This all-you-can-eat barbecue lasted a full two hours.
When everyone was reclining in a half-sitting, half-lying position, looking less than presentable, a girl appeared at the door.
She was pretty and headed straight for Ma Deju upon entering.
Ma Deju, usually unfazed by anything, leaped up at the sight of her.
He bolted, ducking behind Chu Tian in a flash.
"Brother Tian... save me!"
Seeing his panicked state, Chu Tian reacted instantly.
He activated his bear form.
And unleashed the Rending Claw skill!
This was a skill he had never used before, obtained from a skill book dropped in the Soul Devouring Abyss, just like Iron Mane.
He had learned it but never once used it in the Heavenly Dao world.
In the Heavenly Dao, he rarely found himself in situations where he needed his bear form for combat.
This was the first time he'd seen Ma Deju so terrified.
Chu Tian didn't bother considering if the newcomer was a girl; he went straight for a killing blow.
He swung his palm down towards the girl's head.
If it connected, she would surely be reduced to a bloody mess, her brains splattered on the ground.
"No..."
Ma Deju, hiding behind Chu Tian, suddenly roared.
But it was too late. Chu Tian's palm strike was incredibly powerful.
It carried an unstoppable momentum, impossible to retract.
The girl was startled by Chu Tian's attack.
She hadn't expected the man blocking Ma Deju to be so decisive.
"Lin... Dragon Soul Guard!"
"Lin... Flicker Step!"
Two voices echoed simultaneously from in front of and behind Chu Tian.
Without any visible movement, her body was enveloped in a golden light.
*Crack...*
Chu Tian's palm collided with the golden light. The contact lasted only a second.
A sound like shattering glass.
"Brother... *Pfft*..." a delicate cry came from behind Chu Tian.
Accompanied by a warm, wet,腥 air, something sprayed onto the back of Chu Tian's neck.
However, Chu Tian had no time to figure out how she had gotten behind him.
He was struggling to retract his palm strike.
Because this one blow had shattered the golden protective skill the girl had cast.
As the golden light dissipated, Ma Deju, not the girl, now stood before Chu Tian!
He raised his arms, blocking Chu Tian's descending palm.
*Crack...* An ear-splitting sound of bone cracking.
Ma Deju's arms were forced back, and Chu Tian finally managed to halt his palm strike.
It was mere inches from Ma Deju's crown.
Chu Tian, horrified, turned to look behind him.
The girl from moments ago was now standing where Ma Deju had been.
The two had switched places instantly.
Her face was as white as paper, clearly suffering from severe internal injuries.
Chu Tian stood there dumbfounded.
That cry of "Brother" and Ma Deju's use of the Flicker Step skill were enough to confirm it.
This girl was his sister.
What... what should he do now?
He hadn't anticipated this situation at all.
Ma Deju had acted as if facing a mortal enemy.
Which had led him to unleash a full-powered attack.
And now, with one palm strike, he had injured two people!
The others had also figured it out. Lin Yu was the quickest.
She dashed to the girl's side in an instant.
After tapping her a few times, she said, "She's fine, just exhausted."
Then, she went to Ma Deju, who was groaning.
After checking his arms, she looked up at Chu Tian and said, "Brother Chu Tian... his hands..."
Seeing her pause, Chu Tian started, "How are they? Can they be healed?"
"*Pfft*..." Lin Yu, seeing his anxious look, decided not to tease him any further. She kicked Ma Deju. "You're tough as nails. It's just a bone fracture, stop groaning!"
"Strange, the sound earlier suggested at least a comminuted fracture, yet it's only a slight crack?"
Lin Yu mumbled softly to herself, then turned to tend to the girl again.
Seeing that his act was over, Ma Deju rolled over and sat up.
With a mournful face, he said, "Brother Tian, you're too brutal. I only asked for help, not for you to kill anyone... If Auntie finds out, she'll kill us both!"
"This... can you blame me? You looked like you were being chased by a life-or-death enemy!"
Chu Tian felt wronged. If you hadn't made that face, how could I have attacked a young girl?
"Speaking of which, aren't all the Ma family members twins? Is this girl your sister?"
Chu Tian voiced his unspoken question.
"Yes, this is my real sister!" Ma Deju blinked, wondering why Chu Tian was asking.
"Heh heh..." Qi Shushu and Song Zijing chuckled from the side. "He's definitely his sister, it's just that Brother Ma looks a bit rushed!"
"He's only eighteen but looks thirty-eight! Haha..."
Chu Tian listened and cursed, "Damn... you're eighteen? And you had me call you Brother Ma?"
"Hmph, as if you're that old!" Ma Deju stood up, saying dismissively.
Chu Tian almost blurted out that he was twenty-four.
But on second thought, he should only be twenty now.
To be precise, his twentieth birthday was still a few days away.
Meaning, he was only nineteen!
"Stop babbling, come over and check on your sister!" Chu Tian said.
He noticed that Ma Deju's sister wasn't in a good state.
Using his divine sense, he found that she wasn't just exhausted as Lin Yu had said.
Her soul fluctuations were violent, waxing and waning!
"Oh... it's nothing!" Ma Deju said.
"Your Dragon Soul was shattered by him, and she'll need seven days to recover!"
"During this time, she's in a weakened state."
"It's just that this time... she can't participate in the martial arts competition of the eight great families. What should we do!"
"Auntie will break my legs for sure!"
Ma Deju rambled on, then went to pick up his sister.
He said to Chu Tian, "Brother Tian, I'll head back to the Ma family first. If the Luo family comes looking for trouble, hold them off for me and call for reinforcements!"
"Oh right, you two shouldn't leave either. You might be useful then!"
He instructed Qi Shushu and Song Zijing to stay.
"Mm..." They agreed!
"Brother..." Ma Deju had only taken two steps when his sister woke up.
She said, "Grand Auntie wants me to call you all back together, and him too..."
She looked at Chu Tian.
"What?" Ma Deju asked uncertainly, "What does she want him for? Ma Ruolin, you're not trying to trick me into taking him back so Auntie can deal with him, are you?"
"That was just a misunderstanding earlier. He was protecting me!"
"Hmph... If I wanted revenge, would I need to trick you?"
"Grand Auntie knows what happened here and sent me to call you to the Ma family. Otherwise, why do you think I came?"
Ma Ruolin struggled and got down from Ma Deju's embrace.
Although she was still a bit weak, she wasn't as bad as before.
Chu Tian scanned her with his divine sense and found her soul beginning to recover slowly.
"Hello, my name is Ma Ruolin. You are very strong!"
"Come with me to the Ma family. Old Master Luo the Eighth is furious, and someone will be coming to arrest you soon!"
Chu Tian nodded. He was surprised by this girl's magnanimity.