Battle Innate!

To be honest, Huang Ling's terms were very generous. If Laiyang City had remained peaceful, and if Huang Ling hadn't targeted the people of the Ox Demon Martial Arts School, Shen Fan might have agreed.

But there were no "ifs." Huang Ling would never give up the chance to rule all of Laiyang, and the people of the Ox Demon Martial Arts School would inevitably become targets of his suppression.

Even other Martial Arts Schools would inevitably face the fate of vanishing into thin air.

This was a game of power, where the victor dominated all and the loser died without a whole corpse.

Therefore, for the sake of the Ox Demon Martial Arts School, which he was more familiar with and felt more affection for, Shen Fan could not pledge allegiance to Huang Ling. As for the tempting offer Huang Ling had made, Shen Fan was indeed tempted.

However, he believed that even without joining him, he had another way to obtain everything he desired.

Defeat him, kill him, and wouldn't everything eventually belong to him?

Faced with Shen Fan's refusal, Huang Ling finally erupted.

"You little brat, you refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! Since that's the case, let this old man show you the immensity of heaven and earth!"

As Huang Ling spoke, he secretly gathered his True Qi. He knew the fellow before him was no simple opponent, so he decided to unleash his strongest move directly!

Nearly half of his True Qi gathered in his hand, slowly transforming and carrying a trace of chilling energy, which was the attribute of Huang Ling's cultivation method.

At the Innate realm, cultivation methods all possessed attributes that determined a Martial Artist's development path.

Huang Ling practiced an Innate cultivation method called Cold Shadow Art. Cultivating this method would generate a surge of ice-attribute True Qi within Huang Ling's body. This True Qi possessed immense destructive power and was a typical combat attribute.

Wisps of blue ice crystals gathered in Huang Ling's palm, a result of pushing the Cold Shadow Art to its absolute limit.

While everyone was distracted, Huang Ling struck directly at Shen Fan with a palm.

The crowd gasped in shock, unable to help but cry out, "Be careful!"

To ordinary people, Huang Ling, while channeling True Qi, moved so fast he left afterimages. Such a swift attack was likely impossible to dodge.

Just as everyone thought Shen Fan was doomed, they were surprised to see the young man actually smile.

Yes, Shen Fan was smiling. He watched Huang Ling, who descended like a fierce tiger from the mountain, without a trace of fear. On the contrary, intense fighting intent erupted from him.

The moment Huang Ling attacked, Shen Fan had already taken notice. As a Martial Artist, one must never miss any opening during combat.

Shen Fan hadn't known the gap between himself and an Innate Martial Artist before, but after feeling the pressure from Huang Ling, he realized that Innate experts didn't seem all that impressive.

Although the opponent's True Qi gave him a slight sense of danger, it was just that. It didn't give him the feeling that he would die immediately.

This meant that the opponent's True Qi seemingly couldn't kill him!

Since that was the case, what did Shen Fan have to fear? Disregarding everything, Shen Fan directly raised his fist to meet the attack.

Wrapped in a thick layer of Qi and Blood, Shen Fan's strike also unleashed his full power.

Fist and palm collided. Just as Huang Ling was secretly pleased, he suddenly realized that the situation was somewhat beyond his expectations.

Normally, the quality of True Qi was far superior to Qi and Blood, making its attack naturally more ferocious.

But he hadn't expected that, whether it was because his True Qi was too thin or Shen Fan's Qi and Blood was too potent, his Cold Shadow True Qi began to melt the moment it came into contact with the opponent's Qi and Blood!

Moreover, as Shen Fan's Qi and Blood surged, the melting speed of the Cold Shadow True Qi accelerated. If he didn't replenish it quickly, Shen Fan's fist would undoubtedly smash his head directly.

Huang Ling gritted his teeth, constantly squeezing out the limited True Qi within him. He looked at Shen Fan, whose complexion remained ruddy, and was so angry he felt like his teeth would shatter.

"How could this be? Die for me!"

Huang Ling's roar caused the expressions of everyone present to change, but Shen Fan, facing him, remained unfazed, appearing calm and composed.

"City Lord Huang, if your True Qi runs out, I wonder if you can still block my fist!"

Shen Fan threatened. The Qi and Blood within his body were also rapidly depleting, but compared to his total reserves, the consumption was not significant.

Huang Ling's eyes blazed. If he could, he truly wanted to inject all his Cold Shadow True Qi into the opponent's body, making him experience the torment of cold poison consuming his flesh.

