Holding the mangled corpse, Nangong Zhenxiang came to understand many things.

This massacre was not directed at Li Fan.

Their goal is themselves.

Yuwen Haotian came here to be a whetstone for me.

He risked his life to advance his own level.

Most importantly, he died.

With his death, those who wanted to take action against Nangong Zhenxiang would give up their plans.

After all, he was in the late stage of the tenth-grade Dharma Image realm.

Apart from those on the Heavenly Hero Ranking, who dares to say they can defeat him?

More importantly, those inside and outside the company who had previously attacked Nangong Zhenxiang.

All the previous attacks could be pinned on Yuwen Haotian.

Even if Nangong Zhenxiang rises to a higher position, he cannot use the past to cause trouble.

Unless he can break the rules of the Great Zhou Dynasty on his own.

......

After an unknown amount of time, the rain stopped.

As the setting sun cast its last rays upon the evening glow, Nangong Zhenxiang, clutching the corpse, leaped into the sky.

Only the peak of Liuzhi Mountain remains, and a new grave has been erected there.

The Tomb of Yuwen Haotian

After writing the last word, Nangong Zhenxiang gathered his full head of white hair.

"Old man, slow down!"

"I will send all those people down to keep you company."

......

A hundred miles north of Shannan County, on Ziyang Mountain, bonfires are lit, and the aroma of meat fills the air.

Just as Li Fan finished grilling a piece of meat, Xiao Bai rushed out quickly.

Just as it was about to bite into the piece of meat, a hand shot out with lightning speed.

The barbecue disappeared, and Xiaobai was furious.

"Waaah!"

It bared its teeth and growled at the campfire not far away.

If it weren't for the fact that it couldn't beat that bastard, would it put up with this?

Under the tree, a man with a bruised and swollen face grinned.

His naked body was wrapped in white cloth, from which blood continued to seep out.

Beside him lay a sword.

If there were any martial arts practitioners from Haizhou present, they would surely recognize the person before them.

The man was none other than Zhang Jin, the leading figure of the younger generation in Haizhou, known as the Tide Sword.

He arrived in Shannan County on September 28.

Li Fan didn't leave; he challenged Li Fan.

A crushing defeat!

If he hadn't given Li Fan a healing pill to recover from his injuries before the challenge, he would have been dead.

Although he lost, it did not break his confidence.

In Zhang Jin's words, he was born in Haizhou, and his birth was like the tides at sea, each wave higher than the last.

Li Fan now is like a reef in the sea, unshakeable.

He followed Li Fan to hone his sword intent.

So he followed.

After confirming that Li Fan had no intention of killing him, he gradually became bolder in his actions.

For example, snatching meat.

How could that little wolf cub possibly be a match for him?

"Brother Fan, I have to say, your grilled meat tastes so much better than mine."

"You have no idea how tough it was for me when I was practicing swordsmanship on a remote island overseas!"

"All I can do every day is watch whales spout water!"

"The only edible part is the sour and astringent fish meat."

My mouth tastes so bland!

"Of course, don't be fooled by my talkativeness now, that's only in front of you."

"I'm incredibly cold in front of others."

While eating meat, Zhang Jin said, "Just like you right now!"

Li Fan had already witnessed firsthand how talkative this person was over the past two days.

Even when he was defeated on the first day of the challenge, he didn't say a word.

The hardest part of his body is his mouth.

Li Fan had tried physical methods before, and even when he was beaten black and blue, he never stopped talking.

There was no other way but to let him follow.

Suddenly, Li Fan looked into the darkness.

"Brother Fan, don't move, let me do it!"

Zhang Jin put down the roasted meat in his hand, raised his hand and pointed his fingers to condense his true energy into sword energy, which shot out.

Sword energy emerged, and the sound of blades echoed in the darkness.

Immediately afterwards, a swordsman stepped out.

"Wang Taicang, what the hell are you doing here?"

"If you can come, why can't I?"

Wang Taicang looked at Li Fan with a fighting spirit: "Alliance Leader Li, please enlighten me!"

"Wang Taicang, I have to say, you're really overestimating yourself, aren't you?"

"I, the dignified number six on the Fish and Dragon Ranking, have been beaten like this, and you, the number eighteenth on the Fish and Dragon Ranking, dare to make a fool of yourself?"

"I think you're asking for death, like an old man eating poison!"

Wang Taicang was already used to Zhang Jin's talkativeness.

He ignored Zhang Jin and looked at Li Fan instead.

As Zhang Jin's old rival, he naturally knew just how strong Zhang Jin was.

If Li Fan could subdue him, then he himself was naturally no match for him.

But as fellow swordsmen, how could they not dare to draw their swords upon meeting?

He wanted to see just how domineering the Overlord Blade was to warrant a name change on the Fish and Dragon Ranking.

......

Clang!

The clash of swords and the explosion of weapons signaled the outcome of the battle.

"My precious sword!"

From within the woods came the howling and wailing of Wang Taicang.

A cut on his chest was still bleeding.

But his attention was entirely focused on the severed dark green longsword.

He felt sorry for him!

He had begged for this precious sword for a long time before he finally got it.

Good knives are rare to begin with, let alone one specially made for him by the master knife maker from Yunzhou.

Now it's all over.

Wang Taicang felt so heartbroken he could hardly breathe. He looked at Li Fan with a resentful expression, then turned to Zhang Jin and said, "Why didn't you remind me?"

"Hehe, my sword is broken too!"

Zhang Jin grinned and drew his broken sword from its sheath.

He was naturally happy to see Wang Taicang in trouble.

You're not even human!

After Wang Taicang finished speaking, he coughed up blood and fell backward to the ground.

Zhang Jin stepped forward, pried open Wang Taicang's mouth, stuffed the pill inside, and then skillfully sprinkled medicinal powder onto his wound.

After doing all this, he looked at Li Fan and said, "Alliance Leader Li, this guy will definitely stick to you like glue tomorrow."

"Why don't you beat him up first, and leave him with a black eye and a swollen face?"

"Zhang Jin, you're a complete scoundrel!"

Wang Taicang sprang up from the ground and charged at Zhang Jin with his broken sword.

......

"Waaah!"

In the mountains, Little White kept growling.

It vowed that if it were stronger than those two scoundrels, it would hang them up and whip them.

You two bastards are trying to steal my meat!