Chapter 52: Taking Action

The cold wind was biting; the last trace of warmth in the autumn breeze was dispelled. Heavy snow fell suddenly, draping the Tianyuan Academy in a silver coat.

Although the chill was intense, it was the end of the year, and most of the academy's students were still high-spirited. The year-end trials had quietly begun, and everyone was brimming with fighting spirit.

"Hehe! Brother Li, looking at how full of vigor you are, you must not be far from the Tendon Refining Realm!"

"Haha! You flatter me, you flatter me. My meager skills are nothing worth mentioning. Our Tianyuan Academy is full of talent; at most, I'll just aim for the top ten, I have no other aspirations!"

"Oh? Brother Li is quite confident! I heard that many young students have emerged in the academy this year; just those who have recently advanced to the Tendon Refining Realm number as many as three!"

In front of the Wulian Tower, groups of people gathered in threes and fives, discussing animatedly. It was both an exchange of information and mutual probing. When the grand competition arrived, they might end up facing each other; knowing their opponents early meant more preparation.

"Clap, clap."

Two figures approached slowly. With every step, the accumulated snow on the ground emitted a crisp crunching sound. One walked with a very rhythmic pace, while the other was somewhat erratic; it was Lu Fan and Xiao Ling'er.

Xiao Ling'er had stayed at Lu Fan's residence for three days and was only awakened by Lu Fan this morning. After three days of quiet cultivation, she had unknowingly stepped into the Tendon Refining Realm. She was overjoyed, though her current state of mind was somewhat chaotic, as if she were thinking about something.

Just then, a gloomy gaze was cast their way, filled with resentment and malice. A cold snort followed: "Lu Fan, you actually have the guts to come here; I really don't know if you're brave or stupid. Very well, later on the arena, I will take your little life!"

Lu Fan turned his head slightly, looking in the direction of the voice nonchalantly. It was Liu Yang. The other party wore a venomous expression, his eyes darting back and forth between him and Xiao Ling'er.

"A clown! Utterly senseless!" He shook his head slightly, unconcerned. Although they had a duel scheduled, today, he didn't take it to heart at all. A mere early-stage Tendon Refining Realm cultivator was easy pickings.

Beside him, Xiao Ling'er's expression changed. She glared fiercely at Liu Yang twice, then said to Lu Fan with concern: "Lu Fan, let's go, don't pay any attention to such a shameless villain!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she took Lu Fan's arm with extreme intimacy and quickened her pace, intending to pull him away.

Lu Fan was slightly stunned, his brow furrowing. Liu Yang, on the other hand, had his eyes light up, wearing a smug and mocking expression: "Lu Fan, you are truly courting death! Xiao Ling'er is the woman designated by our Hall Master Nie Xing. You are finished now; no one can save you!"

"Hehe! Didn't you boast about taking my little life? What, do you need that Nie Xing to stand up for you?" Lu Fan curled his lip in disdain, then pulled his arm away from Xiao Ling'er and said indifferently: "You've been preoccupied these past few days, staying at my place—surely there's something you haven't told me?"

Xiao Ling'er's face darkened instantly, her words catching in her throat.

"Hmph! What did you say? Ling'er has been with you the whole time?"

A cold snort exploded. Nie Xing appeared with a gloomy face, killing intent radiating from him, locking onto Lu Fan.

Lu Fan remained calm, glancing at Nie Xing nonchalantly, and said casually: "So what if she's been with me? What does that have to do with you?"

"Damn it!"

Nie Xing was furious, his eyes filled with humiliation. He snarled: "You are actually with the woman I have claimed! Damn you, I want you dead!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he leaped forward, pouncing toward Lu Fan.

Lu Fan chuckled, spread his hands with a helpless expression, and said: "So what if we are? We were a lone man and a lone woman, sharing a room for several days! What can you do to me?" He deliberately provoked him, glancing at Xiao Ling'er again.

