Lord of the Desert

Chapter 520 Broadsword
Six days later, on the second day of the fourth lunar month.

Dozens of miles south of the capital, in a deserted wilderness, dense tea trees climb the cliffs.

Beneath the thick, cloud-covered cliff, gunfire flickered for a fleeting moment as a crystallized rock bullet pierced through the two-meter-thick stone wall.

"This is an improved version of the 'cannon' killing technique, which uses high-speed grain jets to achieve maximum point damage. It was this technique that helped us defeat the Iron Demon last year."

Hong Fan removed the sand-cast gun barrel and introduced it to Gu Qu and the other man.

"You've already tried the Sand Puppet. It's strong, but it's still not enough against someone like Yi She."

"It's definitely not enough."

Qu Luoyi stood in the wind with his clothes open, nodding solemnly.

“Yi She is too fast—his absolute speed is not as fast as your Sand Wing, but his ability to change speed within the size of the arena is unique, and the Sand Puppet can’t keep up with the pace at all.”

"So I want to expand in the direction of area-of-effect damage."

As Hong Fan spoke, he shaped a huge rock-like warhead with a caliber of nearly an inch from his fingertips.

"You want to use cannons to shoot him? I saw 'Lei Lin' when I traveled through Langya Kingdom, I'm afraid it's not easy to aim at."

Ancient meaning returns to a new path.

"It wasn't a simple contact explosion, but rather it relied on shrapnel."

Hong Fan unleashed an excessive amount of fiery true energy from his palm; the high-temperature radiation distorted the air, burning the sandstone to crystallization in seconds.

"By controlling density and accumulating localized heat, I attempted to create numerous peak stress points within the crystalline structure. After launch, these points are detonated by the Wuxiangling at the closest point to the target, causing directional supersonic fragmentation damage. Aside from martial artists with full-body defense capabilities, this method should be unsolvable at the Innate Realm..."

He tried to explain for a long time, but it was clearly a case of talking to a brick wall.

"We don't quite understand what you're saying."

Gu Yixin said shyly.

"How about we just try it out directly?"

He naturally looked at Qu Luoyi—who was still quite bewildered at the moment.

"I envision this move to have an effect like a torrential downpour of pear blossoms or being sliced ​​into a thousand pieces; it might be quite painful..."

Hong Fan hesitated.

On the other side, Qu Luoyi finally realized that the target of the "test move" would most likely be himself. Hearing the description again, he couldn't help but feel his mouth go dry. Everyone practices martial arts to fight, not to be beaten. Although the Little Fighting Emperor of Tianpeng Mountain is a brave and fierce person, this is not the same as being a masochist.

"Junior Brother Qu is unparalleled in courage and determination, how could he possibly be afraid of pain?"

Ancient news expresses sentiments.

He was recalling what Yuan Lingxue had said many years ago.

Upon seeing the sincere and respectful smile of the dignified Gunner, Qu Luoyi was like a duck that had willingly climbed onto a shelf, unable to utter a single word of refusal.

"Ah, Senior Brother Gu is too kind."

He casually took off his shirt and flung it far away, displaying an air of heroic spirit.

"Hong Fan, don't be so fussy and resort to violence. If I even frown, I'll be considered a coward!"

With these words, Hong Fan no longer hesitated.

"Brother Qu, you must do your best to dodge, otherwise you won't see any effect."

He shaped the gun barrel and gave instructions.

"understood."

Qu Luoyi's eyes darkened slightly, and his muscles clung to his iron-like bones.

With a cracking sound from the rocks beneath his feet, he had moved from his original position into an unpredictable maneuver.

The Asura Battle Scripture is a close-combat technique.

At a distance of thirty meters, Hong Fan was unable to aim accurately and fired hastily, missing the target as expected.

However, Wu Xiangling, relying on vibrations and innate spiritual energy perception, perfectly executed the command.

At the intersection of the gun line and the target's vertical line, the bullet detonates at a 120-degree angle, ejecting a dense array of high-hardness, crystalline fragments.

Three meters away, speed Mach 2.

In this situation, Qu Luoyi didn't even have time to fold his arms in defense and could only take the blow head-on. After the shrapnel storm passed, he had dozens of cuts on his body, and in many places where the skin and flesh were thin, the pale blue jade-like bones could even be seen.

"Junior Brother Qu..."

Even though Gu Yixin knew Qu Luoyi, seeing such a tragic scene still made his scalp tingle and he felt ashamed.

"That's a pretty good move."

Qu Luoyi was clearly in pain, but she deliberately laughed loudly.

He didn't frown at all from beginning to end, because the skin around his eyebrows and brow bone had been shaved off by shrapnel.

"Yi She is much faster than me, but he definitely won't be able to dodge this move. I'll have to let him have a good time then..."

Qu Luoyi stood ramrod straight, slurping his words like an ordinary person slurping freshly cooked noodles, a blue light swirling around his body.

Within two breaths, shrapnel rained down from the front of his body, and the wounds closed on their own; within two more sentences, even the smaller wounds had healed completely.

According to Hong Fan's observation, the price Qu Luoyi paid for taking a fragmentation bullet was only a slight loss of true energy and a slight mental fatigue.

The new killing method was officially finalized after several rounds of testing and was named "Claymore".

Afterwards, the two took turns sparring with Hong Fan. Although neither of them used lethal force, the intensity of their exchanges was extremely high.

Large sections of rock slabs at the foot of the cliff were trampled and broken.

Qu Luoyi faced off against the Sand Giant head-on and was once again blasted back.

At this moment, his fangs grew longer, and his eyes gleamed with a blue light—a sign that the fighting spirit of the Tianpeng Mountain warriors was surging.

