"Kid, it's just a martial arts manual. It costs no more than a few sheets of paper, yet you dare ask for five million? Don't you think you're going too far?!" the man said in a deep voice.
A cold glint flashed through Chen Xiaofan's eyes. "Aren't you the one going too far? If you think it's too expensive, don't buy it. If you don't have the money, get lost!"
"Who said I don't have money? I just don't think it's worth it! It's only a few pages, yet you dare ask for five million? Don't get too full of yourself!"
The man snorted coldly. "The most expensive martial art I've ever seen didn't even cost a million. You open your mouth and ask for five million? Outrageous!"
"I already said I'm not selling it. What else do you want? You want to fight?" Chen Xiaofan got straight to the point.
As he spoke, he directly drew the sword in his hand.
The sword had just been sheathed, but since the other party insisted on causing trouble, he did not mind drawing it again.
This time, he was not drawing it to test it, but to—kill!
"Oh? You actually dare draw a weapon? That sword strike of yours was indeed powerful, but you're only a seven-year-old child. Can you really unleash such a powerful strike every time?!"
Seeing that Chen Xiaofan was about to attack at the slightest disagreement, the man immediately laughed.
That astonishing sword strike from before could not possibly be used every single time. It had merely been the result of a sudden moment of enlightenment!
If he could strike like that every time, it would be impossible!
How could a seven-year-old child sweep through an army with every sword strike?
"You talk too much. If you've got the guts, take one of my swords!" Chen Xiaofan finally lost his patience and spoke coldly.
He still had to hurry to Mount Wudang. He had no time to waste talking nonsense with this man!
"Fine! But wait a moment. My companion hasn't arrived yet!"
The man snorted heavily and suddenly took something from his pocket, firing it into the sky.
With a boom, a firework shot into the air and exploded, forming the large characters: "Gather."
The next moment, the sound of fierce wind whistling came from afar, as though someone was rushing over.
Chen Xiaofan looked up and saw a Man in Black carrying an Azure Dragon Saber. He was using a Lightness Skill to skim across the water, rapidly approaching from the opposite shore of the lake.
"So you called a companion?" Chen Xiaofan chuckled.
What did it matter if he called someone? Since he had come, Chen Xiaofan would cut him down too!
Very soon, the Man in Black arrived before them.
"Senior Disciple Brother, this person possesses an incredibly powerful sword technique. With one sword strike, it was simply astonishing!"
"The lake erupted into thousand-foot waves, and countless droplets pierced through the forest! He was the one who unleashed it!"
"We absolutely cannot let such a sword technique fall into someone else's hands. We must obtain it!"
The man cupped his fists respectfully toward the Man in Black.
The Man in Black was his Senior Disciple Brother. His martial arts were formidable, and he was a Late Xiantian expert, just one step away from reaching Great Perfection.
In truth, although he believed Chen Xiaofan could not unleash such an extraordinary sword strike every time, he still dared not underestimate him. That was why he had called for help!
"What? You're not joking? A mere seven-year-old child can actually unleash such a sword strike?"
After learning what had happened, Senior Disciple Brother was startled. He looked at Chen Xiaofan with utter disbelief.
"Yes, Senior Disciple Brother. Don't doubt it. This kid is terrifying. I suggested buying the martial art from him, but he..." The man quickly explained everything that had happened.
"Hiss! Incredible! Incredible! A seven-year-old child accidentally learned a peerless sword technique, and one strike was already so terrifying! If we learned such a sword technique too, wouldn't we soar to the heavens in a single step? We could establish our own sect and become founding masters!"
The Man in Black was instantly overjoyed. His eyes reddened as he stared at Chen Xiaofan!
He added, "Junior Brother, no one else can be allowed to learn of such a supreme art!"
"Of course!" The man, named Ma Tao, said as he cupped his fists.
The Man in Black stared greedily at Chen Xiaofan. "You cannot possibly unleash such a supreme technique every time. Hand over the martial art if you know what's good for you, or don't blame me for showing no mercy!"
Ma Tao sneered viciously. "My Senior Disciple Brother is a dignified Late Xiantian expert. I'm slightly weaker, at Mid Xiantian. You're just a little child. Even if you had cultivated from your mother's womb, you couldn't possibly reach our level! Hand it over if you know what's good for you, or the two of us will attack together, and you'll be no match for us!"
Chen Xiaofan gave a cold laugh. "I can unleash this sword technique every time. Open your dog eyes and see whether I can or not!"
The moment his words fell, he attacked!
Swish!
A streak of sword light soared into the sky like a rising sun. Heavenly Dragon City Breaker descended, and his sword slashed into the great lake!
With a heaven-shaking boom, thousand-foot waves erupted from the lake. Countless droplets shot in every direction like sharp arrows!
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The trees along the shore were pierced through one after another, collapsing in rows and becoming riddled with holes!
Then—
Before the utterly shocked, dumbfounded gazes of the Man in Black and Ma Tao, Chen Xiaofan moved as swiftly as lightning and struck again!
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
This time, he unleashed three sword strikes in one breath!
Boom!
Rumble~~!!
Towering waves exploded across the lake's surface, like heavenly swords piercing into the clouds!
Sparkling droplets burst outward in fan-shaped sprays, shooting in every direction!
Under that terrifying power, every tree growing near the great lake, regardless of size, was pierced full of holes by the water droplets before collapsing and exploding into fragments!
Once the barrage ended, every tree around the lake had been pulverized into dust!
Even the pebbles scattered across the shore were blasted into powder by the water droplets, turning into dust!
Ma Tao and the Man in Black both stood frozen in place, their mouths hanging open.
Th-this... this... four consecutive sword strikes? Was this real?
Was this truly power that a human could unleash?
After snapping out of it, their faces burned so fiercely that they wished they could crawl into a crack in the ground!
