Chapter 423: Fierce Lesson

What happened?

Just moments ago, wasn't Wang Chengjian gravely injured, nearly dead, and too weak to speak coherently? How did he suddenly become so agile? He even managed to dodge a sharp sword!

What's more, weren't you begging Liu Qingxian to end your suffering? Why are you dodging now?

Liu Qingxian exclaimed in surprise, "Senior Brother Wang, you—what is this?"

Jiang Fan took the sword back from her, twirled it, and slid it back into its sheath. He said calmly, "The phrase 'the wickedness of human hearts' wasn't made up out of thin air. It was coined by our predecessors through bloody lessons."

Only then did Liu Qingxian understand. She scrutinized Wang Chengjian and realized he wasn't just agile. Despite being hit by the ice wind, there was no frostbite on his body, nor any signs of cold poison invading his surface. Earlier, she had been completely captivated by Wang Chengjian's deathly appearance and hadn't paid any attention to the details. Now, looking again, how could she not realize that Wang Chengjian had deliberately staged a 'hero saving the beauty' act to trick her into a marriage engagement?

"You're shameless!" Liu Qingxian instantly erupted in anger. He had used her sympathy to trick her into softening and agreeing to an engagement? And the one resorting to such despicable tactics was her senior brother, with whom she had been fellow disciples for years? She drew the sword from her waist and immediately struck Wang Chengjian. Wang Chengjian was terrified and hastily dodged. But he was only at the ninth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm, while Liu Qingxian was already a Core Formation Realm martial artist. How could he possibly dodge? Liu Qingxian immediately sliced a chunk of flesh from his arm, causing him to clutch his arm and scream in pain. This time, he was truly in pain.

Liu Qingxian's eyes were full of disgust. "If it weren't for our shared discipleship, I would have cleaved you in half with one stroke!"

Wang Chengjian knew he had absolutely no chance with Liu Qingxian anymore. But he was unwilling, so unwilling! He had clearly known Liu Qingxian much longer than Jiang Fan. Why did Jiang Fan get ahead of him? "Jiang Fan! I refuse to accept this! You, a spiritless root, how can you compare to me? How can you?"

Originally, Jiang Fan didn't intend to bother with him. But since Wang Chengjian had challenged him directly, Jiang Fan decided to make it clear: "Senior Brother, do you think you're stronger than me?"

Wang Chengjian scoffed, "Didn't you just rely on a bit of physical strength to catch Tang Tianlong off guard? That's your only boast-worthy achievement!" He subtly released his cultivation from the ninth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm, which he had recently broken through to. "Compared to me, can you possibly compete?" The three outer sect disciples were filled with awe. In this era, being able to cultivate to the ninth level of Foundation Establishment was considered a top-tier disciple among the Nine Sects. No one could underestimate him.

Liu Qingxian defended Jiang Fan, huffing, "So what? Given time, it might not be impossible for Jiang Fan to surpass you!"

Wang Chengjian sneered, "Time? One year or two? Ten years or twenty? Spiritless roots are just that—spiritless roots. They will never have much prospect in martial arts! Junior Sister Liu, I must say, your taste in men is truly terrible! You reject me for a good-for-nothing..."

The word "good-for-nothing" was still on his lips when he gradually trailed off. His eyes widened, and he gasped, "You... you..." He stared unblinkingly at the powerful spiritual energy emanating from Jiang Fan, as if he had seen a ghost. Liu Qingxian seemed to sense something, turned her head, and exclaimed with a mix of surprise and joy, "Xiao Fan, you... you've broken through to the ninth level of Core Formation, reaching perfection?"

Jiang Fan smiled, withdrew his spiritual energy, and said, "Your taste in choosing people is still quite good." Liu Qingxian glanced at Wang Chengjian with a hint of triumph. "If Xiao Fan is a good-for-nothing, then what does that make you, who has cultivated for so many years and still can't compare to Xiao Fan?"

