Senior Brother, I'm Not Afraid!

Watching Li Daochen with his sharpness on full display, Yun Qingshui felt herself catch fire too.

His holy bone had been dug out, his cultivation crippled, and he had fled the sect. Then...

He had survived nine deaths for one life, reforged his holy bone, and returned to the sect!

Hiss!

Yun Qingshui felt her eighteen years had been lived in vain. A mere few months of Li Daochen's life had been far more eventful than hers.

Brother, I'll fight my way back with you!

Yun Qingshui nearly shouted those words at him, but held herself back. She knew Li Daochen was proud and didn't want her help...

Still.

If he wouldn't let her go, couldn't she follow him in secret?

Yun Qingshui brought every ounce of cunning she had ever possessed to bear and said with feigned indifference, "Mm, good luck, then. I need to return to the sect too."

If not for her flushed little face, Li Daochen might actually have believed her.

Li Daochen didn't expose her. He went to find Little Fire first.

Behind him, Yun Qingshui's eyes darted about. Only after Li Daochen had gone some distance did she secretly follow.

The Battle Sect.

Yang Chen, wearing Li Daochen's appearance, stood atop Sword Battle Peak.

This mountain peak belonged exclusively to the Battle Sect's senior brother!

It was shaped like a sword, steep and sharp!

Though the Battle Sect was only a Lower Spirit Sect, as its senior brother and the bearer of the Holy Dragon Bone, he was free to take most of the sect's resources as he pleased.

Yang Chen had been living comfortably of late. Even some prodigy disciples of Upper Spirit Sects didn't receive such treatment.

Yang Chen was pleasantly surprised and became ever more convinced that impersonating Li Daochen had been a wise decision!

Moreover, the Battle Sect was particularly suitable for him to forge the Battle Holy Dragon Physique!

It was said to be the site left behind by the first bearer of the Battle Holy Dragon Physique, and an elder's will still lingered there despite the passage of ages.

Yang Chen didn't know whether it was true, but he knew that the Battle Holy Dragon Physique was within reach!

Besides, he had also obtained the Holy Dragon Bone!

All of this pleased him greatly. The only thing that displeased him was that there was still no word from Yang Yu and Yang Yue, who had gone after Li Daochen!

News of Luo Cheng's death had reached the sect, and the grand elder, Luo Beiyue, had flown into a rage.

Suddenly.

A dark figure appeared.

"Still no news of my second brother and fourth sister?" Yang Chen asked with a frown.

"There were signs of fighting in several places in the Wailing Mountain Range, but it seems they gave chase to the north afterward. Their trail went cold there..." the dark figure said hoarsely.

Li Daochen had known someone would come to investigate, so he had deliberately left false traces.

Yang Chen's frown deepened.

With his cultivation crippled, Li Daochen was no longer a threat. Yang Chen had never taken him seriously in the first place.

But as long as Li Daochen lived, he remained a potential threat and could affect Yang Chen's plans. Yang Chen was also worried about Yang Yu and Yang Yue.

"Keep looking!" was all Yang Chen could say.

"All right." The dark figure nodded, then added a reminder. "By the way, Li Tianxing will probably be back soon. Be careful not to give yourself away."

"Don't worry. The Hundred Transformations Illusion Technique is unfathomably profound. It can even mimic bloodlines. Now that I have the Holy Dragon Bone as well, no matter how meticulous Li Tianxing is, he absolutely won't see a single flaw!" Yang Chen sneered, brimming with confidence.

Two days later.

Li Daochen appeared outside the Battle Sect.

He had changed into black robes, and a hood concealed most of his face.

He looked up at the Battle Sect and remained motionless for a long time, his eyes bearing the weariness of one who had weathered life's many storms. Li Daochen

In his previous life, by the time he emerged from the Blood Dragon Pool, the Battle Sect had long existed in name only. It had become a gathering place for the Night Ruins, and its appearance had changed completely.

For the hundreds of years that followed, Li Daochen had no fixed home and drifted from place to place.

When a person no longer had a homeland to return to, their heart could never settle.

Li Daochen's heart had wandered for nearly a thousand years!

Now, he was back!

The Battle Sect before him looked just as it did in Li Daochen's memories. It was the homeland where he had grown up.

"You only learn to cherish something after losing it. I've already lost it once, and I never want to lose it a second time," Li Daochen murmured, slipping into the Battle Sect without a sound.

Li Tianxing had yet to return, so naturally Li Daochen couldn't reveal his whereabouts now.

As everyone knew, the current sect master of the Battle Sect was advanced in years and had already half withdrawn from his duties. The two strongest factions were now those of the grand elder and Li Tianxing.

The two sides clashed from time to time over who would become the next sect master!

That was probably also why the grand elder and Yang Chen had joined hands to harm him.

If Li Tianxing didn't return, there would be no one left in the Battle Sect to stand up for Li Daochen!

