Sage of Humanity

The sudden entry of the two women caused an odd atmosphere in the grand hall.

Pang Huanyin and Veteran Siao were clearly oblivious to what had happened, both filled with shock and suspicion.

Liu Zhenguan's face suddenly fell, the scene he most dreaded had still occurred.

How did they manage to barge in? A bunch of useless guards, couldn't even stop two people!

He glared fiercely at the group of female cultivators who had rushed in after them, then quickly walked down from his seat with a smile on his face, heading towards the two women who had entered the hall: "Why have you come here, if there's anything you need, just let someone inform me, no need to come in person."

Determined to keep Pang Huanyin from knowing the abilities of that gentle woman.

While speaking, he gave a signal to the female cultivators who had followed, and they retreated, each still visibly shaken. They could tell that in the brief confrontation earlier, the woman wielding the twin blades had held back, otherwise many of them might have died.

"Who is Palace Master Pang Huanyin?" asked the gentle and serene woman in a soft voice.

Though she inquired, her gaze quickly fell on Pang Huanyin, with a seemingly intentional or unintentional glance at Lu Ye beside Pang Huanyin, eyes gleaming with a smile.

At this point, stopping anything was no longer realistic. Liu Zhenguan, harboring a bit of wariness, said, "It seems the gift from Palace Master Pang is indeed extraordinary, come, let me introduce you!"

Growing increasingly curious about what kind of gift warranted a personal thank you visit. Although the overall strength of Ziwei Dao Palace did surpass the other two secret realms, in terms of wealth, it might not even match his own. What could Pang Huanyin have brought?

Under his guidance, the two women came before Pang Huanyin.

Liu Zhenguan said, "This is the head of the Ziwei Dao Palace, Palace Master Pang Huanyin."

Yet he did not introduce the two women's identities to Pang Huanyin, intending to send them away right after they expressed their thanks.

Pang Huanyin sat still, smiling and nodding: "A modest gift, just a token of respect, as long as madam likes it." She paused and asked, "May I know madam's name?"

She thought to herself that the woman was indeed a beauty, with the kind of temperament that men favor, but her cultivation didn't seem very high. She wondered what special abilities she possessed to make Liu Zhenguan propose marriage.

Compared to this gentle woman, the tall woman behind her caught Pang Huanyin's attention more, as she sensed this woman was not someone easy to deal with.

"Hua Ci!" the gentle woman replied with a smile, then introduced the woman behind her: "This is my senior sister, Lan Ziyi."

Lan Ziyi remained silent, but kept staring at Lu Ye, her lips carrying a faint, almost imperceptible smile. With her around, things would go smoother.

Lu Ye sat still, eyes slightly lowered.

This strange scene caught Pang Huanyin's eye, suddenly making her aware of something, her heart couldn't help but jolt.

"Alright, it's late, now that the thanks have been given, let's go back and rest," Liu Zhenguan urged.

But Hua Ci seemed as if she didn't hear him, her gaze crossed over Pang Huanyin and looked towards Lu Ye.

Lu Ye lifted his eyes and met hers, feeling somewhat amused, yet also helpless and annoyed: "Are you really going to marry?"

Hua Ci pouted: "I never agreed to anything, it's just their one-sided wish."

Lu Ye nodded: "Then it's deceiving and bullying."

"Exactly!" Hua Ci's expression was serious, even throwing in a coquettish tone: "You have to stand up for me!"

Behind her, Lan Ziyi's expression grew suspicious, looking back and forth between Hua Ci and Lu Ye. How come the tone between these two sounded so familiar?

In her understanding, these two should not know each other, but now it seemed that was not the case.

Lu Yiye and Hua Ci must have known each other for a long time, only pretending not to in the Nine Provinces before...

And judging by this, their relationship was definitely more than just acquaintances!

This was going to be an interesting show!

However, Lu Yiye turned out to be really cunning, deliberately hiding his relationship with Hua Ci, what was he up to?

Lan Ziyi quietly retreated two steps, as powerful as Lu Yiye was, facing such a situation, he couldn't possibly remain passive, better not to get splattered with blood when the fight began.

"Yiye, what is going on here?" Though Pang Huanyin had her suspicions, she couldn't help but want confirmation.

As soon as she spoke, she felt a pair of sharp eyes glaring at her...

"Yiye..." Hua Ci's voice was melancholic, looking like she was about to cry: "No wonder you've ignored me these days, you have a new love now. Truly, only the new laugh, while the old weep."

As she said this, she made a show of wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

Lu Ye's head felt like it was going to explode!

Lan Ziyi secretly praised the fine drama!

Though Pang Huanyin did not know exactly what happened, she could vaguely perceive something and quickly tried to clarify: "Miss Hua Ci, it's not what you think! Between Yiye and I..."

