Murder for Treasure

The old man's chin was still trembling uncontrollably. He looked at Chen Fan, yet for a moment, he could not speak.

After a while, he finally steadied himself. By then, the disciples had gathered around as well. Quite a few recognized the person lying on the ground, and their faces turned pale with shock. For a moment, none of them knew what to do.

Suddenly, someone shouted, "I know that kid! He's an outer sect disciple of our sect. I saw him at Swordheart Hall before." Clearly, Chen Fan had already become rather well-known within Swordheart Hall.

"Chen Fan?!" Upon hearing this, a young man became greatly agitated and flashed directly in front of Chen Fan.

Bai Shuang?! It was actually him! Chen Fan immediately sensed trouble. This fellow hated him to the bone—he was definitely about to stir up trouble. Although Chen Fan did not know why the faction led by the Third Elder in Swordheart Hall was so deliberately targeting him, fortunately, they had not secretly dealt him a ruthless blow. He could still remain on guard.

"So it's Martial Uncle Bai. Long time no see. Have you been well lately?" Chen Fan said with a cupped-fist salute. To the people around them, the two appeared to be on quite good terms. Who could have known that, at this moment, wicked thoughts were sprouting wildly in both their hearts?

"Hmph, it really is you, brat!" Bai Shuang raised his brows. He seemed to have already made up his mind about something as he said, "Did you see the man lying over there earlier?"

This was truly not an easy question to answer. Saying he had seen him meant being suspected of murder; saying he had not seen him would plainly sound like denial.

"I did see him. There were also dozens of people here who discovered him together with me." Chen Fan was quite the silver-tongued talker. How could he possibly talk himself into a trap?

Bai Shuang froze, clearly not expecting Chen Fan to answer like that. Still, he followed the script he had prepared. "You still dare deny it! I say you were the one who harmed a senior of the sect. Stop quibbling! Today, I, Bai, will personally destroy you and cleanse the sect!" With that, he drew his treasured sword directly, giving Chen Fan no time to react at all.

That worked too? Chen Fan no longer merely despised this man's conduct. He felt that the man's brain might truly not work very well. Either that, or he obeyed the Third Elder too blindly and had already lost the ability to make judgments for himself.

At a time like this, Bai Shuang clearly knew that Chen Fan was most likely not the one who had harmed Senior Yun, yet he still wanted to kill him in full view of everyone. It was not as if he could make the dead tell no tales. Once Senior Yun awoke and explained the truth, Bai Shuang himself would become the one who had harmed a fellow sect member. Even if the Third Elder could protect him from a death sentence, it would certainly damage his reputation in the sect, and his future cultivation resources would be greatly affected. Was killing Chen Fan really worth it? What grudge, what enmity was this?

By now, everyone had come to their senses and moved toward Chen Fan. The old man who had heard Bai Shuang's words was also baffled. If Chen Fan was suspicious, bringing him back to the sect for questioning was normal enough. But if someone said the man on the ground had been harmed by Chen Fan, he would not believe it even if beaten to death. And Bai Shuang even wanted to kill him on the spot? What was going on? It seemed there were hidden twists in this matter that he did not understand. Should he interfere? Better one less trouble than one more. Bai Shuang was the chief disciple of Swordheart Hall's elder, and though his cultivation was far inferior to that of an older Sword-Imperial Pavilion disciple like himself, his status was no lower. Better to help neither side. If something happened, at worst he would only be charged with allowing sect members to fight among themselves.

Having thought it through, the old man did not step forward to stop Bai Shuang. Instead, he returned to Yun Zhongjun's side, looking as though he intended to remain and guard him. The other disciples followed suit.

In an instant, not a single person remained within dozens of yards of Chen Fan and Bai Shuang.

"Hehe, it seems your day of death has arrived!" Bai Shuang sneered contemptuously.

