Chapter 307: Chapter 306: Seriously Injured

Shen Haoran was exhausted. He glanced at the defeated Murong Wanqing and, after a moment of consideration, began forming a Seal Technique to recall the Vermilion Bird circling overhead. ’After all,’ he thought, ’Murong Wanqing doesn’t seem to be a bad person.’

But as he formed the Seal Technique, Shen Haoran’s expression changed drastically. He had lost control of the Black Flame Vermilion Bird in the air! It seemed that after devouring Murong Wanqing’s crimson Vermilion Bird, his own had mutated!

"SCREECH!"

The Black Flame Vermilion Bird suddenly shrieked and soared into the sky. An instant later, it dove straight for the weakened Murong Wanqing!

"Watch out!" Shen Haoran roared. With a beat of the wings on his back, he prepared to dash toward Murong Wanqing.

But after his battle with Murong Wanqing, Shen Haoran’s Spiritual Power was all but spent. At his current speed, there was no way he could catch the Black Flame Vermilion Bird.

As Murong Wanqing watched the terrifyingly powerful Black Flame Vermilion Bird, her pupils shrank. The aura of death swirled around her. In that moment, it was as if she could see the Grim Reaper himself beckoning to her from the beast’s form.

Below the Martial Arts Arena, the crowd stared in terror at the diving Black Flame Vermilion Bird, completely at a loss. If Murong Wanqing were to die in Desert City, the Murong Family would surely not let anyone present get away with it. They might even massacre the entire city! Yet, faced with the terrifying might of the Vermilion Bird, no one was capable of stopping it.

"Heaven-Dominating Tribulation!"

But just as the crowd fell into despair, a powerful roar echoed out. The aura within Shen Haoran’s body suddenly exploded. A faint dragon shadow flickered beneath his feet, and in an instant, he appeared in front of Murong Wanqing.

"BOOM..."

The next moment, the Black Flame Vermilion Bird slammed directly into Shen Haoran’s back. A terrifying storm of Spiritual Power erupted, instantly engulfing the entire Martial Arts Arena...

"Brother Shen!"

Han Xu cried out as he watched the Martial Arts Arena become engulfed by the storm of Spiritual Power, his eyes filled with utter disbelief.

It wasn’t just him. All the Martial Artists present were completely dumbfounded and confused. ’Shen Haoran seemed to harbor a deep-seated hatred for Murong Wanqing,’ they thought. ’So why would he end up saving her?’

Lan Sha stared at the raging storm of Spiritual Power on the Martial Arts Arena, also slow to react. After a moment, however, a cold sneer curled his lips. ’Hmph, what a fool, running to his own death. Fine by me. It saves me the trouble.’

Murmurs spread through the crowd below. On the stage, at the center of the Spiritual Power storm, Shen Haoran stood ramrod straight in front of Murong Wanqing, completely motionless.

"PFFT..."

Suddenly, he spat out a mouthful of blood. It splattered across Murong Wanqing’s fiery-red outfit, looking strangely demonic.

The Battle Armor on Murong Wanqing’s body had vanished, and the mystical Clan Pattern on her forehead was gone. Her face was deathly pale. Her long, dark hair was disheveled, and a trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth made her lips look even redder. She appeared utterly depleted.

Murong Wanqing stared blankly at Shen Haoran, a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. "Why?" she murmured. "Why did you save me?"

"Cough... Everyone from the Murong Clan deserves to die... but you’re an exception!" Shen Haoran coughed hard, spitting out another mouthful of blood.

"Why?" Murong Wanqing asked, not understanding.

"Because... of this..." Shen Haoran pointed toward Murong Wanqing’s chest. Then, with a faint smile, he collapsed.

"Hey! Hey, are you okay?!" Seeing him fall, Murong Wanqing rushed forward and caught the unconscious Shen Haoran.

But the moment she touched him, a warm, wet sensation spread across her hands. When she pulled them away, they were covered in blood.

Murong Wanqing turned Shen Haoran over. When she saw his back, even she couldn’t help but gasp, the hair on her arms standing on end.

Shen Haoran’s back was no longer recognizable as human. It was a mangled mess of flesh and blood, with ghastly white bone completely exposed. Blood gushed out endlessly, and his face grew paler by the second.

