Chapter 41: Are You Scared Yet?

A Chiyan Beast was quickly devoured entirely by the group. Martial artists consumed a lot of energy, and even Han Mengmeng, a young girl, ate a hind leg before finally feeling full.

“Let’s go. It’s getting late. I hope we can reach the Great Yan Empire before sunset,” Lin Fan stood up and said.

“Alright, Senior,” Zang Tianhao nodded. During the process of dividing and eating the Chiyan Beast, no one spoke, and Zang Tianhao remained on high alert around Lin Fan without asking anything. To Zang Tianhao, the more questions he asked, the more dangerous it would become.

Along the way, Zang Tianhao instructed Han Mengmeng to stay behind and not get too close, so that if something happened later, he could buy time for her to escape.

During the journey, the others also consciously quickened their pace, eager to reach the Great Yan Empire as soon as possible.

As for the appearance of the mysterious expert, no one felt the slightest excitement. They didn’t think that encountering a powerful figure would bring them any benefits. To them, just surviving was already a good outcome.

In this forest, countless people had died—each death a bloody lesson.

Lin Fan also noticed that these people intentionally kept their distance from him. However, Lin Fan didn’t take it to heart. As long as he could reach the Great Yan Empire, everything else didn’t matter much to him.

The two martial arts techniques, “Reversing the Heavens” and “Black Tiger掏Heart,” had already become difficult for ordinary martial artists to help him gain experience.

Especially the “Black Tiger掏Heart” technique—even Ni Mantian, a martial artist at the eighth stage of Divine Entry, could no longer help him gain any experience, not to mention others.

Could it be that “Black Tiger掏Heart” was superior to “Reversing the Heavens?”

“Stop…”

Just as Lin Fan and the others were passing through a narrow gorge flanked by steep cliffs, a group of unidentified individuals suddenly surrounded them from both front and back.

“Hand over your belongings and leave this woman here, and the rest of you may go,” a muscular man in black armor stepped forward, carrying a Five-Tiger Severing Door Blade with a fierce and imposing presence.

The man was bald, with a twisted, jagged scar running from his forehead all the way down to his jawline, making him look extremely sinister.

His massive blade was black in color with a sharp, gleaming edge, and the tiger’s head carved into the hilt looked menacing and fierce.

When Zang Tianhao saw the man with the huge blade, his expression immediately changed.

“Qu Xiangge of the Severing Door.”

“Hehe, you’ve got good eyesight,” Qu Xiangge swung his blade sideways, creating a sharp whistling sound through the air. “Since you’ve got sharp eyes, hand over your things and leave the woman here, and you can all scram.”

“Qu Xiangge, you and I are both students of Tianfu Academy…” Zang Tianhao knew who Qu Xiangge was.

He was a notorious bandit of the Great Yan Empire, a disgrace to Tianfu Academy.

“Don’t give me that crap!” Qu Xiangge roared furiously, lifting his blade and unleashing a slash that sent a blade of energy soaring through the air straight toward one of Zang Tianhao’s companions.

The man’s face turned pale with terror. Sweating profusely, he tried to raise his sword in defense, but the slash was so powerful and fierce that he felt utterly unable to resist.

“Qu Xiangge, how dare you…” Zang Tianhao was shocked. He hadn’t expected Qu Xiangge to actually attack.

Qu Xiangge had once been a student at Tianfu Academy but later left after suffering injustice, becoming a self-proclaimed leader of outlaws. Many experts from Tianfu Academy had wanted to eliminate this shame but couldn’t find him because he had hidden himself well, so he had remained unharmed all this time.

Now, this incoming blade force was something even Zang Tianhao himself wasn’t sure he could withstand.

Just as Zang Tianhao was preparing to fight for his life, he suddenly saw an unremarkable-looking hand extend out and block the tyrannical blade force.

Zang Tianhao’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. How was that possible?

Lin Fan looked at Qu Xiangge. He had reached the fourth stage of先天, and his cultivation wasn’t bad—actually one level higher than Lin Fan’s. However, Lin Fan felt that this guy was utterly wasting his time.

“Senior…” The man who had thought he was about to die just moments ago looked at Lin Fan with deep gratitude. If it weren’t for the senior saving him, he would have been killed by that blade.

Qu Xiangge’s blade technique was fierce and powerful. Even among martial artists at the same fourth stage of先天, none could claim to withstand him for long.

“Who are you?” Qu Xiangge looked at Lin Fan warily. He had been observing Zang Tianhao and the group of eight when they entered the Sunset Forest. Now there was an extra person—what was going on?

