Chapter Seventy-Five: Letting My Huda Fly Free! (Please recommend and add to your favorites!)

Yang Fan’s long blade danced up and down with dazzling speed.

The third-rank high-grade warrior facing him was deeply vexed at this moment! The man wielding the blade before him, judging by his aura, was inferior—merely a third-rank beginner. In terms of raw strength, he was even weaker. Yet, after breaking into the third rank and opening the sea of qi, the focus was no longer on increasing physical power; the difference between his own strength and Yang Fan’s was not so overwhelming as to allow him to dominate through force alone, or simply break through by brute strength.

Now, gathering the energy in his dantian—his sea of qi—was not something he could do immediately either! This wretch had launched a sudden assault, throwing him off balance and scattering his previously consolidated energy. And Yang Fan, relentless as a hunting hound, continued to hack at him furiously, leaving no time to re-gather his energy or recover his combat state.

The glare he shot at Yang Fan grew increasingly savage. “Just you wait, brat. Once I recover, I’ll make you pay a thousandfold for this humiliation!”

Yang Fan himself was under immense pressure. His opponent’s strength was swelling with each moment, his aura growing ever more torrential. He felt himself nearing his limit.

He wanted to unleash his thunder technique, but didn’t dare. If he switched to holding the blade one-handed, it would likely be knocked from his grasp in an instant!

Elsewhere, Hu Dao had unleashed his wild side. His body was covered in blade and sword wounds, but he paid them no heed, wielding his crescent blade with sweeping, ferocious strikes.

The captain of the Shadow Realm scouts across from him broke out in a cold sweat. This brute was too fierce! Before, when the captain and vice-captain joined forces, this man fought cunningly and defensively. Now, facing him one-on-one, he’d become utterly reckless.

After taking another powerful strike from the crescent blade, the captain took advantage of the momentum to drift backward.

Yang Fan, locked in combat with the vice-captain, suddenly felt a chill at his back. Instinctively, he ducked and bent low.

A streak of cold light swept over his hair, slicing off a few black strands that fluttered to the ground.

Yang Fan’s sudden duck gave the vice-captain the chance he needed to steady his breath and summon his aura anew. His face twisted into a cruel grin as he stared at Yang Fan.

Straightening up, Yang Fan felt cold sweat soaking through his back.

The captain, having missed his strike, cursed under his breath at the lost opportunity. But seeing his vice-captain recovered, he smirked, hefted his longsword, and turned to face the charging Hu Dao.

Hu Dao watched the recent exchange with a bitter heart. He’d been careless! He hadn’t expected such treachery from his foe. His grip tightened on the crescent blade, adding yet more force to his swings.

Yang Fan looked at the vice-captain standing so close, his face full of bitter resignation and rising tension. Had he gotten overconfident? Since entering the fray, he’d cut down several people in quick succession. Then, seeing the captain under pressure, he’d charged over in a moment of impulsive heat—what now?

The vice-captain of the Shadow Realm cared nothing for Yang Fan’s thoughts. All he wanted was to kill this third-rank warrior before him and vent his fury. He caressed his chopping blade, then in a flash, swung it at Yang Fan.

Yang Fan’s heart clenched. “Damn it!” He raised his straight blade to parry.

The moment their weapons clashed, Yang Fan began to retreat—strike, then fall back, step by step, always moving away.

A fierce light flashed in Yang Fan’s eyes. “You really think you’ve got me cornered? Even if I can’t use thunder, I can still kill you!”

After another step back, the power in Yang Fan’s hands shifted. An orange-gold aura enveloped his blade.

The vice-captain stopped abruptly, raising his own weapon to defend.

Seeing this, a new thought flashed through Yang Fan’s mind. Instead of attacking, he sheathed his blade and retreated further.

The vice-captain, surprised by the lack of an attack, watched as Yang Fan darted away. A sense of having been played washed over him. “Curse you, I’ll kill you for this!” And he began the chase, chopping blade in hand.

Yang Fan darted across the battlefield, weaving through the chaos.

Warrior’s Path: Nine Heavens of Frenzy. Breaking through ninefold barriers. Each step, a new heaven.

Every landing was chosen with unerring precision, avoiding every strike that could threaten him. Such was the power of heightened spiritual force! He hadn’t realized it before, but since his last breakthrough, the sharpness of his intuition had become unmistakable.

The vice-captain pursued relentlessly. Every time he seemed about to catch Yang Fan, the man would suddenly accelerate—what was three meters became twelve in a flash!

“Damn it! Bullying me because I don’t know any combat arts!” He wanted to cry, but still he pressed on. This brat was too much!

A resounding shout echoed across the battlefield: “Yu Hu!”

At the sound, the vice-captain halted instantly, then turned and ran back the way he’d come, cursing himself as he went.

“What am I doing, getting distracted in the middle of war? That little bastard can run if he wants—what matters is helping the captain take down that third-rank peak! I’ve been chasing a third-rank beginner like a fool…”

As the vice-captain turned at Yu Hu’s command, Yang Fan stopped as well, frowning deeply. Should he go back or not? It was a real dilemma—if he returned, he might not be able to win, but if he didn’t, that couldn’t be right either.

The hesitation passed in an instant. Go! At least he could help the mostly silent captain.

