Chapter 156: Xiao Xun'er: Could Lu Bu's Target Be Me?
Despite being surrounded and attacked by five or six Dou Wang instructors, Fan Lao, with the strength of a Four Star Dou Huang, managed to fend them off with ease. His sharp instincts quickly detected two powerful presences approaching rapidly.
Glancing over, he saw Lu Bu and Ziyan flying toward him.
"Heh… students of Jia Nan Academy are truly ignorant and overconfident!" Fan Lao sneered, his raspy laugh echoing through the night.
He roared, unleashing a burst of blood red energy. With a wave of his palm, several blood colored handprints streaked through the air, leaving a foul stench behind as they struck at the instructors.
Bang, bang, bang!
A series of muffled explosions resounded as the instructors were forced back, most of them retreating with pale faces. Only one or two barely managed to hold their ground.
"Haah!"
A crisp and childish shout echoed as Ziyan's small fist glowed with intense purple light. The powerful force shot forward, tearing through the air like a shooting star as it aimed straight for Fan Lao.
Fan Lao's expression changed drastically. He hadn't expected the two to close in so quickly, nor had he anticipated Ziyan's attack to be this potent.
Blood red energy surged around him, and a dark red armor resembling solidified blood materialized over his body.
"Blood Devouring Armor!" Fan Lao's hoarse, unpleasant voice rang out.
Boom!
Ripples of blood colored light radiated as Fan Lao was sent flying backward. His blood wings flapped frantically, and he barely managed to stabilize himself in mid air, looking quite disheveled.
"Ziyan, your strength has improved quickly," Lu Bu remarked, a hint of surprise in his tone.
"Of course!" Ziyan raised her small chin proudly. "Did you think all those medicinal herbs I've been eating were for nothing?"
She used to struggle even against low level magical beasts, let alone obtain high quality herbs. Back when she met Lu Bu for the first time, she couldn't even handle a Snow Demon Heavenly Ape. But now? She could hold her own against an Eight Star Dou Wang like Mo Xie.
Ever since following Lu Bu, her strength had grown by leaps and bounds. Now, even against a Dou Huang, she could fight head on perhaps not win, but certainly hold her ground.
"You little brat… you're courting death!" Fan Lao's old face twisted into a mask of rage as he glared venomously at Ziyan.
Ziyan's childish face darkened, and for the first time, a murderous aura flickered in her eyes.
Lu Bu narrowed his eyes. This old man truly had a foul mouth. Fine then he'd let Fan Lao experience the terror of a Heavenly Flame firsthand.
Down below, Xiao Yan furrowed his brow. "Teacher, Lu Bu seems ready to kill…"
"That little girl isn't human. She's a magical beast… though I can't tell which kind," Yao Lao muttered. "Fan Lao must've hit a nerve."
"What?" Xiao Yan was stunned. This was the first time he'd heard this revelation. No wonder people called Ziyan the 'Brute Queen' she wasn't even human!
Meanwhile, Xiao Xun'er bit her lip, a thought surfacing in her mind. Could it be that Lu Bu had already achieved his goal at Jia Nan Academy? Was that why he now acted without restraint?
"Damn it… what did he get from the academy?" Xiao Xun'er's frustration grew. Could it be the resources she had traded with him?
The idea sent a shiver down her spine. In a flash of realization, everything clicked. Lu Bu's relentless scheming against Xiao Yan his true motive had always been for cultivation resources!
She clenched her fists, her lips twitching in irritation. How could she have been so blind? Lu Bu had been using her from the very start.
But then, Xiao Xun'er sighed. She'd soon be leaving Jia Nan Academy anyway, and Lu Bu… well, she'd let him be. After all, she hadn't really lost much in the exchange.
"Fan Lao is mine. You all go assist the others," Lu Bu's calm voice echoed from above.
"What? Did you just say you're going to take on a Dou Huang by yourself?" The instructors stared at him, their mouths twitching. Were students nowadays all this arrogant?
The gathered students below were equally shocked. They were familiar with Lu Bu after all, a Four Tier Alchemist commanded respect in the academy. But to challenge a Dou Huang alone? That was insane.
"This guy… no wonder he gets along so well with the Brute Queen," Lin Xiuya muttered, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Liu Qing hesitated. Should he join the fight?
"That old man's techniques are most vulnerable to flames," Lu Bu said with a cold smile, flames flickering faintly in his eyes. "And as it happens, I have a Heavenly Flame. What do you think, Sect Master Fan?"
"When faced with a Heavenly Flame, can your combat strength even match that of a Dou Wang?"
Fan Lao's body stiffened, his face twitching slightly. A moment later, he sneered maliciously, "Heh heh heh… Who do you think you are? Just a mere Dou Ling! How much power can you even draw from a Heavenly Flame?"
"With just my Dou Qi, I could drown you!"
As soon as he finished, his figure blurred, and a dense, blood colored aura surged around him, carrying a sickening stench. A sinister red light burst from Fan Lao's hand, forming a sharp claw made of coagulated blood, which slashed straight at Lu Bu's heart.
