The next moment, Lin Qian turned his head and flew back in the original direction.
The imperial carriage had already stopped at the entrance of the building complex; the bonfire was lit, and everyone was seated around it, with the firelight reflecting red on their faces.
Only Zhao Long remained standing, straight behind Ye Xin, vigilantly observing the surroundings to prevent any accidents that might threaten the Empress.
No matter how much Ye Xin persuaded him, Zhao Long was still stubbornly doing so.
Suddenly, a streak of vermilion lightning crossed the distant sky and fell toward them.
The vermilion lightning struck the ground, and the gold light dissipated, revealing Lin Qian's figure.
Seeing Lin Qian's return, everyone stood up, especially the two Blood Spirit Valley disciples in crimson robes, who stepped forward to express their gratitude.
"If it were not for your sword, I'm afraid I would now be at the mercy of the underworld," the Blood Spirit Valley disciple who had been saved by Lin Qian's sword qi said, thanking him profusely.
Lin Qian waved his hands repeatedly, "Being part of the Human Clan, it's inconceivable that I would stand by indifferently while watching a kinsman be harmed by another Clan."
Afterward, everyone settled down around the bonfire once again.
Zhao Long still stubbornly refused to sit, intending to keep watch, but Lin Qian scolded him, "Everyone is sitting; what do you think you're doing standing over there all by yourself? Sit down immediately!"
When the Emperor he served gave the order, Zhao Long dared not disobey and sat down obediently.
Once everyone was seated, through conversation, Lin Qian also came to understand the full story of what had happened.
It turned out that after the two Blood Spirit Valley disciples entered the Small World, they were not very far from each other and had met up.
Wandering around, they found this group of buildings as night was nearly upon them.
They also came across the Swift Hidden Clan members.
After a standoff, the Swift Hidden Clan attacked without further ado.
What the Swift Hidden Clan didn't expect was that these two Blood Spirit Valley disciples were more formidable than they had imagined. The two of them could hold their own against the group without falling behind.
However, as they were entangled with the Blood Spirit Valley disciples, other Clans had attracted Soul Beasts to attack them while concealing themselves and waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Just when the two Blood Spirit Valley disciples were greatly fatigued and could barely keep up, Lin Qian and his group appeared.
The sudden appearance of the imperial carriage surprised them, and they were even more terrified to find that the person the Valley Master had tasked them to protect at all costs was right before their eyes. This naturally gave them a shock, and they hurriedly told him to leave.
Actually, the two of them were already in grave danger, and even if Lin Qian were to die, they wouldn't be able to survive in the Small World or suffer the Hall Master's punishment.
But the two Blood Spirit Valley disciples did not want Lin Qian to recklessly get involved and lose his life.
In the end, the person they were supposed to protect ended up saving their lives, which made the two Blood Spirit Valley disciples overwhelmed with mixed feelings.
At the same time, Lin Qian also recognized who these two Blood Spirit Valley disciples really were.
Lin Qian had saved one named Yang Tianhao, while the other was named ****; both were orphans adopted by the Valley Master of the Blood Spirit Valley.
"You truly are the strongest genius of this generation in Blood Spirit Valley, withstand an entire hour against so many Soul Beasts and the constant ambushes, only beginning to fall behind then. Those from the Swift Hidden Clan wanting to exhaust you and your junior disciple to death will probably need another hour," Li Yunfeng also said in praise to Yang Tianhao, with a gleam and a fighting spirit in his eyes.
Yang Tianhao had a clean buzz-cut and his face appeared simple and unpretentious, yet the expression in his eyes was extremely sharp, exerting a great deal of pressure on others.
"Brother Li's reputation has reached my ears as well," Yang Tianhao looked at Li Yunfeng, a smile on his face, "How about after I rest a moment, we have a friendly spar?"
Li Yunfeng was known as the strongest genius of this generation from the Carefree Sect, one of the three major emerging powers alongside Blood Spirit Valley, and his combative style was something Yang Tianhao had heard of long ago.
Seeing the fighting spirit in the other's eyes, how could he not understand Li Yunfeng's intentions, he took the initiative to speak, accommodating the other's desire.
"Hahaha, delightful! Unlike a certain individual with eight hands, so hesitant and with such a tender, pink face, no different from a woman," Li Yunfeng laughed out loud, nodding continuously.
With Li Yunfeng's words, standing nearby, Zhang Zide became furious: "We of the Eight-Armed Sea Clan have pink skin by nature, what kind of nonsense are you talking? Come on, let's have a fight right now, you really think I'm afraid of you?"
And with that said, they acted!
Li Yunfeng and Zhang Zide had already rushed into the sky, fighting fiercely.
Looking at the fluctuations of Soul Power in the sky, Lin Qian shook his head with a smile and continued chatting.
"What, your Valley Master ordered you to protect my safety at all costs?" Lin Qian looked at Yang Tianhao and **** in front of him, utterly flabbergasted.
Not just him, Ye Xin, Zhang Qi, and Zhang Wenxuan were also shocked, watching the two disciples from Blood Spirit Valley.
It all started when the conversation gradually led to Lin Qian asking Yang Tianhao and **** what they planned to do next.
The result was Yang Tianhao and **** telling Lin Qian they must protect him at all costs!
Yang Tianhao and this **** were no ordinary disciples, but true geniuses.
Especially Yang Tianhao, who was recognized as having a genius akin to Li Yunfeng's, with exceptional talent and formidable combat strength.
Lin Qian couldn't understand, why such talented individuals, whom other forces would consider treasures, were ordered by the Blood Spirit Valley Master to protect him at all costs?
Blood Spirit Valley Master Yang Guixiang, Lin Qian had heard about this person from Zhou Yian, but he had never met the person himself, never formed any connection or relations.
The reason why was unclear to both Yang Tianhao and ****; they had simply received the command from their Valley Master's Soul Consciousness right before entering the Small World ruins.
However, looking at Lin Qian, Yang Tianhao and **** couldn't help but smile wryly: "But our Valley Master probably didn't expect that instead of us protecting Brother Lin, we would be saved by you."
Of course, Yang Guixiang wouldn't have guessed that after entering the ruins, Lin Qian would suddenly break through to the Life and Death Realm, nor could he have imagined his combat strength would be so formidable.
While Lin Qian pondered over the reasons behind Blood Spirit Valley Master Yang Guixiang's actions, inside a space covered by an Array, a fair-skinned young man from the Swift Hidden Clan frowned at a floating, shattered Token in front of him.
"Teams from Bai Yingxin, wiped out completely? How interesting, who could it be that possesses such capability?" The Swift Hidden Clan young man turned around to face a thousand kneeling Swift Hidden Clan warriors, "Who among you is willing to lead a team to find out who's responsible?"