bookbashuk Chapter 311 Before Advancement
Chapter 311 Before Advancement
"So Fellow Daoist Du is worried about this matter. No problem." The lean old man smiled slightly, then glanced at the other cultivators and said calmly:
"Fellow Daoists, now there are only eleven people left on the arena, and Fellow Daoist Du has agreed to fight me. I think there is no need for you to continue fighting. Why don't you step back a bit and let me fight Fellow Daoist Du fairly, shall we?"
Upon hearing this, the eight cultivators near the old man exchanged glances, their eyes flashing, and silently retreated. They would naturally not refuse such a good thing that had been delivered to their doorstep.
The seven cultivators who had previously besieged the formation couldn't help but glance at it as they retreated. They understood that if the lean old man won, the formation would belong to him. This was a slight disappointment.
However, after quickly weighing the pros and cons, they decided to give up.
In an instant, the eight cultivators retreated to the edge of the arena. At this time, the various temporary groups had been completely broken up, and they kept their distance from each other, looking up at the front with vigilance.
"Fellow Daoist Du, can you rest assured now?" The lean old man looked at Du Fan and said with a smile.
"Of course." Du Fan took a step forward and appeared directly outside the magic array, standing several feet away from the old man.
"Haha, you're dead!"
The lean old man immediately let out a wild laugh, his figure shooting out instantly, heading straight for Du Fan. At the same time, as he waved his hands, the phantom of a crimson tree appeared and disappeared. Even before the spell was fully formed, an astonishing spiritual pressure soared into the sky, its momentum terrifying.
Facing the menacing, lean old man, Du Fan showed no fear. Instead, a strange smile appeared on his lips.
The lean old man's eyes twitched at the sight, and he knew something was wrong.
Just then, a sudden ripple appeared in the void beside the old man, and a white thread appeared out of thin air, flashing out and shooting towards the old man's head in an instant. It arrived in the blink of an eye.
The old man's expression changed drastically, his heart pounded, and a sense of impending life-or-death crisis instantly overwhelmed him.
Without a second thought, he stomped his foot hard on the ground, abruptly changing his trajectory. At the same time, he raised his arm, and the crimson tree, which had not yet been fully activated, flashed and blocked his way.
With a "bang," the white thread pierced through the tree trunk and continued shooting towards the old man's head.
Using the red tree as a shield, the lean old man instantly turned into a wisp of green smoke and fled into the distance.
Just then, a figure flashed in front of the old man, and a man in a green robe suddenly appeared with a faint smile on his face. This man was Du Fan. Without saying a word, he threw a punch.
The old man flicked his arm, and a crimson axe formed by magic flashed out and slammed down towards Du Fan's fist.
With a loud "boom", the crimson axe immediately shattered, but Du Fan only paused slightly before throwing out his second punch.
At the same time, the sharp white thread shot out, about to pierce through the old man's head.
The old man was shocked and furious at the sight. After letting out a low roar, he quickly formed hand seals, and two fire shields, each half a zhang in size, immediately materialized, meeting Du Fan's fist and the strange thread respectively.
Seeing this, Du Fan sneered and ignored the fire shield in front of him. Instead, he moved around the fire shield and at the same time, a golden glow rolled out from his left arm. After being wrapped and wrapped, his entire arm had become several times thicker and was shining with golden light.
A cold glint flashed in Du Fan's eyes, and his arms swung in succession, instantly creating several golden fist shadows the size of watermelons. These shadows intertwined and overlapped, sweeping towards the lean old man.
"Damn it!" The old man's eyes turned bloodshot, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead. In an instant, another fire shield appeared.
Ignoring the scene before him, Du Fan moved again and appeared on the other side of the old man. Without any illusion of fist shadows, he threw a punch directly, which struck the old man's left ribs hard. At the same time, a powerful force surged into the old man's body.
A series of cracking sounds rang out, indicating that the lean old man had broken at least seven or eight ribs.
"what……"
As soon as a piercing scream was uttered, the old man's entire body flew out like an eagle soaring through the sky.
Seeing this, Du Fan had no intention of pursuing them. With a wave of his sleeve, he quietly put away the Xuanmu Silkworm.
At the same time, his arms suddenly moved, and after a swirling of golden light, both arms instantly returned to their normal size. Even the golden fist shadows not far away quietly dissipated in front of the fire shield, without any magical collision.
Given the chance, Du Fan naturally didn't want to reveal his strength prematurely. He believed that no one would have noticed the existence of the Xuanmu Silkworm after what had just happened, nor would they have imagined the true power of that golden fist shadow.
The old man spat out blood in mid-air, his breath weakening. The direction he flew backward was towards the eight cultivators, a result of Du Fan's careful calculation.
