Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

”Heh heh, who would have thought that my luck would be so good today, to find a Demon Core inside the stomach of this Second Rank Middle Level Vein Demon!”

The youth in black held the black-bristle pig’s Demon Core in his hand, tossing it around, his light laughter sounding as if the Demon Core was already securely his.

”Return the Demon Core to us!”

The freshly acquired Demon Core had barely been warmed in Ling Wan’s hands, and his round face turned pale with rage. However, his loud shout seemed to hold no deterrence to the ears of the youth in black.

”Anything that Cao Jun lays his hands on, has never been given back!” Upon hearing Ling Wan’s shout, the youth in black’s face suddenly twisted into a cold sneer, these words also serving to reveal his identity.

”Cao Jun? Are you Cao Jun from the Cao Family of Luoxing City?”

Suddenly hearing this name, Tan Yun standing behind Ling Wan seemed to recall something, her pretty face subtly changed, the anger seemingly diminishing somewhat.

”Cao Jun, our team has no grievances with your Cao Family, so why do you rob us of our spoils of battle?” However, after sensing Cao Jun’s Meridian Qi Cultivation and the movements around, Tan Yun relaxed slightly and asked sternly with a composed expression.

”Ha ha, this is the Yulin Mountain Range, if you say this prize belongs to Jade Pot Sect I might believe, but claiming it as yours would be laughable!” Cao Jun apparently found this to be a huge joke, laughing uproariously towards the sky, worsening Tan Yun’s expression even more.

”This black-bristle pig was slain by us, naturally, its Demon Core belongs to us!” Ling Wan was still visibly aggrieved, and his words did hold some logic.

However, as Cao Jun said, this was the Yulin Mountain Range, and currently, the site for the selection of Outer Sect Disciples of the Jade Pot Sect. Anything could happen in this mountain range, including stealing a Demon Core which might well be considered another form of test by the Jade Pot Sect.

During the test for the Outer Disciples of the Jade Pot Sect, there’s no rule stating that the candidates can’t fight each other. The only rule is not to take lives.

In the Yulin Mountain Range where Vein Demons are numerous, if a candidate were to kill another and pose it as an attack by a Vein Demon, no one would ever find out.

Thus even though Ling Wan’s words held some logic, in a land where survival of the fittest and strength is paramount, it sounded as naive as children playing house, causing even Tan Yun and her team to shake their heads upon hearing it.

”Cao Jun, return the Demon Core to us, perhaps we can pretend nothing happened, otherwise...”

Tan Yun spoke up to this point, paused slightly, then continued in a deep voice, ”Your two elder brothers are not here, just you alone might not be able to safely take this Demon Core away!”

It seemed Tan Yun had sensed that besides Cao Jun, there were no other enemies around, and knowing that both Cao Jun and she were at the Meridian Introduction Realm Late Stage, plus with Ling Wan and four others, with five against one, this guy had no chance of winning.

”Heh, is that so?”

Just as Tan Yun finished speaking, Cao Jun chuckled lightly, and then his figure suddenly dashed a dozen feet back.

Bang!

However fast Cao Jun was, there was someone faster, such as Tan Yun. She had long heard of the reputation of the three Cao brothers, so how could she not be prepared? With a faint sound, Cao Jun’s right ankle was already entangled with a green soft whip.

The approximately thirty-feet-long green soft whip, held in one end by Tan Yun, who by then had moved unnoticed to three feet behind Cao Jun, displayed quite impressive movement technique.

”Giving you face and you don’t want it, you brat!”

Seeing his immediate retreat being thwarted by Tan Yun’s whip, Cao Jun’s face lost its prior smile, replaced by a harsh curse.

Still, Cao Jun, being a late-stage cultivator in the Meridian Introduction Realm, reacted very swiftly. He reached toward his waist, and a flash of bright light appeared, as he drew a three-foot-long green glowing sword from his Waist Storage.

Swish!

Cao Jun’s sword moved from top to bottom, aimed at slashing the green whip, but the next moment, his plan to cut the whip in one strike completely failed.

The green whip seemed to be made of some indestructible material, as even such a sharp blade couldn’t cut through it, only causing it to bend outward. Although it wasn’t severed, the part wrapped around Cao Jun’s ankle was flung away.

Cao Jun’s expression turned ugly, because just as Tan Yun made her move, Ling Wan and the other three had already swooped in, blocking all directions around him, making it seem that escaping wouldn’t be easy today.

