The Outer Sect's Great Devil King

Chen Fan continued watching the arena. Sure enough, after holding on for several more moves, Wu De clasped his hands and conceded, walking off the field. Yet no one watching saw Wu De as a loser. On the contrary, he stood a very good chance of entering the inner court. Not only had he swept aside several disciples in succession with a single move each, but when he had fought Jiang Yueying earlier, his Internal Qi had clearly been running low, yet he had still endured for quite a while. Besides, the rules forbade seriously injuring one's opponent, so he had not fully used his blade against his enemies. He had held back considerably.

After Wu De stepped down, Jiang Yueying stood confidently at the center of the arena. With the movement technique she had displayed earlier, surely no one else would dare step out to challenge her now. After all, everyone who ought to have appeared had already done so.

Sure enough, silence fell around the arena. Everyone looked at one another, and for a time, no one dared stick their head out.

At that moment, an elderly man walked onto the martial arena. Chen Fan recognized him as one of the outer sect elders. He announced in a ringing voice, "Since that is the case, after a count of three, if no one steps forward to challenge, this inner court selection will conclude here. Three... two..."

Chen Fan was frantic and was just about to move when a voice rang out behind him. "Hold on, I'll do it!" Then a figure flashed forward and charged into the martial arena. Charged—there was no other word for it. This man was tall and powerfully built, with thick limbs and a broad, solid waist and back. The moment he appeared, his presence was astonishing.

Seeing another challenger enter, the elder retreated to the edge of the arena and resumed overseeing the match. Jiang Yueying froze briefly, then immediately prepared herself for battle.

The man clasped his hands. "I am Li Ruotong. Please instruct me." With that, he drew a short sword and looked at Jiang Yueying, but did not rashly attack at once.

Ruotong? He really did look like a barrel. A man built like that carrying a short sword looked downright bizarre. But as the saying went, the stranger it looked, the faster it fell. Jiang Yueying probably would not have an easy time of it either.

Chen Fan truly hoped this man could win. Judging by Jiang Yueying's earlier strength, she would not be easy to defeat. Best if the two of them fought until both sides were battered and crippled; then when he entered the arena, his odds would be much better. Besides, he was genuinely wary of Jiang Yueying's eerie movement technique. It would be best if he could avoid facing it.

As Chen Fan pondered, the two on the field moved. Jiang Yueying launched the first attack, several afterimages reappearing as she thrust her sword forward. Li Ruotong suddenly reversed his short sword, gripping the hilt with the blade pointing downward in a backhand grip. He slashed several streaks of sword light at the afterimages with lightning speed. The sword light collided with the afterimages, and both scattered apart.

A reverse sword stance? That strike was fast and dangerous! Chen Fan marveled inwardly. There were actually people like this among the outer sect disciples? He had been far too naive. He had always believed entering the inner court was as certain as nails driven into a board. Looking at it now, that notion was laughable in the extreme.

After scattering the afterimages, Li Ruotong did not stop moving. His figure flashed, and he was already before Jiang Yueying. Jiang Yueying herself had been startled by those earlier strikes. After creating afterimages, her true body would normally retreat, lest someone close in and trap her. Her advantage lay in her ghostly movement technique and the speed with which she unleashed her moves. Yet her opponent's speed was not inferior to hers in the slightest. More frightening still, this man was remarkably experienced in combat. In an instant, he had seized the right timing and attacked her before she could react.

A head-on clash was not Jiang Yueying's strength. She hurriedly twisted her body again, retreating repeatedly while splitting off several more afterimages. Yet Li Ruotong was completely unaffected by them. He charged straight ahead, intending to decide victory with one overwhelmingly powerful move.

Jiang Yueying had weathered countless battles. How could she let him have his way? While retreating, she flashed to the left and dodged the attack. Li Ruotong had put too much force into his strike, and his attack hit empty air. He staggered several steps forward and nearly fell.

