Then We'll Punch a Hole in the Heavens

Under the ancient tree, the three experts of the Situ Family Lineage had arrived early and were now within arm's reach of the Marrow-Cleansing Divine Fruit.

It was theirs for the taking.

Just then, a ghostly voice rang out in their hearts.

In an instant, it threw their minds into disarray, and all three stared blankly for a moment.

Xiao Mei's graceful figure appeared without a sound. She leaped onto the ancient tree, ready to pick the fruit.

The three Situ Family experts regained their senses and recognized her.

"So it's Hall Master Xiao of the Dragon-Seeking Sect. We've fallen short this time."

"Second Brother, is this woman very strong?" one of them asked, leaning closer.

"A Martial Venerable, and one who's been renowned for a long time."

The other two couldn't help drawing sharp breaths. Upon hearing this, they couldn't muster the slightest courage to compete with her.

With a Venerable Martial Realm expert involved, the divine fruit was destined to be beyond the Situ Family's reach this time...

But just then, the situation changed abruptly. From the sky, a pair of hands like dead wood reached down ahead of Xiao Mei and plucked the divine fruit before she could act.

Then they plunged straight into the clouds.

In the blink of an eye, they had vanished.

Xiao Mei grew anxious at once. Anger appeared in her beautiful eyes as her Primordial Qi erupted, and she pursued them into the sky.

She struck out with a palm, and the palm imprint tore through the air, slamming hard into the person's leg.

His figure immediately began to sway, his Qi unsteady.

But the figure made a desperate gamble, plunging straight into the clouds and continuing to flee upward.

In moments, he had reached a height of three thousand zhang.

Xiao Mei wanted to pursue him, but she had already reached the limit of the height at which she could remain airborne.

Even a Venerable Martial Realm expert couldn't climb upward without limit.

The higher one went, the lower the air pressure became, making it impossible to remain there for long.

Yet Xiao Mei could sense that the Qi of the person who had seized the divine fruit was still rising.

He was already ten thousand zhang away...

But at that height, even she couldn't guarantee she would be unaffected.

"Damn it."

Xiao Mei let out an angry cry, but she could pursue him no farther.

His cultivation wasn't high. If he had been far stronger than her, there would have been no need to flee after snatching the divine fruit.

He would only have needed to crush everyone.

That seemed to leave... only one explanation.

He must have cultivated some divine ability or secret art that allowed him to ignore the pressure at high altitudes.

This time, she really had been careless.

Meanwhile, the three Situ Family experts saw that, in the distance, several Dragon-Seeking Sect disciples were holding blades and swords to Situ Zhuikong's neck.

The three were instantly frantic!

If they came out on this trip and not only failed to bring back the divine fruit but also lost the young master, none of them could escape blame.

They could no longer concern themselves with the Marrow-Cleansing Divine Fruit. The three shot backward.

Before long, they reached Situ Zhuikong's side.

Seeing three powerful experts arrive so suddenly, the disciples braced themselves.

They didn't dare be careless in the slightest.

"What is the meaning of this, Dragon-Seeking Sect?"

"Why would a prestigious sect hold our young master hostage?"

"Release the young master at once."

When the three arrived, they saw that the person in charge was young and likely wasn't a senior figure in the sect, so they spoke less politely.

"Insolence! How dare you run wild before the sect master?"

A Dragon-Seeking Sect disciple drew his sword and glared at them.

Hearing this, all three men's expressions changed.

That someone so young was the Dragon-Seeking Sect's master was completely unexpected. The three had failed to notice and had been careless.

The leading Situ Family expert cupped his fists. "We were discourteous, but why have you taken our young master hostage?"

Su Ling'er huffed. "He was the one who attacked and offended Sect Master Brother first."

The three men thought, This is bad. They hadn't expected the young master to have offended the sect master before them.

What were they to do?

But then they thought of Situ Zhuikong's usual conduct and saw Su Ling'er, a young girl brimming with lively spirit. At once, they understood what had caused it.

The leading expert bowed again. "It was truly wrong of the young master to offend you, Sect Master. We hope you will spare him where you can. The Situ Family will come to apologize another day."

With that, he glared at Situ Zhuikong and scolded him. "Why haven't you apologized to the sect master yet?"

Situ Zhuikong was displeased, but the Dragon-Seeking Sect was powerful, so he had no choice but to compromise.

He walked over, but before he could speak,

Chen Ning said indifferently, "You looked at someone you shouldn't have and harbored thoughts you shouldn't have. My words still stand: gouge out both your eyes, and I'll spare the Situ Family..."

The surrounding crowd was startled by his words. Situ Zhuikong frowned. This sect master really was unyielding.

Even the three Lineage experts pleading on his behalf hadn't worked.

"Sect Master, the Situ Family is a noble house of the Great Yan Imperial Dynasty, at the very least. How about showing us some consideration? The Situ Family will owe you a favor in the future."

The leading Situ Family expert spoke earnestly after hesitating for a moment.

Chen Ning acted as though he hadn't heard.

How could he change what he had said because of someone from the Situ Family?

"Must you wipe us out to the last?"

The expert's face turned livid.

They had to protect the young master's safety, or they wouldn't be able to answer to the family head.

So, if matters truly reached the point where no compromise was possible, they would protect the young master even if it cost them their lives.

The Dragon-Seeking Sect hadn't brought many people today.

The outer sect disciples were generally rather weak and had come to gain experience.

Xiao Mei was the only real threat.

The three men thought of this and exchanged glances.

They had already made up their minds.

As long as the three of them staked their lives to hold Xiao Mei off for a moment, they could buy the young master time to escape.

But just then, Xiao Mei's graceful figure swept over from the distance. Paying no attention to the Situ Family, she went straight to Chen Ning and said self-reproachfully, "Sect Master, I failed to obtain the divine fruit. Someone snatched it away midway... Please punish me!"

"What happened?"

Chen Ning looked at her and asked.

"The person was proficient in a secret art. After taking the divine fruit, he fled tens of thousands of zhang into the sky. Although I wounded him and he could only hide among the clouds, I couldn't reach that height."

Xiao Mei was somewhat dejected.

The first time she had brought the sect master out with her, she had botched things. How could the sect master trust her again after this?

She couldn't even handle such a small matter.

Would the sect master still be willing to use the secret treasure to help her improve?

At that moment, the many forces and people in this space had all stopped, looking thoroughly disheveled and somewhat at a loss.

They had fought over it back and forth, only to come away empty-handed.

In the end, a mysterious person had swooped in and taken the divine fruit.

They would rather the Dragon-Seeking Sect or the Situ Family had obtained it than have things turn out like this.

All the snatching and fierce fighting had been in vain.

With no other choice, the crowd prepared to disperse.

Just then, Chen Ning looked seriously at Xiao Mei and asked, "You said you wounded him. He's still hiding among the clouds now, right?"

Caught off guard by the question, Xiao Mei answered instinctively, "That's right, but that's tens of thousands of zhang away..."

Chen Ning waved a hand and continued, "Can you lock onto his Qi?"

"Yes. He was wounded by my cultivation technique, so I can sense his Qi."

Chen Ning nodded and smiled. "Good. Since he's run up into the heavens, then we'll... punch a hole in them!"