Chapter 77: The Ancient Cypress Splits

"Jian Sha, Ding Huan is my college classmate and one of the three mentors at Yujiang University whose students made it into the Top Ten Academies of Blue Star."

Luo Xuanwei was now no longer certain; rumors everywhere claimed Ding Huan was the true mentor behind Fang Chong, Lü Zi, and Li Wanran.

She had always doubted it, but now that Ding Huan himself denied it, she felt the rumors must be false.

She knew Ding Huan too well—except for the past half year, he had barely left her sight; how could he have suddenly become so powerful?

What puzzled her even more was, if Ding Huan was truly just a bystander, why was the Gene Alliance hunting him? And why hadn't they caught him yet?

Regardless, today she must have a proper talk with Ding Huan.

"I'm Qiao Jiansha; Qiao Yi is my cousin," said the tall man as he stepped before Ding Huan, his tone arrogant.

He didn't need Luo Xuanwei to introduce him—he already knew who Ding Huan was.

Ding Huan didn't even bother to look at the guy and turned to walk away.

He had heard from Liu Aimei that the Qiao family had been searching for him for a while at Yujiang University.

He had previously refused to meet anyone from the Qiao family; if they still refused to be reasonable now, he'd simply send a wind blade their way.

Ding Huan figured this guy had his eyes on his forehead—he'd definitely come after him, and when he did, Ding Huan would cut him down with a wind blade.

At a time like this, if he killed Qiao Jiansha, what could the Qiao family do to him?

To Ding Huan's surprise, the guy didn't chase after him.

Qiao Jiansha indeed didn't pursue Ding Huan—he immediately pulled out his phone and called back to seek instructions.

The Qiao family had been searching for Ding Huan for over half a year; now that they'd found him, he'd calmed down. Why was Ding Huan appearing so openly here?

The message from the phone plunged Qiao Jiansha into icy dread.

Ding Huan's three students had just made a huge splash on the Human Corridor Frontline.

Several of them were Level Four Gene Cultivators, three of whom had earned the International Star Guard Rank on the Human Corridor Frontline, one of them even a Two-Star Guard.

This was absolutely not a family the Qiao clan could afford to offend.

Seeing that Qiao Jiansha didn't come over to cause trouble, Ding Huan also had no interest in wasting words with him.

"Ding Huan, you've changed a lot. Are you free today? Let's have dinner together?"

What puzzled Ding Huan was: having attached herself to Qiao Jiansha, why was Luo Xuanwei still bold enough to invite him to dinner?

"Did you take my Fu Mei's things and think you could get away with it?" A voice thick with murderous intent rang out, and two women and one man instantly appeared before them.

Ding Huan's eyes widened in shock at the woman approaching.

Fu Mei—she was the daughter of his former housekeeper.

This woman sold his house, bought a damaged gene serum, and became a gene adept.

He hadn't expected that in this life, after reclaiming his house, her cultivation had grown even higher.

She was clearly a Level Two Gene Cultivator, her entire body radiating intense fire affinity—had she fused a fire-element gene serum?

Oh right—he remembered Luo Xuanwei was the one this woman had killed.

Could it be today?

Ding Huan's gaze fell on the two people beside Fu Mei—both were Level Two Gene Cultivators. Clearly, Fu Mei had joined the Gene Alliance; these two were from the Alliance.

"You? Ding Xiaotu?" Fu Mei saw Ding Huan, and the murderous intent in her eyes could no longer be contained.

The person she hated most wasn't Luo Xuanwei—it was Ding Xiaotu. She hadn't expected to find Luo Xuanwei today and instead encounter Ding Xiaotu—what a stroke of luck.

Ding Huan was puzzled: shouldn't he be famous enough by now? Didn't this woman know he'd changed his name to Ding Huan?

Even though Ding Huan ignored Fu Mei, she still said, "Good."

Then she turned to Luo Xuanwei. "Prepare my things. I'll make you understand slowly—what I, Fu Mei, own is not so easily taken."

Luo Xuanwei instinctively stepped back several paces, hiding behind Qiao Jiansha.

Fu Mei paid no attention to Luo Xuanwei—perhaps knowing she couldn't escape—she walked up to Ding Huan.

"Do you know how much I've wanted you dead? I was even planning to find you, but heaven helped me—delivering this little beast right to my feet."

"You dared sell my house and have me thrown out like a dog? Hah…"

"Spit it out if you've got anything to say," Ding Huan said, too lazy to waste words on Fu Mei.

Was this woman's brain made of pig intestines? Didn't she know she was just a housekeeper's daughter?

She actually thought her employer's house belonged to her. There were many oddballs in the world, but Ding Huan had never seen one this absurd.

"Die…" Fu Mei stepped forward, raising her hand mid-air to slap Ding Huan's face.

Ding Huan raised his hand and unleashed two wind blades.

"Puff! Puff!" Two bursts of blood erupted.

Fu Mei's two arms fell to the ground; her qi collapsed, and she tumbled from the air, collapsing into a half-kneeling position, staring blankly at Ding Huan.

"You…" Fu Mei couldn't believe her arms had been severed.

