Across the continent, wave after wave of dark clouds gathered. They obscured the clear blue sky and blotted out the light. Ordinary citizens fearfully called their children back from play, while women hurriedly brought in laundry hanging outside. Within minutes, everyone had bolted their doors and hidden inside their homes.
Yu Shengyan gazed curiously at the darkening sky as the ominous clouds grew thicker. An uneasy feeling took root in his heart; he furrowed his brows and stared at the direction toward which the clouds were drifting. Yu Shengyan’s eyes widened that direction was the Bottomless Cave!
His sense of unease intensified, and without a second thought, he bolted toward the Bottomless Cave again. First Senior Brother… please don’t let anything happen to you…
Inside the cave, Fan Ren and his companion were startled by Lan Tian’s red pupils. The thin youth was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground. “A devil? No, it’s a Demon Lord!” the thin youth shrieked.
Indeed, those majestic, terrifying, and sinister red pupils were the eyes of the Demon Lord that had appeared in the past. Unlike the eyes of ordinary demons, a Demon Lord’s gaze instilled a primal fear from the depths of one’s soul.
Fan Ren realized he had gone too far. “How could a Demon Lord be imprisoned in our academy?!” Fan Ren quickly retracted his whip, looking utterly astonished and incredulous.
Lan Tian blinked twice.
Lan Tian: “Little Mengmeng, is the killing power of my glare really that strong?” Little Mengmeng: “What’s wrong? Want to dig them out and see? ” Lan Tian: “That’s terrifying what’s wrong with you, Little Mengmeng!” Little Mengmeng: “Nothing, nothing! I just got a little excited because we’ve reached a key plot point.” Lan Tian: “Wait, what key plot point?” Little Mengmeng: “Please experience it for yourself, My Lord! O O” Lan Tian: “…”
Little Mengmeng’s abnormal behavior triggered a sense of impending doom in Lan Tian. He sent a private message to the “Main Plot Boss,” asking what would happen when reaching a key plot point… But the message failed to send!
What was going on? Lan Tian tried sending a few more messages, but they all failed. Chat prohibited? Without the Boss’s help, Lan Tian felt insecure about completing his mission. He moved his head, then offered a smile to the two people below.
Don’t be afraid… I won’t hurt you.
Lan Tian intended to say this, but the moment he opened his mouth, the words came out as gibberish. What kind of bird language is this?! Lan Tian was speechless; he hadn’t expected to be saddled with such a boring setting. Just as he tried to speak comforting words again, he noticed the two below had frozen in terror, not daring to move an inch.
“Who’s there!”
Yu Shengyan, wielding the Wuyuan Token that Yu Qiu had temporarily entrusted to him, charged into the cave. However, after seeing the scene before him, he froze.
“Fan Ren? What are you doing here?”
The thin youth beside him was pale, his legs trembling uncontrollably, and Fan Ren’s face was equally ashen. Yu Shengyan immediately thought of his First Senior Brother and looked toward him in a hurry.
Lan Tian’s face bore several terrifying bloody gashes that looked fresh, and seeing those red pupils made Yu Shengyan’s heart constrict. He had promised me… he promised he would protect me from now on… And it hadn’t even been a few minutes…
“Fan Ren!” Yu Shengyan caught sight of the coiled whip in Fan Ren’s hand. Rage surged into his heart, and he was livid. Yu Shengyan’s entire body trembled with fury. He stared straight at him and lashed out: “Fan Ren, what have you done?”
“I… I…” Fan Ren was momentarily stunned by the sudden shout. But he quickly recovered—what was Yu Shengyan, to dare roar at him? “Can’t you see what I’ve done?”
Yu Shengyan had never realized Fan Ren could be this shameless. Bullying him in the past was one thing, but now? His First Senior Brother had already become like this, and yet he still…
“You!” Yu Shengyan was so angry his face turned red. He pointed a finger at him. “How can you be so thick-skinned and shameless!”
Fan Ren sneered and pointed toward Lan Tian: “I am subduing demons and removing evil, understand?” He didn’t dare meet Lan Tian’s eyes again, nonchalantly declaring that the First Senior Brother was now just a demon, completely indifferent to the significance of the First Senior Brother’s true identity.
“W-H-A-T… D-I-D… Y-O-U… S-A-Y?”
Yu Shengyan gritted his teeth. He had intended not to be driven by impulse, but now, he was watching someone bully the most important person in his life right in front of him—and hearing them slander him so recklessly. The darkness deep within his heart surged once more. Perhaps he didn’t realize it, but his eyes were now more terrifying than Lan Tian’s demonic gaze.
