Chapter 55: First Form, Sword Shadow Light Division

As the words faded, the young man took a single step forward. His figure flickered and swept across the space like a phantom, leaving behind only a trail of swaying afterimages.

The expert at the intermediate stage of the Yuanfu realm narrowed his eyes, clearly not expecting Lin Fan to dare launch the initiative.

A flash of surprise crossed his face, but it was quickly replaced by a cold sneer.

"Courting death!"

He let out a cold snort, and a scorching spiritual energy erupted from within his body. His hands seemed to be enveloped in flames as he threw out several punches. Ferocious and violent fist auras, mixed with a destructive force, blasted fiercely toward the youth.

In contrast, Lin Fan.

His figure was as agile as the wind, and every dodge was perfectly timed, as if he could foresee the trajectory of his opponent's attack.

Oh?

Failing to instantly annihilate Lin Fan, the intermediate-stage Yuanfu expert seemed extremely displeased with his own performance. His brows lifted slightly, and a fierce murderous intent suddenly burst from his eyes as he shouted: "With just this speed, you dare to make a fool of yourself in front of me!

Get back where you came from!"

A stern shout echoed from the intermediate-stage Yuanfu expert, and a fiercer murderous intent burned in his eyes instead.

At this moment, he had unleashed his true strength, and the gauntlets worn on his hands suddenly burst with brilliant fiery light.

A single punch, carrying the explosive power of a falling meteorite, smashed outward. This punch carried a violent flame force, as if it could melt steel and even shake the air, producing a fatal shockwave.

As the fierce torrent rushed toward him, Lin Fan took a deep, inward breath. Dealing with an intermediate-stage Yuanfu expert with his current cultivation level was indeed stretching his limits.

However.

Given the current situation, he had no choice but to face this person alone.

*Slaughter Spirit Sword Art!*

The youth gave a low shout in his heart, and the Fire Kirin Sword in his hand suddenly emitted a dazzling array of flames. As the tip of the sword danced, streaks of flame-colored sword qi swept out like blades cleaving the heavens.

Every strand of sword qi carried an intensely scorching temperature and a destructive sharpness. They drew straight lines across the air, as if even the air was being sliced apart, producing a series of sharp whistling sounds like the mournful cries of wandering ghosts.

The sword qi crisscrossed, and in an instant, it shattered the incoming fist aura of the intermediate-stage Yuanfu expert. Not only that, but the momentum of the sword light did not diminish, slashing straight toward the opponent.

The man's expression changed slightly, as if he had not expected Lin Fan to be able to cultivate a Mortal-tier spiritual art to such an extent. The might displayed by this spiritual art alone was already infinitely close to an Earth-tier spiritual art.

"Humph, no wonder you dared to challenge me. So you had these kinds of means.

However, if these are all the tricks you have, what awaits you in the end is only destruction."

The intermediate-stage Yuanfu expert sneered, the veins on his forehead bulging. A power as hidden and unfathomable as a crouching tiger and a hidden dragon erupted at this moment.

The spiritual energy within his body surged like a mad tide, and all his energy gathered entirely upon his tightly clenched single fist.

"Incinerating Demonic Subjugation Fist!"

Following this low, murderous roar, Lin Fan's heart tightened. He knew that the opponent had unleashed his ultimate trump card.

Facing the spiritual art offensive of an intermediate-stage Yuanfu expert, he immediately felt an unprecedented amount of pressure.

To force an intermediate-stage Yuanfu expert to resort to his most powerful spiritual art was indeed something for any martial artist at the peak of the Shendan realm to be proud of.

Yet.

Lin Fan did not become complacent because of this. There was only one thought in his mind—to defeat his opponent.

"This punch will take your life!"

Accompanied by the opponent's roar, that earth-shattering punch blasted out.

The fist aura was like a volcanic eruption, carrying a destructive force straight toward Lin Fan.

The air was filled with an intensely scorching temperature, as if everything was about to be reduced to ashes.

That force was so strong that even the air seemed to be instantly vaporized, producing wave after wave of distorted ripples.

Lin Fan's gaze turned grave. He knew he could not take this punch head-on.

