5: Chapter 5: After countless trials and tribulations, he finally achieved... Qi Refining!

"The strongest check-in system has gone offline. The strongest face-slapping system is now officially online!"

A System prompt appeared in his mind. Li Fan ignored the woman's question, his brows furrowed in deep thought.

"Why did it switch back to the strongest face-slapping system? Does this mean I have to act arrogant again?"

Thinking this, Li Fan looked at the Water Snake flicking its tongue opposite the woman, feeling increasingly vigilant.

"Hey! I'm talking to you, did you hear me?"

The woman's haughty voice came again, filled with an unrefusable tone of authority.

"Help me block the Water Snake; I need a moment more to recover."

Li Fan suspected he had misheard and pointed a finger at himself.

"Me?"

The woman glanced at him, drew a short blade from her waist with a backhand motion, and tossed it toward him.

Li Fan didn't move at all, letting the short blade fall by his feet.

He hadn't achieved a Breakthrough to the Qi Refinement Stage yet; fighting a Water Snake in the Qi Refining Realm hand-to-hand was practically suicide.

At this thought, Li Fan's gaze turned cold as he looked at the woman.

As a Cultivator, it was impossible for her not to know the difference between a Mortal and a Qi Refining monster.

Asking him to go up and block it was, frankly, just asking him to sacrifice his life to buy time so she could recover from her injuries.

"I didn't expect this woman to be so malicious. You really can't judge a book by its cover."

The woman before him had neat, wine-red short hair, a delicate face, and looked soft and kind.

Who would have thought she could be so cold and ruthless toward a Mortal?

The woman seemed to see through his thoughts and pulled out the official banner.

"According to the 'Secret Realm Law,' ordinary citizens must follow the command of the exploration team within the Secret Realm, or face severe punishment!"

Having said that, she lifted her chin, signaling Li Fan to pick up the short blade on the ground.

Seeing the woman use the Secret Realm Law to pressure him, Li Fan was not one to be outdone and retorted directly.

"The 'Secret Realm Law' also stipulates that exploration teams must protect the safety of ordinary citizens!"

"Following my command is protecting your safety!"

The woman immediately retorted with a shameless tone, showing no intention of backing down.

Li Fan couldn't be bothered to waste words with her. He looked around, muttering to himself.

"Where is that damn Water Snake? This woman has been yapping for ages, and it's just watching from the side? Why doesn't it go back to attacking her!"

Just then, he suddenly noticed that behind the Water Snake lingering nearby, another, thicker Water Snake slowly emerged from the mist.

"So it was waiting for an accomplice."

Li Fan inwardly cursed, thinking this was bad. Taking advantage of the woman's attention being entirely on him and her not yet having noticed the second Water Snake, he turned and bolted.

Seeing Li Fan suddenly run away, the woman finally noticed the extra Water Snake.

She wasn't a match for one, let alone two, so she immediately chased after Li Fan to escape.

On her way, she bent down and picked up the short blade from the ground.

The two Water Snakes also wiggled their bodies and followed closely behind.

"Do you want to violate the 'Secret Realm Law'? Why aren't you coming back to fight the Water Snakes with me!" The woman scolded sharply while chasing him.

Li Fan didn't look back, only focused on running for his life.

Seeing this, the woman was immediately puzzled. She was, after all, a Qi Refining Cultivator; even if injured, her footwork shouldn't be worse than a Mortal's.

Yet right now, she could only barely keep up behind Li Fan, unable to close the distance.

Has this guy trained in long-distance running?

Seeing the Water Snakes getting closer behind her, the woman panicked completely, her tone softening slightly.

"Even as a Cultivator, I dare not violate the 'Secret Realm Law.' As an ordinary citizen, aren't you afraid of punishment from the Judgment Division?"

Seeing the woman relentlessly following him with two Water Snakes in tow, Li Fan cursed inwardly.

"Why are you blindly following an ordinary citizen like me? I'm not the one who provoked these snakes."

Cursing aside, he suddenly remembered that he wasn't considered an ordinary citizen at all. His mind raced, and Li Fan shouted.

