He felt himself thrown into the air once again, but this time he landed against a skinny bosom. It felt as if he'd bumped into a skeleton.

A magic pill with a strong medicinal flavor landed in his mouth and instantly melted. Xu Xiaoshou completely recovered from his injury.

​​

He opened his eyes, a cold sweat on his forehead, and discovered that he was in the bosom of Elder Sang.

"Haha, you rascal, this old man didn't lie to you. As I said, as long as you have a breath left in you, I'll save you."

Xu Xiaoshou felt like punching him in the face. He'd had one foot in h*ll just a moment earlier.

Save him? More like almost let him get killed!

If he'd been a bit slower to act...

At that moment, the situation completely changed.

The masked man, after throwing Xu Xiaoshou into the air, lost total control of the "Restricting Sword Energy" on the nine elders because of the effect of the "Infernal Heavens."

Nobody missed this window of opportunity.

"Do it!"

The nine white-haired old men freed themselves from the sword energy and flew away with a whizz. The spiritual source filled the air, causing a few cracks to appear in the empty space.

As Elder Sang was giving the magical pill to Xu Xiaoshou, Ye Xiaotian pulled down a piece of space and smashed it at the masked man, no longer able to restrain himself.

A large hole appeared in the sky, but it automatically repaired itself.

Yet, in the brief moment that the hole was open, Xu Xiaoshou was nearly sucked in by the suction and might've been finished if not for Elder Sang pulling him back.

"Stop!" Elder Sang shouted.

Xu Xiaoshou was flabbergasted. Why was Elder Sang trying to stop the attack? This was obviously the best opportunity to attack together.

And the power of the "Hand of Ripping Heaven"...

Xu Xiaoshou swore that it was the most astounding spiritual technique he'd ever witnessed.

Nobody paid attention to Elder Sang. Ye Xiaotian's "Hand of Ripping Heaven" had instantaneously appeared in front of the masked man and was bearing down on his head.

Bah!

The masked man leisurely stuck out one of his fingers. This time Xu Xiaoshou saw it clearly. It was indeed the Finger Blessed with Sword Will, but the move looked rather weak.

Yet, the next moment, a flash of white light passed through the pierced space and through the figure of Ye Xiaotian.

The expected spilling of blood didn't occur, as it was only Ye Xiaotian's afterimage.

"Boom!"

The torn space struck down. The empty space turned completely into powders, and a large black hole appeared.

Xu Xiaoshou's jaw almost dropped to the ground. How could anyone survive this attack?

It wasn't possible!

He lifted his head and sensed that the masked man, who'd been struck by the torn space, was also just an afterimage.

A figure appeared in the sky before Ye Xiaotian could steady himself, and two fingers were thrust into his throat.

"Whoa!"

Fresh blood poured out, reddening Ye Xiaotian's white hair. His eyes were full of astonishment.

The masked man materialized in front of Ye Xiaotian and jeered, "Your spatial quality isn't bad, but your fighting will is a bit weak. I guessed it would be…"

The masked man twisted Ye Xiaotian's arms behind his back and looked down at the nine elders below. "If you do anything, he dies," he said coldly.

"You…" one of the elders began, but the masked man ran his two fingers across and one of Ye Xiaotian's arms fell off into the empty space.

"The same will happen to the speaker."

It was deadly quiet!

At that moment, time seemed to freeze. Nobody dared to breathe loudly, let alone speak. They were all afraid that the Tiansang Spirit Palace would lose its Chief of the Inner Yard if they made a wrong move.

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes were full of terror. He tightly clenched his fists, feeling his blood boil.

Perhaps this man was indeed a member of an evil organization. However, he'd never witnessed a swordsman suppress a whole arena all on his own before until now.

Cultivation master, for him at the moment, was the highest level for cultivation.

But he was certain that none of the nine elders was below the Master Level.

