Yuan Muyu subconsciously glanced at Ye Tinglan.

Ye Tinglan returned to her platform, face taut, and focused entirely on her talented disciple’s battle.

The opponent was capable of lethal moves; at this moment, nothing was more important than his disciple. Besides, Lu Xingzhou had originally not intended to speak with Yuan Muyu. His sudden desire to chat surely had a purpose, so Ye Tinglan decided to handle it.

Seeing Ye Tinglan ignore her, Yuan Muyu said blandly, “Then come over.”

Lu Xingzhou followed her to the edge of the high platform. From this angle, they could still see the arena, but Ye Tinglan on top couldn’t see them.

Sometimes, Lu Xingzhou thought Yuan Muyu was quite childish.

Ye Tinglan was at the pinnacle of the super-grade, her spiritual perception strong enough to replace her eyes. What was the point of choosing such an angle? Perhaps Yuan Muyu hadn’t been super-grade for long and wasn’t used to it, or maybe it was pure self-deception.

“What do you want to talk to me about?” Yuan Muyu’s voice was strained. “Are you going to tell me how far things have progressed between you and my sister?”

Lu Xingzhou didn’t bother to respond to that and looked back at the arena. The little white-haired boy wasn’t rushing to attack this time, instead confronting his opponent, seemingly analyzing the flaws in their cultivation technique.

“I truly underestimated you, Lu Xingzhou,” Yuan Muyu said expressionlessly. “You confessed to me, I refused, and then you immediately sought out my sister…”

Lu Xingzhou finally cut her off. “When I was interested in her, she was veiled. I didn’t know her relation to you. Only after she removed her veil did I realize her resemblance to you. There’s no need to imagine substitute romance novels.”

Yuan Muyu suppressed her anger. “So, you were lust-blinded, even falling for a veiled woman? Are you such a person?”

Lu Xingzhou was silent for a moment, then slowly said, “I could have not been.”

Yuan Muyu instantly fell silent, her chest rising and falling slightly.

But no matter how much it rose and fell, there was no ripple of emotion.

“I didn’t come to talk about these things. Times have changed, and discussing them is meaningless,” Lu Xingzhou said. “What I want to discuss is, how much do you know about the JinFeng Island incident this time?”

Yuan Muyu felt very awkward.

What was this…

Was he here to interrogate her for Ye Tinglan’s sake?

Her heart felt so twisted it was almost breaking, but she could only respond coldly, “What does the JinFeng Island incident have to do with me? My goal is NuJiao Island, continuing the grand strategic alliance you proposed back then. NuJiao Island originally only wanted to gain fame, but if I could secretly guide them to win a few top spots in the competition, they would be willing to sign this alliance pact. Humiliating TianYao Sacred Land is merely a bonus.”

Lu Xingzhou said, “The competition has a loser’s bracket, allowing for another chance. This is precisely to prevent unfair elimination by top sects early on. NuJiao Island still has a chance, and the alliance can still proceed.”

This sentence felt much more familiar, and Yuan Muyu almost responded out of habit, “Only you understand?”

As the words left her mouth, she suddenly realized the tail end of the sentence was wrong, and it quickly caught in her throat, making her close her mouth.

Lu Xingzhou’s expression was also a little strange, but he quickly composed himself and asked seriously, “So, your presence here and the JinFeng Island matter are not coordinated actions, but simply both sides doing their own thing, converging at this point?”

Yuan Muyu said coldly, “The HaiZhong Grand Competition is held at this time. It’s not strange for them to coincide.”

Lu Xingzhou fell silent. He believed Yuan Muyu was not lying.

From very early years, Yuan Muyu’s attitude towards TianYao Sacred Land was one of opposition, but she had never been lethal, which was completely different from JinFeng Island’s attitude. He just needed Yuan Muyu’s personal confirmation.

With the confirmation that it was unrelated, he could make some judgments.

Aside from the general desire to humiliate TianYao Sacred Land, the truly powerful forces capable of causing trouble for TianYao Sacred Land were nothing more than a few: Yuan Muyu, Gu Zhanting, the demon race, and the Ancient Realm.

The TianLuo Parasol and DaShen Whip sounded very much like something from the Ancient Realm, but he couldn’t rule out the possibility of someone deliberately using such items to mislead people into suspecting the Ancient Realm. At least, TianYao Sacred Land possessed similar items, which Ye Tinglan recognized at a glance. Similarly, the DaQian Imperial Family and the demon race had countless years of collections, and it wouldn’t be difficult to produce a few items to mislead.

Among these, the demonic aura of the demon race was unlikely to be concealed in this situation, so they could largely be ruled out.

And if it were Gu Zhanting, his modus operandi often involved many connections, with a high probability of connecting to Yuan Muyu, but there was none. Furthermore, Gu Zhanting probably couldn’t find so many young powerhouses.

Using the process of elimination, one by one, it could indeed be concluded that it was most likely the Ancient Realm, not a misdirection.

