Wandering Swordsman |

Upon hearing this, Situ Dengfeng suddenly understood. He thought to himself, "Although I don't know what faction Li Fanglin belongs to, it seems he thinks the *Wu Xiang Jing* is in my possession. For now, I can only play along. It would be best to find out what faction Li Fanglin actually belongs to."

Thinking of this, Situ Dengfeng revealed a calm smile. He shook his head slightly and asked in a calm tone, "Young brother, what if I don't hand it over?"

Upon hearing this, Li Fanglin first burst into laughter, his laughter brimming with smugness and arrogance. However, his laughter suddenly froze, his expression turning sinister, and a cold light flashed in his eyes. He coldly said, "Everyone in this Jingtian Pavilion has been poisoned by the Heart-Corroding Poison that was injected last night. No matter how high your martial arts skills are, as soon as you circulate your internal energy, it will dissipate, your meridians will reverse, and you will become completely powerless."

After a pause, Li Fanglin continued, "Those who are slightly less skilled in martial arts will not last more than twelve hours after being poisoned by this, while you highly skilled martial arts seniors can only last up to seventy-two hours."

Upon hearing this, Situ Dengfeng was startled and suddenly realized the truth. This Heart-Corroding Poison originated from the Western Regions and was extremely rare in the martial arts world. Even the Tang Clan had not been able to develop an effective antidote for it. He secretly pondered that Li Fanglin was clearly not a simple martial arts figure and must have a powerful force supporting him.

Seeing that Situ Dengfeng remained silent, Li Fanglin continued, "You choose. To pay or not to pay?"

However, just as Li Fanglin finished speaking, a sword's blade was already pressed against his neck from behind. When Li Fanglin instantly felt a chill run down his spine, he immediately turned around. Upon seeing that the person wielding the sword was none other than Jian Yihan, the winner of Group Nine, Li Fanglin exclaimed in surprise, "Who are you? Why aren't you poisoned?"

Jian Yihan remained expressionless and coldly said, "Who I am is unimportant. What matters is, where is the antidote?"

Li Fanglin thought to himself, "This person was able to get behind me without my noticing, which shows that his martial arts skills are far superior to mine. I never imagined that there would be such a master lurking among the martial arts contestants besides me." Although he was shocked, he pretended to be calm and tried to ease the situation.

"Brother, your martial arts are quite good. How about you stand aside and watch this once? You'll definitely be treated well afterwards." Li Fanglin tried to lure Jian Yihan with benefits, hoping to get him to relent.

Jian Yihan seemed not to hear him and repeated, "Where is the antidote?"

Seeing that Jian Yihan remained unmoved, Li Fanglin said with a hint of helplessness, "It's in the sleeve of my shirt. Young hero, just come and get it yourself."

Jian Yihan remained expressionless, his face cold and unwavering, as if everything before him was irrelevant. His eyes were like deep, ancient wells, calm and indifferent, his long sword still pressed tightly against Li Fanglin's neck, the chilling killing intent seeming to freeze the air. "Hand it over now!" Jian Yihan's voice was deep and firm, brooking no argument.

Li Fanglin's lips curled up slightly, revealing a sly smile, as if he were confident of success. "Alright, I'll take it out now." He said, slowly reaching his hand into the wide sleeve, his movements slow and cautious, as if carefully taking out something precious.

Time seemed to stretch out at that moment, and the atmosphere on the training platform was extremely tense. Those poisoned below held their breath, their eyes fixed on Li Fanglin's every move, afraid of missing a single detail. Even Situ Dengfeng and Situ Meng were completely focused; they knew that this might be the crucial moment to resolve the current crisis.

After fiddling with it for a while, Li Fanglin finally pulled his hand out of his sleeve. But unexpectedly, he held a small, round wooden object in his hand, with a peculiar shape and intricate patterns carved on its surface. Just as everyone was wondering what was going on, Li Fanglin suddenly threw the small object into the air.

"Watch out!" Situ Meng exclaimed immediately, realizing the situation was dire.

Upon hearing this, Jian Yihan reacted swiftly, dodging the attack in a flash. However, the moment the small object touched the ground, it suddenly emitted a piercing sound. Immediately afterward, a plume of red smoke billowed out, like lava erupting from a volcano, instantly enveloping the entire training platform.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, three figures shot out from the red dust of the training platform like arrows, heading straight for Situ Meng at the main hall entrance. The audience was stunned into silence by this sudden turn of events before they could even react.

Seeing this, Xiaodie knew something was wrong and stepped in front of Situ Meng without hesitation. Her eyes were firm, but her body trembled slightly.

Seeing a maid blocking his way, Li Fanglin casually swung his palm, and a strong wind whistled through the air, directly hitting Xiaodie's body.

Xiaodie's delicate body was sent flying like a kite with a broken string by this blow, crashing heavily to the ground. Before she fainted, her voice, though weak, was still full of strength: "Miss, run!"

When Situ Meng saw Xiao Die being knocked down, a chill ran through her heart, and tears welled up in her eyes. Instinctively, she wanted to rush forward to check on Xiao Die's condition, but at that moment, Li Fanglin had already arrived at her side.

Li Fanglin moved swiftly and without hesitation, striking Situ Meng's pressure points, instantly rendering her immobile. Then, Li Fanglin effortlessly hoisted Situ Meng onto his shoulder, as if carrying a light piece of luggage.

"Situ Dengfeng, if you want to save your daughter, prepare the *Wu Xiang Jing* beforehand. We will come to collect it in due time." Li Fanglin's voice echoed throughout the central square, carrying an undeniable threat and confidence. With that, he turned and, carrying Situ Meng, used his lightness skill to quickly escape from the central square.

At the same time, those who had been mingling in the crowd pretending to be poisoned immediately stopped their performance, stood up, and quickly followed Li Fanglin away. Their actions were perfectly synchronized, clearly indicating that they had been well-trained and had been waiting for this moment.

Just as Li Fanglin was about to disappear into the crowd, a figure flew out from the dust and smoke of the training platform like lightning—it was Jian Yihan. After confirming the location of Li Fanglin and the others, he did not hesitate and followed closely behind.

Jian Yihan followed closely behind Li Fanglin and his group as they exited the gates of Jingtian Pavilion.

As Jian Yihan drew closer behind him, Li Fanglin's gaze grew increasingly cold. He quickly ordered his men, "Stop him!" As soon as he finished speaking, his men stopped, turned to face Jian Yihan, and drew various weapons from their backs, ready to fight.