No, impossible…
Watching the longsword pierce his palm, and the scorching flame spiritual energy burning one of his arms, Gu Laosan, the Sky Core Peak bandit, looked horrified, staring in disbelief as his arm was severed by the blade.
Though pain had already swept through his mind, he didn't utter a single cry of agony.
Shock had permeated his entire body, causing him to ignore the pain of his severed arm.
He was a Sky Core Peak expert; even within the bandit group, only two leaders who had reached the Divine Core Realm could steadily defeat him.
But why had he been utterly defeated by a young man at Earth Core Peak?
During the confrontation, he had no intention of underestimating his opponent.
His attacks were lethal, and he even resorted to using the only Mortal Rank, Low Grade Spirit Art he had learned.
But the result?
It was a crushing defeat; even one of his arms was severed.
Such a huge disparity left him with a sense of unreality.
Whoosh!
In a life-and-death battle, losing focus is the most taboo thing; often, a moment's hesitation can lead to a life-threatening crisis.
As a sword strike came, Gu Laosan, this expert whose Cultivation had reached Sky Core Peak, failed to react in time due to his devastating defeat at Lin Fan's hands. His head suddenly fell from his neck, and a fountain of blood instantly splattered everywhere.
This scene unfolded in an instant, like a flash of lightning.
The people fighting nearby were stunned. Whether they were the armored soldiers fighting for their lives to protect the city, or the ferocious bandits eager to plunder within the pass, all paused for a moment.
A Sky Core Peak expert, even within the bandit ranks, was considered a top-tier master.
Yet, such an expert had died at the hands of a young man at Earth Core Peak.
If they hadn't witnessed it themselves, no one would have believed it.
“Lin Gongzi is mighty!”
Lin Fan's actions suddenly brought the soldiers' morale to a climax. Many armored soldiers instantly erupted with powerful combat strength, defeating their opponents one after another.
Seeing the surging morale of the defending soldiers, the Second Head Bandit, surrounded by a dozen Sky Core experts, frowned deeply and cast a chilling glance at Lin Fan, his eyes revealing a clear killing intent.
“This child is very strange; he must be eliminated first!”
The Second Head Bandit was a Divine Core Realm expert, second only to the bandit leader.
Even when facing the encirclement of a dozen Sky Core experts, he remained at ease and completely held the upper hand. In a short time, no fewer than three people had suffered fatal injuries at his hands.
Lin Fan's continuous bursts of power stirred the killing intent of this Divine Core expert.
Swish, swish, swish…
The Divine Core Realm bandit suddenly erupted, his formidable Cultivation instantly sweeping away the obstructions of several Sky Core experts in front of him. His figure transformed into a streak of light, surging towards Lin Fan's direction.
A chilling killing intent swept over him, and the Aura belonging to a Divine Core Realm expert surged forth. Lin Fan felt the hairs on his body stand on end, and a terrifying sense of crisis rose from his heart.
Without needing to observe, he had already guessed that a Divine Core Realm expert had attacked him.
Sword light flickered, as fast as a raging wind. Robust spiritual energy was attached to the sword body, sharply parting the air, and thrusting straight towards the direction from which the terrifying Aura was coming.
“You little bastard, how dare you attack me?”
The Second Head Bandit's eyes seemed to churn with bloodlust, his face contorted in a grimace. The battle saber in his hand suddenly erupted with an incredibly sharp Aura. He swung his saber horizontally through the air, blood-red light flickering, and the chilling killing intent seemed to solidify, causing the space to twist.
This saber strike was a Spirit Art Cultivated by the Second Head Bandit, a Mortal Rank, Medium Grade saber technique.
When he executed this Art with his Divine Core Realm Cultivation, its power was so immense that even before contact, Lin Fan felt a deadly pressure; that Aura even made him feel breathless.
Bang!
As saber and sword collided, Lin Fan felt a massive surge of energy transmit through the blade to his arm. Pain instantly engulfed his mind, and his body flew horizontally like an arrow released from a bowstring, soaring several feet before he managed to stop himself.
Before he could even check his injuries, the Second Head Bandit’s figure attacked again, his eyes filled with a resolute determination to kill, as if he intended to completely eliminate Lin Fan in this one exchange.
The pain made the young man's sword-wielding arm numb, unable to move even slightly. He clearly knew that his hand had been dislocated by the impact.
