Clashing

"Neither of you needs to be nervous, Junior Sisters. I'm only here to uphold justice." The young man named Zhang Ting was clearly from the Inner Court.

"Uphold justice? Then why are you blocking our way?" Zhang Rumeng frowned too, her eyes full of disgust.

"Junior Sister Rumeng, what's with that look? How could I ever hurt you? Zhang Lin, let the two Junior Sisters through." Zhang Ting's eyes narrowed slightly as he spoke with a faint, mocking smile.

"Brother..." Zhang Lin seemed reluctant, but under Zhang Ting's gaze, he still stepped aside.

Chen Fan remained expressionless. From Zhang Ting's words, he had already gathered that the other man had only told them to let Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng through—not him.

Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng weren't fools either; they had naturally understood what he meant. For a moment, neither of them moved. They only glared at Zhang Ting, their faces icy.

"Junior Sisters, why aren't you leaving? Could it be you'd like to share a little romance with your senior brother?" Zhang Ting said with a smile.

"This is Heavy Sword Peak," Chen Jingjing said coldly.

"You know this is Heavy Sword Peak? Then what happened to the injury on my clan brother's face? Chen Fan, are you planning to hide behind your younger sister forever?" As Zhang Ting spoke, the smile vanished from his face. He glared at Chen Fan, his expression dark.

"Zhang Ting, you're already at Qi Refining Layer 6. Are you planning to attack us?" Zhang Rumeng asked with a frown.

"Junior Sister Rumeng, don't worry. How could I bear to hurt you?" With his hands clasped behind his back, Zhang Ting slowly walked toward Chen Fan.

"But this Junior Brother Chen Fan, at Qi Refining Layer 4, bullied my clan brother, who's only at Qi Refining Layer 3. If I repay him in kind, there shouldn't be anything wrong with that, right, Junior Brother Chen Fan?" Zhang Ting came to a stop beside Chen Fan. He practically ground out those final words, one by one.

"You're not good enough." Chen Fan gave a slight shake of his head.

"What?" Zhang Ting froze, not understanding what Chen Fan meant.

"You're no match for me," Chen Fan said again, his tone indifferent.

The words shocked everyone present!

Nalan Yun and the others looked delighted at the prospect, while Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng were both aghast—a stark contrast.

Zhang Ting's face darkened further, and a cruel smile appeared on his lips. "Whether you're a match for me isn't decided by running your mouth. Do you dare to fight me to the death?"

"Zhang Ting, don't push it," Chen Jingjing immediately snapped.

"Junior Sister Qingqing, that's no way to speak to your senior brother." Zhang Ting turned to Chen Fan, his face full of scorn. "Do you dare?"

"Chen Fan, ignore him." Chen Jingjing feared Chen Fan would be too proud to back down and would accept in a moment of impulse.

"Where?" But the two calm words Chen Fan uttered nearly made Chen Jingjing faint.

"Then tomorrow. Meet me at the Martial Arts Arena," Zhang Ting said with a triumphant smile, a glint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

"Tomorrow won't do. If we're fighting, let's do it now. I don't have time to play around with you," Chen Fan said, shaking his head.

"Fine! Just wait. I'll go get a Life and Death Order from an Elder right now." Zhang Ting froze, then broke into a mocking grin before turning and walking away.

"No, Chen Fan, you can't fight him." Chen Jingjing grabbed Chen Fan's sleeve and shook her head.

"This man is stronger than you. If I beat him, it'll be as good as beating you, and your second condition will be fulfilled," Chen Fan said.

"This... this is a fight to the death. Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Chen Jingjing's face turned icy. "Remember, once you get on the stage, surrender immediately. Do you hear me? You can't throw away your bright future here."

"There's no surrender and no backing down on my Sword Immortal Path," Chen Fan said gravely. A scene from the moment of his death in his previous life rose in his mind.

"You..." Chen Jingjing was both angry and anxious.

Nalan Yun and the others, meanwhile, were full of delight. Zhang Lin looked especially pleased, as if he could already see his clan brother Zhang Ting blasting Chen Fan to death.

