Chapter 462: Flower-Gentleman in the Blossoms

The air suddenly seemed to thicken. Liang Feiyan stared at Jiang Fan, wide-eyed and dumbfounded, his mouth open, but he couldn't utter a word. He was speechless, unable to articulate his feelings at that moment. The Heavenly Secret Pavilion expert who had astonished the three of them earlier... was actually Jiang Fan?

Xia Chaoge was momentarily stunned, then chuckled. "I'd forgotten," she said, "Uncle-master's greatest skill isn't medicine or martial arts. It's his hidden depths." It seemed that every time they met, Uncle-master always gave her a fresh new impression. It was as if no matter how well you thought you knew him, a new side would always appear.

Jiang Fan was still pondering whether Jian Linyuan and his group, whom he had met previously, were also disciples of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion. Hearing Xia Chaoge's teasing remark, he scoffed lightly, "Aren't you also full of hidden depths, Chaoge?"

Xia Chaoge looked at him quizzically. Jiang Fan turned his head to the spirit horse walking beside them. "What did you call me before?"

The spirit horse blinked its large eyes. "Brother Jiang Fan."

"And even earlier?"

"Let me think... 'Lecher'? Th-that's what my master called you, it has nothing to do with me!" The spirit horse shamelessly sold out Xia Chaoge.

Jiang Fan looked at Xia Chaoge with a wry smile. "Talking about your Uncle-master like that behind his back... that's quite unlike your usual demeanor."

Liang Feiyan, standing nearby, clicked his tongue in wonder, as if seeing Xia Chaoge for the first time. Xia Chaoge was known for her serene and aloof nature, untouched by joy or sorrow. She was like a celestial fairy, seemingly unconcerned with worldly affairs. She would never stoop to gossiping about others behind their backs.

Xia Chaoge's delicate body stiffened slightly. She lightly chided the spirit horse, "When did I ever slander Uncle-master like that? What I actually said was..." She trailed off, unable to continue. Clearly, it wasn't a complimentary term either.

The spirit horse shrank its neck and slapped a hoof on its head. "Right, right, I misremembered. It wasn't 'lecher.' It was 'gentleman of the flower bushes'!"

*Pfft—* Jiang Fan almost spat out a mouthful of old blood. Was there any difference in meaning? The latter was just less direct.

Xia Chaoge's face flushed. Her red lips were tightly pursed, overwhelmed by shame. It was the first time in her life she had ever complained about someone, and to a spirit horse at that. And it was immediately exposed. She had lost more face today than in the past ten years combined. She murmured, "I wouldn't say I was slandering Uncle-master. There are indeed many, many beautiful women around Uncle-master."

Hearing this, Liang Feiyan immediately slapped his thigh and gritted his teeth, "Junior Sister Xia, you've finally spoken the truth! The exquisite women around Junior Brother Jiang truly come one after another. 'Gentleman of the flower bushes' is certainly not a misrepresentation of him!"

Jiang Fan chuckled, scolding him. He patted Little White's head, urging it to set off quickly.

Seven days later, after a long journey, Jiang Fan finally reached the front lines. However, the sight that met his eyes left him utterly shocked! An ancient city wall, a hundred zhang high and reaching into the clouds, stretched for thousands of li to the left and right, with no end in sight! It looked like a colossal primeval python coiled across the horizon. The wall was covered in mottled marks of time, bearing massive signs of damage, and some bloodstains, dried and turned black after countless years.

"This... could this have been built by humans?" Jiang Fan's heart was filled with profound shock.

Liang Feiyan also gazed in awe, saying, "Of course not! If a hundred-zhang high wall was just to enclose a single city, humans could certainly build it. But this is a Great Wall, stretching for ten thousand li!"

Xia Chaoge stood up, looking at the wall with a solemn expression in her eyes. "This is the Great Wall of Ten Thousand Li, built in ancient times by the various races of the continent to defend against the ancient giants. It took the combined strength of all races to create such an epic and magnificent relic."

Jiang Fan was no stranger to the ancient giants. They were terrifying fiends that had nearly driven all living beings into extinction. To preserve the flame of life, the various races spared no effort in building such a majestic city. He felt a hint of tragic grandeur. How desperate must the races of the world have been back then?

It was somewhat ironic, however. After the ancient giants were eliminated, the various races did not get along well. They even fought fiercely in front of this historical relic, which symbolized the unity of all races.

"That mountain in the middle is the Boundary Mountain," Xia Chaoge pointed out. Jiang Fan followed her gaze. A majestic snow-capped mountain, also a hundred zhang high, came into view. The belly of the snow mountain had been hollowed out, forming a massive gate that could be closed, facilitating the movement of troops for the myriad races in ancient times. It served as a city gate.

