The woman standing on the flying sword possessed an elegant posture and a refined, ethereal beauty that carried a certain maturity.
However, her fierce expression and harsh tone caused Yu Yi’s impression of her to plummet. Just as Yun Qianxue was shyly preparing to apologize, Yu Yi raised a slender hand to stop her.
She then cast a cold gaze at the woman and said indifferently, “I will give you a chance to rephrase your words. Say it again.”
The woman was not afraid of Yu Yi’s threat, shrugging as she replied, “Sorry, but my speed has always been this fast.”
“If I accidentally crash into something in the sky, you can only blame the other party for doing something bizarre, like what this little girl just did.”
The woman was arrogant and rude, yet she gave Yu Yi a sense of extreme self-confidence. She possessed remarkable vision, able to clearly see objects in the sky 100 meters away and adjust her flight angle according to their silhouettes.
Perhaps in her eyes, if Yun Qianxue had not leaned out, it would have been impossible for her to hit the wind god shuttle.
Moreover, she was not afraid of the wind god shuttle suddenly moving left or right, because she had absolute confidence in her speed, believing that even if it moved erratically, she could instantly zip past it.
Although this person indeed had some ability, Yu Yi was not about to show her a pleasant face.
She smiled faintly and remarked, “Since you fly so fast, are you in such a rush to be reincarnated?”
The woman was displeased at this remark, crossing her arms as she said, “Ignorant person, I have important business to attend to. I won’t waste any more breath on you.”
“In the future, keep a better eye on your little sister.” She then glared pointedly at Yun Qianxue to warn Yu Yi.
After speaking, the woman turned around, preparing to resume her journey.
But just as she began to fly on her sword, before she had even cleared 5 meters, a wall of wind suddenly rose up in front of her.
She was caught off guard and crashed straight into it, sent tumbling by the wind until she was in a chaotic heap, nearly losing the sword beneath her feet.
At the same time, Yu Yi’s voice came from behind: “Did I permit you to leave?”
After stabilizing herself, the woman’s expression changed as she stared at Yu Yi, frowning as she demanded, “A wind practitioner? Are you trying to make an enemy of the Sword Pavilion—”
Before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly felt as though her body could no longer move.
Regardless of how much strength she exerted, she could not break free! She was shocked to discover that her limbs were actually being bound by the “wind.”
“Today, I will properly discipline you on behalf of your elders!”
With a look of displeasure, Yu Yi sent waves of wind whipping toward the woman’s backside.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Loud, sharp sounds echoed in the air. The woman never imagined that one day she would be tied up in mid-air and have her backside spanked by a stranger!
“It hurts, it hurts so much! I’m warning you, let me go now! Do you know who I am? You—”
Slap! Slap! Slap!
“Hmph! Hnnngh, aaaaah!!”
Sword Emperor Ji Hongye had personally visited to apologize, claiming that her discipline was too lenient. Previously, the Sword Pavilion’s Third Disciple, the “Slanted Sword Immortal,” had colluded with demonic forces and was executed by Yu Yi.
Now, another person had appeared acting arrogant and rude; she not only bullied Yun Qianxue but also tarnished Ji Hongye’s reputation. In every sense, Yu Yi felt compelled to discipline her on behalf of her old friend.
“Damn you… damn you, damn you… just you wait, I, Ji Ruohan, will remember this grudge!”
The woman transitioned from intense resistance to giving up and lying flat, and finally to issuing threats in a weak, breathless voice.
Her face flushed red, and she gritted her teeth while glaring at Yu Yi, her eyes welling up with tears as if filled with grievance, looking as if she were saying, “Even my mother has never hit me like this!”
But come to think of it, had she just stated her own name?
Ji Ruohan… did she also share the surname Ji?
Yu Yi was a bit curious.
She remembered that the Sword Emperor, Ji Hongye, had never married and currently had no one to inherit her bloodline, fearing it might die out.
This meant that this Ji Ruohan before her was likely an adopted daughter of the Sword Emperor.
While lost in thought, Yu Yi subconsciously relaxed the power of the “wind.”
Ji Ruohan instantly seized the chance to escape, breaking free from the binding and fleeing at top speed while clutching her backside, not forgetting to call out a final threat:
“Just you wait, I will come back to settle this score with you—”
“Come back to settle this score—”
“Settle this score—”
“Settle the score—”
The echo of her grievance lingered in the air, causing Yu Yi to mutter to herself in doubt:
“Was I… really that heavy-handed?”
***
Yunzhou, forest outside the city.
A massive suppression army was advancing toward the depths of the dense forest.
The main force of this army consisted of members of the Qingyun Alliance and the Xingyue Alliance, yet it was led by two “outside helpers.”
“According to what you said, did this forest originally host only small animals, with the largest being a bear?” Blue Ling’er asked Tang Qing, who was beside her.
Tang Qing was one of the “Three Heroes” of the Qingyun Alliance, an expert in pharmacology and medicine, and the only person who had not been harmed by Li Ruobai and the others at the recruitment assembly.
Of the other two “Three Heroes,” Tang Yan had been killed, and though Tang Mu had survived, he was still unable to get out of bed, so only Tang Qing could join the team heading into the depths of the forest.
“That is correct. Before you two came to Yunzhou, there were frequent reports from villagers about bear attacks. However, the animals in this area used to be very gentle, and even the bears would not actively attack humans.”
Tang Qing explained to Blue Ling’er and Chi Ming:
“Regarding this, our Qingyun Alliance sent several practitioners to capture the killer bears, but only one returned alive. He reported that monster beasts were rioting in the depths of the forest, but before he could provide specific details, he died from his severe wounds.”
“Later, our Qingyun Alliance, along with the Xingyue Alliance, sent a ten-man squad to suppress the monster beasts. The leader was a Martial Expert at the Grandmaster level, but…”
“But, once they entered this forest, they never came out again?” Blue Ling’er asked in a low voice.
Tang Qing nodded.
After the previous infighting in Yunzhou, the Xingyue Alliance had been completely reorganized, and the Qingyun Alliance had also suffered heavy losses.
For these two factions, experts at the Grandmaster level were already extremely rare talents. Currently, the only remaining Wang, Tang Mu, was still recovering from his injuries, and the former Wang, Li Ruobai, as well as the only Grandmaster, Li Daotian, had turned out to be moles; it was truly lamentable.
If Yunzhou City were not easy to defend and hard to attack, it likely would have been razed by the Evil Sect long ago.
The Qingyun Alliance and Xingyue Alliance had tried, but they had failed twice in the depths of the forest, and they truly had no suitable candidates left to investigate further.
They had intended to seek assistance from other Righteous Faction forces, but as it happened, Blue Ling’er and Chi Ming had arrived in Yunzhou City.
With two Wangs leading the way, what was there to fear about suppressing monster beasts?
Out of gratitude for her relationship with Fang Xiaoyu, Chi Ming had agreed to help.
Since Chi Ming agreed, Blue Ling’er followed along to look after her Little Junior Sister.
Because Fang Xiaoyu was a mere mortal, she was not present at the moment.
As they ventured deeper into the forest, the surrounding atmosphere became increasingly gloomy and eerie. Even in broad daylight, one could not help but feel a chill running down their spine, causing cold sweat to break out.
Suddenly, in the very next moment—
An unusual disturbance came from behind the group.