"I am the lord of this forest you call Starlight Forest, the single lion that rules over the monsters you kill mercilessly, Ende."
'The lord of…this forest?'
The man's words echoed repeatedly in Jiang Feng's mind as it spun in light speed, trying to figure out the whole situation whilst being suppressed.
Throwing away the core in his hand, the man, the lord of the Starlight Forest, Ende began walking towards Jiang Feng as his lips moved.
"I have to admit, I'm surprised."
"For a single Foundation Building Stage Cultivator, while at the peak of the realm, to kill so many fellow ranks in just one and a half days without being tired out is something I wouldn't expect. You have my respect for being able to achieve such a feat."
"However…"
Ende's words came to a halt as he lowered himself to Jiang Feng's level, grabbing Jiang Feng by his cheeks, forcing him to look straight in the eye.
"To kill so many of my underlings, in my territory to add, you sure have the galls to continue living in this cave."
"If you were born as a monster, how I would have showered you with resources and nurtured you as my aid. What a pity, for such a talent to be lost today."
Letting go of Jiang Feng's cheeks as his face fell roughly onto the ground, Ende got back up and lifted his leg, stepping on Jiang Feng's head like one would do with a bug.
A pressure that threatened to crush his skull was immediately felt by Jiang Feng as the feet landed on him. Looking up while wriggling his body to shake off the leg, Jiang Feng was met with Ende's cold gaze once again.
"That's it then. Goodbye."
Shutting his eyes in fear, Jiang Feng could only hide away from the incoming pain he expected to receive while trembling.
Crack! Crack!
Boom!
'Huh? Was that an explosion?'
Lifting his eyelids, Jiang Feng tried to peek at the current situation.
The pressure that pressed against his head had mysteriously disappeared, same goes to Ende's figure as a white cloth fluttered before him.
Looking up from the white cloth, a woman with white hair trickling down her shoulders to her back stood in front of him, with her back facing him. Her figure leaned forward slightly as one of her fists punched forward, the other placed next to her thin waist.
The woman slowly retracted her extended arm as she turned around, dispelling the mysterious force that was suppressing Jiang Feng and his spiritual energy with just a wave of her hand as she palm-faced herself.
"In the name of the Heavenly Laws, you sure are a magnet of death, aren't you? Facing death two days in a row, what are you trying to do, start your reincarnation arc?"
A soft sigh escaped the woman's lips as she complained. However, Jiang Feng could only laugh in embarrassment as he got off the ground, scratching the back of his head while looking at the woman before him.
"Well, thankfully you are here to save me, isn't it, Ling?"
"Hmph, if it wasn't because of me keeping eyes on you from time to time, you would have- Eh? You're already at Foundation Building Peak Stage, Feng?"
Cutting herself off mid-sentence, Ling became stunned as she realized the change in Jiang Feng's cultivation base.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah. I absorbed a monster's core out of curiosity yesterday and managed to reach it."
"You absorbed a monster's core?!!" Ling questioned as her voice raised, a look of worry replacing the forfeited one on her face.
"Um, yes? Ah, things went well in the end though so I'm safe." Jiang Feng shrunk back a little against Ling's questioning, startled by her shouting.
Noticing his reaction, Ling could only turn around as she sighed again.
The relaxation in her was immediately dispelled though, as she looked at Ende, who had been knocked heavily onto the cave's wall before falling onto his knees, bones fragmented all over and blood trickling down the corners of his lips as they dripped onto the ground.
"A…a Soul Refining Stage cultivator? But…how?"
Ende's words stuttered as he spat out the blood in his mouth, struggling to get back up on his feet, something he could easily achieve a few seconds ago.
"It does not matter to a person whose life is fleeting. Originally, I planned to let Jiang Feng challenge you and your close aids once he's strong enough."
Walking towards Ende, a sword in blue was conjured in Ling's hand as she spoke. The sword had a blue rose at the center of its handle, chilling frost freezing the ground in a second as the tip neared the floor.
Dense spiritual energy was released from the sword's blade, despite looking it was carved out of ice. However, fiery Ghost Fire burned on it as the cave's temperature dropped to frosting levels.
Stopping a meter before Ende, Ling pointed the sword's tip at his throat before continuing her words.
"However, since you met earlier than I expected, even threatening to end his life, I have no choice but to wipe off your existence from the face of this planet. Don't worry, I won't hurt the other monsters in this forest, nor will I hunt down your subordinates."
"That's all I have for you, goodbye."
"Wait for a sec, I-"
Thud.
Before Ende could finish his sentence, Ling had already taken a step forward and decapitated him. The mane-like hair he had was instantly stained by the blood of its owner as the head rolled on the floor, stopped in its tracks as it bumped into Ling's shoe.
His core was immediately extracted from his severed corpse, letting off spiritual waves filled with dense spiritual energy before being stored into Ling's space pouch.
"Since you've already hunted this many monsters at the Foundation Building Stage, and already reaching the peak of your rank, there's no need to continue to stay here. Let's go."
Turning around, Ling walked past the stunned Jiang Feng as the cores he gathered began flowing into her space pouch as well. The corpse of Ende had also been covered in a layer of frost as the Ghost Fire burned from within, cremating his remains.
"Why are you still standing there? Do you have something else in here?" Stopping at the cave's entrance, Ling turned her head as she looked at Ling from her shoulders.
Her words brought Jiang Feng back to reality as he immediately responded, running to her side before they both flew towards the sky.
"How did you kill Ende so easily? What was his cultivation base? Also, was that sword you used earlier a spiritual weapon?"
Without waiting a single moment, Jiang Feng began bombarding Ling with his questions as a look of curiosity appeared on his face.
Ling closed her eyes as an aura of laziness enshrouded her, though, she still replied.
"Starting from the last question, yes, it's a Soul Middle grade weapon. That monster's cultivation base was Core Formation Middle Stage, two realms above you. Lastly, I just use brute strength."
"That was brute strength?" Jiang Feng asked while being confused.
"Well, in a certain way, yes. Since I just overpowered him using the difference between our cultivation base. More importantly, how are you feeling?" Changing the question, Ling began questioning Jiang Feng about his gains.
"Other than being stronger, I guess you could say I feel more experienced and skilled."
"Says the person who almost died two days in a row. Whatever, we'll be heading back to the city. Ah~, finally can I sleep on something comfortable."
"Didn't you bring a bed from Earth?"
"Of course, I've been using it since the first night. But, it's not as comfortable as your arms, you know?"
"..."
"I'm joking. Let's speed up, we have a lot more to do."