Why do I have so many masters?

The father and son embraced for a moment, and Anfeng seemed to feel a bit embarrassed, struggling to break free from his father's embrace. He lifted his sleeve to hastily wipe away the tear streaks on his face, then muttered something indistinct. The simple and naïve man gazed at Wang Anfeng's face, and gratitude seemed to slowly emerge.

He opened his mouth and uttered some unintelligible sounds, while Anfeng stood beside him, clutching the hem of his father's clothes and whispered,

"He said… thank you."

Wang Anfeng momentarily stilled, then smiled at the man, saying,

"No need for thanks, uncle."

"I..."

Before he could finish, his expression subtly shifted.

A faint murderous intent began to manifest in the vicinity, slowly approaching as if it didn't want to be detected.

It's directed at me.

Wang Anfeng's pupils constricted, a realization dawned on him, and his thoughts raced. Glancing at the father and son he had just reunited with, he suddenly raised a hand and placed it on Anfeng's head, giving it a solid rub. The child, taken aback, then heard Wang Anfeng's lowered voice:

"Stay here, don't go outside!"

Before Anfeng could grasp the situation, he saw the blue-shirted youth push open the door and stride out.

Then, a sharp whistle rang out, responded to by the neighing of the Green-Maned Horse. Through the crack of the door, Anfeng could see Wang Anfeng dashing out, forcefully rising to his feet. At the moment he descended, the steed deftly caught the young man.

The muscles over its sinews bulged, creating waves like form, and amid its resounding neigh, it suddenly accelerated, moving as swiftly as a gust of wind or a flash of lightning, disappearing in the blink of an eye until only a fleeting shadow was left. Enjoy exclusive content from empire

Anfeng stood dumbfounded for a moment before recalling what the white-dressed female hero had mentioned about the three-day promise the day before. He assumed that Wang Anfeng was hurrying on his way, but he left without a word of farewell, leaving Anfeng feeling somewhat disheartened.

At that moment, two resentful curses came from in front of the door, and two figures—one black and one white—sprang up from around the corner. Ignoring their surroundings in their shouts and curses, they quickly pursued the diminishing speck that was Wang Anfeng, their speed almost matching that of a galloping horse.

As the person in black clothes turned to glance back at the wooden house before departing, a chill suddenly rose from the depths of Anfeng's heart. His legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground, his heart pounding wildly in a way he had never experienced before.

His vision darkened slightly, yet it was as if he saw the young man who had rushed out.

'Stay here, don't go outside!'

His lips parted, but a sense of helplessness welled up inside him, mixed with the fear of the past two days and the terror of being easily seized. For the first time in his life, he began to yearn for the prowess of martial artists.

........................

On the great road, riding the horse wildly.

The exotic beast beneath him truly let loose, its movements swift and fierce. But a true Ninth Rank martial artist at full strength could match the explosive power of a renowned horse in a short burst. Among the two pursuers, the one clad in black seemed especially adept at Qinggong, ghosting closer like a specter. The Whip Lock entwined with claws, thrown viciously towards Wang Anfeng's shoulder.

The young man's left hand held the reins while his right hand grasped the hilt of his sword. The Eight-Sided Sword left its sheath in an arc and a flick, clashing with the iron claw twice. He exerted seventy percent of his strength to deflect the weapon, using the momentum of the horse to push it away, and he quickly understood the level of his attacker's abilities.

Ninth Grade.

A cold light flashed in his eyes, and with a light tap of his right foot against the horse's flank, the sentient exotic beast nickered loudly, turning off the official road and into the dense forest to the left. The black-clad figure, like a shadowy ghost, kept close, intermittently attacking with his Qimen Weapon and laughing wickedly.

"Heh heh, now you're scared and trying to run?"

"Too late, too late, if you had stayed in that village earlier, using those lowly villagers' lives as shields, you might have survived a little longer."

"Now it's too late… too late…"

"Prepare to die, prepare to die!"

The voice was eerie, invoking a sinister martial arts technique that struck at the heart.

Wang Anfeng's composure wavered, his brow furrowing slightly as he retorted sharply,

"Lowly villagers?"

"We act in ways you wouldn't understand even if I explained!"

The voice carried inner strength, echoing like the tolling of a bell, shaking the soul. The black-clothed person's nefarious skills were instantly broken, his expression dazed for a moment. It was then that Wang Anfeng's right hand lashed out with the Whip Lock, entangling it around the trunk of a nearby large tree. The Whip Lock was pulled taut, and the young man leveraged it to vault into the air.

