165: I got it up there by my own skill.

“What’s wrong? Now you know how to cry?”

Su Lin released his suppression on her, intending to pull her up.

“Weren't you quite arrogant just now? You even wanted to turn Revered Master into jerky?”

The red-clothed girl on the ground didn't respond, her shoulders just shook more violently.

Su Lin sighed. The anger in his heart had dissipated by more than half during those dozen or so slaps. Looking at this Second Disciple, who used to be the most worry-free but was now the most headache-inducing, he ultimately couldn't harden his heart.

He reached out, not to pull her arm, but gently placed his hand on the little head buried in the dirt.

He slightly released spiritual power from his palm, and a warm current instantly shook off the sand and dust clinging to her head, smoothing out her messy red hair in the process.

“Alright, stop playing dead.”

Su Lin's voice softened, carrying a hint of helplessness.

“Revered Master didn't use force; it won't damage your Foundation.”

Hearing this, the red figure on the ground finally moved.

Su Hongling abruptly raised her head.

Her originally filthy little face was now streaked with tears and mud, forming a comical, painted face.

But where was the arrogance and Evil Qi from before in those eyes?

All that remained was overwhelming grievance, along with a hidden glimmer of dependence.

“Old Man...”

She sniffled. Her voice was still choked with sobs, yet it carried a stubbornness.

“You... you actually hit me...”

“We haven't met in a hundred years... and the first thing you do is hit me...”

“I looked for you for so long... I killed all those stinky bugs... just to find you...”

The more she spoke, the more aggrieved she felt, and tears threatened to fall again.

“Hitting you is for your own good.”

Su Lin took a clean silk handkerchief from his sleeve, squatted down, and carefully wiped the dirt from her face.

“If Revered Master hadn't knocked some sense into you, the Evil Qi surrounding you would eventually backlash against your Dao Heart, turning you into a lunatic who only knows slaughter.”

His movements were gentle, his fingers touching her cheek through the silk handkerchief.

Su Hongling's body trembled slightly.

That familiar, long-lost sensation.

A hundred years ago, whenever she practiced her sword until exhaustion, or was injured but refused to say so, this person would also scold her for being foolish while wiping her face and applying medicine.

“...Hmph.”

She turned her head, seemingly trying to avoid him, but her body honestly leaned in closer.

“Who would turn into a lunatic... I am a Genius...”

She mumbled, then suddenly reached out and tightly hugged Su Lin's neck.

This wasn't the aggressive embrace that threatened to strangle him from before, but a desperate clinging, like a drowning person grabbing onto driftwood.

She buried her painted face directly into Su Lin's neck, wiping all her tears and snot onto Su Lin's recently changed dark ink robe.

“Revered Master...”

This call was no longer the sarcastic “trash fish” but was filled with dependence.

“I want to eat meat...”

“I want to eat the braised pork belly you make...”

“The bug meat here... it tastes awful... Wuwuwu...”

Su Lin was slightly breathless from her chokehold, but hearing these nonsensical words, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.

This was his Second Disciple.

Even if she had cultivated to the Mahayana Stage, and could flatten a Yao Race Commander with a single sword strike, deep down she was still that single-celled organism who only knew how to practice swordsmanship and eat.

[Ding! Detected violent fluctuation in Second Disciple Su Hongling's bond value!]

[“Violent Suppression” and “Tender Comfort” achieved a perfect combo!]

[Obtained Stage Reward: Divine Ability — Immovable King Body]

[Note: This Divine Ability passively and significantly reduces physical impact and pain sensation, specifically designed to deal with violent disciple.]

Su Lin raised an eyebrow.

This System reward certainly came at the right time.

“Alright, let go.”

Su Lin patted her back, “Revered Master's robe is new; with all your rubbing, it's ruined.”

“I won't let go!”

Not only did Su Hongling refuse to let go, but she wrapped her legs around him like a koala, clinging directly to Su Lin.

“Unless you make me Braised Pork Belly right now!”

“...”

Just at this heartwarming moment of Revered Master's kindness and disciple's filial piety, two untimely cold snorts sounded simultaneously.

“Second Senior Sister, you're not a child anymore, yet you're still clinging to Revered Master and acting spoiled?”

Luo Ximei slowly walked over, crossing her arms.

Her platinum-gold right eye narrowed slightly as she looked at Su Hongling's hand resting directly on Su Lin's chest, a dangerous glint flashing in her eyes.

“Get down. Revered Master has a bad back and can't handle the weight of someone in the Mahayana Stage like you.”

“Exactly, exactly.”

Chu Weiwei was also fanning the flames nearby, clutching a new handkerchief, seemingly ready to rush over and “clean” Su Lin at any moment.

“Second Senior Sister smells entirely of those Yao Beasts. Don't let her stink up Revered Master.

