"Boom, boom, boom--"
Fang Han and Xue Yuanlang were locked in a fierce battle, their palms flashing and swords gleaming, their energy surging everywhere.
Fang Han began to develop wounds on his body from time to time.
His left shoulder was swept by the force of the palm strike, tearing his green robe and leaving a bloody mark.
His right leg was struck by the aftershock of the palm print, sending waves of sharp pain through him.
But his sword also left wounds on Xue Yuanlang.
Xue Yuanlang's left arm was slashed by the sword, leaving a half-foot-long wound from which blood seeped out.
The sword tip struck his side, and despite his Internal Qi protecting him, a bloody hole about an inch deep was still pierced through his waist.
"You little bastard, you're so difficult to deal with!"
Xue Yuanlang's expression grew increasingly grim.
He never expected that he, First Grade first-rank martial artist, would be unable to defeat a junior at the Third Grade Middle Stage.
Even if he was seriously injured, it wouldn't be right, considering the difference between the two was a full two major realms.
But that's the reality.
Damn it!
Xue Yuanlang cursed under his breath, and his attacks became even more ferocious.
"Old man, let's see how long you can hold out!"
Fang Han responded calmly, his sword light flowing like water, continuous and unbroken.
He knew that Xue Yuanlang was seriously injured and had lost an arm, so this high-intensity battle could not last long.
As long as he can hold on, the moment Xue Yuanlang is exhausted will be his time to counterattack.
"Boom, boom, boom--"
The two fought fiercely for a long time, from the forest to the stream, and from the stream to the foot of the cliff.
Fang Han had more than a dozen wounds of varying sizes on his body, and his green robe was soaked in blood, clinging tightly to his body.
His face was pale, and his breathing was much weaker than before.
Xue Yuanlang's situation was no better.
He was covered in sword wounds, with cuts on his left arm, waist, and thigh, from which blood seeped out, staining his dark blue Elder's robes a dark red.
He was breathing rapidly, and his forehead was covered in sweat; he was clearly in very poor condition.
"You little beast... I will kill you today!"
Xue Yuanlang was panting heavily, his eyes filled with madness.
Fang Han didn't speak, but just looked at him quietly, with the Cloudsplitter Sword held horizontally in front of him, its blade shimmering with azure-gold light.
The next instant, the two moved simultaneously.
"Boom!"
Xue Yuanlang mustered his last strength, and a burst of blue light erupted from his left palm as he struck out.
This palm strike unleashed the strongest power his severely injured body could muster, carrying a determination to kill Fang Han.
"Whoosh!"
Fang Han's eyes narrowed, but he did not back down.
The Internal Qi the Azure Profound Art surged and circulated within his body at an unprecedented speed, pouring entirely into the Cloudsplitter Sword.
With the Wind Sword Intent pushed to its limit, the < Void-Sundering Sword Manual >, at the Minor Success Stage, was unleashed without reservation.
A sword strike was unleashed.
This sword strike was the culmination of all his strength.
The Internal Qi of the Third Grade Middle Stage, the Sword Intent of the Minor Success Stage, and the physical strength of 100,000 jin—these three elements were combined and poured into this one sword strike.
The sword light condensed into a thin line of green light, colliding fiercely with the blue palm print.
"Boom--!!!"
A deafening explosion rang out.
The shockwave spread outwards like a tsunami, scraping away several feet of ground in its path, sending debris flying and filling the air with dust.
At the center of the energy surge, both figures were simultaneously sent flying backward.
"Puff--"
Fang Han crashed heavily onto a rock, blood gushing from his throat.
His right arm, holding the sword, trembled slightly; the web between his thumb and forefinger split open, and blood dripped down the hilt of the sword.
"Puff--"
Xue Yuanlang fell to the ground and rolled several times before stopping.
Blood gushed from his mouth, his left palm trembled slightly, and the web between his thumb and forefinger bled.
The two men stood facing each other, more than ten feet apart.
Fang Han took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing his surging blood and qi, and slowly stood up.
His body swayed slightly, but his eyes remained bright and sharp.
