80: I won’t come here again!

The air in the private room solidified.

The black mist, pierced by the sword light, let out a piercing shriek, twisting violently in mid-air before reluctantly re-coalescing into the form of the curly-haired woman, falling heavily to the floor.

A fist-sized hole in her chest was slowly healing at a visible rate, but her face was deathly pale, devoid of any color.

The tip of a long sword was precisely pressed against her throat, emanating a chilling coldness that made one's skin crawl.

"Mercy! Senior, mercy!"

The woman completely broke down; she couldn't understand how this young man, whom she had considered her prey, could be such a terrifying Cultivator.

She knelt on the ground, her body trembling like a sieve, kowtowing desperately.

"I... I'm just a passing Loose Cultivator! I don't know anything! I just saw a lot of resentment here and wanted to catch a few Mortals for Alchemy; I have no connection to the organization behind this bar!"

Liu Lian said nothing, merely pressing lightly with the tip of his sword.

He could sense that this woman's cultivation was only at the second stage of Qi Refining, and her Foundation was unstable, her spiritual power impure, indeed not appearing to be from any major School or strict organization.

She seemed more like a rogue who had stumbled upon some Legacy and then started committing evil deeds.

"No connection here?"

Liu Lian spoke.

"Then how could you so skillfully bring people into such a secluded private room?"

"I... I..." The woman trembled all over, crying out, "I've been here five or six times! Each time I could catch one or two stragglers! I've also met the person in charge here a few times, so I'm familiar with their face! Senior, everything I'm saying is true!"

Liu Lian nodded with satisfaction.

"Very good."

He retracted his long sword, but the woman dared not move an inch.

"Now, you take me to find that person in charge."

The woman froze.

"Huh?"

Liu Lian flexed his wrist, and that cynical smile reappeared on his face.

"Just tell him you got lucky today and caught a 'big fish,' with a pure Yang Physique and vigorous Qi and blood, making him excellent Materials for refining 'high-quality human elixirs,' and you specially brought him to show your respect."

The woman's mouth hung wide open, her expression one of indescribable horror.

She had originally thought that her act of catching Mortals for Alchemy was already an evil Dao.

But this young man in front of her, when he spoke the words "high-quality human elixir," didn't even bat an eye, and even had a hint of anticipation?

He... he was even more evil than her!

"What are you standing there for?" Liu Lian urged, "Don't want to go?"

"Yes! I want to go! I'll go right away!" The woman scrambled to her feet, fearing that if she was a second too slow, another hole would appear in her neck.

Liu Lian remembered something else and asked casually.

"By the way, is the woman outside with my two friends one of yours?"

"No, no!" The woman shook her head like a rattle-drum, "They are just ordinary Mortals! They saw that the two Seniors were handsome and approached them themselves!"

Liu Lian gave an "Oh" and then curiously asked one last question.

"Then why did you specifically choose me? My two friends, one looks stronger than me, and the other looks more honest than me; aren't they both more suitable 'Materials' than I am?"

This was a question purely out of curiosity.

However, the woman's answer completely froze the smile on Liu Lian's face.

He heard her say, trembling,

"Because... because Senior, you... you looked the most like a lecher, and the easiest to seduce..."

Liu Lian's face instantly darkened... At the same time, in the hotel suite across the street.

"Pfft!"

"Hahahahahahaha!"

A burst of uncontrollable laughter suddenly erupted in the room.

A dozen Kunlun Academy students gathered around a tablet, listening to the conversation in the private room through a miniature eavesdropping device.

"Le... lecher? Easiest to seduce? Hahahahaha, I can't take it anymore!"

"Liu Lian's persona is now set in stone! He'll never be able to clear his name in this life!"

"Look at his expression just now, like he swallowed a fly! So funny!"

Even the usually aloof Zhang Qiqi couldn't help but cover her mouth with her hand, her shoulders shaking.

Lin Xiao, next to her, although not laughing out loud, his constantly twitching facial muscles also revealed that he was trying his best to hold it in.

The entire room was filled with cheerful air.

Only Xie Wangsheng remained expressionless.

He raised his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet.

"Prepare to act."

He looked at Lin Xiao and several other students from the Refining System and Sword Cultivation Department.

"We'll go to the periphery of the bar, ready to provide support."

...In the bar's private room.

Liu Lian's heart was in despair.

He suppressed the urge to cleave the woman in front of him with a single sword and contacted Han Li and Fang Yuan, who were still at the downstairs booth, via Divine Thought transmission.

【It's done. You two find a way to get away and come to the back door, ready for support.】

His voice carried an undisguised hint of gritted teeth.

【Remember, don't hurt those two Mortals!】

At the booth, Han Li and Fang Yuan received the transmission almost simultaneously.

The two exchanged an expression only they understood.

Han Li cleared his throat, putting an arm around Fang Yuan's shoulder with a practiced, natural movement.

"Come on, Fang Yuan, accompany your brother to the restroom."

Fang Yuan's body noticeably stiffened for a moment, but he still bit the bullet and was pulled up by Han Li, who had his arm around his shoulder.

The short-haired woman and the long-haired woman beside them were stunned.

Watching Han Li and Fang Yuan walk intimately towards the restroom, the short-haired woman nudged her companion with her elbow.

"Hey, look at them..."

The long-haired woman's face was full of regret.

"No way? So handsome, how could they be... Sigh, what a pity, what a real pity."

Their whispers, though not loud, how could they escape Han Li and Fang Yuan's ears?

The two's footsteps almost paused simultaneously.

Their faces instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

Fang Yuan's fist quietly clenched at his side.

He swore a solemn oath in his heart.

I, Fang Yuan, will never come to a cursed place like a bar again in this life!