144: Who is the prey and who is the hunter is not necessarily true.

What kind of Formation is this?!

It can actually withstand the full-force strikes of three Martial Emperors at once?!

"It's my turn."

Lin Fan's voice came from within the Formation.

"Five Elements Rotation—Fire Borrows the Wind, Prairie Fire Modification!"

Boom!!!

Within the Formation, the Fire Law suddenly surged!

At the same time, Lin Fan blew out a breath, and a current of air containing the Wind Law was injected into the flames!

Wind aids the fire's momentum, and fire borrows the wind's power!

The Five Elements Formation, which originally only spanned ten feet, instantly transformed into a towering sea of fire covering a hundred feet!

Within the sea of fire, fire dragons roared, fire phoenixes cried out, and fire rain poured down!

"Not good! Retreat!"

Blood Cliff's expression changed drastically as he pulled back and retreated violently!

But it was too late.

"Five Elements Rotation—Earth Traps and Water Floods, Gold Locks and Wood Entangles!"

Lin Fan's hands changed hand seals again!

Countless earth walls suddenly rose from the ground, completely sealing off the retreat of the seven people!

Immediately after, a towering flood surged from underground, submerging the seven of them!

Within the flood, golden chains emerged from the Void Realm, locking the seven of them firmly!

Finally, countless vines burst through the soil, wrapping the seven of them like rice dumplings!

The Five Elements rotate, endless and ever-growing!

Integrating offense and defense, it was an unparalleled trapping kill!

"This... how is this possible?!"

Star Dust struggled desperately, but the more he struggled, the tighter the chains and vines coiled!

Qin Heartless's zither had already been soaked by water, and her sound attack techniques were completely ineffective!

Blood Cliff's blood blade was blocked by the earth walls; he couldn't even touch the corner of Lin Fan's clothes!

As for the four Peak Martial Kings, they had long been half-dead from the flood, lacking even the strength to struggle.

"Now..."

Lin Fan slowly walked out of the sea of fire and arrived before the seven people wrapped like rice dumplings. He crouched down, looked at their terrified eyes, and grinned:

"Who is whose midnight snack?"

[Ding! Trapped and killed seven powerful enemies with Five Elements Rotation, prestige value +15,000!]

[Current prestige value: 155,070 points!]

Blood Cliff gritted his teeth and hissed, "Lin Fan! If you kill us, you will be making enemies of the Blood Saber Sect, Star Palace, and the Zither Sect! You..."

"Too much nonsense."

Lin Fan waved his hand casually, and a Gengjin Sword Finger pierced through Blood Cliff's forehead.

[Ding! Killed Early Stage Martial Emperor Blood Cliff, obtained 1,000 Merit Points!]

Star Dust and Qin Heartless's faces turned deathly pale.

"Lin Fan, we admit defeat!" Star Dust said urgently, "Let us go, and the Star Palace will surely reward you handsomely!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Qin Heartless also hurriedly said, "The Zither Sect as well! You can have whatever you want!"

"What do I want?" Lin Fan stroked his chin, "What I want is very simple."

"Your lives, and Merit Points."

Puchi, puchi.

Two more sword fingers.

Star Dust and Qin Heartless died with their eyes wide open.

[Ding! Killed Early Stage Martial Emperor Star Dust, obtained 1,000 Merit Points!]

[Ding! Killed Early Stage Martial Emperor Qin Heartless, obtained 1,000 Merit Points!]

The remaining four Peak Martial Kings were already scared out of their wits, unable to even utter words of mercy.

"As for you..."

Lin Fan looked at them and thought for a moment:

"Mere Martial Kings are not qualified to die by my hand."

"I'll leave you your miserable lives. Go back and bring a message to the Forest Hunting Alliance."

He paused, his tone turning cold:

"If you want to kill me, fine."

"But next time, remember to send someone decent."

"Trash like this isn't even enough for a warm-up."

After saying that, he waved his hand, releasing the restraints on the four people.

The four felt as if they had been granted a grand amnesty and fled, crawling and scrambling away.

Only then did Lin Fan turn around and look at the System panel.

Merit Points: 12,300.

prestige value: 155,070.

Ranking: First (and leading by a wide margin).

"Not bad."

Lin Fan nodded with satisfaction.

"At this rate, it should be no problem to break fifty thousand Merit Points before the qualifiers end."

"The prestige value can also be accumulated to over two hundred thousand."

"By then, I'll be able to buy some good stuff again."

