NOVPUBTears streamed down his face as he clumsily fell to the ground, his round body hitting the earth with difficulty.
He pleaded with the Immortal Teacher to save his life.
Only then did Li Fan reveal himself.
"It seems that when outsiders intervene, the rules become invalid. The contest is only valid if he wins completely on his own," Li Fan thought to himself.
He didn’t bother with the round creature, gazing at his opponent with a stare that brought an invisible force crashing down.
As the tens of thousands of wailing thoughts in the opponent’s Spirit Consciousness were crushed into powder and transformed into nourishment for consciousness,
He also performed a liposuction surgery on the other party.
Half a day later, the survivor, whose body had returned to normal and whose consciousness had become so strong it could almost be compared with an ordinary Nascent Soul Monk, slowly woke up.
"Jiang Nianer, the residents of Fanyong Island occupy the land favored by Heaven yet you do not strive for progress, neglecting the grace of Heaven. Therefore, Heavenly Retribution descended upon you, bringing such tribulation,"
"Moved by the Heavenly Dao’s virtue of cherishing all life, and seeing that you were truly pitiful, I stepped in to help,"
Li Fan’s voice was like Thunder, and his spiritual consciousness directly poured into the other’s Mind.
He etched his words deeply into the other’s mind like a brand.
"Thank you for your grace, Immortal Teacher, thank you for your grace..."
Before long, Jiang Nianer, restored to normal, was weeping bitterly and kept kowtowing on the ground.
"I only wish to follow by Immortal Teacher’s side from now on, to serve like an ox or horse, to repay this rebirth..."
Even the collective consciousness of over a hundred thousand Mortals was easily washed by Li Fan, Jiang Nianer earnestly said.
Li Fan did not respond but solemnly said, "This is a tribulation, but also a great opportunity."
"You wish to become my disciple..."
"You are not yet qualified. For now, follow me and be a Taoist Child. Depending on your performance in the future, if you satisfy me..."
Li Fan said indifferently.
Jiang Nianer once again thanked Li Fan, never daring to lift his head.
"He is one of your trials!"
Li Fan was pointing at the Foundation Establishment Cultivator who couldn’t move an inch.
"In this world, Cultivators are divided into Refining Energy, Foundation Establishment..."
After briefly introducing the forms of cultivation in the Xuanhuang World, Li Fan continued, "This man is a Final Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator."
"You must defeat him with your own strength!"
"My patience is limited. I will give you only fifteen days."
Jiang Nianer’s body stiffened immediately.
Although he did not understand what the strength of the Final Stage Foundation Establishment would be, he had seen the Immortal Teachers flying through the sky before.
The power to soar through the skies, to summon wind and rain, how could he, a mere Mortal, ever hope to defeat them?
What could be done in just fifteen days?
Li Fan saw Jiang Nianer’s panic and smiled, "Don’t worry, I won’t let you undertake a meaningless death." 𝑛𝘰𝘷𝑝𝘶𝑏.𝑐𝘰𝘮
Li Fan touched Jiang Nianer’s forehead gently with a finger, transferring a Golden Core Technique and a basic introduction to an Array Technique.
"With what I have taught you, you should be enough to deal with him."
"Of course, if you cannot digest much of this content within fifteen days..."
"Then the lucky one will become him," Li Fan said, smiling towards the unnamed Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
Jiang Nianer tensed, quickly sitting down to perceive the content imparted by Li Fan.
"Absorb the spirit of Heaven and Earth, to harness its energy..."
Starting from the most basic cultivation knowledge, a brand new world of cultivations slowly unfolded before Jiang Nianer’s eyes.
Although his spiritual consciousness was almost as strong as that of a Nascent Soul Monk now, Jiang Nianer clearly wasn’t accustomed to using such power.
Still like a Mortal, he read each word slowly, as if afraid to miss any detail.
It wasn’t until nightfall that he suddenly realized.
Had half a day passed already?
Just the thought of the fifteen-day death deadline sent an enormous invisible pressure surging into Jiang Nianer’s heart instantly.
"It’s no use, it’s no use. I need to quicken my pace, even faster."
It must be said that Jiang Nianer was truly the grand winner who emerged victorious out of more than a hundred thousand people.
He quickly learnt not only to read ten lines at a glance, but also to use his mind for two tasks at once.
While beginning to study the rudimentary techniques of Cultivating Immortality, he also started to ponder over Array Techniques.
Thus, three days later.
Li Fan perceived a fluctuation of spiritual energy coming from Jiang Nianer.
"Three days to Refine Energy, seems like average aptitude."
Due to the erosion from the dark strange forces, the Immortal-Ordinary Miasma on Jiang Nianer’s body had all but dissipated.
Even though he skipped the step of expelling the miasma from his body, completing the drawing of energy into himself in three days was definitely not a sign of poor talent.
However, Li Fan had seen too many geniuses, so of course, his standards were naturally high.
Talent, after all, was not what Li Fan truly cared about in Jiang Nianer. Nor did he mind much about it.
Instead, he continued to observe his decisions.
Li Fan was not disappointed, as after successfully stepping into the Energy Refining Stage and attempting cultivation for a while, Jiang Nianer realized that there was absolutely no way for him to achieve advancement in the remaining twelve days.
So, Jiang Nianer used almost all of his energy to study the Entry-Level Array Technique bestowed upon him by Li Fan.
The Entry-Level Array Technique taught by Li Fan, just in terms of power, was more than enough to trap and kill a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
And it had been specially simplified by him so that even an Energy Refining Cultivator could use it.
"As long as you’re not too foolish, forgetful of amassing the spiritual power required to maintain the Array Technique."
Li Fan revealed a cryptic smile.
In fact, the outcome of the battle was ultimately unimportant to him.
After all, the victor would inherit the strange power and could not escape from the palm of his hand, serving him either way.
What Li Fan truly wanted to observe was the specific changes that occurred during the swallowing of identities under the effects of the strange rules.
"Strange rules, can actually be seen as the Principle of Heaven and Earth."
"It’s just a Principle of Heaven and Earth born during the integration of worlds, in transition, not recognized by the Xuanhuang World Heaven’s Way."
"Us cultivators bearing strange powers are doomed to face Heavenly Retribution."
"But about Heavenly Retribution…"
Li Fan shook his head inwardly, as he really never feared it!
The fifteen days passed in the blink of an eye.
"The deadline has arrived, let’s begin."
That day, Li Fan suddenly spoke up, breaking the tranquility of the island.
He also instantly lifted the restrictions that had been placed on that Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
The Foundation Establishment Cultivator had remained conscious all along, listening to the conversation between Li Fan and Jiang Nianer.
"But a mere Energy Refining novice who’s practiced for a little more than ten days, thinking to defeat me?"
"A disgrace of the largest order, I must wash away with your blood…"
His eyes turned blood-red, and the moment he gained freedom, he summoned his Foundation Establishment Strange Object.
A perfectly straight wooden stick appeared in the sky, in an instant locking onto Jiang Nianer to unleash an attack and crush him.
However…
He suddenly found that his vision blurred and the silhouette of the opponent had inexplicably disappeared.
"What?" The Foundation Establishment Cultivator was shocked.
Looking around, he realized that he somehow found himself amidst a Bamboo Sea, the previous encounter on the Deserted Island felt like nothing more than an illusion.
Outside the Array Technique, Jiang Nianer struggled to maintain the "Bamboo Sea Trapping Dragon Array" while he heaved a sigh of relief.
