Turning the Tables

Fang Qiong was fanning the flames.

Ye Xiu watched Zhou Xuan's face grow increasingly grim and understood at once.

Fang Qiong, standing nearby, had clearly noticed Ye Xiu's change as well.

There was mockery in his eyes when he looked at Ye Xiu, though his manner remained as it had been before.

"Senior Brother Zhou, quickly let Ye Xiu go. The outer sect assessment is just days away. If you damage his foundation now and affect his future advancement, I will certainly report this to Senior Brother Xu and the sect!"

At those words, the disdain on Zhou Xuan's face deepened by several degrees.

If he had previously still been wary of whether Ye Xiu had truly caught the eye of someone important, Fang Qiong's words now all but confirmed that this brat was nobody of consequence.

Though Xu Tongming was an inner sect prodigy, under normal circumstances, Ye Xiu, an outer sect disciple at the ninth level of Qi Condensation, was far from worth Xu Tongming personally stepping in for.

With that thought, he no longer held back. He fully activated his spiritual power, and the skeleton binding Ye Xiu immediately transformed into a cage. Bone Flame surged violently, its heat waves sending the surrounding disciples retreating dozens of meters in alarm, lest they be caught in the blast.

"You!"

The fury on Fang Qiong's face intensified as he watched Zhou Xuan's actions, but inwardly, he grew more delighted by the moment.

Provoked by him, Zhou Xuan had clearly been truly angered. Though sect rules prevented him from directly killing Ye Xiu, being seared by the Bone Flame Zhou Xuan cultivated would leave Ye Xiu shedding a layer of skin even if he survived.

"What? Does an inner sect disciple punishing an outer sect disciple violate sect rules?"

Zhou Xuan looked at Fang Qiong, furious yet unable to speak, and took pleasure in having gained the upper hand. The fearful gazes of the surrounding disciples were equally gratifying to him.

His show of strength today would soon spread. While preserving his own prestige, it would also conveniently dampen Xu Tongming's arrogance and recover some of the face he had lost when he failed to surpass him in their previous competition.

As for the seemingly strange relationship between Fang Qiong and Ye Xiu, he had come to realize it as well.

But so what?

So long as Ye Xiu remained an outer sect disciple at the ninth level of Qi Condensation and had not entered the inner sect, no fool would use this matter to disgust him.

"Defying a superior? Then reflect within this Bone Flame for half a day. If anyone has objections, put out the fire and come to the Alchemy Hall. I would like to see just how many capable people there are in this outer sect!"

With that, Zhou Xuan ignored Fang Qiong's ugly expression, flicked his sleeve, and returned to the Alchemy Hall.

Fang Qiong's face flushed red with rage, and his entire body trembled. Yet as Zhou Xuan entered the hall, he did not say a single word.

Only after Zhou Xuan had left did he let out a roar as though he could no longer bear the humiliation.

"Junior Brother, how are you? Are you all right?"

Fang Qiong rushed over, his face full of concern as he stood on the other side of the bone cage.

It had to be said that Fang Qiong's acting was truly convincing. Seeing that he refused to let go even as the bone cage scorched his hand, the nearby disciples began discussing the matter among themselves.

"Just who is this kid, to make that old fox Fang Qiong help him like this?"

"Could he really be a trusted subordinate Fang Qiong has recently cultivated? Otherwise, there's no reason for him to protect the kid so fiercely."

Listening to the crowd's whispers, Ye Xiu put on an expression of unbearable pain.

"Senior Brother, save... save me!"

Fang Qiong nodded heavily, raising his voice by just the right amount.

"Hold on a little longer. Senior Brother will go seek aid from the inner sect right now. Rest assured, Junior Brother, I will not let this affect your entry into the inner sect. In ten days, there will definitely be a place for you in the advancement assessment!"

There was something fishy about the sect grand competition!

Ye Xiu's heart tightened. Fang Qiong could clearly have left long ago, yet he had deliberately remained behind to say all this. He definitely had ulterior motives.

After provoking an inner sect senior brother like Zhou Xuan and suffering injuries, Ye Xiu would then have to take part in the brutal sect examination. Even if he died as a result of this entire arrangement, it would be completely plausible.

Not to mention, Fang Qiong had deliberately exposed this matter before everyone. To a certain extent, he had forced Ye Xiu onto the rack.

You were already in such miserable shape, yet your senior brother was still thinking of you. If you did not appreciate that, would you not be utterly ungrateful?

"Then I'll leave everything to you, Senior Brother!"

Ye Xiu drew a deep breath, gratitude appearing on his face.

"Once this matter is over, I will repay you handsomely!"

Since the other party wanted to use this opportunity to set him up, he might as well turn the tables.

Only by using this to lower the other party's guard could he lure him into the trap he had laid.

Looking at Ye Xiu's grateful face, Fang Qiong knew he had acted enough. He nodded, summoned his flying sword, and swiftly flew away.

The two central figures had both left, while Ye Xiu closed his eyes and silently resisted the Bone Flame. The observing disciples found the scene dull as well.

Very soon, as sect guards arrived from outside to maintain order, the disciples scattered in all directions, leaving Ye Xiu trapped within the bone cage with no one paying him any further attention.

After all, in this marketplace, people suffered terrible misfortune every day for offending those they should not offend. Ye Xiu was merely one of the most ordinary among them.

Several hours passed, and by the time the moon could faintly be seen in the heavens, the flames on the bone cage surrounding Ye Xiu finally burned out completely.

Crack.

Without the Bone Flame, the white bones naturally could no longer restrain Ye Xiu.

When Ye Xiu broke free, he cut a bedraggled figure, and even the passersby around him instinctively moved farther away.

To those who did not know the full story, Ye Xiu was clearly an unlucky fellow who had offended an inner sect senior brother from the Alchemy Hall. Who knew whether associating with him too much would displease the people inside?

After going through such an ordeal, Ye Xiu no longer had any desire to continue investigating information about the Foundation Establishment Pill here.

He hurried away and returned to his residence once more.

After inspecting the formations around his courtyard and confirming that everything was in order, Ye Xiu sat cross-legged and began circulating his cultivation technique again.

Zhou Xuan's Bone Flame truly lived up to the name of an inner sect senior brother. Even with Ye Xiu's body, strengthened far beyond those of disciples at the same level after awakening his ability, resisting it had taken all his strength.

Fortunately, Zhou Xuan had been unable to strike to kill due to the sect rules and was still somewhat restrained.

By Ye Xiu's estimation, the spiritual power stored within the Bone Flame was just enough to burn away all the spiritual power in his body, but not enough to endanger his life.

As it happened, because Ye Xiu had previously relied too heavily on Soul Pearls to raise his cultivation, the spiritual power within his body had become muddled and impure. This was also one major reason why his advancement to Foundation Establishment had become so difficult.

Fang Qiong believed his scheme had depleted all of Ye Xiu's spiritual power, allowing him to easily control Ye Xiu during the advancement assessment afterward.

But in truth, this searing by the Bone Flame had instead helped Ye Xiu eliminate much of his impure spiritual energy, making his foundation even more solid.

Ye Xiu believed that once he replenished the spiritual power he had lost, his cultivation would rise to another level instead.

With that thought, Ye Xiu did not hesitate and directly took out the spirit stones from his storage pouch.

He arranged the formation, then once again circulated his cultivation technique and began restoring his losses...