He was desperate to kill Lu Bu. The presence of a Heavenly Flame made him feel as if he had a thorn lodged in his back. He needed to destroy this boy before he advanced to Dou Wang, or he would surely become the stepping stone for Lu Bu's rise to fame in the Black Corner Region in the future.
This was not mere paranoia, but an entirely foreseeable future.
The thought of it made Fan Lao's heart pound with unease. No, he absolutely couldn't allow that to happen!
Lu Bu took a step forward, and a faint crackle of thunder echoed momentarily. His entire figure became a blur, almost illusory.
Before the instructors could even react to stop him, a wave of scorching fire collided violently with the bone chilling blood aura in mid air.
Boom!
One hand glowing red, the other green, the two forces clashed explosively in the night sky. The collision unleashed a violent storm of heat and cold, spiraling outwards with devastating force.
"Little bastard, you've got some skill!" Fan Lao snarled through gritted teeth, feeling the violent heat of the flames against his palm. Though he spat curses, his eye twitched imperceptibly he had to admit that the Heavenly Flame had a terrifying strength.
"Old fool, you're even weaker than I expected," Lu Bu said calmly, his tone tinged with faint disdain.
"You arrogant brat!" Fan Lao's expression twisted into a feral grin. "I'll rip out every one of your teeth!"
"You won't get the chance," Lu Bu replied, a cold smile curling at his lips. The pressure of his Dou Ling aura surged higher and higher, quickly reaching the peak of Dou Ling.
Heavenly Flame Triple Mysterious Change!
"W what?!" Fan Lao's face changed dramatically. He could feel the strength in Lu Bu's palm intensify bit by bit. His own Dou Qi felt like blood evaporating under the searing heat of the sun, disintegrating completely under the terrifying temperature.
When Fan Lao tried to pull away and retreat, he suddenly felt Lu Bu's hand clamp down tightly like an iron vice, locking his palm in place.
"Heh…" Lu Bu sneered coldly. In the next instant, a crisp crack echoed through the night sky.
"Ahhh!"
With a terrifyingly strong grip, Lu Bu shattered Fan Lao's wrist bones completely.
"You screamed too early!" Lu Bu smirked, his fingers forming a knife like shape wreathed in green flames. With one swift slash, he severed Fan Lao's arm at the elbow.
Swish!
Before Fan Lao could even process the pain, his right forearm was sliced off cleanly. Lu Bu then delivered a powerful kick to Fan Lao's chest, sending him flying backward.
The instructors and students below were left utterly dumbfounded.
In just one exchange, Lu Bu had maimed the infamous Blood Sect Master, a terrifying Four Star Dou Huang!
This student… was insanely strong!
And that Heavenly Flame… it was terrifying!
Down below, the students stood frozen in shock. Only now did they realize just how powerful this student reputed to be the academy's top alchemist truly was.
"What are you standing around for?" Lu Bu frowned. "Go help the others!"
"R right! On it!" The instructors snapped out of their stupor and immediately rushed toward the other battles.
In Dou Qi Continent, strength was everything. With a single move, Lu Bu had severed the arm of a Four Star Dou Huang. Regardless of his status, he was now deserving of their utmost respect.
"Damn it, what's going on?"
"Why are there suddenly so many Dou Wangs?"
"Fan Lao, what the hell are you doing? Fight back already!"
"Are you crazy, Fan Lao?!"
The shouts and curses of Yin Gu Lao, Su Mei, and the others rang out, but as their eyes turned toward Fan Lao, they were utterly dumbstruck.
Fan Lao was missing an entire arm. His severed stump was blackened, and wisps of smoke curled upwards from the charred flesh.
Even more unbelievable, his severed arm was now in the hands of a seemingly ordinary young man without even a Dou Qi Wing just someone relying on a flying Dou technique. For a moment, they all wondered if this could possibly be a student…
What the hell?! Could he really be a student?!
The Black Corner Region experts exchanged stunned glances, their eyes filled with disbelief. When had Jia Nan Academy's students become this terrifying?
Was this even reasonable? How were they supposed to survive now?
In that moment, horrifying images filled their minds: hundreds of Dou Huang level students swarming out of the Inner Academy, roaring as they slaughtered the forces of the Black Corner Region.
It was too much to take in!
Gurgle, gurgle!
Thick blood oozed from the stump of Fan Lao's arm, forming a fresh, blood red limb at the site of the injury.
"You little bastard… I'll make you wish you were dead!" Fan Lao's voice dripped with venom as his entire body erupted with a towering pillar of blood red light. His aura surged wildly, as cold and vicious as a chilling wind from the depths of hell.
"Heh heh… Old man, this time I'll rip out your tongue," Lu Bu said with a soft chuckle, his calm tone chilling.
"I want to see if you'll still bark like a dog."
Fan Lao's furious expression stiffened as a shiver ran through him. For a brief moment, even in his rage, a flicker of fear pierced his mind.
Then came the sound.
The faint crackling of thunder echoed through the night…
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Johanssen