Ling Yu's eyes widened in surprise when Yu Meixian was blasted away by Xu Ming's aura. So he really is much stronger than me!
The tension spiked instantly. She instinctively circulated her spirit energy as Zhou Wenkai charged at Xu Ming, sword in hand.
Because she had no Immortal Core, Ling Yu could call on her spirit energy much faster than other cultivators, even faster than Xu Ming's Saint-level reaction. She moved before him, stepping in front of Xu Ming and intercepting Zhou Wenkai's strike with her own blade.
"Stop!" she shouted, her voice sharp and commanding.
Zhou Wenkai froze in place, like a subject obeying his king. The moment Ling Yu's command rang out, his eyes clouded over with a thin, misty glaze, betraying a strange flicker of confusion before stubbornness returned.
Xu Ming was confused… again. Why did she block the attack?
Ling Yu stood firm in front of Xu Ming. "Shixiong, you can't attack him. He's done nothing wrong."
Han Zhiyuan stepped forward. "He attacked first!"
"Yu Shijie approached him first." Ling Yu didn't want to back down. She saw how Yu Meixian activated her Mystic Allure Art, and she didn't like it when someone fell into her trick.
"Approaching is harmless! And how can you side with an outsider instead of your own sect?" Han Zhiyuan shot back.
Hearing this, the other disciples with them all drew their swords, ready to attack. None of them paid attention to Yu Meixian, who lay unconscious on the floor.
"Side with an outsider? Look who's talking. You don't even bother to check on Yu Shijie, yet you call me siding with an outsider?" Ling Yu stood her ground, her fingers tightly gripping Yue Ya's hilt.
"Ling Yu Shimei, you are our shimei. I was just trying to protect you. Why are you protecting him?" Zhou Wenkai said. He snapped out of his stupor and wasted no chance to appear kind and gentle, hoping to 'disarm' Ling Yu.
Protect? This girl is protecting me? Why? Xu Ming's mind was reeling when he heard Zhou Wenkai's words. No one had ever protected him. They always stayed away from him—let alone shield him. And those who chose to get close to him always had hidden agendas. But this girl…
Ling Yu sighed loudly. "I am not protecting him. I'm stopping this farce so no innocents will get hurt."
Am I the innocent?
Han Zhiyuan glanced at Zhou Wenkai. He wasn't going to attack alone. He was a coward—only good at shouting and making noise, never at taking action, and certainly not at attacking anyone. He was part of Zhou Wenkai's entourage because he wanted to ride Zhou Wenkai's coattails.
A cough from where Yu Meixian lay broke the tension. Everyone's attention shifted to her.
Her eyes fluttered open and tried to focus. It took a while for her to make out what was going on. She looked at Xu Ming with what she thought was a pleading look, hoping he would feel sorry and help her. She had forgotten the fact that it wasXu Ming who had made her unconscious.
Xu Ming ignored her completely. He was staring at Ling Yu with a confused and curious look. That indifference triggered a new level of hatred toward Ling Yu in Yu Meixian's heart.
She then shifted her gaze to Zhou Wenkai with the same look, with the same hope. But she found that Zhou Wenkai was no longer looking in her direction.
It was Han Zhiyuan who crouched down and asked her, "Yu Shijie, are you okay?"
He tried to help her get up. Yu Meixian immediately acted as though she were dying and leaned heavily into Han Zhiyuan's embrace, all while moaning, "Ugh. I'm fine. I'm—ugh." She held her head, pretending weakness.
Han Zhiyuan was ecstatic. He had a beauty in his arms, and the beauty plastered her body against him. Very close, very intimate.
"Yu Shimei, are you okay?" Zhou Wenkai asked, but his eyes didn't leave Ling Yu.
Yu Meixian smiled widely in her heart. Zhou Wenkai finally paid attention.
She smiled weakly, her voice barely a whisper. "Zhou Shixiong, I'm okay. Thank you for asking."
Zhou Wenkai nodded. He then said to Ling Yu, "Ling Yu Shimei, whatever you said, the fact remains. That man attacked us, members of the Alliance. We have a duty to uphold. We're going to arrest him."
Ling Yu tightened her grip on Yue Ya. "And if I say no?"
"Then you need to die for obstructing the Alliance in doing their duty!" A loud shout came from the back of the group. The next moment, a blur shot out, rushing straight toward Ling Yu at astonishing speed.
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Luo Zixue was not having a good day. After the whole immortal cores fiasco in Baishan City five years ago, she had lost her Shizun's trust and had been outcast by her fellow disciples. Since then, she had been trying hard to earn Su Lianhua's trust—a feat that had proved anything but easy.
However, she stumbled upon a chance a few weeks ago. Su Lianhua needed ten inner disciples to go to the Capital to aid Azure Mist Peak disciples in a very important mission.
Luo Zixue barely made the cut. She only succeeded because the tenth person was suddenly ill at the last minute, and Luo Zixue was the only one available at the time. She vowed that she would use this mission to earn her Shizun's trust again.
But when she arrived at the Capital, the supposedly ill tenth disciple miraculously recovered and followed them there.
Luo Zixue had to beg her Shizun multiple times to let her stay at the Capital. Su Lianhua agreed, but she assigned her to manage the outer disciples and never changed the assignment.
Since then, Luo Zixue's mood never recovered. She was already a cruel person, and her bad mood made her vindictive and petty too.
Today, she was heading back to the new Alliance HQ. She wanted to arrive early and choose a nice room for herself. When she passed a certain street, she heard commotion and had to check it. She was in charge of the outer disciples—if there was an incident in public involving them and she wasn't aware of it, Su Lianhua and Jian Wushuang would have her head.
So when she investigated and saw that the disciples were only using their mouths and not taking any action, she'd had enough.