Chapter Sixty-Four: Defying the World’s Greatest Taboos

When the Fifth Prince first entered the Deep Moon Pool and lost contact, Su Ye flew into a rage. Countless people were dispatched to investigate the identity of Miss Meng. Although this investigation had been ongoing for some time, this time the force behind it was so great that "turning over every stone" would be an understatement.

When Miss Meng's true identity was finally revealed, even though it was understandable that little information could be found due to the careful protection of Immortal Lord Meng, Su Ye was still nearly beside himself with fear. The thought that Miss Meng might, because of him, come to hate the prince and actually harm him filled Su Ye with dread. He would never be able to atone for such a crime, especially since he had always been deeply grateful for Zhang Ning's past kindness.

"No!" Su Ye suddenly spoke up. "Even though His Highness ordered us not to follow him... this is still far too reckless! Immediately send several Martial Emperors to protect His Highness, and Shang Wen, you go request Martial Saint-level support from the sect! His Highness is no longer live-streaming, so we have no way of knowing his situation, and even his location is uncertain. This is too dangerous! ...I will accept whatever punishment comes afterward!"

Shang Wen, who had been holding his breath, answered in a low voice, "Yes, sir." He was deeply shaken by Su Ye's loyalty to Zhang Ning. After all, a good strategist must first keep his composure and never cross his lord’s bottom line—acting without orders was already a grave taboo, let alone disobeying direct instructions. Of course Su Ye knew this.

Yet, he had so blatantly disregarded propriety, violating Zhang Ning's command to secretly send people to protect His Highness. Though it was from concern, it was also a serious breach of protocol. It was clear to Shang Wen that, in Su Ye's heart, the safety of his lord mattered more than his own career or even his life.

This realization filled Shang Wen with a heavy sense of foreboding. No matter what, Su Ye was unlikely to escape blame from His Highness, and if anything were to happen to Zhang Ning, the Half-Cat Tribe would be a clear warning of the consequences.

But as fate would have it, the next report made Shang Wen feel as if the sky was collapsing: a beast tide had erupted in the Ten-Thousand-Mountain Range!

At this time,

On the edge of the Five-Deep Gorge Grasslands,

Two figures hovered in the air. Judging by their effortless posture, they were both Martial Emperors.

Yet, despite their strength, they were wrapped tightly in cloaks, faces covered with black cloth, behaving with a furtiveness unbecoming of Martial Emperors.

One said, "Steelspike, do you see these beasts? Are they all mad? Could something have happened?"

The other replied with contempt, "Yunke, you worry too much! With our Saint here, what could possibly go wrong? Maybe the Saint’s aura leaked out accidentally—at his cultivation, these ants are fated to flee in terror. Let’s focus on our own task: we need to find that meddlesome brat quickly. How dare he come here to livestream on our turf—he's courting death!"

By the stream,

Meng Meng struggled to sit up and looked around anxiously.

The stream had alleviated her condition somewhat, but her body still felt unbearably weak. Yet this physical exhaustion did little to lessen her worry for Zhang Ning.

From Meng Meng’s perspective, Zhang Ning had saved her from the terrifying beast tide, placed her temporarily in a safe space while she was weak, then heroically led her to escape the danger, finally tossing her into the stream to cool down before running off.

When she had first landed in the stream, Meng Meng thought Zhang Ning was being foolish or cowardly. Now, as her mind cleared, she began to worry about his well-being.

Given how urgent the situation had been, Meng Meng understood that Zhang Ning had saved her—she just had no idea what secret technique he had used, or what kind of toll it might have taken on his body.

For a martial artist whose cultivation was at best at the Martial Platform level to temporarily open up space, the cost must have been immense. If it was merely a matter of burning blood essence or soul, such injuries could be healed in a powerful sect. But if the secret art harmed Zhang Ning’s potential on the martial path—that was the truly terrifying prospect.

How important is martial potential to someone? If the worst happened, Meng Meng dared not imagine what Zhang Ning’s life would become. His master was, after all, a notorious fiend—should Zhang Ning lose his value, he would be discarded at once.

Of course, Meng Meng couldn’t be sure that the price of Zhang Ning’s secret art was his martial potential. Still, what Zhang Ning had accomplished was so extraordinary that Meng Meng had never even heard of a similar technique. What if... All sorts of dreadful scenarios crowded her mind.

As her anxiety grew, at last someone appeared before her: the Zhang Ning she had been so worried about!

Just as Meng Meng was about to scold him with a mixture of concern and irritation, Zhang Ning suddenly collapsed in front of her, unable to hold himself up any longer!

Startled, Meng Meng realized Zhang Ning was also soaking wet.

Her cheeks flushed bright red. "You—you—are you all right?"

Zhang Ning replied, "Miss Meng, I’m sorry for dropping you just now—the situation was urgent. But we managed to get through it!"

He forced a weak smile, feeling pain wrack his body—the aftereffects of his transformation still tormenting him.

Meng Meng’s gaze flickered. "Who told you to act tough! I told you, I could protect you!"

Zhang Ning only smiled in response.

The more Meng Meng looked at him, the more upset she felt, a bittersweet ache filling her heart. She couldn’t help recalling how Zhang Ning had helped her retrieve her grandmother’s keepsake. Now, a different emotion welled up inside her.

If only he weren’t my brother, she thought.

Zhang Ning felt the atmosphere had grown a bit strange. Just as he was about to ruin the mood with a joke, a hearty, booming laugh echoed from above.

"Hahaha! You haven’t made it through this trial yet!"

Startled, Zhang Ning and Meng Meng looked up to see two figures floating in the air, cloaks wrapped around their bodies, faces hidden behind black cloth—undeniably Martial Emperors.

Seeing Zhang Ning and Meng Meng focus on them, the two men pulled off their disguises in unison.

One had a rough face, with two long tusks protruding from his lips and short, thick black spikes breaking through his clothing at his back. The other had long legs, a pale face, and, where arms should have been, a pair of wings.

Having seen countless abduction plots in novels and TV dramas, Zhang Ning immediately felt a chill.

Beside him, Meng Meng gasped, "Steelspike! Yunke?!"

Her call seemed to please the two. Yunke only pursed his lips, while Steelspike roared with laughter, "So the little girl knows who we are!"

Zhang Ning glanced at Meng Meng, who quickly explained: Steelspike, the one with spikes on his back, was a boar demon; Yunke, with wings for arms, was a crane demon. Both were powerful Martial Emperors of the demon race, under the command of the "Golden Lion Saint."