"My master must have been here. He always cherished this sword; he wouldn't even let me touch it. I guess it held immense significance for him. Now, it appears here, and it's broken..."
"Master..."
After speaking, Ning Beichen bolted out, searching everywhere in the depths of the vortex for any sign of his master.
"Ning Beichen, wait for me."
Luo Yingying also rushed out after him.
Ning Beichen desperately searched the depths of the vortex for his master, but apart from the broken sword, he found nothing.
"Ning Beichen, don't worry too much. Perhaps your master has already left this place," Luo Yingying comforted him.
"His sword is broken. He must have been fighting a powerful enemy to break it," Ning Beichen said, looking at the broken sword in his hand with deep concern.
At this moment, Luo Yingying could only hold his hand, understanding profoundly how worried Ning Beichen was about his master.
"Never mind, good fortune favors the brave. If my master truly died at the hands of an enemy, I will avenge him," Ning Beichen said resolutely after a long silence.
It wasn't that he hadn't tried; he had scoured the deepest parts of the vortex and even enlisted Ning Xiaoling's help to search, but they found no trace of his master. Continuing the search was futile.
"Yes, I will be with you," Luo Yingying nodded and replied with equal determination.
Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying returned to the flying craft. They had stayed long enough and decided to leave Luoxing Sea and head back.
The flying craft zipped through Luoxing Sea, its speed at least a hundred times that of their sword flights. In less than a few days, Ning Beichen piloted the craft out of Luoxing Sea.
Shortly after, Ning Beichen returned to Feilai City.
"Here is the stone coffin you wanted," Ning Beichen said to Zhuge Jin, gesturing towards the flying craft hovering in the air.
If it were in the past, Ning Beichen would have been wary of Zhuge Jin, but he no longer feared him.
In truth, Ning Beichen himself didn't know how strong he had become, but he had a feeling that Zhuge Jin was like a child compared to him.
"Hahaha... Well done. As long as the stone coffin is genuine, you can leave anytime." Zhuge Jin likely hadn't expected Ning Beichen to succeed, so he was pleasantly surprised.
"However, I don't want to give you the stone coffin anymore," Ning Beichen added.
Zhuge Jin's gaze instantly turned cold.
"What did you say? I'll give you a chance to rephrase that." Zhuge Jin said coldly to Ning Beichen. After all, only a few months had passed, and he didn't believe that someone who couldn't even catch his tea could have any leverage.
"Saying it ten thousand times will yield the same result. I don't want to give you the stone coffin. It's that simple," Ning Beichen stated defiantly to Zhuge Jin.
"Ning Beichen, if you seek death, I shall grant it. I will kill you, and the stone coffin will still be mine." Zhuge Jin's murderous intent towards Ning Beichen was now ignited. He didn't actually know what was inside the stone coffin, only what some old legends spoke of.
"Zhuge Jin, from the day you threatened me, we have been enemies. So stop spewing such nonsensical threats meant to scare children." Ning Beichen toyed with his master's broken sword, then looked up and continued, "Zhuge Jin, tell me the whereabouts of my master's wife, and I can pretend this never happened."
"Ning Beichen, who do you think you are, daring to set conditions for me!" Zhuge Jin, furious, thrust a finger at Ning Beichen.
With a simple finger thrust, it transformed into a colossal digit in Ning Beichen's eyes. He felt like an ant before this immense finger. However, the current Ning Beichen was no longer the man he once was. As Luo Yingying had said, he might truly be heaven's favored child, always finding good fortune in desperate situations. Facing Zhuge Jin's attack, Ning Beichen didn't evade. He raised a finger and pointed it towards Zhuge Jin's finger, meeting force with force, attack with counter-attack.
With a bang! Ning Beichen's finger struck Zhuge Jin's enormous digit. It felt like a pebble hitting a boulder, with no chance of victory. Even Luo Yingying and the others watched Ning Beichen with concern. More anxious than Luo Yingying were Liu Yilin, Haitang, and Ye Lanxin, who still held onto their previous perception of Ning Beichen's strength, unaware of his recent cultivation advancements. As they worried intensely, the scene unfolding before them made them erupt in cheers.
Zhuge Jin's colossal finger, with Ning Beichen's effortless flick, shattered into pieces. This outcome was unbelievable and unacceptable to Zhuge Jin.
"Impossible! How did you become so powerful!" Zhuge Jin stared intently at Ning Beichen and exclaimed.
"How can a summer cicada speak of ice!" Ning Beichen said, looking at him with arrogant eyes.
"I know! You must have obtained the treasure inside the stone coffin! Hand over the stone coffin to me." Zhuge Jin pondered that Ning Beichen's rapid increase in strength must be due to some treasure, and it was undoubtedly related to the stone coffin. Therefore, his desire to obtain the stone coffin grew stronger. He leaped into the air and pressed his palm down towards Ning Beichen. Even with the treasure, his strength couldn't have increased that much in such a short time, so Zhuge Jin didn't believe Ning Beichen had the power to challenge him!
"Boundless Collapse!" Facing Zhuge Jin's menacing palm strike, Ning Beichen still didn't back down. He threw a punch at him. The past "Great Collapse" had been further improved by Ning Beichen, now transformed into "Boundless Collapse," its power hundreds of times greater than before. As Ning Beichen unleashed his punch, the void instantly caved in, creating a ten-square-meter black hole. Zhuge Jin, mid-air, felt his hair stand on end and narrowly dodged Ning Beichen's fist.
"What kind of fist technique is this?" Zhuge Jin asked, a hint of panic in his voice. Only now did he truly begin to regard Ning Beichen as a worthy opponent. However, he still underestimated Ning Beichen's strength. In terms of normal cultivation, Ning Beichen was still at the Profound Realm, not even at the transcendent level, let alone a venerable above that. But Ning Beichen's true strength could not be measured by ordinary cultivation and realms.
"Ning Beichen, I admit you are qualified to contend with me, but do you think this is enough to defeat me?"
"Sword, come!" Zhuge Jin roared. A sword broke through the sky from the main square of Feilai City and landed in Zhuge Jin's hand.
"Go!" Zhuge Jin pointed the sword in his hand at Ning Beichen. Innumerable sharp sword lights, like crescent moons, surged towards Ning Beichen.