22. Execution Without Salvation

Lin Fan?

Seeing this figure, Huang Qiushan was overcome with excitement. Everything he had done was to force Lin Fan out; besides Lin Fan himself, he was after that sword. Lin Fan had actually brought the Pure Yang Sword back.

"Hahaha, Lin Fan, if you hadn't returned, I would have fed Chen Cunyuan to the vengeful spirits by now." Huang Qiushan laughed heartily. He had assumed Lin Fan wouldn't show up, but he hadn't expected him to be so foolish and so easily deceived.

When one could have chosen to live a lowly, survivalist life, why return? If this wasn't stupidity, what was?

Benevolence and morality? Huang Qiushan sneered at such rhetoric. The difference between a great leader and a failure in history often came down to one moment—a refusal to change one's perspective, leading to vastly different outcomes.

"You all must die!"

Lin Fan’s furious voice rang out. He had just emerged from the woods to witness this scene; had he been a moment later, Chen Cunyuan would have been dead. What enraged him most was that Wang Xingbing, Zhuo Qirui, and the others had committed such inhumane acts.

Tang Gubo’s blood was dazzling and piercing, blooming as miserably and beautifully as plum blossoms in the snow.

A murderous intent—endless, surging murderous intent—condensed in his mind.

In this moment, he had only one thought: to end violence with violence and send this pack of beasts to hell.

"Brother Fan, run! If you could come back, we would die content!" Qin Fen shouted. He knew the cruelty of these men; how could Lin Fan, alone, be a match for them?

"Lin Fan, as long as you hand over the sword and jump off the ship, I guarantee Chen Cunyuan and Qin Fen will live," Huang Qiushan said, arms folded.

Ugly, despicable. Only a few days had passed, yet Huang Qiushan had become utterly depraved. He had at least seemed human back at Changbai Mountain, but now?

"Did you hear that, Lin Fan? Jump off the ship," Wang Xingbing said with a grin. But the next moment, his smile vanished. A dark shadow flashed before him like the wind, and a massive fist slammed into his face. Blood sprayed instantly, and his vision was filled with swaying, overlapping images.

Lin Fan had made his move.

Wang Xingbing was enraged. He was a trained fighter, a former world champion. None of those participating in this mission were ordinary. Wang Xingbing countered with an uppercut, his technique even more vicious and lethal; had he landed that blow, Lin Fan would have lost his ability to fight on the spot.

Lin Fan reacted with lightning speed, tilting slightly to dodge the punch while simultaneously sweeping his leg. His kick, like a dragon emerging from the sea, carried a powerful gust of wind and slammed into Wang Xingbing’s cheek, the sheer impact sending him flying backward!

*Crack!*

Wang Xingbing’s jaw was deformed by the kick, and when he landed, the deck creaked under his weight.

"Hm? Such immense strength."

The dozen or so guards instinctively surrounded Lin Fan.

"Don't come over!" Wang Xingbing roared, adding, "This is a fight between him and me. They say Lin Fan is the strongest of the guards; I insist on testing you myself!"

Back at Changbai Mountain, Lin Fan had demonstrated his martial arts and swordplay, stunning everyone. From that day on, Lin Fan’s combat prowess had been acknowledged as the strongest among them. Wang Xingbing, however, refused to accept it, having long nursed a desire to compete for the top spot.

*Thump!*

Wang Xingbing pushed off the ground, leaping into the air like a sleek leopard against the backdrop of the pitch-black sky. He threw a punch upon landing; the move was incredibly fast, executing a dozen high-difficulty actions in the blink of an eye. From the leap to the aerial strike and the ensuing melee, not a single movement was flawed.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

The two traded blows, moving so fast they left afterimages, leaving the onlookers only able to hear the sound of fists colliding.

Wang Xingbing grew increasingly shocked. Every punch he threw was parried by Lin Fan, whose every move seemed to have no openings. Moreover, when his fists struck Lin Fan, it felt as if he were hitting a wall, his own hands aching violently.

Had it not been for the thick calluses on his knuckles from years of training, he wouldn't have been able to endure it.

