Top-tier Unruly Master

"Who are you?" Meng Ying watched Ding Fan at the door with her full Divine Sense on guard.

The iron nail shot just now had showcased the man's considerable strength, so without understanding the identity of the newcomer, Meng Ying had held back from making any rash moves.

At this moment, Ding Fan completely ignored Meng Ying and the others as if nothing had happened and walked over to Lin Yanxi's side.

"It's okay now, don't be afraid..."

Lin Yanxi's autism was about to fully recover, and Ding Fan was worried that she wouldn't handle such an excessive fright well—it might even worsen her condition.

Lin Yanxi's tears flowed uncontrollably at that moment.

"Brat, die!"

Seeing Ding Fan enter and then completely ignore them, Su Fan felt somewhat enraged. The long whip in her hand lashed straight for the back of Ding Fan's head.

Her whip came with relentless force; if it truly connected, it would only mean certain death for Ding Fan.

Hu Jin watched this scene clearly, her mouth agape in shock, but by the time she thought to warn Ding Fan, it was already too late.

Just when Hu Jin thought Ding Fan would definitely fall victim to Su Fan's sneak attack, Ding Fan's hand suddenly shot out. The tip of the long whip was caught squarely in the palm of his hand.

Hu Jin was stunned at that moment. Ding Fan had been completely turned away from Su Fan, and he hadn't even looked back when the whip came his way. Yet, he had managed to catch it so precisely.

This was too incredible.

At this moment, not only was Hu Jin shocked, but Su Fan herself was taken aback. Her whip technique, incorporating both hardness and softness, had been a stealthy strike; it was difficult enough to catch head-on, let alone in Ding Fan's manner, who hadn't even looked before snatching it out of the air.

Swish... And just as Su Fan stood there astonished, Ding Fan's right hand suddenly exerted force, causing Su Fan to feel a numbness in her palm.

Crack... By the time Su Fan realized what had happened and looked again, her long whip had been snapped in half directly by Ding Fan's Inner Strength, and there was quite a bit of blood coming from the base of her thumb.

"How? How is this possible?!"

Although Su Fan's long whip was not a treasure, it wasn't a toy that someone could break just because they wanted to. The fact that the opponent had snapped it using only Inner Strength indicated that his cultivation was certainly not low.

Seeing Ding Fan break Su Fan's whip with his Inner Strength, Meng Ying's expression grew serious as well. She had the cultivation of Human Level Fifth Grade, and even she didn't have such domineering Inner Strength to shatter a whip.

"Senior... I don't know where we've offended you..."

Meng Ying was quick to react, standing up respectfully.

"All of you deserve to die today," Ding Fan said in an even tone before slowly standing up, his eyes, however, betraying a thick murderous intent.

Meng Ying's face paled; it was an expression of fear. "Senior, there must have been some misunderstanding between us, please, quell your anger..."

A person who could catch iron nails and snap long whips with Inner Strength was not someone Meng Ying could afford to provoke. How could she not display some submission now?

Hu Jin watched this scene with mixed feelings. Before Ding Fan's arrival, Meng Ying was outrageously arrogant.

Now, with Ding Fan present, she suddenly assumed a submissive demeanor. Meng Ying's current attitude was probably even more obsequious than that of waiters in restaurants.

Swish...

Just as Hu Jin was caught up in her jumbled thoughts, the situation took a sudden turn.

Meng Ying swiftly drew a Short Blade and, with a swift movement, plunged it directly into Su Fan's back.

"Uncle Master... you?!" Su Fan could never have dreamed that her own uncle master would stab her in the back...

Thud... Meng Ying didn't even glance at Su Fan as she pulled the Short Blade out of her back. Su Fan's body fell to the ground with a thump.

Seeing this, both Hu Jin and Lin Yanxi were taken aback, never having expected Meng Ying to strike at her own disciple.

"Uncle Master Meng Ying? You?..." Hu Cheng, too, was clearly puzzled by the turn of events, his face full of confusion.

Meng Ying's hand wielding the Short Blade flicked, and then Hu Cheng's throat was cut open by the blade, blood spilling onto the ground.

"Senior, it was Su Fan who showed you disrespect, and Hu Cheng offended your friend. I have now slain them both, in hopes that you will calm your anger and spare me," Meng Ying said and then knelt down without any further hesitation.

Ding Fan's brow furrowed slightly. The Meng Ying before him was rather ruthless. To save her own life, she was willing to kill her own disciples.

"Brother Fan... let her go," Lin Yanxi pleaded from behind Ding Fan. After all, as a regular person, she naturally found the bloody scene hard to bear. Besides, she didn't want to see Ding Fan kill for her sake.

