Chapter 127

Chapter 127: The Difference Is Clear
Among all the senior brothers, Su Ming looked like the most unreliable one, but he was actually a real Golden Core cultivator.

With just a few moves, he pushed aside the people blocking the way, stood in front of Ye Cong Xin, and glared fiercely at everyone around them.

“Third Senior Brother, don’t fight. It’s a misunderstanding,” Ye Cong Xin said.

She stood up and wrapped her pale jade-like fingers around Su Ming’s arm, tugging him gently.

Su Ming turned his head.

Today Ye Cong Xin was wearing a simple light-colored dress that made her small face look even whiter and smoother than jade. A faint worry lay in her clear eyes, and there was a fragile air between her brows that made people want to protect her.

Su Ming could not help being distracted for a moment.

[Junior Sister seems to have gotten even prettier.]

“Third Senior Brother,” Ye Cong Xin called softly again.

Su Ming suddenly came back to his senses and frowned. “You said they are all your friends?”

These people did not look like decent gentlemen at all. Could Junior Sister have been tricked?

“Yes. They mean me no harm,” Ye Cong Xin said seriously.

“Senior, we are grateful that Immortal Maiden Ye is willing to befriend us. How could we possibly harm her?” someone said.

“Immortal Maiden Ye is kind and gentle. It is our honor to know her,” another person said.

“Fellow Daoist, we absolutely have no bad intentions. If you do not believe us, I am willing to swear on my dao heart!” another shouted.

“…”

Su Ming looked at their excited faces, like they wished they could dig out their hearts to prove their sincerity, and only felt that the whole scene was strange.

“Third Senior Brother, I really am fine. You should go back to your room and rest. Second Senior Brother is probably still waiting for you,” Ye Cong Xin said.

“Junior Sister, why did you not ask what I talked about with First Senior Brother?” Su Ming asked.

Ye Cong Xin gave a bitter smile. “First Senior Brother and Fourth Senior Brother did not come back with you, so I can guess the result.”

When she finished speaking, she lowered her eyes and said in a low voice, “They must still blame me.”

“That is not true!” Su Ming quickly said.

Seeing her like this, he did not dare say anything more. He comforted her a few times, then hurried upstairs.

He stopped at the turn of the stairs and looked back.

The people he had driven away had gathered around his junior sister again. Their gazes were burning, yet their behavior was very proper. They did not dare cross the line.

The more Su Ming watched, the more wrong it felt.

“Got scolded by Fang Cheng Lang again, didn’t you?” a voice asked.

He looked up and found that, without noticing, he had entered Second Senior Brother Lan Zi Yu’s room.

Lan Zi Yu’s lips curled up, looking both disdainful and mocking. “I told you long ago. He and Cui Jue have both been brainwashed by Yu Zhao. I doubt even Master could change their minds now. Why bother going to make yourself uncomfortable?”

Su Ming sat down opposite Lan Zi Yu. “We have stayed here for three months and accomplished nothing. The Cultivation World Grand Tournament will begin before long. First Senior Brother’s opponents are all in closed-door cultivation in their sects, trying every way to increase their strength. I just wanted to ask First Senior Brother what he is thinking.”

“Like a dog meddling in rat affairs, sticking your nose into everything,” Lan Zi Yu said, as usual tossing out a jab. Then he changed the subject. “So what did he say?”

Su Ming’s face darkened. “First Senior Brother said he knows what he is doing. If we want to leave, we can just go. We don’t have to worry about him.”

“Heh,” Lan Zi Yu sneered.

He had known it would be like this.

Fang Cheng Lang and Cui Jue had already suffered Qi Deviation. Their illness was bone-deep.

It was one thing for Yu Zhao to throw a tantrum, but those two still fanned the flames beside her. Weren’t they just trying to force him to give in?

He refused.

“Forget about them. We will head back tomorrow,” Lan Zi Yu said.

Su Ming thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

Staying here was just a waste of time. It would be better to go back, rest, and prepare for the Cultivation World Grand Tournament.

