Supreme Master: Cultivation Starts After Recruiting SSS-Grade Talent-Chapter 34 - Threaten

Back in the real world, Xie Ren's eyes slowly opened, a heavy silence clinging to him like mist. His gaze was distant, as though part of him still lingered in that other realm.

"Master! You're awake!"

Lan Yue's voice rang out before anyone else could speak. She rushed to his side, eyes wide with concern.

Her knees hit the floor beside him as she leaned forward, her hands trembling slightly. "Are you alright?"

Xie Ren gave a faint nod. "I'm fine."

His eyes scanned the surroundings, and he asked. "Yue... how long was I unconscious? Did anything happen while I was out?"

"It's been half a day," Lan Yue answered softly.

She hesitated for a moment, then continued, "At first, Yinyin's demonic aura went wild. It felt like it was about to consume everything. I thought she wouldn't survive it. But... about half an hour ago, something changed."

Her eyes gleamed with awe as she spoke.

"The demonic energy suddenly pulled back, concentrating on the left side of her body. Then... spiritual energy began flowing into her right side. The two forces started to merge... and when they balanced, she began forming her golden core."

Lan Yue added. "But it's unlike anything I've ever seen. It's split, half darkness, half light. It's like two different worlds sealed into one."

She shook her head, unable to fully describe the phenomenon, but Xie Ren didn't need her to. Every word she spoke matched what he had seen in Yinyin's inner world, her soul torn between two paths, light and shadow locked in eternal conflict. Now, they had reached an uneasy truce.

"As expected," he murmured.

Just then, the air trembled. A ripple spread like a silent drumbeat. Chen Yinyin's eyes fluttered open, and in the next heartbeat, her aura erupted.

A shockwave of power burst from her body, sweeping across like a violent gust of wind.

Slowly, she rose to her feet.

Her gaze landed on Xie Ren and Lan Yue, and her hardened expression softened. She stepped forward, and lowered her head before Xie Ren.

"Master," she said with deep reverence, "thanks to you... I've broken through. I've reached the Golden Core realm."

Xie Ren waved a hand. "It's a master's duty to guide his disciples. No need for thanks."

Yinyin tilted her head slightly, her eyes still glowing faintly with the energy of her breakthrough. "But... how did you do it, Master? I don't remember clearly, but... I felt you were there. Inside my mind, my tribulation, you were with me."

Xie Ren gave a faint smile. "Just a little trick I've picked up over the years. Don't think too much about it."

Before Yinyin could press further, Lan Yue took her by the hand with a proud grin.

"Congratulations, Junior Sister," she said warmly.

"Thank you, Senior Sister." Yinyin's face brightened with a rare smile, the tension fading from her brows.

Lan Yue chuckled. "Tonight, we celebrate properly. Forming your golden core isn't something we brush off with just words."

Just as the joy began to take root, a thunderous voice reached their ears.

"Chen Yinyin! If you don't crawl out of Taishan Mountain this instant, I will drown your Chen Clan in blood!"

Yinyin froze. Her face went pale.

"...No." Her voice came out as a whisper.

Her hands clenched at her sides, her fingers digging into her palms. She could see it all again, flames devouring her home, the screams of her kin, the cold helplessness that had chained her as her family died.

Not again. She wouldn't let it happen again.

Before anyone could stop her, Yinyin shot into the air like a bolt of lightning, her figure streaking through the formation barrier and vanishing toward the mountain gate.

...

"Father... Mother... Grandfather..."

Chen Yinyin's voice trembled as she gazed upon the horror before her. Her family, captured by the cruel hands of the Mystic Forest Sect, lay on their knees.

Blood stained their clothes, their faces pale with pain and fear. Long swords were pressed coldly against their necks, their lives held by the thinnest of threads.

Her parents, once proud and strong, were barely recognizable. Her father, Chen Yan, had lost an arm, the wound raw and dripping with blood. Her mother, just as battered, sat helpless, her face etched with sorrow and regret. Grandfather, too, was bloodied, his back hunched, the life force nearly drained from him.

"Well, well... You finally showed yourself, vile woman."

From among the enemy stepped Wei Wu, his face twisted with hatred. His aura surged violently as his sword crackled with spiritual energy. His eyes burned with the fury of a man who had waited too long for revenge.

"I thought you were going to stay curled up on that mountain, pretending you didn't care whether your family lived or died."

He spat on the ground, his resentment boiling over. "Because of you, I was punished. You slaughtered our disciples like pigs outside Taishan Mountain, and I was made to kneel before the sect elders for an entire day!"

Behind him, Mystic Forest Sect disciples tightened their grip on the captives. One of them dragged Chen Yan, Yinyin's father, forward. His face was pale, his lips trembling, but his eyes still held a glimmer of defiance.

"Yinyin, listen to me," he said, his voice hoarse. "Forget about us! Go back to the mountain. You must live! So long as you survive, your mother and I-"

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But before he could finish, a flash of steel cut through the air, and Chen Yan's remaining arm was severed in one brutal stroke.

"Old dog!" Wei Wu's voice cracked with disdain. "If you want to live, beg your daughter to kneel!"

Not waiting for a response, Wei Wu drove his blade deep into Chen Yan's thigh. The tip pierced muscle and bone, twisting cruelly before pulling out. Blood sprayed across the dirt, painting a line in front of Yinyin's feet.