Chapter 020: The Sacred Rank

Although Randy’s face showed a smile, it looked even uglier than crying. He said slowly, word by word, “You’ve broken through level nine… and reached the Sacred Rank!?”
Du Fan replied calmly, “It seems so… But is that really that important?”
Seeing Du Fan’s expression, Randy was almost driven mad with anger!
Was it that important?
Of course it was!
If Du Fan had truly reached the Sacred Rank, then not just one Randy, but even ten Randys wouldn’t be a match for him! Because the so-called Sacred Rank was completely different from before—it wasn’t just about increased strength, but rather mastery over the laws of strength once one reached its peak!
Even a tiny amount of such mastery meant he was far stronger than ordinary level-nine warriors.
Randy didn’t possess the Divine Origin, nor Angelic Power, let alone a divine artifact like the Sacred Rod of Radiance. Naturally, he had no chance of competing with a being at the Sacred Rank.
Originally, with Du Fan’s current strength, he too couldn’t break through to the Sacred Rank. But this time, he fought without relying on external forces, relying solely on his own abilities. Compared to before, he had a deeper understanding of strength, coupled with something else. After being defeated in one move, just before dying, the Divine Origin within Du Fan suddenly erupted with power. Under this power, he mysteriously grasped the laws of strength and broke through to the Sacred Rank.
It could be said that if Du Fan had used external forces this time, he wouldn’t have been at a disadvantage, nor would he have gained a new understanding of strength. Also, if he hadn’t undergone the process of reshaping his origin, his body would likely have turned to flesh chunks by the time he was defeated. Lastly, if he hadn’t happened to possess the Divine Origin, even if the first two conditions were met, he still wouldn’t have been able to break through to the Sacred Rank.
So, Du Fan’s breakthrough this time could be considered accidental, yet also inevitable.
Randy, unaware of these things, naturally didn’t understand.
As for Du Fan, though he didn’t understand why he suddenly broke through, he didn’t delve into it at the moment. After all, a significant increase in his strength was undoubtedly a good thing.

Du Fan smiled as he looked at Randy. Seeing that Randy remained silent, he finally let out a soft sigh. “It seems Lord Randy still wants to continue fighting… But you’re right—today it’s either you die or I live. After fighting halfway through, can we just stop now?”
As soon as he said this, Du Fan suddenly snapped his fingers. A faint golden combat energy instantly spread silently around them…
Randy’s expression changed rapidly. Finally, he gritted his teeth and shouted, “Even if you’re at the Saint level, do I really fear you?”
With that, Randy could no longer hold back. He swung his long sword fiercely at Du Fan’s head, the combat energy swirling around the blade—clearly, Lord Randy had given it his all, a truly astonishing move!
But…
With a “clang”…
A deep sound echoed around them, as melodious as music. Then, Randy’s face showed disbelief!
His long sword fell rapidly, but when it reached Du Fan’s face, it seemed to freeze instantly.
Du Fan simply stretched out one hand and gently pointed forward, placing it on the tip of Randy’s sword. Immediately, fine cracks appeared on the blade.
Combat energy rippled across the sword’s edge, the aqua-colored energy bubbling as if boiling. Randy’s expression grew increasingly grim. Clearly, he had mobilized all his combat energy, yet his sword couldn’t move even an inch further!
Du Fan stood there quietly. His aura wasn’t intense or explosive, nor was it particularly dazzling. It was just that faint golden combat energy, like a light veil, floated around him…
Silence! An unbelievable stillness!
Du Fan’s move was so quietly devastating that it seemed, without a sound, he had deflected Randy’s almost world-shattering attack!
Randy’s body began to tremble slightly—obviously, he was filled with fear!
At that moment, he finally realized that Du Fan had truly broken through the Saint level. In other words, he no longer had the slightest chance of winning!
Suddenly, he shouted loudly, “Garfield, I…”
But before he could finish, Du Fan smiled again.
His index finger bent slightly, and his thumb extended forward. Finally, his two fingers gently grasped the tip of Randy’s sword…

