121: Chapter 121 One Sword Repels the Enemy

The entire battlefield fell into a deathly silence instantly!

Yue Changkong, Wulu, Gong Qianxue... everyone stared, dumbfounded, at the figure standing with a blade, bathed in blood, like a slaughtering demon god who had walked out of Hell; their minds went completely blank!

They knew Lin Fan was strong, but they never imagined that Lin Fan would be strong to this extent!

Is this really the power a Fourth Realm Martial Artist can possess?!

A deathly silence shrouded the mountain hollow stained with blood. Only the massive corpse of the Vajra Giant Ape was still twitching slightly, the scalding blood flowing out dyeing the ground a shocking dark red, steaming with white mist in the air.

Yue Changkong and Wulu stopped their movements. They looked at the man standing quietly before the giant ape's corpse, his body exuding cold Killing Intent, and the slight joy born from victory in their hearts was replaced by an even stronger sense of shock and awe.

One slash... just one slash!

It cleanly and neatly split a Peak Fourth Realm Yao Beast King, which was enough to plunge them all into a bitter battle, in two!

This strength, this dominance, had completely exceeded their understanding of the Fourth Realm Realm.

"So... so amazing..."

Gong Qianxue's pretty face, covered in mud, was filled with undisguised adoration. She looked at Lin Fan's upright back, and her large, bright eyes were almost sparkling.

As for Xu Changqing, after a brief moment of shock, he reacted immediately.

"Quick! Don't just stand there! Go check on Big Fool!" he shouted urgently, rushing first toward the burly figure who had fallen beneath the mountain wall, life or death unknown.

The group woke from a dream and followed, gathering around.

Lin Fan restrained his Killing Intent and walked quickly to Big Fool's side. He saw that the heavy armor on Big Fool's chest was completely shattered, revealing a terrifying, deeply sunken fist mark beneath. White bone fragments had even pierced through the skin, exposed to the air. He was breathing faintly, with more air going out than coming in.

"Big Fool!" Lin Fan's heart sank heavily. He reached out a trembling hand to check Big Fool's breath. The breath, so weak it was almost imperceptible, made his heart instantly sink to the bottom of the valley.

"Brother Gao, let me!" Xu Changqing stepped forward immediately, took a medicine bottle from his bosom, poured out a Medicinal Pill emitting a clear fragrance, and was about to stuff it into Big Fool's mouth.

"It's useless." Lin Fan shook his head, his voice hoarse. "His injury isn't just skin deep; it's his internal organs. That beast used its Origin Yao Beast power to forcibly shatter his heart vessels. Ordinary Medicinal Pills cannot save him."

Once these words were spoken, everyone's hearts turned cold.

Wulu's eyes turned red, and he punched a nearby rock hard, making a dull thud, actually cracking the hard rock with spiderweb-like fissures.

"It's all my fault! If I hadn't failed to entangle that beast, Big Fool would..." He roared in self-reproach, his voice filled with endless regret and grief.

"Now is not the time to talk about this!" Lin Fan's eyes held no panic; instead, they flickered with an extraordinary calmness and determination.

He waved the others back. Under their uncertain gazes, he took out a small jade bottle made of special warm jade, which he had never shown anyone, from the innermost part of his bosom.

He uncorked the bottle and, without the slightest hesitation, carefully dripped the liquid—which looked like melted emerald and radiated a vast life force, the Spirit Spring Essence—into the cracked lips of Big Fool, who had already fallen into a deep coma.

A miracle happened before everyone's eyes!

The moment that drop of green liquid, filled with mysterious power, slid down Big Fool's throat into his abdomen.

"Buzz—!"

An indescribable, warm, and vast, surging vitality erupted from Big Fool's body like a sun instantly ignited!

His previously sunken chest slowly and incredibly began to swell back up at a speed visible to the naked eye!

His honest face, which had lost all color, quickly regained its rosy hue!

What made them feel even more unbelievable was that Big Fool's breathing and heartbeat, which had been so weak they were almost about to stop, became strong and powerful again at this moment, like beating drums, "thump, thump, thump"!

