40: Chapter 40 So what? One strike and you're dead!

Facing that world-shattering blood-red lightning saber beam, the Painted Skin Demon's handsome face, which belonged to Li Tianyu, showed a look of absolute horror for the first time!

From that saber beam, it felt an irresistible threat of death originating from the depths of its Soul!

This was simply not an attack that a True Qi Realm Martial Artist could unleash!

This power was overbearing, pure, and filled with a will to destroy everything!

"No—!"

The Painted Skin Demon let out a shrill scream. It wanted to flee, but its body was firmly locked by that terrifying Saber Intent, making it incredibly difficult to even move a finger. It could only watch helplessly as that saber beam grew larger and larger in its terrified pupils!

Boom!

The saber beam struck the Painted Skin Demon's body with unerring precision. However, the expected scene of instantaneous evaporation did not occur. Demonic Qi surged wildly from its body, clashing and grinding fiercely against the overbearing Saber Qi, producing a tooth-aching "sizzling" sound.

Web-like cracks began to appear on the surface of its body, and blood-red lightning energy coursed through the cracks, continuously destroying its vitality.

"Arghhh—!"

The Painted Skin Demon let out a non-human howl of agony. The face belonging to Li Tianyu began to twist and deform, switching frantically between monstrous and handsome, appearing incredibly eerie.

It knew it was doomed, but before being completely annihilated, it stared malevolently at Lin Feng on the roof, howling with its last bit of strength:

"Fool! Do you think I've just taken his skin?!"

"I have long since merged with his flesh and blood, his Soul! If you kill me, you kill Li Tianyu! The person your Demon Suppression Division is supposed to protect will die by your blade! Hahahaha!"

Amidst the shrill laughter, an imploring expression actually appeared on the features of Li Tianyu on its twisted face.

This shocking turn of events caused the expressions of Chu Mengxi and the other two to change drastically!

Killing the demon also meant killing the innocent host?

Chu Mengxi even instinctively wanted to speak up and ask Lin Feng to show mercy.

However, atop the roof, the figure that looked like a demon god merely looked down coldly at the struggling demon, his dark eyes devoid of any ripples.

His thin lips parted slightly as he uttered four words.

"So what?"

The moment the words fell, it was as if a final judgment had been passed.

"No!"

The Painted Skin Demon's pupils suddenly shrank to the size of needlepoints. It hadn't expected the opponent to be so heartless and cold-blooded! Not even a shred of hesitation!

The next moment, the blood-red lightning saber beam coiled within its body exploded!

Rumble!

This time, there was no longer any suspense.

The saber light was like a blazing sun, completely evaporating and erasing the Painted Skin Demon along with the last trace of Li Tianyu's aura within it from this world.

Not even a speck of ash remained.

[Ding! Successfully slayed a Tier 3 demon, a Painted Skin Demon!]

[Critical hit multiplier increased to 115x! Obtained 20,000 critical hit points!]

One strike, a decisive kill!

The entire Sleepless Street fell into a deathly silence.

Chu Mengxi, Zhao Tie, and Li Rui stood there blankly, like three petrified statues.

Their brains had completely shut down.

What just happened?

That Painted Skin Demon that had left them helpless, whose true form they could barely even track...

Exposed such a secret before its death, attempting to shake the opponent's mind...

In the end, it was still, without any hesitation...

Slashed into nothingness with a single blow?

They mechanically turned their heads to look at the roof of the nearby tavern.

The Night Wind brushed against Lin Feng's black robes, and the moonlight bathed him, making his figure look like a banished immortal descending to the mortal realm, or... a heartless god of slaughter who held life and death in his hands.

"Gulp."

Zhao Tie swallowed hard, feeling like his throat was so dry it was about to smoke.

"Boss... I... I didn't hear wrong, did I? That monster said killing it meant killing Li Tianyu... Brother Lin... didn't even blink?"

"...Yeah."

Li Rui's voice was also trembling. His gaze toward Lin Feng held not just shock, but also a deep sense of awe.

This decisiveness and ruthlessness made them feel inferior.