"Hua Ci! What is going on here!" Liu Zhenguan's face turned green.

Since Lan Ziyi brought Hua Ci here, the situation had spun out of control, and the scene before him looked very much like reunited star-crossed lovers, filling him with both rage and frustration.

"Who gave you the right to call her Hua Ci?"

Lu Ye suddenly lifted his head, his gaze as sharp as saber light towards Liu Zhenguan.

For a moment, Liu Zhenguan's heart pounded with fear, feeling like a sheep stared down by a fierce tiger. Instantly, his whole body turned cold.

"How dare you!"

"Impudence!"

Someone shouted.

Lu Ye had already leaped from his seat, grabbing Hua Ci and tossing her to Pang Huanyin, his figure moving like the wind towards Liu Zhenguan.

Clang...

A long blade was unsheathed, fiery red saber light flashed.

As soon as he saw Hua Ci and Lan Ziyi, Lu Ye knew today's matter could not end peacefully, hence, he decided to strike first!

Reasoning wouldn't work, powerful strength is the greatest argument.

"Impressive!" Liu Zhenguan roared in anger, as spirit force and blood qi surged around him. He raised his hand, summoning an exceptionally heavy broadsword, clashing with the fiery red saber light.

The cultivators of Mount Sumeru, while lacking the same determination to fight the Corpse Race to the death as those of Ziwei Dao Palace, were not lacking in cultivation. In the instant Lu Ye attacked, they all sprung into action. The grand hall was filled with the surge of spirit force, chaos ensued.

Pang Huanyin's face changed dramatically, never expecting things to escalate this way.

She understood that in coming here, Mount Sumeru was bound to make things difficult, but it shouldn't result in a fight. Mount Sumeru had reservations, so as long as things were handled properly, they could retreat safely.

But now, the situation had gone completely out of control. All she could do was to protect Hua Ci as best as she could.

Before attacking, Lu Ye had thrown Hua Ci to her, clearly with this in mind.

Realizing this, she quickly pulled Hua Ci behind her, then looked up, her eyes stunned.

Because before her, Liu Zhenguan's body flew high with a massive wound on his abdomen, bleeding profusely, his rugged face full of shock, as if he couldn't believe he was severely injured with one blow!

This was the first time Pang Huanyin had seen Lu Ye attack, and her inner shock was no less than Liu Zhenguan's.

Previously, at Ziwei Dao Palace, Fong Rulie displayed his strength, declaring that the nine senior brothers are ranked by strength, thus indicating Lu Ye, as the eldest, must be the strongest.

But exactly how strong this "strongest" was, Pang Huanyin couldn't be certain. She did have some guesses, but now it seemed she had completely underestimated Lu Ye's abilities.

Liu Zhenguan wasn't as strong as herself, but the gap was marginal. Otherwise, he wouldn't hold his position as the mountain lord of Mount Sumeru. Yet such a strong figure was severely wounded by Lu Ye in one strike.

It seemed Lu Ye had held back; otherwise, Liu Zhenguan's survival wouldn't be certain.

Though there was an element of surprise, it still highlighted Lu Ye's strength.

On another side, Lan Ziyi's performance also left Pang Huanyin astonished. This tall woman, wielding her twin blades, single-handedly fended off all the Mount Sumeru cultivators rushing towards Lu Ye. Though it looked precarious, Pang Huanyin knew she couldn't do the same.

In other words, Lan Ziyi's strength...was above her own!

After severely injuring Liu Zhenguan with one strike, Lu Ye didn't press the attack but stood quietly with his blade in hand.

As Liu Zhenguan landed and struggled to get up, he suddenly froze, paralyzed as if struck by lightning.

Because he felt a stabbing pain at his back, a sharp weapon piercing into his body, just an inch away from his heart.

There was someone behind him!

Liu Zhenguan felt a chill down his spine, realizing that he hadn't noticed anyone approaching.

Was it?

He glanced around and saw Pang Huanyin and Veteran Siao, saw Lu Yiye, Hua Ci, and Lan Ziyi...

All recent outsiders were here, who would stab him from behind?

Could there be a traitor within Mount Sumeru?

"Everyone, stop!"

A stranger's voice echoed in his ears, not loud but enough to quiet the grand hall.

The cultivators of Mount Sumeru, raging with anger, stared at Liu Zhenguan, who was now being held hostage by Ying Wuji, their eyes filled with fury.

They were also profoundly puzzled, wondering where this guy came from, as they had never seen him before.

Pang Huanyin and Veteran Siao could only sigh in astonishment, unable to detect Ying Wuji's presence until he acted. They hadn't even realized he was hiding in the hall!

Such stealth and assassination skills were truly terrifying!

Though being held and severely injured, Liu Zhenguan showed no fear, staring at Pang Huanyin with gritted teeth: "Pang, well done, this was your plan all along!"