"The power of a secret technique truly is unmatched under heaven. Gray-robed sir, would you be willing to tell this old man where you obtained this technique?"
This time, Lin Ran actually appeared behind Chu Feng. With a sweep of his great sleeve, another Qilin Shield materialized, carrying terrifying momentum as it bore down on Chu Feng from behind.
It had to be said—Lin Ran's speed was simply too fast. The speed at which he formed martial arts was beyond imagination. Even with Chu Feng's current Mental Power, he could barely keep up with his pace.
"Not good."
Facing such a powerful Qilin Shield, Chu Feng's only counter was the White Tiger Slaying Art. But when he reached out to the White Tiger within his body, intending to unleash the technique once more, he realized the White Tiger in his consciousness had vanished.
"What's going on?" His strongest means—the White Tiger Slaying Art—was now unusable. This threw Chu Feng into a panic, and he hastily dodged out of the way.
However, the moment Chu Feng evaded, the Qilin Shield abruptly pivoted and bore down on him again, this time even faster.
"Whoosh!" In this situation, Chu Feng dared not hesitate for even a moment. He pushed the Void Flight Technique to its absolute limit and shot toward the depths of Hundred Bend Gully.
"Luyun, wait here." After giving that instruction to Gong Luyun, Lin Ran gave chase and bellowed: "Gray-robed sir, why the rush to leave? Tell this old man about that secret art of yours!"
"Damn it—what's going on? Why can't I use my secret art?"
Chu Feng was frantic. The only thing that could make Lin Ran wary was his White Tiger Slaying Art, and now that it was unavailable, he had lost the sole capital he possessed to stand against Lin Ran.
"Idiot. Secret arts are special—they have a life of their own. They aren't something you can freely control with Mystic Force. Although you borrowed my power to raise your cultivation to the Xuan Wu Realm, in truth you are still at the Yuan Martial Realm."
"That's why it won't let you abuse its power. The fact that you've been able to use it to this extent is already the limit. I'm afraid you won't be able to use the secret art again today." Eggy's reminder came in a grave tone.
"So that's how it works—how infuriating." Upon learning the truth, Chu Feng was both furious and frustrated. His enemy was right there within arm's reach, and not only could he fail to kill him, but he was forced to flee. It was suffocating beyond words.
But there was nothing he could do about it. His own strength simply wasn't enough. Without Eggy's power to aid him, with his own cultivation alone, forget about fighting Lin Ran—even Gong Luyun could have pushed him into this kind of desperate situation.
"Chu Feng, this isn't sustainable. Let me take control of your body."
Chu Feng had the Void Flight Technique running at full power, but Lin Ran was rapidly closing the gap. Lin Ran was simply too formidable. Before his absolute cultivation advantage, Chu Feng was far too weak. In this situation, Eggy stepped forward.
"No. I won't let you put yourself in danger to save me again." Remembering how Eggy had nearly been destroyed body and soul when drawing upon the Asura's power before, Chu Feng flatly refused.
"You fool. I won't push myself to that extent this time. Give me your body now—if you die, I'll die too." Eggy countered.
"No. From now on, I'm the one who protects you. Even if death comes, it'll come for me before it comes for you." Chu Feng was utterly stubborn. After those words, the light beneath his feet blazed even brighter, and his speed surged once more.
"Gray-robed sir, why not tell me about the origins of that secret art before you leave?" At this, Lin Ran remained unhurried. With a change of hand seal, he actually dismissed the mighty Qilin Shield.
In its place, he reached out with a reverse grab, and an incredibly cold aura materialized. The frigid energy spread at astonishing speed—everything it touched froze over. Flowers and grass withered, and even the towering trees were coated in a layer of ice, drained of all vitality.
"This aura—it's a sixth-rank Martial Art!" Chu Feng glanced back and nearly jumped out of his skin.
Behind him, a vast wave of freezing energy surged forward like an invisible monster, carrying bone-piercing cold as it surged to swallow him whole. From the sheer pressure alone, Chu Feng could tell this was without question a sixth-rank Martial Art. Otherwise, even Lin Ran couldn't have unleashed such devastating power.
In that instant, Chu Feng had no choice but to activate the golden lightning within his blood, raising his cultivation from the first level of Xuan Martial to the second level, and then poured everything into the Void Flight Technique in a desperate bid to escape.
But the freezing energy was too vast and too fast. Under Lin Ran's continued urging, it was still rapidly closing in on Chu Feng. At this rate, he would be swallowed in moments.
"Just give up. Beneath my Frost Qi, there's no escape for you." Lin Ran's mouth split into a grin, revealing a face utterly convinced of victory.
"Damn it—am I, Chu Feng, truly going to fall here today?"
"No. I refuse to fall. I still have an immense grudge to avenge. I still haven't found my family. How can I die here, lose to someone like this? Wouldn't that bring shame upon my family's name?"
Chu Feng screamed inwardly. At the same time, he began circulating his Mystic Force through specific meridians at breakneck speed. He was attempting a breakthrough—one he had tried countless times before but had never once succeeded in achieving. It was the true essence of the Void Flight Technique.
"Let's see where you run now!" Lin Ran closed in again, the freezing energy following behind him, wrapping around from the rear and even sealing off the path ahead. On all four sides, Chu Feng was boxed in with nowhere to go.
"Bang!" But in that very moment, Chu Feng stamped both feet against the ground and launched himself skyward like an arrow loosed from its bow.
"Hmph. You think that will save you? Unless you can actually fly, you'll be swallowed by my Frost Qi."
Seeing Chu Feng leap into the air, Lin Ran merely smirked, unhurried. Instead, he controlled the freezing energy to form a great net below, simply waiting for Chu Feng to come plummeting down so he could snare him all at once.
"Step, step, step."
But then something miraculous happened. Chu Feng's feet came down on empty air, and with each step, his body rose higher. After several steps, not only had he not fallen—he was ascending ever higher, already a hundred meters from the ground. This was no mere leap into the air. This was walking through the sky—flight itself.
"Lin Ran. The next time we meet, I will take your life!" Chu Feng turned his head, spoke those words in his aged voice, and then strode through the air, vanishing into the distant horizon.
Lin Ran stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly at the starlit night sky and the figure growing ever smaller in the distance. His aged face was filled with shock. It was a long while before he finally recovered, and in a low voice he murmured: "He... he can actually fly!"