”You wretched girl, I advise you to let me go peacefully. If my older and second brothers come, you might all lose your lives!” Surrounded, Cao Jun exhibited no sign of realization of his plight, his face still arrogant.

Hearing the mention of ”older and second brother”, Tan Yun’s pretty face slightly changed as she was aware that their strength surpassed her own. If they really showed up, it would indeed be troublesome.

However, swallowing such an insult was absolutely unthinkable for Tan Yun, despite being a woman. Without further ado, she decisively swung her green whip and loudly declared, ”Against such a despicable person, there’s no need for rules, let’s attack together!”

Since Cao Jun had unreasonably tried to seize the Demon Core first, the five of them ganging up on him didn’t feel embarrassing, and Tan Yun was thinking of ending the fight quickly to avoid his brothers coming as he mentioned.

Cao Jun, whose strength was comparable to Tan Yun’s, was now under intense pressure from her aggressive attacks and the peripheral assaults from Ling Wan and the others, soon resulting in a perilous situation.

Although the rules of the Jade Pot Sect Outer Disciples’ trials technically forbid killing each other, injuring an opponent severely was not punishable.

Cao Jun impulsively attempted to snatch a Demon Core today, thinking these people would back off once they heard his name -- a trick he often used within the boundaries of Luoxing City.

But Cao Jun forgot that this place was not within Luoxing City. These youthful talents like Tan Yun came from notable families, and they would not be easily frightened off by his few words.

This led to Cao Jun’s difficult predicament; however, being the astute Third Young Master of the Cao Family, he suddenly shouted, ”Stop, I’ll give you the Demon Core!”

Hearing this, the simple-minded Ling Wan slowed his movements. Just as he was eagerly waiting for Cao Jun to return the Demon Core, Tan Yun sharply cried out, ”Be careful!”

The warning was barely out when Ling Wan shockingly saw a figure in black pouncing towards him. Immediately, he felt a pain in his chest as a sudden palm strike from Cao Jun knocked him to the ground, unable to get up.

Cao Jun’s shout was an intentional distraction to lower his opponents’ guard, and indeed, the inexperienced Ling Wan was caught off-guard by the time he reacted to Tan Yun’s warning.

Cao Jun moved swiftly, knocking Ling Wan down with a palm strike and relocating several meters away. However, before he could revel in his success, he felt a tremendous force lash at his back.

Crack!

There was a light sound as Tan Yun promptly intervened, her three-meter-long green whip, like a Spiritual Snake, striking heavily on Cao Jun’s back, tearing his clothes and leaving a bloody mark on his flesh.

Tan Yun, enraged by Cao Jun’s ruthless attack on Ling Wan, showed no mercy with her whip, enhanced by her Late-Stage Meridian Introduction Realm Meridian Qi. Cao Jun, stumbling forwards, had fresh blood at the corner of his mouth, clearly suffering internal injuries.

”You wretched girl, just you wait, I will return this humiliation a hundredfold!”

Knowing he was internally injured, Cao Jun dared not linger. Watching him disappear into the dense woods, Tan Yun, realizing she couldn’t reach him with her whip, could only watch as the detestable figure vanished from sight.

Today, Cao Jun had indeed gotten away with advantages, not only stealing a Second Rank Middle-Level Vein Demon’s Demon Core but also injuring Ling Wan. But someone like him would never admit his fault, and it seemed a grudge was truly established.

Tan Yun, currently not in the mood to ponder much, retracted her whip and hurried over to check on the somewhat weak Ling Wan, asking, ”How are you feeling? Can you hold on?”

Ling Wan, with only a Middle Stage Meridian Introduction Realm cultivation, felt as though his organs had flipped over from Cao Jun’s strike. Despite his simplicity, he understood Tan Yun’s concern and barely managed to reply, ”I should be able to walk!”

Tan Yun nodded and looked towards where Cao Jun had disappeared, then solemnly said, ”We’ve offended that Cao Jun today. I’ve heard the Cao brothers never let a grudge go unretaliated. We can’t stay here any longer!”

It seemed Tan Yun hadn’t ignored Cao Jun’s parting words; since he was here, his brothers weren’t likely far away. If they were indeed found by them, their small group of five would face grim consequences.

One of them supported Ling Wan while Tan Yun led the way, the other two flanking left and right as guards, quickly leaving this place of trouble. Besides fearing the Cao brothers’ vengeance, they also had more important matters to attend to.