Chapter 184: Chapter 115: Beast of the Morning Star: Candlelight Dragon (Sword) (Part 3)

Then came Ji Qinghui, who sent his younger sister.

Finally, there was Ji Qingyue. She came in person and, to ensure success, had dragged Zhong Ming along.

This grand display set the onlookers abuzz:

"Who are they? How come all four of the royal contenders sent someone over the moment they showed up?"

"I know. That’s the Star-Picking Sect. Their Star-Picking Hand is incredibly powerful. Plus, I heard the Cultivation Technique they practice is related to the stars, which will give them a huge advantage in the Star Moon Treasure Vault..."

"No wonder..."

Such a gathering inevitably drew a great deal of attention.

The envy and jealousy from the onlookers prompted Zhuo Feng of the Star-Picking Sect to lift his chin in pride. His junior brothers and sisters also puffed out their chests, sharing in the glory.

"Senior Brother really is the strongest!"

As the disciples marveled, the surrounding crowd, enjoying the drama, began to speculate among themselves, curious as to who would successfully recruit the Star-Picking Sect.

"Who do you think the Star-Picking Sect will join?"

"It has to be the Third Young Master, Ji Qinghui. His faction is the strongest."

"Not necessarily. I think it’s the Seventh Young Master, Ji Qingkang... The Third Young Master is certainly strong, but precisely for that reason, Prince Qinghe’s eldest son, the Seventh Young Master, and Ji Qingyue might team up to deal with him."

"Even if they team up, they might not be able to defeat him. The Void Moon Sect backing him is too strong, and then there’s the Yu Family, a clan that’s in no way inferior to a Major Sect."

"The eldest son is also a possibility. He’s the firstborn, after all, and with his mother having passed away from illness, Prince Qinghe feels somewhat indebted to him. He certainly doesn’t lack for resources..."

For all the clamorous debate, the clear favorites were the eldest son, the Third Young Master, and the Seventh Young Master.

As for Ji Qingyue, even though she had come in person, those who favored her... were few and far between. In fact, there might not have been a single one.

"It’s a shame about Princess Qingyue. She’s very kind, but alas, the prodigies from the various sects are here for resources, benefits, and most of all, their sect’s standing. People like them would never join a weak faction."

"True. Joining her basically means giving up on the competition to become the Child of the Morning Star, and one’s status as one of the Qinghe Heroes would be unstable... Surely no one is stupid enough to join her just because Princess Qingyue is beautiful and kind."

The crowd’s discussion made Ji Qingyue clench her fists.

Meanwhile, Zhuo Feng frowned slightly.

He noticed that a significant portion of the recruiters’ attention wasn’t on him at all. Instead, it was on Ji Qingyue... or, more precisely, on Zhong Ming, who stood behind her.

The two women under Ji Qingkang’s command, for instance, were looking at Zhong Ming with curiosity.

The people behind Ji Qinglian, however, regarded Zhong Ming with scorn.

As for Ji Qinglian herself, her feelings were more curiosity... and a bit of anticipation.

She very much wanted to see the people from the Void Moon Sect take a fall.

However, she was skilled at hiding her true feelings and showed none of it. The moment she saw Zhong Ming and Ji Qingyue, she sneered.

"Second Sister, you came too? If I were you, I wouldn’t waste my breath... No truly ambitious prodigy would ever willingly join your team."

Her words made Ji Qingyue clench her fist, her expression darkening.

Lies don’t wound. The truth is a sharp knife.

It was true that in the past, due to her own faction’s weakness, people she had her eye on—or had even come to an agreement with—were frequently poached by others.

—This world of cultivation was not without kindhearted people like Ji Qingyue.

It was just that those people also had families, sects, elders, and fellow disciples to consider.

In the eyes of their elders, Ji Qingyue, as a woman, possessed status and value far inferior to the other three Commandery Princes. Joining her was considered a complete waste.

This led to those individuals being ordered to leave Ji Qingyue’s party.

The memories made Ji Qingyue’s expression grow increasingly grim. But it quickly changed as she straightened her elegant and graceful posture. "I’m different now. With Zhong Ming by my side, this time, I absolutely will not..."

THUD!

Before she could finish, Ji Qingyue was knocked into—by none other than Zhong Ming, the very person she was championing.

The impact nearly sent her stumbling to the ground, shattering the air of dignity she had just mustered and leaving it in pieces.

...

...

...

Ji Qingyue was mortified. Everyone watching the scene—from the minor sect disciples enjoying the drama to Zhuo Feng of the Star-Picking Sect and even Ji Qinglian—was rendered speechless.

The expressions of disdain on the faces of Zhu Hao and Zhuang Mingzhu, the Void Moon Sect Inner Sect Disciples accompanying Ji Qinglian, grew even more pronounced.

"So careless and rude, with none of the air of an expert. And Senior Brother wants us to deal with him?"

"It’s an order from my cousin, so we just have to obey. We’ll find some random excuse to teach him a lesson later."

...

The collision also snapped Zhong Ming out of his daze.

This time, he hadn’t been pretending. His attention had been entirely focused on his Cultivation Technique practice, leaving him completely oblivious to the outside world.

Having been jolted awake so suddenly, his mind was still foggy. Seeing Ji Qingyue about to fall, he instinctively reached out to steady her, his brow furrowed as he demanded, "Who did this?"

This righteous indignation, as if he were about to stand up for her, only made Ji Qingyue feel even more exasperated.

"...You."

"Huh?" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

At that, Zhong Ming finally processed the situation, and embarrassment washed over him.

Fortunately, his embarrassment didn’t last long.

"You must be Zhong Ming?"

Zhu Hao spoke up. Eager to dismiss Zhong Ming and be on his way, he cut straight to the point. "I heard from Miss Qinglian that you once slandered our Void Moon Sect, claiming that all the disciples of our generation are inferior to you. Is that true?"

By the time he finished, Zhu Hao’s voice was utterly frigid.

His tone was that of a high-and-mighty interrogator.

His words and tone caused the atmosphere to turn instantly grim.

Ji Qingyue’s expression turned cold as well—she knew full well that for a Major Sect, anything involving the sect’s reputation was the most common pretext for making a move.

But before she could think of a way to defuse the situation, Zhong Ming’s voice rang out.

"Slander? I wouldn’t call it that."

Hearing Zhong Ming’s denial, a disdainful smirk touched Zhuang Mingzhu’s lips.

’The person framing you always knows better than anyone that you’re innocent.’

’But since they dared to do it, they were naturally confident they could make the accusation stick to Zhong Ming.’

’Once Princess Qinglian points the finger, it won’t matter whether you’re guilty or not. You will be.’

Just as Zhuang Mingzhu was thinking this and shooting a look at Princess Qinglian, signaling her to act, Zhong Ming’s voice sounded again.

His next words stunned everyone present.

"It’s only slander if you distort the truth. In my eyes, the people of the Void Moon Sect really are a bunch of trash. I’m just telling it like it is. How can you call that slander?"

"Don’t you go framing me!"

CRACK...