Yuesong understood his situation very well. He was injured severely and only a breath of qi kept him upright. His fighting the Blood Bat Master was really exhausting his energy, but he had no choice. He had to eliminate or fight off his enemy before he could use the Moon Glow Mirror to heal himself.

Yuesong was much more powerful than the Blood Bat Master usually, and his hard fighting made his opponent feel weak. In a panic, the Blood Bat Master yelled for help, “Crow, why aren’t you helping me?”

The Night Crow Master was so shocked by Yuesong’s might that he still hasn’t returned to human form. After watching their fighting quietly, he finally came to and rushed toward Yuesong, trapping his feet. Meanwhile, the Blood Bat Master used the chance to get away, closing his wings together as if to save his strength.

Yuesong was at the end of his rope, so he couldn’t escape from Night Crow’s moves. He knew Blood Bat was stronger than Night Crow and wanted to save his energy for the former, but he couldn’t stay trapped, so he was forced to unleash a fiery tiger. The fireball jumped on the ground, instantly burning off parts of the mud. Night Crow yelled as he fled, returning to human form, showing many burns on his body and missing one arm.

Yuesong wanted to chase after him and finish him off but he had no extra strength left. His enemies would be soon down to one. He didn’t have to worry about protecting Ye anymore. He waved his hand, and one fiery tiger guarding Ye flew toward Night Crow, burning him to ashes.

Ye stood in place, shocked by Yuesong’s amazing skills and powerful craft. In that moment, he forgot his stubborn claim that “he wasn’t his student” and began admiring Yuesong from the bottom of his heart. He thought it was the greatest honor to be Yuesong’s student.

Yuesong, his power having depleted, was more eager than ever to annihilate his enemies. He turned to Blood Bat, ready to attack, but heard a loud laugh. It came from a tall, masked man dressed in black, who landed next to Ye. He waved his hands and snuffed out all the fiery tigers.

Yuesong panicked. The clothes showed the man to be part of the Blood-Gone Cave. Worried about Ye, he rushed toward the boy, but the man had already seized Ye. Gripping the boy’s head in one hand and his waist in the other, the man tore off the boy’s head with an obscene laugh.

“No!” Yuesong yelled, his eyes turning blood red, grief and anger filling his mind. He yelled as he charged forward, his entire body turning into a spell. The spell transformed into a silver light, moving from his fingertips through his whole body, making Yuesong into a sword of light headed toward the man.

With an enormous sound, rocks scattered as the entire side of a mountain was obliterated into powder.

As the smoke faded, Yuesong stood alone among the pile of rocks. He looked around, there was no sign of the man in black, while Ye was safe and sound behind the fiery tigers, looking confused.

“An illusion?” Yuesong was so surprised it took him a moment to say the words.

“Indeed.” The Blood Bat Master stood up and wiped off his sweat. “This is called ‘Fleeting Dream,” and one of my best skills. Xin Yuesong, you’re the only one in the world who could force me into using this skill.”

Yuesong had lost all of his strength by now and could fight no more. He looked at Blood Bat and suddenly laughed. “I lost, but don’t think you’re getting anything. I don’t have the Moon Glow Mirror!” He started laughing as he talked, lacking breath, he actually pa.s.sed out.

When Ye saw Yuesong fall to the ground, he yelled at the fiery tigers, “what are you waiting for? Kill the bad guy!” The fire didn’t move, eventually they s.h.i.+fted and disappeared.

Blood Bat laughed, “kid, these fiery tigers were here because of Yuesong, with him out of the fight, they can’t last.”

Ye angrily stared at Blood Bat. Then he yelled and flew toward him, but the man just ignored him, letting him approach. When Ye stopped a few feet away, he took out a paper spell and threw it into the air, actually generating a thunder snake. With Ye being so close, Blood Bat was. .h.i.t in the chest, his clothes burned with a large hole. Blood Bat was shocked and angry as he shook his wings, unleas.h.i.+ng a gust of wind so strong that Ye was knocked down and fainted.

Blood Bat looked at his wound and at Ye, “I really underestimated him!”

The desert, as expansive as the ocean, didn’t seem to end. Wherever there was wind, sand filled the air and covered the Sun. There was not a single cloud under the sky and not one piece of shade.

Suddenly, a shadow flew past a sand hill. In the sky, a pair of black wings fluttered as a person flew among the desert. Dressed in black, this was the Blood Bat Master. He carried one person under each arm, who were Yuesong and Ye.

As he flew toward a giant sand hill, he closed his wings and landed on the ground. As soon as he marched toward the top of the hill, he disappeared and then appeared above another sand hill. When he walked down one sand hill, he would reappear on top of another sand hill. After a few times like this, an enormous black castle could be seen.

Blood Bat walked toward the entrance, where the black-clothed guards greeted him and opened the heavy gates. He walked inside the castle.

Inside, a line of guards waited to receive him. The leader among them bowed and said, “Welcome back, Cave Master!” Then he looked up in hesitation, “where’s the other three cave masters?”

Blood Bat waved his hand, “they all died.” The man was stunned and didn’t say anything else he led Blood Bat inside the city.

As they reached a palace, the others stopped while Blood Bat went inside with his hostages. Inside the palace, two men in black were in conversation. Seeing him, they approached. One man, in his 30s and with a dark glint in his eyes, looked over Yuesong and Ye, asking, ”Are Night Crow and...”

Blood Bat nodded, “Clan Leader, I knew Xin Yuesong was powerful, but I didn’t know he was this lethal.”

The other man, tall and lean, wore a black cloth with weird symbols on his face. With only his almond-shaped eyes showing, he marveled, “They said Xin Yuesong was number one in the White Cloud Clan, and was better than clan leader Yan Huolan, they were right!” 

The Clan Leader asked, “did you get the Moon Glow Mirror?”

Blood Bat shook his head, “Yuesong insisted he didn’t have the treasure. I searched him and that glacier and found nothing, I don’t know if he hid it too well or if he told the truth.”

“Sir,” The masked man said. “I wouldn’t make a mistake. The bear monster was definitely healed by the Moon Glow Mirror. If Yuesong went into the glacier, he has the mirror!”