Dai Mubai Stirs Up Trouble

However, just as Shen Lian's Dragon-Slaying Blade Martial Soul was about to leave its sheath, an invisible pressure suddenly descended.

A scarlet halo spread around Tang San's body, and within it, a phantom holding the Asura Demon Sword faintly emerged.

Shen Lian felt a bone-chilling cold race up from his spine to the back of his head, forcibly halting the movement of his hand.

His pupils contracted sharply as he stared fixedly at that scarlet divine power, countless thoughts flashing through his mind in an instant.

"The Asura God..."

Shen Lian murmured, his voice tinged with unwillingness and helplessness.

Shen Lian understood that, as the protagonist, Tang San still possessed safeguards that were difficult to shake, even if the course of fate had been forcibly altered.

That divine power from the God Realm was like an invisible shackle, firmly protecting Tang San's life.

But Shen Lian also knew that if anyone attacked him, they too would be targeted by the Divine Power of Destruction. So, for now, Shen Lian knew he could not touch Tang San.

Sensing the change in Shen Lian's aura, Zhu Zhuqing instinctively moved closer and asked in a low voice:

"Brother Lian, what is it?"

Shen Lian took a deep breath, slowly shook his head, and withdrew the Soul Power he had released.

"Let's go. We can't touch him right now."

Shen Lian gave Tang San one last look before turning away. The light from his Vermilion Bird Wings illuminated his slightly helpless silhouette.

Behind them, Tang San remained unconscious, completely unaware that he had just walked the line between life and death, or that the mysterious divine power had allowed his fate to continue.

Dead leaves crackled beneath Shen Lian's boots. Just as he was about to spread his Vermilion Bird Wings, the sharp crack of a dead branch breaking sounded behind him.

Zhu Zhuqing instinctively stepped in front of him, her Nether Claws glinting coldly beneath the moonlight, only to see a tower-like figure push aside the Vines.

Sparks from the campfire still clung to Zhao Wuji's bare chest. He strode forward like a dragon and tiger, punching through the tree blocking his path as though he were a moving black iron tower.

"You two shouldn't be in such a hurry to leave. My student is still unconscious."

Zhao Wuji's voice shook leaves from the branches. Behind him, Dai Mubai rubbed the arm injured by the Giant Ape's shockwave, Oscar's hand holding a Sausage trembled like a leaf, and only Ning Rongrong's Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda still glimmered faintly.

Ma Hongjun hid at the very back, his fat face pale as he stared at the faintly visible Dragon-Slaying Blade at Shen Lian's waist.

When Shen Lian turned around, moonlight happened to illuminate half his face.

Zhao Wuji's pupils narrowed slightly. This youth's gaze was as cold as the frozen northern plains, and the faint dragon-shaped patterns on the blade at his waist actually made even him, a level-seventy-six Soul Saint, feel a trace of pressure.

"What, you think his unconsciousness has something to do with me?"

Shen Lian's voice was not loud, yet it carried a metallic edge that startled the fireflies perched on his shoulder into flight.

"That's right!"

Zhao Wuji suddenly smashed the broken log onto the ground, splattering mud beside Zhu Zhuqing's boots. Then he continued:

"Until my student wakes up, neither of you is leaving!"

Zhao Wuji deliberately released thirty percent of a Soul Saint's pressure. The surrounding air instantly became viscous, but Shen Lian merely raised a hand and dusted off his sleeve, as if brushing away dust rather than Soul Power.

"If you truly intend to stop me from leaving..."

Before Shen Lian could finish speaking, the Dragon-Slaying Blade in his hand had already left its sheath by an inch, and crimson patterns on the blade suddenly lit up.

At that tense moment, a faint groan came from the ground. Tang San's fingers twitched, and the blood beads seeping from the wrist wrapped in Blue Silver Grass abruptly stopped flowing.

"Teacher Zhao, Tang San is awake!"

