Su Fan had no idea this guy would attack without warning.
Su Fan retreated rapidly, simultaneously emitting a dense fog that quickly enveloped the surroundings, covering the entire mountaintop in mist.
Xu Tianming was startled. He hadn't expected Su Fan to be an ability user. Indeed, his ice was an ability, and when combined with the Xu family's inherited technique, the Ice Palm, it was a perfect match, greatly increasing its power.
The combination of the two directly propelled him to become the foremost among the younger generation of the four great families in the capital.
Abilities, when paired with corresponding cultivation techniques, could unleash strength far beyond their current realm. Xu Tianming was a prime example; though his cultivation was only at the Dongming realm, he could exhibit power close to that of the Yaoguang realm.
"Hiding and evading, what kind of skill is that? Come out!" Xu Tianming scanned his surroundings vigilantly. In such an environment, it was easy to be ambushed.
Suddenly, Xu Tianming felt an aura approaching from his right.
Su Fan, carrying a large ball of flame, lunged towards Xu Tianming.
Xu Tianming reacted instantly, unleashing a torrent of cold air from his palm to meet the incoming flames. The ice and fire clashed, neutralizing each other, leaving behind a cloud of steam at the point of impact that rose into the air.
Su Fan's attack failed, and he immediately retreated, disappearing back into the fog.
This Xu Tianming was truly a difficult opponent. Not only was he vigilant, but his strength was also comparable to Su Fan's. Without resorting to his trump cards, it wouldn't be easy for Su Fan to win.
However, Su Fan currently held the advantage. Xu Tianming's vision was restricted, while he remained unaffected.
"Heh, if I can't kill you, then I'll disgust you to death!"
Su Fan conceived a rather unsavory idea and let out a series of strange laughter.
"Hey, Bei Ge," Su Fan found Su Bei, who was also trapped in the fog.
"Su Fan! Your fog ability has gotten stronger again," Su Bei said with a hint of envy.
Last time, Su Fan's ability could only cover an area the size of a fighting ring. Now, it almost covered the entire mountaintop. He had been trapped without even noticing.
"Take these stones and throw them in that direction," Su Fan gathered a large pile of stones and tossed them at Su Bei's feet, pointing him in a direction where Xu Tianming was located.
"Huh?"
Su Bei was bewildered, unsure of what this meant.
"What's there? Is it Xu Tianming?" Su Bei quickly grasped Su Fan's intention.
"Don't ask, just throw when I tell you to, and stop when I tell you to," Su Fan didn't offer much explanation. He didn't want Xu Tianming to escape the fog's range later.
Su Bei obeyed Su Fan without further questions. He picked up the stones from the ground and hurled them in the direction Su Fan indicated. He didn't care what he was aiming at, just throwing stones in that general direction. He couldn't see anything, so hitting the target precisely was impossible.
Xu Tianming, who was vigilantly surveying his surroundings, suddenly heard a whistling sound. Startled, he turned his head, and a stone whizzed past him.
He warily watched the direction from which the stone had come.
Swish!
Another stone flew towards him. Xu Tianming lightly waved his right hand, easily deflecting the stone.
"Su Fan, stop these useless tricks. These petty schemes can't do anything to me. If you have the guts, come out and fight me one-on-one!"
Xu Tianming shouted loudly in the direction the stones were coming from.
But there was no response.
"Young Master Xu, perhaps we should leave first."
Ye Xingyun, not far from him, was losing his patience. Seeing that Xu Tianming couldn't deal with Su Fan, he began to consider retreating.
"If you want to leave, then scram. Don't disturb me!" Although Xu Tianming was at a disadvantage, he had no intention of retreating. If he didn't kill Su Fan, he wouldn't be named Xu!
Ye Xingyun decided not to bother with Xu Tianming anymore. He groped his way through the limited visibility to exit the fog's range and scurried down the mountain.
Su Fan saw Ye Xingyun leave. However, behind Xu Tianming, Su Fan was unable to stop him and could only let him go, prioritizing dealing with Xu Tianming first.
Su Bei continued to throw stones, and Xu Tianming kept dodging them.
"Are you done yet!" Xu Tianming roared in anger.
Su Fan's thrown stones couldn't injure him, but they were incredibly annoying!
Su Fan waited for him to lose his composure. The moment Xu Tianming was provoked, Su Fan unleashed a charged attack using the technique "Meteor Chase the Moon." Instantly, Su Fan shot towards Xu Tianming like an arrow loosed from a bow, his arms held in front of him to protect himself from injury.
By the time Xu Tianming realized Su Fan was upon him, it was too late. Let alone dodging, he didn't even have time to raise his hands in defense. He was directly sent flying by Su Fan's impact.
Xu Tianming felt as if he had been hit by a large truck. His chest felt tight, and he couldn't help but vomit a mouthful of blood in mid-air.
Xu Tianming fell off the mountainside in a parabolic trajectory, tumbling down the slope.
Su Fan also didn't feel great. When he ran at full speed and collided with someone, his body also bore the brunt of it. His arms felt like they were about to break. If his physique wasn't stronger than that of martial artists of the same level, Su Fan wouldn't have fared much better than Xu Tianming.
"Huh? Where did he go?" By the time Su Fan recovered, Xu Tianming was nowhere to be seen.
He stared in the direction Xu Tianming had been sent flying, his body trembled, and he rushed to the edge of the slope to look down. On such a steep incline, there was no sign of Xu Tianming.
"I hope he's alright," Su Fan prayed silently for Xu Tianming.
With no one else on the mountain, Su Fan waved his hand and dispersed the fog.
"Huh? It's over?"
Su Bei, seeing that Xu Tianming and Ye Xingyun were gone after Su Fan cleared the fog, looked at Su Fan with confusion.
"It's finished, let's rest," Su Fan waved his hand at Su Bei.
After a brief recovery, Su Fan's true qi, which had been consumed earlier, was restored to its peak state.
He had to admit, the "Magic Power Pool" was truly amazing, even more useful than the "Blood Pool."
...
Xu Tianming tumbled down the mountainside halfway before coming to a stop against a protruding round stone.
Xu Tianming struggled to get up from the ground.
It had to be said that Xu Tianming had a strong will to live; this fall hadn't killed him.
"Su Fan!"
Xu Tianming spat out Su Fan's name from his mouth with resentment.
He had never suffered such humiliation in his life. If he didn't avenge this, he swore he wouldn't be human!
"I can run into someone while peeing?"
A voice reached Xu Tianming's ears. He turned his head and saw a young man, holding his crotch while relieving himself, looking at him.
The other party wore a Taoist robe, clearly not from a noble family, but rather a disciple from a reclusive sect.
"May I ask who you are?" Facing someone from a sect, Xu Tianming was no longer as arrogant. The sects and noble families had little interaction, and Xu Tianming was unfamiliar with the various sects, unsure of where this person came from or if he could afford to offend him.
He never doubted his own strength, but he feared encountering a force even more powerful than the Xu family.
"I am Wu Yun from Baiyun Temple." The young man pulled up his trousers, tied his belt, and politely cupped his hands in greeting to Xu Tianming.
"I am Xu Tianming," Xu Tianming returned the courtesy with a cupped hand.
He had heard of Baiyun Temple; it was a semi-reclusive sect with few disciples, but each one was very strong. There were at most four disciples of the same generation, and each was an elite.