darknovel Chapter 333 Sima Lie
Chapter 333 Sima Lie
After a meal, Du Fan stood on the number ten arena, looking utterly dejected.
"What bad luck, running into him so soon..." Du Fan thought to himself with a bitter smile.
At this moment, the other four cultivators on the same stage as Du Fan included a voluptuous and beautiful young woman, a young girl who looked to be seventeen or eighteen years old, and a middle-aged man wearing a blue robe.
The remaining one, in his twenties, had a cold face and a burly build. He wore a set of jet-black leather armor, carried a bronze broadsword on his back, crossed his arms, and had an arrogant expression. His red hair was draped over his shoulders, and the muscles on his exposed arms bulged and throbbed, sometimes like snakes wriggling...
This person was none other than Sima Lie, the cultivator from Blazing Flame Island whom even Liao Mingyu was very wary of!
"The competition begins!" A Foundation Establishment Hall Master suddenly shouted in the arena.
As soon as he finished speaking, all nine arenas except for Arena No. 10 instantly emitted the sound of magical roars.
Du Fan, the beautiful young woman, the young girl, and the middle-aged man in the blue robe exchanged glances subconsciously. They all stepped back without making a sound, then slowly moved together, forming a clear line between themselves and the red-haired man.
Witnessing this, the red-haired man snorted coldly, looked at Du Fan, and said in a deep voice, "You're not a cultivator from Fallen Leaf Island, are you?"
"My name is Du Fan, and I come from Crescent Island." Du Fan's eyes twitched, and after a quick thought, he clasped his hands in greeting.
"Crescent Island? If I remember correctly, this island should be a medium-sized island. How could a cultivator from a medium-sized island be involved with that guy..." Sima Lie frowned and muttered to himself.
Seeing this, Du Fan and the other three were somewhat puzzled, but their vigilance only increased. They all flicked one hand and placed it on their storage bags at their waists, looking as if they were facing a formidable enemy.
"I don't know what trick that guy was playing, but the fact that he deliberately lost to you means you two must be on good terms."
"Since that's the case, I'll give him face. I won't make things difficult for you today. Now stand aside!" After a while, Sima Lie's brows relaxed, but he remained cold and stern. He looked at Du Fan and spoke coldly.
Du Fan was taken aback at first, then his face lit up with joy. He quickly clasped his hands in thanks, and then stomped his foot on the ground. In an instant, his body shot backward and appeared near the barrier at the edge of the arena.
He wouldn't refuse such a good thing, regardless of the other party's motives.
Just as the red-haired man finished speaking, Du Fan retreated without hesitation. The other three people on the number ten arena all changed their expressions, their breathing became rapid, and their bodies trembled as they retreated in unison.
Sima Lie turned to look at the other three cultivators, his face expressionless and his gaze cold.
The next moment, Sima Lie's body disappeared without warning, and when he reappeared, he had transformed into three identical figures, each appearing behind the three beautiful women.
Three identical Sima Lies simultaneously raised their arms and thrust forward with lightning speed.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The next moment, the beautiful woman, the young girl, and the middle-aged man in the green robe were suddenly shot out as if struck by a thousand pounds of force. They flew more than thirty feet in the air, their momentum undiminished, and finally crashed heavily into the barrier light screen. They then slid down and fell to the ground with a thud, their breaths gone.
Three identical Sima Lies stood there expressionless, each holding a still-beating, bright red heart in their hands.
One of them, Sima Lie, turned his head to look at Du Fan and said coldly, "Next time I meet you, I won't hold back."
After he finished speaking, three flames rose from the hands of the three Sima Lie, instantly enveloping the heart in his palm, turning it to ashes in the blink of an eye, and disappearing without a trace.
The instant the three hearts disappeared, the three figures also vanished. When they reappeared, they had transformed back into Sima Lie, standing quietly in the same spot, still expressionless and with cold eyes.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye. If the onlookers were to lose focus even for a moment, they would mistakenly believe that the red-haired man had not moved an inch from beginning to end.
Standing at a distance, Du Fan witnessed this scene. His face twitched, his heart pounded, and before he knew it, his back was soaked with cold sweat, which had drenched his clothes...
"This person is too terrifying. Not to mention me, even Master Ma would probably not be his match." After a long while, Du Fan suddenly shuddered and couldn't help but gasp. His mind was deeply shocked.
Faced with this red-haired man, Du Fan felt extremely powerless. The man seemed unfathomable and completely unfathomable, a feeling that made his scalp tingle and filled him with fear.
Although Liao Mingyu is powerful, they are at the same level. Du Fan can contend with him and escape unscathed, but this Sima Lie is definitely a level above him!
