Behind the crowd, Xu Tian stared straight at the scene before him, seemingly frozen in a daze.
Pei Zimo strode up behind him and suddenly raised a hand, slapping him hard on the back.
The unexpected slap made Xu Tian stagger, his body pitching forward involuntarily.
"Hey! If they bully you, fight back!" Pei Zimo shouted, frustrated that Xu Tian wouldn't stand up for himself.
Then he leaned close to Xu Tian's ear and lowered his voice. "Want to become a follower of our master? I guarantee no one will dare bully you again!"
Xu Tian nodded immediately, without the slightest hesitation.
Pei Zimo froze, his eyes widening in disbelief. "You agreed?!"
Xu Tian nodded obediently once more. The only thing on his mind was how Nan Xunran had just come to his rescue.
His figure was tall and straight. He was aloof, yet made others willing to lose themselves in him, unable to resist longing for him while knowing full well they could only look up to him from afar.
Pei Zimo noticed Xu Tian staring at Nan Xunran's face in a daze and couldn't help turning to Pei Ziheng with a quiet sigh. "Our master really does conquer men and women alike!"
Pei Ziheng nodded in wholehearted agreement.
Nan Xunran noticed the commotion and turned his gaze to Xu Tian. "Have you decided?" he asked calmly.
Xu Tian nodded firmly, determination in his eyes.
"All right. Take him back first," Nan Xunran said concisely.
With that, he said no more and walked away.
Holy Lord Hall
"Ran'er, what is this?" Wan Huaishan asked, bewildered as he looked at the people brought in under guard.
Nan Xunran stepped forward and explained the whole affair in detail, from beginning to end.
"Such a thing happened?! Go and summon that old bastard Zhong Jizhi!" Enraged, Wan Huaishan slammed his hand down on the table, and the entire hall seemed to tremble.
Then he turned to Nan Xunran and said pleasantly, "Ran'er, come, sit down."
Nan Xunran sat as instructed.
Everyone in the hall fell silent as cicadas in winter. A deathly stillness reigned, and the tension reached its peak.
Amid the oppressive atmosphere, footsteps sounded from afar and drew closer as Zhong Jizhi hurried in.
"Saint Lord, what happened?"
He spotted He Chuan and the others lying unconscious at a glance. This is bad, he thought.
"What happened? How could you not know?"
Wan Huaishan spoke coldly, a powerful pressure pouring out in an instant. "I hear you're the one backing this He Chuan?"
Zhong Jizhi's face changed completely. "My daughter asked my subordinate to give He Chuan some protection," he said in a panic. "I had no idea what he'd done!"
His face dark, Wan Huaishan pointed at the unconscious He Chuan and the others and shouted furiously, "You didn't know? If you didn't know, then find out!"
With a wave of his hand, one of the disciples flew out from among them and landed steadily before Zhong Jizhi.
"Wake him up and ask him yourself what good deeds He Chuan has done!"
Zhong Jizhi hurriedly used a technique to wake the disciple and learned the truth from him.
His face turned ashen, and his body began to tremble involuntarily.
"He never came to me. I always thought he kept to himself and followed the rules," Zhong Jizhi said, his voice shaking.
"He didn't come to you? Of course he didn't! Your daughter stays glued to his side every single day.
"If Ran'er hadn't come back today, and your daughter hadn't happened to be cultivating, how much longer would I have been kept in the dark?!"
Beside himself with rage, Wan Huaishan shouted, "Zhong Jizhi! I think you no longer want to be master of Pill Peak!"
Zhong Jizhi hurriedly dropped to his knees. "Please calm your anger, Saint Lord. I truly didn't know He Chuan..."
"Enough!" Wan Huaishan cut him off.
"Strip He Chuan of his position as Dao Child and expel him from the sacred land! And that Zhong Yun'er has done nothing but cause trouble since coming to the Upper Realm. She is not to leave Pill Peak for ten years. I don't want to see her again!"
Zhong Jizhi nodded repeatedly, knowing there was no undoing what had happened. His heart was full of regret.
Wan Huaishan then swept his gaze over everyone and said gravely, "All right, everyone out."
In the blink of an eye, only Wan Huaishan and Nan Xunran remained in the hall.
Wan Huaishan slowly held out his hand, and with a flash of light, a list appeared out of thin air. "Ran'er, this is the list for tomorrow's trial."
He paused, then waved a hand over the list. He Chuan's name instantly changed to Xu Tian's.
"Here, Ran'er. Your first priority in tomorrow's trial is to keep yourself safe."
He then took out a ring and said solemnly, "This is the Dream Shadow Ring. It can see through all illusions and shatter the void."
Nan Xunran reached out to accept it, then bowed. "Thank you, Saint Lord."
Wan Huaishan immediately took out a talisman, concern on his face, and began to ramble. "Take this too. If you run into danger you can't handle, crush it. Even if I have to tear the secret realm apart, this old man will get in there and save you!"
Nan Xunran gave a helpless chuckle. "I'm already in the True God Realm. You really don't need to give me so many artifacts."
"What?! You've reached the True God Realm?!" Wan Huaishan exclaimed, his face filled with shock.
"Breaking through so quickly—can your body take it?"
"I'm fine," Nan Xunran replied briefly.
"No, let me examine you," Wan Huaishan said, leaving no room for argument.
He then released a powerful stream of Spiritual Qi. Almost tangible, it slowly traveled through Nan Xunran's entire body, carefully examining every part of him.
A moment later, a look of delight appeared on his face, and his eyes were full of admiration. "Good, good, good! Ran'er, you're a monster, just as you've always been!"
"As expected of the Sacred Domain's number one prodigy!" he exclaimed, his words brimming with pride.