Before long, Jiang Lingzhu stopped at a secluded location, and turned around to look at Nie Tian.
Hydrated, Jiang Lingzhu had finally restored most of her strength, and her bright eyes glittered with rays of intimidating light again.
Nie Tian was completely confused by the way she stared at him; it seemed that she was examining him from head to toe.
Nie Tian stopped and looked over his shoulder. He quickly realized that they had already reached the other side of the mountain, and that the trial takers from the Mystic Mist sect had disappeared from his sight.
“Well…” she said, then hesitated for a moment. “You killed Yuan Feng and Yun Song, didn’t you?”
Nie Tian’s heart skipped a beat, but his face didn’t change a bit, then he asked in a surprised tone, “You’re frightening me a bit, senior martial sister. Why would I possibly kill Yuan Feng and Yun Song?”
Jiang Lingzhu was the precious daughter of the Cloudsoaring sectmaster Jiang Zhisu, and a core disciple of the Cloudsoaring sect. Nie Tian, on the other hand, was from a subordinate clan, and might only possibly be accepted into the Cloudsoaring sect in the future. Therefore, due to seniority, he had to address Jiang Lingzhu as senior martial sister.
He had the confidence to become a disciple of the Cloudsoaring sect by the age of 15, and thus he addressed her as such in advance.
“How could you dare to do such a thing?!” Jiang Lingzhu said with a glare. “It wouldn’t be so bad if you only killed Yun Song, since he wasn’t a big deal. But that Yuan Feng was viewed as a seeded disciple of the Grayvale sect. Many elders from the Grayvale sect believed he’d have a promising future. Once they find out about you killing him, even the Cloudsoaring sect won’t be able to protect you.”
Nie Tian looked hurt. “I didn’t do it.”
“You can fool Zheng Bin, but you can’t fool me!” Jiang Lingzhu said, looking even more irritated.
“What proof do you have?” Nie Tian said with a composed expression.
Jiang Lingzhu stared meaningfully at him for a moment before bursting into laughter. “You… I can’t believe you can still act composed. Nevertheless, I do admire you for being able to kill Yuan Feng and Yun Song with a inferior cultivation base, whether they were injured or not.”
Nie Tian continued to quibble. “I really didn’t.”
“You still won’t admit it!?” Jiang Lingzhu said with a snort. “Yuan Feng had a banner on him which is now in your pouch, right?”
Flabbergasted, Nie Tian was struck speechless.
“That banner is of the fourth level of Medium grade. When we were besieged by the Blood sect and Ghost sect, he fought with it. To this day, I still have a deep impression of the spiritual power fluctuations that banner emanates. I can’t be wrong.” Eyes wide, Jiang Lingzhu cursed in a low voice, “Idiot… a spiritual tool at that grade is by no means ordinary. Even if they’re not activated by spiritual power, if not stored in special containers they will still give out faint fluctuations.
“I can cast a special incantation which allows me to perceive even the slightest fluctuations of spiritual power. It was when I got near you after my conversation with Zheng Bin that I was able to detect the faint fluctuations that came from the banner.”
Without giving Nie Tian time to explain, Jiang Lingzhu continued analyzing, “According to you, it was Yu Tong who killed Yuan Feng and Yun Song. If that was the case, it would have been impossible for you to obtain Yuan Feng’s banner. Furthermore, if you obtained it before Yu Tong arrived, Yuan Feng should have been alive, and how on earth would he be willing to give you that fourth level Medium grade spirit weapon?
“Only if he was already dead before Yu Tong appeared would you have been able to obtain that banner from him.
“So, you must have killed him before she showed up, and looted everything he owned and placed it into your pouch.”
With these words, Jiang Lingzhu looked at him with a complacent smile on her face, as if to say, Let’s see how you argue with that.
Realizing that Jiang Lingzhu had seen through his lies, Nie Tian put on a bitter smile. With a shrug, he said, “You’re good, senior martial sister.”
Jiang Lingzhu threw her head back. “Of course!”
Nie Tian tried to explain. “When Yuan Feng and Yun Song met me, they were like mad dogs, insistent on killing me. I had no other choice, so…”
“Alright, alright!” Jiang Lingzhu waved her hand to stop him and said, “I’m not interested in why you did it. I’m also tired of those two. You killed them. So be it. But you need to be careful and don’t expose it. Remember, you have to insist that it was Yu Tong from the Blood sect who killed them.”
Nie Tian nodded. “Oh, okay.”
Jiang Lingzhu reached out her hand and said, “Gimme that banner and all of Yuan Feng’s belongings. You can’t carry them on you.”
