Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Nine: The Man in Black

With a sudden flash of crimson light, the other hand swept horizontally and lightly rested upon the long sword in Liu Ruoming's grasp. Liu Ruoming felt a sudden jolt, followed by a light sensation, and her sword inexplicably slipped from her grip!

Shock washed over Liu Ruoming. Seeing the figure lunge at her again, she was about to leap back in retreat when she suddenly remembered that Senior Brother Ye was still right beside her. If she fled, what would become of him?!

In this critical moment of peril, there was no time for careful thought. Biting her lower lip, she shifted her stance and surged forward instead of back. With a fierce strike of her palm, she completely ignored the oncoming grab, offering not the slightest dodge—it was a desperate, mutual-destruction tactic!

Ye Hua cried out in alarm, "Junior Sister Liu, you mustn't!"

The figure in black let out a tut of admiration. "Fighting for your life?! You may be willing to discard yours, but I haven't the heart to take it!" With a sudden bound, he retreated several yards, dodging clear out of range! Standing his ground, he looked at Liu Ruoming and said, "To fight so desperately for this lad! Splendid, simply splendid!"

Liu Ruoming stepped in front of Ye Hua, breathing slightly out of breath as she said, "I find your techniques and cultivation rather familiar! Have I met you before? What grievance or enmity is there between us that you resort to such murderous intent?! If you withdraw right now, the Hall of Awakening of the Sun and Moon Divine Alliance might let this pass! But if you dare to harm him... harm him... then even to the ends of the earth, the Sun and Moon Divine Alliance will hunt you down and slay you!"

The figure in black laughed heartily. "What? Is this little lover of yours truly so precious to you?! I know your father is a person of great prominence, but since I dared to trespass alone into the Hall of Awakening, I harbor not a shred of fear! Heh!"

Panic rising in her heart, Liu Ruoming thought to herself, *I can only stall him with words for now, until the rest of the senior brothers discover the anomaly here and come to our rescue! Why on earth is my Black Spirit Swallow unable to communicate with me right now? Could it be because of this barrier restriction?!*

In the Hall of Zhengde, located not far from Spring Water Pavilion, Murong and the others were gathered around an ancient mirror, chuckling softly amongst themselves. The surface of the ancient mirror shimmered with ripples, displaying the scene inside: Liu Ruoming wielding her sword against the black-clad intruder!

Shaohua chuckled softly, "Who would have thought Junior Sister Liu would be so fiercely devoted to Junior Brother Ye! That is a rare sight indeed. If Senior Brother Zhou were to witness this, he would surely be struck dumb with astonishment!"

Murong shushed them, saying, "Junior brothers, you must remember never to let this matter leak. Senior Brother Li Mubai has done us a massive favor by playing his part in this elaborate play. If word gets out, Junior Sister Liu will surely despise Li Mubai to her dying breath! Haha! And we wouldn't have the face to face Senior Brother Li in the future either!"

Guangchen smiled and said, "I'd say this farce of a 'beauty saving the hero' has gone on long enough. Shouldn't we make our entrance now? We wouldn't want anyone actually getting hurt at the end!"

Murong smiled. "Wait a moment longer, let us watch a bit more. Since things have already progressed this far, we must let Junior Sister Liu display her deep affection to the fullest. When the time comes, even if Junior Brother Ye has a heart of iron and the disposition of a Buddha, he will surely be moved and deeply grateful!"

Guangchen laughed heartily and said, "Ah, but I suspect Junior Brother Ye already has someone else in his heart! All this trouble we are putting the junior sister through might end up being entirely in vain, and our efforts won't even win us any gratitude."

Murong smiled faintly. "Who can say otherwise? I went to great lengths specifically to have Junior Brother Chen He lead away Junior Sister Liu's Black Spirit Swallow; I am bound to receive a thorough tongue-lashing from her in the future!"

Shaohua chuckled. "We brought this trouble upon ourselves! Haha, wait! Look over there—!"

