I Cannot Let Her Know I Killed Her Brother

The three Martial Saints entered the array at the same time, but were instantly transported to different locations.

However, they immediately realized they must have fallen into a formation set up by someone else.

Still, they weren't too worried. Formations could trap ordinary people, but fully restraining Martial Saints was another matter entirely.

So, the three of them began rushing through the formation at top speed.

Meanwhile, Ian Song and Harriet Gu stood together atop the cliff above the valley. In their eyes, as soon as the three Martial Saints entered the valley, they started running circles around the same spot at high speed.

"Ian, your formation is incredible! Even Martial Saints can't break free!"

Harriet Gu exclaimed in admiration.

Ian just smiled and kept his eyes on the three Martial Saints trapped inside the array.

Old Ox, the Martial Saint, was the first to stop. He immediately started throwing punches and palms in all directions.

Seeing this, Harriet Gu couldn't help but feel a little worried.

After all, Martial Saints are incredibly powerful. If the formation didn't trap them, the whole valley probably couldn't withstand even a couple of their punches.

But soon, she realized her worries were unnecessary. Old Ox's attacks were fierce, but every blow vanished into twisted space fissures, never spreading more than a meter beyond him.

From Old Ox's perspective, his attacks kept smashing the surrounding trees, quickly clearing out an open space.

"Looks like it's working!"

He grunted, then kept attacking the surrounding trees. After a while, he glanced back—only to be shocked when he saw that the trees he'd smashed had somehow returned to normal.

In other words, all he'd really done was waste some of his true qi—the rest was completely pointless.

"Damn it!"

Old Ox roared angrily and slammed his fist into the ground, sending dirt and rocks flying everywhere.

The other two Martial Saints also stopped running.

The one with triangular eyes was more cunning; instead of attacking recklessly, he stayed put and tried to observe the patterns in the surrounding trees. But after watching for half an hour, he still found nothing.

The third Martial Saint kept shouting for Old Ox and the one with triangular eyes, but got no response at all.

After struggling in the formation for an hour, all three Martial Saints couldn't help but start to panic. Their earlier disdain for formations had completely vanished.

"What now?"

All three Martial Saints started thinking of ways to escape.

Over the next few hours, each of them tried all sorts of methods, but none could get out of the array.

Finally, out of options, the three could only sit down and start meditating, hoping to recover.

But as soon as they tried, they discovered that inside the formation, they couldn't absorb even a trace of heaven and earth energy.

"Good thing I've got spirit crystals in my Storage Ring!"

But soon, their faces changed again—none of them could retrieve anything from their Storage Rings.

"Ian, what do you plan to do with them?"

Harriet Gu asked.

"No rush. Let them go hungry for a while first!"

Ian chuckled.

"Come on, let's head back to the Pristine Way Sect."

With a flash, Ian and Harriet vanished from the cliff above the valley. When they reappeared, they were already at the mountain gate of the Pristine Way Sect.

There were disciples stationed at the gate.

Ian Song and Harriet Gu were both famous in the Pristine Way Sect, so their return quickly spread throughout the entire mountain.

When Ian arrived at his Inner Sect courtyard...

Tyson, Wes, and Lynn Ning were already waiting for him at the gate.

After half a year apart, Tyson and Wes had both grown taller, but Lynn Ning had changed even more—she'd blossomed into a graceful, beautiful young woman.

Images of Nate Moore flashed through Ian's mind, but he felt no guilt at all—after all, Nate had brought it on himself.

"But as compensation, I'll treat your sister well." Ian silently promised Nate in his heart.

"Young master!"

"Young master!"

"Brother Huang!"

The three called out in unison, and then Tyson and Wes rushed forward, faces full of excitement and joy.

"Young master, you’re finally back! We missed you so much!"

"Yeah, without you here, nothing felt right. Glad you’re home, young master!"

Their words might sound like flattery, but mostly it was genuine feeling.

Ian smiled as he looked them over, noticing that both had made decent progress in their cultivation—they were now at the eighth layer of Qi-Refining.

They hadn’t let him down.

So he patted their shoulders and offered a few words of encouragement.

Getting their young master’s approval made both of them extremely happy and proud.

Lynn, meanwhile, after calling him 'Brother Huang,' stood a few steps away, shy but clearly close to him, her eyes full of affection and a bit of timidity.

"Come here, Lynn. Stand by me!" Ian beckoned her over.

"Okay!"

Lynn nodded gently and walked up to Ian. He couldn’t help but reach out and rub her head, saying kindly, "You’ve grown up a bit more, Lynn. Have Tyson and Wes bullied you while I was gone?"

Getting her head rubbed by Ian made Lynn's cheeks flush. She replied softly, "Tyson and Wes have taken really good care of me."

"That's right, young master! We've looked after Miss Lynn really well!"

Tyson and Wes hurried to clarify, not wanting their young master to misunderstand.

"Good. Come on, let’s go inside and talk."

Once they were seated, Lynn obediently poured Ian a cup of fragrant tea and asked, "Brother Huang, are you hungry? I learned to make pastries while you were gone. Can I make some for you?"

Feeling the expectation in her star-like eyes, Ian couldn’t bear to refuse. "Sure. I’d love to try your cooking, Lynn!"

"Just wait a moment, Brother Huang! I'll go make some for you now!" Lynn said happily, running off.

Watching Lynn leave so excited, Ian couldn’t help but sigh inwardly—if she ever found out he killed her only remaining relative, would she still treat him so warmly?

In less than half an hour, Lynn returned holding a steaming plate of pastries.

She eagerly set them in front of Ian. "Brother Huang, try them!"

Ian picked up a pastry and took a bite, then couldn’t help but nod. "Mmm, Lynn, you’re really good at this. It’s delicious."

Tyson chimed in, "Young master, ever since you left, Miss Lynn’s been working hard to learn pastries. She said she wanted to make them for you when you came back. Looks like her dream came true!"

As he said this, Tyson couldn’t help but show a slightly mischievous grin.

Lynn blushed deeply and lowered her head. Seeing this, Ian couldn’t help but wonder, "Has she really fallen for me? That’d be a problem, since I’m the one who killed her brother…"

But with that thought, Ian decided—no matter what, he couldn’t let her know Nate Moore died by his hand.

Before Ian could finish his pastries, a young attendant arrived.

Ian recognized this attendant—he was one of Sect Master Ethan Chen Yuanshan’s people.

Half a quarter of an hour later, Ian followed the attendant to the sect’s grand hall.

At the top of the hall, Sect Master Ethan Chen Yuanshan sat on the throne, with the Supreme Elders lined up on both sides—including Ian’s master Darren Fang Easton and Cole Chong Duan. Harriet Gu was there too, standing obediently behind a long-bearded elder. When she saw Ian, she couldn’t help but give him a worried look.

The atmosphere inside was solemn, and Ian could feel a faint pressure.