Poison Fury Fire Lotus Seal—a reckless barrage!
After leaping into the crowd of Mountain and River Association members, Zou Feng immediately began to spin like a top, continuously blasting Fire Lotus Palm Seals in all directions.
WHOOM WHOOM WHOOM WHOOM—
In an instant, the surroundings were engulfed by a storm of exploding "Inner Qi Fire Lotuses."
Screams, wails, and detonations became the symphony of the battlefield.
Any unknowing passerby watching from a distance would have the same first thought: ’Why are people setting off fireworks in broad daylight? And how can these blood-red fireworks be so vivid and beautiful?’
This unrestrained, frenzied output of power began to twist Zou Feng’s expression.
But upon closer inspection, one would find a hint of pleasure mixed in with his distorted features...
Pushing his Inner Qi to its absolute limit was actually accelerating the purification and transformation needed to fully break through to the Seventh Grade.
’This is no time for reservations or holding back.’
’Besides, once my Cultivation Skill reaches the Peak of Perfection, I’ll need more powerful targets for my list anyway.’
The Fire Lotuses bloomed into "blood flowers," a brutally spectacular sight.
Ignoring the gore, the scene was actually quite magnificent.
"You little bastard, stop this at once!"
Following the roar, a Mountain and River Association expert who had weathered a Poison Fury Fire Lotus Seal shot toward him, his eyes blazing with fury.
This man could withstand a Fire Lotus Seal and even resist its poison with his Protective Inner Force. He was, without a doubt, a Seventh Grade Expert.
Unfortunately, this Seventh Grade Expert from the Mountain and River Association, Gu Yufan, also happened to be Zou Feng’s current top "contributor."
A Seventh Grade was already incredibly durable. On top of that, Zou Feng had spent the last few days converting his Inner Qi for his own advancement and hadn’t been actively cultivating his Five Poison Skill Fire Lotus Skill.
As a result, Gu Yufan had temporarily recovered from his last bout of inexplicable "madness."
Seeing his "patron" coming to seek death, Zou Feng felt a pang of regret, but he couldn’t afford to hold back now.
He was only a Half-Step Seventh Grade at the moment and wasn’t yet fully accustomed to his newly refined Inner Qi. He absolutely could not afford to underestimate his opponent, or he could easily fail due to a careless mistake.
Deafening eagle screeches echoed as Gu Yufan shot forward in the posture of a pouncing hawk, his hands shaped into claws.
Even from twenty-five yards away, the pressure from his "Eagle Claw" felt like an "Invisible Claw" was already squeezing Zou Feng’s neck.
As Gu Yufan pressed his attack, the pain in Zou Feng’s throat intensified.
Fortunately, while it was painful, it was no real threat to Zou Feng, who possessed the Tribulation-Indestructible Body.
The next moment, he fired off three Poison Fury Fire Lotus Seals. His body followed the palm strikes, and he executed the Drunken Immortal Moon Gazing Step and the Snake Skin Movement from his "Snake Stance," zipping forward with a SWOOSH.
Gu Yufan’s perception was superb. He saw through Zou Feng’s "Snake Stance" instantly and sneered.
"A Snake Form Skill? You think you can counter my Cyan Eagle Sky-Splitting Claw with that?!"
"Utterly foolish!"
Before the words had even faded, Gu Yufan kicked off his own right foot with his left in mid-air, launching himself dozens of feet higher.
With the sheer density of a Seventh Grade Expert’s Inner Qi, they could do more than just kick off their own feet; they could even perform a "Moon Step" by kicking off the air itself.
By gaining altitude again, Gu Yufan easily evaded Zou Feng’s attempt to close the distance with his Snake Skin Movement.
Simultaneously, he swiped his claws downward, sending ten terrifyingly sharp torrents of "Sky-splitting Claw Force" raining down on Zou Feng.
His approach thwarted, Zou Feng unexpectedly dropped into a cross-legged position on the ground. His hands became a blur, forming Sealing Techniques at a dizzying speed—so fast it would have made an ordinary person’s head spin.
Amidst the blur of his hands, an enormous Fire Lotus, more than ten yards in diameter, was forcibly conjured into existence.
Upon closer inspection, this giant Fire Lotus was actually woven from countless smaller ones.
In essence, Zou Feng was weaving his standard Poison Fury Fire Lotus Seals into a much larger "Lotus."
Just as Gu Yufan’s ten blasts of "Sky-splitting Claw Force" shot down, Zou Feng thrust both palms upward, sending the "giant lotus" to meet them.
Lotus in Lotus!
The giant lotus spiraled upward at incredible speed, instantly colliding with Gu Yufan’s "Sky-splitting Claw Force."
BANG BANG BANG—
A series of firecracker-like explosions rang out, followed by Gu Yufan’s pained cry.
His Sky-splitting Claw Force ultimately failed to neutralize the densely packed Fire Lotus Seals. To his horror, he was struck by the "Lotus in Lotus" before it had even fully detonated.
What followed was another series of dense explosions.
Gu Yufan managed to stubbornly resist the first few "Lotus Bursts" with his Protective Inner Force.
But the "Lotus Bursts" seemed endless. There were simply too many.
In the end, he couldn’t hold on. The explosions blasted his body higher and higher into the air.
He was blasted so high that, to the onlookers, Gu Yufan became just a "small dot" in the sky.
If Gu Yufan didn’t know some kind of legendary palm technique that could be executed while falling from the heavens, making a comeback would be next to impossible.
Sure enough, a moment later, Gu Yufan began to fall. He was clearly in extreme pain, struggling to right himself in the air.
Meanwhile, Zou Feng had already finished Charging Power using the Toad Stance. With a mighty push from his legs, he leaped into the air to meet the falling Gu Yufan.
Although Gu Yufan still had enough strength to struggle, Zou Feng ignored his resistance, grappling him tightly in mid-air.
Then, with Zou Feng holding him in a head-down, feet-up position, they plummeted from the sky.
This was a move Zou Feng had been inspired to use after seeing Wei Lingyun defeat Wang Xingjian.
’A Seventh Grade Expert is tough to kill,’ Zou Feng thought. ’I have to end this quickly, before he hits the ground and tries something like taking an Elixir to recover!’
This time, with the power of the Poison Fury Fire Lotus Seal, smashing into the ground like this wouldn’t be some "Lian Hua"—it would be his very own "Surface Lotus."
BOOM—
Amidst the billowing dust, Zou Feng flipped to his feet. Without a second glance at Gu Yufan, he turned his sinister gaze on Sun Kai, who was still dueling Bian Yixia.
The trope of "emerging unharmed from the smoke" did not apply here. The head of the Mountain and River Association’s Seventh Grade Expert, Gu Yufan, had been smashed to a pulp. He was gone!
Although Sun Kai’s main focus was still on his fight with Bian Yixia, how could he possibly ignore the battle unfolding nearby?
Under normal circumstances, Sun Kai wouldn’t have been distracted no matter how hard Zou Feng stared at him.
But now that Zou Feng had finished off Gu Yufan in just a few moves, how could Sun Kai possibly remain calm?
Zou Feng’s gaze was like an invisible Poison Needle, piercing him again and again.