A group of five people settled down in the stone chamber. Qin Xi was on guard duty outside while Liu Yidao adjusted his breath in one corner of the room.
Mo Tiange was staring thoughtfully in the direction of the cave mouth. In places like Miwu Valley where people worried about sneak attacks, having this Senior Martial Brother Qin really made things easier for others…
She turned around to look at the two women. Seeing that the two of them were organizing their things, she walked towards them.
"Senior Martial Sisters, how are you feeling?"
Wang Qianyi saw her coming towards them and moved aside to give her some space to sit. She said, "Junior Martial Brother Ye, please sit."
Mo Tiange sat across them.
At this moment, Shen Bing opened her eyes. Her breath was already a lot calmer than before. She said, "This time, we have to thank Junior Martial Brother Ye. If it wasn't because we luckily ran into you guys, I'm afraid Junior Martial Sister Wang and I would've been found by our enemies tonight."
Mo Tiange smiled and waved her hand. "Senior Martial Sister shouldn't be too polite. All of us belong to the same sect; in Miwu Valley, we naturally ought to help each other. Besides, having additional people mean additional strength." She paused for a moment before asking, "The two of you know each other? Such a coincidence…"
Wang Qianyi smiled and said, "There aren't many female disciples in our sect, so most of us know each other. Moreover, Senior Martial Sister Shen isn't an ordinary disciple. How many people in our sect wouldn't recognize her?"
"Oh…" This indeed made sense. There were more than 1,000 Aura Refining disciples in the sect, yet female disciples made up only about 30% of that number and most of them came from cultivation clans. Women from the secular world who walked the path of cultivation were very few. Mo Tiange for example, only had this luck because her ancestors were also cultivators.
Seeing Shen Bing made her think about one person. "Senior Martial Sister Shen, wasn't Senior Martial Sister Murong with you?"
Upon hearing her question, Shen Bing showed a bitter smile and said, "We were originally together, but you know that girl is usually very lazy and her magics are weak. She was already eliminated and teleported out of the valley."
Mo Tiange wasn't surprised at this outcome. Although the cultivation level of that Senior Martial Sister Murong wasn't bad, it was achieved by taking a lot of medicinal pills. Her skills in fights of magical power were mediocre. Normally, if she wasn't eating, she would be playing. It would be a wonder if she held on during this competition.
Wang Qianyi suddenly sneered, "Were it not for meeting those people, maybe Junior Martial Sister Murong could've persisted. Hmph! That flock of scum! One day, I'll definitely rough them up!"
The way she furiously uttered those words through her gritted teeth made her seem like she had some kind of mortal enemy. Shen Bing's expression also turned grave as she said, "Junior Martial Sister Wang, don't say this kind of thing after we leave this place; just keep it in your heart. One day, if we can build our foundation, those people will naturally be easy to handle. It isn't worthwhile for us to keep thinking about this matter now."
Mo Tiange was confused to hear their conversation. "Senior Martial Sisters, who are you talking about?"
Wang Qianyi answered, "The scum from Zixia Sect, of course! Seeing that everyone in our group was female, they harassed us with obscene words. Junior Martial Sister Murong was totally consumed by her emotions and acted impulsively. Before long, she was eliminated. In the end, only the two of us remained and we ran. Rest assured, Senior Martial Sister; I'll remember this misfortune! Sooner or later, I'll definitely rough them up!" Her last remarks were directed at Shen Bing.
Seeing her being so sensible, Shen Bing nodded in relief and continued to meditate to heal her wounds.
From Wang Qianyi's explanation, Mo Tiange gained a general understanding of their situation.
In fact, the cultivation levels of their group weren't bad. Both Wang Qianyi and Shen Bing were in the tenth layer, Murong Yan was in the eighth layer, and they had two other female disciples in the ninth layer with them. However, because they were female disciples, their strength in a fight of magical power was slightly weaker. Although Mo Tiange herself was also a woman, frankly speaking, compared to male cultivators in the cultivation world, the numbers of female cultivators were somewhat fewer and their cultivation levels were usually worse. Even if they had the same cultivation levels as male cultivators, they still weren't as good as male cultivators in fights of magical power.
There were countless reasons for this, such as the preexisting notion from the secular world that men were superior to women in addition to women's inherent nature. The differences between men and women weren't only their appearances—their temperaments and habits were also very different. Women were sensitive, sentimental about changes, and were far more prone to indulge in secular world emotions than male disciples. On the other hand, men were comparatively fiercer and more aggressive. Compared to female cultivators, they were more willing to spend a lot of time studying spells. Having slightly higher cultivation levels than women was bound to happen.
The small group of female cultivators entering Miwu Valley was soon discovered by Zixia Sect disciples. Seeing that most of them were beautiful, those Zixia Sect disciples became foul-mouthed and harassed them with obscene words. How could Murong Yan, with that personality of hers, endure such a thing? She naturally pounced on them out of impulse.
However, the opposite side basically infuriated them on purpose to look for an opportunity to split them up and defeat them one by one. And just like that, Murong Yan was eliminated. Soon, the two ninth layer female disciples also couldn't endure, leaving only Shen Bing and Wang Qianyi, whose escaping techniques were quite good. They were able to flee to this place, thus running into Mo Tiange's group.
Mo Tiange sternly said, "Senior Martial Sister Wang, although you yourself already understand, I still have to emphasize a few things—I hope both Senior Martial Sisters won't be offended. We were able to smoothly escape and remain in the competition because today's situation is chaotic. As for tomorrow, I hope the two of you can control yourselves. Our strength isn't particularly high; we're not like Zixia Sect which can find safety in numbers. If you can't control yourselves, you will drag other people down with you."
