Sang Qian stared back at his sister, speechless.

He was completely dumbfounded as well. He had thought that Zu An was the one bullying Zheng Dan all this while, and that she was being forced to do his bidding.

What the hell is going on here? This bastard Zu An has surely resorted to some devilish trick to manipulate her!

Yeah, that’s definitely it!

You have successfully trolled Sang Qian for 734 Rage points!

Only Sang Hong shook his head with a sigh. He was well experienced with the ways of the world, and knew exactly what was going on.

Zheng Dan’s face turned red. She knew that her actions had completely blown her cover, but giving up the disciplined image that she had groomed over so many years still left her slightly embarrassed, and she tried to justify herself. “He’s saved my life before, so I can’t just watch him die.”

She knew that this reason was rather far-fetched, but she still steeled herself and ran with it anyway. At the very least, it would serve as some sort of explanation to satisfy her fiancé’s family.

In the time she took to make her statement, her water arrow had already reached Ding Run. Ding Run snorted, raised his hand, and crushed that arrow between his fingers. The ferocious arrow of water exploded into a spray of harmless water droplets.

Given the huge gap in their cultivations, Zheng Dan’s attack was insufficient to break through his defenses.

With a flick of his hand, Ding Run sent the water droplets flying back where they came from. They pelted Zheng Dan’s body mercilessly.

She did her best to evade and protect herself, but she was still hit. She threw up a mouthful of blood and collapsed onto the ground.

Ding Run waved his hands in a carefree manner. The leaves fluttering about in the air coalesced into a green arrow, and he fired it straight at Zheng Dan. It flew at her at an incredible speed, and there was no way Zheng Dan would be able to evade it in her wounded state.

The piercing sound of the deadly arrow whistling through the air echoed far into the distance, and it was easy to imagine just how much terrifying power was harnessed by this attack. If the strike landed, Zheng Dan was dead for sure.

Ding Run clearly realized that he had wasted too much time. He had finally lost patience, and decided to end things as quickly as possible.

Sang Qian had a hesitant look on his face. This fiancée of his truly abounded with grace and beauty, especially in her appearance, which was both elegant and reserved. He hadn’t yet gotten a taste of her, and so he was clearly reluctant to let anything happen to his gorgeous wife.

If they had been facing any other situation, he would’ve leapt in like a knight in shining armor. Unfortunately, Ding Run was way too strong, and the difference between their power was way too great. He was clearly no match for him.

The key to being a white knight was to look badass, and not to actually throw away one’s own life!

Survival was everything! As long as he survived, he would be able to play with all the pretty women he could ever want to in the future.

That was why, after a moment of hesitation, he shouldered Sang Hong and kept on running.

Zheng Dan didn’t seem too upset by her fiancé’s reaction. Instead of whining about it, she sighed in relief. She knew that she had let the Sang clan down, but Sang Qian’s choice also helped her let this matter go.

Her vision suddenly blurred. A figure appeared in front of her and wrapped her in his arms, blocking the deadly attack with his own broad back.

Zheng Dan’s expression immediately turned to horror when she sensed this familiar and gentle embrace. She wrapped her arms around him and screamed, “Ah Zu!”

Blood gushed out of Zu An’s mouth, and his body instantly grew limp. This blow had clearly left him with a grievous injury.

If it wasn’t for the two-fold tempering of the Primordial Origin Sutra, which had increased his body’s hardiness immensely, he would’ve already died many times over.

Even so, he was at his limit. He forced out a smile. “Look at how cute we look together in our clothes. Even if we go, we’ll go together.”

Ding Run turned his gaze on the fleeing trio from the Sang clan. He snorted. “Do you think you can escape? Keep dreaming!”

Both Zu An and Zheng Dan were already sure to fall, so he decided to settle matters with these others first, to prevent them from getting away. He didn’t want to spend the next few days searching for them.

He wielded the lightning element, so speed was his forte. With a flicker, he appeared in front of Sang Qian.

Sang Qian was horrified. He raised the blade his sister had given him and brought it down.

For all of his faults, he was still a respected cultivator in Brightmoon City. There was no way he was just going to accept this fate.