At this moment, Xiao Ling'er's expression was somewhat strange. There was a slight blush, but more so, she was evasive, as if she didn't dare to look at Lu Fan at all.

Seeing this, Nie Xing was driven into a rage. While in mid-air, he unleashed his mid-stage Tendon Refining Realm cultivation to the fullest, his True Qi swelling—this was already his ultimate move.

Lu Fan shook his head slightly and waved one hand. A seal technique surged out, instantly condensing into a Wind Shield, blocking his front.

"Condensing a seal with bare hands! A Wind Shield Talisman!"

Liu Yang was slightly startled, seemingly not expecting Lu Fan to have such means. But then, thinking of Nie Xing's strength, he wore a mocking expression and said disdainfully: "A mere Second-Tier Talisman, trying to block the Hall Master's might? You're courting death!"

"Bang!"

Nie Xing's punch slammed into the Wind Shield, his True Qi exploding outward. He had assumed this strike would be enough to crush his opponent. Who would have thought that the Wind Shield before him was unimaginably solid, rebounding the monstrous force and impacting his own body.

Eighty percent of the punch's power was rebounded. Caught off guard, he suffered a hidden loss, his figure retreating slowly before he could barely dissipate the force.

The Wind Shield dissipated. Lu Fan wore a calm expression, only glancing at Nie Zhengrong briefly before saying to Xiao Ling'er: "Miss Ling'er, this Nie Xing is right here. If you have anything to say, just say it directly. I, Lu Fan, do not like people who are coy."

Xiao Ling'er was slightly startled, staring at Lu Fan nervously. But the other party's expression was cold, completely different from just a moment ago.

She said helplessly: "Lu Fan, I didn't mean to deceive you. This Nie Xing wants to propose to my father, and I wanted to ask for your help..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Lu Fan's expression turned completely cold. All his previous doubts were now fully clarified.

He wasn't familiar with Xiao Ling'er at all, yet she had been so intimate, even sharing a room with him without the slightest hesitation, all to use him as a shield.

If she didn't like Nie Xing, she could have said so clearly. But being evasive, a young woman deliberately putting on an act—it was too calculating.

Thinking of this, Lu Fan no longer had any good feelings toward her, his eyes filled with slight disgust.

Xiao Ling'er's pretty face turned deathly pale. Lu Fan's expression made her feel exceptionally terrified, and she instantly regretted it. If she had said it beforehand, it would never have come to this.

Seeing this scene, Nie Xing was furious. Xiao Ling'er was clearly nervous for Lu Fan. The woman he had claimed ignored him but was anxious for another man—how could he endure this?

"Lu Fan! Your death is at hand!" With a roar like a ferocious beast, Nie Xing's body was enveloped in evil energy. With a shake of his hands, a large horse-chopping saber appeared, and he swung it toward Ye Fei.

"Eh! A Peak Spirit Tool, it seems to be only a step away from a Profound Artifact!"

Lu Fan was slightly surprised, staring at the horse-chopping saber for a few extra moments. Blood evil radiated from it; even from this distance, he could feel the malice, showing that this thing had been stained with much blood.

Liu Yang was also slightly stunned, then overjoyed, looking at Lu Fan as if he were looking at a dead man.

"Haha! Lu Fan, you actually angered the Hall Master into taking out this Spirit Tool; you are truly seeking your own death!"

Many students around were also attracted, all of them shocked and terrified. Liu Yang and Nie Xing were both famous in the academy, and everyone knew them. That they would both be so furious at a single youth was truly astonishing.

"Who is he? He looks somewhat familiar!"

"Hmph! You don't even know him? That's Lu Fan! He snatched my goddess Wang Wu, and now he's even taken advantage of Xiao Ling'er. It's infuriating!"

"Ah? He is Lu Fan! Damn it! I heard this kid killed someone from the Sacred Martial Hall and even dared to talk back to the Dean. I didn't expect him to be so young!"

