Chapter Forty-Eight: A Fierce Battle Against a Meridian Realm Expert

“What incredible swordsmanship—was that... an Intent just now?!”
Unlike their subordinates, who were left shocked and shaken, Zhang Yi and Zhang Seventh exchanged glances, the astonishment clear in their eyes.
How old was Lin Fan, and yet he had already comprehended Intent?
Intent was always the hallmark of the River Realm, the sign of true strength. In the entire Qingxue County, there was only one expert of the River Realm—the head of the most powerful clan.
This alone was enough to show how terrifying a River Realm expert could be.
And now, they found themselves as enemies to a youth of such potential. If he were allowed to grow...!
Zhang Seventh and Zhang Yi looked at each other again, a deadly resolve flashing in their eyes. There was no need for words—before, killing Lin Fan might have been a necessary step, but his survival posed no real threat.
Now, however, Lin Fan had to die before their eyes. There could be no mistakes, no unexpected outcomes.
He had to die—right now!
They could not afford to have someone who had comprehended Intent standing against them, nor could they bear the consequences if he were to grow stronger!
“I’ll handle this. His vital energy is incredibly strong, already rivaling someone who’s just broken through to the Qi Vein Realm. Coupled with his sword Intent, no matter how many nodes someone in the Qi Vein Realm has opened, if they haven’t ascended to the next realm, they’re no match for him!”
Zhang Seventh’s voice sounded by Zhang Yi’s ear. His hunched back straightened, and with a light pat on his steed, he leapt from the one-horned horse, landing in front of Lin Fan.
“Much appreciated, Uncle Seventh. I thought he was just a minor fish, but it turns out he’s a young dragon. Still, this is for the best—no future troubles left behind,” Zhang Yi said, bowing slightly atop his horse. Although Zhang Seventh was his subordinate, he would never treat him as he did the others.
After all, Zhang Seventh was at the peak of the early Qi Channeling Realm, only a few years away from advancing to the next stage.
And, truth be told, Zhang Seventh was actually his elder—seventh in line among the previous generation, his father’s younger brother, and thus also Zhang Wangshan’s brother, though only a cousin.
His Uncle Seventh had never joined either faction, devoting himself solely to martial cultivation. When Zhang Wangshan exterminated their family, his uncle was out training.
By the time he returned, it was all over.
Zhang Wangshan had already become clan head. With his neutral stance, and the family under new leadership, he naturally had to obey.
For years, besides training, he carried out Zhang Wangshan’s orders dutifully, winning his trust.
What Zhang Wangshan didn’t know was that his Uncle Seventh had once been gravely wounded, nearly losing his life.
It was his father who saved him then, but since the struggle for clan leadership was already underway, neither he nor his uncle revealed this secret.
They kept it hidden, hoping to secure a crucial vote when the time came to choose a new clan head three years later.
Yet fate took a cruel turn. A year after his uncle left to break through to the next realm, Zhang Wangshan, in collusion with outside forces, struck while their grandfather was gravely ill. His parents, rushing back from his mother’s family, were ambushed and slaughtered to the last.
When Uncle Seventh returned to find his family gone, his heart burned with rage, though he hid it well, waiting for his chance to avenge his brother.
Until that day, when the old, loyal retainer—his father’s closest follower—handed him a memory jade, revealing everything.
Only then did he understand his true identity: he was not Zhang Wangshan’s second son, but Zhang Beishan’s youngest, his entire family murdered by Zhang Wangshan.

