38: I give up, I give up

Silence.

A deathly silence.

Everyone's eyes were wide, unable to believe what they were seeing.

That terrifying strike, powerful enough to threaten a Mahayana Realm expert, was just... neutralized by Wen Yan's gentle tap with his fan?

What kind of technique was that?

"You..."

Lin Fan also had a look of disbelief. He could feel that the connection between him and the phantom of the Demon God had been forcibly severed by a resilient yet unbreakable force.

The backlash from forcibly activating the secret technique made his throat sweet, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Junior Brother, I told you not to be so impulsive."

Wen Yan's figure appeared ghost-like in front of Lin Fan.

The peach blossom fan in his hand was already pressed against Lin Fan's glabella.

The cold touch of the fan's rib made Lin Fan stiffen all over.

He could feel that if the other party wished, this seemingly elegant fan could penetrate his skull and shatter his Divine Soul at any moment.

Defeated?

He had used the power of the devil core and unleashed his strongest attack, only to... be defeated like this?

No!

A thought even more frantic than before surged into Lin Fan's Heart-Nature.

In his eyes, blood red completely replaced the whites, and black demonic patterns spread upwards from his neck, crawling all over his face.

"Let's die together!"

He roared, and the spiritual power and Devilish Qi within him began to reverse wildly in a self-destructive manner!

He was going to self-destruct!

The self-destruction of a Cultivator, whose cultivation had been boosted to Soul Transformation Peak by a devil core, would be powerful enough to level this battle stage and even half of the plaza!

"Madman!"

Wen Yan's expression finally changed.

He hadn't expected Lin Fan to be so insane.

He was confident he could kill Lin Fan before he self-destructed, but he would also be affected by that terrifying energy wave. Even if he didn't die, he would definitely be severely injured.

To trade his life for a ranking in a grand competition with a madman?

This deal was too unprofitable.

In a flash of lightning, Wen Yan made a decision that left everyone dumbfounded.

He retracted his fan, floated back several feet, and raised his hand.

"Stop, stop, stop! I surrender! Can't I just surrender?!"

Wen Yan's voice clearly echoed in everyone's ears.

What?!

Surrender?

The entire plaza instantly erupted into an uproar.

"Did I hear that right? Senior Brother Wen Yan... surrendered?"

"Why? He clearly already won! With just one more flick of his fan, Lin Fan would be dead!"

"I don't understand, I completely don't understand. Is Senior Brother Wen Yan showing mercy?"

"Mercy my ass! Didn't you see Lin Fan was about to self-destruct? Senior Brother Wen Yan is just afraid of being bitten by a mad dog; if he can't provoke it, he can at least avoid it!"

Discussions, jeers, and confused murmurs rose and fell.

Even the Deacon Elder, who was about to intervene, was stunned in place.

The violent energy within Lin Fan, due to Wen Yan's sudden shout, was abruptly stuck at the brink of eruption, neither up nor down, suffocating him until his face turned purple.

He stared intently at Wen Yan, his gaze as if he wanted to devour him.

He had won.

But this kind of win was more unbearable than killing him!

This was not victory at all; it was humiliation! It was the other party's disdainful charity, not even bothering to consider him an opponent!

"Pfft!"

Spitting out a mouthful of heart's blood, Lin Fan's vision went black, and he fell straight backward.

Seeing this, Wen Yan patted his chest and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Oh my, you scared me to death."

Waving his fan, he swaggered down the battle stage. As he passed the True Disciple seats, he winked at the frosty Song Ningxue and the resolute Xiao Tiandu.

"You two, this hot potato is now yours. I'm not one for fighting and killing; I prefer peace."

Xiao Tiandu snorted coldly, ignoring him.

Song Ningxue, however, gave him a cold glance: "Coward."

"Senior Sister, you're mistaken."

Wen Yan was unfazed. He sidled up to Qing Linghe and sat down, whispering, "This is called being prudent and protecting oneself, the act of a wise man. Fighting to the death with a madman who has lost his reason, how foolish."

"Besides, I don't care about the first or second place titles. As long as I keep my position as a True Disciple and can see more of the lovely Junior Sisters and Junior Brothers in the Holy Land, I'll be satisfied."

Upon hearing this, Qing Linghe's mouth twitched slightly, but she ultimately said nothing.

On the high platform, Nangong Zhuo clapped his hands and chuckled lightly.

"Haha, this nephew Wen is quite an interesting character."

Jiang Shengtian also showed a helpless expression.

"This kid has always been like this. However, to be able to decisively make the most beneficial choice for himself in that situation, that Heart-Nature is indeed rare."

These old foxes naturally saw through Wen Yan's calculations.

Jiang Chen picked up his teacup and took a shallow sip.

Everything was within his expectations.

Wen Yan's personality was precisely like this.

To ask him to fight to the death with a madman for the honor of the Holy Land, he couldn't do it.

And this was exactly the result Jiang Chen wanted to see.

He needed Lin Fan, this stubborn and difficult stone, to test the mettle of the other True Disciples.

He also needed Lin Fan to continue living, to continue being crazy, and to allow him to harvest a few more times as much as possible.

"Ding! Detected that the host successfully manipulated the plot's direction. child of destiny Lin Fan's Dao Heart was humiliated, and his Luck value significantly decreased!"

"Congratulations to the host for obtaining Villain Points: 5000 points!"

The System's notification sound was pleasant to the ear.

After this farcical match ended, the subsequent battles seemed somewhat bland.

Xiao Tiandu's opponent was a Core Disciple of considerable strength, but under his incomparably domineering Thunder Sword Intent, he only lasted less than ten moves before being sent flying by a single sword strike, conceding defeat cleanly and decisively.

Song Ningxue's opponent fared even worse; before he could even get close, he was trapped by an ice cage Formation that appeared out of thin air, unable to move, and could only surrender with a bitter smile.

Qing Linghe's battle also had no suspense; thousands of vines rose from the ground, gently "inviting" her opponent off the battle stage.

At this point, the second round of matches was completely over.

Finally, the list of those who could enter the top five and qualify for challenges was officially released.

The five True Disciples of Hongtian Holy Land—Xiao Tiandu, Song Ningxue, Qing Linghe, and Wen Yan—were all on the list, as expected.

The last spot, however, fell to Lin Fan, the Inner Sect Disciple who, despite winning awkwardly, had fought his way up.

This result made the atmosphere of the entire plaza incredibly strange.

A Disciple who had fallen to the Demonic Path and, for victory, did not hesitate to self-destruct during the match, actually made it into the top five of the Sect Grand Competition!

This was unheard of in the history of Hongtian Holy Land.

Countless gazes, intentionally or unintentionally, converged on the Holy Lord Jiang Shengtian and the Saint Jiang Chen on the main seats.

Everyone wanted to know how the Holy Land's high-ranking officials would deal with this thorny Lin Fan.