His blade erupted in golden flames. Now that he was face to face with death, there was nothing to hold back, and this attack packed one hundred and twenty percent of its usual strength.

Ding Run sneered. “You dare show off your skills with a blade before me?”

With a flash of cold light, Sang Qian’s sword was hacked into two pieces from the side, and the raging flames were instantly extinguished.

Ding Run’s blade didn’t stop there, but continued moving towards his neck in a single fluid motion. Sang Qian’s full-powered attack had been completely broken, and the recoil had sent his ki into a chaotic frenzy. There was no way for him to react in time.

Ding Run had done this countless times. This was just another number to add to his body count.

His expression was devoid of all emotion, and the surge of focused killing intent made it hard for Sang Qian to even breathe. A chill ran through his entire body. Only one thought remained in his mind.

I’m done for!

At this critical juncture, the half-unconscious Sang Hong, who was still clinging to his back, suddenly opened his eyes and sent a fist flying towards his son’s attacker. The speed and power behind this strike was equal to the best that he could throw when he was at his peak. He had clearly been acting the entire time, waiting for just this opportunity.

Ding Run grinned. “Predictable!”

He had seen Sang Qian administer the recovery pill to his father earlier. As a first-rate killer who was famous in the underground world, he relied not only on his terrifying cultivation, but also his incredible prudence.

Caution was absolutely essential in his field. No matter how high one’s cultivation was, failing to act with proper caution was sure to get one killed someday.

He had immediately sensed that something was amiss when he saw Sang Hong’s condition worsen despite ingesting the medicine. He thus decided to change his strategy, to bait the other party into a trap.

Sang Hong was an eighth rank expert, and the situation would grow difficult to handle if he was allowed to recover his strength. However, if Ding Run timed his attack just so, he could instantly turn the hunter into the hunted, and eliminate his target in the blink of an eye.

Sang Hong’s heart sank. In an instant, he recognized that his opponent had seen through his ploy. Unfortunately, however, all his power was concentrated in this one attack. Given his current condition, there was no way for him to launch another blow like this.

He had no choice but to commit to it fully, even though he knew that he had already fallen for his opponent’s trap. The only thing that mattered right now was to somehow wound his opponent before he died, to give his children a higher chance of escaping.

Unfortunately, even this final hope was quickly dashed. He could tell from Ding Run’s eyes that, by the time Ding Run’s blade reached his neck, his fist would still be three inches from landing.

Given his cultivation, even three feet wasn’t usually a big deal, let alone three inches. Yet right now, three inches seemed as vast as the distance between heaven and hell.

A sinister smile spread across Ding Run’s face. He had already seen the horror and despair in Sang Hong’s eyes. As a killer, this was the moment he enjoyed the most, especially when his opponent was a powerful cultivator on the same level as him.

The feeling of ecstasy that overwhelmed him in such a moment was even better than the pleasures of playing around with the best girls in any brothel.

Just as his blow was about to land, a despicable voice suddenly came from beside him. “Whatcha lookin’ at?”

Ding Run immediately sensed an irresistible urge rise up within him. He instinctively turned around to glare at that person. “I’m staring at you, shithead!”

It was at this moment, he knew he’d fucked up.

In a battle between powerful cultivators, the line between victory and defeat was infinitesimally thin.

This moment of distraction caused his blade to slow down just a fraction.

Sang Hong’s fist, however, did not slow at all, and slammed right into his opponent’s chest.

Ding Run’s body was blown backwards. “Pffft!” Blood spurted out from his mouth. This was the first time he had been wounded today, and it was definitely a brutal blow.

The full-powered strike of an eighth-ranked cultivator was a terrifying phenomenon. If Ding Run wasn’t so powerful, this blow would have sent him straight to hell.

Sang Hong didn’t fare much better himself. Even though the momentary distraction to his opponent prevented the blade from slicing right through his throat, it had still opened a wide, deep gash across his shoulder. If it had penetrated just a little deeper, he might have been crippled for life.

The two of them looked at Zu An at the same time.

Zu An had a shy smile on his face. He nestled closer to Zheng Dan and said, “Don’t look at me like that. I feel strangely embarrassed…”