On the outer edge of the mountain range, Su Xuan was rushing as fast as he could toward Lin Zhiwei’s location.
He wore a black night-suit and a monkey mask used in plays, making him look quite ridiculous.
There was no helping it; time was of the essence, and he had simply bought whatever he could find at the Marketplace. As long as it hid his identity, he didn’t care what it looked like.
“Achoo!”
Seeing that it was almost midnight, his body suddenly acted outside of his control as he began to sneeze repeatedly.
‘How did this happen? Am I cold, or is someone cursing me behind my back?’
He rubbed his nose and continued toward the location indicated by the system prompt.
Suddenly, a thick scent of blood reached Su Xuan’s nose.
‘I’m here!’
He quickened his pace, darting behind a large tree to look toward the source of the smell.
Among the trees, the corpses of over a dozen wolf demons were scattered across the ground, the air heavy with the stench of gore.
Looking further in by the moonlight, he saw a sturdy man whose hand had been severed. He lay on the ground with his chest heaving slightly, clearly unable to move.
Not far away was the corpse of another man, torn to pieces by a Leopard Demon. Only his chest remained somewhat intact.
In the center of the clearing, a female cultivator knelt on the ground, exhausted. Based on her striking figure, she was clearly Lin Zhiwei. She held another unconscious female cultivator in her arms, looking at a snow-white leopard with a gaze full of despair.
She had been so close!
Her heart was filled with resentment.
Just moments ago, Zhao Zicheng had tried to sell them out to save himself, giving them a hard shove as he tried to flee.
However, his attempt to run completely enraged the Leopard Demon, and he was the one torn to shreds instead.
With only the two of them left to face the ferocious beast, Lin Chengyun had gritted her teeth and tried to fight for their lives.
As a disciple of the Luoshui Sword Sect, she had managed to make the Leopard Demon suffer a bit, but she had sustained several bloody wounds in return.
However, the Leopard Demon was already at the Foundation Building Stage. With a single swipe of its paw, it had knocked her unconscious.
Facing the encroaching demon once more, Lin Zhiwei fell into despair. With a heart prepared for death, she mustered all her strength to execute the same sword strike she had used that day.
An invisible sword intent rippled out instantly, locking onto the Leopard Demon’s position. It looked as though it would slice right through the creature’s skull.
But facing a life-and-death threat, the Leopard Demon let out a roar. Its already incredible speed increased even further, leaving behind several afterimages as it narrowly dodged the fatal blow!
The sword intent struck its front leg, leaving only a shallow cut.
‘So, hitting it was useless…’
Lin Zhiwei’s eyes dimmed. Her full-strength strike was still too weak.
Facing the Leopard Demon as it arched its back and crept forward, its eyes full of cruelty, she no longer had the strength to resist. Curiously, a strange calm washed over her.
‘I’m going to die…’
‘That idiot junior sister of mine will probably be sad for a long time…’
‘I wonder if Master will be sad for me?’
At the brink of death, Su Xuan’s image strangely flickered through her mind. She shook her head with a bitter smile.
‘What’s the point of thinking about this? I’m going to die anyway.’
However…
‘Even if I die, I’ll poke a hole in you!’
That was Lin Zhiwei’s way of living.
As the Leopard Demon approached, so close that she could smell the blood on its breath, Lin Zhiwei secretly drew a dagger from her robes. she stared at the demon calmly, though her heart was filled with madness.
“Roar!”
The Leopard Demon let out a cry and prepared to pounce.
At that critical moment, a blood-red light suddenly flew out from beneath a nearby tree. Accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, it shot toward the demon.
The blood-red light pierced through the demon’s left ear and out the other side of its head before flying back toward the tree.
“Awoo…”
The Leopard Demon, caught mid-leap, had no time to dodge. It let out a pathetic cry as its massive body collapsed to the side, twitching a few times before it went still.
‘Is this…?’
Foul-smelling blood sprayed from the demon, splashing onto Lin Zhiwei’s face. It added a touch of ferocity to her calm expression, which quickly turned into pure bewilderment.
‘I… I lived?’
