Nine Nether Dragon Emperor

Cheng Dabao cut down several bandits with a single slash. Seeing the grim turn of events, the rest cursed themselves for only being born with two legs. They fled helter-skelter, not even watching where they were going.

BANG!

One of them slammed solidly into the mountainside. Then, amid a strange sound, everyone watched as the upper half of the mountain began to shift. The bandit looked down and saw a perfectly neat incision in the rock beneath him.

"Grandma!" he cried out, his voice cracking as he scrambled away, tumbling and crawling.

"Junior Brother, I need more Earth Spring Spirit Milk!" Wu Pianpian transmitted to Ning Xuan, quietly averting her gaze.

As for Qian Yourong and the other two women, they could only stare at Cheng Dabao, completely stunned.

Over on the other side, Cheng Dabao shouldered her Golden Silk Giant Ring Blade, turned, and looked toward Wu Pianpian.

THUD!

With lightning-fast reflexes, Wu Pianpian promptly sat down in a meditative posture.

Ning Xuan coughed, barely stifling his laughter. It was a rare sight indeed to see his proud Senior Sister flustered like this!

"Sister Bao'er, it looks like you haven't had your fill yet. Don't worry, once my Senior Sister is done cultivating, you can go at her all you like!" Ning Xuan said immediately, seeing Cheng Dabao's blank expression again.

He'd wanted to get back at his Senior Sister for a long time anyway. Now that Cheng Dabao was here, he might as well let her handle it.

Who would have thought that she would reply, "There are other people here. I'm going to kill them first!"

After saying this, Cheng Dabao vanished on the spot.

Ning Xuan was left dumbfounded. After their initial shock, Qian Yourong and the other two women wore expressions of envy and admiration.

Meanwhile, Wu Pianpian, still seated in her meditative pose, quietly cracked her eyes open. Then she was on her feet.

"Ning Xuan, what did you mean by that?! Do you want her to chop me to death?!" she shrieked, appearing at his side in a flash, hands like claws.

"Whoa, Busty—I mean, Senior Sister! I wouldn't dare," Ning Xuan said soothingly. "This is for your own good."

Wu Pianpian blinked, not quite understanding.

"That girl seems to only listen to Ye Qingqing," he explained. "Now that Ye Qingqing is gone, there are only two ways for us to get Ye Qingqing's cultivation technique from her. She probably won't respond to force, so we have to play the long game. If I can make her happy, she might just agree."

Understanding dawned on Wu Pianpian's face. Behind them, Qian Yourong turned away, her delicate body trembling slightly.

"This is the Earth Spring Spirit Milk. I'll find you a safe place to cultivate properly," Ning Xuan said. Just as he was about to hand over the Spirit Milk, his eyes narrowed and he yelled, "Quick, get out of the way!"

The women moved like lightning.

BANG!

They had barely scattered when a long spear slammed into the ground where Ning Xuan had just been standing, burying itself deep into the earth. Its shaft was still quivering.

Ning Xuan had only just raised an eyebrow, but Wu Pianpian was already furious.

"Which son of a bitch did that? Get your ass out here! ...Oh, hello everyone! This is my Senior Brother. He's the one in charge, so if you have any business, take it up with him." The moment she saw the newcomers, Wu Pianpian instantly chickened out. She slithered behind Ning Xuan like an eel and gave him a hard shove forward.

"Senior Sister..." Ning Xuan began, completely baffled. This wasn't her style at all.

"Senior Sister my ass! You think I'm really that stupid?! Heh, we'll see if you dare to gloat over my misfortune again!"

Ning Xuan was speechless.

"Why is it just you few? Where are your elders?" the tall old man in the opposing group asked coldly after sweeping his gaze over them.

A short distance behind him, a young man walked straight toward the spear, ignoring Ning Xuan's group entirely. Ning Xuan didn't answer the elder. Instead, he stared at the young man, who was getting closer and closer. His body was tense, his expression a mix of wanting to retreat and forcing himself to stand his ground.

Several other teenagers stood behind the elder, their faces filled with amusement as they watched the scene unfold. One of the boys was even murmuring to himself.

"Brother Yi is so badass! I wonder when I'll ever catch up to him!"

"Zhou Wei, don't even think about it," another youth said, glancing at the young man and woman flanking the elder. "Brother Fan and Sister Wei haven't even said anything."

Just then, a voice cut through the air. "Isn't it a bit much to just ignore me like that?"

Everyone turned to look. They saw the youth, who looked about their age, actually speaking to their Brother Yi, who now had the spear resting across his shoulders. The group of teenagers instantly found this hilarious.

"Hey, do you have any idea who we are? Do you know who our Brother Yi is?" the boy named Zhou Wei asked Ning Xuan arrogantly, secretly shooting a glance at San Wu.

The young man, Zhou Yi, also turned around slowly.

SWOOSH!

The tip of the spear shot out, stopping just inches from Ning Xuan's neck. Zhou Yi then thrust it forward, using the point to lift Ning Xuan's chin. "What's wrong?" he taunted. "Not happy about it? If you're not happy, then you'll just have to suck it up!"

His attitude was outrageously arrogant. Ning Xuan's fists clenched so tightly he trembled with rage. The teenagers with the elder stared intently, and just when they thought Ning Xuan was about to lash out, he suddenly broke into an obsequious smile and backed away.

"Of course, sir! You've taught me a lesson!"

They couldn't help but feel a mix of disappointment and contempt.

"Have you seen anything fall from the sky recently?" the elder asked again, his gaze shifting away from the bandits' corpses.

"We don't know," Ning Xuan answered. "We were just here for training. Our elder sensed something was wrong and had just arrived when he told us to find a place to hide. It looked like he was chasing someone. We didn't expect you all to arrive so quickly; we haven't even found a spot yet."

After Ning Xuan finished, the elder frowned.

"Um, Senior, may we leave now?" Ning Xuan asked tentatively.

"Since you're all here for training, why not have a friendly spar?" the elder suggested, looking at the youths around him.

Rejection was written all over their faces. A coward like that wasn't worthy of fighting them.

Just then, Ning Xuan also spoke up with a smile. "I think we should forget about it."

"At least you have some self-awareness!" Zhou Wei scoffed.

Unexpectedly, Ning Xuan's tone shifted completely. "Because they are not worthy!"

Before his voice had even faded, he vanished.

"Yi'er, be care—"

CRACK!

The elder's warning was cut short by the sickening sound of breaking bone. Ning Xuan had cleanly and decisively snapped Zhou Yi's neck.

Absolute silence fell over the opposing group. None of them had expected Ning Xuan to strike so suddenly, much less for his strength to be so terrifying.

"Good! Very good! To think I actually misjudged you!" the elder was the first to recover, his voice practically seeping through clenched teeth. He was incandescent with rage, but he didn't attack immediately. This youth was exceptionally skilled.

His ability to seize an opportunity was simply too strong. The reason I didn't attack before was because my spiritual pressure had him locked down. The instant I relaxed it, the boy caught on and struck! His abilities are top-tier in every respect. Compared to him, the so-called prodigies of my Zhou Family, aside from Zhou Fan and Zhou Wei, are utterly insignificant!

"Impressive skills," the young man to the elder's left said, stepping forward. "You have earned the right for me to take action."

He cupped his fist toward Ning Xuan. "I am Zhou Fan. Please, enlighten me."

Ning Xuan started to refuse, but Zhou Fan cut him off. "Defeat me, and you can all leave unharmed. Otherwise, once my great-uncle makes his move, you will all die!" The killing intent radiating from him was palpable.