Ding Nan was wrong.
He had always thought his clansmen were vulgar people, easily consumed by the dark side of power.
It wasn’t until today, when a red light flashed in the eyes of all the young generation of the Ding Clan, that he realized how wrong he had been.
Ding Nan felt an unprecedented sense of dread.
Indifference and sarcasm were not even worth mentioning in the face of this rage.
“You brat, you really don’t know how lucky you are!”
“Currently, you’re the one in the family with the best food and clothes!”
“Lady Luo Yao is so beautiful. You bastard, you’re still not satisfied!”
…
Two rough-looking men, their bodies covered in thick muscle and bearing such a resemblance that one could tell they were twins at a glance, pinned Ding Nan from both sides.
Two arms, each thicker than Ding Nan’s thigh and bulging with developed biceps, hoisted him up.
“Sending the Young Master back to his room!”
Ding Nan grew anxious, already knowing he could not escape the encirclement of his clansmen.
‘Power… I need more power!’
Just as Ding Nan was being sent back to the courtyard, thousands of meters up in the sky.
A cold woman with white hair and plain clothes, her skin like suet—Lin Yue’er—held a sword in her right hand and wiped the blood from the corner of her lips.
Even her eyelashes were white.
Before her, a human figure stood suspended in the void.
He wore black silk, a dark iron bamboo hat, and a black veil that masked his face.
At that moment, hundreds of thin needles were embedded in that person’s body, yet the figure remained unmoved.
She was an expert on the human body and skilled in healing.
She knew how to kill swiftly and precisely, and she understood the potency of various poisons.
Because of this, during her younger years, she had easily achieved the feat of killing those at higher levels.
Even after the Nascent Soul Stage, when cultivators began to break free from the shackles of the physical body, they did not dare to provoke Lin Yue’er casually—no one wanted their Earth Immortal Path to be cut short or their cultivation severely diminished due to physical damage.
Unfortunately, her opponent was not human at all.
“Xuan Bing…”
Puppets, needless to say, possessed bodies made of various minerals or timber.
Puppets specifically designed for combat were known as Soldier Puppets.
The Soldier Puppet gripped the hilt of the blade at its waist.
Its blade had not even left its scabbard; with just a single punch, it had heavily injured Lin Yue’er.
A non-living thing naturally did not fear poison, nor did it fear flying needles since it lacked meridians.
Lin Yue’er’s two greatest advantages were practically nonexistent against a Soldier Puppet.
Normally, if it were just an ordinary Soldier Puppet, she could have used her powerful physical body to pierce the puppet with flying needles, using brute force to break its spells.
However, this puppet was different.
How could a Soldier Puppet at the middle stage of the Tribulation Transcendence Stage be easily shattered by power at the same level?
When at the same realm, it was difficult for ordinary cultivators to defeat a Soldier Puppet born for battle relying solely on their physical bodies.
Only a few who specialized in body tempering could hope to defeat one.
Unfortunately, Lin Yue’er was neither skilled in melee combat nor a body-tempering cultivator.
She was just an ordinary doctor on the Earth Immortal Path who focused on health preservation.
Moreover, this powerful puppet was quite famous.
It had once stirred up trouble in Zhongzhou.
Even before Lin Yue’er had reached the Tribulation Transcendence Stage, she had heard of this Soldier Puppet’s illustrious reputation.
Several cultivators at the Tribulation Transcendence Stage had fallen by its hand.
People had always been curious about who the master of this Soldier Puppet was, and Lin Yue’er was no exception.
Today, she finally knew where it came from.
“The Luo Family of Qingzhou… that is truly a distant name. It has been 800 years since the Luo Family was destroyed. I didn’t expect there to be a survivor…”
As she spoke, Lin Yue’er bit her lip.
Her eyes reddened and her brow furrowed with ferocity as she spat, “Luo Yao!”
The moment the name Luo Yao was uttered, the Soldier Puppet, Xuan Bing, unsheathed its blade with a sharp ring.
It vanished and reappeared instantly in front of Lin Yue’er.
The ancient, brownish-black blade descended, its reflection flashing before her eyes.
Lin Yue’er raised her hand and lifted her personal sword—the Ice Soul Sword.
The ice-blue blade clashed with the saber.
The sword in Lin Yue’er’s hand trembled violently.
In contrast, the Soldier Puppet mechanically pressed the blade down.
