The old man dodged the saber and stabbed towards Wang Xiaoqi, who was behind Zhang Fan.
Facing upward, Zhang Fan slashed back with a very simple lock move.
Clang!
The saber collided with the sword.
A tremendous force was burst out.
The old man was sent flying backward for dozens of meters. The icy rock under Zhang Fan’s feet was shattered. Losing his balance, he staggered and fell off the ice peak.
The hunchbacked old man laughed. “Hahaha, boy, the ice peak is too small for us. Why don’t we fight on the ground?”
After all, his Qi cultivation was far more advanced than Zhang Fan’s. Besides, he was thoughtful and had long noticed Zhang Fan’s weakness, so he proposed this to draw Zhang Fan away from the ice peak.
The old man laughed. He moved nimbly in the void like a slithering snake. He flashed in front of Zhang Fan as he fell and made sword thrusts like rainfall.
Zhang Fan roared.
He kept falling with his face upward in an almost supine position. The black long saber in his hand kept changing. Like a black python shimmering with saber light, it fended off the pouring sword light. With no supporting surface in the air, Zhang Fan was unable to find a spot to jump up and could only continue his descent.
“Now is a good chance. Let’s kill the rebels from the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect!” Fang Xiaoan shouted coldly. He led hundreds of masters around him and rushed to the ice peak like a swarm of bees. The void was filled with killing intent and chilling sword light. Beams of Qi bombarded the ice mountain where Li Yiruo and the others were.
Feng Chao, the leader of the Mysterious Frost Holy Guard shouted to instigate, “Ding Hao of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect killed Mu Tianyang, a member of Mysterious Frost Holy Guard. Such an action is unforgivable. The other disciples of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect have colluded with him and deserve to die. Kill them!”
It was a sinister act.
What they were doing was to hit a man while he was down. Right when Ding Hao was about to become exhausted, they suddenly attacked the other disciples of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect to distract him, so he could be killed while being caught off-guard.
Fang Xiaoan and Feng Chao seized the opportunity.
They launched attacks in an instant.
They were fully confident.
Because they had the absolute advantage in both the number of experts and sheer group size.
The battle seemed to have already ended.
However, something unexpected happened—
“Hey ga-ga!”
The more than 20 disciples of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect trapped on the ice peak didn’t panic in the slightest.
With a strange animal-like cry, five or six transparent bubbles suddenly appeared on the peak. They floated leisurely in the void against the golden sun, like soap bubbles blown by little girls, as if a slight touch would break them.
But when those bubbles touched the six Tranquility Academy experts at the forefront, something incredible happened.
They silently merged into the bubbles, as if they were one.
Through the twisted light and shadows, one could see the distorted faces and bodies of the entrapped six masters, as if they had encountered the most terrible thing in the world. They struggled madly inside. Their strength, which was enough to crush fine steel blocks in an instant, wasn’t even able to make the slightest impact.
“Pop! Pop! Pop!”
There was a faint sound of bubbles bursting.
Bursting along with them were the bodies of the six Tranquility Academy experts who had been trapped in the bubbles.
Living people disappeared in an instant, like beautiful dreamy bubbles without leaving a single trace, as if it were all a dream.
“What was that?” Fang Xiaoan was shocked and immediately stepped back.
Feng Chao also let out a cry and fled like a bolt of lightning.
Almost immediately, an unexpected bubble floated past him and caught another Mysterious Frost Holy Guard. Then, with a pop, the guard broke into pieces and disappeared without leaving traces of flesh or blood.
Feng Chao was terrified.
If he hadn’t dodged in time, the person who had died might have been him.
“Hey ga-ga! Hey ga-ga!…”
Strange voices kept ringing.
This time, many people noticed the bubbles, which were like the invitation of Death, were emitted by Adorable’s mouth, the cute little dolphin on Li Yiruo’s shoulder in the distance.
The mysterious dolphin had obtained countless natural treasures ever since it followed Ding Hao. It was endowed with divinity, after lighting up the small divine fire tower at the mysterious altar in the Fake God City. Its golden dragon-like scale became even brighter.
During this time, its strength had increased considerably.
In the past, its bubbles could only seal people inside, but they had eventually become capable of killing.
The little dolphin looked very cute. It wagged its little tail joyfully, like an elf swimming in the sea.
But in the eyes of Fang Xiaoan and his men, it was as terrifying as a wild behemoth.
