This Young Master is not Cannon Fodder

Under the attack of the nine sky venerables, the assault team from the central region fell to a great disadvantage. The imperial protectors around them did nothing, they just watched coldly. In fact, they were also shocked.

Most imperial protectors were recruited from the wandering warriors of the Impermanence Realm. They’ve seen the power of the earth venerables. According to the rumors, the difference between a sky venerable and an earth venerable was just as their name suggested, like heaven and earth. However, it was ultimately a rumor and none of them had seen a sky venerable take action.

Until now.

The power of the sky venerables shocked them. From the first clash, the venerables of the central region were immediately suppressed. Granted, they had fewer numbers, but judging from the sky venerables’ expressions and bearings, they did not exert much effort.

The imperial protectors originally thought the Grand Sky Venerable had made a mistake. They thought that no matter how powerful the sky venerables were, they could not defend against everything and should station more imperial protectors. As it turned out, they were in the wrong. They would win and earn a large amount of contribution points without doing anything!

In complete contrast to the relaxed atmosphere of the imperial protectors, Mo Ling and his allies were facing one of the greatest crises of their lives. If the sky venerables were trying to kill them, the casualties would have risen exponentially. The only good thing was that the sky venerables looked down on them and were only trying to capture them.

No matter what Mo Ling and his allies did, they could not stop their eventual fate. At this time, Mo Ling hesitated. He still had his greatest reliance, but if he exposed it, not only would Emperor Hall chase him even more fervently, but his so-called allies may turn on him. For organizations, there were no eternal friends, only benefits.

…or he could escape by himself.

However, Mo Ling didn’t want to escape before rescuing Xuan Queling and Chou Nu. They were the entire reason he broke into Emperor Hall’s base in the first place. How could he leave without taking them with him?

His emotions did not allow him to escape, but his cold reasoning told him it was impossible. Unless he exposed himself.

Mo Ling took a deep breath. He had already made a decision. Since he was going to expose himself, he had to secure an escape route. To his surprise, escaping was much harder than he expected. The base was like another world. Unless he passed through the gate he first entered, it was impossible to teleport away.

He took a deep breath. ‘In that case, I’ll have to kill them first.’

“I have a technique that can reverse the situation, cover me!” Mo Ling said, using his spiritual sense.

None of his allies knew he possessed spiritual sense. It shocked them that Mo Ling possessed it as an early venerable warrior, but it gave them more confidence. So, they surrounded him and protected him as he prepared his technique. The sky venerables also sensed it, but they didn’t care. They could already tell that Mo Ling followed the martial path, so it didn’t surprise them.

Mo Ling held his hands in front of him once more. Wind gathered and formed a luminous green sphere. He was preparing his Spiraling Demon Sphere, but none of the sky venerables took it seriously. Refining powerful elements was shocking in the Impermanence Realm, but it was normal in the Primordial Realm.

Unknown to them, the Spiraling Demon Sphere was nothing more than a diversion. Mo Ling’s eyes took on a silver hue as a vast amount of soul energy filled his body.

With Mo Ling leaving the defensive line, the pressure instantly soured, and the suppression increased.

“Mo Ling, how much longer!” one of his allies shouted. He was gritting his teeth and defending with all his might, but it was akin to an ant trying to stop a car. No matter what he did, the web was slowly, but surely, tightening around them.

Mo Ling said nothing and concentrated fully on his technique.

His allies could no longer hold on. Their bodies froze in the air, akin to someone encasing them in amber. The sky venerables showed a disdainful look. They felt like they had just used a hammer to squash a mosquito, but at least they could fulfill Tianyi’s orders.

Even with victory at hand, they did not lower their guard. Various colors of qi leaked from their sleeves and surrounded the invaders in a mist. The mist slowly condensed, forming a sphere.

“I guess I was too optimistic,” Mo Ling muttered. His eyes turned pure silver, as did the Spiraling Demon Sphere. No longer was it green, but an ethereal hue. Anyone who gazed upon it would feel like someone was whispering into their ears. Not quite like a specter, but akin to an echo of themselves from past and future. “This is the first time I used this technique outside.”

Mo Ling released his control of the technique. The spiraling silver sphere unraveled and unleashed a hurricane of silver. The venerables and grandmasters of the central region felt their souls refresh and their minds cleansed, but the same could not be said for the members of Emperor Hall.