Lin Fan’s strikes were like a dragon soaring and a tiger pouncing, his fists like thunderous drums, his palms pushing heaven and earth. Most lethal of all was the terrifying power in Lin Fan’s left hand, which struck like a charging truck.

"Is this even human strength? How can a person possess such power!"

Wang Xingbing was terrified; he felt as if he were not fighting a man, but a humanoid beast. He did not know that Lin Fan had already opened the first spring of power, combined with the techniques of the Eight Brocades.

"Incredible!"

The onlookers were dazzled, forgetting where they were, while their impression of Wang Xingbing deepened.

Huang Qiushan was also caught by surprise.

Suddenly—

Wang Xingbing threw a right punch toward Lin Fan’s neck—the body's vital point, a weakness. If the punch landed, it would cut off blood flow to the brain, incapacitating the enemy instantly.

Hitting a vital point was more effective than anything else. Wang Xingbing was confident that no one could withstand his full-force strike.

"Die!"

Wang Xingbing, already envisioning Lin Fan falling to the ground, roared.

"You are the one who will die!"

Lin Fan took a step back, grabbing Wang Xingbing’s incoming fist with his left hand. With a slight exertion, a force of over a thousand pounds was applied. Before it was over, his right hand pushed against Wang Xingbing’s elbow. *Snap! Crunch!*

The sound of breaking bone was clearly audible, and blood sprayed from the elbow.

Wang Xingbing’s elbow joint had bent in an impossible way—it should have folded inward, but it had been forced 360 degrees outward.

Seeing this, the crowd broke into a cold sweat.

"Ah!"

Wang Xingbing screamed repeatedly. In that instant, his fist felt as if it had been clamped by an irresistible pair of iron pincers; he tried to pull back, but could not move.

*Bang!*

Lin Fan kicked Wang Xingbing in the waist, and the latter dropped to his knees.

He had lost!

The gap in strength between him and Lin Fan was too great, especially that left hand, which seemed capable of easily throwing him into the sea of blood.

"Don't kill me!"

"Lin Fan, kill them! These are all heartless beasts!" Qin Fen shouted, terrified that Lin Fan might soften his heart.

*Crunch!*

Lin Fan did not hesitate. He slammed a fist into the back of Wang Xingbing’s head. Instantly, his skull shattered like an overripe watermelon.

Blood stained Lin Fan’s palm, still carrying a faint warmth.

The surroundings fell into an eerie silence.

"One!"

Lin Fan released his grip expressionlessly, and Wang Xingbing’s corpse slumped to the deck.

"All of you, attack! Kill him!" Huang Qiushan’s cold, sinister voice rang out. He would stop at nothing to achieve his goals; he didn't care if one person died, or a whole crowd.

"Lin Fan, don't blame me..."

"Brother Huang is the one in charge here. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being unable to read the situation!"

"Kill..."

As Huang Qiushan’s voice faded, the guards lunged at Lin Fan like wolves and tigers. They all possessed extraordinary physical fitness, each as fierce as a dragon or leopard. In the outside world, any one of them would have been a champion in a solo fight.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

Relying on the mystical power of the first spring, Lin Fan’s stamina remained abundant. He targeted the left flank first, closing in while throwing a punch that crushed Li Haoyu’s chest, causing him to vomit blood. He was like a wolf among sheep, his fists and feet cutting through the crowd. Anyone struck by Lin Fan suffered shattered bones and gushing blood.

At this moment, red blossoms of blood bloomed across the deck, turning it into a slaughterhouse.

Blood splashed onto Lin Fan’s body and face, but he seemed not to notice. Only killing—nothing but killing—could calm his fury.

"Ah, ah, ah..."

In just ten seconds, three more men fell, unable to rise. One had his internal organs shattered by Lin Fan, gasping for air until he drew his last breath.

Is this still a human? Is this the kind of body a human should have?

Huang Qiushan was horrified. The situation was not what he had envisioned, yet the reality remained. Dozens of men surrounding one person could not take him down. If this continued, they would all be beaten to death by Lin Fan.

"No, don't get close to him!"

"Use your guns to gun him down!"

The group reacted quickly, distancing themselves from Lin Fan and aiming their Type 30 rifles to open fire.