"This... what kind of divine medicine is this?!"

Xu Changqing, Yue Changkong, and the others looked at this miraculous scene before them, completely stunned, their brains falling into a blank state and freezing!

Bringing the dead back to life! This was no longer an effect that ordinary Medicinal Pills could achieve!

This was clearly the legendary, true... Immortal Dew, which only the immortals above the Nine Heavens could possess!

The look in their eyes as they gazed at Lin Fan was no longer simple awe and adoration; it was a kind of fanatical and pious devotion, coming from the depths of their Souls, as if looking at a god!

"Cough... cough cough..."

Just as everyone was still in shock, Big Fool on the ground coughed violently twice and actually slowly regained consciousness.

He opened his eyes blankly, scratched his large head, looked at the concerned faces surrounding him, and asked in a silly, simple-minded tone:

"I... where am I? Where's that big monkey? Is the fight over? Can I... can I eat meat now?"

His words instantly broke the tense and heavy atmosphere.

Wulu was the first to be unable to hold back, laughing out loud. He stepped forward and gave Big Fool a bear hug, patting his back hard: "You foodie! All you think about is eating! You just crawled back from the gates of Hell, do you know that?!"

Big Fool was beaten until he winced, but he also grinned and chuckled foolishly.

A potentially fatal crisis was thus resolved by Lin Fan in a way that no one could understand.

And just as everyone was feeling fortunate and happy about Big Fool's resurrection.

A burst of greedy and cold, cackling laughter sounded without warning from the shadows of the dense forest not far away.

"Hehehe... What a touching drama of brotherhood, it really makes me, this seat, almost shed tears."

"And that divine medicine that can bring the dead back to life... It seems that today, I have struck real luck!"

The voice was hoarse and grating, like two pieces of rusty iron rubbing against each other, full of ominous and evil intent.

As the voice fell, a figure wearing a blood-colored robe, thin as a bamboo pole, and a pale, eerie mask on his face, walked slowly out of the darkness.

In his hand, he carried a strangely shaped blood-colored sickle that looked like a scorpion's tail hook.

A terrifying Aura, even colder and more evil than that of the Vajra Giant Ape, erupted from his body!

"blood hand butcher..."

Yue Changkong's pupils constricted sharply, and he subconsciously tightened his grip on the spear in his hand, his voice carrying a hint of unprecedented gravity.

"Mo Wuxin!"

Everyone present had their faces change drastically at this moment!

They never expected that this peerless Devil Head, notorious in the Divine Capital for cultivating evil arts by absorbing the blood and essence of Martial Artists, would appear here like a ghost without a sound!

And looking at his calm and relaxed appearance, he had obviously been lurking here for a long time!

The fisherman! From the very beginning, he had the intention of watching the tigers fight from the mountain and reaping the benefits as the fisherman!

"Brother Gao, be careful!" Xu Changqing was the first to react, shouting urgently, "The 'Blood Demon Disintegration Technique' he Cultivates is extremely strange. It can not only absorb human blood and essence but also turn himself into blood mist, immune to most physical attacks. It is extremely difficult to deal with! Do not engage in close-quarters combat with him!"

However, a more cruel smile appeared on Mo Wuxin's face.

His gaze bypassed everyone and locked greedily and tightly onto Xu Changqing, who had just been protected behind Big Fool and hadn't had time to get up!

In his eyes, this scholar with no power to truss a chicken was the perfect Breakthrough point among this group!

"Thinking of warning now? Too late!"

He let out a strange laugh, his figure suddenly turning into a mass of blood-red mist, and with a speed that completely defied common sense, he instantly bypassed everyone and lunged straight at the defenseless Xu Changqing!

He wanted to suck this weakest "bait" dry right in front of everyone!

"Oh no!"

Lin Fan and the others' faces changed drastically; they wanted to rescue him, but it was already too late! Mo Wuxin's speed was simply too fast, and too strange!

Seeing that Xu Changqing was about to die on the spot!

At that critical moment!