The more adverse the wind, the more injuries, the higher the fighting spirit, the more the physical qualities of the practitioner of the "Asura Battle Scripture" will be comprehensively improved; but even so, Qu Luoyi is still at a disadvantage against the fully armed Hong Fan.

"You are still one minor realm below me, yet your power has already caught up with mine, and your true essence has even surpassed mine."

Qu Luoyi sighed softly. Beside him, Gu Yixin, arms crossed over his gun, nodded in agreement.

"Senior Sister Yuan once told me that your physical talent was only average; alas, the essence of dragon blood is indeed convenient!"

Qu Luoyi winked and made faces, barely managing to suppress the fierceness that was bursting from his bones.

Where can I get this stuff?

"Don't ask, I can't tell you."

Hong Fan smiled.

"But I'll definitely keep an eye out for you if the opportunity arises."

Gu and Qu both nodded calmly upon hearing this, not really taking it to heart.

Those who possess dragon blood are naturally difficult to conceal. Unless a family or an individual reaches their limit, no one can bear the shameful infamy of betraying their ancestral bloodline.

Similarly, as Hong Fan acquires and uses more Dragon Soul Fruits in the future, his ever-increasing concentration of Dragon Blood will inevitably raise suspicions.

But development problems can only be solved through development, and he wouldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

After a quarter of an hour, the practice session ended.

Hong Fan leaned on his knees to catch his breath, while Qu Luoyi sat slumped against the rock with his legs spread.

Gu Yixin stood silently behind them.

The clouds on the horizon have dispersed.

In the distance, the sunlight flowed down like a pool of golden water, dissolving over the capital city.

"Hong Fan, do you still remember that young lady from the Shen family who liked you?"

Qu Luoyi scratched her itchy new skin and suddenly asked.

"what?"

Hong Fan was slightly taken aback.

"It's the one with the white hair."

Qu Luoyi added.

"I know."

Hong Fan nodded.

He certainly wouldn't forget the eldest daughter of the Shen family, but he was taken aback because he had never heard anyone use the term "Shen family's young lady" before.

“She has just broken through to the realm of perfect unity. She came to Tianpeng Mountain after the New Year and met with me there.”

Qu Luoyi said.

Crossing the Inner Vision Realm and the Penetration Realm in twenty-two months is undoubtedly a top-tier speed, but considering the Shen family's resources and Shen Tiexin's status in the clan, it is not considered earth-shattering.

"What is she going to do?"

Hong Fan asked.

"I've come to find someone to spar with."

Qu Luoyi gave an answer that Hong Fan had not expected.

"This young lady has made rapid progress in the past two years. If she really doesn't have the two thresholds of the Heavenly Man Interaction, she will definitely reach the Innate Realm next year. If she keeps up the pace, she might even be able to catch up with the tail of the Prodigy Ranking. But the Shen family's martial artists dare not go all out when sparring, so she specifically came to our Asura Sect."

Upon hearing this, Hong Fan felt a complex mix of emotions for some reason.

He had known Shen Tiexin for a long time and had worked with her many times at Tiannanxing, but her true nature remained vague in his memory.

"How did the game go?"

Hong Fan then followed up with more questions.

"His combat experience is very shallow, about the same level as those literary disciples in Xijing. The only thing is that he is quite ruthless—he practiced five times in one day, broke two bones, and even dyed half of the white hair on his head red."

Qu Luoyi chuckled, his expression showing a hint of approval.

An hour later, the setting sun, as red as cinnabar, plunged into the throat of the mountains.

Hong Fan and Gu Qu returned to their residence and unexpectedly met an old friend.

"How could I not be there for your battle against the top of the Heavenly Pride Ranking?"

Lu Yunshi was covered in dust, and the padding inside his riding breeches was worn frayed.

"I'm not the only one coming from Xijing City; Ruyi and Brother Bai are also on their way..."

After settling his old friend in, Hong Fan changed his clothes and was informed by Shen Hong that the Jin Hai tribe had borrowed Xijing Feilian to forward letters—Hong Sheng, Hong Lie, Hong She, Hong Fu, and even Cui Yutang and Gao Junxia had all borrowed exotic mounts and were on their way to Shenjing. If there were no unforeseen circumstances, they would arrive before April 12.

Upon hearing the news that relatives and friends from all directions had gathered to offer assistance, Hong Fan felt an overwhelming joy, but amidst his excitement, he also felt a sense of unease.

Jinhai City is located in the northwest corner of Kyushu, and since everyone is already on their way, there's no reason why Tang Xingqing, who is closer, shouldn't come.

Xiao Chu had said that regardless of whether the fundraising went smoothly or not, she would return for this battle no matter what.

That night, Hong Fan sat in meditation on his bed, still feeling uneasy about the matter.

But such panic quickly dissipated amid the increasingly tense atmosphere and intense daily practice.

For the Chinese people, the clash of the top talents has never been just a private matter for the participants. Nowadays, even passersby will keep quiet and make way for the servants of the Hong family who are out shopping, as if it is not Hong Fan who is fighting on the rooftop, but the entire Hong family undergoing a tribulation.

The calendar pages are torn off one by one.

Yi She is not a likable person.

Information about him and the "Void Thunder Scripture" poured in from the Imperial Craftsmanship Bureau, the Martial Arts Academy, and even from his rivals throughout the capital.

Now that things have come to this, the previous notions of "it doesn't matter whether we win or lose" and "it's just to relax and unwind" have become mere empty words.

As a martial artist, one must respect the way of martial arts.

Starting from the ninth day of the fourth lunar month, Hong Fan secluded himself from visitors, severing all worldly thoughts and entering into deep meditation.

(End of this chapter)