Elder Shan watched in horror as Qiu Ling and Grandmaster Shen clashed. The energy that was released pushed him out of the hall and nearly toppled him. He had to stem his feet against the ground so as to not lose his balance.

How could this disciple be described as a mere talent? He had actually managed to withstand one attack from the Grandmaster! Even if the Grandmaster hadn’t used his full strength, that was still much more than most people could say about themselves! Even he himself wouldn’t dare claim that he could do so!

Elder Shan was in for a surprise though: Qiu Ling naturally wasn’t satisfied with just defending. He was intent on giving this person no way out so that he would need to tell him where they had brought his poor beloved. He clenched his teeth and continued to slash at the Grandmaster.

Shen An De frowned a little. He had expected this person to be good after what Elder Shan had said the previous day but he wouldn’t have expected him to be this good. He was entirely on the level of one of their Elders! In fact, he could just go and tell the Sect Master to exchange the Elder in charge of the division of blades with this youth and nobody would be able to raise a fuss after competing with him!

"How old are you?"

He was honestly interested in the answer to that question but Qiu Ling naturally misunderstood. "Are you mocking me?! I’ll show you!" He put on a burst of speed and tried driving this shameless bastard back. He wasn’t using his full strength either since the person in front of him was a mere mortal. He couldn’t hurt him too much or he wouldn’t be able to answer his questions anymore. How would he find Jing He then?

The Grandmaster countered all of Qiu Ling’s attacks but didn’t initiate any of his own. He wanted to see how far this new disciple would go in order to save his lover. The two of them fought across the hall and back again without any of them gaining the upper hand. At least, that was how it seemed to Elder Shan. The longer he watched the more anxious he got. As unbelievable as it was, it seemed like Grandmaster Shen wasn’t able to win against this disciple. He had to do something!

Elder Shan secretly raised his hand and channeled his spiritual energy. A wall of earth sprang up behind Qiu Ling, attempting to trip him and provide an opportunity for Grandmaster Shen.

Qiu Ling frowned and glanced at Elder Shan. Seriously? They really expected him to trip because of such a lousy magic trick? Tch. How dare they underestimate him?! He’d show them!

He raised a hand and a gust of wind rushed at Elder Shan. The cultivator was thrown out of the hall once more. Qiu Ling smirked. Serves you right! He didn’t pay him any attention after that and turned back toward Grandmaster Shen, narrowing his eyes. You’ll be the next one!

Before he had the chance to strike, Grandmaster Shen had lowered his weapon though. "It seems you’re really as talented as Elder Shan said." In fact, he felt like this new disciple was even more talented but he wouldn’t admit to that in front of him lest he became complacent.

"Who cares about that? Where’s Jing He?!" Qiu Ling glowered at him without lowering his weapon. This man wasn’t bad. He could probably attack him harder without having to fear that he would die. If he still didn’t want to talk …

"Jing He … That should be your lover’s name?" Shen An De smiled amicably. He still felt like everything was some kind of misunderstanding. That bubbly sister-in-law of his certainly wouldn’t try to kill anyone. Maybe someone had given this man false information and led him to believe that it was Hong Bao’s fault that his beloved had nearly come to harm. It was understandable that he was wary in that case. He himself would have reacted just the same had someone hurt his wife.

"Don’t you dare pretend! Where did you bring him?"

Shen An De sighed. He’d just take that as a yes. "I don’t know where he is. And neither I nor my wife or sister-in-law had anything to do with this. Are you sure someone kidnapped him? You just arrived yesterday. Maybe he just wanted to have a look around?"

Qiu Ling paused but then shook his head fiercely. "Impossible! He promised to wait until I’m back."

Grandmaster Shen took a look at the Elder that somberly nodded. So that was indeed the case. This wasn’t good. It would be beneficial for the Hei Dian Sect to take in such a talent. If his lover came to harm shortly after arriving here, there wouldn’t be any opportunity for that though. It was imperative that they found him as soon as possible! "Alright. Then we’ll help you search for him. Is there anything special about him that could help us identify him?"

Qiu Ling paused. Wait. Something special about his beloved that could help identify him? How could he have forgotten! His beloved carried the mark of the dragon! He just had to look for that and he would know instantly where his beloved was! Why hadn’t he thought of that immediately?

Qiu Ling’s face fell. He had been too anxious before. He could only hope that nothing had happened to his beloved while he was wasting his time here.

Without another word, Qiu Ling turned around and hurried out of the hall once more. Elder Shan and Grandmaster Shen looked at his leaving figure, unsure what had just happened.

"This new disciple sure is interesting. I’ve never seen anything like this."

The Elder smiled wryly. He hadn’t seen something like this either but he would have preferred it if it stayed that way. The Grandmaster might still think of it as interesting now but what if he changed his opinion in a few days? He had admitted that troublemaker to the sect! Wouldn’t he also be the one to blame if something even worse happened? Damn. In hindsight, he should have pretended not to be home yesterday, then maybe he would have been spared this ordeal.