Adorable shouted happily and blew out ten bubbles in a row.
The colorful bubbles under the sunlight looked thin, as if they would break at the faintest touch. However, when they floated around the ice peak, hundreds of experts—including Fang Xiaoan and Feng Chao—avoided them as if they had seen snakes and scorpions. No one dared to be close to them.
No matter how capable a person was, the fear of the unknown was ingrained in human nature.
Feng Chao—the leader of the Mysterious Frost Holy Guards—calmed himself and shouted angrily, “Kill it. I don’t believe that a beast can stop all of us…”
His confidence had stemmed from his strength. Qi flashed all over his body like raging flames. He activated all his strength and moved like lightning; he switched from one spot to another, casting shadows in the sky and making it difficult to tell which one was the real him. He wanted to dodge the strange bubbles and break into the ice peak to start a massacre…
However, right at that moment…
“Boom!”
With a lingering cry of the divine phoenix, a fairy-like figure blocked his way.
Her slender hands were as smooth as fine white jade. She sent Feng Chao flying dozens of meters away with just a gentle push.
Feng Chao shouted angrily when he saw the person in front of him, “It’s you? How dare you stop me?”
“I’m also a disciple of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect,” Xie Jieyu stood in the void and said calmly, “Feng Chao, I’ll let you live for a few more days if you get out of here now. Brother Hao will deal with you sooner or later. Otherwise, I don’t mind teaching you a lesson on Brother Hao’s behalf right now!”
“How dare you!” Feng Chao was furious, but he was in a dilemma.
He could feel that the power contained in that woman was as great as that of a female war god, which was not something he could compete with. Moreover, there were two experts close to the Demon Royal Realm standing behind her. If they fought openly, the demon clan might not care if he was a Mysterious Frost Holy Guard.
Feng Chao gnashed his teeth in hatred. “Damn it, why so many people come to support that damned Ding Hao!”
On the other side.
On top of the ice peak, Li Lan seemed to think of something upon seeing what happened.
She suddenly floated up slowly to hover in the void.
With her black hair and dress fluttering in the wind, she looked like a goddess descending to the mortal world.
“Everything should end today. Fang Xiaoan, you used to be a grandmaster in the Snow Province and my father’s lifetime archenemy, but now…” The girl’s smooth black hair fluttered in the wind like a waterfall. She stepped out of the protection of the bubble and confronted him despite everyone’s surprise. She said quietly, “If my father knew how pitiful you are now, I believe he would be ashamed of having been your rival.”
“Your father…” Fang Xiaoan was stunned. Looking at Li Lan’s face, he asked in surprise, “Are you… Li Jianyi’s daughter?”
Li Lan declined to answer. She slowly pulled out the long sword at her waist; she pointed it at his face and said sternly, “Come on. It is justified for a daughter to avenge her father. I’ll give you a fair chance to fight given that you used to be a grandmaster of the Human Clan in the Snow Province. It’s a decent death, for you to die in a duel.”
Fang Xiaoan narrowed his eyes and looked at the fragile-looking girl in front of him.
It seemed that she was merely above an ordinary Primordial grandmaster, and far too weak to compete with him.
But he was puzzled. How did this seemingly ice-calm girl have the confidence to challenge him?
Was she bluffing?
Was she just trying to stall for time?
However, Fang Xiaoan would not risk being careless.
He had been mentally wounded by Ding Hao and Zhang Fan.
The two young disciples of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect, who seemed weaker in Qi cultivation, had somehow defeated him with ease. Those young disciples seemed to wield powers which defied common sense. What if the girl, who claimed to be Li Jianyi’s daughter, also held a trump card, like Ding Hao or Zhang Fan?
With victory in sight, they couldn’t allow themselves to lose the battle.
Thinking of this, Fang Xiaoan laughed cruelly. “Hahaha, I didn’t expect that bastard Li Jianyi to sire a daughter… Even Li Jianyi was killed because of my scheme. How could you even think of defeating me, a little girl who is still wet behind the ears?”
“What? You don’t have the guts?” Li Lan was not provoked. Her delicate face was calm, yet filled with undisguised disdain.
Fang Xiaoan was enraged, but he suppressed the anger in his heart. He sneered and said, “No guts, you say? Haha, what is there to fear? It’s just that you’re only a junior. How on earth are you qualified to fight with me? Besides, the bubbles of that monster can’t defeat everyone.” He pointed at Adorable and smiled grimly.
