Translator: Silavin & Jon
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
“That was just a warning.” Su Yan looked impassively at Han Qian Cheng. Since he had the guts to harass her with such vulgar words, she had to respond appropriately.
“Good, very good!” Having just escaped from death’s door, Han Qian Cheng still appeared pale. As he looked insidiously at her, he stepped backwards until he all but left the cave and waved his hand, “Capture her!”
Whatever the case, he had to bed her today. He had lost all patience, so he wasn’t willing to keep waiting. Since she wasn’t willing, he just had to use force!
The two Elders stood beside each other as they blocked the cave entrance. They looked quite similar and were apparently brothers. Both of them appeared tough and sturdy as their shoulders and waists were broad. After they pushed their Source Qi, a layer of red glow appeared on their skin, which was so hot that it was as though it was burning with fire.
Han Qian Cheng prepared well before he came to the Fire Cloud Ore Vein to find fault with Su Yan. The two Elders he had chosen had cultivated Fire Attribute Secret Arts, so they were able to amplify their power in this environment.
By standing there, they had blocked the only exit. If Su Yan wanted to leave, she had to defeat them first.
The Elder on the left advised, “Su Yan, our Sect is basically your saviour. If it weren’t because we took you in after you came to the Ancestral Domain, you wouldn’t have been able to achieve success. Since you owe our Sect a favour, you should repay us. Is this how you repay our Young Sect Master?”
Su Yan refuted, “The only person who I am indebted to is my Master. What does it have to do with Red Clouds Sect?”
The Elder on the right snorted, “Young Sect Master will certainly take over the position of Sect Master in the future. How is he not a match for you? If you’re clever, agree to his request now. Otherwise, we’ll have to make you suffer.”
Su Yan slowly shook her head, “No!”
“How obstinate!”
“You court death!”
The Elders growled at the same time as their Source Qi soared, causing the cave to quake.
Han Qian Cheng bellowed, “Enough nonsense! Take her down now! I want to make her regret it for the rest of her life! By the way, don’t damage her face and body. I’m going to have fun with her later.”
“Don’t worry, Young Sect Master, she’s just a young inexperienced woman, so we can capture her easily.” The Elder on the left snorted as the Source Qi within his body surged. Then, he charged at Su Yan, stretching out his hand. As he attempted to claw at her, the Fire Attribute Energy around him seemed to be attracted as it gathered on his palm to amplify his power.
Su Yan wielded Profound Frost as a curved and azure-blue sword screen appeared right before her, serving as a protective barrier. The sword screen appeared thin, as though it could be broken by a gust of wind, but it was actually formed from countless tiny sword waves.
The Elder on the left extended his hand and came into contact with the sword screen, but he soon felt a sharp pain. In response, he pushed his Source Qi harder to scatter this thin barrier.
A ripple was formed, but the sword screen remained unphased. After the Elder’s first strike was blocked, he arched his brow in surprise. Although they were both in the First-Order Dao Source Realm, he had reached this realm a long time ago, while Su Yan had only broken through recently and had been guarding the Fire Cloud Ore Vein for the past ten years. It should have been impossible for her to increase her strength during this time, and with the environmental advantage, this Elder thought that he could defeat her with ease.
However, in just one move, he realised that he was wrong. Su Yan’s sword screen was impenetrable. She was indeed a cultivator from a Lower Star Field, but the purity of her Source Qi was beyond his imagination.
After the failed attack, the Elder on the left flew backwards and twisted his body as he circled around Su Yan.
At the same time, the Elder on the right stepped forward, upon which a brown hammer appeared in his hand. The brown hammer was more than a meter in length and appeared quite weighty. With this artifact in his hand, the right Elder charged forward and smashed down at the sword screen.
Su Yan frowned as she realised that this move was indeed powerful. If she was outside, she could have evaded it swiftly; however, she was trapped inside a narrow cave now, so how could she avoid his attack?
The sword screen suddenly disintegrated as Profound Frost released thousands of cold flashes. Following that, the flashes converged into one and shot towards the right Elder.
The entire cave suddenly filled with icy cold Sword Intent. Su Yan’s usually indifferent expression flashed with determination and coldness. Ignoring the hammer that was coming at her, she instead thrust out to attack, seemingly determined to perish together with the Elder on the right.
The Elder on the right was shocked and didn’t dare to continue with his attack. Although he would certainly end her life with his hammer, he would also be killed in the process. Feeling the power of her sword, he was horrified.
[Why is she so powerful?]
She was still so formidable even after she had been suppressed for ten years. If she stayed in the Sect to cultivate and continued to enjoy its resources, her power would soon reach an unbelievable level.
Her aptitude was indeed unrivalled. It was no wonder that the Sect Master decided to send her to guard the Fire Cloud Ore Vein for ten years. Otherwise, no one in Red Clouds Sect would be a match for her by now.
At the most critical moment, he lowered his brown hammer and parried the fatal attack.
Nevertheless, Su Yan twisted her wrist as Profound Frost flitted past the Elder and stabbed at Han Qian Cheng.
