55: The Life-Burning Pill (Grand Martial Master Edition) is such a great deal!

The training ground was deathly silent for a full ten seconds.

Then, it erupted!

"I... what did I just see?!"

"Five Ancient Species! All... stepped on by Lin Fan alone?!"

"Those were Martial Ancestors! Five Martial Ancestors!"

"What exactly is Lin Fan's Realm?! Peak Martial Ancestor?! Or... Martial King?!"

"Impossible! He's only eighteen! An eighteen-year-old Martial King? That's a fucking myth!"

The students went completely wild.

Some rubbed their eyes, some pinched their thighs, and one even slapped themselves—it hurt! It wasn't a dream!

The two Martial Ancestor guards behind Instructor Bai Su turned pale, cold sweat dripping from their foreheads.

They were thinking of intervening to protect Lin Fan if necessary just a moment ago.

Now it seemed... protect him, my ass!

The ones who needed protection were those five Ancient Species!

Instructor Bai Su stared intently at Lin Fan, her pupils behind her gold-rimmed glasses shrinking violently.

Her right hand was trembling slightly.

When Lin Fan used that finger strike earlier, her internal senses screamed a warning—Danger! Extreme danger!

The level of power contained in that finger strike had already exceeded her scope of understanding!

That wasn't a Martial Skill.

That was... the embryonic form of a Law!

"This kid..." Instructor Bai Su muttered to herself, "What kind of monster is hidden inside him?"

...In the arena.

Lin Fan kicked away the Demon Ape beneath his foot and casually took a pack of crispy noodles from his storage space.

He crushed them and poured them into his mouth.

Crunch, crunch.

Quite tasty.

"Hey, Brother Lizard."

He kicked Red Scale, who was still frozen in place, with the tip of his foot while eating. "Still want to fight?"

Red Scale's eyes rolled frantically, a "he-he" sound coming from his throat.

He certainly wanted to speak!

But he was fucking frozen!

Lin Fan seemed to just remember and snapped his fingers.

"Release."

Buzz!

The restriction vanished.

Red Scale fell to the ground with a thud, panting heavily.

He struggled to get up, but his blood qi was in disarray, his Meridians were damaged, and he couldn't even stand steadily.

"You..." Red Scale looked up, staring fixedly at Lin Fan. "What evil art did you use?!"

"Evil art?" Lin Fan raised an eyebrow. "You lose and call it an evil art? Is this all you Ancient Species are worth?"

He crouched down and patted Red Scale's face, which was swollen like a pig's head.

"Listen, little lizard."

"I don't care what Secret Realm you're from or how many years you've Cultivated."

"Here, even if you're a Dragon, you coil up; if you're a tiger, you crouch down."

"If you dare talk back to me again..."

Lin Fan's gaze turned cold.

Crack!

He stepped on Red Scale's right hand!

His finger bones were completely shattered!

"Ahhh!!!" Red Scale let out a shrill scream.

"I'm only crippling one of your hands," Lin Fan said indifferently. "Next time, it'll be your Dantian."

The entire audience gasped!

Ruthless!

So ruthless!

This was an Ancient Species!

Backed by an ancient Secret Realm!

Yet Lin Fan just crippled him without a second thought!

"Lin Fan!" Instructor Bai Su finally couldn't help but speak up. "Enough!"

Lin Fan looked up and grinned. "Instructor, when they were trying to kill me just now, why didn't you say 'enough'?"

Instructor Bai Su choked on her words.

"Training Camp rules: private duels are forbidden, and violators will have their cultivation destroyed." Lin Fan stood up and brushed off his pant legs. "I'm just helping you enforce the rules."

He pointed at the five half-dead Ancient Species on the ground. "They attacked first; I acted in self-defense."

"Actually, I was quite gentle..."

Lin Fan shrugged. "Can't help it, I'm a kind-hearted person."

"Others want to kill me, and I only cripple them. Tell the people behind them not to thank me."