The first to be affected were the imperial protectors. Their eyes glazed over and soon, they fell over, dead. Their souls had disappeared from their bodies. Then, it was the sky venerables. Even the strongest Grand Sky Venerable was affected. His eyes glazed over and he lost sense of the outside world.

Without the sky venerable’s control, the spherical cage collapsed, freeing Mo Ling and his allies.

“Hurry, we shouldn’t have much time!” Mo Ling shouted. “Grandmasters, release the prisoners. Venerables, attack and kill the sky venerables while they’re still defenceless!”

His allies were puzzled by Mo Ling’s sudden surge in strength and esoteric methods, but they did not question it. The most important thing was to complete their mission and escape. Emperor Hall had refreshed their view on their strength once again.

Just as Mo Ling and the other venerables prepared to attack the sky venerables, a cold voice interrupted them and chilled their morale.

“A soul method. I heard that the ones chosen by the Bodhi Tree are all soul masters. I never expected it to be true,” the Grand Sky Venerable said. “You’re the one the Nine Heavens Emperor is looking for.”

‘Nine Heavens Emperor?’ Mo Ling thought. He never expected someone would dare to use such an arrogant title. Still, he had no time to think as the sky venerables attacked.

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Mo Ling wanted to use another soul attack. Unfortunately, the sky venerables had already learned their lesson once. And Mo Ling had only started on the soul path. The reason why his earlier attack was so effective was because the sky venerables did not expect it and gave him enough time to prepare the technique.

Suddenly, the sound of explosions shook the ground. The sky venerables and Mo Ling released their spiritual senses to discover the source. Mo Ling couldn’t discover anything because the earth-rank base was built to shield it from spiritual sense, but the sky venerables were different. They had the authority to scan it with their spiritual senses.

Someone had released all the prisoners.

“Grand Sky Venerable, is this the person you recommended, that traitor?” the Second Sky Venerable asked, judgement coloring every word.

“I didn’t expect that she would choose childish feelings over the immortal path,” the Grand Sky Venerable said with a shake of his head. “Even if she goes to the Primordial Realm, her path will be limited. In that case, let’s end her here and let the world remember her as a genius who didn’t have the chance to realize her potential.”

“The prisoners are meaningless. Let them escape. As long as we capture him, it will all be worth it, even if the base is abandoned,” the Grand Sky Venerable said.

The other sky venerables nodded and renewed their assault, shocking Mo Ling. He thought the sky venerables would at least try to quell the turmoil, but why did it seem like they didn’t care?

Mo Ling gritted his teeth and decided to use his trump card. He hadn’t wanted to use it because once he did, he would lose it forever. That hadn’t always been the case. Before, he could replenish it as long as he touched the Bodhi Tree, but through his connection with it, he knew it was in a bad state. If he dared to show up near the Bodhi Tree, he would have long been targeted.

As for why he had such a connection to the Bodhi Tree, it was naturally because he became its preliminary master.

Over a decade ago, when everyone entered the Bodhi Tree, they had fallen asleep. It wasn’t a true sleep. Each one was experiencing reincarnation in their dreams. They would be lucid and remember their original memories, but that was the terrifying part.

They would remember each life they experienced in the dream. After many reincarnations, the memories of reality would become hazy and they would sink into the dream. The longer they persisted without failing, the greater the benefits. And Mo Ling had lasted for ninety-nine reincarnation dreams, allowing him to gain the Bodhi Tree’s recognition.

Not only could he grab as much Bodhi Sap as he liked and a large amount of Bodhi Seeds, the ninety-nine dreams of reincarnation greatly strengthened his soul and made his future cultivation path smoother. If Emperor Hall had not appeared, Mo Ling would have easily united the Impermanence Realm and broken the seal on it, becoming the first immortal since ages past.

With Tianyi’s intrusion, the Bodhi Tree only benefitted Mo Ling once. If anything, it became the cause of Mo Ling’s misery. If he could overcome these trials, he would soar into the sky and become a figure exalted by the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System.

But if he couldn’t. Well, it depended on Tianyi’s mood.

Mo Ling spat out a mouthful of blood as he blocked the sky venerables’ attacks. They didn’t come close and fight, but used artifacts to bombard them from afar. He hated their despicable methods. His allies had long since retreated when they saw the sky venerables only targeting Mo Ling.

Although it was a bit of a pity, exchanging Mo Ling for all the captured people was a good deal. They and Emperor Hall would definitely clash after this incident, and the more people, the better.

“Mo Ling!”