Xue Yuanlang also struggled to his feet, but his condition was clearly worse.
The wound at the severed arm reopened, and blood gushed out.
The sword wounds on his body continued to bleed, staining the ground beneath him a dark red.
His face was as pale as paper, and his breath was extremely weak.
"You..."
Xue Yuanlang opened his mouth, as if to say something, but only spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Whoosh!"
Fang Han gave Xue Yuanlang no chance to catch his breath.
With a flick of his feet using the Wind God Step, his figure transformed into a pale blue streak of light, rushing straight towards Xue Yuanlang.
The Cloudsplitter Sword slashed out once more, its Sword Intent surging forth.
Xue Yuanlang used all his strength to block the attack with his palm.
"Clang!"
Their swords clashed, and Xue Yuanlang was forced back several steps by the impact.
Fang Han followed closely, unleashing his second and third sword strikes in quick succession.
Each sword strike contained the Sword Intent, and each strike caused Xue Yuanlang unbearable pain in his mind.
Xue Yuanlang's resistance grew weaker and weaker, and his palm techniques gradually became disordered.
finally--
A glint flashed in Fang Han's eyes as he seized an opening in Xue Yuanlang's palm strike and Cloudsplitter Sword straight in.
"Puff--!"
The sword tip pierced Xue Yuanlang's chest and emerged from his back.
Xue Yuanlang shuddered, lowered his head, and stared in disbelief at the bloodstained tip of the sword on his chest.
He opened his mouth as if to say something, but could only let out a series of weak, hissing sounds.
Fang Han drew his sword.
Blood gushed out.
Xue Yuanlang's body went limp and fell to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Those narrow eyes quickly lost their luster, eventually becoming completely devoid of light.
Xue Yuanlang, First Grade martial artist Elder of the Thunderlight Pavilion, has died.
"Huff, huff--"
Fang Han sheathed his sword and stood there, panting heavily.
His wounds were bleeding, his blue robe was soaked with blood, his face was as pale as paper, and he was weak and listless.
But he won in the end.
"Clang--!"
Meng Zhao forced Chen Wanjun back with a single sword strike. The crimson sword drew a scorching arc in the air, its fiery sword Sword Qi flickering erratically.
His chest rose and fell slightly, and several rips appeared in his deep red Elder's robe.
A knife wound slashed diagonally across his left rib, the skin and flesh rolled back, and fresh blood dripped down his clothes.
He also had a wound on his right shoulder, which, though not deep, made his hand holding the sword tremble slightly.
He glanced at Xue Yuanlang, who lay dead beneath Fang Han's sword, and his pupils contracted slightly.
Xue Yuanlang is dead.
A First Grade martial artist actually died under the sword of a junior at the Third Grade Middle Stage.
Although Xue Yuanlang was first ambushed and seriously injured, and then lost an arm, his injuries were extremely serious.
However, one fact cannot be denied.
A First Grade martial artist died at the hands of a junior at the Third Grade Middle Stage.
"It failed!"
Meng Zhao acted decisively, and his crimson longsword suddenly burst forth with a dazzling burst of fire, the fiery Sword Qi spreading outwards like a ring of fire.
Chen Wanjun's eyes narrowed, and he held his golden longsword horizontally in front of him to block the attack.
It was in that very moment.
"Whoosh!"
Meng Zhao retreated rapidly, rushing towards where Lie Yunting was.
At this moment, Lie Yunting was being besieged by Luo Yuntian and Mad Butcher. The sword wound on his chest was still bleeding, and his dark red outfit was soaked with blood.
He struggled to hold on, his Sword Intent scattered, and he could die at any moment.
Meng Zhao grabbed Lie Yunting and lifted him up.
"Walk!"
Without pausing, he transformed into a streak of crimson light and sped into the depths of the dense forest.
"Trying to leave?"
Chen Wanjun snorted coldly, brandished his golden longsword, and transformed into a golden streak of light, giving chase.
On the other side.
Xue Wu, whose left shoulder was slashed by Fang Han, was currently being besieged by Yun Muyao and Su Yuwei.