"Is that so? I was just worried you planned to gang up on me. Looking at things now, your popularity really is awful. You don't even have a single helper." Chen Fan spoke with disdain. If it was only Bai Shuang, he was not without the strength to fight.

Back in Swordheart Hall's council hall, he had already sensed this man's cultivation. At most, Bai Shuang was around the fourth realm. Before Ye Wan broke through to the fifth realm, she should have been far stronger than him. Chen Fan guessed that Bai Shuang had likely relied all the way on spiritual pills given by the Third Elder to cultivate to this point. No wonder he was so utterly devoted to the Third Elder.

Bai Shuang did not waste words with Chen Fan and attacked directly. His treasured sword stabbed straight at Chen Fan's face. This move left absolutely no room for mercy—if it hit, Chen Fan would be gravely injured even if he did not die.

Chen Fan was greatly alarmed. It seemed he had still underestimated the strength of a fourth-realm cultivator. Fortunately, there was some distance between them, giving him time to react. With no other choice, he poured all his strength into using the Soul Reaper Sword to block. With a clang, Chen Fan did not draw his sword. A flash of light glimmered from the scabbard, directly canceling most of the strike's force. Chen Fan merely took several steps back and was not injured at all.

He inwardly mocked himself. He had once said that once his sword left its sheath, it would claim a life. Yet now, keeping it sheathed was far more formidable than drawing it. This scabbard alone could keep Bai Shuang from breaking through his defense for the moment. It seemed his sword would have even fewer chances to leave its sheath in the future.

When Bai Shuang's strike failed, he was utterly astonished. He had shown no mercy whatsoever just now. A fourth-realm cultivator's all-out attack could not even do anything to a brat like this—if word got out, he would be humiliated beyond measure. His desire to kill Chen Fan only grew stronger.

Chen Fan stood where he was, Origin Qi circulating ceaselessly through his body as he prepared to unleash techniques at any moment. Yet he would not attack first. Knowing that his cultivation was at an enormous disadvantage, he could only focus on defense and wait for a chance to launch a surprise attack.

Bai Shuang, meanwhile, stared fixedly at the sword in Chen Fan's hand. It appeared Chen Fan was relying entirely on this sword to remain so fearless. Judging from the reactions of the elders when they saw it in the council hall that day, it was definitely no ordinary object. But this brat was only at the second realm. No matter how high the sword's quality, he surely could not unleash its full might. Besides, the brat clearly did not dare draw it. He probably could not control the sword at all. Once he drew it, the sword would likely drain away all his Internal Qi.

And indeed, if this truly was the Fire Spirit Sword, let alone Chen Fan, even Bai Shuang would be unable to wield it. It truly would lead to depleted Internal Qi. But Chen Fan's reason for not drawing it was nothing like what Bai Shuang imagined.

"That sword of yours is not bad. I'll take it!" To Chen Fan's surprise, Bai Shuang had actually conceived the thought of murder for treasure.

Chen Fan blanked out upon hearing this, inwardly admiring the man's intelligence once more. If his master heard those words, he would probably slap him across the face.

However, Bai Shuang truly did not need his brain to think before acting. His attack was indeed incomparably swift. This time, several streaks of sword light attacked Chen Fan's lower body at once. In this way, it was difficult for Chen Fan to neutralize them one by one with his scabbard.

Chen Fan could only retreat again and again, but the sword lights were incredibly fast. They were about to strike him. In his urgency, he frantically drove all his True Essence toward his lower body. In an instant, Origin Qi surged into every meridian in his legs. Several whoosh, whoosh, whoosh sounds rang out as Chen Fan shot directly several yards into the air. Bai Shuang's Sword Qi struck empty space and dispersed.

Bai Shuang had been just about to succeed, and this sudden change left him staring blankly where he stood. Then he looked up at Chen Fan in the air, utterly unable to believe what had happened before his eyes. How had this brat done it? Wasn't he only a second-realm outer sect disciple? To leap so high—could he be a high-level cultivator concealing his cultivation? His thoughts instantly fell into chaos. With his reasoning ability, he was obviously incapable of figuring any of this out.

