Dark Force, Nothing More

Lu Fan answered Gu De with a lightning-fast punch.

The withered palm contained force as vast as a great river, blasting straight at Gu De.

"Good!"

A flicker of excitement flashed through Gu De's eyes. Rather than retreat, he advanced and met it with a punch of his own.

The instant their fists collided, a visible shockwave exploded from where their knuckles met, sending dust beneath their feet flying in all directions.

Lu Fan felt a needle-sharp force bore through his fist bones into his forearm, piercing flesh and drilling straight toward the depths of his bones.

But he did not panic. At once, he activated the Evergreen Formula. The blood and qi within him surged like a rushing river, wave upon wave flooding toward his damaged meridians.

Before the Dark Force that had entered his body could spread, it was wrapped up, diluted, and scattered by that ceaseless tide of blood and qi.

His arm merely went slightly numb before sensation swiftly returned.

Gu De gave a soft sound of surprise.

That punch had contained seventy percent of his strength. The instant his Dark Force entered the body, it should have crippled one of his opponent's arms.

Yet this old man before him had merely shuddered his arm and steadied himself. Not even the skin on his fist had broken.

The blood and qi surging beneath that gaunt body were so abundant that they did not resemble those of a Bright Force martial artist at all. His Dark Force had gone in, yet it was like a needle piercing cotton—able to enter, but unable to stir anything.

"No wonder you dared come up here alone."

Gu De licked his lips, putting away the cat-and-mouse contempt from before. "Your blood and qi are certainly thick enough."

"Bright Force Peak, are you?"

"But I am—Dark Force!"

The moment the words fell, Gu De stepped forward, and his second punch was already upon him.

This time, it was no longer a head-on clash.

Gu De's fist abruptly changed direction midway, slanting toward Lu Fan's ribs from a viciously tricky angle.

Before the fist arrived, its chilling aura had already seeped through Lu Fan's clothes, pressing directly toward his internal organs.

By the time Lu Fan noticed it, Gu De's fist was already right before him.

He did not take it head-on. He stamped down hard and shot backward.

At the same time, he swung a palm at Gu De's wrist, borrowing force to redirect force.

The instant palm met wrist, another stream of Dark Force surged in through his palm, making the blood and qi throughout his entire arm churn violently.

Yet using that recoil, his body drifted back several steps like a dead leaf in the wind, barely shedding most of the force.

The moment he landed, his heels plowed two deep furrows through the mud.

Gu De, across from him, also retreated two steps. His brows drew tight, and his expression darkened.

Two moves.

In the first head-on exchange, he had gained no advantage.

In the second, he had changed tactics, launched a surprise attack, and used Dark Force. Yet his opponent had not only reacted, but had also borrowed strength to dispel strength and defuse the attack.

Most importantly, the old man's surging blood and qi were no less formidable than those of Gu De, who had only recently entered Dark Force.

While Gu De was shaken, Lu Fan across from him flexed his wrist. A thoughtful glint passed through his eyes beneath the mask.

So that was it.

The secret behind the strength of Dark Force martial artists was that silent, intangible force capable of entering the human body.

This Dark Force could easily penetrate the body's outer defenses and invade it directly.

But it was not without a solution. So long as enough blood and qi were used to envelop and disperse it, it was merely a needle stuck in cotton.

And what the Evergreen Formula gave him was precisely the endless, unceasing blood and qi beneath this deadwood-like body, along with a never-ending supply of strength.

Within his seemingly skin-and-bones body, the vigor of his blood and qi even far surpassed that of martial artists in their twenties or thirties.

Gu De's Dark Force was a bone-piercing needle against others, but against him, it was no more than a stone thrown into the sea.

"Dark Force is nothing more than this."

Lu Fan raised his head and looked coldly at Gu De.

His calm words carried undisguised mockery.

And those words utterly enraged Gu De.

Failing to take down a Bright Force martial artist in two moves had already infuriated him.

Lu Fan's words poured oil on the flames of his rage.

"Old bastard, I'll send you—on your way!"

Gu De stomped the ground. His entire body suddenly shot forward as he launched an attack on Lu Fan.

Fists wrapped in Dark Force rained down upon Lu Fan like a storm.

Facing this tempestuous assault, Lu Fan responded with calm composure.

Gu De's speed and strength were not much greater than his own. The only troublesome thing was that Dark Force capable of invading the body.

But once that Dark Force entered his body, he could use the Evergreen Formula to mobilize his blood and qi and dissolve it.

Thus, the longer they fought, the more Lu Fan realized something: nearly half of a Dark Force expert's strength came from that all-pervading Dark Force. Once Dark Force failed, their strength could practically be cut in half.

With that thought, Lu Fan even began turning defense into offense, actively launching attacks against Gu De.

During his thirty years at Blackstone Martial Hall, he had watched plenty of martial artists spar and had developed a certain understanding of combat.

Not to mention that Zhang Yao, a Late Dark Force expert, was at his side.

After several exchanges, he discovered another clue.

After Gu De threw punches in succession, the penetrating power of his Dark Force weakened each time, and the pauses for breath between punches grew longer.

What concerned Lu Fan even more was that the Dark Force Gu De unleashed seemed highly unstable. At times it was fierce and surging, while at others it fluctuated between strength and weakness.

Could it be that this man had used something to forcibly raise his realm, leaving his foundation unstable and his strength inconsistent?

Once that thought flashed through his mind, Lu Fan's assault grew even sharper.

As his control over his own strength became increasingly refined, he was even able to faintly suppress Gu De in a straightforward contest of power.

By then, Gu De had been stunned speechless by the old man before him.

Was this old bastard really Bright Force? His surging blood and qi were no less than those of a Dark Force martial artist, and the foundation of his physical body was incomparably solid.

He clearly had not used any combat techniques at all. With nothing but ordinary moves, he had suppressed Gu De through sheer, unshakable fundamentals.

Damn it, he could not drag this out.

Gu De subconsciously raised his head and looked into the distance.

Over there, his subordinates had already been almost completely dealt with by that Late Bright Force woman. Before long, she would be free to join in.

This strange old man alone could suppress him. If another Late Bright Force martial artist arrived, he might truly end up staying here today.

With that thought, Gu De erupted with a full-force punch. After forcing Lu Fan back half a step, he swiftly pulled away.

"Old bastard, I'll remember you!"

"This isn't—over!"

Before Gu De had even finished speaking, Lu Fan, who had been several meters away a moment ago, was already before him.

Terrifying force was contained within that withered, gaunt palm.

Caught off guard, he hastily threw out a fist to block it.

The next instant, the terrifying force transmitted from that palm directly blasted him flying.

He flew more than ten meters before crashing heavily to the ground.

He did not care about the embarrassment, nor did he have time to throw out another threat. He turned and fled.

His speed was astonishing. After a few flashes, he vanished into the depths of the forest, as though terrified of being pursued.

Lu Fan remained where he was, looking somewhat regretfully at Gu De's disappearing back.

If that palm strike had been just a fraction faster, it would have landed squarely on Gu De's heart meridian.

Unfortunately, he was still separated by that final layer of window paper.

Had he already entered Dark Force, Gu De would have had nowhere to evade that palm strike. He would certainly have been left here for good.