Chapter 19: When Their Strength Wanes, Ours Grows

Clang clang clang...

The continuous clash of metal echoed throughout the peach orchard, sparks flying in all directions. In the blink of an eye, the surrounding trees were set ablaze, and the bushes suddenly transformed into a sea of fire. The scorching heat warped the very space around them.

At the center of this fiery inferno, two figures weaved and intertwined—sometimes locked in fierce grappling, other times exchanging blows before swiftly retreating.

Panting heavily, Lin Fan appeared to be engaged in an intense battle, yet it had barely drained his spiritual energy.

“These assassins from the Blood Oath Organization seem only skilled in covert strikes; their prowess in direct combat isn’t particularly strong.”

After dozens of rounds, Lin Fan had roughly gauged his opponent’s strength.

Slightly stronger than an ordinary Divine Pill cultivator, yet far from reaching the pinnacle of that realm.

In terms of close-quarters combat, this opponent was even inferior to the bandit lieutenant Lin Fan had encountered previously at Dragon Ridge Pass.

However—

This assassin’s agility was remarkable, and their attacks were ruthless and merciless, which explained why they had been able to hold their ground against Lin Fan for so long.

Had it been anyone else, with Lin Fan’s combat skills, they would have long since unleashed their trump card.

“Alright, I’ve played with you enough. It’s time to end this farce!”

Gripping the Fire Scale Sword, its blade seemingly bathed in crimson flames, Lin Fan’s majestic spiritual power surged along the length of the sword, radiating an intense heat that overshadowed even the surrounding temperature.

Having just broken through to the Heavenly Pill realm, Lin Fan had yet to fully control the explosive power within him. The appearance of this Divine Pill assassin had undoubtedly provided him with a worthy sparring partner.

Because of this—

From the start, Lin Fan had no intention of revealing his trump card. And since the assassin’s direct combat skills were lackluster, they had been led around like a puppet.

Now—

The young man had perfect mastery over his own power, which meant the assassin before him was no longer of any use.

Being mortal enemies, Lin Fan naturally showed no mercy.

His gaze sharpened, his figure swift as a ghost. The Fire Scale Sword cut through the air, tracing a scorching arc as it unleashed a fierce slash toward the Divine Pill assassin.

The blade was cold and merciless, its blazing light dazzling, moving at an incredible speed that reached the opponent almost instantaneously.

This was a high-grade mortal realm spiritual technique—the Gale Sword Art.

Faced with such a furious sword strike, like a violent storm, the assassin’s pupils contracted sharply, clearly unprepared for such a terrifying offensive.

Suddenly—

Lin Fan’s eyes widened in surprise as he saw the assassin suddenly clutch a dagger tightly. Blood instantly soaked the blade, its scarlet glow flickering as a powerful and chilling energy surged forth from the short blade.

“So this is the Blood Oath Organization’s specialty?”

In a flash, the blood on the dagger spread over the assassin’s body, transforming him into a blood god statue—sinister and eerie.

Not only that—

His form seemed to blur, appearing almost translucent from the outside, as if the blood and spiritual energy flowing through his meridians were visible.

Hiss!

Just as Lin Fan was taken aback, the dagger shot forward, carving a blood-red crescent moon in the air, striking precisely against one of the many sword shadows Lin Fan had concealed.

With a clang, Lin Fan felt a strange force sweep through the sword, forcing him to loosen his grip. The Fire Scale Sword flew uncontrollably to the side, embedding itself heavily in the charred, flame-scorched ground.

At the same time—

“A high-grade mortal realm spiritual technique?”

Lin Fan was privately shocked. Now that he had broken through to the Heavenly Pill realm and fully comprehended the Gale Sword Art, ordinary spiritual techniques should not be able to repel him.

Only a high-grade mortal realm technique could force his spiritual weapon away.

This time he lost his weapon—not like the previous encounter with the bandit lieutenant at Dragon Ridge Pass.

Last time, he had deliberately lured the enemy into a trap.

This time, however, he had no intention of losing his long weapon.

Without the support of his spiritual weapon, Lin Fan’s strength was reduced by nearly thirty percent. Facing a Divine Pill realm assassin again, his confidence had noticeably diminished.

“Wait, his speed… seems to be slowing down.”

As the dagger approached and Lin Fan prepared to evade, he suddenly realized that the once lightning-fast assassin was moving significantly slower than before.

“Is it due to excessive blood loss?”

His eyes gleaming with sharp insight, Lin Fan knew Blood Oath Organization assassins excelled at stealth kills, not direct combat, thus their cultivation of spiritual techniques focused mainly on increasing agility.

They specialized in assassinating from the shadows—striking and retreating immediately to await another opportunity.

Because of this, they seemingly had no training in offensive spiritual techniques of the same level. The move just now, Lin Fan guessed, was likely a desperate technique unique to the Blood Oath Organization.

Otherwise—

They would have countered Lin Fan’s Gale Sword Art with an equivalent spiritual technique.

Judging by the assassin’s current movements, Lin Fan was certain that attack had taken a tremendous toll on him, even affecting his combat effectiveness.

Seize him while he’s weak.

Seeing his enemy’s feeble state, Lin Fan showed no mercy.

He was well aware—

This man had come to kill him. Letting him go would make Lin Fan the biggest fool in the world.

Phantom Shadow Step!

Though the technique’s active duration had long passed, and had Lin Fan remained at the peak of the Earth Pill realm, he would have been unable to use it again.

But—

Having just broken into the Heavenly Pill realm, his spiritual power was now far greater than before. Even if he expended the Phantom Shadow Step once more, it would only consume thirty percent of his energy.

At the same time—

Lin Fan noticed that throughout the fight, the Blazing Heaven Qi Refining Art had been running continuously. The surrounding fire-element spiritual energy was being absorbed and refined by him at all times, transforming into his own spiritual power.

The fiery environment made him seem like a perpetual motion machine. As long as he refrained from using high-grade mortal realm techniques, ordinary attacks consumed energy at a rate that balanced perfectly with the influx of external spiritual energy.

“How is this possible?”

Seeing Lin Fan’s speed surge once again, the Divine Pill assassin’s expression turned to one of shock. He hadn’t expected that a young man with only Heavenly Pill realm cultivation could continuously unleash high-grade mortal realm agility techniques.

“You don’t even know half of what’s coming!”

Had the assassin still been at peak strength, even with the Phantom Shadow Step massively boosting Lin Fan’s speed, the battle would have been a stalemate—or without his spiritual weapon, Lin Fan might have been at a disadvantage.

But now—

Lin Fan firmly held the upper hand.

After reclaiming the Fire Scale Sword, Lin Fan resumed focusing on swordsmanship.

However—

He had once sent the Fire Scale Sword away, deliberately abandoning sword techniques to train in fist techniques.

It was during that time he had cultivated a high-grade mortal realm fist technique.

During the fierce battle at Dragon Ridge Pass, it was this very fist technique that allowed him to successfully slay the bandit lieutenant, who had reached the Divine Pill realm.

This time, Lin Fan planned to repeat that method, using this fist technique to send the Blood Oath Organization’s Divine Pill assassin to his death.

“War King Fist!”