Volume 1 Chapter 38

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Volume 1 Chapter 38: Fierce Battle

As Xu Qingfan stood on the field, looking at Feng Qingtian’s handsome but cold expression, with a slight, mocking smile at the corner of his mouth, he felt a light pressure around him. However, Xu Qingfan did not feel nervous; instead, he felt a sense of excitement.

"It seems that even though I think I want nothing, deep down I still have the desire to fight a strong opponent," Xu Qingfan thought to himself with a bitter smile.

At the same time, Feng Qingtian was also observing his opponent. Although Feng Qingtian was absolutely confident in his own strength and believed any opponent was no different to him, one of the Feng family’s teachings was to never underestimate any opponent. The downfall of the Feng family a century ago was partly due to arrogance. So, even though Feng Qingtian was confident, he never looked down on anyone.

To Feng Qingtian, this fellow disciple named Xu Qingfan seemed quite ordinary. While his looks were handsome, they were nothing special; his demeanor was refined, but lacked the presence of a true expert. The only notable thing was a calmness in his expression, as if nothing could stir his emotions, yet his eyes held a hint of weariness and hesitation.

However, Feng Qingtian would not underestimate Xu Qingfan because he knew that anyone who made it to the top four would not be as simple as they appeared. The saying "picking flowers, wearing plain clothes, ghostly body, ruthless heart" was something even Feng Qingtian had heard. Also, Feng Qingtian knew that Xu Qingfan was very close friends with Jin Qinghan; knowing Jin Qinghan, he would never choose a weak person as his friend.

But whether they are weak or strong, Feng Qingtian is confident that he can defeat them one by one. This is not arrogance, but rather his self-assurance in his own strength.

"My name is Xu Qingfan, please teach me." Xu Qingfan knew that trying to get close to Feng Qingtian would be pointless, so after entering the arena, he straightforwardly clasped his hands and said.

"Feng Qingtian, please teach me." Feng Qingtian also clasped his hands and said lightly, but the hint of a sarcastic smile at the corners of his mouth became even more apparent.

"I apologize."

After exchanging polite words, Xu Qingfan struck first. He knew that with Feng Qingtian’s attack power, once he made a move, he would be at a disadvantage and wouldn’t be able to recover. Although Feng Qingtian’s previous opponents were strong, they were overly cautious around Feng Qingtian, so they began with a defensive stance and ended up getting easily defeated by him. Moreover, according to Xu Qingfan, while fire-based techniques are the strongest in the Five Elements Taoist Method, they lack effective defensive measures before reaching the Condensed Core Stage.

Xu Qingfan’s fingers flicked like blossoming orchids, and countless black, full flowers flew toward Feng Qingtian, carrying a breathtaking beauty and the deep danger hidden within. However, strangely, these black flowers did not move quickly, making them easy to dodge for cultivators with "Divine Speed."

"I hope this move will be effective," Xu Qingfan thought to himself.

While he was deep in thought, Xu Qingfan did not hesitate. Ignoring the astonishment of the onlookers, he flicked his fingers again, creating countless fiery red "Explosive Flame Flowers," which flew toward Feng Qingtian. Although the "Explosive Flame Flowers" were shot from behind the black flowers, they moved quickly, catching up with the black flowers and colliding with them in quick succession.

The two types of brilliantly colored flowers collided, creating a series of explosive sounds. As the explosions rang out, a thick white mist carrying a faint fragrance covered the entire arena.

This black flower is called the "Love Flower." Its petals seem thick, but they are actually very delicate and fragile. Even a slight touch can make them break, just like human emotions. However, it is called the "Love Flower" not only for this reason. When the "Love Flower" shatters, it releases a thick white mist that can hide people from sight and has a strong numbing effect, making one unaware of any harm. This white mist is called "Love Mist," and being surrounded by it can make one lose oneself in their emotions.

Suddenly, countless Blade Grasses broke through the "Love Mist" and charged toward Feng Qingtian, while Xu Qingfan took the chance to hide in the fog and vanished from Feng Qingtian’s view. Feng Qingtian looked at the sky filled with Blade Grass but was not surprised. With a slight smirk, he snapped his fingers, and dense fireballs soared toward the Blade Grass, knocking them down one by one.

Although the "Love Mist" shook violently with the explosions of the fireballs, it seemed to thin out a little. Yet, Feng Qingtian still could not see anything, his vision was hazy. Just as Feng Qingtian was about to do something, a wave of Blade Grass shot towards him from behind. With no choice, Feng Qingtian had to defend again with fireballs.

At this moment, the "Love Mist" finally spread out before Feng Qingtian. Xu Qingfan stopped attacking as he could no longer see Feng Qingtian’s figure.

"This looks promising," Xu Qingfan thought, seeing Feng Qingtian’s body vanish into the mist.

