High above in the sky, a blood-red flag was flapping in the wind and emitting large amounts of Ghost Qi. Eerie wails as if emanating from a ghostly orchestra drifted towards them. Suddenly, something seemed to leap out from the flag. The moon, which had been lighting up the night sky earlier, was now hidden completely by black clouds. Gusts of Yin winds started blowing in from all sides.

　　It was difficult to see through the miasma of the Ghost Qi. A huge, hideous looking black apparition appeared in the distance. They could not make out its features, but could sense its Ghost Qi which was so dense that it was almost tangible.

　　Yi Qing tensed up at the sight. He had known all along that the Soul Devouring Gonfalon would eventually give birth to a Ghost King, which was why he had wanted it delivered urgently to the Blackheaven Sect. However, he had not expected that it would choose now, of all times, to give birth. Its rapid growth had likely been aided by the Yin Qi emanating from the Fiendish Cultivator.

　　Only a Gonfalon Nurturer could control the Ghost King, but the Fiendish Cultivator had died from self-implosion which meant that this Ghost King had no owner. It existed only to kill and massacre.

　　“The Ghost King is born, leave here at once!” Yi Qing turned to shout out a warning. If even a Nascent Soul cultivator could not destroy a Ghost King, what chance did they have?

　　But it was too late; the apparition had completely condensed into a material form. The next moment, a sharp and ghostly scream pierced the air. They were unable to make out its gender. Although there was clearly only one sound being made, it was like the combined wail from a cacophony of ghosts. Their brains felt like exploding. Gusts of Yin winds whipped up the square, and even the ground trembled.

　　Yi Qing felt his blood and Qi surging, and then his feet buckled as he spit out a mouthful of blood. Even the Golden Core in his body seemed on the verge of exploding. And over on the other side, the cultivator named Lu lay flat on the ground, felled by the impact of the sound.

　　Yi Qing desperately mobilized his Spirit Qi to create a defensive barrier. Just as it was completed, there was another ghostly cry. He vomited blood again and fell to his knees—the barrier had been instantly torn apart. His whole body felt unbearably heavy. Utterly overcome by the formidable power of the Ghost King, he knelt there motionless.

　　What was to be done? No one below Soul Formation stage could stand against a Ghost King. He was afraid that the next attack would…

　　The Ghost King was already opening its mouth to let out another blast of sound. Yi Qing clenched his teeth and gripped his sword. All that was left now was to fight to the death.

　　Suddenly…

　　“What’s with the noise!”

　　It was a familiar female voice. The rage contained in the voice was so devastating that it caused the Ghost King to immediately swallow the scream it was about to let out.

　　All at once there was silence.

　　This voice… Master!

　　(⊙_⊙)

　　The person who had been snoring with her head bowed was now looking up, glaring at the huge ghost in front of her. “Shut. Your. Mouth,” she boomed.

　　The Ghost King paused, then seemingly provoked, let out an even louder roar. Four black claw-like shapes extended from the shadows, shooting like a laser beam towards the only person who was standing.

　　Anxious, Yi Qing tried to get up but to no avail. “Master, be care-…”

　　But before he could complete his warning, he saw Shen Ying deftly raising her hand to catch something. Those ferocious ghost claws were stopped before her chest in an instant.

　　“Caught… caught?”

　　(⊙ o ⊙)

　　The Ghost King roared again, its whole figure shaking in exasperation as if trying to withdraw its claws. Although it tried long and hard, its claws hardly moved an inch.

　　Shen Ying looked up straight at the huge ghost, her eyes narrowing. It was as if something terrible was emanating from her body.

　　A murderous aura! What an intense murderous aura! Yi Qing could not help shuddering. Why did he suddenly feel that Master looked… a little scary?!

　　Arrh…

　　The Ghost King became even more agitated. It roared again.

　　Shen Ying narrowed her eyes even more, and there was a faint cracking sound. She spat out the following words one by one: “What. Are. You. Yelling. For. Do. You. Know. There. Are. People. Sleeping!”

　　Suddenly, her hands which had been gripping the claws shot up, and the huge, mountainous ghostly figure was raised a dozen feet off the ground. She flung it over her shoulders, and the earth trembled from the crash that followed. She then repeated this action in a cycle, over and over and over…

　　For a time, the whole forest was filled with earthquaking crashing sounds mixed with her angry questioning. “Didn’t you know I was sleeping, didn’t you know, didn’t you know…”

　　Yi Qing: “…”

　　Cultivator Lu: “…”

　　Σ(°△°|||)

　　Cultivator Lu gave a great shudder. How… how terrible! She was actually tossing about the Ghost King like a hammer wheel. Could such a person be just a cultivator?

　　Yi Qing was confused. He suddenly understood what the Rabbit Monarch had meant that day. When they were repairing the house, it had nervously pulled him over to whisper, “Never disturb her sleep! Otherwise, the consequences will be very serious.” Now he knew, uh… It was serious alright.