A white Sword Qi, faster, sharper, and purer than the blood mist Mo Wuxin had turned into, seemed to tear through space and flashed from the other side of the dense forest without warning!

The Sword Qi was extremely fast, as if it could even slash through time!

"Swoosh—!"

A soft sound of fabric being torn!

The blood-colored mist, which had been aggressive, paused abruptly in mid-air, and then let out a shrill scream full of pain and disbelief!

The blood mist re-condensed into Mo Wuxin's figure in the air.

On his chest, there was an extra terrifying sword mark that was deep enough to see the bone!

The sword mark ran through his entire chest, extending from his left shoulder to his right rib, almost cutting him in half!

Scarlet blood gushed out like a fountain!

"Who?! Who is it?!"

Mo Wuxin clutched his wound that was deep enough to see the bone and looked in disbelief toward the direction the Sword Qi had come from.

On a treetop not far away, a white figure was standing there quietly, not knowing when he had arrived.

He was dressed in white as snow, untainted by dust, and held an ancient long sword wrapped in plain brocade cloth in his arms. His figure was straight as a pine, and his temperament was as aloof as a Peak.

There was no expression on his face, and in those clear eyes, there was only the purest obsession with the sword.

"Heaven Sword Pavilion, Limitless Sword."

The cold voice had no emotional fluctuation.

"What I despise most is someone like you, who only knows how to hide in the back and take advantage of others... a rat."

Before his voice faded, his figure had already drifted down from the treetop. Before the person arrived, the Sword Qi had already gone ahead!

An invisible, yet extremely sharp, fierce Sword Intent instantly locked onto all of Mo Wuxin's life force!

"Invisible Sword Intent!"

For the first time, a look of "fear" appeared in Mo Wuxin's eyes!

He never dreamed that this setup, which he regarded as something he could manipulate at will, would have one accident after another! First, a Lin Fan with an unparalleled Physical Body who could kill a Vajra Giant Ape with one slash! Now, another peerless sword fanatic who had comprehended the legendary "Invisible Sword Intent"!

What on earth is going on in this Ten Thousand Beast Garden today?!

He dared not hesitate in the slightest, forcefully enduring the sharp pain in his chest as he let out a strange cry. Once again, he transformed into a cloud of blood mist, turned, and fled into the depths of the dense forest!

He knew that he had completely lost the opportunity to benefit from the situation today; if he didn't leave now, only death awaited him!

Limitless Sword did not pursue. He sheathed his sword, his face—frozen for ten thousand years—remained as calm as an ancient well, but in those pure eyes, an unprecedented, scorching Battle Intent ignited.

"You are very strong." He walked slowly in front of Lin Fan, his voice still icy but carrying a hint of appreciation for a worthy opponent. "His points token belongs to you. I want nothing."

He paused and pointed at Lin Fan: "I only want a fair fight with you!"

Lin Fan looked at him and revealed a cheerful smile of mutual respect between heroes: "Good. After the palace examination, I will accompany you at any time."

He knew that in this Imperial Capital, he had finally found the first true powerhouse who could be called an "opponent"!

But just at this moment, a burst of rapid footsteps came from all directions, carrying a heavy air of slaughter.

"Quick! Surround them!"

"His Highness the Heir has ordered! Not a single one can escape!"

Hundreds of Imperial Guard death soldiers, clad in black combat attire and holding powerful bows and heavy crossbows, surged out from the dense forest like a tide, surrounding Lin Fan, Limitless Sword, and the group who had just experienced a bloody battle in the center of the mountain hollow.

Leading them was a middle-aged general wearing silver soft armor with a sinister face; the iron-blooded Killing Intent radiating from him was in no way inferior to Mo Wuxin's Clone—a Fifth-Order Great Grandmaster!

Another Fifth-Order powerhouse!

"Has it finally come?" Looking at the dense encirclement, Lin Fan showed no fear; instead, he revealed a cold smile full of Battle Intent. He knew that the real killing move Ji Xuan had prepared for him was only just beginning.

Facing this elite Imperial Guard unit that had been waiting in comfort, everyone's heart sank to the bottom.

