Working together, leaning against each other.

When the light started to dim and the thundering sound in Geng Zhen's ears started to recede, he was finally able to see the result of Liang Chen's attack. And what he saw nearly caused his eyes to pop out, a shiver running up his spine.

Everything within 50 meters of Liang Chen had turned to ash, even the ground itself becoming concave, Liang Chen and Xiao Daibao located at the center of this hole, both of them an absolute mess. A thick arcing groove extended away from the hole, forming the image of a bolt of lightning that continued on into the distance, carving a path through three houses before finally stopping.

Xiao Daibao was in a truly wretched state, his arms and legs twisted in unnatural directions, his fingernails blown off. His chest had completely caved in, turning it nearly completely flat. And at the center of his chest, a fist-sized hole had appeared, going directly through him, the edges of the hole burned to charcoal, not a drop of blood visible. Thanks to the strong vitality of someone at the late stage of the Heaven's Gate realm, he was still alive, but it was clear that his death was already set in stone, he would at best last for another half minute.

Liang Chen was in a better state, but he still looked exceptionally ragged and worn. The cloth around his arms had completely burst apart, revealing his scaly arms. Most of the scales on both of his arms had shattered, the fingers on his right hand contorting into strange shapes, and Xiao Daibao's weapon was pierced through his left hand and shoulder.

His chest heaved up and down as he took quick and deep breaths, blood pouring down both his arms and chest, there was even blood pouring out from his seven orifices. It was clear to Geng Zhen that whatever attack Liang Chen had launched to kill Xiao Daibao, it took a heavy toll on him.

As Geng Zhen was looking at him, Liang Chen suddenly stood up, his body trembling, his legs nearly giving out underneath him. He turned towards Geng Zhen, his hair and eyes alternating between gray and their normal emerald and golden, showing that he didn't really have the energy to keep his bloodline activated much longer.

He was a spent force, on the verge of shutting down after launching his mightiest attack. Geng Zhen knew this, he knew this clearly. But looking at Liang Chen's slit pupils, his calm gaze, Geng Zhen couldn't help but feel an instinctual and primal fear flood his body. The thing in front of him was not the child he had been informed about, nor was he a man. He was a monster, a monster that had to be killed before it grew too strong and ended up becoming a calamity, a scourge to all living beings.

Geng Zhen tightly grasped his remaining axe, doing his best to ease the fear that he was feeling. The speed of the poison that was corroding his right arm had slowed, so he only needed to use a little less than a quarter of his Qi to suppress it, he still had more than enough energy to kill Liang Chen. He took a deep breath to suppress his fear, casting a steely gaze at Liang Chen.

"I must admit, we truly underestimated you. You are far stronger than I first thought, strong enough to earn my respect and fear. But, Liang Chen, you have failed to kill both Xiao Daibao and me, so I will still have you return to the earth today."

Geng Zhen started to slowly walk forwards, carefully observing Liang Chen, making sure that he wasn't caught off-guard and attacked. But Liang Chen didn't make any moves, he didn't even raise any defense. He simply looked at Geng Zhen, his lips weakly curling up as he let out a laugh.

"Kill you? My goal was never to kill you, it was to hold you back. And that, that is something I managed to do just fine."

If he managed to kill them, wonderful, but if he didn't, that was also fine. As long as he held them back, he would have accomplished his goal, he would have fulfilled his promise. Hearing Liang Chen's laughter, Geng Zhen couldn't help but stop in his tracks, even more fear starting to sneak into his heart.

He took another deep breath to push his fear down, assuring himself that Liang Chen's words were nothing but some bravado he uttered before his death. But just as he was about to take another step forward, the wind around him turned ferocious, a bloody scent surrounding his body. His expression quickly dropped, but Liang Chen let out another light laugh.

"It sure took you long to deal with the six of them, I was starting to wonder if you would have to come to collect my corpse once this was all over."

Liang Chen's gaze drifted past Geng Zhen, landing on a crimson wind that had arrived a short distance behind Geng Zhen. Yan Ling stepped out of the wind, a cheeky grin on her face as she let out a giggle.