"We're about to die, who cares about your damn laws!"

Upon hearing this, the woman feigned great anger, her tone still commanding.

"As an ordinary citizen of the Xuannü Civilization, even if you die, you must abide by the regulations formulated by the Xuan Gui Department!"

Hearing this, Li Fan asked tentatively: "What if I'm not an ordinary citizen?"

"What? Could you possibly be an Outstanding Talent?" The woman sneered, her tone full of disdain.

Li Fan didn't stop running, raising his hand to tap his student terminal.

A pale blue holographic projection instantly appeared, clearly displaying his [Outstanding Talent] Aptitude rating.

"See clearly, I am an Yan High School student with [Outstanding Talent] Aptitude."

Li Fan's tone carried a bit of confidence.

"According to the 'Talent Protection Law' formulated by the Xuan Gui Department, you must prioritize protecting me. Hurry and lure these two Water Snakes away!"

The Regulatory Division was subordinate to the Xuan Gui Department, so naturally, the regulations formulated by the Xuan Gui Department had greater applicability.

Though he said that, Li Fan didn't hold much hope that this woman could actually lure the Water Snakes away.

Sure enough, she just stopped talking, but still followed behind Li Fan.

Li Fan had no other choice but to run for his life, gasping for breath. Fortunately, his physique had been modified by the Innate Sword Embryo; if it were an ordinary person, they would have collapsed from exhaustion long ago.

But he couldn't maintain this speed for much longer.

Before long, the hovering express car that had crashed into the water reappeared in Li Fan's field of vision.

He followed the path he had come from and ran back to the original spot.

He glanced at the express car; the water-mass monster that had been corroding the vehicle's body earlier was nowhere to be seen.

"Damn it, I'm exhausted."

Li Fan was almost at his limit, and his speed gradually slowed down.

While the woman following behind was injured and not fast, a Cultivator's endurance far exceeded that of a Mortal.

She and the monsters behind her were gradually closing the distance.

With no other choice, Li Fan dived into the express car, locked the door, and muttered.

"Don't come after me, I'm just passing by."

However, the smaller of the two Water Snakes actually changed direction and charged straight at Li Fan.

"Damn it, I'm not the one who did that to you."

Li Fan also got angry. He immediately opened the System interface, stopped caring about any regulatory laws, and planned to Breakthrough to the Qi Refining Realm directly.

Just then, the woman behind saw one Water Snake turn toward Li Fan, gritted her teeth, and cursed under her breath.

"Why didn't you say earlier that you were an [Outstanding Talent]!"

She changed direction and also arrived at the door of Li Fan's car, then pulled a crimson Medicinal Pill from her bosom, hesitating as she held it in her hand.

Watching the two monsters get closer and closer, she no longer hesitated, tilted her head back, and swallowed the Medicinal Pill.

The next second, thick red Spiritual Qi surged out from her body, and the surrounding damp air became dry.

Li Fan leaned against the car window, watching the woman outside gathering Spiritual Fire, his heart filled with surprise.

He had thought this woman would just run away; he hadn't expected that she would actually come to protect him because of the 'Talent Protection Law.'

It looked like she had even used some kind of precious Medicinal Pill.

In the brief moment Li Fan was pondering, the Spiritual Fire at the woman's fingertips had already condensed.

Under the boost of the surging Spiritual Qi within her, the mass of crimson Spiritual Fire was compressed into a small spark, which shot toward the two monsters with a wave of heat.

The Spiritual Fire instantly burned away the moisture in the surrounding mist; wherever it passed, the white fog dissipated completely, revealing a clear trail.

"Boom!"

A huge explosion rang out, followed immediately by the shrill, sorrowful cries of the two Water Snakes.

Afterward, mist and steam filled the sky.

Seeing that there was no movement outside, Li Fan cautiously pushed open the car door and stepped out.

The woman was leaning against the side of the car door, half her body submerged in the water, her eyes closed tight, her face pale.

Li Fan walked up to her, bent down, and was just about to ask when his gaze inadvertently swept across the name tag on her Secret Realm Administration Bureau uniform.

"Wen Xinran... are you alright?"

