Let Flames Purify Everything!

Tang San's narrowed eyes held a drifting, unfocused gaze.

"Third Brother, don't speak. I already know."

Seeing Tang San's breath grow weaker and weaker, Yang Ming's heart clenched in fear that Tang San might die if he had arrived even a moment later.

Yang Ming tightly gripped Tang San's hand and stared at him, saying in a low voice:

"Third Brother, trust me. I'll definitely kill the two bastards who did this to you and get you out of here. Definitely!"

Tang San was deeply moved. Remembering the promise they had made some time ago, he choked out:

"Through wind... through wind we go."

Yang Ming nodded heavily and declared firmly:

"Through fire, through fire we burn!"

Tang San smiled. He closed his eyes with a smile and fell asleep peacefully.

Yang Ming's heart skipped a beat. He reached out and checked Tang San's breathing, finding that he was still breathing. Relieved, Yang Ming carefully laid Tang San flat on the ground so as not to aggravate his wounds. Then he took off his coat and covered Tang San's mangled body to keep him from catching cold later.

Only after doing all this did Yang Ming turn to Wang Zhong and Li Ren. His fists clenched tightly, veins bulging on the backs of his hands as all ten fingers dug deeply into his flesh, blood seeping through the gaps between them.

Yang Ming still felt a lingering fear. If he had arrived one step later, his best friend, his best brother, might already have been dead.

As emotions surged within him like storm clouds gathering before a torrential downpour, Yang Ming looked no different from usual on the surface.

His gaze was as sharp as a drawn sword. Yang Ming stared straight at the unconcerned Wang Zhong and Li Ren, suppressing the emotions in his heart as he said coldly:

"You've made me angry."

"What? You want to bite me?" Li Ren openly mocked Yang Ming, who only reached his waist in height. "Looks like that little brat is really important to you. Are you angry now? Furious?"

"But what can you possibly do to the two of us?"

"Even if I stood here and let you hit me, you still couldn't kill me!"

"Ha ha ha!"

As he spoke, Li Ren's plump, Maitreya Buddha-like face glowed red as he laughed smugly.

Yang Ming's eyes turned cold. Carrying emotions that had nearly been suppressed to the limit, he rushed toward Li Ren with flying steps.

Whether out of arrogance or contempt for Yang Ming, Li Ren did exactly as he said. He had no intention of dodging and simply stood there upright.

A perfect chance!

Yang Ming roared in fury, as though venting every bit of pent-up emotion within him. He showed no mercy from the very first move, unleashing his ultimate technique at once!

Green Lotus Sword Song!

Yang Ming stomped his foot and transformed into sword qi, sword qi crisscrossing through the air!

Under Li Ren's astonished gaze, five streaks of sword qi, faintly revealing green lotuses, all struck the same spot. Dazzling sword light reflected in Li Ren's eyes as it slashed diagonally across his neck, seeking to decapitate him!

Though startled, Li Ren's face showed no change. He merely cried out calmly:

"Stone Tortoise! Possession!"

An earthen-yellow glow flashed over his body. Li Ren's already tall and fat frame expanded sideways again, bursting apart his clothes. His skin suddenly formed palm-sized stone scales, while a sturdy stone turtle shell covered his back, making him resemble a humanoid tortoise.

Yang Ming's sure-kill strike landed on Li Ren's relatively vulnerable neck, yet it only produced a series of crisp clangs.

The sword qi gathered and returned to a human form.

Yang Ming landed behind Li Ren. Seeing Li Ren turn around completely unscathed, his heart sank.

"Foolish little brat." Li Ren raised his chin slightly and said arrogantly, "My Stone Tortoise Martial Soul is renowned for its defense. With an attack like yours, you can't break through my defenses!"

Yang Ming's gaze shifted. It was not yet time to use the Green Lotus Core Flame Martial Soul.

Every time he used this Martial Soul, it drained all the Soul Power from Yang Ming's body. Even if he killed Li Ren, he could not forget that Wang Zhong was still watching like a tiger nearby.

He only had one chance!

Yang Ming did not dare gamble.

Seeing that he could do nothing to Li Ren for the moment, Yang Ming immediately changed direction and rushed toward Wang Zhong, who looked easier to kill.

Wang Zhong had witnessed the might of the strangely shaped sword in Yang Ming's hand. With his frail body, if the Mysterious Sword so much as grazed him, he would probably lose an arm or a leg immediately.

Wang Zhong's expression changed drastically. A faint green glow covered both his hands, reflecting off his sharp, monkey-like face that resembled Gui Mei's. He then pressed his palms against the ground.

"Thorns! Entanglement!"

Within a two-hundred-meter radius centered on Yang Ming, earthen mounds rose one after another. Immediately afterward, thorny vines like snakes and pythons sprang out, as though they had come alive, winding toward Yang Ming from every direction.

At the same time, seeing Yang Ming abandon him, Li Ren roared and began trudging forward. Each heavy step produced a deep thud, like an elephant charging, making the fallen leaves on the ground tremble.

Yang Ming stood alone with his sword, glaring coldly at the thorns shooting toward him from all sides. He used Sword Immortal Li Bai's Green Lotus Sword Art. Though Yang Ming had only learned the first level, Green Lotus Emergence, it was more than enough to handle the situation before him.

Every swing of Yang Ming's sword produced green lotus sword light. With the Mysterious Sword's sharpness, the iron-hard thorns shattered almost upon contact.

Dressed in white, Yang Ming advanced swiftly with a stern expression, sword in hand. As green lotuses flashed around him, thorns rained down like a reversed downpour, making him look like a swordsman roaming the forest.

"Li Ren, save me!"

Wang Zhong shuddered in fright. He knew the true nature of his own abilities. His Thorns Martial Soul was far from as ordinary as it appeared, possessing both toughness and poison.

Yet this little boy before him had utterly overturned everything he believed. How could his Martial Soul be so powerful?

And he clearly had not obtained a Soul Ring yet. Where had such powerful soul skills come from?

Wang Zhong repeated his old trick. A thorny vine wrapped around his waist, taking a wide detour around Yang Ming's path as it headed toward Li Ren.

As long as Li Ren, that massive meat shield, stood in front of him, Wang Zhong was confident he could kill Yang Ming, this little brat!

Closer!

Even closer!

As Li Ren drew nearer and nearer, delight appeared on Wang Zhong's face. He failed to notice his companion's pupils suddenly constrict, his mouth opening wide as he tried to warn him.

This was exactly the chance Yang Ming had been waiting for—the moment the two of them came together!

The emotions he had suppressed for so long burst forth like floodwaters through opened gates, transforming into a raging fire tornado of Green Lotus Core Flame. The scorching heat burned everything in its path, igniting the thick layers of fallen leaves on the ground and leaving behind a trail of flames.

Feeling the hot wind behind him and sweating from the heat on his back, Wang Zhong abruptly turned around. Frenzied azure flames filled his vision, growing ever larger.

At the same time, Yang Ming's furious roar rang out:

"Let flames purify everything!!!"

(First update)