"Nihihi, what happened to all that boasting you did earlier? Call for you if I need help? Aren't you the one that needs saving here?"

Despite both of them laughing and joking, both of them were clearly in a bad state. Yan Ling's entire body was drenched in blood, droplets continuously oozing out from her pores, likely a result of whatever technique she was using to forcibly raise her strength. Her cyan hair which was usually braided into a single neat ponytail was currently in complete disarray, swirls of crimson hair mixing with her cyan hair. Her usually sapphire blue eyes had turned dark green in color, crimson light occasionally flashing past them.

Geng Zhen instantly realized that his situation had turned sour, he also realized that he was likely the last person alive. His eyes started to dart all over the place, trying to come up with a course of action that would let him at least send a message back to the sect, telling them as much as he could about Liang Chen and Yan Ling's power. He could die, but this information had to reach the sect, otherwise, his fellow disciples might suffer in the future.

Liang Chen and Yan Ling locked gazes, both giving an imperceptible nod. Just as Geng Zhen started to move, dashing towards the left, the both of them also sprung into action. Yan Ling dashed after Geng Zhen, the bloody wind coiling around her and helping her increase her speed. Liang Chen pulled out the double-sided spear that was pierced through his left arm and then swiftly took out a pill from his interspatial ring and swallowed it, allowing him to restore some of his Qi as he also dashed after Geng Zhen.

With some of his Qi restoring, he started increasing the flow of time around the poison inside Geng Zhen's arm, forcing him to use more Qi to suppress it. Yan Ling stretched out a bloody arm, the air in front of Geng Zhen pushing against him to slow his speed further, allowing the two to catch up.

Geng Zhen's expression was downcast when he noticed the two of them catching up. He grit his teeth, determination appearing in his eyes. He stopped suppressing the poison in his arm, taking out a small jade orb from his interspatial ring and grasping it with his right arm as he turned around. He started inserting his Qi into the jade, filling it with the information he wished to bring back to his sect.

This was a special type of communication treasure, so once he finished inserting his Qi and filling it with information, it would shatter and turn into a stream of energy, carrying the information and delivering it to the specified point.

While his right arm was doing this, he struck out with the axe he held in his left arm, aiming a downward slash at Yan Ling's head. But Yan Ling didn't even glance at the axe, all her attention focused on Geng Zhen's right arm, at the jade he was currently filling up.

As the axe was about to hit her head, Liang Chen suddenly dashed up behind her and pushed her forward, taking her place. After he pushed her forward, her body suddenly sped up, while Geng Zhen's own thoughts started to slow down, as if time itself was distorting.

Only now, when he himself felt it, did Geng Zhen realize just what strange law Liang Chen had controlled. It was time, one of the four supreme laws, only below the two origin laws of destruction and creation. Upon realizing this, Geng Zhen became even more determined that he had to send this information back to the sect, they had to know about the existence of this monster.

Geng Zhen's axe landed on Liang Chen's raised left arm, only stopping once it reached the bone, adding another wound to his almost mangled left arm. But his move did the trick, Yan Ling was able to get close enough to Geng Zhen's right arm.

She stretched out her right arm, turning her hand into a blade as wind gathered around it. She slashed it down at his wrist, at the same time sending blades of wind towards his throat, forcing him to block them. Since he had to block the blades aimed at his throat, Yan Ling was able to hit his wrist, her blade hand cutting through it like it was butter.

Before the severed hand and the jade orb had the chance to even hit the ground, the wind around them turned into a strong pressure. The hand was squeezed into paste, while the jade orb was crushed and turned into tiny fragments, the vital information within it forever unable to be sent.

Geng Zhen let out a loud and frustrated growl, but it was already too late. The jade orb was shattered, his right hand had been severed, and the poison in his right arm had reached his chest and neck. He was going to die here, and it would all be for naught, he wouldn't even be able to warn the sect. He cursed at himself, cursed that he didn't send the information to the sect the moment he noticed Liang Chen use the law of time for the first time.