Feng Qingtian, watching the white mist around him, suddenly felt a slight numbness on his skin, causing him to furrow his brow. He had held his breath when the mist appeared, but he didn’t expect it could poison through the skin. However, Feng Qingtian remained calm. He quickly pinched his fingers together, and flames erupted from under his feet, turning into a sea of fire that began to spread rapidly around him. The nature of fire is to burn everything, and the "Love Mist" was no exception. Wherever the flames passed, the Love Mist started to melt away like thin ice under a scorching sun.

As the mist slowly disappeared, the scene finally cleared up, but Xu Qingfan’s figure was still nowhere to be seen.

If your opponent is no longer in front of you, they must be behind you. This was Feng Qingtian’s thought, but when he turned around, it was already too late. Xu Qingfan’s magical tool, the "Ruler of Wither and Flourish," suddenly appeared behind him and pierced through Feng Qingtian’s body at lightning speed.

At that moment, Xu Qingfan finally withdrew the "Art of Invisible," his figure slowly becoming visible a short distance behind Feng Qingtian.

"Did I win?" Seeing how easily he had won, Xu Qingfan felt it was unbelievable. Although his attack was cleverly designed, as the number one genius of Feng Qingtian Jiuhua Gate, he shouldn’t have won so easily, right?

Just then, something unexpected happened. A huge fireball suddenly appeared behind Xu Qingfan and hit him hard on the back. Although Xu Qingfan reacted quickly, an iron cattail leaf appeared behind him to block most of the attack, the fireball was very powerful. The strong impact still caused him to stumble forward a few steps before he could steady himself, with a trace of blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, clearly showing that the fireball had caused him some serious internal harm.

At that moment, Feng Qingtian’s figure slowly appeared at the other end of the field, surrounded by faint flames. Although there was still a hint of a sarcastic smile on his lips, his eyes looking at Xu Qingfan became colder. The body that had been pierced by Xu Qingfan’s magic weapon, "Ruler of Wither and Flourish," slowly turned into flames and scattered into the air, revealing that it was just Feng Qingtian’s substitute.

Seeing all of this, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but shake his head and smile bitterly. He didn’t expect Feng Qingtian to not only be incredibly strong but also so cunning. His own plans had failed to cause Feng Qingtian any trouble; instead, he had suffered quite a bit.

After struggling to dispel the fire Spirit Qi that had invaded his body, Xu Qingfan looked at Feng Qingtian and smiled bitterly, saying, "Brother Feng, you have great strategy and wisdom. I admire you."

Feng Qingtian replied calmly, "I don’t deserve such praise."

Watching Feng Qingtian slowly walk toward the center of the field, Xu Qingfan exclaimed in surprise, "Brother Feng wasn’t affected by that ‘Love Mist’?"

"Fire can burn everything, just like poison. Even poison that has already entered the body," Feng Qingtian said proudly. "But I don’t know how you managed to move freely through that ‘Love Mist.’ Although you can create a ‘Love Flower,’ you should normally have been affected by the mist."

"It seems that using clever strategies against Feng Qingtian is impossible now. With that in mind, let’s have a fair fight; even if I lose, I will accept it calmly," Xu Qingfan thought to himself.

Thinking of this, Xu Qingfan’s mood returned to its usual calm. After hearing Feng Qingtian’s question, he explained in a calm tone, "The world is dangerous, but everything in nature holds a glimmer of hope. Though the ‘Love Mist’ may enchant the eyes and numb the body, as long as you hold a petal of the ‘Love Flower’ in your mouth, there will be no harm."

"I see," Feng Qingtian nodded and said, "Earlier, I learned Xu’s great skill, now it’s my turn to show my clumsiness."

"Please go ahead, Brother Feng," Xu Qingfan said with a neutral expression, but he was secretly on guard.

Suddenly, a faint flame appeared on Feng Qingtian’s body, gathering together into countless little firebirds. With the sound of their cheerful chirping, they rose into the air, quickly flying towards Xu Qingfan. This was the "Firebird Technique" that Feng Qingtian used when competing with Wang Qingjun!

"What an amazing ‘Firebird Technique,’" Xu Qingfan exclaimed while watching the sky filled with firebirds. He clasped his hands in awe. At the same time, he used "Turtle, Elephant, Leopard" and "Art of Divine Action" together to instantly maximize his speed, swiftly moving three zhang away, leaving only a faint afterimage behind to evade the attack of the firebirds.

But would Feng Qingtian’s skills stop there?

The army of firebirds, under Feng Qingtian’s control, moved with great agility, speeding past Xu Qingfan’s afterimage and quickly chasing after him. Meanwhile, the flock split into several smaller groups, circling around to surround Xu Qingfan, sealing off all his escape routes.

Watching the countless firebirds soaring towards him, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but let out a faint sigh.

"It seems I will have to fight with all my strength in this match."