Revered Master, quickly let Weiwei disinfect you.”

Hearing these two voices, Su Hongling, who was hanging onto Su Lin, suddenly turned her head.

The grievance in her red pupils instantly vanished, replaced by the ferocity of a protective beast guarding its food.

“None of your damn business!”

She bared her teeth at the two of them, showing two sharp little canine teeth.

“This Lady hung herself up here by my own skill! If you have the guts, come and bite me!”

“And also...”

She sized up Luo Ximei and Chu Weiwei with a disdainful look.

“Fifth Sister, don't think I'm afraid of you just because you got some kind of Yin and Yang Eye.

And Third Sister, your poison Qi is useless against me!

Do you believe this Lady can flatten each of you into the dirt with one sword strike to use as fertilizer for flowers?!”

“You can try.”

Luo Ximei sneered. The black and white Qi around her instantly boiled, and the faint phantom of a Demonic God appeared behind her.

“I only used ten percent of my strength just now. Now... I'd like to see if your bones are harder, or if my Origin Law is harder!”

“Try it then!”

Su Hongling jumped off Su Lin (though reluctantly), grabbed the giant sword [no edge] from the ground with one hand, and hoisted it heavily onto her shoulder.

“Come on! Attack me head-on!”

“...”

Just as a world-destroying internal conflict between the Senior and Junior Sisters was about to erupt over the ruins of Juejian Pass.

“Stop, all of you.”

Su Lin's voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable authority.

He walked into the middle of the three, his gaze sweeping over their aggressive, cock-fighting expressions.

“It seems the lesson just now wasn't enough?”

He looked at Su Hongling.

Su Hongling immediately shrank her neck, hid the giant sword behind her, and put on an “I'm very obedient” expression.

He then looked at Luo Ximei and Chu Weiwei.

The two of them also retracted their Aura, but their eyes continued to clash fiercely in the air.

“Now is not the time for internal conflict.”

Su Lin turned around, his gaze fixed on the enormous rift above Juejian Pass, which was still continuously seeping black Void Realm energy.

That was the hole Su Hongling had forcefully smashed open, and it was also the passage for the alien race's invasion.

Although the alien race's army had been repelled, if this opening wasn't sealed, the troubles would never cease.

“First, close the door.”

Su Lin said calmly.

“Close the door?”

Su Hongling scratched her head, “Old Man, I only know how to smash that thing, not fix it.

How about... I go back to that world and smash their main nest too?”

Su Lin rolled his eyes at her, preparing to mobilize the Law of Space to try and repair the hideous rift.

However, the moment his spiritual power touched the Void Realm rift.

“Boom!”

An extremely dull heartbeat sounded, seemingly coming from the deep core of another world.

Su Lin's expression suddenly changed. He abruptly withdrew his hand and shouted:

“Step back!”

Before his voice faded, the Void Realm rift, which had been slowly seeping black turbulent energy, suddenly turned scarlet red, like a bloodshot eyeball!

That was not ordinary energy light.

That was blood.

It was a sea of blood and resentment formed after billions of living beings were instantly sacrificed!

“Roar!”

Accompanied by this earth-shattering roar, a gigantic claw, covered in purplish-black scales and the size of a mountain, forcefully gripped the edge of the rift.

“Crack! Crack!”

The World Barrier that Su Hongling had previously smashed open.

“Since we cannot live... then let us all die together!!”

A wave of Divine Thought, filled with madness, despair, and the will to destroy, swept across the entire Juejian Pass like a tsunami.

Immediately afterward, an endless army of the alien race poured out of the rift like a breached flood.

They were no longer attacking in an orderly fashion; they were completely insane. Pale white flames burned on their bodies—a sign that they were burning their life Origin.

They weren't here to conquer.

They were here to drag everyone down with them!

And within that tide-like army of self-detonation, five terrifying Auras that seemed capable of crushing the heavens and earth descended without reservation!

“Five... five of them?!”

The Black Crocodile King, tied up like a dumpling and thrown in the corner, had his eyes bulging out and was shaking like a sieve.

“It's over... it's absolutely over... Those are the Old Ancestors of the Five Great Royal Clans! They've all awakened?!”

“They sacrificed their entire world, intending to drag this world down with them!!”

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Five beams of light landed, shattering the ruins of Juejian Pass.

As the smoke and dust dispersed, five hideous and terrifying figures were revealed.

One of them was a Lava Giant a hundred zhang tall, with scorching magma flowing all over its body. Every time it breathed, the surrounding air would ignite.

To the left was a Void Specter, completely transparent except for a pair of blood-red eyes. The space around it was strangely distorted.

To the right was a highly venomous Nine-Headed Serpent with nine heads. As its tongue flickered, green poisonous mist instantly corroded the earth.