Everyone turned their eyes back to the mirror. Within the glass, Liu Ruoming was locked in fierce combat with the black-clad figure. The two shifted and leaped around the room, one striking with howling palm winds, the other wielding elusive sword techniques, battling intensely! From time to time, the appreciative chuckles and light laughter of the black-clad figure drifted through.

For reasons unknown, Ye Hua was sitting quietly off to the side, golden light raging violently across his body. His expression twitched and contorted relentlessly, while beads of sweat as large as peas rolled down continuously!

Murong started in alarm. "What is happening to Junior Brother Ye?! Can it be that he is attempting to forcibly unleash his inner qi? Uncle Liu spared no effort to seal the 'Six Blood Raven Curses' within him! If he does this, won't Uncle Liu's previous efforts all go to waste? Quick! Let us hurry over there!"

Shaohua was equally shocked. "Look!" Within the mirror, Ye Hua had abruptly stood up, his body trembling incessantly as a flash of red light erupted, radiating an astonishing, blinding aura of blood!

The group cried out in dismay, "Quickly, let's go!" Murong, Ye Hua, and the others flickered into motion, vanishing from the spot!

Back in Spring Water Pavilion, the black-clad figure locked in combat with Liu Ruoming was secretly amused, thinking, *This is utterly absurd! As the young master of a helm within the Sun and Moon Divine Alliance, I actually lowered myself to play along with these youngsters in such a prank! If they hadn't told me it was all in the spirit of helping lovers find happiness, I wouldn't have bothered! Why haven't those fellows shown up yet? How am I supposed to wrap this up? Should I subdue this Junior Sister Liu?! Or keep playing along with her for a few more rounds? But if this drags on, won't my flaws inevitably be exposed?!*

Just as the black-clad figure was pondering this, he abruptly sensed a surge of malevolent energy within the room. Glancing sideways, he saw that the young man sitting in the distance had risen to his feet, radiating an indescribable, uncanny aura! A jolt of shock went through him as he thought:

*Why is this fellow's aura so bizarre? When I arrived, Junior Brother Murong mentioned that this Junior Brother Ye is a disciple of the Wutai lineage with remarkable cultivation! Yet he shouldn't be able to use his arts right now. Why is he exhibiting such a monstrous anomaly?!*

While the black-clad figure was still marveling, the young man had already transformed into a red blur and lunged forward. Before he even reached him, a nauseating stench of blood washed over him in a violent wave. His mind swam with a slight dizziness, and an oppressive, suffocating tightness gripped his chest. He could not help shouting, "Ghost path arts!"

His figure spun abruptly, and with a flick of his hand, ten streaks of silver light suddenly shot forth, weaving into a hazy silver mist that enveloped his opponent head-on! Ye Hua let out a low growl, blood-red light flickering in his eyes as he thrust both hands forward. The room plunged into sudden darkness, and a fierce, chilling wind howled forward!

Striking the silver light, the luminous mist rippled violently before emitting a low hum and scattering in all directions! The ghostly wind surged forward like a tidal wave.

A tremor of shock rippled through the black-clad figure, and he leaped sharply backward, evading another several yards!

Standing nearby, Liu Ruoming caught her breath for a brief moment. Seeing the figure in black retreat toward her, she seized the opportunity. A flash of cold light gleamed in her hand as a sword beam slashed directly toward the intruder's neck. The attack was utterly abrupt and incomparably swift; even with cultivation far superior to hers, the black-clad figure was forced into a flurry of panicked defense, unable to stop himself from shouting, "Good girl!"

The Hall of Zhengde and Spring Water Pavilion were barely a mile apart. At the cruising speed of Murong and the others, they crossed the distance in the span of a breath. Shaohua muttered under his breath, "Let's make sure we don't stir up any real trouble!"

Guangchen snapped, "Spit, spit, you crow! What trouble could there be?"

Murong said, "Everyone pay attention, be very cautious with your words and don't mess things up! If our cover is truly blown later, we'll just say it was all his idea!"

