Chapter 72: Prodigy

Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Prodigy

Feeling the approaching tremors, Li Jian shifted his attention from the woman to the forest behind her.

A moment later, the trees shook violently.

Boom!

A massive figure burst through the vegetation, snapping branches and crushing everything in its path.

It was a snake demonic beast with dark scales covering its body, a pair of curved horns protruding from its head, and glowing red eyes fixed firmly on the fleeing woman.

Its heavy slithering made the ground tremble with every movement.

Li Jian’s expression changed slightly.

’What kind of monster is that?’

Even from their hiding place, he could feel the oppressive aura radiating from the beast.

It was clearly no ordinary opponent, and judging by the damage it caused simply by charging through the forest, its physical strength was frightening.

Yet the woman didn’t seem particularly concerned.

She glanced over her shoulder, her green eyes sparkling with excitement as the beast drew closer.

"Come on! Is that all you’ve got?"

Her voice carried an unmistakable hint of provocation.

Li Jian stared at her.

’Is she actually taunting it?’

The woman suddenly changed direction, leaping over a fallen tree before landing lightly on the other side.

The demonic beast followed without hesitation, smashing straight through the obstacle rather than bothering to go around it.

Branches and splinters flew everywhere.

But then—

"...Isn’t that Big Sis Long Ning?" Chen Lei murmured, his eyes widening as he recognized the woman.

Li Jian turned to Chen Lei, who was still staring at the fleeing woman with a mixture of shock and disbelief.

"Who is she?" he whispered.

Chen Lei looked at him as if he had just asked something unbelievable.

"Brother Li, you don’t know Big Sis Long Ning?"

Li Jian frowned and shook his head.

Even with the memories of the original Li Jian, he had very little information about Long Ning.

He knew she was an outer disciple, but that was about it, judging by her sect robe.

Chen Lei stared at him for a moment before hurriedly lowering his voice to explain.

"Big Sis Long Ning is one of the outer sect’s top beauties, just like Senior Sister Su Qin. But unlike Senior Sister Su, she’s famous for more than just her appearance."

He glanced toward the forest, where Long Ning was still leading the enormous snake through the trees.

"She’s incredibly talented and strong, too. She’s only eighteen, yet she’s already reached the peak of Qi Refinement! There are even rumors that an Elder has taken an interest in her and intends to accept her as a personal disciple once she breaks through to Foundation Establishment."

Li Jian was a bit surprise to hear this.

After all, an Elder’s personal disciple was no small matter.

Even among the inner disciples, not everyone had the qualifications to attract an Elder’s attention.

Yet Long Ning had already caught the Elders’ attention before even breaking through to Foundation Establishment. That alone proved there was something special about her.

Li Jian watched her leap over another obstacle, her movements light and agile.

’She’s certainly living up to her reputation.’

’But if she’s so talented, why is she being chased by that thing? And...’

Li Jian glanced at Chen Lei.

"Why do you keep calling her Big Sis?"

Chen Lei blinked, and an awkward expression spread across his round face.

Surprisingly, Wang Hun and Zhang Zhao also exchanged uneasy glances, both wearing awkward smiles.

Li Jian narrowed his eyes slightly.

"...What?"

"Well..." Chen Lei scratched the back of his head, exchanging a quick glance with Wang Hun and Zhang Zhao.

"We’re... acquainted with Big Sis Long Ning. That’s all."

"Yeah, that’s all," Wang Hun hurriedly echoed, nodding a little too enthusiastically.

Zhang Zhao coughed awkwardly and looked away. "It’s nothing worth mentioning, Brother Li."

Li Jian stared at the three of them, his suspicion growing with every word.

Before he could press them for an explanation, another tremendous crash rang out from the forest, followed by Long Ning’s delighted laughter.

And suddenly a flash of purple lighting erupted from the forest.

Long Ning abruptly stopped running and spun around.

The enormous horned snake surged toward her, its jaws opening wide enough to swallow a grown man whole.

Instead of retreating, she grinned.

"Finally! Let’s see how tough you really are!"

She planted one foot against the ground, and spiritual energy surged through her body.

Purple lightning crackled around her right fist, spreading across her arm in twisting arcs.

The air itself seemed to tremble beneath the growing pressure.

Then she drew her fist back.

"Purple Lightning Fist!"

BOOM!

She launched herself forward, meeting the charging beast head-on.

Then her fist struck the snake squarely on the head.

For an instant, everything seemed to freeze.

Then a blinding flash of purple lightning swallowed the clearing.

CRAAACK!

BOOOM!

Thunder exploded through the forest as countless bolts of lightning crawled across the beast’s dark scales.

Its enormous body buckled under the impact, and the force of the punch sent its head crashing into the ground.

BOOOM!

BOOOM!

The earth split beneath it.

Dust and broken stones erupted into the air, while nearby trees shook violently from the shock wave.

Even the demonic beast’s tremendous body was forced backward, carving a deep trench through the soil before finally coming to a halt.

Long Ning landed lightly on her feet, her fist still wrapped in flickering purple lightning.

She rolled her shoulder as though she had merely finished a warm-up exercise.

"Ha! That felt pretty good!"

Behind the boulder, Chen Lei’s mouth hung open.

Wang Hun and Zhang Zhao stared at the devastated clearing, momentarily unable to speak.

Li Jian, too, watched the scene with widened eyes.

She knocked that thing back with her bare fist?

He had already suspected that Long Ning was no ordinary outer disciple, but seeing her strength firsthand was another matter entirely.

Her physical strength, control over spiritual energy, and the power packed into that single punch were all remarkable.

Yet before Li Jian could think further, the enormous snake began to move again.

Its head slowly lifted from the crater, revealing a long crack running across several of its scales.

Its crimson eyes burned even brighter.

Long Ning’s grin widened.

"Oh? You can still get up?"

She raised her fists again, ready to continue the fight.

However, just as she was about to take another step forward, her expression suddenly froze.

Then... a thin trail of blood trickled from the corner of her lips.

"...Eh?"

She blinked in confusion before slowly lowering her gaze.

A dark, bloodstained scale protruded from her abdomen, its razor-sharp edge buried deep in her flesh.

For a moment, Long Ning simply stared at it, as though her mind couldn’t quite process what she was seeing.

’...When did that happen?’

Long Ning slowly raised her head and looked at the enormous snake.

The beast was staring right back at her, its crimson eyes gleaming with unmistakable amusement.

Then its mouth curled upward.

...It was grinning.