"Your brother's maid.
Where is she?!"
The question from the head of the Shi family hit Shi Yun Suan like a hammer.
He trembled.
He hesitated.
"Talk!"
Shi Yun Han was furious.
His eldest son had disgraced himself in the most disgusting way possible.
His Emperor-Level aura erupted from his body, forcing Shi Yun Suan onto his knees.
Shi Yun Suan finally broke.
"I left her there."
"..."
Shi Yun Lan didn't say a word to his brother.
He simply turned toward his father.
"I ask for permission to go there and bring her back, Head of the Family."
Shi Yun Han wanted to stop him.
But he saw it.
A faint glow in his son's eyes despite the deadly aura surrounding him.
Shi Yun Han took a deep breath.
"Fine.
I'll send a squad with you."
Shi Yun Lan nodded.
He didn't even give Shi Yun Suan another glance.
He had no time to waste.
...
Shi Yun Lan prepared to leave.
Bi Ri wanted to accompany him.
But he stopped her.
"Stay here.
Prepare dinner.
And take care of yourself."
Bi Ri couldn't argue.
She knew her young master better than almost anyone.
She trusted him.
"Yes, my young master."
She knew he would return with Phyllis.
And anyone who tried to stand in his way would probably die.
But before he left, Bi Ri added,
"You must take Leon."
"But Father—"
"No buts!
He's your guard, and protecting you is his job!"
"..."
Shi Yun Lan found himself unable to respond.
...
The teleportation circle shone.
A squad of warriors stood behind Shi Yun Lan and Leon.
Shi Yun Lan looked at them.
"Your primary mission is to protect me.
Nothing more."
"Yes, young master!"
He turned and stepped into the circle.
The light swallowed them.
...
When they arrived, Shi Yun Lan immediately noticed the destruction.
The lands belonging to the Jian family had been devastated.
He paid no attention to the ruins.
His only concern was Phyllis.
Unlike his previous search for Bi Ri, there was no teleportation stone left to track her.
So he recalled Phyllis's aura.
He released his own.
Then he followed the faint traces.
"Hmmm?"
A group of men dressed in black noticed him.
Their leader stepped forward.
"Where are you going, little man?"
Shi Yun Lan immediately recognized the aura.
It was the same aura he had sensed from the flower that caused the plague.
'So these people were connected to the organization.'
He wasn't interested in asking questions.
"Get out of my way."
"What...?"
The men looked at each other.
Then they burst into laughter.
"Did you hear him?!"
Their leader stepped forward.
"You can become our errand boy, and maybe we'll let you live.
But what—"
Before he could finish—
Shi Yun Lan moved.
His palm landed directly on the man's chest.
"(Art of Annihilation: Body of the Dead)."
His fingers pierced into the man's heart.
The man's body suddenly went limp.
"Life is less painful when it ends."
He collapsed.
The other men froze.
Danger.
They finally realized what stood before them.
"Attack!"
"Surround him!"
"Don't let him—!"
Shi Yun Lan advanced.
His fingers transformed into bony claws.
Sword Intent covered them.
He moved.
One strike.
Another.
Another.
The battlefield became silent.
Bodies fell.
Heads rolled across the ground.
Blood splattered the earth.
The screams of the men were swallowed by the slaughter.
Soon, only one remained.
He trembled.
"Spare me!
Please—"
A head hit the ground.
Silence returned.
Leon approached.
"The squad found Phyllis.
They're taking care of the Noble-Level warriors."
"Alright."
Shi Yun Lan immediately ran.
...
He reached the village where he had once studied with Jian Blu Eva.
But there was no one there.
"There."
He sensed Phyllis's aura.
He followed it.
Leon frowned.
"Young Master...
I feel uneasy about this silence."
Shi Yun Lan nodded.
He felt it too.
The wars between warriors shouldn't have affected ordinary people this much.
Then—
A smell reached them.
Blood.
Shi Yun Lan remembered the flower.
