Ye Chen arrived at the secluded school garden, his heart strangely uneasy.
It was the place where he and Zhao Yanyan had agreed to meet, yet she was nowhere to be found.
His eyes scanned the surroundings, searching for any trace of her presence. Then, something caught his attention—a familiar butterfly-shaped hair ribbon lying crumpled on the stone path.
Ye Chen picked it up slowly. The ribbon was dirty, and the delicate silk was torn, as if it had been trampled underfoot.
A cold sensation pricked at the back of his neck.
"This isn't right..."
He immediately activated his Spirit Sense, sweeping across a five-mile radius. But no trace of Zhao Yanyan.
His brows furrowed. Without hesitation, he expanded his search range to ten miles—still nothing.
His heart sank.
"Yuechan," he called inwardly, "can you help me find Zhao Yanyan?"
"Yes, Ye Chen," Chu Yuechan's voice echoed gently in his mind. "But to do that, I'll need to draw upon your profound energy."
"Use whatever you need," Ye Chen responded without hesitation.
The moment she began, Ye Chen felt a powerful drain on his energy.
It was like a floodgate had opened, and his cultivation energy was being siphoned away rapidly. But he gritted his teeth and endured it.
After a few seconds, Chu Yuechan's voice returned.
"North, twenty-five miles from here. She's being taken away quickly—by car, I assume. There are nine people surrounding her. One of them is a cultivator."
Ye Chen's eyes gleamed with fury. In an instant, he shot into the sky, flying like a blazing meteor toward the direction Chu Yuechan had indicated.
---
In a black van speeding down the highway, four masked men sat comfortably.
Each one carried a pistol, and their eyes glinted with wicked intent.
"This girl's quite the beauty, boss," one of them grinned obscenely. "Can we have some fun with her first?"
"Shut up," the man in the front seat growled, his face hidden behind a ski mask. "Wait for the big boss's orders. She's high-class merchandise—worth a lot if sold properly. We'll get more from her untouched."
"Tch, what a shame," another muttered.
"Don't worry. That school is full of ripe beauties—three more, including some gorgeous teachers.
We'll snatch them up next. This is just the start," sneered a man named Sura, who had been pretending to be a student.
Zhao Yanyan was slumped in the back seat, her wrists and ankles tightly bound with rope, a dirty cloth stuffed into her mouth to muffle her cries.
Fear welled in her eyes, and tears streamed down her cheeks.
It all started when she went to the garden behind the school, hoping to surprise Ye Chen.
It was supposed to be a quiet place. She never imagined a classmate—someone she vaguely recognized as a gloomy boy Ye Chen had once helped—would betray her.
He approached her casually, only to suddenly press a chemical-soaked cloth to her face.
Before she could scream, her consciousness faded.
When she woke, she was bound and gagged, surrounded by armed strangers. One of them pointed a gun at her head, grinning cruelly.
Panic rose in her chest. Her heart screamed for Ye Chen, hoping he would come for her… even though it seemed hopeless.
Twenty-five miles away, a sharp wind howled as Ye Chen streaked across the sky. His spiritual sense locked onto the fast-moving vehicles below—two black cars, speeding along a rural road. He recognized Zhao Yanyan's presence in one of them.
His gaze hardened.
He descended rapidly and landed directly in front of the first car with an explosive impact. BOOM! The ground beneath his feet cracked like spiderwebs.
Inside the car, the driver panicked. "Boss, there's someone in front of us!"
"Run him over!" came the cold reply through the walkie-talkie.
Gunfire erupted. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bullets tore through the air, striking Ye Chen's body—but they bounced off harmlessly.
The masked men's eyes widened in disbelief.
"He's not human..."
Ye Chen didn't move. As the car accelerated, trying to ram him down, he calmly clenched his fist and punched forward. BAM!
The vehicle flew into the air, spinning wildly before slamming into the ground.
A massive explosion followed—BOOMMMM!—sending flames and debris into the sky. The men inside never had a chance to escape.
The second car screeched to a halt just ten meters away. Screeeech!
Four masked men jumped out, dragging Zhao Yanyan with them.
One pressed a pistol to her head, the others aimed at Ye Chen, hands trembling.
Ye Chen's eyes narrowed. Among them, he recognized the boy from class—the very same one he had once saved. That betrayal added fuel to his growing rage.
Zhao Yanyan's terrified eyes met Ye Chen's. Her gag muffled her sobs, and her trembling body pleaded for rescue.
"Who the hell are you?" barked the leader of the group, a scar-faced man wielding a katana. He was no ordinary thug—his cultivation aura revealed he was at the 3rd level of Spirit Formation Realm.
Ye Chen didn't answer.
In a blink, he vanished from view.
Before the enemies could react, three of them flew backward, clutching their chests, blood spurting from their mouths.
Their bodies slammed into the ground and remained still—dead in an instant.
The leader froze. A battle-hardened veteran, he had never felt fear like this.
A chill swept through his spine as he realized the monster in front of him was less than twenty years old.
But it was too late to run.
Ye Chen raised a single finger. A spark of fire bloomed at his fingertip and then surged forth like a serpent.
The moment it touched the criminal leader, flames erupted, engulfing him completely.
"AHHHHHHHH!" he screamed in agony, thrashing wildly. In seconds, his body was reduced to ash, not even bones left behind.
Zhao Yanyan stared, stunned, at the devastation. Her eyes filled with disbelief and awe.
Ye Chen walked over silently, untied her wrists, ankles, and gently removed the gag. The moment she was free, Zhao Yanyan threw herself into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Ye Chen… I… I was so scared… I thought I'd never see you again…"
Ye Chen held her tightly, rubbing her back gently. "I'm here, Yanyan. I'll always be here to protect you. I promise you that."
Their embrace lingered, warm and protective.
But Ye Chen's instincts remained alert. Sirens could be heard faintly in the distance—police must be on their way, drawn by the explosion.
"We need to leave before things get complicated," he whispered.
Zhao Yanyan nodded tearfully.
Without a word, Ye Chen scooped her into his arms like a princess.
This time, he didn't bother hiding his strength. With a leap, he soared into the sky, carrying her safely away from the chaos.
---