#32 - Misunderstanding, it doesn't matter

At the central giant platform, Lin Yun found several people already standing there upon his arrival.

Among them, Lin Yun only recognized one person: Wu Yun from the Mad Blade Martial Hall.

At that moment, Wu Yun was enthusiastically chatting with a young girl.

Upon seeing Lin Yun ascend the giant platform, he immediately came over with a grin, saying, "Yo, why are you only arriving now?"

He was the first to obtain ten identity plaques and rush to the central giant platform.

"The forest is vast, and there are many demonic beasts, so I was delayed a bit," Lin Yun said indifferently.

"This is Lin Yun from the Lin family, the man I told you about who flattened Xie Yingying with a single palm," Wu Yun introduced to the girl beside him.

He had a mischievous grin, deliberately emphasizing Lin Yun's palm strike on Xie Yingying.

"Hello, Lin Yun, I'm Mu Lingsha from the Mu Family Village," the girl smiled at Lin Yun, teasingly saying, "If I accidentally offend you in the future, please don't hit me like that."

"Don't listen to Wu Yun's nonsense; that was unintentional on my part, purely coincidental," Lin Yun quickly explained.

His eyes took the opportunity to glance at Mu Lingsha. This girl was wearing a black, fitted leather skirt, and her delicate figure, wrapped in tight clothing, appeared exquisite and shapely, with captivating curves. Her skin was also unique, not the fair and tender type of ordinary girls, but rather a healthy bronze color.

In her hand, she held a green wooden bow, and her whole demeanor was heroic and spirited, with a touch of a nimble and agile little leopard.

The three of them chatted like this, waiting for others to arrive.

Lin Yun made a point of blending into the crowd, not wanting to stand out.

"Strange, Lei Li and Xie Yingying haven't arrived yet. With their strength, this stage shouldn't be difficult, right?" Wu Yun said, looking at the figures gradually emerging from the forest with a puzzled expression.

He nudged Lin Yun's shoulder and asked, "Did you encounter them?"

"No, I encountered a few demonic beasts and was entangled for a while. Later, I snatched a few people's identity plaques and came over," Lin Yun said, still with a calm expression.

"Lei Li is a troublesome fellow, extremely vengeful. I heard that he has already broken through to the Earth Origin Realm. You embarrassed him so much before, so if you face him later, I'm afraid he won't easily let you off. Why don't you just admit defeat then?" Wu Yun kindly advised, having dealt with Lei Li for a long time and knowing his character.

"What you said makes sense. If I face him, I'm afraid I can only admit defeat," Lin Yun nodded in agreement, but secretly chuckled in his heart… It would be a real ghost story if he were to encounter Lei Li. He wouldn't even have time to fight; he'd be running away.

Just then, there was an uproar in the forest below the giant platform, and many people ran towards them, shouting something as they ran.

"It's bad, it's bad!"

"Grandpa, Grandpa!"

"Sister Yingying is gone."

"Brother Lei Li is gone."

"Family Head, save us!"

"Fire Python Tiger, there's a Fire Python Tiger…"

The participating juniors from the Lei, Xie, and Lin families, the three major families, ran over frantically, their expressions panicked.

On the giant platform, the competition referee, who was standing there waiting to verify identity plaques, was a little dumbfounded when he saw these juniors rushing over desperately. He reprimanded, "Stop everyone! What's going on? Speak slowly."

The juniors who were blocked gasped for breath, not daring to rush forward forcefully. This referee was an Earth Origin Realm expert.

"There's… a Fire Python Tiger, it killed Lei Li, it killed Xie Yingying…"

"Quick, get out of the way, the Fire Python Tiger will come and kill us later."

At this time, Wu Yun, Mu Lingsha, and others on the giant platform curiously looked over, not immediately understanding the information these people were conveying.

In the audience area around the giant platform, the people from the Lei and Xie families, the Mad Blade Martial Hall, and the Lin family were all alarmed.

Especially Lei Bao and Xie Qian, upon hearing "Lei Li is gone, Xie Yingying is gone," could no longer sit still. They leapt onto the giant platform in a few strides and came to the juniors.

