A few months later, the Outer Sect Examination was held.
At a certain place in the forest,
Lin Fan was moving when he soon heard a loud cry for help.
"HELP!"
He looked to his right and saw a girl surrounded by four warriors.
Xi Chen looked at the girl and laughed. "Shout, shout as much as you want, but no one will help you here, Li Meiying. Give us the Beast Core you obtained."
Li Meiying looked at him hatefully and shouted, "I killed the beast, so what's the problem if I take its core? You are robbing openly."
Xi Chen didn't care. "We injured it first. Otherwise, how could you, with mere Rank 3 mid-stage cultivation, kill it?"
Li Meiying shouted, "Shameless! When did you injure it?"
Xi Chen smiled. "Then how could you kill it with mere Rank 3 mid-stage cultivation?"
Li Meiying didn't say anything anymore. The reason was simple—she was pretending.
She and Lin Fan were already in collaboration and had staged this entire incident.
Flashback
Lin Fan started plotting against Li Gang after he first saw him coming down from Jiang Fugui's abode.
First, he got hold of Li Meiying's weakness. It turned out she had once killed a fellow senior brother to grab his treasure.
Lin Fan figured out her weakness and used it to blackmail her. Not just her—he also got a few other disciples under his control.
Lin Fan was unaware of Li Gang's personality, his Spiritual Imprint, and his cultivation needs. After knowing that he had become an outer disciple, he understood that Li Gang would surely visit the Scripture Pavilion. However, he was completely unaware of which scripture Li Gang would choose.
Lin Fan wanted to gift something special to Li Gang. He even spied on Li Gang secretly and tried to decipher his mental radiation. Unfortunately, Li Gang's mental radiation was too chaotic. It was like a strong wave of energy constantly radiating from him. Lin Fan understood that Li Gang kept his mental state active at all times. Li Gang wasn't the only one to do that—countless immortals had adapted this habit in their lives. For Lin Fan, it wasn't something shocking.
After failing to get any clue about his cultivation needs, Lin Fan was forced to consider all kinds of secret techniques Li Gang might take when he visited the Scripture Pavilion.
He asked the disciples he had blackmailed to go back to the Scripture Pavilion and take one book from every shelf.
The Scripture Pavilion was divided into multiple floors. Each floor was divided into multiple sections containing different attribute cultivation methods or secret techniques. Each section had multiple shelves.
Lin Fan made sure they took one scroll from every shelf that contained secret techniques between Rank 3 and Rank 5. Each of them could take up to three scrolls.
It had to be noted that Rank 3 warriors were incapable of learning an entire scroll instantly. So they took the scrolls with them and mastered them through practice.
Now, it is basic common sense—if you take a scroll with you, you will definitely come back to return it.
After the preparation was complete, he waited for Li Gang to come and take the scriptures he wanted.
Whenever a particular scroll was taken away from a shelf, it left an empty space.
When Li Gang took away the techniques he needed, he also noticed those empty spaces. He didn't give it much thought, since it was one of the strongest sects in the Central Continent. With so many disciples, it was normal for scriptures to be taken by others.
A few days later, just before the Outer Sect Examination, Li Gang came to return the scrolls.
When he arrived to put them back, he happened to run into a Rank 2 disciple.
He noticed the disciple was taking away a scroll from the Soul Attribute section. Li Gang stepped forward and put the Soulshield Ward back in place when he noticed the disciple slipping and the scroll falling down.
Li Gang noticed the title and narrowed his eyes.
"Heavenly Slave Mark."
Li Gang instantly thought, 'This secret technique wasn't available when I came to pick up the scriptures.'
He glanced at the empty shelf from where the scroll had been taken and felt déjà vu.
'The scroll must have been selected by someone else back then', he guessed.
Li Gang asked, "May I take a look at this?"
The disciple replied warily, "No. I saw this first, and I'm going to register it."
Li Gang smiled faintly. "I just want to check it."
Li Gang possessed strong soul cultivation, and his memory was on par with a Rank 4 peak cultivator. The secret technique was slim, so he was confident he could memorize it in a few reads.
The disciple hesitated, then handed it over.
