Tang Ya

After chasing them all the way, Vista followed behind, his face deathly pale. He shouted at the top of his lungs, trying to salvage some dignity.

At Xue Yuheng's signal, Heavenly Dancing Maiden tore open a gap in the domain and let Vista fly inside.

Tieli endured the pain and looked up at Vista's livid face, then at Heavenly Dancing Maiden, who looked like a god. In an instant, he understood what was going on.

He dropped to his knees with a thud, slapping himself hard across the face as he wept and begged, "Spare me, my lord! It was all a misunderstanding! A complete misunderstanding!"

Xue Yuheng couldn't be bothered to look at his disgraceful antics. His voice was icy as he asked, "Where's Tang Ya?"

If not for Tang Ya, he wouldn't have gotten involved in the Tang Sect's mess.

Tang Lin and his wife exchanged a glance. Just as she was about to speak, Tang Lin grabbed her and stopped her.

Wary of the unfamiliar boy before him, Tang Lin didn't answer at once. He decided to observe the situation first.

Tieli slapped his forehead, finally realizing who Xue Yuheng was looking for. He immediately began crying even harder. "Young master! Lord Vista!

"I've already sent people to find Miss Tang Ya! We'll find her any moment now! Any moment!"

Everyone present was sharp enough to understand at once: the only reason this terrifyingly powerful young man had intervened tonight was that girl named Tang Ya.

Seeing this, Tang Lin was overjoyed. He quickly dropped to his knees and bowed deeply to Xue Yuheng, wailing indignantly, "My lord! Lords!

"Tieli has long coveted my Tang Sect's property and secret techniques. Tonight, while the two elders of our sect were away, he colluded with the city defense army to launch a night raid!

"He means to destroy the Tang Sect's ten-thousand-year legacy!

"According to the laws of the Heaven Dou Empire, anyone who trespasses into a home and exterminates a sect is to be sentenced to death by a thousand cuts, with three generations of their family implicated!

"I beg you, my lords, to do justice for the Tang Sect!"

Tieli was so frightened that his soul nearly left his body. He hurriedly lay on the ground, kowtowing again and again. "Spare me, my lord! Those bastards under me egged me on!

"I haven't taken a single Tang Sect life!"

He really hadn't killed anyone from the Tang Sect tonight. He had planned to kill Tang Lin with his own hands and then take his wife, but just as he was about to act, Xue Yuheng had stopped him.

Now, looking into Heavenly Dancing Maiden's emotionless eyes, Tieli felt a chill shoot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

He had only one thought: I can't die! I still have more than twenty wives to support!

Xue Yuheng looked at Tang Lin, who was kneeling at his feet and pleading desperately, and spoke calmly:

"Doesn't your Tang Sect deserve to be destroyed?"

The Tang Sect's underground passage.

The dusty air was thick with the smell of blood.

Tang Ya's uncle, Tang Chuan, dragged her along by the arm as they stumbled forward.

She was only ten years old. Her tiny body was soon panting for breath, and her once-bright skirt had been torn in several places by the stone walls. Soot and tear tracks stained her face.

Behind them came the sect's familiar, anguished screams. Each one landed on Tang Ya's heart like a hammer.

"Second Uncle... where are Father and Mother? Why aren't they coming with us?" Tang Ya asked through her sobs. She was ten; she wasn't completely ignorant.

Tang Chuan's body stiffened. Without turning around, he caught his breath and said, "They'll catch up with us. Be good, Xiaoya. Let's get outside and wait for them."

At the entrance to the passage, Tang Ya had seen her father knocked to the ground by a man in black. Her mother had thrown herself at the man and grabbed his leg. After that, she never got back up.

She didn't dare say anything or ask. She was afraid that if she spoke, her last remaining family member would disappear too.

The passage was long, so long it seemed to have no end.

Blisters had formed on Tang Ya's feet, and every step sent a sharp pain through them. But she gritted her teeth and ran after Tang Chuan without making a sound.

Suddenly, chaotic footsteps and curses came from behind them.

"They're over there! Don't let Tang Ya escape! The sect master said anyone who catches her will get ten thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

"Heh heh heh, I hear the little girl's a real beauty."

Tang Chuan's expression changed. He shoved Tang Ya around the bend in the passage. "Xiaoya, follow this tunnel and keep running. The exit is outside Heaven Dou City, at Duanhun Gorge.

"Remember, never look back. Never return to Heaven Dou City!"

"Uncle!" Tang Ya grabbed his clothes, tears surging into her eyes. "I don't want to go alone! I want to go with you!"

