Chapter 5758
The once orderly Rock Valley was now a ruin, with less than a third of the beastmen disciples surviving, all wounded.
Elder Li Yan, leaning on his half-broken battle sword, stood with great difficulty, his eyes filled with complex emotions as he looked at Kai slowly approaching.
There was relief at surviving, shock at Kai’s strength, but more than anything, there was endless regret, like poisonous insects gnawing at his heart!
He recalled his previous arrogant attitude, the few low-grade immortal stones he had thrown on the ground, and his merciless dismissal.
Each scene was like a resounding slap across his face and his heart!
If he hadn’t judged him by his appearance and underestimated him, if he had treated this unfathomably powerful young man with courtesy and kept him in the valley, Rock Valley wouldn’t have suffered such heavy losses.
So many excellent disciples wouldn’t have died in vain.
“Senior…Senior…”
Elder Li Yan opened his mouth, a hoarse voice escaping his dry throat. His face burned, his previous arrogance vanished, replaced by a humble plea.
“Thank you…Thank you for saving me, Senior…I was blind and offended you before. I beg you…save me! I’m willing…willing to pay any price…”
He felt his meridians, corrupted by the Netherworld Ghost Fire, rapidly deteriorating, his life force rapidly draining away.
Without the help of a powerful figure to expel the demonic fire, he would surely die.
This young man before him was his only hope.
Kai stopped, looking at him calmly, his gaze like a deep, still pool, utterly undisturbed.
He saw regret, fear, and pleading in Li Yan’s eyes, but nothing more.
Kai felt no pity for such a snobbish person, so arrogant before and so obsequious, only realizing his worth at the brink of death.
He saved Shi Yan and Ying Wu because of a promise and his own conscience; He killed the demonic cultivator because of an old grudge with the Myriad Souls Demonic Sect; but what did Elder Li Yan’s life or death have to do with him?
He didn’t speak, not even bothering to offer a mocking glance, simply shifting his gaze indifferently to Shi Yan and Ying Wu who were walking quickly towards him.
This indifference caused Elder Li Yan more despair and pain than any insult or revenge!
“Pfft—”
Overwhelmed by rage and the onset of his injuries, Elder Li Yan suddenly spat out a mouthful of foul blood mixed with fragments of internal organs, his body trembling violently.
He stretched out his hand, as if trying to grasp at a last straw, his eyes filled with resentment, regret, and hatred for his previous actions.
Finally, his outstretched hand fell limply, his eyes glazed over, his massive body crashed to the ground, and his breath ceased completely.
Even in death, his eyes remained wide open, filled with deep regret.
An elder of the fifth rank of the Celestial Immortal Realm, because of a moment of arrogance and prejudice, ultimately met such an end, a truly lamentable fate.
Elder Li Yan’s body lay at the feet of those he had scorned.
His wide-open eyes were frozen in endless regret and despair, creating a poignant scene against the backdrop of the surrounding carnage.
The surviving beastmen disciples watched this scene with complex emotions, a mixture of sorrow for their elder’s passing and, more so, awe for Kai’s unfathomable strength and ruthless decisiveness.
Shi Yan and Ying Wu looked at the dead Elder Li Yan, their feelings complex, but primarily filled with gratitude and reverence for Kai.
They approached Kai and bowed deeply once more: “Thank you again for saving our lives, Senior! If you hadn’t returned in time, we…we would already be…”
Kai waved his hand, his gaze sweeping over the ravaged valley and the few survivors, his tone still calm: “This place is no longer safe. Since the Myriad Souls Demon Sect has already dispatched such forces, there will likely be even stronger reinforcements to follow.”