The previous great battle against the Vajra Giant Ape and Mo Wuxin's Clone had left them physically and mentally exhausted. Although Big Fool had been saved, he had temporarily lost his combat ability. Facing this elite unit with soaring Evil Qi at this moment, the outcome was self-evident.

"We're in trouble..." Xu Changqing's face was as pale as paper, and his fingers gripping the feather fan trembled slightly.

"Hmph, a bunch of cowards who only know how to shoot cold arrows!" Yue Changkong spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, gripped the thunderclap spear tightly again, and unyielding Battle Intent burned in his eyes.

Even on Limitless Sword's face, frozen for ten thousand years, a trace of gravity appeared. He knew that today they had fallen into a desperate situation with no chance of survival.

"Hehe... It seems you like this grand gift from this Heir, right?"

Ji Xuan walked out leisurely, surrounded by a group of aristocratic disciples, like a king inspecting his hunting grounds. His gaze passed over the crowd and finally landed on the eternally calm Lin Fan, his eyes filled with the mockery of a cat playing with a mouse.

"Lin Fan, aren't you capable of fighting? Aren't you arrogant? This Heir wants to see just how much trouble a loach from the North like you can stir up today!"

He looked at Limitless Sword with resentment: "And you! The Heavenly Sword Pavilion has always been reclusive, yet today you dare to make an enemy of Prince Ying's Mansion for the sake of a bumpkin? Once I deal with this bastard, I will settle the account with you properly!"

Limitless Sword glanced at him coldly, too lazy to even speak. This attitude of ignoring him made Ji Xuan so angry that smoke seemed to pour from his seven orifices.

"Attack!" he roared, "Forget about the one surnamed Sword for now! Concentrate all power to chop Lin Fan into meat paste! Remember, I want him alive! I want to personally crush his bones one by one!"

At the order, the silver-armored general waved his arm expressionlessly: "Fire!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!

The rain of arrows covering the sky whistled in again, and this time all attacks were concentrated on Lin Fan.

Facing the arrow rain that shrouded the sky like a black storm of death, everyone's heart sank to the bottom at this moment. This was a pure, desperate killing trap built from quantity and power!

Under such dense, covering attacks, any movement technique or skill seemed pale and powerless; there was no other way but to resist head-on!

"Big Brother!"

"Brother Lin!"

Wulu and Yue Changkong let out a roar, and without a second thought, they stepped forward, intending to build a defensive line for Lin Fan with their own flesh and blood. But they knew in their hearts that, facing these hundreds of armor-piercing arrows specially made for the Imperial Guard, this was tantamount to a mantis trying to stop a chariot!

However, at this critical moment! Lin Fan, who had always been protected behind them, suddenly moved!

There was no panic in his eyes; instead, in the depths of those eyes burning with anger, a madness and ruthlessness erupted, like a lone wolf driven into a desperate situation!

He did not retreat, nor did he block! In front of everyone, he made a move that no one could have expected—a move that could be called insane!

He turned around abruptly, completely exposing his back to the rain of arrows covering the sky! Then, he planted his legs, which had just regained a sliver of strength, deep into the ground. His body coiled like a drawn bow to store power, pouring all the remaining blood energy and strength in his body into his right leg!

His target was not the rain of arrows in the sky, but the... corpse of the Vajra Giant Ape, which was as huge as a small mountain right by his feet!

"Get—up—!!!"

Lin Fan let out a hoarse roar like an injured beast!

His right leg, infused with all his strength, struck the Vajra Giant Ape's iron-hard waist and ribs like a giant siege hammer!

"Boom—!!!"

A terrifying, teeth-gritting loud noise! That terrifying King of Yao Beasts, weighing tens of thousands of jin, was actually kicked off the ground by Lin Fan's all-out effort!

Its massive corpse, covered in golden fur, was forcefully lifted up like an irregular giant shield, blocking in front of Lin Fan and everyone behind him!

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

The next moment, the rain of arrows covering the sky, capable of piercing metal and stone, poured down like the most violent downpour onto the incredibly tough fur of the Vajra Giant Ape!

