Chapter Forty-Two: The Double Dragon Brothers Confront Bai Feng

"This woman may be beautiful, but who would have thought her heart is so venomous," said the impulsive Jimmy, casting a glance at Bai Feng before speaking to his brother Billy.

Bai Feng's delicate brows instantly shot upward. No one would be pleased to be called a 'heartless woman,' especially someone as powerful and psychologically dominant as she was. A murderous aura arose around her.

That aura, intangible as it may seem, is real enough; executioners of old, for example, often carried a fearsome presence after countless killings.

Billy and Jimmy, both masters of Jeet Kune Do, were keenly sensitive to such auras. At the instant Bai Feng’s killing intent appeared, their expressions hardened. That aura alone was enough to tell them that she was an expert who had taken many lives.

"No wonder Mr. Wang Ling warned us; he said his fiancée was strong and fierce. Brother, let's go!" Normally, as martial arts masters, the prospect of ganging up on a woman would be beneath them, but Wang Ling’s earlier warning and Bai Feng’s current killing intent made Billy speak gravely.

"I don't want to kill you. Stand aside!" Bai Feng’s aura grew even more concentrated. She was inwardly puzzled: Wang Ling must be that dreamer’s name, but why did Billy mention his fiancée?

Billy and Jimmy’s faces darkened. Accustomed to respect, they had never before been spoken to so bluntly—though Bai Feng was always thus with others. The brothers exchanged a glance; Jimmy raised his nunchaku, its steel tip whirling like a snake straight for Bai Feng’s right arm.

In truth, this attack should have been aimed at her head or heart. The steel nunchaku, driven by the explosive force of Jeet Kune Do, could easily crack stone in a single strike; a blow to the skull would shatter bone, to the chest would pulverize ribs, and the force would rupture the heart. Yet they hesitated to kill a woman outright, so they targeted her arm—if struck, it would be rendered useless in combat.

But Jimmy was startled by what happened next. Bai Feng’s body suddenly surged with milky-white light. Her hands came together to form a white sphere of energy, which she pushed upward, catching the nunchaku tip as it struck.

With a muffled burst, the white energy sphere exploded under the impact, but the resulting shockwave sent the nunchaku flying back.

Jimmy stepped back, shocked. "This is what Master once spoke of—a supreme martial realm, mastery of internal energy, refined to the point one can project it outward for defense and shaping! I never expected her to be at this level!"

Billy, equally stunned, stared at Bai Feng. The ethereal woman was still enveloped in a layer of white light, giving her an almost sanctified air. She had just gathered energy in her palms to form a sphere capable of deflecting a steel nunchaku thrust—surely this was the legendary mastery, where energy could shield the body and be shaped into projectiles.

In truth, Billy and Jimmy could one day reach such heights themselves, but only after awakening the Dragon Soul and drawing upon its power.

Bai Feng was not a martial arts expert per se; the white light around her was battle energy. Yet whether it was battle energy, internal energy, or Dragon Soul power, all were ultimately forms of energy. To manipulate energy, regardless of true strength, is a level above merely wielding the body and weapons.

"Together!"

Billy roared, his bones cracking audibly as tendons and muscles flexed. His arms exploded with force, swinging the nunchaku, while Jimmy circled behind Bai Feng, whipping up a fierce wind with his own nunchaku aimed at her occiput.

Against such foes, the brothers held nothing back. Their combined attack sent shockwaves through the air, the nunchaku whistling with explosive force!

Though Bai Feng’s battle energy shielded her, she dared not let two masters strike her with steel nunchaku. In an instant, a Hero's Sword appeared in her hand. She spun, drew the sword, and raised both blade and scabbard to block the twin attacks.

Her swift, precise movements revealed not only her command of battle energy, but also her excellent combat instincts and reflexes—a true close-quarters dreamer.

Billy and Jimmy, their attack thwarted, retreated and spun their nunchaku in mesmerizing patterns, uttering sharp cries to disrupt her focus. Their footwork swayed side to side, their bodies elusive, giving the impression that they might explode into action or retreat at any moment, making their next moves impossible to predict.

The Double Dragon brothers circled Bai Feng, always maintaining their pincer formation—one in front, one behind—increasing the difficulty of defense exponentially.

Their seamless coordination spoke to their brotherhood. Practitioners of Jeet Kune Do, they had sparred with masters of every style, their eyes sharp. The woman’s energy shield could likely block fists and feet, but the steel nunchaku, swung with hundreds of pounds of force and the penetration of thrusts, would not be so easily stopped.

Bai Feng’s use of weapons to block the nunchaku confirmed that her white energy could not withstand such strikes. If the brothers launched rapid attacks while moving, disrupting her rhythm and exposing flaws, there was still a chance to defeat this super-expert capable of shielding and shaping energy.

Both Billy and Jimmy were grateful to have steel weapons—especially their familiar nunchaku.

"Yaha!"

