Within the ancestral lands of the Zhang clan, the very earth groaned and tore asunder. Great fissures snaked across the ground, swallowing figures whole, their cries of terror swallowed by the earth’s maw.

The Zhang clan scattered like startled fowl, their wails echoing the chaos. The invited cultivators, once hailed as protectors, were now consumed by their own fear, their faces etched with self-preservation.

Houses crumbled, buildings toppled, and the bonds of kinship and friendship fractured as survival became the sole imperative. A panorama of misery unfolded before the eye, a symphony of sorrow assaulted the ear.

Through this maelstrom of destruction, a figure walked with unnerving composure. Zhang Linchuan, a handkerchief held to his nose, shielded himself from the choking dust. The cataclysmic disaster seemed to possess no hold upon him.

This scene, this world ablaze with peril, disarray, and filth, was like a descent into a human hell. Yet, he remained unstained, a pristine anomaly amidst the decay. He was utterly detached, severed from the unfolding tragedy before him.

He quickened his pace.

“Linchuan! Save me, save Father!”

As he passed the threshold of his own home, he saw his father, a figure of panic, wildly gesticulating. One shoe had been lost, his gait a frantic limp. The mask of his usual composure had dissolved, replaced by a face streaming with tears of terror. Even the household servants, in their desperate flight, had abandoned the dignity of their master.

A chasm tore through the very gate of the Zhang family mansion, splitting it in two. On the other side of the widening fissure, his mother cried out, “Linchuan, run! Don’t mind us! Just run!”

Zhang Linchuan merely cast a fleeting glance in their direction before continuing his measured walk, past the wreckage of his home. Pleas for help, cries of concern – all seemed utterly irrelevant to him.

Outside the Jicingsi Temple in Maple Forest City, behind the statue of Bi An, only half a head was visible. This was Huang A Zhan. He had been lurking here even before the city-wide ground裂 unfolded. In truth, he had been observing the surroundings for several days.

Today was the day Fang He Ling regularly attended the Jicingsi for interrogation, a day when Xiao Tie Mian would habitually accompany him. The session would be concluding soon, and they would emerge. Huang A Zhan had meticulously calculated this timing, confident in its accuracy.

His objective was straightforward: from the optimal angle, unleash the most decisive attack. Then, swiftly cover Xiao Tie Mian’s head and deliver a brutal beating, a long-awaited retribution for past slights and old grievances. (Only he, in his heart, believed this task to be simple.)

In reality, his numerous “sparring matches” with Xiao Tie Mian had not forged a blood feud of epic proportions. It was more akin to a prolonged, perhaps peculiar, game between teacher and student. If he were to somehow succeed, Xiao Tie Mian might not even retaliate harshly. But failure… failure meant a naked air-drying session.

Huang A Zhan saw himself as a brave, unyielding champion against evil forces, with Xiao Tie Mian embodying the very essence of those forces. Regardless of the convoluted reasoning, he was determined to exact his revenge. He had tried and failed countless times, but Huang A Zhan was a man of unwavering resolve.

According to his strategic analysis, Xiao Tie Mian, even if he racked his brain, could never conceive that someone would attack him at the very gates of the Jicingsi. This was the element of surprise, catching the unprepared. And his meticulous preparations, his various contingency plans, exemplified the principle of waiting at ease for the weary enemy, calculating with intention against an unsuspecting opponent. In terms of military strategy, he was already victorious!

In short, all was prepared.

Then…

The ground disaster struck. It was beyond his wildest imaginings, a scenario for which he had no contingency plan whatsoever. For a moment, he was frozen, unsure whether to maintain his ambush position or flee for his life.

As the ground tore open, the entirety of the Jicingsi building behind him abruptly collapsed. Then, he witnessed the cultivators of Jicingsi surge outwards, scattering in all directions.

“Those skilled in Earth Element Dao techniques, exert your utmost to mend the ground fissures! The fastest team, follow me to the north city! That is where the most people are!” Executive Officer Shan Cha leaped onto a high point, his voice ringing out above the din as he directed the disaster relief efforts.

Having issued the command, he led a group towards the northern city with haste. At that very moment, a Jicingsi cultivator rushed towards him, panting out a report: “Head, the Zhao family side…”

“Zhao your mother, still Zhao family!” Shan Cha struck the man with a resounding slap, sending him sprawling. “First, go save the people!”

As the Jicingsi cultivators dispersed to aid in the disaster, Xiao Tie Mian, carrying Fang He Ling, also shot out swiftly. His gaze fell upon Huang A Zhan, frozen in shock.

“What are you standing there for?” he bellowed immediately. “Go help save people!”

At that moment, he was unaware of the true scale and reach of the disaster. Yet, he held firm to the cultivator’s duty to protect ordinary mortals from calamity. This was the core concept he had always instilled in his students, a principle he himself steadfastly upheld.

