'What a powerful aura!' Ye Tian was stunned. He couldn't understand how the small, red paper talisman in Qin Lin's hand could emit such a terrifyingly dangerous presence.
"Gods, that's a Bursting Fire Talisman! To think Qin Lin actually has a Bursting Fire Talisman—that's something that costs tens of thousands of Spirit Stones! Ye Tian is a dead man for sure this time!" someone in the crowd couldn't help but exclaim.
This was the first time Ye Tian had ever heard of the so-called Bursting Fire Talisman. It was no surprise he was so uninformed; having grown up in a branch of the Ye Family, there was much he didn't know. But right now, he sensed grave danger.
A smug smile appeared on Qin Lin's face, as if the pain racking his body had vanished. As long as he could kill Ye Tian, this small amount of suffering was nothing.
"Let's see you survive this, Ye Tian!" Qin Lin roared, and with a flick of his wrist, he sent the red paper talisman hurtling toward him.
In the blink of an eye, the red paper talisman erupted into a raging inferno that instantly engulfed Ye Tian. A terrifying heat filled the air, as if the very atmosphere had been set ablaze, sending waves of scorching heat radiating outward.
"Brother Tian!" Ye Feifei cried out. She had been locked in a fierce battle with Ye Shixue and was completely caught off guard by Qin Lin's sudden talisman attack. These Paper Talismans were actually a type of Inscription, possessing immense destructive power.
Inscriptions were an incredibly powerful type of offensive weapon on the Celestial Dragon Continent. They usually took the form of Paper Talismans, though some would also refine Inscriptions onto their weapons. Unleashed suddenly in the middle of a fight, they were nearly impossible for an opponent to defend against and could often inflict tremendous damage.
Ye Feifei parried Ye Shixue's attack with a swift stroke of her sword, then turned and ran toward where Ye Tian stood. However, she was forced to a halt when she was still about three meters away from him.
Ye Tian was now completely engulfed in flames. It would be a miracle if he survived. An unbearable pain seized her heart, and tears streamed ceaselessly down her face.
Ye Feifei tried to approach Ye Tian several times, but to no avail; the intense heat of the flames blocked her path. At that moment, she was overwhelmed by utter despair. If anything were to happen to Ye Tian, she had no desire to go on living.
When Ye Shixue saw Ye Tian engulfed in flames, only a flicker of cold indifference crossed her face. It was as if his life or death no longer affected her in the slightest. In the past, she might have been as heartbroken as Ye Feifei, but at this moment, she felt nothing at all.
"HAHAHAHA! Now you know who you're dealing with, Ye Tian! I spent ten thousand Spirit Stones on this Bursting Fire Talisman just to kill you. You should be content with your death!" Qin Lin cackled.
The onlookers watched the flames engulfing Ye Tian, their faces taut with tension. For such an outstanding young man to die by a fire talisman was a true pity. At the same time, they were disgusted by Qin Lin's despicable tactics.
After hearing Qin Lin's taunts, Ye Feifei slowly raised her head. A voice that seemed to crawl from the depths of hell escaped her lips. "Qin Lin, you killed my Brother Tian today. I will kill you!"
As the words left her mouth, her Fine Steel Sword flashed through a series of dazzling forms as she lunged at Qin Lin. At that moment, Ye Feifei had only one goal in mind: to kill Qin Lin, bring Ye Tian's remains back to the family for a proper burial, and then take her own life to join him.
Driven by furious grief, Ye Feifei unleashed her full Attack Power against Qin Lin. If this strike landed, he would almost certainly die, especially since he was already severely injured by Ye Tian.
But just then, Ye Shixue's figure flickered. In the blink of an eye, she appeared before Qin Lin and swung her sword at Ye Feifei, neutralizing the immensely powerful attack.
The force of the impact knocked both women back several steps, with Ye Shixue stumbling back a bit farther. This was for two reasons: her block had been hasty, whereas Ye Feifei had unleashed her full strength, and her Attack Power was slightly inferior to Ye Feifei's to begin with.
"Feifei, don't clash with her head-on. I'll deal with her later!" As Ye Feifei stumbled back, she suddenly heard Ye Tian's voice and froze, stunned.
But she quickly came to her senses. "Brother Tian, you're not hurt?"
Ye Feifei's reaction immediately drew everyone's attention. All eyes turned toward the flames where Ye Tian stood. The fire surrounding him was already shrinking, and after a few breaths, it extinguished completely.
To everyone's utter disbelief, Ye Tian was standing right where he had been, completely unharmed. Not even his clothes were singed. No one had ever witnessed such a bizarre scene.
That had been an attack from a Bursting Fire Talisman, yet he was completely unscathed. For a moment, everyone was bewildered, feeling as if they were dreaming and unable to believe what their eyes were seeing.
Ye Feifei was also stunned, and the tears now flowed from her eyes even faster. She couldn't stop herself from rushing to Ye Tian and hugging him tightly, overwhelmed with the feeling of having him back from the brink.
"Brother Tian, I thought I'd never see you again! My heart ached so much! So much!" Ye Feifei said through her sobs. At that moment, she no longer cared about her ladylike image. She knew Ye Tian was her sky, her everything!
"I'm perfectly fine, aren't I? Did he really think a single Bursting Paper Talisman could hurt me? Qin Lin seriously underestimates me! Don't cry. If you keep crying, your face will be a mess," Ye Tian said gently.
It was as if they were the only two people in the world, and everyone else had faded into thin air. In that moment, the bond between them deepened once again.
However, the person with the ugliest expression at that moment was none other than Qin Lin. The Bursting Fire Talisman he had spent a fortune of ten thousand Spirit Stones on had failed to kill Ye Tian. That Bursting Paper Talisman was said to be powerful enough to leave even an expert at the Second Vein Fifth Layer on the brink of death.
Yet Ye Tian was completely unscathed. Most bizarrely, while engulfed in flames, he hadn't moved a single step or even made a sound of pain.
In that same instant, he felt a murderous aura emanating from Ye Tian. A cold sweat broke out on his back. He realized that today, he might very well be killed by Ye Tian.
At that moment, Qin Xiaowan's heart was a mixture of joy and sorrow. She was overjoyed that Ye Tian had miraculously survived, safe and sound. When he was engulfed in flames, her own heart had inexplicably ached, though she had no idea why.
But now that Ye Tian had survived, her own brother was in grave danger. She didn't want to see Ye Tian die, but she didn't want to see her brother die either. Her heart was in turmoil. Finally, she made an unbelievable decision.
Ye Tian gently released Ye Feifei and said, "It's time to take his life. For using such a despicable trick on me, his death would be no loss!"