Billy suddenly lunged forward, shouting, and hurled his nunchaku with a deafening blast. Jimmy, on the other side, spun his nunchaku, producing a buzzing drone like a propeller, slicing through the air at high speed.

Bai Feng raised her scabbard to block the spinning strike, sending a shower of red sparks from the metal. Her sword swept out in her right hand, unleashing a blade of white light that struck Jimmy’s nunchaku, leaving a thin crack on its surface.

Even a steel nunchaku bore the mark of that sword’s power—its strength was clear! Billy’s attack was intercepted; he roared, his shoulder trembling, arm sinking, shifting the momentum from forward to downward, sweeping the nunchaku toward Bai Feng’s legs.

Jimmy’s nunchaku rebounded off the scabbard; his left hand shot out, seized the returning weapon, spun it around his body, then transferred it to his right hand, striking Bai Feng’s temple like lightning.

That strike, borrowing and amplifying the rebound's force, tore through the air with a sharp whistle. Even with a layer of battle energy, if it landed, her temple would surely burst.

Faced with such attacks, Bai Feng found defense increasingly difficult. She detonated her battle energy, sending out a layer of white light, whipping up a storm of glowing wind that slowed the nunchaku assaults.

In that instant, Bai Feng spun her sword and scabbard together, turning herself into a spinning top. Sword tip and scabbard tip drew out threads of light, and her whole body rotated rapidly in place, forming a white tornado over two meters in diameter and ten meters tall.

"Battle Energy Storm!"

This was one of Bai Feng’s self-created ultimate techniques: detonating energy into a whirling storm, sword and scabbard weaving cutting threads of light. Anyone caught in the Battle Energy Storm would be shredded, weapon and armor alike, dissolved in the radiance!

But Bai Feng had no intention of destroying the Double Dragon brothers—they were vital plot protagonists. Killing them would be disastrous; moreover, her important plan in this world required their strength.

If she killed them, the price she had paid to enter this world would be wasted—not merely a rare 'Mission Scenario Card,' but more.

Her character was strong and competitive, ranked third among over 5,000 dreamers in the beginner zone. Soon she would face a promotion quest, and her power ensured success into the intermediate zone. She refused to fall behind, so her plan must succeed—and the Double Dragon brothers must survive, at least until then!

This Battle Energy Storm was meant to shatter their annoying nunchaku. Their combined attacks with nunchaku were incredibly fast and powerful. Though Bai Feng had trained in swordsmanship with Marcus the Paladin in Fire Emblem’s world, and drilled as a mercenary, defending against their strikes was taxing.

After all, the brothers’ tight coordination and mastery of short, quick attacks made their pincer assault unpredictable and troublesome. Without Bai Feng’s skill, even with battle energy, her shield could have been broken and she would have died beneath their weapons.

The storm spun and howled like a whistle, and the naked eye could see lines of light tearing through the air, distorting vision with blurred ripples.

The ferocity of this attack was undeniable.

Bai Feng spun in place, so the storm threatened the brothers little—but their nunchaku, still in motion, were sucked into the light tornado before they could retrieve them.

Billy and Jimmy were aghast, retreating quickly. A barrage of 'bang bang bang' echoed as the storm dissipated. Bai Feng, sword in right hand, scabbard in left, her face—normally as flawless as white jade—now flushed, sweat dotting her brow. Clearly, the ultimate technique had cost her dearly in energy and stamina.

At her feet lay dozens of broken metal shards and rings: two fine steel nunchaku, reduced to ruins.

Bai Feng looked up and saw that, in the delay, the helicopter had already carried Wang Ling away. She steadied herself, calmed her turbulent energy, and prepared to pursue. Yet the Double Dragon brothers again stepped in her way.

"Do you want to die?" Bai Feng was truly furious now. Her speed was slow, and with the brothers blocking her, she could not break free. She’d thought that destroying their weapons would make them retreat, but they still dared to obstruct her.

It would be easy enough to defeat them now, bereft of weapons, but any delay would let the helicopter vanish from sight and she would lose Wang Ling’s trail.

Billy smiled. "You don’t want to kill us; otherwise, it wouldn’t just be the nunchaku that were shattered. Since our lives are not in danger, we must fulfill Wang Ling’s request to stop you—even if we cannot hold you back, we can at least delay you."

Jimmy added, "Wang Ling does not love you, so why do you persist? Even if you capture him, you will have his body, not his heart, and your future will not be happy. So let him go."

Bai Feng was stunned for a full ten seconds before realizing what Jimmy meant. Her face flushed scarlet, nearly to the point of coughing blood in rage!

(Now, I’m ranked third among newcomers, but the gap to first place is quite large—it seems I won’t make it, so I can relax and prepare six chapters for the backlog. Everyone, keep voting and push me to second! If I reach second, I’ll release six chapters on Sunday! Based on Saturday night's results, I’ll decide how much to write for Sunday. Each chapter is over 3,000 words; six chapters will be more than 20,000! Please vote and support! Thank you!)