Chapter 1364: Break Ties

Not far away, a few figures were rapidly approaching.

The person in front was Elder Dan Qing, who they hadn’t seen in a long time! Behind him were the other elders from the academy.

Elder Hua Feng quickly welcomed him. “Dan Qing!”

He flew forward and quickly arrived in front of them. Before he could finish the words in his throat, he saw that the few of them had messy bloodstains.

One of them even had a broken arm as if it was just chopped off by something!

“You guys… What happened?!” Elder Hua Feng’s heart skipped a beat! The Flood-Desert Northern Region is dangerous, but these few people are very capable and strong. How did they end up in this state? 

Elder Dan Qing’s face flushed white. “I’ll tell you about it in detail later. Bring him to a place to rest and heal his wounds.”

Elder Hua Feng nodded solemnly before bringing the few people back.

The others hurriedly followed, and all helped him.

The elder with the broken arm lasted until this moment and finally couldn’t take it anymore as he fainted.

The others weren’t in a better state. Anyone who saw them could guess that they had definitely suffered a terrifying attack.

After Elder Hua Feng and the rest treated their wounds, they finally asked, “Dan Qing, there are only a few of you? Where’s Bo Yan and the others?”

Elder Dan Qing took a deep breath in and continuously ate two pills before his face looked slightly better. “It’s a long story. We originally came together, but we were later separated… How did you guys come here?”

“Bo Yan sent us news saying that the Heavenly Square Cauldron had appeared, and he told us to get more people…” said Elder Hua Feng. Seeing Elder Dan Qing’s sudden change in expression, he instantly realized something. “All of this is fake, right?”

Elder Dan Qing laughed bitterly. “After we came here, we kept getting into trouble, and we were so tired from running for our lives. Since when did we see the Heavenly Square Cauldron…”

Elder Hua Feng’s heart sank. Even if he had already guessed this earlier, a strong sense of uneasiness filled his heart after truly confirming it.

“Bo Yan was long separated from us at the start. Why would he send you such a message?” Elder Dan Qing also noticed something wrong and asked in shock.

“…Perhaps we had already been tricked since that time.” Elder Hua Feng shook his head. “His green jade plaque was lost. Perhaps everything has been wrong since then…”

Clearly, someone had purposely released the news to lure us over. But… Who exactly is the person behind it, and what do they want? The people who came this time—including me—are only a few elders, and we aren’t considered people with power and strength in Ling Xiao Academy. Who would spend so much energy to do such a thing?! 

“We’ve already been here for a few days, and we have been looking for you the whole time. It’s a pity that not much progress has been made. You’re the first batch of people from the academy we have seen ever since we came here,” said Elder Hua Feng.

Then, he suddenly thought of something. “Oh right, Before you guys, there was still someone—Jiang Zhiyuan.”

Speaking of this, he turned around and waved toward Jiang Zhiyuan. “Zhiyuan, aren’t you going to come and see your mentor?”

When Jiang Zhiyuan heard this, her entire body stiffened as cold sweat kept trickling down her back.

Elder Dan Qing’s expression became slightly incredulous. “Zhiyuan… is with you guys?”

Previously, he hadn’t noticed. Now that he heard Elder Hua Feng’s words, he then realized that there was indeed a very familiar figure behind the crowd.

He naturally wouldn’t mistake the talented student he had taught for a few years.

Elder Hua Feng didn’t notice that Dan Qing’s tone was amiss as he nodded and explained, “Yeah. Not long after we came, we coincidentally met her, and she has been following us ever since.”

Seeing that Jiang Zhiyuan didn’t move, he raised his voice again. “Zhiyuan?”

She really couldn’t avoid it.

Everyone looked over.

Jiang Zhiyuan clenched her fists very tightly until her nails were about to scratch her palm, causing pain.

She stiffly turned around and walked to Elder Hua Feng and the rest step by step, lowering her head so that nobody could see her expression.

Her voice was so soft that it seemed like it could be blown away by the wind. “Mentor…”

Elder Dan Qing looked at her.

Silence.

Elder Hua Feng’s gaze darted back and forth between the duo before he realized that Elder Dan Qing’s reaction was amiss. Then, he thought for a while before saying, “Dan Qing, I’m really sorry that we couldn’t take good care of your disciple. But actually, when we saw her, she was already injured—”

“I know.” Elder Dan Qing suddenly spoke and interrupted him, smiling with deep meaning. “Zhiyuan… you’re still alive. I’m really surprised.”

The atmosphere unknowingly became strange.

Which mentor would say such words?

Jiang Zhiyuan’s breathing stopped. “I-I… I was just lucky. In the end, I met Elder Hua Feng and the rest. If not… I definitely would’ve died…”

“You’ve always been smart. Why would you get into trouble? You can always get out of danger safely, right?” said Elder Dan Qing faintly.

This time, everyone noticed the problem here.

Elder Hua Feng raised his brows. Interesting… In the past, Dan Qing treasured this disciple greatly. Even if she occasionally did unkind things, he always turned a blind eye to it and protected her very much. This time, he is acting so strange for some reason. Hearing this, could it be that something happened previously? 

“Mentor…” After being quiet for some time, Jiang Zhiyuan then looked up, her eyes filled with tears.

Putong! 

Jiang Zhiyuan directly kneeled down. “Mentor, I was wrong. Please punish me!”

The sudden scene shocked everybody. What kind of situation is this? Jiang Zhiyuan actually kneeled down and admitted her mistakes directly? 

Elder Dan Qing looked down at her from above and did not have any expression on his face. Only his old eyes had deep mockery and criticism.

He was laughing at himself. Why couldn’t I tell before that Jiang Zhiyuan was such a person? All the blood, sweat, and tears I put in these past few years are all a joke. 

“You… get up.” Elder Dan Qing finally spoke.

Jiang Zhiyuan looked at him uneasily and had some hints of hope in her eyes. Actually, I can’t be completely blamed for that. Under those circumstances back then, everyone could only care about themselves. How could they think of others? Mentor has always been nice to me, so perhaps this time—

“Mentor, you’ve forgiven me?”

Elder Dan Qing’s expression didn’t change. “Just get up. In this snowy land, you’re also injured. How could you take this?”

Jiang Zhiyuan was elated. Does this mean that Mentor doesn’t plan on holding it against me? I did follow Mentor for a few years, so he definitely can’t bear—

She stood up and took two steps forward. “Mentor—”

Elder Dan Qing suddenly said, “From today onward, you can hit your high road, and I’ll cross my log bridge. From now on, we will no longer be mentor and disciple!”

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