Wei Liuping was dead.
The entire fourth floor of the Fallen Goose Tower was plunged into a deathly silence.
As Ling Fan’s gaze swept over them, Jiang Yong, Song Yuhang, Li Chenyang, and the others could no longer bear the terrifying pressure.
With a *snap*, the group immediately knelt straight before Ling Fan.
"Ling... Young Master Ling, we were blind and failed to recognize your eminence. We spoke disrespectfully to you. We implore you to show mercy and not hold it against us!"
"Yes, Young Master Ling, we know we were wrong! We deserve to die, we are scoundrels. Young Master Ling, you are magnanimous; please dismiss us like a passing fart."
"It was Wei Liuping who made you kneel. We truly didn't want to force you. It was a joke. We could tell at a glance that you are a dragon among men, an extraordinary and transcendent figure. Who could possibly be worthy of your kneeling?"
"This... could you ask Miss Pei to sheathe her sword? You're scaring me to death..."
The group bowed their heads with the fervor of pounding garlic.
They were terrified that if Ling Fan was displeased, Pei Nanwei would slaughter them too.
"Scram."
Ling Fan spoke indifferently.
Jiang Yong and the others immediately felt as if they had been granted a great amnesty, scrambling and crawling their way out of the Fallen Goose Tower.
...
"You..."
Jin Yuyao's beautiful eyes were filled with a complex expression.
She looked at Ling Fan, wanting to speak but hesitating.
Ling Fan knew what she wanted to ask.
Ling Fan said, "You want to ask if I was the one who slew the snake and saved you?"
Jin Yuyao nodded.
Ling Fan smiled faintly and said, "Don't you already have the answer in your heart? Why ask again?"
Hearing Ling Fan's words, Jin Yuyao seemed to have come to a realization and smiled with relief.
"Miss Pei, with such astonishing sword dao attainments, still bows her head in submission to you and willingly serves as your mere sword attendant. I truly cannot imagine how terrifying your true strength is."
"I surmise that the one who slew the Golden Scaled Horned Serpent King that day must have been you."
"Thank you."
Jin Yuyao let out a long breath and said to Ling Fan earnestly.
"No need to thank me."
"When I slew that great serpent before, it was purely for my cultivation. Saving you was merely incidental."
"Moreover, you were willing to gamble your chastity to fight for me just now, so you owe me nothing. On the contrary, I am the one who owes you a favor."
"I, Ling, always repay kindness with kindness and vengeance with vengeance. How about this: you wish to enter a hidden sect for cultivation, right? I promise you can join any sect you wish."
Jin Yuyao was somewhat disbelieving.
She said, "Although I know you are definitely very powerful, your words sound a bit like bragging! The hidden sects above the Flowing Cloud Kingdom are all behemoths. How could they yield to your will?"
Ling Fan smiled faintly, neither confirming nor denying.
Pei Nanwei, however, said coldly, "How dare you question my master's words? If you knew my master's divine abilities, you wouldn't speak such ignorant words."
Jin Yuyao stuck out her tongue.
She was somewhat afraid of this cold and beautiful girl who killed at the slightest provocation.
However, her face still showed a half-believing expression.
"Then I'll take your word for it. You must remember what you said. If you stand me up, I'll..."
Jin Yuyao stammered.
After thinking hard, it seemed she had nothing to hold over Ling Fan.
She was somewhat annoyed and finally said, "Then I'll cry for you to see!"
...
Leaving the Fallen Goose Tower, Jin Yuyao quickly returned to the inn where she was staying.
Impatiently, she barged into the secluded courtyard where Ling Fan had previously resided.
Upon entering, she saw the place where a rockery had once stood...
It was now empty.
Only a pile of powder remained.
Jin Yuyao was lost in thought for a long time.
Finally, she let out a long sigh...
...
On a street in the royal city, Jiang Yong, Song Yuhang, Li Chenyang, and the others walked for more than ten streets. Only when they were far from the Fallen Goose Tower did they stop, their hearts still filled with lingering fear.