Thinking of this, she suddenly turned her head toward the tree where Su Xuan was hiding.
Which senior was this?
***
Su Xuan panted slightly, feeling a bit of lingering fear as he quickly stuffed the broken sword back into his Storage Bag.
When he saw Lin Zhiwei in danger, he had instinctively used the most powerful move he could manage.
He hadn’t even had time to consider what would happen if the broken sword caused another strange phenomenon like before.
Once the Leopard Demon was dead, his mind filled with questions.
‘If something happened to Lin Zhiwei, wouldn’t that mean one less threat for me? Why was I so nervous that I stopped caring about everything else? Do I really care if she gets hurt?’
Su Xuan was baffled and couldn’t find the reason.
‘Forget it, let’s just take the Inner Core first.’
He shook his head, pushing the thought aside as he slowly walked toward the Leopard Demon’s corpse.
When he reached Lin Zhiwei, he couldn’t help but look at her. Though she was shaken and had blood on her face, her clothes were clean, and she hadn’t suffered any real injuries.
‘Oh, isn’t this the great Sword Cultivator Lin? To think you’d have a day like this,’ Su Xuan thought to himself as he glanced at the familiar face in her arms.
Seeing that both were fine, he walked over to the Leopard Demon’s body and extracted a green, glowing orb from its head.
‘This must be the Inner Core.’
Su Xuan weighed it in his hand. It felt heavy and extraordinary. He quickly and carefully placed it into his Storage Bag.
After a moment’s thought, he picked up Lin Chengyun’s sword from the ground and began to carve the Leopard Demon’s corpse.
As a Foundation Building beast, its flesh, claws, and even its bones were treasures rich in Spiritual Qi. They couldn’t be wasted.
Unfortunately, his Storage Bag was too small. After packing a few pieces of meat, it was full. Su Xuan instead peeled off several large pieces of hide and held them in his hand.
“Thank you for saving us, Senior!”
Only after a long moment did Lin Zhiwei finally react. She hurriedly performed a respectful bow of gratitude.
Although the person before her wore a ridiculous monkey mask and an ill-fitting night-suit—looking strange and devoid of any “great master” aura—she didn’t dare show any disrespect.
She had seen it clearly. That red light just now had been a broken sword!
The person before her didn’t even need a complete sword. By controlling a broken one, they had easily killed a Leopard Demon that she couldn’t even wound at full strength!
“I will never forget this life-saving favor, Senior. I will surely repay you in the future!”
Her tone became even more respectful as she repeated her thanks.
Su Xuan was happily skinning the demon, planning to sell the hide for a good price.
Hearing her words, he turned and looked at Lin Zhiwei with a touch of disbelief.
‘Oh, so you actually know how to sincerely thank someone? What would happen if you found out the person who saved you is the Master you think doesn’t teach you well?’
Through the mask, Su Xuan looked at his eldest disciple with great interest. He was strangely looking forward to seeing the expression on her face if she ever saw his true appearance.
The disguise he had originally worn out of fear of being unable to protect the Inner Core had now become much more interesting.
Just as he was considering whether or not to take off the mask, the distance suddenly lit up as a flying vessel approached at high speed.
Large lanterns on the ship were emblazoned with the word “Shangguan.”
That was the signal used by cultivators from the Marketplace for help when they encountered danger while out training.
‘No, I can’t let them find me, or I won’t be able to keep this Inner Core.’
Su Xuan touched his Storage Bag, turned quickly, and vanished into the darkness.
“Senior…”
Lin Zhiwei watched him disappear, feeling lost. She felt the person was a bit too eccentric.
However… why did he look a little familiar?
Before she could dwell on her confusion, the flying vessel landed above her.
“Zheng! Are you alright?”
The elderly Steward who had previously visited her home leaped down in a single bound.
He rushed to Shangguan Zheng’s side, checking him thoroughly. After confirming that although his son was heavily injured, he was at least alive, the man finally let out a sigh of relief.
He looked around and saw Lin Zhiwei, her face covered in blood and her aura weak. He quickly bowed to her and spoke sincerely.
“I am Shangguan Jing. Thank you, Miss Lin, for saving my son’s life!”