Chapter 485: The Day of the Ceremony at the Hall of Darkness!
Lin Fan walked forward with a calm expression, casually glancing at the wave of attacks crashing toward him.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The dozens of attacks approached within a few meters of him—yet just before they struck, they froze in midair.
Then, under the stunned gazes of Chen Kui, the two black-robed elders, and the others present, those who had attacked Lin Fan suddenly exploded into blood mist, shredded apart by an unseen force.
As blood rained down, Lin Fan stepped forward again, stopping directly in front of the two stunned elders, his expression completely unaffected.
The two elders stared at Lin Fan's calm face, but within their hearts surged an overwhelming chill.
"You want to kill me?" Lin Fan smiled faintly. "Then do it yourselves."
"Who… who are you?!" one of the elders demanded, eyes filled with fear and suspicion.
Lin Fan shook his head lightly. "Since you're not moving… I won't be polite."
As his voice fell, his fingers flicked.
In an instant, countless silver spatial blades materialized around them. Each one glimmered brilliantly, yet carried lethal intent.
Shing! Shing! Shing!
Before the two black-robed elders could even react, the spatial blades descended.
Their bodies were sliced into pieces, their souls erased in an instant.
Behind them, Chen Kui, Musa, and the rest of the group stared in disbelief. Cold sweat ran down their backs.
Those two elders weren't just ordinary members of the Hall of Darkness—they were elders with high status and formidable strength.
And yet… Lin Fan had erased them like they were nothing.
Chen Kui was especially shaken.
Three years ago, he had seen Lin Fan's power, and even then, Lin Fan had been formidable—but only slightly stronger than himself.
Now, Lin Fan had grown strong enough to obliterate Hall of Darkness elders effortlessly.
His rate of improvement was monstrous.
After a moment of stunned silence, Chen Kui stepped forward and cupped his fists, face complex.
"Brother Lin Fan… it's really you. I didn't expect that after just three years… you would become this powerful."
"Just some lucky encounters," Lin Fan said casually, then asked, "What's going on here?"
Chen Kui hesitated briefly, then decided to tell Lin Fan everything that had happened in the Hall of Darkness.
He knew of Lin Fan's relationship with Qingtan, and now that Lin Fan had become so powerful, he was the best person to help her suppress the rebellion within the hall.
So, Chen Kui held nothing back.
"If I'm not wrong," Chen Kui said, face grim, "they intend to use the ceremony three days from now to force Qingtan to step down as Hall Master and surrender the Ancestral Darkness Symbol. She's running out of options."
Lin Fan's expression didn't change, but his voice grew cold.
"Take me to the Hall of Darkness."
…
The Northern Xuan Region was unlike the Eastern Xuan Region. It didn't have as many kingdoms and empires. Instead, much of the land was governed by branch halls of the Hall of Darkness.
Each branch master had power equal to that of a monarch. Beneath them were countless layers of ranks, giving the Hall a tight, highly centralized hierarchy.
Even though Lin Fan brought several people with him, his Samsara-level cultivation allowed him to move with terrifying speed.
By the third morning, they had arrived at the outskirts of the Hall's capital city—Darkness City.
Darkness City was a vast, sprawling metropolis that seemed endless, like a slumbering ancient beast half-submerged in the ground.
Its architecture was dark and solemn, giving off an oppressive pressure just from looking at it.
Above the city, a massive black barrier stretched across the skies, cloaking everything beneath it.
Glowing runes swam across the surface of the barrier, and the powerful fluctuations warped the very air around it.
At the city's entrance, streams of people filed in, forming a bustling sea of movement. The sheer volume was astonishing.
"The ceremony is held once every three years," Chen Kui explained. "Every major and minor force in the Northern Xuan Region is required to attend. Anyone who refuses will be punished by the Dark Judgement Division the next day."
Lin Fan nodded. "So today is the day of the ceremony, and all these people are headed there?"
Chen Kui confirmed it with a serious nod. "Yes."
"Good," Lin Fan said, his gaze calm. "Let's go take a look at your Hall of Darkness's grand ceremony."
"But Lin Fan," Chen Kui warned, "the defenses will be extremely tight. And with Qingtan currently suppressed, the elders likely control the entire city. If we try to enter through the front, we'll be caught immediately."
"No need to worry," Lin Fan smiled faintly. "I have my own method. Just come with me. The rest should stay here."
"I'm coming too!" Musa chimed in anxiously. "Brother Lin Fan, Brother Chen Kui, let me go with you!"
Chen Kui hesitated but turned to Lin Fan.
Lin Fan glanced at Musa, then nodded. "Alright."
With a casual wave of his sleeve, a silver light enveloped the three of them.
The space around them twisted—and then, they vanished.
Chen Kui and Musa felt their heads spin. When they opened their eyes, they were floating above Darkness City.
Below, the massive barrier still cloaked the city—but it didn't react to their presence at all.
"…Incredible," Chen Kui muttered. His respect for Lin Fan deepened.
As a high-ranking member of the Hall of Darkness, he knew how strong the barrier was. The fact that Lin Fan could bypass it entirely was… terrifying.
"Just a minor trick," Lin Fan said lightly.
The three of them looked out across Darkness City—and at its heart, beams of black light shot into the sky like a grand display of fireworks.
Chen Kui's expression turned serious.
"Brother Lin Fan… the ceremony has begun."
Lin Fan nodded slightly.
It seemed… they had arrived just in time.
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Franklin1