78: Chapter 78: Kill Chen Xing, let me protect her...

"You—you actually killed Uncle Xiao—Dean Mu, I was wrong, I really know I was wrong, don't—don't kill me, please don't kill me—"

Chen Xing witnessed Mu Qianqian killing Xiao Yanyao and was completely stunned. This woman, like Lin Yuan, was a ruthless character who didn't care about threats and would kill whenever she wanted—

Thus, he hastily knelt on the ground to beg for mercy. The two lackeys beside him had already fainted from fear.

"You may leave."

Mu Qianqian pondered for a moment and decided to let him go. After all, he was the young son of Chairman Chen's family. Killing Xiao Yanyao wouldn't be a problem; even if Chen Haobei tried to cause trouble, Mu Qianqian had logic on her side.

But killing Chen Xing would be different. Chen Haobei would definitely go mad, and a Ninth-Rank Expert going mad was no joking matter.

There was no need to look for that kind of trouble. Moreover, his Dao heart was already destroyed; leaving him alive wouldn't make him an obstacle for Lin Yuan in the future.

"Th—thank you, Dean Mu, I'll leave right now—"

Hearing this, Chen Xing scrambled to his feet in excitement and fled toward the rear.

But in the next second, he stopped in his tracks because Lin Yuan had blocked his path at some unknown point.

"Chen Xing, she said she'd let you go, but I didn't say I'd let you go. Letting you go is the same as releasing a tiger back to the mountain, isn't it?" Lin Yuan said with a smile.

"No—Lin Yuan, spare me, I'll never cause trouble for you again, I promise!" Chen Xing immediately begged for mercy.

"You promise? Fine—but I don't believe you! Only dead men can keep secrets." Lin Yuan slowly raised the swimming dragon sword in his hand.

"Lin Yuan, don't kill him. Killing him will cause some trouble, and he's no longer a threat to you," Mu Qianqian frowned and spoke.

"Trouble? The thing I fear least is trouble. Die!"

As his hand fell with the sword, Chen Xing's head instantly flew into the sky. With an indifferent expression, Lin Yuan swept out another sword strike, and the two lackeys lying unconscious on the ground would never wake up again.

"Sigh—you're too impulsive. Couldn't you have endured it?" Mu Qianqian said, frowning.

"No!"

Lin Yuan sheathed the swimming dragon sword and spoke with absolute certainty.

"You!—Sigh—fine, if they're killed, they're killed. I'm not afraid of Chen Haobei either; at worst, I'll just fight him."

Looking at Lin Yuan's determined gaze, Mu Qianqian's heart softened. "Let him be. If he's not afraid, why should I be?"

"I can handle it myself, so don't take it upon yourself. Even if you hadn't appeared, I would have killed them, so it has nothing to do with you. I, Lin Yuan, don't want to rely on a woman, especially not on you."

Lin Yuan frowned as he spoke. If Chen Haobei came to kill him, he could just have Chu Yunfeng fight back. He fundamentally didn't want Mu Qianqian standing in front of him.

It was because of his self-esteem, and even more so because his feelings for Mu Qianqian were not ordinary—

"Why don't you want to rely on me? You're a student of my Qing University. There's nothing wrong with me protecting your path, is there?"

"You're not my teacher, and besides, I don't want our relationship to be teacher and student," Lin Yuan said calmly.

"Then what else could our relationship be?" Mu Qianqian's heart stirred, and she suddenly asked in a low voice.

"We—anyway, it can't be teacher and student. Dean Mu, I'm continuing my training. You should head back early."

Lin Yuan turned and walked toward Big Dragon and Second Dragon, putting them into his storage space and letting them soak in the Ice Pond, using fire berries to heal their injuries.

Watching Lin Yuan's receding back, the corners of Mu Qianqian's mouth curled up. "Hmph! Such a domineering little man—"

Mu Qianqian looked forward more and more to Lin Yuan becoming strong. When that time came, not only could she return home, but perhaps she could even—

Mu Qianqian had ended up on Blue Star because her father had arranged an engagement for her. Unwilling, she fled from home, only to encounter Interstellar Hunters—

If she wanted her father to change his mind, someone had to appear who surpassed the marriage partner her father had found for her in every aspect.

