Chapter 43: Divine Pattern

**Chapter 43: Divine Mark**

Han Feiyu's face was grim. Two cold lights shot from his eyes, and a sneer played on his lips. He stared at Ye Fan and Pang Bo as if they were dead men, then said no more.

Hearing his almost commanding words, the four young men beside him stepped forward together. All wore mocking smiles as they slowly surrounded Ye Fan and Pang Bo.

One of them lowered his voice, seemingly not wanting to be overheard by others. "You ignorant fools," he said, "some people in the Spiritual Ruins Holy Land cannot be offended. How dare you two say such things? You don't know what's good for you!"

Beside him, another young man stepped forward, a cold smirk on his face. He taunted, "Remarkable, aren't you? Just entered, and already so impressive. You really don't know the meaning of death. But I don't think you two will die, because something more painful than death is suffering while alive. It won't be easy to die without enduring all sorts of torture first."

"Actually, there's a way for you two to suffer less," another person interjected casually, as if the two before him were mere grasshoppers to be crushed at will. He sneered, "You could break your own legs, kneel for mercy, then crawl into the lotus pond and stick yourselves headfirst into the mud, like a 'headstand onion.'"

"If I were you, I'd just bash my head in and die, to avoid living in agony."

All four spoke casually, not seeing Ye Fan and Pang Bo as worthy of their attention. They mocked and ridiculed, standing at four points, giving the two no chance to escape.

Ye Fan and Pang Bo were never ones to swallow insults. The four men's words were truly excessive, yet they showed no anger. They replied nonchalantly and with composure.

"What are these four idiots doing?"

"I guess they accidentally got their heads squashed by a door on the way out, otherwise why would they all look so foolish, muttering incessantly?"

The two spoke casually, like outsiders watching a spectacle, occasionally making offhand comments. This instantly enraged the four young men. The fact that these two youths, whom they considered mere grasshoppers, showed no fear and acted as if they didn't exist, speaking with such vicious tongues, made their anger surge. Their faces fell, and they could no longer maintain their mocking smiles.

"You don't know what's good for you!" one of them coldly snarled, but didn't charge forward. They had already noticed that Ye Fan and Pang Bo possessed unusual strength and didn't want to risk an unexpected defeat.

"Whoosh!"

A faint glow emanated from below his navel. A divine mark, like a ripple of water, shot out like an iron chain, quickly coiling towards Ye Fan and Pang Bo.

"A divine mark from the Sea of Bitterness!"

"The Dharma-imparting elder said that only those with some cultivation achievements can use profound arts. This is a master."

The onlookers gasped. Most here were newly admitted disciples who rarely saw anyone display profound arts or divine abilities, and they all watched with nervous expressions.

Ye Fan and Pang Bo moved very quickly, dodging to either side. The chain-like light pattern grazed their bodies but quickly turned back, continuing to coil around them. It was their first time engaging with cultivators who could use profound arts. Unsure of the power of the divine mark that emerged from the Sea of Bitterness, they dared not touch it lightly and dodged again. However, the divine mark followed them like a shadow, impossible to shake off. It shimmered brightly, with a metallic gleam, and rapidly wrapped around them.

"Bang!"

Ye Fan suddenly lifted a nearby boulder, meeting the diving divine mark. The two collided with a loud bang, and a deep mark, as if left by a blade or axe, instantly appeared on the thousand-pound bluestone. This made Ye Fan and Pang Bo's expressions change simultaneously. Cultivators capable of using profound arts were indeed formidable; ordinary mortals would be utterly unable to contend with them.

"Whoosh!"

Although the chain-like divine mark left a deep indentation on the bluestone, it seemed to have exhausted its power. Its light dimmed considerably, turning into a faint phantom that quickly retracted into the young man's Sea of Bitterness. His body trembled, and he took two steps back.

"The strength of these two grasshoppers is really extraordinary. Be careful; if they wound us, it would be a huge loss of face," one of the four young men whispered.

"Whoosh!", "Whoosh!", "Whoosh!", "Whoosh!"