At the same time, Jiang Yueying saw the opening. How could she miss such a flaw in her opponent? In the blink of an eye, she had gathered Internal Qi again and thrust her slender sword swiftly toward Li Ruotong. This time, she did not create afterimages. First, that movement technique required a great deal of Internal Qi, and she could not use it without limit. Second, she believed her opponent had exposed a weakness. With this move, victory or defeat would be decided.

Yet what she had not expected was that victory and defeat indeed became clear—only the victor was not her. Just as Jiang Yueying flashed behind Li Ruotong with her sword raised, about to stab him, she suddenly felt something pierce her lower abdomen. She was horrified and hurriedly drew back, coming to a halt. Li Ruotong had actually turned his back to her and stabbed backward with a reverse-handed strike. However, he had clearly restrained his Sword Qi. The blade merely pricked her skin and left a small wound. Jiang Yueying secretly counted herself fortunate. If this had been a fight to the death, it would not have been just a superficial injury.

"I lost." Jiang Yueying was inferior in skill and had nothing more to say. Leaving those words behind, she walked out of the martial arena.

Li Ruotong turned around and clasped his hands again. "Senior Sister, thank you for yielding!" It seemed that though this burly man looked rather weathered, his actual age was likely younger than Jiang Yueying's.

Li Ruotong naturally took his place at the center of the martial arena. This should be the end, right? Everyone thought so. Quite a few disciples also considered taking advantage of the fact that his Internal Qi had not yet recovered to sneak in and try their luck. But though anyone could enter this competition, everyone knew their own limits. Setting aside whether they could win, if Li Ruotong crushed them instead, they would lose all face.

"What is your relationship with the Li family of Golden Jade Manor in the Central Plains?" At that moment, a voice sounded. Everyone looked over and saw that it was Steward Xu of the Sword-Imperial Pavilion questioning Li Ruotong.

"Reporting to Senior, my ancestor was once a member of Golden Jade Manor. However, he encountered certain changes in those years and was forced to leave the manor. From then on, he lived in seclusion in the West Ridge Mountains. Old Lineage matters are not worth mentioning again. This junior has only ever yearned for the sword path, and I hope Senior will grant me this chance," Li Ruotong replied respectfully.

Steward Xu nodded but said nothing more. The competition continued.

But after that, no one dared come out to challenge him, and the scene once again fell into a stalemate. Over on the inner court side, Qin Ziyan and Ye Wan both looked anxious as they stared toward the outer sect crowd. What was Chen Fan doing? Had he given up? At that moment, the outer sect elder was also about to step out.

Just then, a figure moved. It was Chen Fan. He had no choice now. At this rate, if he did not go up, no one else would. He could only brace himself and step forward.

"Senior Brother Murong, hold this for me." Chen Fan tossed the Snake Staff to Murong Zhu, then sprang into the air and landed in the martial arena.

The instant he entered the arena, wave after wave of startled cries erupted from the watching outer sect disciples.

Someone shouted, "Wow, it's Chen Fan, the outer sect's Great Devil King!"

"So he's Chen Fan? The outer sect's Great Devil King? Why is he so young?"

"Great Devil King Chen Fan—I thought he wasn't coming to the competition. Now this will be a good show!"

Hearing the comments from below, Chen Fan's mouth twitched. What was this? Since when had he gained such a nickname?

On the inner court side, some people recognized Chen Fan as well, especially the Swordheart Hall disciples, who now watched the arena with curious concentration. Qin Ziyan and Ye Wan were also left speechless when they heard the title Great Devil King. Ye Wan in particular cursed inwardly, Great Devil King, Little Witch? They really are a perfect match!

"So you are the outer sect's Great Devil King. I have long heard of you, and today I shall experience your brilliant skills!" Li Ruotong did not waste words and directly clasped his hands in salute.

Chen Fan scratched his head and stood where he was, looking somewhat awkward.

Li Ruotong frowned. "What? You will not even draw a sword?"

The crowd below instantly erupted.

"The Great Devil King truly lives up to his name—he dared enter without even bringing a sword!"

"As expected, he acts outrageously. Isn't this far too arrogant?"