Due to its age, the gate had long since decayed and crumbled. Many human experts were guarding the pass at the gate. Because the gate was narrow, only one demonic beast could pass through at a time, whereas a dozen or so humans could pass. Therefore, the human race had a significant advantage in defending this location. It truly embodied the saying, "one man guarding the pass, ten thousand cannot break through."

However, the demonic beasts were not to be underestimated. Though they couldn't pass through the gate, some agile demonic beasts could climb over the hundred-zhang Boundary Mountain. Consequently, human experts patrolled all over the Boundary Mountain. Battles occurred frequently, indicating that both sides were still fiercely contending for the Boundary Mountain.

Just then, a roar suddenly erupted from the top of the Boundary Mountain. Jiang Fan and the others immediately looked over. They saw a group of extremely agile ape-like demonic beasts at the summit of the Boundary Mountain had successfully breached the defenses and crossed over. There were many of them, seven or eight in total. As soon as they landed, they immediately scattered, heading in different directions deeper into human territory. The human martial artists below the Boundary Mountain reacted and pursued them. But these ape-like beasts, despite their mountain-like size, were not clumsy; on the contrary, they remained incredibly agile. Among the pursuing human martial artists, only a few managed to catch up, engaging two of the apes in combat. The remaining five continued to flee in various directions.

Jiang Fan's eyes showed a faint smile. "What a coincidence, isn't it? Six Beast Kings at the first level of Core Formation. Let's see who can get more demonic cores!"

Liang Feiyan showed a hint of competitive spirit. Before this, he couldn't even think of comparing himself. Jiang Fan, who had slaughtered fifty Beast Kings and was covered in blood, seemed like an insurmountable wall, making him hesitate to even try. Now it was different! Over the past seven days, with the help of the clam meat, he had successfully advanced to the fourth level of Core Formation. Though he still wasn't a match for Jiang Fan, he now had some capital for a challenge!

"Alright!" Liang Feiyan took the lead, chasing one of the ape Beast Kings.

Xia Chaoge slapped Little White's back, using the momentum to leap into the air. She mischievously smiled at Jiang Fan. "If Uncle-master wins, Chaoge won't call you 'gentleman of the flower bushes' anymore!"

Jiang Fan's mouth twitched. It wasn't over yet! He shook his head. Spotting an ape Beast King rapidly fleeing into the distance, he casually launched a Sword Control Art. Without even checking the result, he swiftly pursued another ape Beast King. "Thunder Dragon Lightning Leg!" After delivering the kick, he decisively turned his attention to another Beast King.

At this moment, Liang Feiyan had successfully slain his Beast King. Xia Chaoge had even managed to slay two in rapid succession! Only the last ape Beast King remained, targeted by all three simultaneously. It was terrified, its scalp tingling. What was happening? Just crossed the Great Wall and encountered three terrifying individuals? Five of its six companions killed in an instant? It shivered. It immediately turned around and ran towards Boundary Mountain, whimpering. At this moment, all it wanted was to go home to its mother.

Xia Chaoge smiled faintly. She suddenly unleashed a movement technique! And it was an extremely profound one! Ten zhang per step! She was almost as fast as Jiang Fan! Coincidentally, the ape Beast King was also running in her direction. Jiang Fan was too far away to intervene in time.

Liang Feiyan slapped his thigh. "Ah, Junior Sister Xia got ahead! But when did she learn a movement technique?"

Xia Chaoge instantly encountered the ape Beast King. With a delicate flick of her hand, she unleashed a powerful and miraculous palm technique. It was at least Earth-tier, mid-grade! She flashed a triumphant smile at Jiang Fan in the distance. "Chaoge wins!"

However, the moment her words fell, the ape Beast King in front of her seemed to be controlled by something. It was violently yanked backward, and in mid-air, it was sliced into pieces by something terrifying. Jiang Fan unhurriedly collected the Tianshan silk scattered on the ground, saying playfully, "Is Uncle-master that easy to beat?"

Xia Chaoge froze for a moment, then couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh. "I forgot, Uncle-master's greatest advantage is his hidden depths." Just look. He had unleashed yet another new trick she had never seen before.

At this moment, a group of people arrived from Boundary Mountain. Leading them were two elders and a group of disciples from the Nine Sects. All of them showed dissatisfaction.

"The disciples of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion are getting more and more brazen!" Lu Xiunian, the Second Elder of the Grand Elder Sect, said aggressively. "Openly snatching merits like this, are they not giving the Nine Sect disciples any chance at all?"

The other was Shi Kaitian, an elder from Sky Sword Peak of the Azure Cloud Sect. He was also very annoyed: "I'd like to see which Heavenly Secret Pavilion disciples are so shameless!"