Chapter 14: The Void Boat Town Stronghold

Chen Fan let out a faint sigh of relief. After confirming that the demon fox remained utterly motionless, he saw a rune flicker before his eyes, and the progress of the Three-Foot Sword toward Unity suddenly leaped forward.

His heart surged with joy, and only then did he dare inch closer to the demon fox.

At that moment, the figure in the distance finally drew near. It was a young man, not particularly old.

He stepped forward to examine the demon fox’s corpse. After confirming that it was dead, he gave Chen Fan a complicated look.

“A disciple of the Bright Moon Tower? You certainly have courage.”

All Martial Academy disciples wore identification plaques around their waists.

Chen Fan’s gaze fell upon the plaque at the young man’s waist. It was also a Martial Academy token, but it differed greatly from those of the Bright Moon Tower.

He was a disciple of the Radiant Sun Tower!

Chen Fan found the young man somewhat familiar. He had probably seen him during the Martial Academy’s mobilization, though he did not know his name.

“I wonder who you are…”

The young man waved his hand. “I’m Lin Tiandu of the Radiant Sun Tower, and I’m from Yan Capital as well. Just call me Senior Brother.”

Chen Fan immediately clasped his fists. “So you are Senior Brother Lin!”

Every few years, the various commanderies and prefectures ranked their ten greatest young martial artists, usually setting forty as the upper age limit.

Lin Tiandu, however, had once been among the ten greatest experts of an earlier era. He was one of the foremost talents of Yan Capital and had long since passed the age of forty.

Martial artists naturally enjoyed long lifespans, and once they reached the Grandmaster realm, their longevity increased substantially.

Lin Tiandu looked no more than thirty, yet in truth he was a middle-aged man approaching fifty.

His strength ranked among the top twenty of the Radiant Sun Tower. He had probably not yet reached the eighth level of martial cultivation, but he could not be far away.

After that, he said no more to Chen Fan. Instead, he seized the demon fox by the tail and dragged it all the way back to the place where the numerous sixth-level martial artists had previously blocked it.

“The demon fox has been slain. Everyone can rest easy now!”

The demon beast was as tall as a three-story building, yet Lin Tiandu dragged it with effortless ease, as though it were an ordinary wild animal. Even Chen Fan was secretly astonished.

Upon hearing Lin Tiandu’s words, everyone finally relaxed.

The martial artists had formed a battle formation to intercept the demon fox, while Chen Fan had harried it from the side. As a result, few of them had suffered truly serious injuries.

Only then did someone notice Old Bao. A smile still lingered on his face, but he stood utterly motionless. He had already passed away in peace.

“Old Master Bao activated a forbidden art twice. At his age, how could his body have endured it…”

Everyone sighed mournfully.

Chen Fan, too, let out a quiet sigh.

Ordinary martial artists did not possess a secret art of the caliber of the Nine-Star Origin Core. When they wished to unleash their latent potential, what they consumed was their very life force.

The old man had already lived beyond a hundred years. To have held on until now was no small feat.

In the end, they had prevented the demon fox from entering Flying Spirit County. The old man could now rest in peace.

…

Lin Tiandu temporarily left the demon fox’s corpse in Flying Spirit County and then took the initiative to remain there and keep watch.

In the days that followed, the demon calamity gradually subsided. More and more strange demons and demon beasts in Clear River Commandery were slain, and those that remained seldom ventured out. They were no longer worth mentioning.

Once the crisis had eased, Chen Fan’s group of Martial Academy disciples followed Lin Tiandu back to Yan Capital.

There, he finally saw his own master, Dong Guzhi, once more.

Yan Capital’s defenses were formidable, and powerful martial artists were plentiful. The city had suffered no particularly serious losses during the demon calamity.

Few disciples of the White Cloud Martial Hall had even been injured, much less killed.

At the White Cloud Martial Hall, Chen Fan also saw his Second Senior Brother, Tao Xi’an.

This demon calamity became the opportunity that finally thawed the estrangement between the second senior brother and their master.

As for the guards of the Azure Python Army stationed in the various cities, only after the threat of the strange demons had been dealt with did they gradually hurry toward the frontier to support General Fan Lin.