"Damn it!"
"Today, I must have run into a ghost, had the worst luck in eight lifetimes! I thought by sacrificing Jin Yuyao, I could completely latch onto Wei Liuping's coattails. Who knew that such a formidable young master as Wei Liuping would be killed!"
"To this day, I still can't figure out how that trash managed to subdue Pei Nanwei."
"Me neither, it's too absurd."
"Could it be that Pei Nanwei took a liking to that kid? That shouldn't be the case. That kid isn't some pretty boy, and his strength is mediocre. Where would he have such great charm?"
"Could it be that Pei Nanwei lost in her clash of intangible sword intent with that kid?"
"Impossible, right..."
"Hmph, what a 'foolish sword,' I say it's a 'stupid sword.' Although Pei Nanwei is powerful, she's all chest and no brain, her mind isn't sharp!"
The group was extremely frustrated.
After much discussion, they couldn't reach any conclusion.
"This matter is of great importance. Let's not waste any more time here. We should hurry to the Wei family to report this. I hope the Wei family won't hold us accountable for Young Master Wei's death, or we'll be in dire straits."
"Right, Wei Liuping is dead, and the Wei family will never let this go!"
...
As night fell, the lanterns were lit.
Ling Fan asked Pei Nanwei to find any inn to stay.
He did not have Pei Nanwei accompany him, but instead, he disappeared alone into the vast night.
On top of a tall building, Ling Fan stood in the night wind.
As his divine sense grew stronger, the abilities of his Heavenly Demon Eyes also became more potent.
With his Heavenly Demon Eyes activated, the entire royal city was almost within his sight.
Ling Fan scanned the surroundings with his Heavenly Demon Eyes.
In several locations, Ling Fan sensed extremely powerful existences.
These places should be the Wei family, Pei family, Qiu family, and the Flowing Cloud Royal Palace.
Those powerful beings were almost all at the peak of the Heavenly Yuan realm, or even stronger.
There were even a few quasi-Giant Spirit realm, and even stronger powerful auras.
In Ling Fan's Heavenly Demon Eyes' field of vision, they appeared as massive shadows of Heavenly Yuan energy, occupying their respective territories.
However, these were not the targets Ling Fan wished to investigate.
Ling Fan cast his gaze towards the deepest part of the royal city.
Behind the royal palace.
In the sight of ordinary people, there was nothing there.
But in Ling Fan's Heavenly Demon Eyes' vision, there existed a colossal gateway that seemed to pierce the heavens.
Through the gate, Ling Fan could faintly sense an extremely powerful small world.
Judging by the concentration of spiritual energy within, there were likely beings above the Giant Spirit realm.
Soon, Ling Fan's figure appeared beneath that colossal gateway.
The several Heavenly Yuan realm experts of the Flowing Cloud Royal Palace guarding the surroundings were completely unaware of this.
Ling Fan's hand touched the gateway.
Immediately, a terrifyingly immense force rebounded. This rebounding force was enough to annihilate a top-tier Grandmaster!
It seemed as if it intended to obliterate the ant who dared to desecrate the gate to the hidden world.
Ling Fan let out a cold snort. With a grasp of his five fingers, his formidable physical strength erupted, scattering the rebounding force.
However, although the rebounding force was dispersed, the gateway remained completely undamaged.
One must consider that with Ling Fan's current terrifying physique, having entered the Nirvana Tribulation Body, he could crush even a low-grade Profound tier spiritual artifact with his bare hands.
The power of this gateway exceeded Ling Fan's expectations.
It was at least formed from a mid-grade, or even a high-grade Profound tier spiritual artifact.
"To tear open this gateway with my bare hands, I estimate I'll need my Nirvana Tribulation Body to approach minor completion... Otherwise, I'll have to pay some other price to forcefully enter behind this gateway."
Ling Fan calculated silently.
At this moment, behind this colossal gateway, two terrifyingly powerful existences suddenly opened their eyes.