Little Time Was Left for Lin Heng to Argue

Meng Yutong abruptly raised her head toward the sky.

Her face instantly drained of color.

"Could the aftershock of the battle have disturbed that bell?"

At the very center of the Kingdom-Destroying Secret Realm stood a bell tower, and hanging atop it was an Ancient Bronze Bell.

The entire bell tower was surrounded by Dao power. Even Return to Void cultivators could not easily withstand its shredding force.

Dong!

Dong, dong!

The toll of the bell rang throughout the entire secret realm. Immediately afterward, terrifying Dao power erupted, its might sweeping out and instantly engulfing every cultivator within ten miles.

Those cultivators were all outstanding disciples brought by their respective sects. Most were in the Golden Core Realm, yet even so, they did not manage to let out a single scream.

Meng Yutong reacted swiftly, grabbing Ye Tian like a chick and fleeing.

They were far too close to the central area. Even though Meng Yutong used the Great Spatial Shift, she still could not completely evade the Dao power.

Could this Dao power cause my cultivation to plummet!?

Meng Yutong was horrified. She absolutely could not allow such a thing to happen.

In her desperation, she immediately brought out a life-saving talisman and a Mystic Fan.

Both were treasures she kept hidden at the bottom of her chest. The life-saving talisman could protect her soul, while the Mystic Fan, forged from Starfall Iron, could forcibly withstand the shredding force.

According to the normal plot, Meng Yutong would have used the life-saving talisman on Ye Tian out of concern for her beloved disciple, unaware that the most terrifying aspect of the Dao power was its ability to shred Mind Sense.

But now, in order to avoid being injured, she used the life-saving talisman on herself without hesitation and even placed Ye Tian in front of her as a shield.

Ye Tian was instantly dumbfounded.

"Master, what are you doing...?"

"Tian'er, do not be afraid. Your master is protecting you. With the Mystic Fan here, it will surely keep us safe and sound."

Seventy miles away.

Lin Heng and the others naturally felt the tremendous tremor and heard the bell, but the Dao power had yet to reach them.

"What's going on?"

"Did they start fighting again?"

Lin Heng glanced at the dust and smoke gradually spreading in from behind them, and his heart immediately tightened with a sense of foreboding.

Subconsciously, he pulled Yun Yao in front of him.

"That's not right. That isn't dust and smoke—take cover!"

Mu Liuxi shouted.

Yun Yao also sensed that something was wrong. She wanted to dart behind a huge boulder nearby, but Lin Heng had her slender waist clutched from behind.

"Hey! Lin Heng, let go of me!"

"Senior Sister, hurry and put up a barrier! There's no time!"

Could Lin Heng let go now?

You could dart behind that boulder thirty meters away, but I couldn't!

Bang~

The Protective Qi went up, but it shattered before lasting three seconds.

The two of them were directly blasted several meters away and crashed headfirst into the ground.

Lin Heng was alright. With Yun Yao blocking in front of him, only his nose hurt a little after being struck by the back of her head.

As for Yun Yao, she had already been injured by Meng Yutong and the others' battle. After being struck by the Dao power again, she fainted on the spot.

"Xiao Yao!"

"Lin Heng!"

Mu Liuxi hurried over, her face full of guilt. "It's all my fault. I forgot that Xiao Yao was injured."

She had moved too quickly at the time and had also forgotten that Lin Heng had no ability to protect himself.

Cough, cough! Lin Heng coughed twice, baring his teeth as he climbed to his feet. He hurried to Mu Liuxi's side and asked anxiously, "Second Senior Sister, is Senior Sister Xiao Yao alright?"

"She shouldn't be in mortal danger... She merely fainted."

"It's all my fault for dragging Senior Sister Xiao Yao down. If she hadn't protected me... then I'm afraid..."

Tears welled up at the corners of Lin Heng's eyes, but inwardly, he was thinking:

Good thing I was clever enough to hide behind Senior Sister. Not gonna lie, this human shield was safe and reliable.

Senior Sister Xiao Yao, you can't blame me. If I hadn't done that, I probably would've lost my life. At most, you only got a little hurt.

Uh...

Mu Liuxi had just been about to comfort him when those two muttered thoughts directly choked the words back down her throat.

Although his actions were understandable, was it not far too rude to compare his Senior Sister to a "human shield" in his heart?

No matter how she listened to that tone, there was a hint of gloating in it.

Not long afterward.

Meng Yutong found Lin Heng and the others. A paper puppet followed beside her, while Ye Tian was slung over her shoulder.

"Master, Junior Brother Ye, he..."

