Volume 1, Chapter 40: Grotto-Heaven of Evil Winds

An iron-hard tail swept across the air with fierce momentum.

Liao Lin raised his sword to block, but the tremendous impact sent a violent shock through his body, launching him flying several meters away once again.

"Oh no! Senior Brother Liao Lin is no match for the armored demonic wolf king!"

The scene played out before everyone's eyes with crystal clarity.

Just as the rumors said, when a beast and a human were on the same realm of cultivation, the latter was simply no match for the former.

After only a brief exchange of blows, Liao Lin was already coughing up blood repeatedly.

Abruptly, he spun around and retreated at top speed!

He rushed straight behind Mu Yi.

"Useless trash, use your life to stall this demonic wolf king for a while!"

Liao Lin actually intended to use Mu Yi as a human shield, trading time for space.

Roar!

At that moment, the armored demonic wolf king trampled forward with its massive, iron-like hooves, charging straight toward Mu Yi.

"Senior Brother Mu..."

Seeing this, Bai Shasha turned pale with fright, her expression twisting in terror.

Yet the very next moment, she froze in utter astonishment.

Because an unimaginable scene unfolded before her eyes.

Just as the armored demonic wolf king opened its blood-red maw, preparing to swallow Mu Yi in a single gulp, Mu Yi suddenly threw a punch, striking the beast squarely between the eyes.

This was a terrifying demonic wolf king that even Liao Lin's Rainstorm Pear Blossom Sword had failed to scratch.

Not a single person present would have believed that Mu Yi's bare fist could inflict any damage upon it.

Yet, an incredible miracle transpired right before them.

The armored demonic wolf king let out a shrill, miserable screech instantly.

Bang!

Then, its entire gargantuan body collapsed like a falling mountain, completely motionless, with all signs of life extinguished.

"What's going on? What just happened?"

Liao Lin, Bai Shasha, Nan Yan, and the others were dumbfounded, utterly incapable of comprehending what had just transpired.

This arrogant, terrifyingly powerful, and virtually indestructible armored demonic wolf king had suddenly just dropped dead?

"Awoo..."

Simultaneously, the surrounding pack of armored demonic wolf subordinates stared at Mu Yi with eyes filled with utter terror.

In a fraction of a second, these beasts scattered like birds and beasts, fleeing wildly like a receding tide.

Before long, not a single armored demonic wolf remained in the mountain forest, and absolute peace was restored.

"The armored demonic wolf king has actually been slain..."

Only then did Nan Yan summon the courage to step forward and examine the corpse of the beast.

"I understand! It wasn't that my Rainstorm Pear Blossom Sword failed to harm this demonic wolf king; it's just that the sword Qi penetrated deep into its body and required some time to fully erupt!"

At that moment, Liao Lin, who had initially been completely bewildered, suddenly leaped into the air with a loud laugh.

He inspected the corpse of the armored demonic wolf king once more.

Aside from the wounds caused by his own Rainstorm Pear Blossom Sword Qi, he found no other injuries on the beast.

From this, he deduced that the wolf king's ultimate demise was unquestionably the result of his sword Qi.

"Hahaha! Did you all see that? I said it before, under my Rainstorm Pear Blossom Sword Qi, what demonic wolf king? It's nothing more than vulnerable trash!"

Earlier, Liao Lin had been hunted down by the armored demonic wolf king in a pathetic state, completely unable to fight back.

But now, his arrogance had returned in full force!

"Hmph, utterly ignorant..."

Watching Liao Lin dancing around smugly beside him, Mu Yi sneered, too lazy to expose the truth.

The death of this armored demonic wolf king was, of course, the result of his single punch.

The fist force had penetrated the beast's body, instantly shattering its internal vitality while leaving the exterior completely unmarred.

Liao Lin and Nan Yan were merely at the peak of the tenth stage of the Divine Transformation Realm; naturally, they lacked the capacity to perceive what had truly happened.

Yet Mu Yi had no desire to waste breath explaining.

He did not need to rely on slaying an armored demonic wolf king to prove anything.

"Senior Brother Liao Lin is truly mighty!"

"Senior Brother Liao Lin is so handsome!"

"Senior Brother Liao Lin is invincible under the heavens!"

Though the others had been clueless moments before, Liao Lin had stepped forward and claimed that the armored demonic wolf king had ultimately been slain by his sword Qi.

Before long, everyone present accepted his version of events.

In an instant, endless streams of admiration and praise poured in.

After all, rumor had it that under equal realms, humans were virtually incapable of defeating demonic beasts.

Yet Liao Lin before them had actually accomplished the feat.

This was nothing short of invincibility!

"Hahaha! You flatter me too much."

Liao Lin immensely relished this moment. "Claiming invincibility across the world is far too arrogant, but I possess absolute, one-hundred-percent confidence in ensuring everyone's safety."

