Chapter 14: We Are Not Suitable

"Let's go together, whether it's beasts of Martial Arts Ninth Level or the True Martial Realm, I'll go with you," Tiehai Tang said with a smile.

Lin Bai stood in silent thought for a while, then said, "Tang, I appreciate your sentiment, but unfortunately, we...are not compatible."

Thump.

Upon hearing that, Tiehai Tang paled, as if she had been struck by lightning.

"My path doesn't lie in the Qingling Mountains but somewhere far beyond," Lin Bai declared.

"No matter how far, even to the end of the earth, I'm willing to accompany you," stuttered Tiehai Tang.

"There's no need," responded Lin Bai, sounding resolute.

A clear tear trickled down Tiehai Tang's cheek. "I hate you, Lin Bai, I hate you!"

With tears streaming down her face, Tiehai Tang ran out of the Life and Death Cave.

"Sigh."

Lin Bai let out a sigh, checked the map and set up the route to his next target, then left the Life and Death Cave.

On exiting the Demon Slaying Alliance, he passed a clear babbling brook, teeming with playful little fish.

A man draped in black robes, his black hair billowing in the wind, stood by the bank of the river, looking exceptionally heroic.

Lin Bai walked up to him, as cool as ever.

"Don't you think you're being too ruthless?" The man in the black robe turned out to be the Alliance Leader of the Demon Slaying Alliance, Tie Feng.

"Failure to make a clean break will only cause confusion. Knowing our relationship is impossible, why should we keep entangling ourselves?" mumbled Lin Bai.

"But your actions have hurt her," grumbled Tie Feng.

"Time will erase all pain. In seven days, I'm leaving the Demon Slaying Alliance. By then, she won't see me anymore and the pain will lessen," Lin Bai explained.

"Leave? Weren't you waiting to break into the Martial Arts Ninth Level before you leave? You're currently at the Martial Arts Eighth Level, do you think you can break through to the ninth level in seven days?" Tie Feng asked, puzzled.

"Whether or not I breakthrough to the Martial Arts Ninth Level, I must return," Lin Bai stated.

Over the past fortnight, Lin Bai had been fervently hunting down demon beasts, propelling his martial art cultivation to the Martial Arts Eighth Level.

He'd been away for almost two months now, and the day for the martial arts competition set by his arrangement with Lin Zi'er was fast approaching.

Lin Bai had to return, to defeat Lin Zi'er, washing away all the humiliations he had suffered before those who had laughed at him.

"I'll leave first. The next part of my journey is a bit long."

With these words, Lin Bai turned on his heel and walked away along the stream.

"Hmm." Tie Feng let out a sigh, went back to the alliance, and noticed Tiehai Tang leaning against the door at Cave Mansion, which she'd locked tightly. He could faintly hear her crying.

...….

Night fell.

In the forests to the east of the Demon Slaying Alliance, six to seven hundred people sneaked in prudently.

Shortly, there was a man who rushed out from the Demon Slaying Alliance and quickly assembled with these people.

"Qi Sheng, has Lin Bai returned yet?" questioned Qin Xiangtian.

This crowd consisted of the warriors from the Qingtian Alliance.

This time, the entire warrior force of Qingtian Alliance had assembled, determined to obliterate the Demon Slaying Alliance and Lin Bai.

Qi Sheng had been embedded deeply within the Demon Slaying Alliance as a spy by Qingtian Alliance.

Qi Sheng responded, "He did return this afternoon, but he went out again. I don't know if he was hunting demon beasts or if he found out something and fled."

Qin Xiangtian clenched his fists in anger. "Damn it, he escaped again. If he has indeed escaped, we will have no other choice but to extract his origins from Tiehai Tang and Tie Feng."

"Keep your eyes on the target, follow me into the Demon Slaying Alliance!" Qin Xiangtian bellowed.

Whoosh——

The forest lit up with more torches than there were stars in the night sky.

With torches in hand, warriors from the Qingtian Alliance started to invade the Demon Slaying Alliance.

The warriors of the Demon Slaying Alliance, who were still asleep, got caught off guard by this sudden onslaught from the Qingtian Alliance.

"Kill!"

"Slaughter these dogs of the Demon Slaying Alliance!"

"Spare none, kill them all!"

A fierce battle began to unfold in the canyon of the Demon Slaying Alliance.

Soon, the canyon was drenched in blood.

Half an hour later, the battle ended. The Demon Slaying Alliance became ruins, hundreds of warriors lay dead on the ground.

Lishu Sheng caught hold of both Tie Feng and Tiehai Tang.

"Tie Feng, long time no see!" Qin Xiangtian sneered triumphantly.

Tie Feng cracked a smile and said, "If it weren't for that bastard Qi Sheng drugging me with Free and Unfettered Powder, you couldn't have invaded the Demon Slaying Alliance so easily."

"Qi Sheng, I knew of your wicked intentions all along, yet I kept sparing your life in the hope that everyone finds their own path. Alas, I was wrong," Tie Feng exclaimed, filled with regret.

Qi Sheng let out a scornful laugh, "Old man, if the alliance leader Qin hadn't ordered me to lie low, I would have killed all of you by now."

"Enough with the nonsense. Tiehai Tang, tell me, where is the murderer, Lin Bai, who killed my son?" Qin Xiangtian asked menacingly.

"Lin Bai? Hehe, he has left," Tiehai Tang chuckled grimly.

"Left? Where?" Qin Xiangtian asked hurriedly.

"I don't know," Tiehai Tang shook her head.

"You don't know, huh? I believe you guys are just refusing to drink a toast and forcing us to drink a penalty. Someone, beat her up!" Qin Xiangtian commanded, roaring with rage.

While speaking, three to five warriors had just surrounded them.

"Stop! Qin Xiangtian, you idiot, if they get killed, how are we supposed to track the murderer of our son?" A woman's voice echoed from the crowd.

This woman was Zhao Rong, the wife of Qin Xiangtian.

Zhao Rong coldly remarked, "If you refuse to talk, I'll throw you into Leize to endure the pain of the Heavenly Thunder. We'll see if you'll talk then!"

"Qin Xiangtian, send someone to clean up the Demon Slaying Alliance and lay an ambush. If Lin Bai comes back, capture him immediately!"

"If you can't even handle these tasks, how did I end up marrying such a loser like you!" Zhao Rong spat out angrily.

"Yes, yes, yes. You are right, Rong'er. Immediately proceed according to what the matriarch instructed," Qin Xiangtian complied with Zhao Rong completely.

"Yes."

The warriors from Qingtian Alliance immediately set things in motion, restoring the Demon Slaying Alliance to its original state.

"Stop fooling yourselves. Lin Bai has left. He will never come back. By doing this, you are achieving nothing." Tiehai Tang yelled in fury.

"The grudge you hold against your son Qin Xiang, it was me who killed him. Whatever hatred you hold, seek revenge upon me, Tiehai Tang!"

"This matter has nothing to do with Lin Bai!" Tiehai Tang declared fiercely.

Zhao Rong sneered, "You? You can't shoulder the blame for such a huge crime. Go with me to Leize."

Zhao Rong seized Tiehai Tang and bolted toward Leize.