But unfortunately, he was the weakest Innate, and his True Qi was quickly depleted.

When the True Qi in his palm was exhausted, Shen Fan suddenly felt the opponent's palm force weaken considerably.

Without hesitation, he pressed his fist forward. Huang Ling's wrist twisted into a bizarre angle, the sound of bone cracking crisp and clear.

Huang Ling couldn't help but cry out in pain. The intense agony made his eyes red. "Ah—Brat, I'll kill you!"

But Shen Fan wouldn't indulge him. Without True Qi, Huang Ling was essentially just an ordinary peak Viscera Tempering realm cultivator. Such strength posed no threat to Shen Fan anymore.

His phantom-like figure flickered again. When he stopped, Huang Ling was once again beaten to the ground.

Shen Fan stepped on Huang Ling's head, his gaze indifferent.

The experts from the City Lord's Mansion cried out in alarm, seemingly unable to believe that their invincible City Lord had been defeated, and so quickly.

Like a dead dog being stepped on, Huang Ling felt an unprecedented sense of humiliation, swallowing the blood mixed with tears in his mouth.

However, he wasn't despairing yet. Yes, although Huang Ling had been defeated, he still felt he had a chance. It was like this decades ago; he had been defeated but still survived.

This was simply because he was a City Lord appointed by the Great Xia Dynasty!

"Brat, you've won. However, this old man will not admit defeat. One day, I will win back!" Huang Ling vowed confidently.

Because of some underlying confidence, he still dared to issue threats.

"Hmm? Why do you have such thoughts? Aren't you afraid I'll kill you? Shouldn't you be kneeling and begging for mercy at this moment?" Shen Fan asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Kill me? Hahahaha! Brat, you truly are a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger. Do you know why this old man has been this City Lord for so many years without anyone daring to touch me?"

"That's because I'm a registered official of the Great Xia Dynasty. Do you dare kill me? Aren't you afraid of being hunted by the Great Xia court?"

Huang Ling looked like he had Shen Fan completely cornered.

Zhang Longyun, who was standing nearby, quickly walked over and said, "Shen Fan, forget it. Let him go. He's the City Lord of Laiyang City, after all. Killing him will bring you a lot of trouble!"

"When Father and the other seniors founded the Martial Arts School back then, they didn't dare do anything to this guy, precisely because they were wary of his official status."

"Hahaha, did you hear that, you little bastard? Let me go quickly, or I'll definitely report you to the court and have them exterminate your nine generations of kin!"

Huang Ling's face was covered in blood, but it didn't stop him from speaking animatedly.

However, Shen Fan inexplicably said, "The Great Xia is going to fall!"

Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, he stomped and crushed Huang Ling's head. Huang Ling didn't understand before he died why this guy wasn't bothered by his status. Was he really not afraid of retribution from the court?

Zhang Longyun stared at Shen Fan, dumbfounded, not knowing what to say.

The others looked at him as if he were a god of death. Only Steward Qian, like a mad dog, leaped out, shouting, "Hahaha, you're dead! You killed the master, you're dead! The court will definitely send people to kill you, hahaha..."

"Noisy!"

Shen Fan waved his hand impatiently, and a powerful force directly snapped Steward Qian's neck. A Viscera Tempering Martial Artist was thus swatted to death like a mosquito.

The people present shivered as if in a cold snap, not daring to breathe loudly.

Zhang Longyun wiped the blood splattered on his face, glanced at Shen Fan, and said, "You should leave quickly!"

"Leave? Why should I leave?" Shen Fan didn't understand.

He glanced at the corpse on the ground and chuckled, "I don't know what you guys are thinking. You're so wary just because of someone's status?"

"Don't even mention that this person is just a City Lord. Even if it were a prince, he would die if he provoked me!"

"The Great Xia Dynasty is very strong, but so what? After all these decades, have you seen anyone from the Great Xia court?"

"No! It's been like this for decades. The Great Xia is already struggling to handle its own affairs, so how could it possibly send experts for a mere City Lord?"

"Master, don't you also know that warlords are rising everywhere outside, with heroes vying for power? If the Great Xia court still had any authority, how could those people be so rampant?"

"Therefore, don't worry about me. The Great Xia is old and can't stir up trouble anymore! The future world will be decided by strength!"

Shen Fan's rebellious words stunned everyone present. But when they thought about it carefully, it seemed to make sense.

Thus, in their eyes, besides fear, there was also a hint of admiration for Shen Fan!

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