The First Summoner - Chapter 42

Elder Yu fell.

The instant he died, a powerful burst of mental power shot toward Shen Yan.

It was trying to leave a mental imprint on her.

She sensed it and dodged.

The imprint was too fast.

Shen Yan had no choice but to meet it with her own mental power.

Even during the apocalypse, her mental power had been exceptionally strong. Otherwise, she could never have expanded her spatial domain to its current size.

Hum—

The two invisible forces collided.

The impact tore through Shen Yan’s sea of consciousness.

She knitted her brows against the pain.

Bang!

She completely erased the incoming imprint.

More blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.

…

At the same time, inside the Qiutian Sect, Outer Elder Yu’s life tablet shattered.

Even the mental imprint he had prepared in advance failed to mark his killer.

Fortunately, the sect received the final image he had seen before his death.

It showed only a dozen badly wounded youths, including several outer disciples of the Qiutian Sect.

What had happened?

The sect immediately sent word to the disciples who had accompanied Elder Yu. It also dispatched people to Lingyan Forest to investigate the truth.

…

After killing Elder Yu, Shen Yan swept a cold gaze across the survivors.

Every question died in their throats.

She turned to leave this dangerous place.

The Soul-Severing Spirit Vine blocked her path.

It was grievously wounded and had exhausted too much of its strength.

It could not stop her.

Shen Yan raised her eyes.

“You want to die? I’ll oblige.”

Flames engulfed the Crimson Flame Dagger.

The blade radiated such scorching heat that fear stirred within the vine.

It glared at Shen Yan resentfully.

Then it tore its roots from the earth and ran.

Shen Yan, already prepared for battle, fell silent.

Before leaving, she glanced at the unconscious Nangong Yu.

She was about to finish him when dozens of powerful auras began approaching at great speed.

Her eyes darkened.

Nangong Yu had seen her.

If she allowed him to wake, he would reveal her identity.

Shen Yan did not hesitate.

She rushed to him and drove the dagger into his heart.

To make certain he could never survive, she pulled the blade free and cut open the artery in his neck.

The pain woke Nangong Yu.

Agony twisted his face. He stared at her in shock but could not force out a single word.

“This is what you owed her.”

The quiet sentence carried merciless killing intent.

Nangong Yu’s pupils contracted.

Disbelief lingered in his eyes as his final breath left him.

He died without ever closing them.

The surviving contestants witnessed everything.

They watched Shen Yan like startled birds, terrified she might walk over and kill them too.

She turned at once and fled deeper into Lingyan Forest.

As she ran, she changed directions repeatedly.

The survivors finally released the breaths they had been holding.

Not long after her departure, dozens of figures arrived.

Among them were the three Qiutian Sect disciples who had remained outside Lingyan Forest and the leaders of the nine kingdoms’ major powers.

They stopped in shock at the carnage before them.

“Yu’er!”

Nangong Tingchen saw his son lying dead in a pool of blood, eyes still wide open.

He roared and threw himself beside the corpse.

Nangong Yu’s body remained warm.

He had died only moments ago.

Nangong Tingchen’s eyes turned bloodshot.

“Who? Who killed my son?”

Other factions discovered their own disciples and juniors among the corpses.

Grief spread through the crowd.

The people from Chifeng Kingdom hurried to Zhuge Weiran and fed their Seventh Prince a second-grade healing pill.

His body was covered in blood, his injuries grave.

They were deeply worried.

Fortunately, they had brought a physician to observe the competition.

The entire scene descended into chaos.

The three Qiutian Sect disciples saw Elder Yu’s corpse and were horrified.

They hurried to his side, then turned angrily toward the surviving sect disciples.

“What happened? Why is Elder Yu dead? Where is his killer?”

The wounded disciples found it difficult to answer.

They could hardly admit that Elder Yu had nearly murdered them.

If the truth spread, the Qiutian Sect’s reputation would be ruined.

They exchanged covert glances.

For the sake of the sect’s name, they betrayed the masked girl who had saved their lives without hesitation.

“There is no time to explain. Pursue the killer! She wore a mask and purple clothes. She fled in that direction.”

The three disciples rose.

They did not charge after her alone.

Instead, they turned to the leaders of the nine kingdoms and issued a lofty command.

“Elder Yu has been murdered here in Lingyan Forest, within the Nine-Soul Region. Every one of you must assist the Qiutian Sect in finding his killer!”

The gathered leaders did not show anger.

They responded with fearful obedience.

They all knew the Qiutian Sect’s standing in the Pingze Western Region.

Their kingdoms and factions were insignificant by comparison. If they angered the sect, it could erase them with ease.

“Of course. We will do everything in our power to help.”

The three Qiutian Sect disciples led the nine kingdoms’ experts deeper into Lingyan Forest.

Shen Yan fled as far to the left as possible.

When no one remained in sight, she removed the mask and returned it to her spatial domain.

No matter how fast she ran, she could not outrun experts with spiritual power.

Several powerful auras were already closing in behind her.

She held her breath and entered the spatial domain.

The instant she appeared inside, the blood she had suppressed in her throat surged out.

She bent forward and spat a mouthful onto the ground.

Feng Xingyao reclined against the couch.

His bewitching eyes lifted toward her, and he gave a soft laugh.

“Would you like my help?”

Shen Yan wiped the blood from her lips and met his gaze sharply.

“What do you want?”

“The Blood-Devouring Pearl—”

“Impossible.”

She cut him off coldly.

“I can resolve this situation myself. I don’t need your help.”

Feng Xingyao rose.

Every movement carried aloof, aristocratic pride.

When he smiled, his beauty became almost demonic, enough to steal the soul.

He approached Shen Yan and lowered his voice.

“Relax. I won’t ask for the Blood-Devouring Pearl until after I remove the poisonous seal from your Core Spirit Bone.”

His smile deepened.

“It won’t delay your path to cultivation.”