Luo Tiance saw that his grandson was no more, fury consuming his heart, his eyes reddened.
His grandson was the apple of his eye, and like a dragon's outrage, those who touched it faced certain death; he wouldn't calm his seething anger today unless he killed this demon.
In the past, he was always calm and collected, but today, with his grandson's life at stake, he fell into a state of impulsive frenzy.
"Grandf..." Luo Yu's mind had been in chaos, reacting a beat too slow, and before he could finish the word, he was sent flying.
Now, feeling a blockage in his chest and choking on a mouthful of blood, he found it even harder to speak.
Before he could finish calling out, another sword light flashed.
Clang!
Luo Yu grunted, the words "Grandpa" blasted back in his throat.
"Demon, I want you to pay with your life for my grandson!"
Luo Yu heard the shout and was at a loss for words—what the hell was happening? He hadn't been killed by the demon, and now he was about to be slaughtered by his own enraged, red-eyed grandfather.
Luo Tiance flicked his fingers along the sword's blade, turning it into a pure golden color as if it were enchanted.
"Sky-Cleaving Sword Technique!"
A majestic sword light burst forth, the sky wailing as if about to be split open by the sword.
"Heaven and Earth as my shield, immovable as a mountain!" Shi Kai emerged from the void, a brown-black great shield poised to block the sword light head-on.
"Crash!"
The great shield shattered, and the sword light dispersed into pieces.
"Stop the damn fighting, he's one of our own!" Shi Kai roared, having to shout; if he didn't, the grandfather would slaughter his own grandson.
"This guy's killing intent is through the roof, and within the Secret Realm, my grandson and the others have disappeared. If he's not the murderer, then who is?" Luo Tiance questioned, "Are you trying to protect this killer?"
Shi Kai could no longer contain himself and cursed aloud.
Pointing at the bloodied figure coughing up blood, he said, "What the hell are you hacking at? That damn person is your grandson, don't you want to kill him with your own hands before you're satisfied?"
Luo Tiance, originally boiling with rage, eyes bloodshot and inflamed, felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him upon hearing these words.
"You..."
"What did you say?"
Shi Kai was utterly speechless, initially, not wanting to reveal Luo Yu's identity in front of so many people, but there was no helping it now.
"Cough, cough."
Coughing out the blood lodged in his throat, Luo Yu said weakly, "Grandpa, it's me."
Hearing that frail, raspy, and dry voice, Luo Tiance's face drastically changed, his entire body trembling.
"Xiao... Xiao Yu?"
"This..."
Luo Tiance whooshed to Luo Yu's side, embraced his shoulders, wiped away the blood on his face, recognizing his grandson's disguised appearance.
His heart tremored as if struck by lightning.
"Ah!!"
"I actually struck my own grandson!"
Luo Tiance cried out in pain, "Grand... grandson, are you alright?"
He tossed aside the State-Defending Divine Sword casually, his calloused hands unsure where to touch as he tried to help his grandson, who seemed to be injured all over.
It seemed as though his entire body was covered in wounds.
With a wry smile, Luo Yu said, "I'm not gone yet, just almost got finished off by grandpa's final blow."
"Cough, cough, cough..."
This dark joke brought Luo Tiance to tears, his eyes brimming with the pain of an old man, far removed from the hardened figure of a warrior of his generation; he looked more like an elder in his twilight years, "It's all grandpa's fault, all my fault, I came too late."
With his grandfather by his side, Luo Yu, who had stood tall and straight, finally weakened, his mighty presence fading from that of a First-grade Strong Person to less than an ordinary man, his breathing growing frail, an immense sense of exhaustion swamping him like a tide.
"Xiao Yu!"
Luo Tiance called out in alarm, immediately channeling his most refined Spiritual Power into Luo Yu's body, his heart trembling again.
His grandson's meridians were cracked in many places, his Spiritual Power and blood nearly depleted, as if the lamp had burned out. If not for the extraordinary vitality continuously welling up from within his Dantian, his grandson would have been completely on the brink of death, not long for this world.
"Who did this, who did this!!!" Luo Tiance's teeth clenched with a grinding sound, his whole body boiling with blood, incensed as he looked at the bloodstains covering his grandson.
"Grandpa, I'm tired, I want to... take a nap," said Luo Yu as he closed his eyes—scaring Luo Tiance immensely.
Perceiving the continuous surge of vitality from Luo Yu's Dantian and his body displaying astonishing recovery ability, Luo Tiance was somewhat reassured.
"This... this is Luo Tiance's grandson."
"Damn, the Luo Family's grandson is this fierce?"