Although Heavy Sword Peak had a rule against fighting to the death, in this world, where strength ruled, such rules couldn't be fully enforced. So another rule had later been introduced: the "Fight to the Death."

As long as both parties signed a Life and Death Order, their lives and deaths would be decided on the Martial Arts Arena. But there was one principle: if either party signaled that they were surrendering on the stage, the other party could not continue attacking. Otherwise, the witness would kill them.

"Chen Fan, I gave you a chance yesterday. It's a pity you didn't treasure it," Nalan Yun said, looking at Chen Fan with pity.

"Come on. Let's wait at the Martial Arts Arena. If you don't dare show up, I'm afraid things will end even worse for you." Zhang Lin looked at Chen Fan with a mocking grin. Then the three of them turned and headed for the Martial Arts Arena.

Chen Fan remained silent and paid them no heed. Only after the three had gone far away did he slowly start walking.

As far as he knew, the Martial Arts Arena was in the large square between the Inner Court and the Outer Court.

That meant that whenever there was a contest or anything of the sort, practically the entire sect would hear about it—and might even come to watch.

That was what Chen Fan disliked most. He didn't like drawing attention, but flies always seemed to come buzzing around him.

"Chen Fan, you have to surrender. Have you forgotten Father's dying wish?" Chen Jingjing said from behind him.

"Do you recognize this talisman?" After hearing her, Chen Fan hesitated for a moment, then took five yellow talismans from his pack.

"The Five Elements Strange Sword Talisman? How did you get such a precious talisman?" Chen Jingjing cried out in surprise.

Zhang Rumeng also stared at Chen Fan in astonishment. She knew that, given the Chen Clan's current circumstances, they couldn't possibly afford to buy such precious talismans.

"Watch carefully later. I'll only use them once," Chen Fan said calmly, paying no heed to their surprise.

These talismans were naturally the results of his work last night. If he hadn't been thinking of Chen Jingjing, he would already have been on his way to Demon King Valley.

As time passed, the disciples of Heavy Sword Peak seemed to have heard some news. They poured out in droves, rushing toward the Martial Arts Arena.

"Have you heard? That idiot Chen Fan is going to fight Senior Brother Zhang Ting from the Inner Court to the death." An Outer Court disciple was discussing it with someone, looking thoroughly excited.

"Look, isn't that idiot Chen Fan? He really is at the Martial Arts Arena!" The disciple beside him spotted Chen Fan in the distance and pointed at him in surprise.

The Inner Court disciples were in even greater uproar. They had heard of Zhang Ting's reputation: he was a womanizer, and bullying the weak with his strength was one of his specialties.

"Who's this Chen Fan? Of all people, he had to provoke Zhang Ting." An Inner Court disciple shook his head.

"I heard he's Chen Jingjing's elder brother. He's still in the Outer Court."

"Someone saw him just now. He's already at Qi Refining Layer 4, so I suppose he came to join the Inner Court today. I didn't expect Zhang Ting to stop him. What a pity. Once he's in a fight to the death, he'll either have to be quick-eyed and surrender, or perish here."

By the time Zhang Ting emerged from the Inner Court with a Life and Death Order in hand and an Elder beside him, the Martial Arts Arena was already surrounded by a good number of disciples. Chen Fan and the others had been pushed down below the stage.

"Chen Fan, what are you trying to do?" Chen Jingjing looked at Chen Fan, her face pale.

"Don't be reckless. Surrender first. With your talent, you'll surely have a chance to wash away this humiliation someday." Zhang Rumeng tried to persuade him too.

Chen Fan said nothing. He held five yellow talismans between two fingers and waited calmly for Zhang Ting to arrive.

Just then, a little head appeared in the crowd, pushing its way toward Chen Fan.

"Brother Chen Fan, are you going to fight someone?" Little Medicine Boy Ye Xiaotian asked nervously.

"Mm." Chen Fan saw who it was and nodded slightly.

