Chapter 145: Importance of a Core Disciple and Deadly Threat

The girl clinging tightly around Yu Liang’s neck possessed a truly transcendent, top tier beauty that made all the surrounding scenery look bleak and color drained in comparison.

She had a slender, graceful figure and a beauty that was hard to ignore. Her long black hair fell smoothly over her shoulders and down her back, contrasting against her fair skin. A few loose strands framed her small face, drawing attention to her delicate features.

Her eyes were clear and bright, carrying a softness that made them especially striking. Her eyebrows were naturally neat, while her lips had a gentle red shade. Nothing about her appearance was exaggerated, yet every feature seemed to fit together naturally, giving her an elegant beauty that was difficult to forget.

She did not look like an ordinary mortal or low level cultivator at all, but looked exactly like a divine fairy descending straight from the high heavens.

The figure was none other than Mei Hua.

Standing a few steps behind them, Lin Xiaoxiao looked at Mei Hua’s peerless appearance and felt an intense wave of self inferiority in her heart.

Xiaoxiao gasped in her mind with extreme shock. ’So... so this is Mistress Mei Hua! She is truly far too beautiful!’

She subconsciously pulled her hands back into her oversized sleeves and lowered her head. In Xiaoxiao’s mind, she had always believed that the cold sword goddess Lin Xuehan was already the absolute limit of female beauty in the whole world. But after seeing Mei Hua today, she realized that even Senior Sister Lin Xuehan was completely overshadowed.

Mei Hua did not care about the shocked gazes of the surrounding people at all. She continued to wrap her soft arms tightly around Yu Liang’s neck, her big autumn pool eyes staring straight into his eyes.

"You finally came back," Mei Hua opened her small mouth, her voice sounded like sweet honey water to Yu Liang, filled with endless missing and soft feelings. "I missed you so much every single day."

Yu Liang smiled very gently, his eyes became extremely soft. He raised his hand, used his long fingers to lightly catch a strand of black hair near her cheek, and tucked it behind her delicate ear. "I missed you very much too. As soon as I settled the main matters in the sect, I came straight down the mountain to find you."

"Hmph! You say it so easily, but setting up the whole thing in the Jade City according to your plan was extremely exhausting!" Mei Hua pouted her small mouth slightly, though her arms did not loosen their grip around his neck even a tiny bit.

"Negotiating with those greedy old foxes from the local merchant guilds drained so much of my energy. But because I knew you were relying on me, I held my ground and defeated all of them!"

"I know. My woman is the most capable person in the whole world," Yu Liang let out a light laugh and stroked her back gently.

At this moment, the two of them acted as if the entire bustling Azure Merchant Street had completely vanished into thin air. The loud noise of the street, the surrounding armored guards, the passing carriages, and even her usual shyness, none of it existed in their eyes anymore.

The whole world seemed to only have the two of them left, locked inside their own sweet world of affection.

However, this extremely sweet and warm atmosphere was smashed to pieces in the very next second.

Gasp!

A sharp, terrified sound of gasping for air cut through the silence. Yu Liang felt the spiritual energy in the surrounding air tremble all of a sudden.

He turned his head back and saw that Lin Xuehan was standing completely frozen in place. Her pretty face, which was usually as cold as an ice block, had turned completely deathly pale without a single drop of blood left.

Her right hand was frozen solid on the hilt of her sword, but her arm trembled so hard that she could not even pull the blade out by one inch. Sweat poured down her neck like water, completely soaking her purple robes.

"Y-Young Master..." Lin Xuehan’s voice shook violently, carrying a primal fear that Yu Liang had never heard from her before. "A... a terrifyingly strong cultivator has arrived! My... my entire dantian and spiritual sea have been completely locked down by a massive pressure! I-I cannot move a single muscle."

To a Mid Stage Core Formation Realm expert like Lin Xuehan, to be completely paralyzed and unable to move by a mere release of aura meant the absolute worst situation imaginable.

"This pressure... it is at least at the Nascent Soul Realm!" Lin Xuehan squeezed these words out through her trembling teeth.

In a Top Tier large sect like the Cloudwater Sect, a Nascent Soul Realm expert was a supreme titan figure. They held the positions of Peak Masters or Grand Elders, serving as the ultimate, absolute pillars and deterrent force.

A casual tap of their finger could completely erase an entire city district from the map.

Before Yu Liang could even open his mouth to ask what was going on, the sunlight on the street suddenly dimmed down.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Without any warning, five tall figures wearing dark robes materialized out of the shadows, completely encircling Yu Liang, Mei Hua, Lin Xuehan, and Xiaoxiao in a dead end. They did not speak a word, nor did they pull out any weapons, but the vast, terrifying pressure radiating out from their bodies was completely identical, every single one of these five figures stood firmly at the terrifying level of the Nascent Soul Realm.

The crushing pressure squeezed Lin Xuehan to the extreme and her legs shook violently under the heavy weight. She looked at Yu Liang, a very forced, bitter smile appearing on her pale face, a smile that looked far worse than crying.

"D-Do... do not worry, Young Master..." Lin Xuehan squeezed out her words with extreme difficulty, her eyes flashing with a desperate light. "I am your hired bodyguard... Even if my body is smashed to pieces and my soul is destroyed today... I will definitely protect you and Mistress Mei Hua... And in case I’m dead, sect will know immediately and will come to investigate. So, please stay alive until then."

The death of a Core Disciple was never treated as the death of an ordinary disciple. Core Disciples represented the sect’s future. They had survived countless trials, possessed exceptional talents, received the sect’s best resources, and were personally taught by powerful elders.

Every one of them was considered a potential future Elder, Peak Master, or even Sect Master. Their deaths therefore represented not only the loss of a promising cultivator, but also the loss of years of resources, training, and future potential. More importantly, Core Disciples were the face of a sect’s younger generation.

If one was killed by an outsider, the sect could not simply ignore it without damaging its reputation and inviting others to believe that its disciples could be bullied without any reasons.

That was why even powerful sects would investigate the death of a Core Disciple seriously. If the killer could be identified, the sect would often demand an explanation or seek compensation or mostly revenge depending on the circumstances.

Because if not handled properly, losing one Core Disciple was painful enough but losing several in succession could shake the foundation of an entire generation or affecting the future of sects for centuries.

Beside her, Lin Xiaoxiao was already crying from extreme fear, the heavy pressure making it almost impossible for her weak body to breathe air.

The terrifying mountain of pressure had completely scared her out of her wits. But as she looked at Lin Xuehan and then at Yu Liang, the noble young master who had saved her from the harsh life and gave her a new life. Suddenly a fierce, unyielding determination lit up inside her tear filled eyes. She gripped her spatial ring tightly with her small hand, completely prepared in her heart to die together with Yu Liang right here today.