Regarding the nonsense threats from Xiang Laner, he did not take them seriously. He was curious about the frequent mentions of being the first, probing, "With the handful of people I have at hand, who you have seen are only suited for running errands and doing odd jobs, relying on them to seize the first place is not funny at all."

Shi Chun replied, "I'm not joking with you, nor am I letting them go fight and kill. A sect can only bring five people here; surely your people can't all be from the same state, right?"

How do we seize without fighting and killing? Xiang Laner thought for a moment and asked with doubt, "How does it matter if they come from different states?"

Shi Chun said, "I don't know exactly how many people you have at your disposal, but just have them find a way to return to their respective states. I don't need them to fight or kill; I just need them to gather information about the current situation of the main forces in each state."

Xiang Laner blinked slightly, "Just that? That won't help us seize the first place. In the end, we will still need to fight and kill. Could it be that you have additional forces?"

Shi Chun nodded, "Correct, the fighting and killing will be handled by my forces. Your role is to handle the information gathering I mentioned."

"Hehehehe," Wu Jinliang laughed with a bandit-like feeling.

Xiang Laner drew in a breath of cold air, thinking the two were joking, but realized they were serious. How many forces would need to be arranged to seize the first place?

She didn't care about other things, but at least one thing was certain; these two indeed had the backing of some force, hidden deeply, almost deceiving her.

She pressed further, "Why do you want to seize the first place? It can't just be for the trivial reward."

They surely were not interested in such a small reward from the Demon Path.

Shi Chun replied, "That's confidential, I'm afraid I cannot disclose it."

He didn't bother explaining further, as these days, the truth hardly convinced anyone.

Wu Jinliang chuckled appropriately again.

Xiang Laner immediately interjected, "My forces can collaborate with you, but you must involve me in this matter."

Her only intention was to probe Shi Chun's background, which was exactly why she had previously planned to kill Wu Jinliang. Now that Shi Chun's backing was about to be revealed, she certainly did not want to miss it.

She clearly understood the instructions from above; Shi Chun's relationship with Bowan Building was more significant than with Wukang Mountain. No matter which power's people they were, any opportunity to turn them was worth trying.

After some thought, Shi Chun agreed. They still needed this woman to facilitate relations. He then rolled up his sleeves, pointed to the badge on his bracelet, and told Wu Jinliang, "Get a Youxia Mountain badge for her as well."

"Ah, this…" Wu Jinliang was taken aback. "Aren't all the junior sisters ruined?"

Shi Chun responded, "There can still be one who survived the ruins."

Wu Jinliang scrutinized Xiang Laner and clicked his tongue, "Truly fitting."

Xiang Laner seemed to understand and yet not understand, asking doubtfully, "What do you mean?"

The explanation would come later; now, they first needed to hide the hundreds of Extreme Crystals they possessed.

The three used Wind Scale to leave that area, finding a hidden place in a mountainous region to land. Afterward, Wu Jinliang went to fetch a badge while Xiang Laner concealed the Extreme Crystals. As for the hiding location, Shi Chun couldn't care less and let her handle it since she would be more confident in her own hiding spot.

He truly didn't care about those few hundred crystals and had no plans to handle them.

Shi Chun then took out a mother-and-child charm, specifically obtained from Chu Jingtang, the leader from Bilan Sect of Xuan State, and immediately messaged, "Brother Chu, are you there?"

He didn't know whether, after all this time and competition, the other party was still alive.

Soon, Chu Jingtang's response arrived: "Brother Wang, are you still alive?"

Shi Chun: "Do not let others know, or we both will face severe trouble."

Chu Jingtang: "What do you mean?"

Shi Chun: "Let's discuss it face-to-face. How can I find Brother Chu?"

Chu Jingtang: "The place we parted last time, go left for about three hundred li, there's a large crevasse by the bank. Message me once you're there, and I'll come find you."

Shi Chun: "Okay."

After putting away the mother-and-child charm, he waited in place, first for Xiang Laner to return, then for Wu Jinliang, who took a long time.

When Wu Jinliang returned in the mid-afternoon, he brought a badge as well.

One side had: Xuan State Youxia Mountain Five

The other read: Feng Meimei.

"People live up to their names, isn't the name I picked for you quite fitting? I put a lot of effort into it, much harder than killing someone," Wu Jinliang remarked as he helped Xiang Laner wear the badge on her bracelet.

Shi Chun glanced at the badge, memorizing the ranked names to avoid later confusion, but he didn't dwell on the quality of the names, as he wasn't in a position to question others' names, having endured enough ridicule about his own.

Yet, Xiang Laner raised her eyebrows, clearly displeased by the name, finding it rather nauseating. She would make do with the false name for now, but this time, she had confirmed who was responsible for the rough work. Even the fake contract for selling one's services last time was this man's handiwork. This big figure with bold brows and large eyes apparently had a knack for forging falsehoods.

But just forging wasn't enough; he also had to teach others how to use them. Wu Jinliang, while rolling up his sleeves to demonstrate, explained, "When you come across someone from Sheng Province, press the Xuan State badge while rolling up your sleeves, and vice versa when encountering someone from Xuan State. Like this, yes, just like this."

Xiang Laner actually mimicked the motion but was still dubious, "Does this work? When meeting strangers, it's very normal for them to want to verify, and you'd be exposed right there."

This method was indeed too crude, unbelievably so, essentially treating everyone in the world as fools. She had never used such a rough method in her life and was now lacking confidence about taking the stage herself.

