Under normal circumstances, the commander would have humored Leng Qingqiu.
After all, the Leng Clan was a great family—far beyond the reach of a local official like him. Even though he had reached the Nascent Soul Stage, compared to the Leng Clan, he was nothing more than an ant.
But now Tianqiong City was in a critical state. He had no reason to dispatch the Garrison Guard's already limited emergency forces just to help Leng Qingqiu search for someone.
Moreover, she was holding a child in her arms. Coupled with the fact that she hadn't asked her family to help, a melodramatic possibility surfaced in his mind.
"If you don't leave now, I'll inform your family."
His voice was low, carrying an unmistakable hint of threat.
"???"
But to Leng Qingqiu, the meaning was entirely different.
Was he insisting on verifying her family's secret treasure?
She bit her lip, feeling a surge of frustration.
Why was Ye Ling able to lie to her so effortlessly every time?
Yet here she was, lying for the sake of saving lives, and she had to provide proof to her "own people." The irony was almost laughable.
Fine. Let him call.
If the family could send a few capable experts, maybe even more people could be saved.
Thinking of Tianqiong City's citizens, Leng Qingqiu clenched her teeth and nodded.
"Go ahead. Tell them to send more capable people."
"..."
The commander hadn't expected her to agree so readily. He rolled his eyes.
"This is your family matter. You can sort it out yourselves."
We're the Garrison Guard, not family mediators.
Annoyed, he directly used True Essence to envelop Leng Qingqiu and sent her outside.
Ran away with a child, only to realize the importance of family after the man abandoned you?
And now you want the Garrison Guard to play intermediary? Keep dreaming.
He glanced once more at the scene Leng Qingqiu had transcribed, then waved his hand and dispersed it.
In the image, aside from a somewhat ugly middle-aged man who happened to be turning his head, everyone else was shown only from behind.
How was he supposed to investigate that?
Surely it couldn't be that ugly middle-aged man?
And he's supposed to be a Demonic Cultivator?
Even Uncle Wang next door looks more like one than he does.
If that guy really turns out to be a Demonic Cultivator, I'll promote my deputy on the spot.
Shaking his head, the commander continued spreading out his Divine Sense to probe the area.
As for Leng Qingqiu's claim that nearly a hundred Demonic Cultivators had infiltrated the city?
He hadn't taken it seriously at all. To him, it was just an excuse to gain access to the Garrison Guard.
Nearly a hundred Demonic Cultivators coming to a small city like Tianqiong City?
They probably wouldn't even earn back their travel expenses.
With that kind of effort, wouldn't it be better to attack a prefectural city of one of the Four Great Imperial Dynasties?
Even if they captured Tianqiong City, a place this small didn't have much of value. It wouldn't even cover the losses from the assault.
Still, as a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, even though he dismissed her words consciously, his spiritual intuition made him pay a bit more attention to the direction Leng Qingqiu had indicated.
...
Meanwhile, Leng Qingqiu, who had been tossed out, stood there in a daze.
He really expects me to contact the Leng Clan myself?
I'm trying to save the people of Tianqiong City!
Clinging to pride at a time like this? This commander of the Tianqiong City Garrison Guard is hopeless.
To be honest, Leng Qingqiu was furious. Once this was over, she even wanted to report him to the Righteous Path Alliance—assuming he survived this battle at all.
But now wasn't the time to be angry. She needed to find a way to disperse the crowd in Tianqiong City. Otherwise, a single area-of-effect attack from the Demonic Cultivators could wipe out swaths of people.
What should she do?
For the first time in her life, Leng Qingqiu felt truly powerless.
She looked down at Eve in her arms, and an inexplicable urge to run rose within her.
Nearly a hundred Demonic Cultivators. That was far beyond what she could handle. And judging from Eve's tone, that terrifying Demonic Cultivator was not someone she could resist… no, it was likely someone the entire Tianqiong City couldn't withstand.
So all she had to do was inform Ye Ling, and then they could escape together.
Since the commander didn't believe her, there was no need for her to stubbornly play the hero. In a crisis like this, running away was an option.
It's not my fault. It's their fault for not believing me.
Even if I went to the City Lord again, the result would be the same, wouldn't it?
Would anyone in the Leng Clan believe me?
They'd probably just laugh at me.
So… so… so…
Her face gradually turned pale, her thoughts spiraling toward obsession.
"So how exactly did your family feel at ease letting you come out?"
Ye Ling's helpless voice suddenly echoed in her mind.
No.
Why did I leave home in the first place?
Wasn't it to prove myself?
If I run now, then no matter how far I go in the future, this will haunt me for the rest of my life.
Most importantly—
I can't let him look down on me.
Ye Ling's infuriating yet admirable face appeared in her mind.