Qin Xi and Liu Yidao had asked her to come and say this to the two female disciples. Qin Xi and Liu Yidao didn't have many interactions with female disciples, so they wanted Mo Tiange to warn these two people on their behalf that if they wanted to be with Mo Tiange's group, they couldn't be a burden to everyone else.
Shen Bing and Wang Qianyi's cultivation levels were comparatively high. They understood the reason behind her remarks. Although they weren't really comfortable at hearing her words, what she said were reasonable. Thus, both of them nodded without any objections.
Mo Tiange didn't want to say much and just added, "Senior Martial Sisters, be at ease and rest. My Maze Formation won't have any difficulties in blocking out one or two people. Moreover, we have Senior Martial Brother Qin standing guard outside. Take a proper rest so you can recover your strength as soon as possible."
As she expected, once she stepped out of the formation, she saw Qin Xi sitting on the ground beside the cave. He looked indifferent. The sword with breathtaking momentum was placed on his knees. Sensing that the person approaching was her, he didn't touch his sword.
Mo Tiange walked towards him. She randomly picked a spot, flung out her sleeves, and sat with him on the ground. "Senior Martial Brother, what are you thinking about?"
After a while, Qin Xi put his sword back into his Qiankun Bag and said, "Nothing."
Mo Tiange watched him with a tilted head and said thoughtfully, "I heard Senior Martial Brother Qin came from a cultivation clan. How did you turn into an individual cultivator like us?"
Qin Xi suddenly glanced at her. His gaze was extremely sharp, but after a moment, he shifted his gaze from her. He spoke with his usual flat tone: "Junior Martial Brother Ye, you should be very clear that a lot of small cultivation clans have difficulties in maintaining their existence—the remaining cultivators are usually left with no other choice except for becoming individual cultivators. Regarding the rise and fall of clans, Junior Martial Brother Ye probably has a deeper understanding about it than me."
Mo Tiange dropped the topic. Aware that Qin Xi gave her quite a stinging reply because her probing was too obvious, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed. She smiled and said, "Senior Martial Brother Qin is usually reserved, so I was feeling very curious."
The corners of Qin Xi's lips rose and formed an apparent smile as he said, "I'm also very curious about Junior Martial Brother Ye. Although you normally talk and laugh with us, in fact, you seem to be keeping your distance."
The smile on Mo Tiange's face froze. This means…
Nevertheless, Qin Xi suddenly twisted the meaning of his words: "We've been getting along well, so maybe Junior Martial Brother Ye was just curious… However, I think there are some matters that are meant to be thought about in secret and don't necessarily need to be known in detail."
Mo Tiange was silent. How could she not have understood such an obvious meaning? What he meant was that everyone had secrets; no one had to reveal anything. Originally, she was just a bit curious, so she tried to probe him. She never expected that Senior Martial Qin would directly confront the matter.
There was a slight change in her expression as she thought about her own secret. She calmly observed Qin Xi for a moment. She relaxed a bit after she determined that Qin Xi seemed to neither keep his distance nor deliberately get close to her. In this aspect, her disguise was probably still effective. Besides, even if Qin Xi sensed that she had some secrets, he wasn't aware what those secrets actually were.
Mo Tiange, tacitly agreeing with his suggestion, changed the subject: "Does Senior Martial Brother Qin have any opinions regarding the two senior martial sisters?"
Qin Xi answered, "Since I didn't oppose them staying here, naturally I don't have any opinions."
"Senior Martial Brother Qin, you're not afraid we'll be dragged down by them?"
Qin Xi shook his head and smiled. "Junior Martial Brother, do you want to win those rewards?"
"Of course…" Those who could last until the end of the competition would get two bottles of AurConverging Pills and a hundred spirit stones. For the top three disciples who seized the most identity tablets from the three cultivation groups, they would each be rewarded with an additional 500 spirit stones and a bottle of AurConverging Pills. If the rewards from the identity tablets seized were taken into account, they would produce a reward of several hundred spirit stones. Combining all of these together, if she won, she would get more than 1,000 spirit stones. They would be enough for her to do a Closed Door Meditation until the Sect's inner competition.
Unexpectedly, Qin Xi said, "Aren't you afraid that getting too many rewards will make other people notice you?"
Mo Tiange was dumbfounded. "This…"
"I have a suggestion. We have lots of identity tablets—they're enough for us to get a huge sum of spirit stones. In addition, there will also be a reward for the top three disciples. In the next couple days, we don't need to force ourselves to persist until the end; it'd be best if we get eliminated by others. That way, even if we become the top three disciples, we won't be too conspicuous."
Mo Tiange was stunned.
Qin Xi, however, proceeded to stare at her with an unnoticeable smile and said, "Junior Martial Brother Ye, do you perhaps want to use this competition to show off your strength so you can be accepted by one of the seniors in the sect as a disciple and become an elite disciple of the sect?"
He was obviously saying this to bait her. Mo Tiange's expression went cold as she said, "I have no desire in becoming an elite disciple, but I can't do things that will be disadvantageous to the disciples of our sect."
Qin Xi was stunned by her remarks, but he then burst into laughter. This laugh was the most carefree one she'd ever heard from him. Once he finished laughing, he stared at her and spoke in a much more relaxed voice: "Junior Martial Brother Ye, don't misunderstand me. Honestly speaking, although the two junior martial sisters' wounds aren't severe, they aren't much help to our group. I think they also don't think they can persist until the end themselves. As for Senior Martial Brother Liu, I will use the identity tablets I have to compensate him later."
"This…" She was completely astounded. In the end, what was this Senior Martial Brother Qin's goal? Just to be inconspicuous, he was actually willing to give up the spirit stones he could get…