"Vmm!"
With a piercing blade cry, a flash of cold light shot straight for Senior Brother Sun's vitals, moving at incredible speed.
In an instant.
Sun Li felt the blood in his body surge, every hair standing on end!
I'm done for. I'm going to die!
Facing that strike, Sun Li felt as though he'd been locked in place, with nowhere to run.
All he could do was watch helplessly as the blade drew closer.
Feel death inching nearer.
He could only wait to die, powerless to do anything else.
The other disciples, including Liu Yanran, looked on with pained expressions, their eyes blazing with fury.
But there was nothing they could do to stop it.
Unwilling to sit back and await his death,
"Kill!"
With death at his doorstep, Sun Li's eyes suddenly bulged. He struggled desperately, throwing everything he had into an attack at the blade.
"Haha, you're overestimating yourself! A mere ant dares challenge a dragon!"
"Die!"
The venomous voice rang out.
Sun Li watched in despair as his all-out attack burst apart with a bang.
What a pity. I didn't even get the chance to properly care for the old man... That was Sun Li's final thought.
Clang!
A sharp ring sounded.
Sun Li kept his eyes tightly shut, but the pain never came. Confused, he slowly opened them.
What had happened?
Sun Li stared in bewilderment.
He hurriedly focused his gaze.
The next moment, his mouth fell open.
The gleaming long blade was hovering motionless right in front of his nose, humming incessantly, unable to advance even an inch.
"Holy crap!"
Sun Li jumped in fright, cold sweat streaming down his forehead. He stumbled backward again and again, not even bothering to straighten up.
Only after putting some distance between himself and the blade did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
He was still baffled.
"Senior Brother Sun, you're all right! Thank goodness!" A junior brother saw that Sun Li was unharmed and immediately shouted in excitement.
"How is this possible?"
The burly man's triumphant smile froze. He stared at the scene in disbelief.
He'd put all his strength into that strike. Even someone in the Ninth Grade Realm wouldn't dare take it lightly.
And yet a lowly disciple from Beast Taming Mountain had blocked it?
Absurd.
The burly man hurriedly rubbed his eyes, almost thinking he'd imagined it.
But the truth was plain: his strike hadn't killed his opponent—or even harmed a single hair on his head.
"Haha! Hahahaha! I'm not dead! I'm still alive!"
After a brief daze, Sun Li finally understood what had happened, and overwhelming joy surged through him.
The thrill of surviving disaster made him laugh out loud.
His laughter provoked the other man.
"You're asking for death!"
The burly man saw him laughing and immediately cast aside his earlier doubts, his fury blazing. He swept a hand through the air and roared, "What are you all standing around for? Seize them! If even one escapes, our superiors will hold us responsible, and we'll all be finished!"
At his words, killing intent swept across the entire field.
The rebels, who had been uncertain moments ago, all shuddered.
Remembering the punishment for failing their mission, their faces paled with fear.
They clenched their teeth and turned their gazes toward Liu Yanran and the others, charging at them with drawn blades!
"Kill them! Kill them all!"
"Brothers, don't let a single one get away! Once we kill them, endless riches and glory will be ours!"
"You little wench, take this!"
Although they'd lost quite a few men in the earlier surprise, the dozens of fighters still made an imposing force.
Liu Yanran and the others changed expressions at the sight.
They quickly formed a defensive stance, conserving their strength and preparing to fight at any moment.
Even Senior Brother Sun, who had been sitting on the ground, hurriedly slapped his backside and got up, his eyes glinting with ferocity.
Just as everyone thought a bloody battle was about to begin, with both sides fighting to the death,
a voice suddenly rang out from beyond the field.
"Everyone, please stop!"
The rebels who had charged halfway were jolted by a powerful aura, and stumbled in unison.
The Eighth Grade Realm swordsman's face darkened.
He cursed inwardly.
Damn it, what was going on today?
Nothing was going right. They were chasing down a few defeated stragglers, yet one unexpected turn kept following another.
Was he ever going to catch a break?
At that thought,
though he wanted nothing more than to charge forward and slaughter the bastards on the other side, letting out all his pent-up anger,
reason told him otherwise.
The person who had spoken was no weaker than he was.
If he attacked recklessly, things could get complicated and more trouble could arise.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
"What happened now?"
Liu Yanran and the others had been standing ready, their faces grim as they prepared to risk everything. But when they saw the enemy suddenly stop, they couldn't help but stare in confusion.
Time and again, the breath Liu Yanran had worked so hard to gather had nearly been knocked out of her.
Her lovely face changed again and again.
Something about today's turn of events felt wrong.
Just then,
a refined-looking middle-aged man walked in from outside the field, his body radiating the aura of an Eighth Grade Realm cultivator.
"Everyone, I ask that you do me a favor. There's something I'd like to discuss with this young lady."
Judging by his voice, he was clearly the person who had called out just now.
He pointed directly toward Liu Yanran and spoke.
"Senior, please help us! Whatever questions you have afterward, I, this humble woman, will answer them without concealment!" Liu Yanran was overjoyed to see him.
The swordsman's expression darkened.
The arrival of an Eighth Grade Realm expert at this moment could have a considerable impact on the outcome.
At that thought,
the swordsman was displeased.
"Which idiot are you? This has nothing to do with you. Get lost, or I'll kill you too!"
A series of murderous gazes suddenly fixed on the newcomer.
The man was none other than Elder Zhang Feng.
Under the pressure of so many hostile stares, Zhang Feng remained calm and simply repeated what he'd said before.
The swordsman flew into a rage!
He didn't know when to quit!
If your cultivation weren't so strong, I wouldn't even bother wasting my breath on you!
We're in the middle of a battle, damn it! Do you think this is your house, where you can do whatever you want?
But just as the swordsman prepared to swing his blade and attack for the third time, one sentence from the middle-aged man made cold sweat break out across his forehead.
Zhang Feng turned toward Liu Yanran and gave her a slight bow.
Then he said plainly,
"Miss, please don't worry. You're in no danger."
"Also, my Venerable wishes to see you. It's urgent. Would you be willing to come with me so we can speak?"
His words landed like thunder out of a clear sky!
Everyone present changed expression at once, their bodies trembling!
Their eyes widened!
The Venerable wishes to see her!
The people present hadn't caught much else, but those four words burrowed deep into their minds, booming again and again.
Everyone was utterly horrified.
They all turned to stare at the middle-aged man, shaken by the weight those words carried.
On this continent, who could rightfully bear the title "Venerable" if not a Foundation Establishment powerhouse?
Even an Innate Realm Patriarch
would never dare casually call himself a Venerable. That would be a challenge to the authority of Foundation Establishment powerhouses!
If word reached a Foundation Establishment Venerable, it would surely bring disaster!
That was precisely why no one dared throw around the title of Venerable and use it to deceive people.
Even saying it casually, as a joke, could carry a huge risk.
"The Venerable wishes to see me?"
Hearing those words, Liu Yanran's mind rang. She stumbled, feeling as though she'd just heard something momentous.
She tried to speak, but her throat was dry and hoarse. She licked her lips and asked in a trembling voice, "Venerable... may I ask which Venerable you serve? Could you tell me their name? Could it be the Five Elements Venerable?"
As far as she could think, there didn't seem to be any other Foundation Establishment Venerables in the Southern Region.
Liu Yanran's thoughts inevitably turned to the patriarch of the Five Elements Sect.