He swiftly executed the Phantom Movement technique, attempting to widen the distance, but the fist aura seemed guided by a tracking technique; no matter how he dodged, he could not escape its pursuit.

"Sword Shadow Light Division!"

With no other choice, Lin Fan lightly swept a single hand across his longsword. Endless spiritual energy seemed to pour through his palm and into the blade, and the longsword danced in his hands, tracing intricate trajectories.

As the spiritual energy gathered, the tip of his sword seemed to multiply into countless tips, and the sword qi cutting through the air transformed into rays of light as swift as a violent storm.

These light rays made it difficult to even distinguish the true source of the attack.

*Sword Shadow Light Division!*

This move originated from the first stance of the *Void Light Chasing Shadow Sword Art*. After many days of cultivation, assisted by the Sword Token, Lin Fan had already cultivated this stance to the realm of great completion.

And now.

Facing this intermediate-stage Yuanfu expert, he had finally unleashed it.

How could this be?

The terrifying might made the intermediate-stage Yuanfu expert's eyes go wide, staring in disbelief at the overwhelming, sky-filling sword shadows.

He could not even distinguish between the illusions and reality of these sword shadows; it felt as though every single one carried an earth-shattering sword momentum, and every single one concealed a fatal intent to kill.

The sword shadows were like a surging sea. The moment they collided with the Incinerating Demonic Fist, the entire space seemed assailed by two forces at once.

On one side was the scorching heat capable of incinerating all things, and on the other was the oppressive demonic might of the evil aura.

The shockwaves from the two forces battered the surroundings. Dust filled the battlefield, and shattered rocks flew in all directions.

Facing the tidal wave of sword shadows, the intermediate-stage Yuanfu expert finally revealed a look of terror.

He instinctively wanted to retreat, only to find that his surroundings were already encircled by sword shadows, leaving him nowhere to run. He struggled, trying to gather his spiritual energy to defend himself.

However.

The storm-like sword shadows came wave after wave, granting no breathing room whatsoever.

Finally, under the assault of the endless sword shadows, the intermediate-stage Yuanfu expert circulated his defensive spiritual art, but his spiritual energy shield was easily torn apart like paper.

His body trembled and retreated amidst the torrent of sword qi, ultimately crashing helplessly to the ground, blood staining his garments.

Lin Fan stood in place. The longsword in his hand had returned to stillness, but the power that had just erupted still lingered in the heart.

He took a deep breath, calming the churning spiritual energy within his body, and gazed with a steady look at the opponent lying on the ground.

If he hadn't happened to cultivate a spiritual art like *Sword Shadow Light Division*, and if he had merely practiced an ordinary low-grade Earth-tier spiritual art, he feared it wouldn't have been nearly so easy to defeat his opponent.

The *Void Light Chasing Shadow Sword Art* truly lived up to its reputation as a high-grade Earth-tier spiritual art. Even just the first stance granted him the strength to fight a martial artist at the intermediate stage of the Yuanfu realm.

Of course.

The reason he was able to defeat his opponent relied on far more than just *Sword Shadow Light Division*. It also depended on the vast spiritual energy he possessed—capable of executing Earth-tier spiritual arts—thanks to cultivating the *Burning Heaven Refining Qi Art*, as well as the rapid insights into the Dao of the Sword assisted by the Sword Token.

Every single factor was indispensable.

"He... he won?"

Although Gu Ningyun was dealing with her own opponent, her attention had always remained on Lin Fan. When she saw Lin Fan's opponent collapse before the youth, her heart froze, and an endless wave of shock swept through her eyes.

Peak Shendan realm, defeating an intermediate-stage Yuanfu powerhouse head-on.

Wasn't this simply too shocking?

Even the "Snow Fairy" Shen Aoqiang, who bore the title of the number one youth of the Southern Wasteland, probably wouldn't have been able to defeat an intermediate-stage Yuanfu powerhouse head-on back when she was in the Shendan realm, right?

"Gu Yange, your people seem rather incompetent, don't they?

As the dignified Sixth Prince of the Tianyan Empire, you actually have no proud geniuses accompanying you. Could it be that your popularity is so poor that all the talents from the Tianyan Empire chose to follow your sister instead?"