“Zhang Sheng, you have to get justice for me!” Zhang Qiang clutched at his last hope.
This was his only chance against Shen Fan.
“Isn’t Zhang Sheng the younger brother of Zhang Wu? I heard he’s cultivated two Intermediate Martial Skills to Initial Success!”
“With him making a move, let’s see if that Shen Fan still dares to be so arrogant!”
…
As Zhang Sheng stepped forward imposingly, a buzz went through the crowd.
Even the disciples who supported Shen Fan broke into a cold sweat for him.
Zhang Sheng was one of the top experts in the Outer Courtyard.
He had once severed the limbs of a disciple who had just reached the Third Rank of Meridian Opening and hung him on the courtyard wall.
He was truly vicious.
“Three moves. I’ll have you on the ground in three moves!” Zhang Sheng slowly walked up to Shen Fan, pointing his index and middle fingers at Shen Fan’s nose.
“Then, I’m going to cripple you from the waist down to avenge my cousin. You… shouldn’t have a problem with that, right?”
Zhang Sheng was incredibly arrogant, as if Shen Fan were a mere ant in his hand.
“Hmph!” Shen Fan shook his head.
“I hate it when people point at me. How about this? It’ll only take one move to sever those two disobedient fingers of yours. You… don’t have a problem with that, right?”
His tone was the exact mirror of Zhang Sheng’s.
“You’re courting death! Wind-breaking Palm!” Seeing that Shen Fan was completely disregarding him, Zhang Sheng’s aura flared violently.
With a wave of his sleeve, he kicked up a gale.
A giant, fair-skinned palm emerged from within the wind, an Elemental Pattern flashing across its surface.
The Wind-breaking Palm was a Palm Technique known for its speed.
Cultivated to Initial Success, it was like a raging gale, impossible to defend against.
‘Wind-breaking Palm… so fast.
Fine, let’s compete on speed!’
Shen Fan stood perfectly still, seemingly lost in some strange state.
To the onlookers, however, it looked as though he had been frozen in fear by Zhang Sheng’s imposing aura.
“Alas, he’s still a bit too young,” the two Elders sighed, shaking their heads.
“Shen Fan, watch out…!” Fatty Jin and the others shouted.
Aaaaaah—
A bone-chilling flash of light streaked across the giant palm.
A frigid aura erupted, and a bloodcurdling scream tore through the air!
Zhang Sheng’s face was twisted in agony, his hair disheveled like a madman’s.
He knelt on the ground, clutching his right hand with his left.
A long, narrow gash ran all the way down his right arm to his index and middle fingers, from which a thin line of blood shot out.
Suddenly, the crowd heard two soft thuds.
Looking down, they saw two bloody fingers rolling on the ground, the blood still warm enough to steam in the air.
“Just severing two of your fingers.” Shen Fan’s expression was blank as he crushed the two fingers under his foot.
“I’m still too merciful.”
The crowd sucked in a cold breath, as if they had seen a ghost!
Zhang Sheng’s vicious attack hadn’t even scratched him.
Not only that, but Shen Fan had done exactly as he’d said and severed two of Zhang Sheng’s fingers!
What terrified them even more was that none of them had seen how Shen Fan attacked!
“Fast Blade!” Elder Fang shot to his feet, his expression one of utter shock.
“A Fast Blade on the verge of breaking through to Great Success! If this boy develops properly, he has a chance to enter the top ten of the Outer Courtyard, maybe even the top three!”
Elder Chen accidentally crushed a teacup in his hand and slammed the table.
“This boy… I completely misjudged him!”
‘Is this your true strength?’ Zhao Minji’s expression was complicated.
She was one of the few who had clearly seen Shen Fan draw his blade.
The cold blade was drawn and sheathed in a single instant!
That one slash had brought the speed, ruthlessness, and precision of the Fast Blade to an incredible level—at least the Minor Achievement Realm!
‘To cultivate a Mid-tier Martial Skill to Minor Achievement while only at the Second Rank of Meridian Opening… his talent is almost comparable to my own.’
Shen Cangsheng stood quietly to the side, his gaze fixed on Shen Fan’s somewhat youthful yet resolute face.
His vision blurred, and then he suddenly smiled, a brilliantly radiant smile.
Looking at Shen Fan, it was as if he were seeing himself from sixteen years ago.