Including Xiao Qixiu, who had lost the ability to fight, and Ye Xiaotian, who was a hostage at the moment, and Elder Sang, who was holding him, Xu Xiaoshou believed their cultivation levels were certainly higher than Master Level.

Yet, all these cultivators together couldn't even graze the masked man.

He was a true swordsman, and indeed reckless!

As long as one achieved a high cultivation level, one could definitely enter any inner yard and care less about assassination attempts from the innateness. They would all be rubbish...

"Pah!"

Elder Sang slapped Xu Xiaoshou on the head, making him snap out of his dizziness.

"What are you thinking at such a young age?

"Don't learn from such a person, who will die earlier than the others!"

Xu Xiaoshou" "…"

He uttered an "oh" before falling silent, but he had a vague dea brewing in his head.

Elder Sang sighed. He was fully aware of what this young man had on his mind.

Looking at the masked man, Elder Sang fell silent as well.

He was indeed someone who had dominated an era. Therefore, his reappearance had attracted others' admiration.

"I wish it wasn't you who'd come tonight," Elder Sang said.

"If it weren't for me, you would have already caught the person," the masked man looked at Elder Sang.

Elder Sang sighed, "You take your leave, and I won't stop you."

The nine elders were upset, but they couldn't utter a single word when they saw Ye Xiaotian in pain.

Well, what could they do if they didn't let him go?

The Tiansang Spirit Palace was quite big, but not enough.

All the members of the palace had come out in order to capture the masked man. The foundation of the palace would be harmed if they kept on fighting.

It was evident that the masked man had no intention of leaving. While holding Ye Xiaotian he said, "I just want to take an object. I won't hurt anybody."

"With this old man here, you won't be able to take away a blade of grass from the Tiansang Spirit Palace, let alone a sword." Elder Sang was furious.

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly realized that the masked man wanted to take a sword.

What kind of sword was worth the protection from all of the Tiansang Spirit Palace?

Xu Xiaoshou was curious, but it was obvious that he couldn't ask. He knew very well that he shouldn't joke around in such a serious situation.

The masked man flashed a grin. "Do you think you can guard it all the time?"

"Are you threatening me?" Elder Sang was so angry that the conical hat over his head seemed to raise up. "The Tiansang Spirit Palace is my second home. Where would I be but here to guard it?"

Xu Xiaoshou wanted to ask where his first home was, but he thought better of it and reminded himself that he shouldn't behave too impishly.

The masked man didn't respond. Then, he suddenly turned to Xu Xiaoshou and said, "Give this lad to me, and I'll leave without looking back."

Xu Xiaoshou: "? ? ?"

"D*mn," he thought. "Didn't you come here for the sword? So why are you focused on me?

"Is this world sick? Everybody focuses on me.

"I don't think I'm so outstanding."

Elder Sang became furious, as if he'd been rubbed the wrong way. "You must have a death wish!"

In a split second, the air filled with white smoke, and the empty space warped, as if it were being burned by scorching temperatures.

"Hahaha!"

The masked man's laughter alone was very eerie, but coupled with his hoarse voice, the sound could torture one's soul.

"You're Wen Ming, right? Wait for me. I'll be back for you." The masked man broke through the empty space with his two fingers and disappeared without a trace.

Wen Ming?

Xu Xiaoshou was startled for a second and then madly nodded his head.

"Yes, yes, yes!" he thought.

"My name is Wen Ming, and you must come back to find me!

"The name is also the code. You must remember it right and don't forget it!"

"Even though your name is not the correct one," the masked man said, "I will remember your face…"

As his voice gradually faded away, Xu Xiaoshou found himself in a daze.

"D*mn it!" he thought.

"Why do you also have to remember my face? Just remember my name."

"Who is Wen Ming?" Elder Sang asked with lowered head as he watched the masked man disappear into the horizon.

"That isn't important!" Xu Xiaoshou wildly waved his hands and hastily said, "Where can one get a makeover? I'll be back."