Fang Yan's Memories

"Heavens, what kind of battle was that? So the seniors' strength had already reached such a terrifying level?"

"Senior Hao's final punch definitely carried the power of the Core Formation Realm. I've seen Lineage elders make a move before, and they weren't even a match for him."

"Senior Fang was incredibly strong too. It was just that final move, with blood qi covering his whole body—it was a little hard to accept."

The battle between Hao Meng and Fang Yan left every student present stirred to the core. Seeing the seniors around them possess such strength filled countless students with yearning, and also bolstered everyone's resolve and courage to cultivate.

Especially after such a brutal battle, Hao Meng had crossed the bottleneck he had never touched in five years and truly begun forming his core. This was also the first time since Qinglan Academy's founding that a student from the Profound Tier Class had stepped into the Core Formation Realm. Once that threshold was crossed, not only would one's lifespan be extended and strength greatly increase, but a brand-new immortal road would slowly unfold before one's eyes.

Yet two people in the arena wore faces as still as water, utterly out of place amid the fervent atmosphere around them. They were the Nangong Family First Elder and Nangong Qi.

"Damn those Fang Family people. Even after taking the Blood Demon Pill, he still lost. He couldn't accomplish anything and only ruined things. Some ancient bloodline—he's not even as good as a beast. It seems the Patriarch really has been too merciful to them."

The Nangong Family First Elder's eyes brimmed with murderous ferocity as he muttered a few words beneath his breath, as though countless lives and deaths were about to be decided by his whim.

Nangong Qi was furious, yet he appeared exceptionally calm. He stepped out of the crowd and came to Fang Yan's side, where Fang Yan lay collapsed on the ground. Squatting down, he looked at the dying youth before him as though he were admiring a dying beast.

"Fang Yan, you've disappointed me greatly. Before your father died, he told you to be a good dog for our Nangong Family. But clearly, you haven't fulfilled a dog's duty. All these years, who protected your Lineage? Who treated your gravely ill sister? And how have you repaid me?"

Nangong Qi spoke softly, but every word struck Fang Yan's heart like a heavy hammer. Another mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips. The Blood Demon Pill's effects faded at that moment, pain surging over him like a tide as his consciousness began to blur. Scene after scene from the past flashed through his mind.

Amid towering mountains and deep bamboo forests, Fang Family Village had lived in seclusion from the world for thousands of years. They worked at sunrise and rested at sunset. Though they were not wealthy, their lives were incomparably peaceful.

From the moment Fang Yan was born, he had lived without care or worry. He ran through mountains and fields all day, played in streams, lakes, and rivers, caught birds and dug for eggs. He had once possessed every joy a child ought to have.

Until that day, when blood-red light shrouded the entire village. Screams and wails filled the air, along with firelight and flashing blades. Masked shadows slaughtered the village's old, weak, women, and children without pause. Fang Yan's mind had gone blank as his father shielded him behind his back. His ordinarily honest and simple father now radiated blood qi that soared into the heavens, wielding an unfamiliar blood-colored saber as he continuously blocked the black-clothed assailants.

His Second Uncle, Third Aunt, and one elder after another were all fighting bathed in blood. They seemed unfamiliar, yet incomparably familiar—unfamiliar because of those savage techniques wreathed in blood qi, familiar because of the flesh-and-blood bond that made them shield the women, children, elderly, and weak behind them.

But the black-clothed assailants were all exceptionally powerful and clearly well prepared. The elders were outnumbered and could not withstand them. One by one, they fell. In the end, even his father was severely wounded by a masked man who came striding through the air. Only later did Fang Yan learn that walking through the air was a privilege only those in the Immeasurable Realm possessed. Still young, he hugged his knees tightly with both arms and huddled trembling in a corner of the house with his equally young sister. He could only see his father lying in a pool of blood outside the door, speaking to the masked man with difficulty. In his father's gaze toward him were regret, worry, and resolve.

In the end, his father seemed to reach some sort of agreement with the masked man. The slaughter in the village gradually stopped, and villager after villager was bound hand and foot and locked away. Just as everything seemed settled beyond dispute, the masked man thrust out his sword. The Azure Longsword pierced his father's chest, and his father's eyes closed forever.

Fang Yan could no longer endure the violent terror and pain in his heart. Crying out, he threw himself at the masked man, his frail hands striking the man again and again, as though he wanted to avenge his father, and as though he were trying to conceal the fear trembling within him.

