Sword Qi to the Sky

Chapter 397 Confrontation
Li Fan continued upwards, with Qi Zhanyun following behind. Qi Zhanyun said loudly, "Who is this guy? How can I be inferior to you?"

Qi Tiange's martial arts cultivators are extremely renowned. He believes his martial arts skills are very high, but he was unable to gain the upper hand in his battle with Yun Tiansheng just now.

Therefore, he frankly admitted that he was not as good as Li Fan. He knew very well how difficult it would be to shake off Yun Tiansheng in the previous brief collision, after all, Yun Tiansheng had the advantage of position.

"Don't be sad. You'll understand in time. It's normal that you're not as good as me," Li Fan replied jokingly.

Qi Zhanyun: "?"

"I was just being modest, but you really don't hold back." He glared at Li Fan's back and said, "Once I reach the Heavenly Gate and enter the Jade Capital, I'll give it a try."

"Then you will definitely regret it." Li Fan continued to walk forward. The pressure of the formation seemed to have no effect on him at all. His powerful physique resisted the pressure with his physical strength.

"What an arrogant fellow." Everyone couldn't help but exclaim upon hearing Li Fan's words. Although it was a joke, it revealed the arrogance of the cultivator, which matched his appearance and temperament. Of course, they didn't know that this was the person Li Fan wanted them to see.

An arrogant yet incredibly powerful top-tier genius cultivator at the Dao Body Realm.

After climbing more than 600 steps, Li Fan paused slightly. He felt the array space surging, as if scenes were changing before his eyes.

"Rumble..." A muffled sound rang out, and the wind and clouds changed before his eyes. One after another, statues of gods appeared in front of him, seemingly close enough to touch, yet also feeling ethereal. However, the oppressive feeling emanating from each statue was real.

"What question do you ask?" A faint voice came from the statues. Li Fan felt the statues coming towards him and pressing down on his body.

"Bang..." A tremendous force struck his body, causing Li Fan to sway unsteadily and nearly fall backward.

Li Fan's blood and qi surged, and his golden body was surrounded by power. This power alone was enough to make it difficult for ordinary cultivators to cross the line.

The words of the idol seem familiar.

"With my unparalleled physical body and my indestructible will, this power is still not enough." After saying this, Li Fan took another step forward, causing the steps to tremble.

The statues trembled, as if pressing down on him simultaneously. Within the formation, Li Fan felt as if the statues had materialized and were pressing down on him.

"Clang..." His body trembled, making a resounding sound. The statues that were suppressing him actually crashed into his body. However, Li Fan knew very well that these were just illusions, and only the attack was real.

But even as the attacks landed on him, the statue before him remained standing.

"Bang." Li Fan took a step, the steps shook violently, a dragon's roar came out, and a golden dragon soared up, like a dragon god.

He walked forward step by step, carrying that oppressive feeling. The oppressive feeling of the statue seemed to never disappear, and his pace slowed down a bit.

Even so, Li Fan's steps remained strong, without the slightest pause.

Finally, as Li Fan moved forward step by step, the statue blocking his way collapsed and shattered, and the pressure decreased sharply. Li Fan looked up, took a step, and covered the distance of several steps before. In a few breaths, he was climbing towards the end of the stairs.

"Hmm?" On either side of the steps where Li Fan passed by, there was a person who glanced in his direction. They were both top cultivators from major sects.

When Lin Bai, the Holy Son of the Qingya Holy Sect, saw Li Fan step past him, he couldn't help but show a strange expression. This person had actually gone up ahead of him.

This is because the other party is a martial arts cultivator, whose physical strength is much stronger, thus enabling them to withstand greater pressure from the array.
Even if that's the reason, the fact that Li Fan was able to get to this point means that he has also broken through the second layer of barriers, and that layer of barriers did not delay him for very long.

"He wants to reach the summit."

Everyone looked at Li Fan's figure. He was actually speeding up and leaping over Lin Bai. Only two people remained in front of Li Fan, namely the two sword cultivators from Lingxiao Pavilion, Shen Jing and Yue Yunxiao.

The two were not standing together; they were some distance apart, each launching their own assaults towards the top of the stairs.

"The sword cultivators of Lingxiao Pavilion are indeed worthy of their reputation. When sword cultivators reach the Dao Body Realm, they become as sharp as swords, unstoppable. Therefore, these two sword cultivators are faster than others."

Everyone thought to themselves, but besides the two of them, a martial arts cultivator was now chasing after them and launching an attack on the mountain gate.