"You!" Instructor Bai Su was exasperated.

But she really couldn't say anything.

It was indeed the Ancient Species who attacked first, and they used killing moves right from the start.

Lin Fan's counterattack was perfectly reasonable.

It's just... this counterattack was too fucking ruthless!

"Take them to the infirmary," Instructor Bai Su said to the guards behind her. "Use the highest-spec Treatment Pods."

The two guards hurried forward and carried the five Ancient Species away in a pathetic state.

When they passed by Lin Fan, the two of them subconsciously took a wide detour.

Fearing that if this lord was unhappy, he'd cripple them too... "Alright, everyone disperse!"

Instructor Bai Su waved her hand. "Today's training is canceled! Everyone return to your dorms and wait for orders!"

The students scattered like they had been granted a grand amnesty.

But the way they looked at Lin Fan had completely changed.

Awe.

Fear.

And a hint of... worship.

In this world where martial arts reigned supreme, strength was everything. Lin Fan had used the most brutal method to prove who the boss was here...

Lin Fan returned to his private villa—SSS+ rating treatment, one villa per person, complete with a private training room and hot spring.

Once the door was closed.

The arrogant expression on his face vanished instantly.

It was replaced by pallor.

"Pfft!"

A mouthful of dark red blood sprayed onto the floor.

In the blood, faint golden flames seemed to be burning.

[Warning: life-burning pill side effects have erupted! Host's lifespan reduced by three years! Permanent loss of 5% blood qi value!]

[Current Status: Meridians damaged by 17%, blood qi value dropped from 12.5 to 11.8, Realm fallen from Great Martial Master to Peak Martial Master.]

"Damn it..." Lin Fan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Acting cool really fucking costs a lot of life."

That one-against-four just now seemed easy.

In reality, he had used a life-burning pill—the same kind from the Beast Tide, only this time it was the Great Martial Master version.

During the last Beast Tide, the double backlash of the Martial King Experience Card and the life-burning pill...

...had mostly been fully repaired under the Sacred Heart Art and various medicinal resources.

It was basically all healed up.

He actually didn't need the life-burning pill to deal with the five Ancient Species today.

But what he wanted wasn't just to win.

It was to crush them.

It was to shock them.

It was that kind of prestige-gaining effect that made everyone question their lives.

So, he popped a pill.

Anyway, with the Sacred Heart Art and the System, this bit of backlash... he could take it!

"System, open status panel."

[Host: Lin Fan]

[Realm: Peak Martial Master (Temporary Drop)]

[blood qi value: 11.8 (Original: 12.5)]

[Lifespan: 97 years remaining (Original: 100 years)]

[Injuries: Moderate damage to Meridians, requires 3 days to recover]

[prestige value: 21,570 points (Spending 3,000 prestige value to exchange for the life-burning pill)]

Seeing his lifespan decrease by three years, Lin Fan's mouth twitched.

"A loss, a total loss... Next time I need to find a cheaper way to act cool."

Even though he said that, he knew in his heart—it was worth it!

That wave just now directly harvested over ten thousand prestige value!

And it intimidated the entire place!

From now on, in this Training Camp, he can walk unopposed!

Who would dare provoke him?

Ancient Species? Five Martial Ancestors working together were stepped on by him!

Geniuses from noble families? Three hundred of them couldn't beat him alone on the National Examination arena!

"However..." Lin Fan's eyes narrowed slightly. "The Secret Realm behind those five Ancient Species probably won't let this go easily."

When he crushed Red Scale's hand bones just now, he vaguely felt a hidden imprint inside the other's body.

That was a Bloodline Imprint.

Once damaged, the old monsters in the Secret Realm would immediately sense it.

"Let them come." Lin Fan grinned. "I just happen to be short on prestige value."

He sat cross-legged and circulated Muscle and the Sacred Heart Art, beginning to heal his injuries.

Pale gold and ice-blue True Qi flowed through his Meridians, repairing the damage bit by bit...