“Right, Second Senior Brother, when I came back just now, I saw Junior Sister downstairs with a bunch of unfamiliar cultivators. She said they were her friends,” Su Ming added.

“Mm. And?” Lan Zi Yu asked, not taking it seriously.

Junior Sister was well liked among the sect disciples. It was normal for her to be popular. Making some friends outside was nothing strange.

“But those people don’t look like good people…” Su Ming said.

The city they were staying in was the closest one to the Marsh Forest, and the Marsh Forest was a gloomy place. Cultivators who practiced demonic arts often went there.

Su Ming’s worries were not groundless.

“You are not wrong,” Lan Zi Yu said. “But it does not matter. We are leaving tomorrow anyway. Even if those people have other thoughts, they will not dare act.”

Su Ming thought that made sense and pushed the matter out of his mind.

Lan Zi Yu and Su Ming both took it for granted that if they suggested leaving, Ye Cong Xin would definitely agree. So when she gently refused, the two of them were very surprised.

Ye Cong Xin’s reason was that she had promised her friends she would stay a few more days. But she also said she could set out three days later.

After the surprise passed, Su Ming and Lan Zi Yu agreed.

Ye Cong Xin returned to her room, took out a Formation Disk from her Storage Space, and set up a Barrier Formation. Then she stuck several soundproof talismans on the wall before finally saying, “System, report favorability.”

?Ding. Zhang Yuan’s current Favorability is 95 points.?

?Ding. Wei Zi Fang’s current Favorability is 89 points.?

?Ding. Wang Hu’s current Favorability is 92 points.?

?…?

The System reported more than ten people’s Favorability in one breath. All of them were above 85 points.

Ye Cong Xin smiled in satisfaction.

Before, she had been too stupid. She only knew how to circle around Fang Cheng Lang and the others, and had forgotten that many small things could add up.

A few days ago, she had already absorbed one wave of Fortune and exchanged it for Stamina Points. She could clearly feel the ball of gloom in her chest disappear, and her body felt much lighter.

Thinking of the great event soon to take place in the Cultivation World, a flame called ambition lit up in Ye Cong Xin’s eyes.

The Heaven’s Chosen of the Cultivation World must carry even more Fortune on them, right?

She was already looking forward to it.

Three days later, Lan Zi Yu, Su Ming, and Ye Cong Xin set out to return to the Five Elements Dao Sect.

Su Ming glanced back at the quiet inn and asked Ye Cong Xin curiously, “What about your friends? Why didn’t they come to see you off?”

Ye Cong Xin curved her pretty brows and eyes and gave a gentle smile. “A light breeze brushes the bright moon. We will meet again among the mountains and rivers. There is no need to see me off,” she said.

Su Ming nodded, half understanding, and felt a strange emotion in his heart. Junior Sister really was different from before.

Lan Zi Yu had the same feeling.

This feeling grew even stronger when, on their way back, Ye Cong Xin broke through without any warning, advancing from mid Foundation Establishment to late Foundation Establishment right in front of his eyes.

Before this, he had only known that Ye Cong Xin’s health was bad, but he had not known just how serious it was.

Ye Cong Xin was not lazy at all. In fact, she spent most of every day cultivating and never slacked off.

But she had been born with a defect. Half of the spiritual energy that entered her body would be pushed out again, leaving only a small portion she could absorb. Once the amount of spiritual energy she absorbed passed her limit, her body would protest.

Lan Zi Yu had seen more than once how Ye Cong Xin, unable to endure the excess spirit power, would gasp for breath, drenched in cold sweat.

He had thought that the fact she could reach Foundation Establishment at all was already a miracle. He had not expected her to break through again, and in the middle of traveling at that.

After his shock faded, Lan Zi Yu thought of Yu Zhao.

Even in such difficult circumstances, Junior Sister could still keep a positive mindset and persevere. Yu Zhao, whose body was perfectly healthy, only knew how to complain and blame the heavens every day.

Between the two of them, the difference was clear.