92: Chapter 92 Chen Fan Takes the Stage

His gaze was like that of someone looking at their next prey.

Cold, cruel, and laced with a hint of cat-and-mouse mockery.

Nie Shu thoroughly enjoyed this feeling—the feeling of erasing every potential threat from the chessboard, one by one, in the most humiliating way possible.

The atmosphere of the entire plaza had become eerie and oppressive due to Tang Nian's fall.

"Shameless scoundrel! What kind of things does this Duan Shui Sect even teach?" a hot-tempered man finally could not hold back and cursed loudly.

His companion hurriedly pulled him back.

"Keep your voice down! Do you have a death wish? You dare to provoke people from the Duan Shui Sect?"

"Pah!" The man spat a thick glob of phlegm onto the ground. "I just can't stand it! A martial arts competition should be fought fair and square; what kind of skill is it to use poisonous hidden weapons to injure someone? Miss Tang was already about to concede, yet he still delivered a lethal blow. He's lower than a pig or a dog!"

His cursing drew a chorus of agreement.

"That's right! This is no longer a competition; it's attempted murder!"

"Is Daoist Priest Qingxuan of the Righteous Alliance just going to watch? Won't he do anything about it?"

The murmurs grew louder, and the crowd was incensed.

However, the areas where the truly influential Schools were located remained silent.

In the camp where Little Overlord Xiang Long was, a middle-aged man pressed down on him just as he was about to stand up.

"Sit down."

"Master! That Nie Shu..."

"What about him?" The middle-aged man glanced at him indifferently. "Did Tang Nian speak up to concede? No. Since she didn't concede, then on the arena, life and death are up to fate. What is the problem?"

Xiang Long's face flushed red, and he wanted to argue, but the middle-aged man's words shut him down.

"If you go up there now, what are the odds of you defeating him? Don't forget, Tang Nian has already exhausted a significant amount of his Internal Energy for you. Even so, if you go up now, you will still just be inviting humiliation upon yourself. Is it worth it for someone from the Tang Sect?"

Xiang Long's fists clenched, cracking audibly, but in the end, he slumped back down.

Indeed, it wasn't worth it.

The Jianghu was never just about gratifying grudges; it was more about weighing pros and cons.

Nie Shu's methods, though despicable, were the most effective. He had eliminated a formidable rival with minimal cost. Whoever went up to fight him to the death now would be the next Tang Nian, merely paving the way for someone else's success.

Seeing that no one dared to step onto the stage, the look of triumph on Nie Shu's face could no longer be concealed.

He laughed arrogantly, his laughter harsh and grating, echoing at the foot of Tianchi Mountain.

"What? In such a vast Jian Prefecture, is this all the courage you have?"

"Or is it that you've all been scared witless by Miss Tang's miserable state?"

These two sentences rang in the ears of every Martial Artist present.

Countless people were indignant, their eyes blazing with fury, yet they dared not speak out. Their strength was inferior; going up would only increase the humiliation.

Humiliation, like a giant net, shrouded everyone's hearts.

Uncle Song's body trembled slightly with rage. He looked at that arrogant figure on the arena, then glanced back at the expressionless Chen Fan, a wave of powerlessness surging in his heart.

If one's skills are inferior, one must accept it.

The slap from the Duan Shui Sect Leader seemed to sting his face all over again.

Just amidst this dead silence of humiliation.

A figure moved.

Chen Fan slowly stood up from the shadow of the rocks.

"Jinzhong, you..." Uncle Song's heart leaped into his throat.

Chen Fan did not turn back; he simply gently pulled away from the hand Uncle Song had instinctively grabbed his arm with.

He walked step by step toward the arena.

His pace was not fast, but it was exceptionally steady. Every step felt as if it were landing on everyone's heart.

The entire audience's gaze instantly focused on the young man carrying a black cloth bundle on his back.

"Isn't that... someone from the Longxing Sect?"

"That's the one who was crippled by Nie Shu at the Inn a few days ago!"

"What does he want to do? He's an injured man; is he going up there to throw his life away?"

Under countless gazes of astonishment, sympathy, or mockery, Chen Fan walked to the foot of the arena.

He did not leap up like the others; instead, he walked step by step up the stone steps onto that blood-stained stone platform.

Uncle Song felt his vision go black and almost fainted.

"Nonsense! This is utter nonsense!"

On the arena, Nie Shu looked at this uninvited "trash," stunned for a moment, then laughed even more arrogantly.

"I wondered who it was; turns out it's you, that fish that slipped through the net."

His gaze swept unreservedly over Chen Fan's right shoulder, where, beneath the clothes, lay the masterpiece he had personally left behind.

"What? Are your wounds healed? Have you forgotten so quickly how you were thrown out like a dog by me?"

"Or do you think your battered body can still fight me?"

Nie Shu's voice was filled with condescending mockery; he didn't even draw his sword. In his view, the Chen Fan before him was nothing more than a clown, here to add a laughable footnote to his glorious battle record.

Chen Fan ignored his mockery.

He simply stood still, looking calmly at his opponent.

Then, in front of tens of thousands of people, he spoke slowly.

The voice was not loud, but it was like a thunderclap, exploding in everyone's ears.

"Duan Shui Sect, Nie Shu."

He enunciated every word with perfect clarity.

"Today, I, Chen Jinzhong, am here."

"To take your dog life!"

Dead silence.

The entire foot of Tianchi Mountain was so quiet one could hear a pin drop.

Everyone was stunned by the undisguised, bone-chilling killing intent contained in those words.

On the arena, one could decide life and death.

But that was just the rule; very few actually went for the kill.

Yet this youth from the Longxing Sect, the moment he opened his mouth, was aiming to take the life of Soul-Severing Sword Nie Shu!

The smile on Nie Shu's face froze.

He stared fixedly at Chen Fan, as if seeing this person for the first time.

A moment later, he laughed out of extreme rage.

"Take my dog life?"

"Hahahaha! Just based on you? A piece of trash who can't even circulate Internal Energy smoothly!"

He extended a finger and shook it contemptuously.

"I'll give you one chance: kneel down now and roll out of here, and I can pretend nothing ever happened."

"Otherwise, I don't mind letting your Longxing Sect be wiped out today!"

Chen Fan's response was simple and direct.

"Feel free to try!"

As his voice fell, he reached back and gripped the long object wrapped in black cloth on his back.

With a rip.

The black cloth was shattered by his force and scattered in the air.

An ordinary, standard-issue steel saber appeared in his hand.

The blade was dull, and there were even a few tiny nicks on the edge—traces left by years of practice.

Yet, the moment this broken saber was gripped by him, his entire Aura changed explosively.

If the previous Chen Fan was an unfathomably deep ancient well, then at this moment, he was a drawn blade, a lethal weapon that existed only for slaughter!

The smile completely vanished from Nie Shu's face.

Replaced by a dark and heavy seriousness.

He caught a whiff of a dangerous Aura from his opponent.

It was an Aura that could only be possessed by someone who had truly crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

Chen Fan gripped the saber with both hands, the tip pointing diagonally at the ground, assuming an incredibly strange opening stance.

The posture completely abandoned all defense, leaving him wide open, as if inviting his opponent to come and take his life.

Gale Saber Technique, pressing forward without hesitation!

"You're courting death!"

Nie Shu let out a low shout and hesitated no longer; the long sword at his waist rang as it was drawn, transforming into a streak of light, stabbing straight at Chen Fan's heart!