Inner Courtyard, training ground.
The spear fell with a clear clang. Amid flickering light, its shaft rapidly swelled, transforming into a human figure in mere moments.
Zhaliteng stared in disbelief and blurted, "This... was actually a person?"
Bang!
At the same time, a wisp of clear energy rose from the saber he had discarded on the ground, and it too transformed into Hundred-Flower Immortal.
Both of them, however, looked thoroughly battered. Hundred-Flower Immortal's hair had come loose from its bun, her clothes were covered in small cuts, and her left arm bore several wounds. Ghost-Headed Saber was no better off. His hairstyle, much like Junior Brother Sha's, had been flattened to one side, and he had two wounds and three swollen lumps on his head.
Niu Xi had hammered those out against the ground just moments earlier...
Usually, calling someone hardheaded was just a figure of speech. Only their brother Ghost-Headed Saber had put it into practice.
The moment the two revealed themselves, Zhaliteng reacted. He immediately took his place beside Niu Xi, shouting urgently to protect his commander, "Assassins! Personal Guards, do not enter the Inner Courtyard! Break out and send word!"
Those words made Ren Ye's heart skip a beat as he hid in the shadows. They also startled Ghost-Headed Saber, who had been ready to use the Mirror Realm at any moment.
The people around Deputy Commander Niu Xi really were capable, every last one of them.
Assassins had suddenly appeared in the training ground, and the enemy's strength was unknown. A normal reaction would have been to summon the Personal Guards into the courtyard to help. But this vanguard general did the opposite, immediately choosing to have the twenty-four Personal Guards break out and report what had happened.
It was undoubtedly a correct, decisive, clearheaded decision.