Chapter Twenty-Two, Elder Bi Takes Action

Just as Elder Bi was about to strike down the boy before her, a figure suddenly appeared to block her path. A formidable force, radiating the power of lightning, surged forth in retaliation.

Seeing this, Elder Bi’s pupils constricted. As she recoiled violently, a spiritual artifact—a small bell—appeared in her hand. As she retreated, she shook the bell incessantly.

"Clang, clang!"

With every shake, the bell released a powerful sonic wave. These waves soon collided with the force of the Purple Lightning Laser Cannon, detonating instantly upon impact and vanishing into nothingness.

Elder Bi steadied herself and roared, "Who dares to strike at this Elder?"

"Hmph, you old hag. I advise you to scram while you still can. Harm my big brother, and I’ll crush you to death." The Purple Lightning Lion stood with imposing majesty, its kingly aura once again flooding the air. It held its head high, glaring coldly at Elder Bi.

Upon realizing that the newcomer was a beast—and a Grade 6 demonic beast at that—Elder Bi’s expression turned grim. The power of a Grade 6 demonic beast was equivalent to that of a master at the 8th or even peak stage of the Divine Martial Realm. Even if its cultivation were insufficient, its raw physical strength alone could crush human cultivators of the same rank. With her own peak Divine Martial cultivation, killing the Purple Lightning Lion would be no easy feat.

"You wretched creature, do you know that I am from the Moon-Gazing Sect?" Elder Bi knew that the Demon Beast Mountain Range was nearby and assumed the beast must be a helper the boy had summoned. She had no choice but to invoke the name of the Moon-Gazing Sect. She believed that even the powerful entities within the mountain range would show some deference to the sect’s influence.

Little did she know that this Purple Lightning Lion was a mutant, hardened by its battle with Su Yang and trained for days by the Great Saint. It cared nothing for the Moon-Gazing Sect.

"I don't care who you are, or what kind of bullsh*t Moon-Gazing Sect you come from! If you dare to hurt my boss, I’ll kill you!" The Purple Lightning Lion snorted, steam venting from its nostrils.

Seeing the Purple Lightning Lion appear at such a critical moment, Su Yang felt a surge of joy. He patted the lion’s flank and slowly stood up. "Thanks, little brother!"

"Heh heh, Boss, you were truly fierce back there. That staff strike was explosive! Tsk tsk, that girl was so formidable, yet you smashed her into a pulp with a single blow. Good thing you didn't use that move on me, or I wouldn't have been able to take it." The lion was still reminiscing about what it had just witnessed.

The reason it had only just appeared was that earlier, Su Yang had sensed a battle at the gates of Yebei City and detected a familiar aura. He had sent the Purple Lightning Lion to investigate while he joined the fray at the Su family residence.

Previously, when General Yang led the City Lord’s mansion experts in a bloody battle against the Black Wind brothers, the situation had been dire. The three brothers were powerful and fought in perfect coordination. On the City Lord’s side, only General Yang held the strength of the peak Three Profound Realm; the others were barely worth mentioning. Under the relentless onslaught of the brothers, the City Lord’s men were slaughtered. Although Li Shanshan also possessed Three Profound Realm cultivation, she had no combat experience and did not know how to wield her power. To protect her, General Yang had to be extremely cautious, ultimately falling in battle against the three brothers.

Fortunately, the Purple Lightning Lion had arrived in time, instantly killing the Black Wind brothers and bringing the grieving Li Shanshan back to safety.

This led to the moment where Li Beiye had been nearly killed by Wang Lang. The person who intervened was Li Shanshan. General Yang’s death had filled her with immense guilt, and seeing her father in mortal danger caused the Polar Yin bloodline suppressed within her to finally erupt.

Wang Lang was unlucky. He had thought killing Li Beiye would be effortless, but just as those countless sword shadows were about to pierce Li Beiye, an icy, chilling energy erupted, instantly freezing all the shadows. They shattered into shards of ice that littered the ground.

"Impossible!" Wang Lang’s eyes bulged in disbelief. His proudest killing move had been neutralized so easily? When he saw the figure standing in the room, he nearly choked. It was Li Beiye’s daughter, Li Shanshan—someone he had never paid any mind to. The disparity between her previous insignificance and her current ability to effortlessly crush his lethal strike made him want to cough up blood.

"Daughter! How could you..." Li Beiye was stunned to see his daughter save him, but when he felt the frigid cold radiating from her, his expression shifted to one of horror. "Shanshan, don’t!" Ignoring his own wounds, he rushed to embrace her. A bone-chilling cold instantly spread through his body.

Li Shanshan, her face as delicate as a porcelain doll, smiled through her tears. "Father... I feel... so... so cold..."

"Die!" At that moment, Wang Lang, eyes bloodshot with rage, launched a sneak attack. He poured all his spiritual energy into a palm strike aimed at Li Shanshan’s back.

Li Beiye saw this and, regardless of the consequences, pulled Shanshan into his arms and turned his back to the strike. He braced for impact, but discovered that the power behind him had suddenly vanished. He looked back, and the sight left him speechless.

Wang Lang stood frozen, encased from head to toe in a layer of frost, completely unable to move.

"Don't you dare... hurt... my father!" Li Shanshan’s pupils had turned snow-white, and her breath was like frigid mist. As she spoke, Wang Lang’s frost-covered body shattered into pieces, dying just like his daughter, Wang Yiyi, as nothing more than a heap of flesh and blood.

Li Beiye gulped, but soon felt his daughter’s aura rapidly fading.

"Shanshan... Shanshan, you’ll be alright! Don’t fall asleep!" Li Beiye cried out, tears streaming down his face as he looked at her pale complexion.

Li Shanshan’s body went limp, her eyes slowly closing as she whispered, "I’m so sleepy..." With that, she lapsed into a deep unconsciousness.

Back at the scene, Su Yang remained unaware of the situation with Li Beiye, his gaze fixed on the old woman with murderous intent. Elder Bi was equally furious. She could not let the boy survive; if he did, how could she face her Sect Master? What face would she have left to return to the sect? Losing face was a minor matter, but the loss of such a rare genius was an outcome she could not accept.

Even with the addition of a Grade 6 demonic beast, her resolve to kill Su Yang remained unshakable.