Tagan Long wanted to say that he was not at the mid Earth-rank at all, but rather at the Earth-rank itself; yet at the thought of his father's charge—that he must conceal his true strength, never expose it, and play the wastrel to mislead others—Tagan Long could only swallow it down and endure.

He shook his head. He had played the profligate so long that even he was beginning to lose himself in the part, and yet he could govern his emotions perfectly well.

In truth, he was a very clever man—though this was a thing even the Fifth Protector and the Eighth Protector did not fully know. They knew only that Young Master Tagan Long deliberately suppressed his cultivation for fear of the envy of the other families; what they did not know were the Tagan family's core secrets and the schemes it had been brewing all these years.

"You speak rightly—the fire lion is what matters." Tagan Long made as though he had taken Sun Jingyan's words to heart and, weighing the importance of the fire lion, walked off with a dark face. Yet in his heart he had already resolved that once this mission was done, he would seize Sun Jingyan and drag her back with him no matter what.

Lustful he certainly was: Tagan Long's pretense of being a wastrel was real, but so was his lust. Yet this time, in taking Sun Jingyan back, it was not lust that drove him, but... a very important reason.

Wei Zhao was somewhat speechless at this Tagan Long as well. Was the fool truly this stupid? To dare say such things to Sun Jingyan with Wei Zhao standing right there? Did he not know that in the world of cultivation, plenty of men had killed over a single sentence?

Only, Wei Zhao did not wish to make an open enemy of the Tagan family just now; he still had to go into the Wulonghaote Mountains to look for clues to Sun Jingyan's parents. Once this business was finished, Wei Zhao would have slapped this Tagan Long dead long ago and fled with Sun Jingyan.

"Hmph!" Returning to the Fifth Protector's side, Tagan Long gave a cold snort, his displeasure written plainly across his face.

"Young Master Tagan Long, that Zhang Naipao will be one of our main forces in a little while—do not provoke him now, or he will stop pulling his weight," the Fifth Protector said in a low voice. "It is only a daughter, after all. Give him a few pills when the time comes, and see whether he does not obligingly deliver the woman to you for your amusement. In the world of cultivation, are there so few who would sell a friend for a single pill?"

"That is true enough!" Having heard the Fifth Protector out, Tagan Long nodded and stopped pressing Sun Jingyan so impatiently.

In his view, Sun Jingyan was already his for the taking. Since Wei Zhao could sell his life for a Spirit Gathering Pill, then give him later a Foundation Establishment Pill, or a Meridian Unblocking Pill, a Minor Restoration Pill, or some other common elixir—and he would not dare fail to deliver Sun Jingyan before him.

"Wuhu..." The Eighth Protector suddenly let out a long, drawn-out cry! This was the signal they had agreed upon beforehand; to give it now meant he had likely already succeeded!

"Everyone on guard, to your positions—prepare to surround the fire lion!" Lazi bellowed.

Every adventurer but Wei Zhao was now strung taut with tension, ready to strike at any moment.

Sure enough, a rustling came through the brush, and a small lion wreathed all in fiery red came racing toward them at full speed, driven on by the Eighth Protector.

What secret art the Eighth Protector had used to force the little fire lion toward them, Wei Zhao could not tell, and it rather astonished him. By rights, a spirit beast that had formed no contract was not so easily controlled by humans—unless one had mastered some special method.

"Roar..." With a thunderous roar, the little fire lion burst into the ambush ring of Wei Zhao and the other three. Yet it did not pause; it meant to break through their encirclement and keep fleeing through the gap!

But at that moment, the green-robed expert nearest the little fire lion struck as well!

"Bang!" The green-robed expert's palm slammed into the little fire lion, sending it staggering backward. It was not enough to wound it gravely, but clearly the green-robed expert's full-force blow had taught it a bitter lesson!

"Roar!" The little fire lion loosed an angry roar and sprang at the green-robed expert, meaning to avenge that blow.

The green-robed expert had already probed the limits of the little fire lion's strength; though he could not kill it, it could certainly never get the better of him. Even if the little fire lion went berserk, the worst he would suffer was a light wound—it was impossible for it to cause him any real trouble.

"Little wretch, you do not know death when you see it—your grandpa will give you another slap!" The green-robed expert vented all the fury he had felt toward the white-robed brawny man upon the little fire lion and swung his palm again!

This time, however, the little fire lion was clearly prepared. Knowing the green-robed expert was not to be trifled with, it nimbly dodged the slap as it leaped, then drove all four legs hard into the green-robed expert's chest!

"Bang!" Caught off guard, the green-robed expert took the little fire lion's trampling square on. In an instant his chest churned with blood and qi; though he was not injured, it was thoroughly uncomfortable!

"Insolent! Little beast, you court death!" Before the little fire lion could get away, the green-robed expert gathered power into both arms and drove out both fists at once!

"Boom!" "Boom!"

The little fire lion was blasted straight away by the furious green-robed expert, flung into the very center of the ring formed by Wei Zhao and the other three. It struggled on the ground a moment before clambering up—clearly it had taken some injury!

Those furious twin fists of the green-robed expert were no light matter either.

The little fire lion seemed to know it was no match for the green-robed expert, for it at once turned its head and ran toward the central range of the mountains! But it had miscalculated—ahead of it waited an even more formidable white-robed brawny man!

Just as the little fire lion was about to break through the encirclement, the white-robed brawny man planted himself squarely in its path.

He was the highest-ranked expert among them; naturally he could not lose face as the green-robed expert had, nor could he afford to. So before the little fire lion could spring, he struck first!

"Little wretch, your grandpa will have a bit of sport with you!" the white-robed brawny man said, and lashed out at the little fire lion with a kick!

He was treating the little fire lion as though it were Wei Zhao. He knew he could not avenge that slap and kick from Wei Zhao, so he vented his resentment upon the little fire lion!

"Bang!"

With a great crash, the little fire lion was kicked clean off the ground by the white-robed brawny man and sent flying—landing, by sheer coincidence, heavily at the black-robed expert's feet!

This time the little fire lion's injuries looked graver than before. It struggled on the ground, and before it could rise, the black-robed expert kicked it flying once more...

These men were kicking a little fire lion about as though it were a ball. Sun Jingyan could not bear to watch; the little fire lion had meant no harm to any of them—it had only wanted to flee—and yet they tormented it so.

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