[Such swift movement!] The Elder on the right was astounded as he realised that Su Yan’s suicidal counterattack had actually just been a feint. Her intention was to catch the most important person on the scene. With the two Elders joining forces, there was no way she could escape from this place. However, if she managed to capture Han Qian Cheng, she could flip the situation around.
It was too late to turn back to save Han Qian Cheng, so at this critical moment, the Elder on the right stomped his foot hard, forming a crack on the ground, sending rocks shooting up. Su Yan’s vision was suddenly blocked, causing her movements to slow down momentarily.
“Get back here!” Seizing the chance, the Elder on the right wielded his brown hammer and blocked her way.
Profound Frost clashed with the hammer as she made use of the force from the exchange to withdraw to her original position.
[What a shame.] Su Yan thought to herself. If she was just a bit quicker, everything would have been different. She was a First-Order Dao Source Realm Master that had been suppressed for ten years, so the power she had showcased was indeed surprising, given the fact that she was confronted by two Elders at the same time. Both Han Qian Cheng and the Elders were already drenched in a cold sweat.
The battle just now was indeed marvellous and eye-catching.
The Elder on the left, who had snuck behind Su Yan, finally found a chance to make a move as he lashed his red whip at her. The whip looked like a fire snake that was sticking out its tongue as it swerved towards her.
Without turning her head, Su Yan swung her sword back and accurately parried the fire snake. Nonetheless, the fire snake twisted and climbed around the sword. At that instant, auras of fire and ice clashed with each other as the cave was soon filled with a thick fog, blocking everyone’s sight.
Just then, Su Yan turned around and pointed her finger at the red whip that looked like a fire snake. At that moment, her slender finger became as translucent as ice as though it was no longer made from flesh and bone.
The Elder on the left exclaimed in shock as he felt that his artifact’s spirituality had been damaged. Moreover, the damage was rapidly increasing. Not daring to dawdle, he immediately withdrew his artifact. His expression changed when he took a closer look because a layer of frost had formed on the end of his whip and was spreading quickly.
Astounded, the Elder on the left quickly pushed his Source Qi into the whip to break the frost. Even after succeeding, he still appeared horrified.
[Just how is she so strong?]
Although it was just a brief battle, both Elders realised that they were no match for Su Yan individually. If they were in a one-on-one fight with her, they would undoubtedly be the ones to lose.
Amidst the thick fog, all three of them activated their Divine Sense to locate each other. After the initial exchange, the two Elders no longer dared to make any rash moves. However, Su Yan was also in a perilous situation because her enemies were standing in front and behind her. Although she was incredibly strong, she couldn’t safely leave this place if she didn’t take some risks.
Both Elders wouldn’t dare to make any reckless moves now and were waiting for the right chance to capture her with one strike.
The place fell into silence, and the atmosphere was extremely eerie.
Displeased, Han Qian Cheng growled, “What are you two doing? You’re swift when it’s time to get your pay, but when I want you to capture someone, both of you are just dawdling about! Wastes!”
The two Elders were enraged upon hearing those words. [You are the waste, not us! If it wasn’t for you being the Young Sect Master, we would have killed you a long time ago! You know nothing, so how can you boss us around here!? Ridiculous!]
Whatever the case, both Elders were truly embarrassed because they couldn’t defeat Su Yan even though they had joined forces. After they communicated with each other using their Divine Senses, they came to an agreement. Following that, they both pushed their Spiritual Energy and sent two streams of invisible Divine Sense toward their target.
It was a Soul Technique!
Su Yan’s Source Qi was extremely pure, even more so than these two Elders. If they fought with her head-on, one of them might even be killed. However, an attack on her Soul would be a different story. It had only been ten years since Su Yan reached her current realm, so there was no way her Soul was that strong.
Any wise man would attack the enemy’s shortcomings using his strengths.
As expected, after Su Yan received the Divine Sense attacks, she groaned in pain. Apparently, she was unable to block their attacks. Her defence against their strike only lasted for a short while before it was broken.
The two Elders were elated upon that realization. In order to seize the chance, the Elder on the right didn’t hesitate and leapt at her while lifting his brown hammer.
Right then, he saw a faint glint in front of him. Upon scanning it with his Divine Sense, he realised that Su Yan was charging forward with her sword as she appeared determined. At the same time, she had totally given up her defence.
[Again?] The right Elder sneered. He had just been fooled by her earlier, which caused him to be embarrassed, so he wouldn’t fall for the same trick again.
Turning ferocious, he also gave up his defences and attempted to smash his brown hammer at her sword.
His brown hammer was a Dao Source Grade Low-Rank artifact, while Profound Frost was just an Origin King Grade High-Rank artifact, which Su Yan had brought with her from her Star Field. Both weapons were not even in the same realm. If their weapons clashed with each other, it would be Su Yan who would suffer a loss.
With this thought in mind, the right Elder grinned smugly, but his smile soon froze.
Before their weapons clashed, Su Yan’s sword avoided the hammer as it slid over his weapon in a seemingly impossible manner, the cold aura coming from the blade sending a chill down his spine.
Following that, the sound of a blade penetrating flesh could be heard as the Elder on the right grunted.
