The system is the proficiency panel

236. News of Death

"Go ahead, tell me if you have any news, don't go to investigate alone."

"Don't worry, Michiko."

Hearing Lin Ji's words, Ouyang Yun responded with a smile, then stood up and left the room with Zhu Lin.

Hearing the sound of the door closing, Lin Ji looked at the two girls sleeping quietly, feeling a little bored, so he simply started practicing.

A wisp of flame ignited, condensed, and compressed from the fingertips of his right hand. Its temperature continued to rise and the color of the flame continued to change, eventually becoming hundreds of thousands of degrees that ordinary people could not look directly at. If they looked at it, they would lose their sight.

Lin Ji maintained the high temperature of the flame, changing it into various shapes, while controlling it so that its temperature would not affect anything around it.

He stared at the invisible fire dancing at his fingertips, his pupils reflecting the blazing white spiritual patterns that ordinary people could not see. As his thoughts turned, the cluster of flames that had been compressed to the extreme suddenly spread out its tiny wings, and the hot light flowed between the feathers, revealing the outline of a miniature phoenix.

"Compared to Feng Tian's phoenix form, the demeanor is still a little lacking after all."

He sighed softly, and the Flame Phoenix suddenly raised its head and let out a long cry. Its wings folded into a lotus shape, and its spiritual consciousness wrapped around every leaping plasma like a silk thread. The flames that were imprisoned by the absolute domain began to collapse, collapsing from a phoenix form into a pill engraved with red cloud patterns.

Looking at the pill in front of him, which was enough to easily melt a large mountain range after being fully released, Lin Ji's face showed dissatisfaction. He clenched his right hand and crushed it in his palm.

"The destructive range is large enough, but it is still useless against that young-looking saint."

He had not yet successfully cultivated the fire state of mind, and its power was far inferior to that of other state of mind. So he murmured, closed his eyes, entered into a state of meditation again and began to cultivate. The room fell into a long silence.

……

The scorching sun baked cracks in the rocks, and the steaming heat distorted the entire granite mountain. Two figures swooped down from the scorching sky. Carter Doyle brought Chen Chen down from the sky and quickly entered the mountain from a hidden cave.

As soon as the two entered, they could see in the dim light that a large number of armed guards surrounded them and blocked their retreat.

At this time, the guards opened a gap, and a tall, straight figure wearing armor walked out from the crowd of guards. He took off his iron helmet and revealed his face.

The most eye-catching thing is the scar that runs across his brow bone - it looks like a centipede tearing his left eyebrow in two, but it unexpectedly adds a bit of awe-inspiring aura.

Raymond Hawke shook his gray curly hair that was dented by his helmet, and his stubble spread along his square jawline. He looked at Carter Doyle, who was obviously in poor health, and asked with a frown.

"Doyle, what happened?"

"It's okay, I just encountered a difficult enemy, and the Saint is dealing with him."

Carter Doyle forced a smile and evaded the question, then pushed Chen Chen and gave instructions into the darkness.

"Bettys, he is Chen Chen, the son of destiny predicted by the Holy Stone. Please arrange a place for him to live and take good care of him."

At this time, a woman in a white robe walked past the guards, with long black hair cascading down her shoulders. She saluted Carter Doyle and Raymond Hawke and responded.

"My subordinate understands."

After Bettys finished speaking, she walked up to Chen Chen, smiled and gestured for him to come in.

"Chen Chen, please come this way."

When Bettys opened her mouth, her voice had the soft vibration of a lullaby, crisp and gentle enough to melt the chill.

The gentle tone made Chen Chen involuntarily think of his mother and Ruoye who was captured. He looked around at the dark crowd around him, hummed, and followed Bettys away.

When the figures of the two men disappeared completely, Raymond Hawke casually raised his gauntleted left palm, and the guards immediately retreated in neat steps into the shadows of the rugged rocks.

"Let's go."

Raymond Hawke took the lead, followed by Carter Doyle, and together they walked deeper into the mountains. The shadows of the two men cast on the stone wall were twisting and stretching, like two pieces of pig iron destined to fall into a furnace.

One thousand meters underground, in a cave where a sacred stone was enshrined, two people were worshipping with solemn and respectful expressions.

Carter Doyle stood up and looked at his teacher. He thought for a while before speaking with a gloomy expression.

"Teacher, the Saint Lady...she sacrificed herself..."

Raymond Hawke's fingers trembled slightly, and his knuckles brushed against the raised patterns on the base of the holy stone. He turned around slowly, and the flickering flames on the candlesticks cut grooves of varying depths on his face.

“Are you sure?”

His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper smoothing the notches on the edge of an altar.

"Yes, we met a cultivator. His strength is very strong. He is not comparable to those criminals in Shanyin Territory. We are no match for him. I... lost. The Saint Lady used a secret method... After the battle, I waited for a while, but she still didn't come back..."

Carter Doyle stood there quietly, his eyes had lost their former luster and became dull, his face was covered with a layer of haze, and his voice became weaker and weaker. He could not explain to himself, nor did he know how to explain to others.

Bang! A buzzing sound echoed in the cave, and Carter Doyle was knocked flying by a punch and hit the rock wall, with cracks spreading out from his body.

Cough!

Although his teacher had only reached the third level of Martial Saint and was not as strong as him, this punch still caused Carter Doyle, whose injuries had not yet healed, to cough a few times, with blood overflowing from the corners of his mouth. However, he did not say anything, silently waiting for his teacher's punishment.

Raymond Hawke silently retracted his fist. As he moved, the armor on his body made a slight clash of sounds. He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm his frantic, angry and sad heart.

He knew that Carter Doyle could not be blamed entirely for his sister's death. He thought that the two fourth-level martial saints were foolproof, but he ended up underestimating those cultivators. This consequence could only be attributed to their own lack of preparation.

Raymond Hawke collected his thoughts, his increasingly aged face filled with determination. He looked at his disciple who was embedded in the rock wall without moving and scolded him.

"Cheer up and stop acting like a coward! The Holy Church still needs you!"

When Carter Doyle heard this, he suddenly raised his head. Seeing the determination and indignation in his teacher's eyes, he also cheered up, walked out of the rock wall and responded.

"I understand, teacher. I will continue to implement the plan I made before."

"Don't be impatient. The strength of those cultivators is far beyond our expectations. The plan needs to be changed. Go and heal your wounds first, and then we can discuss it again. As for the matter of the Saint Girl... keep it secret for now. I will contact the headquarters."

Raymond Hawke regained his usual calm demeanor, put on his helmet after giving the order, turned around and left the cave, but from his hunched back, it could be seen that he was very sad.