Right now… I can only rely on him.
Having made her decision, Leng Qingqiu quickened her pace toward the examiner.
...
In the examination hall, the genius from the Azure Curse Sect was completely baffled.
He couldn't figure out what was going on. From the cheers of the spectators outside, he could only confirm one thing—he had indeed finished drawing his talisman the fastest.
The entire exam hall was divided into individual compartments. When a talisman was completed, a phenomenon would appear, and the compartment would light up, signaling that the candidate inside had passed.
Ordinarily, the first ten cultivators to finish would be summoned by the examiners for a few words of encouragement. If they were rogue cultivators, there was even a chance one of the examiners might take them in as a disciple.
But this genius from the Azure Curse Sect waited and waited, and no one came to summon him.
???
What's going on?
I finished this quickly and they're not calling me in?
Or… have the rules changed?
But the sect never mentioned anything!
In truth, this so-called genius of the Azure Curse Sect was actually a member of the Heavenly Demon Sect.
This time, his task was to create chaos in the examination hall. Once he received the signal, he would immediately unleash the dozens of high-grade talismans hidden in his robes and catch the examiners off guard.
To be honest, he had performed beyond his usual standard today. Normally, he wasn't this fast.
Still, with his abilities, making it into the top ten had always been effortless.
Soon, more phenomena appeared in the hall—other candidates were completing their talismans.
So it's not just me?
Only then did he let out a quiet breath of relief.
But a new thought quickly surfaced in his mind.
There's a mole!
Otherwise, how could an unwritten convention that had been passed down for a thousand years suddenly change today?
There must be an insider leaking information to the Righteous Path Alliance. There was no other explanation for this situation.
Hmph!
I thought only the Heavenly Demon Sect planted moles. Who would've guessed you self-righteous fellows in the Righteous Path Alliance would do the same?
Despicable.
Yet instead of anger, his heart burned with excitement.
If the ambush on the examiners worked, it would only be a small win—after all, it was just him doing his job, checking off what he'd been sent there to do.
But now that he hadn't been summoned, there was no need for him to risk his life attacking the examiners.
More importantly, even if they called him now, he would have to lie low.
At the moment, only he could report the existence of a mole within the sect back to headquarters.
I wonder if the Sect Leader will receive me personally?
Should I wear black robes? Or a blue robe?
Black feels too rigid… but blue seems too casual.
Sigh… what a dilemma.
The former genius of the Azure Curse Sect had already drifted into fantasies of a bright future.
...
At the examiners' seats, after Ye Ling's explanation, Elder Wang and the others had grasped the basic idea.
Unfortunately, for them, it was still a matter of knowing that something worked, but not understanding why.
Not everyone could sense Dao resonance, and even fewer could comprehend laws and concepts.
For these old seniors, trying to wrap their heads around "Thunder" plus "Blaze" equaling "Overload" was harder than ascending to the heavens.
All they truly understood was that if one wanted to stack two characters together, one had to grasp their core essence and evolve a new character from them.
But that was easier said than done. If they were capable of evolving new characters, they wouldn't have struggled to combine "Thunder" and "Blaze" in the first place.
Still, they couldn't admit they didn't understand. So they put on solemn expressions and nodded as if enlightened.
Because of that, they had no time to summon the geniuses below who had already completed their talismans.
By the time they sorted out their thoughts, there was only one stick of incense left before the first round ended. Out of more than five hundred participants, most had already passed. Only a dozen or so stragglers remained, still scribbling furiously.
At that point, summoning the first ten seemed meaningless.
Besides, calling in the top finishers was only an unwritten custom, not a fixed rule.
And those who finished first would surely advance to the final round. There would be plenty of time to meet them then.
By sheer coincidence, another planned attack by the Heavenly Demon Sect was quietly defused.
Meanwhile—
"Have the targets been locked down?"
After hearing his subordinate's report, Gui Ying's eyes gleamed beneath the shadows.
But he wasn't blinded by excitement.
"Have the men check again," he ordered. "Make sure there aren't any traps. This time, we must succeed. Failure is not an option."
"Yes."
Watching his subordinate leave, Gui Ying's excitement only grew.
Once this job was done, even if he failed to eliminate Blood Edge, he would still be one step closer to the Sect Leader.
Brother… I'll avenge you.
The thought of his sworn brother filled his eyes with hatred.
They had entered the Heavenly Demon Sect together in the same batch. In the end, only the two of them survived, and that forged an unusually deep bond between them.
But—
Just because he failed a single mission…
They sent him to his death.
And Heavenly Gate… I won't let you off either.
Remembering that his brother had died because of the Heavenly Gate Sect, Gui Ying added that debt to the ledger in his heart.
Ye Ling, was it?
I'll start with you.