Up ahead, a man concealed beneath a black robe gave off a sinister presence from head to toe. Three people stood before him, two men and a woman.
"Qing Mang, today is the day you die." One of the men had a tall, slender build and an imposing bearing. Longsword in hand, he faced Qing Mang without a trace of fear.
"Cousin, why waste words on an evil cultivator like him? Let's just kill him and take his corpse back to the lineage. We'll earn a handsome reward." The woman was young and beautiful, with an arrogant look between her brows.
"Hahaha." Qing Mang looked at the three before him and burst out laughing. "The three of you dare provoke me? It seems you have no idea that today is the day you die. You two, I'll let you taste corrosion. As for you, little bitch, I'll make you wish you were dead and let you experience the most exquisite sensation in the world."
"Hmph, such insolence."
The three immediately flew into a rage. They surrounded Qing Mang in an instant and attacked without the slightest hesitation.
Behind a large rock.
Lin Fan secretly watched the battle before him and rubbed his chin. "Senior brothers, what do we do now? Someone's here to snatch our food. How about we take them all down? What do you think?"
If he had been alone, he would definitely have sat on the mountain and watched the tigers fight, then reaped the fisherman's profits when the time was right. That would have felt damn good.
But with his senior brothers here, he couldn't be quite so unrestrained. He had to be a little more composed.
"Wait, those three look like scions of a powerful lineage. Judging by their clothes, their standing isn't low. They're probably from the main bloodline, but I can't tell which lineage yet," Lü Qiming muttered to himself.
The various cities and towns under the Flame Magnificence Sect all had quite a few powerful lineages. Though different from sects, they were still forces that couldn't be underestimated.
Yin Xiaotian observed them closely. "They seem to be from the Wang Lineage of Cloudfall City. The Wang Lineage's head visited the sect once before. I saw them from a distance, and their clothes looked just like that."
"If they're from the Wang Lineage, I'm afraid we can't just stand by," Zhang Long said.
While they were discussing this, the situation changed dramatically. Those three were no match for Qing Mang at all and were knocked straight to the ground, coughing up blood.
"Impossible! The lineage's information was wrong. This man has already reached the body tempering ninth layer, not the eighth level of body tempering!" The slender man's chest had been caved in by a palm strike, and his eyes were filled with terror.
"Hahaha, the eighth level of body tempering? Just how old is this inside information of yours? I reached the body tempering ninth layer ages ago, and I'm about to set half a foot into the Earthly Dipper Realm. A bunch of trash at the body tempering seventh stage dared come looking for trouble with me? You really don't know whether you're alive or dead."
A vicious light blazed in Qing Mang's eyes. Then he looked at the woman lying off to the side. "A scion of a great lineage. Not bad."
Wang Shufeng's face was pale as he roared savagely, "Qing Mang, if you dare touch her, you'll die without a burial place!"
"Hehe." Qing Mang sneered and walked toward the girl, step by step, paying no heed to those threats.
Watching the terrifying Qing Mang approach her, Wang Ziyan turned deathly pale, her chest heaving violently. She was truly afraid now. She had only come this time to see the world and gain some experience. How could she have imagined that the evil cultivator Qing Mang had become an expert at the body tempering ninth layer?
Against strength like that, they were no match at all.
At the thought of everything she would soon face, despair appeared on her face.
"Holy shit, these guys are way too fucking pathetic." Lin Fan hadn't expected them to lose so quickly. It seemed they had been knocked to the ground before even a spark could fly.
He had wanted to watch an intense battle, but he hadn't seen so much as a hair before they went down on their knees.
Just then, Zhang Long patted Lin Fan's shoulder. "Junior Brother Lin, we'll keep Qing Mang occupied. Take those three and get out of here as fast as you can."
Yin Xiaotian nodded. "Yes, that's our only option. We really can't watch them die without helping. All right, Junior Brother Lin, make sure you get them away. We'll regroup afterward."
Just as Lin Fan was about to speak, Zhang Long waved his hand and shot out.
"Holy shit, what's with you guys? You're making me rescue people? I'm the main damage dealer, okay?" Lin Fan was somewhat speechless. Did he really look that little like an expert?
Damn it, looks like I've been underestimated because I don't show my stuff often enough.
"Junior Brother Lin, move!" Lü Qiming shouted.
Lin Fan looked at them helplessly. This was just too fucking shameless. Without hesitating further, he dashed out as well, intending to drag those three aside first so they wouldn't get shot while lying down.