The shout attracted everyone’s attention. When they saw it was Chou Nu and Xuan Queling running toward Mo Ling’s direction, a few people from the forces of the central region couldn’t help but sigh. Couldn’t they tell that Mo Ling was doomed? Instead of foolishly charging forward, it was better to escape and rescue him later. Couldn’t they tell that the sky venerables had no intent on killing him?

While most ignored them, one person did not. It was the Grand Sky Venerable.

He stopped attacking Mo Ling and appeared in front of Chou Nu, causing her to stagger in fear. “If you’d escape with everyone else, you could have lived a bit longer, but unfortunately, you chose death.”

No matter how Chou Nu struggled, the Grand Sky Venerable easily neutralized her. Blood spurted from her mouth as the Grand Sky Venerable crippled her cultivation. Then, he picked her up by the neck while blood leaked continuously from her mouth.

Judging from her increasingly pale face, it was clear what the Grand Sky Venerable intended.

“Chou Nu!” Mo Ling shouted. A terrifying aura exploded off of him, blasting the eight sky venerables surrounding him.

The Grand Sky Venerable only had time to turn around and raise his arms before Mo Ling punched him away. Like Chou Nu, he spat out a mouthful of blood. That wasn’t the most shocking part. He felt a dissonance between his soul and body. His combat potential plummeted by at least fifty percent!

Mo Ling didn’t care as he cradled Chou Nu in his arms. “Chou Nu, speak to me. Are you okay?”

Chou Nu’s eyes were glossed over. When they focused, they captured Mo Ling’s visage and a forced smile appeared on her face. Her hands trembled as they reached up and caressed Mo Ling’s cheeks. “I’m sorry.”

To Chou Nu’s surprise, Mo Ling didn’t ask what she was sorry for. He only said, “I know.”

Her eyes widened, then her smile turned bitter. “A-after you leave. You have to hide yourself. Emperor Hall is much more terrifying than you think. Queling is a good girl. You will be happy with her.”

“Stop talking, conserve your strength,” Mo Ling said as he blasted an opening out of the immortal grotto. He carried Chou Nu and fled with Xuan Queling right behind him.

Chou Nu shook her head. “It’s over for me. The Grand Sky Venerable crippled my cultivation and destroyed my foundation. My death is inevitable.”

“No, I refuse. I’ll save you!”

Chou Nu laughed, only to agitate her injuries, causing her to cough up blood. She gazed at Mo Ling, as if to engrave his face into her mind. “Thank you. Meeting you was one of the greatest things to happen in my life.”

Dread filled Mo Ling’s heart as he felt the lowering temperature of the girl in his arms.

“If possible, can you call me by my real name?”

“Yes, anything! As long as you promise to stay with me!” Mo Ling shouted.

A happy yet bitter smile appeared on Chou Nu’s face. “Okay. Then you better say my name tenderly. My name is Xia Zhaohe.”

“Xia Zhaohe,” Mo Ling said. “It’s a beautiful name.”

Chou Nu gave a smile that she hadn’t given since her parent’s death. She closed her eyes. “Thank you.”

Mo Ling stilled. “Chou Nu? Chou Nu!”

No matter how he called, the girl in his hands never answered. Xuan Queling came forward and placed her hand on his shoulders. “We should find a time to bury her in Frost Flame Valley with her parents after we escape.”

“Escape?” Mo Ling asked, his tone chilling. “What escape? I’m going to make those bastards pay!”

Xuan Queling’s expression changed. Unlike Mo Ling, Chou Nu explained all she knew about Emperor Hall to her, so she was clearer about how dangerous they were. “Mo Ling, you can’t. I understand that you want revenge, but now is not the time!”

Did Mo Ling not understand this? Of course he did, but he had already activated the trump card in his body. The next time he would have such power would at least be a hundred years later, if not a thousand. He didn’t and couldn’t wait that long.

He transferred Chou Nu into Xuan Queling’s arms. “They’re already here. You should escape first. I’ll catch up later.”

A distressed expression appeared on Xuan Queling’s face. If Mo Ling stayed, what was the point of Chou Nu’s death?

At this time, the nine sky venerables had already caught up. They were less than ten kilometers away. Mo Ling gathered his energy in preparation for attack, but to his surprise and confusion, the nine sky venerables stopped a thousand meters away and kneeled.

Mo Ling was baffled. Did they want forgiveness after seeing his power?

“Well, I didn’t expect to come to such a tragic scene. It makes me feel like the bad guy here.”

“Who!?” Mo Ling snapped his head up to see a young man in purple robes above him.