"Didn’t the abbot tell you that today would be the anniversary of your death?" As the monk’s killing intent became palpable, Qin Fan taunted him dismissively.

"Haha! A man of my calling has long seen past life and death!" the monk laughed heartily.

Perhaps because he had spent so much time in Huaxia, the sleazy air typical of his countrymen seemed absent. His eyes, however, were filled with nothing but murderous intent and wild arrogance. He was a Divine Ninja who had integrated Huaxia’s Martial Arts. He was arguably more outstanding than any other ninja of his rank! After all, he was the first in the entire Ninja World of Japan to so thoroughly combine Ninjutsu with Huaxia’s Martial Arts! This alone gave him the confidence to speak of killing in front of Qin Fan.

"Seen past life and death, have you? Fine! Hua Xiaotian, oblige him! Kill him!" Qin Fan sneered coldly, giving the solemn command.

"Yes, Master Qin!"

With the Soft Whip in hand, the eager Hua Xiaotian responded at once. His entire form shot forward like a meteor as the potent aura of the Gang Realm erupted from his body! In the blink of an eye, he was before the monk. The usually taciturn Hua Xiaotian wasted no more words. He swung his Hemp Vine Whip, and the fierce power of the Gang Realm channeled through it, lashing toward the monk.

"A master of the Gang Realm? What a pity. You had to run into me!" the monk sneered. Facing the incoming whip, he shot out a palm and caught the lashing weapon directly.

He grunted, his expression faltering slightly as he bore the force of the Gang Jin, but his body never paused. In a flash, the hand wrapped around the Soft Whip yanked forcefully, pulling Hua Xiaotian off balance and toward him.

In that same instant, the monk’s other hand, which held the Buddha Beads, clenched into a fist. He hammered it toward Hua Xiaotian with ferocious power.

BANG!

The punch landed with a deafening crack. Hua Xiaotian stumbled back several steps, his complexion turning deathly pale.

"Don’t meet him head-on! That’s not how you use a whip!" Qin Fan stated expressionlessly from the sidelines.

That’s not how I should use a whip? Upon hearing this, Hua Xiaotian felt a sudden sense of enlightenment. He grunted in understanding, retrieving the Soft Whip as the monk let it go, and vaulted into the air. If a hand blade can manifest Qi Force, then why can’t this Magic Artifact, the Soft Whip, be used to weave a net of Whip Force? I was too arrogant, too used to bullying weaklings. I forgot that this Evil Monk is no pushover!

"It doesn’t matter how you use it. You won’t escape death today!" As the battle began, the monk lost all the compassion of a clergyman and snorted coldly. A flicker of surprise crossed his face.

A mere master of the Gang Realm—and an entry-level one at that—remained unharmed after my punch? This was far beyond his expectations. Of course, this was the effect of the Mixed Element True Qi that Qin Fan had infused into Hua Xiaotian back at the Jingguo Society. Without that True Qi, Hua Xiaotian would have been severely injured by the punch, if not critically. He certainly wouldn’t be standing there so calmly now.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Heeding Qin Fan’s warning, Hua Xiaotian avoided another close-quarters exchange. While airborne, he rapidly brandished the Hemp Vine Whip. One lash. Five lashes. Ten. Thirty! In less than a second, Hua Xiaotian had flung out thirty strikes. Though he kept a considerable distance from the monk, each lash contributed to a crackling net of Whip Force that crashed down toward his opponent!

The monk stood unmoving, and just as the Whip Net was about to strike him, he let out a scornful chuckle. "Child’s play!"

As he spoke, he tossed the string of Buddha Beads in his hand up at the net.

HUMMM!

The Whip Net, nearly invisible to the naked eye, shuddered as the Buddha Beads met it, and its descent slowed. The humming vibration grew faster and more intense. Then, when the Whip Net was mere centimeters from the monk, the air suddenly erupted.

CRACK!

The net of pure force was completely obliterated by the high-speed, spinning Buddha Beads!

Although the Whip Net was shattered, the monk’s expression shifted once more. For it to withstand my Buddha Beads for that long before being destroyed... that Soft Whip is no ordinary object!

"A Magic Artifact? Good... now catch this!" the monk sneered, a Japanese word slipping out, thick with a sleazy tone. At his words, the string of Buddha Beads in his hand immediately burst apart.

The beads showered toward Hua Xiaotian like rain! With a great RATTLE and SWOOSH, dozens of beads multiplied into hundreds of phantoms, a bewildering mix of the real and illusory that filled the sky.

But Hua Xiaotian was not Qin Fan. As the torrential rain of beads grew more ferocious before his eyes, his brows furrowed, and he froze. He instinctively wanted to dodge but had no idea where or how.

At this critical moment, Qin Fan’s voice cut through. "Feel them with your Heart’s Eye! Remember what I said: no madness, no survival!"

Feel them with my Heart’s Eye! My Heart’s Eye! Feel!

At Qin Fan’s words, Hua Xiaotian snapped his eyes shut. His ears twitched frantically.

WHOOSH! When he sensed that the whistling sound of each bead was distinct, Hua Xiaotian swung his whip out fiercely!

BANG!

It felt like a meteor striking the Earth. The whip didn’t connect with a simple bead but with a colossal mountain. With a thunderous crack, the bead, no longer controlled by the monk’s power, plummeted to the ground. A smile spread across Hua Xiaotian’s face. With his eyes still closed, his ears twitched even faster as the Hemp Vine Whip in his hand continued to swing without pause.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

One after another, the Buddha Beads were deflected, falling uselessly to the ground from all directions.

At this, the monk’s face became utterly hideous.

"I will not spare you!" he roared, filled with shame and anger at seeing Hua Xiaotian succeed again and again.

With a swift movement, his figure vanished. Invisibility. He had put one of his core Ninjutsu skills to use.

"Don’t panic! Keep doing what you’re doing!" Qin Fan called out, sensing a slight change in Hua Xiaotian’s aura. A playful, mischievous smile spread across his face.

Was that roar of "I will not spare you" directed at Hua Xiaotian? No. To the monk, a mere Gang Realm master was hardly worthy of his ire. His true target was me! That mysterious young man guiding the Gang Realm master! Once I was dealt with, this Gang Realm master would be nothing more than an ant to him.

"Staff, come to me!" Qin Fan shouted with a laugh just after the monk disappeared.

BUZZ!

At his summons, the Evil Spirit Zen Staff burst forth from its storage space within his sea of consciousness. The shaft landed perfectly in his palm, its head buzzing playfully like a mischievous child.

"Show yourself!" Qin Fan roared again, leaping into the air. He held the Evil Spirit Zen Staff high and swung it at the empty space before him.