Chapter 41: The Teacher’s Wife and...

However, just as Zhongtian was about to bring down his sword, he suddenly sensed something amiss. Glancing up, he found himself unable to believe his eyes. The dozens of pillars of fire, like a swarm of locusts, devoured the condensed silver streams—more precisely, they absorbed them!

“This is not a sword technique!” Zhongtian shouted in a low, stern voice. No sword technique could accomplish such a feat. No matter how rare a fire-based sword technique might be, it could never defy the laws of nature!

“I never said it was a sword technique,” Liu Ling replied gently.

A faint curve appeared at the corner of Zhang Tiantian’s lips. Xiao Ling could be rather mischievous at times, yet she often put on a world-weary, old-soul demeanor—why that was, he couldn’t say.

“You!” Zhongtian cursed his own carelessness. Just now, the girl had clearly been chanting. Large-scale sword techniques did require chanting, but...

“Impossible!” Zhongtian roared, realizing his grave mistake. He had let down his guard, thinking his opponent was just a youth! What a fatal error!

Liu Ling let out a soft laugh, tinged with mockery. “That fire is my sword spirit.”

“What!” Zhongtian’s eyes nearly burst from their sockets—the flames on her sword were actually the sword spirit!

Liu Ling waved her flaming sword and spoke quietly, “My sword spirit is different from the rest. This is its form. So whenever I unleash a sword technique, the sword spirit is present. Do you understand now?”

Suddenly, Zhongtian seemed to recall something. Staring at Liu Ling, he demanded, “What is your connection to the destroyed Fire Sect?”

He had barely finished his question when he sensed the fire pillars become even more frenzied, growing thicker and exuding a vastly greater pressure!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Ten more pillars of fire erupted from the ground. One of them pierced straight through the mountains of the Jiugong Pavilion, shattering its barrier as if it were mere paper. In that instant, the entire Jiugong Pavilion was engulfed in a sea of flames that soared into the heavens.

Zhongtian could feel death closing in. His carelessness had cost him dearly. But even so, he would make a final, desperate stand!

“Howl in despair, Broken Moon!”

But before the sword could even wail, more than twenty pillars of fire surged toward Zhongtian, their graceful arcs so mesmerizing they could intoxicate.

Within the inferno, Zhongtian was reduced to ashes. As his life faded, the Broken Moon sword in his hand dissolved into dust.

In the blink of an eye, the Jiugong Pavilion was annihilated.

Zhang Tiantian stood to the side, saying nothing, for he knew Xiao Ling was furious now. Yet, he had obtained an important clue.

Just now, the pavilion master had mentioned the Fire Sect, and Xiao Ling had flown into a rage. Clearly, the Fire Sect was closely linked to her.

But having followed his young master for so long throughout the Eastern Nether, Zhang Tiantian had never heard of any Fire Sect. It seemed Xiao Ling came from outside the Eastern Nether, just like the madam.

If the Fire Sect was destroyed, could Xiao Ling be the sole survivor?

Suddenly, Zhang Tiantian felt the cold, piercing gaze of Xiao Ling upon him, sending a chill down his spine. What now…

“Let’s go,” Liu Ling whispered. In an instant, she vanished.

Zhang Tiantian breathed a sigh of relief. Her temper, he mused, suited him just fine. He glanced around at the ruined Jiugong Pavilion—almost as if it had never existed. The pavilion had never been anything good; its destruction was no loss. In the past, it had even clashed with his young master, so this was sweet revenge.

He sighed, then disappeared as well.

From that day on, there was no more Jiugong Pavilion in the Eastern Nether. Its annihilation became one of the ten great mysteries of the region—who had they provoked to be wiped out overnight?

Meanwhile, Ye Kun and Ye Qin were still asleep, completely unaware that their parents, for the sake of their safety, had obliterated the Jiugong Pavilion.

Yet, this was all the result of a series of misunderstandings. In truth, Dongxian had not come for the children, but to seek out the sword thief, Bai Tao. Unexpectedly, Wu Chi had punched him into the sky, causing him to land in the backyard.

Still, with members of the Jiugong Pavilion appearing in their home, Ye Ming and Dongmen Meng had been compelled to take such drastic action out of caution.

Sometimes, imagination can truly run wild.

If Ye Kun ever learned of this, he would surely add, “Those who cross me, Brother Kun, meet an end beyond imagination.”

Now, with exterminations happening at the drop of a hat, he would lament, “I’m still young, still a child! Please, let’s not go to such extremes. I, Brother Kun, love peace.”

At dawn, Ye Kun gave a long yawn. Remembering the events of the previous night, he wondered what had become of that self-immolating man, and whether his father had managed to heal him. Why couldn’t people see how wonderful life was, instead of tormenting themselves so extremely?

“Little brother, time to get up.”

“Waaah~”

Ye Kun burst out laughing. “I’m going to get you, you little crybaby!”

The two brothers rose amidst laughter and banter, full of joy. Dongmen Meng had already prepared breakfast, and after some careful admonitions, sent the children on their way.

“Big brother, don’t you think Sister Xiao Ling has been acting strange?” Even Ye Qin had noticed Liu Ling’s unusual behavior.

Ye Kun had, of course, sensed it too. “Maybe Uncle Zhang made her angry.”

“But that doesn’t make sense, big brother. Why do we call him Uncle Zhang, but call her Sister Xiao Ling?”

“Uh… Uncle Zhang seems a bit old, while Sister Xiao Ling looks so much younger.”

Ye Qin rubbed his bald head and grinned, “True. Dad looks old too, but Mom seems much younger.”

At that moment, Ye Ming sneezed, wondering who was cursing him. “May you never have hair,” he muttered.

The brothers arrived at the training courtyard, where Ye Kun saw their teacher, Wu Chi, sitting under the eaves, drinking as always.

He sighed softly to himself. Their teacher was no drunkard—there must be some tragic story behind it. Otherwise, who would drink day and night?

“Big brother, the other students say that Teacher’s wife ran away with someone,” Ye Qin shouted, raising his hand toward his brother.

The other students twitched at their mouths. They were trying to discuss secrets, so why shout it aloud? Did he want to make sure the teacher heard?

Wu Chi’s face instantly darkened.

Ye Kun hurriedly covered his brother’s mouth—this kid had no idea what “ran away with someone” really meant.

“Don’t say any more. Teacher is upset.”

“Why would Teacher be upset? His wife ran away, but she might come back.”

Wu Chi was taken aback by this, feeling there was some sense to those words.

“You dummy! If your wife is with someone else, why would she come back?” Ye Kun couldn’t help tapping his brother on the forehead.

Wu Chi heard Ye Kun’s words and found them reasonable, his mood swinging up and down.

“Big brother, what does ‘ran away with someone’ really mean?” Ye Qin asked.

Ye Kun whispered a few words in his brother’s ear. In an instant, Ye Qin understood. He rushed straight to Ba Wanqing.

“Wanqing.”

“Yes? What is it, Ye Qin?” Ba Wanqing smiled gently. She had always felt quite fond of Ye Qin.

“Will you ever cheat on me?” Ye Qin asked with utmost seriousness. It was an important question, not to be taken lightly.

Ba Wanqing looked puzzled. “Cheat? No, I won’t.” Though she didn’t know what it meant, she answered instinctively.

“Haha, wonderful!” Ye Qin was so excited, he picked Ba Wanqing up in a hug.