"Not Fan Yuan? No, we can't rule that out!"
Fang Han had seen Fan Yuan's portrait.
That was after learning that it was an assassination commission issued by the Thunderlight Pavilion, and then going to the Rain Listening Hall to retrieve the documents.
The portrait depicts Fan Yuan with a lean and refined appearance, slightly prominent cheekbones, and a rather noticeable black mole between his eyebrows.
The master before them had a rugged face, dark skin, and smooth, flat eyebrows, making him look completely different from the Fan Yuan in the portrait.
However, Fang Han did not rule out the possibility that this person was not Fan Yuan.
He himself often disguised his identity with Human Skin Mask, knowing full well that a mask as thin as a cicada's wing was enough to completely change a person's appearance.
As the Supreme Elder of the Thunderlight Pavilion, it's perfectly normal for Fan Yuan to wear a Human Skin Mask when doing such shady things.
' Fang Han!'
Fang Han couldn't be sure if the person in front of him was Fan Yuan, but Fan Yuan recognized Fang Han at a glance.
He raised his left hand and wiped away the blood seeping from the wound on his arm with his fingertips. His deep-set eyes fell on Fang Han, and a hint of extreme seriousness flashed across his gaze.
Although that sword strike was a sneak attack, the fact that it could injure a veteran grandmaster like him, who had been at the grandmaster level for decades, was enough to say a lot.
Fang Han's strength is even greater than described in the intelligence reports.
Who are you?
Fang Han spoke, his voice not loud, but it clearly pierced through the lingering smoke and dust, reaching Fan Yuan's ears.
He stood with his sword in hand, his gaze fixed on his opponent, his tone calm yet carrying a subtle hint of probing.
"Were you sent by Dark Abyss to ambush me here, or... by the Thunderlight Pavilion?"
When he mentioned the words " Thunderlight Pavilion," his gaze sharpened slightly, as if trying to capture even the most subtle fluctuations in the other person's eyes.
Fan Yuan was an old and shrewd man; how could he be fooled by such words?
His expression remained unchanged, but he slowly tightened his grip on the Thunderclap Saber.
There was no flaw in those deep-set eyes, only the purple light flowing on the blade, flickering uncertainly in the winter wind.
"A dying man need not know my name."
His voice was hoarse and dry, like two rough stones rubbing against each other, revealing no emotional fluctuations.
However, the murderous intent in his heart was growing wildly like oil being poured on a raging fire.
Fang Han's strength was greater than expected.
It wasn't just a little bit stronger, it was strong enough to hurt him, even if it was a sneak attack.
A young man in his early twenties, who has not yet reached the Grandmaster level, already possesses such terrifying strength. If given another year or two, how terrifying will he become?
At that point, Thunderlight Pavilion will likely face only destruction.
They cannot stay.
Today, no matter what, this brat must be killed here!
"Boom--!"
Fan Yuan made a move.
Without uttering any unnecessary words, he stomped his foot and shot out like a dark purple thunderbolt.
The ground beneath his feet, already ravaged by the shockwave, collapsed with a roar under his stomp, blasting open a deep crater several meters in diameter.
The rubble and soil were thrown into the air by the terrifying recoil, pouring out in all directions like a torrential rain.
The distance of several dozen feet was nothing more than a blink of an eye for him.
The Thunderclap Saber was raised high above his head, unleashing a terrifying burst of thunderous blade intent.
Below the Grandmaster level, comprehending the Artistic Conception is extremely difficult, but at the Grandmaster level, while comprehending the Artistic Conception is not easy, it is certainly not too difficult either.
"Crackling and popping--"
A dark purple blade aura surged across the blade, transforming into a hundred-foot-long Saber Aura wreathed in lightning.
Wherever the Saber Aura passed, the air was distorted and deformed by the electric shock, emitting a sharp, almost shrill sonic boom, as if even the sky had been dyed a dark purple by this strike.
"Die!"
Fan Yuan let out a low roar, his voice like muffled thunder, and his Saber Aura, carrying the force to Mountain-Breaker mountains, slashed down towards Fang Han.
Fang Han's pupils contracted slightly.
The power of this strike was far beyond what a newly promoted grandmaster like Ling Wuyuan could match.
The difference between veteran masters and newly emerging masters was laid bare in this one strike.
"Whoosh!"
As he unleashed the < Wind-Chasing Moon-Pursuing Steps >, his figure suddenly blurred in place.
Like a wisp of smoke whipped up by a gale, it shifted dozens of feet to the side in the blink of an eye.
"BOOM--!!!"
The Saber Aura grazed his afterimage and slashed down, striking the spot where he had just stood.
The ground was brutally cleaved open by this single strike, leaving a terrifying gash hundreds of feet long and bottomless, stretching across the earth like a hideous wound torn open.
The soil and rocks on both sides of the knife mark were charred black by the lightning contained in the Saber Aura's energy, and wisps of blue smoke rose from them.
Where the knife marks spread, several low mounds were neatly split in two, the cut surfaces as smooth as mirrors, and the soil at the edges had been burned into glass-like crystals by the lightning.
The power of this strike was truly terrifying.
Fang Han retaliated.
"Call out--!"
Fang Han's figure in the green robe turned back in the same instant he dodged, his Silver-Gray Longsword drawing an extremely simple arc.
The Dark Green sword light, enhanced by the Wind Sword Intent, pierced Fan Yuan's left rib at an extremely tricky angle, like a venomous snake spitting its tongue.
