Chapter 34: Wang Lin's Crisis

Fang Zhiyi frowned and spoke up, "Elder Sun, why are you so impatient? Did you not promise me back then that you would never force me?"

Elder Sun let out a cold snort upon hearing this. "While I may not be a good man, I have always been a man of my word—unlike you! You know full well how I have treated you over this past year and a half, yet you and that Wang Lin have been flirting right under my nose. Did you think I was blind?"

Some men, no matter their age, are always so self-righteous. From start to finish, Fang Zhiyi had never promised him anything; it had always been his own one-sided obsession. Now, he was actually accusing her of being untrustworthy?

It was absurd.

Beneath her conical hat, Fang Zhiyi’s brows were tightly furrowed, and the deep disgust in her eyes seemed on the verge of overflowing.

She spoke slowly, "Since Elder Sun knows everything, you should also know that Wang Lin and I share only the bond of fellow disciples."

Elder Sun sneered, "Men understand men best. It is just that you are too naive."

With that, his lips curled into a vulgar arc. "However, my little beauty, you can rid yourself of Wang Lin today."

Fang Zhiyi: "..."

"Elder Sun, I believe you have misunderstood. I have not the slightest romantic interest in you. I ask that you conduct yourself with dignity." Seeing that diplomacy was useless, Fang Zhiyi prepared to take a harder stance.

"It is not up to you to decide that now, my little beauty—" As he spoke, Elder Sun approached with a lascivious grin.

Inside her sleeves, Fang Zhiyi’s hands were working frantically to undo her restraints.

Just as Elder Sun’s wrinkled, withered hands were about to reach her, a flash of inspiration struck Fang Zhiyi.

A long sword flew out from her storage pouch. The blade emitted a faint, ghostly glow, as if it had come from the underworld. It cut through the air like a streak of light, trembling slightly as if it were alive and responding to Fang Zhiyi’s call.

"What is that?" Elder Sun was startled by the sudden appearance of the sword and instinctively jumped back, putting eight paces of distance between them.

"Qingming—"

Following Fang Zhiyi’s call, the sword darted straight toward her. With a sharp *clang*, the red silk binding her was instantly severed.

Fang Zhiyi sprang up, and the sword, as if possessing a life of its own, flew directly beneath her feet. The two of them hovered in the air.

"I hadn't realized you possessed such a magical artifact." His gaze locked onto the Qingming sword. "Such fine things should naturally belong to the capable. A little girl like you cannot handle it; I advise you not to make any futile struggles."

Fang Zhiyi spoke coldly, "I am afraid the Qingming sword would disagree." No sooner had she finished speaking than the sword bobbed up and down twice, as if truly responding to her words.

Elder Sun looked on, enraged. "Then let us test that! Don't blame me for bullying a child if you lose!"

With that, Elder Sun unleashed his full power—a force that seemed to shake the very heavens and earth. "Even with such an artifact, you are only in the Foundation Establishment stage; you are no match for me, a cultivator in the Soul Formation stage."

The only reason Elder Sun had indulged Fang Zhiyi for so long was because he had been eyeing her for ages; otherwise, he would have killed her and seized the treasure long ago.

Fang Zhiyi unhooked the jade pendant from her waist. Instantly, an aura belonging to the Soul Formation stage was released, and an invisible pressure bore down on Elder Sun.

The expression on the latter's face grew solemn. The pressure Fang Zhiyi released was overwhelmingly powerful—so much so that it felt even stronger than his own mid-stage Soul Formation power.

His eyes flickered, and his first instinct was to find Elder Li and settle the score. Though they were rivals, he had never expected Elder Li to be so ruthless as to watch him walk to his death.

How vicious!

But the more this was the case, the less Elder Sun would let Elder Li have his way. He would find a way to survive and then take his revenge! Elder Sun was a man who held grudges.

Earlier, he had been full of bluster, but now that he realized his strength was inferior to Fang Zhiyi’s, he was quick to humble himself.

"It is this humble one who failed to recognize your greatness and offended you. I hope you will not hold it against me." Elder Sun offered a fawning, awkward smile.

That burst of pressure had exhausted almost all of Fang Zhiyi’s strength. Since Elder Sun had initially intended to show her mercy, his sudden weakness was not entirely unexpected.

Elder Sun had harassed her incessantly during this time, and she would never let him off, but if they were to fight now, she might be able to contend with him alone—but behind him lay Elder Li.

If the two of them teamed up, it would be a disaster. It was not that she would not seek retribution; the time had simply not yet come.

Fang Zhiyi asked coldly, "Where has Wang Lin gone?"

"To the south—" Elder Sun quickly replied, fawning.

Fang Zhiyi ignored him further and turned away. She gripped the jade pendant tightly, sensing Wang Lin’s location through the other pendant. She closed her eyes tightly; the pendant was pulsing with an urgent warning. Wang Lin was in danger.

Fang Zhiyi accelerated, instantly heading in that direction.

...

"Get out here!" Elder Sun stood before the entrance of Elder Li’s tent and kicked the door to pieces.

The opportunities within the Void Island were indeed excellent; Elder Li had been on the verge of breaking through from the early stage to the mid-stage of the Soul Formation realm, but this sudden shock caused his nascent breakthrough to vanish in an instant.

He looked up, furious, and demanded, "Elder Sun, what is the meaning of this?"

"How many Soul Formation cultivators did your Wuji Sect send in total?" Elder Sun stared intently at Elder Li, not missing a single flicker of emotion on his face.

Elder Li’s eyes flashed, and he said, "Naturally, only myself."

Elder Sun let out a cold laugh. "As expected of your Wuji Sect, truly shameless. You agreed with our Fierce Fire Sect that only one Soul Formation cultivator would come to the Void Island, yet two have arrived."

Elder Li’s expression turned grim. "How did you find out?"

They had kept this matter extremely secret; the Fierce Fire Sect should not have known. He narrowed his eyes—there must be a traitor within the Wuji Sect.

Seeing Elder Li’s reaction, he knew exactly what was going on. "You need not concern yourself with how I know. To think you dared to play tricks on our Fierce Fire Sect! Prepare to die!"

Elder Li’s heart leaped; the thing he feared had come to pass.

In any sect, Soul Formation cultivators were rare and precious resources; the sect naturally could not bear to see them go to their deaths. But precisely because they feared the Fierce Fire Sect would snatch away their opportunities, they had secretly sent another Soul Formation cultivator to the Void Island.

"Elder Sun! Listen to my explanation! We were forced into this!"

Elder Sun snorted coldly. The mere memory of how he had nearly died at Fang Zhiyi’s hands fueled his rage. He refused to listen; he simply leaped forward to fight!