Chapter 96: Fierce Battle

Xiao Fan leaped onto the Arena. Opposite him, Nangong Lingxuan's cold, beautiful face remained expressionless…

With a flash of movement, He Yutang also arrived on the Arena. After glancing at Nangong Lingxuan, he fixed his gaze on Xiao Fan.

He Yutang let out a soft 'Eh?' of surprise. He could sense that Xiao Fan's blood energy was currently vigorous, and his injuries had already recovered by seventy or eighty percent.

Originally, he had felt a bit guilty. After all, it was because of his interference that Xiao Fan had been forced to be the first to fight Chen Feixing.

Otherwise, with a normal draw, there was a high probability that Xiao Fan would have become the number one seed.

But looking at it now, it seemed that the bit of guilt in his heart…

Was gone…

“Third match, begin.”

As He Yutang's voice fell, he transformed into a streak of light and vanished from the Arena, flying down to the side of Sect Master Xu Yongnian and the others.

Xiao Fan exhaled, looking at the woman before him whose expression was as cold as winter, yet possessed peerless beauty…

Nangong Lingxuan's expression was very calm. She looked at the scars on Xiao Fan's body, her brow furrowing slightly.

“Your injuries are heavy. Defeating you like this would be unfair, so I will only use fifty percent of my strength to compete with you.”

Her voice was cold, yet exceptionally pleasant to the ear…

Xiao Fan was taken aback. He hadn't expected this cold and elegant woman to say such a thing the first time she spoke to him.

She wanted to go easy on him?

Xiao Fan gave a dry cough and then spoke, “No need. The injuries on my body are fine. Just perform as you normally would.”

He began to suspect—was there something wrong with this woman's head?

The battle between them was essentially a fight for first place.

Although all three of them already had Immortal Caves, the first-place winner also received the reward of choosing an Earth-Rank Cultivation Technique!

It had to be said, regarding Nangong Lingxuan's thought process…

Xiao Fan found it a bit difficult to fathom.

“You said it yourself. You Lecher, die!”

A silver-white longsword appeared in Nangong Lingxuan's hand. Its blade light flickered, and one could tell at a glance it was no ordinary item!

“???”

Lecher?

Xiao Fan was stunned, completely bewildered. This was the first time he had spoken to Nangong Lingxuan; how had he become a Lecher?

And looking at this woman's stance, was she here to fight him to the death?

Xiao Fan didn't dare be careless. The panlong spear appeared in his hand as he blocked Nangong Lingxuan's sword strike.

*Bang*

Nangong Lingxuan frowned. After her sword strike missed, she continued to swing the longsword in her hand.

Her sword technique was superb and extremely fast. With every swing through the air, one could hear the 'hiss' 'hiss' of the air being sliced apart.

However, all her attacks were blocked by Xiao Fan.

“Are your injuries really fine?”

After exchanging more than ten moves, Nangong Lingxuan asked coldly.

Her opponent's movements were flexible, his breathing wasn't disordered at all, and the power behind every strike was very strong. He didn't seem injured in the slightest.

“Didn't I just say my injuries are fine!”

Xiao Fan was speechless… he had clearly said so just now.

“Liar, seek death!”

A rare expression of annoyance appeared on Nangong Lingxuan's face, and the power of the longsword in her hand increased by thirty percent!

“I…”

Xiao Fan was almost driven mad with anger. He had said from the beginning that his injuries were fine!

How had he become a liar now!

And what was with the 'Lecher' thing?

Anger appeared on Nangong Lingxuan's cold face. Her longsword swung continuously, every strike aimed at Xiao Fan's vital points.

In her mind, during the bone age test, Xiao Fan had stared at her without blinking. From that moment on, she had labeled him a Lecher.

And for this exchange, Nangong Lingxuan had been prepared to not use her full strength for a fair fight.

It turned out the guy was perfectly fine!

The more Nangong Lingxuan thought about it, the angrier she became, and her offensive grew increasingly fierce!