The source of the plague.
He sensed its aura again.
He accelerated.
They reached the building where he had once studied under Jian Blu Eva.
It had become a slaughterhouse.
Shi Yun Lan saw the massacre.
He noticed the same organization responsible for it.
He unsheathed his sword.
"Die."
He attacked without warning.
The men were caught off guard.
They tried to regroup.
But Leon moved first.
His sword flashed.
Heads fell.
Soon, only one man remained.
Shi Yun Lan approached him.
"The captives.
Where are they?"
The man tried to maintain his courage.
"I won't—"
"(Art of Annihilation: Body of the Dead)."
Shi Yun Lan placed his hand against the man's face.
The flesh began to rot.
The man screamed.
Leon trembled.
'When did the young master develop such a terrifying side?!'
He looked at Shi Yun Lan.
Then he remembered his answer from before.
'It must be my fault.'
Shi Yun Lan turned toward him.
"Leon.
Secure the outer area.
Wait for my signal."
"Yes!"
Shi Yun Lan immediately ran.
He entered the building.
...
"My young master?!"
Phyllis was inside.
Her clothes were filthy.
Her body trembled.
She looked traumatized.
"Phyllis..."
"Don't come closer!
I'll infect you!"
"It doesn't matter."
Shi Yun Lan ignored her warning.
He walked forward.
Then he embraced her.
"The... young master?!"
She felt the warmth of his body.
But then—
"(Art of Annihilation: Body of the Dead)."
His deadly aura surrounded them.
It entered Phyllis's body.
The plague began dying.
Every foreign aura attempting to affect her was destroyed.
"That's..."
Phyllis couldn't find the words.
She was being held by the young master she loved.
Surrounded by death and horror.
Yet he was saving her.
She smiled.
Then she hugged him back.
Shi Yun Lan remained focused on the treatment.
Finally—
"We're done."
The disease had disappeared from Phyllis's body.
But she continued hugging him.
"My young master Lan...
That's the second time you've rescued me."
"Phyllis..."
"I love you, my young master."
"..."
Shi Yun Lan remained silent.
Then he looked around.
"Are we going to die?"
"What?!
Absolutely not!"
Phyllis couldn't believe his question.
Shi Yun Lan continued calmly,
"A love confession in a place like this, while surrounded by corpses...
Is this your idea of a romantic atmosphere?"
"Oh..."
Phyllis's face turned red.
"That's—"
"Go home.
We'll talk about it there."
Shi Yun Lan released her.
Then he looked around.
"Weren't there other people?"
Phyllis lowered her head.
"The organization took the villagers.
They led them to the next village."
"Why?"
"To target Jian Blu Eva."
"Hmmm?"
Shi Yun Lan didn't understand.
"Why are they targeting her?"
Phyllis shook her head.
"I don't know."
Shi Yun Lan thought for a moment.
"Why didn't they take you?"
Phyllis smiled weakly.
"They saw that the normal disease couldn't affect me.
So they increased the dosage.
They decided I was a useful specimen."
She smiled helplessly.
"They wanted to take me to the organisation for studying.
She looked at him.
"That's because of you."
Shi Yun Lan understood.
After he had treated her before, her body had gained a certain resistance to dangerous diseases.
He fell silent.
Then he called Leon.
Leon appeared immediately.
"Leon.
Tell the squad to find Mistress Jian Blu Eva."
Leon obeyed and left.
Shi Yun Lan sat down.
He made a simple decision.
'She is my mistress, after all.
I should help her at least once.'
...
Leon returned shortly afterward.
"She's in the next village.
She's at the gate.
There are several Noble-Level warriors surrounding her.
But she's at the King Level now.
I suggest you don't go there."
Shi Yun Lan showed no expression.
"She's weak.
She's not a warrior like us.
We have to rescue her."
Leon immediately stopped him.
"The Jian family will reach her.
They'll help her.
You don't have to face—"
"Leon."