Having dealt with Zhang Sheng, Shen Fan advanced on Zhang Qiang step by step.
“Zhang Qiang,” he said coldly, “it’s your turn!”
Zhang Qiang had already been scared witless when Shen Fan cut off Zhang Sheng’s fingers.
Seeing that Shen Fan wasn’t going to let him go, he dropped to his knees with a THUD, started slapping his own face, and shrieked, “Shen Fan, I was wrong! I’m not human! I’m guilty! Spare me, please spare me!”
“Hmph!” Shen Fan ignored him and struck out at Zhang Qiang’s head.
The force of the wind from his palm arrived before the palm itself.
Zhang Qiang hadn’t expected him to actually attack.
He let out a cry, his eyes went wide, and he fainted from fright.
The crowd was in an uproar.
At that moment, Shen Fan had claimed victory in the martial debate through sheer dominance!
Shen Fan kicked Zhang Qiang aside and, under the dumbfounded gazes of the crowd, slowly walked to the center of the hall.
He cupped his fist and said, “Elders, is this disciple guilty of any crime?”
Elder Chen and Elder Fang exchanged a look, then smiled.
“A rising star like you, how could you be guilty? The strong are never in the wrong! From this day forward, you will enjoy the benefits of a disciple at the Third Rank of Meridian Opening. Your Monthly Pay will be one hundred taels, and you will be under the protection of the Government Hall. If the Zhang Family makes any move against you, our Government Hall will hold them accountable. Are you satisfied with this?”
He understood that the Government Hall valued Shen Fan’s potential.
A disciple with potential would one day become a powerful expert and would naturally receive their protection.
Shen Fan nodded in thanks, then abruptly turned to face the crowd.
“Everyone, am I, Shen Fan, a piece of trash?!”
“No! How could someone who can challenge opponents above his rank and defeat an Outer Courtyard expert like Zhang Sheng be trash!” Fatty Jin yelled.
The others followed Fatty Jin’s lead, shouting and cheering for Shen Fan.
As for those who had previously looked down on and bullied Shen Fan, they remained silent.
The “Useless Shen” they could once bully at will was gone forever.
The Shen Fan of today was a dazzling genius!
From now on, if they ran into a genius like him, it was best to stay out of his way.
A strange light flashed in Zhao Minji’s eyes.
She never would have thought that Shen Fan had, without anyone realizing, come to possess such formidable strength.
A Monument-breaking Palm at Great Success and a Fast Blade at Minor Achievement both required extraordinary talent to cultivate successfully.
Seeing the crowd’s silence, Shen Fan knew that from this day on, he had completely washed away the “useless” label.
Just then, he felt Zhao Minji’s gaze and met her eyes.
Zhao Minji’s face flushed red, and she deliberately turned away.
Quite a few people noticed this exchange.
Those who were paying attention were once again amazed.
With Shen Fan’s rise, he was no longer just some toad lusting after a swan.
“The hearing is over. Disperse,” Elder Chen said with a sudden wave of his hand.
He was in an excellent mood; nothing made them happier than discovering a genius.
Seeing Elder Chen dismiss them, the disciples didn’t dare to linger.
They hurried away, not wanting to draw the attention of the two Elders.
“Shen Fan, let’s get some steamed buns together sometime!” Fatty Jin called out a greeting, then walked off while eating from the few buns he had left.
Zhao Minji waited until the other disciples had left before walking up to Shen Fan.
Staring into his eyes, she said softly, “Brother Fan… Jie’Er is very happy.”
“Brother Fan” was what Zhao Minji had called Shen Fan when they were children, and he had always called her Jie’Er.
“Impressive, wasn’t I?” Today, Shen Fan was completely vindicated.
His past feelings of inferiority and humiliation had vanished like smoke in the wake of this battle, and he faced Zhao Minji with a smile.
“Hmph! Not as impressive as me!” Zhao Minji said, wrinkling her nose.
Shen Fan gave a faint smile and took a step closer, leaning in so his lips were almost touching her ear.
“Just wait for the Outer Courtyard assessment,” he whispered intimately.
With that, he followed behind Shen Cangsheng and calmly departed.
“Hmph! We’ll see if you have the skill, unless you can also condense Yuan Jin within three months.” Zhao Minji watched Shen Fan leave, a girlish look on her face as she muttered to herself.