You are too weak

The voice was not loud, yet it fell clearly into the ears of the Yellow-Robed Woman and the others, instantly stirring a flicker of shock in their hearts. When their gazes once again landed on Chen Fan, it was as if they had seen a ghost!

Qi Refining Layer 6? How could that be?

In the span of a single day, he had crossed two ranks...

"He must have been hiding his strength, hiding it from the very start when he entered." The male cultivator's eyes widened, and then a bitter smile twisted across his face: "I knew it—there's no way a Qi Refining Layer 4 could have 500 Immortal Qi points."

The Yellow-Robed Woman pursed her lips, staring at that cold, handsome face. She recalled the Demon Core Chen Fan had taken from the White-Haired Lone Wolf.

"In just one day, he refined that Demon Core?" Surprise filled the Yellow-Robed Woman's eyes. If this were true, it was simply astonishing.

The White-robed Scholar shook the Underworld Bone Fan in his hand, a cluster of eerie blue flame flickering at the fan's head, radiating a chilling, yin-cold aura.

"Underworld Fire? Evil arts." Chen Fan dispersed the blue skeletal flame, his pitch-black eyes gleaming with a trace of coldness.

"Qi Refining Layer 6, interesting!" The White-robed Scholar fanned himself twice, turned back to cast a deep, coldly smiling glance at the Yellow-Robed Woman and the other two, then faced forward again and said, "I'm curious—how did a mere Qi Refining Layer 6 use some underhanded trick to kill four of my Qi Refining Seventh Layer junior brothers in a row?"

"One sword breaks them all," Chen Fan said coldly.

"One sword breaks them all? With this broken sword of yours?" the White-robed Scholar said slowly.

"Ignorant!" Watching the mockery on the White-robed Scholar's face, Chen Fan shook his head slightly, a chill flashing in his eyes. With a cold snort, his figure blurred faintly, then transformed into an ink-black streak of lightning, his blade dragging a long yellow sword aura behind it.

The black-and-yellow lightning bolt landed before the White-robed Scholar in an instant. The sharp, piercing ring of the sword's hum, along with the scorching Blazing Heaven Sword Qi, slashed fiercely toward him.

"A mere Qi Refining Layer 6, utterly arrogant. Let me teach you that the light of a firefly can never rival the brilliance of the moon." The White-robed Scholar smiled faintly at the overwhelming sword aura.

He shook the Underworld Bone Fan in his hand twice, and a mass of bitterly cold blue flame burst forth, coiling like a python along the tip of Chen Fan's sword. The icy flame instantly froze the Blazing Heaven Sword Qi solid.

"Careful!" the Yellow-Robed Woman cried out in alarm. That Underworld Fire could burn a person's Divine Soul—even a touch could be fatal.

The male cultivator's face also changed color. No matter how weak Chen Fan might be, he was still their only hope of survival now.

The Green-robed Woman, however, showed a venomous look in her eyes, glaring at Chen Fan with malice. "Utterly foolish! If he'd taken the two thousand Immortal Qi and hidden until tomorrow, we'd have won. But now he thinks he's someone, running off to die, completely destroying our chance of victory."

"Our chance of victory? That was a chance he gave us. What right do you have to stand here and complain?" The Yellow-Robed Woman frowned and snorted coldly, turning her gaze back to the battlefield.

Chen Fan gave his wrist a slight shake. With a bang, the frozen sword aura and flame on his blade shattered together, scattering to the ground. But the blue flame reignited like a stubborn viper, once again coiling around his sword and racing toward his wrist.

"Wasn't it 'one sword breaks them all'? I'll make sure you don't even have a sword to use." The White-robed Scholar laughed coldly. Chen Fan's entire sword was now coated in Underworld Fire—either he abandoned the blade or let the fire consume him.

Chen Fan's gaze sharpened. Blazing Heaven Sword Qi surged from within him again, rushing from the hilt to the blade. With a crack, it forcibly held back the Underworld Fire.

"Useless." The White-robed Scholar sneered, shaking his folding fan left and right again before flicking it toward Chen Fan. Two blue fire serpents shot out, speeding straight at him.

"Afterimage Sword Shadow!" A chill flashed through Chen Fan's dark eyes. With a slight movement of his fingers, another intact sword appeared beside the one wrapped in Underworld Fire and sword aura. He swiftly released the hilt of the first blade, grasped the intact one, and completed the entire motion in less than a breath. The sword covered in Underworld Fire vanished abruptly.

Seizing the moment of the White-robed Scholar's stunned hesitation, Chen Fan's sword aura surged once more. He stepped into the Formless Step, his sword tip aimed directly at the White-robed Scholar's throat.

"What was that just now...? Two swords appeared." The male cultivator exclaimed in shock.

"Afterimage Sword Shadow—his sword has already reached such speed, faster than our eyes can follow. The afterimage of his sword fooled that Underworld Fire, and it fooled us too." The Yellow-Robed Woman's eyes sparkled with admiration as she watched Chen Fan turn into a black shadow, thrusting his sword straight at the White-robed Scholar.

A flicker of panic crossed the White-robed Scholar's eyes. Despite his abundant True Qi, after unleashing the Underworld Bone Fan three times in a row, he was beginning to struggle. He had thought three moves would be enough to make Chen Fan drop his sword—a sword cultivator without a sword was like a tiger without teeth. But he never expected Chen Fan to wield his blade to such a level.