After knowing that the banner would release faint fluctuations and that it would probably put him in danger, Nie Tian unhesitatingly handed her the banner, as well as the map that he had looted from Yuan Feng.
Jiang Lingzhu took the banner and the map and pressed them against the jade bracelet on her wrist. In a split second, they both vanished.
Nie Tian’s eyes suddenly lit up.
Jiang Lingzhu explained casually, “This is an item of a much higher grade than that cloth pouch of yours. If not for my father, I also wouldn’t be able to have access to a bracelet of holding. The cloth pouch you used to store the banner and the map can’t seal off the minute energy fluctuations of the banner. When you emerged from the Green Illusion dimension, the disciples of the Greyvale sect would have instantly detected the banner in your cloth pouch. If that happened, you wouldn’t be able to talk your way out of the situation no matter what lies you came up with”
Nie Tian’s expression flickered as he earnestly said, “Many thanks, senior martial sister.”
“Sooner or later, you’re going to be a member of the Cloudsoaring sect. It’s a given that I help you.” Jiang Lingzhu narrowed her eyes, and with a smile she said, “Also, you actually managed to kill Yuan Feng! Seriously, how many secrets do you have? Tell me, now.”
Nie Tian quickly shook his head. “I really don’t have any secrets.”
“Hmm! Do you take me for an idiot or something?” Jiang Lingzhu glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. Huffing, she said, “The other day, my father came back from the Nie clan and said an extremely audacious kid dared to lie to his face. Later, I found out from Uncle Li Fan that it was you!”
Nie Tian bowed his head. “I’m being serious. How could I dare to lie to the sectmaster? I was only scared to the point that I couldn’t remember much!”
“Save it. I’ve seen through you. You’re the worst among the entire Nie clan!” Jiang Lingzhu seemed angry, but actually she wasn’t. From her point of view, since Nie Tian was a member of the Nie clan, he would naturally become a disciple of the Cloudsoaring sect in the future.
Such an audacious, fierce, and resourceful young man, who was currently only ten years old, could turn out to be a great fortune for the Cloudsoaring sect in the future.
She had already decided that if they could both make it out of the Green Illusion dimension alive, she would plead for her father to immediately accept him into the sect, even if it meant that they would have to break the rules.
She had the feeling that the Spiritual Treasure sect’s An Shiyi, as well as An Ying and Pan Tao, also had high opinions of Nie Tian.
She feared that the Spiritual Treasure sect might beat her to it.
In that moment, Han Xin’s voice echoed out from the other side of the mountain. “People from the Spiritual Treasure sect! People from the Spiritual Treasure sect are here!”
“Alright, that’s all I have to say,” Jiang Lingzhu said in a low voice. “I’ll return the banner to you when you come to the Cloudsoaring sect.”
“Thank you, senior martial sister,” Nie Tian said sincerely.
He understood that if it weren’t for Jiang Lingzhu keeping that banner in her bracelet of holding, then when he left the Green Illusion dimension later on, it was very likely that the Grayvale sect would expose his lies, and subsequently, bring fatal disaster upon him.
He was quite smart, however, he knew nothing about high grade spiritual tools and special containers, and because of that, almost fell into a huge trap.
After unveiling the truth, Jiang Lingzhu didn’t blame him for killing Yuan Feng and Yun Song. Instead, she actually helped him to cover it up. He would take that to heart.
“Let’s go and see who’s returned,” said Jiang Lingzhu.
Nie Tian nodded. Without further ado, they returned to the campsite where everyone else was waiting.
“Nie Tian! You’re still alive!” Upon catching sight of him, Pan Tao immediately rushed forward gave him an amiable thump on the chest. “I thought you were dead!” Redness could be seen in Pan Tao’s eyes. Clearly, he was in a very emotional state.
No one in the Spiritual Treasure sect admired Nie Tian more than he did. He knew about Nie Tian’s exceptional abilities, and considered him as a fellow fighter.
When Nie Tian left despite everything, Pan Tao was the one who had exerted all means to persuade him to stay, and after failing, he hoped that nothing would happen to Nie Tian.
After finding that Pan Tao, An Ying, Zheng Rui, and Jiang Miao were all safe and sound, Nie Tian gave a heartfelt smile. “Hahaha, it’s nice that everyone is fine.”
“Not everyone.” An Ying’s eyes dimmed. “The four of us are the only survivors. Tong Hao, Guo Qi, and the others are all dead.”
Upon hearing the bad news, Nie Tian heaved a sigh and fell into silence.