As he spoke, he released Fang He Ling, barking orders: “I will return to the Dao Academy to organize the students for disaster relief. Huang A Zhan, go to the north city. Fang He Ling, go to the south city. Cooperate with the Jicingsi and the city guard army to save people. Quickly!”

“Ah? Oh!” Huang A Zhan was momentarily stunned. In this chaotic situation, all thoughts of sneak attacks and revenge vanished. He turned and immediately went to aid in the rescue.

Fang He Ling, however, spoke: “No need.”

Xiao Tie Mian frowned, turning back, but a sharp pain pierced his heart. A blazing, burning flame knife had plunged directly into it. This was an instant Dao technique Fang He Ling had inscribed upon stepping into the Zhou Tian realm, the very technique whose slow casting had led to his public defeat by Jiang Wang’s sword.

Fang He Ling released the flame knife, a smile gracing his lips as if a great burden had been lifted. “I have waited for this day. It has finally arrived.”

“You truly… are problematic!” Xiao Tie Mian roared, extending a palm. But Fang He Ling had already retreated gracefully, a considerable distance away. His palm strike missed, the half-formed Dao technique dissipating. His entire body suddenly crumpled to the ground.

Suspicion had always clung to Fang He Ling, yet he remained as stable as a mountain. Dong A had not moved against him, fearing to alert the enemy. Jicingsi could not move against him due to insufficient evidence and the protection of the Dao Academy. And the White Bone Dao had deliberately used him to sow confusion and misdirection.

Xiao Tie Mian, completely unaware of the intricate schemes at play, had simply upheld his responsibility as an instructor, protecting his student, even saving him out at the critical juncture of the ground disaster. To him, it was a matter of course. And due to the asymmetry of information, he had, from beginning to end, never been on guard against Fang He Ling.

He had never expected to lose his life in this manner. He was forty-one years old.

Huang A Zhan watched the scene unfold, his eyelids twitching uncontrollably. He profoundly disliked Xiao Tie Mian. Among all the instructors at the city’s Dao Academy, Xiao Tie Mian was the most severe, and not a single student genuinely liked him. It was simply that no one dared to openly confront him.

Yes, he had wanted to give Xiao Tie Mian a brutal beating. To beat him until his face was blue and swollen, until he couldn’t get out of bed, until he was utterly miserable.

But to kill him? Huang A Zhan had never once entertained that thought.

Xiao Tie Mian was deeply disliked, but he was also the most dedicated instructor, the most responsible. No matter who approached him, no matter the time, no matter the doubt, he would never provide a perfunctory answer. Though he might scold you for being foolish, perhaps hit you with a ruler, knock your head, or even hang you up for public display. But Xiao Tie Mian, he… he never had a bad heart.

He genuinely cared for his students. Regardless of how one disliked his teaching methods, one could not deny his good intentions. And he had just… died, just like that, at the very moment he was preparing to return to the Dao Academy to summon his students for disaster relief, killed by another student he had personally saved.

What kind of world was this?

“Tiger wasn’t wrong,” Huang A Zhan muttered, “That guy, he really is someone I deeply dislike!”

He looked at Fang He Ling, flung out two flame bombs, and charged forward, his entire being following the fiery projectiles.

“What are you?” Fang He Ling responded coldly, his hand condensing a flame knife as he stepped forward to chop.

The two flame bombs interacted instantly, exploding just as Fang He Ling approached! His vision blurred. Amidst a sky full of sparks, Huang A Zhan raised his flame knife high, descending from the air.

Fang He Ling met the strike with a horizontal block. Supported by Dao Yuan, the clash of the two flame knives actually produced a metallic clang. In his haste, Fang He Ling was forced back half a step. Huang A Zhan delivered a fierce kick, sending him flying several Zhang.

His landing point was a freshly formed ground fissure. The green bricks were already broken, the street sinking. Fang He Ling grabbed the ground with one hand, using the force to pull himself up, then leaped forward, once again facing Huang A Zhan.

Shock surged through him. Among Jiang Wang’s group, he cared most about Jiang Wang and most dreaded the volatile temper of Du Ye Hu. But as for Huang A Zhan, despite being a senior student from a previous session, he had never regarded him highly. A person who grinned and giggled all day, either flattering others or recklessly courting death – what value did such a person possess?

He had never expected that, under Huang A Zhan’s assault, he would be almost powerless to resist! Huang A Zhan stood with his flame knife, confronting Fang He Ling across the ground fissure.

Just at this moment, they suddenly heard an ethereal voice, like a song, like a chant, that cut through the rumble of the ground cracks and the heaven-shaking cries of sorrow, clearly spreading throughout the entire city.

“Heaven and Earth are heartless, monarch’s grace is not sought, kin’s grace does not exist, teacher’s grace becomes enmity!”

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