Volume 1 Chapter 32

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Volume 1 Chapter 32: Destiny

"Who do you think will win this match?" Bai Qingfu asked Jin Qinghan, looking at Xu Qingfan’s slowly retreating figure.

"Senior Brother Xu," Jin Qinghan replied confidently.

"Why?"

"Because I believe he will definitely win," Jin Qinghan said in a calm but firm voice.

"Really?" When Bai Qingfu heard Jin Qinghan say this, his gaze drifted away for some unknown reason, and a strange smile appeared on his lips.

Clearly, Dharma Protector Xu valued Nangong Qingshan, his disciple, very much. He not only gave him all his proud magical tools from years ago, but he even personally brought his other disciples to watch Nangong Qingshan’s competition up close. For a moment, Nangong Qingshan was very powerful.

However, Xu Qingfan and Nangong Qingshan did not notice any of this; they only had eyes for each other.

The sun was shining brightly, and a gentle breeze was blowing.

Nangong Qingshan’s eyes were still cold and filled with resentment, like a hungry wolf looking for revenge. But Xu Qingfan’s gaze had become calm. At this moment, even though only five days had passed, Xu Qingfan felt he had been waiting for far too long; it was time to settle things.

Once, Xu Qingfan had thought about how he would react when this moment came. He had imagined feeling excited, angry, and even sad. But when he faced this moment for real, he discovered an unprecedented calmness and relief in his heart. Perhaps it was because all his anger and sorrow had already been spent, or perhaps it was because a destiny was about to be understood.

"I never expected you to actually make it into the top sixteen. It seems your opponent on that stone platform was very weak," Nangong Qingshan broke the silence first, speaking sarcastically.

"I can’t believe you’ve already reached the middle stage of the Inedia Stage. Master once said your talent only appears once in a hundred years, and it seems he was right," Xu Qingfan replied calmly, completely ignoring Nangong Qingshan’s sarcasm, feeling neither joy nor anger in his heart.

"Are you saying my skills are lower than yours? Hmph…! Strength isn’t just determined by rank. I now have many magical tools in my hands, and you are no longer my match." Nangong Qingshan’s expression grew fierce, "Since you defeated me ten years ago, I have practiced hard every day and worked to please my master. Finally, I now have skills that are nearly as good as yours, along with many more powerful magical tools. I will pay you back double for what happened ten years ago."

"You’re mistaken; I didn’t mean to show off that my skills are higher than yours. I just wanted to say that you have great talent. Not everyone speaks to insult others." Xu Qingfan remained calm, with a peaceful sigh, "Thinking that your wonderful talent will be ruined by me today makes me feel a bit sad. Some beautiful things I have to destroy with my own hands, and that is fate."

"You’re going to destroy me? Today, I will destroy you!" Nangong Qingshan said fiercely, his eyes looking like they wanted to consume someone.

Looking at Nangong Qingshan, who was completely trapped in hatred and himself, Xu Qingfan sighed softly and said, "Nangong Qingshan, can we stop talking about these boring things?"

"Then what do you want to say? Do you want to beg for mercy?" Nangong Qingshan seemed a bit calmer as he replied sarcastically.

"Do you believe in fate?" Xu Qingfan suddenly asked quietly.

"Fate? I have only ever believed in myself."

"Since the match order was announced, I have been thinking about this question when I found out that you are my opponent in the first match." Xu Qingfan said softly, with a flicker of gray light in his eyes, "I think, perhaps it is fate that led my master to meet you, an exceptionally talented disciple with a cold heart, in his old age. It is also fate that caused my senior brother to encounter you early and to be harmed by you. In the end, fate has brought me here to understand the grudges of our school and to eliminate the harm. Everything is fate."

"Why isn’t it fate that allows me to take revenge on you here?" Nangong Qingshan said mockingly, "You don’t think of yourself as the representative of justice, do you?"

"I do not represent justice, and no one can represent justice. I just want to do what I should do at this moment."

"What you should do is simply give up, so at least you can save your life."

Looking at the stubborn Nangong Qingshan, whose handsome face had turned fierce with resentment, Xu Qingfan lost interest in speaking. He had wanted to persuade Nangong Qingshan to confess, but now he saw that Nangong Qingshan would not listen, making it pointless. This Nangong Qingshan only lived in his own world and only for himself.

"Since that’s the case, let’s begin our contest. For our own purposes," Xu Qingfan said softly.

"I have waited for this moment for a long time," Nangong Qingshan said with a cruel smile. As he spoke, he pinched his fingers together, releasing a huge wave of Wood-type energy that transformed into countless giant trees in the air, all crashing down toward Xu Qingfan with great force.

But Xu Qingfan did not show any change in expression facing Nangong Qingshan’s large-scale attack. He merely moved his fingers to create dozens of sturdy iron cattail leaves that protected his head, blocking the falling giant trees, which posed no threat to him at all.

"Use your proud magical tools. With your techniques, you cannot defeat me," Xu Qingfan quietly watched Nangong Qingshan and said calmly.

"You’re looking for death!" Nangong Qingshan was enraged by Xu Qingfan’s contempt. He waved his right hand, and three blue spikes about three feet long suddenly appeared in front of him. These were the "Qing Xuan Three Thrusts" he used to pierce Yue Qingru’s "Spiritual Sea Acupuncture Point," a powerful advanced magical tool at the Human Level.

