Yun Ruoyan twisted the shade ring on her hand to no avail. It had been crafted specifically to control the shade, but now the shade was completely unresponsive to her.

“This shade’s new master is me,” Master Shade announced triumphantly. “Go, capture Yun Ruoyan for me!”

Obeying its new master’s order, the shade began chopping at Yun Ruoyan with its ghostly blade, which she blocked with her Scarlet Eye. Unable to overcome the heat of the Scarlet Eye, the ghostly blade dissipated, but the force behind the shade’s attack knocked Yun Ruoyan quite a few steps back.

Because the shade had previously been nourished by Yun Ruoyan’s black spiritual energy, it had developed a corporeal form, massively enhancing its attack power. The blade it held in its hands was particularly strong, and although it was still no match for the Scarlet Eye, the shade was able to put tremendous strength into its attacks. Yun Ruoyan was currently no match for it in terms of strength; if not for her Scarlet Eye, that blow would have taken her out.

Master Shade clearly also noticed this point, because he commanded the shade, “Keep attacking until she can’t lift her sword.”

The shade struck at Yun Ruoyan once more. Its blade dissipated whenever it hit the Scarlet Eye, but the shade quickly condensed a new one each time. After five strikes, Yun Ruoyan’s hands were numb from the shock.

With a jolt, the blade finally fell from Yun Ruoyan’s hands. However, the shade didn’t stop its attack. Its blade swung down towards Yun Ruoyan’s head…

“Stop!” Master Shade hurriedly called out, and the shade halted its attack with its blade inches from her head. “Miss Yun, you’d better not try anything funny.” He noticed that Yun Ruoyan was glancing at the Scarlet Eye on the ground, then told the shade, “Knock her out.”

“You…” Yun Ruoyan felt a sharp pain by her head before she fainted, and her Scarlet Eye morphed into a beam of light and darted into her body.

“All of you, stop fighting!” Master Shade held Yun Ruoyan’s body up with a gnarled claw, and the shade held its blade against her neck.

Zhuo Yifeng and Feng Yicheng, who were fighting with the Pi swordsmen, immediately stopped what they were doing.

“If you dare even hurt a hair on her body, I’ll smite you into a pile of ashes,” Zhuo Yifeng spat out.

“Try me,” Master Shade replied coldly. His eyes suddenly gleamed as he looked toward Feng Yicheng and Zhuo Yifeng. “I should kill the two of you, but since your bodies would be perfect for making shadow puppets…”

He commanded the swordsmen to tie both men up and cart them into the carriages, which then headed in the direction of the meeting spot that Master Shade had established with Pi Yan and Pi Batian beforehand.

With one arm missing, Pi Batian was unable to defend himself adequately against Li Mo and Qin Feng’s combined onslaught. Just as they were about to kill him, however, Pi Yan suddenly arrived.

“Tian’er!” Pi Yan howled, seeing that Pi Batian was bloodied all over. Walled in by Li Mo and Qin Feng, he looked like a bound beast in its death throes. Pi Yan rushed over on his sword.

“Qin Feng, I’m leaving Pi Batian to you.” Li Mo flew into the air to meet Pi Yan.

“Daring to hurt my Tian’er… I’ll have all of you pay your lives in recompense!” Pi Yan thundered. He encased his fists in a mud-yellow aura, which blazed with spirit fire as he punched Li Mo.

Li Mo drew his sword and thrust it as Pi Yan’s fists, but Pi Yan was easily able to shoulder the blow with his advantage in cultivation.

“Now taste my fist!” Pi Yan smashed a fist toward Li Mo, who had to retreat in order to avoid being hit.

Li Mo glanced behind him at Qin Feng and Pi Batian. Pi Batian was already at death’s door, and he was determined to pull Qin Feng down with him even if he had to die to do so. As a result of his reckless attacks, Qin Feng was temporarily unable to finish him off.

“Tian’er!” Pi Yan tried to fly around Li Mo, but Li Mo blocked him whenever he tried to advance. “Die, you impudent brat!”

“Pi Yan! You’re the one who’ll die here.” Li Mo glanced behind Pi Yan’s back.

Pi Yan could also feel a strong aura appearing behind him, and he turned around to see Feng Bo about thirty feet away.

“Lord Pi, you ran off quite quickly,” Feng Bo murmured, lowering his voice, “but I’m no slouch myself.”

Pi Yan glanced at Pi Batian, who was fighting to the death with Qin Feng, then at Feng Bo and Li Mo, who were blocking him from front and back. He smiled bitterly. “Will my son and I perish here? To think that I, Pi Yan, would have been defeated by a bunch of lowly groundhogs!”