He returned to the cave and said to the dumbstruck Li Yan:

"Pack up, we're changing locations."

"The smell of blood here... is too strong."

Li Yan finally snapped out of it and nodded hurriedly: "Yes! City Lord!"

Looking at Lin Fan's calm profile, his heart was in turmoil.

One man fighting three Martial Emperors and four Peak Martial Kings alone, not only winning completely but also killing three and letting four go to deliver a message... what kind of dominance! What kind of arrogance!

"Following such a master..."

Li Yan's heart burned with excitement:

"Why worry that the future won't be glorious?!"

...Meanwhile.

Deep within the Secret Realm, in a temporarily constructed camp.

Over a dozen figures with powerful auras were gathered together, listening to the report from the four Peak Martial Kings who had fled back.

When they heard that Lin Fan had easily trapped and killed Blood Cliff and the other two using the Five Elements Rotation technique, the atmosphere in the camp instantly dropped to the freezing point.

"Five Elements Rotation... mutual generation and restraint..."

A young man wearing purple robes with a face as beautiful as a demon slowly opened his eyes, stars seemingly rotating within his pupils:

"This Lin Fan is even more troublesome than I imagined."

"Senior Brother Star Without Moon, what do we do now?" a Star Palace Disciple asked.

Star Without Moon, the Young Palace Master of the Star Palace, with a cultivation at the Peak of Early Stage Martial Emperor, and ranked fifth on the Merit List.

He was also one of the initiators of the "Forest Hunting Alliance."

"What do we do?" Star Without Moon smiled coldly, "Since the scouting failed, we'll do it for real."

"Pass down the order: all Alliance members are to assemble at Burial God Valley."

"I will set an inescapable net there."

"And wait for Lin Fan to walk right into it."

Everyone's eyes lit up.

Burial God Valley was one of the famous death zones in the Secret Realm. It was said that a Martial Venerable expert once perished there; the terrain was complex and filled with hidden killing intent.

If they set an ambush there, they would indeed have a chance to surround and kill Lin Fan!

"But... will Lin Fan go to Burial God Valley?" someone questioned.

"He will go," Star Without Moon said indifferently, "Because I have already had news spread that a Space-Time Secret Realm has appeared in Burial God Valley, containing the ancient Legacy, the heart of time and space."

"The heart of time and space contains a complete Space-Time Law Legacy. For someone who Cultivates the Space-Time Law, it is an irresistible temptation."

"And Lin Fan... just happens to Cultivate the Space-Time Law."

Everyone suddenly realized.

"Brilliant! Truly brilliant!"

"As expected of Senior Brother Star!"

Star Without Moon waved his hand, a cold glint flashing in his eyes:

"Go, act according to the plan."

"This time, I want Lin Fan... to never return!"

...Three days later.

Lin Fan's Merit Points had already broken the twenty thousand mark, firmly holding the top spot.

The second place was over five thousand points behind him, making it almost impossible to catch up.

During these three days, he had encountered several more waves of attacks from the "Forest Hunting Alliance," but they were all small fry, not even including a Martial Emperor, and were easily dealt with by him.

His prestige value had also risen to one hundred and eighty thousand.

"City Lord, Burial God Valley is just ahead." Li Yan pointed to a valley ahead shrouded in gray mist, "I heard that many Prodigies have been heading this way these past few days."

"Oh?" Lin Fan raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

"It's said... a Space-Time Secret Realm appeared in the valley, containing the ancient Legacy, the heart of time and space." Li Yan whispered, "Many people want to try their luck."

"The heart of time and space?" A sharp glint flashed in Lin Fan's eyes.

This thing was indeed useful to him.

He Cultivated the Self-Transformation Freedom Technique and needed a deeper understanding of the Space-Time Law.

If the heart of time and space truly existed, it would be worth a trip.

"However..." Li Yan hesitated, "I always feel something is off."

"These past few days, the attacks we've encountered have clearly decreased, but the people secretly watching us have increased."

"Moreover, Burial God Valley is a death zone that normally no one dares to enter, yet news of a Space-Time Secret Realm suddenly popped up..."

"It's too coincidental."

Lin Fan laughed.

"You've certainly become a lot smarter."

"This is clearly a trap."

"Then... are we still going?" Li Yan asked.

"Go, of course we go." A dangerous light flashed in Lin Fan's eyes, "Traps are prepared for prey."

"But who is the prey and who is the hunter..."

"That's not certain."