“You!”
One of the more hot-tempered wolf clan elders, enraged by the words, wanted to step forward and argue, but Lie Tian held him back firmly.
Seeing her master’s attitude so resolute, Ling Shuang felt both anxious and guilty.
She glanced at the Myriad Beasts Sect disciples behind her, whose eyes had reignited with despair, then at Lie Tian, whose face was even paler from his unhealed severe injuries.
Gritting her teeth, she banged her forehead against the ground three times in quick succession. Her forehead instantly swelled red.
“Master! All faults are mine! It was this disciple who acted presumptuously and broke the rules!”
“This disciple is willing to accept any punishment, even if it means crippling my cultivation or being expelled from the sect. I will have no complaints! I only beg Master… I only beg Master to show great mercy and save them!”
“They truly have nowhere left to turn! If caught by the demonic sect, they will surely die without a whole corpse! Master! I implore you!”
Ling Shuang pleaded with tears streaming down her face. She knew her master was strict, but he had always doted on her. Perhaps… perhaps there was still a glimmer of hope.
Watching his beloved disciple beg so humbly, the anger in Ling Yan’s eyes grew stronger, but this time the target of his fury seemed directed more at Lie Tian and the others.
He felt that these outsiders had bewitched his disciple, causing her to disobey him and even harm herself in supplication.
“Stubborn and unrepentant!”
Ling Yan shouted sternly. Without any visible movement, he merely flicked his sleeve lightly.
“Boom!”
A scorching, violent invisible surge of qi erupted, like a volcano exploding or sword gang sweeping across. It struck Ling Shuang, who was kneeling, directly!
“Pfft!”
Ling Shuang was hit hard, her body sent flying backwards. She spat out a large mouthful of blood in mid-air and crashed heavily to the ground several zhang away.
She struggled a few times but could not get up. Her aura instantly weakened to the extreme. Clearly, she was gravely injured.
“Senior Sister Shuang!”
“Miss Ling!”
The sword sect disciples and Lie Tian’s group cried out in alarm, wanting to rush forward, but a single cold sweep from Ling Yan’s gaze froze them in place, as if plunged into an ice pit. They could not move.
“This strike is punishment for disobeying your master, bringing outsiders without permission, and showing disrespect to your elders!”
Ling Yan’s voice was ice-cold. Looking at Ling Shuang on the ground, blood continually trickling from her mouth, her eyes filled with pain and despair, his heart ached, but his face remained stern.
“Now, take these wastes and disappear from my sight immediately! If you dare linger, the next strike will not be as simple as injury!”
Despair, like the heaviest mountain, weighed upon the heart of every remaining member of the Myriad Beasts Sect.
Even their last thread of hope had been personally extinguished by this powerful and ruthless Heavenly Fire Sword Venerable.
Many disciples’ eyes had lost their light. They slumped to the ground, awaiting the final judgement of fate.
Lie Tian clenched his fists tightly, nails digging deep into his palms. Blood dripped through his fingers.
He looked at the gravely injured Ling Shuang, at his despairing clansmen. A surge of grief, indignation, and helplessness nearly consumed him.
Was heaven truly intent on destroying the Myriad Beasts Sect?
Just as all hope seemed lost,
At the canyon entrance, the air suddenly rippled with a peculiar fluctuation.
This fluctuation was not ordinary spiritual power or spatial disturbance, but a rhythmic pulse that was scorching, lively, as if living flames were leaping and shuttling through!
Then, under everyone’s stunned gazes, a cyan figure appeared in the centre of the scene in an incomprehensible manner, crossing hundreds of zhang in an instant!
Beneath the figure’s feet, invisible flame steps seemed to form. With each step, a crimson-golden lotus-shaped flame bloomed and extinguished in the void.
It propelled his body forward at a speed far surpassing ordinary escape techniques, yet without raising the slightest breeze or spiritual power commotion. It appeared extraordinarily elegant and mysterious.
It was Chen Ping, bringing Shi Yan and Ying Wu, whom he protected with immortal power, barely keeping up!
“Fire Control Step?!”
The Heavenly Fire Sword Venerable Ling Yan, who had been standing with hands behind his back and a cold expression, saw the profound footwork beneath Chen Ping’s feet and the familiar crimson-golden fire lotus illusions. His pupils contracted sharply.
For the first time, unmistakable shock and confusion appeared on his face. He even cried out involuntarily!
Chen Ping stopped, the fire lotuses beneath his feet dissipating.
He first surveyed the scene: Ling Shuang, gravely injured on the ground with faint breathing; Lie Tian and the others, ashen-faced and despairing; and the crimson-robed sword cultivator with astonishing presence, now staring at him with full suspicion.
He understood immediately.
This must be Ling Shuang’s master, the Heavenly Fire Sword Venerable.
And clearly, some unpleasantness had occurred.
“Senior Chen!”
“Senior!”
Shi Yan, Ying Wu, Lie Tian, and those who knew Chen Ping shouted excitedly, as if seeing light in endless darkness.
Chen Ping nodded slightly to Lie Tian and the others, signalling them to remain calm.
He first walked to Ling Shuang’s side, crouched down, and checked her injuries.
Ling Yan’s strike had clearly not been at full power, but the scorching sword intent had invaded her meridians, causing considerable internal damage.
Chen Ping frowned slightly, channelling a strand of pure and gentle chaotic immortal power to protect her heart meridians and temporarily stabilise her condition.
“Senior…”
Seeing Chen Ping, tears welled up in Ling Shuang’s eyes again, filled with grievance and guilt. “I’m sorry… I… I couldn’t…”
“It’s alright. Don’t speak for now. Focus on regulating your breathing.”
Chen Ping comforted her, helping her lean against a rock some distance away.
After doing this, Chen Ping slowly stood up, his gaze calm as he looked at the Heavenly Fire Sword Venerable Ling Yan, who had been staring fixedly at him.
The shock in Ling Yan’s eyes gradually turned to scrutiny and deep confusion.
He sized up Chen Ping, this cyan-robed youth whose fluctuations indicated only the seventh grade of Human Immortal realm. Yet he gave an extremely strange feeling.
His cultivation was clearly low, yet his demeanour was steady as a mountain. Facing the pressure of a Heavenly Immortal realm expert like himself, he showed not the slightest fear. Moreover… he actually knew the Fire Control Step!
“Young man, who are you?”
Ling Yan spoke in a deep voice, like metal clashing. “Why do you know the Fire Control Step? This technique is the unspoken secret of the Fire Spirit Star Lord. Under heaven, those who know it can be counted on one’s fingers! Where did you steal it from?”
