The only woman among the five branch leaders, Leader Meihong of the Diplomacy Branch, watched with an icy gaze as servants removed her fainted disciple from the center of the courtyard.
Her long, pale fingers tightened slightly around her own arm. Disappointment was a bitter taste in her mouth.
'How far we've fallen.' She thought. It wasn't the first time.
'Our branch has become synonymous with weak talk and even weaker strength. A disciple who cannot withstand even the Core Test was the best we could choose after Mei Li…'
'What future will we have?' Her cold gaze then settled for a moment on Mei Li, her other participant and the one she placed her hopes on. The girl was intelligent, but would it be enough?
Dong Zhen, standing motionless at the center, seemed to catch the frustration in the air. Without a word, he extended his hand and touched the formation around the pulsating core once more, but this time with a specific sequence of fingers.