Chu Mengxi didn't speak. She just stared blankly at the figure on the roof, her cold phoenix eyes already filled with endless shock.

She knew Lin Feng was strong, but every time she thought she had seen his limit, he would find a more inconceivable way to redefine her understanding.

From slaying someone in the Spiritual Qi Realm while in the Meridian Opening Realm, to now, as a seventh-level True Qi Realm expert, insta-killing a Painted Skin Demon comparable to the Peak of the Spiritual Qi Realm, and even remaining unshaken after learning the host would perish with the demon...

Just how firm was his Dao Heart?

What kind of monster was he, exactly?

On the other side, Miss Ling Yueer, who had just escaped from the Ghost Gate Pass, saw her beautiful eyes instantly burst with a light more brilliant than the stars in the sky after her initial terror passed.

"Big Brother... Big Brother Lin..."

She gazed dreamily at Lin Feng on the roof, feeling her heart thumping uncontrollably.

A hero saving a beauty.

This was a scene every young girl had fantasized about.

And Lin Feng's heroic posture just now—descending from the sky, slaying the demon with one strike, ignoring the threat, and decisively dealing the killing blow—was ten thousand times more perfect than the most perfect hero in a storybook!

Handsome!

So handsome!

So handsome he's in a league of his own!

Lin Feng's figure leaped down from the roof and landed lightly in front of her.

"Big Brother Lin!"

Miss Ling Yueer could no longer control her emotions. With a scream, she threw herself into Lin Feng's arms like a young swallow returning to the woods, her slender arms tightly wrapping around his waist.

"Wuwuwu... I was scared to death! I thought I was a goner! Big Brother Lin, you're my big hero!"

While crying, she even rubbed her small head against Lin Feng's chest.

Lin Feng: "..."

A soft and elastic body was pressed tightly against him.

A faint, refreshing fragrance of a young girl wafted to his nose.

Any normal man would probably have been distracted by now.

However, Lin Feng just expressionlessly reached out and, like picking up a kitten, grabbed Miss Ling Yueer's back collar and lifted her off him.

"Alright, the monster has been slashed. You can go home now."

"Huh?"

Miss Ling Yueer was stunned by this extremely "straight man" move. She then pouted and said dissatisfiedly, "Big Brother Lin, I almost died just now. Can't you at least comfort me a bit?"

"You didn't die."

"But I'm scared!"

"If you're scared, then get lost, go home, get under the covers and shiver."

"You..."

Miss Ling Yueer stomped her feet in anger. In all her years, this was the first time she had met such an insensitive blockhead!

But for some reason, instead of feeling angry, she felt...

This man was so special, so interesting!

Just then, Chu Mengxi and the other two also walked over.

Chu Mengxi looked at Lin Feng and said with a complex expression, "Lin Feng, this time... although it was to slay a demon, you still ended up killing the Li family's direct son. I'm afraid..."

"If you don't say it and I don't say it, who will know he was the Li family's direct son? I only killed a Painted Skin Demon!"

"..."

Chu Mengxi and the other two looked at each other, further realizing Lin Feng's ruthlessness.

Lin Feng waved his hand. "Since the case is closed, I'll be heading back."

With that, he turned and left, crisp and neat, without the slightest hesitation.

"Hey! Big Brother Lin! Wait for me!"

Seeing this, Miss Ling Yueer immediately followed him joyfully like a little tail.

"Big Brother Lin, where do you live? Can I come play with you tomorrow?"

"Big Brother Lin, what do you like to eat? I'll have my family's chef make it for you!"

"Big Brother Lin, do you have a sweetheart? What do you think of me?"

Watching the city lord's daughter chatter and fawn over Lin Feng like a hanger-on.

Zhao Tie and Li Rui looked at each other with wretched smiles on their faces.

"Tsk tsk tsk, even heroes have a weakness for beauties."

"Brother Lin's charm is truly unmatched. Even the most unruly 'Little Chili' of our Nanyan Prefecture has been won over."

Only Chu Mengxi, watching those two receding figures, felt a trace of doubt flash through her cold phoenix eyes.

Was the case solved a bit too easily?