Floating behind them was a massive Compound Eye Monster, shooting mental rays from its countless eyes that stung the Divine Soul.

The last one, and the strongest in Aura, wore Purple Gold Battle Armor, held a broken long spear, and was surrounded by dense Death Qi. Although humanoid, it had three eyes on its face.

Five Mahayana Stage cultivators!

And they were Mad Demon Mahayana, burning all their Lifespan and potential with the intent to die!

This lineup was enough to sweep across the entire continent!

“Human Race...”

The alien race Leader wearing the Purple Gold Battle Armor locked his three eyes onto Su Lin and his group. His voice sounded like metal scraping metal.

“You destroyed our World Barrier and cut off our path to survival...”

“Today, we sacrifice ourselves to completely turn your world into a dead domain!!”

“Kill!!!”

With its command, the five Mahayana Stage powerhouses moved simultaneously.

They didn't probe in the slightest; their first moves were killing strikes that burned their Origin.

The Lava Giant's fist transformed into a burning meteorite, hurtling straight down!

The Void Specter merged into the shadows, appearing behind everyone in an instant!

The Nine-Headed Serpent spat out a monstrous sea of poison, blocking all retreat paths!

The Compound Eye Monster let out a shriek, and an invisible mental storm pierced toward everyone's Sea of Consciousness like sharp swords!

And the Purple Gold Leader thrust his spear straight out, targeting Su Lin, who appeared the weakest but stood at the core position!

Such an offensive would instantly reduce an ordinary Sect, even one protected by a Mountain Protecting Grand Array, to ashes.

“Revered Master, be careful!!”

Chu Weiwei cried out in alarm, subconsciously trying to shield Su Lin.

But someone was faster than her.

“Hahahaha! Perfect timing!!”

A wild laugh overwhelmed the deafening roar filling the sky.

Su Hongling's petite figure, at this moment, erupted with an Aura even more violent than that of the Lava Giant.

She stomped her foot fiercely, causing the earth to crack.

“I didn't get enough fighting in just now, and I was looking for a place to vent! Since you've delivered yourselves here to die, none of you are leaving!!”

“Giant Sword Technique — Heaven-Propping!!”

The black iron door-like slab [no edge] in her hand swelled against the wind at this moment, transforming into a Heaven-Propping Giant Sword a thousand zhang long.

She didn't use any fancy techniques.

She simply gripped the hilt with both hands and ruthlessly swung it at the descending Lava Giant's fist!

“Get back... for this Lady!!!”

“Clang—!!!”

A massive sound, loud enough to shatter eardrums.

The Lava Giant's fist was actually directly smashed apart by that single sword strike!

Countless streams of magma exploded like fireworks.

But Su Hongling didn't stop.

Using the force of the rebound, her body twisted strangely in the air, and the giant sword swept horizontally, slamming directly toward the Void Specter attempting a sneak attack.

“Physical Salvation!!”

The Void Specter was originally incorporeal, but under Su Hongling's sword strike, which contained the Law of Absolute Strength, space was forcibly compressed into a solid entity.

“Pfft!”

The specter shrieked and flew backward, looking like a flattened piece of jelly.

One against two!

This was Su Hongling's current battle prowess!

“Leave the rest to us!”

Luo Ximei was also busy.

Her platinum-gold right eye instantly locked onto the Nine-Headed Serpent spitting poisonous mist.

“A filthy reptile dares to act presumptuously in front of Revered Master?”

She formed hand seals, and a massive, interwoven black and white Dharma Idol appeared behind her.

“True Demon · World Purifying Eye!”

A platinum-gold beam of light shot out from her right eye. Wherever the beam passed, both the poisonous mist and the air were instantly purified and annihilated.

“Hiss!!”

Three of the Nine-Headed Serpent's heads instantly vaporized upon contact with the light beam.

“Third Sister! Don't just stand there! This serpent is yours!”

Luo Ximei shouted.

“Coming!”

Although Chu Weiwei's battle prowess was inferior to theirs, when it came to using poison, she was the Old Ancestor.

When she saw the Nine-Headed Serpent, a hint of fanaticism flashed in her eyes.

“A Mahayana Stage poisonous creature from another world? What a treasure!”

She summoned the dark green gourd and sucked in the poisonous mist filling the sky.

“Ten Thousand Poisons Return to the Source!”

The potent poison, powerful enough to corrode the earth, rushed frantically into her gourd as if meeting a relative.

The Nine-Headed Serpent was stunned.

Its innate Divine Ability was actually being consumed as a supplement by someone?

The battlefield was instantly divided.

Su Hongling single-handedly fought the Lava Giant and the Void Specter, causing the heavens to collapse and the earth to tear, even subtly gaining the upper hand.

Luo Ximei and Chu Weiwei joined forces to suppress the Nine-Headed Serpent and the Compound Eye Monster.