Chapter 41: Are You Scared or Not?

A single Blazing Flame Beast was quickly devoured cleanly by the group. Martial artists consumed a great deal of energy; even the girl Han Mengmeng only felt full after eating a hind leg.

"Let's go. It's getting late. I hope we can reach the Great Yan Dynasty before sunset," Lin Fan said, rising to his feet.

"Yes, Senior," Zang Tianhao nodded. During the meal, no one spoke, and Zang Tianhao kept a vigilant eye on Lin Fan the entire time without asking many questions. For Zang Tianhao, the more he asked, the more dangerous it became.

Along the way, Zang Tianhao made Han Mengmeng stay behind him, not letting her get close. If something happened, he could buy time for her to escape.

During the journey, the others also deliberately quickened their pace, wanting to reach the Great Yan Dynasty quickly.

The appearance of the mysterious expert brought no excitement to the group. They didn't think they could gain any benefits from him; for them, just surviving was good enough.

Countless people had died in this forest—those were bloody lessons.

Lin Fan also noticed that these people were deliberately keeping their distance from him. He didn't take it to heart; as long as he could reach the Great Yan Dynasty, he had no other thoughts.

The techniques "Turn the Tables" and "Black Tiger Steals the Heart" could no longer grant him experience from ordinary martial artists.

Especially "Black Tiger Steals the Heart"—even Ni Mantian, who was at the eighth level of Entering Divinity, couldn't give him experience anymore, let alone others.

Could it be that "Black Tiger Steals the Heart" was more profound than "Turn the Tables"?

"Halt!"

Just as Lin Fan and the others were passing through a treacherous path flanked by cliffs on both sides, a group of unidentified people surrounded them from front and back.

"Hand over your belongings and leave this woman behind, then the rest of you can go," said a big man in black armor, carrying a Five Tigers Gate-Breaking Blade on his shoulder as he strode out menacingly.

The man was bald, with a hideous, crooked scar running from his forehead all the way down to his chin.

The great blade in his hand had a black back and a white edge, with a fierce tiger head carved on the hilt.

When Zang Tianhao saw the man with the great blade, his expression changed instantly.

"Tiger Gate Blade, Qu Xiangge."

"Heh, good eyes," Qu Xiangge said, swinging his blade horizontally, producing a series of whooshing sounds. "Good eyes are fine. Leave your things and the woman, then you can scram."

"Qu Xiangge, we're both students of the Tianfu Academy..." Zang Tianhao knew who Qu Xiangge was.

He was a notorious bandit in the Great Yan Dynasty, a disgrace to the Tianfu Academy.

"Stop wasting my time!" Qu Xiangge suddenly grew angry, raised his blade, and swung it. A blade aura shot through the air, heading toward one of the people beside Zang Tianhao.

That person's face filled with terror. Facing the sudden blade aura, he broke out in a cold sweat. He tried to raise his sword to block, but the blade aura was so fierce and violent that it seemed impossible to resist.

"Qu Xiangge, how dare you!" Zang Tianhao was startled. He hadn't expected Qu Xiangge to actually attack.

Qu Xiangge had once been a student of the Tianfu Academy, but after suffering unfair treatment, he dropped out and became a bandit king. Countless experts from the academy wanted to eliminate this disgrace, but Qu Xiangge hid deep and was hard to find, so he had remained safe.

Now, with the sweeping blade aura, even Zang Tianhao himself dared not claim he could block it.

Just as Zang Tianhao prepared to fight to the death, he saw an ordinary-looking hand reach out and block the domineering blade aura.

Zang Tianhao's eyes nearly popped out. How was this possible?

Lin Fan looked at Qu Xiangge. Fourth level of the Innate Realm—his cultivation was mediocre, one level higher than Lin Fan, but Lin Fan felt this guy was completely wasting his time.

"Senior..." The man who thought he was about to die now looked at Lin Fan with immense gratitude. If not for Senior's intervention, he would have died under that blade aura.

Qu Xiangge, at the fourth level of the Innate Realm, had a fierce blade technique. Even someone at the same level wouldn't dare claim to last long against him.

"Who are you?" Qu Xiangge eyed Lin Fan warily. When Zang Tianhao and his eight companions entered the Sunset Forest, he had already observed them. Now there was an extra person—what was going on?

