Before it gets too long, let me get straight to the point.
> Flue season, I'm down with flu.
> App not working on my phone for some reason so if you have any replies pending, this is the reason why I haven't replied.
"What are you doing, Ju Bai Lu?! Do you think you would be safe after this?" Lin Ruan yelled as she dodged a swing from Ju Bai Lu who was attacking her without restraint while she had to be on the defensive because Ju Bai Lu wasn't caring about how he hit them, he was just hitting them, regardless of the consequences.
So long they didn't die, the elder wasn't going to intervene so Ju Bai Lu was careful but also unrestrained.
Lin Ruan knew why he was doing this so she wasn't looking for a reply. She was just warning him which Ju Bai Lu also knew.
"Just hand over the corpses you hunted, and I will let you all go," Ju Bai Lu said.
"Do you see any on us?!" Lin Ruan loudly exclaimed as she dodged another strike while trying to counter attack but she wasn't able to because Ju Bai Lu's henchmen were there to keep her under control.
"Tch," She had no choice but to be on the defensive. Power-wise, she was stronger than Ju Bai Lu but she was alone because her team wasn't that well experienced like Ju Bai Lu's.
"I know you don't have them but he has them in that treasure of his. I wonder if he would be willing to give up both for his sister or will he abandon everything just like his grandfather." Ju Bai Lu taunted Lin Ruan, gripping the coldness of Sun Ruan that everyone knew about.
Even Lin Ruan knew that Sun Ruan wouldn't hesitate twice to use her for his own benefit so that was a statement she couldn't refute.
And it did what Ju Bai Lu wanted. It distracted her. She couldn't help but think about the fate that awaited her and that was enough to keep her mind off of the fight for just a second but that second was all Ju Bai Lu needed.
Ju Bai Lu used most of his Qi in that attack and struck Lin Ruan in her abdomen, severely damaging her insides along with her Qi core.
"Kuqgh!!!" Lin Ruan coughed a mouthful of blood from the injuries and her insides also began to freeze due to her yin core because it was slowly depleting.
'Pity,' The elder thought as she saw the fate of Lin Ruan. She doubted Lin Ruan would ever be able to cultivate again seeing her core was so badly damaged. She wouldn't die because before she did, she would save her, but there was nothing she could do for her Qi core.
And she doubted anyone would anything about that. Why waste resources fixing someone up when you could take something of much more value using that as a cause?
She was well aware of Sun Ruan's nature and she knew that was what precisely he would do. Lin Ruan knew that too which was the reason her expression quickly turned to despair, not even trying to control her rampaging Qi.
"Haha," Ju Bai Ly laughed as he kicked her in her stomach.
"Kugh!" Lin Ruan gritted her teeth and tried to protect her stomach but Ju Bai Lu was ruthless enough to not care. He kicked her again in the same spot, shaking her internals already than they were, bringing her an inch closer to death.
The elder, seeing the situation was about to dive in when suddenly…
Calm but consistent steps resounded in that space. Steps that should have been concealed in the humid environment were resounding throughout the place. Someone was intentionally making their presence known.
"So he really killed it," The elder said.
Her expression couldn't be read with how expressionless her face was, but her eyes couldn't conceal her surprise. A monster even she would have to be cautious about was defeated by a boy who seemed to be in quite a good condition.
Of course, she was surprised.
But more than that, she was curious as to what he would do about this now.
Wei Jun looked at the current situation calmly, letting his presence known out loud because he wanted them to.
He saw the appearance of his team who he took care of for two days even though they weren't that useful. He looked at the cowering thirteen-year-old because of how scared she was.
And then looked at Lin Ruan.
"Don't even think about moving!" Ju Bai Lu said, "I'll kill her!"
His blade was on Lin Ruan's neck as he crouched to place it since Lin Ruan was on the ground. Wei Jun paid him no mind and looked at Lin Ruan.
She was also looking back at her. Despair in her eyes as he could spot a look of plea in her eyes.
She was asking him not to abandon him even if he wasn't able to save her.
'So that's what she fears,' Wei Jun calmly thought and kept looking at her.
[Her core is damaged]
[She wouldn't be able to cultivate ever again]
'Ever again?' Wei Jun asked to be sure.
[Nothing a Phoenix tear can't fix]
Wei Jun turned his head to the elder who was a little away but still in appropriate range to stop anything unseen from happening.
"As long as I don't kill them, it's fine, right?" Wei Jun asked.
The elder looked back at him and said without hesitation or a moment's thought, "As long as they're not dead."
That was all the answer he needed.
He turned to look at look at Ju Bai Lu, his Qi flaring. Ju Bai Lu hurriedly pushed, nicking Lin Ruan, and said, "I'm not joking! I really will kill her!"
"No, you won't." Wei Jun said calmly.
"I can and I will!" Ju Bai Lu once again inserted a little of his dagger into Lin Ruan's neck.
"I'm sure you will." Wei Jun said as a stinger appeared in his hand.
Something flew past Ju Bai Lu as he felt something. Something fleeting as if he lost something very precious to him but he couldn't tell what it was.
Blood spattered on Lin Ruan's face as she closed her eyes instinctively. As she opened them again, she found that the dagger was still pointed at her, but the hand holding it was no longer attached to its owner. Not just the hand, but the entire arm.
"Kaahhh!!!!!!!!!!!" A scream of pain spread throughout the entire gate as Ju Bai Lu rolled on the ground, not being able to bear the pain of losing his entire arm and that too in an instant.
Once again Wei Jun stepped forward. Making his way to Lin Ruan but this time, his firm steps weren't blocked by anyone because no one dared to.
How could they? The Qi emitting from Wei Jun wasn't something any of them could comprehend. Not to mention another skill he had activated which was making everyone, including his own team hesitant to approach him.
[Skill 'Terror' has been activated]
The skill itself made Wei Jun's visage so terrifying that everyone was hesitant to approach him.
Wei Jun passed the trembling henchmen of Ju Bai Lu and stopped in front of Lin Ruan whose stomach area was blue which he could see through her torn robe.
[Phoenix tear has been purchased]
Wei Jun opened the vial and put the contents in her mouth while Lin Ruan looked at him, her eyes not being able to convey what she was feeling right now.
Wei Jun stood up as she started healing and said, "I'm not the old man," and passed her, making his way to the screaming Ju Bai Lu, not forgetting to pick up his severed arm.
Wei Jun stepped harshly to the left leg of Ju Bai Lu who was still trying to cope with the pain so Wei Jun helped to distract him from that pain with all the kindness in his heart.
Of course, if a leg ended up broken in that act of kindness, Wei Jun couldn't be blamed for that.
"Argghh!!!" Ju Bai Lu again screamed in pain as he felt his leg break but it was not as severe as losing an arm.
Wei Jun waved the arm in front of Ju Bai Lu's eyes but he was in too much pain to pay any attention to it.
Wei Jun sighed and stored the arm in his inventory. The last thing he wanted was a war so he would keep the arm as collateral. After all, the things in his inventory always remained fresh no matter how old they were.
His severed arm could still be attached if an appropriate price was paid for it.
After all, Wei Jun had all the reason in the world.
But since he was dealing damage anyway, what was wrong about breaking a few more? After all, at an estimate, Ju Bai Lu only had 23 of his bones broken. He still had a lot more left.
'Let's see which one makes the best crunchy noise.' Wei Jun excitedly grabbed Ju Bai Lu's finger and crushed it with his hand.