"It's truly unbelievable that a Qi Refining cultivator can reach this level. I wonder if I'll be able to fight him when I advance to the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining stage." Du Fan's eyes flashed with a sharp light as he slowly clenched his fists.
……
Three days later, the Mo Ling Flying Boat carried the people of Crescent Island back to the villa. Before Zi Yan went into seclusion, Du Fan had already given her his instructions. Then he left the villa and headed towards the mountain a hundred miles away.
Upon entering the cave, Du Fan immediately dispersed the protective light barrier, sat cross-legged, and began to ponder.
"There's still a month until the next round of the competition. If I focus all my efforts on cultivating the Concealing Spirit Technique, I could master it. But I'll pass. Even if I master this technique, it won't be of much use to me in the upcoming competition."
After a brief moment's thought, Du Fan shook his head, abandoning the idea of continuing to cultivate the Concealing Spirit Technique.
Then Du Fan patted his storage bag and took out some deep yellow demon cores and core-refining water. He swallowed one set and began to improve his current cultivation level through the power of the demon cores.
In the second round of the Hainan Rendez-Vous competition, Du Fan represented Crescent Island and achieved an amazing result of being in the top 20. This not only made everyone on Crescent Island ecstatic, but also shocked the leaders of other large and medium-sized islands.
Firstly, Crescent Island is a medium-sized island, and its achievement almost surpasses all other medium-sized islands in the Seventy-Two Islands of Earthly Fiends. It is conceivable that the distribution of resources and benefits obtained by Crescent Island after the competition will be astonishing.
Secondly, Du Fan, representing Crescent Island, won consecutive victories with his Qi Refining Stage 7 cultivation level, making it into the top 20 of the competition. From this moment on, Du Fan, who was originally unknown, will be the focus of a lot of attention.
Of course, most people scoff at Du Fan's rise to power and do not acknowledge his abilities.
In the first round of the melee, Du Fan used a defensive formation to advance by sheer luck. In the first half of the second round, Liao Mingyu clearly held back, and the second half was even more bizarre. Sima Lie from Blazing Flame Island actually killed three beings of the same level instantly, and Du Fan got a huge advantage.
In short, after the three major competitions, Du Fan can be described as opportunistic, using unorthodox methods, and having incredible luck. If it were a real battle, he would at most rank around 100th, which is the opinion of the vast majority of people.
Regardless, news of Crescent Island and Du Fan spread like wildfire.
At this moment, Du Fan showed no joy at his successful advancement; instead, he was preoccupied and frequently frowned.
The red-haired man from Blazing Island had such a profound impact on him that it shook his mind and he couldn't calm down for a long time.
Three days later, when Du Fan opened his eyes, the first demon core had already been refined. Immediately afterwards, his expressionless arm blurred, and another deep yellow demon core flew into his mouth. At the same time, he drank the core-refining water and continued to circulate his energy to refine it.
……
One month later, the third round of the Hainan Rendez-Vous competition officially began.
This round is also divided into two parts. In the first half, ten groups of cultivators are selected by drawing lots to compete against each other and determine the top ten cultivators. The rules for the second half are the same as the first half, and the top five are determined among the ten winners.
At this moment, Du Fan stood with his hands behind his back on the sixth arena. Opposite him was a chubby man in his thirties, wearing a brown leather coat, a yellow round hat, and holding a blood-red long knife.
Unlike most fat people who give off a kind and honest impression, this person had an extremely gloomy face, sharp eyes, and a cruel sneer at the corner of his mouth.
Facing this person, Du Fan felt somewhat uncomfortable, as if the blood in his body was boiling and a sense of irritability was quietly growing. However, what made him feel slightly relieved was that this person was not one of the fifteen people on the list.
Even now, of the fifteen cultivators recognized as the strongest in this competition, fourteen still exist, while there are only six "ordinary cultivators" like Du Fan. Therefore, Du Fan is still surrounded by a lucky aura in this battle.
"start!"
As a Foundation Establishment Hall Master uttered a loud voice, Du Fan and the fat man in the leather coat stomped their feet simultaneously, their figures swaying as they were both thrown backward. It turned out that the two men, out of mutual apprehension, had chosen to retreat without prior agreement.
After the fat man in the fur coat closed and opened his eyes, a faint blood-red light flickered in them. Then, he raised one hand, extended his index finger, and suddenly pointed it at his brow. Instantly, two blood-red beams of light emerged from his pupils, transforming into two blood-red lightning bolts that shot straight toward Du Fan.
With a wave of his hand, Du Fan instantly formed a deep blue Weak Water Shield, half a zhang in size. At the same time, he quickly made a hand seal, and a yellowish-brown light suddenly appeared out of thin air, enveloping his entire body. After another swirling motion, he disappeared underground.