"Don't move recklessly, behave yourself!"

Landing a solid punch on the tiger beside him, Lu Qing reprimanded in an irritable tone.

This tiger was entirely snow-white, its fur and flesh both emanating a chill, clearly the Ice Crystal Tiger Lin Tong had mentioned. Yet, this demon beast, which posed a significant threat even to a Refining God Powerhouse, only bared its teeth before being solidly punched by Lu Qing, and immediately became obedient.

Of course, if it were only Lu Qing, the Ice Crystal Tiger wouldn't be so compliant despite being weaker.

It was honestly because Su Yuwei's strength was overwhelming, she had captured the Ice Crystal Tiger with a single move, like catching a cat, without any struggle.

"It indeed bears a trace of ancient exotic beast blood, it probably escaped from some ruins."

Su Yuwei did not glance again at the Ice Crystal Tiger, and softly said, "Let's keep it for now, with it here, the Yinfeng Snake won't come over and it'll save us some trouble."

Compared to humans, demon beasts are more sensitive to each other's presence. While the Yinfeng Snake dared approach Wang Junze and his group, it would not dare to get close to the Ice Crystal Tiger.

"We've been here for an hour already, why hasn't Luo Qingxuan's group come yet?"

Glancing at the entrance to the gorge, Lu Qing asked with some confusion.

"There must have been an unexpected incident, and... it's highly likely they were attacked by deserters." Su Yuwei answered in a calm tone, slightly squinting her eyes. "However, with Luo Qingxuan's strength, unless the deserters sent out the Great Snow Wolf Riders to encircle her, she wouldn't have been threatened..."

Su Yuwei paused, as if realizing something, her expression changed slightly in an instant.

"...Manipulating human nature? This tactic, it reminds me of that Jing Yuan you mentioned!"

"???"

Wang Junze looked utterly baffled upon hearing Su Yuwei's words, not understanding at all what she was talking about.

Yet, almost in the following moment, a chaotic clatter of horses' hooves could be heard from afar. Instinctively looking at the direction of the canyon entrance, Wang Junze soon saw a flash of moon-white sword light.

Luo Qingxuan!

Without any explanation needed, Wang Junze understood that Luo Qingxuan and her group had arrived, and by opening the way with sword light, they could directly intimidate the demon beasts within Ice Wind Gorge, reducing the likelihood of others being attacked.

Nevertheless, opening the way like this, even for Luo Qingxuan, required not insignificant effort. Normally, she wouldn't choose to do this, which further confirmed Su Yuwei's earlier judgment that Luo Qingxuan's journey definitely encountered an unexpected incident.

With Luo Qingxuan leading the way, others soon followed, and from a distance, Wang Junze noticed that many of them were blood-stained or injured, their expressions tinged with a bit of a disheveled air.

Seeing this scene, even Wang Junze couldn't help but feel a jolt in his heart.

This was over a thousand people, nearly half of them with Cultivation beyond Condensing Truth, and Luo Qingxuan was beside them—just how many deserters did they encounter to end up in such a state?

You have to understand, these people daring to venture to Ice Wind Gorge were almost all elite members from various sects and families!

"Did you guys not encounter any deserter attack?"

Dropping down with the sword light, Luo Qingxuan appeared directly in front of Su Yuwei and asked in some surprise.

"No!"

Looking at Luo Qingxuan, Wang Junze shook his head and said, "On our way here, we didn't encounter any deserters."

"Then it was a deliberate ambush." Slightly frowning, Luo Qingxuan murmured to herself.

Shortly thereafter, the others also arrived. Compared to Luo Qingxuan, their gazes upon Wang Junze were much more complicated.

They fought their way desperately to reach Ice Wind Gorge, yet Wang Junze, staying by Su Yuwei's side, did nothing at all and reached the entrance to the ruins—such disparity was overwhelming.

"Greetings, Commandery Princess!"

No matter their inner thoughts, everyone still greeted Su Yuwei first.

"How many died?"

Scanning the crowd, Su Yuwei asked solemnly.

"One hundred and twenty-seven people, and over twenty more were severely injured, forced to return to the city immediately." Luo Qingxuan replied quietly. "We encountered a deserter ambush, there were a thousand of them."

"Did you not strike first?" Su Yuwei questioned.

"No, among the deserters were also Heaven-Stepping Powerhouses; if we really engaged, the casualties would have been even higher." Luo Qingxuan shook her head.

"You really are..."

Predicting the worst outcome, a trace of mockery graced Su Yuwei's lips, yet ultimately she didn't finish her sentence.

"What do you mean?"

Detecting Su Yuwei's expression, Luo Qingxuan also noticed something was amiss and asked in a serious tone.

"Nothing much."

Casting a quick glance over the crowd, Su Yuwei answered lightly.

In the presence of so many people, some things, even for her, couldn't be stated openly—otherwise, the situation would only worsen.

But Luo Qingxuan wasn't a fool. Previously, she just didn't react in time. Now, seeing Su Yuwei's reaction, she thought it over, realized where the problem lay, and abruptly raised her head to scan the surrounding crowd—her heart sank, she wanted to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.

At the same time, outside the canyon, another chaotic mix of footsteps and roars commenced.

In an instant, everyone's expressions shifted slightly!

Deserters!

Everyone knew that the ones coming must be the deserters, possibly those who ambushed them just moments ago.

Having just suffered a loss, noticing the deserters' approach this time, an immediate sense of tension brewed among the crowd, as they fixed their stares firmly in the direction of the deserters.

However, these deserters didn't approach further, stopping about a kilometer away.

Moments later, Jing Yuan and an old man holding a wooden staff slowly approached, bowing from afar towards Luo Qingxuan and Su Yuwei and greeting, "Jing Yuan from the Divine Court, sends greetings to Saintess Xuan Yue and Commandery Princess of Changling."

Jing Yuan!

Although Su Yuwei had mentioned before that this Jing Yuan was probably associated with the Divine Court, at this moment, with Jing Yuan appearing before the crowd in such a manner, Wang Junze couldn't help but feel a complex emotion in his heart.

Despite the previous brief and joyful interaction, in essence, the two were ultimately not friends but foes.

This left Wang Junze with an indescribable emotion, leaving him uncertain how to respond.

However, Wang Junze's silence didn't mean Jing Yuan would remain quiet.

In the next moment, Jing Yuan turned to Wang Junze, taking the initiative to speak, "Brother Wang, long time no see, you appear more distinguished than before. Do you still remember old friends?"

"..."

A simple sentence, yet it instantly drew everyone's attention to Wang Junze.

When Lin Yong returned to the Lin Family, he had actually detailed what transpired on the Wilderness, and there were many rumors saying Wang Junze was colluding with the deserters, though with Lu Qing backing him, such rumors were suppressed.

But now, with Jing Yuan directly greeting Wang Junze, the credibility of those rumors naturally surged again.

In an instant, everyone was waiting to see Wang Junze's reaction, placing him in a dilemma of choice...

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