Seven Fiends of Lingnan

Little Bug was greatly alarmed. "Someone is fighting with magic in the academy."

Zhu Ying hurriedly covered his mouth, lowered her voice, and said into Wang Chong's ear, "Do not speak loudly."

Little Bug immediately understood. With a flip of his hands, two fire serpents as fine as threads coiled around his palms.

Little Bug had now mastered the spells of five Celestial Steles. One was the Qiankun Ring Method, one was the art of invisibility, while the other three had no known names: one was a cloud spell, one was a sword formula talisman, and the last was the method for controlling Qian-Li Fire Serpents.

After passing the Qianli Heart-Refining Trial, he had gained the recognition of seven Qian-Li Fire Serpents. Together with the spells on the Celestial Stele, he could already control the fire serpents as easily as his own limbs. Yet his experience was lacking, and whenever he encountered a magical battle, his heart always quailed.

At this moment, faint anger stirred in Little Bug's heart. He had not spent much time at Egret Academy, but he had at least become acquainted with his fellow students, and he had sought the teachers' guidance on countless essays. The masters had bestowed knowledge upon him and dispelled his doubts.

"If I find out which cultivators killed people from the academy for no reason, I will burn them to death."

Even when facing Sun Yougui and the burly men who had ambushed him and Zhu Ying, Little Bug had never harbored killing intent. Yet now, a dangerous thought had arisen within him.

Seeing him release two fire serpents, Zhu Ying felt slightly reassured. Even Sun Yougui could not withstand Chong's Qian-Li Fire Serpents. No matter what danger awaits in the academy, he can protect me.

The two did not enter through the main gate. Instead, they went around to a secluded corner and climbed over the wall together. Under ordinary circumstances, there would surely have been a touch of sweetness in this, but they had no mind for it now.

Once inside the academy, they searched carefully and found that there was indeed no one left. Zhu Ying was more attentive. She noticed traces by the side gate at the rear mountain and pulled Wang Chong over to inspect them. Sure enough, they discovered several dozen fresh graves behind the mountain.

None of these fresh graves bore inscriptions, making them seem hastily prepared. Only on a great tree had someone cut away a bright patch of bark with a sharp blade and written several lines upon it.

"I am Sui Yin, Heavenly General Who Patrols the Realm. By order, I sought to recover the Langhuan Celestial Stele. Passing through this place, I encountered fiendish cultivators running rampant and laying waste to living beings. I slew the fiendish cultivators and White Egret Mountain, then gathered the innocent dead here."

Little Bug was deeply saddened. He bowed toward the words on the tree, then said to Zhu Ying, "This Heavenly General Sui Yin did not know the people of the academy, so he did not erect gravestones. I wish to dig them all up, identify their faces, and raise new markers in their memory."

"That way, the families of our fellow students and masters can come to find their remains in the future."

Zhu Ying said softly, "There were more people in the academy than this. Many fellow students must have escaped disaster. Let us search nearby first, then find some people to come help us."

Little Bug agreed. "Sister Zhu, you have thought much further ahead."

Just as Little Bug and Zhu Ying were about to search Egret City for former classmates and academy masters, they heard the wind howl overhead. A voice like a drake's cry shouted, "Who killed my brother?"

A gigantic black hand, several zhang across, descended from the sky and seized one of the larger graves. This grave mound was bigger than the rest, but neither Zhu Ying nor Wang Chong had noticed that detail earlier.

The huge black hand did not resemble a human hand, but rather a bird's claw. Each talon was thin and hard as steel. With one grab, it smashed apart the grave mound and pulled out a corpse covered in black fur.

The corpse in that large grave was not human-shaped. It stood several zhang tall, like a bear, though half its body had been charred black, as if scorched by some blazing fire.

Both Zhu Ying and Little Bug were slightly startled. Little Bug immediately thought, So this monster killed so many people at the academy. Now its companion has come seeking revenge.

