39. The Pride of Heaven (Part Eleven)
◎Dao Xin Jie Yin◎
Lou Guan said casually, "...Ran Qinghe." The name seemed somewhat familiar. She turned the Void Cauldron, her gaze settling on the corner of a ruined site. "Is it her?"
She raised her slender hand and pointed at the red-clad girl who had just dealt with the cultivator's sneak attack.
Lou Tinglan bowed in response.
Yes, it seems they have already broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm, and their individual strength is indeed quite good. However, when it comes to the team, Ming Yu, a disciple of the Thousand Masters Sect, and Hua Jin, the young sect master of the Crimson Maple Sect, although their realms are not high, they have the advantage of having rich experience in training and having a contracted Heavenly-level spirit beast "Fei Fei".
As for the disciple from the Buddha Hand Sect in the team, his talisman skills were also superb. The only female cultivator from the White Void Sect with a lower cultivation level also had remarkable medical skills.
It was indeed worth betting 100,000 high-grade spirit stones, she nodded in satisfaction.
However, when the Third Elder Lou Zhen heard this, he felt that he should have heard the name Ran Qinghe somewhere before. When he saw the face of the girl in red clearly following Lou Guan's instructions, he suddenly remembered that it was he who had captured her and imprisoned her in the Tower of Heaven Prison.
He immediately stood up and asked repeatedly, "The Ran Qinghe you bet on..."
"Could it be Ran Qinghe, who destroyed a spiritual vein in Qingxiao?"
"But is it Ran Qinghe, who repeatedly escaped from the Tower of Babel?"
"But what about Ran Qinghe, who freely enters and exits the Tower of Babel and is actually protected by you?"
He asked the same questions three times in a row, seemingly asking questions but actually subtly reminding the senior disciple of the Discipline Hall, whom they valued, and the future head of the Discipline Hall.
Lou Tinglan did not agree, but instead reported earnestly:
"She did indeed destroy a spiritual vein of Qingxiao out of anger, but it was a spiritual vein under the original elder Xi Shufeng of Qingxiao. Xi Shufeng treated her harshly and repeatedly disregarded her life."
"As for escaping from the Tower of Babel, it must have been because she felt it was unfair that the elders who mistreated her were unharmed, while she was punished and imprisoned in the Tower Prison."
"As for the matter of covering up, it is a misunderstanding by my uncle. This matter was originally Tinglan's fault, but please forgive Tinglan for not being able to explain the reasons at present."
Lou Zhen was even more furious upon hearing this. In his eyes, Lou Tinglan's explanation meant that the two of them hadn't even done anything yet, but Lou Tinglan had already gone to such lengths to protect him.
Lou Guan comforted Lou Zhen and slowly said, "Yesterday I pleaded with your uncle, saying, 'Even for the sake of today's academy selection, your confinement should be waived.' But your uncle told me that during your confinement, you secretly sent a message to Headmaster Qian, asking him to handle Xi Shu's matter. Is this true?"
Lou Tinglan was taken aback. No wonder he felt a spiritual force blocking his flying swallow when he was controlling it. It turned out that his uncle had stopped his flying swallow.
Although Lou Guan's tone was extremely gentle, it was like a soft knife; her question hit the nail on the head.
She continued, "Tinglan, you have always despised favoritism, so why did you plead with your grandfather for Ran Qinghe's sake?"
"Furthermore, why were they repeatedly contacted even during her confinement?"
Lou Tinglan paused, then acknowledged the matter.
“My grandfather and Xi Shu had a personal relationship. After the photos of him in the Discipline Hall were leaked, he ignored them because of this relationship. In my grandfather’s opinion, this was a disservice to the sect leader. So… Tinglan just wanted to offer some advice from the sidelines and had no other intentions. If it were someone else, I would still do the same.”
"As for the fact that he was in confinement, it was not for a summons. Ran Qinghe was injured because of me, and I must take responsibility for that."
Lou Guan replied lightly:
“Tinglan, in the past, you were straightforward; you either said yes or no, and you never explained so much.” Sometimes, the more you explain, the more obvious it seems, like you're trying to cover something up.
