Chapter 100: Thank You, Senior, for Saving My Life

Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Thank You, Senior, for Saving My Life

"Damn it! What’s so impressive about attacking me with your Meridian Passage Realm cultivation?!"

Nangong Ye glanced back to see two Meridian Passage Cultivators leisurely following him via Sword Flight, a sight that filled him with despair. If it were one-on-one, he was confident he’d have a fighting chance.

But alas, there were two of them, both in the Meridian Passage Realm. Worse, they were exceptionally cautious and gave him no opportunity to get close.

Limping, Nangong Ye fled toward a cave. Another sinister laugh echoed from behind him. He scrambled aside just as a ring of Spiritual Power slammed into the spot where he’d just been. But before he could feel a moment of relief, a Crossbow Arrow made of Spiritual Power pinned him to the ground.

Nangong Ye crashed to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He angrily tried to rise, but four more Crossbow Arrows descended, nailing his limbs to the earth.

"You went a little overboard. If this guy dies, the Third Prince will be angry."

A figure slowly descended and stepped directly on Nangong Ye’s back, forcing him back down just as he was struggling to rise through the pain.

The other man dispelled the Spirit Bow in his hands, landed, and ground his heel into the wound on Nangong Ye’s leg.

"So this is all a genius from Qingxu Hall amounts to. Once you’ve lost your value, I’m going to flay you and rip out your tendons. I want to see for myself what’s really so different between you so-called prodigies and us!"

The Meridian Passage Cultivator, completely shrouded in a Black Robe and wearing a mask, spoke viciously. In the past, a genius from Qingxu Hall had made him flee in disgrace; now, he was the one hunting a Qingxu Hall genius.

Nangong Ye wanted to say something, but all he could do was grit his teeth to keep from screaming. ’Encountering Meridian Passage Cultivators during the trial was expected,’ he thought, ’but encountering an organized and disciplined group of them certainly wasn’t!’

"You in the cave! Stop playing dead. A little pipsqueak who’s only a Body Tempering Beginner is participating in the trial? The Three Immortal Sects really are going downhill!"

The man in the Black Robe standing on Nangong Ye’s back squinted at the cave ahead. To their Meridian Passage Realm Spiritual Sense, the Body Tempering Beginner Cultivator leaning against the cave wall was as clear as day.

At his partner’s words, the other man immediately condensed a Spirit Bow. Spiritual Power flowed into it, slowly forming an arrow. He looked forward to enjoying the whelp’s final scream the moment he stepped out of the cave.

"This is such a hassle..."

Inside the cave, Liu Chen, who preferred to avoid trouble, let out a sigh. However, since these two were unwilling to let him go, he could now act with a clear conscience.

’Two Meridian Passage Beginners... Forget about now; I could have killed them easily even before I reached the Meridian Passage Realm.’

’For someone on the Peak Path, fighting above one’s realm is the norm. It’s even less of a contest now that our cultivation levels are the same.’

The Snowflake Sword shot from Liu Chen’s palm. Outside, the man in the Black Robe standing on Nangong Ye’s spine saw a cold glint cut through the air. He let out a disdainful snort. "A petty Sword Control trick from the Body Tempering Realm..."

He casually raised his hand to block, his Profound Iron Bracelet gleaming coldly under the moonlight.

Inside the cave, a faint smile touched Liu Chen’s lips. Just as the sword tip was inches from the man’s palm, the spine of the blade flared with an icy light, and it suddenly accelerated like a released arrow!

The man in the Black Robe’s pupils shrank. Before he could even activate his protective aura, his entire right arm exploded into a mist of blood.

The cold light didn’t stop there. The Sword Qi tore through him, obliterating the right half of his body. His ruined corpse was blasted backward, landing on the ground, utterly devoid of life.

"Th-this is impossible!"

As a shower of blood and shattered bone fell upon him, the man in the Black Robe with the Spirit Bow spun toward his partner. But in the next instant, the Snowflake Sword was upon him. A head, its face frozen in shock, was sent flying from its neck.

A geyser of blood erupted from the severed neck. The head fell from the sky with the bloody spray, landing with a wet thud right on Nangong Ye’s back.

This sudden turn of events sent a chill down Nangong Ye’s spine. He had no idea what had just happened. These two Meridian Passage Cultivators had nearly sent him to the Yellow Springs, yet in the space of a few breaths, they were both dead.

"Oh? You’re actually still alive."

Liu Chen recalled his Snowflake Sword and sized up the fallen Qingxu Hall Inner Sect Disciple. ’Huh, a prodigy on the Peak Path. If I were to kill him... I wonder if Qingxu Hall has some way of tracking down who did it?!’

Nangong Ye didn’t answer. Putting aside the physical pain, the sheer shock of it all left him speechless. ’Two Meridian Passage Cultivators, killed in the blink of an eye! This person must be in the Meridian Passage Realm too, not the Body Tempering Beginner the men in Black Robes mentioned.’

Seeing no response, Liu Chen didn’t ask again. He started processing the corpses of the two Meridian Passage Cultivators. As was his custom, he took everything of value. This time, however, he wouldn’t need to burn what was left.

’I’m about to leave anyway, so no need to worry about the corpses. The local Ghost Souls have already been pacified. Even if these two Meridian Passage guys reanimate as zombies, they won’t cause me any trouble.’

"I am Nangong Ye of Qingxu Hall. Thank you for saving my life, Senior!"

Hearing the practiced sounds of Liu Chen stripping the corpses, Nangong Ye finally forced himself to speak through the pain. ’He looks like a Loose Cultivator,’ he thought. ’In that case, announcing my background is crucial.’

The moment he finished speaking, an icy Spirit Sword was pressed against his neck.

"The Nangong Family... When your family was using its dirty tricks to steal and plunder, did you ever stop to think a day like this would come?"

Liu Chen had been ready to leave. Whether this prodigy from Qingxu Hall lived or died was none of his concern. But at the name "Nangong Ye," Liu Chen felt a sudden impulse to send the man to his maker.

’Junior Sister Ye may not have made the best first impression, but after all this time together, I’ve come to find her quite pleasant. She even gives me pointers on my cooking, which helps raise my Spirit Chef Skill Proficiency.’

’Even setting that aside, dealing with the Nangong Family is a mission from my Master’s wife. It’s the first and only mission I’ve ever received from my Master and his wife. There’s no way I can fail to complete it.’

"Go ahead and do it, Senior."

Nangong Ye went limp, collapsing to the ground. He had thought that mentioning Qingxu Hall and the Nangong Family would save his life, but it had been the worst possible move. He wondered if those Elders, who let his younger brother run amok, would feel any regret when they heard of his death.

"If I kill you, Qingxu Hall won’t let me off. How about this: if you can produce a Magic technique that satisfies me, I’ll let you off the hook. I’ll even leave you this cave to recuperate."

From the beginning of his conversation with Nangong Ye, Liu Chen had deliberately changed his voice. Although he didn’t have a suitable Magical Artifact or Magic for it right now, Liu Chen was unwilling to use his original voice to communicate with him.

"The Celestial Thunder Technique. I pray that Senior finds it acceptable."

Nangong Ye knew in his heart he was going to die, but this Senior didn’t seem to intend to act. To grasp this sliver of hope, Nangong Ye endured the pain and activated his Storage Ring, causing an Ancient Wooden Token to float out.

"An Intermediate Magic technique. Not bad. I suppose you have some sense of decency."