Shi Yun Lan interrupted him.
His voice was cold.
"She is my mistress.
And I am her disciple.
I have to protect her."
He looked toward Phyllis.
"Take care of Phyllis until I return."
Then he ran toward the village.
...
"Why?!
Why are you doing this?!"
Jian Blu Eva's eyes were filled with disbelief.
She felt betrayed.
A young master stood before her.
He was the golden-haired, arrogant young master of the Lioga family from the Central Continent.
"Beauty Queen...
Don't feel betrayed.
You always reject my proposals and break my heart.
I only want compensation."
He smiled arrogantly.
"A man like me and a beauty like you...
We must be destined for each other.
So why do you keep rejecting me?"
Jian Blu Eva looked at him coldly.
"Because I've already fallen in love with someone."
"...Huh?"
The man's expression froze.
He couldn't believe her.
But he saw her eyes.
She wasn't lying.
"WHO?!
Who could make you feel like that?!
If it isn't me...
It must be that brat from the Shi family!
Isn't it?!"
Jian Blu Eva looked at him with disdain.
"Shi Yun Suan?
He doesn't even deserve to serve my beloved."
"You...!"
The man's face twisted with rage.
"I offered you an easy path to peace.
But you chose suffering!
Come here!"
He called for his men.
No one answered.
"Come here!"
Still nothing.
"Where are those sons of—"
"Busy with my men."
The man's eyes widened.
Shi Yun Lan walked into the area.
"I've freed the captives.
Now it's your turn."
The man raised his spear.
"Who are you?!"
"Shi Yun Lan.
From the Shi family."
Shi Yun Lan raised his sword.
"Release her.
And I won't kill you."
Jian Blu Eva stared at him.
Warmth spread through her heart.
But fear followed immediately.
"Lan!
Get out of here!"
The man burst into laughter.
"You?!
Kill me?!
Hahaha!"
He continued,
"I haven't heard a joke like that in my entire life!
A mere Pillar-Level warrior wants to kill a Noble-Level warrior?!"
Shi Yun Lan tilted his head.
"I see.
A mere Noble-Level warrior dared to attack a King-Level warrior.
Where is the difference?"
"You—!"
Shi Yun Lan didn't give him time to finish.
His sword flashed.
Bloody aura covered the blade.
The man blocked the attack.
But his expression changed.
"Do you feel it?"
Shi Yun Lan stepped back.
The man looked at his arm.
"Your attack...
What did you do?!"
"(Art of Annihilation: Body of the Dead)."
Shi Yun Lan calmly explained,
"It allows me to change the properties of my body.
To make it like the dead."
"No pain."
"No limits."
"No fear."
"But against you..."
His aura spread through his sword.
The blade transformed into something resembling a bloody bone.
"My art destroys your body with every attack."
Fear appeared in the man's eyes.
He released his aura desperately, trying to force the deadly aura out of his body.
"I'll kill you, little brat!"
He raised his spear.
Brilliant light gathered around its tip.
"(Final Judgment)!"
The light exploded.
It blinded Jian Blu Eva.
"LAN!!!"
But—
Shi Yun Lan saw everything.
The attack struck him head-on, yet his body endured it.
"What?!"
The man's expression changed.
He touched Shi Yun Lan's hand and immediately retreated.
"How did you block my spear?!"
Shi Yun Lan looked at him.
"You have a weak memory.
I already told you.
I have the (Body of the Dead).
I don't need eyes to see.
I can sense everything through my aura."
He continued,
"I also rearranged my body.
I condensed my bones to resist your attack.
And I spread my flesh to absorb the remaining force."
Jian Blu Eva stared at him.
She was worried.
But Shi Yun Lan continued calmly.
"I've imitated the effects of the plague that occurred two years ago."
A perfect smile showed up on his face.
"You should check yourself."
The man instinctively raised his hand.
His expression changed.
The flesh on his hand had begun to rot.
"That's..."
Horror appeared on his face.