The others chuckled softly. "When all is said and done, it was still your brilliant idea, Senior Brother Murong! Haha!"

As they spoke, they caught sight of the space-isolating barrier surrounding Spring Water Pavilion. Raising their voices in unison, they roared, "Where do petty thieves come from?!" Hanging mid-air, they already summoned their magic treasures, shooting dozens of rays of light straight toward the barrier!

The black-clad figure silently cursed within his heart, *You lot finally arrived! Any later and I might have actually taken a beating!* Channeling his inner qi to the utmost, he unleashed several frantic palm strikes toward Ye Hua and Liu Ruoming, then flicked his body and soared up toward the roof!

Hearing several muffled rumblings outside, Ye Hua and Liu Ruoming turned their heads to look. The shimmering ripples drifting outside the house had vanished! A dozen colorful rays of light danced in the air—they were none other than the magic treasures and spiritual artifacts of their fellow disciples from the Hall of Awakening. A wave of joy washed over the two of them!

A flash of light flickered at the doorway, revealing several figures—Murong, Shaohua, and the rest. Liu Ruoming cried out in ecstatic relief, "You... you've finally arrived!" With that, she glanced sideways. The black-clad figure had already reached the rooftop at some point and called down to those within the house, "Juniors of the Hall of Awakening, I shall spare you today! But if I ever cross paths with that fellow surnamed Ye again, I certainly won't let him off!"

With a flash of white light, his figure moved to flee into the distance. Ye Hua gave a cold, dry laugh and said, "Do you really think you can just leave in one piece? You underestimate us far too much!"

Taking a deep, fierce breath, his hands blazed with a frenzy of crimson light intermingled with faint golden hues, and he lashed out from afar toward the fleeing figure. A sudden tightening gripped everyone's hearts as a blood-red beam of light erupted, shooting straight toward the black-clad figure!

Murong and the others felt their hearts sink, and they shouted in unison, "Where are you going?!" "Still trying to escape?!" "Stay right here!" The spiritual light of the magic treasures in their hands flashed as they struck out toward him, though they were half a beat too slow!

The black-clad figure felt a chilling aura invade his back accompanied by a tremendous force. His body hitched momentarily, rendering his escape arts ineffective. He spun around with a cold sneer and barked, "Fine! Good lad! I'd like to see what credentials you have to make me stay!" With an angry roar, he gathered his inner qi, thrusting both palms out simultaneously to meet the incoming crimson light. An earth-shattering surge of energy burst forth!

The red radiance and white vapor, intertwined with ghostly winds and black miasma, crashed and collided. The onlookers saw a blinding explosion of golden light bloom in mid-air, resembling lightning flashing through dark clouds and chaotic golden serpents darting about. In a single flash, a deafening thunderclap cracked across the sky, its rolling echoes reverberating like a collapsing mountain and a shattering earth—a truly heart-stopping spectacle.

The shockwave blasted the timber and stone of Spring Water Pavilion into a flurry of chaotic debris. A raging tempest tore outward, sweeping away the black ghostly mists enveloping the house until they dissolved into wispy, colorful threads scattered by the wind.

Ye Hua felt a violent jolt convulse his entire body, stumbling uncontrollably backward by several paces. His right waist crashed into a table, instantly sending it collapsing to the ground. Murong rushed forward to steady him, but Ye Hua's momentum dragged him down as well. The two tumbled onto the floor together, looking utterly disheveled for a moment!

The black-clad figure suspended in mid-air fared little better. Shaken by the impact, he was blown dozens of yards away. Planting his feet and violently condensing his qi to anchor his stance, he finally managed to steady himself, feeling a blazing, fiery heat race through his entire body. A faint sweetness rose in his throat, and shock stirred within him!

The spectators seemed momentarily stunned. Realizing this was no place to linger, the black-clad figure shouted, "Green mountains remain, green waters flow! Until we meet again!" With a slight shift of his body, he vanished over the horizon!

Shaohua and the others shouted, "Where are you fleeing?!" and flashed forward in hot pursuit!