The family feud still lingers, and yet you’ve lowered yourself to serve Food Heaven? Food Heaven, it turned you into a dog."
"Junior Brother, who says being linked with an Alien Ghost means you have to bow to it? Food Heaven, it’s now the one acting like a dog—I’m the one keeping it."
Mr. Feng spoke of "Food Heaven" with a hint of pride.
"I’ve extinguished the incense, but who managed to tame Food Heaven? Junior Brother, I advise you to step aside. The storyteller’s dreamscape—where the traps lie, where the escape paths are—I know better than you."
Mr. Feng halted his words there, unwilling to waste any more speech. His purpose today was solely to kill Zhou Xuan, and nothing would stop him.
He moved with wind under his feet, vanished once again, and leveraged his Heaven and Earth Extreme Speed to attack Zhou Xuan.
Zhou Xuan, naturally, was unafraid. His strong Perception unexpectedly counteracted Mr. Feng’s speed,
Zhou Xuan did not instinctively evade. Instead, he restrained his reflexes and chose not to dodge even as Mr. Feng closed in to mere inches away.
As his Perception activated Armored Horse, it simultaneously propelled Bone Teeth forward toward his attacker.
The sound of metal striking reverberated as Mr. Feng’s folded fan deflected Bone Teeth, coming so close to Zhou Xuan’s neck,
it nearly grazed him. Zhou Xuan’s Armored Horse kicked in, letting him instantly retreat dozens of steps, as Feng Moyan’s folded fan maintained its forward thrust, its tip smeared with specks of blood.
The two exchanged blows again, leaving Painter and Yuan Buyu stunned without time to react.
Mr. Feng was simply too fast—his feet carried him as if riding a tempest, his form imperceptible to the human eye.
Yet, what remains unseen to human sight can still be grasped through Perception.
Zhou Xuan not only saw clearly, he even managed to counter Mr. Feng’s assault with a move of his own. The clash between Bone Teeth and folded fan,
on the surface, seemed to put Zhou Xuan at a disadvantage.
A faint wound appeared on his neck, from which tiny droplets of blood emerged,
while Mr. Feng’s folded fan bore only a small indent from blocking Bone Teeth.
Nonetheless, that indent revealed much to Zhou Xuan.
He reckoned that this bout with Mr. Feng was, in truth, his victory.
Through a minor injury to his neck, he gained crucial insight into Mr. Feng’s capabilities.
"The Young Master’s Perception remains formidable. Had it been anyone else, that fan would have carved a bloody hole right through their throat."
The Painter, thinking of Zhou Xuan’s Perception, recalled last night’s "Night Travel" and could not help but click his tongue in awe.
"To think, a mere few sticks of incense could hone Perception to such a level."
Mr. Feng felt somewhat deflated, frustrated.
His skills relied overwhelmingly on his legs—Heaven and Earth Extreme Speed granted him unhindered access across the Nine Prefectures of Jing Country.
This unparalleled velocity was precisely why Mr. Feng ranked among the most lethal assassins of Mingjiang Prefecture and Ping Shui Prefecture.
"Once, when the Bone Elder Association’s Saint Heir and Saintess sought to confront the kidnappers, it was me who stepped in, slaying seven Bone Elders in a row, forcing the Saint Heir and Saintess to negotiate for the allocation of the kidnappers’ territory.
Yet now, I can’t even handle Zhou Xuan, fueled by mere incense – my standards have fallen."
Mr. Feng slowed his footsteps, circling Zhou Xuan leisurely as he contemplated how to kill him.
Painter and Yuan Buyu also began to focus their strength, planning how to subdue Mr. Feng,
but Zhou Xuan waved them off, signaling for them to stand down. He pointed at Mr. Feng’s folded fan and said to Yuan Buyu, "Master, take a closer look at your grand senior brother’s fan; it bears an indent from my Bone Teeth."
Yuan Buyu finally stopped dwelling on the past, but Mr. Feng, wary of exposing his weakness, had already covered the indent with his hand.
"Your dear senior brother—he’s nothing but pure speed. His fan hasn’t been reinforced with much incense—it’s soft on the surface."
Zhou Xuan exposed Mr. Feng’s flaw.
Following Zhou Xuan’s injury-earned insight, Painter pondered carefully and discerned the workings behind Mr. Feng’s techniques.
"Mr. Feng, I hear Mr. Yuan once said you abandoned incense? How many sticks were you at before?"
"Seven. My senior brother was blessed with exceptional talent for practicing the storyteller’s art."
Yuan Buyu’s emotions toward Mr. Feng were deeply conflicted—their bond extended far beyond merely sharing the same master.
The two had been playmates since childhood, apprenticed to the same teacher, with seniority determined by age.
Feng Moyan was the second senior brother, while Yuan Buyu was the fourth junior brother.
However, their master chose Mr. Feng as his successor, while Yuan Buyu was merely recruited to serve as Mr. Feng’s sparring partner.
Once, while drunk, their master confessed the truth to Mr. Feng, saying, "I’ve seen my fate since I was young—I can only pass down my true teachings to one disciple. Yuan Buyu is extraordinarily gifted, but without you, he’d be my successor.
With you here, he’s doomed to mediocrity for life."
Mr. Feng felt a deep attachment to Yuan Buyu. Since their peculiar master had no interest in nurturing Yuan Buyu, Mr. Feng took up the role himself, secretly imparting the storyteller’s art to him.
With this bond between them, Mr. Feng dared to claim that he had taught Yuan Buyu.
Even now, Yuan Buyu deeply admired his senior brother’s prowess.
"Seven sticks before abandoning incense—no wonder you managed to tame Food Heaven."
The Painter grasped a flickering flame in his hand and said, "One who cultivates incense strengthens both body and spirit. By abandoning incense, your body and spirit remain at the level of seven sticks, making your hardened physique and powerful mind a prison for Food Heaven."