“Those who are too ambitious and malicious rarely end up with a good outcome,” Feng Bo commented idly.

“Won’t you at least let me know who you are before I die?” Pi Yan glanced at the mysterious black-robed man.

The Pi and Feng families had never gotten along, especially after the Feng family’s meteoric rise to power. Although the Fengs hadn’t planned on killing Pi Yan outright, they naturally wouldn’t turn down such an opportunity.

“Who I am is unimportant. Just know that I’ll be doing my best to take your life today.” Feng Bo was an extremely cautious man, so even if he had decided to kill Pi Yan, he was still unwilling to reveal his true identity.

“In that case, do your worst.” Pi Yan drew a broadsword and pointed it toward the sky. A mud-yellow and fiery-red spiritual energy flew from Pi Yan’s body, through his sword, and into the sky. In mere moments, dark clouds covered up the sun, and the roar of thunder rang out through the air.

“He’s about to summon a field of lightning,” Feng Bo called out in warning. A gigantic bolt split the sky, and Pi Yan pointed at Li Mo with his sword.

With an ear-splitting crack, the bolt of lightning struck not Li Mo, but a spot behind him. Li Mo turned back and saw Qin Feng, his broadsword in the air, facing off against Pi Batian. He had been struck by the bolt of lightning without realizing what was going on, and his charred body dropped to the ground.

“Qin Feng!” Li Mo called out, rushing toward him and clutching his unconscious body in his hands.

“Li Mo…” Qin Feng still maintained a shred of consciousness. “You have to kill Pi Batian on my behalf, for the students and instructors of Kongming Academy!”

“I’ll definitely kill him,” Li Mo pledged. Qin Feng smiled in acknowledgement, then closed his eyes…

Li Mo placed his prone body on the ground, then turned to Pi Batian, who was still in the air. Before he could fly in his direction, however, a bolt of lightning struck. In order to protect Qin Feng, Li Mo had to take the blow head-on with his sword. The bolt was so powerful that it turned Li Mo’s body numb all over.

Bolt after bolt of lightning split the air. Li Mo and Feng Bo both had their hands full trying to handle the lightning, and neither had the attention to spare to deal with Pi Batian, who was so heavily wounded he was about to die.

By the time the last bolt of lightning struck, Pi Batian’s body had vanished—somehow, he had managed to escape in the confusion. Meanwhile, Li Mo had been struck twice or thrice, and his body was starting to falter. Feng Bo hurriedly flew to Li Mo’s side and began blocking the bolts on his behalf.

After Pi Batian escaped, Pi Yan focused his attention on defeating both Feng Bo and Li Mo. Several thick bolts of lightning struck Feng Bo at once, which he bore with a grit of his teeth. That he was able to do so clearly shocked both Pi Yan and Li Mo.

Another lightning strike landed on his body, splitting his black robe and revealing Feng Bo’s face.

“Feng Bo, it’s you!” Pi Yan recognized him at a glance. Feng Bo frequently attended activities with Feng Yanyang, and his face was relatively well-known on the Mingyuan continent.

Furthermore, because Feng Bo had defeated Pi Batian in the last seven cities’ tournament, Pi Yan had a very strong impression of him. “As expected, it’s someone from the Feng family,” Pi Yan forced out. “Just you wait. I’ll repay the humiliation I suffered today tenfold!”

Then, he flew off on his sword. Feng Bo was just about to chase him when Li Mo exclaimed, “Feng Bo, head to Feng Yicheng’s manor! I suspect Ruoyan’s in danger!”

Although Li Mo wasn’t too badly hurt by the bolts of lightning he had endured, he was unable to circulate spiritual energy through his body for the time being. Instead, he jumped onto Feng Bo’s sword as they flew toward Feng Yicheng’s manor.

Not long after they set off, they encountered a cultivator on his sword: Feng Yicheng.

“Brother Li, Uncle!” Feng Yicheng shouted. “We need to save Zhuo Yifeng and Miss Yun!”

“Master Shade, Pi Yan’s subordinate, broke into my manor and took Zhuo Yifeng and Yun Ruoyan away. I had originally been caught as well, but Zhuo Yifeng managed to create a commotion to allow me to escape.”

“How are they?” Li Mo hurriedly asked.

“Miss Yun was knocked unconscious, and Zhuo Yifeng was gravely injured.”

With Feng Yicheng leading the way, the three of them flew in Master Shade’s direction...