Chapter 419: Cannot Be Spared

Seeing this, Wan Hai looked at Shen Daoxing. "Little Junior Brother, since Pan Cheng has already admitted his mistake, and we're all fellow disciples, why don't you spare him?"

Beside them, Tang Yi also nodded. "That's right, Little Junior Brother. Although the sect rules permit us to fight here, killing fellow disciples is forbidden."

"Yes! Yes! We're all fellow disciples!"

Hearing this, Luo Ying became emotional and kowtowed repeatedly. "Thank you for sparing me, Senior Brother Wan Hai! Thank you for sparing me, Junior Sister Tang Yi!"

Since Wan Hai and Tang Yi had both spoken, Shen Daoxing couldn't very well refuse. He slowly began to withdraw the Great Ming Demon Sparrow. But just as he was about to put it away, his arm moved, and he swung.

Immediately.

PFFT!

A crimson arrow of blood shot high into the air.

Pan Cheng's head suddenly flew from his neck, tracing a graceful arc through the sky.

"???"

Beside them, Luo Ying froze, stunned.

The next moment.

He felt a sudden chill in his chest. Looking down, he saw that a massive, jet-black sword had already pierced through him.

Luo Ying's eyes widened, and he fell to the ground, stiff as a board.

"Little Junior Brother!"

Wan Hai and Tang Yi were both frozen in astonishment.

Shen Daoxing remained indifferent, only slowly retracting the Great Ming Demon Sparrow. "If I hadn't killed Pan Cheng today, he would have surely sought revenge in the future!"

It was obvious. Although Pan Cheng had just bowed his head and admitted his fault to Wan Hai, he hadn't been the least bit sincere. If they had let him go, he would have become a major threat in the future. Besides, Shen Daoxing couldn't be there to protect Wan Hai and Tang Yi forever.

As for Luo Ying, he was a silver-tongued sycophant with an inscrutable mind. He absolutely could not be allowed to live.

Besides.

Shen Daoxing turned and glanced at the Blood Fiend Demon Puppet nearby.

The man had casually murdered innocent people just to create a single puppet. Letting him go would only result in more deaths at his hands.

Wan Hai and Tang Yi paused and exchanged a look, but they said nothing more. They both knew that Shen Daoxing's actions were, in fact, correct. It was just that Pan Cheng and Luo Ying were, after all, fellow disciples.

Shen Daoxing then extended the Great Ming Demon Sparrow and, with a light flick, lifted the bodies of Pan Cheng and Luo Ying.

Next, he leaped up and landed beneath a nearby Cannibal Flower on a Thorny Demon Vine. With another gentle flick of the Great Ming Demon Sparrow, he tossed both Pan Cheng and Luo Ying into the flower's massive maw.

"CRUNCH! CRUNCH!"

The Thorny Demon Vine's Cannibal Flower began to chew instinctively.

Afterward, Shen Daoxing threw all of Pan Cheng and Luo Ying's belongings into the Cannibal Flower before stopping.

Just then, the Cannibal Flower, having swallowed Pan Cheng's body, began to spit out several square objects with a disgusted PFFT! PFFT!

They were Trial Jade Tokens.

Shen Daoxing looked down and counted them. 'Damn,' he thought, 'there are over a dozen of them.'

Evidently, the two had ambushed quite a few people here.

Once he had taken care of everything, Shen Daoxing slowly retracted the Great Ming Demon Sparrow. "Let's go."

Watching how practiced Shen Daoxing was, it was clear this wasn't his first time.

Wan Hai stared at Shen Daoxing with a strange expression the entire time. Finally, he paused and couldn't help but ask, "Little Junior Brother, who exactly are you?"

To have such terrifying strength with only a Spirit Transformation Realm cultivation... no matter how Wan Hai looked at him, this Little Junior Brother was anything but simple.

Shen Daoxing looked up at Wan Hai and said calmly, "Just an outer sect disciple of the Cyan Nether Sword Sect, that's all."

Wan Hai's eyes widened. He stared at Shen Daoxing, his face a mask of disbelief, but since Shen Daoxing was unwilling to elaborate, he couldn't press the matter.

Still, Wan Hai hesitated for a moment before asking, "Little Junior Brother, are you really only at the Ninth Layer of the Spirit Transformation Realm?"

"Yes."

Shen Daoxing nodded.

Hearing this, Wan Hai was still in disbelief. "But Pan Cheng was an expert at the Ninth Layer of the Earth Profound Realm!"

Shen Daoxing silently turned his head to look at Wan Hai. "Is the Ninth Layer of the Earth Profound Realm supposed to be strong?"

Wan Hai was instantly speechless, unsure of what to say.

Generally speaking, it was normal for geniuses to fight opponents at a higher level. However, that was usually limited to fighting within the same major realm. To jump an entire major realm was unheard of. And he had jumped from the Ninth Layer of the Spirit Transformation Realm to the Ninth Layer of the Earth Profound Realm—a full major realm higher. Moreover, that Pan Cheng had been no ordinary Ninth Layer Earth Profound expert.

...

After that, Shen Daoxing, Wan Hai, and Tang Yi didn't linger and continued on their way.

Without Pan Cheng to obstruct them, Wan Hai and Tang Yi's own strength was more than enough to pass with ease.

With Shen Daoxing in their party, the rest of the journey was naturally free of problems. Soon, the three of them saw the towering Pengze Immortal Mountain.

At that moment, a large crowd had already gathered at the foot of Pengze Immortal Mountain, all of them Inner Sect Disciples.

However, none of them looked very happy. They were all disciples who had either had their Trial Jade Tokens stolen or had voluntarily forfeited the trial and been escorted out by the sect Stewards.

Many of the disciples were also seriously injured, courtesy of Pan Cheng and Luo Ying. The three disciples led by Ling Feng, whom Shen Daoxing's group had encountered earlier, were among them.

At that moment, the crowd was buzzing with discussion.

"I heard that Pan Cheng and Luo Ying have been camping down there, attacking anyone they run into to steal their Trial Jade Tokens. More than a dozen teams have already been crushed by them."

"A team only needs three Trial Jade Tokens. Why are they stealing so many?"

"You wouldn't know, would you? It's to cut down the number of people who pass the assessment. The fewer people who pass this time, the less competition they'll face later."

"Tsk, tsk. Those two, Pan Cheng and Luo Ying, are truly vicious!"

"Looks like this time, no one else can even dream of passing."

Someone shook their head in silence.

"Someone's coming! Someone's coming!"

Suddenly, someone shouted loudly.

The crowd quickly turned to look. Ahead, a patch of tall bushes rustled, and three figures leaped out. But the newcomers weren't Pan Cheng and Luo Ying's group; they were Wan Hai, Tang Yi, and Shen Daoxing.

"???"

Seeing this, the crowd was stunned and a little surprised.

"Senior Brother Wan Hai? Junior Sister Tang Yi? Don't tell me you didn't run into Pan Cheng and Luo Ying?"

Someone couldn't help but ask.

Hearing this, Wan Hai and Tang Yi instinctively glanced at Shen Daoxing. The thought of Pan Cheng and Luo Ying lying in the Cannibal Flower's mouth, possibly already digested, made them quickly shake their heads.

Seeing this, the crowd couldn't help but show expressions of envy, directed especially at Shen Daoxing. A mere outer sect disciple had managed to safely pass the assessment by riding the coattails of two Earth Profound Realm masters. After all, every single Inner Sect Disciple here was stronger than him, yet they had all been eliminated.