Suddenly recalling Chen Fan's words, "One sword breaks them all," his face flushed with heat. A vicious glint rose in his eyes as he slapped the Underworld Bone Fan, pouring all his True Qi into it. A barrier of Underworld Fire materialized before him in an instant. Chen Fan's sword tip struck the center of the fire barrier, sending ripples spreading outward. With a whoosh, dust and fallen leaves swirled into the air.

Boom!!!

A dull rumble echoed. The Underworld Fire barrier began to tremble, the flames above it writhing wildly, but they were suppressed by the True Qi at Chen Fan's sword tip, unable to coil around.

Seeing this, Hong Yu's face changed. It was the first time she had seen her senior brother at a disadvantage, and against a mere Qi Refining Layer 6 sword cultivator at that. A chill flashed in her eyes. She was about to unleash the Talisman in her hand when she saw the White-robed Scholar's face twist in ferocity. He bit his finger, smearing blood onto the Underworld Bone Fan. A string of crimson droplets traced through the air, falling to the ground.

"Bone Summoning." The White-robed Scholar snorted coldly. The blood on his hand was greedily absorbed by the Underworld Bone Fan like True Qi, instantly draining his once-pale face of all color, leaving it bloodless.

With his cold snort, the Underworld Bone Fan detached from his hand, its ribs writhing independently.

Crack Crack Crack

After several crisp sounds, the fan's ribs extended like bamboo, joint by joint, reforming into a real skeleton. Human skin even clung to its frame. The skull's eye sockets were deep and hollow, utterly lifeless. The Underworld Fire barrier that had been clashing with Chen Fan suddenly retracted rapidly, rushing toward the skeleton and pouring into its empty eyes.

Chen Fan's brow furrowed slightly. True Qi churned within him, and in an instant, he pushed it to its peak.

Hum!

As the blade vibrated at high speed, a clear, piercing sword hum rang out. Chen Fan's figure shot toward the skeleton, his long sword trailing a lengthy sword aura. He slashed through the Underworld Fire still flowing into the skeleton, severing it in one strike. The fire instantly clung to Chen Fan's blade, and the skeleton froze, rendered useless.

"No..." The White-robed Scholar screamed, trying to rush forward to stop him, only to find his True Qi completely spent.

Seeing the situation turn dire, Hong Yu flicked her Talisman, sending it flying toward Chen Fan.

With a hiss, the Talisman transformed into several flying swords, aimed straight at Chen Fan's back.

"Watch out!" the Yellow-Robed Woman shouted in warning.

A chill passed through Chen Fan's eyes. He used True Qi to isolate the Underworld Fire from his wrist, gripped the hilt, turned, and leaped high into the air, slashing down toward Hong Yu.

Part of the Underworld Fire clinging to his blade was flung off. The icy flame tongue instantly engulfed the flying swords, burning them to nothing, and continued unabated toward Hong Yu.

Hong Yu's face went pale. In the blink of an eye, she grabbed the male cultivator on the ground and shoved him in front of her as a shield.

"Ah..." Before the male cultivator could react, a mass of Underworld Fire had already burrowed into his body. The excruciating pain searing his Divine Soul forced a scream from his lips.

He clawed at himself all over, his face twisted in agony as he writhed on the ground, as if enduring some unspeakable torture. His screams drained the color from Hong Yu's face, a flicker of fear in her eyes. If that Underworld Fire had hit her, she would be the one suffering now.

Meanwhile, Chen Fan swung his blade, now coated in Underworld Fire, circling around the skeleton and heading straight for the White-robed Scholar.

"Damn it!" The White-robed Scholar cursed. He hadn't expected Chen Fan to sever the Underworld Fire with a single sword stroke, leaving the skeleton unable to awaken. At last, he understood—this Qi Refining Layer 6 sword cultivator was a terrifying existence.

His True Qi was nearly spent, and against Chen Fan's Netherfire Sharp Sword bearing down on him, he had no means to resist.

"I underestimated you, or I'd never have given you this chance!" The White-robed Scholar showed no trace of fear, only chagrin and defiance in his eyes.

"I overestimated you. You're too weak," Chen Fan said coldly, sweeping his sword across the White-robed Scholar's throat and carving a bloody gash. The netherfire instantly devoured its victim.

"Ah..." Before death, the White-robed Scholar suffered the torment of his Divine Soul being burned, and he howled, "I, Wang Ming, will one day cut you into a thousand pieces..."

His words trailed off as he collapsed into the netherfire, vanishing in a flash of white light.

Qi Refining Eighth Layer—dead!

Bang!

With his death, Chen Fan swept his sword across the skeleton. It shattered into a heap of bone fragments, then condensed into a tattered bone fan. With a crack, Chen Fan stepped over it and crushed it to dust.

Hong Yu knew she was no match for Chen Fan, but thinking of Senior Brother Wang Ming, to whom she had secretly given her heart, dying by his hand, she felt a surge of indignation. A flicker of disdain crossed her eyes as she looked at Chen Fan. "This is only the Heavenly Court. If we were in the Cultivation World, and you met my senior brother, you'd surely end up dead."

With that, Hong Yu took the Jade Token from her waist. She knew the 500 Immortal Qi was destined to be taken.

Slap. She tossed the Jade Token at Chen Fan's feet.

"Hmph, this Jade Token..." Hong Yu lifted her head with a cold snort, but before she could finish, a whoosh sounded—a sword beam streaked past her face, fleeting as a shooting star.