Chapter 71

Chapter 71: Return

Yun Che stared at the black aura spreading across his palm, then looked down at Spirit Sparrow Pond.

“Little girl hiding down there,” he said, voice calm. “Come out.”

Lin Zhao felt the technique in his voice—sharp, cutting, probing. It reminded her too much of Thousand Spirit Slash.

Why would she listen?

She and Immortal Venerable Yun Ding had a blood feud that could never be washed clean.

So she stayed perfectly still.

Above the water, Yun Che sighed, as if the situation pained him more than it should. “I helped you this time. Are you going to hide forever, little girl?”

Lin Zhao exchanged a few quick words with Granny, then broke the surface of Spirit Sparrow Pond. Phoenix Wings unfurled behind her in a flare of light. Facing the handsome young man in white—his authority and noble bearing impossible to conceal—she stepped back without letting it show in her expression.

“Junior Lin Zhao thanks you, Senior.”

Yun Che’s brows drew together. “You should call me Martial Uncle.”

[So he really is from that old dog Yun Ding’s side.]

Lin Zhao retreated another step, then forced her tone steady. “Your Excellency probably doesn’t know what happened on Yun Ding Peak a few months ago.”

Yun Che frowned.

He had only recently arrived on the Heavenly Phoenix Continent, and his spiritual energy had been unstable. He had come to Spirit Sparrow Pond to smooth it out, not to stumble into this.

When he saw her use Thousand Spirit Blossom, he assumed she was Yun Ding’s disciple. He hadn’t expected—

“Little girl… you and Yun Ding…” Yun Che’s voice softened, and something weary flickered in his eyes. “If he did anything extreme over the years, then as his senior brother, I apologize to you on his behalf.”

A great expert above Spirit Transformation, bowing his head to her.

If it were anyone else, they would have been at a loss.

But Lin Zhao had died once because of Yun Ding. And in this life, she had been humiliated on her wedding day.

How could a light apology erase that?

“Senior, I will repay you for helping me,” Lin Zhao said evenly. “But the matter between me and Yun Ding—can you really erase it with one apology? That’s laughable.”

She clasped her fists, then turned to leave.

Yun Che moved as if to stop her, but an aged voice drifted into his ear, calm and edged with warning.

“My disciple—I will protect her. Even without you, she won’t be harmed. Instead of questioning my disciple here, go investigate what your dear junior brother did to my disciple.”

A bottle of pure demonic-dispelling liquid appeared as the voice faded.

Yun Che looked down at the black mark on his palm, then at the bottle.

In the end, he said nothing.

Only a long, helpless sigh escaped him.

…

When Lin Zhao reached her base by memory, she froze.

The camp was swollen to twice its former size.

A quick scan told her there were well over 300 people.

Nearly a third of the remaining freshmen had come to her.

When Lu Yuan saw her, he hurried forward. “Captain. While you were gone this past month, Jia Lan and the others recruited more than half the freshmen.”

Lin Zhao’s eyes narrowed. “What happened? Are all these people ours?”

Before leaving, she had ordered her team not to exceed 300.

Lu Yuan opened his mouth, but the boy beside him spoke first, voice tight with bitterness. “Captain Lin. During your absence, Jia Lan and Zhao Ji Xing kept purging their own people. Then they announced they’d eliminate anyone who wasn’t part of their team.”

Lin Zhao’s expression cooled.

So that was it.

“Besides these people,” she asked, “is everyone else eliminated?”

“Even if not, it’s almost the same,” the boy said. “There are only a dozen or so freshmen left. Two Ninth-Layer Enlightenment cultivators are leading them, and they haven’t joined either side.”

Lin Zhao considered it, gaze flicking over the crowded camp. “We have about a third. Jia Lan’s side has more than a third, and their overall cultivation and strength are higher.” She looked back at the boy. “So what are you asking?”

The boy clasped his hands. “Please, Captain Lin. Allow us to join. And please bring those two Ninth-Layer cultivators into the team as well. We’ll serve you with everything we have.”

Behind him, the newly added members bowed in unison.

They all understood the same truth: the only person who could turn this tide—who could truly strike back at Zhao Ji Xing and Jia Lan—was the young woman in front of them, the one they had once ignored.

In just over two months, the tug-of-war between Lin Zhao and Jia Lan had made the gap between them brutally clear.

Lin Zhao’s lips curved. She reached out and helped the leading boy up. “I already have a grudge with Jia Lan that must be settled. I didn’t expand before because the situation wasn’t right. But times have changed.” Her gaze sharpened. “If you want to join—and you’re sincere—of course you can.”

The boy’s eyes lit up. “Captain… you mean—?”

Lin Zhao smiled faintly. “Let me go meet those two Ninth-Layer Enlightenment cultivators.”

Qu Shu and Ming Yue stepped to her side. Ming Yue hesitated. “Sister, Qu Shu and I are already healed. Why don’t we go with you?”

She could feel Lin Zhao’s aura had grown stronger, but she didn’t know Lin Zhao had reached Great Perfection of Enlightenment. She still feared Lin Zhao might be walking into a trap alone.

Lin Zhao patted her shoulder. “Maybe a month ago I would’ve needed you to back me up. Not anymore. I’m the captain—leave it to me.”

Lu Yuan frowned. “Will Jia Lan and the others try to recruit them before we do?”

Lin Zhao shook her head. “Tell me—whose people are stronger right now? Whose team looks better?”

Lu Yuan’s lips parted. Then he exhaled. “Their side.”

“Exactly.” Lin Zhao’s gaze turned distant, cold with understanding. “They’re stronger. So those two squads—risking elimination—still didn’t join Jia Lan. What does that tell you?”

Ming Yue’s eyes widened. “They never planned to join them. They’re waiting for us to invite them?”

“Not just that.” Lin Zhao’s smile held no warmth. “They’re testing me as the captain.”

The rumor that she had fled after encountering Zhao Ji Xing would have spread. Of course more experts would attach themselves to Zhao Ji Xing’s side after that.

When you were weak, people treated you like dirt. That was reality.

Lin Zhao’s team might be less rotten than Zhao Ji Xing’s, but this tournament wasn’t about decency. Strength ruled. Points ruled. People could slaughter each other for a belt color—why would they care about atmosphere?

The ones crushed were always the ordinary cultivators without backing.

Lin Zhao understood human nature too well.

But who was stronger?

Maybe it had been Zhao Ji Xing before.

It wasn’t certain anymore.

“If Zhao Ji Xing recruits with strength,” Lin Zhao said quietly, “then so will I.”

She turned, voice firm. “Let’s go. Once we bring those two into the team, we collect our debts.”

Around her, hearts began to pound.

Zhao Ji Xing’s trio had spent weeks arrogant and brutal. Everyone had swallowed humiliation until their throats burned.

Now, at last, someone was giving them permission to answer it in kind.