Chapter 001: A Divine Mage?

Francis had initially shown a somewhat amused expression, but when he heard Du Fan’s last words, his face suddenly changed. “What did you say? What was that you just said!?”
Du Fan shook his head slightly. “Didn’t you hear clearly what I said? Do you need me to repeat it?”
Francis took a breath, sizing Du Fan up before saying with doubt, “You say you’ve encountered a Saint-level warrior before, and he wasn’t even your match? Ridiculous! Even the weakest of Saint-level experts should still be a match for you, right?”
Du Fan sighed. “Lord Francis, nothing in the world is absolute… There have been instances in history of people failing unexpectedly—why should it be any different for you today? What’s so strange about that?”
Francis stared at Du Fan for a moment before snorting. “Then who was the guy who fought you?”
“Is that who he is?” Du Fan touched his nose, hesitating for a while before saying, “I think his name is Spalitis, right?”
“Spalitis? I’ve never heard of this person before.”
Du Fan inwardly chuckled. Spalitis was a mighty Angel of Desire—if you’d heard of him, that would be strange!
Yet despite his amusement, Du Fan’s expression remained solemn. He looked at Francis seriously and said calmly, “Lord Francis, the Roland Continent is vast. How can you be sure you know everything about it? Just the high priest of the northern barbarians is already a Saint-level warrior—something you probably don’t even know. Moreover, beyond the Roland Continent lies the distant Eastern Continent. Who knows what kind of people are there? Can you possibly know everything about them?”
After hearing Du Fan’s words, Francis pondered for a while before saying, “You make a good point… Perhaps I am indeed too arrogant. Lord Du Fan, you…”
Before he could finish saying “you,” Francis suddenly felt a chill. He saw Du Fan lift his long sword and thrust it at him at a slant.
The sword tip was infused with combat energy—clearly, Du Fan had timed his attack to take advantage of Francis’s distracted state. The move seemed formidable, with continuous flow of combat energy along the blade, targeting Francis’s forehead.
But to Francis, this attack was far too weak… extremely weak!

Francis sighed inwardly. Somehow, he suddenly felt a sense of amusement—him discussing such matters with someone of such limited skill? It seemed his mind had gone mad! With that thought, Francis didn’t even bother to lift the blood-red rose in his hand. He simply pointed his left hand lightly in Du Fan’s direction, and with a “clang,” Du Fan’s long sword, still mid-swing, flew into the air. It seemed Du Fan hadn’t anticipated this. By the time the sword landed on the ground and trembled there, he still didn’t seem to have reacted. Francis glanced at Du Fan with regret and said coldly, “Kid, I originally thought you had some skill and held you in high regard… But it turns out you not only lack any skill but also have no sense of a warrior’s dignity… I spoke to you politely, yet you took the chance to attack me from behind—how utterly despicable! Do you really think this will do anything to me, Francis?”

“Nonsense,” Du Fan retorted, pulling his hand back and resting it on the sword at his waist. “When did I say I was a warrior? If I’m not a warrior, then why should I care about a warrior’s dignity? You say I attacked you from behind? That’s even more ridiculous… From the moment I stepped onto the training ground, we were already fighting. I just chose a moment to strike—there’s nothing despicable about that.”

Francis, a brave warrior and a peerless strongman, naturally possessed the pride of a strong person. As a warrior, he also valued a warrior’s dignity greatly. But after Du Fan’s words, he was momentarily speechless. Logically, Du Fan wasn’t entirely wrong. He hadn’t claimed to be a warrior, nor did he wear any insignia to prove his identity, so he certainly wasn’t a warrior… At most, he was someone who had practiced martial arts… If he didn’t care about a warrior’s dignity, then no one could say anything… And as for the accusation of ambush, that was also true—battle had begun the moment he stepped onto the training ground. It was only because he had hoped to discover talent that he had wasted words on him…

Thinking of this, Francis was filled with anger. But given his status, he absolutely couldn’t lose his temper in front of someone like Du Fan. So he could only sneer and say, “Very well! Then let’s begin!”

After saying that, Francis swept his left hand horizontally, and several sword auras rushed toward Du Fan.

Du Fan saw clearly and naturally understood that, given Francis’s strength, if he were hit by that attack, his life might be in danger! That so-called Sword Saint earlier was a clear example—hadn’t he died from spitting blood after just one strike from Francis? Even if Du Fan had some countermeasures, it was still better not to get hit by such attacks!

Suddenly, Du Fan’s eyes flashed, and he stepped back one step to his left rear before taking two steps forward. Although he moved closer to Francis, these few steps allowed him to dodge the several sword auras casually swung by Francis. What was strange was that Du Fan’s timing and positioning were extremely precise, enabling him to avoid those almost unavoidable sword auras—something truly astonishing.

However, this wasn’t actually that remarkable. Deep within Du Fan’s consciousness lay the essence of divinity, and there was still angelic power remaining in his body. Additionally, he had practiced the three great barbarian secrets. Although he couldn’t use the Eye of Truth skillfully, it wasn’t too difficult for him to activate it briefly to predict the trajectory of the sword auras in such a situation…

Yet this still left those watching stunned…

After all, Francis’s battle against Best had already planted the image of an invincible warrior in everyone’s minds. Even if he were called the new generation’s God of War, few would dare deny it. Naturally, Francis’s casual attack must possess earth-shattering power. In everyone’s eyes, while Du Fan’s courage in challenging Francis was admirable, he was likely unable to withstand that attack—some even imagined Du Fan’s body being split in two…

But now, seeing Du Fan easily dodge Francis’s attack, they were all left with their mouths agape, unable to close them!

What exactly had Du Fan learned? He claimed he wasn’t a magician or a warrior, yet he could still effortlessly avoid such deadly attacks. Could it be that he could predict something? Right! He was a white-robed priest of the Holy Church—could it be that he had mastered the legendary art of prophecy?

Francis waved his sword a few times casually, but all of his attacks missed. Given Francis’s arrogance, missing those attacks naturally meant he had no intention of continuing! If he tried dozens more attacks and they were all easily avoided by this kid, then he wouldn’t bother continuing either—he might as well go find a place to crash his head and die! After all, if even such an unparalleled warrior couldn’t handle someone as insignificant as Du Fan, the shame would be unbearable.

Seeing Du Fan avoid his attacks with such strange methods, Francis wasn’t angry. Instead, he glanced at Du Fan curiously and said coldly, “What is this? Some kind of prophecy magic from legends? It seems you really are a magician after all?”

“I’ve already said it—I’m neither a warrior nor a magician,” Du Fan replied calmly. “If you insist on calling me something, just think of me as an ordinary priest in white!”

Francis’s eyes flashed, and he said grimly, “So you’re one of those charlatans… No wonder you use such bizarre techniques. It seems you’re the legendary divine magician! The way you dodged my attacks must also be some so-called divine art, right? Very good… I’ve always heard that divine magicians are unparalleled warriors. Today, I really want to learn from you!”

Du Fan snorted, too lazy to respond. He had used the barbarian’s secret techniques out of necessity, and he didn’t know what excuse to give his father later. Since Francis had already provided him with an excuse, why would he deny it?

Seeing Du Fan remain silent, Francis thought he had guessed correctly. He sneered repeatedly and stared at Du Fan, saying, “Du Fan, go ahead and attack. Show me what you’ve got—don’t hold back. I want to see whether your divine art is stronger or my martial skills are!”

Hearing this, a playful look flashed across Du Fan’s face. After a moment, he said calmly, “Is that what you say, Lord Francis? Then you’d better be careful… I’m quite powerful. If you end up in trouble, don’t get all angry!”