Lou Tinglan did not answer, but subconsciously touched the hilt of the Tranquil Sword, as if drawing some sense of security from it.
Lou Guan sighed softly, "Never mind, let's just say he's overly upright."
But her gaze then drifted to the striking platinum headband on his forehead, and she asked, seemingly casually:
"Tinglan, what's that headband you're wearing...?"
No wonder she thought so much. Because those who have fallen into the path often wear forehead bands, very few people in the world wear forehead bands. She remembered that Lou Tinglan had never liked accessories like forehead bands before.
Lou Tinglan replied, "Today is the selection day, and I am representing the Discipline Hall to oversee the selection process, so I have tidied my appearance a little. If any of you elders feel it is inappropriate, please take it off."
He spoke extremely fast, as if he were reciting lines he had prepared in advance.
Having said that, he pinched a corner of the headband in his hair and neatly tore it off, revealing the red mole on his forehead, which was as bright as ever.
Lou Guan felt a little embarrassed. It turned out that she had been overthinking things. She breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's nothing. I was just curious. This headband does match your disciple's robes. Wearing it would be quite a good match."
Just as Lou Tinglan was about to raise her hand to tie it again, the Grand Elder Lou Li, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "Wait."
His hands were still suspended in mid-air, not yet fully tied on his headband. He paused upon hearing this, but after only a moment's thought, he casually lowered the headband and asked, "What are your orders, Elder?"
Lou Lida didn't answer, but raised his hand and unleashed a burst of spiritual energy towards Lou Tinglan's face. Lou Tinglan didn't raise his hand to retaliate, but instead met the attack head-on, only his eyelashes trembled slightly from the impact of the spiritual energy.
Lou Li gave a soft shout: "Kneel down."
The reason was simple: the bright red mole on his forehead, which had been as vivid as blood, was now completely gone.
"You've lost your mind, you've really lost your mind." Lou Li stood up abruptly and paced back and forth, his mind filled with disbelief. He actually used a trick to deceive people in order to cover up his actions. When did he learn such a method?
Lou Li suddenly remembered the name Ran Qinghe, and he had a feeling that there must be some complicated relationship involved.
Lou Tinglan knelt down and replied, "This disciple knows his mistake."
Lou Li couldn't hide his anger: "Wrong? What wrong have you done?"
“You spoke to the Third Elder with perfect reasoning, and when the Second Elder asked you about the forehead ribbon, you also used a trick to deceive him.”
"Tinglan, do you even know what you're doing?"
Lou Tinglan still said, "I have answered all the questions asked by the Third Elder truthfully, and I have no intention of deceiving or covering up."
"But the matter of the Dao Heart Tribulation Seal was indeed a mistake made by this disciple. Please punish me, elders."
Lou Li closed his eyes, took a breath, and then asked:
"Tinglan, tell me the truth, do you... have feelings for Ran Qinghe?"
Lou Tinglan answered without hesitation, "No."
His feelings for her initially stemmed from a sense of duty, but later evolved into pure friendship, without any other romantic feelings involved.
He just didn't understand why his uncle, Mingyu, and even the elders all thought he was acting out of love and affection, but he was absolutely certain that he was completely honest with Ran Qinghe.
Lou Li continued, "Then explain yourself, what's the deal with this Dao Heart Tribulation Seal?" Its sudden disappearance proves that he has feelings for Ran Qinghe.
Lou Tinglan recalled everything that happened in the Tower of Babel, but she still kept it to herself and only said, "This disciple was injured before, and the injury was too severe, so the Dao Heart Tribulation Seal suddenly disappeared."
Yes, that's right.
"But only the red mole on the forehead has disappeared. The tribulation mark on the disciple's spiritual platform remains as stable as ever. Elders can examine it for themselves."
The spiritual platform is not something that ordinary people can forcibly enter. Unless they have the permission of the cultivator himself, Lou Tinglan opened the spiritual platform wide, and the three of them gradually calmed down their doubts.