Lin Fan looked at Qu Xiangge and quickly formed a plan in his mind. Then he turned to Zang Tianhao. “You all go ahead first. I’ll catch up with you later.”

Lin Fan didn’t want Zang Tianhao and the others to stay here, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to fully unleash his abilities.

“Senior, you…” Zang Tianhao looked at Lin Fan with a hint of guilt. Earlier, he had doubted the senior, yet now the senior was sending them ahead and staying behind alone to face this group of bandits.

“As a senior, it’s only natural to let the juniors go first. That’s always been my way of doing things.” Lin Fan said solemnly, his hands clasped behind his back.

At that moment, the sky seemed to clear, and all impurities were exposed and dispelled by Lin Fan’s righteous and majestic words.

Han Mengmeng, who had previously harbored resentment toward Lin Fan, now looked at him with admiration.

The words the senior had spoken earlier had touched her heart. In Han Mengmeng’s eyes, the senior’s figure had become towering and magnificent, a dazzling light that almost blinded her.

“Senior, I’m sorry. I doubted you earlier…” Zang Tianhao apologized.

Lin Fan waved his hand. “It’s nothing. If a senior can’t even show tolerance, then he doesn’t deserve to be called a senior. Go ahead. I’ll catch up with you later,” Lin Fan said calmly.

“Understood. Let’s go…” Without hesitation, Zang Tianhao led the others away immediately.

Qu Xiangge wanted to chase after them, but seeing the mysterious man standing still, he held his breath and dared not move recklessly.

Once Zang Tianhao and the others had left, Lin Fan looked at Qu Xiangge and smiled slightly. “Alright, I think it’s time for me to go too.”

Qu Xiangge was momentarily stunned, then quickly realized. “Damn you, trying to mock me. Take this!”

“Five-Tiger Severing Slash!”

Qu Xiangge roared, leaping into the air. The fierce blade force tore through the air with a loud crackling sound.

Lin Fan glanced sideways. With a flick of his finger, he activated the “Flower-Brushing and Chrysanthemum-Plucking Finger Technique,” lightly tapping Qu Xiangge’s hand that gripped the blade. Qu Xiangge’s expression immediately changed. A strange sensation of tingling pleasure coursed through him, followed by a sudden sharp pain in his palm. His grip loosened, and the massive blade fell into Lin Fan’s hands.

In an instant, Lin Fan kicked out, sending Qu Xiangge crashing to the ground.

“Boss, are you okay?” His subordinates rushed forward immediately.

Qu Xiangge waved them off, enduring the pain as he stood up. “Very well. Looks like I need to show you my real skills before you realize who I, Qu Xiangge, really am.”

Lin Fan looked at Qu Xiangge and sneered.

“What are you laughing at?” Seeing the opponent laughing, Qu Xiangge’s anger flared, and he felt an urge to tear him apart.

“Laughing at what? I’m laughing at all of you kneeling and surrendering to this old master.” At that moment, Lin Fan roared furiously, grabbed the tiger-door blade, and swung it toward himself.

Qu Xiangge was stunned, thinking the opponent had gone mad, actually attempting suicide with his own tiger-door blade.

His tiger-door blade was a high-grade weapon, almost reaching the level of a mystical artifact—unyielding and deadly, having claimed countless martial experts.

But the next second, Qu Xiangge and the others were left stunned.

As soon as the blade touched Lin Fan’s body, it shattered into three pieces and fell to the ground.

“My Severing Door Blade…” Qu Xiangge stared blankly at the broken tiger-door blade on the ground.

“If you don’t want to die, all of you kneel and surrender to this old master, or else this tiger-door blade will be your fate.” Lin Fan summoned his full aura and roared.

In Lin Fan’s eyes, engaging in a blade fight was such a hassle. One slash at himself was enough to scare the hell out of you.

At that moment, Qu Xiangge finally understood. The person before him was powerful—extremely powerful.

The tiger-door blade was no ordinary weapon. How could a mere mortal body withstand it? And yet he shattered it into three pieces.

“Senior… please spare my life!”

At that moment, Qu Xiangge lost his nerve and knelt to the ground with a thud.

The rest of the henchmen followed suit, one after another, kneeling behind Qu Xiangge.

Qu Xiangge was a man who could read the situation. He never imagined that there existed such a terrifying person in the world who could slash himself and destroy his tiger-door blade in an instant.

At that moment, Lin Fan smiled—a bright and radiant smile…