Rescue

The sound of a tiger's roar reached her ears, and the girl's body trembled involuntarily. A trace of fear showed on her delicate, beautiful face, but she had nowhere left to run.

She looked out of the cave with both eyes. Many wild beasts were fleeing in all directions. She knew that a spirit beast had found her.

She had never understood why these spirit beasts had kept pursuing them. They had begun attacking from outside Sunset Forest, and after they entered the forest, the beasts had seemed to receive some sort of guidance as they launched a coordinated siege against them.

Of the group of over twenty people, only she remained. She did not know what had happened to the others, but they were likely dead or worse.

Now, she might not be able to return either.

At that thought, two streams of tears slid down her face. If she had been a Spirit Master, perhaps she would not have suffered this disaster today. Unfortunately, there were no ifs in life.

Outside the cave, a two-hundred-year Tiger Spirit Beast was steadily approaching. It suddenly stopped midway, sniffing the air. The fragrance that had lured it here was gone, but it could still smell a human's scent.

Following that scent, it headed toward the cave.

Watching the spirit beast draw ever closer, the girl hiding in the cave trembled uncontrollably. However, after the Tiger Spirit Beast approached the cave, the wind suddenly changed direction. Unable to smell anything, it lingered inside the cave for a while before lying down at the entrance and falling asleep.

This made the girl hiding inside even more frightened. As long as that spirit beast did not leave, she did not dare move at all. She could only pray silently that it would leave soon.

The cave was dark and damp, not a place to stay for long.

Above the cliff.

Di Hong stood with his arms folded, looking down below.

The sudden shift in the wind had caused the Tiger Spirit Beast below to lose its target. The person in the cave was safe for the moment.

"Even a two-hundred-year spirit beast can't handle it?"

If even a two-hundred-year spirit beast could not deal with them, the only possibility was that the person in the cave was not a Spirit Master.

Looking at the sachet in his hand, then considering the other party's connection to the Clear Sky Sect, he began to guess who the person in the cave was.

"Born into the Clear Sky Sect, not a Spirit Master, and carrying a sachet."

He vaguely had a guess. So many people had been willing to risk their lives protecting her; clearly, the person in the cave held an extraordinary status within the Clear Sky Sect. She was also a woman. There was only one person he could think of.

"Tang Yuehua?"

According to his memories, Tang Yuehua was the only person in the Clear Sky Sect who fit all of this.

"Interesting. To think I'd run into Tang San's future aunt here."

But he had no time to worry about who was in the cave. Saving her came first. Who knew whether something unexpected might happen? In the films and anime from his previous life, the more critical the moment, the easier it was for someone to make a sound.

To be safe, it would be better to drive away this spirit beast.

After Martial Soul Possession, five Spirit Rings—two yellow, one purple, and two black—pulsed around him. He leaped into the air and hurled a fireball at the sleeping Tiger Spirit Beast.

The fireball landed beside the Tiger Spirit Beast, startling it awake instantly.

The spirit beast's sudden awakening gave the girl inside the cave a fright. Had she not covered her mouth, she probably would have screamed.

After being startled awake, the Tiger Spirit Beast raised its head and looked into the sky. It had originally wanted to let out an angry roar, but the moment it saw Di Hong, it immediately backed down. One look was enough to tell that it was no match for him.

So it decisively fled. A tiger roaming the forest was bound to encounter creatures stronger than itself. When it was time to back down, it had to back down—like with that human. His aura alone was already enough to suppress it.

If it still charged forward now, it would truly be courting death.

After the spirit beast had run far away, Di Hong released his Martial Soul Possession and landed at the cave entrance.

After observing the situation inside, he called out, "Is anyone in there?"

Upon hearing Di Hong's voice, the girl in the cave was instantly overjoyed. At that moment, the voice entering her ears was like heavenly music.

She eagerly rose from her hiding place and hurried toward the cave entrance. At first, she could only make out a blurry figure and vaguely tell that it was a man. The closer she got, the clearer the figure became.

Finally, she saw Di Hong's appearance at the cave entrance.

"Red hair, red eyes, a tall and upright figure, incomparably handsome."

She feared she would never forget this figure for the rest of her life. Di Hong also saw what the girl looked like.

She had long blue hair and a breathtakingly beautiful face. Though she had just cried, it did not diminish her beauty; instead, it made her appear even more pitiable and endearing. Her fitted long dress was somewhat disheveled, but her exceptional bearing remained apparent. A single glance was enough to reveal that she came from an exceedingly noble background.

"So it really is her." Di Hong could not sense even the slightest fluctuation of Soul Power from the girl. He could now be certain that she was Tang Yuehua.

The girl stopped before Di Hong. The panic on her face had faded, though lingering fear remained in her heart. What had happened earlier was undoubtedly the most dangerous ordeal she had faced since birth.

She would likely never forget what happened today.

A hero saving a beauty was often the easiest kind of scene to move someone's heart.

Di Hong asked, "You're from the Clear Sky Sect, aren't you?"

The girl nodded slightly, then respectfully bowed to Di Hong. "My name is Tang Yuehua. Thank you, young master, for saving me."

"May I ask your name, young master?"

Di Hong waved his hand. "My name is Di Hong. I only saved you because someone asked me to. Besides, even without me, that spirit beast probably would have left after it woke up."

"May I ask, young master, what happened to the others who were with me?" Though she had her suspicions, she did not dare reach a conclusion before receiving confirmation. She hoped everyone was safe. Since Di Hong had acted at someone's request, the person who asked him must have been from the Clear Sky Sect.

"They're all dead." Di Hong sighed and shook his head. He had no intention of hiding it, since there was no point in doing so.

Upon receiving confirmation, Tang Yuehua staggered several steps back, grief filling her entire body.

Di Hong did not know how to comfort her. He could only wait for her to compose herself first. He was not good at comforting people.

On a cliff not far away, three masked Spirit Masters watched Di Hong rescue the girl. One of them could not resist making a move, but he was stopped.

"I'll go kill him," said the Spirit Master who had been held back.

"He's a Spirit King. You, a Soul Ancestor, think you can kill him?"

"Did you see his soul ring configuration just now?"

"A Spirit King actually has two Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings."

When they saw Di Hong's soul ring configuration, they were all utterly shocked. They had never seen a Spirit Master whose fourth soul ring was already a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, and he looked extremely young.

"He should be that Innate Full Soul Power genius from the Silves Royal Family," another Soul Ancestor said. They had been observing him before, but since he had not been their target, they had not paid him much attention.

Who would have thought that he would ruin their plan?

"What do we do now?" asked the Soul Ancestor who had been stopped.

The leading Spirit King said indifferently, "We retreat. Although we didn't fully complete the plan, it's close enough. Only that woman from the Clear Sky Sect is still alive. She isn't a Spirit Master anyway, so it doesn't matter whether she lives or dies."

With that, he left. The two Soul Ancestors followed close behind.