For this banquet, the Heavenly Dawn Sect had invited nearly half the sects on the Azure Mist Continent.
Not a single first-tier sect had been left out.
If word of this spread tomorrow, never mind pursuing loftier ambitions-even the Night-Gathering Sect she currently belonged to would probably refuse to keep her.
At that thought, a chill crept through Shu Man's entire body, and her resolve hardened: she could not let herself be implicated in this affair.
She glanced at the still-unconscious Yun Huanling and her senior sister, then at Su Jiu's indifferent expression.
This female cultivator clearly intended to protect Yun Huanling, so her senior sister would have to shoulder the blame.
Shu Man bit her lip with an air of reluctance. "Senior, judging by the way you're looking at me, you must have guessed something. I admit that everything I said earlier was driven by selfish motives, and I did lie. But my senior sister is a woman, after all. If this gets out, it will surely ruin her reputation.
"I also admit that my senior sister harbored improper intentions toward Yun Huanling. She's already ninety-five, yet she's still stuck at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, simply because her aptitude is lacking and she doesn't have enough cultivation resources. She only did this to secure a better future for herself.
"Life in a small sect is difficult for us. That's why we entertained thoughts we shouldn't have.
"On my senior sister's behalf, I, Shu Man, apologize to you both.
"They say those close to us and strangers cannot be treated alike. Yun Huanling is only a stranger to me, whereas my senior sister pleaded with me desperately. My heart softened, and that led to the situation we're in now.
"In the end, it's all my fault. If you