　　He had thought that there must have been other explanations for what the rabbit demon had said about Master destroying the nine great Demon Monarchs by herself. Moreover, when he had sought apprenticeship under Master, her high cultivation had not been his main consideration so he had never asked Master what level she was at. But he did not expect Master to be so… so amazing!

　　She was indeed worthy of being his master. He had chosen the right teacher!

　　o(≧v≦)o~~

　　“Dao Lord, your master…” Cultivator Lu, who had silently moved over to Yi Qing, was about to ask him something when he realized that Yi Qing was looking at the person in front with star-gazed eyes. Huh? That look of exaltation, joy and hero-worship… His smug expression seemed to say that he wanted the whole world to envy him. What was this about? Just what kind of guards had he picked?

　　Shen Ying’s one-sided bashing match lasted half an hour. The powerful Ghost King was utterly incapable of resistance. Its once formidable voice which had started out as a roar, turned into a whine, then finally into a meek whimper…

　　╮(╯▽╰)╭

　　Every time she smashed the ghost, the Ghost King’s Qi dissipated a little and it became a little thinner. The previously giant Ghost King was now only a third of its original size. The deafening ghostly scream of before had been reduced to a mere whisper.

　　“Er, Dao Lord…” Even Cultivator Lu could not help interceding on behalf of the Ghost King.

　　“What!” Shen Ying suddenly turned her head around violently. A killing vibe, or rather a ‘being-disturbed in-her-sleep’ vibe, filled the entire atmosphere.

　　“Nothing… It’s okay, carry on! ” He swallowed his words silently. Yes, he didn’t see anything.

　　Shen Ying turned back and continued smashing! Each smash was louder than the last.

　　For no reason, Yi Qing suddenly remembered that night when he was tricked by Rui Mi; Master had used the same move back then as well. The only difference was that she had used a left and right smash then, but now it was an up and down smash. Don’t tell me Master only knows… knows this one move?

　　No, no, no. Yi Qing immediately dismissed this ridiculous idea. Master was so strong, how could she know only this style of kid-fighting? Impossible!

　　An hour later…

　　The Ghost King had already lost the strength to even groan. Shen Ying finally stopped this one-sided thrashing match because… she had fallen asleep again.

　　-_-|||

　　Seeing that its opponent was not moving, the Ghost King, who was already half its original size, instantly turned into a black gas and burrowed back into the Soul Devouring Gonfalon. The seal array was so torn that only a few runes could be seen on it. It desperately tried to hide itself behind a rune. The whole flag was shivering!

　　Yi Qing: “…”

　　Cultivator Lu: “…”

　　————————

　　When Shen Ying woke up, it was the next morning. She stretched her waist in routine. She could see two pairs of eyes looking straight at her. The only difference between them was that one was filled with enthusiasm and the other was filled with… fear?

　　“Er, good morning!” Startled, she greeted reflexively.

　　“Good morning, Master.” Yi Qing could only manage this reply after a long moment. He glanced at her hesitantly. “You’re… awake?”

　　“Yes.” Shen Ying nodded, rubbing her shoulder. She casually asked, “By the way, how did I fall asleep last night? Why does my back feel so sore after waking up as if I’ve been in a fight?”

　　The two: “…” Didn’t you just fight?

　　“Master, you… don’t remember?” asked Yi Qing.

　　“Why are you looking at me like that? What’s wrong?” Shen Ying frowned. Why were they looking at her with that constipated expression? “What happened last night?”

　　The two exchanged a look, and answered resolutely in unison.

　　“Nothing!”

　　“Nothing!”

　　“Oh.” Unconcerned, Shen Ying started shaking her particularly sore left hand. She then realized that half of the surrounding bamboo forest had been toppled down, and most of their branches were bare except for a few leaves. Were there strong winds yesterday? Must have been some powerful wind. She walked two paces, and saw a huge hole in front of her as if the ground had been smashed hard by something. Well… the scenery was really interesting.

　　“By the way, whatever your name is… how much further to your house?” She looked back at the cultivator named Lu.

　　Cultivator Lu shivered, hiding himself behind Yi Qing. “Not far… not far, the bamboo forest is just ahead. We will reach there in a quarter of an hour.”

　　“Good!” She turned to Yi Qing. “Chef… Disciple… er, your name is Qing something?”

　　“Master, I am Yi Qing.”

　　“Oh, Yi Qing. Let’s hit the road and escort him back.”

　　“Right, Master.”

　　Yi Qing immediately followed behind, at the same time picking up a bell from the ground which he handed to Cultivator Lu.

　　“Hey… Qing… After sending him back, will we have enough to pay for the travel fare?”

　　“We will have enough, Master.”

　　“Do you think that Whatever-you-call-it Sect is generous with its hospitality?”

　　“Master, they are called the Blackheaven Sect, an established sect for cultivating immortals that has many followers. As for their hospitality, I do not know.”

　　“Then do you think… they will invite us to stay for dinner?”

　　“Huh? Huh!”

　　“I’m famished.”

　　“…”