Let Flames Purify Everything!

Tang San narrowed his eyes to slits, his unfocused gaze drifting.

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

Seeing Tang San's breathing 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, stared at him, and said in a low voice:

"Third Brother, trust me. I'll definitely kill those two bastards who did this to you, and I'll 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 with absolute resolve:

"Through fire, through fire we burn!"

Tang San smiled. Still smiling, he closed his eyes and fell asleep peacefully.

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

Only after finishing all that did Yang Ming turn to Wang Zhong and Li Ren. His fists were clenched tight, veins bulging on the backs of his hands, while his ten fingers dug deeply into his flesh and thin streams of blood seeped from between them.

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

As his emotions surged, it was as though dark clouds had gathered within him. The stillness before a torrential downpour made him appear no different from usual on the surface.

His gaze was as sharp as a freshly honed blade. 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, are you going to bite me?" Looking at Yang Ming, who barely reached his waist, Li Ren mocked him without restraint. "Looks like that little brat is very important to you. Are you angry now? Furious?"

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

"Even if I stand here and let you hit me, you still won't be able to kill me!"

"Hahahaha!"

As he spoke, Li Ren's plump, Buddha-like face glowed red with pleasure, and he laughed triumphantly.

Yang Ming's gaze turned cold. Carrying emotions suppressed nearly to their limit, he rushed toward Li Ren with lightning speed.

Whether out of arrogance or disdain for Yang Ming, Li Ren truly had no intention of dodging. He simply stood upright where he was.

Perfect opportunity!

Yang Ming roared inwardly, as if he wanted to vent every last bit of suppressed emotion. The moment he attacked, he showed no mercy. His first move was his ultimate technique!

Green Lotus Sword Song!

Yang Ming stomped the ground, transforming into sword qi as sword qi swept in every direction!

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

Though startled, Li Ren's expression did not change in the slightest. He merely cried out calmly:

"Stone Tortoise! Possess me!"

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

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

The sword qi gathered and returned to human form.

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

"Foolish little brat." Li Ren slightly lifted his chin and said proudly, "My Stone Tortoise Martial Soul is renowned for its defensive power. Your attacks are nowhere near enough to break through my defense!"

Yang Ming's eyes shifted. Now was not the time to use the Green Lotus Earth-Core Flame Martial Soul.

Each time he used that 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 greedily from the side.

He had only one chance!

Yang Ming did not dare gamble.

Seeing that he could not deal with Li Ren anytime soon, Yang Ming immediately changed direction and charged toward Wang Zhong, who looked easier to kill.

Wang Zhong had seen the power of the strangely shaped sword in Yang Ming's hand. With his frail body, if he was grazed even slightly by the Mysterious Sword, he would likely lose an arm or a leg immediately.

Wang Zhong's expression changed drastically. A faint green glow enveloped his hands, illuminating his sharp, monkey-like face until he looked like a ghost. Then he pressed his palms against the ground.

Thorns! Entangle!

Within a two-hundred-meter radius centered on Yang Ming, mounds of earth rose one after another. Immediately afterward, thorny vines like snakes and pythons sprang forth, 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 moving with heavy steps. Every step he took boomed across the ground like a running elephant, making fallen leaves tremble and rise.

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

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

Dressed in white, Yang Ming advanced swiftly with a stern expression, sword in hand. Green lotuses flashed around him as thorns rained down like a reversed downpour, making him resemble a swordsman wandering through the forest.

"Li Ren, save me!"

Wang Zhong trembled in fright. He knew the true nature of his own abilities. His Thorns Martial Soul was not as ordinary as it looked; it possessed both toughness and poison.

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

And he had clearly not obtained a Soul Ring yet, so 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 before circling toward Li Ren.

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

Closer!

Even closer!

As Li Ren drew nearer and nearer, Wang Zhong's face filled with delight. Yet he failed to notice his companion's pupils suddenly shrink, his mouth opening wide as he tried to warn him.

Yang Ming had been waiting precisely for the moment when the two of them came together!

The emotions he had suppressed for so long burst forth like floodwaters through opened gates, becoming a roaring fiery tornado of the Green Lotus Earth-Core Flame. The intense heat scorched everything, igniting the thick layers of fallen leaves on the ground and leaving a trail of fire in its wake.

Feeling the hot wind rushing from behind him, so scorching that sweat drenched his back, Wang Zhong suddenly turned his head. Wild azure flames rapidly filled his vision.

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

"Let flames purify everything!!!"

(First update)