Hua Yan had become a Deacon of the Righteous Path Alliance in the same year as Leng Qingqiu.
But unlike her youthful appearance, she was in fact a Foundation Establishment cultivator nearing two hundred years of age. She had endured a century of hardship, along with a bit of unspoken maneuvering, to secure her current position.
Now look at Leng Qingqiu.
Young—truly young. Strong—truly strong. Her rise to Deacon of the Righteous Path Alliance was entirely earned, without the slightest padding, and had nothing to do with the Leng Clan.
If anything, the Leng Clan had only made things harder for her.
What Leng Qingqiu was most proud of was that she had reached the position of Deacon at such a young age purely through her own efforts.
But in Hua Yan's eyes, it was nothing but envy and resentment. If her temperament had truly been any good, she wouldn't still be stuck at the Foundation Establishment stage after nearly two hundred years.
Over the years, Hua Yan had tried every possible way to trip Leng Qingqiu up. Yet each scheme had been crushed by Leng Qingqiu's raw strength, and she had even been mocked in return.
Today, she had thought it was nothing more than a routine mission. Instead, she had stumbled upon what she believed to be decisive evidence that Leng Qingqiu was entangled with the Demon Race.
She was ecstatic.
On top of that, Leng Qingqiu was standing there in a daze, staring at a man. It was the perfect chance for a sneak attack.
Just as Hua Yan was about to cast a spell and seriously wound Leng Qingqiu first, cultivators from Tianqiong City stepped in to block her.
By the time she could act again, that little bitch Leng Qingqiu had already snapped out of it.
Still, the Demon in Leng Qingqiu's arms was undeniable proof. Though Hua Yan cursed the Tianqiong City cultivators for meddling, she kept her composure.
In her view, Leng Qingqiu's end had already arrived.
For an ordinary Rogue Cultivator, consorting with the Demon Race might be one thing. But for a cultivator of the Righteous Path Alliance—especially one at the rank of Deacon—it was a serious crime.
At best, she would be stripped of her position. At worst, she would be thrown into the Spirit Prison.
Either way, her future would be ruined.
"Deacon Leng, do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Already picturing Leng Qingqiu's miserable fate, Hua Yan couldn't help the smile curling at her lips.
"Come with me."
Leng Qingqiu first tossed out a small soundproofing artifact, shielding Ye Ling so he wouldn't be disturbed.
Only then did she speak.
"My apologies. This young girl belongs to the examiner. I'm merely keeping watch over her for the moment."
The old her would have snapped back without hesitation. So what if it turned into a fight? She had never once lost to Hua Yan. If not for the fact that Hua Yan had struggled for a century to climb to the position of Deacon, she would have humiliated her long ago.
But now, after Ye Ling's guidance, she understood something.
When dealing with people like this, the worst thing you could do was get entangled with them. That only dragged you down to their level.
The best approach was to stand above them—leave them with nowhere to direct their strength.
Sure enough, Hua Yan's expression shifted when she heard the explanation. This was not an answer she had expected.
Eve had clung to Leng Qingqiu so intimately, and Leng Qingqiu had shown no trace of disgust. No one would have guessed she was simply watching the girl on someone else's behalf.
"It's true. That little girl came with Examiner Ye. I saw it."
"I saw Examiner Ye carrying her."
"There must be some special circumstances. I've never seen that little girl wake up."
"Deacon Hua, you should head back. This concerns Examiner Ye."
"…"
The cultivators of Tianqiong City spoke over one another, laying out the full story before Hua Yan.
Some were local cultivators of Tianqiong City, others had come from elsewhere. Most importantly, even cultivators from the Righteous Path Alliance were speaking up for Ye Ling.
After all, they all knew exactly who had saved them.
But when those words reached Hua Yan's ears, her anger only grew.
She didn't know who Examiner Ye was, nor did she care about the truth. What she wanted was simple—to ruin Leng Qingqiu.
So even though everyone was talking about Ye Ling, she was convinced they were shielding Leng Qingqiu.
That damn little bitch.
Using her youth to seduce people again.
She couldn't understand it. They were all human—so why was Leng Qingqiu the one surrounded by so many devoted followers?
She had even imitated Leng Qingqiu's clothing, her mannerisms, the way she carried herself. Yet no matter what she did, she could never command the same kind of appeal.
Worse still, she had once overheard people saying she was imitating Leng Qingqiu—just a cheap knockoff, a low-grade version of her. That memory alone was enough to make her tremble with rage.
So although these people were clearly defending Ye Ling, in her eyes they were nothing more than a fresh batch of lackeys Leng Qingqiu had gathered to help her escape blame.
"Search Squad! Someone here is harboring Demons. I suspect they may be remnants of the Demonic Sect. By my authority as a Deacon, arrest them all!"
The more Hua Yan thought about it, the angrier she became. Gritting her teeth, she finally ordered the Search Squad behind her to move.
The position of Deacon in the Righteous Path Alliance was a delicate one. In the Cultivation World, they were like bricks—moved wherever they were needed.
In general, their authority depended entirely on the task assigned at the time.