His face was pale, and the sword he wielded had lost its initial sharpness; he was now struggling to defend himself, facing constant danger.
"Call--"
After killing Xue Yuanlang, Fang Han, slightly out of breath, immediately rushed towards Xue Wu.
"No... don't kill--"
Fang Han rushing towards him, extreme fear flashed in Xue Wu's eyes.
But before he could finish speaking, Fang Han's sword had already arrived.
The Cloudsplitter Sword swept out horizontally, and with a flash of sword light, a thin line of blood appeared on his neck.
Blood gushed out.
He opened his mouth as if to say something, but could only let out a series of weak, hissing sounds.
The next instant, he collapsed limply to the ground, lifeless.
Fang Han sheathed his sword, not even glancing at Xue Wu's corpse, and activated the Wind God Step.
"Whoosh!"
His figure transformed into a streak of cyan-gold light, rushing after the direction where Meng Zhao and Chen Wanjun had disappeared.
The mountains and forests rushed past us.
Fang Han pushed the < Wind God Step > to its limit, unleashing the master-level Body Movement at the Beginner stage level without reservation, achieving astonishing speed.
However, the distance between him and the two figures ahead was growing ever wider.
First Grade warrior.
That was the pinnacle of the Upper Third Grade, separated from him by two major realms.
Even though he had reached the Beginner stage of the Wind God Step, and even though he had used all his strength, he could not bridge this huge gap.
The presence of Meng Zhao and Chen Wanjun grew fainter and fainter, fading into the distance.
It quickly disappeared from his perception.
A short while later, just as he was considering whether to give up, he sensed Chen Wanjun's presence; the other party was now turning back.
He stopped the pursuit and waited for Chen Wanjun to join him.
Soon, Chen Wanjun's figure came into his view.
"Vice Hall Master Chen, have you caught up?"
Fang Han cupped his hands and asked.
Chen Wanjun shook his head slightly, his voice low. " Meng Zhao escaped."
Fang Han remained silent.
He was not surprised by this result.
Although Meng Zhao was injured, he was still First Grade martial artist, and his strength was comparable to Chen Wanjun's.
He was determined to escape, and it was indeed extremely difficult for Chen Wanjun to keep him there.
"A leak was inevitable."
Chen Wanjun turned around, his gaze fixed on the depths of the dense forest, his voice heavy.
" Thunderlight Pavilion has lost a First Grade Elder; they will not let this go easily. We must withdraw from East Foothills Prefecture immediately, or we will surely face retaliation."
Fang Han nodded without saying anything.
Without further delay, the two unleashed their Body Movement and sped off towards the direction where Luo Yuntian and the others were.
When Fang Han and Chen Wanjun returned, the battle was over.
The disciples of the Thunderlight Pavilion and Crimson Flame Sect were all killed, lying haphazardly in pools of blood.
"Vice Hall Master Chen, Senior Brother Fang."
Luo Yuntian and the others are cleaning up the battlefield.
These disciples have all entered Ancient Ruins, and most of them carry valuable items such as Danyao or rare and precious herbs, which should not be missed.
Upon seeing Chen Wanjun and Fang Han return, everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at them.
Chen Wanjun nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, and said in a deep voice:
"We shouldn't stay here any longer. Treat the wound immediately, and we'll set off in an hour."
"Yes."
Everyone's expressions tightened, and they responded in unison.
Fang Han sat down on a blue stone. The Creation Pill he had taken earlier still had a lot of medicinal power remaining in his body.
At this moment, the medicinal power transformed into a warm and soothing aura, flowing throughout his body to heal his injuries.
The bleeding from his wounds has stopped.
He tore off a few strips of cloth from his clothes and used them to bandage several of his deeper wounds.
The movements were quick and steady.
After an incense stick has burned.
After everyone had finished packing, Chen Wanjun glanced at them and said in a deep voice, "Let's go."
Nine figures simultaneously unleashed their Body Movement and sped off towards Qingyang Prefecture.
Only the faint sound of clothes Break the Wind and the rustling of footsteps on decaying leaves echoed in the silent mountain forest.