One person: Starting with the Snow Drinking Blade

Harbin West Railway Station, 6:30 a.m.

As dawn broke, a number of passengers were already waiting for their trains on the platform. The October morning in Northeast China was bitterly cold, making people shiver and their breath turn into puffs of white mist. Nie Lingfeng, wearing a black windbreaker and carrying a simple travel bag, stood in the crowd, watching the high-speed train slowly approaching in the distance.

Chen Duo stood beside him, wearing the white down jacket, the fluffy brim of the hood swaying slightly in the morning breeze. She hugged a panda plush toy, her face buried in her scarf, only her bright green eyes showing, quietly watching the train pull into the station.

"Let's go to Tianjin first and ask Xu Si about Chu Lan and the others' situation," Nie Lingfeng said to Chen Duo. "Then we'll see if we need to go to Twenty-Four Solar Terms Valley. If you don't want to go, I'll find you a place to stay in Tianjin..."

"I'll go," Chen Duo interrupted him, her voice soft but firm.

Nie Lingfeng looked at her and smiled: "Alright, let's go together then. But I've heard that Twenty-Four Solar Terms Valley is a very eerie place, so you'd better stick close to me and don't wander off."

"Mm." Chen Duo nodded.

The train came to a stop, and the doors opened. Nie Lingfeng pulled Chen Duo onto the train and found their seats—business class. The carriage wasn't crowded and was very quiet. He put their luggage away, let Chen Duo sit by the window, and sat himself by the aisle.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

Chen Duo shook her head: "I'm a little sleepy."

"Then take a nap, I'll wake you up when we get there."

Chen Duo nodded, hugged her doll, leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes. But Nie Lingfeng could sense that she wasn't really asleep; her breathing was very light, and her ears were twitching slightly, alert to everything around her.

This girl is getting more and more perceptive.

The train slowly started moving and pulled out of the station. The scenery outside the window gradually changed from city buildings to open fields, and then to rolling hills. The sun rose from the east, gilding the earth with a golden edge—it was beautiful.

Nie Lingfeng also closed his eyes, feigning sleep. But he didn't let his guard down, his senses fully activated, covering the entire carriage. This was a habit he had developed after many life-or-death battles—the safer a place seemed, the more likely it was to hide danger.

Sure enough, about half an hour after the train departed, he sensed something was wrong.

The carriage wasn't crowded, but a few people's "qi" was quite unusual. It wasn't the natural "qi" of someone who had practiced martial arts; rather, it was... deliberately suppressed "qi" that carried a bloody and murderous aura.

Mercenaries.

And there was more than one. At least seven or eight, scattered in different parts of the carriage; some were reading newspapers, some were playing on their phones, and some were sleeping. But the rhythm of their breathing, the angle of their posture, and the position of their fingers all revealed signs of being well-trained.

What alarmed Nie Lingfeng even more was that there was a long tunnel ahead in the direction the train was traveling. Inside the tunnel, he sensed at least three sniper positions, and even more hidden "Qi" energy.

ambush.

Nie Lingfeng's eyes turned cold, but he remained expressionless. He quietly took out his phone, intending to send a message to Gao Lian, but the phone displayed—no signal.

is blocked.

"Interesting," he muttered to himself, a cold glint in his eyes.

Just then, his phone suddenly vibrated—not an incoming call, but a very special, extremely fast vibration, like some kind of password.

Nie Lingfeng was taken aback and looked at his phone. The screen was black, but a line of white text appeared on it:

"Nie Lingfeng, get Chen Duo off the train quickly. The Japanese Fish Dragon Society and foreign mercenaries are lying in ambush on the high-speed rail, and there are snipers and bombs in the tunnel. This is Gao Erzhuang; I'm contacting you using a special frequency. Hurry, or it will be too late!"

Gao Erzhuang?

The girl who could only live in a life support pod, but whose consciousness could roam freely in the online world?

Nie Lingfeng didn't have time to think and immediately replied, "Thank you, Erzhuang, but it's too late."

He had just finished typing that line when the train entered the tunnel.

In an instant, everything went black.

Only the dim emergency lights inside the carriage emitted a pale glow.

"Let's do it!"

A deep voice rang out in the carriage.

“Swish, swish, swish—!”

The mercenaries disguised as travelers moved simultaneously! They leaped from their seats, various weapons appearing in their hands—daggers, short swords, pistols, and even two submachine guns! Seven or eight men pounced on Nie Lingfeng and Chen Duo from different directions! Their movements were swift and ruthless, their coordination impeccable; clearly, it was all pre-planned!

"Chen Duo, hide!"

Nie Lingfeng let out a low shout, his figure as fast as lightning, leaping up from his seat and throwing a punch at the mercenary charging at the front!

"Bang!"

The mercenary was sent flying by a punch, crashing through the carriage window and falling out. But the others had already pounced on him, daggers and short knives aimed at Nie Lingfeng's vitals from all angles!

Nie Lingfeng neither dodged nor evaded, but clasped his hands together—

"Three-part return to origin - Air Wall!"

"Buzz—!"

A hazy, semi-transparent wall of energy appeared around him! The daggers and short knives that pierced the energy wall were bounced off as if they had hit rubber, without even touching his clothes.

"What the hell is this thing?!" a mercenary exclaimed.

"You're going to kill me." Nie Lingfeng sneered, his figure flashed, and he appeared in front of him, delivering a hand chop to his neck.