Chen Fan, meanwhile, rejoiced that he had escaped disaster. If Yun Zhongjun had not previously taught him the incantation for the Soaring Art, he would have been in terrible trouble today.

After evading that attack, Chen Fan stepped through the air several times. He did not continue rising, instead gradually withdrew his technique and returned to the ground.

Only then did Bai Shuang recover his senses and prepare to attack again.

However, at that moment, someone among the disciples in the distance suddenly shouted, "Stop!" As the man spoke, his feet did not pause. He leaped into the air, and several thud, thud, thud sounds of breaking through the air followed. In merely two breaths, he had drifted between Bai Shuang and Chen Fan. Clearly, someone had finally come to break up the fight.

Since the night was deep, Chen Fan could not make out the man's face, but his voice sounded somewhat familiar.

"Martial Nephew Chen, don't you recognize me?" The man approached Chen Fan with a smile.

Wu Xu?! Chen Fan finally saw the man clearly and recognized him at once. But why was he helping him? If he had been here all along, why had he only intervened now? Though puzzled, Chen Fan still nodded politely.

Seeing that Chen Fan recognized him, Wu Xu returned the gesture with a friendly nod. Then he turned to Bai Shuang, his tone turning unfriendly. "Junior Brother Bai, stop here. Martial Nephew Chen's life is not yours to take!"

Those words were ruthless enough. Bai Shuang instantly flared with anger. "And if I insist on taking it?"

The moment those words left his mouth, several more disciples approached and lined up beside Wu Xu. Their stance clearly declared their position.

"Soaring Heavens Palace, are you trying to rebel?" Bai Shuang gritted his teeth. "What? Do you think Swordheart Hall has no one?" After saying that, he expected a group of Swordheart Hall disciples to answer his call and bolster his momentum.

Yet reality was cruel. Every disciple in the distance acted as though they had heard nothing. No one paid any attention to him. The scene fell into extreme awkwardness for a time.

Chen Fan could not help but laugh. It seemed this fellow's popularity truly was terrible. Or perhaps everyone else in Swordheart Hall had normal brains and simply would not do something so foolish.

The Soaring Heavens Palace disciples also revealed mocking expressions, looking quite relaxed. They had originally thought a group battle was about to break out, but now that they outnumbered their opponents, Bai Shuang would be a complete idiot if he still dared fight.

"Who is the one harming fellow sect members? Who is the one trying to rebel?" Wu Xu shot back at Bai Shuang.

"Hmph!" Bai Shuang had no choice but to swallow this grievance for the moment. He turned and left resentfully.

"Martial Nephew Chen, are you all right? I'll take you back to the sect now." Wu Xu spoke to Chen Fan, then pointed at two disciples beside him. "You two, go carry him. Return directly to the palace. After I escort Martial Nephew Chen back, I will go meet the elders."

After making these arrangements, Wu Xu took Chen Fan with him and vanished from before the mountain gate.

Wu Xu was once again bringing him up the mountain, but times had changed. Chen Fan was no longer a novice who possessed only the realm of Internal Qi. Although Wu Xu's Soaring Art still empowered him, wind also sprang beneath Chen Fan's feet without pause. Their speed was thus remarkably fast, and the two soon arrived at the main mountain gate.

Wu Xu was equally astonished. At the foot of the mountain, he had somewhat recognized the origin of Chen Fan's Soaring Art, which was why he had suddenly stepped in to protect him. But he had not been able to fully confirm it then. Yet during their journey, he had sensed it with absolute clarity. His attitude toward Chen Fan became even more warmly friendly. "Martial Nephew Chen, may I ask where the Soaring Art you used just now came from?"

Chen Fan had actually made his own guesses long ago, and he had no intention of concealing it. He answered, "Senior Yun taught it to me."