Pov: Vik
I was too late. Lin Chen had bitten his hand, and blood covered the entire dragon statue. As a result, the statue started to crack. Golden light seeped through the cracks. An earthquake followed, and spatial rifts appeared inside the cave. This realm was about to collapse.
In just a few seconds, the statue was completely destroyed. In its place, a dark bead with golden light swirling around it appeared. This had to be the Heaven suppressing bead. Lin Chen reached out to grab it, but then he stopped—attacked, not by me or my disciples, but by Xia Yang.
I couldn't believe my eyes. The same Xia Yang who took a bullet to save Lin Chen was now attacking him with a dagger. She used a strange dagger with dark purple inscriptions to strike him. Lin Chen, taken off guard by this betrayal, had the dagger embedded in his shoulder.
Looking at Xia Yang, he tried to ask, "Why?" But she was silent. She pulled the dagger out, and another strange bead, similar to the Heaven suppressing bead, appeared at its edge. This bead must be the Heavenly bead, Lin Chen's original power.
Now holding it, Xia Yang moved toward the Heaven suppressing bead and took it in her hands. A dragon's roar echoed throughout the Heaven suppressing realm as it cracked open. With the realm filled with spatial rifts, my disciples and I were sucked into one. So was injured Lin Chen and Xia Yang.
Being pulled through that spatial crack felt like a chaotic roller coaster ride, different from normal teleportation. Eventually, I landed on solid ground and finally saw the environment around me. I was back at the mines built by Lin Chen.
Before me was the same gate to the catacombs, now crumbled due to the constant earthquakes. But I was more surprised by Xia Yang's actions. Why did she attack Lin Chen? Why did she betray him? I had many questions and needed answers. I began to search for Xia Yang and Lin Chen. Now that I was out of the Heaven suppressing zone, I was back in my human form, with the strength of at least the foundation establishment realm.
Looking around, I found Lu Xiaoran, Roman, and Lu Ran. I rushed over and asked, "Are you guys alright?"
They all nodded. Then I inquired, "Did you see Lin Chen or Xia Yang?"
Lu Xiaoran replied, "Master, I saw Lin Chen in that direction."
I immediately looked where he pointed. There I saw Lin Chen, bloodied from injuries on his back. I, along with my disciples and Lu Ran, rushed to him. He was barely conscious.
As we approached, he gritted his teeth and said, "Lu Xiaoran, you finally showed your true colors. That traitor Xia Yang must have been planted by you. You orchestrated this betrayal."
Lu Xiaoran responded, "Shut up, Lin Chen! I'm not a coward like you who needs to plot schemes to fight enemies. You saw us fire bullets at Xia Yang. How could we be on the same side?"
Lin Chen countered, "I don't know who's right or wrong. But I, Lin Chen, swear that even if I die here, I will take that traitor Xia Yang with me."
Sigh. Despite his serious injuries, he still clung to his arrogance. As he shouted his desire for revenge against Xia Yang, Lu Xiaoran moved closer. Seeing him approach, Lin Chen said, "Lu Xiaoran, you coward! Are you going to kill me? Even if I die here, my parents won't spare you. I'm someone you can't imagine."
Lu Xiaoran replied, "Can you please be quiet? I'm trying to help you."
Saying this, he handled Lin Chen's body, who was too weak to lift even a finger, nearly paralyzed from the neck down. Lu Xiaoran took out a small first aid kit attached to his suit and dressed Lin Chen's wound, stopping the bleeding.
While doing this, he said, "Lin Chen, I do want to kill you, but you're not in any condition for that now. I'm not someone who kills half-dead people. If you want to die, then heal first. After that, I'll personally kill you."
Lin Chen gritted his teeth, embarrassed. I was surprised by the kindness Lu Xiaoran showed. Lu Ran, who witnessed this, said, "Lu Xiaoran, showing kindness to an enemy is cruel to yourself. Have you forgotten what he did to you and your mother?"
Lu Xiaoran replied, "I haven't forgotten anything, father. I still hate him. But in this harsh world, kindness is a privilege only the strong can afford, and I'm strong enough to afford it."
I felt a bit proud of my disciple. At least my lessons on virtues and moral values weren't for nothing. Just then, I sensed something. The environment was slowly filling with spiritual energy. I figured that after the Heavenly bead landed in Xia Yang's hands, its ability to suppress the environment had begun to fade.
As this realization hit me, my communication radio activated. A voice came through, "This is Robot. Snake, do you copy? Snake, do you copy?"
I had forgotten about Lina. She must be desperately trying to reach us. I responded, "This is Snake. Thunder and Tiger are with me. We have the target apprehended. Mission objective is almost complete. Send Chariot for evacuation."
Right now, I just wanted to evacuate the area and find Xia Yang. As for Lin Chen, he was with us, so we would surely take him captive and punish him according to Lu Xiaoran's and his family's wishes.
But Lina reported something else, "Snake, there are multiple airborne vehicles moving towards your location. I repeat, there are multiple airborne vehicles approaching."
She began to warn us about flying objects heading our way. We all looked up. From the west, I saw several large wooden boats flying toward us. How could those boats be airborne? More importantly, I sensed powerful auras from those vessels and the people inside them. There were several Void traveling realm experts among them, and some were even stronger.
Seeing this, Lin Chen—silent until now—said, "My parents are here. Those boats bear the insignia of the Lin Family."
He pointed at the insignia painted on the front of the boats.