He simply said, "If you are injured, you should tell your uncle and us in time. You must not try to heal yourself next time, lest you cause unnecessary misunderstandings."
Lou Tinglan replied, "Ran Qinghe had already healed me at that time, which is why I didn't tell the elders."
Ran Qinghe, Ran Qinghe, it's Ran Qinghe again. These days, he can't stop talking about Ran Qinghe.
The three exchanged glances for a moment, seemingly having reached a consensus, before Lou Guan stepped forward and said:
“Tinglan, the ruins in the Void Cauldron are unpredictable and ever-changing. Although we sent people to guard the cauldron in advance, we are still not at ease.”
"Signing a life-or-death contract is just a bluffing facade. If all the young talents of the five sects perish in the cauldron, the Discipline Hall will have a hard time explaining to the five sects. I need you to go and take care of them."
"Remember, do not take action unless it is a last resort."
Lou Tinglan had not expected that the three elders would so easily let go of the matter of the Dao Heart Tribulation Seal. Without giving it much thought, she accepted the order and left.
After he left, Lou Guan said leisurely to the two people beside him, "Subconscious reactions don't lie. If Ting Lan really has no intention of interfering in the matter within the cauldron, then by moving Ran Qinghe and her group to the most unpredictable and ever-changing Mirror Domain, we can prevent them from interfering in the matter within the cauldron."
*
The jade ring in Ran Qinghe's arms suddenly flickered. She knew that this meant that a team of people had been eliminated from the Void Cauldron.
She recalled the cultivator who had ambushed her from behind the ruins earlier, and scoffed, "Overestimating himself."
She held the jade ring in her hand, but her mind kept replaying the scene when Lou Tinglan handed it to her.
He appeared serious, but as he handed her the jade ring, he gently hooked her finger and abruptly reminded her to take care of herself.
After all, she had just broken through to the next realm and needed to consolidate her power, but she had no choice but to enter the Void Cauldron.
She turned her head away uncomfortably without answering. Mingyu, standing beside her, assumed she was speaking to him and completely forgot her complaint about Lou Tinglan's reluctance to reveal the answer, replying carelessly:
"Don't worry, senior brother will definitely qualify for the selection this time."
Whether it was her imagination or not, Lou Tinglan's lips curved up slightly.
Thinking of this, she suddenly felt that the jade ring in her hand was a little hot, so she put the jade ring into Shui Rong'er's hand and instructed her, "Take good care of it."
Shui Rong'er quickly refused, saying, "No, no, no, I can't do it. My cultivation level is too low. How can I protect Yu Huan?"
Ran Qinghe: "You protect Yu Huan, and we protect you. If we can't protect you, we'll be eliminated too."
Seeing this, Mingyu frowned and interjected, "How can we give her this jade ring? She's so delicate. What if she accidentally breaks it?"
He looked at Shui Rong'er the whole way, and found her nose and eyes to be neither nose nor eyes.
Nothing else happened, except that Shui Rong'er kept saying that her feet hurt and that she needed Fu Ji to carry her before she would walk. Then she said that she was afraid and that Fu Ji had to follow her closely and not take his eyes off her for more than three breaths.
She was so difficult to please, Fu Ji could tolerate it, but he couldn't, and couldn't help but complain to Ran Qinghe.
Seeing Mingyu speak, Shui Rong'er raised her chin defiantly, put the jade ring into her pocket, and said, "Sister Qinghe trusts me, that's why she gave me this jade ring, what are you going to do about it?"
"As for Fu Ji, he's willing to be my dog, so what's it to you?"
Mingyu was furious and kept repeating "you, you, you..." three times in a row, unable to answer.
The two women turned their gazes to Fu Ji, who, just as Shui Rong'er had said, had been staring at her. Hearing this, he paused for a moment before resuming his usual demeanor.
Mingyu was so angry at their reactions that she jumped up and down. Just as she was about to argue with them, the void cauldron suddenly began to spin, and a completely different scene appeared before her eyes.
They seemed to have been collectively teleported to another ruin.
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