Shi Chun dismissed the concerns, "Just put on an act, that will be enough. With the two of us covering for you, you won't be exposed. Remember one thing, you're playing a disciple from Youxia Mountain who has been violated. It would be better if you could act a bit wounded. I saw how well you performed in front of Weikang, so this shouldn't be too difficult for you. If all else fails, just be silent and aloof, that would work too. We'll handle the rest, so don't worry."

Xiang Laner seemed to finally understand what "violation" she had overheard earlier, and couldn't help asking in confusion, "Why must I play such a woman?"

Shi Chun replied, "There's no helping it. The information gathered by the related personnel indicated exactly that. Also, the person who violated you is Bai Shuchuan from Jieyun Mountain, so make sure not to slip up when responding. You're traumatized anyway, it's okay if you don't want to talk."

Xiang Laner's eyes widened in shock, "Why Bai Shuchuan?"

Shi Chun nodded toward Wu Jinliang, "Because Bai Shuchuan insulted him."

Wu Jinliang chuckled.

What kind of logic was that? Xiang Laner was somewhat confused.

That was about all the briefing needed, and Shi Chun turned back to tell the meeting location provided by Chu Jingtang to Wu Jinliang.

Wu Jinliang, eager to spring into action, immediately took them flying on the Wind Scale.

The journey wasn't too far; they didn't detour, but flew directly over Moon Sea.

As Wu Jinliang looked down at the forests of Moon Sea below, even after having ridden the Wind Scale several times, he remained thrilled and excited. Before leaving the Land of Exile, he couldn't have dreamed of possessing such an advanced Magical Treasure so soon.

He could already imagine, after the Sky Rain Meteor Conference was over, casually picking up a girl in the capital, taking her for a ride on the Wind Scale, and how easy that would be.

Lost in these pleasant thoughts, he chuckled to himself.

Why could this guy laugh like this when he's alone? Both Shi Chun and Xiang Laner shivered and exchanged a glance.

Even from the air, they could clearly see the riverside gorge Chu Jingtang had mentioned.

After landing and seeing no one around, Shi Chun pulled out a talisman to contact Chu Jingtang and inform him of their arrival.

Bold and daring, he was not afraid of any ambush.

Chu Jingtang told him to wait a moment as he found a pretext to slip away.

They didn't have to wait long; as evening neared, Chu Jingtang arrived, not alone, but with several people from the Bilan Sect whom he had secretly observed beforehand.

Old friends reunited, Chu Jingtang was both excited and surprised, "Brother Wang, Mr. Gao is alive too, that's great, really great..." Then his gaze fell on the beautiful Xiang Laner, he hesitated and asked, "And who might this be?"

He had already noticed her cloak and the chestnut-colored garments similar to Shi Chun's, guessing slightly.

Shi Chun greeted him, "Junior Sister, this is Brother Chu Chu Jingtang from the Bilan Sect."

True to her role, Xiang Laner acted taciturn and nodded slightly to Chu Jingtang in greeting.

Shi Chun then took her wrist, revealing her identity plate, showed it briefly, then put it away.

Chu Jingtang sounded a thoughtful "Oh," but still seemed puzzled, "Isn't your Junior Sister—"

Shi Chun subtly shook his head at him, signaling him not to mention it, then pulled both Chu and his sect mates away a bit before whispering, "We thought she was gone too, but then we contacted each other through the talisman and found out she's still alive. Folks, it's really a painful memory, and we're also very upset, so please don't bring it up again in front of her, it's really not appropriate."

The men suddenly understood, and upon seeing Xiang Laner's appearance, which was extraordinarily beautiful, they could easily imagine her original charm and allure. It was completely understandable why some beasts could not restrain themselves.

Chu Jingtang asked gravely, "What was the attacker's name again?"

Wu Jinliang leaned in and added, "Bai Shuchuan."

Chu Jingtang hissed with anger, "Damn him, ruining a good person like that, he'd better not fall into my hands!"

Another sect mate also declared hatefully, "Daring to underestimate Xuan State, if he falls into our hands, he will be executed!"

The group of men felt a deep pain in their hearts, as Xiang Laner was simply too beautiful. They all felt a protective urge, lamenting for her.

They finally understood Wu Jinliang's initial outcries; he was not wrong, she really was a beauty like flower and jade!

Xiang Laner, wanting to know what they were discussing, moved closer on her own, having originally come to probe Shi Chun's background.

Seeing her approach, the group of men tactfully stopped talking about those matters.

Chu Jingtang and his compatriots each nodded to her, trying to show a warm and pleasant smile to reassure her.

Of course, they were not there for this beautiful Junior Sister. Quickly returning to the main topic, Chu Jingtang said, "Brother Wang, Mr. Gao, I heard you were dead. I even used the talisman to contact Brother Wang, who did not fall victim. Why didn't you respond to me?"

Shi Chun sighed, "It's not that I didn't respond, but at that time I was too scared to contact you."

Chu Jingtang, puzzled, "Why is that? I'm all ears."

Shi Chun asked, "Do you know what Su Yuan Sect did after we parted? Yan Ji diverted all of us, brought his own people, and then called in hundreds more, keeping them in the dark about the dangers prior to the incident, using the Insect Extreme Crystal we had found in Moon Sea as an excuse, claiming there were vast amounts of Insect Extreme Crystals there, saying Guan Wen was inside leading a search for the crystals, but in reality, he was luring everyone in to help find Guan Wen and forced us two to lead the way. Soon after entering, we encountered deadly attacks.

As soon as we managed to escape back to shore, we immediately went into hiding. We had to hide—knowing the truth, Su Yuan Sect couldn't let us be if they knew we were still alive. They would certainly have silenced us. Not contacting you, Brother Chu, was for your own good. Tell me, if Su Yuan Sect knew that you also knew, could they let you speak?",

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