20: Chapter 20 The Daredevil

"Moo——！！！"

A tyrannical bull roar shook the ground.

A black bull, as massive as a heavy truck, was charging in a frenzy. Its eyes were blood-red, its two curved horns glinted with metallic cold light, and wherever its four hooves trod, rocks shattered and dust billowed.

First Rank Eighth Grade, Blood-Eyed Mad Bull!

This was a fierce beast known for its strength and defense; even a squad of seventh rank martial artists would have to take a detour if they encountered it.

But right now, in the path of its charge, stood a slightly thin figure.

Lin Fan wore a black combat suit, carried an alloy combat blade on his back, and watched the giant beast rushing towards him quietly.

"Coming at a good time! I was just worrying about not finding a big guy to test my blade on!"

Lin Fan advanced instead of retreating. Facing the fishy wind, his right hand rested on the hilt.

Fifty meters. Thirty meters. Ten meters!

The cruelty in the Blood-Eyed Mad Bull's eyes grew increasingly intense.

Just at this instant, Lin Fan moved.

He didn't dodge, but instead slightly lowered his center of gravity, his whole body tensing up.

"Sword Drawing Art!"

Clang—!

A blade light bloomed, overshadowing the daylight on the wasteland.

Immediately after, they passed each other.

Lin Fan stood behind the mad bull, maintaining the posture of his swing, and slowly sheathed his blade.

"Click."

Following the crisp sound of the blade guard hitting the scabbard, the Blood-Eyed Mad Bull behind him, still maintaining the momentum of its charge, suddenly had a blood line split open from the middle of its massive body.

Splat!

Blood gushed like a fountain, and the huge bull head, along with half of its shoulder, slid off neatly.

Boom!

The massive corpse fell to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.

One-hit kill!

A one-hit kill on a First Rank Eighth Grade fierce beast!

[Ding! Killed a First Rank Eighth Grade Blood-Eyed Mad Bull, gained evolution points: 51 points!]

"51 points?"

Lin Fan curled his lip. "A bit low. Looks like I need to find stronger monsters."

He skillfully stepped forward, split open the bull's head, dug out a blood-stained earthy-yellow crystal core, and cut off the two valuable horns, throwing them into his backpack.

"Continue!"

For the next half month, the depths of the Trial Wasteland welcomed a nightmare.

Lin Fan killed tirelessly.

Leaving the city at dawn, returning at sunset.

Whether it was a pack of first rank ninth grade Gale Wolves or the Iron-Armored Rhinoceros with its abnormal defense, as long as they were targeted by him, they all met the same fate: a one-hit kill.

He never teamed up, always walking alone, his backpack always stuffed to the brim.

Every evening, when he appeared at the acquisition point of the Martial Artist Guild carrying the stench of blood, it would cause a commotion.

"Look! That 'Daredevil' is back again!"

"Damn, what did he bring back today? The poison sac of a Blood-Sucking Demon Spider? That thing is highly toxic; how did he get it?"

"Too ruthless. He's killed at least hundreds of fierce beasts in the last half month, right? He's simply a point-farming maniac!"

Gradually, the name "Daredevil" spread among the low-rank martial artists.

Everyone knew that a student wearing a Third High School uniform, holding an E-grade combat blade, had carved a path through the depths of the wasteland.

Half a month later.

Lin Fan sat cross-legged in the basement of his villa.

[Host: Lin Fan] [Realm: Ninth rank Body Tempering Realm] [Comprehension Ability: Lv65] [Martial Arts: Sword Drawing Art (Great Success 99%) ...]

"Ninth rank."

Lin Fan felt the surging power in his body; he was only one step away from a true martial artist—the Duan Fu Realm.

But this half month of crazy slaughter had brought him to a new bottleneck.

"Sword Drawing Art is stuck at Great Success to Perfection."

Lin Fan looked at the glaring "99%" on the panel and frowned.

No matter how he slaughtered in the wasteland, even if he killed a quasi-second rank fierce beast with one blade, this last bit of the progress bar wouldn't move.

"Perfection-level Sword Drawing Art requires the Comprehension Ability of 'Must-Kill Blade Intent'."

"Blade Intent... this thing is too mysterious."

Lin Fan felt a bit restless. His blade was fast now, his strength was high, but he always felt something was missing.

"Instead of working behind closed doors, I might as well ask someone."

Lin Fan thought for a moment, took out his phone, and dialed Teacher Zheng's number.