Indeed, fighting across two major Realms was still not feasible.
Lin Fan shook his head secretly. Relying on his past knowledge and the abundant spiritual energy brought by the Burning Heaven Qi Refining Art, he could defeat ordinary Sky Core Peak Martial Artists.
However, that did not mean he had the strength to fight a Divine Core expert.
“What?”
The killing strike, a saber slash, descended from the air.
But the feeling of the blade cutting into empty space caused the Second Head Bandit to pause slightly. When he looked at the person in front of him again, the figure gradually blurred, then dispersed.
Dodged, he dodged it?
Those Sky Core armored soldiers who were rushing to the battlefield to rescue Lin Fan had all thought that this Young Lord from the Lin family was doomed to die.
But when they saw him evade the Divine Core expert's fatal blow, they were all stunned, a look of horror flashing in their eyes.
“That… could that be a Mortal Rank, High Grade body movement spiritual incantation?”
A look of disbelief appeared in the eyes of these dozen Sky Core Peak armored soldiers, and they exclaimed.
Shock was shock, but their footwork didn't stop. In the blink of an eye, they had once again surrounded the Second Head Bandit. This time, they were even more cautious, seemingly unwilling to let the opponent break through the encirclement again.
Mortal Rank, High Grade body movement spiritual incantation, yes, it must be a Mortal Rank, High Grade body movement spiritual incantation. Other than that, he absolutely couldn't have dodged my attack.
But how could this kid, who is only at Earth Core Peak, successively Cultivate two Mortal Rank, High Grade Spirit Arts?
And, be able to execute both.
The Second Head Bandit was equally astonished. There were thousands of Spirit Arts, but they fell into several major categories.
Firstly, there were offensive Spirit Arts that enhanced attacks;
Secondly, there were defensive Spirit Arts that enhanced one's defensive attributes;
Thirdly, there were body movement spiritual incantations that enhanced one's speed.
Among these three major categories, offensive Spirit Arts were the most common and easiest to Cultivate; defensive Spirit Arts came next.
body movement spiritual incantations, however, were the rarest and most difficult to master.
As a Divine Core Realm expert, the Second Head Bandit had only barely managed to Cultivate a Mortal Rank, Medium Grade offensive Spirit Art. As for body movement spiritual incantations, he couldn't even Cultivate a Mortal Rank, Low Grade one.
Within the entire bandit group, only the First Boss had managed to Cultivate a Mortal Rank, Low Grade body movement spiritual incantation.
It was with this body movement spiritual incantation that he could steadily suppress the Second Boss.
And now.
A young man who appeared to be less than eighteen years old, with only Earth Core Peak Cultivation, was actually performing a Mortal Rank, High Grade body movement spiritual incantation. How could this not shock him?
This kind of shock, for him, was no less than the arrival of a Soul Manifestation Realm expert.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…”
Continuously using two Mortal Rank, High Grade Spirit Arts, even Lin Fan found it a bit taxing. The spiritual energy in his body was already depleted to only ten percent.
But.
Being able to dodge a Divine Core Realm expert's fatal blow was worth it for him.
In the past, Lin Fan's Cultivation talent was indeed impressive; at just fifteen years old, he had already reached Divine Core Peak.
However.
His strongest talent was actually his Comprehension Ability for Spirit Arts.
Others would take at least half a year to a year to get started with Cultivating Spirit Arts, and often three to five years without making any progress.
As for him.
Mortal Rank, Low Grade Spirit Arts could almost be Cultivated within a single day.
Even Mortal Rank, High Grade Spirit Arts only required less than half a month's effort to get started.
The Phantom Shadow Movement Technique he was currently performing was a Mortal Rank, High Grade body movement spiritual incantation from the Lin family's Spirit Art Pavilion. It was a body movement spiritual incantation he had secretly Cultivated after reaching the Divine Core Realm, and he had always regarded it as his trump card.
Now, to evade the Second Head Bandit's fatal saber strike, he finally exposed this trump card.
With Lin Fan's current strength, the effect of the Phantom Shadow Movement Technique could last for two minutes. He took out a Spirit Pill from his embrace, swallowed it, and immediately said to the dozen Sky Core armored soldiers who were desperately attacking the Second Head Bandit:
“Generals, please cooperate with me to eliminate this fiend!”