So Yang Fan ran back as well. Unlike before, this time he didn’t rest—slashing here, kicking there, launching sneak attacks at every opportunity. Whether he killed anyone or not was secondary; the point was to keep the enemy distracted. The moment their focus wavered, his own side’s cultivators seized the chance. Even if he didn’t personally kill many, his interference led to several more deaths at his comrades’ hands.

...

By the time Yang Fan made it back to Hu Dao’s side, Hu Dao was drenched in blood. He looked at Yang Fan as if seeing his own father, his gaze so intense it made Yang Fan blush with embarrassment.

The Shadow Realm’s captain and vice-captain, seeing Yang Fan’s return, could only sigh. Just as they’d gained the upper hand, this nuisance was back. If they ignored him, his sneak attacks would be no joke; if they tried to deal with him, Hu Dao would rampage again.

Yu Hu, the vice-captain, sighed but broke from the main battle to charge at Yang Fan.

Yang Fan saw him coming and immediately turned to run. This time, Yu Hu wasn’t fooled. He watched Yang Fan flee, then turned and slashed at Hu Dao.

Hu Dao had been poised to go all out, but a blade flash zipped past his side and he hurried to block, startled. The Shadow Realm captain seized the opportunity and kicked Hu Dao back.

Hu Dao felt miserable. “If you’re going to help, just help! Why play these tricks? Once is enough—do you really think you can fool them every time?”

Not far away, Yang Fan watched Hu Dao get kicked with a twinge of guilt. He rubbed his nose in embarrassment, then charged back into the fray.

Yu Hu again left the main battle, coming at Yang Fan. Yang Fan steeled himself. “Don’t be afraid, just find a chance to fry him with thunder!”

As he murmured to himself, Yu Hu attacked. Yang Fan put aside all distractions, gripped his blade with both hands, and gathered his energy.

Strength like stone, bones like blades, his blade cold as autumn frost—capable of cleaving gold and jade, as fierce as a tiger, a single slash breaking through ninefold barriers!

With orange-gold energy blazing, Yang Fan’s straight blade slashed through the air, colliding with Yu Hu’s chopping blade. The two blades locked in midair. Yang Fan was the first to leap back.

Yu Hu pressed forward, closing the distance. Yang Fan twisted his long blade, slashing again even as he retreated.

Wind as sound, energy as still water, breath transforming all things, swift as lightning, changing like a swimming dragon, cleaving through barrier after barrier!

Yu Hu hadn’t expected his opponent to attack again while retreating, especially with such force—the blow seemed as strong as the last. He braced himself, channeling power from his stance, and swept his blade upward.

The blades clashed again. Unsteady, Yang Fan was sent stumbling back, but the attack halted Yu Hu’s momentum, breaking his relentless advance.

Regaining his footing, Yang Fan saw Yu Hu already upon him. Yang Fan reversed his blade, planted his feet in a horse stance as solid as a mountain, and chopped down from above.

Jade for bone, immovable as a mountain, body like diamond, power shaking the heavens, like a giant ape rocking the world and opening the ninefold heavens!

Yu Hu, unable to attack in time, was startled. This brat had so many techniques—each strike with a different force and intent! This blow was especially powerful and hard to block. But there was no escaping now; he had to raise his blade to defend.

This time, when the blades collided, Yu Hu’s weapon made a faint cracking sound. His face went pale, then flushed crimson. He’d underestimated the force behind that blow! The earth beneath his feet caved in, sinking instantly. His legs trembled, knees buckling.

Yang Fan was elated. He’d been wondering how to finish this foe, but now the opportunity had come—his enemy’s weapon was failing! After several exchanges, the blade was about to snap!

With that, Yang Fan’s left leg shot up, and he lessened the pressure with his hands. Yu Hu, feeling the weight above him lessen, was about to feel relief when a force crashed into his abdomen, sending him flying.

He soared a meter off the ground before crashing ten meters away.

Struggling to stand, Yu Hu had barely caught his breath when a flash of cold light streaked toward him. Instinctively, he raised his blade to block.

A series of splintering and shattering sounds followed—a final wet crack.

Yu Hu’s vision whirled. He saw, not far off, a headless body clutching a blade hilt—the figure all too familiar. Then the world went dark.

Energy like frost swept the mountains and rivers, piercing to the bone, swallowing all within a thousand miles, like a raging dragon splitting clouds and moon, leveling the ninefold barriers!

With a single slash, Yang Fan gazed at the headless corpse, elated. This was a true victory against a stronger foe—a third-rank beginner slaying a third-rank high-grade warrior! He could boast of this for years. Though the weapon had given him an edge, would he ever admit it? Of course not!

As Yang Fan stood, basking in his triumph before Yu Hu’s corpse, Hu Dao grew impatient. What was the brat doing, daydreaming? He himself hadn’t expected to kill Yu Hu, but now that the powerful foe was gone, why wasn’t Yang Fan rushing to help? Didn’t he see that his own stamina was fading?

Hu Dao’s body was covered in wounds—mostly flesh injuries, and though he could stop the bleeding, the pain was real and his performance was suffering. If this dragged on, he truly wouldn’t hold out.

Seeing Yang Fan still lost in thought, Hu Dao let out a thunderous roar.

Yang Fan snapped to attention and looked over just in time to see Hu Dao, in the midst of his shout, take a punch to the face from the Shadow Realm captain. His mighty howl turned instantly into the whimper of a beaten stray dog.