This sword strike combined the Wind Sword Intent from the Minor Accomplishment completion of the < Great Void Wind God Sword >, the full force of the powerful Internal Qi at the First Grade Late Stage, and the terrifying boost to the right arm from the liquid blood and qi after breaking through the physical barrier.
It didn't make a big fuss, but its power was in no way inferior to Fan Yuan's strike.
Because all the power is contained within the sword, its true power will only be revealed when it is truly unleashed.
Where the sword tip passed, the air silently cracked open with dark lines, like a shattered mirror.
Fan Yuan's expression changed slightly, and he swept his Thunderclap Saber back to defend.
"Clang--!!!"
Swords clashed, producing a deafening clang of metal.
The shockwave spread wildly outwards from the two people, sweeping out like a real tsunami.
Within a radius of several miles, the trees that had barely managed to stand up during the first wave of impact were completely crushed in this instant.
The splinters of wood and mud mingled together, carried away by the blast wave and swept further afield, turning the already devastated wasteland upside down.
The two separated immediately upon contact, each sliding backward.
Fang Han retreated more than ten feet, his boots carving two long furrows in the ground. His wrist, gripping the sword, felt slightly numb, but his heart remained calm.
He took the blow head-on; although he felt the pressure, he was not injured.
Fan Yuan retreated seven or eight zhang, his expression growing increasingly gloomy.
He glanced down at his trembling blade, then looked up at Fang Han, his deep-set eyes surging with barely concealed shock.
The force of that sword strike was heavier, fiercer, and more ruthless than he had anticipated.
Such destructive power actually came from a martial artist below the Grandmaster level, and one who harbored great hostility towards the Thunderlight Pavilion.
The thought of this made his killing intent boil uncontrollably.
"You want to kill me? You're not strong enough!"
Sensing the opponent's boiling killing intent, Fang Han sneered.
Although he felt that his current strength was enough to contend with veteran masters, he still felt somewhat uncertain before actually fighting them.
When they actually started fighting and realized they weren't at a disadvantage, their unease vanished instantly.
"Whoosh!"
The figure in the green robe approached like a ghost.
The Silver-Gray Longsword in his hand transformed into streaks of Dark Green rainbows, pouring down on Fan Yuan like a torrential downpour.
"Furious!"
Fan Yuan laughed in anger, the Thunderclap Saber twirling like a dragon in his hand, layers of dark purple Saber Aura surging out like bolts of lightning to meet the overwhelming sword light.
"Clang clang clang clang--!!!"
The sounds of swords clashing exploded like popping beans, as two figures, one in dark green and the other in dark purple, rapidly crossed paths, collided, crossed paths again, and collided again on the wasteland.
Each clash unleashed a deafening roar, with shockwaves sweeping outwards wave after wave.
The earth cracked beneath their feet.
Wide cracks, several feet in width, spread wildly in all directions like a spider web, their depths unfathomable.
The ground was repeatedly plowed, overturned, and crushed. Soil and gravel were thrown dozens of feet into the air by the terrifying impact, and then crashed down like a dense rain of meteorites, creating countless craters in the already riddled ground.
The desolate wasteland where the two fought was completely transformed within a few dozen breaths.
The once undulating hills were leveled, and the once flat ground was blasted into countless pits and gullies.
Within a radius of several miles, not an inch of intact land could be found.
It looked as if it had been repeatedly ravaged by heavenly fire and thunder.
They have exchanged more than a dozen blows.
Fang Han was not at a disadvantage.
Just as he had predicted, after breaking through to the First Grade Late Stage and breaking through the physical barrier, he is now a martial artist who has First Barrier Breakthrough. Even veteran grandmasters can now challenge him.
His internal fluids flowed like an extension of his arm; wherever his thoughts led, his fluids surged forth, elevating his power to an unimaginable level.
Combined with the sharp Sword Intent of the Minor Accomplishment- completion < Great Void Wind God Sword > and the swift Body Movement of the Beginner stage < Wind-Chasing Moon-Pursuing Steps >, every move he made was so fierce that it was breathtaking.
Fan Yuan grew increasingly alarmed as the battle progressed.
He originally thought that with his profound foundation built up over decades since he entered the Grandmaster realm, even if Fang Han's strength surpassed the intelligence reports, it would still be insufficient to contend with him.
But reality was like a bucket of cold water, completely extinguishing his confidence.
After dozens of moves, he hadn't gained the slightest advantage.
This boy's Sword Technique and Body Movement are both ridiculously strong.
What's even more terrifying is that this young man, despite his youth, seems to have experienced countless life-or-death battles. Every sword strike is precise and ruthless, and every dodge is perfectly timed.
If such a person is allowed to continue growing...
Fan Yuan dared not think any further.
He gritted his teeth, a flash of violent lightning appearing in his deep-set eyes.
The immense Internal Qi within his body erupted with an almost frenzied force.
The dark purple light on the Thunderclap Saber became even more violent at this moment, and the air around the blade crackled with lightning, as if even space itself was about to be electrolyzed.
"Whoosh--!"
His Blade Intent suddenly became ferocious and sharp.
Each strike carried a devastating force, Saber Aura through the Void Sundering and leaving behind streaks of dark purple afterimages.
Moreover, his offensive tactics now possessed a touch of self-destructive madness.
He's risking injury to gain a chance at victory!