Little Bug was still hesitating when the person in the sky shouted, "Was it you who killed my brother?"

"Then pay for his life!"

The fire serpents coiled around Little Bug's hands were as thin as lines of flame. The monster in the sky saw them near the grave and immediately misunderstood.

The gigantic black claw tossed the giant bear's corpse aside, then abruptly grabbed down at Zhu Ying and Wang Chong. The forceful wind howled, and its might was immense.

Little Bug did not dare delay. With a push of both hands, he sent out the two fire serpents, and they collided head-on with the enormous black claw.

This monster, which had appeared from nowhere, was exceedingly powerful. Though it shrieked when scorched by the fire serpents, it forcibly knocked both of them aside. It performed far better than the three elders of the Heavenly Corpse Sect.

It was not that this monster's strength greatly surpassed that of Sun Yougui and the others, but that its cultivation method was fierce and overbearing, not restrained by true fire.

Little Bug hastily released a third fire serpent, took Zhu Ying with him, and flew into the air. Only then did he see a young man clad entirely in black robes, his face sinister and shadowed.

When the black-robed young man saw them, savage hatred appeared on his face. Crossing his hands, he sent two enormous black hands flying out together.

Zhu Ying cried out, "It is the Black Eagle Demon King of Lingnan!"

"The bear demon below is Bear Strongman, one of the Seven Fiends of Lingnan!"

The Black Eagle Demon King sneered. "For a little girl to recognize this king's origins, you have some knowledge after all. To die beneath this king's Great Force Heavenly Eagle Claw is a blessing you cultivated over several lifetimes."

Little Bug did not answer the monster. After briefly observing the Black Eagle Demon King's battle with the two fire serpents, he thought, This Great Force Heavenly Eagle Claw of his has limited range. It can only strike targets within a hundred zhang. Yet the Qian-Li Fire Serpents can be controlled freely even dozens of li away. I will widen the distance and fight him slowly.

Little Bug patted the fire serpent beneath him and instantly retreated more than ten li. Several times, the Black Eagle Demon King tried to break through the Qian-Li Fire Serpents' obstruction and close in on the two of them, but he was never able to do so.

How could the Black Eagle Demon King not know that his Great Force Heavenly Eagle Claw could not strike at long range? He merely relied on his swift movement technique, capable of soaring a thousand li through the sky, and considered closing the distance as easy as turning his hand over. This pair of eagle claws had been tempered a hundred times, and even flying knives and flying swords could hardly damage them. He could charge through an enemy's magical treasures and spells to get close, and had never regarded this weakness as a concern.

Yet he had not expected the fire serpents Wang Chong had released to be so incredibly troublesome. Every hard clash left his pair of hundred-tempered eagle claws burned with unbearable pain.

Little Bug had fought several magical battles while riding the fire serpents, and he had gained some experience. Now, filled with anger at these monsters slaughtering people indiscriminately, he gave a soft shout and expelled his not particularly abundant true qi. The two Qian-Li Fire Serpents immediately swelled to dozens of zhang in length, spitting blazing flames as their savage might grew tenfold.

The Black Eagle Demon King could no longer hold them off and retreated as he fought. Fortunately, Little Bug's own cultivation was truly shallow, and he could only rely on the fire serpents' innate power to face the enemy. Otherwise, the Black Eagle Demon King would already have been burned to drifting ash.

As he fought bitterly, the Black Eagle Demon King secretly cried out, So it truly was this little thief who burned and killed my brother. Bear Strongman was gentle by nature. How could he have suffered this man's vicious hand for no reason?

If I do not avenge my brother, how can this hatred ever be dispelled?

Several times, he tried to take the risk of crashing through the fire serpents' blockade, but Little Bug's deft techniques stopped him every time.

After watching the battle for a while, Zhu Ying asked softly, "Are you using the Primordial Sword Formula?"

"To turn the Primordial Sword Art into an art of controlling fire serpents—Chong, you truly are a genius."