The crowd discussed animatedly, pointing at Lu Fan. There was disdain, envy, suspicion, and hatred.

Lu Fan remained light and breezy, as if the target of Nie Xing's blood-evil horse-chopping saber wasn't him.

Beside him, Xiao Ling'er was stunned. Thinking Lu Fan had been scared out of his wits, in her anxiety, she twisted her slender waist and actually blocked in front of Lu Fan.

"What are you doing? Would I, Lu, need a little girl to stand up for me?" Lu Fan frowned. Although he didn't like her previous intentions, he didn't take it to heart. Her stepping forward now was clearly out of genuine concern, and his previous displeasure had already dissipated.

"Ling'er, move aside!"

Nie Xing's face was horrified. He was furious to the extreme and had used this blood-evil Spirit Tool; he hadn't held back at all, and now he couldn't stop the strike.

Xiao Ling'er was filled with resentment and said: "Nie Xing, give up the thought of marrying me; I will never marry you!"

As the blood-evil aura approached, her True Qi instantly stagnated, and her face turned pale with fright. She hadn't expected that even after advancing to the Tendon Refining Realm, she would still be so helpless.

Seeing the horse-chopping saber about to cleave down and Xiao Ling'er about to perish, Lu Fan could no longer sit still. Shaking his head slightly, he flipped the Art Refining Crystal Furnace he had hidden in his sleeve and put it away. With a wave of his large hand, he wrapped his arm around her slender waist and dodged.

"Bang!"

The horse-chopping saber struck the void, the force exploding outward. Lu Fan barely dodged, but the aftermath rippled out, grazing his arm, and streaks of blood-red energy shot out.

Lu Fan let out a muffled groan, using his True Qi to suppress the injury, but half his body went numb. This blood-evil horse-chopping saber had countless souls under it, and the resentment gathered on it had invaded his tendons and bones even from a mere graze.

"Step, step, step," he landed unsteadily, still holding the beauty in his arms, looking quite strained.

"Lu Fan, are you okay!" Xiao Ling'er's face was pale, filled with regret. If she hadn't been so impulsive just now, Lu Fan would certainly not be in this state.

Lu Fan glanced at her indifferently and said softly: "I'm fine! Just a bit of blood evil; three or five breaths will be enough to recover!"

He said it lightly, but his brow was tightly furrowed, and his body trembled slightly. The hand holding Xiao Ling'er's slender waist couldn't even let go.

To others, it looked like something else, appearing very intimate. Especially Nie Xing, whose eyes were blood-red, staring fixedly at Lu Fan, wishing he could swallow him alive.

"Ah! This Lu Fan is amazing. First Wang Wu came out of his room ambiguously, and now this Xiao Ling'er. Our academy's two beauties have both become entangled with him; it's infuriating!"

"Damn! How can this kid have such good luck with women? Isn't he supposed to be a martial arts waste? How is he so powerful? Could it be the effect of Yin-Yang dual cultivation, harvesting Yin to nourish Yang?"

Lu Fan had just blocked Nie Xing's strike with one seal, and although he was injured now, his heroic act of saving the beauty looked impressive to the crowd, making them envious.

However, the topic soon drifted, becoming increasingly absurd. Yet, the male students around were interested and lewd. The female students, on the other hand, were gnashing their teeth, wishing they could skin him and eat his flesh, tearing Lu Fan into eight pieces.

Nie Xing and Liu Yang were furious to the extreme. Wang Wu and Xiao Ling'er were the women they had claimed. Now that both had become "entangled" with Lu Fan, they were incensed, having lost all reason, and attacked Lu Fan from both sides.

"Hmph! Overestimating yourselves!" Lu Fan snorted coldly. The blood evil in his body had already been suppressed. He released Xiao Ling'er, shook his large sleeve slightly, and the Art Refining Crystal Furnace appeared, expanding with a boom.

"Private fighting is forbidden within the academy! You lot, stop at once!" ===== CHAPTER 53 =====