Top-tier Unruly Master

At this moment, Meng Zihao looked at Ding Fan with a face full of shock, truly unable to imagine how powerful the opponent was.

Ding Fan observed the expression on Meng Zihao's face, then quickly swung his hands, sending several Wind Blades swiftly slashing towards him.

Seeing Meng Zihao already struck multiple times, covered in wounds, bleeding profusely, he looked much worse than Wang Hu.

When Ding Fan saw how Wang Hu was beaten, he was extremely furious. He knew that Meng Zihao and his group were after the Red Rock Celestial Stone, and Ding Fan had long known Meng Zihao's intentions; he just didn't expect that today he would target his brother Wang Hu.

Seeing Wang Hu's condition, Ding Fan was already burning with anger.

For bullying my brother, you must pay tenfold!

Meng Zihao appeared in pain, bleeding profusely and unable to stand. However, Ding Fan did not kill him.

He knew Meng Zihao had some backing from the Sect, and Ding Fan currently lacked the strength to oppose the Sect.

He could only spare his dog life for now!

"If you don't want to die, get the hell out!"

Ding Fan said to the group of disheveled people.

Hearing Ding Fan's words, several Nascent Breath cultivators hastily helped Meng Zihao and stumbled away in panic.

Immediately, Ding Fan carried Wang Hu back to his place.

Ding Fan carried Wang Hu into his room, laid him on the bed, and held his hand, transmitting waves of True Yuan into Wang Hu's body.

In no time, Wang Hu felt a warm flow spread throughout his body, and the pain he felt earlier eased significantly.

After a check, Ding Fan found that Wang Hu's injuries were not serious; a few medicine pills and a few days of rest would have him healed.

"Feeling better?"

Ding Fan asked Wang Hu, lying on the bed, with concern.

"Much better, big brother."

Wang Hu replied with a smile, looking at Ding Fan's concerned eyes.

Afterwards, without waiting for Ding Fan to ask, Wang Hu directly recounted the events to Ding Fan. Ding Fan nodded after hearing it, then said to Wang Hu with concern:

"Alright, I know now. Don't speak anymore; just rest."

Then Wang Hu closed his eyes and quickly fell into a deep sleep. He was really too tired today; he was already exhausted from training his physical strength, and unexpectedly, he was ambushed by Meng Zihao midway through, ultimately losing the battle.

At this moment, he had no other thoughts and fell into a deep sleep.

Listening to Wang Hu's account, Ding Fan's face was full of anger. This Meng Zihao truly was nothing. Ding Fan once saved him for Ye Ming, yet now he repaid kindness with enmity!

Ding Fan sneered inwardly. Though he held back some strength against Meng Zihao just now, Meng Zihao would not have an easy time without a large amount of medicine pills and spiritual materials for healing; it would take a month to heal.

Ding Fan knew that a month later would be the Dayang Sect's Inner Sect Disciple Examination. If Meng Zihao wanted to participate, he would need a large amount of medicine pills; otherwise, he would miss the exam.

Meng Zihao was much friendlier with those Nascent Breath cultivators; after all, as a cultivator in the Nascent Soul Stage, he could recover slightly faster. Meanwhile, the Nascent Breath cultivators slashed by Ding Fan would take months to recover; participating in the Inner Sect Disciple Examination was impossible.

As an outer sect disciple, entering the inner sect is what all disciples desire most. The cultivation resources available to inner sect disciples far exceed those of outer sect disciples, with much better benefits.

After all, the Dayang Sect is a well-known Great Gate Sect; an inner sect disciple is considered quite impressive in the secular world.

Moreover, the Inner Sect Disciple Examination is held only once every five years; missing it means waiting another five years, which is extremely precious time for cultivators.

Five years make a world of difference between inner and outer sect disciples!

There's a huge gap in the resources provided for cultivation.

Ding Fan wasn't particularly enthusiastic about becoming an inner sect disciple, but he still intended to participate, to enter the inner sect. The reason Ding Fan wanted to enter the inner sect wasn't for more resources but to get closer to the Dayang Sect's inner workings and gather more information.

This way, Ding Fan would have a better chance of finding Zhou Ruoran, Gusu Qingwen, and Ye Ningbing.

In the days that followed, Ding Fan managed Wang Hu's care and continuously trained to improve himself, while also setting aside time each day to inquire about the whereabouts of Zhou Ruoran, Gusu Qingwen, and Ye Ningbing in areas of the Sect with a high concentration of disciples.