Liang Chen and Yan Ling both turned their eyes onto Geng Zhen, launching their attacks at the same time. Liang Chen twisted his left arm around the axe, grabbing onto Geng Zhen's wrist and pulling him closer. At the same time, he punched out with his right arm, forcing his shattered fingers to curl up into a fist that headed directly for Geng Zhen's chest.

Yan Ling also attacked, taking advantage of Liang Chen pulling Geng Zhen closer. She stretched out her right arm, placing her palm softly on Geng Zhen's abdomen. Both Liang Chen and Yan Ling's attacks landed at the same time, exploding forward.

Liang Chen's fist collided with Geng Zhen's chest, sending out a two-fold attack. The first part of the attack was an azure lightning bolt that pierced through his chest, while the second part of the attack was a stream of poison that mixed together with the poison that was already in Geng Zhen's body, making it even more corrosive as it headed directly for his brain.

Yan Ling's attack was a bit stranger, as it left no marks on the outside of Geng Zhen's body. But the moment her palm made contact with his abdomen, all the air within his body suddenly changed, turning into a terrifying pressure, as if all the wind of the world was pushing down on him. His lungs and veins exploded from the pressure, his other organs crushed into a thick paste, leaving his insides a horrid mess.

He instantly died and fell to the ground, blood and crushed organs pouring out from his mouth, his molten brain leaking out from his ears and nose. Liang Chen and Yan Ling looked at his corpse, their chests heaving as blood continued to pour from their wounds.

Neither of them was able to continue standing, their legs giving out underneath them as they fell down in a sitting position. They twisted their bodies a little, leaning their backs against each other as they continued to heave. After a short while, Yan Ling broke the silence with a burst of weak laughter.

"Nihihi, we did it. We came out alive just like I said. Well, you needed a bit more help than your boasting would lead me to believe. Well, you did manage to kill one of them, despite it being two against one, so I guess you did live up to your Little Freak title."

Liang Chen couldn't see her face, but from the slight gurgling sound that sounded out as she spoke, he guessed that she accidentally spat out some blood as she spoke. Both of their injuries were pretty bad, but neither of them seemed to care about that right now, Liang Chen clicking his tongue.

"Tch, I don't wanna hear anything from the person who came in at the end just to steal all the glory."

Their injuries were bad, but they were still cultivators, so their vitality was greater than most people. Neither of them had wounds that were fatal, so they could afford to joke around a little, helping each other calm down again. Yan Ling responded with another laugh, leaning the back of her head against the back of Liang Chen's.

"Nihihi, just you wait, I'm gonna take all the credit when we return to the sect. I'll hog all the rewards and make you watch as I use them to increase my strength to a level where I can bully you."

After she finished talking, silence fell over the two, who continued to lean against each other as they caught their breaths. Unbeknownst to either of them, the powerful bloodlines within their bodies had already started working on repairing their bodies and healing their wounds, even taking the chance to make their bodies a bit stronger than before. The one who broke the silence was Liang Chen, his lips curling into a faint smile.

"Alright, we made it out alive, now let's hope that they have all that good food that you promised me."

Just like Yan Ling said, they had beat the bastards, they had lived to tell the tale, now they just had to go back and eat some good food while they bragged about their deeds. Yan Ling couldn't help but laugh after hearing his statement, wincing slightly from the pain it caused in her chest.

"If they don't, we'll just have them make some. That pudding looked good, so we'll have them make that, without the poison this time."

The pudding had been poisoned last time, so Yan Ling had of course not eaten it. Only Liang Chen, who was practically immune to poison could eat the pudding without worries. And it was because he knew this that he couldn't help but respond with a quip.

"But the poison was such a good spice, made it that much better."

His words once again caused Yan Ling to burst into laughter, forcing her to lean forward and grasp her chest as she alternated between wincing in pain and laughing. In the end, she managed to get the laughter under control, returning to leaning on Liang Chen's back as she responded.

"Little Freak, remind me to never taste any food that you give me."

Liang Chen responded with a burst of laughter, silence descending over the two of them, the both of them simply enjoying the presence of the other, enjoying the fact that they had survived such a tough battle.