Though the pursuing assassin was momentarily confused, his instincts remained intact. His steel claws whirled, slicing the air ahead into an impenetrable barrier.

But Wang Anfeng used the force of the Whip Lock to swing in a large circle, gliding over the man's head and landing behind him. Riding the momentum of his inertia, his strength surged by threefold, and he landed a heavy kick squarely on the man's back.

A crack and crunch resonated, inner strength poured in, and the man's pupils dilated as blood spurted from the corner of his mouth.

Something was off, the target's strength had been miscalculated!

This thought flashed through his mind as his body, like a torn piece of cloth, was flung forward. The Green-Maned Horse, sensing its master dismount, had come to a stop just in time to turn back and face an approaching object. Startled, the horse reared up, and amid its long whinny, its hooves the size of bowls lifted and mercilessly pounded down on the man's chest.

Struck by two massive forces, one from the front and one from the back, a continuous snapping sound was heard as the man's chest bones shattered. He vomited fresh blood, the Ninth Rank Martial Artist losing all his resistance mid-air and collapsing to the ground.

In martial arts combat, life and death can be determined in a single breath.

Just then, the man in white caught up and witnessed the scene, breaking out in a cold sweat. By now, Wang Anfeng had released the Whip Lock, and traces of lightning seemed to flicker around his figure as he rushed towards the white-clothed man. Realizing evasion was futile, the latter's face twisted with ferocity as he gathered his inner strength, ready for a desperate struggle.

He stood motionless, like a statue. When Wang Anfeng came within four steps of him, inner strength rose violently, and his drooping right hand shot up like lightning, drawing his long blade that flashed like snow and slashing diagonally at what was in front of him, catching his opponent off guard.

This move encapsulated the essence of surprise, helping him escape many tight spots. However, almost in the same instant, Wang Anfeng's figure abruptly shifted to the side, evading the sharp blade's edge as if he had foreseen it.

"What?!"

The man's excited, ferocious expression suddenly froze. Desperate to dodge but already mid-attack and stiffened, he could hardly move. At the same time, the young man was already beside him, his right hand wielding a longsword across his body. As he stepped forward, he viciously clenched it around the man's throat.

Inner strength vibrated, and the seven-foot-tall man was lifted and slammed heavily onto the ground, his vision going dark.

He felt several major acupoints go cold as his inner strength suddenly became impossible to muster.

Coughing violently as he opened his eyes, he saw seven or eight glaring silver needles stuck in his body, his complexion turning pale. Wang Anfeng sheathed his sword, then with a sudden strike of the scabbard to the man's mouth, applied inner strength and knocked out all of his steel teeth to prevent suicide.

Only then did he grab the white-clothed assassin, now spitting blood from his mouth, and walked back to the Green-Maned Horse, casually tossing him to the ground.

After checking on another unlucky fellow whose ribcage was crushed by the horse's hooves and finding him only gravely injured, Wang Anfeng gave a slight nod, then used his sword to knock out all of the man's yellow teeth.

He placed silver needles on several of his acupoints, lightly flicked them with his finger, and channeled his inner strength, causing the black-clothed man to regain a semblance of consciousness.

The young man retracted the needles and regarded the two Ninth Rank Martial Artists.

He calmly said,

"Coming up, I'll ask each of you some questions separately. If your answers differ, you know what fate awaits."

"But if you speak the truth,"

his voice paused, then he continued evenly,

"Wang Anfeng won't kill you."

Having said this, he did not wait for their responses but lifted the white-clothed man and walked away.

The white-clothed martial artist, with half his body dragging on the ground and his mouth bloody, thought he heard the young man's soft voice say something, "So young and still dare to come after me?" The tone was puzzled, which made the white-clothed man feel even more terrified and hateful towards the person who had provided the intelligence.

So this is the one 'on the verge of breaking through to the Ninth Rank, skilled in swordsmanship and whip technique, with a righteous and naive character'?

Blood coughed from his lips unceasingly as he reflected on the young man's actions, all so adept and ruthless, his face full of regret and pain.

You're just a fourteen-year-old student, a fourteen-year-old keeper of books.

Why would you know these things?

And why are you so practiced?!

The white-clothed martial artist felt terror in his heart, almost to the point of crying without tears.

Who the hell is the real villain?