"Ants! A bunch of trash at the body tempering seventh stage dares act so insolently?"
The scene had already erupted into a melee.
When the three Wang Lineage disciples saw people coming to save them, they immediately sighed in relief. But when they saw that their rescuers were only at the body tempering seventh stage, disappointment appeared in their eyes.
Even Wang Shufeng, with his cultivation at the eighth level of body tempering, was no match. What use were these people at the body tempering seventh stage?
Lin Fan glanced at the battle and went straight to the girl. Just as she was about to speak, he scooped her up like fishing the moon from the sea and slung her directly over his shoulder.
"What are you doing? Let me go!" Wang Ziyan's face flushed red.
"Stop talking nonsense. I'm saving your lives." Lin Fan didn't care about such things. In his eyes, she was just a girl. What was the big deal? The flesh was merely an outer shell. Touching her wouldn't kill her, and these were special circumstances anyway.
Besides, would a man like him, who partook of none of the mortal world's smoke and fire, care about such things?
Then he tucked the other two fellows under his arms at his waist.
"Brother, hurry and tell them to retreat. Qing Mang is too strong. They're no match for him," Wang Shufeng said, his face deathly pale.
"We're finished. We can't possibly escape. The information was wrong. Qing Mang is an expert at the body tempering ninth layer. We can't possibly escape." The other man looked miserable and had already given in to despair.
Lin Fan felt that these three talked far too much nonsense.
Suddenly!
The battle changed.
"Junior Brother Lin, run first!" Lü Qiming had the lowest cultivation and was sent flying by a single palm strike.
Zhang Long was also finding it increasingly difficult to hold on. The gap in cultivation was simply impossible to bridge. If their opponent had only been at the body tempering eighth layer, they would have been very confident of taking him down, but now that was impossible.
At that moment, Zhang Long wanted to snatch Lü Qiming away and disengage from the fight completely.
But how could Qing Mang give him that chance? Looking at those ants, he snorted coldly. "Want to leave? Dream on. Today, all of you will stay here."
Lin Fan hadn't expected the situation to change so quickly. He had thought his senior brothers could keep this fellow occupied for a while, but in the blink of an eye, they had fallen into a disadvantage.
Wang Ziyan didn't want to die here. She immediately grabbed Lin Fan's shoulder. "Run! Take me away from here, please!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Fan threw Wang Ziyan off his shoulder, showing no intention of cherishing the fragrance or sparing the jade. Then he roughly tossed the two men tucked under his arms onto the ground as well.
Pain appeared on Wang Ziyan's face as she glared at Lin Fan. She hadn't expected this man to be so rough.
"Senior brothers, get out of the way. Let me!" Hoisting his spiked club, Lin Fan charged menacingly toward Qing Mang.
"We're finished." Wang Ziyan watched everything in despair. This fellow was simply courting death. He clearly had a chance to take them to safety, yet he had wasted it.
Bang!
Caught off guard, Zhang Long took a direct palm strike. His face flushed with blood, and, unable to hold it back, he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Lin Fan immediately rushed forward and steadied Zhang Long. "Senior brother, hurry and rest. Watch me."
He had originally wanted Zhang Long and the others to fight their opponent for a while, but he hadn't expected them to lose so quickly.
Seeing his senior brothers beaten into such a state put him in a foul mood. He blocked Qing Mang's path, swung up the spiked club in his hand, and pointed it at him, his face brimming with overbearing swagger as he said:
"Trash, you dared bully my, Lin Fan's, friends. I'll give you one chance. How do you want to die?"
Zhang Long immediately grew anxious at the sight. "Junior Brother Lin, why didn't you run?"
Lin Fan swept his hand out and said calmly, "I, Lin Fan, never abandon my friends. Just lie there. Today, I'll show you how terrifying my strength is. Remember, I'm the main damage dealer, understand?"
Huang Fugui, who was already down on the ground, froze at those words. He felt that this despicable, shameless fellow before him had actually shown such loyalty.
Had I misunderstood something?
Looking at Lin Fan, Qing Mang hadn't expected another piece of trash to pop out. He smiled mockingly. "You? I'm afraid you don't even know how the word 'death' is written."
In Wang Ziyan's eyes, this fellow definitely had something wrong with his head. With his cultivation, how could he possibly be a match for the evil cultivator Qing Mang?
At that moment, she deeply regretted it. She shouldn't have come out to gain experience.
But now, it was already too late.