22: Chapter 22 A First Try

Old Zhu and Vice Minister Zhou Duan, fleeing toward the exit, had eyes full of horror; they burned their essence blood, sparing no cost to their lifespan to accelerate toward the Secret Realm exit.

Li Fan also noticed the anomaly in the high sky; thick tree roots descended from the heavens, piercing straight into the earth, causing the ground to shake violently.

Just as he was puzzled, an imposing pressure that swept across the entire Secret Realm descended upon every student, pressing down so hard that Li Fan could barely breathe, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

Fortunately, it did not last long, as if some entity was simply declaring its arrival here.

At the same time.

Numerous humanoid creatures with wings on their backs descended to the earth along with the roots.

"Shapeshifted Yao Race?"

Li Fan watched their aggressive approach; it didn't look like they were here to play role-playing games with him.

He immediately channeled his magic, scooped up Luo Qingqian, who was stunned by the scene in the sky, and turned to dive into the forest.

After finding a hidden spot surrounded by dense forest on all sides to hide, his terminal issued an alert:

[The school examination has ended, the rankings are finalized. Please evacuate toward the entrance in an orderly fashion.]

At the same time, an arrow appeared on the terminal, pointing toward what was likely the entrance.

Within the Secret Realm, chaotic Spells flew between the intertwined branches.

The Winged Race that broke in through the rift clashed with the official Cultivators of the Xuannü Civilization. Casualties were mounting, and generally speaking, the official Cultivators were at a disadvantage, unable to spare any energy to protect the students taking the exam.

Therefore, these students with infinite potential who had yet to grow up could only fend for themselves.

Li Fan was one of them.

With his not-so-advanced scouting methods, he detected at least two squads of the Winged Race searching nearby. Although this place was hidden, it certainly couldn't escape the investigation of Cultivators.

He gripped Luo Qingqian's hand tightly and fled toward the direction indicated by the arrow.

Just as Li Fan was weaving through the forest with Luo Qingqian, a bloodied Cultivator plummeted from the sky, landing on the ground and rolling, breaking through patches of trees before coming to a stop.

As the dust settled, Li Fan focused his gaze and saw that it was the dog-headed Cultivator he had met before.

He hunched over and barely managed to stand up, covered in blood. He must have just experienced a battle, or perhaps he was still in the midst of one.

Sure enough, three figures descended from the sky, all of them Foundation Establishment Winged Race, wearing mocking expressions.

"It seems this Human Race Cultivator is nothing special."

"His strength is mediocre, but they sure can run faster than our Winged Race. If it weren't for the three of us together, we really wouldn't have caught you."

Speaking of this, the Winged Race individual thought of something and spoke indifferently:

"However, I've heard that the Human Race has a stupid weakness. Now is the perfect time to verify it."

After speaking, he flicked his hands slightly, and a powerful air current swept forth, breaking the trees where Li Fan and the others were hiding.

"Stop running, or I will kill these two Mortals."

The Spiritual Qi circulating within the dog-headed Cultivator stalled, and he shouted angrily:

"Despicable!"

The three Winged Race in the sky acted as if they had heard something hilarious, bursting into shrill, mocking laughter.

"It's true, so just obediently accept your death."

They seemed to have already foreseen the dog-headed Cultivator's death, and simultaneously channeled their magic, intending to combine their attacks to kill him instantly.

The dog-headed Cultivator spat out blood foam, his Spiritual Qi erupting with no reservation as he prepared to make one last desperate struggle. At this critical moment, he even sent a voice transmission to Li Fan and the other.

"Run quickly when the chaos starts in a moment; I will hold them off."

Li Fan sighed and let go of Luo Qingqian's hand.

"No choice then."

He originally didn't want to intervene, but he hadn't expected this dog-headed Cultivator to be so righteous. The System in his mind also provided a prompt at just the right moment.

[Strongest Underdog Counterattack System: A new Bottom-Up Reversal item has been issued.]

Immediately, a long sword appeared in Li Fan's hand, called luofeng sword.

As soon as he grasped the sword, Li Fan felt a clarity in his heart, as if the sword had merged into one with him.

He knew it was his Physique, the Innate Sword Embryo, taking effect; he could wield the long sword as if it were an extension of his own arm the very first time he held it.

In a trance, many sword techniques appeared in his mind. Li Fan did not hesitate, immediately circulating his Spiritual Qi, imbuing it into the luofeng sword, and slashed a Sword Qi toward the three Winged Race in the sky.

The Sword Qi suddenly appeared from below, catching the Winged Race off guard, causing their ongoing combined attack technique to collapse and resulting in varying degrees of backlash.

The move was effective. Seeing that the gap between the Foundation Establishment Winged Race and himself was not as large as he had imagined, Li Fan did not give the Winged Race any room to breathe.

He circulated his Spiritual Qi, turning it into a white beam of light that shot straight toward them, while simultaneously, vibrations within his body showed his Spirit Reflection at full display.

The Spiritual Qi within a few hundred meters gathered and crushed down toward the Winged Race in the sky.

Crisp sounds of bones cracking popped, and the Winged Race in the sky plummeted rapidly.

Meanwhile, Li Fan was gathering a sword move from bottom to top, slashing horizontally to meet them.

Seeing the critical situation, the three Winged Race panicked and tried to use life-saving techniques, but the Spiritual Qi within their bodies circulated sluggishly and they couldn't execute them in time.

With their souls trembling in fear, they had no choice but to use their most primal instincts, flapping their wings in an attempt to escape.

Unexpectedly, with a crisp sword hum from the luofeng sword, the Winged Race flapped their wings but could not borrow even a fraction of the wind's power, and could only watch helplessly as the cold light of the blade in Li Fan's hand approached.

The sword light flashed, all in an instant.

To say that Li Fan met the three Winged Race with his sword would be less accurate than saying the three Winged Race were pressed by the Spirit Reflection to collide with the long sword Li Fan held up.

Thus, they were cleanly and neatly cut in half at the waist by the luofeng sword; severed limbs and remains rolled onto the ground, blood splattering everywhere.

Li Fan, in mid-air, skillfully performed a sword flourish, sheathed his sword, and finally landed slowly on the ground, calm and unruffled.

"Top-tier Qi Spirit Root, Innate Sword Embryo, truly extraordinary."

Li Fan maintained the appearance of an expert on the surface, but inwardly, he was extremely excited.

Just now, his body had naturally executed the most appropriate method to deal with the enemy; everything had been flawlessly smooth.

He couldn't even believe that he could so easily defeat three Foundation Establishment Cultivators across Realms.

Meanwhile, the dog-headed Cultivator wiped his eyes, which were blurred by black blood, doubting whether he had seen it correctly...

"This little friend Senior... no, this Fellow Daoist... uh. Senior?" He was so horrified that he became incoherent.

Seeing this, Li Fan didn't waste any words.

"Brother, stop rambling there, let's run quickly; another bunch is coming from behind."

After speaking, he stopped paying attention to the dog-headed Cultivator, took his sword in one hand, grabbed Luo Qingqian's hand with the other, and hurried away.

Only a few dozen breaths had passed from beginning to end.