"Senior Sister Liu, be careful."
Shen Zhaozhao's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for everyone around her to hear clearly.
Liu Qingyi turned around in surprise, meeting Shen Zhaozhao's beautiful almond-shaped eyes. She was startled; how could she...?
Almost simultaneously, the gazes of all the Tianyan Sect disciples, like poisoned arrows, were fixed on Shen Zhaozhao, each one gritting their teeth with malice.
After all, in their eyes, if it weren't for Shen Zhaozhao, why would Senior Brother Gu be forced to return to the sect for seclusion?
If Senior Brother Gu were here, they wouldn't have suffered such a miserable fate and heavy casualties in the secret realm!
Yun Wan'er glanced at Shen Zhaozhao, then suddenly raised her eyebrows. However, unlike her other fellow disciples, her eyes were not sharp. Instead, her voice was deliberately sweet, like a knife covered in icing sugar: "So it's Senior Sister Zhaozhao."
"Speaking of which, Senior Sister Zhao Zhao made a stunning debut in the preliminary rounds, defeating my Senior Brother Lin with a single sword strike. How glorious it was! But how come... she didn't make it to the finals, instead letting Wan'er gain the upper hand?"
At this point, Yun Wan'er tilted her head slightly, revealing an innocent yet dazzling smile: "It seems that in this world, whoever laughs last laughs best."
Shen Zhaozhao smiled, seemingly oblivious to the barb in her words: "Loading goods, who gave you the illusion that you can easily make it to the finals?"
Yun Wan'er's demure smile, which was like a sugar coating, froze for a moment.
With everyone present, she could only take a deep breath, forcibly suppress her surging anger, and try to maintain that false composure: "Although Wan'er is dull-witted, she can still see through it."
"Right now, for some unknown reason, even the entrance to the Riftwind Valley Secret Realm has disappeared. No matter how capable you are, Senior Sister Zhao Zhao, you can't conjure up a spirit core out of thin air, can you?"
"Who says you can't get spirit cores without entering the secret realm?"
Shen Zhaozhao held up a finger and slowly shook it: "As long as the three-day deadline hasn't passed, anything is possible."
Before she finished speaking, her gaze swept lightly over Pei Lang, who was secretly breathing on Yun Wan'er.
Pei Lang's fox-like eyes lit up instantly.
He, as always, despised Yun Wan'er's hypocritical and pretentious behavior. Receiving Shen Zhaozhao's signal at this moment was like receiving a royal decree.
Without saying a word, the Little Tyrant prepared to give his spirit core to Shen Zhaozhao. He was willing to do anything to push the pretentious Yun Wan'er out of the top four!
However, Shen Zhaozhao simply waved her hand at him.
Under Pei Lang's astonished gaze, Shen Zhaozhao clicked her tongue lightly: "Pei Lang, have you forgotten something?"
Pei Lang: "?" Huh?
"Chu Xiao saved my life!"
Shen Zhaozhao pointed at Chu Xiao without any politeness: "He's injured like this right now, and he won't wake up anytime soon. It's a waste for him to keep those spirit cores. Why don't you just confiscate them as payment for the debt?"
Pei Lang: "..."
Pei Lang remained silent.
Pei Lang: "That makes sense!"
Take action now!
Before he finished speaking, the little tyrant of the Crimson Cloud Sect had already darted to Chu Xiao's side. Then, under the dumbfounded gazes of all the cultivators present, he began to grope the unconscious Chu Xiao with utmost ease.
The movements were fluid and effortless, so skillful that they seemed to have a story behind them.
The little tyrant's fingers first probed with extreme precision into the inner pocket of Chu Xiao's blood-stained front robe, fumbled around for a moment, and pulled out a small cloth bag embroidered with cloud patterns.
He weighed it in his hand, finding it insufficient, and then went to unbuckle Chu Xiao's belt. He pulled out a few more loose pieces from a hidden pocket close to Chu Xiao's back, muttering to himself, "Tsk, he hid it quite well..."
"..."
The entire valley was deathly silent.
The same thought flashed through everyone's mind simultaneously: Ah, this, in broad daylight, such behavior...
You two, if you don't become Daoist partners, it will really be hard to end this...
A moment later, Pei Lang kicked Chu Xiao, who had been robbed of everything, aside, and counted the spoils of war—a total of twenty-two.
With a wave of his hand, he generously handed the package to Shen Zhaozhao: "Here, his debts are cleared, these are yours!"
Shen Zhaozhao accepted it with a smile, and with her original 84 coins, the total instantly became 106!
Yun Wan'er and the Tianyan Sect disciples behind her stared wide-eyed, their eyes practically popping out of their sockets. "Is this even possible?!"
How is this any different from robbery?!
The Crimson Cloud Sect is indeed a group of ruthless bandits with no sense of propriety whatsoever!
Yun Wan'er clenched her fists so tightly that her nails almost dug into her flesh, barely managing to maintain her composure.
She looked at Shen Zhaozhao with hatred in her teeth. Good, very good!
Shen Zhaozhao, you can't beat her openly, so you resort to underhanded tricks behind her back, right?!
Thinking of this, Yun Wan'er took a deep breath. Since Shen Zhaozhao could be used, why should she, Yun Wan'er, continue to follow the rules?
With a cold gaze like a venomous snake's tongue, Yun Wan'er almost instantly locked onto Xiao Zhen, who looked utterly hopeless in the crowd.
Xiao Zhen was indeed stunned.
He was firmly in fourth place, but how come he suddenly dropped to sixth after Pei Lang nudged Chu Xiao?
Was he...was he set up by capitalists?!
Damn it!
It was all a routine after all!
Anyone who tries to climb the rankings again is a dog!
Waaaaah!
However, just as Xiao Zhen was internally complaining and planning how to go back and complain to his fellow disciples about the deficit, a figure with a deliberately gentle and pitiful demeanor quietly approached him.
Yun Wan'er adjusted her expression and was about to use her most skillful, pitiful demeanor to approach Xiao Zhen and "communicate" with him in soft and gentle words.
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