With Du Fan’s gentle squeeze, countless crack-like marks appeared on Randy’s sword in the blink of an eye. Then, with a crisp “ding” sound, the long sword shattered into pieces of iron sparks… At the same time, with a seemingly casual wave from Du Fan, Randy suddenly trembled all over before spewing a large mouthful of blood. He flew backward like a meteor, hitting countless tall trees before finally coming to a stop. By then, thin streams of blood were flowing from every part of his body, clearly rendering him unable to fight anymore. Seeing this, Du Fan seemed to sigh and then said in a low voice, “Randy, do you understand now? You’re no longer my opponent… You might have been able to kill me before, but now you can’t. But since you wanted my life before, and I, Du Fan, am not a good person either—since you wanted to kill me, I naturally wanted to kill you too. So tell me, is it better for you to end your own life now, or should I do it for you?” A look of panic appeared on Randy’s face. He seemed to want to say something, but another mouthful of blood sprayed out as his lungs had been damaged by the previous attack. He could hardly breathe, let alone speak. Seeing this, Du Fan didn’t say much. With a quick movement, he appeared in front of Randy. Looking at him, he sighed softly. His index and middle fingers of the right hand came together, gradually forming the shape of a sword. After doing this, Du Fan murmured, “It’s your luck that you can die under my condensed energy. I’m sorry, Young Master Randy!” Randy, lying on the ground, weakly shook his head, his eyes now filled with despair… But at that moment, a sharp glint appeared in Du Fan’s eyes. His expression changed slightly, and he wore a strange look. After a moment, he glanced down at Randy and sighed, “It seems I can’t kill you today!” With that, Du Fan stepped back abruptly, then looked up at the sky and said calmly, “Prince Garfield, since you’ve already come, don’t hide anymore… Do you really expect me to kill Randy before you show up?” Sure enough, as soon as Du Fan said this, a figure appeared in front of Randy. The person wore a white robe, with hair and robe flowing in the wind—extremely elegant!

It was just that the sudden appearance of this man was extremely strange, as if he had always been standing there. At this moment, although Garfield didn’t exude the slightest aura of a strong warrior, just by standing there, he seemed to have merged with the world around him. Du Fan faintly had the illusion that all the rules of power he had just understood changed completely when he got near him. Ignoring the surprise in Du Fan’s eyes, Garfield gently clapped his hands and laughed, “Amazing! Truly amazing! Duke Du Fan, I must say, your battle today was absolutely spectacular. I originally thought that no matter how skilled you were, you would never be a match for Randy, and I wouldn’t need to intervene. But who would have thought that you would break through to the Saint rank at the last moment… Should I say you’re lucky, or are you really that skilled?” Du Fan seemed unable to detect the sarcasm in his words and merely frowned as he looked at him. After a moment, he said indifferently, “You flatter me. My meager skills are probably nothing in front of Lord Garfield!” Hearing this, a strange look flashed in Garfield’s eyes again. After staring at Du Fan deeply for a while, he smiled and said, “But, Duke Du Fan, there’s one thing that puzzles me greatly!” Du Fan replied calmly, “Go ahead.” Garfield said with a smile, “If I’m not mistaken, although you’ve broken through to the Saint rank, your understanding of it isn’t very deep yet. If you give yourself another year or two to train diligently, you should be able to use the power of the Saint rank perfectly… So I don’t understand—why could you detect my presence so soon after breaking through?” Du Fan frowned. In fact, he himself didn’t know why, right after breaking through to the Saint rank, he seemed to naturally understand how to apply various rules. But actually, the moment he obtained the Divine Origin, his understanding of power was already etched deep into his soul. It was just that before breaking through to the Saint rank, he couldn’t comprehend it himself. As for his ability to master the power of the Saint rank so quickly now, it was naturally thanks to the Divine Origin. This was extremely mysterious; even the Pope, the greatest figure on the continent, would likely not be able to understand why. Book 32: Head South