"He really did hold back before, and now he's even faster than before," the crowd said, looking at Li Fan.

"This person's martial arts talent is even above Qi Zhanyun of Qitian Pavilion. His physical body is unparalleled, and the formation cannot suppress him, which is why the formation cannot affect his movements."

“If we calculate from the time he entered the formation…” someone looked at Li Fan in deep thought. Li Fan had entered the steps later, and it took him the shortest time to get to his position. “How long did it take him to get here?” Liu Qingwu from the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion whispered.

“It’s less than half an incense stick’s time, and he’s accelerating. If he maintains this speed and isn’t stopped at the final checkpoint without wasting any time, he has a chance to reach the Heavenly Gate within half an incense stick’s time,” the man beside him said.

“Then there is no hope.” Upon hearing this, Liu Qingwu’s brows relaxed again. The obstacle at the end of the stairs was the most difficult, and many talented individuals were blocked there and could not overcome it.

Even though Li Fan displayed extremely strong martial arts skills, he was still blocked.

Li Fan continued upwards, and ahead lay the nine hundredth step, where Yue Yunxiao and Shen Jing were also nearby.

As if sensing something, Shen Jing turned around and frowned when he saw Li Fan.

He was able to get to this point so quickly because he is a sword cultivator. From the moment he stepped onto the steps, he had already 'transformed' into a sword, so he was one step ahead of others.

But how did he do it?
"Martial arts, power." Shen Jing sensed the fierce and surging martial arts intent and the roaring blood energy emanating from Li Fan. The other party had relied on that last bit of strength to force his way to this point.

However, this also shows that Li Fan's martial arts are extraordinary, no wonder he was able to withstand his sword and dare to provoke him.

This is the courage of a warrior.

"That day at Chaotian Pavilion, when we discussed the most outstanding figures, no wonder you dared to speak so arrogantly. It seems you also want to compete for the future pinnacle of the Great Li world." Shen Jing still looked ahead, but said, "To be able to get here so quickly, you must have an extraordinary background, but among those people, how could there be a place for you?"

Li Fan didn't look at Shen Jing; to him, Shen Jing's words were like a joke.

How could the future of the Great Li Kingdom be complete without him?
If the Sword Master of Lishan cannot become one of those people, how can he bear the weight of the Lishan Sword? How can he live up to this name, and how can he repay the sacrifices of everyone in Lishan?

In fact, his goal was never to become one of them.

“I don’t know if I will be there, but I know you won’t be there, and there won’t even be any sword cultivators from Lingxiao Pavilion,” Li Fan replied.

Shen Jing frowned, glanced back at Li Fan, and unleashed a fierce burst of sword intent. Shen Jing said coldly, "Do you know what you're saying?"

“Of course, if someone can cultivate a cultivator like you, what hope is there?” Li Fan replied. He wanted to destroy Lingxiao Pavilion, so naturally there would be no sword cultivators from Lingxiao Pavilion.

The sword that leaves the mountain will eventually fall atop the Lingxiao Pavilion.

Shen Jing looked at Li Fan with a strange expression, then his handsome face suddenly broke into a smile, a sarcastic one: "If we weren't here, your words would have been enough to take your life."

"You?" Li Fan said sarcastically, "You don't deserve it."

“If this weren’t the place below Baiyujing Academy, you would already be dead.” Shen Jing looked up and stared ahead, not at Li Fan. His sword intent flowed endlessly as he took a step forward.

The conversation between the two reached the ears of everyone, who all showed strange expressions.

It seems there's some grudge between Shen Jing and that person?
Moreover, Shen Jing's words were already threatening. If he hadn't been asking Bai Yujing, they might have witnessed a major battle right now.

"Half an incense stick's time has passed," said Prince Puyang, standing beside Ye Yunke.

"It seems he has no intention of challenging this half-incense stick challenge?" Ye Yunke said with a smile. "Does he know he can't do it, or... hasn't even considered it?"

"This final step requires getting past the cultivators of Baiyujing Academy. It's practically impossible to skip it in one step. I'm sure he's aware of that, which is why he doesn't even consider it," Prince Puyang replied.

"Okay." Ye Yunke nodded.

Li Fan remained standing in place, watching Shen Jing and Yue Yunxiao walk forward. As they stepped forward, the cultivators from Baiyujing Academy who had entered the formation were scattered in various places, forming an encirclement and becoming one with the formation.

To reach Baiyujing, one must pass through them.

Li Fan didn't move; he wasn't in a hurry.

He wasn't interested even after half an incense stick's time.

(End of this chapter)