Tang Chuan crouched down and vigorously wiped the tears from her face. He wore a smile more painful than crying. "You silly girl, I have to hold them off.

"Otherwise, none of us will get away."

He took a black ring from inside his robe and slipped it onto Tang Ya's finger.

The ring was cool to the touch, engraved with intricate Blue Silver patterns. It fit her perfectly, as if it had been made for her.

"This is the Tang Sect Master Ring. From today onward, you are the Tang Sect's three hundred and twenty-third sect master."

Tang Chuan's voice was solemn, his gaze resolute. "Xiaoya, remember: the Tang Sect isn't some damn honor or a ten-thousand-year legacy.

"The Tang Sect is your home, and the home of every Tang Sect disciple.

"Your uncle was useless. I couldn't protect the Tang Sect, or your parents. From now on, it's up to you.

"You must survive. And if you can, make the Tang Sect... flourish."

As soon as he finished speaking, he shoved Tang Ya away, turned, and charged toward the pursuing enemies with his sword in hand.

"Uncle! No!"

Tang Ya screamed with all her might and tried to chase after him, but her uncle's Blue Silver Soul Skill wrapped around her body, leaving her unable to move.

Tang Ya hid around the bend and watched her uncle charge into the pursuers.

Swordlight flashed, and blood sprayed.

Tang Chuan, a Soul King, fought like a maddened lion, cutting down one Iron Blood Sect disciple after another.

But there were too many enemies. They kept pouring in.

A blade pierced his chest from behind.

Tang Chuan's body jolted, then slowly fell to the ground.

In the last moment before losing consciousness, he turned toward Tang Ya and gave her a relieved smile.

"Run... run..."

Tang Ya covered her mouth and bit down hard on her lip, refusing to let herself cry out.

Blood ran from the corner of her mouth, but she couldn't feel the pain.

Tang Ya turned around and ran for her life.

The wind roared in her ears, and tears blurred her vision.

Tang Ya didn't know how long she ran or how many times she fell.

She burst out of the underground passage and stumbled to the edge of the gorge at Duanhun Gorge.

A bottomless abyss lay beneath her feet, and the pursuers' footsteps sounded behind her.

Tang Ya leaned against the cold stone wall and slowly slid down to sit.

She raised the Sect Master Ring, still warm from her uncle's hand, and pressed it against her face.

She had always thought her parents and uncle were too stubborn.

The Tang Sect had already fallen into decline, and they could barely afford to eat, yet they still clung to that rundown courtyard and their so-called Tang Sect honor.

She hadn't understood what was so important about those battered Hidden Weapons and those dull cultivation techniques.

Not until today.

Not until her parents fell before her, and her uncle died in the passage protecting her.

Only then did she finally understand.

The Tang Sect wasn't some honor.

The Tang Sect was her home.

It was the place her parents had protected with their lives, and the responsibility her uncle had entrusted to her with his dying breath.

But now, her home was gone.

Everyone was dead.

She was all alone.

Tang Ya hugged her knees and sat at the edge of the gorge, weeping in anguish.

Her cries echoed through the empty gorge, carrying boundless despair and sorrow.

The footsteps behind her drew closer and closer.

"Found her! She's over there!"

"Little girl, let's see where you can run now!"

Tang Ya slowly raised her head and wiped the tears from her face.

She absolutely couldn't fall into the hands of those beasts from the Iron Blood Sect.

Her parents and uncle had traded their lives for her freedom. She couldn't let their sacrifice be in vain.

Tang Ya closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

I'll jump...

Just then.

A streak of golden dawn suddenly split across the horizon.

The first rays of sunlight pierced the thick clouds and spilled over the land.

The darkness receded, and dawn arrived.

Tang Ya froze. She opened her eyes and looked toward the sunrise.

A breathtaking white figure came flying slowly from the horizon, treading upon the morning light. Her long skirt fluttered in the wind, and a soft, holy radiance surrounded her, like the legendary Nine Heavens Fairy.

Beside her stood a boy dressed in brocade robes.

He looked no older than six or seven, with refined features and a gentle, jade-like appearance.

A blue-white light flashed around his wrist, instantly transforming into a soft ribbon.

The ribbon seemed alive. With a gentle flick, it wrapped tenderly around Tang Ya before she could react, pulling her toward the boy.

Tang Ya stared blankly at the boy before her.

His eyes were dark and bright, their depths hard to fathom.

The boy reached out and gently drew the stunned Tang Ya into his arms.

His embrace was warm, dispelling all the cold and fear that gripped her.

The boy lowered his head and spoke in a voice filled with tenderness and resolve, right beside her ear:

"Don't be afraid, Xiaoya. You have me from now on."