The sacrifices she'd made to join the Gene Alliance and reach Level Two Gene Cultivator were beyond ordinary comprehension.

She voluntarily entered the Gene Alliance laboratory and volunteered as a human test subject for the extremely dangerous No. 16 Gene Serum.

The pain and torment she endured these past months were beyond human endurance.

Fortunately, she survived—and became a gene adept.

Then she joined the Gene Alliance and received a Qi Stone, becoming a Level Two Gene Cultivator in a short time.

Just when she thought she could crush Ding Huan effortlessly, he hadn't even moved—yet he'd severed both her arms.

Fu Mei had spent nearly the past half year locked in a dark room, fusing the gene serum and enhancing her power; she knew little of the outside world.

The two with Fu Mei were clearly not as ignorant as she was—they vaguely knew that the Shanghai Gene Alliance's stronghold had been wiped out by Ding Huan.

This Ding Huan was ruthless and would show no mercy to Gene Alliance members.

After seeing Fu Mei's arms severed mid-air by invisible blades, both men were certain: Ding Huan was indeed the one who slaughtered the Shanghai Gene Alliance's leadership.

So without waiting for Fu Mei to cry for help, they both began retreating.

Ding Huan's gaze settled on the two men. "Come here."

Without hesitation, both turned and fled at once.

Almost the moment they took their first step to escape, two wind blades tore their bodies into four pieces.

Qiao Jiansha, who had been watching from afar, felt his heart pound wildly—if he hadn't called the Qiao family just now, he would now be a corpse.

For Ding Huan to claim he wouldn't kill Qiao Jiansha would be self-deception.

Luo Xinwei stared at Ding Huan, pale-faced; she had finally confirmed it. Ding Huan was the mentor who had trained the three prodigies of Yujiang University. Ding Huan was no longer the Ding Xiaotu she once knew.

She was certain: Ding Huan had encountered a great fortune.

Instantly, she grew excited—if Ding Huan taught her, wouldn't she too be able to enter the Top Ten Academies of Blue Star?

Luo Xinwei clenched her fists, resenting herself for failing to seize the opportunity several times. No matter what, today she would make Ding Huan teach her.

As for whether Ding Huan would agree—what kind of question was that? Wasn't it a foregone conclusion?

Seeing her two companions cut cleanly in half before they could take a single step, Fu Mei's heart plunged into an ice cave.

When had this waste, Ding Xiaotu, become so powerful? Of course—he must have sold his house and bought a gene serum to fuse.

This was supposed to be Fu Mei's opportunity.

"I'll ask you one question: do you know what happened to my father, Ding Baishan?" Ding Huan looked down at Fu Mei, kneeling before him, his voice icy.

Blood trickled from Fu Mei's lips; she spoke slowly, word by word: "Ding Xiaotu, I know a lot. If you spare me, I swear I won't hide a single detail..."

Before Fu Mei could finish, Ding Huan sent a wind blade—her head severed from her body.

Then Ding Huan launched a fireball onto Fu Mei's corpse.

Why? That was Fu Mei's final, only question—hadn't she not even spoken yet?

Qi transformed into a fireball?

Qiao Jiansha's eyes widened further—he'd heard of Qi turning to fire, but Ding Huan's effortless mastery far surpassed anything he'd heard.

Luo Xinwei's eyes sparkled with admiration—this power, this ability, was all hers.

Ding Huan hurled two more fireballs, reducing the other two to ash, then turned to leave.

"Xiaotu, wait..." Luo Xinwei rushed forward, excited. "Can I learn these things?"

Seeing Ding Huan stare at her in surprise, she hurried on: "I mean your techniques just now—I want to learn them too."

"I never thought you knew these things. I never thought the three Yujiang University students were really your students."

Long-standing habit made Luo Xinwei believe that if she asked Ding Huan for something, he would inevitably fulfill it.

It was only natural.

Ding Huan looked at Luo Xinwei and nodded in agreement. "Of course you can. You're naturally capable of learning."

"Then let's go to school first—I have a private dorm there, and you can teach me there..." Luo Xinwei said eagerly.

"I'm afraid not. I have urgent business. I won't delay your learning. By the way, I saved your life today—remember my great favor. Goodbye..."

With those words, Ding Huan flickered—suddenly standing dozens of zhang away—then flickered again and vanished completely.

Luo Xinwei stood frozen, staring at Ding Huan's retreating back. What just happened?

What did he mean by not delaying her learning time? He hadn't even taught her yet—why did he leave?

Only after a long while did Luo Xinwei realize: Ding Huan had never intended to teach her anything. When he said she could learn, he didn't mean from him.

Tears welled in Luo Xinwei's eyes. She didn't understand—why wasn't Ding Xiaotu the same obedient Ding Xiaotu anymore?

She only wondered why Ding Huan no longer listened to her—she never considered his parting words: that he had saved her life.

"Crack!" A piercing, ear-splitting rupture startled Luo Xinwei and Qiao Jiansha.

When they saw the ancient cypress tree—a World Heritage Site—split open in the distance, both broke into cold sweats.