Chapter 90: Two Wicked Disciples

Crucial!

Feng Chi, of course, understood what this meant. The superiors were reminding her that Shi Chun's relationship with the Lan Qiaoyan family was indeed extraordinary, or else they wouldn't be paying such close attention.

All of this could be addressed later. The immediate major concern was what the Saintess should do next.

Meanwhile, the scene in the mirror finally shifted to someone else.

"Did you notice that the previous segment of footage was quite long?"

After the mirror display ended, many people suddenly remembered this, and discussions buzzed throughout the training ground, as no one knew what was happening.

More people were asking who the saber-wielding man was. He had previously looked sickly but had unexpectedly proven to be incredibly fierce. However, few knew anything about him.

Miao Dingyi, from the stands, also suddenly stood up and called to his wife and daughter, "Let's go."

Annoyed by Young Master Nan, he no longer had the desire to stay. Lan Qiaoyan and Miao Yilan obediently rose.

The family of three greeted Young Master Nan and departed, leaving him to sigh, feeling as if misfortunes were piling up.

Inside the canyon, the smell of blood permeated the air.

The leading armored guard, who had been silently staring at Shi Chun for a long time, finally suppressed the dissatisfaction stirring in his heart, recalling the competition rules. He said, "Logically, I shouldn't meddle in your competition, but I still want to ask, was it necessary to be so ruthless?"

They couldn't accept the accusation that they killed several people just to save them a trip; they flatly refused such a grave charge.

Shi Chun replied, "It wasn't me who was ruthless; it was them. You only saw them fall beneath my saber, but you didn't see how despicable they were. I had no grievances or enmity with them, nor did we possess any Vermin Extremity Crystals. Yet, they ambushed and attacked us, attempting to kill us, and consistently refused to reveal the reason for their ambush. How could I possibly let them go?"

Even after such unpleasantness, an explanation was still necessary. Regardless of whether the other party believed it, it was important to provide them a graceful exit.

As expected, upon hearing this explanation, the armored guards' expressions softened considerably.

"That's your business, it has nothing to do with us," the leading armored guard replied dismissively. He then turned to his men and said, "Deal with Wu."

Several armored guards immediately stepped forward, confirmed the identity on the deceased's bracelet, found the mother-child talismans, and then placed the body into a Qiankun bag.

As they were about to leave, Shi Chun suddenly spoke up, "Since the Immortal General has already spoken, allow me to presume to ask one more thing. The Heavenly Rain Meteor Competition has been ongoing for over half a month; do you know which faction is most likely to win now?"

The armored guards turned to look at him. The leader hesitated for a moment but still casually mentioned, "The number one great sect in Shengzhou, Suyuan Sect, and the major sects throughout Juxuanzhou are surely poised for victory." After speaking, he flashed out of the canyon.

The other four armored guards also flew away. Quietness immediately returned to the canyon. Shi Chun mumbled to himself, "Suyuan Sect..."

As the number one great sect in Shengzhou, they were quite famous, and he had heard of them before.

Wu Jinliang patted his chest and exhaled a breath.

Shi Chun suddenly looked at him and asked, "Just now, I didn't see them search anything from the bodies. What about the items on Sun Shigang and the others?"

Wu Jinliang quickly explained, "Chun, it's true I searched their bodies thoroughly, but apart from a few medicinal pills and a small amount of sandalwood gold, there really wasn't anything. They didn't even have as much money as us."

Since Wu Jinliang said that, Shi Chun didn't press the matter, as he could believe that those who came here for combat wouldn't need to carry much money. There was nowhere to spend it, it could attract trouble, and if they died, it would simply fall into someone else's hands.

He turned and crawled back into the cave.

Wu Jinliang, dragging his saber, squatted at the cave entrance and asked, "When are we leaving?"

Shi Chun's voice came from within, "I'll cultivate in seclusion for a few more days."

"Alright, I'll stand guard for you," Wu Jinliang replied indifferently, then helped to further narrow the cave entrance by burying it.

In the pavilion that offered the best view of the training ground, Wei Mo, the Lord of Shengzhou, suddenly stood up and left under the amused gaze of the crowd.

He went behind the pavilion, towards the outer side, beckoned a subordinate over, and instructed, "Find whoever is in charge from Wukang Mountain here."

"Yes," the subordinate quickly replied and departed.

Inside the training ground, Elder Jian Lingzhen of Luoyue Valley had already approached the Wukang Mountain representatives.

Elder Ke looked up at the woman standing before him. Surprisingly, they actually knew each other, although they had no close ties.

Wukang Mountain was also a sect that many other factions were willing to associate with.

"So, it's Elder Ke. My Luoyue Valley has had no past grievances or enmity with your Wukang Mountain, correct?" Jian Lingzhen asked coldly and condescendingly. People from the surrounding sects tried to appear nonchalant as they watched the unfolding drama.

Elder Ke looked slightly embarrassed, stood up, and said solemnly, "It takes two to tango; there might be some misunderstanding in this matter."

Jian Lingzhen retorted, "Are you implying that my Luoyue Valley disciples were the ones who started the trouble?"

Elder Ke waved his hand and said, "That's not what I mean. As for what exactly happened, I'm afraid we'll only know after the individuals emerge and can be questioned."

Jian Lingzhen pressed on, "Wait for them to come out? How will they come out? Corpses are about to emerge from my side! How can we question them? By then, your people will be the only ones left to tell the story! They were already so utterly defeated, with no power left to resist, yet you continued to kill for the sake of killing. Do you think my Luoyue Valley disciples are easily bullied?"