However.

Li Daochen wanted to see his junior sister, Liu Qingyuan, first.

In his previous life, he had only known that Liu Qingyuan was killed after Yang Chen forged the Battle Holy Dragon Physique. He didn't know how she was doing now.

As for the junior sister who had saved him despite the danger, no matter how cold and ruthless Li Daochen was, he couldn't help caring about her.

Water Cloud Peak.

This was where the Battle Sect's ordinary disciples lived.

At the foot of the mountain, inside a dilapidated stone hut.

Liu Qingyuan wore a coarse cloth dress. Even without makeup, she was delicate and charming. Her small, tapered face resembled a fox's, but though she had a bewitching air, she wasn't seductive.

Her slender eyes were closed now, and her normally fair, rosy skin was deathly pale. She looked terribly weak, her tall, slender figure seeming as though a puff of wind could knock it over.

Liu Qingyuan belonged to the vice sect master's faction and was also an elder's disciple. Her status was not low, and she should never have been living in such a decrepit place.

But.

Liu Qingyuan had let Li Daochen escape, an act considered a grave offense, and she had already been stripped of her status as a Battle Sect disciple.

Bang!

The door was suddenly kicked open.

Three Battle Sect disciples walked in.

Liu Qingyuan's body trembled, but her eyes remained closed.

The one in the lead was Qi Bei, a disciple of the Battle Sect's third elder.

Looking at Liu Qingyuan, Qi Bei's eyes flashed with desire.

Most of the Battle Sect's male disciples liked this junior sister, who looked like a fox spirit but had an exceptionally innocent disposition.

Qi Bei was no exception.

Unfortunately, Li Daochen had protected her before, so they had never had a chance.

And afterward, Yang Chen had taken a fancy to her too, leaving them no chance still.

Mockery appeared in Qi Bei's eyes.

He knew Yang Chen's identity and had secretly colluded with him before, helping him a great deal. He had completely submitted to Yang Chen.

That was precisely why he still lived so comfortably and commanded such respect.

Liu Qingyuan, on the other hand.

Not only had her cultivation been crippled, but both her eyes had been gouged out!

Why gouge out her eyes?

The public explanation was that she had eyes but failed to see!

That was her punishment for letting Li Daochen go!

If she weren't beautiful, Yang Chen would probably have killed her long ago!

And now, Qi Bei's task was to make her submit!

"Liu Qingyuan, do you admit you were wrong? You only have to apologize to senior brother, and he'll forgive you. He can even heal your eyes!" Qi Bei shouted.

The implication was that Liu Qingyuan had to submit to Yang Chen!

Clearly, Yang Chen wanted to take Liu Qingyuan for himself, so he had sent Qi Bei to threaten and entice her.

Qi Bei coveted Liu Qingyuan's beauty, but having seen Yang Chen's ruthless methods, he didn't dare entertain any improper thoughts. He also had to help Yang Chen win her over.

"H-he isn't senior brother!" Liu Qingyuan's voice trembled with fear, but she remained defiant.

"Don't be so ungrateful! Keep being stubborn, and death is your only path!" Qi Bei barked coldly. "If you still won't admit you were wrong, not only will you stay blind, I'll cut out your tongue too!"

Yang Chen... would not allow Liu Qingyuan to speak out of turn.

Liu Qingyuan pressed her lips together and said no more. She wasn't mute, but she might as well have been.

Annoyance surged into Qi Bei's eyes. Yang Chen had entrusted him with this task. If he failed, it would mean he lacked ability, and he would also anger Yang Chen!

"You don't know whether to live or die, so don't blame me for hanging you up and beating you!" Qi Bei shouted. "If you won't admit you were wrong, I'll beat you to death today!"

The two disciples beside him immediately rubbed their hands together in excitement.

Liu Qingyuan was a goddess in the hearts of many male disciples of the Battle Sect. Since they couldn't enjoy her charms, hanging her up and beating her would be a different kind of thrill.

Liu Qingyuan curled into a ball, trembling with fear.

Although submitting was now her only path to survival, she didn't want to betray Li Daochen.

Liu Qingyuan had always remembered how thin and frail she had been when she first entered the Battle Sect. She had been timid and lacking in confidence too, like a blade of wild grass that could be trampled at any moment.

The disciples in the sect had all disliked her, and they had bullied her from time to time.

Only Li Daochen had not looked down on her, and he had even helped her sometimes.

Seeing how timid she was, he had also scolded her and taught her to face life bravely!

Later, Liu Qingyuan grew beautiful and became an elder's disciple, and everyone began treating her well.

Li Daochen, however, remained the same as ever, and Liu Qingyuan remembered his kindness alone.

"Senior brother, I'm not afraid..." Liu Qingyuan kept murmuring to herself, her little hands clutching her cloth dress tightly as she suppressed the fear in her heart.