Chapter 48: Departure

The two men stood up, exchanged a glance, and summoned formation-breaking awls. Under the force of their spiritual power, the awls glimmered with golden light, floating in mid-air as they shot toward the protective barrier. The massive black iron hammer swung down on the awls, distorting the surrounding space.

The protective formation radiated a blinding light. At that moment, Ji Jiuxuan’s heart was tight with anxiety, praying the formation would hold out. Besides waiting for her Second Uncle’s rescue, her own strength was insufficient—her only option was to rely on Suiyi. Yet, unless absolutely necessary, she was reluctant to reveal Suiyi to the world. For some inexplicable reason, she felt the later Suiyi was discovered, the better.

As the black iron hammer struck a second time, a fierce sword energy lashed out at the two attackers. With a resounding crash, they were knocked to the ground. Struggling to rise, they found themselves powerless and fell to their knees, blood spurting from their mouths as they glared at Ji Jiuxuan, eyes full of unwillingness.

With no one controlling them, the formation-breaking awl and the black iron hammer clattered to the ground.

“Min Chengjun, your opponent is me.” The old villain from Chuiyun sneered, his eyes full of certainty. “One against three—Min Chengjun, it seems you’re the one with a death wish.”

Seizing the moment Min Chengjun was distracted, Chuiyun summoned his life-bound treasure, the Heaven-Shaking Hammer. It materialized as a massive hammer of spiritual power and smashed toward him.

Witnessing this, Ji Jiuxuan and the others were deeply worried. She once again resented her own weakness, knowing that Chuiyun’s group was clearly after her and had dragged everyone else into this.

As she fretted, Min Chengjun gathered spiritual energy in his palm, forming a golden tiger that charged at the spiritual hammer. The collision sent out waves of spiritual energy, forcing Chuiyun several steps back.

Startled, Chuiyun stared at Min Chengjun, who hadn’t moved an inch. “The Roaring Tiger Technique! Min Chengjun, it seems we’ve underestimated you.”

Gripping the Heaven-Shaking Hammer, Chuiyun gathered spiritual energy once more, the force visible to the naked eye.

“Suiyi, do you think Uncle will be all right?” The situation was dangerous, and they were at a clear disadvantage.

“Don’t worry, he can handle it,” Suiyi replied. “It’ll be tough, but the Roaring Tiger Technique is the Supreme Law of the Xuantian Sect. Against a sword cultivator with such a technique, his strength is not to be taken lightly. Besides, after all this, his spiritual power shows no sign of waning. Victory is assured.”

Ji Jiuxuan trusted Suiyi’s words implicitly, though she couldn’t say why. She had witnessed his strength and believed him from the bottom of her heart.

After the golden sword, surrounded by spiritual energy, knocked away the formation-breaking awl and the black iron hammer, it returned to Min Chengjun’s hand.

“Tell me, why are you targeting her?” His voice was chillingly cold.

In the past, Min Chengjun had always been stern and unsmiling, but never like this—his gaze was as lifeless as a corpse’s, frighteningly indifferent.

“Does one need a reason to seize someone? I, Chuiyun, never need a reason to take who I please.” Meeting Min Chengjun’s eyes, Chuiyun’s heart suddenly trembled, a wave of fear rising within. The world said that Qi Shuoyuan’s third disciple from Xuantian Sect was like the King of Hell, ruthless and cruel, but now he realized that Min Chengjun, the second disciple, was even more terrifying.

“Oh? If he won’t talk, then you will. Explain yourselves, and I might spare your lives.”

Facing Min Chengjun’s icy threat, the two wounded disciples from Hammer Rock Sect showed no fear, convinced their elder would prevail. They stiffened their necks and answered, “Our elder said there’s no need for a reason.”

Another disciple stood and tried to attack the protective formation again. With a snap, he was struck down by Min Chengjun and lay motionless on the ground, barely alive.

The previously defiant disciple was now terrified. “I’ll talk! I’ll talk! We wanted to use her as leverage.”

“Leverage against whom?” Min Chengjun asked as he engaged Chuiyun.

“Leverage against—” Before the words could be spoken, Chuiyun’s attack suddenly shifted direction, obliterating the disciple.

Watching his companion turn to ash, Sui Yanfang was momentarily distracted and was immediately driven back by Meng Chengfang.

“Chuiyun! How dare you kill my disciple!” Grief-stricken and furious, Sui Yanfang lunged at Chuiyun.

This sudden infighting left Ji Jiuxuan dumbfounded.

Min Chengjun leapt down, while Meng Chengfang guarded the front of the protective formation.

“Let’s go.”

Min Chengjun tossed the two remaining disciples back onto their own ship, used a teleportation acceleration talisman, and in a flash, the entire vessel pierced the clouds and vanished.

Seeing them escape, Chuiyun erupted in fury. “Sui Yanfang, you’re courting death!”

“You killed my disciple—this is war!” Sui Yanfang roared, and the two became locked in a fierce battle, paying no heed to where Ji Jiuxuan and the others had fled.

“Why did they want to take little Ah Jiu alone?” Meng Chengfang sat down, completely puzzled.

“We’ll investigate when we return. What matters now is getting everyone back safely.” Min Chengjun already had a few answers in mind, but it was not the time to speak of them to Meng Chengfang.

He kept the teleportation array running without pause, supplementing his spiritual power constantly with high-grade pills—a lavish expenditure that left Meng Chengfang clicking his tongue in disbelief.

No wonder he’s called Min the Money God.

“Uncle, do you think those two will come after us again?” Suiyi had said that Sui Yanfang was no weakling. Fueled by rage and with Chuiyun already exhausted by Min Chengjun, the outcome between them was uncertain.

“Don’t worry—they won’t catch up to us. We’re already far away,” Min Chengjun explained gently to Ji Jiuxuan, despite being visibly drained from the massive expenditure of spiritual energy.

What should have been a journey of over half a month was cut down to mere days, thanks to the teleportation array and high-grade pills. In just a few dozen days, they reached the borders of the Xuantian Sect.

Putting away the formation disk, Min Chengjun sat cross-legged. “From here on, I leave it to you.”

“Rest assured, Senior Brother Min.” Meng Chengfang accepted the responsibility solemnly and took command of the ship. Normally, the vessel could fly on its own with spirit stones, but with a dedicated pilot, its speed was unmatched.

Ji Jiuxuan glanced worriedly at Min Chengjun, who had closed his eyes to meditate.

Sensing her concern, he opened his eyes and reassured her with warmth, “Don’t worry, Uncle is fine.”

During the journey, confined within the protective barrier, she had been unable to practice swordsmanship and could only cultivate quietly, waiting.

Upon arriving at the Xuantian Sect, her grandfather Qi Shuoyuan was already there to greet them. Only then did Ji Jiuxuan realize that Feng Chen had not returned with them.

“Grandfather.” She greeted him obediently, standing before Qi Shuoyuan.

Min Chengjun had recovered, though his complexion remained paler than usual. He recounted Hammer Rock Sect’s actions, omitting the fact that they had specifically targeted Ji Jiuxuan, and simply reported that they had been ambushed.

The elders were enraged—Hammer Rock Sect’s behavior was utterly intolerable.

In a major sect, the reserve of talented disciples was vital. These three were among the most promising of this generation; if they had all perished, the Xuantian Sect would face a crippling loss in the future, with a gap in its ranks of experts.

Many sects had met their end for just such reasons. Though the situation was slightly exaggerated—there were still other talented disciples—who didn’t want their own sect to be the strongest?

Meng Chengfang was slightly surprised by Min Chengjun’s deliberate omission, but said nothing, not even allowing a hint of it to show on his face.