"We'll talk after we leave. We can't stay here any longer."

Meng Yutong's face was somewhat pale, making her look as though she had suffered serious injuries.

After leaving the secret realm, the group boarded the Cloud Boat and began their return journey.

Inside the Cloud Boat's cabin.

Of the two beds, Yun Yao lay on the left and Ye Tian on the right. Mu Liuxi and Lin Heng each looked after one of them.

Clearly, Yun Yao's injuries were much lighter. Dao power gradually weakened as the distance increased, and their location had been a full seventy miles from that central bell.

Meng Yutong, meanwhile, sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion with her eyes closed, seemingly healing her injuries.

Master must be panicking right now... She can probably feel her cultivation slowly falling!

ㄟ( ▔, ▔ )ㄏ But who told you to bring this upon yourself!

Still, it's a little strange. How did that brat Ye Tian get injured? And so badly at that... Could something have gone wrong?

Forget it. Once Ye Tian wakes up, I should receive my reward.

Lin Heng secretly rejoiced.

Although the outcome of the plot had deviated somewhat, the Master-Defying Disciple dungeon was definitely as good as nailed to a board.

He was becoming more and more curious about what the top-tier reward would be.

A weapon, pills, or perhaps a heaven-defying cultivation technique?

Lin Heng shook his head, warning himself that he could not let down his guard yet.

This was only the first key plot point. Many more pits awaited him ahead.

After Ye Tian defied his master, all of Fairy Cloud Peak would become a harem.

Whether it was the mysterious First Senior Sister or the icy Second Senior Sister, neither would be able to escape their predetermined harem fate.

Therefore, he had to choose certain crucial points and take the plot in the "opposite direction," lest Ye Tian get him killed.

Before long, the sect would issue a mission. During that mission, Ye Tian would break one of his legs and use the opportunity to directly win Yun Yao over.

The best way to avoid having his leg broken was not to participate in the mission.

As long as he did not take part, perhaps Yun Yao would not throw herself at him for free either.

That would, in turn, slow the protagonist's growth.

After all, the protagonist possessed the Many Wives, Many Blessings Aura. The more heroines he took in, the stronger his power would become.

As he thought this,

Yun Yao suddenly opened her eyes.

Hm?

Before Lin Heng could react, an agonizing pain, as though he had been kicked by a donkey, erupted from his chest. The next moment, his entire body flew backward two meters.

Smack!

Yun Yao stood above him, lifted her jade-like foot, and directly stepped on his nearly fractured chest.

"Fuck!"

"Senior Sister, what are you doing?"

Lin Heng was completely dumbfounded. Over the past two hours, he had fed her water and wiped away her sweat.

Yet the moment she woke up, she gave him a kick.

Could it be because he had used her as a shield?

The situation had been so dangerous then. Surely she would not go that far over it, right?

What he did not know was that

Yun Yao's soul had merely suffered some shock. That did not mean she could not hear Lin Heng's inner thoughts while unconscious.

Using her as a human shield was one thing, but he had even gloated inwardly that she was stupid and thick-skinned.

If she did not properly teach this Junior Brother a lesson, how could she establish her authority!!

"Xiao Yao, what are you doing? Don't disturb Master's recovery!"

Mu Liuxi pointed outside the cabin, signaling with her eyes.

Yun Yao immediately understood. She grabbed Lin Heng by the collar and dragged him outside.

"Senior Sister! Senior Sister! Have you gone crazy? I kindly took care of you all the way here, so why are you hitting me?!"

"Hehe!" Yun Yao laughed. A heart-stirring smile appeared on her exquisite face.

"My dear Junior Brother, I don't mind you using your Senior Sister as a human shield, since I have an obligation to protect you! But did you think that just because I fainted, I wouldn't notice the smile curling up at your lips?"

"Did you think I wouldn't notice your restless little movements when you held me?"

Thump!

Lin Heng's heart gave a violent leap.

Had he smiled?

He remembered that he had even squeezed out two tears. As a master performer with acting skills worthy of an emperor, how could he make such a low-level mistake?

If he was going to laugh, he should only have laughed in his heart.

As for those little movements...

"I... I only..."

Little time was left for Lin Heng to argue.

In truth, Yun Yao had not possessed any bodily sensation while unconscious, but she had heard one sentence:

She looks so small, but she's quite big in the palm of my hand. So soft to squeeze.

There was no need to say what that sentence was describing.

PS: Let me explain first: Yun Yao might enjoy bullying the male lead early on, but she is absolutely not into abuse, because later the protagonist will fiercely thrust back. Their later storyline is a little sweet.