Lin Fan looked at Qu Xiangge, a thought forming in his mind. Then he turned to Zang Tianhao. "You go on ahead. I'll catch up with you later."

Lin Fan didn't want Zang Tianhao and the others to stay; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to do what he had in mind.

"Senior, you..." Zang Tianhao looked at Lin Fan with some guilt. He had been suspicious of Senior earlier, and now Senior was telling them to leave first while he stayed behind to face the bandits.

"As a senior, it's only natural to let the juniors go first. That's always been my way," Lin Fan said, hands behind his back, speaking with righteous dignity.

At that moment, the sky seemed to clear, and all filth was exposed before Lin Fan's majestic words.

Even Han Mengmeng, who had previously resented Lin Fan, now looked at him with adoration.

Senior's words just now touched her heart. In Han Mengmeng's eyes, Senior's figure grew towering and magnificent, a dazzling light shining so brightly it nearly blinded her.

"Senior, I'm sorry. I was suspicious of you earlier..." Zang Tianhao said apologetically.

Lin Fan waved his hand. "No matter. As a senior, if I didn't have that much tolerance, I wouldn't deserve to be called your senior. Go on. I'll catch up shortly," Lin Fan said calmly.

"Yes. Let's go!" Zang Tianhao didn't hesitate and led the group away immediately.

Qu Xiangge wanted to chase after them, but seeing the mysterious man standing still, he held his breath and dared not move rashly.

After Zang Tianhao and the others had left, Lin Fan looked at Qu Xiangge and smiled slightly. "Alright, I think I should be going too."

Qu Xiangge was stunned, then quickly reacted. "Bastard, you're messing with me! Take this!"

"Five Tigers Gate-Breaking Slash!"

Qu Xiangge roared, leaped into the air, and his fierce blade force tore through the air with cracking sounds.

Lin Fan glanced sideways and instantly activated the "Pluck Flower and Caress Chrysanthemum Finger," flicking at Qu Xiangge's hand holding the blade. Qu Xiangge felt a strange sensation—numbness mixed with a hint of pleasure—but then a sharp pain shot through his palm, and his hand loosened, sending the great blade into Lin Fan's grasp.

In an instant, Lin Fan kicked out, sending Qu Xiangge crashing to the ground.

"Boss, are you okay?" The surrounding underlings immediately rushed over.

Qu Xiangge waved them off, enduring the pain as he got up. "Very well. It seems I'll have to show you my real skills before you know who Qu Xiangge is."

Lin Fan looked at Qu Xiangge and then let out a cold laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" Qu Xiangge, seeing the other man laughing, was furious and felt an urge to tear him limb from limb.

"What am I laughing at? I'm laughing because you all should kneel and surrender to me!" At that moment, Lin Fan roared, picked up the Tiger Gate Blade, and swung it at his own body.

Qu Xiangge was stunned, thinking the man had gone mad and was trying to commit suicide with his own blade.

His Tiger Gate Blade was a high-grade weapon, just short of being a Mystic Weapon, indestructible and sharp. Countless experts had died under it.

But the next second, Qu Xiangge and his men were all dumbfounded.

The moment the Gate-Breaking Blade touched Lin Fan's body, it broke into three pieces and fell to the ground.

"My Gate-Breaking Blade..." Qu Xiangge stared blankly at the broken pieces of the Tiger Gate Blade on the ground.

"If you don't want to die, kneel and surrender to me, or else this Tiger Gate Blade will be your fate!" Lin Fan shouted, mustering all his momentum.

In Lin Fan's view, fighting was too troublesome. I'll just cut myself once—are you scared or not?

At that moment, Qu Xiangge came to his senses. This man was powerful, incredibly powerful.

The Tiger Gate Blade was no ordinary weapon. How could a flesh-and-blood body withstand it, and even shatter it into three pieces?

"Senior... spare me!"

At that moment, Qu Xiangge cowered. With a thud, he knelt on the ground.

The other underlings followed suit, one after another, following Qu Xiangge's lead.

Qu Xiangge was a man of insight and experience. He never imagined there could be such a ruthless person in the world, who would cut himself and destroy his Tiger Gate Blade.

At that moment, Lin Fan smiled, a brilliant smile...