On the arena, two golden core cultivators were locked in combat. These were marginal competitors who were barely within the age limit, having advanced this far solely by virtue of their years of experience.
"This is so boring..." Duan Xianxing let out a yawn, his head nodding as he drifted toward sleep. "It's not exciting at all compared to the other matches."
Li Nanzhu held Suisui; the little skeleton's soul fire had even dimmed a few shades—even Suisui found it tedious. She looked around and noticed that most of the spectator seats were already half-empty, and even the referee had begun to zone out.
Feng Qingping packed away her array flags. "Let's go back. This kind of match has no reference value."
Zhu Yinxi had long since closed his eyes to regulate his breath, his jade flute faintly shimmering on his lap. Jiang Yifan stood up without a word and headed toward their base without looking back.
"Eldest Senior Brother?" Li Nanzhu looked at Mu Wenyan.
Mu Wenyan glanced at the arena and gave a slight nod. "Let's head back."
As the members of the Five Elements Dao Sect quietly took their leave, the two people on the arena were still entangled over a few minor moves.
...
In the most secluded courtyard of the Xuan Tian Sect, the thick smell of medicine mixed with the scent of blood filled the air.
Wen Qianhui lay on the bed like a corpse, wrapped entirely in bandages. Only his bloodshot eyes still moved, proving he was still alive.
"Wu... wu..."
He struggled to twist his neck, looking at the flickering shadows outside the door. Those were the junior disciples sent by the sect to look after him, currently hiding outside.
"Senior Brother Zhou..." a younger disciple's voice trembled. "Are we still... changing Senior Brother Wen's medicine?"
The older disciple frowned in disgust. "Change what? Master said his meridians are damaged; it won't get better for three to five years." He lowered his voice. "Besides, look at that gaze of his... it's like he wants to eat people. Who would want to serve him!"
Inside the room, Wen Qianhui's divine sense captured this conversation, and he was instantly enraged.
'You two pieces of trash! Once my injuries are healed, you'll be the first ones I sacrifice to my sword!'
Wen Qianhui cursed frantically in his heart, his divine sense oscillating violently.
'I'm not even dead yet, and you dare to neglect me like this!'
He remembered the dismissive movements of the junior disciple changing his medicine this morning, the avoiding eyes of his fellow disciples, and especially the cold attitude of the elder—who couldn't even be bothered to look at his injuries.
"Wu!" Wen Qianhui suddenly struggled violently, blood seeping through the bandages. This movement finally caught the attention of the two outside.
"S-Senior Brother Wen..." The younger disciple pushed the door open tremulously. "Do you need something?"
Wen Qianhui stared at him with a poisonous gaze, his divine sense brutally crashing into the other's sea of consciousness.
'Water! I want water! Are you blind, you useless waste?!'
"Ah!" The younger disciple cried out in pain, clutching his head as he collapsed to the floor. A divine sense at the Qi Condensation stage could not withstand such an impact. His face was pale as he scrambled to pour water.
'Is this what Xuan Tian Sect disciples have become?' Wen Qianhui watched the junior's trembling back, his heart full of disdain.
When the water cup was brought to his lips, Wen Qianhui deliberately jolted it with his divine sense.
'Are you trying to scald me to death?!'
"S-Sorry..." The younger disciple's hand shook, spilling half the water, and he hurriedly used his sleeve to wipe it away.
Watching the other's panicked state, a sliver of twisted pleasure rose in Wen Qianhui's heart, but it was immediately overtaken by his current situation, reigniting his fury.
'Jiang Yifan... Five Elements Dao Sect!'
His divine sense swept through the room frantically, making the medicine bottles clatter.
'I will tear you all into ten thousand pieces!'
As Jiang Yifan's indifferent face surfaced in his mind, Wen Qianhui's divine sense fluctuated violently.
He remembered the hand that had squeezed his throat, the agonizing pain of having his tongue ripped out, and the despair of having every bone in his body broken inch by inch...
'And the Sword Heart Sect!' His hatred spread to the sword cultivators who had stood by and watched.
'The referee could have stopped it sooner... they could have...'
The younger disciple was so terrified by the rampaging divine sense that he sat paralyzed on the floor before crawling out of the room.
The older disciple had intended to say something, but ultimately wary of Wen Qianhui's golden core divine sense, he shrank back and sprinted out of the courtyard with the younger boy.
Looking at the open door, Wen Qianhui let out a shrill shriek through his divine sense.
'Come back! You waste, get back here!'
But the two were already long gone.
Other disciples in the courtyard heard the commotion and stayed far away—no one wanted to serve this brother whose temperament had changed so drastically.
As the night deepened, Wen Qianhui lay alone in the darkness. The pain in his body kept him from sleeping, leaving him only with the vengeful fantasies playing in his mind.
'Once my injuries are healed... just wait...'
He imagined himself breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage and crushing Jiang Yifan under his foot. He would personally crush every bone in Jiang Yifan's body, make that little junior sister Li Nanzhu wish she were dead, and extract Duan Xianxing's Natural Sword Physique to refine it into a magic tool...
Click.
A light sound came from outside the window. Wen Qianhui's divine sense jolted, immediately sweeping toward the source—a man in black was standing in the shadows where the moonlight couldn't reach, quietly watching his window.
'Who?!' Wen Qianhui's divine sense vibrated violently, sweeping toward the courtyard gate, only to find the disciples who were supposed to be on guard were gone. He wanted to shout, but could only produce a faint whimpering sound.
The man in black walked closer, each step making Wen Qianhui's heart sink further. He discovered with horror that his divine sense was confined to this small courtyard by some power, making it impossible to call for help.
'What are you doing?!' Wen Qianhui roared with his divine sense. 'I am a direct disciple of the Xuan Tian Sect! My master is—'
The man in black remained unmoved, taking a blood-colored jade talisman from his sleeve. Wen Qianhui recognized it—a blood-soul talisman; anyone struck by it would have their soul completely extinguished!
'No... don't...' His divine sense struggled frantically. 'You can't kill me! I—I can help you deal with the Five Elements Dao Sect! I know their weaknesses! I've fought Jiang Yifan! I know his moves!'
The man in black paused, seemingly considering the proposal.
Seeing this, Wen Qianhui quickly continued, 'I can be your pawn! I can—'
Crack.
The sound of the jade talisman being crushed interrupted his divine sense transmission. A ray of blood-red light vanished into Wen Qianhui's forehead, and he felt a sharp pain explode from the depths of his soul.
'Ah—!'
In his final moments, countless images flashed through Wen Qianhui's divine sense: his high spirits when he first entered the Xuan Tian Sect, his glory when he became a direct disciple, and... the poisonous gaze of that younger junior sister at the Foundation Establishment stage before she died by his hand.
'Jiang Yifan... Five Elements Dao Sect... Even as a ghost, I will...'
The breath of life completely faded, leaving behind only a corpse that was gradually growing cold.
Outside the courtyard wall, Mu Wenyan arrived with his presence concealed.
He had originally intended to come and erase any traces Jiang Yifan might have left behind, but he suddenly stopped a hundred zhang away from the courtyard.
"This is..."
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