"Oh? Is that so?"

Suddenly, a cold sneer echoed from the depths of the mountain forest.

A group of figures emerged abruptly.

The two men in the lead were tall, sinister, and emitted an evil aura.

"Evil Wind Grotto! Dian Xiu! Yu Tan!"

The moment Nan Yan laid eyes on the two men, she was struck with deep shock, her expression draining of color.

"What? People from the Evil Wind Grotto!"

Behind her, the female disciples of the Jade Pool Academy trembled violently in fright, stumbling backward in a panic.

"Evil Wind Grotto."

Mu Yi's gaze sharpened as well.

He was quite surprised to find people from the Evil Wind Grotto appearing in this place.

The Great Qian Dynasty was led by the four major academies.

Yet beyond the academies, there were numerous major sects, clans, and factions.

Among them, the Evil Wind Grotto from the Great Qian Sea Region was the most notorious.

It was a secret island realm amidst the vast ocean, gathering wanted criminals from various sects, sea bandits, and all manner of heinous scoundrels.

Strictly speaking, they were not a sect, but rather an alliance.

Every single one of them lived a life dancing on the blade's edge, wagering their heads on their belts year-round.

These individuals were desperate outlaws; they dared to hunt down even imperial royalty and students of the Great Qian Academy!

"Hahaha! Nan Yan, back on the Overseas Immortal Island, out of twelve Jade Pool Academy disciples, you were the only one who managed to escape by sheer luck. Who would have thought we would meet again so soon?"

The two figures from the Evil Wind Grotto, Dian Xiu and Yu Tan, cast lewd and sinister gazes over the group of female disciples from the Jade Pool Academy.

"You scoundrels of the Evil Wind Grotto committed countless atrocities, plundering and violating a large number of our Jade Pool Academy's female disciples on the Overseas Immortal Island. You are public enemy number one of our academy, yet you dare to show your faces here?"

Nan Yan forced herself to maintain a facade of calm. "Are you aware that experts from the major sects have already rushed to this vicinity? I have already sent them a message! Prepare to meet your doom!"

"Hahaha! Nan Yan, we have reached this point, and you are still putting up a bluff?"

Dian Xiu and Yu Tan burst into laughter. "I don't mind telling you, this entire radius of a hundred miles is completely under the control of our Evil Wind Grotto. Apart from you lot, where else could any other academy disciples be?"

"Additionally, I forgot to mention one more thing: that pack of armored demonic wolf beasts earlier was intentionally lured here by us. We simply wanted to test how much fighting capacity you possessed against a wolf pack."

Dian Xiu laughed wildly. "We just didn't expect that, through some unknown method, you actually managed to slay the armored demonic wolf king. That truly exceeded our expectations."

"However, everything ends here. Slaughtering the men and keeping the women is the consistent motto of our Evil Wind Grotto. Accept your fate."

The twenty-odd members of the Evil Wind Grotto instantly encircled the female disciples of the Jade Pool Academy.

"Even if we take our own lives, we will never fall into your hands..."

The female disciples were painfully aware of the fate awaiting those captured by the Evil Wind Grotto.

Their eyes burned with fierce, unyielding resolve.

"Senior Brother Liao Lin! Everything depends on you now!"

Nan Yan was mentally paralyzed with panic, but she recalled Liao Lin's earlier display of overwhelming divine might in slaying the armored demonic wolf king. Surely, he could repel Dian Xiu and Yu Tan.

Dian Xiu and Yu Tan were notorious and vicious figures.

Both were elite powerhouses at the absolute peak of the tenth stage of the Divine Transformation Realm.

Ordinary cultivators of the same realm were far from their match and could easily be killed in a single blow.

Yet Liao Lin had appeared as lofty as a god in the eyes of the crowd just moments ago.

At this moment, everyone pinned their hopes entirely upon him.

"This..."

Faced with the expectant gazes of the Jade Pool Academy disciples, any trace of confidence vanished completely from Liao Lin's face.

It was replaced by sheer, bone-chilling terror.

What the Jade Pool Academy members did not know was that exactly a month ago, he had crossed swords with Dian Xiu.

He had been defeated in a single move!

That was the harsh reality of the past.

No one understood the terrifying strength of Dian Xiu and Yu Tan better than he did.

"Hahaha! You foolish women, you actually pinned your hopes on this piece of trash, Liao Lin?"

Dian Xiu roared with laughter. "Liao Lin, you knelt right before me last time, which was why I spared your life. If you kneel before me again this time, perhaps I might spare your life once more."

"How about it?"

Dian Xiu's eyes radiated pure disdain, contempt, and the absolute arrogance of one who held the power of life and death over others.

Since ancient times, this world had operated on a simple principle.

The strong controlled everything.

While the weak begged for mercy.