Fang Shuwen never killed without reason, and his bond with Lin Fan wasn’t so deep that he could act without explaining himself.

His words were meant to give both sides an out.

Lin Fan had saved Fang Lingxin, so Fang Shuwen protecting him now was a justifiable act.

If they still chose to attack after he had made himself clear... then Fang Shuwen would be well within his rights to kill them.

Besides, this mob’s attempt to forcibly seize the Purple Nether Sword was hardly righteous to begin with.

Sure enough, after hearing his words, some people showed hesitation.

Someone else recognized Fang Shuwen.

"He’s Fang Shuwen!"

"The Demon Evil God!?"

"I heard that outside Flying Snow City, he single-handedly killed over ten thousand masters from the Dragon Emperor Hall!?"

"You actually believe what storytellers say? Some people claim he’s thirty feet tall with hands bigger than millstones. Does he look like it?"

Fang Shuwen’s mouth twitched. ’The number went up again.’

He glanced at Lin Fan.

"Still not leaving?"

Lin Fan sheathed the Purple Nether Sword, hesitated for a moment, then suddenly seemed to have made up his mind.

"I will remember today’s kindness.

"If I achieve anything in the future, I will repay you handsomely!"

With that, he shoved the Eight Trigrams Treasure Box into Fang Shuwen’s hands and turned to leave.

"Stop right there!"

Seeing Lin Fan about to leave, someone couldn’t hold back any longer. With a sharp cry, he rallied the others:

"What are you so afraid of him for?

"Jianghu rumors are just that—rumors. Take them with a grain of salt. Even if he is strong, are you all inferior to him?"

"Exactly! There are so many of us. How can we let one man intimidate us?"

"Kill him! The Purple Nether Sword will be ours, and the Eight Trigrams Treasure Box too!"

"Kill!!!"

It’s unclear which unlucky bastard yelled it, but when Lin Fan heard the shouts, he flinched and couldn’t help but look back.

He saw Fang Shuwen wave a hand.

"Just go."

Hearing this, Lin Fan took a deep breath. He looked past the crowd to glance at Fang Lingxin one more time, then gritted his teeth, ascended the steps, and quickly vanished from sight.

At the same time, the first group of men who didn’t fear death had already reached Fang Shuwen.

Fang Shuwen smiled at the sight, glanced at the Eight Trigrams Treasure Box in his hand, and after a moment’s thought, tucked the object into his robes.

’He didn’t really care about the item. As he always said, any supposed treasure was garbage compared to his system.’

’Still, there was no reason to argue with Lin Fan over a box right now.’

’Besides, who knew what was actually inside the box?’

’If the box is opened in the future and it really contains a Martial Arts Manual... I can just pass the Martial Arts on to Lin Fan the next time I see him. It wouldn’t count as stealing his opportunity.’

As these thoughts ran through his mind, he tilted his head slightly, and a longsword thrust past him, hitting empty air.

He followed the movement with a palm strike, landing it squarely on the attacker’s chest.

With a wet SPLAT, the clothing on the man’s back instantly disintegrated as a spray of blood erupted from it.

His body froze for an instant; he was already dead.

Before the body could fall, Fang Shuwen casually flung it forward. Three sabers and two swords immediately struck the corpse, hacking it to pieces.

The five men who attacked had yet to retract their weapons when Fang Shuwen struck out with his palm.

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!!

Five consecutive sounds rang out, and the five men dissolved into five clouds of blood mist.

The crowd, which had been stirring restlessly, instantly froze.

Fang Shuwen, however, suddenly gave a cold laugh. His figure flickered and vanished from the spot, a streak of light descending from the sunlit platform directly into the midst of the crowd.

A palm technique descended from the sky. One man was struck and killed on the spot before he even had time to realize what was happening.

The crowd’s eyes followed the movement, but they had already lost track of Fang Shuwen.

Then, the sound of an impact came from another direction. They hurriedly turned to look, only to see a man with his head missing, leaving only a propped-up torso, an extremely bizarre sight.

But there was still no sign of Fang Shuwen.

Then, on the other side of the crowd, Fang Shuwen was seen lifting a man up. All eyes turned toward him, but no one dared to make a move.

Someone mustered their courage and asked:

"Are... are you going to kill us all?"

Fang Shuwen’s gaze swept across the crowd as he chuckled.

"I am not a bloodthirsty person..."

As his words fell, he snapped the neck of the man in his hands and casually tossed the corpse aside.

"But as for those who intended to attack me just now, only to stop because the first few men died... I can’t let you go.

"Am I... someone you can attack or not attack whenever you please?

"Those who had no intention of attacking a moment ago, take one step back."

The moment he said this, everyone took a step back.

The very next moment, however, someone sent another person flying out with a kick.

"You clearly had a Hidden Weapon ready. How dare you pretend otherwise?"

"I saw you about to use your Lightweight Technique to charge forward. You were obviously planning to attack him. What are you backing away for?"

One shout followed another. Thanks to that single sentence from Fang Shuwen, the crowd began to identify its own.

Anyone who had shown the slightest intention of attacking was kicked out of the group.

Everyone was terrified of being implicated along with them.

The group that had been kicked out numbered around twenty. Some of their faces were ashen and twisted with rage:

"How dare you! You... you bunch of spineless cowards..."

Others began to beg Fang Shuwen for their lives:

"I really didn’t do anything! I wasn’t going to..."

Before the man could finish, Fang Shuwen pointed a finger at them.

A sharp aura flashed at his fingertip, and a point of cold light shot out.

Before they could say another word, a tremendous BOOM resounded. A dazzling light bloomed from within the explosion, its breathtaking brilliance reflected in the pupils of every onlooker.