"Lin Yuan, you're the most talented person I've ever seen. Don't disappoint me, even though it's almost impossible—"

Mu Qianqian's gaze dimmed. She casually threw out a few palm strikes, turning the corpses of Chen Xing and his two lackeys into nothingness, before taking to the sky and disappearing into the Silver Pine Forest.

...

"Is she gone?" Lin Yuan asked Chu Yunfeng.

"She's gone. I say, kid, can't you see that girl is interested in you? A Ninth-Rank martial artist acting as a bodyguard for a little fry like you, and you're still unhappy about it."

Chu Yunfeng didn't quite understand Lin Yuan's refusal to accept her kindness for the sake of his pride.

"I don't want to rely on her. I want to grow strong on my own. When I'm strong enough, I'll be qualified to stand by her side. At that time, let me protect her—"

Lin Yuan looked into the distance, his eyes revealing determination and confidence.

"Hmm, kid, you've got some backbone. Following you hasn't been a loss. I really see some hope in you. Maybe one day, I really will be able to fight my way back to the starry sky and settle my deep-seated hatred."

Chu Yunfeng said appreciatively, his tone filled with longing for the future.

"Don't worry, Old Chu. One day, I'll accompany you to fight our way back and trample all our enemies under our feet!" Lin Yuan said with grand ambition.

"Haha—good. Then you'd better work hard, kid. To the northeast, five kilometers away, an early Fourth-Rank fierce beast!" Chu Yunfeng laughed.

"Alright, Old Chu, let's go!"

Lin Yuan gave a confident smile, kicked off the ground with force, and set out on his journey once again—

...

Lin Yuan first went to the early Fourth-Rank fierce beast zone and found a lone beast for a satisfying battle...

Ultimately, under Lin Yuan's relentless barrage of Space Dimensional Slashes, he managed to kill that early Fourth-Rank fierce beast.

"No, this kind of combat consumes too much spiritual energy, and I can only kill lone ones. The efficiency is too low—"

After stopping, Lin Yuan considered whether to leave the Silver Pine Forest. After all, the gains were already quite small; it would be better to go back and cultivate his body in seclusion to advance the progress of the Blood Burning Realm, which would also increase his combat power significantly.

But the only downside to body cultivation was the inability to obtain ability points. Lin Yuan was under a lot of pressure now; the matter of killing Chen Xing would be exposed sooner or later. He needed a large number of ability points; only strength provided true confidence.

"Oh? These two little guys are awake."

Lin Yuan suddenly felt the mental fluctuations of Big Dragon and Second Dragon. He found that the two dragons had woken up in his Ice Pond, and their injuries were mostly repaired, though they were a bit listless.

With a wave of Lin Yuan's hand, Big Dragon and Second Dragon appeared before him. The two dragons immediately stretched their wings and let out a dragon roar toward the sky.

Seeing that they were fine, Lin Yuan was much relieved. He didn't want such flashy mounts to be scrapped before he had even really ridden them.

"Big Dragon, Second Dragon, it's great that you're okay. I'm also preparing to leave the Silver Pine Forest. The fierce beasts here are mostly killed off; it'll probably take a few days for them to be replenished. I won't wait."

Lin Yuan patted their massive dragon legs, preparing to put them back into his space.

"Awoo! Awoo awoo awoo!"

Big Dragon suddenly let out several howls and pointed its head toward the portal in the deepest part.

"Big Dragon, you mean? You can go back and lure fierce beasts over? Really?"

Sensing Big Dragon's meaning, Lin Yuan asked in pleasant surprise.

"Awoo!"

Big Dragon gave a cheerful cry, hopped once, and its massive dragon head nodded.

"Will there be danger? How many can you lure? Don't start a large-scale beast tide, that would be taking it too far—" Lin Yuan asked worriedly.

Afterward, after communicating with Big Dragon for a long time, Lin Yuan finally understood.

Big Dragon's meaning was that it and Second Dragon both came from a Dragon Tribe. They were princes in the tribe, and their father was the tribal chief.

Their tribe had received a gift from the Beast God—a fire berry.

Their tribe was very close to this portal. To prevent rival tribes from stealing it, the chief had secretly sent the two of them to the Silver Pine Forest to return only after they had finished absorbing the fire berry's energy.

Big Dragon intended to go to the rival tribe and lure a low-rank patrol squad over for Lin Yuan to kill.

Once Lin Yuan understood everything, Big Dragon took to the sky and plunged headfirst into the portal—