31. The Pride of Heaven (Part Three)

They are just ordinary friends.

Ran Qinghe initially had a nonchalant attitude towards Xi Qi and his group, and even disdained to linger her gaze on them.

But when she caught a glimpse of Lou Tinglan hiding far behind the crowd, she felt a lump in her throat. She knew perfectly well that they had no relationship whatsoever, and it was only natural that he wouldn't help her. Yet, when he truly stood by indifferently, she couldn't help but pull him into the situation once again.

His fair and calm handling of the situation made her unhappy.

She then asked defiantly, "Does the Discipline Hall just stand by and do nothing about the monks' sneak attacks, only imposing a five-year ban from selection?"

Lou Tinglan's eyes flickered slightly, taking in her reaction, but he hesitated again before speaking.

But since she had asked, he sighed and decided to tell her the truth: "According to the rules of the hall, the ambush will indeed result in imprisonment in the Tower of Babel, but imprisonment requires a joint trial. Once the trial is held, your act of placing the explosive talisman on him will be proven false."

He grabbed her hand, snatched the mother talisman she was using to detonate it, and destroyed it silently.

He added, "You will inevitably be implicated and may be unable to participate in the academy's selection process."

His fingers were long and slender, with a warm, jade-like quality, neither too hot nor too cold.

She sensed the perfectly timed warmth, curled her knuckles slightly, and awkwardly looked away. Her initially accusatory voice softened, and she said somewhat guiltily, "Mind your own business. What is our relationship?"

Mingyu, standing to the side, couldn't hide the shock in his eyes. He was still there, yet Lou Tinglan openly and brazenly revealed his cover-up.

He said gently and calmly, "I thought we were friends, but it's fine if you don't want to be."

Ran Qinghe didn't answer, concealing her expression, she turned and left, almost as if fleeing in panic.

Mingyu stopped her in time, her tone flippant as she boasted, "Junior Sister Qinghe, my silly junior brother didn't even know this was the temporary residence for Qingxiao disciples. It's all thanks to my reminder."

"From both a moral and logical standpoint, we should exchange spirit leaves."

Ran Qinghe raised her voice slightly and said, "Junior Sister?" She was clearly puzzled by this form of address.

Mingyu smiled and said, "I am also a disciple of Qingxiao. However, according to seniority, I am of the same generation as your master, Elder Xishu. But it would be inappropriate for you to call me 'Uncle-Master'."

"Since we're going to enter Yunya Academy together anyway, why don't we get used to the terms 'senior brother' and 'junior sister' beforehand?"

Mingyu spoke frankly, but Ran Qinghe said, "Then why don't you call me senior sister? My ranking is not necessarily lower than yours."

"What do you think, Junior Brother Ming?"

She turned and left calmly, her lively hair swaying across his chest. "Junior Brother Mingyu, only five people will be selected from the academy. I hope you can really become my junior brother."

Mingyu turned to Lou Tinglan and shouted, "Look at her, look at her! Why is she like this? I just asked her for a spirit leaf, why is she like this?"

"No wonder you said she's quick-witted, you're absolutely right. Anyway, I'm going to practice some more now. I absolutely cannot lose on the day of the competition, otherwise, where will I put my face as the senior brother?"

Lou Tinglan chuckled softly upon hearing this, saying, "If she hadn't reminded me, I would have almost forgotten about this. It seems I entered Yunya Academy before you."

"Therefore, according to seniority, I should also call you Junior Brother Ming."

In the end, only Mingyu remained, looking at this and that, jumping up and down in anger.

*

The moon hangs high in the sky, its clear light like a ribbon.

Ran Qinghe remained on her bed, eyes closed, circulating her spiritual energy. She knew that entering Yunya Academy might provide a way for Ye Buchen to establish his foundation, so she cultivated even more diligently.

In addition, she was born with a spiritual body and was in a place as rich in spiritual energy as Luoxue Peak. In just over half a month, she had already vaguely grasped the opportunity to break through the realm.

However, breaking through that barrier, though seemingly easy, was actually extremely difficult. Although her spiritual energy surged around her, she was unable to freely channel it to her meridians and limbs.

Therefore, even with abundant spiritual energy, she could not find a way to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.

The spiritual energy only entered and did not leave, accumulating thicker and thicker within her body, becoming stagnant. She concentrated and opened her palm to carefully examine the circulation of the spiritual energy. In the instant she tried to forcibly guide it, the internal and external spiritual energies clashed, and she lost control, forcing out a mouthful of blood.

She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and silently left the courtyard.

Since we can't absorb them, let's draw them all out.

“Tinglan, I have now drawn out most of the resentment from your body, but this resentment has been lingering in your dantian for quite some time now. Where have you been all this time? Why did you attract such deep resentment?” An old man in white stroked his beard and sighed.

"Thank you for your trouble. I can suppress it for now." As the two were talking, a loud bang suddenly came from the foot of the mountain in the distance, making the window frame tremble slightly.

Lou Tinglan's expression hardened, and he immediately stood up, casually putting on his outer robe. He then bowed solemnly to the old man, saying, "Please excuse me."

Before the words were even finished, the person had already turned and darted out the door. The old man in white remained standing there, looking worried, and said, "...The hidden danger has not been eliminated."

With only half a month until the academy's selection day, Falling Snow Peak is already rife with undercurrents. Disciples from all sects have gathered here, and among those participating in the selection, most are the best of their respective sects. The more talented a person is, the more likely they are to start fighting.

Suspecting that the fluctuation of spiritual energy was a private fight between disciples of various sects, he took his sword and went out to investigate.