The eight cultivators' eyes flashed, and their divine senses spread out simultaneously. After confirming the old man's physical condition, they attacked at the same time. Eight spells appeared in an instant and rushed towards the old man, engulfing him in a flash.
"The matches on Arena Number Three have concluded. Du Fan, Song Yong, Zhou Dekai... these ten individuals have successfully advanced to the top 100 of this year's Haitan Grand Competition. You may all leave the arena immediately!"
As the voice of a Foundation Establishment Hall Master rang out, the protective light barrier surrounding Arena No. 3 slowly dissipated.
Du Fan took a deep breath, made hand seals, and pressed his hand towards the miniature defensive array. The pure white array light screen immediately dissipated in a flash of light, revealing more than ten array-setting tools of various styles inside. With a single wave of his hand, Du Fan collected them all into his storage bag.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Du. I will remember this matter forever!" Song Yong took a deep breath, came to Du Fan, and clasped his hands in greeting.
"Fellow Daoist Song, no need to be so polite. Remember to return the spirit stones." Du Fan smiled slightly, patted the other party's shoulder, and then walked straight down from the arena without stopping.
Seeing this, Song Yong was speechless for a moment. After a wry smile, he chose to jump off the stage in another direction.
The other eight cultivators glanced deeply at Du Fan's retreating figure, most of them with gloomy expressions, and after a moment, they all left.
……
"This junior has finally lived up to the expectations of the four seniors and managed to win the first round of the competition." After returning to the VIP seats on Crescent Island, Du Fan bowed to the four Golden Core protectors.
"You did well. Sit down first. We'll go back together after the first round of the competition is over." The middle-aged man surnamed Liu smiled slightly, pointed to the chair next to him, and spoke gently.
"Yes." Du Fan naturally had no objections. After bowing again, he sat down next to Liu Zhongtian.
Chen Da and the white-haired old woman, who had initially been quite pessimistic about Du Fan, now looked at him with a gentler gaze, no longer as indifferent as before.
After Du Fan sat down, he immediately turned his gaze to the arena. At this time, the first round of the competition had been completed on the four arenas numbered three, four, seven, and nine, while the other arenas were also nearing the end and were about to determine the final winner.
Through conversations among several Golden Core protectors, Du Fan learned that among the four arenas where the battles had ended, he was the only cultivator from Crescent Island who had successfully advanced in the competition.
As for the other three, they not only all failed, but all perished, without even a chance to escape with their last breath. Among them was a cultivator who ranked third in the minor competition.
"Sigh, if it weren't for that miniature defensive array, my fate probably wouldn't have been much better than theirs," Du Fan sighed, thinking with lingering fear.
After a short while, the battle on Arena Number One ended. The Crescent Island cultivator, knowing he was no match for the opponent, was about to shout that he was about to withdraw when a thin golden light pierced his throat, killing him instantly.
In the next hour, the top ten contestants were determined on the remaining arenas. By this time, the outcome of the first round of the competition was quite clear.
Of the 683 cultivators who participated in the competition across the various islands, less than 200 are still alive. The rest have all perished, resulting in a mortality rate of three-quarters. Even the cultivators from the three main islands have lost nearly half of their number.
On Crescent Island, apart from Du Fan, the cultivator who ranked first in the minor competition actually managed to advance and become one of the top 100 cultivators in this year's grand competition. As for the other participating cultivators from Crescent Island, apart from one who shouted to withdraw at the crucial moment and thus escaped, the remaining seven all perished.
Sandbar Island, which was allied with Crescent Island, fared even worse. Apart from Song Yong, who shared the stage with Du Fan and advanced to the top 100 with the help of the magic array, none of the other nine cultivators survived.
When Du Fan heard Lin Musen, the Golden Core Protector of Fallen Leaf Island, slowly recite these battle achievements, his already somewhat pale face turned even paler, and he even felt a sense of dread.
Du Fan never expected that the All-Island Competition would be so dangerous. It was truly a stroke of luck that he survived and successfully advanced to the top 100.
However, the Golden Core protectors of Crescent Island did not show any disappointment. Instead, they remained calm and praised Du Fan and another cultivator who had advanced to the top 100, and even promised some benefits, seemingly quite satisfied with the results of the first round of the competition.
The second round of the Hainan Rendez-Vous competition was scheduled to be held in half a month. Therefore, after Lin Musen announced the relevant matters, the cultivators of Crescent Island, led by Liu Zhongtian, withdrew from the inner field and appeared in the outer square where they had come from.
Without saying a word, Liu Zhongtian waved his sleeve and a streak of black light appeared, instantly transforming into a giant black ship hundreds of feet long, hovering a foot off the ground—the Ink Spirit Flying Ship.