Hidden in the void above the lake, Rong Lua watched the scene unfold with an outwardly calm expression.

But inside?

His heart churned like a storm-tossed sea.

This demon…

His eyes narrowed into slits as he analyzed the monstrous aura rising from below.

Half-step into the Deity Transformation Realm…

A cold heaviness gripped Rong Lua's chest.

This was far beyond him, although he was the genius of the thousand sword sect but this didn't mean this allowed him to be stupid.

If he were to face that demon now, with his current strength?

The battle would be nothing short of disastrous. Even if he survived, he would be left half-dead.

Rong Lua's instincts screamed the same truth over and over:

Do not fight. Hide. Let the demon leave.

He reassured himself again—his concealment technique was one of the Ten Thousand Sword Sect's greatest secrets. A pinnacle void-hiding art.

Not even a true Deity Transformation expert should be able to find him.

So long as he didn't act rashly, the demon would never—

And then something froze him in place.

A gaze.

It was Cold.

And Indifferent.

Sharp as a blade against his throat.

The moment Rong Lua felt it, his eyelids twitched violently.

Damn it… this old geezer!

He didn't need to look to know exactly who had fixed that terrifying gaze on him.

Wang Chen.

But when Rong Lua swept the ground with his divine sense…

Nothing.

Not even a ripple.

He couldn't see Wang Chen—not a trace, not a shadow. As if the earlier feeling was nothing more than an illusion to deceive him.

And that realization chilled him deeper than the demon's presence had. If he wanted to escape the demon could do nothing to stop his departure..but thinking about Wang Chen again his heat chilled.

He had been right to surrender earlier.

If he had chosen to fight this man…

A thin layer of sweat formed on his palm.

Just then, the gaze pressing on him shifted—still indifferent, but heavier.

Sharper.

More urgent.

Rong Lua's expression darkened.

He could feel it clearly now:

Wang Chen was losing his patience.

If he didn't move soon, the master of Phoenix and Dragon Dojo might actually kill him before the demon did.

Below him, Li Mei's phantom World Tree roared into existence, shielding her from the demon's overwhelming pressure.

The violent clash of auras shook the space itself.

Rong Lua's jaw clenched.

"If I delay any longer…" he muttered through stiff lips, "…that man might really kill me."

He didn't dare bet against Wang Chen's resolve.

With a long, reluctant breath, Rong Lua made his decision.

Clouds above the lake twisted violently—

Whoooosh—!

The concealment around him shattered like glass, and his figure finally revealed itself high above the lake.

A sword cultivator descending from the heavens.

The heavy pressure of a Nascent Soul Realm expert blanketed the area, instantly shifting the battlefield's balance.

From a distance, Wang Chen exhaled softly.

A subtle, almost invisible sigh of relief.

He had been only a breath away from stepping in himself.

And Wang Chen really didn't want to do that unless absolutely necessary.

The three-eyed demon—who had been toying with Li Mei, Lin Huang, and even Zhao Yunfei like a bored predator—suddenly snapped its head upward.

Its three pupils shrank into needle-fine slits, glowing a sickening molten orange, as it scanned the newcomers in the sky.

A low growl, thick with contempt, rolled out of its broad chest.

"Another… human trash."

The air trembled.

With Rong Lua's sudden appearance, Li Mei and Lin Huang felt the suffocating pressure crushing their bodies abruptly weaken—as if an invisible boulder had been lifted off their chests.

They both turned toward the sky.

For the first time since the demon descended, there was room to breathe.

Li Mei reacted first.

Her cross-shaped pupils contracted sharply.

A dark robe.

A sword emblem.

A void-piercing presence.

Her heart skipped.

A cultivator from the Ten Thousand Sword Sect… one of the strongest powers of the Soaring Dragon Continent.

Shock flickered across her delicate features—but only for a moment.

Her mind rapidly pieced things together like a veteran strategist.

The attire, the aura, the presence…

Everything aligned perfectly with her memories.

But a question burned at the back of her mind:

Why was a Ten Thousand Sword Sect envoy here?

She wasn't foolish enough to believe he came out of kindness.

If he had wanted to help them from the start, he wouldn't have waited until the demon appeared.

There was only one explanation:

He was after the Nine-Petaled Soul Calming Flame as well.

Li Mei's gaze darkened.

Rong Lua, meanwhile, studied her with raised brows.

She should have been trembling.

Bowing.

Unable to breathe beneath the weight of a Nascent Soul cultivator's aura.

Yet…

Her eyes remained still.

Clear.

Unshaken.

Not a hint of fear.

If anything—she looked mildly annoyed at the interruption.

Rong Lua wasn't sure whether to laugh or frown.

Most Qi Refining juniors he'd met often lost control of their bowels in front of him. But this girl… this girl dare meet his gaze calmly?

Not normal. Definitely not normal.

But what surprised him even more was—

Lin Huang.

Their gazes met across the distance, and Rong Lua felt a faint chill creep up his spine.

The sharpness in Lin Huang's eyes cut through the air like a divine sword.

There was no inferiority, no awe—only quiet defiance.

A peak Qi Refining cultivator looking at him like an equal?

Interesting…

Rong Lua's interest deepened, his lips curling slightly.

"So this is the little devil Ying Yue's childhood sweetheart…"

He now understood why the girl from his sect—famous for her temper—had never forgotten him.

There was something odd about this boy. Something ancient. Something dangerous.

The three-eyed demon's aura flared violently, sensing the threat posed by the new arrival.

The atmosphere darkened as the lake rippled like boiling silver, trees shook violently, and the very air trembled under the collision of power.

Above the chaos…

Three humans stared back at the demon.

And the battlefield shifted.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.