"Click."

With his neck fractured, the man collapsed to the ground.

"Fire!" another mercenary roared, raising his submachine gun and firing at Nie Lingfeng!

"Da da da da—!"

Bullets rained down, tearing through the air! But Nie Lingfeng's figure had already vanished.

No, it wasn't that he disappeared, it was that he was too fast. With his Wind God Leg technique, he moved like a real wind through the gaps between bullets in the narrow carriage. Wherever he passed, mercenaries fell one after another. Some had their necks twisted, some had their hearts shattered, and some were kicked away, crashing into the carriage wall and falling silent.

The whole process took less than ten seconds.

All seven mercenaries were wiped out.

But Nie Lingfeng knew that this was just an appetizer.

The real killer move is inside the tunnel.

"Chen Duo, let's go!"

He pulled Chen Duo up and rushed towards the connecting area between the carriages. But as soon as they reached the door, they felt a strong sense of danger!

"Bang!"

A sniper rifle shot rang out, echoing through the tunnel! The bullet tore through the air, entered through the window, and aimed straight for Nie Lingfeng's forehead!

Nie Lingfeng tilted his head, and a bullet grazed his cheek, leaving a deep bullet hole in the carriage wall.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three more gunshots rang out! Three bullets sealed off all his escape routes! One was aimed at his brow, one at his heart, and one at his abdomen!

"A trivial skill."

Nie Lingfeng neither dodged nor evaded, but raised his hand and grabbed—

"Threefold Return to Origin - Primordial Chaos Technique!"

A large, translucent hand, formed from a hazy, gray current, appeared out of thin air and clenched its fist at the three bullets that were being fired at it!

"Pfft pfft pfft!"

Three bullets were crushed into powder by a large hand.

A suppressed gasp came from deep within the tunnel.

"I've found you."

Nie Lingfeng's eyes turned cold, and he struck out with his palm in the direction from which the bullets came!

"Cloud-Dispelling Palm - Overwhelming Force!"

"boom--!!!"

A violent palm strike, like a raging torrent, slammed into the tunnel wall! A two-meter-diameter hole was blasted into the solid concrete wall, sending debris flying everywhere! The sniper hiding behind the hole was shredded into mincemeat by the palm strike before he could even scream.

But this palm strike also revealed their location.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!"

Countless whooshing sounds came from both sides of the tunnel! It was crossbow bolts, darts, shuriken, and all kinds of hidden weapons, shooting towards Nie Lingfeng and Chen Duo like a torrential rain!

"Phoenix Seal - Burning the Heavens!"

Chen Duo finally made her move. Standing behind Nie Lingfeng, she formed hand seals, and a huge emerald phoenix phantom appeared behind her. With a flap of its wings, golden phoenix true fire surged forth, transforming into a wall of fire that blocked the two of them! The hidden weapons that shot into the wall of fire were instantly burned to ashes without even a wisp of smoke.

"Walk!"

Nie Lingfeng grabbed Chen Duo, rushed out of the carriage, and jumped onto the tracks. The tunnel was dark, with only a faint light filtering in from the distant tunnel entrance. But this was no problem for Nie Lingfeng. His senses were far more useful than his eyes.

"Three on the left, five on the right, and in front... twelve," he whispered. "Mercenary-looking, well-equipped, with heavy weapons. There's also an ambush at the tunnel exit, at least twenty men. The Fish-Dragon Society... should be inside."

Chen Duo nodded, her emerald eyes gleaming with golden light, while the phoenix phantom behind her slowly flapped its wings, ready to strike at any moment.

"kill."

Nie Lingfeng uttered this word and then moved.

This time, he held nothing back.

The power of the Qilin, after complete fusion, was unleashed at full force for the first time in actual combat!

"Buzz—!"

The Qilin tattoo on his chest suddenly shone with a dazzling golden-red light! A terrifying pressure, seemingly from the ancient primordial era, erupted from his body, enveloping the entire tunnel! The mercenaries hidden in the shadows were instantly slowed down by this pressure, their breathing becoming labored, as if an invisible hand had gripped their throats!

"What...what is this...?"

"Monster...he's a monster..."

Terrified screams echoed through the tunnel.

Nie Lingfeng gave them no time to react. He moved like lightning through the darkness, and wherever he passed, golden-red Qilin fire surged forth, devouring and vaporizing everything in his path—people, weapons, and cover!

He didn't use the Snow Drinking Saber, nor did he use the Cloud Dispelling Palm, Wind God Leg, or Heavenly Frost Fist.

It's just the simplest and most direct thing—the fist.

One punch shatters a person's chest.

One kick, and a person's skull is blown apart.

One palm strike can shatter all the bones in a person's body.

Like a tiger among sheep, like a sickle cutting wheat. Those well-trained and well-equipped mercenaries were like paper in front of him, crumbling at the slightest touch and dying instantly.

Screams, wails, the cracking of bones, and the splattering of blood filled the tunnel.

But Nie Lingfeng's eyes remained cold and calm.

He's in control.

Control the power, control the scope, control... the rhythm of the killing.

He didn't want to harm innocent people. There were hundreds of ordinary passengers on the train. He had to keep the battleground inside the tunnel, focused on these people.

"Baka! Stop him! Stop him!"

From deep within the tunnel came furious roars in Japanese. It was the Fish-Dragon Society.