Rumble!!!
The rain poured down.
Water gathered on the ground, and the small trees around them gradually revealed only their tops. It was clear the water was over two meters deep.
Such a sudden downpour was undoubtedly a great natural disaster.
Yet, here stood a dozen or so houses, like islands in the sea, unyielding.
No matter how heavy the rain or how deep the water, they seemed destined never to be submerged.
At this very moment.
Xiao Qianyuan, clad in red, drew his blood-red great saber with a *shing*.
His hearing was exceptionally sharp, and he could hear the murmurs of the awakened ones behind him.
He sneered, a look of disdain and annoyance crossing his face.
Rain lashed down, his hair matted, his clothes clinging uncomfortably to his skin.
He wanted to take shelter indoors, but his communication skills were so poor that his first words had angered the homeowner.
He knew his only recourse was to force his way in.
Glancing at the saber in his hand, he stepped forward.
Lin Fan summoned his puppets, hiding them underwater, ready to drag Xiao Qianyuan in at any moment.
Bai Xiaosa's Heavenly Eye opened, emitting a faint white energy, as if ready to unleash a beam.
The atmosphere grew tense.
Just then, a voice cut through the air, and everyone turned to face its owner.
Lin Yu, in a green robe, walked towards them with his hands behind his back, a smile on his lips.
"Brother Xiao, are you planning to force your way into someone's home?"
Lin Yu's appearance instantly eased the tension.
However, many of the awakened ones remained uneasy.
They whispered amongst themselves.
"Lin Yu is strong, and he has hundreds of clones, but I don't think he can beat Xiao Qianyuan."
"After all, Lin Yu only has an S-class talent, and his combat power is only at the fifth tier."
"He definitely can't win. Xiao Qianyuan is formidable; he's known as the Blade Maniac, and his talent is SS-class Blade God Possession."
"They say every strike he makes carries a soul-slaying effect, damaging not just the body but also the soul. Lin Yu is likely no match for him."
However, a few held a different view.
These were a minority, only one or two.
They remained silent, not voicing their thoughts.
Xiao Qianyuan heard their discussions, his head tilting slightly, exuding an air of superiority.
Of course, if his height wasn't a disadvantage, the effect might have been better.
Lin Yu sighed inwardly, a look of helplessness on his face.
Why were there always such eccentrics in this world?
Sometimes, reading about so many oddballs in the news felt like a dream.
Things like the 'Urinating Body,' or a husband discovering after sixteen years of marriage that none of his three children were his, or people playing mahjong in the river while a monstrous beast loomed overhead.
The list was endless.
It seemed that intelligent beings with self-awareness, while capable of astonishing feats of wisdom, were also prone to equally astonishing acts of idiocy.
To Lin Yu, Xiao Qianyuan before him appeared like an imbecile.
If he had been more polite, they would have built him a house; it wouldn't have cost them anything.
But since he came to provoke him, Lin Yu decided to use him as a stepping stone to fame.
Xiao Qianyuan spotted Lin Yu and said, "You must be Lin Yu. I know you."
Lin Yu chuckled, "Enough nonsense. Let's settle this with our fists!"
Lin Yu was tired of the talk and wanted to finish this quickly so he could attend to more important matters.
However, Xiao Qianyuan froze, bewildered. The script wasn't unfolding as he'd expected.
But the next moment, he was truly stunned.
Suddenly, immense power surged from beneath his feet, as if something was grabbing him.
"What is this!"
He roared in anger and slashed his saber down into the water.
But the blow missed.
He quickly leaped from the water's surface. As soon as his feet touched down, the water froze.
His feet were instantly trapped in the ice.
He broke free with a jolt and looked ahead, seeing several puppets flanking Lin Fan.
So that was it!
Seeing the puppets, he also noticed small insects flying around Lin Fan.
When he saw the insects, he was instantly reminded of the beast attack he'd encountered upon entering the secret realm.
He had noticed those insects back then, initially mistaking them for parasites on the beasts. But now, he understood.
These were clearly Lin Fan's doing.
He scanned his surroundings. The water surface had frozen over, and around the ice, countless clones had appeared, hundreds at least.
Lin Yu commanded, "Quickly finish him!"
All the clones nodded in unison and formed the Five Elements Array, charging towards Xiao Qianyuan.
Lin Yu, meanwhile, turned and walked away, intending to go and pacify the anomalies. After all, they were sources of experience points.
He couldn't let such an opportunity pass.
Seeing him leave, everyone was stunned.
"No way! That's Xiao Qianyuan!"
"He's the top genius from the second-ranked Soldier Master Academy."
"A sixth-tier expert with an SS-class Blade God Possession talent!"
"And you're just leaving like that?"
"Aren't you afraid his clones can't defeat Xiao Qianyuan?"
Xiao Qianyuan also noticed and immediately swung his saber to stop Lin Yu from leaving.
"Blade Frenzy Dragon Dance!"
He unleashed a talent skill, and dragon-shaped blade energy surged towards the clones.
He used this opening to attack Lin Yu.
At that moment, Bai Xiaosa's eyes snapped open.
"Annihilation Eye!" His eyes suddenly shifted from white to black, and a ray of intertwined black and white light shot out.
Xiao Qianyuan turned and parried with his saber.
The blade energy collided with the ray, shattering it instantly. Undiminished, the residual force continued its trajectory towards Bai Xiaosa.
Gazing at the approaching blade energy, he felt as if his very soul would be cleaved.
Bai Xiaosa froze.
He stood there, stunned.
"He's... so powerful..."
Suddenly, he felt a tremendous force on his shoulder, and he was sent flying backward.
With a *thump*, he landed on the ground. Looking up, he saw Lin Fan with a saber wound in his chest.
His heart ached with both pain and gratitude. He rushed towards Lin Fan.
Blood dripped onto the ground, staining a large area. It was so striking that even Lin Yu stopped in his tracks.
Lin Yu turned and looked at Xiao Qianyuan.
"You... are courting death!"
He turned and stepped onto the water's surface. With each step, a clone merged into him.
Two hundred clones transformed into light and integrated into his body.
Someone recognized Lin Yu's skill.
"That's a fusion skill!"
"Yes, he used this skill once to block a seventh-tier beast."
"I never thought I'd see it with my own eyes, it's so shocking!"
At this moment, everyone was dumbfounded.
The awakened ones gasped in amazement, while the native residents knelt on the ground, bowing and kowtowing to the colossal statue.
In their eyes, Lin Yu was now a deity!
Only a deity could possess such power.
And Xiao Qianyuan, standing opposite Lin Yu, was the ultimate villain.
"Today, I'll beat you so badly your own parents won't recognize you!"