Meanwhile.
In the courtyard of Su Estate, several people also lay sprawled across the ground.
Su Yun recognized them all. They were Cloud Lin Escort Agency's escorts, along with some servants from the estate.
But almost all of them were badly injured. They groaned in pain, trembling from head to toe.
The ground was mottled with bloodstains.
Seeing this, Su Yun couldn't help frowning.
"Big Brother, what happened?"
He walked up to Su Lin and asked.
Su Lin sat in a wooden chair, frowning as he pondered something.
Hearing Su Yun's voice, he looked up in surprise. Then delight spread across his face.
"Third Brother, you're finally back!"
He had been under immense pressure lately. He often couldn't sleep, his expression was haggard, and the dark circles under his eyes had grown much worse.
Even a few strands of white had appeared at his temples.
But now that Su Yun was back, he finally felt he had someone to rely on.
Su Lin slowly explained what had happened.
He said bitterly, "Third Brother, there's something you don't know."
"Ever since you sent back the Body Tempering Pill formula last time, our Su Estate has been gathering alchemy ingredients and having Xiao Ling'er make Body Tempering Pills."
"Little by little, our business grew, and we amassed quite a fortune. But more and more forces began eyeing us, too."
"Still, they were wary of your status, so they didn't dare make things difficult for our estate."
"Five days ago, one of the guest martial artists at our estate happened to discover a Fire Origin Mine in the mountain range outside the city."
"This kind of ore can be used to forge Yellow Grade weapons, so it's quite valuable."
"Afterward, our estate sent a large number of people to mine the Fire Origin Mine, and we reaped a rich haul."
"However, as soon as word got out, martial artists from the Blazing Fire Sect came right over!"
"They not only seized the Fire Origin Mine and confiscated the ore we'd collected, but also injured many of our escorts and servants."
"If you weren't an Outer Sect disciple of the Mystic Blade Sect, Third Brother, with a decent status, those martial artists probably wouldn't have cared whether we lived or died. They would have simply wiped us out!"
Su Lin clenched his teeth, his expression grim.
The mine had been taken, and their people had been beaten.
Who could feel good about that?
After hearing him out, Su Yun's gaze turned cold as well.
The Blazing Fire Sect!
He knew of them, of course.
They were one of the most powerful sects in Glaze Prefecture, and also one of the reclusive sects. They were rather mysterious and never recruited disciples from the outside.
Though the Blazing Fire Sect couldn't compare to a top sect like the Mystic Blade Sect, it was still a colossal force to many martial artists.
So even though the mine had been taken and their people injured, Su Lin dared not rashly resist, no matter how resentful he felt.
Otherwise, it would be like throwing an egg against a rock.
"Big Brother, where outside the city is the Fire Origin Mine?"
Coming back to his senses, Su Yun asked.
"Third Brother, why don't we let it go?"
Thinking of those martial artists with their powerful auras, Su Lin looked worried.
He tried to dissuade him.
"You only just joined the Mystic Blade Sect. You're still just an Outer Sect disciple, so I'm afraid you can't intimidate the Blazing Fire Sect."
"Besides, the Blazing Fire Sect seems to value this mine very highly. They've sent more than a dozen Mystic Profound Realm martial artists to guard it."
"I've thought it over carefully. We can only grit our teeth and accept this loss."
"If a fight breaks out, we might be fine—we'd probably just get hurt. The Blazing Fire Sect wouldn't dare actually kill us and offend the Mystic Blade Sect."
"But all those escorts and servants in the estate would likely die!"
"Accept the loss?"
Su Yun shook his head with a smile. "Big Brother, take a look."
"How is the disciple uniform I'm wearing now different from before?"
"Your disciple uniform?"
Su Lin froze, then took a closer look.
He'd been so worried about what had happened that he hadn't really noticed what Su Yun was wearing.
But now, as he examined it, his eyes suddenly lit up!
The disciple uniform Su Yun wore was clearly different from the one he'd had before.
It was much more luxurious.
A bold guess immediately came to mind.
"Third Brother, could it be that you've already become an Inner Sect disciple?"
Su Lin's face lit up with delight.
"That's right."
Su Yun nodded, then said with a smile,
"Big Brother, I'll handle this. Just tell me where it is."
"Haha! Good! Good!"
Su Lin nodded with a hearty laugh, his excitement plain to see.
