Chapter 62 Believe It or Not, I Believe It

“Xiao Ze and the teacher from Class D are on the martial stage. If you don’t want to miss it, hurry up and follow.”

“What? Xiao Ze is fighting a teacher again.”

“How could that Class D teacher agree to go on the martial stage with Xiao Ze? Isn’t that asking for death?”

At this moment, the Tianfu Academy was buzzing with excitement. The martial stage hosted two types of duels: one for victory or defeat, and the other for life or death.

And whenever Xiao Ze stepped onto the martial stage with someone, he only ever signed a life-or-death contract, never one for mere victory or defeat.

It seemed the Class D teacher was in grave danger. Given Xiao Ze’s vengeful nature, the teacher’s chances of survival were close to zero.

Lin Fan stood on the martial stage, calm and composed, exuding the aura of a grandmaster.

“Sign it.” Xiao Ze signed his name on the life-or-death contract and tossed it to Lin Fan.

Lin Fan caught the contract, glanced at it briefly, and a faint smile curled at the corners of his mouth. He hadn’t expected Xiao Ze to be so determined to fight to the death.

Xiao Ze looked at Lin Fan with contempt. “If you don’t want to sign, then roll off this martial stage. Remember, roll.”

Xiao Ze held the Class D teacher in no regard. To him, this teacher was nothing but a chicken, and today he would kill that chicken to scare the monkeys.

Lin Fan smiled faintly and signed his name.

“The Tianfu Academy, as a prestigious institution of the Great Yan Dynasty, has decent faculty, but your temperament still leaves much to be desired. You need more tempering.” Lin Fan’s expression was one of deep disappointment, and to Zang Tianhao and Han Mengmeng, it seemed as if Senior Lin was truly pained.

Temperament?

Hearing Senior Lin’s words, Zang Tianhao felt a glimmer of enlightenment.

He recalled how earlier he had been unable to endure such humiliation and had recklessly wanted to challenge Xiao Ze to a duel, even at the cost of his life. That was nothing short of suicidal.

“Enough nonsense.” Xiao Ze’s face hardened as he took out a pitch-black double-bladed halberd from his storage pouch.

Xiao Ze gripped the halberd horizontally with one hand, standing there like a war god.

The students below gasped in surprise. Xiao Ze was getting serious.

This halberd, named the Heaven-Shaking Halberd, was one of the Xiao family’s divine weapons. Forged from Black Gold Mystic Stone, it was a genuine top-grade divine weapon, just a hair’s breadth away from reaching the Profound Grade.

“Senior Zang, will Senior Lin be alright?” Han Mengmeng looked at the scene on stage with growing concern.

Xiao Ze was at the sixth level of the Innate Realm, practiced the Xiao family’s top-tier techniques, and wielded a halberd crafted by the Xiao family’s master artisans, which amplified the flow of true essence.

“He’ll be fine.” Zang Tianhao watched the stage intently. He hadn’t expected Xiao Ze to be this strong. Even just the aura of a sixth-level Innate expert made Zang Tianhao extremely uncomfortable. If he had gone up himself, he would likely have been slain within a single move.

…

“Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance. Make your move.” Xiao Ze swung the Heaven-Shaking Halberd, its immense force tearing through the air with a series of explosive sounds.

Sigh, too arrogant.

Lin Fan shook his head. Xiao Ze’s talent was passable, but to have cultivated to the sixth level of the Innate Realm with such a mindset must have cost the Xiao family no small amount of resources.

“You are the junior, so I shall yield to you. Very well, three moves. I won’t move an inch.” Lin Fan stood there, speaking with an air of nonchalance.

What…

The students below erupted in exclamations. Was this Class D teacher truly out of his mind?

Standing still and letting three moves? That was simply suicide.

Zang Tianhao’s eyes flashed with astonishment. He hadn’t expected Senior to say he would stand still and let three moves. How was that possible?

The halberd in Xiao Ze’s hand was a top-grade weapon, sharp enough to cut through iron. Even without the enhancement of true essence, a single strike could slice through the flesh of an Innate Realm cultivator.

Xiao Ze’s face turned ashen. This worthless Class D teacher actually dared to underestimate him.

“Fine, since you’re asking for death, don’t blame me.” In that moment, Xiao Ze gripped the Heaven-Shaking Halberd, his momentum like a rainbow. The halberd shot forward like an arrow, straight for Lin Fan’s chest.

Lin Fan remained unruffled, a smile on his lips. He paid no heed to Xiao Ze’s formidable strike.

“Senior…” Han Mengmeng cried out, covering her eyes, unable to watch.

