78. Enemies Within
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Around the Arena, the crowd quieted as Zhang Luoyin and his opponent climbed the platform steps, and several sat up at the edge of their seats.
"Could he be as powerful as the rumours say?!"
"Heh! I'll admit he has some talent... There was the Divine Tiger, and then his knowledge of talismans, and now with the pills... But all that has nothing to do with one's own cultivation!"
"Hmph! If he's powerful, I'll walk out of here upside down!"
A few of the captured disciples from the 2nd Stage sat nearby, and they shook their heads.
The ones they pitied were Zhang Luoyin's current opponent, and this unfortunate fellow who might walk out with a handstand!
Meanwhile, Luoyin's eyes sought out the father-son pair, who sat in one of the raised seats.
Since the duels began, he had sensed strange auras around this father and son pair, likely because of the dream about Luoyin's death, and he could now identify what, or rather 'who' the auras were...
But the two seemed unaware of the auras surrounding them, and they eyed him with their usual bloodlust, the father's gaze cold and cutting, while the son wore a smug smirk.
Luoyin had kept an eye on them throughout the previous duels, somehow feeling unsettled, like a horrible storm was rising.
He knew they would eventually attack him, but would they dare act here? With a full crowd and several Sect Leaders present?
'Perhaps I'm simply paranoid because of the Swallows.' He concluded, but he froze as one foot landed on the platform.
'Something is off!' He thought.
But then Li San boldly leapt onto the Arena, landing a small distance ahead, and disrupting Luoyin's concentration.
Luoyin sighed and went to face Li San, who didn't hesitate to release his aura.
"Zhang Luoyin!" Li San yelled. "As you can see, I'm at Profound Tier Five, stage six! There's no way you can win today!"
"Ha! What are you boasting about?" Luoyin rolled his eyes. "It's common knowledge that I have a low cultivation level... Can you even be happy with such a victory?"
"You-!"
"Forget it, forget it!" Luoyin waved him away. He had intended to put up an act, letting Wei San get in at least two or three hits, but he felt too uneasy... He simply couldn't be bothered with this duel.
"Why don't you quickly attack me? We can't keep everyone waiting!"
Li San swung out an arm, and his sword appeared, surrounded by orange flame-like aura. "Since you're in a hurry, don't blame me for bullying you!"
He lunged at Luoyin, and Luoyin struck a basic stance.
'Hao! He's fast!' Luoyin thought as the brilliant approaching flames were reflected in his eyes, and after a second, he suddenly threw himself to the floor.
"Ow! How powerful!" He cried out, clutching his middle, and he even managed to spit blood. "You win! You're so great! I surrender!"
It would have been a decent performance, but...
...there was still a glaring distance between them...
Li San hadn't reached him!
Li San was currently frozen in shock!
"Zh- Zhang Luoyin! What do you mean by this?" He demanded. "I didn't even touch you!!"
There was light laughter around as Sect Leader Xu and the veiled guest beside him shook their heads.
Luoyin cracked an eye open.
'Ei...?!' He had calculated Li San's speed, deducing how long it should take to reach him, but Li San had moved slower than he expected!
"Zhang Luoyin!" Li San pointed his sword at Luoyin. "Explain yourself!"
Luoyin was suddenly on his feet. "Ei ei ei, You can't blame me! How are you still over there?! Even a roadside beggar would be faster to ask for gold!"
Li San's eyes narrowed as laughter erupted. "Zhang Luoyin, you-!"
"Whatever, I surrender! You win, you win!!" Luoyin turned to leave, and Li San raged behind him.
"Come back here! I don't accept such a victo-!!"
"Winner,Li San!" Elder Zhou cut in, shaking his own head.
Meanwhile, Luoyin's irises darted back to the father-son pair. 'Was I really just paranoid...?'
"That brings us to the end of the Yueyan Junior Tournament!" Elder Zhou was saying. "The Winning five will go on to represent our Great Sect in the BaiShan Tournament!"
There was thunderous cheer and applause and Luoyin sighed in relief.
'Perhaps I was really overthingking...'
But as his forward foot crossed the outer edge of the platform, a sudden jet of aura shot at him.
He evaded it by sheer instinct, side-stepping with a jaw-dropping speed, but then came another, forcing him to leap back onto the platform.
"A-Yin!" Xu Weiyan was by his side at once, her sword instantly deflecting a jet headed for his blindspot, but in a swift move, Luoyin suddenly grabbed her wrist, tugging her out of the way, right as another jet of aura hit.
