Chapter 170, A Three Layers Jump
Xiao Dandan scared Dong Tianba, jumping two steps back, causing his sword to tremble like a leaf. He wasn’t afraid of her, but the Drifting Flowers Edifice behind her.
“Move!” Zhuo Fan’s cold tone came.
Xiao Dandan jerked and turned her head in doubt, only to meet a pair of frosty eyes, “Darling, this ungrateful punk wants to hurt you.”
“Are you deaf?” Zhuo Fan’s roar got Xiao Dandan shaking in her boots and demurely moved aside.
Zhuo Fan was immobile but that didn’t curb his dominating attitude in the least.
He spoke to Dong Tianba calmly, “I won’t lie to you. I not only killed your good little brother, Song Yu, but his sister as well. If you plan on taking revenge, no one’s stopping you!”
Dong Tianba was hesitating and flitted a glance at Xiao Dandan. She had her glaring eyes riveted to him, as if to say, [Just try it!]
Zhuo Fan understood his reluctance, “This is between us, men. Women have no place here. Listen here Xiao Dandan, if you mess with the Dong clan because of this, then don’t ever call me darling again.”
Xiao Dandan flared, “Then you’ll accept me?”
Zhuo Fan just stared at Dong Tianba with unnerving calm.
The sword lifted at times and fell in others. Dong Tianba saw Zhuo Fan’s eyes shift from hatred to gratitude. Recalling the time when they were drinking like best buds, Dong Tianba threw the sword a way away with a sigh.
“Forget it. I’ll just take it as brother’s Song Yu’s luck was the worst to meet a Demon Archon like you.”
“Why aren’t you attacking? Is it because of Xiao Dandan? Kill her then kill me. You two need to just keep a tight lid on this and no even Drifting Flowers Edifice will find out about this. If you’re still worried, I can teach you how to make a scapegoat out of another clan. One hundred percent success guaranteed.” Zhuo Fan smiled wickedly.
His words got all three of them jumping.
Did the world have someone so kind to teach his killer not to get found out? Xiao Dandan was morose and muttered, “Darling, I’m trying to help you. So why do you want me killed as well?”
Turning a blind eye to this love-struck puppy, Zhuo Fan stared at Dong Tianba with a vague smile.
Dong Tianba was vexed, “Wan’er is right. You saved us before and killing you will bite the hands that feed us. It’s best if today ends with both our debts being settled.”
“You’re saying… you’re letting me go for saving you?” Zhuo Fan smiled.
Nodding, Dong Tianba sighed, “What a pity, I just can’t take revenge for my dear brother Song Yu…”
Whoosh!
Dong Tianba was cut short by a golden streak passing his ear. With a boom, a fifty-meter tall rock was pulverized.
The golden light returned to Zhuo Fan and grinned wickedly.
The three found it to be a golden infant. It was indeed Zhuo Fan’s Bone Tempering Stage Blood Infant!
With a sneer, Zhuo Fan’s tone was cold, “Dong Tianba, you are far from worthy to decide my fate. My life is my own no matter the circumstances. Suppose your sword got a bit too close, well, you wouldn’t be standing right now.”
Breaking out in a cold sweat, Dong Tianba looked at the grinning Blood Infant, then at the sinister smile on Zhuo Fan. The two caused his heart to beat a mile a minute.
Demon Zhuo Fan was the one who killed You Guiqi, not someone a nobody like him could handle.
Zhuo Fan needed but a blow and this second rate young master would be naught but dust. It made a mockery of his earlier display of settling their score even.
[I never had the right to choose the fate of someone who challenged the Seven Noble Houses!]
Xiao Dandan’s eyes were more intoxicated than ever.
Her darling was so hurt he couldn’t move but the flair around him, the boldness, made him a man among men, the best of the best, were still there!
Dong Xiaowan wasn’t that far gone as Xiao Dandan, but among the fear and trepidation her eyes conveyed, they nonetheless held a constant ripple and firm gaze on him.
Not bored enough to mind the eyes of his fans, Zhuo Fan closed his eyes, “Take me somewhere safe. I need a fortnight at the least to recover.”
“Ok, darling, I’ll carry you.” Xiao Dandan jumped at the chance, holding no reservations.
Zhuo Fan’s silence was all the approval she needed.
Suddenly, Zhuo Fan’s ears peeled and he opened his eyes, “Wait. Someone’s coming.”
The others looked around for any signs while Zhuo Fan got Blood Infant back in his body.