Some assignments involved receiving and entertaining guests. In those cases, they had no real power and could only smile politely.
But with that came opportunity. Chances to meet great powers or masters of the Six Arts did not come often. If one happened to catch their favor and receive a bit of guidance, soaring ahead was not impossible.
Hua Yan's current assignment, however, was to search the city for remnants of the Demonic Sect. That meant she had a group of Battle Cultivators under her command, specifically tasked with apprehending such threats.
Still, those Battle Cultivators were not puppets. They wouldn't act blindly the moment she gave an order.
So they hesitated, wearing troubled expressions as they stood in a tense standoff with the cultivators of Tianqiong City.
"Deacon Hua, isn't this against the rules?"
Leng Qingqiu frowned, her expression dark.
"Against the rules?" Hua Yan sneered. "And hugging a child of the Demon Race is within the rules?"
She turned to the Battle Cultivators.
"Don't be fooled just because she's a child. Who knows how powerful she'll become once she grows up? If your moment of mercy today gives her the chance to mature, and one day she breaks through the city gates and slaughters its people, you'll share the blame!"
Her twisted reasoning made the Battle Cultivators' expressions shift.
They had been trained by the Righteous Path Alliance purely for combat. It wasn't that they lacked intelligence, but subtle judgment was not their strength. Hearing Hua Yan's words and sensing that they carried a trace of "reason," they immediately obeyed and made their move.
"Form a formation! Protect Examiner Ye!"
"Examiner Ye is breaking through—we hold them off!"
"I'll report you to the Righteous Path Alliance for abusing your authority!"
The cultivators of Tianqiong City did not scatter at the first sign of attack. Instead, they quickly formed a formation and stood in front of Leng Qingqiu.
Their cultivation levels were average, but they could tell Ye Ling was in the middle of a breakthrough. This was no time for disturbance.
Yet if they allowed Leng Qingqiu to hand over Eve, how would they face Ye Ling once he awakened?
So the only thing they could do was endure—hold on until Ye Ling woke up.
Unfortunately, they had already been shaken by the earlier black pillar of light. It was only thanks to Ye Ling's intervention that they had regained their senses, and their Mental Force had been heavily drained.
More importantly, the Battle Cultivators under the Righteous Path Alliance were each fiercer than the last. How could ordinary cultivators like them stand in their way?
The moment the spells collided, several cultivators from Tianqiong City were sent flying.
"Enough!"
Seeing this, Leng Qingqiu could no longer hold back. She formed a hand seal, and one Void Sword after another shot toward the Battle Cultivators.
To be honest, she wanted to take Hua Yan down directly. But Hua Yan was slippery—she had already hidden herself within a tight circle formed by the Battle Cultivators, leaving Leng Qingqiu with no opening to strike.
"I also order you, in the name of a Deacon, to cease fighting."
Void Swords pressed against the throats of the Battle Cultivators as Leng Qingqiu shouted at them.
Before anyone could respond, Hua Yan, hiding behind the Battle Cultivators, cried out, "She's resisting! Call for reinforcements!"
Seeing that the cultivators of Tianqiong City were truly willing to risk their lives "for Leng Qingqiu," Hua Yan's teeth clenched in frustration.
If Leng Qingqiu had simply surrendered, Hua Yan wouldn't have had much to work with. But now that she had taken action, Hua Yan felt her opportunity had arrived. If Leng Qingqiu had just killed a few Battle Cultivators outright, that would have been even better.
"Yes!"
The Battle Cultivators feared nothing, not even death. Even with Void Swords at their throats, they showed no sign of panic and immediately formed hand seals to request reinforcements.
These Battle Cultivators were powerful. To prevent them from losing control, the Righteous Path Alliance enforced a strict rule: they obeyed orders, not individuals.
Unless their superior was clearly in the wrong, they could refuse to proceed. Otherwise, even if the person standing before them was the leader of the Righteous Path Alliance, they would still follow the command of whoever held the token.
Unfortunately, Leng Qingqiu had always worked alone. She had never taken on this kind of coordinated command before and knew nothing about this protocol.
So her order was naturally ignored.
"You—"
Leng Qingqiu's anger flared, but she couldn't actually cut them down.
Yet her restraint meant nothing. The Battle Cultivators continued forming hand seals, moving to capture both Leng Qingqiu and the cultivators of Tianqiong City.
At the same time, a Golden Core Stage aura surged from the distance, rapidly approaching.
"This matter concerning the girl… once Ye… Daoist awakens, there will naturally be a judgment."
At that critical moment, four figures flew down and positioned themselves in front of Leng Qingqiu. Talismans shot out in an instant, binding the entire group of Battle Cultivators.
The Battle Cultivators were strong, but at best they were seasoned fighters. Against Talisman cultivators backed by resources, they were at a clear disadvantage.
Moreover, the strongest among the Battle Cultivators was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, while the weakest of these four newcomers was already at late Foundation Establishment.
After explaining the situation, the four elders—including Elder Wang—heard the sounds of fighting from Ye Ling's side and rushed over immediately.
The situation reversed once again.
...
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