Chapter 102: The Remnant Phoenix Clan (Part 2)
Lan Xueruo's entire aura underwent a dramatic transformation in an instant. The smiles on the faces of the axe-wielding man and the pointy-mouthed man vanished immediately, because from this peerlessly beautiful young girl, they suddenly sensed a suffocating pressure bearing down on them.
"Boss, wh-what's going on?" the pointy-mouthed man felt something was off in the atmosphere. Just as he spoke, a streak of white-gold light flashed past his eyes, and Lan Xueruo's sword swept up again, thrusting straight at his chest.
It was a sword strike without any fancy embellishments, yet the momentum it carried was clearly several times stronger than before! The pointy-mouthed man's body was suppressed by this momentum for a split second, then he hurriedly swung his iron staff to meet it. A piercing clang rang out as his iron staff was directly knocked flying. The jade sword, wreathed in golden light, slammed heavily into his body. The force of this strike was so immense that the white jade sword bent for a moment before instantly snapping straight again. The terrifying momentum and power that erupted sent the pointy-mouthed man flying, his feet not touching the ground, until he tumbled and rolled more than ten meters away... If the sword had been used with its blade instead of its flat side, the pointy-mouthed man would have been cut in half without any doubt.
This scene caused both the axe-wielding man and the horse-faced man to change color in alarm. Before they could even cry out, Lan Xueruo's graceful figure had already charged in front of the axe-wielding man, her sword slashing diagonally toward his shoulder.
The powerful sword momentum bearing down on him caused the axe-wielding man's face to turn pale. With no way to evade, he quickly mustered all his profound energy, gripped his battle-axe with both hands, let out a low growl, and smashed it against Lan Xueruo's long sword.
Boom!!!
The battle-axe met the jade sword, producing a harsh metallic clash. The axe-wielding man's body sank heavily, and under the pressure of the immense force, both his feet sank directly into the ground below. Lan Xueruo's sword momentum stalled for a moment, then erupted once more as she viciously struck his chest with the flat of the blade.
With a "bang," the axe-wielding man tumbled like a rolling gourd, rolling more than ten meters across the ground. His axe flew far away, spinning dozens of times in the air before landing at the feet of the horse-faced man, startling him so badly that his whole body trembled and he stumbled backward in panic.
The axe-wielding man, having rolled over ten meters, scrambled to his feet in a disgraceful manner. His chest felt agonizingly painful, and he could tell several ribs were faintly broken. But he knew that if this young girl had shown mercy by using the flat of her sword instead of the blade, both he and the pointy-mouthed man would already have been cut in two. This also indicated that this young girl had a very soft heart and was fundamentally unwilling to kill.
With that thought flashing through his mind, he decisively knelt on the ground and loudly begged for mercy: "Spare us, miss! We three had eyes but failed to see. We... we just thought you looked like a celestial maiden descended to earth, so we wanted to get closer and admire you. We had absolutely no other intentions. Please, be lenient and let us go."
Lan Xueruo put away her jade sword, a look of disgust on her face. She didn't even want to look at them anymore and said sternly, "Get lost immediately! The farther, the better."
"Yes, yes, we'll get lost right away, right away." The axe-wielding man quickly stood up, shot a meaningful glance at the stunned pointy-mouthed man and the horse-faced man, and the two hurriedly prepared to leave as well.
"Put the children down!" Seeing the horse-faced man about to drag the two little kids away, she frowned sharply and shouted.
The horse-faced man's expression shifted uncertainly, but remembering how she had beaten the pointy-mouthed man and the axe-wielding man into a sorry state in just three moves, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and release the two children, then slink away in disgrace.
If Yun Che were awake now, he would surely have told Lan Xueruo to kill all three of them. Because he knew all too well that the consequence of mercy was often not gratitude from the other party, but unpredictable and endless trouble. These three had offended her first and were clearly stained with great evil. Killing them would have been an act of justice on behalf of heaven.
But Lan Xueruo was not Yun Che after all. Her nature was kind and gentle; she had never killed anyone in her entire life and fundamentally didn't want to. She hadn't even broken their hands or feet as punishment.
The three men ran a long distance without stopping. The horse-faced man gritted his teeth and said, "What damn rotten luck! Not only did we not get to enjoy the beauty, we even had to let those two little brats go."
"Forget it. Be glad you still have your lives. That woman's profound energy was at the True Xuan Realm!" The axe-wielding man wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, still shaken. He couldn't figure out how he had initially sensed her to be at Xuan Entry Realm Level 8, yet the moment she acted, her profound energy had skyrocketed. That level of power was in no way inferior to the three deputy commanders who were at the True Xuan Realm.
"What? Tr-True Xuan Realm?" The horse-faced man and the pointy-mouthed man were both stunned. "A little beauty barely in her teens, how could she be at the True Xuan Realm? Our commander is almost fifty years old and only at True Xuan Realm Level 3!"
"Does it need to be asked? That woman must be a genius disciple from some super clan! Those big clans all have abundant resources and sect profound arts; it's not uncommon for them to break into the True Xuan Realm before the age of twenty! So close! Lucky for us she was a woman with a soft heart and a woman's benevolence. If we'd run into someone with a fiercer temper, the three of us would have been finished here today!"
"The commander should be arriving today too. We wanted to grab those two kids as hostages to earn some credit, but we nearly lost our lives instead. Looks like we'll have to let the commander handle it personally. Let's get back!"
