"Little girl, are you truly certain you won't take me as your master?" Sikong Kuang spoke again, but this time his voice carried a hint of coldness.
"What right does someone who only dares to impersonate others have to make me your disciple?" Ye Lanshan sneered.
"Little girl, that's going too far, isn't it? What do you mean by impersonating others? Tell me, who exactly am I impersonating?" Sikong Kuang still wore a smiling face, but his hands hidden in his sleeves were already clenched.
Mu Yang was utterly confused at this point. He didn't know that Ye Lanshan's purpose in coming to the school was to find Sikong Kuang, so naturally, he had no idea about Sikong Kuang's affairs at the school. Seeing the tense atmosphere between them, he assumed they knew each other and asked, "Do you two know each other?"
Ye Lanshan ignored Mu Yang and said, "You know very well who you're pretending to be."
"Little girl, slandering me for no reason will come at a cost." A murderous intent flickered in Sikong Kuang's eyes.
Even Mu Yang, with his thick nerves, could sense something was off between them. He quietly stepped back beside An Ren and asked, "You're so calm—do you know something?"
An Ren turned stiffly, his expressionless face making his hollow eyes even more striking. With a flick of his sleeve, Mu Yang fell unconscious.
Ye Lanshan immediately tensed with vigilance. "What, can't keep up the act anymore? Trying to silence me?"
"Little girl, your words are truly unpleasant. I have a bad temper, and with you slandering me like this, it's hard not to make me want to kill." Sikong Kuang suddenly attacked Ye Lanshan. She quickly retreated, trying to dodge his strike.
"Slander? I've never heard of the Valley Master of Medicine Valley refining puppets." Ye Lanshan dodged while taunting, "If you're going to pretend, at least do it properly. You don't even recognize Red Lotus Karmic Fire, and you still have the nerve to take me as your disciple?"
Sikong Kuang grew even colder, his attacks becoming more vicious. Several times, Ye Lanshan narrowly escaped death.
This won't work. I need to find a way to escape, or I'll end up dead here. Just as Ye Lanshan was thinking of a plan, a wide-range attack had already silently reached her.
She found herself surrounded by layers of ghostly flames, forcing her to use a fire shield to protect herself tightly.
At that moment, she began to doubt herself. In the past, nothing had ever slipped out of her control, but since arriving in this world, neither Ye Feng's betrayal nor Yue Jie'ao's self-destruction had been things she anticipated. And now, thinking she could escape unscathed, she found her life in danger. Ye Lanshan let out a self-deprecating laugh.
After a while, Sikong Kuang withdrew the flames and found that Ye Lanshan had been burned to ashes, not even a bone left. He smiled in satisfaction. No one who exposed him could live, though it was a pity that such great talent couldn't be used for his own purposes.
"Master, what should we do with this one?" An Ren dragged Mu Yang in front of Sikong Kuang.
Sikong Kuang glanced at Mu Yang and said directly, "Throw him into the blood pool."
Believing Ye Lanshan was dead and Mu Yang had been taken away, Sikong Kuang thought no one would disrupt his plans. But he never considered how clever Ye Yutian and Mo Ran were—how could they be easily manipulated? And Ye Lanshan wasn't dead yet.
Late at night, Ye Lanshan emerged from her space, staring fixedly at the place as if to etch it into her memory. Then she turned and returned to her own courtyard. It had to be said that having a letter of recommendation made a difference. For others, a private room in the dorms was already good, let alone a courtyard like this. Normally, only those in the top fifty of the rankings could qualify for such a courtyard.
Ye Lanshan was very grateful she had come here with a recommendation letter; otherwise, she would have been doomed this time. She took out a pill and swallowed it, then sat cross-legged on a tree, absorbing the purest essence of heaven and earth.
She cultivated until noon. Opening her eyes, she realized, "Oh no, today seems to be the day for training in the Primordial Demon Forest."
At the training ground, all the students had gathered, ready to board the continent's most common mount, the Peng bird, to fly to the Primordial Demon Forest.
A student from the Chizi class said, "Teacher, Ye Lanshan hasn't arrived yet. Shouldn't we wait for her?"
Another student said impatiently, "What right does she have to make our whole class wait for her?"
Though the teacher also disliked Ye Lanshan, who had caused trouble as soon as she arrived, he still put on a show. "Let's wait five more minutes. If she's not here by then, we'll leave."
Since the teacher had spoken, the students had nothing more to say, but they all harbored resentment toward this troublemaking newcomer.
Five minutes passed quickly, and Ye Lanshan still hadn't arrived. Losing patience, they prepared to board the Peng bird and leave.
"Wait." Just as they were about to leave, Ye Lanshan showed up.
Without even looking at her, the teacher said, "Since you're here, get on quickly."
Ye Lanshan climbed onto the Peng bird's back, but before she could sit down, the teacher ordered the bird to take off. She nearly stumbled from the sudden movement, barely catching herself by grabbing a chair.
On the Peng bird's back, chairs were installed with ropes resembling seatbelts to prevent people from falling off.
"Ye Lanshan, you look pale. Are you feeling unwell? Is that why you were late?" The classmate who had spoken up for her happened to sit next to Ye Lanshan. Seeing her pale face, she asked with concern, "Where does it hurt? Let me see if I have a pill for it."
Ye Lanshan said, "I'm fine."
Another classmate scoffed, "Hmph, she spent a month in Raksha Cliff without a scratch. What could possibly be wrong with her now?"
"Su Liushang, what's it to you if I care about a classmate? Do you have to be so sarcastic?" Nangong Mian immediately grew displeased.
Su Liushang retorted, "Hey, Nangong Mian, what did I say? Look at Ye Lanshan—she's so agile. Does she look sick to you?"
Ye Lanshan didn't want to hear them argue, so she said, "Stop. Nangong Mian, thank you for your concern, but I'm really fine."
Su Liushang said smugly, "See? The person herself has spoken. Stop fussing over nothing."
Nangong Mian turned her head away, clearly not wanting to say another word to Su Liushang.
"Getting angry already? How boring." Su Liushang pursed her lips and fell silent.
Ye Lanshan breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally, some peace." She then closed her eyes to rest.