Ji Bozhai was fully focused on dealing with the opponents ahead, unaware of Luo Jiaoyang beside him. By the time he realized he needed to rescue someone, Mingyi had already appeared before Luo Jiaoyang, facing the shadowy figure, and pressed the mechanism of Star River Sunset.
Pure white Essence Power poured forth, and no matter how powerful the attack was, it sank like a blow into thick mud, leaving Luo Jiaoyang completely unharmed.
Luo Jiaoyang’s eyes widened, his pupils reflecting Mingyi’s calm and resolute gaze. He murmured instinctively, “So majestic.”
Mingyi: ?
After blocking the attack for him, she turned his body toward the enemy. “Stay focused!”
“Yes!”
The people from Newgrass City were no pushovers. Even after losing one member, they still pressured Chu He and the others. Fortunately, Ji Bozhai single-handedly held off three opponents, allowing the rest to deal with the remaining one, finally eliminating them.
Ji Bozhai showed no mercy to the last three. The Mystic Dragon coiled around their bodies, and with a whip of Essence Power, all three were struck on the back of their necks.
“Let’s go,” Mingyi said after glancing at their injuries. “We need to find a place to regroup.”
Though ambushed, Fighters were expected to engage in battle the moment they entered the arena. For the sake of tempering them, Qin Shangwu had remained standing at the rear, observing quietly without intervening.
He noticed Mingyi possessed an extraordinary sense of the overall situation. Even Ji Bozhai sometimes lost track of his teammates, but no matter what she was doing, Mingyi always knew the condition of those around her.
This was a skill only someone accustomed to overseeing an entire team would have. But how could a woman be used to taking care of a whole team? Even as an Artifact Smith, she should have been the one being protected.
Puzzled, he followed them as they took shelter inside the hollow of a large flowering tree.
The moment Mingyi deployed the Shield, she turned to Chu He. “That wound on your hand needs bandaging. If it splits open in the next fight, it’ll distract you.”
Chu He extended his arm, revealing a foot-long gash near his elbow joint, oozing black blood.
Ji Bozhai raised a hand to stop her, crouching down as he said calmly, “This is tail-sting venom. I’ll handle it.”
With that, he took out a packet of antidote powder, sprinkled it over the wound, and personally bandaged it.
His movements were far from gentle, making Chu He grit his teeth in pain but too afraid to cry out. Instead, he tried to distract himself with small talk. “You actually carry medicine with you, my lord?”
Qin Shangwu, who had been watching Mingyi, chuckled lightly. “Bozhai isn’t just exceptional in Essence Power—he’s also skilled in detoxification. He always has these things on him.”
He had once considered it a frivolous hobby, but now it seemed quite useful.
Once the wound was treated, Mingyi released several Divine Tools to scout ahead. Her creations were small and agile, darting swiftly across the grass. They encountered a few fighters from other cities along the way but managed to evade attacks.
However, as they passed through a patch of peonies, an Emei Dagger flashed, piercing her Divine Tool with deadly precision.
Inside the tree hollow, Mingyi jolted, her face gradually paling.
“What’s wrong?” Ji Bozhai asked casually. “Are you hurt too?”
“I… I want to leave,” she whispered, her body trembling slightly.
“That’s not an option,” Luo Jiaoyang shook his head. “Muxing already looks down on us. If we flee now, the rumors will be unbearable. Even if we lose today, we can’t back down.”
“Right.”
Amid the clamor, Ji Bozhai lowered his voice and asked her, “Who did you see?”Mingyi pursed her lips, remaining silent for a long moment before whispering to him, "Sunspire City's team is led by Yong Wang, and every member... used to follow Ming Xian."
The others were baffled. What was so concerning about Yong Wang? He was only seventeen with mediocre Essence Power—hardly intimidating. As for those former Sunspire fighters who'd served under Ming Xian, truth be told, it was Ming Xian who'd been exceptional. Without her, most of them wouldn't even qualify for the Upper Three Cities if they switched factions.
But Ji Bozhai understood.
Every one of them would recognize her—her face, her stature. She couldn't hide.
Yet under these circumstances, leaving wasn't an option. The only way out would be if she took a blow to the back of the neck.
After a moment's thought, Ji Bozhai said, "Let's find the next team."
Fan Yao grasped his intention and couldn't help warning, "A single team facing so many opponents... Without Artifact Smiths or Divine Tools, it'll be near impossible to escape unscathed today."
Moreover, Mingyi possessed more than just Divine Tools—she had experience they lacked. Though none knew where she'd gained it, for first-time fighters like them, it was invaluable.
Ji Bozhai waved him off. "Move."
The others frowned but followed.
Mingyi's thoughts were in turmoil.
She'd rarely interacted with Yong Wang. Though half-siblings, they weren't close—their encounters limited to distant formal greetings from him.
Preoccupied with training, she'd never considered his perspective until the Six Cities Tournament, when he'd confronted her, screaming that he'd lived in her shadow for years, enduring endless criticism because of her existence.
His eyes had burned with hatred.
At the time, she'd been bewildered—she'd simply lived her life, unaware of any wrongdoing. Only when poisoned did she understand, seeing the same disgust and disappointment in her mother's eyes that Yong Wang must have endured for years.
As their father's child, Yong Wang was painfully average. Without her, he might have been considered competent. So he'd piled all his resentment onto Ming Xian's brilliance.
Now, reunited, this younger brother wouldn't let her go easily. Sunspire City's participation in this dishonorable ambush likely targeted her, not Ji Bozhai.
She had no desire to fight them—she just wanted to enjoy Flying Blossom City's pleasures, save enough money, then buy property elsewhere.
Amidst her turmoil, an arrow grazed her cheek. She dodged instinctively, but someone anticipated her movements—the second arrow struck her shoulder.
Distracted by the flank attack, Ji Bozhai turned to see the shaft buried in Mingyi's flesh, crimson blooming across her cyan robes.
His gaze sharpened. Black Shields materialized around her as he lunged toward the arrow's origin.
"Careful!" Mingyi gritted her teeth, examining the fletching before calling, "Three ranged attackers, two close-combat specialists. Melee fighters are three paces northwest behind the boulder near the grand flowering tree. Archers are in the canopies of the grand flowering tree and pear tree."
True to her words, Ji Bozhai's strikes found their marks.These men were weaker than expected, defeated in just ten moves and forced to retreat to the grass, barely managing to form a defensive formation around Yong Wang.
"Ming Xian, you've truly betrayed Facing Sun!" someone growled with deep hatred.
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