Xiao Fan was also alarmed. He knew this woman was a tough character, but he hadn't expected her to be this ruthless!

The power of the ninth level of the Huaqi Realm erupted. Nangong Lingxuan was a Genius among geniuses to begin with; challenging those at higher levels was no problem for her.

She definitely possessed the strength of the Huaqi Realm Great Perfection, and ordinary cultivators at that level would be no match for her.

“So ruthless!”

Xiao Fan felt the power coming from the opponent's longsword; it was only a notch weaker than Chen Feixing's just now.

And the opponent was currently only attacking in her normal state.

It seemed that when she said she would only use fifty percent of her strength earlier, she wasn't boasting!

At this moment, Xiao Fan was certain that Nangong Lingxuan had indeed gone easy on him at the start of the fight!

Below the Arena, Sect Master Xu Yongnian and the group of Elders watched the match with great interest.

Unlike the previous match, there was no tragic, bloody slaughter; instead, it was very aesthetically pleasing.

Partly because Nangong Lingxuan was peerlessly beautiful, and combined with her sword-wielding posture, every move and style was stunningly elegant.

And while Xiao Fan looked pitiful, his white robes turned into tattered red rags, he was actually quite fine.

“Who do you all think will win this match?”

Xu Yongnian smiled, looking toward the four Elders to hear their opinions.

“Hehe… I'm not sure who will win, but the injuries on Xiao Fan's body healed truly fast. Brother Jiang, your Medicinal Pill's effect is quite good.” Elder Shi Ji covered her mouth and laughed.

The others also turned their gazes toward Jiang Yushan. Xiao Fan's injuries had healed too quickly.

Even if his talent was startling, it was impossible to heal this fast.

The only explanation was the Medicinal Pill he had taken from Jiang Yushan.

Jiang Yushan puffed out his chest and held his head high with a haughty expression, not offering any explanation. An Alchemist should have this kind of arrogant attitude.

In truth, he was also a bit puzzled. He had clearly only given him a third-grade Origin Returning Pill. Although it had miraculous effects on spiritual energy and injuries, it shouldn't have allowed a complete recovery in just one hour.

But naturally, he wouldn't speak of this to outsiders…

He Yutang glanced at Jiang Yushan, then at the smiling Xu Yongnian…

Does this old fellow also have his eye on Xiao Fan… A sense of crisis arose in He Yutang's heart, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt it was possible!

The exchange between these two was not grand or soul-stirring.

Nangong Lingxuan was a woman and did not like crude fighting styles; she controlled the power of all her attacks perfectly.

Though the power seemed average, it was because her Aura was restrained.

Xiao Fan felt it most clearly. Although the Aura seemed unremarkable, the power of each of this woman's strikes was very strong.

Moreover, her sword technique attainment was exceptionally deep. Combined with her extreme speed, it left the long spear in his hand with no advantage to exploit, forcing him to barely manage a defense.

“I really underestimated her!”

Xiao Fan felt extremely stifled during the fight, like he had strength but nowhere to apply it.

Once a spear user is closed in on, they lose all advantage.

Especially since the longsword in Nangong Lingxuan's hand was no ordinary item; its rank was at least Medium Grade Profound Rank or higher.

The panlong spear's shaft had already been damaged in several places during the fight with Chen Feixing, and now, after fighting Nangong Lingxuan for a moment, the spear body had several more sword gashes!

“Nangong Lingxuan is too strong, truly worthy of being the number one person!”

“The Terror is in trouble. It looks like he's no match for Fairy Nangong…”

“You can't put it like that. After all, Xiao Fan's previous match was so brutal, and he still has injuries…”

“Wait, look, why did Xiao Fan put his long spear away…”

“…”

The surrounding crowd discussed heatedly. At this moment, Xiao Fan, the focus of their discussion, had put the panlong spear into his Storage Pouch…

And in his hand, a longsword had appeared!