“Gu Ruoyun, have you been doing this on purpose? Were you deliberately allowing me to bully and suppress you so that you can challenge me to a duel and turn the tables on me? And then to eventually crush me? What grudge do you have against me that you would spend so many years, painstakingly hiding your abilities just to humiliate me?”

　　Obviously, Ling Xi was overthinking things. He now assumed that Gu Ruoyun was concealing her power just to violently humiliate him.

　　Of course, Gu Ruoyun had always been the kind that was far too lazy to explain herself to unimportant people. Hence the reason why Ling Xi interpreted her silence as consent.

　　“Aaaaaaahhhh! Gu Ruoyun, I’m going to kill you!!!”

　　Ling Xi roared angrily and crawled up from the ground. He raised his hand and a golden rune appeared in the palm of his hands, giving off a faint glow and illuminating his grim face.

　　“This is the one and only rune belonging to my Ling Family. Back then, my grandfather spent a lot of money in order to purchase it from an expert cultivator. So, Gu Ruoyun, this time, your death is certain!”

　　Immediately after, Ling Xi split the rune open.

　　A golden light flashed and Ling Yi appeared out of thin air before the eyes of the crowd.

　　Ling Xi sighed in relief at the sight of his grandfather’s appearance and quickly explained the situation, “Grandfather, you must save me. If I did not bring this teleportation rune that you gave me, I’m not sure that I’ll be able see you again.”

　　“Oh?” Ling Yi’s facial expression slowly hardened, shadows clouding his elderly face. He asked, “Who dares to harm my flesh and blood?”

　　Instantly, all eyes fell on Gu Ruoyun. Ling Yi followed their line of sight and found the young girl who had remained still from the very beginning.

　　“The girl from the Gu Family?” Ling Yi mused silently.

　　He frowned, “Xi’er, this girl is merely a level three in the Qi Collection ranks. Don’t tell me that you can’t even defeat her?”

　　“It’s not like that, grandfather. This Gu family conspired to conceal her abilities. She managed to defeat all of us in one blow. Her powers are definitely not at the strength of a level three. She is at least a level six or seven. Furthermore,” Ling Xi paused and sneered, “Her intentions in killing me are not just because of a grudge against me but to end the line of succession of the Ling family! Such a treacherous and malicious person… Grandfather, you can’t let her live!”

　　Bang!

　　Fierce, raging flames erupted from Ling Yi’s body. His eyes glared coldly at Gu Ruoyun, “Such a vicious heart at such a young age, little girl… Sparing you will only result in a disaster for the world. In order to avoid bringing calamity on innocent lives, I… can only kill you to avoid future disasters!”

　　The gloomy aura he emitted was not only limited to his surroundings. The people around him began to feel as if the air around them was growing thin, making the crowd feel extremely suffocated.

　　Gu Ruoyun’s heart sank.

　　Based on her current level in strength, she could not possibly go up against Ling Xi. Consequently, the only way out is to escape!

　　“Haha!”

　　Gu Ruoyun burst into laughter at the thought of this. Her smile spread to the corners of her lips, holding a trace of mockery.

　　“So, this is the magnificent Ling family? Where the elders step into a fight when the young ones can’t hold their own? This is certainly an eye-opening experience! Ling Yi, I, Gu Ruoyun, will remember this day. One day, I will make your Ling Family pay!”

　　An air of dominance filled the young girl’s thin face, it was a kind of regality that even the emperor did not possess. Ling Yi stared at her absent-mindedly, as if he had seen a familiar face — one that he had not seen in a long time.

　　The peerless genius who disappeared over ten years ago, Gu Tian! That exceedingly brilliant man who had become the youngest Martial Emperor in the mainland! In that moment, Gu Ruoyun seemed to bear a striking resemblance to him…

　　“No!” He thought, “This won’t do. I mustn’t let this woman get out of here alive. She’s too dangerous!”