He knew very well that Su Yun hadn't even been cultivating for two months.
In less than two months, his cultivation had broken through to the Mystic Profound Realm, and he'd become an Inner Sect disciple of the Mystic Blade Sect!
That rate of cultivation was simply outrageous!
Collecting himself, Su Lin quickly gave him the approximate location of the Fire Origin Mine.
At that moment, Chen Ying, who had suffered relatively minor injuries, immediately got to his feet and spoke excitedly.
"Third Young Master, I'll take you there!"
He had been one of the miners himself, so he knew the Fire Origin Mine's exact location.
Besides, after being injured, he'd been seething with anger.
Now that Su Yun was going to confront the Blazing Fire Sect, he naturally wanted to see it with his own eyes.
"All right."
Su Yun looked at him and nodded.
"Hm? Didn't the Blazing Fire Sect already warn you not to come near here again?"
"What, did your Su Estate dare send someone over anyway, to provoke our Blazing Fire Sect?"
"Did you really think that with an Outer Sect disciple of the Mystic Blade Sect backing you, our sect wouldn't dare wipe out your estate?"
Su Yun and Chen Ying had only just arrived at the Fire Origin Mine when the martial artists guarding its perimeter shouted at them.
Every one of them had a cultivation base at the Body Refining Ninth Layer.
There were more than a dozen of them in total.
Until now, these men alone had been enough to suppress every martial artist at the Su Estate.
"Ridiculous!"
"Open your dog eyes and take a good look! My Third Young Master is now an Inner Sect disciple of the Mystic Blade Sect!"
Chen Ying looked around at them and sneered.
"An Inner Sect disciple of the Mystic Blade Sect?"
The dozen or so men immediately looked at Su Yun.
Then they laughed.
"Kid, I know you. You're Su Yun, right?"
"I heard you only joined the Mystic Blade Sect recently. It hasn't even been two months, has it?"
"Do you know that impersonating an Inner Sect disciple of the Mystic Blade Sect will cost you your head?"
One of the burly men stepped up to Su Yun, his expression mocking.
Though the Blazing Fire Sect had been reclusive for a long time, they occasionally gathered information from the outside world.
When they seized the mine, they hadn't been careless. They'd investigated the Su Estate in the city.
That was how they'd learned that the estate's real backing was Su Yun, an Outer Sect disciple of the Mystic Blade Sect.
As for Su Yun opening up the trade route and wiping out Black Cloud Stronghold, they considered it utterly insignificant.
If they hadn't feared the Mystic Blade Sect behind him, the Blazing Fire Sect would have wiped out everyone from the Su Estate when they seized the mine.
After all, only the dead could keep a secret!
"Cost me my head?"
Facing the burly man's mockery, Su Yun smiled.
Then he flicked his fingers.
Sss!
In an instant, a streak of blood-red blade light shot from his hand and pierced through the burly man's body!
As blood sprayed, the man's body flew backward at high speed.
Then, with a crash, he slammed into the ground!
Crack!
In an instant, the ground split open!
A headless corpse lay in a pool of blood.
His fingers twitched a few times, then fell still.
"This..."
The dozen or so other martial artists at the Body Refining Ninth Layer saw what had happened. Their faces filled with shock, their pupils constricting!
The burly man was fairly strong. He'd fought Chen Ying before and injured him with ease.
Yet now Su Yun had killed him with a casual strike!
What kind of strength was that?
Coming to their senses, the Body Refining Realm martial artists all retreated several steps.
They stared fixedly at Su Yun.
Their faces were filled with terror!
"The one commanding this place, come out and face me."
The next moment, Su Yun ignored them completely and spoke in a cold voice.
As soon as his words fell, the scene went utterly silent.
The Body Refining Realm martial artists' eyes widened. They didn't even dare breathe loudly.
"He's dead for sure!"
That was the first thought that came to their minds.
Whoosh!
As the cold wind howled, only Su Yun's voice echoed in every direction.
Chen Ying stood beside him, also a little dumbfounded.
After killing a martial artist at the Body Refining Ninth Layer with one strike, Su Yun had directly ordered the Blazing Fire Sect's commander to come out!
That was far too bold!
Looking at Su Yun's back, Chen Ying couldn't help marveling.
"Third Young Master's temper really is just like when he wiped out Black Cloud Stronghold."
"Few words, ruthless deeds!"
Before you continue