Despite his inquiries, Ding Fan did not discover the whereabouts of Zhou Ruoran and the others. However, at this time, the disciples of the Sect frequently discussed the upcoming Inner Sect Disciple Examination.

Almost all the disciples are eagerly looking forward to the Inner Sect competition that's less than a month away. After all, the cultivators who come here all hope to become Inner Sect Disciples.

You could always hear discussions about it in the sect's square:

"The Inner Sect competition is less than a month away. How are the senior brothers preparing for it?"

"Haha, do we even need to talk about it? Isn't it going to be a breeze?"

"Yo, I think you're being overly boastful!"

"I've heard that there are quite a few dark horses in this Inner Sect Disciple assessment this time!"

"Really? I heard that many of the outer sect disciples who trained in the wilderness have all returned. It seems this Inner Sect Disciple assessment is going to be extraordinary."

"Just found out, did you? I heard the rewards for this Inner Sect Disciple assessment are quite generous, beyond imagination. There's supposedly a lot of top-grade medicine pills, and many high-level cultivation techniques, treasures that make everyone envious. Ordinary disciples simply have no way to obtain them!"

"It's not just ordinary disciples; many Inner Sect disciples won't have many chances to get such treasures. I heard that even many Inner Sect disciples are very envious about this Inner Sect Disciple assessment's rewards, wishing they hadn't joined the Inner Sect so early..."

"Oh my! This truly is a once-in-a-century opportunity. We're so lucky to have encountered such a great thing!"

"But don't get too excited yet. The rewards in this Inner Sect Disciple assessment are particularly aimed at the top three. Even the top ten won't get much. And with so many experts participating this time, getting into the top three won't be easy!"

"Ah... that's true. For small fries like us, it's just a chance to enjoy the spectacle for others."

"..."

Ding Fan walked across the square, and such discussions never ceased.

Ding Fan didn't care much for this. He didn't care about generous rewards or many experts. His sole purpose was to enter the Inner Sect and become an Inner Sect Disciple. Ding Fan knew the benefits of becoming an Inner Sect Disciple were indeed considerable, even providing certain rights.

Knowing this made Ding Fan even more determined to join the Inner Sect Disciples because having certain rights would make it much easier for him to find Zhou Ruoran, Gusu Qingwen, and Ye Ningbing.

Constantly thinking about Zhou Ruoran, Gusu Qingwen, and Ye Ningbing, Ding Fan found himself strolling toward the small grove where he lived.

However, as Ding Fan walked along a small path, he suddenly discovered something seemingly buried in the bushes.

Ding Fan felt a bit curious and immediately expanded his divine sense toward that corner.

Huh?

Strangely, his divine sense couldn't perceive the thing's specific appearance.

Ding Fan was a bit stunned by this because his divine sense was quite powerful. Even the caves often obscured from divine sense by the presence of the Frost Toad were visible to him.

Yet, being so close to this thing, how could his divine sense fail to observe it?

Driven by intense curiosity, Ding Fan approached the object. When he got closer, he found it was a somewhat dilapidated stele.

The stele was obscured by nearby shrubbery, making it hard to notice. Ding Fan knew that ordinary disciples rarely came to such places, and the stele, looking so worn, wouldn't attract much attention even if someone saw it.

But this inconspicuous, broken stele couldn't even be scanned by his divine sense, which seemed highly illogical!

So, Ding Fan quickly cleared the weeds off the stele, and soon a rectangular stone slab came fully into view.

There were just three character-like things on the stele, which Ding Fan couldn't recognize, leaving him momentarily perplexed.

What do those three characters mean?

Ding Fan stood there, fixated on those characters, when suddenly everything went black before his eyes.

Where is this?

For the first time, Ding Fan found himself in such a situation, looking around in shock. In the next moment, a young man in white appeared slowly in the pitch-black surroundings.

The white-clad youth was waving his fists in some unknown technique, and the movements emerged one after another. Ding Fan observed and noticed that it seemed the man was performing a fist technique that looked gentle and weak, showing no ripples in the dark space.

However, upon closer inspection, Ding Fan felt each move seemed fierce, like a roaring tiger, instilling fear before even getting close.

Ding Fan was utterly shocked, unable to believe what he was seeing. What was happening, where was he, and how did he end up here?

In this black space, there was only Ding Fan and the white-clad youth. Yet, the youth seemed to completely ignore Ding Fan, continuing his fist technique, each move executed perfectly. Time passed, yet the youth didn't seem tired, his strength unfathomable.

Ding Fan wanted to carefully observe the youth, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see the face clearly.