"What did you say? Explain it more clearly," Lei Bao said loudly, pointing at one of the Lei family juniors.

"Fire Python Tiger, it's a Fire Python Tiger…"

The Lei family junior, panting heavily, briefly and quickly recounted the course of events.

"A Fire Python Tiger actually appeared!"

Lei Bao and Xie Qian's faces were extremely ugly. "Where is it? Take us there quickly."

The Lei and Xie family juniors, who had just escaped for their lives, were already exhausted. Now, being asked by the family heads, they didn't dare to refuse, enduring their overdrawn strength and running back into the forest, saying, "Follow me, it's over there."

Lei Bao and Xie Qian did not hesitate and directly charged into the forest.

Lei Li and Xie Yingying were their families' precious geniuses, the hope for the future.

"What's going on?" Lin Yun came over at the appropriate time, pretending to be shocked and asking Lin Xia and the others.

Lin Zhentian, Lin Xiao, Luo Cheng, and other important figures from various forces also gathered around.

Lin Xia immediately repeated the entire course of events.

"As soon as the Fire Python Tiger appeared, we all scattered and fled. When escaping from the valley, I glanced back and saw the Fire Python Tiger kill Xie Yingying and Lei Li."

Lin Zhentian quickly asked, "Have all the members of our Lin family escaped?"

"They're all here; no one got separated," Lin Xia said with lingering fear.

Then, the Mad Blade Martial Hall, the Mu Family Village, and other major forces all counted their participating juniors.

They breathed a sigh of relief after discovering that everyone was fine.

Luo Cheng frowned and said, "Strange, before the start of the competition, this forest was checked; there shouldn't be any Heaven Origin Realm demonic beasts."

"This forest connects to the deep mountains behind, and no one is constantly patrolling. It's possible for powerful demonic beasts to occasionally run out. Moreover, that Fire Python Tiger was clearly attracted by the Void Spirit Grass. They just happened to encounter it," Lin Zhentian added indifferently. "We can only say they were unlucky."

Lei Li and Xie Yingying snatched the fifth-grade spiritual herb discovered by their Lin family. Lin Zhentian naturally wouldn't have a good expression regarding their deaths.

With such a big event occurring, the competition was temporarily suspended.

Everyone was waiting for Lei Bao and Xie Qian to return.

No one suspected Lin Yun. That was a Heaven Origin Realm demonic beast. In everyone's eyes, Lin Yun was just a Body Tempering Realm junior. How could he be connected to that level of demonic beast?

As for Lin Yun entering the forest early, no one paid attention to it except for Lin Xia and the others, because at the start of the competition, everyone was rushing into the forest. Once inside, you couldn't see anything.

"Lin Yun, why did you run so fast? You didn't even wait for us. If you had been there, Qingtan wouldn't have been bullied by that b*tch Xie Yingying…" Lin Xia whispered reproachfully.

Thinking that Xie Yingying was already dead, she didn't say the word "b*tch."

In Lin Xia's view, a family should be united to avoid being bullied. The Lei and Xie families were all together, which almost caused their Lin family to suffer a loss.

Lin Yun, as the number one junior in the Lin family, shouldn't only care about himself.

"I…" Lin Yun was just about to find a reason to explain.

"Sister Lin Xia, it's a good thing Brother Lin Yun wasn't there. Otherwise, Xie Yingying and the others wouldn't have been able to snatch the spiritual herb from me. In that case, the Fire Python Tiger might have been chasing us, and we might have…" Qingtan suddenly stood up and said, her words containing a hint of relief.

She didn't dare to continue speaking, but everyone understood her meaning.

Lin Xia and the others swallowed hard, feeling a chill of fear.

"Yes, we should be glad Brother Lin Yun wasn't there!" Lin Dong said, taking a deep breath.

Lei Li and Xie Yingying could withstand it, but the powerful Fire Python Tiger was impossible to defeat.

Lin Yun no longer explained, not caring. When they saw the Fire Python Tiger one day, they would naturally understand.

He also wanted to see what kind of expressions Qingtan and the others would have when they saw that the Fire Python Tiger was actually his pet beast.