Lin Yue’er’s eyes flickered.
She twisted her body to slide her sword along the blade, dodging the strike while seizing the opportunity to slash at the puppet’s head.
The Soldier Puppet did not react.
With a loud clang, her sword was bounced back.
The Soldier Puppet tilted its head slightly, its arm moving a fraction.
A Soldier Puppet only attacked; it never defended!
Lin Yue’er had known this for a long time.
The Soldier Puppet swung upward, and Lin Yue’er hurriedly blocked.
Subsequently, her body was sent flying like a cannonball.
She landed in a bamboo forest on the outskirts of Qingquan City.
This was according to her plan.
Given her current condition, it was impossible to defeat a Soldier Puppet of the same realm.
Therefore, she intended to flee.
She took out her Flying Shuttle from her Spatial Ring.
However, the sword in her hand suddenly moved on its own, slashing straight toward her own neck.
Startled, she hurriedly gripped the out-of-control Ice Soul Sword with both hands.
‘Could this sword be—!’
As Lin Yue’er focused on controlling the Ice Soul Sword, another flying sword suddenly shot out from the dark shadows of the bamboo forest.
A cold glint flashed past, piercing Lin Yue’er’s heart.
“Correct. The sword in your hand was forged by me.”
Lin Yue’er looked at the red sword piercing her chest.
Crimson blood instantly stained her plain clothes, looking exceptionally striking.
The woman was wearing a green maid’s uniform, her hair styled in a bun that looked like rabbit ears.
Her eyes were bright and dark, and the corners of her mouth were curled high.
She was the woman Lin Yue’er had seen in the reports.
Ding Nan’s maid, Luo Yao.
She was smiling, her eyes filled with nothing but delight.
The black Soldier Puppet landed beside Luo Yao, lowering its head as it waited.
“Luo Yao…” Lin Yue’er said, her strength fading.
“Bitch!” Luo Yao slowly spat out the word.
She gripped the hilt of the sword and twisted it violently over a dozen times.
Lin Yue’er shuddered from the pain, naturally letting out a scream so agonizing it was wretched.
Hearing Lin Yue’er’s painful groans, Luo Yao’s smile became even more unbridled.
She then pulled out the sharp sword.
Scarlet blood splashed onto her smiling face, making her look even more insane.
With her heart pierced, Lin Yue’er’s physical body died quickly.
Luo Yao did not leave yet.
She reached out and dragged Lin Yue’er’s soul out of her corpse.
For someone at the Tribulation Transcendence Stage like Lin Yue’er, even if she followed the Earth Immortal Path, her soul was powerful and could survive without a body.
To truly kill a powerhouse of the Tribulation Transcendence Stage, one had to destroy her soul.
A soul body that looked exactly like Lin Yue’er was pulled out by Luo Yao.
Her soul was ethereal.
The moment it appeared, the ambient temperature plummeted, and the green bamboo turned dark green.
The chill of the soul spread rapidly, coating Luo Yao’s slender arms in a layer of white frost.
Lin Yue’er pursed her lips and looked down, her white-lashed eyes staring intently at Luo Yao.
Luo Yao was unmoved; if anything, she wanted to see this exact expression.
That expression of losing to her while being filled with resentment!
Lin Yue’er did not sit and wait for death.
Her lips moved, and her hands formed Dharma Seals.
In just one second, Lin Yue’er’s corpse was covered in frost, and ice spikes erupted outward.
Luo Yao’s pupils shrank.
As she inhaled the icy air into her lungs, she actually felt a burning sensation of pain.
“Xuan Bing!”
The black puppet moved, hoisting Lin Yue’er’s corpse and racing into the distance.
It was incredibly fast, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Immediately after, the cold swept through the surrounding area, covering the vicinity of Qingquan City with the speed of a tornado.
At the center of the explosion, the bamboo forest where Luo Yao stood was frozen into an ice sculpture, with Luo Yao herself trapped inside the ice.
“Did you think this would be useful?”
Blue Soulfire burned Lin Yue’er’s soul.
“Next time, I won’t lose.”
Lin Yue’er’s voice echoed within the flames.
The soul dissipated, but its relatively weak state proved that this was nothing more than a split soul.
The Lin Yue’er who had come to Qingquan City was merely an avatar.
Luo Yao clicked her tongue.
“The Tribulation Transcendence Stage is truly a hassle.”