The masked man allowed Fang Yan to strike him. After a long while, Fang Yan finally cried himself weary and collapsed onto the ground.

"You are not at fault. What is at fault is the cursed bloodline within you. What is at fault is this Immortal Realm where the strong prey upon the weak."

The masked man lowered his head and spoke to Fang Yan. Those purple eyes were also imprinted deeply into Fang Yan's mind that day.

"Nangong, I've already obtained the item. I promised him I would spare the remaining Fang Family members. From now on, let them be dogs for your Nangong Family."

The masked man rose and spoke to another black-clothed man beside him. His gaze swept over the Fang Family Village villagers lying all over the ground, their hands and feet bound. That cold indifference made Fang Yan feel as though he had fallen into an ice cellar.

"Yes, Branch Master. I know what to do."

The black-clothed man addressed as Nangong clasped his hands in salute. With a wave of his hand, other masked men escorted the villagers away one after another.

From that day onward, Fang Yan became a dog of the Nangong Family—or rather, a beast even worse than a dog.

Not until he was ten years old, when he triggered the blood qi energy within his body while serving as a sparring partner for Nangong Qi, the Nangong Family's eldest son, did Fang Yan realize that the blood qi surrounding his father and elders back then was the true appearance of the Fang Clan.

This was a cursed bloodline, but also an incomparably powerful ancient inheritance. When his bloodline awakened, a cultivation art appeared out of thin air in Fang Yan's memories. This art, known as the Blood God Art, was vast beyond measure and extraordinarily profound. He also became the only case among the Fang Family members enslaved by the Nangong Family whose bloodline had awakened.

After awakening, Fang Yan was no longer treated like livestock as he had been before. He became Nangong Qi's thug and guard. Even his gravely ill sister had her life preserved by the Divine Doctor invited by the Nangong Family.

Fang Yan knew that his existence could protect his clansmen and sister, so he began to compromise. He began willingly doing every filthy deed for Nangong Qi.

Nangong Qi also began to value this useful watchdog of his. Not only did he bring Fang Yan into Qinglan Academy and the Earth Tier Class, but he also provided him with cultivation resources and the Blood Demon Pill, all so that whenever Nangong Qi needed him, Fang Yan could tear into his enemies with even greater savagery.

But clearly, today he had failed. He had failed utterly and completely. Even after taking the Blood Demon Pill and burning away his life force in exchange for power, he had still been unable to defeat his opponent.

He had clearly wounded him severely countless times, yet Hao Meng had always stubbornly climbed back to his feet and continued fighting. That confidence in his own strength and that thirst for victory were things Fang Yan had never experienced. That final punch, like a startled swan casting its reflection, had stirred the thoughts bound deep within Fang Yan's heart.

But there was no longer any chance for any of it, because he knew that a failed dog did not even have the right to keep living.

After Nangong Qi finished speaking, he slowly rose to his feet. He gave Fang Yan, lying on the ground, one final pitying glance before swinging his right leg toward him. This kick was driven by rage and even contained Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi. If it struck, the already dying Fang Yan would likely perish on the spot.

At that critical moment, a white figure flashed past. A kick swept out as well, colliding with Nangong Qi's. Nangong Qi, the Nangong Family's eldest son, felt pain in his foot and looked up. The youth before him was dressed in white, fairer than snow, with silver hair and star-like brows. Who else could it be but Ling Mu?

"Senior Nangong, Senior Fang has risked life and limb for your Earth Tier Class. As class monitor, you ought to care about his injuries. How could you kick a man when he was down and punish him in private?"

Ling Mu's eyes shone as he stared directly at Nangong Qi. His ringing voice made the Earth Tier Class students beside them turn to look.

Feeling the questioning gazes of the other Earth Tier Class students, Nangong Qi calmed down as well. Fang Yan might be his dog, but if he punished him openly before everyone, it would inevitably arouse suspicion and affect his position in the Earth Tier Class.

"Junior Ling, you jest. Fang Yan is my good brother. How could I punish him? I'll take him to receive treatment right away."

As Nangong Qi spoke, he put on the face of a good class monitor. He helped Fang Yan up and brought him back to the Earth Tier Class camp, handing him over to the academy's medical instructors for treatment.

But the venom in his eyes could not escape Ling Mu's notice. This Senior Nangong truly wanted Fang Yan dead. Thinking of this, Ling Mu frowned as well.

"Teacher Mu, let the Class vs. Class Competition continue. For my Earth Tier Class, the next one to take the stage will be me, Nangong Qi."

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