Upon arriving at the location, they found a huge crater carved out by spiritual energy at the foot of the mountain. The traces of spiritual energy in the crater were very fresh, indicating that the person who created the crater must not have gone far.

Lou Tinglan glanced around. It was already night, and most disciples were in their rooms meditating and regulating their breathing. Only a few disciples stood scattered around the giant pit, discussing amongst themselves:

"Whose disciple blasted this huge crater? The spiritual energy is so abundant. It seems that the top spot this year is truly his."

"This giant crater damaged a branch of the spiritual vein of Snowfall Peak, no wonder it caused such a commotion."

"Don't get involved. If they try to pin this on us, that would be terrible. Damaging the spiritual veins is clearly intentional."

At the bottom of the giant pit, there were piles of rocks and a little spiritual energy leaking out. He squatted down, examined the area, and then his expression became solemn for no apparent reason.

"Evacuate disciples from all sects, temporarily seal off this area, and do not allow anyone to approach for the time being." He summoned the two disciples on night duty and gave them his orders in a methodical manner.

He paused for a moment, then finally walked toward the small courtyard in the southeast direction.

The reason was simple: at the bottom of the pit, he sensed a familiar fluctuation of spiritual energy. Although he was unwilling to believe it, it would be good to eliminate the person's suspicion in advance.

"Knock knock knock—" He knocked on the courtyard gate and waited for a long time, but no one answered.

Unable to calm down, he turned over and went into the hospital, but there was no one in sight.

Is it really possible for such a coincidence to happen?

It wasn't until dawn that Ran Qinghe returned to her residence, but as soon as she pushed open the courtyard gate, she keenly sensed the fluctuations of spiritual energy within. She immediately reacted, untied the long whip from her waist, and struck at the person who had entered.

The newcomer drew his sword, twirled it a few times, and easily closed in on her, firmly binding her long whip.

Ran Qinghe then recognized the person who had come, breathed a sigh of relief, and casually retracted her whip: "It's so early in the morning, a celestial lord should at least give me a heads-up. What are you doing here without making a sound?"

Lou Tinglan's hair was damp at the ends, and a few strands of hair hung messily from her forehead, but they still couldn't hide the bloodshot eyes.

Instead of answering, he asked, "Where did you go?"

Ran Qinghe found his question strange and did not answer it directly. Instead, she lowered her eyes, bent the long whip back and forth, and then tied it around her waist: "Just taking a casual stroll. What's wrong?"

Lou Tinglan, however, insisted on getting to the bottom of it: "Wandering? Where did you wander around? When did you go out?"

"What does this have to do with you?" She was quite displeased with this barrage of questions, and even forgot to use the sarcastic and respectful title of "Immortal Lord".

Lou Tinglan decided to put it more bluntly: "At the foot of Luoxue Peak, at the third quarter of the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), at the entrance to the northwest dense forest, someone deliberately used spiritual power to blast a deep pit, damaging a branch of the spiritual vein."

Ran Qinghe caught a whiff of the words "spiritual vein" and immediately understood: "So? You suspect I did it, right?"

Lou Tinglan continued to state the facts, seemingly hoping that Ran Qinghe would provide a reasonable explanation: "I have been waiting here since the hour of Yin, and you have not shown yourself. When you finally did, you appeared exhausted and were even no match for my sword."

Her eyes turned cold. "Since the Immortal Lord suspects me, then go and find the evidence."

Lou Tinglan's heart sank: "Do you know that if I find out it's you, you'll be out of the running for this year's selection?"

His tone became more forceful: "You just need to answer me, is it you, or is it not you?"

Ran Qinghe's tone carried a hint of offended anger as she continued to beat around the bush with him: "So what if it's me?"

Upon hearing this, Lou Tinglan's slender fingers, which were supporting Yu Jingxin, tightened almost imperceptibly for a moment, but Ran Qinghe immediately added, "So what if it wasn't me?"

His voice remained calm: "If it is you, I will impartially hand you over for public trial; if it is not you, I will continue to investigate the truth."

Ran Qinghe was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "No."

When she said those words, she didn't expect him to believe her. She had a prior record of blowing up the Azure Sky Spirit Vein, and according to him, she happened to be out when the branch vein was blown up, and when she came back, she was in such a state. Any normal person would suspect her.

Moreover, she has made countless joking remarks like that without thinking.

Lou Tinglan replied, "Okay."

With just that one word, he passed her by and left.

As their sleeves brushed against each other, she smelled the scent of grass and morning dew on his shoulders. Could it be that he had been waiting here all night?

"Hey," she blurted out, wanting to understand what he meant. Was it just a simple "okay"?

Although she didn't care much, she still wanted to know whether to believe her or not.

He paused slightly upon hearing this, then added a reminder: "This person has probably had some disagreements with you, so be careful with your cultivation lately."

So, does he believe her? She didn't explain anything clearly, yet he believes her?

Lou Tinglan continued to persuade, "As for the reason why your spiritual energy is exhausted, you can tell me if you want to or not. If you encounter any difficulties, you can tell me. After all, we are friends now."

Ran Qinghe called him back, and asked hesitantly, "Lou Tinglan, where does the resentment on you come from?"

Even if we're just friends, we should treat each other with sincerity.

Lou Tinglan turned around to meet her gaze, the words stuck in her throat, but she finally replied, "I'm sorry, I can't say."

Ran Qinghe went into the room without looking back. "So, I'm just like you."

Ultimately, they were just ordinary friends.