Chapter 377: True Age

Even with the boost from the Sword Abyss Domain, which could let Shao Gang exert power close to the Heavenly Gang Realm, his sword still couldn't block Ye Liuyun's overbearing strike.

Ye Liuyun's strike directly sent Shao Gang flying, shattering his super-saint-tier treasure sword. What shocked Shao Gang most was that the Sword Abyss Domain he had painstakingly cultivated was completely split apart by Ye Liuyun's single blow.

Watching his Sword Abyss Domain crumble bit by bit until it vanished into nothing, Shao Gang felt his heart bleed. He had spent over half a year painstakingly forming it, yet it couldn't even withstand Ye Liuyun's single strike!

"It turns out all the rumors were false! Ye Liuyun didn't betray the Alliance, and he's certainly not as despicable as others claimed! I've been misled by gossip!"

Shao Gang finally realized his foolishness.

Yet, facing Ye Liuyun's icy expression at this moment, he felt surprisingly calm. Since he had made a mistake, he should bear the consequences. So he didn't resist; instead, he stood up, tidied his clothes, and waited calmly for Ye Liuyun to act.

Ye Liuyun glanced at him and also felt his expression didn't resemble that of a greedy, shameless person. So he kept his sword-raised hand from falling.

"Ah, forget it—we're all from the Alliance; killing one less doesn't matter!" Ye Liuyun thought it over and decided to let him go.

"Hand over your storage ring as compensation." Although Ye Liuyun had spared his life, he wouldn't let him off easily. He needed to make him suffer a big loss, strike at his arrogant attitude, and prevent him from lashing out at the slightest provocation in the future.

Shao Gang also froze for a moment. His first reaction was that Ye Liuyun was insulting him. But seeing Ye Liuyun's expression, he felt otherwise, so he still tossed his storage ring to Ye Liuyun.

"Anyway, I'm as good as dead; holding onto these external things is useless!" He consoled himself.

Ye Liuyun took the storage ring, then tossed Shao Gang's Alliance identity token back to him. Turning around, he led his nearby companions away without saying a word.

Only Shao Gang remained, holding his identity token, stunned in place.

"He actually didn't kill me!"

Immediately, he received the information transmitted via the token. His position had dropped from seventh to eighth on the Saint Ranking.

Ye Liuyun, meanwhile, received the information that he had risen to seventh place on the Saint Ranking.

Overjoyed, Ye Liuyun immediately informed Liang Xue of the news via a transmission talisman.

Liang Xue was also overjoyed, her cheerful voice coming through: 'I'll go tell my father right away!' Earlier, her father had set a condition for Ye Liuyun: only if Ye Liuyun secured a top-ten spot on the Saint Ranking would he allow Liang Xue to marry him.

Even Liang Xue didn't expect Ye Liuyun to meet that requirement so quickly.

Afterward, she shyly told Ye Liuyun, 'Then wait until you finish the Alliance's mission, and come pick me up!'

Then she added, somewhat embarrassed, 'What I mean is, Qingcheng and the others improve quickly when following you. I'm only at the second layer of Elemental Elixir now. I think cultivating with you would be faster.'

'Fine!' Ye Liuyun replied without overthinking, readily agreeing. 'Quickly refine the divine-level essence blood and five-elemental qi I sent you—don't hold back; I still have plenty here. Aim to raise your cultivation by one level before I come to fetch you.'

'Okay!' Liang Xue happily agreed and immediately went to discuss it with her father.

Ye Liuyun also felt that Liang Xue would now stay by his side, so his mood instantly brightened. He stopped right away and had everyone barbecue meat to celebrate.

Wu Qingcheng also informed Yu Er and Ru Yue that Liang Xue was coming. The few women then bustled about preparing lodging for Liang Xue, getting ready to welcome her.

Just as they had put the meat on the grill, Ye Liuyun called out toward a distant direction: 'You've been following us for half a day already! Why not show yourself?'

At that moment, everyone looked in the direction Ye Liuyun was gazing and spotted a small dot gradually enlarging, revealing a person's silhouette.

Seeing that he had been spotted, the person made no effort to hide and flew directly through the air.

'When we sent the Corpse Demon to attack Liu Yuan Ning and Fan Hai, this person was already there. I don't know his purpose, but he's been tailing us.' Ye Liuyun used his divine sense to silently warn everyone to stay on guard.

'Brother Ye, I'm Tian Meng, and I've long admired you!' the man, who had a loud voice, shouted from afar.

Upon seeing the man's appearance, Ye Liuyun almost laughed.

He had a beard all over his face, a sturdy build, the image of a burly man. Yet judging by his age, he should be in his thirties, yet he calls himself 'little brother'—too funny! Even Wu Qingcheng and Lei Ming, among others, covered their mouths and chuckled.

'Tian Meng? The one ranked eighth on the Saint Ranking?' He didn't know much about those on the Saint Ranking, but he had already asked the puppet about the top-ten names. His goal was to challenge them upon encountering them.

'Not bad, that's me—though I'm now ranked ninth! Hahaha, Brother Ye, we really have fate, meeting in such a place!' Tian Meng's loud voice boomed again.

'Uncle, how old are you that you call me brother?' Ye Liuyun finally couldn't hold back his laughter and asked Tian Meng directly.

Tian Meng scratched his head embarrassedly. 'I'm only twenty-two, but my appearance has aged a bit, making me look like I'm in my thirties!'

Upon hearing his age, Ye Liuyun and the others widened their eyes in disbelief, staring at him. Yet they could see no trace of a twenty-two-year-old.

'Even at twenty-two you're older than me!' Ye Liuyun finally spoke to ease the awkwardness.

'What are you following us for? Are you here to cause trouble?' Ye Liuyun asked.

'Originally I also believed the rumors and came over to have a look, wanting to observe you first. After seeing clearly that you weren't a traitor, I wanted to spar with you, exchange a few moves—but Shao Gang beat me to it. After witnessing your abilities, I realized I'm no match for you.'

Tian Meng didn't hide anything; he said whatever he had to say.

'Then why are you still following us?' Ye Liuyun pressed.

'I'm just hungry! I was about to leave, but smelling the aroma I came over to take a look—I didn't expect you to spot me from so far away.' Tian Meng gave an embarrassed smile, his eyes fixed on the roasted meat in Ye Liuyun's hand, drool almost dripping.

Ye Liuyun recalled that Tian Meng had been separated from them for a while but had turned back, probably drawn by the scent of the roasted meat.

'As for Tian Meng, the fact that he knew to observe me beforehand shows he's sharper than Shao Gang. Moreover, seeing that we'd killed many Alliance members, he still dared to come over and cozy up, indicating that from Ye Liuyun's sparing of Shao Gang he deduced I'm not a bloodthirsty killer! Though he looks like a rough brute, he's actually quite shrewd—if he isn't harboring ulterior motives, he's someone worth befriending.'

Thinking this, Ye Liuyun felt no contempt for Tian Meng and wasn't fooled by his appearance. Instead, he politely invited him to sit, addressed him as brother, and gave him a piece of the roasted meat.