9: Conspiracy in the training ground

Inside the Saint's bedchamber, Lin Qingxuan lay alone on the wide bed.

The room was very quiet, with only her steady breathing remaining.

She lay on her side, burying her face in the soft bedding, a faint scent belonging to Lu Yi lingering around her nose.

This scent had once caused her fear and humiliation, but at this moment, it inexplicably calmed her chaotic thoughts and even... gave her a sense of peace.

Lu Yi's words before leaving echoed in her mind like a curse.

"You should also think more for yourself."

"Over time, your sacrifices will be taken for granted by him."

"What price do you have left to pay?"

These words were like thorns, piercing into her heart.

She had always seen sacrificing for her brother as natural and right, never questioning if it was worth it.

But Lu Yi's words forced her to confront this question.

She hugged the quilt, her body curling up.

This was the first time she wavered in her devotion... Unlike Lin Qingxuan's struggle, in the main hall of the Holy Son's Palace, Lu Yi was comfortably leaning back in the main seat, enjoying a massage from Ling'er behind him with just the right amount of pressure.

"How is that Lin Tian doing now?"

Lu Yi asked casually with his eyes closed.

While kneading her Revered Master's shoulders, Ling'er replied respectfully:

"Revered Master, according to the informants, Lin Tian rested last night and headed to the Martial Arts Arena again early this morning."

"Oh?"

Lu Yi opened his eyes, slightly surprised:

"His injuries healed so quickly?"

After thinking for a moment, Ling'er replied:

"They don't seem to be fully healed, but relying on his powerful Physical Body, he went to the Martial Arts Arena early this morning to fight on the Arena Stage, seemingly trying to obtain cultivation resources through the matches."

Hearing this, Lu Yi couldn't help but chuckle.

As expected of the Savage Desolate Sacred Body, he truly is thick-skinned and tough.

But trying to accumulate prestige and resources through arena matches? As one of the Sons of Destiny, his thinking is quite traditional.

Unfortunately, how could I let things go his way?

A thought flashed through Lu Yi's mind, and he sat up straight.

"Let's go, we'll join the fun too."

He stood up, a cold glint flashing in his eyes as he thought:

"And cause him a little trouble while we're at it."

The Martial Arts Arena of the Primordial Holy Land was always bustling; on several huge bluestone Arena Stages, there were always Disciples sparring.

Below the stages, crowds of Disciples always gathered to watch, their cheers and shouts rising one after another.

The Martial Arts Arena was a place for Holy Land Disciples to hone their skills, but simple sparring was somewhat dull.

Thus, an unwritten rule had formed among the Disciples: using cultivation resources as stakes.

The Holy Land turned a blind eye to this; after all, the world of immortal cultivation was one where the strong preyed on the weak.

When Lu Yi appeared at the Martial Arts Arena, the clamor in the spectator area suddenly halted.

All the Disciples who saw him immediately stopped what they were doing and bowed in salute.

"Greetings, Your Highness the Saint!"

The greetings of the Disciples rang out, something Lu Yi had long grown accustomed to.

"No need for formalities, carry on."

Lu Yi waved his hand casually, signaling everyone not to mind him.

Meanwhile, his gaze had already swept past the crowd, accurately locking onto the Arena Stage in the very center.

In the middle of the arena, Lin Tian had just punched an opponent of the same rank off the stage.

His face was still somewhat pale; clearly, his injuries hadn't fully recovered.

However, his blood and Qi were very vigorous, fully displaying the power of the Sacred Body.

Just then, a figure in lavish clothing leaped up from below the stage and landed in front of Lin Tian.

Following him was an extremely arrogant voice:

"An Outer Sect Disciple of the Spirit Sea Realm, yet so arrogant? Let me, Shen Xi, see what you're made of!"

Listening to him announce his name, Lu Yi felt that the name "Shen Xi" sounded quite familiar.

"Revered Master."

Ling'er beside him reminded him at the right moment:

"This person is the grandson of Grand Elder Shen He. He just recently advanced to the Purple Mansion Realm and is usually domineering and very arrogant within the Sect."

Elder Shen He's grandson? Wouldn't it be a waste not to make good use of him?

Lu Yi's eyes narrowed slightly as a sinister plan quietly took shape in his heart.

Meanwhile, the battle on the Arena Stage had already begun.

Shen Xi, who had just advanced to the Purple Mansion Realm, and Lin Tian, who was still in the Late Stage of the Spirit Sea Realm, were actually fighting on equal terms.

Lin Tian relied on the powerful Physical Body of the Savage Desolate Sacred Body to take several of Shen Xi's attacks head-on, while Shen Xi used his deeper cultivation to maneuver against Lin Tian.

For a time, the scene fell into a stalemate, with neither able to gain the upper hand.

The Disciples below the stage watched with boiling blood; no one expected an Outer Sect Disciple to be able to struggle with Elder Shen's grandson to such an extent.

While the two were in the heat of combat, Lin Tian caught a tiny flaw in Shen Xi's Moves, and the spiritual power in his body erupted without reservation.

"Mountain Cleaving Palm!"

He let out a low growl, and a yellowish Spiritual Qi light glowed on his right palm. Carrying the power to cleave mountains and crack stones, he slammed it toward Shen Xi's chest.

Boosted by the Sacred Body, this palm strike was heavy and incredibly swift.

With Shen Xi's Purple Mansion Realm cultivation, if he had dodged with all his might, he could have easily avoided it.

A disdainful sneer even appeared on the corner of his mouth, and his body began to make a dodging motion.

However, at the very instant he was about to dodge, his movement suffered an extremely unnatural pause for a split second.

This pause was so brief and eerie that Shen Xi seemed to be forcibly pinned in place by an invisible force.

In a fight between experts, victory or defeat is decided in a hair's breadth.

It was this pause, almost too brief to detect, that made him lose his chance to dodge.

Consequently, he took Lin Tian's full-force palm strike squarely with his chest.

*Bang!*

A dull thud, accompanied by the clearly audible sound of bones cracking, echoed throughout the Martial Arts Arena.

Shen Xi flew backward like a kite with a broken string, his body slamming heavily below the stage and kicking up a cloud of dust.

On the Arena Stage, Lin Tian slowly retracted his palm. Looking at the result of his battle, his face was full of pride.

Defeating someone in the Purple Mansion Realm while only in the Spirit Sea Realm—this should be enough to prove his strength!

However, what rang out from below the stage was not the cheers for his victory he had imagined, but waves of gasps.

"Heavens! What happened to Senior Brother Shen? Why isn't he moving?"

"Senior Brother Shen Xi!"

Several Disciples in charge of the arena rushed forward. When they cleared the dust and saw Shen Xi's miserable state, they all gasped in cold air.

Shen Xi's eyes were wide open, and a clear palm print was deeply sunken into his chest.

His sternum was completely shattered, and blood mixed with fragments of internal organs kept gushing from his mouth and nose; he had already stopped breathing!

He had actually... been killed by a single palm strike from Lin Tian!

Amidst the horror and chaos of the crowd, no one noticed Lu Yi, who had been watching coldly from the crowd, as a cold smile of a successful conspiracy slowly curled at the corner of his mouth.

"You've personally killed the grandson of your own sister's Revered Master. I'd like to see how your sister plans to save you this time."

Then, Lu Yi pretended to be drawn by the cries of alarm and walked toward where Shen Xi lay.