'They indeed dared to attack here!' Luoyin thought, as he and Weiyan stood back to back.
The attacks had been powerful enough to destroy several layers of the platform's floor, which raised a dense cloud of dust, and there was a stunned silence as the audience wondered what was happening.
Sect Leader Xu, the Sect Elders, and a few of the prominent guests had all risen to their feet.
Meanwhile, Xu Min, Xu Haoyuan, Xu Wen, Xu Lian, Xu Lin, and Tao Yun had all leapt onto the platform to help their friends, and were lost in the cloud of dust as well.
But when the dust cleared they gasped in shock.
The Arena had vanished and they were surrounded by trees...
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Back at the Arena, Sect Leader Xu waved a hand, instantly clearing the dust cloud, and there was an uproar as the empty platform was revealed.
"What happened?!"
"Where have they gone?!"
Sect Leader Xu nodded at Elder Zhou, and he landed on the platform, slapping a palm to it.
Vines of deep green aura shot out towards the edges of the platform, and he gasped.
"Impossible!" He rose and swiftly turned to Sect Leader Xu, who nodded at him again.
Elder Zhou brought out a flare and fired it upwards, sending beautiful red and orange sparks into the sky, and as they watched, the sky was suddenly covered by a crystal barrier.
It was Yue City's ultimate ward against enemies, and the initial uproar was now turning into a wave panic.
Disciples, Sect Warriors, and Elders had released their aura, ready for oncoming threats, while the regular crowd began trying to escape any unseen dangers, nearly leading to a stampede.
"Calm Yourselves!" Sect Leader Xu's voice rang out, and his chilling aura spread across the Arena, halting everyone in their steps.
"We indeed have enemies within the Sect," He confirmed. "...but blind action only leads to chaos!"
"Sect Leader Xu, do you mean to endanger us here?" The father from the father-son pair challenged, dusting an invisible speck off his immaculate red and white robes.
"Oh?" Xu Fengyan (Sect Leader Xu) raised a brow in challenge. "Lord Mo, or should I address you as 'Elder Mo'...? May I ask where your son is?"
The son was indeed absent, which was suspicious, as he had been present right before Zhang Luoyin's duel, and Lord Ju eyed him with a raised eyebrow.
But Lord Mo calmly replied, "Shouldn't I be the one asking? Perhaps he rushed to help the disciples on the platform." He shrugged. "Either way, my son has gone missing on Yue City's soil... I hope you will give me an explanation!"
There were mutters around, as everyone wondered where the missing disciples had gone, and whether this missing stranger had indeed vanished to help them.
A few wore worried expressions, as they were the parents of the missing disciples, and this included Xu Fengyan himself, who had seen Weiyan jump in to help Luoyin.
'Yanyan, please be safe!' He mentally prayed, before turning his attention back to Lord Mo.
"Lord Mo, the disciples have been sent to the hunting grounds by some strange phenomenon... right, Elder Zhou?"
Elder Zhou cupped his hands and bowed. "Sect Leader, an unknown force triggered the hunting grounds! But try as I might, I can't reverse it or open it.... Even the Sky talismans aren't seeing anything!"
Xu Fengyan's eyes narrowed.
The Hunting grounds of most sects were controlled alternate spaces ranging in size. Yueyan's Hunting grounds were almost as old as the Sect, and had been gifted by an immortal...
It wasn't so easy to tamper with!
Even an Elder shouldn't have that power...
He smiled at Lord Mo. "Your son is presumably stuck there as well... Surely, you don't mind waiting with us to rescue him?"
Several Sect Elders surrounded them in the air, making their stance clear, and a few also stopped the two guest Sect Leaders who were in another set of raised seats.
An annoyed look crossed Lord Mo's face, but he forced a smile. "As you wish." He said and lowered himself into a seat, crossing his legs.
Xu Fengyan turned and nodded to Elder Peng, the eldest of the Sect Elders, and Elder Peng nodded his understanding and disappeared, along with most of the Sect Elders and Warriors.
Xu Fengyan raised his voice. "The Xu Elders are to lead all regulars out of the Arena in an orderly manner, while the rest of us try to break the hunting ground's seal..."
'Hmph.' Lord Mo thought with a cold smirk. 'You think I won't get my way if you trap me here?'
He held his hand in a hidden seal, channeling a string of deep purple aura beneath the seats.
'Then I'll let you all witness the fall of Yueyan!'
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