"Senior Sister!"
Hua Wuyin exclaimed and hurriedly rushed to the edge of the deep pit, helping up the bloodied He Qinyuan.
At this moment, He Qinyuan was barely breathing; although her life was preserved, her body was a wreck, torn to shreds by the fierce Sword Qi, her breath waning, and her eyes full of despair.
"Tap, tap, tap."
Suddenly, footsteps approached, and the crowd parted like a tide, retreating to both sides.
Gu Tangyin arrived late.
She was coolly beautiful, tall, accustomed to a high position, and famously the Huayue Hidden Dragon, daughter of the Lord of Hunyuan City.
Her face expressionless, exuding power without anger, her presence was intense, making the cultivators as silent as cicadas in winter, and they could not help but worry for Instructor Chen.
Glancing down at the miserable He Qinyuan, her perfect face showed not a hint of sympathy. Her red lips parted as she uttered eight cold words:
"Incompetent to succeed, capable only of failure."
Hua Wuyin shivered all over, hurriedly lowered her head, and didn’t dare to breathe.
Meanwhile, He Qinyuan looked ashen, humiliatingly closing her eyes, devoid of the strength to retort.
After scolding them, Gu Tangyin raised her head and her gaze landed on Chen Ye.
Behind her, five figures appeared quietly, like hunting dogs standing by her sides.
These five were all skilled at the fifth or sixth layer of Foundation Establishment, their presence chilling, ready for action.
One of them was precisely Wu, the confidante whom Chen Ye had encountered earlier in Hunyuan City.
"Instructor Chen. Would you care to explain why you injured my Huayue disciple?"
At these words, many cultivators exchanged glances.
Gu Tangyin was truly arrogant!
Clearly, it was He Qinyuan who twice launched lethal sneak attacks, only to be counter-killed due to inferior skill. Yet, in her words, it became an unfounded injury by Chen Ye, demanding an explanation!
"Gu Tangyin, what do your words mean?!"
A voice filled with anger resounded.
Surprisingly, the first to speak up for Chen Ye was Su Xuange, the supervising instructor from Medicine King Valley.
Previously, due to Su Qingdai’s situation, Su Xuange had criticisms towards Chen Ye and nearly acted against him.
However, just now at the grotto heaven’s exit, he personally witnessed Su Qingdai’s caring for Zhiwei and the other three girls, and understood there must have been a misunderstanding before.
Thus,
How could he watch the Ruins Country people reverse truth in Yan Kingdom?
Stepping forward, Su Xuange loudly accused: "It was clearly your Huayue cultivator who slyly attacked first! Instructor Chen was merely protecting them. You come demanding an explanation, is it because you think Yan Kingdom has no people?!"
Facing Su Xuange’s questioning, a hint of scorn and derision flickered in Gu Tangyin’s eyes:
"Oh? Really? Elder Sun, what do you say? Could the situation be as Taoist Su described, so unseemly?"
This Elder Sun was the white-bearded elder who had just arrived from Spirit Treasure Sect.
Zhong Jinliu, who was about to quietly sneak back to his own camp, halted his steps upon hearing these words, his face changing drastically.
"Alas..."
Elder Sun shook his head, speaking with a pained heart, he loudly said,
"Nephew He was just young and impulsive. Her sword attack was merely to retrieve her own Sword Pill from Taoist Friend Chen, with no intent to kill. I truly had not expected... Instructor Chen, as a leading instructor, to be so severe, almost destroying the girl’s Tao Foundation!"
At this, the crowd was like a pot exploding, numerous Loose Cultivators seething with indignation.
The elder from Spirit Treasure Sect of Yan Kingdom had publicly defended the people of Huayue Mansion, throwing blame onto Chen Ye, who was also from Yan Kingdom!
"Elder Sun, what is the meaning of this?!"
Su Xuange’s eyes widened with anger, looking at him in disbelief.
He never imagined that, in the face of a great enemy, someone from Yan Kingdom would openly turn against them!
Zhong Jinliu’s face darkened as well, he clenched his fists, finally unable to hold back a sneer:
"Heh, Elder Sun, aren’t your words somewhat biased?"
"Everyone present saw clearly, just as we exited the grotto heaven, it was He Qinyuan who attacked Lu Shimei and the others without a single word! If Instructor Chen hadn’t acted in time, those three girls would have been three corpses by now! How dare you say there was no intent to kill?"
Being contradicted in public by his junior, Elder Sun’s old face looked unsightly, but he quickly regained his composure, even breaking into laughter:
"Nephew Zhong, you are young, don’t just see the surface of things."