His father’s retainer was the sole witness, the only survivor of that massacre, though he lost an arm. He alone knew how his father had once saved Uncle Seventh.
So, when Lin Fan found Uncle Seventh and proved his lineage, his uncle joined him without hesitation. Even the other two Qi Channeling experts were recruited through Uncle Seventh and soon came under Lin Fan’s control.
Zhang Seventh nodded slightly at Zhang Yi’s words, acknowledging their truth. He looked up at Lin Fan, praising, “To comprehend Intent at your age—remarkable indeed!”
“There’s nothing remarkable about it. Intent is simple. Not only do I understand blade Intent, but also movement Intent, fist Intent, spear Intent, sword Intent, finger Intent, and so on and so forth.”
“I can’t even keep count—probably eight or ten thousand, give or take!”
Lin Fan waved his hand dismissively, answering with nonchalance. In his previous life, as a True God, Intent that so amazed these people was something he could master at a glance.
It was as if they were first graders and he already held the highest doctorate; the questions before them—what’s two times two, eight times sixteen, one hundred and one divided by two, eleven thousand times eighteen—might be daunting for a child, but for him, it was trivial beyond comparison.
There was simply no contest!
“How outrageously arrogant!”
Hearing his praise met with such indifference, and even a flippant list of so-called Intents, Zhang Seventh rolled his eyes in exasperation.
What nonsense!
Thousands upon thousands of Intents? Why not just drop dead?
Did this boy have any idea what Intent truly was?
For someone to reach Intent in even one art was already extraordinary; for someone at the Qi Induction Realm to grasp it was enough to shock the world, provoke assassination, or even destabilize nations.
Did he have any idea?
Thousands upon thousands of Intents...?
“Negative emotion value from Zhang Wangchuan: +1000!”
“Negative emotion value from Zhang Yi: +999!”
“Negative emotion value from Zhang Meng...!”
Listening to Lin Fan’s words, not only did Zhang Seventh curse him inwardly, but Zhang Yi and all his subordinates twitched at the corners of their mouths, inwardly ridiculing him.
“Young man, today I shall send you on your way. You should feel honored!”
Zhang Seventh’s face darkened, his mood as stormy as thunderclouds. He had no wish to waste more words. Even if Lin Fan had mastered Intent, as a Qi Channeling expert, he was confident he could kill him with a single strike.
“We’ll see who sends whom. With that wrinkled face of yours, don’t bother trying to look deep and mysterious. Fortunately, we’re in snowy Qingxue County, with no mosquitoes or flies about.”
“If we were in Nanyang County, with all those wrinkles, you’d save the trouble of swatting—just smile, and you’d squash them all!”
Lin Fan, seeing Zhang Seventh’s gloomy expression and lined face, couldn’t resist a mocking jab.

“You’re courting death—!”
At that, seeing Lin Fan still daring to taunt him, Zhang Seventh let out a thunderous roar and struck at him with his palm.
At that moment, vital energy surged like a beacon, soaring skyward. Wild winds swept up drifts of snow, trees groaned and snapped under the blast, and brittle branches shattered.
A Qi Channeling expert truly lived up to the name—the power of his strike far surpassed the previous Qi Vein fighter.
The energy palm he unleashed spanned over ten meters, sealing off any retreat for Lin Fan.
“You’re the one who’s dead!”
Seeing Zhang Seventh attack, Lin Fan had no time for more insults or to harvest negative emotions. Gripping the hilt of Thousandfold Snow, he drew the blade in an instant.
Like the Milky Way cascading from the heavens, the blade flashed, and the force of his slash shot forward dozens of meters.
Without dodging, Lin Fan raised his sword and met Zhang Seventh’s energy palm head-on!
Boom—!
A thunderous crash echoed as the energy palm and blade force vanished together. The outcome stunned Zhang Seventh—
He hadn’t expected that, even holding back, his peak early-stage Qi Channeling strength would be stopped by this youth.
But he had no time to dwell on it, for Lin Fan’s movements did not pause.
“It’s only polite to return the favor—take my blade!”
With Thousandfold Snow still lowered from his last strike, Lin Fan twisted his wrist and dragged the blade in a rising diagonal arc, sending a sharp surge of energy slashing at Zhang Seventh.
Boom!
Violent energy erupted. Zhang Seventh spread his arms, energy swelling as he conjured two massive hands to catch the incoming strike.
With a deafening roar, Lin Fan’s diagonal slash was caught, and within a twenty-meter radius, the snow billowed furiously, then was blasted outward by the force.
Every tree within range was either severed by the blade’s energy or shattered by the explosion—snow waves soared to the sky!

[End of Chapter 48]