What had they said just now? That Chen Xiaofan could not possibly unleash such astonishing sword strikes every time? Yet now, all four consecutive strikes had been equally terrifying, slapping them across the face again and again!
"Now tell me, can I unleash such a sword strike every time?" Chen Xiaofan said calmly, his white robes billowing and his hair dancing in the wind.
With his Heaven-Defying Comprehension, every move he made greatly increased his proficiency, producing extraordinary results!
For example, the proficiency he gained from practicing once was equivalent to someone else practicing hundreds or thousands of times!
And these four strikes had increased his proficiency by quite a bit, directly maxing out the Wind Thunder Earth Fire Form Intent Sword!
"Th-this..." Ma Tao and the Man in Black looked at each other, each seeing deep disbelief in the other's eyes!
So he really could unleash it. They had misjudged him!
"He really can unleash it every time... So we actually encountered an expert!"
"Heavens, how is this possible? He's only a seven-year-old child. How can this be..."
The two were horrified and stood there in a daze.
Because they had believed this sword technique to be immensely terrifying and unfathomably profound, they had thought it impossible for him to wield it with such power every time—especially as a seven-year-old child. That was why they had dared to threaten and pressure him without letting up!
But this scene was simply... too shocking!
They felt their faces turning red.
Suddenly, they belatedly realized something.
This was bad. He would not let them go!
Thump!
Thump!
It was the sound of their hearts beating.
Their hearts pounded violently, nearly bursting from their chests. The intense premonition of death chilled their spines, and cold sweat streamed down their faces. They had just threatened and pressured him, forcing him into a corner. Now, he would surely kill them for revenge. Such things were perfectly normal in the martial world!
"W-we spoke without restraint just now. We hope you..."
Swish!
One sword strike flashed past. The Man in Black had no chance to retaliate before his head flew off, exploding into pieces before Ma Tao's horrified eyes!
Immediately afterward, another sword strike split his body vertically down the middle. Organs and bone fragments flew everywhere as a rain of blood poured down!
Splurt!
Blood splashed all over Ma Tao's face!
Ma Tao's expression changed drastically. His soul nearly fled his body, and he could not utter a single word. He dropped to his knees with a thump, repeatedly bowing and begging Chen Xiaofan to spare his life.
His Senior Disciple Brother was a dignified Late Xiantian expert, yet he had been slaughtered in an instant like a tiny ant before Chen Xiaofan. This child's strength far surpassed theirs!
"You dared provoke a Great Grandmaster? You truly have some nerve!" At that moment, a voice came from behind him.
Ma Tao jolted awake from his dying panic and hurriedly turned around. He saw a group of people rapidly rushing over from afar.
Perhaps feeling that they were too slow, the leader suddenly leaped into the air. Before his horse arrived, he had already landed before Chen Xiaofan. He respectfully cupped his fists and said, "Sir, I should have sent people to escort you. Allowing you to be troubled by this was my oversight!"
It was actually Wang Tong.
Chen Xiaofan immediately understood. They must have just caught up and intended to escort him to Wudang, only to happen upon this scene.
He shook his head. "No need."
Meanwhile, a storm had already risen in Ma Tao's heart. A Great Grandmaster? Was this real? A seven-year-old Great Grandmaster?
That was his final thought.
With a soft puff, blood spurted like a fountain.
He did not even see Chen Xiaofan's sword light before his head separated from his neck. Even the bone fragments were sliced into pieces by the blade, flesh and blood scattering everywhere as he fell dead.
At the moment of death, there was only one thought in his mind: Why had he provoked him?
After killing the two, Chen Xiaofan searched their bodies and found a small cloth pouch.
Opening it, he found six thousand taels of gleaming silver inside, along with several medicinal herbs and ointments.
"Throw the corpses into the lake. Don't let them trouble Senior!" Wang Tong ordered.
"Yes!" Several people immediately stepped forward to clean up the scene.
Once everything was settled, Chen Xiaofan said, "You don't need to escort me. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave."
With Sword Riding Flight, he could travel as fast as he wanted. Why would he need anyone to escort him?
"Th-this..." Wang Tong wanted to say something, but Chen Xiaofan had already vanished. He could only stand there in stunned silence.
"It's so hot. I should find somewhere to rest for a while."
Under the blazing sun, Chen Xiaofan flew high in the sky, drenched in sweat.
It had already been two consecutive days of flight. Ever since parting with Wang Tong, he had encountered nothing else along the way, and his journey had been smooth.
Yet for some reason, though it was clearly spring, the sun burned like fire overhead. The scorching sunlight stung his skin, leaving him drenched in sweat.
Even with such strong winds at high altitude, he was sweating all over. That was enough to show just how hot the weather was.
After flying a while longer, the outline of a city gradually appeared ahead. Pedestrians filled the streets, while carriages and horses flowed endlessly.
Chen Xiaofan was delighted and quickly flew over. Before long, he landed outside the city gate.
There was no one at the gate, nor were there any guards. Chen Xiaofan entered the city without issue.
Not long after, he successfully found an inn.
The maid greeting customers outside this inn was quite attractive. Her skin was fair and tender, her figure curvaceous and graceful, and she kept swaying her long, pale legs as she solicited customers at the entrance.
"Fulai Inn, Fulai Inn! Rooms are heavily discounted today! New and returning customers are all welcome!"
"Oh? Little brother, you're so handsome. Come, let big sister give you a hug."
Suddenly, the maid spotted Chen Xiaofan. His red lips and white teeth made him look quite adorable, and she liked him very much. Since he was heading into the inn anyway, she simply scooped him into her arms.
She was in her early twenties, much older than Chen Xiaofan. With a gentle embrace, she held him close.
Chen Xiaofan felt like he could barely breathe.
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