Chapter Forty: The First Souls Laid to Rest-Era of the Gods(Dragon Sky)

“What’s so impressive? He’s just too weak!” Lin Fan waved his hand dismissively.

Suddenly, his brows furrowed, and with a swift movement of his palm, he sent Xiao Shuihan and the others flying to the riverbanks. Xiao Shuihan and his companions were baffled, unable to understand why Brother Fan had suddenly acted against them, but they weren’t harmed—merely removed from the boat.

“Brother Fan…” they started to call out, but their voices were drowned by a series of thunderous explosions.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Six consecutive blasts erupted from both sides of the boat, shattering the water’s surface. Six masked figures leapt from the river, each wielding a long blade, their murderous intent directed at Lin Fan.

Xiao Shuihan and the others stared wide-eyed in shock. “Six Qi Meridian experts—and they’ve unlocked their acupoints?”

They could sense that these six were far stronger than Qin Longyue, incomparable in fact. The whirling energy on their bodies revealed they had opened more than five acupoints—six formidable Qi Meridian cultivators.

“Trying to kill me—? Who are you people?!” Lin Fan frowned at their fierce attacks, puzzled by their intent. He’d never offended anyone—well, not quite. He had clashed with a few young prodigies, but those cared about their reputations and would never hire assassins; they preferred to regain honor through their own efforts. There might be rare exceptions, but such chances were slim. Even today, though he challenged every young expert on Lantern Street, he hadn’t gone too far. He let Xiao Shuihan and the others defeat them, but never took lives.

Even those whose bones he broke hadn’t suffered grave injuries. Most of those young prodigies belonged to powerful factions; a healing pill worth five thousand taels would restore them in days. Their wounds were mainly broken bones or damaged meridians—nothing serious. Unlike how he treated Lin Yu, smashing every bone and crippling his meridians, inflicting injuries to his organs worse than anything else. If not for familial ties, Lin Yu would have died from delayed treatment.

Though Lin Fan voiced his questions, he reacted instantly to their murderous attacks. In a flash, his internal energy surged, Wind and Thunder Fist at its peak, multiplying his combat power fivefold. With a single stride, he dodged all six strikes.

Thunderous explosions rattled the air; Lin Fan leapt through the sky, evading the blades. The boat beneath him was instantly shredded to pieces by the energy.

“Kill!”

Seeing Lin Fan dodge their attacks, the masked men were momentarily stunned—unable to believe a youth at the Qi Drawing stage could escape their combined assault. But they gave no answer, silent as death, executing their mission. Six voices roared as they charged again, abandoning blade energy for close combat.

“You think killing me is so easy?” Lin Fan’s eyes grew cold. With a shout, his palm struck out, wild energy crashing forward like a stormy sea.

Using the force of the recoil, his figure shot away like an arrow loosed from a drawn bow, vanishing into the distance in an instant. The six masked men raced after him.

“Brother Fan—!” Xiao Shuihan and the others paled with fear. They knew Brother Fan was strong, undefeated among peers with his understanding of martial intent. But now he faced six Qi Meridian experts, each with five open acupoints—how could he withstand them?

“Go back to the clan, call for Uncle Wang, and investigate which family those six masked men belong to. Daring to attack Brother Fan—this won’t go unanswered!” Xiao Shuihan’s gaze turned icy as he issued commands. Beside him, a burly, unshaven man nodded and vanished into the night.

Xiao Shuihan and his companions exchanged glances, then sped after Lin Fan. Some other young experts, sensing something, also followed. Yet no matter how fast they moved, none could match Lin Fan or the masked assassins; by the time they started, Lin Fan and his pursuers had already disappeared from the river.

Swift as lightning, Lin Fan raced across the water, weaving left and right like an electric serpent. The six masked men chased relentlessly, intent on his death. Lin Fan’s eyes grew colder, a cruel smile forming at his lips. He wasn’t fleeing—he simply didn’t want to expose certain abilities.

For example: martial intent.

Tonight, because of Lantern Street, the gates of Azure Snow County were open despite the late hour, with crowds coming and going. Lin Fan flashed through the city gate, heading toward the mountains outside.

After dozens of minutes, Lin Fan entered a forest. Suddenly, he stopped, shifting from rapid movement to utter stillness.

His abrupt halt startled the masked men, who hadn’t expected him to stop. But they reacted quickly, surrounding him, eyes filled with murderous intent, ready to strike.

“Wait a moment—you don’t actually believe I ran here just to escape, do you?” Lin Fan spoke suddenly.

His words made them pause, and in that instant, a blinding white light flashed, illuminating the dark forest. The light traced a perfect arc through the air, filling the woods with a strange emotion.

Clang!

Lin Fan sheathed Thousand Piles of Snow, his voice drifting.

“I came here to find you a proper burial ground—and so no one knows I’ve entered the realm of martial intent.”

With that, Lin Fan turned and walked away.

“You are the first souls laid to rest beneath Thousand Piles of Snow…”

His voice was calm, imbued with both serenity and an indescribable undertone.

When Lin Fan’s figure vanished, the masked men’s eyes still burned with killing intent—yet their bodies were motionless.

Soon, the murderous light in their eyes dimmed, extinguished like lanterns at midnight. Even the color in their eyes faded, veiled in gray mist; bloodlines appeared on their necks.

A cold wind stirred, rustling the leaves, snow falling from the branches. The wind nudged the men’s heads—until they slipped smoothly from their necks, rolling to the ground, the cut so clean it shone like a mirror.

Spurt!

Suddenly, blood geysered from each neck, spraying higher than a person, filling the air with crimson mist. The snow beneath was stained red, dozens of meters awash in blood, the six headless bodies collapsing, dyeing the snow a river of scarlet.

It was a tableau both bloody and beautiful—serene, gruesome, exquisite, and bizarre.

Hearts raced, awed by the blade’s sharpness, painting a cruel masterpiece in blood upon the world.

Before long, the scent of blood would draw snow wolves and leopards, devouring every corpse and bone, erasing all trace of this scene…

“Who wants me dead?” On his way back to Azure Snow City, Lin Fan’s gaze flickered, memories of countless figures passing through his mind—from the Bai, Hong, and Liang families, to every young expert he’d met in the city.

Suddenly, two figures flashed before his mind’s eye—Zhang Yuan and Zhang Zhen. Lin Fan paused, a glint of coldness flickering in his eyes.