From the fake emperor to the concubine

Although the Bloodthirsty Scholar initiated the attack, he maintained control of the offensive.

Only after Zhuo Liqun and Wei Siling completely retreated from their fighting range did he truly begin to launch an attack.

This time, Zhang Yunfan truly realized the power and strength of a Foundation Establishment stage expert.

Even though the Bloodthirsty Scholar was clearly not a cultivator known for his martial arts, his swordsmanship was still extremely sharp.

Unlike Zhuo Liqun's fierce and direct style, the Bloodthirsty Scholar's swordsmanship is sinister and ghostly.

With each strike, it's as if the move itself contains dozens of feints.

They always hide their true intentions within a multitude of illusions, making them impossible to guard against.

Having just gotten used to Zhuo Liqun's straightforward fighting style, Zhang Yunfan was naturally unable to adapt to this unpredictable opponent for a while.

Completely led by the nose by the Bloodthirsty Scholar's swordsmanship.

Seeing his opponent slash down, Zhang Yunfan quickly raised his greatsword to parry.

As a result, he watched helplessly as the blade flashed straight through the greatsword and struck his own body.

However, the blade light had no power whatsoever, and it didn't even scratch Zhang Yunfan.

It seems that this strike was completely meaningless.

But just as Zhang Yunfan's attention was drawn to this slash, the real attack had already bypassed the greatsword and sliced ​​across Zhang Yunfan's thigh from another direction.

When Zhang Yunfan realized something was wrong, he tried to escape, but it was too late.

He could barely dodge most of the attacks, but a wound was immediately left on his leg.

Having succeeded in one move, the Bloodthirsty Scholar sneered triumphantly: "Hmph, nothing special."

His attacks became increasingly aggressive, the blade flashing continuously, the illusory and real sword shadows engulfing Zhang Yunfan like a tidal wave, until he disappeared from sight.

The signature move of the Bloodthirsty Scholar, the true essence of martial arts in the Ghost Domain Blade.

In terms of martial arts prowess, Ghost Domain Blade is significantly inferior to No Thought Strike.

However, the Bloodthirsty Scholar was there to kill Zhang Yunfan, while Zhuo Liqun, despite repeatedly saying he wanted revenge, showed mercy in every way.

Therefore, the pressure Zhang Yunfan faces is naturally incomparable to that of the past.

Most importantly, the "Mindless Strike" technique he had just learned was completely ineffective against the Bloodthirsty Scholar's ghostly attacks.

If we can't even find anyone, launching an attack would be futile.

If it were Zhuo Liqun instead, this situation would naturally not have occurred. However, Zhang Yunfan's strength is slightly inferior. Although he has a deeper understanding of the Wunian Yiji (无念一击), he is not proficient in its application.

Therefore, every time he unleashed the "Mindless Strike," it was no different from children playing house in the eyes of the Bloodthirsty Scholar. He easily found the flaws in each one and broke through them with strange postures.

In just a dozen breaths, Zhang Yunfan had already sustained more than forty wounds.

Although they appear extremely dangerous, these wounds are actually mostly superficial injuries.

Moreover, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that Zhang Yunfan was not used to the Bloodthirsty Scholar's attacks at the beginning, and his injuries were quite serious.

However, as time went on, the damage inflicted on Zhang Yunfan by the Bloodthirsty Scholar became less and less.

In particular, his final attack only left a small tear on Zhang Yunfan's clothes.

Not a single scratch was broken.

Zhang Yunfan immediately launched a counterattack, his greatsword slashing down with unstoppable momentum towards the head of the Bloodthirsty Scholar.

The sword's edge is filled with the true essence of martial arts—a strike without a thought, carrying an indomitable will.

Seeing this, the Bloodthirsty Scholar sneered disdainfully: "Fool, you think you can use this kind of straightforward attack against me?"

"It would be more appropriate to have Zhuo Liqun instead; you're still far from being good enough."

The Bloodthirsty Scholar stood still, clearly intending to wait until Zhang Yunfan's power was exhausted and he could no longer change his moves, before making a last-minute dodge and launching a counterattack.

But as he waited, the Bloodthirsty Scholar suddenly realized that something was wrong.

Just as the great sword was less than a foot away from him, the Bloodthirsty Scholar's expression suddenly changed.

This seemingly desperate and relentless attack turned out to be a feint.

By the time he realized something was wrong, Zhang Yunfan's greatsword was already at his chest.

The massive sword, as thick as a door panel, struck him directly in the chest.