In truth, this outcome was a stroke of incredible luck. If Shen Haoran’s body hadn’t been tempered multiple times by things like the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian, and if he didn’t possess the Chaos Divine Body which gave him a constitution comparable to a Spirit Beast, he never would have been able to withstand the Black Flame Vermilion Bird’s attack. That attack was from a Vermilion Bird’s Heaven-Burning Flame born from the fusion of two lineages. It already possessed a sliver of a Divine Beast’s power. The fact that Shen Haoran wasn’t completely annihilated was a miracle in itself.

"Brother Shen! Brother Shen, how are you?!"

After a long moment, the storm of Spiritual Power on the Martial Arts Arena finally dissipated. Han Xu sprinted onto the stage and rushed to Shen Haoran’s side.

Seeing Shen Haoran’s pale face, a flicker of worry crossed Han Xu’s eyes. He immediately snatched Shen Haoran from Murong Wanqing’s arms and said coldly, "We don’t need your crocodile tears. Didn’t you and the Lan Family want Brother Haoran dead? Well, you got what you wanted. Are you satisfied now?"

Hearing this, Murong Wanqing’s heart trembled. Her gaze locked onto Shen Haoran, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"What did you say his name was? Shen Haoran?" Murong Wanqing asked numbly.

"Hmph! His name is none of your concern!" Han Xu snorted. He then lifted Shen Haoran and sprinted toward the Han Family’s estate. ’Haoran still has a breath of life in him,’ he thought, ’maybe the clan elders can save him!’

’Shen Haoran... Shen Haoran...’ Murong Wanqing murmured to herself as she watched Han Xu’s figure disappear from the arena. ’He possesses a Vermilion Bird Bloodline inheritance... Could he be Nanny Wan’s long-lost son?’ Then, she remembered what Shen Haoran had said before he passed out and quickly pulled out the half a Jade Pendant hanging from her neck.

’He said he saved me because of this Jade Pendant. This pendant was a birth gift from Nanny Wan. Could he really be her son? I have to find out his true identity!’ With this thought, Murong Wanqing ran after Han Xu.

As they watched Shen Haoran and Murong Wanqing disappear from the Martial Arts Arena, the crowd remained utterly confused. They had no idea what had just happened, let alone who had actually won the match.

"This is bad, Manager Lan! Miss Murong followed Han Xu to the Han Family estate!" a man in blue robes whispered as he ran up to Lan Sha’s side.

"Miss Murong went to the Han Family’s estate?" Lan Sha frowned, his voice low and serious.

"Yes!"

"Damn it, halt the plan! If Miss Murong gets hurt, our Lan Family will be wiped off the face of this continent! We can’t afford to provoke the Murong Family!" Lan Sha growled after a moment’s thought.

"So, what do we do now?" the blue-robed man asked.

"Stay hidden. I will return and request instructions from the Patriarch. Don’t worry, the Han Family doesn’t have many days left." A cold light glinted in Lan Sha’s eyes before his figure vanished.

...

「At the Han Family Estate...」

"Out of the way! Make way!" Han Xu shouted, barging through the estate while carrying the blood-soaked Shen Haoran, heading for the deepest part of the family grounds.

"Grandfather, quickly, you have to save Brother Shen!" Han Xu cried, bursting into a bamboo grove. There, two elders with the bearing of wise sages were sitting in a pavilion, sipping tea.

When one of the elders saw Han Xu and the blood-drenched Shen Haoran in his arms, he frowned. With a single step, he appeared directly in front of them.

"Grandfather, I’m begging you, please save Brother Shen!" Han Xu fell to his knees before the elder, pleading.

This elder was none other than the old master of the Han Family, Han Xu’s grandfather, Han Feng.

"How did he sustain such grievous injuries?" Han Feng’s brows furrowed deeply as he glanced at Shen Haoran. ’Inside his body, the meridians are shattered, and the miniature world within his Dantian is on the verge of collapse. It’s a miracle he’s still alive.’

Han Xu then recounted the events of the duel between Shen Haoran and Murong Wanqing.

"What? Murong Wanqing? The first young miss of the Murong Clan..." Han Feng exclaimed. He then turned to look at the other elder, his face a mask of shock...