Ning Rongrong's voice shattered the stalemate.

Zhao Wuji spun around sharply, his thick palm nearly crushing Tang San's shoulder.

"Kid, are you all right?"

Zhao Wuji stared at Tang San's pale face, but his heart was pounding, because Zhao Wuji knew exactly who Tang San's father was.

If anything happened to this little ancestor of the Clear Sky Sect, Tang Hao's hammer could smash straight through Star Dou Forest.

Tang San propped himself up against a tree trunk, then his gaze suddenly froze when it swept over Shen Lian.

He remembered the blade that had severed the spider silk before he lost consciousness, as well as the afterimage Zhu Zhuqing had left behind when she lured away the Demon Spider. Then Tang San said to Zhao Wuji:

"Teacher Zhao, my unconsciousness had nothing to do with them."

Tang San's voice was hoarse with the aftermath of danger, yet exceptionally clear. Then he continued:

"They helped lure the Soul Beast away."

Zhao Wuji's thick brows knotted together. His thick lips moved, but in the end, he merely waved his fan-sized hand.

"All right, all right. Since my student says so, you can go."

Zhao Wuji deliberately turned his face away, pretending not to see the mockery in Shen Lian's eyes. A level-seventy-six Soul Saint apologizing to two youngsters?

That word did not exist in Immovable Bright King's dictionary.

Shen Lian sneered. His motion of drawing the blade was lightning-fast, and he was about to make trouble.

Dusk stretched everyone's shadows long across the damp dead leaves of Star Dou Forest.

Just as Shen Lian was about to speak, Dai Mubai's hoarse voice suddenly tore through the stagnant air, startling several night owls from the treetops.

The evil eye beneath Dai Mubai's loose fringe glowed scarlet as he stared at Zhu Zhuqing in Shen Lian's arms. Soul Power surged around him like an undercurrent.

Zhao Wuji frowned slightly. Tang San's knuckles turned white around the Blue Silver Grass, while the other Shrek members exchanged looks.

Dai Mubai tore open the metal clasp at his collar and strode forward. The hem of his dark training outfit swept moss from the tree trunk as he shouted at Zhu Zhuqing:

"Some people are already someone else's fiancée, yet they're still tangled up with another man."

Before his words had even faded, Oscar's sharp intake of breath was clearly audible.

Shen Lian felt Zhu Zhuqing's body abruptly tense in his arms. Moonlight fell upon her tightly pressed lips, giving them a cold gleam.

She gently pushed Shen Lian away. An icy, eerie glow filled her cat-like eyes as she approached Dai Mubai step by step, then said to him with a face full of mockery:

"Heh. You still have the nerve to say that about me?"

Zhu Zhuqing's voice trembled like Ice Spikes. Then she continued:

"Back then, you abandoned me and fled alone to the Heaven Dou Empire, leaving me in Star Luo to face Zhu Zhuyun and Dai Weisi! I thought you had gone there to cultivate. But what did you do? You drowned yourself in pleasure in Suotuo City, cavorted with women of the night, and spent every day eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring."

Veins bulged in Dai Mubai's neck as his fists clenched with cracking sounds.

He violently tore open his lapels, and the White Tiger Martial Soul instantly possessed him. The kingly marking on his forehead lit up with an eerie red glow, while three Spirit Rings burst into dazzling radiance behind him.

"That still isn't a reason for you to find yourself a pretty boy!"

Dai Mubai's roar sent dead leaves flying across the ground. Fine sparks burst from the tips of his White Tiger claws as he pointed at Shen Lian.

"Pretty boy, if you've got the guts, come out and fight me one-on-one!"

Upon hearing this, a cold curve lifted at Shen Lian's lips.

Vermilion Bird Wings spread behind him, and orange-red Soul Power swept through the area like flames.

His gaze swept over Dai Mubai's flushed face, a trace of mockery flashing in his eyes.

He had lived this long and had never seen anyone so arrogant.