The weight of the great sword itself, combined with Zhang Yunfan's impact, caused even the Bloodthirsty Scholar, a Foundation Establishment stage expert, to be unexpectedly knocked away.

He could even clearly feel the immense force emanating from the greatsword, squeezing his ribs and making a creaking sound.

If the disparity between the two sides hadn't been so vast, this attack would likely have decided the outcome.

"How can this be?"

The Bloodthirsty Scholar folded his chest five times, his face showing an expression of utter disbelief.

The injuries on his body were nothing to him, but the move Zhang Yunfan just used, if he wasn't mistaken, was actually his own Ghost Domain Absolute Blade Martial Dao True Meaning.

How can this be?

Although he had just witnessed Zhang Yunfan comprehend and use Zhuo Liqun's martial arts essence after reading it only once.

To be honest, besides being shocked, everyone also harbored deep doubts.

Is Zhang Yunfan really that extraordinary? He can learn someone else's martial arts essence just by glancing at it—even they can't do that.

Perhaps this is just a play staged by Zhang Yunfan and Zhuo Liqun.

As for why they did this, it was naturally to attract more attention and make the Zheng family pay more attention to them.

Only now, after experiencing it firsthand, has the Bloodthirsty Scholar truly realized just how terrifying Zhang Yunfan is.

He had never experienced that bone-chilling cold even when facing life-or-death situations.

The things I've painstakingly cultivated, that kid only needs to glance at casually.

Why are there such terrifying beings in this world?

Originally, the Bloodthirsty Scholar only wanted to make a name for himself by killing Zhang Yunfan.

It doesn't sound very appealing for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to kill a Qi Refining cultivator.

But don't forget, this Foundation Establishment cultivator has only just managed to fight to a draw with an expert like Zhuo Liqun.

Taking him down would be a slap in the face to Zhuo Liqun, wouldn't it?
But now it seems like I'm the one who got slapped in the face.

The other cultivators around them shared similar thoughts with the Bloodthirsty Scholar. Although they had previously found Zhang Yunfan terrifying, they did not entirely believe him.

Even now, Zhang Yunfan has once again learned the true essence of the Ghost Domain Absolute Blade martial arts of the Bloodthirsty Scholar so easily.

These people finally realized the seriousness of the situation.

"Holy crap, this kid actually has this kind of ability." "This is terrifying, absolutely terrifying. If this kid with such terrifying talent is allowed to grow up, what kind of monster will he become?"

"Bloodthirsty Scholar, don't let us down."

After his initial shock, the Bloodthirsty Scholar's murderous intent towards Zhang Yunfan reached an unprecedented level.

Such a terrifying guy must not be allowed to live.

At that moment, the Bloodthirsty Scholar no longer cared about saving face and was ready to use his Foundation Establishment cultivation to crush Zhang Yunfan into dust on the spot.

As a result, just as he was about to use the power of the Foundation Establishment stage, a huge fear suddenly surged in his heart.

He felt as if he were a huge, terrifying being lurking in the darkness, and if he dared to use the power of the Foundation Establishment stage, then death would be the only fate awaiting him.

The power that had just been raised instinctively plummeted back down, and he dared not exert even a fraction of it.

"Damn it, what on earth is going on?" The Bloodthirsty Scholar panicked.

The being lurking behind the scenes is an absolutely terrifying individual.

But he couldn't understand why such an existence would target a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator like himself.
He had suspected Zhang Yunfan, but immediately ruled him out as a suspect.

If there really is such a powerful being protecting Zhang Yunfan, how could this kid still be a novice in the Qi Refining stage?

So it was someone else?

But he asked himself, although he had killed many people, it shouldn't be enough to make one of the people present go so far as to ask such a being to deal with him.

Such a terrifying individual could probably destroy an organization or a force with the slightest gesture.

Using it to deal with oneself is a complete waste of its potential!

The Bloodthirsty Scholar frantically searched his surroundings, trying to find any clues that might be directed at him.

But he also knew that if such a terrifying guy wanted to hide himself, he wouldn't be able to find him at all.

Taking advantage of his weakness, Zhang Yunfan naturally wouldn't let go of the opportunity to strike while the Bloodthirsty Scholar was shaken, and immediately launched a fierce attack with his greatsword.

This guy combined the "Mindless Strike" with the "Ghost Domain Blade," making it incredibly terrifying with its mix of reality and illusion.

The Bloodthirsty Scholar was exhausted from dealing with the situation, so he quickly composed himself and focused on defending against Zhang Yunfan's attacks.

But to his surprise, the Bloodthirsty Scholar found that he was gradually losing his grip on Zhang Yunfan's offensive.

