"Let’s go. Don’t let these obtuse people ruin our mood."

With a pat on Song Wanning’s hand, Liu Lan Yi swept away with her and Li Rao.

The Sect Master watched them depart, then looked at the mess left behind and pressed a hand to his forehead, speechless.

The unconscious Gu Qingyuan, the listless An Ze, the emotionally unstable Ye Chuxue...

And it was all thanks to Song Wanning.

The Sect Master suppressed his anger and made arrangements for each of them. Once everything was settled, he flicked his sleeve and returned to the Sect Master Hall.

A short while later, the sound of CRASHING and BANGING echoed from within the Sect Master Hall. The disciples on guard duty exchanged glances, their nerves instantly on edge.

Meanwhile, on Lan Le Peak, Wu Dan slowly came to, once again hale and hearty. This prompted a stream of praise for Song Wanning from the other disciples.

"It really took Grandmaster Song to solve it. The poison was cured instantly!"

"Exactly! Unlike some people whose alchemy is shoddy, yet they refuse to admit it, almost killing someone in the process!"

"Shh! Keep your voice down..."

The disciples whispered in small groups, secretly pointing and staring at Ye Chuxue.

In her weakened state, Ye Chuxue swallowed her humiliation and supported Gu Qingyuan, stumbling as she made her way back.

Bai Yang wanted to help, but he had to look after An Ze, so all he could do was watch her disappear into the distance.

"First Senior Brother... Mast..."

An Ze clutched Bai Yang’s hand, a flicker of hatred in the depths of his eyes.

"She actually... cast me out..."

’How could she be so heartless?’

Bai Yang faltered, a flicker of guilt in his eyes. "I’m sorry. I couldn’t stop Master before..."

’If I had interfered, Master would have made me scram, too.’

’I can’t afford to take that risk now. I lost the right to be so reckless long ago.’

"But don’t worry. I’ll still look out for you. I won’t let you be mistreated."

’We’ll always be brothers!’

"Okay..."

An Ze nodded again and again, touched by his words. Now, he had to find another path for himself.

The crowd on the peak gradually dispersed. Lan Le had his disciples clean up the area to get rid of the lingering ill fortune.

He gazed toward Yunxiao Peak and let out a heavy sigh.

’Going against Song Wanning only brings misfortune.’

’From now on, it’s best to avoid making her angry!’

＊

At the summit of Yunxiao Peak, Liu Lan Yi dismissed Li Rao, then pulled Song Wanning down to sit with her under a tree.

"Did Gu Qingyuan bully you?"

"I’ve told you before, he isn’t worthy of you."

Gu Qingyuan’s background was humble and his fortunes uncertain; by any measure, he was no match for Song Wanning.

But the girl had been hopelessly devoted, throwing her entire being into him, even content to be the power behind the throne, helping him achieve his meteoric rise.

"Auntie, Wan Ning was wrong."

Song Wanning laid her head on Liu Lan Yi’s lap and nuzzled against her affectionately.

"I misjudged him before. It will never happen again..."

"If... if I said that I intend to fight Gu Qingyuan to the death... would you blame me, Auntie?"

Her hands tightened unconsciously, a flicker of anxiety in her lowered gaze.

’In this new life, it is destined that only one of us can survive!’

But she couldn’t bear to imagine what her master would think upon learning of this. She was afraid her master would be heartbroken, that she would be disappointed in her.

The hand with which Liu Lan Yi was stroking Song Wanning’s hair paused abruptly. She was utterly astonished.

’What in the world happened to push Wan Ning to such an extreme...’

As if sensing her anxiety, Liu Lan Yi sighed softly.

She knew exactly what Song Wanning was worried about.

’They are both like children to my friend. She would be devastated if she knew.’

After a moment of serious thought, she resumed patting the top of Song Wanning’s head reassuringly.

"You must have a compelling reason for doing this. Your auntie trusts you."

Her expression suddenly turned icy.

"If you have reservations but feel you must do this, then I will remove every obstacle in your path for you."

"Auntie..."

A single, crystalline tear slid down her cheek. Song Wanning squeezed her eyes shut.

She still remembered it clearly. She had been cornered, forced to the edge of the Demon Abyss by Gu Qingyuan and his followers.

Her auntie had descended from the heavens to fight for a sliver of hope on her behalf.

At the time, her auntie had been only a single step away from ascension, yet that group had forced her to self-destruct...

And even at the very end, she had used her last ounce of Spiritual Power to send her to safety...

Song Wanning slowly opened her eyes.

’I will never let Auntie risk her life for me again.’

Besides Gu Qingyuan and Bai Yang, all of Ye Chuxue’s admirers were accomplices.

’I will settle these debts one by one. No one will escape.’

*

"Well, well, if it isn’t our dear Young Master An? What brings you back to grace the An Family with your presence today?"

An Shan blocked An Ze at the gate, followed by several other An Family disciples who were all gloating at his misfortune.

The An Family was a minor clan under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Inquiry Sect. As a direct-line descendant of his generation, An Ze had been accepted into the sect at a young age and enjoyed immense prestige with Song Wanning as his backer.

But who would have thought that just a few days ago, he would be cast out by his master over a woman, becoming a complete laughingstock.

An Shan and the others had put up with plenty of his arrogance in the past, so naturally, they rushed over to corner him at the first opportunity.

"Get out of my way!"

An Ze’s expression turned cold, and he tried to push past them. But they blocked him firmly, then dragged him around a corner and ganged up on him.

Though An Ze’s innate talent was decent, his Cultivation was still low. With his old injuries yet to heal, he had no chance to fight back. He took a solid beating, and his face was soon swollen like a pig’s head.

"You’re courting death!!!!"

He slumped against the corner of the wall, his entire being radiating a thick killing intent. He wished he could tear them to shreds with his bare hands.

"Ooh, ’courting death,’ are we?"

An Shan sneered and stepped forward to kick him again.

"Do you really think you’re still somebody? Without True Monarch Song protecting you, you ain’t shit!"

"Now that you’ve offended True Monarch Song, you should be more concerned with how you’re going to survive, hahaha—"

Forget the Song Family; with Song Wanning’s status alone, no one in the Cultivation World would dare take him as a disciple.

Without a True Monarch’s protection, and having offended so many people, it was questionable if An Ze could even survive. What right did he have to be arrogant?

"You—"

An Ze was so furious he spat out a mouthful of blood, but in the end, he could only watch as the group swaggered away.

"You’ll all regret this! Just you wait!"

He struggled back to his feet, his eyes venomous. "I don’t need Song Wanning! I can live just fine on my own!"

Wiping the blood from his mouth, he limped into the An Family estate, enduring the pointing and whispers of everyone he passed.

A ball of rage was pent up in his chest, making An Ze feel like he was about to explode.

But he had important matters to attend to, so he forced himself to endure it and went to find his so-called "good brothers."

Ye Chuxue needed to bid on the Heavenly Yuan Nourishing Heart Pill at an upcoming auction, and that required a lot of Spirit Stones...

He had returned all of his Spirit Stones to Song Wanning, so his only choice was to come back to the An Family to borrow some.

But his former "good brothers" were merciless, not only refusing to lend him Spirit Stones but also showering him with ridicule.

"What do you all know! Senior Sister Ye is a hundred times better than Song Wanning!"

An Ze was seething with impotent rage. He was about to argue further when he overheard someone say that his parents had been transferred to the family’s Nanhai City branch.

"What did you say?!"