Teaching Clan Arts, Brewing a Grand Duel, Earth Altar Gathering, Flower Cage Affairs

Li Xian frowned tightly, immediately sensing that the visitor had come with ill intent. He climbed to the pavilion of the residence and used Double Pupils to peer through the gate, observing the mysterious woman outside the side entrance.

The woman wore a black robe, her face hidden from view. Yet through Double Pupils, he saw beneath her clothing that she was a woman with a burned face and a terrifying appearance.

"Her face is burned, and she is a woman... Is she Hao Qingshe's disciple, Zeng Xiaoke? Her injuries healed, so she has come here to seek revenge?"

Li Xian had naturally not forgotten their grudges and remained vigilant at all times. Zeng Xiaoke's martial arts and poison arts were both ordinary and should have posed no threat to Li Xian. What he feared was Hao Qingshe making a move. He had joined the Candle Cult precisely to guard against this. Now that Zeng Xiaoke had appeared again, it seemed their enmity should finally be settled.

But he did not know that Zeng Xiaoke was already dead. Beneath that skin was another person, Zhao Lei, one of Hao Qingshe's more formidable disciples.

This matter had begun half a month ago.

Zhao Lei had returned to the Water Altar Isles aboard Tang Feng's flower boat. On that day, Li Xian had happened to be exterminating water bandits, returning to the island with several hundred bandit heads. Crowds had gathered to watch and praise him. Zhao Lei noticed Li Xian then, and hearing the others lavish him with praise, she felt nothing but disdain. Under Hao Qingshe's tutelage, she had always looked down on her fellow disciples. When people praised his "mighty bandit-slaying," she felt they were making a mountain out of a molehill.

She could have accomplished the same thing