Elder Sun pointed to Zhiwei and the three behind Chen Ye, admonishing with seniority,
"Look at them, are those three girls even hurt a hair? With such profound cultivation, if Nephew He truly intended to kill, how could she be so easily thwarted? She merely acted impulsively, wanting to teach the younger generation of Yan Kingdom a lesson."
"Moreover,"
Elder Sun paused, his eyes flickering, as he added with implications,
"Who is right and who is wrong, now is still unknown. What happened inside the grotto heaven, none of us saw. Perhaps... perhaps these three girls first used some dirty tricks inside, plotted against the Huayue cultivators, which was why they couldn’t hold back."
This unreasonable statement caused the originally indignant loose cultivators to start showing subtle hesitation.
"Indeed, those three girls indeed weren’t injured..."
"Elder Sun’s words do have some truth to them. The prodigies of Huayue Mansion are so proud, if they hadn’t suffered great grievances, why would they act out so disregardful of their status as soon as they came out?"
"Absolutely. Hmph, these cultivators from the major sects have deep thoughts, it might be they intend to use our sympathy to stir up conflict."
"We cultivators should think independently and not be confused by superficial appearances."
Hearing the whispers around them gradually change in tone, Su Qingdai trembled with anger.
Just because they’re not injured means the others weren’t murderous?!
What kind of bandit logic is this! If Instructor Chen hadn’t acted quickly, the ones lying on the ground would have been Qing Jun and the others!
"You... you’re simply unreasonable!" Su Qingdai shouted with reddening eyes.
Gu Tangyin watched the scene, a satisfied smile appeared on her face.
This was the influence her father had cultivated in Hunyuan City over many years.
A few words could disperse people’s resolve.
"Instructor Chen, did you hear? The people’s eyes are sharp, the cultivators are firm-minded, clear-sighted, and certainly won’t be easily provoked."
Gu Tangyin’s lips curved slightly as she spoke condescendingly,
"Our Huayue Mansion has always been sensible and considerate of fellow cultivators. Whether from inside or outside of Ruins Country, we treat them all the same. Although you injured our Huayue cultivators, I understand, Instructor Chen was just eager to protect his disciple, this is understandable, after all... outside of the grotto heaven, it was our Huayue cultivators who acted first."
"This second-tier top-grade sword pill will serve as our apology. Today’s matter, consider it settled."
These words,
were beyond everyone’s expectations.
Even Chen Ye didn’t anticipate Gu Tangyin would simply let it go? Moreover, gifting him a second-tier top-grade sword pill?
"Gu... Senior Sister Gu..."
Hua Wuyin looked up incredulously, his mouth trembling,
"They killed the Zhong family brothers, and also injured Senior Sister He, how can... how can it just be settled like this?!"
"Silence."
Gu Tangyin glanced at Hua Wuyin with annoyance.
What a fool.
Huayue Mansion never intended to break ties with the cultivators of Yan Country.
That Chen Ye is cunning, rude, unreasonable, arrogant... ahem, in short, the sword pill in his hand could never be retrieved unless they broke ties forcefully, which would mean starting a war with the Five Sects of Yan Country.
Instead of demanding stubbornly to be refused, it’s better to... maneuver slightly.
In this way, although the sword pill remains in Chen Ye’s hand,
the nature of the matter shifts completely.
Huayue Mansion no longer remains as the villain who failed in murder and had their treasures snatched, but a magnanimous upper mansion of a great nation, considerate of fellow cultivators and willing to take responsibility!
On the other hand, if Chen Ye continued to press after receiving the benefit, he would be deemed as disrespectful and shameless.
Sure enough.
As soon as these words were spoke, the gazes of the surrounding loose cultivators completely changed.
"A second-tier top-grade sword pill... just given like that?!"
"This is the confidence of Huayue Mansion? Fairy Gu really has a broad mind, such boldness!"
"No wonder they’re a leader of the righteous path... Tsk, how can those Demon Path remnants compare?"
Even Elder Sun from Spirit Treasure Sect immediately stroked his beard in admiration, nodding continuously:
"Fairy Gu’s great righteousness! Truly admirable! Instructor Chen, when Fairy Gu expresses such goodwill, it clearly shows Huayue Mansion’s sincerity. Let this matter end here, don’t further harm the harmony between fellow cultivators of our two nations!"
Hearing the shift in the surrounding atmosphere, Su Xuan and Zhong Jinliu’s expressions darkened.
Such formidable tactics!
With just a few words lightly spoken, they turned black into white.
Not only did it restore Huayue Mansion’s lost face, it even turned the situation against Chen Ye!