Su Nan stepped forward once again, his entire body erupting with intense pure yang energy.
He punched straight into the blood mist ahead.
A dragon head gleaming with radiant light emerged, transforming mid-air into a beam of light that pierced the blood mist directly.
Shrill howls echoed once more.
The mist churned wildly, bursts of dazzling light flared, and wails filled the air.
In the next instant, the blood mist struck by Su Nan’s dragon shadow burst into a strong aura of light, illuminating everything nearby.
As the glow faded, the blood spirits within the red mist appeared weakened.
But in their hollow sockets, a dangerous gleam still lingered.
Gu Lian’s beautiful eyes widened—she stepped forward again.
A pulse of energy surged from within her.
With a sharp cry, a powerful energy ripple blasted toward the blood spirits.
The wave struck them violently, instantly dispersing the red fog cloaking their bodies, revealing withered, charred skin beneath.
As if being burned away by intense energy, the flesh rapidly melted.
One second later, the skin was gone—only white bones remained.
Another second, even the bones disintegrated, leaving behind swirling black mist that quickly scattered and vanished into the air.
After releasing two waves of immense internal power, Gu Lian was already gasping slightly, sweat forming on her brow.
A Martial Artist of the 8th Tier—neither Su Nan nor Gu Lian could take him head-on.
Just the blood spirits controlled by Liang San had forced them to expend their full strength—and Liang San himself hadn’t even acted yet!
“Hahaha… Excellent!”
Liang San’s dark voice rang out again:
“As expected of Gu Qingge’s daughter. Your ghost-affinity physique is quite impressive.”
“Once I capture and refine you, that ghost body will be mine!”
“Hahaha! Gu Qingge! I’ll make sure you regret everything!”
The moment he finished speaking, Liang San’s figure flickered, and a chilling, icy aura swept through the air.
Su Nan tensed—he darted in front of Gu Lian instantly.
His pure yang aura surged violently and clashed with the approaching shadow.
Su Nan’s energy had a natural suppressive effect on spirits and monsters, and Liang San’s techniques were clearly of a ghostly, evil nature.
In theory, Su Nan should have had an advantage.
That was Su Nan’s belief.
But in reality—his explosive power slammed into Liang San’s figure… and had no effect at all.
In a flash, Liang San appeared directly in front of him.
Su Nan threw a punch at Liang San’s chest, enveloped in blazing yang force, with a fierce dragon shadow behind it.
But Liang San simply grabbed Su Nan by the collar.
“Get lost.”
He flung Su Nan aside with a single arm.
To him, Su Nan was beneath notice—his only target was Gu Lian.
But at that critical moment—Su Nan’s other hand had already grabbed Gu Lian’s wrist.
Liang San’s powerful throw inadvertently launched both Su Nan and Gu Lian into the air, sending them flying backward together.
Before they hit the ground, Su Nan’s eyes sharpened—he hadn’t yet released his punch.
Now was the time.
Boom!
Instead of striking Liang San, Su Nan’s punch slammed into the withered tree behind them—the one binding Gu Lian’s companion spirit.
Su Nan had calculated everything.
He knew they couldn’t win through brute force.
Fighting Liang San was a death sentence.
So—instead of head-on confrontation, he’d prepared a backup plan.
His dragon-infused fist shattered the ancient tree, and his pure yang energy blasted apart the bindings around the ghost spirit.
In that moment, Gu Lian’s mental command reconnected—and the ghost spirit instantly flew back into her body.
“Run!”
As they landed, Su Nan grabbed her wrist without hesitation and dashed into the surrounding forest.
Now—while Liang San hadn’t yet gone all out—there was still a chance of escape.
If he did unleash his full power, they wouldn’t last long.
From Liang San’s words, Su Nan could tell there was unresolved grievance between him and Gu Qingge, the academy head.
There had to be a deeper story.
And clearly—Liang San’s true target was Gu Lian, not Su Nan.
Who knew how long he’d been hiding here… just waiting for this opportunity?
If they’d allowed their emotions to take over and rushed him—they would already be dead.
Liang San had flung Su Nan aside, only to see him punch the tree and rescue the bound ghost in a single, flowing motion—then immediately flee.
It was seamless. No hesitation. A well-planned escape.
A wicked grin curled on Liang San’s scarred face—his twisted smile made his visage even more terrifying.
“Hehehe… Run all you want.”
“Let’s see just how far you can go.”
With that, Liang San vanished from the spot—in hot pursuit.
***
At that moment—
Su Nan was dragging Gu Lian through the forest at full speed.
He had completely hidden his aura and told Gu Lian to do the same.
Even as a 5th-tier martial artist, Su Nan could sense nearby energy fluctuations.
But Liang San was 8th-tier—his senses were far sharper.
Surprisingly, as Gu Lian was pulled along, an unfamiliar yet powerful sense of security rose in her heart.
A feeling she’d never experienced before.
Even all her past walls and distance between them had melted away.
Their fingers were tightly interlocked—neither letting go.
As they ran, Gu Lian stared at Su Nan’s back—the strength in his figure, the warmth from his hand—it all made her heart pound.
“Su Nan…”
After a while, she said softly, full of guilt:
“I’m sorry. You got hurt because of me.”
Earlier, when Su Nan clashed with Liang San, he had clearly taken a serious hit.
His face was pale—he’d suffered internal injuries.
“No time for that—just run!”
Su Nan didn’t waste breath arguing. He pulled her along and pushed forward.
But Gu Lian suddenly stopped running.
She looked him in the eye.
“You go. I’ll hold him off.”
“If you get past the fog, the teachers will sense it. Even he wouldn’t dare act then.”
Su Nan turned back.
Gu Lian’s cheeks were flushed—but her expression was calm and determined.
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