Cang Dongqing remained silent for a moment before nodding gently and stepping forward slowly.
Her fingertips trembled slightly, yet she maintained a poised demeanor. Le Changxi and Li Nanyi instinctively moved to stop her, but they ultimately held their ground.
They had already sent a secret message to their master; Immortal Venerable Ling Xiao would surely arrive soon.
Liu Changhe raised his right hand, and a gentle surge of spiritual energy flowed from his palm, slowly reaching out toward Cang Dongqing.
Just as the energy was about to touch the hem of her robes—
"Buzz!"
A blinding golden light suddenly erupted from Cang Dongqing’s waist, violently repelling Liu Changhe's spiritual energy.
Simultaneously, an invisible pressure descended abruptly, causing the air in the entire arena to freeze.
Everyone looked up and saw a figure in white robes. In the blink of an eye, Immortal Venerable Ling Xiao landed in front of Cang Dongqing.
"Now the real show begins," Duan Xianxing muttered, excitedly rubbing his hands together. "Ling Xiao is taking the field himself!"
Feng Qingping gave him a light pat. "Keep your voice down. This isn't simple. If Cang Dongqing really had a problem, Immortal Venerable Ling Xiao wouldn't be protecting her like this."
"Sect Leader Liu," Ling Xiao's voice was low. "It seems inappropriate to inspect a direct disciple of my Sword Heart Sect in such a manner, does it not?"
Liu Changhe withdrew his hand and cupped his fists with a calm expression. "Fellow Daoist Ling Xiao, there is a reason for this."
The expressions of the Water Moon Sect elders were quite unpleasant.
Elder Chang Yan let out a light cough. "Immortal Venerable Ling Xiao, your disciple is suspected of being tainted by evil energy. We were merely..."
"Evil energy?" Ling Xiao sneered, his gaze sweeping over the disk in Liu Qingyang's hand. "Based on a half-finished magic tool made by some greenhorn?"
Liu Qingyang's face flushed red. Just as he was about to argue, a series of deafening explosions suddenly echoed from the back of the martial arts arena.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Seven or eight refining furnaces exploded one after another, sending thick black smoke billowing into the air.
The disciples who were still struggling to refine their items retreated in disarray, their faces filled with shock and resentment. The pressure from a Soul Transformation stage expert had directly ignited the furnace fires they were barely maintaining.
"Disciple C-17, furnace explosion, disqualified!"
"Disciple D-25, furnace explosion, disqualified!"
The deacon elder's pronouncements rang out one after another, and the crowd immediately fell into an uproar.
"My magic tool!"
"I was almost finished..."
"Good heavens!" Duan Xianxing's eyes widened. "Things are really getting lively now!"
Ling Xiao's face instantly became even grimmer.
He realized then how much impact his pressure had caused—not only had it destroyed the hard work of those disciples, but it had also caused the Water Moon Sect to lose several disciples who had a good chance of advancing.
Liu Changhe's gaze swept across the messy arena before returning to Ling Xiao. "Fellow Daoist Ling Xiao, can we have a proper talk now?"
Ling Xiao took a deep breath. Knowing he was at fault, he could no longer be so overbearing.
He raised his hand and established a soundproofing barrier, enveloping several elders and Cang Dongqing within it.
Outside the barrier, Li Nanyi and Le Changxi finally felt completely at ease.
"It's good that Master is here," Li Nanyi patted his chest. "I was scared to death just now."
Le Changxi nodded. "Given Master's personality, he definitely won't let Junior Sister be wronged."
On the other side, Duan Xianxing curiously craned his neck. "What are they saying?"
"It must be something important," Feng Weilan said solemnly. "They've even used a soundproofing barrier."
Inside the barrier, Cang Dongqing moved inconspicuously to hide behind Ling Xiao.
"I did not consider this matter thoroughly," Ling Xiao said, getting straight to the point. "The evil energy on Dongqing does indeed exist."
The elders were all startled upon hearing this.
Liu Changhe’s brow furrowed. "What do you mean by that?"
"Yesterday, I took her to see Mo Lin's body," Ling Xiao said in a deep voice. "The evil energy must have been contracted then."
"What?!" Elder Chang Yan stood up abruptly. "Immortal Venerable Ling Xiao! Mo Lin's body is critical evidence! How could you..."
"Dongqing had brief contact with Mo Lin before," Ling Xiao interrupted. "Furthermore, she might be able to recognize the remaining patterns on the body. I made an exception to take her there for inspection."
The white-haired elder shook his head repeatedly. "This is against the rules! Even we aren't allowed contact with that body, yet you took a disciple to investigate?"
"I know what I am doing," Ling Xiao said coldly. "Dongqing is protected by my sword qi; she will be fine."
Liu Changhe pondered for a moment. "Even so, you should have informed the other sects in advance. Mo Lin's death is of great importance; it is not merely an affair of your Sword Heart Sect."
"It was a sudden occurrence," Ling Xiao's tone softened slightly. "We discovered some clues at the time and didn't have the chance to notify you."
The atmosphere inside the barrier stagnated for a while.
Cang Dongqing stood behind Ling Xiao, her head lowered in silence, her slender fingers tightly clutching her sleeves.
"Then," Liu Changhe broke the silence, looking at Ling Xiao, "what exactly did you discover that was worth such haste?"
Ling Xiao snorted. "Does Sect Leader Liu think this is the place to discuss such matters?"
The elders realized their slip of the tongue.
Mo Lin's death was too suspicious. If there truly were important clues, they indeed shouldn't be discussed in front of such a large crowd.
Elder Chang Yan coughed lightly. "It was this old man's lack of consideration."
The white-haired elder also softened his tone. "In that case, let us deal with the competition matters first. We can discuss the rest later."
Liu Changhe nodded slightly. "Fellow Daoist Ling Xiao, the evil energy on Martial Niece Cang..."
"It is yin malevolence contracted from touching Mo Lin's body," Ling Xiao said with certainty. "I have already used my sword qi to dispel most of it; the rest will vanish soon."
He surveyed the crowd, his voice rising a few notches. "Therefore, none of you need to make any more baseless speculations."
Although the disciples outside the barrier could not hear the conversation, seeing Immortal Venerable Ling Xiao’s solemn expression, they were all as silent as cicadas in winter.
"It looks like the matter is resolved?" Duan Xianxing whispered.
Feng Qingping shook her head. "Only on the surface."
Li Nanzhu noticed that the eyes of many spectating cultivators looking at Cang Dongqing were still filled with suspicion, especially those disciples who were disqualified due to the furnace explosions—their faces were full of resentment.
Inside the barrier, the elders had reached a conclusion.
Liu Changhe removed the barrier and announced loudly, "Due to an accidental interference, disciples who have not yet finished their refining today may have a rematch tomorrow. The results for those who have already advanced remain valid."
A flurry of discussion immediately broke out at the edge of the field.
"That seems fair enough," a Water Moon Sect disciple sighed in relief.
"But I was almost done! What if I draw an interfering material like explosive flame sand tomorrow?" a disciple couldn't help but grumble in a low voice. Though the voice was small, the hearing of the Nascent Soul cultivators present was incredibly sharp.
Elder Chang Yan’s brow furrowed slightly, but he still announced solemnly, "The second round of the competition ends here! Those who did not finish will have their rematch tomorrow at the hour of Chen!"
Jiang Yifan carefully put his refined magic tool into his storage bag and turned to walk toward Li Nanzhu and the others.
However, a chill suddenly ran down his back, as if he were being watched by something...
Rate on N.U.