Several soft sounds emerged as four different colored lights bloomed from the four young men's Seas of Bitterness. Four chain-like divine marks assailed Ye Fan and Pang Bo from four directions. At the same time, Ye Fan and Pang Bo launched a fierce counterattack. Rocks were abundant near the cliff. They hurled thousand-pound boulders, causing the four divine marks to tremble repeatedly.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Ye Fan and Pang Bo possessed astonishing strength. Boulders flew continuously, crashing into the divine marks in mid-air, while many large bluestones also rained down on the four young men. The four young cultivators, who had only just begun to master profound arts, were immediately flustered. Although they had cultivated wisps of divine power that could form chain-like divine marks, their control over the marks' flight speed was insufficient to quickly dodge the boulders or effectively harm their opponents. While their physiques had been greatly enhanced after cultivating some divine power in their Seas of Bitterness, their raw strength was no match for Ye Fan and Pang Bo. With thousand-pound boulders continuously raining down, they could only dodge. Boulders flew, not only obstructing the four young cultivators but also forcing them to retreat continuously, terrified of being crushed by the massive stones.

"Whoosh!"

Just then, Ye Fan suddenly charged forward with incredible speed, leaving a faint afterimage behind him.

"Thump!"

The next instant, he appeared before one of the young cultivators and delivered a simple yet direct punch, hitting the person squarely in the mouth and nose, sending the cultivator flying sideways instantly. It was a punch that was both aesthetically pleasing and incredibly forceful! Ye Fan moved with effortless grace, his right arm sweeping with a natural fluidity that was beautiful to behold, yet the punch, once delivered, was brutally violent, sending the young man flying over ten meters sideways. One could clearly see a spray of blood erupting from the cultivator's mouth and nose. The blood arced several meters through the air, forming a crimson trajectory, while seven or eight teeth flew out with it, falling to the ground.

On the other side, Pang Bo could no longer hold back. He launched an aggressive, lightning-fast attack, smashing a boulder heavily against another cultivator's body. The sound of bones breaking was heard immediately, and the person flew crookedly, crashing to the ground.

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

With two more heavy thuds, the remaining two were also knocked to the ground by Ye Fan and Pang Bo. At this moment, they displayed the aesthetics of violence, their fists like iron hammers, causing the two men to vomit large mouthfuls of blood.

At this moment, the four divine marks dimmed and quickly re-entered their respective Seas of Bitterness. Ye Fan and Pang Bo placed the four sprawled cultivators side by side, then stood overlooking them.

"What were you all saying just now? That we don't know the immensity of heaven and earth, that we don't know what's good for us? Now I'd like to ask, do *you* know?" As he spoke, Pang Bo delivered four kicks, sending the four men rolling like balls on the ground.

"You thought we were grasshoppers, to be crushed at will?"

"And you told us to break our own legs, kneel for mercy, then crawl into the lotus pond and stick ourselves headfirst into the mud..."

"You wanted us to suffer a fate worse than death, to die after enduring endless torture? What arrogance!"

"Bang, bang, bang..."

Ye Fan and Pang Bo felt extreme revulsion towards these four. Without any mercy or quarter, they kicked and stomped, as if squashing cockroaches, leaving the four men sprawled there like four piles of mud.

"Enough!" Just then, Han Feiyu, who had been watching coldly from a distance, walked over. His eyes were utterly cold, and his face was so grim it seemed water might drip from it.

Pang Bo glanced sideways at him and said, "You say 'enough' and it's enough? Who do you think you are?!"

"Release them!" Han Feiyu's voice was icily sharp, making the onlookers feel as if they had fallen into an ice cellar. Though he appeared to be only fourteen or fifteen, his demeanor and aura were completely inconsistent with his age; he was truly too gloomy.

"Why should we listen to you?!" Pang Bo completely disregarded him.

As for Ye Fan, he ignored him even more. He casually squatted down, lifted two people from the ground, then stretched his body, swinging his arms with extraordinary lightness and grace. The two figures immediately shot through the air like two long spears, flying rapidly forty to fifty meters away, directly plunging into the mud of the lotus pond. They sank in like two long lances, with only their feet remaining visible above the mud.

"You're asking for death!"

Han Feiyu finally showed intense anger. He was utterly cold, emanating a chilling aura as he advanced. Ye Fan ignored him, picked up the other two, and hurled them again. With two soft "thuds," two more plunged headfirst, embedding themselves straight into the distant mud.

The onlookers were dumbfounded. This outcome was truly shocking and left them speechless.

"Whoosh!"

Han Feiyu's Sea of Bitterness burst forth with dazzling, blinding light. A small, square wooden seal, less than an inch long, shot out, radiating streams of emerald green light. It rapidly expanded, pressing down upon Ye Fan and Pang Bo. The surrounding crowd immediately gasped. This was a genuine Greenwood Seal, not something formed from wisps of divine power within the Sea of Bitterness, and utterly incomparable to the four divine marks. After the Greenwood Seal emerged from the Sea of Bitterness, it exuded wisps of green energy, radiating an immense pressure.