Ding Fan turned around to glance at Lin Yanxi; her complexion was pale, and her beautiful face was streaked with tears, evoking a pitiful image...

"Thank you, thank you for sparing my life!"

Meng Ying, a slippery character, upon seeing Lin Yanxi pleading for her, didn't wait for Ding Fan's response and scurried to her feet before dashing out of the Land Temple.

Ding Fan turned to look at the fleeing Meng Ying and let out a soft sigh. Letting Meng Ying go today would surely bring future trouble...

At this moment, Lin Yanxi had suffered some emotional distress, and Ding Fan did not wish to go against her wishes. It wouldn't be good for her recovery, so what was done was done.

Ding Fan removed all the ropes binding Lin Yanxi and Hu Jin.

The two women had been tied up all night, and their limbs were now numb and sore. Ding Fan immediately used his True Qi to help both women circulate their blood.

With Ding Fan's assistance, the numbness in their bodies soon disappeared.

Ding Fan first led the two women out of the Land Temple and then returned to burn the bodies directly.

"Brother Fan, before this, I was wrong. If we had listened to you and stayed in the same room, all of this wouldn't have happened..."

After Ding Fan had dealt with the Land Temple, Hu Jin approached him as he returned to meet with her and Lin Yanxi.

Although Hu Jin wasn't versed in Martial Skills, based on what had just happened—Ding Fan catching the surprise attack of the long whip with his back and frightening Meng Ying into killing her own disciples—she realized that if Ding Fan stayed in the same room with them, the kidnapping would not have happened.

At this time, Ding Fan did not respond to Hu Jin's words. His brows furrowed slightly, and his expression grew serious.

"What's wrong, Brother Fan?"

Seeing Ding Fan's expression, Lin Yanxi asked worriedly.

"Yan Xi, I have an amulet here. Take it. If you're in danger, just throw the amulet, and it will protect you. You go down the mountain first and wait for me. I'll come find you tonight."

Having said that, Ding Fan didn't waste words with Lin Yanxi and handed her an amulet. He then quickly ran off into the forest.

"Brother Fan?" Lin Yanxi was taken aback; she hadn't expected Ding Fan to just leave like that.

Having faced life and death, Lin Yanxi had a lot she wanted to say to Ding Fan, but he turned and left just after she had been rescued.

"Hu Jin, take this amulet. Wait for us at the villa at the foot of the mountain. After I find Brother Fan, we'll come to find you together," Lin Yanxi said, handing Hu Jin the amulet and then dashing off in pursuit of Ding Fan.

Hu Jin stared at the yellow paper amulet in her hand, momentarily lost in a daze as she gazed in the direction where Ding Fan and Lin Yanxi had vanished...

...

Ding Fan sprinted.

The reason for his hurried parting from Lin Yanxi was that he sensed the presence of the Azure Flame Beast.

The Azure Flame Beast sustained itself on Spiritual Energy. Ding Fan's trip to the West Mountain Heavenly Pond was intended to find the beast which, if found, could lead to a source of Spiritual Energy. For Ding Fan, cultivation resources were his greatest scarcity.

Now at the Fourth Level of Qi Cultivation, Ding Fan released his Divine Sense and soon detected the Azure Flame Beast.

The beast was the size of an adult Golden Retriever; Ding Fan felt an overwhelming joy, how could he have believed such spiritual beasts existed on Earth if he hadn't seen one with his own eyes?

As soon as Ding Fan's Divine Sense swept over the Azure Flame Beast, it bolted as if sensing something and started to flee.

Ding Fan had finally located the Azure Flame Beast and was not about to give up so readily. He pushed his Wind Pursuit Technique to its limit, closely chasing the beast through the woods.

After half an hour of pursuit, perhaps realizing it couldn't shake Ding Fan off, the Azure Flame Beast suddenly darted back toward the mountain peak.

In the Cultivation World, Ding Fan had come across Azure Flame Beasts before. They were extremely cunning, so he dared not take it lightly and followed it closely.

The Azure Flame Beast quickly made its way to the summit. Upon reaching the top, the view of Heavenly Pool greeted them.

Despite it being midsummer, the peak's temperature was quite low, and one could even see ice and snow around Heavenly Pool.

There, the Azure Flame Beast dove into a stone cave.

Ding Fan released his Divine Sense, and soon he detected an intense current of Spiritual Energy. Ding Fan was thrilled; the direction of the spiritual energy suggested it was coming from the northwest corner of Heavenly Pool.

However, the beast had led him to the southeast corner, proving to be quite crafty.

Ding Fan pushed his Divine Sense further and hastened his steps, and shortly after, he arrived at the source of Spiritual Energy—a volcanic crater as big as a basketball court. Looking down from the crater's rim, it seemed bottomless, but the rich Spiritual Energy was emanating from below...