Chapter 64: Killing Lin Shengbin and Encountering a Celestial Realm Expert on the Road

Lin Shengbin fled while looking back, his pupils diluting in horror when he saw his two companions at the eighth stage of the Meridian Opening Realm being decisively slaughtered by Chu Tianchen. A chilling scent of death instantly gripped him.

"Save me! Help!" Lin Shengbin screamed at the top of his lungs as he ran.

Listening to his desperate cries, Chu Tianchen glanced around. If this attracted senior students or instructors, it would undoubtedly cause some trouble. Besides, things had already reached this point; how could he possibly let Lin Shengbin return alive? If he did, once they were back at Cloud Sea Academy, this fellow would undoubtedly launch a frantic revenge campaign.

A mere Lin Shengbin in himself was not frightening at all, but standing behind him were Lin Yurourou, Yin Taixu, and the entire ancient city of Nether Bamboo.

With this thought, Chu Tianchen quickened his pace and closed the distance.

As Chu Tianchen drew closer and closer, a warm stream suddenly leaked from Lin Shengbin's trousers. He shrieked frantically for help.

At that moment, Chu Tianchen flicked his hand, and the Fire Cloud Sword in his grip flew through the air, plunging straight into Lin Shengbin's back. Lin Shengbin was knocked down to the ground on the spot.

Excruciating pain brought tears to his eyes, and blood continuously bubbled from his mouth. Just as he managed to crawl forward a few paces, a heavy foot suddenly stepped onto his back.

Chu Tianchen pulled out his sword and flipped Lin Shengbin over.

"Y-You surnamed Chu! If you dare to kill me, my elder sister and my brother-in-law will never let you off!" Lin Shengbin threatened in panic, terror flashing in his eyes.

The corners of Chu Tianchen's mouth curled into a faint arc. "I don't need them to let me off, because I won't let them off either," he said coldly, pressing his foot down on Lin Shengbin's chest. "Let me ask you a question. If your answer satisfies me, I might just spare your life."

"W-What question?" Lin Shengbin stammered hastily.

"When the Chu family was raided and ransacked, the Human Sovereign spared my life. What was the reason?" Chu Tianchen demanded bluntly.

"I—I don't know!" Lin Shengbin blurted out.

"That answer doesn't satisfy me." Chu Tianchen raised the Fire Cloud Sword, resting its tip against Lin Shengbin's chest.

A sudden chill pierced his chest, and an overwhelming aura of death surged into his heart.

"Ch—Chu Tianchen, I really don't know! But I did hear my sister and my father talking about it once. The Human Sovereign issued an order to spare you. As for the reason, they never told me, and I didn't ask."

Enduring the agonizing pain, Lin Shengbin spoke at a rapid pace, terrified that Chu Tianchen would drive the sword straight down.

"It seems you really don't know. Well, there's no need to trouble you with this then; I'll just go ask Lin Yurourou myself," Chu Tianchen said with a smile.

Seeing that dark, knowing smile, Lin Shengbin swallowed hard.

"Chu Tianchen! Brother-in-law! Back then, I even called you brother-in-law! I beg you, please don't kill me!" Lin Shengbin wailed in terror.

The next instant, Chu Tianchen exerted force with his palm, driving the Fire Cloud Sword deep into his chest. Lin Shengbin's breathing slowly faded into nothingness.

Chu Tianchen directly removed the storage ring from his finger, and with a thought, wiped away the spiritual soul imprint left on the tier-one storage ring.

The space within this tier-one storage ring was not particularly large, yet it spanned several dozen square meters. Inside were piled thirty thousand low-grade elemental stones, along with a few inferior tier-one Qi Gathering Pills. There was also a martial art manual of the high Huang grade, Iron Mountain Fist, which Lin Shengbin had borrowed from the Scripture Pavilion of Cloud Sea Academy. In addition, there were two tier-one monster cores.

It seemed this fellow had indeed encountered some monsters while hunting for him.