Little Medicine Boy squeezed up beside him with a secretive air, slipped something into his hand, and whispered:

"Brother Chen Fan, this is a Virility Pill I stole from my master. They say it can increase a man's power several times over."

Though his voice was low, some attentive people nearby still heard him. An Outer Court disciple nearly laughed himself sick.

"Little Medicine Boy, th-that pill does increase a man's power, but it only works if your opponent is a woman! Hahaha." The Outer Court disciple rubbed Little Medicine Boy's head, looking both amused and exasperated.

Chen Fan smiled faintly too. "I don't need a pill. Watch this fight closely; it might be useful to you in the future."

"Oh, all right." Little Medicine Boy could only nod and put the pill away.

Zhang Rumeng and Chen Jingjing were already blushing furiously. They had heard of this sort of pill, which had nothing to do with cultivation. They couldn't help cursing Little Medicine Boy's master as an old lecher, and they also shot the Outer Court disciple a fierce glare.

"Little Medicine Boy, throw that pill away when we get back," Zhang Rumeng said.

As soon as she finished speaking, a figure suddenly flew over everyone's heads and landed on the Martial Arts Arena.

"Chen Fan, get your ass up here!" Zhang Ting stood with his hands behind his back, looking imposing.

Chen Fan's brow furrowed slightly. He took a step with an enigmatic gait and appeared on the Martial Arts Arena in an instant, drawing a chorus of astonished gasps from the crowd below. Even the Elder who had come with Zhang Ting couldn't help but freeze.

"Qingqing, why does that movement technique look so familiar?" Zhang Rumeng asked, puzzled.

"Formless Step." Chen Jingjing's face was full of disbelief as she murmured the words.

Only after the two had taken the stage did the Elder slowly walk up. He had them sign the Life and Death Order and explained the rules once more before slowly stepping down. At Qi Refining Eighth Layer, he was more than qualified to act as the witness for this fight.

"Begin." The Elder swept his sleeve.

Chen Fan held five yellow talismans between his fingers and was about to cast them, but Zhang Ting smiled without the slightest trace of alarm. "The Five Elements Strange Sword Talisman? No wonder you dared to accept my challenge. Too bad you're showing off your sword in front of Guan Yu."

With that, Zhang Ting took out a talisman of his own and looked at Chen Fan with a mocking expression.

"A Soul Hooking Talisman." In the crowd below, Wang Yunlan happened to see the talisman in Zhang Ting's hand and frowned slightly.

"Zhang Ting's too vicious. To deal with someone at Qi Refining Layer 4, he's actually using a talisman to snatch his soul. If this goes on, that disciple will..." Wang Feng said in astonishment.

"The Five Elements Strange Sword Talisman can't compare to the Soul Hooking Talisman at all." Remembering what Chen Fan had said that day in the Heavenly Court, Wang Yunlan couldn't help but shake her head with a faint smile.

Zhang Ting feared Chen Fan might cry out to surrender. He didn't want to give Chen Fan that chance. As soon as he took out the talisman, he roared, and it burst into flame with a sharp hiss before he flung it away.

"Go!" At Zhang Ting's roar, the talisman suddenly exploded into a dense mass of spiritual energy, which surged into a huge, invisible vortex that slowly began to turn. A tremendous force of suction poured out from within it.

A rustling sound rang out as the air around them instantly grew chaotic. Chen Fan's robes snapped in the wind, and his figure swayed slightly under the terrifying pulling force.

Chen Fan wasted no time. He abruptly swept his hand forward, sending all five yellow talismans soaring into the air and scattering them. They became five streaks of light and struck the empty space.

"You threw all five talismans out at once?" Wang Feng said in astonishment. It was completely different from how his older sister, Wang Yunlan, used them.

"What nonsense about the Five Elements generating and overcoming one another? Throwing them all out like that is just wasting the Five Elements Strange Sword Talisman. He has no chance of contending with the Soul Hooking Talisman," Wang Yunlan said coldly.

But in the next moment, they froze.