Facing the incoming "Qing Xuan Three Thrusts," Xu Qingfan did not dare to be careless. Explosive Flame Flowers and Blade Grass shot out in succession, hitting the "Xuantian Three Thrusts," but only causing a slight pause before they continued to rush toward Xu Qingfan even faster.

Xu Qingfan had no choice but to use his artifact, "Ruler of Wither and Flourish," to engage with "Xuantian Three Thrusts." However, "Xuantian Three Thrusts" was a high-level human artifact, superior in quality to "Ruler of Wither and Flourish." If it weren’t for the fact that "Ruler of Wither and Flourish" shared the same source of Spirit Qi with Xu Qingfan, allowing him to control it easily, he would have already lost. Even so, it was a struggle to defend himself.

"You dare to use an artifact against me? Are you asking for trouble?" Nangong Qingshan said with a wicked smile. He waved his right hand, and a net-like artifact suddenly flew towards Xu Qingfan’s "Ruler of Wither and Flourish." This was the high-level human artifact known as the "Sky Catching Net," which could seize other artifacts. Since Xu Qingfan’s "Ruler of Wither and Flourish" was entangled with "Xuantian Three Thrusts," it couldn’t dodge in time and was instantly trapped by the "Sky Catching Net." With that, Xu Qingfan lost connection with his artifact.

Although the situation had become dire, Xu Qingfan strangely smiled, ignoring the stolen "Ruler of Wither and Flourish." He sprang forward instead of backing away, instantly moving toward Nangong Qingshan, leaving only a faint afterimage in his place. Nangong Qingshan, distracted as he controlled both artifacts, reacted slowly and only noticed Xu Qingfan when he appeared right in front of him.

However, Nangong Qingshan was quick to respond. A green light flashed beside him, showing a wooden slip-like artifact blocking his way. It was the defensive artifact "Black Wood Bamboo Slip" that he had taken from Yue Qingru. At the same time, he controlled "Xuantian Three Thrusts" to turn and attack Xu Qingfan to protect himself.

Unfortunately, even though the "Black Wood Bamboo Slip" was a middle-class human-level artifact with decent defense, Nangong Qingshan’s attention was divided among three artifacts, weakening his control over the "Black Wood Bamboo Slip." Moreover, he had only recently acquired it and had not fully refined it, so it wavered slightly under Xu Qingfan’s continuous Explosive Flame Flower attacks, exposing a small gap in its defense.

Although it was just a small gap, it was enough for Xu Qingfan. He pointed his right hand fiercely at Nangong Qingshan, and a mixed light of gray and blue Spirit Qi broke through the gap and struck Nangong Qingshan. This was Xu Qingfan’s secret technique, "Finger of Wither and Flourish," which could imprison a cultivator’s Spirit Qi, honed over ten long years of practice!

The moment Nangong Qingshan was hit by the Finger of Wither and Flourish, he felt his Spirit Qi within him freeze and could no longer move it freely.

At that moment, "Qing Xuan Three Thrusts" reached Xu Qingfan’s back but fell to the ground without Nangong Qingshan’s control, just barely avoiding disaster.

Only then did a look of disbelief appear on Nangong Qingshan’s face.

"Good thoughts, good courage." Bai Qingfu clapped and sighed from the audience, "First, he attracted Nangong Qingshan to repeatedly attack with his magical tools, even risking his own tool being taken by Nangong Qingshan. But it was quite hard for Nangong Qingshan to control two magical tools at the same time. Junior Brother Xu took advantage of Nangong Qingshan’s distraction and suddenly attacked, defeating him. This was very risky; the chance of success was only about twenty to thirty percent. If it didn’t work out, he could end up defeated and severely injured. But to everyone’s surprise, Junior Brother Xu succeeded, which is truly remarkable."

Although Jin Qinghan did not speak, a hint of a smile appeared on his usually cold and proud face, showing his joy at that moment.

On the stage.

"You rely too much on your magical tools," Xu Qingfan said calmly, looking at Nangong Qingshan, whose expression was starting to turn fearful.

As he spoke, dozens of Blade Grass suddenly appeared from his fingertips, shooting towards Nangong Qingshan. Unable to use Spirit Qi, Nangong Qingshan could not dodge, and deep cuts instantly appeared on his body, with his limbs pierced by the Blade Grass, especially the wound at the "Spiritual Sea Acupuncture Point," which was particularly noticeable.

These wounds were exactly the same as the injuries Yue Qingru had suffered five days ago.

"Please, don’t kill me, Senior Brother Xu, don’t kill me," Nangong Qingshan pleaded, fear evident in his eyes, the arrogance and ferocity he once showed were now gone.

"Don’t worry, I promised my senior brother that I would not take your life," Xu Qingfan said calmly. "I am just returning the harm that Senior Brother Yue suffered from you."

Saying this, Xu Qingfan bent down to pick up his magical tool, "Ruler of Wither and Flourish," and the tool that Yue Qingru had before, "Black Wood Bamboo Slip." Ignoring Nangong Qingshan’s desperate expression and Dharma Protector Xu’s resentful gaze, he turned and walked down the stage.

Seeing Nangong Qingshan’s weak appearance, Xu Qingfan lost the mood to lecture him. Besides, mocking his opponent after victory was not Xu Qingfan’s style, even if that opponent was Nangong Qingshan.

"In the second match, Xu Qingfan wins."

On the high platform, an elder stood up and slowly announced.

After getting off the stage, Xu Qingfan felt a sense of emptiness in his heart.

A void that appears only after a fate has been settled.