Countless arrows were deflected by the tough fur of the Yao Beast King, but more were deeply embedded into the thick flesh of the giant ape! In an instant, the massive corpse of the Vajra Giant Ape was shot into a constantly trembling "hedgehog," flesh and blood flying, the scene bloody to the extreme!

Although Lin Fan and the others hiding behind the corpse were unharmed, they were shaken by the terrifying impact transmitted through the body, causing their blood to churn as if their internal organs had been displaced.

Lin Fan, already at the end of his tether, bore the brunt of it; he suddenly spat out a large mouthful of blood, his face instantly becoming paler than gold paper.

But he had held on! With his own strength, in a way that no one could imagine, he had forcefully withstood the first volley of the hundreds of Imperial Guard death soldiers!

The entire battlefield fell into a strange, deadly silence once again.

Whether it was the princes and nobles on the viewing platform or that group of arrogant Imperial Guard death soldiers, all were dumbfounded as they looked at the bloody yet spectacular "mobile fortress" made of the Yao Beast's corpse, their brains completely shutting down.

"This... this is also possible?!" The smile on Ji Xuan's face froze completely; he pointed at Lin Fan like he had seen a ghost, incoherent.

"Good! A good Lin Fan! A good grasp of the combat opportunity!" On the viewing platform, that old general stood up excitedly once again, his murky old eyes filled with endless appreciation and fanaticism, "This child's Heart-Nature, decisiveness, and courage are all that of a commander! A peerless commander!"

However, Lin Fan knew the crisis was far from over. This corpse could block at most one more volley; he could not sit and wait for death!

That silver-armored general also recovered from his shock; a trace of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes as he raised his arm again, preparing to issue the order for the second volley.

He didn't believe that this Lin Fan could create another miracle!

But just at this moment!

"Clang—!" "Clang—!" "Clang—!"

Three melodious, solemn, ancient bell tolls that seemed to pierce through time and space and cleanse the Soul, rang out across the entire Ten Thousand Beast Garden without warning!

The bell representing the end of the time for the second round, [Ten Thousand Beast Hunt], had rung!

The silver-armored general's high-raised arm froze suddenly in mid-air! A trace of struggle and hesitation flashed in his eyes.

"What are you still stunned for?! Fire for this Heir! Kill him!" Ji Xuan let out a hysterical roar, "If anything happens, this Heir will bear full responsibility!"

Under Ji Xuan's urging, a trace of decisiveness flashed in the silver-armored general's eyes, and his arm was about to swing down!

Just at this critical moment, a feminine, sharp, yet supremely majestic voice, like thunder from the Nine Heavens, exploded in everyone's mind!

It was that Grand Eunuch who always stood by the Emperor's side, Eunuch Wei!

"The Emperor has a decree—!"

"The time for the second round of the Martial Examination palace trial has arrived! All fighting must stop immediately! Anyone who violates this order, regardless of status or reason, will be executed on the spot, and their nine generations will be exterminated!"

"Exterminate... their... nine... generations!"

The last four words, like four cold, ten-thousand-year-old snow-capped mountains, crashed down, causing the silver-armored general's decisive, slaughter-hardened heart to freeze instantly!

He could not fear death, but he could not gamble the lives of his entire Family behind him!

He slowly, slowly, lowered that arm.

"Withdraw arrows." He used all his strength to squeeze these two words out from between his teeth.

The dense Imperial Guard death soldiers, as if granted amnesty, also hurriedly put away the powerful bows in their hands.

"No! Do not withdraw! Kill him for this Heir! Kill him!" Ji Xuan roared like a madman, but his hysterical voice, in the face of Eunuch Wei's cold "Imperial Decree," seemed so pale and so ridiculous.

Lin Fan leaned against the riddled corpse of the giant ape, gasping for breath. He looked at Ji Xuan in the distance, whose face was twisted with impotent rage, and on that face, pale as paper, finally, once again, appeared a mocking, victorious smile.

He had won the gamble once again.

This time, what he gambled on was the law of the Imperial Family, and the majesty of the Emperor!