He felt his heart tighten, knowing the most critical moment had arrived.
His performance had to be flawless.
"Thud!"
Yang Lingtian seemed to have been completely drained of strength by that terrifying gaze. His legs buckled, and he fell straight to his knees on the icy ground.
Hard pebbles dug painfully into his knees, but he seemed not to feel them at all.
His body trembled violently, like a withered leaf caught in a raging storm, liable to be torn to shreds at any moment.
"Patri... Patriarch..." He struggled to raise his head.
That exquisite face, beautiful enough to topple a kingdom, was now covered in extreme fear and horror.
Tears rolled uncontrollably from his beautiful eyes like pearls from a broken string, tracing lines down cheeks so pale they held not a trace of color.
His voice was hoarse beyond recognition, thick with sobs.
It brimmed with the excitement of surviving a disaster, endless grievance, and deep self-reproach and awe.
"Disciple... Disciple is guilty."
"Disciple... failed to protect Senior Brother Li..."
"Please, Patriarch... punish me."
Every word seemed to be forced out from the depths of his throat, broken and halting, filled with heartrending sorrow.
He reached out, seemingly wanting to crawl toward Li Ao's corpse, his eyes filled with boundless grief and regret.
Yet the moment he moved his body, he seemed to aggravate his severe injuries, and his delicate frame shuddered violently.
"Pfft!"
Another mouthful of blood sprayed out, staining the ground before him red.
Powerless, he collapsed again. His miserable and frail appearance was enough to move even the hardest of hearts.
Xuan Tianba looked at Liu Ruyan's pitiful state, and the fury in his eyes, enough to incinerate everything, seemed to abate slightly.
But that bone-chilling killing intent did not diminish in the slightest.
He