To this day, Song Wanning could still remember Lu Nanfeng’s smug look. It was so easy for him to talk, righteously persuading his own master to go to her death, all while planning to use her demise to build his own reputation. Utterly laughable.

’Now I’ll let him have a taste of that same feeling.’

’If he can truly choose to face death with dignity, I can at least grant him an intact corpse...’

Song Wanning waited quietly for Lu Nanfeng’s decision, her expression inscrutable.

And at this moment, Lu Nanfeng finally understood. His master really wasn’t going to save him...

"Master... I know I was wrong. Why can’t you help me?"

The malice in his heart erupted at that moment, and he roared, "I’m your disciple! You’re actually telling me to go and die?"

"How can you be so heartless?!!!"

"Are you even my master anymore?!!!!"

Lu Nanfeng viciously expressed his discontent. Who would have thought that his master would just abandon him?

And to think he had regretted his previous actions. Now, it seemed he hadn’t done anything wrong at all!

"From the moment you betrayed me, I was no longer your master..."

Song Wanning’s lips curled into a smile as she enjoyed the sight of Lu Nanfeng breaking down and losing his mind. Her mood improved immensely.

’See? You never know the pain until you’ve felt the whip yourself.’

Hearing her heartless words, Lu Nanfeng knew he couldn’t rely on Song Wanning. He let go of her and scrambled back a short distance, glaring at her with a look of pure malice. "Song Wanning!"

"It’s no wonder Senior Uncle Gu despises you! You totally deserve it!!"

He used a cruel tone, saying what he thought would hurt Song Wanning the most.

But to Song Wanning’s ears, it was just laughable.

’He’s just a useless piece of trash. What does it matter whether he despises me or likes me?’

’Once you stop loving someone, the filter comes off, and you can easily see they’re nothing but garbage.’

But the fact that Lu Nanfeng dared to speak to her like that pissed her off. She lashed out with a vicious kick.

She controlled her strength perfectly, landing kick after kick without killing him.

After all, he was still useful alive.

"AHH—"

Lu Nanfeng was sent flying again and again like a broken kite, completely unable to resist, reduced to a mere punching bag.

The resentment from her past life was slowly released with every kick. Even when he was black and blue and covered in wounds, Song Wanning didn’t stop.

Lu Nanfeng felt utterly humiliated and wanted to lash out at Song Wanning with threats, but he was afraid she would actually cleanse the sect and kill him, so he could only endure the humiliation in silence.

After all, he really didn’t want to die!

...

"THUD—"

Lu Nanfeng crashed hard onto the ground once more, lying prone, unable to even get up.

His face was now swollen and bruised, and all his teeth had been kicked out.

His limbs were twisted at strange angles, a gruesome sight to behold.

Song Wanning retracted her foot and ground it against the floor in disgust, extinguishing the last shred of Lu Nanfeng’s dignity.

He stared blankly at the ground, still unable to comprehend why Song Wanning was suddenly treating him this way.

Song Wanning gave him a cold glance, walked over to him step by step, and crouched down.

She stared intently into his eyes, her lips curling into a slight smile, a faint glint in her eyes as she asked, "Come to think of it, I haven’t heard any news of An Ze in a long time..."

"I had a dream that An Ze was torn to shreds by a demon beast."

"Tsk, that desperate wail... so heartbreaking."

She was smiling the entire time, not looking at all like her words suggested...

In that instant, Lu Nanfeng suddenly understood something. He shivered violently. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

He stared at Song Wanning in disbelief, feeling as if a fundamental part of his worldview had just collapsed.

A hint of red quickly filled his eyes. Lu Nanfeng practically squeezed the words through his teeth, "D-didn’t... you say... you would... would always protect... us?"

He still remembered when he had first become her disciple. His master had held their hands with a smile, not only giving them generous welcoming gifts but also promising to protect them forever.

How long had it been? And now... she had killed her own disciple with her own hands...

’She’s terrifying!’

’Absolutely horrifying!!’

Lu Nanfeng’s pupils contracted, and he instinctively shrank back. ’I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die!’

Hearing this, Song Wanning let out a soft sound of surprise. "Oh? So you do remember?"

A disdainful, mocking smile appeared on her face. ’These people only remember my promises, but they’ve forgotten their own.’

’Humans are, as expected, selfish and self-serving.’

Standing up, the smile on her face deepened.

"Don’t worry. No matter what, you are still my disciple. Do you really think I would send you to your death?"

The moment she finished speaking, Lu Nanfeng’s eyes lit up, just as she’d expected.

Her smile widened. "The last thing I can do for you is pretend I know nothing about this. Whether you live or die, well, that’s all up to your own luck!"

With that, she sped away under Lu Nanfeng’s astonished gaze, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Lu Nanfeng watched her disappear, his heart a mixture of joy and disappointment.

He was happy his master hadn’t actually killed him, but disappointed that she really wasn’t going to save him.

He closed his eyes, painfully took out an Elixir Pill, and stuffed it into his mouth. Once he could stand, he immediately struggled to his feet and stumbled away.

In his current state, any Demon Cultivator could easily finish him off. He had to find a safe place first.

Lu Nanfeng thought he was temporarily safe, little knowing he was walking step by step toward his doom.

Song Wanning returned to the Guardian Cave and knocked gently on the door to the secret chamber.

She felt no remorse for interrupting Mo Yuan’s Cultivation and was completely at ease.

Mo Yuan wasn’t annoyed either. He walked out of the secret chamber and asked Song Wanning what she needed.

"Help me teleport her again."

Song Wanning pointed up at Ye Chuxue, who had already recovered significantly.

’The female lead is the female lead, after all. In just one day, she’s already found another treasure, and her injuries are almost healed.’

Mo Yuan’s brow furrowed, his gaze toward Ye Chuxue turning hostile.

He didn’t ask for a reason, simply following Song Wanning’s order and moving Ye Chuxue’s location.

"Alright, you can go back to your Cultivation. I’ll find you when I need you!"

Song Wanning’s tone was casual, but hearing it, Mo Yuan’s cheeks secretly flushed.

’The more casually she treats me, the closer she feels to me.’

And now that he finally had a chance to demonstrate his abilities, he was more than eager; how could he possibly have any complaints?

He re-entered the secret chamber. ’I have to seize this opportunity and focus on raising my Cultivation.’

The door to the secret chamber slowly closed, and the warmth in Song Wanning’s eyes vanished.

She still had to figure out how to get her hands on the Xirang. Once she could create a clone, she would take Mo Yuan’s place.

Her ambition was immense.

Just having Mo Yuan lead the Demon Clan to stand behind her wasn’t enough.

She wanted to control the entire Demon Clan herself.

’After all, she could cultivate both Demonic Qi and Spiritual Energy...’

Song Wanning looked up at the sky, a flash of defiance in her eyes.