Wang Chengjian's face flushed crimson. His pride as a senior brother was deeply wounded. He gritted his teeth and roared, "I don't believe it! Jiang Fan, you must have used some evil method to break through your current realm! I'm going to report you to Master!"

A hint of coldness gathered in Jiang Fan's eyes. During their time in the sect, he had always dismissed Wang Chengjian's petty actions with a smile, never taking them to heart. Today, however, Wang Chengjian had used such a despicable method to trick Liu Qingxian into an engagement. Exposed, he showed no remorse, and he even threatened to expose Jiang Fan. Jiang Fan wasn't afraid of being reported even by the Grand Sect Master, so he naturally wasn't bothered by Wang Chengjian's threat of exposure. However, Wang Chengjian truly needed to rein himself in. He tapped his foot and instantly lunged forward.

Wang Chengjian laughed furiously. "Perfect timing! Let me see how fragile your strength, gained through such evil methods, truly is!" From the very first day Jiang Fan entered the sect, he had found him displeasing. Later, that displeasure only grew, until today, it had escalated into the hatred of having his fiancée stolen! He wanted to thoroughly humble Jiang Fan in front of Liu Qingxian, to let Liu Qingxian know who was truly the strongest man on Sect Master Peak!

"Startling Dragon!" Jiang Fan didn't even bother drawing his sword, unleashing a 'Wandering Dragon Palm' instead. Wang Chengjian snorted coldly. Not even drawing his sword? Then I'll teach you a lesson, so you know what it means not to underestimate your opponent! Clang— He decisively drew his sword and thrust it towards Jiang Fan's palm. In his imagination, Jiang Fan's flesh-and-blood palm would be pierced by the sword. The reality was different. He felt as if he had stabbed an iron block. Not only did it not pierce through, but the iron-like palm shattered the sword in his hand inch by inch, until it struck him squarely in the chest. Pfft— A monstrous force, heavy as a giant elephant's charge, shattered all the bones in his chest and instantly dislocated his internal organs. A mouthful of blood mixed with flesh sprayed upward from his mouth. His body was directly smashed into the glacier, embedded within it.

Wang Chengjian's eyes were filled with horror! His full-force attack had been casually countered by Jiang Fan's single palm, leaving him severely wounded? The power gap between the two of them was several times greater than that between him and Liu Qingxian!

Jiang Fan walked over, hands behind his back, and said calmly, "Still want to report me?" Wang Chengjian shivered and replied, "N-no, I wouldn't dare." He could feel it. If Jiang Fan wanted to kill him, it would be easier than stepping on an ant! In the face of absolute power, he couldn't even conjure up any distracting thoughts.

Whoosh— Suddenly, a whistling wind sound came from a distance. Liu Qingxian's face changed drastically. "Xiao Fan, the ice wind is coming, quickly hide!" Jiang Fan, however, turned around and faced the approaching ice wind directly, saying, "There really is some cold poison within it." Ever since he started cultivating the 'Nine Poisons True Scripture', his perception of various potent poisons had become significantly more acute. The slight cold poison before him couldn't harm him. He waved his sleeve, enveloping the incoming cold wind. All the cold poison within it was absorbed into his body, becoming nourishment for his poison core. As for the cold energy in the ice wind, it was automatically absorbed by the Lament Frost Sword. When he unfurled his sleeve, only an ordinary breeze remained. He looked in the direction of the ice wind, slightly curious: "What is it that's constantly producing cold poison? Senior Sister Liu, take them to the surface and wait for me."

With that, he employed his movement technique and headed towards the source of the ice wind. "The surface?" Liu Qingxian didn't have time to ask Jiang Fan what he was going to do, only managing to ask, "There's a Blood Dragon above." As Jiang Fan's figure was about to disappear, a sentence floated back without him turning his head. "Already dealt with."

Everyone present was stunned. The three outer sect disciples blinked. "Did I hear that correctly? He said... he slew that Blood Dragon?" One outer sect disciple couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "Senior Sister Liu, who exactly is this person? You're not going to tell me he's really that spiritless-root Jiang Fan from your sect, are you?"