"Hello? Lin Fan?"

Teacher Zheng's lazy voice came from the other end, accompanied by the sound of sipping tea. "What? Is it that you feel the 'Sword Drawing Art' is too hard to practice and want to switch to another one? I told you, that thing..."

"Teacher, my Sword Drawing Art has reached Great Success."

Lin Fan calmly interrupted him. "But it's stuck at the bottleneck of Perfection. I can't comprehend that 'Must-Kill Blade Intent'. I wanted to ask for your advice."

"Pfft—cough, cough, cough!"

A violent coughing fit came from the other end of the phone, as if he was going to cough out his lungs, followed by the crisp sound of a teacup being knocked over.

After a full half minute, Teacher Zheng's changed voice came through: "You... what did you say? Say... say it again?"

"Sword Drawing Art has reached Great Success, stuck at Perfection." Lin Fan repeated, a bit confused. "Teacher, are you okay? Drink slowly."

The hand holding the phone was shaking.

Okay? I have a big problem!

Back in the day, when he practiced this 'Sword Drawing Art', it took him a whole month just to get started! He hacked through a dozen steel plates!

And this kid, half a month? Great Success? Wants to rush to Perfection?

Is this even something a human can do?!

Teacher Zheng took a few deep breaths, forcibly suppressing the raging waves in his heart, and tried to maintain his dignity as a teacher.

"Cough... well, Great Success, that's okay, just so-so."

Teacher Zheng said, pretending to be calm, although his voice was still a bit floaty. "As for the 'Must-Kill Blade Intent' you mentioned, that is the core essence of the 'Sword Drawing Art'. The so-called Must-Kill is not something you practice; it's something you kill for!"

"Between life and death, there is great terror, and also great opportunity."

"Your blade technique is sharp now, but it's still too 'stable'. To comprehend the Must-Kill Intent, you must put yourself in a position of death to survive, and swing that blade in a desperate situation!"

"Between life and death?"

Lin Fan was thoughtful, a flash of understanding in his eyes.

Although he had killed countless times in the last half month, relying on his high attributes and equipment, he had actually been in a state of ease and had never truly encountered life-threatening danger.

Without pressure, where would the breakthrough come from?

"I understand, thank you for your guidance, Teacher."

Hanging up the phone, Lin Fan made a decision.

"Since I want to risk my life, I'll play big."

He packed his equipment, shouldered his combat blade, and headed straight to the Martial Artist Guild.

This time, he didn't plan to solo; he wanted to take on those high-risk missions, the kind where a total wipeout was possible!

In the Martial Artist Guild hall, it was bustling with noise.

The moment Lin Fan stepped into the hall, the originally noisy environment quieted for an instant.

Now, although he was still in that school uniform, the lingering blood-evil aura on him made the surrounding martial artists instinctively retreat.

"Look, it's the Daredevil!"

"This aura... even a ninth rank martial artist is nothing more than this, right?"

Many captains who were recruiting teammates lit up and swarmed over.

"Little brother! Our team is missing a main attacker to hunt the Iron-Backed Azure Wolf King. We'll split the profits 40/60, you get 60!"

"Come to our team! We have two pretty healers, full escort throughout!"

Lin Fan smiled and declined them one by one.

Ordinary missions were no longer challenging for him.

He walked straight to the big screen displaying missions, his eyes scanning the red high-risk missions.

"Hunting second rank third grade Ghost-Faced Spider... too dangerous, easy to die instantly."

"Exploring abandoned dungeons... the terrain is too complicated, not suitable for Sword Drawing Art."

Just as Lin Fan was hesitating.

"Looking for a mission?"

A gentle voice sounded behind him.

Lin Fan turned around; Lan Feng, wearing a grey long gown and gold-rimmed glasses, was looking at him with a smile.

"Supervisor Lan." Lin Fan bowed slightly.

This was a big shot in the Heavenly Origin Realm, and he had given him quite a few benefits last time, so he had to be polite.

Lan Feng looked Lin Fan up and down, the appreciation in his eyes deepening: "Half a month not seen, ninth rank Body Tempering Realm? If this upgrade speed were to get out, I'm afraid it would put a lot of so-called 'geniuses' to shame."

"Just good luck." Lin Fan said modestly.

"I happen to have an official mission here that might be suitable for you."

Lan Feng didn't talk nonsense, his fingers tapped in the air, bringing up a mission interface.