…………………………
After driving away the three villains, Lan Xueruo let out a slight sigh of relief. She took off the necklace she had just untied and put it back around her neck. Instantly, the profound energy aura radiating from her weakened rapidly, and after two breaths, it had dropped back to Xuan Entry Realm Level 8. In front of her, the two children who had gained their freedom were staring at her with wide eyes, tears glistening in their eyes.
Lan Xueruo walked over, bent down slightly, and said, "Little brother, little sister, don't be afraid. It's all right now. Are you children from these mountains? Why were those people trying to kidnap you?"
Just as she finished asking, the little boy suddenly knelt down before her, his childish voice filled with sorrow as he cried out, "Big sister, please... save our people! Those bad people have been harming us constantly. You're so powerful, big sister; you can definitely drive those bad people away."
Seeing the little boy kneel, the little girl quickly followed suit, kneeling as well. She tugged at the boy's arm and said timidly between sobs, "Big sister, please save us... boohoo... save us..."
Lan Xueruo paused slightly, then took each of them by one hand, trying to lift them from the ground. "Get up quickly..."
The little boy was only seven or eight years old, yet he had a stubbornness that didn't belong to his age. He refused to stand, looking up at Lan Xueruo with tear-filled eyes. "Big sister, please, you have to save us. If you don't, our entire clan will surely be killed by those bad people. Only you can save us now. We will... we will repay you in the future."
This little boy had previously risked danger twice to shout warnings to her, proving the kindness in his heart. Now, kneeling before her, his eyes under the mist of tears were filled with pleading and a glimmer of hope... as if he had finally grasped a lifeline while drowning.
Her heart softened. She glanced back at Yun Che lying quietly behind her, hesitated for a moment, then smiled. "Little brother, little sister, get up first. Then, can you take me to meet your people, okay?"
A flash of joyful light sparkled in the little boy's eyes. He wiped the tears from his face and nodded vigorously.
Lan Xueruo carefully carried Yun Che on her back and followed the two children toward their home. Along the way, she learned that the little boy was called Feng Zu'er and the little girl was called Feng Xian'er. They were fraternal twins. The surname "Feng" surprised Lan Xueruo, as it was clearly the imperial surname of the Shenhuang Empire! From the children's accounts, she learned that all their tribesmen bore the surname "Feng." They had lived in this barren mountain range ever since they were born, never leaving and never contacting the outside world. Because this area had many, many ferocious profound beasts. Only the place where they lived, for some reason, was avoided by the beasts. Due to those dense and terrifying profound beasts, they couldn't go out, and outsiders couldn't get in either.
Until a few days ago, the Black Demon Mercenary Corps had somehow found a way here, discovered their settlement, and realized that this was a very small Guardian Clan. They then forced them to hand over the treasure they were guarding. The reason they had kidnapped Feng Zu'er and Feng Xian'er was to pressure them into handing over the treasure within a day. Otherwise, they would slaughter them.
Rounding a low mountain, a small village appeared before their eyes. At the entrance of the village, several middle-aged men in coarse clothing stood there, their faces etched with anger and helplessness. In the middle, a woman was covering her face, weeping. Emblazoned on all their foreheads was a flame-shaped mark.
"Father... Mother!"
Feng Zu'er and Feng Xian'er cried out and sprinted toward the weeping woman. Hearing the children's voices, the woman lifted her head abruptly and stared blankly at Feng Zu'er and Feng Xian'er as they dashed toward her, almost thinking she was dreaming. It wasn't until they threw themselves into her arms that she hugged them tightly and burst into tears of joy.
"Zu'er, Xian'er, how did you..." The middle-aged man beside her was visibly moved, overwhelmed with joy and at a loss for words.
"That beautiful big sister beat up those bad people and saved us." Feng Zu'er turned back and pointed at Lan Xueruo. "Big sister is not only beautiful but also incredibly strong. She beat those three bad guys away in no time."
"Mm-hmm." Feng Xian'er nodded along, her face full of admiration. "And big sister also promised to help us drive away all those bad people."
All eyes turned to Lan Xueruo. The middle-aged man stepped forward, bowed deeply to Lan Xueruo, and said sincerely, "Miss, thank you for saving my two children. I don't know how to express my gratitude properly... My name is Feng Baichuan, the current clan head here, and this is my wife, Feng Caiyun."
"No need to be so polite. I was just passing by and happened to lend a hand," Lan Xueruo said politely. The man before her appeared to be around thirty-four years old, with a simple appearance and attire. His brows carried a faint air of refined composure and steadiness, and the flame mark on his forehead was especially distinct.
But as the head of a clan, his profound cultivation was only at Initial Xuan Realm Level 10. For his age, that level was indeed somewhat low. Lan Xueruo also noticed that everyone she saw had their profound power exactly at Initial Xuan Realm Level 10, with an unusual uniformity.
"Thank you, thank you so much." Feng Caiyun curtsied gracefully to Lan Xueruo, too grateful to know what else to say.
"It's truly wonderful that Zu'er and Xian'er have returned safely. But those villains... ahh." An old man with a white beard beside them first let out a sigh of relief, then followed it with a long, heavy sigh.
"Big sister is very powerful. She will definitely be able to drive all those villains away!" Feng Zu'er, who had personally witnessed Lan Xueruo's "divine might," clenched his fists and spoke with full confidence.
But his words did little to dispel the gloom on their faces. Being able to rescue the two children from those three villains showed that she must have a high level of profound cultivation. But she looked no more than a girl of seventeen or eighteen—how high could she really be? The other side was an infamous mercenary corps with a hundred men. Its commander and three deputy commanders were all at the True Xuan Realm. How could a mere young girl possibly stand against them?