The moment the halberd touched Lin Fan, Xiao Ze let out a fierce shout, furiously channeling his true essence onto the halberd’s tip. At that point, the space around the tip seemed to warp, trailing streaks of white air currents.

“Hmph, seeking death.” Xiao Ze sneered, but the sneer barely lingered before his expression changed instantly.

“How is this possible…”

At that moment, not only Xiao Ze found it impossible, but the students watching below felt the same.

Zang Tianhao had watched from start to finish without blinking, but even he was stunned speechless by what he saw.

“That strike was quite good, but the timing is still lacking.” Lin Fan smiled faintly and flicked the tip of the Heaven-Shaking Halberd lightly.

“Ding, congratulations! ‘Indestructible Demon Body’ experience +4000.”

Now, leveling up the Indestructible Demon Body was becoming increasingly difficult. The experience gained from ordinary Innate Realm cultivators was ultimately too little.

Xiao Ze was furious. “Bastard, I’ll make you regret this.”

With a furious roar, Xiao Ze wildly channeled his true essence. The pitch-black Heaven-Shaking Halberd was covered in a dazzling light as he changed from a thrust to a downward slash.

“Sweeping the Eight Wastelands.”

Xiao Ze, hailed as a genius of the Xiao family and the top combatant of Tianfu Academy, had never encountered such humiliation.

He had never even taken the teachers of Class A seriously. How dare this worthless Class D teacher act insolently before him?

“Clang…”

The magnificent strike swept across Lin Fan’s shoulder, and the powerful recoil jarred Xiao Ze’s tiger’s mouth with pain.

“Ding, congratulations! ‘Indestructible Demon Body’ experience +4000.”

“Impossible. I don’t believe it.” Xiao Ze roared, unleashing all his true essence. The Heaven-Shaking Halberd stirred up a storm, and the entire martial stage was filled with its afterimages.

“Ding, congratulations! ‘Indestructible Demon Body’ experience +4000.”

“Ding, congratulations! ‘Indestructible Demon Body’ experience +4000.”

…

Although the experience gain was small, every bit counted. The path of leveling up would probably be slower from now on.

Xiao Ze indeed had reason to be proud. To have achieved such cultivation at a young age, barring any accidents, reaching the Divine Realm was well within his grasp.

The path of cultivation emphasizes vitality. The younger one is when improving cultivation, the faster the progress, and the broader the road ahead.

But for those with poor aptitude, if they only reach the Innate Realm in middle age, they will never break through the Innate Realm in their lifetime without some fortuitous encounter.

Because the vitality in their bodies has already settled, and their thinking has become rigid.

“I don’t believe it…” Xiao Ze’s hair was disheveled, his eyes blazing with fury. Gone was the high-spirited demeanor he had when he first stepped onto the stage.

“Heaven-Shaking.”

With a furious roar, Xiao Ze leaped into the air, the Heaven-Shaking Halberd erupting with fierce momentum…

Lin Fan shook his head.

“Enough.” Lin Fan sighed softly and slowly extended a finger.

“Flower-Touching Chrysanthemum-Caressing Finger.”

The moment the Heaven-Shaking Halberd descended, Lin Fan’s finger pressed against the blade, gently stroking it. A powerful force vibrated through the halberd, causing it to hum.

Xiao Ze’s tiger’s mouth went numb, and the Heaven-Shaking Halberd slipped from his grasp, falling into Lin Fan’s hand.

“This…” Xiao Ze stared at his empty hands, looking somewhat dazed.

“Do you realize your mistake?” Lin Fan was not calm just to show off; he had fully immersed himself in the noble profession of teaching. He believed that as a teacher, he must guide students who had gone astray.

Believe it or not, Lin Fan himself believed it.

“You bastard, I’ll…”

“Sigh, it seems the lesson hasn’t sunk in yet.” Hearing Xiao Ze’s half-spoken words, Lin Fan knew his teaching had not yet reached the student’s heart. He looked up to the sky, feeling the weight of his responsibility.

“Flower-Touching Chrysanthemum-Caressing Finger.”

Lin Fan lightly touched Xiao Ze’s body with his finger.

“Crack…”

Xiao Ze felt as if all the bones in his body had loosened, and he had no strength left at all.

Lin Fan took out a small stool he had kept in the storage pouch given by Senior Brother Meng Yangquan, then hoisted Xiao Ze up and made him lie over it.

Lin Fan always remembered a saying: although this small stool was simple in craftsmanship, it was an indispensable tool for travel.

Wherever you go, you can rest; wherever you go, you can join the fight.