7 Grand Elder

The bald elder, seeing the destroyed inn, grew furious. "Damn it, assassins dare kill under our Flaming Saber sect!? I will have to teach these scums a lesson!"

And with that, the elder's eyes shined yellow, as he looked around, attempting discover where the two assassins had escaped.

After a short while, he laughed, "Humph, these two think they can escape from Flaming Saber City with some puny escape skill, well they ought to think again!"

As he confidently stated this, the elder pointed towards two directions, before slashing with his arms, as though he was holding two sabers.

"Great Yang slash"

The moment his words ended, flames erupted from his arms, condensing into two half moon shaped attacks, which, with no further delay, flew towards their targets.

In the night sky, these two slashes shined as brightly as the sun, waking up many light sleepers, who stared in awe at the flames.

_____

Many miles away, Number 2, also known as Hui Fan, was flying on his sword at full speed, attempting to return to the Hua clan, the only place that would take him now.

Although he was a member of the clan, he had never been very talented, and he had been bullied most of his life. In this continent, after all, the strong preyed on the weak, even more so in a large clan.

As he grew into a man, Hui Fan had finally decided enough was enough, so he had changed his last name and joined an assassin organization, hoping to become a powerful figure.

During his time there, he had his successes and failures, living an overall mediocre life. As the boss's plan started, Hui Fan killed many and earned a fortune, boosting his reputation in the organization, yet he just could not bring himself to kill Hua Shu, the young miss of his clan.

Although he hated the Hua clan, Hua Shu's mother was the only person that had been always kind to him, bringing him treats when he was alone.

As he recalled his past, Hui Fan smiled, remembering the kind woman back then:

"Xiao Fan, why aren't you out there playing with the other kids?" as the woman looked at the skinny little boy, sitting on his bed, she sighed, knowing that life was bound to be cruel to him.

"They say i'm too weak to play with them, and only 3rd level qi gathering and above can play with them!" The young boy had a sad look on his face, as he struggled to hold in the tears.

"Well, have this pastry, then, it will definitely make you stronger, so that you can play with the other kids!" she said, handing him a small roll, with cream inside.

"Are you sure, auntie Ju? My parents say snacking will make me weaker!" said, Hui Fan, looking at the roll, with a doubtful expression.

"Not this snack, Xiao Fan, my pastries are magical!" lied Hua Ju, who wanted to comfort the little boy.

As his memories flashed past him, Hui Fan ad a determined look in his eyes. He was determined to become powerful, and change his lifestyle, to make Hua Ju's efforts worthwhile.

At that moment, though, Hui Fan suddenly spit out blood, and as he looked at his stomach, what he saw brought horror to him: A flame infused slash had cut right through him, causing an injury that could only be described as fatal.

Hui Fan fell from his sword, crashing towards the ground. As he felt his life force dissipating, Hui Fan shed a tear... one single tear.

'Sorry Hua Ju, I didn't turn out he way you wanted' were his last thoughts, as he resentfully closed his eyes, ready for his misery to end.

_____

"That should have dealt with them, humph, it'll teach those assassins that this city is off limits" angrily stated the bald elder, as he entered the inn, trying to find out if there were survivors.

Hua Shu just stood there, dazed. This was her first time out of the clan, yet so much had happened.

"Are you okay, lass?" asked the bald elder, with a slightly concerned expression.

As it all happened too fast, Hua Shu was still struggling to process the whole incident, so she distantly replied "Uhm... yeah" but it did not take long before she snapped out of it, remembering the gravely injured Li Zhu in the hallway.

"Senior, please save my friend, he is the reason i'm still alive. If you do, the Hua clan will be indebted towards you!" Hua SHu was really worried for Li Zhu, who was clearly on the threshold of life and death.

"Okay, lass, no need to lie, i was going to save him anyway" the bald man definitely did not believe that the scared young lady had the position to speak in the Hua clan's stead. That said, he was also not going to let this young man die in front of him, so he hastily flew towards Li Zhu, to examine the injuries.

The elder placed his palm on Li Zhu's chest, sending his heavenly energy into the fragile body, to scout the internal wounds.

The more time passed, the more the frown on the elder's faced deepened, as he realized the severity of the issue.

"Young lady, i'm sorry to tell you, but this young man is beyond saving. If it was only the injuries from today, it would still be curable, but his meridians were already half broken before today, and he clearly had unresolved injuries. No one in Flaming Saber Sect could save him." The bald elder looked at the bloody mess that was Li Zhu in pity, realizing that any normal person would have already died ten times over with these injuries.

"Not so fast, baldy, if anyone can save him it would be me!" A tall, old man appeared beside the bald elder, as he also examined the injuries.

"Grand elder, shouldn't you be in seclusion?" seeing the old man, crouching down to check on Li Zhu, the bald elder was extremely shocked, as this old man was a legendary figure in the Flaming Saber Sect., one who hadn't been seen in a decade.

"And who are you to tell me where i should be, mmh?" replied, the grand elder, standing his ground as the senior.

In fact, he had not come here simply to heal a young man, rather for another reason.

'I could have sworn I sensed the aura of a dragon, though it may just be my imagination. If it was real it would mean a main descendant of the Heavenly Dragon Empire was here... and there is only one person I can think of that would be so far from home...'

'What am i thinking, I should just stay out of the empire's business, lest I get the whole sect annihilated.' As he thought of the great empire, which controlled most of the continent, the old man shivered, determined to not get involved.

Returning his attention towards the young man in front of him, the great elder realized that only a very high level spirit pill could prevent his death, but the issue was the elder only had two such pills, and they were both worth as much as a city.

'Damn it, i'm stuck in a tough position. If I don't heal this young man, with the confidence I had when I got here, my reputation will go down in shambles. But if I do heal him, I lose one of my most precious possessions. Agh, I should have just stayed in seclusion!'

Although his thoughts were conflicting, the grand elder realized he had to decide soon, or there would be no more young man to heal. Finally making up his mind, he rubbed the spatial ring on his hand, before pulling out a golden, shiny pill, about the size of a blueberry.

"Baldy, watch closely. I will use the strongest spirit pill I own to cure this young man, because it is the right thing to do. No amount of wealth can compare to the treasure that is life, remember that" stating this, as though saving Li Zhu had always been his intention, the elder gently placed the pill in Li Zhu's mouth, before stepping back, to watch the pill take its effect.

Not a minute passed, before the blood on the floor started being sucked back into Li Zhu's body, as though time was being reversed.

Next was his chest, which had severely caved in after withstanding the explosion. As the sounds of bones cracking rung out, Li Zhu's now deformed body gradually shifted around, eventually returning to its former shape.

As they stared at Li Zhu healing in front of them, Hua Shu and the bald elder both had their mouths wide open, as the pill was simply too heaven defying!

It was also the grand elder's first time seeing such a high level spirit pill in action, though he forced himself to keep an indifferent expression, to give the impression that this was nothing for him.

"Well, this matter is settled, so I shall leave!" and with that, the Grand Elder disappeared, feeling pained that he had to use such a precious treasure to hold his reputation.

'How was that kid not dead? Well, he must have his secrets. On the other hand, he cost me one of my two precious pills... I must get back at him when he joins the Flaming Saber Sect!'

As for the assumption that Li Zhu was going to join the sect, it was well founded, as all young cultivators in Flaming Saber City had that goal.