He stretched out his hand, palm up, the meaning clear.
Lin Fan looked at him, but didn't rush to answer.
He glanced down at the hand that had just held the token, then looked up at the cultivators watching the spectacle around him. Each of them stared at him intently, like wolves that hadn't eaten for three days seeing a piece of meat that had just been taken out of its cage.
"This is... the rule of Emperor Pass?"
He asked a question calmly, as if asking for directions.
A young cultivator nearby chuckled, his tone carrying a hint of superiority from someone with more experience. "It's not exactly a rule, more like a tradition. Newcomers to the sect receive rewards, but if they're not strong enough to keep them, someone else will naturally safeguard them for them."
"You can take it back when you become stronger."
"Of course, that's assuming you live to see that day."
After he finished speaking, several people around him also laughed, their laughter neither loud nor soft, like a pack of hyenas watching.
The Demon Race's finger twitched.
He stretched it forward again, his tone tinged with impatience. "Stop dawdling, hand it over, or you'll suffer the consequences."
Lin Fan glanced at him.
There was no emotion, no anger, not even curiosity in that glance. It was like seeing a stray dog blocking the way on the street; there was no ripple in your heart, only a desire to make room for it to walk.
He raised his right hand and casually flicked the air.
A stream of chaotic energy escaped from his fingertips, silently passing through the gap between the two and landing precisely in the center of the Demon Race's chest.
The Demon Race's lips still held that contemptuous smile, but he didn't even have time to react.
boom!
The moment that Chaos Qi landed on his chest, an indescribable power spread outwards from his chest, exploding along his meridians, bones, and flesh.
"Boom!"
His body cracked from the chest inwards and outwards, his scales shattered, his skin tore, and the cracks spread like a spider web to his limbs. His whole body was like a stone sculpture that had been smashed from the inside, exploding into a cloud of dark blue blood mist.
The outstretched hand remained in a demanding posture...
The five fingers froze in mid-air for a moment, then, along with the entire arm, they turned into fine, bluish fragments, which drifted away into the twilight along with the blood mist.
"Sizzle!"
The blood mist fell to the ground with a hissing sound, like hot oil dripping into cold water. It was quickly absorbed by the ground, leaving only a few wisps of bluish smoke slowly dissipating in the air.
The entire hall remained silent for a full three breaths.
The cultivators who were still watching the spectacle were all stunned.
The young cultivator leaning against the wall opened his chin slightly, his eyes seemingly frozen in mid-air, as if he hadn't yet realized what was happening.
"This..."
Someone spoke softly, their voice tinged with undisguised surprise and doubt. "What... what method did he just use?"
"I didn't see it clearly."
He just flicked his finger and killed him instantly.
No one answered, because everyone was stunned by what had just happened.
The dissipating blood mist continued to slowly sink into the air, like a silent declaration.
Lin Fan withdrew his finger, glanced down at the lingering Chaos Qi on his fingertip, and casually flicked it away, as if shaking off a drop of water.
"That token from the Ancient Tower?"
He turned his head to look at the monk who had just suggested "paying some tuition," and asked casually, "Is this what you mean?"
He held the token in his hand and weighed it lightly.
The cultivator froze, took a step back, and stammered, "I... I never said I wanted to steal your token. I was just... I was just joking..."
Don't make jokes like that next time.
Lin Fan retrieved the token, dusted off non-existent dust from his robes, and strode towards the city.
However, at that moment, the light screen at the city gate suddenly lit up again.
The dark golden light screen flickered a few times, as if a full scan had just ended after being triggered by an external force. Lines of text, completely different from before, appeared on the screen, densely packed, like an open history book.
The words shimmered with a golden luster and floated in mid-air.
Each line scrolls slowly, like a stretched stream of information unfolding gently above the city gate.
[Name: Lin Fan ]
[Place of origin: Lin Clan, Three Thousand Provinces ]
[Physique: Chaos Gods and Devils Body (Complete)]
[Pupil Technique: Double Pupils (Awakened, Rank: Supreme)]
[Cultivation Level: Mid Quasi-Emperor Realm (Current)]
[ Immortal Qi: Three Paths (Can be upgraded)]
[Special Note: Ranked first among the younger generation in the Three Thousand Provinces, breaking the precedent of Emperor Pass: cleared the No Man's Land without taking damage, the first to cross the Other Shore of Death, and the first to obtain the Nine Netherworlds Devil Stone.]
[Current ranking of those entering the country: First.]
[Overall rating: To be determined.]
The words floated in the twilight, each one like a lit star, slowly rotating above the city gate, exuding an aura of unquestionable authority.
The entire city gate fell silent once again.
The silence was even more profound than before; even the wind seemed to be choked, leaving only the light of the words slowly flowing in the air.
Then, that silence exploded.
"Holy crap... three streams of Immortal Qi?"
" Chaos Gods and Devils Body! Double Pupils! He's Lin Fan? That Lin Clan prince?"
"The one who killed Jin Zhen?"
" The Demon Race race didn't even have a chance to attack; he just flicked his finger and it exploded? You call that Mid-Stage Quasi-Emperor?"
"So powerful, is this guy from the Three Thousand Provinces?"
Someone abruptly took a step back, as if afraid of being affected by the residual light from the golden screen.
Some people stood there stunned for a long time, their gazes shifting back and forth between the three strands of Immortal Qi and the Double Pupils, as if they couldn't believe their eyes.
The young cultivator who had just been talking about paying tuition fees had now completely shrunk to the back of the crowd, not daring to even raise his head, wishing he could become a brick in the city wall.
"He... he's that Lin Fan?"
" The Lin Clan son?"
"Damn... if I'd known it was him, I shouldn't have said that."
You can still shut up now.
In the distance, several pairs of eyes that had been hidden in the shadows also withdrew at the same time, like a school of fish startled, silently sinking to the bottom of the water.
The golden light curtain lasted for about ten breaths, then slowly dimmed, like a rolled-up scroll, merging back into the array patterns of the city wall, as if it had never appeared.
Lin Fan stood on the stone path, glanced at the rapidly withdrawing gazes, and then swept his gaze around at the cultivators who had all fallen silent. A slight smile appeared on his lips.
"That's settled then. Excuse me."
He stepped across the dark gold threshold and entered the real streets of Emperor Pass.
"Is he Lin Fan?"
"It's him. His name is being talked about all over the Emperor Pass now."
"He went to the city... so young?"
"Really? Aren't people from the Three Thousand Provinces supposed to be country bumpkins? What's with these three streams of Immortal Qi?"
You're asking me? Who should I ask?
The news spread like wildfire from the city gates in all directions.
Meanwhile, deep within the Emperor Pass, in ancient palaces and cultivation grounds, the gazes that had just been observing lit up simultaneously.
Like a pack of beasts that had been sleeping for a long time, finally smelling the scent of fresh prey, a new game of strategy silently began the moment that ray of light fell.