Chapter Fifty-Two: You Must Die

“What?”
“Grandmother?”
As Shadowbane knelt, the entire scene fell silent, so quiet one could hear a pin drop! Everyone’s mouths hung agape, faces filled with shock.
Lu Li had slaughtered everyone from the Ye family and the Clear Breeze Stronghold present without resistance, yet now a single tiger’s roar from this young man had sent Lu Li flying. Just how terrifying was this youth!
Ye Yunlong stared at the kneeling Shadowbane, thinking inwardly, “Isn’t this young man the assassin hired by the Lu family? Why is he kneeling to Skylark? And calling her grandmother?”
Ye Yunlong had misunderstood; Shadowbane was not kneeling to Ye Skylark, but to the two young women in her arms, Ye Ruyue and Ye Ruxue.
“You… Are you calling me?” Ye Skylark asked in astonishment.
Shadowbane slowly raised his head, shook it, and gazed at the ring hanging on Ye Ruyue’s chest.
The ring now emitted a dark green radiance, enveloping Ye Ruyue, and Ye Ruxue was similarly shrouded in the same green light; the ring was engraved with the outline of a grand tower, and on the other side was the character for “moon”—the very ring Night’s Endless Horizon had once given the two girls.
Afraid of losing it, the girls had tied it securely with red string and always kept it close against their skin.
Earlier, when the girls were struck by the thousand-jin boulder, it was thanks to this ring’s protection that their lives were spared. Otherwise, their bodies at the Spirit Gathering realm would have been crushed, their organs shattered, dead on the spot. It was not simply a matter of being displaced and coughing up blood.
Shadowbane knew these secrets only because he had entered the ancestral grounds of the Shadow Sect. The Shadow Sect was founded by Blood Demon six thousand years ago, and its history was inseparable from the Moon Pavilion. Wherever there was a Moon Pavilion, there was bound to be a Shadow Sect assassin!
In the ancestral grounds, he learned that only Blood Demon’s closest wife or intimate companions could possess such a ring!
No one else could possibly hold it.
Only the Shadow Sect and Moon Pavilion—those forces under Blood Demon’s name—knew this fact. Shadowbane only realized then that their Blood Demon Ancestor was not limited to the Moon Pavilion’s public power.
How many forces lurked in the shadows, only the leaders of those organizations and the nine heads of the Moon Pavilion knew.
Otherwise, why do you think the crazed Blood Demon’s subordinate powers had not been eradicated back then? This was the reason—pull one thread and the whole web moves!
Those blessed lands, sects, and hidden forces wishing to wage war on the Moon Pavilion must consider carefully whether they could withstand the Pavilion’s wrath!
Looking at the unconscious Ye Ruyue and Ye Ruxue, Shadowbane said nothing. These secrets were not to be spoken lightly; everyone privy to them bore a restriction within their bodies—should they divulge it or be forced to reveal it through soul-capturing arts, the restriction would explode, leaving them dead and their souls scattered!
With a branch of the Moon Pavilion here and this being the Ancestor’s resting place, the girls’ identities were now clear.
If they had appeared, the Ancestor must have already awakened. Realizing this, Shadowbane felt a cold chill surge from head to toe, his back drenched in sweat.
He checked the girls’ conditions once more, confirming they were merely internally injured and temporarily unconscious, finally letting out a long breath. Had he failed to protect them, the Blood Order alone would have condemned him to eighteen hells.
Recalling that the Ancestor might be nearby in Ling City, Shadowbane shuddered—he had gotten himself into deep trouble this time!
Rising, he turned to the now-standing Lu Li, killing intent flashing in his eyes, and behind him, a sea of blood seemed to materialize, phantom-like and formidable. The murderous aura was so intense that everyone present felt their hair stand on end.
How many lives had he taken, to emanate such chilling killing intent merely by showing his intent to kill?
“You must die.”
Shadowbane’s usual mischievous grin was gone—only boundless cold indifference remained. When serious, he was like an executioner devoid of humanity.

