84: You kill me, I protect you.

“How about it? Seeing the predicament your lover is in now, do you feel heartbroken? Do you hate me so much that you want to tear me into ten thousand pieces right away? Hahahaha!”

Shen Lian swept his Folding Fan, directly dispersing the Qi wave bursting from Nangong Li's body.

“This is the Son of Destiny that you bitches protected so carefully, the Junior Brother you held in the palm of your hand for fear of dropping. Now that he looks like this, what wonderful thoughts do you have? Hahaha.”

“Shen Lian!”

Nangong Li's body trembled uncontrollably.

She wasn't heartbroken over Ye Fan's suffering; she simply couldn't believe Shen Lian dared to harm the person she intended to protect.

In truth, Nangong Li and the others knew Ye Fan's true capabilities very well, and there was no nonsense about being influenced by Luck.

It was purely a tool to make Shen Lian suffer and, incidentally, to use Ye Fan to control Shen Lian for their own benefit.

But now, the scene displayed in the Memory Stone made Nangong Li realize the truth.

That simp, who was completely obedient and only revolved around their seven sisters, had completely broken free from their control.

Even though this was already a fact, she still couldn't tolerate such a massive change in status.

“Shen Lian! Release Junior Brother Ye immediately! Then apologize and heal his injuries, do you hear me!”

“Harridan! Who do you think you are? You still dare to speak to me in that tone at a time like this? Showing you the content inside was just to tell you this:

“Your seven white-eyed wolves will also fall to a state even more miserable than his, just like when you first entered the Heavenly Feather Sect, humble and contemptible as ants,

That is your true destiny!”

Shen Lian's words instantly caused Nangong Li's mind to explode.

Back then, their seven sisters were found by Old Ancestor Tianyu from various slums. Judging by their origins, even among Mortals, they were untouchable, as lowly as the lowest caste in A'san Country.

Nangong Li thought she had long forgotten the sealed memories from hundreds of years ago, but now, recalling them made her tremble uncontrollably.

Even the name Nangong Li had been given to her by Old Ancestor Tianyu.

“No, that can't happen. I am the inheritor of the Sword Emperor's mantle and the Sect Master of the Chess Sword Pavilion. How could I return to those days? Impossible. I must not let him disturb my mind.”

Just as Nangong Li was trying to calm her state of mind, Lord Youyang couldn't hold back any longer and asked Shen Lian: “I ask you, did you kill Elder Xuanyuan and this Sect’s Master’s Personal Disciple, Chu Cangfeng?”

Shen Lian turned his gaze toward Lord Youyang: “I don’t know who the ant you speak of is, but I do recall killing two pieces of trash yesterday, one old and one young, who didn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth. Do you want revenge for them?”

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire hall was shocked.

Only then did Nangong Li react: “Shen Lian, you killed Hidden Edge? That was my Personal Disciple!”

Shen Lian curled his lip: “Then I truly feel an unprecedented joy! The trash I killed turned out to be your Personal Disciple. It's a pity he was utterly useless,

He was so trash that he couldn't even withstand a soft roar from me before his body exploded. I really don't know how a bitch like you teaches Disciples.

Sure enough, a Disciple raised by trash is also trash and unable to withstand a single blow. I'm not surprised at all.”

“Shen Lian!”

Hearing this, Nangong Li lost all reason, instantly manifesting an Earth Grade Spirit Sword and thrusting it toward him.

“Pay with your life for my Disciple!”

“Pay with my life?”

Shen Lian closed the Folding Fan in his hand. Instead of retreating, he advanced, striking Su Mengyao's back with his palm.

“With just you? What do you have to take my life!”

Boom—

Sword Qi and palm force overlapped, causing repeated booming explosions.

Nangong Li held her sword across her chest and retreated several steps, looking at Su Mengyao before her with surprise in her eyes.

At this moment, Sword Qi pervaded Su Mengyao's entire body, and a vast Emperor Qi circulated throughout her, subtly causing the surrounding Disciples to feel an urge to worship her.

“This is...”

“Nangong Li, I call you trash, yet you still don't realize it,

You didn't take in Su Mengyao, who possesses the Supreme Sword Bone, but instead took in someone like Lu Qingyi, a whore from a brothel,

However, this is expected. Your level of stupidity has always been remarkably stable—so stable that it shocks me to the core,

Since you don't want this Disciple, then I, Shen Lian, will reluctantly take her in.”

After Shen Lian finished speaking, he clapped his hands and pulled, intending to drag Su Mengyao behind him.

“Let go of her!”

Upon learning that Su Mengyao possessed the Supreme Sword Bone, Nangong Li's eyes instantly turned red. She had to keep her, no matter what.

“Shen Lian, Su Mengyao is a Disciple of my Chess Sword Pavilion. What right do you have to take her away?”