If it were just a single, thoughtless strike, the Bloodthirsty Scholar could still find a way to deal with it. Even if Zhang Yunfan used his Ghost Domain Absolute Blade, the Bloodthirsty Scholar could still entangle with Zhang Yunfan by relying on his greater familiarity with the true meaning of this martial art.

The problem is, when Zhang Yunfan combined the two martial arts essences and gradually mastered them, the Bloodthirsty Scholar suddenly realized that he couldn't stop him at all.

Zhang Yunfan often incorporates the true essence of martial arts—the "unintentional strike"—into his feints.

This made it impossible for the Bloodthirsty Scholar to discern Zhang Yunfan's attack intentions.

Therefore, whether it's real or fake, he has to deal with it from all angles.

This is even more terrifying and difficult to deal with than his original Ghost Domain Blade.

Because it differs from his true martial arts intent, his Ghost Domain Absolute Blade is either fake or real.

No matter how swift and unpredictable the shifts between reality and illusion may be, the real cannot be made fake, and the fake cannot be made real.

But this foolish kid is different. He combines the true essence of martial arts, namely, the Mindless Strike and the Ghost Domain Blade.

Every attack this kid makes is either real or fake.

There are no variations in the moves; it's just a simple, powerful brick-throwing attack.

If he dared to ignore the feints and changes in Zhang Yunfan's moves, he could severely injure him with a single, thoughtless strike.

However, if one concentrates on dealing with the Wu Nian Yi Shi (无念一击) and the Gui Yu Jue Dao (鬼域绝刀) sneak attack, it is difficult to catch them off guard in time.

Thus, witnessed by all the experts, the roles of offense and defense were directly reversed between the two sides.

Zhang Yunfan's offensive became increasingly fierce, and he fought with increasing ease.

The Bloodthirsty Scholar could only desperately defend himself, his injuries multiplying.

"What's going on? Even the Bloodthirsty Scholar can't beat that kid?"

"Don't you find this strange? I don't think the Bloodthirsty Scholar is the kind of good-natured person who would keep his promises."

"He's been forced into this situation, yet he's still suppressing his cultivation. What exactly is this guy trying to do? Does he still think he can kill Zhang Yunfan with his martial arts skills?"

Regardless of what those around him might speculate, the Bloodthirsty Scholar had no way to express his suffering at this moment.

It wasn't that he didn't want to use his true cultivation to directly kill Zhang Yunfan, the guy who had made him lose face in front of so many people.

But he really couldn't do it.

Every time he tried to use his true power, he was suppressed by a terrifying being.

He wasn't even sure if that thing really existed.

The other party did not display any power, and he did not feel any real threat.

However, even a simple breath was enough to make his body completely out of control, causing him to unconsciously suppress his cultivation.

He did try to resist.

But that feeling was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot; there was absolutely no way for him to resist.

So no matter how hard it was to resist or how serious the injuries she suffered, Zhuo Liqun could only grit her teeth and persevere.

His only hope now was that the horrible guy probably just found the fight between the two ants amusing.

He didn't want this slightly stronger ant to defeat the weaker ant so quickly, so he restricted himself.

As long as he can hold out until that terrifying being completely loses interest in the two weak beings and stops interfering with their battle, he can kill them.

Deep in Zhang Yunfan's mind, Zheng Yi was quite puzzled: "This guy doesn't seem like someone with such a strong will. How come he hasn't broken down even after all this?"

The reason why the Bloodthirsty Scholar couldn't unleash his full potential was, of course, because of Zheng Yi's machinations.

According to Zheng Yi's original plan, he only needed to make two moves to completely break down the Bloodthirsty Scholar's mental state.

After fighting for so long, this guy is still able to hold on.

He was of course unaware of the Bloodthirsty Scholar's thoughts, but since this guy was so determined, Zheng Yi was too lazy to waste any more effort on a minor character.

"Disciple, I'm leaving him to you. Anyway, this kid can't unleash the full power of the Foundation Establishment stage, so he's definitely no match for you."

Zhang Yunfan was also in the heat of the fight. Unlike when he fought Zhuo Liqun, he didn't need to have any psychological burden when fighting the Bloodthirsty Scholar. He could fight with complete freedom.

The heavy greatsword in his hand was both real and illusory, even more agile than an ordinary flying sword.

At first, the Bloodthirsty Scholar could hold his own, but gradually, with his cultivation suppressed to the Qi Refining stage, he became completely unable to withstand Zhang Yunfan's attacks. (End of Chapter)