"Let me tell you the truth: the Great Devil King's swordsmanship is actually rather ordinary. He is not much good at fighting. His real skill is picking up girls."

"Don't talk nonsense. Be careful—they might hear you over there."

These people made no effort to keep their voices down. Everyone present, from the outer sect to the inner court, heard them clearly, leaving them all greatly intrigued. Ye Wan and Qin Ziyan, however, did not pay much attention to such remarks. After all, they knew Chen Fan's abilities better than anyone. Still, only now did they realize that Chen Fan had not even brought a sword with him...

"To be honest, I left home in too much of a hurry today and forgot to bring my sword. Senior Brother Li, please attack as you wish," Chen Fan said.

Another uproar swept through the crowd. "Isn't that too arrogant? Senior Brother Li should just chop him to death!"

"That really is the Great Devil King's style! A youth who is not arrogant has wasted his youth."

At this point, the crowd below had clearly split into two factions. One consisted of Chen Fan's supporters, disciples who had joined two years ago. The other consisted of disciples who had entered twelve years ago. They had cultivated for ten more years, after all—how could they possibly accept a little brat like Chen Fan?

Li Ruotong's face hardened. He did not believe anyone could come to a competition and forget to bring a sword. This man was surely full of himself and trying to play tricks. "In that case, do not blame me for being impolite." As he spoke, he gripped his sword in reverse and slashed at Chen Fan. At that moment, he unleashed all of his Internal Qi, with no need to hold back or guard himself. Chen Fan had no weapon, after all, and could not possibly counterattack.

Seeing his opponent attack, Chen Fan hurriedly retreated again and again. He had no way to resist and could only flee. He too felt utterly helpless. He really had forgotten his sword, but Li Ruotong probably believed he was trying to humiliate him, which was why he had used his full strength from the very first move.

A completely one-sided scene unfolded on the arena. Chen Fan was forced back step by step and was about to leave the field. The moment he stepped out of bounds, he would be judged defeated. Li Ruotong's momentum surged even higher. If Chen Fan did not retreat from this strike, he would be hit; if he retreated again, he would leave the arena. Just then, Chen Fan's body suddenly swayed. Li Ruotong struck empty air and nearly failed to stop himself from rushing out of the arena.

That move again—luring the enemy by feigning desire? Many people thought Li Ruotong was deliberately showing weakness and exposing a flaw again, but would that work? Chen Fan had no weapon. Would he dare attack so easily?

Li Ruotong was not doing it deliberately at all. He was thoroughly shocked. That strike had clearly been about to hit—how had the man suddenly vanished? No, he suddenly realized something and immediately looked up. A person was flying overhead. What kind of technique was this? How could someone leap so high in an instant?

Yet he did not hesitate. Turning around, he chased after Chen Fan again. Chen Fan had only just landed when he saw his opponent attacking and began fleeing once more. Then, when he had nearly been driven to the edge again, he used the Soaring Art to leap over Li Ruotong's head before continuing to run.

This chase continued for more than half an hour. At first, Li Ruotong pursued without letting up. He thought that Chen Fan could only keep fleeing while constantly using that miraculous Soaring Art. His Internal Qi would surely soon run dry, and once it was exhausted, would Chen Fan not simply be meat in his pocket? Yet to his immense shock, just as Chen Fan appeared about to exhaust his Internal Qi, he somehow took out a pill, stuffed it into his mouth, and immediately became lively as a dragon and vigorous as a tiger again.

Pills that replenished Internal Qi were not cheap. Though Li Ruotong was greatly surprised, he assumed Chen Fan could have no more than one or two at most.

But at that moment, Chen Fan's Internal Qi was depleted by quite a bit again, so he immediately took out another pill and stuffed it into his mouth. In an instant, all the Internal Qi throughout his body was restored. He was not worried in the slightest. These were no miraculous elixirs—merely low-grade poison pellets Chen Fan had made himself. With his constitution, all he had to do was swallow poison and circulate his cultivation slightly, and his Internal Qi would recover. He still had seventeen or eighteen poison pellets in his pocket. Let us see who could outlast whom?