"Isn't he said to be only eighteen this year, able to display the strength of a First Rank Summit?"
"Stop fussing."
"What exactly is happening right now?"
A group of First-Grade Strong Persons whispered from a distance, not daring to speak loudly, full of questions.
Luo Tiance was still okay; his strength was well recognized.
But the strength of the shadowy youth left them all utterly shocked, and Yang Cang had an expression as if he had seen a ghost.
What in the world?
Xia Luo is Luo Tiance's grandson, the legendary Da Xia Godson, so has he been in disguise all this time?
Even if he were the God's Child, his strength was inconceivable. Eighteen, he is only eighteen.
At this time, Shi Kai approached Luo Tiance.
"Go away, don't disturb my grandson's sleep," Luo Tiance conveyed through a spiritual message.
"I can't. The lives of over a hundred other Martial University students are still in the balance, and there's not a shadow in sight. Let me ask," pleaded Shi Kai earnestly.
Although Luo Tiance was extremely fond of his grandson, he could still prioritize what was important.
Once he received affirmation, Shi Kai spoke up:
"Brother Luo, do you know where the Martial University team you entered with is?"
"Brother Luo?"
"Und... Underground." Luo Yu was not fully asleep, his eyes closed as he restored his spirit and vitality, his Spiritual Power.
He still had one more thing to do later.
"Underground?"
Shi Kai understood, leading the group of First Rank Summit martial artists who came to support Luo Tiance and other provincial First-Grade Strong Persons to collectively uncover the ground inside the Secret Realm in search.
Meanwhile, Luo Tiance, the strongest person in Great Xia, watched over his grandson from high above, careful and cautious as the young man slept.
"Boom—"
Yang Cang removed a large number of boulders from the surface, revealing nine cauldrons, turned upside down on the ground.
The Bronze Cauldrons exuded a simple aura, with mountain veins and river directions engraved on their surfaces, and the sense of ancient times washing over everything.
"This..."
The others, attracted by the sound, looked at the cauldrons with eyes full of surprise.
Shi Kai declared, "These Nine Bronze Cauldrons must be Brother Xiao Luo's treasures! If we move them, the people should be underneath."
"Still talking about Xiao Luo? Think we're fools? Don't we know who Director Luo's grandson is?" A few of the First Rank Summit strong persons glanced at him sideways.
Yang Cang was also staring.
"Uh... It's not my fault; I have to keep secrets for others," Shi Kai's mouth twitched.
As each cauldron was moved, they revealed over a hundred Martial University team members who had been sheltered inside the cauldrons, including Cao Ritian, Zhu Qing, and others, all feeling as if they were seeing daylight once again.
When a senior First Rank martial artist saw Cao Ritian unharmed, he breathed a long sigh of relief and said, "Little Cao, Uncle Ying is here."
"Uncle Ying!" Cao Ritian was also somewhat excited, never having been as scared in his life as he was today: "Aren't you a First Grade? How could you come into this Secret Realm?"
"Let's not talk about that. How did you end up under this cauldron?" asked Uncle Ying, as others turned to look.
"It was Brother Xiao Luo, Brother Xiao Luo saved us!" a team member shouted excitedly, his eyes filled with emotion and admiration.
"Hum—"
At this moment, the Nine Bronze Cauldrons resonated; the divine objects had spirits, and seeing their task completed, they soared into the sky, rapidly shrinking.
In the astonished looks of those around, they turned into nine mini cauldrons and swiftly flew towards Luo Yu, merging into his body.
"Divine objects..." The First Grade strong persons all looked on enviously.
"Smack!" Shi Kai gave someone a slap on the head: "Don't you see who that is, whose grandson, whose things you are coveting."
When all the strong persons counted the numbers, realizing that not a single person who entered the Secret Realm was missing, they were greatly relieved.
These were all treasures of the various Martial Universities.
Shi Kai couldn't help but silently praise his own wisdom; if he hadn't let Luo Yu come in, all these elite martial artists would have died here.
Not one was missing, there was even one extra.
When Shi Kai noticed the unconscious Bai Xiao'e among the crowd, he immediately sensed that something was amiss; this was the person who had gone missing in Jiang City.
"Who can tell me exactly what happened? Is this related to the Jiang City tragedy?" Shi Kai asked urgently and seriously.
"We have a recording." A member of the Demon Province Martial University raised their hand, as special material recorders were used to record footage every time someone entered a Secret Realm.
"Good, that's great."
The group of strong persons quickly started the video, while Luo Tiance, from afar, also cast his divine sense over to watch along.
He wanted to know what had happened to his grandson.