Jimen Kanding furrowed his eyebrows. His father's words were just too difficult for him to believe. An early stage 9th-rank Saint had the same level of strength as him? It was inconceivable! After all, he was already a late stage 9th-rank Saint and he was only a breath away from the peak stage of the 9th-rank Saint.

"Father, I understand that barbarians are physically stronger than others, but is that guy really as strong as me?" Jimen Kanding asked doubtfully. He was confident in his own strength, so how could he accept the fact that someone who was two minor realms lower than him in cultivation has the same strength as him?

Grand Elder Jimen recalled the figure of that red-haired barbarian. He could still remember the explosiveness of that man's physique. From that alone, he could already tell that the barbarian was a body strengthening expert.

It must be noted that body strengthening is much more difficult to train than regular true essence cultivation. After all, the latter was merely dependent on one's talent, while the former was dependent on one's willpower. Not everyone has the sufficient amount of willpower to withstand the torturous way of enhancing the physical body. Only a few individuals could reach a high realm in terms of body strengthening.

"If you don't believe me, then you can go ahead and confront that person. Their group should still be resting not far away from here." The old man said before leaving the main hall. Not one person dared to stop him.

Jimen Kanding glanced at his father's figure with complex emotions. The mighty father that he once admired had now become a decrepit old man who was one step closer to death's door.

'The old man can only fight someone at the peak stage of the 9th-rank Saint and with his now fragile body, he might even find it hard to compete with someone at that level. That must be why he retreated. Why does it have to be the Heavenly Sword Tower?! This is getting troublesome!' Jimen Kanding remained silent as he sat on the seat. No one dared to fart when they saw the solemn expression of their sect master.

"Where is Guardian Feng?" Jimen Kanding asked in a serious tone. Of the experts that went out this time, only less than half were able to come back to the sect. One of the eight guardians also seemed to be missing. This made Jimen Kanding slightly perturbed.

"Sect Master, the group who were together with Guardian Feng were all wiped out. As for Guardian Feng, he also died in battle." An elder said in a grieving tone. It was the first time their Crimson Sun Sect has suffered such disastrous losses. If their enemies would learn about this, they might have a hard time.

"Lord Sect Master, I also want to report something." Another elder suddenly raised his hand and spoke.

Jimen Kanding glanced at him and nodded his head. "Speak."

"Before we encountered the experts from the Heavenly Sword Tower, Elder Shao brought a few people with him to go back to the sect to get reinforcements. However, I saw no traces of them here. They might have..." The elder did not continue speaking, but everyone could understand the words that he wanted to convey.

"What?!" Jimen Kanding's gaze turned cold.

"Did you search the corpses of the fallen? Are they not among those who died in battle?" He asked while suppressing his wrath.

The elder was scared when he saw the expression of the sect master, so he immediately answered him. "Yes, sect master. This subordinate already inspected the battlefield where Guardian Feng has fallen, but I see no traces of Elder Shao and the others there."

Jimen Kanding could no longer hold back his fury. He smashed the armrest of his seat, breaking it into pieces! Everyone inside the main hall went silent. No one wants to become the outlet of their sect master's anger.

"That bastard Shao! He dares to fucking betray me! I'll fucking kill him! All of you, search for them! Report to me if you see any traces of them!" Jimen Kanding howled.

Everyone inside the main hall immediately sprang into action, afraid that Jimen Kanding would kill them if they remain inside the main hall.

Not long later, only the furious Jimen Kanding was left inside the main hall. He was panting heavily as he clenched his fists in rage. "Fucking bastard!"

At a distance, a hunched old man suddenly sighed. This was Grand Elder Jimen. He used his spiritual sense to observe the main hall, but what he saw only made him even more lonely.

"My Crimson Sun Sect is doomed this time. To think that it would be destroyed during my time. It looks like I will be condemned by the ancestors in the afterlife." He muttered.

Cough! Cough! Cough!

"My time is running out. I just hope that the brat Shao can survive this disaster. If he manages to live, at least my Crimson Sun Sect still has a hope to rise up."

***

Present time, in front of the Heavenly Sword Tower's massive gate, a huge rift in space suddenly emerged, stunning the patrolling guards.

"We're finally back! I can now drink an unlimited amount of milk! Meow!" A burst of sinister laughter echoed from within the rift in space.

The patrolling guards stared solemnly, but when they saw the appearance of the small little girl, they heaved a sigh of relief.

Jiu Shen flicked her forehead and stared at the sword tower with a calm look. He then glanced at the eight tigers who had now transformed into their human forms.

"This is my Heavenly Sword Tower. From now on, your task is to protect this place." Jiu Shen said expressionlessly.

The eight tigers stared at the towering sword tower that almost pierced the skies with a look of awe and amazement. They could already sense the high-level protective array formation around the sword tower. Even with their Nascent God Realm cultivation, they might not be able to destroy its defenses. This alone made them utterly dumbfounded.

Ice smirked in disdain when she saw the reaction of her parents and clan elders. "Hey! Don't make me lose face in front of this stinky human! Meow!"