Lan Tian: “Little Mengmeng, I think the protagonist is acting a bit weird…” Little Mengmeng: “Hehehe, it would be weird if he were normal.” Lan Tian: Lan Tian: “You’re sure nothing bad will happen, right?” Little Mengmeng: “Rest assured, My Lord will take responsibility if anything happens.” Lan Tian: “Nani? I take responsibility?”
“Say it again! I’ll say it: He is a demon, a demon! A dirty, lowly demon!”
Fan Ren felt a tremor of fear at Yu Shengyan’s expression, but he quickly became angry at himself—was he actually starting to fear Yu Shengyan?
Yu Shengyan listened to his words and slowly closed his eyes, ceasing his outburst. Instead, his lips curled into an evil, seductive smile. Slowly, he opened his eyes. He stared directly at Fan Ren, looking incredibly calm. His expression was that of someone looking at a corpse.
“You will be held responsible for your words,” Yu Shengyan said expressionlessly.
Fan Ren wanted to retort that he would take responsibility, but he suddenly realized Yu Shengyan had vanished from where he stood. He was stunned—where did he go? How did he become so fast?
“Ah!”
Before Fan Ren could process his confusion, he heard the thin youth scream. Fan Ren looked toward his own body and saw blood splattering everywhere. At the same time, his right sleeve became empty.
Yu Shengyan had produced a small knife from somewhere and swiftly severed his arm. He discovered that he felt an inexplicable sense of excitement at the thought of killing… and this excitement even bolstered his spiritual power.
“Ah!”
Fan Ren hadn’t expected Yu Shengyan to be this insane. The sharp pain from his arm surged into his brain; he let out a howl, collapsing into the blood while clutching his severed limb. “It hurts, it hurts, it hurts so much!” Fan Ren repeated these words, his face pale from blood loss, his mouth twitching, and sweat pouring down his head.
Standing before him, Yu Shengyan wore an appreciative and excited smile, licking the blood from his blade.
Lan Tian: “@@ Little Mengmeng! It’s broken! The protagonist has broken character again!” Little Mengmeng: “Issuing temporary mission: Stop the protagonist.” Lan Tian: “I’ll kill you for this!” Lan Tian: “Little Mengmeng, tell me how to stop him! I can’t even get down from here!” Little Mengmeng: “That… depends entirely on you, My Lord! *^^*”
Lan Tian knew this was a critical plot point. If the protagonist killed someone in the academy, it would be a severe case of OOC (out of character), making it infinitely harder to help the protagonist become a “Great God.”
With that in mind, Lan Tian no longer cared about anything else. He struggled desperately within the chains, but they only tightened further. Just as the tightening chains made him feel like retching, the cave door shook with a loud thud.
Rumble.
Is Min Yue here? Lan Tian looked toward the entrance in excitement. However… he only saw a black figure with a tiny squirrel perched on its shoulder.
“Master.”
The figure didn’t hesitate; as soon as the door opened, he dashed toward Lan Tian. In two steps, his form vanished, and in the next second, he appeared by Lan Tian’s side. With a sword in hand, he struck the chains fiercely. The chains emitted a loud metallic ring. Clatter— the chains snapped!
Just as Lan Tian was released and before he could even catch his breath, he noticed a phantom appearing above Fan Ren. The phantom showed an old man with a dignified and severe expression. He slowly extended a hand, his brows slightly knit, his eyes flashing with fury. “Dare to harm my descendant? Die!”
The spiritual power emitted by the phantom stirred the sand and dust in the cavern. Yu Shengyan clearly hadn’t expected him to be protected by a phantom of his ancestor… The spiritual power condensed over a thousand years was absolutely something he could not withstand at his current level. He stared wide-eyed, helpless as the ball of spiritual energy, carrying sharp blade-like winds, rushed toward him.
However, in the next second, what fell upon him wasn’t the cold, ruthless ball of spiritual energy but a slightly cold body.
“Master!” Jialuo cried out. He had just released his Master, and the Master had charged in a certain direction with lightning speed. Jialuo had realized too late that his Master was taking a lethal blow for someone else!
Lan Tian could feel his body beginning to fall apart again… inwardly terrified, but glad he had been fast enough. If the protagonist had been killed, his mission would have failed.
“M-Master?” Yu Shengyan’s voice was filled with disbelief. He looked in shock at the person slumped over him. His hands were trembling slightly.