The young men and women all discussed among themselves, feeling that they had missed their chance and let He Lingfeng beat them to it. Each one regretted it bitterly.
Yet He Lingfeng was rather pleased with himself.
As for why he had suddenly stepped forward—
In truth, he bore no grudge against the Patrolling Heaven Clan.
It was only because the Old Madam had sent him a message just now, telling him to take the initiative and test the other side.
Yes, it had been the Old Madam who transmitted her command and ordered him to step forward.
Although He Lingfeng did not know what the Old Madam intended by doing this.
Since she had spoken, however, he could do nothing but agree.
Still, in He Lingfeng's eyes, this was not a bad thing.
After all, as long as he acted according to the Old Madam's wishes, there would surely be benefits for him afterward.
Although they were all the Old Madam's descendants, and seemed to be related by blood one way or another.
In reality, that little connection was entirely insufficient.
For one thing, the Old Madam had many descendants and would not show excessive favor to any one of them.
For another, competition within the Heaven and Earth Clan was fierce. If He Lingfeng wanted to rise above the rest, he needed someone behind him to support him.
Given the Old Madam's status, if she supported him, he would be able to act with far fewer restraints.
Thus, this time, He Lingfeng had stepped forward. He had to perform well before the Old Madam.
"Rui, Baizhi, this matter is rather troublesome."
Jiang Zhuoshi, Jiang Shoutian, and the others called Xu Zimo and Shen Baizhi aside.
They had not expected things to turn out this way either.
But