"Go get some rest, everyone. I'll take the night watch."
Zhao Wuji folded his arms across his chest. After something like this, he had no choice but to stand guard himself.
He couldn't let any more trouble crop up.
By now, he could be almost certain that Tang San and Dai Mubai had done something.
But without evidence, he couldn't very well conduct a search.
Still, he would have to keep a close eye on Tang San and Dai Mubai from now on.
Those two probably had a grudge against Lin Xiao and wanted to kill him with a borrowed blade.
Unfortunately for them, they hadn't expected Lin Xiao's strength to be so terrifying that he could kill a ten-thousand-year soul beast with a single sword strike.
Their plan had ultimately failed!
Whatever the case, it would be better to keep them apart in the future.
He and Flender had originally discussed uniting these students into a powerful team.
But the current situation no longer allowed for that.
Lin Xiao must have already guessed something. There was no way he would form a team with people who had tried to murder him.
Nor would he feel safe entrusting his back to people who wanted him dead.
They would probably have to abandon the idea of forming a team.
After all, Ning Rongrong, the support Soul Master who was crucial to the team, clearly wouldn't leave Lin Xiao.
A mature, powerful team needed power attack, agility attack, control, support, and other types of Soul Masters.
Not one could be missing.
The eight students had originally filled all those roles.
But after this incident, forming a team had become a major problem.
He could only discuss it with Flender once they returned and see how they could resolve it.
If all else failed, they would keep recruiting students and find some who could form a team with Lin Xiao.
The team had to be built around Lin Xiao.
Lin Xiao's overall strength was already the greatest among the students.
His talent was monstrous beyond reason, and he even had things like heaven-bestowed soul rings.
Lin Xiao would inevitably outpace the others in his growth. He might even reach rank forty before any of them.
Everyone returned to their tents, while Lin Xiao went to rest in the carriage.
But as soon as he climbed inside, Ning Rongrong slipped in after him.
"Lin Xiao, were Tang San and Dai Mubai plotting against you?"
Ning Rongrong spoke in a low voice.
What Lin Xiao had said earlier was already clear enough.
They simply hadn't found any evidence and couldn't prove Tang San and the others guilty.
If they could, she would make sure Tang San and Dai Mubai paid a devastating price.
Especially that bastard Tang San!
Tang Hao was his father, which made him an enemy!
She would never forget how Tang Hao had tried to kill them to silence them.
If Lin Xiao hadn't possessed a powerful self-created soul skill, she and her Path Guardian would probably have been killed by Tang Hao long ago.
As the saying went, if the upper beam was crooked, the lower beam would never be straight.
Tang Hao was no good, and Tang San surely wasn't either.
Judging by tonight's events, Tang San had clearly wanted to get Lin Xiao killed.
It seemed to have been because of Xiao Wu.
She didn't know what secret Xiao Wu was hiding.
But that didn't stop her from suspecting Tang San, nor did it affect her friendship with Xiao Wu.
Lin Xiao didn't deny it and laid out the whole story.
Given Ning Rongrong's current affection for him and the detailed information in the Goddess Codex, he wasn't worried about her betraying him at all.
Nor did he need to worry about her doing anything against his interests.
After telling her, he could even draw on the power of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
After Tang Hao's last attack, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had firmly established a feud with Tang Hao and the Clear Sky Sect.
Of all the people he could have attacked, he had chosen Ning Rongrong.
She was their young sect master, their future sect master.
Killing her meant severing the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's line of succession.
Ning Fengzhi absolutely doted on his daughter, and the two Titled Douluos spoiled Ning Rongrong just as much.
So the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would never let the matter rest.
They could only be mortal enemies with Tang Hao and the Clear Sky Sect.
The Upper Three Sects were branches of the same tree?
That depended on the circumstances.
They certainly had been in the past.
But Tang Hao and the Clear Sky Sect had broken the rules first and destroyed that bond, so they couldn't blame the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect for retaliating.
That supposed bond between branches of the same tree had already been shattered to pieces.
Even if the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan learned of this, they wouldn't side with the Clear Sky Sect.
Trying to kill Ning Rongrong was no different from declaring war on the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
After hearing what had happened, Ning Rongrong gritted her teeth in fury and immediately tried to charge outside.
Lin Xiao hurriedly caught her hand. "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to beat them up!"
Lin Xiao shook his head and pressed down on her shoulders, making her sit.
"Don't be rash. We have no evidence right now. If you attack them, you'll only give people something to hold against you."
"Just keep a closer eye on them from now on."
Ning Rongrong pouted. "Fine. I'll let them off for now."
"Once I find evidence, I don't care whether they're the Clear Sky Douluo's son or a prince of the Star Luo Empire. I'll kill them both!"
Lin Xiao couldn't help laughing.
With Ning Rongrong's temperament, she really was capable of doing those things.
They were within the Heaven Dou Empire's jurisdiction.
If she wanted to, she could make both of them disappear without anyone being the wiser.
She had ample justification for killing Tang San.
Tonight's incident alone was reason enough to eliminate him.
As for Dai Mubai?
That fellow was the Third Prince of the Star Luo Empire. If the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect acted against him, they would be protecting the Heaven Dou Empire by rooting out spies!
Presented that way, they would look grand, glorious, and righteous.
The Star Luo Empire could only swallow the loss in silence.
"All right, get some proper rest. We still have to travel when morning comes."
Only then did Ning Rongrong leave the carriage, but this matter clearly wouldn't end so easily.
Returning to the tent the three girls shared, she saw that the other two were still awake and told them what had happened.
Xiao Wu believed her completely. Now that she knew Tang San's true colors, it hardly seemed surprising that he would try to murder Lin Xiao.
Zhu Zhuqing's affection for Dai Mubai was already at negative one hundred.
Hearing this now, and considering how strangely the Dark Cloud Leopard had appeared, along with the fact that Tang San and Dai Mubai had both been behind the tents, she found that it confirmed Lin Xiao's account.
The two hadn't been patrolling outside. They had known the Dark Cloud Leopard would attack and hidden at the back beforehand.
Zhao Wuji had also said that when going out on patrol, one person had to remain to guard the camp.
This was also a standard rule for Soul Masters out in the wilderness.
If no one stayed behind, an accident could happen at any moment.
The worst possible outcome was everyone in the camp being killed.
Under that rule, Dai Mubai and Tang San couldn't possibly have gone on patrol together.
So the two really had wanted to murder Lin Xiao.
Thinking of all this, she felt even less goodwill toward Dai Mubai.
She also began to detest Tang San.
Ning Rongrong hadn't told them about Tang Hao's attack, so Zhu Zhuqing was still in the dark and had no idea who Tang San really was.
But as time passed, she would surely learn the truth soon.
Perhaps things would become quite interesting then.
After daybreak, the group continued on their way.
But now, the atmosphere among them was distinctly strange.
Lin Xiao's carriage remained lively, with laughter drifting out from time to time.
The carriage carrying Tang San and the others, however, was extremely dreary.
Zhao Wuji said nothing, his face stern.
Tang San and Dai Mubai knew their plot had been exposed. Only Zhao Wuji's lack of evidence had spared them, so they didn't dare say much now, afraid of revealing a flaw.
After the Dark Cloud Leopard incident, Zhao Wuji made more meticulous arrangements.
They no longer spent the night in the wilderness. Whenever they reached a town and it was getting late enough, they went straight to a hotel to rest.
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