Wen Xinran heard Li Fan's question and opened her eyes.

She didn't answer immediately, but was instead momentarily stunned by the youth's appearance.

Just now, obscured by the mist, it hadn't been clear, but she hadn't expected this man who only knew how to run away to be so handsome.

His refined brows and eyes carried a faint, ethereal quality.

After a brief moment of being stunned, Wen Xinran spoke weakly.

"I'm not in any major trouble, just that I took a Medicinal Pill earlier, and now I have no strength in my whole body."

Hearing this, Li Fan breathed a sigh of relief; after all, Wen Xinran had genuinely risked her life to protect him just now.

So he opened the car door, bent down, picked Wen Xinran up from the water, and intended to place her on the car seat.

"W-what are you doing?"

Having been suddenly picked up, Wen Xinran was somewhat flustered and instinctively wanted to struggle.

But looking at Li Fan's handsome profile, feeling the warm body temperature coming from him through her water-soaked clothes, she inexplicably felt a sense of peace, and a blush uncontrollably spread across her cheeks.

"You stay here for now, I'm going to go ahead and check the situation."

Li Fan's voice was very calm. After speaking, he gently placed Wen Xinran on the car seat and turned to walk toward the direction of the Spiritual Fire explosion.

After Li Fan walked away, Wen Xinran recovered a little strength and realized what had just happened, feeling some indescribable emotion in her heart.

"Wen Xinran, what are you thinking about!"

She shook her head vigorously, trying to make herself sober up, but her cheeks only turned redder.

"He looks quite a bit younger than you..."

Li Fan did not know about the inner turmoil of Wen Xinran inside the car. He walked slowly to the side of the large pit that still retained the lingering heat of the Spiritual Fire and looked in.

The two Water Snakes were charred black, their flesh torn, lying motionless in the pit.

"Dead?"

Li Fan wasn't too sure and didn't dare to rush forward rashly. He picked up a stone and threw it into the pit.

The stone hit the Water Snake, and after a long while, there was no movement. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and turn around, preparing to return to the car.

Just then, the larger Water Snake in the pit suddenly erupted, opened its bloody maw, and lunged at Li Fan!

Fortunately, he hadn't let his guard down, and because the Water Snake was severely injured, its movements were sluggish.

Li Fan easily dodged this fatal strike, turned, and bolted toward the express car.

Rushing to the car door, Li Fan glanced at the Water Snake getting closer and closer behind him and asked urgently.

"How's your recovery? Can you move now?"

Wen Xinran shook her head, her voice weak.

"Still no strength."

Li Fan's heart sank, his tone becoming increasingly urgent.

"This isn't looking good. That big one isn't quite dead yet, and it's about to catch up!"

Hearing this, Wen Xinran, for some reason, spoke impulsively.

"How about... you carry me and keep running?"

Li Fan was speechless. Although the Water Snake was severely injured, its speed was not slow.

If he carried Wen Xinran, it wouldn't take long before they were caught.

Looking at Wen Xinran slumped on the car seat, Li Fan sighed helplessly.

He couldn't just leave her here; after all, she had just risked her life and taken a Medicinal Pill to protect him against the Water Snake.

So, seeing the short blade at Wen Xinran's waist, he reached out to take it.

Seeing Li Fan lean in, Wen Xinran thought he was actually going to pick her up, so she subconsciously raised her weak arms, preparing to hook them around his neck.

Unexpectedly, Li Fan cleanly and efficiently drew the short blade from her waist and turned to walk toward the Water Snake.

Wen Xinran instantly understood Li Fan's intention. She turned to the side and, using her last bit of strength, shouted at Li Fan's back.

"Don't go! Even if it's severely injured, it's still a Qi Refining monster. You're just a Mortal, how could you possibly be a match for it?"

The voice wasn't loud, but it reached Li Fan's ears clearly.

He stopped, turned his head slowly, and gave Wen Xinran a reassuring smile.

"It's simple; I'll just have a Breakthrough to Qi Refining."

As the words fell, Li Fan no longer concealed his aura, revealing it: the cultivation base of the fourth level of Qi Refining.