Li Gang read the technique and memorized it. After a quarter of an hour, he returned it.
As Li Gang started leaving, he noticed the disciple was still looking for something.
He asked, "Aren't you coming?"
The disciple shook his head. "I have to choose some other techniques."
Li Gang nodded and left.
All this time, Lin Fan was spying on him from a corner. He kept a close watch on Li Gang and his mental radiation.
After finding nothing suspicious, he nodded in satisfaction.
"Four warriors surrounding a young girl? Do you even dare call yourselves warriors?"
Xi Chen looked at the newcomer, and a glint flashed in his eyes. He shouted, "Who are you?"
Lin Fan replied arrogantly, "The dead don't need to know."
As he spoke, he revealed his Rank 3 mid-stage aura and charged forward with a punch. But before he could strike, all four warriors pounced on him.
Even though Lin Fan possessed experience far beyond an ordinary person, fighting four warriors with cultivation higher than his own was difficult. Still, relying purely on skill, he continuously suppressed them.
However, as he was suppressing them, a strong force suddenly struck him from the side, catching him off guard. His right side was seriously injured. Pain surged through him, but his expression didn't change. Such pain was nothing to him.
He looked at Xi Chen and murmured, 'Spiritual Imprint!'
Lin Fan's soul was still in an injured state. Moreover, it was far too high-level for his current cultivation—he couldn't utilize even a fraction of its abilities.
Still, he didn't retreat. He used multiple secret techniques efficiently and once again suppressed them.
But soon, another problem emerged. All four warriors activated their Spiritual Imprints and continuously targeted his injured side. Even though Lin Fan was still gaining the upper hand, the fight was no longer worth it.
'I shouldn't have been so reckless', Lin Fan thought. 'But the gains would be great if I loot them.'
With that thought, he fought even more fiercely.
Xi Chen and the others were completely suppressed. Suddenly, Xi Chen was struck by Lin Fan's powerful fist and fainted.
The moment Xi Chen collapsed, Lin Fan swiftly defeated the others. Before he could kill them, they shattered their talismans and escaped.
Lin Fan's expression changed. He looked at Xi Chen and murmured, 'I can no longer kill him. It's better to loot him before leaving.'
Xi Chen's subordinates had already fled. Killing Xi Chen now would easily expose him.
He approached Xi Chen's body and began searching his space rings. He soon found several of them. But as he reached to remove one, a small knife pierced his abdomen, catching him completely off guard.
Without giving him time to react, Xi Chen immediately activated his Spiritual Imprint and launched another attack.
Xi Chen's Spiritual Imprint granted him an enhanced physique. It increased his strength, defense, and speed.
Lin Fan was seriously injured. He shouted, "You've left me no choice!"
Lin Fan immediately unleashed his soul power and launched a powerful soul attack, killing Xi Chen instantly.
Soul attacks were double-edged swords. They harmed not only the enemy but also the user. Moreover, Lin Fan's soul was already injured.
He murmured, "I can only use this two more times. I need to find something to heal my soul."
Lin Fan had completely lost this battle. His arrogance and pride had led to his downfall. He hadn't lost outright, but it was no different from a loss. His injuries were far worse than they should have been—all because of his pride.
He had underestimated Xi Chen. He never expected someone like him to deceive him. Lin Fan had been too confident in his strike, certain Xi Chen would faint.
Confidence is important in life, but overconfidence always leads to disaster.
This entire battlefield had been Lin Fan's plan—a plan to attract Li Gang's attention and lure him into a trap. He wanted to create a perfect scenario where he appeared injured, offering Li Gang the perfect opportunity to enslave him using the technique Lin Fan had deliberately presented.
It should be noted that soul-type secret techniques are extremely rare on battlefields. Most high-ranked warriors refrain from using them.
There are two reasons for this. First, they harm both the user and the opponent. Second, the moment a soul-type attack is unleashed, the user's soul becomes defenseless for a brief instant and highly vulnerable. Anyone could exploit that moment to attack.
In a duel, such attacks can be effective. But in an open battlefield—where one can never be sure who is friend and who is foe—they are strongly discouraged.