If this matter was related to Gu Zhanting, at most it was only to provide such a competition setting to the Ancient Realm, using the Ancient Realm to act, and their intersection point should be Zhao En.

Zhao En was defeated and injured by Ye Tinglan in TianShuang Kingdom. Perhaps he discovered the apparent disunity between TianYao Sacred Land and DaQian from Ye Tinglan’s interactions with Si Han, and then approached Gu Zhanting for an alliance?

With the DaQian Emperor’s support, enabling a large number of Ancient Realm individuals to appear? It seemed plausible.

So, besides these young disciples, how many more powerful individuals had appeared? What were the demands of the Ancient Realm, merely to kill?

Lu Xingzhou was deep in thought. On the other side, DuGu Qingli was also beginning his fight, and his gaze subconsciously fell on the arena, lost in thought, silent for a long time.

Yuan Muyu stood beside him silently for a few breaths, unable to maintain her composure. “You said you wanted to talk to me, and this is all?”

Lu Xingzhou hummed. “Yes. I must find out the opponent’s origin and assess the measures they might take.”

Yuan Muyu closed her eyes.

Lu Xingzhou was meticulously planning for others, while she was merely an object of inquiry, even suspicion. This feeling was unbearably difficult to process.

Yuan Muyu suddenly felt she shouldn’t have come here. The entire process was like having her skin peeled and bones dismantled, then thrown into an alchemical furnace to be brewed into medicine.

She spoke as if in a dream, “Between you and me, is this all that’s left? Even though you clearly know I also have my own troubles.”

“Otherwise?” Lu Xingzhou was rather surprised. “In public, you are Yan Jun, and I am merely a former subordinate. I am no longer appropriate to speak for YanLuo Hall’s affairs. Even the string of titles you just mentioned for me did not include anything related to YanLuo Hall, and I understand that meaning. In private, you still allow me to call you ‘Jiejie,’ and I am relying on this personal connection to ask you…”

Yuan Muyu felt extremely distressed.

How could the conversation be like this, how could his attitude be like this…

It shouldn’t be.

The Lu Xingzhou in her dreams would never speak like this, yet it was happening in real life.

She took a deep breath. “That string of titles had nothing to do with YanLuo Hall; I just didn’t want your YanLuo Hall history to be exposed to others, which would be detrimental to you.”

These words sounded somewhat weak, an explanation… Yuan Muyu hadn’t shown such behavior towards Lu Xingzhou for at least three years, so much so that when the words left her mouth, she felt quite awkward.

Lu Xingzhou was indeed taken aback, remaining silent for a moment before saying, “That’s actually irrelevant. Everyone in TianYao Sacred Land knows, and as for outsiders… those who are keen also know.”

“But in the future, even those who are keen might not know!” Yuan Muyu’s voice grew louder. “All your current abilities have nothing to do with YanLuo Hall; how would outsiders know! As long as enough time passes, no one will know your origins!”

Lu Xingzhou had known about her goodwill for a long time; otherwise, his departure would not have been so peaceful.

But he merely said, “That was important when I was in the seventh grade… When I am in the third grade and can contend with you at an equal level of cultivation, it is no longer important. Jiejie… Lu Xingzhou is no longer the sickly, protected individual in your heart.”

Yuan Muyu wanted to say something but ultimately didn’t.

On the arena just now, he had personally shattered such a past; the meaning could not be clearer.

Yuan Muyu took a deep breath, her voice turning cold. “It seems I was stirring up trouble for nothing. From now on, you don’t need me to worry about your safety, right? I understand.”

Lu Xingzhou also pursed his lips.

Their conversations always inadvertently led to awkwardness.

Both sides.

This phenomenon had actually existed even before he left YanLuo Hall… Even now, though Yuan Muyu almost softened a little, the final outcome remained unchanged.

Yuan Muyu suddenly said again, “You still recognize me as your Jiejie.”

Lu Xingzhou said, “Of course. You raised me from the age of nine…”

Yuan Muyu interrupted, “Though Ye Tinglan isn’t much older than me, she also helped change my diapers as I grew up.”

Lu Xingzhou: “…”

“She wants me to call you ‘Jiefu’,” Yuan Muyu said, seemingly returning to her early days as a mischievous demoness with a charming smile. “I dare to call you that, do you dare to answer?”

Lu Xingzhou smiled. “If you dare to call, I dare to answer.”

Yuan Muyu, suppressing a surge of anger, put on a sweet smile and whispered in his ear, “Jiefu.”

Then she distinctly felt Lu Xingzhou’s normally relaxed muscles instantly tense up, and his old face actually flushed a little.

That instant made Yuan Muyu feel like she had found her past, everything returning…

Her long-suffering emotions felt as if she had won back a round, and she retreated with a smile. “Indeed… Ye Tinglan is still a virgin, right? She won’t give herself to you, no matter how sweetly she speaks.”