“Lord Shadowbane, surely there’s some misunderstanding here. He’s one of our own, my son, you mustn’t harm him!” Lu Wushuang pleaded urgently.
“I now command you, as your employer, to kill all those behind you!” Lu Wushuang shouted in haste.
“Ha! Employer? Command?”
Shadowbane sneered, stepping forward, each pace deliberate, heading straight for Lu Li.
The sound of his footsteps was like the march of death, each step pounding on Lu Li’s heart.
Lu Li had never imagined this young man—who appeared even younger than himself—could be so terrifying. The tiger he summoned was so powerful that a single roar sent him flying over twenty meters, leaving him utterly powerless to retaliate!
He looked at the chain at his side, barely the size of a finger, then at the colossal tiger behind Shadowbane. The difference was like heaven and earth.
To summon such a massive, solid beast required cultivation far beyond his own Spirit Form realm.
Before the battle even began, Lu Li felt fear, losing all will to fight.
He cried out, “Master, save me!”
“Hmph! Useless!” came the elderly voice from the airship above.
Boom!
A figure landed, the ground shattering with a thunderous crash, cracks spreading like spider webs over ten meters! The elder wore a purple robe, his face aged, eyes sharp as an eagle’s, hooked nose—his appearance marked him as no good man.
“At last you descend! Are you here to stop me?” Shadowbane said coldly.
“This is my recently accepted disciple, of great talent and extraordinary potential. He must not perish here! Might you give this old man some face, let this matter rest? We will withdraw and no longer interfere here. Would that suffice?” The elder gazed at Shadowbane with cordial politeness.
“Master, no!”
Lu Li, standing behind his master, heard that his master intended to abandon his father and others and take him away, and cried out in distress. Lu Wushuang was his own father, how could he leave his parents behind?
To be a son is to care for one’s parents, to be human is to cherish kin. If he were willing to abandon his parents for safety and pursue immortality, he would not have rushed back upon receiving the family’s call for help, even before consolidating his realm!
“Silence!” the elder commanded sternly.
He had his own considerations—his vitality was long spent, sustained only by his cultivation, enough for perhaps ten years if he avoided combat. If he fought now, his depleted energy would be further drained, shortening his lifespan!
If he unleashed all his power, it might be his last battle. That would not be worth it; he still wished to pass on his teachings before seeking his breakthrough. If he lost his lifespan here, how could he pursue the opportunity for advancement?
“Face? He harmed my grandmother—never mind you, even your ancestors couldn’t protect him!” Shadowbane’s face darkened. Had his cultivation not been sealed by his sect elders, he would have acted already.
Hearing this, the elder’s expression turned grim.
“Do you truly believe this old body is useless, unable or unwilling to fight?”
Boom!
As the elder spoke, a muffled thunder emanated from him, like rolling heavenly thunder, fierce and explosive. The ground was lifted in a hundred-meter wave of dust, his aura overwhelming, as if a celestial descended!
Golden light radiated from him, divine power flowing, sacred patterns appearing, so bright it was dazzling! The earth trembled violently.

The aura erupted, and those nearby shuddered! All felt a powerful pressure seize their hearts, their blood seeping from nose and mouth. Legs quivered uncontrollably, barely able to stand, gasping for breath, terror in their eyes!
“Is… Is this an immortal? How terrifying!”
Such thoughts arose in the minds of the onlookers.
“Hmph, nothing more!”
Shadowbane saw the elder release his aura and replied calmly, unhurried and unperturbed.
Roar!
A mighty tiger’s roar lifted another hundred meters of dust!
A tiger even larger than the last materialized in the arena!
Then a second, a third, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth…
Each tiger was more colossal than the last, appearing one after another on the Lu family’s plaza—nine in total, the largest towering over sixty meters. Shadowbane stood atop its massive head, surrounded by eight equally gigantic tigers!
Formidable beyond measure!
The vast plaza of the Lu family now seemed insignificant before the nine enormous tigers!
The crowd, witnessing such divine displays, quickly retreated from the plaza.
None wished to be caught in the crossfire; in their minds, these two were akin to immortals, and when immortals fought, ordinary folk could only flee as far as possible.
The estates of the three families were built on the outskirts of Ling City, not within the city itself, occupying wide lands, so there was no worry about harming civilians.
Everyone present swiftly withdrew from the Lu family’s plaza.
Outside lay a vast meadow, surrounded by expansive forests and trees.
Lu Wushuang stared in terror at the massive tigers, dozens of meters tall, in his family’s grounds, his heart aching—his home was about to be destroyed!
“Li’er, can your master defeat that immortal?” Lu Wushuang asked his son in fright.
“Hmph!” Lu Li snorted coldly, “How can a mere Spirit Form realm be called an immortal? Don’t worry, Father! My master is a Golden Core cultivator; it won’t be long before that young man is smashed to a pulp!” Lu Li spoke proudly, full of confidence in his master.
“Empty bluff!” the elder shouted at the youth standing atop the sixty-meter tiger’s head.
Roar!
Seeing that his grandmother and the others had retreated, Shadowbane held nothing back. The tiger unleashed a furious roar, its power more than ten times what it had been before!