Chapter 38: If He Isn't Running, Why Should I?

"This is truly bizarre."

The two elders of the Liu family frowned deeply. Their cultivation levels were slightly higher than Liu Xun's, which allowed them to see the situation more clearly—and that only made it more perplexing.

Everyone had expected a fierce battle with an uncertain outcome. Instead, they witnessed another instant kill—this time across two minor realms!

"There's something wrong here," one of the elders muttered. "The Moon Embracing Sect must have other methods. Despite their poverty, they've been passed down for hundreds of thousands of years…"

They were convinced something was amiss.

Liu Xun's scalp prickled with unease. He didn't understand what had happened, but if he had been the one to suddenly freeze mid-battle, would Su Xinghai have killed him just as easily?

Most likely.

The thought sent a chill down his spine. If not for his father's stern warnings and the two elders keeping watch over him, he might have been the one lying dead on the ground.

But how had they done it?

"Have the two elders noticed anything?" Liu Xun asked.

Both shook their heads helplessly. Their lack of understanding only heightened their alarm.

In truth, no one understood—not even Su Xinghai himself. He had been prepared for a grueling fight, but his opponent had inexplicably halted mid-strike, as if offering his neck to the blade.

'Was he here to die?' Su Xinghai wondered.

For a moment, he even suspected this was a ploy—a deliberate sacrifice to justify a larger attack from the forces behind the dead cultivator. But that made no sense. If they wanted to destroy the Moon Embracing Sect, they could have done so directly. Why send a fifth-realm cultivator to die pointlessly?

Then… what was this?

Su Xinghai blinked. 'Did I scare him into freezing? Am I really that intimidating? Since when?'

The absurdity of the situation left him baffled. Others might be confused, but he was the one who'd landed the killing blow—and even he didn't know why it had been so easy.

He exchanged a glance with Wu Xingyun. Though she hadn't reached the Mystic Finger Realm, her sharp eyes had caught the oddity too. But she gave no sign of confusion. Instead, her gaze flickered subtly from side to side.

Su Xinghai understood immediately. Even if he was puzzled, he couldn't show it. Maintaining an air of invincibility was the best way to deter further attacks.

Straightening, he boomed, "Who else seeks death?!"

Silence followed. The onlookers hesitated, too unnerved to act.

…..

At the Mountain's Peak, the three elders stared at one another in shock. Chen Erzhu broke the silence. "The Supreme Elder is… tyrannical. Did he gain some profound insight during his breakthrough?"

Li Changshou frowned. "It almost seemed like the opponent wanted to die."

Duan Qingyao's expression was peculiar. "It did, but who would actively seek death?"

"Huh?!" The seven mascots' cheers died abruptly, replaced by bewilderment. With their limited cultivation, they hadn't seen the details—only the Supreme Elder's victory. But the elders' words left them utterly confused.

Xiao Ling'er said nothing, though her mind buzzed with Liang Danxia's equally stunned thoughts. Even the ancient expert was at a loss—though her remnant soul state likely contributed to her confusion.

Lin Fan, however, remained calm.

Noticing his composure, Xiao Ling'er couldn't resist asking, "Master, do you know what happened?"

Lin Fan turned to her, his face serene. "Why? Isn't it obvious? The Supreme Elder is just that powerful."

Xiao Ling'er choked back further questions. 'Even Master can't discern the truth?'

"Yes, yes! The Supreme Elder is invincible!" Fan Jianqiang chimed in cheerfully.

Lin Fan shot Fan Jianqiang an amused glance but didn't expose him. Of course he knew this was the cautious protagonist's handiwork—but these types of protagonists thrived on secrecy. Forcing them into the spotlight would only backfire.

'Teach according to the student's nature,' he reminded himself. 'If he wants to hide, let him hide.'

"The essence of the Immortal Formation…" Lin Fan mused silently. "Even a fragment is formidable. Though it only distracts the mind for a moment, that's all a master needs to decide life or death. His methods are astonishing. With so many watching, no one spotted the trick. And that sky thunder earlier—it's surely connected to him."

Lin Fan was certain. The storm itself hadn't been Fan Jianqiang's doing, but the precision strikes on hidden enemies? That was undoubtedly his work.

"Regardless," Lin Fan said aloud, reassuring the group, "things are unfolding as we hoped. If this frightens off the weaker foes, the Moon Embracing Sect will survive this crisis. After that—"

Before he could finish, chaos erupted at the mountain's base.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Thunder roared like an angry deity, bolts of lightning striking around the Moon Embracing Sect in a terrifying display. Pillars of light connected heaven and earth, followed by rising "mushroom clouds" and agonized screams.

The stench of blood and charred flesh permeated the air, undampened even by the torrential rain.

The spectacle left everyone—on the mountain and below—stunned.

Lin Fan's gaze flicked to Fan Jianqiang. 'As expected.'

At this stage, while the cautious protagonist archetype was still a seedling and Fan Jianqiang himself was developing, staying hidden was the right move.

'This trump card… is truly overpowered.'

Unlike the others' panic, Lin Fan had remained composed throughout. Why?

'If the cautious protagonist isn't running, why should I?'

His lack of flight was proof enough that the situation was manageable—for now, at least.

'I'll let him be my guiding star.'

…..

At the foot of the mountain, in the darkness of the storm, screams echoed as cultivators fled in terror.

"Damn the Moon Embracing Sect! There's something wrong with them! Retreat!!!"

Many Mystic Finger Realm experts who'd come for the promised pill now scrambled to escape. Their plan had failed—Su Xinghai had consumed the pill, and Wu Xingyun's bizarre "blood-spitting" act had shaken them.

Most importantly, the elder from Cloudmist Valley had died too strangely. And now, lightning was striking those hiding in the shadows—just like the first group that had been obliterated.

How many more bolts could they withstand?

There was only one sane choice left: Run.