Elder Ke sighed, "Elder Jian, of those two, one had just broken through to the High Martial realm, and the other was only at the Initial Martial realm. They wouldn't dare to actively cause trouble."

As he said this, even the two Wukang Mountain disciples beside him didn't believe it. Hadn't they caused enough trouble already?

Jian Lingzhen retorted, "Your Wukang Mountain doesn't rely on cultivation strength; you have talismans. The situation is clear: without relying on talisman sneak attacks, such a scenario would be impossible. This only indicates that my Luoyue Valley disciples were ambushed without their knowledge. If they had actively provoked Wukang Mountain, they would surely have been prepared."

Elder Ke said, "We cannot arrive at the truth by merely speculating on this matter. The specific details will only be known after the competition concludes."

Jian Lingzhen was about to say something else when a man dressed in plain clothes with a slight smile on his face flashed up beside them and said aloud, "Elder Ke, come with me for a moment."

Upon seeing this person, Jian Lingzhen immediately reined in her temper, quickly stepping back and bowing slightly.

Elder Ke, however, secretly groaned to himself, having likely guessed what was happening. He meekly assented and followed the man away.

A flurry of whispers then arose from the surroundings. Those who were knowledgeable knew that the man was an attendant for the Domain Lord. His arrival indicated that the Domain Lord might also be present. Why he sought Elder Ke was not hard to guess; it was highly likely related to the scene in the mirror display they had just witnessed.

The two Wukang Mountain disciples who overheard the discussions were filled with dread.

Elder Ke was also filled with dread. After following the man to the pavilion, he grew even more flustered upon seeing the person sitting alone in the pavilion under the moonlight, quietly sipping tea. He quickly entered and saluted respectfully, "Wukang Mountain Elder Ke Yizong greets the Domain Lord!"

With one hand lightly caressing his teacup, Wei Mo said calmly, "No need to be so polite. It seemed two Wukang Mountain disciples appeared in the Overlooking Heaven Mirror's display just now. They were from your Wukang Mountain, correct?"

What he feared most had come true. Elder Ke braced himself and affirmed it.

Wei Mo continued, "I only knew your Wukang Mountain was skilled at crafting Body-Fixing Talismans. I didn't expect you could also have disciples with such audacity. Are they disciples of Bian Jixiong?"

He estimated that in the entire Wukang Mountain, any young disciple audacious enough to do this could only have cultivated such courage by relying on the influence of their sect leader, Bian Jixiong.

He truly didn't know who Wukang Mountain had sent to participate. While he had seen the list, there were over ten thousand participants within Shengzhou, and he had only casually glanced through it. The names that truly left an impression on him wouldn't exceed a handful, and they certainly didn't include Shi Chun or Wu Jinliang.

He generally didn't pay much attention to participating sects; it was the non-participating ones that would instead draw his attention.

"Whose disciples?" Elder Ke's face twitched. Of all questions, why ask this one? He felt a chill run down his spine, hesitating and not knowing how to answer. At that moment, he truly felt like killing those two wicked disciples.

Seeing that he didn't answer, Wei Mo cast a cold gaze at him. Elder Ke immediately felt the pressure and quickly said, "Precisely, they are my direct disciples."

"Oh?" Both Wei Mo and the man standing respectfully beside him were somewhat surprised, looking him up and down.

The two found it somewhat hard to believe that this person could have trained such audacious disciples.

With so many cultivation sects, large and small, within the domain, their combined experience provided them with a considerable level of judgment. The saber-wielding killer clearly looked like a troublemaker within his sect, while Elder Ke happened to be Wukang Mountain's enforcement elder. Disciples of such a person were usually well-behaved; someone like him typically couldn't train such disciples, as any rebellious tendencies would have been smoothed out long ago.

However, he likely wouldn't dare to lie about such a matter. After a slight pause of doubt, Wei Mo asked, "What do you mean? Does Shengzhou having a few more Xun-element gates bother you? I know your Wukang Mountain can directly report matters to the Royal Court. Shengzhou is too small a temple; it truly inconveniences you. Perhaps your Wukang Mountain should find another treasured land then. Should I report this to the Royal Court, or will your Wukang Mountain report it yourselves?"

If Wukang Mountain's people left Wukang Mountain, how could they still craft talismans? Elder Ke instantly panicked. He didn't quite understand. Wasn't fighting and killing normal in this competition? Although the public revelation certainly had a negative impact, it surely wasn't worth the dignified Domain Lord making such a huge fuss about it, was it?

He quickly racked his brain and explained, "Domain Lord, it's not like that. Our sect would never dare to show any disrespect to the Domain's official residence. Those two disciples were just released from the prison in the land of exile and have only recently joined Wukang Mountain. Their wild nature has not yet been tamed, and I truly didn't expected them to do something like this. Please rest assured, Domain Lord, if they manage to come out alive, our sect will severely punish them!"

As soon as Wei Mo heard "just joined Wukang Mountain," he likely understood the full implications and couldn't be bothered to delve into it further. He stood up, delivered his final words, and left: "If the final result of this competition brings shame upon Shengzhou, I do not wish to see your Wukang Mountain on Shengzhou's land. Relay this message to Bian Jixiong."

Watching the two departing figures, Elder Ke felt utterly desolate. He estimated that the Domain Lord was simply using this as an excuse to make a point.