“Your Disciple? Su Mengyao has already acknowledged me as her master. Do you think I have the right?”

“What? It was you!”

Upon hearing that Su Mengyao's new master was Shen Lian, Nangong Li's expression began to turn frantic.

“You dare to fight me for her?”

She thrust her sword out; the Sword Qi clashed and hummed, causing people's eardrums to ache.

“From now on, the person you want to kill, I will protect; the thing you want, I will snatch. Come on, come on,

Vent your incapable rage to your heart’s content! Use your harridan nature to display the unwillingness of trash before their demise! Hahaha!”

Facing the fierce, approaching Sword Qi, Shen Lian didn't hesitate at all. He lifted Su Mengyao and held her in front of him as a shield.

“Damn him!”

Nangong Li hurriedly dispersed the Sword Qi.

She had wanted to kill Su Mengyao earlier because the girl's stubborn attitude greatly displeased her.

But now that she knew Su Mengyao possessed the Supreme Sword Bone, Nangong Li dared not let anything happen to her.

She planned to cultivate Su Mengyao properly, and once Su Mengyao's Supreme Sword Bone reached Awakening, she would dig it out and use it for Fusion with her own Innate Sword Bone.

At that time, wouldn't her cultivation advance by leaps and bounds? Breaking through to the Immortal Realm would be no problem at all.

“Shen Lian, don’t you think it’s despicable to use a young girl as a shield?”

“Compared to a white-eyed wolf like you, I am practically a Saintly role model that the world looks up to! The entire Primordial Continent should kneel and sing hymns for me!”

After speaking, Shen Lian grabbed Su Mengyao’s shoulder: “Su Mengyao, starting now, I will make an exception and accept you as my Disciple. Are you willing to sever all ties with everyone in the Chess Sword Pavilion?”

Su Mengyao was so shaken by the pressure of the two great Cultivators in the hall that she couldn't utter a word, but when she met Shen Lian's gaze, she nodded vigorously.

“Su Mengyao!”

This scene caused Nangong Li to completely lose it.

“Don’t forget, you are a Disciple of my Chess Sword Pavilion! How can you take another as your master! This is defying your master and destroying your ancestors!”

“Hahaha, then all I can say is that your Chess Sword Pavilion is a complete failure. The grace of ten years of tutelage,

can't even compare to the persuasion of an outsider! What does it matter if she defies her master and destroys her ancestors? Who dares touch the person I, Shen Lian, protect!”

“Shen Lian! Put Su Mengyao down immediately!”

“Hand over the crouching dragon marrow first!”

Nangong Li was trembling with rage.

Just then, Lord Youyang spoke: “All Disciples heed my order! Take down Shen Lian, regardless of life or death!”

The moment he spoke, several Elders, centered around Lin Yang, simultaneously attacked Shen Lian.

“Lord Youyang, what are you doing!” Nangong Li shouted furiously. “Su Mengyao is still in his hands.”

“Sect Master!” Lord Youyang shouted. “The Chess Sword Pavilion has never been trespassed upon by an outside enemy for thousands of years. Now, Shen Lian is so arrogant. If we let him leave, the reputation of the Chess Sword Pavilion in the Southern Region will surely be damaged.”

“But...”

“This Lord knows what the Sect Master is worried about. Su Mengyao possessing the Supreme Sword Bone is indeed rare, but compared to the Sect’s reputation, it is more important to eliminate a person who poses a tremendous threat to the Sect right now.”

Nangong Li remained silent for a long moment. Just as she was about to give the order... “Ah—”

A shrill scream rang out.

Lord Youyang and Nangong Li simultaneously looked in the direction of the sound.

That single glance left both of them dumbfounded.

They saw that the area around Shen Lian was densely covered with corpses, and his left hand was clutching Lin Yang’s neck.

“Old trash, you can’t even manage a sneak attack. What use are you?”

“I...”

“Hmph!”

Boom~

With a cold snort, Lin Yang's body was instantly torn apart after a baptism of golden lightning, leaving only a complete head that rolled to the feet of Nangong Li and Lord Youyang.

“Elder Lin...”

Looking at Lin Yang's extremely painful and ferocious face right before death, Lord Youyang was momentarily stunned.

“Aaaahhh—”

Another wave of screams came from inside the hall. Nearly a hundred Outer Sect Disciples who approached within ten meters of Shen Lian had their bodies instantly shattered by his protective Qi force.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, six hundred Disciples and five Tribulation Crossing Realm Elders had all died by Shen Lian’s hand.

“Hahaha, come on, come on! It’s not exciting enough, not satisfying enough! Come on!”

In Nangong Li’s eyes, Shen Lian’s demeanor was now filled with madness, no longer possessing the meek humility of years past.