Blood Infant was good with scaring Bone Tempering cultivators, but he might not succeed in a sneak attack against a Profound Heaven expert. Least of all going from the front.
Only when he paired up with Blood Infant in battles, was he invincible.
But now, he was a dead weight and Blood Infant’s success rate fell sharply. He hid Blood Infant in his body, waiting for the right moment to strike a killing blow.
The bushes ruffled under the anxious gaze of everyone. Then, an old man came out.
Zhuo Fan knew who it was, Liu Yizhen.
Liu Yizhen couldn’t be happier he found Zhuo Fan, “Song, uh, Grandmaster Zhuo, I finally found you. I’m so glad you’re alright.”
Zhuo Fan looked at the others clueless.
[Was I ever so close with this oldie? What got you so concerned about my health?]
Zhuo Fan was baffled, seeing Liu Yizhen jumping to examine Zhuo Fan’s state. Zhuo Fan and the rest found no ill will hidden among his actions and let him through.
Liu Yizhen was frowning a moment later, gushing with worry, “Grandmaster Zhuo’s meridians are damaged. You’ll need three to five months to recover. Luckily I have the 6th-grade pill, Yang Recovery Pill. It may not be enough to bring about a total recovery but enough to allow Grandmaster Zhuo to at least move.”
“Yang Recovery Pill?”
Zhuo Fan was overjoyed. He knew of this pill since he was an alchemist. With it and the Bodhi Jade Sap, he’d be up and about in no time flat.
Before the Hundred Pill Meeting, he had no 6th-grade ingredients and couldn’t refine a Yang Recovery Pill, or he’d have done it ages ago. Liu Yizhen’s arrival was such timely help.
Liu Yizhen saw him in glee and was even overjoyed. His hand flashed with a bottle and presented a scarlet pill.
Xiao Dandan hovered it near Zhuo Fan for a close inspection then let him have it when it was deemed safe.
In an instant, Zhuo Fan began glowing a blinding light from his main acupoints as the warmth traveled through his meridians. It was so strong that even the others around him could feel it.
It started with a twitch of his finger as Zhuo Fan slowly got the feeling in his arm, testing its range of movements.
Liu Yizhen shouted in glee, “In less than an hour, Grandmaster Zhuo will be able to walk.”
Zhuo Fan wasn’t one to wait as he used his only able arm to swallow a drop of Bodhi Jade Sap.
Liu Yizhen slapped his head, “How could I forget? Grandmaster Zhuo still has that divine treasure. You won’t even need an hour now and you’ll make a full recovery.”
This shocked the rest.
Zhuo Fan sat cross-legged and focused on recovery.
The medicine flowed throughout his body and Zhuo Fan could feel how his meridians recover. It went so well that they not only recovered, but became stronger.
Bang!
With a sudden popping sound, Zhuo Fan’s ears twitched as a newfound power roamed unhinged through him.
Dong Tianba cried, “He broke through!”
His words were followed by another pop and Zhuo Fan’s power doubled as he even started to glow in waves. It was as if Diamond Sand was roaming through his body.
“H-he broke through again!”
Liu Yizhen blinked his aged eyes and yelped, “This is incredible! Breaking through twice in one breath! How many in this world would ever have such luck?”
Then it happened again right in the middle of his speech!
“What?!”
Liu Yizhen’s voice trembled, “Doing it three times in a row is unheard of! Grandmaster Zhuo’s title of ‘freak’ is justly deserved. Even I had to cultivate day after day, year after year, to advance, but never once have I done it so fast.”
Everyone around him, who heard his speech, rolled their eyes.
[How can you even compare yourself? He is a freak, a genius among geniuses. How can an old coot, who’s not even a genius to begin with, even dream of climbing to his level?]
Liu Yizhen realized his blunder and straightened his beard awkwardly.
An hour later, Zhuo Fan’s power withdrew within him and opened his eyes with a flash of azure.
Every minute movement within a kilometer around him in the valley appeared in his mind, down to the last cricket.
This was Radiant Stage’s Discerning Field!
When Zhuo Fan just entered the Radiant Stage with his soul, he exhausted his Yuan Qi from using that dangerous pill, thus preventing him from carefully sensing the changes the new stage brought. Now, he broke three layers and entered the 5th layer of the Bone Tempering Stage in one smooth motion.
His growth wasn’t limited to that of the body, but of the soul as well, while also stabilizing it.
Just like Fang Qiubai, who had eyes everywhere within a kilometer of him, Zhuo Fan could as well. All that was left was to practice killing with his mere intent.
That was a Radiant Stage expert’s most dreadful ability…