Chu Tianchen put everything away and hurriedly left the area. Lin Shengbin's cries for help earlier would likely draw others over; if it attracted an instructor at the Divine Connection Realm, things would become quite troublesome. Although his vital energy was vast and boundless, he was naturally no match for someone at the Divine Connection Realm. After all, that was a gap of two major realms, something raw talent alone could not easily bridge.

Sure enough, less than ten minutes after Chu Tianchen departed, others arrived drawn by the sounds. In Cloud Sea Academy, internal bloodshed among disciples was officially forbidden on the surface, but generally speaking, no one cared as long as it wasn't witnessed by an instructor.

"It looks like this was done by someone," one of the newcomers remarked. "To be able to slaughter two cultivators at the eighth stage of the Meridian Opening Realm and one at the seventh stage, the attacker must have reached the Origin Realm."

"Among the new disciples this year, there are only a handful of people at the Origin Realm. Could this have been done by a senior student?"

"Does someone have a blood grudge against these three?" another person chimed in.

"I think I recognize this guy. Isn't this Lin Shengbin, the younger brother of Lin Yurourou from the inner court?" another gasped in astonishment. "Holy crap, someone actually killed him."

"Should we take his corpse back and give it to Lin Yurourou? Although our Willow Gate doesn't have much contact with Lin Yurourou, if we return her brother's body intact, she'll probably appreciate the gesture," another member of the Willow Gate suggested. "Even though their ancient city of Nether Bamboo isn't top-tier, that Yin Taixu is currently the most prominent figure in Cloud Sea Academy. Furthermore, he hails from the Greater World. With his backing, the ancient city of Nether Bamboo is bound to become a first-rate power in the future."

"But what if Lin Yurourou stubbornly believes that we murdered her brother?" one of them worriedly asked.

"Lin Yurourou isn't an idiot. Would we kill her brother and then hand over the body ourselves?" the other retorted.

After putting their heads together, the three of them decided to take Lin Shengbin's corpse with them.

Meanwhile, Chu Tianchen had already vanished without a trace. Having arrived at the Monster Mountain Range only a few days ago, his harvests had been quite substantial.

He continued moving forward until evening fell before finally halting his steps. Gazing into the distance, he realized he was now roughly at the middle position of the outer perimeter of the Monster Mountain Range. Continuing any further would mean encountering a growing number of tier-two monsters. He decided to operate within this zone, splitting his time between cultivation and hunting monsters to sharpen his combat prowess and gain practical experience.

That very night, he extracted elemental stones, circulated the Nine Dragons Heaven-Swallowing Art, and cultivated frantically throughout the night without feeling even a hint of fatigue. At this rate of progress, within half a month at most, he should be able to open up his fifth pulse ring.

Chu Tianchen was quite satisfied with this speed.

Walking through a dense forest, he scanned his surroundings for traces of monsters. Suddenly, a wave of chaotic, intense combat sounds echoed from ahead. The terrifying aura of the battle instantly caused Chu Tianchen to furrow his brow.

"The Celestial Origin Realm?"

"Why is there someone at the Celestial Origin Realm in the outer perimeter of the Monster Mountain Range?" Chu Tianchen thought in astonishment.

Without hesitation, he turned around, preparing to leave immediately. A battle of this tier was simply not something he could afford to participate in. Although he still possessed a shred of Land Immortal power left behind by the Eternal Dragon Emperor, that was his ultimate trump card for saving his life. He had no intention of wasting it in a place like this.

Yet, just as Chu Tianchen was about to make his exit, the sounds of battle abruptly ceased. Following that, a middle-aged man in black robes, possessing the cultivation of the Celestial Origin Realm, materialized right behind him.

"Friend, I must trouble you to take my young mistress out of here," the black-robed middle-aged man said.

With those words, he pushed a little girl of eight or nine years old directly toward Chu Tianchen. The next instant, he whirled around and charged back to fiercely intercept the two pursuers closing in behind them.