Soon, news arrived from the borderlands—news that once again shook the entirety of Clear River Commandery.

Among the demon beasts attacking the frontier, two tenth-level Demon Kings had appeared at the same time. Using their unique supernatural abilities, they had forcibly breached the border defenses, led the demon beasts into the border city, and begun a massacre.

No one knew how many soldiers and commoners had lost their lives.

In the end, with the aid of Martial Academy Principal Mao Wangchen, Fan Lin paid the price of severe injuries and joined forces with the Azure Python Army’s killing formation to slay one Demon King by force, driving the other into retreat.

Even so, they were unable to prevent a vast number of surviving demon beasts from entering the territory of the Great Qian Empire.

With one Demon King dead and the other in retreat, the crisis at the border had naturally been resolved. However, the demon beasts that had already invaded the empire would still require time and manpower to eradicate.

Without a Demon King to command them, the demon beasts were merely a scattered rabble. Though numerous, they were nothing more than meat upon a chopping block.

The Martial Academy therefore issued another mobilization order, summoning elite disciples of the Star Cluster Tower and above to journey to the frontier and exterminate the demon beasts.

Chen Fan was shaken and alarmed when he heard the news.

A trace of worry also rose within him.

“I wonder whether First Senior Brother is still safe…”

Chen Fan and Tao Xi’an were both disciples of the Bright Moon Tower, and both were summoned to participate in the extermination.

Before they departed, Dong Guzhi gave the two of them repeated instructions, especially Chen Fan.

With demon beasts running rampant and Clear River Commandery thrown into chaos, there was no guarantee that members of the Seamless Gate would not seize the opportunity to act.

Still, Chen Fan had yet to use any of his three opportunities to activate the talisman treasure, while the Flowing Light Feather Garment could now withstand a full-force strike from a Grandmaster.

Together with his Thunder Intent, these things gave him a measure of confidence.

After bidding farewell to his master, Chen Fan set out westward with his second senior brother, Tao Xi’an, and the other Martial Academy disciples.

…

Perched Cloud City.

After arriving, the Martial Academy disciples were assigned to different strongholds according to their strength.

Chen Fan and Tao Xi’an were sent to separate locations.

Neither of them was given to empty formalities, and they immediately went their separate ways.

Voidboat Town.

This was a small town near the frontier and one of the medium-sized rallying points for the martial artists taking part in the campaign.

Aside from the Martial Academy disciples, elite martial artists from every region had also come to assist.

Chen Fan was among them.

Some of the weaker disciples were not even qualified to come and provide support. Those who had arrived possessed, at the very least, fourth-level martial cultivation and had entered the Star Cluster Tower.

As a disciple of the Bright Moon Tower, Chen Fan naturally stood at the front of the Martial Academy’s ranks.

Behind him, countless people fixed their gazes upon him.

Among them were two men Chen Fan recognized: the brothers Wan Qing and Wan Tianbao, members of the same clan.

Neither of them was from Clear River Commandery. They had come as outside reinforcements, and their expressions were relaxed, as though they did not take this demon-extermination campaign seriously at all.

“Before entering the Radiant Purity Pool, Chen Fan had already broken into the top three hundred of the Myriad Manifestation Illusory Realm. He hasn’t challenged it these past few months, but his strength must have improved considerably…” Wan Tianbao sighed.

Naturally, no one truly believed that Chen Fan had entered the Radiant Purity Pool without making any breakthrough.

Nearly half a year had passed. Chen Fan had missed two examinations for the Myriad Manifestation Illusory Realm, and his ranking was barely hanging on at the edge of the top three hundred. Yet as for his actual strength, everyone believed he had reached the level of a Bright Moon Tower disciple.

Wan Qing nodded, his expression calm. “There is no stopping Chen Fan’s rise. We absolutely must not provoke him.”

He seemed to have completely forgotten the resentment he had felt when his place had been taken from him.

In truth, the moment he learned that the Renchang Martial Academy had sent a disciple possessing the Heavenly Dipper Physique to compete in the Radiant Purity Pool trials, Wan Qing had already let go of his hatred toward Chen Fan. He knew that even if he had represented the academy in that battle, he would almost certainly have been defeated.