The two of them rushed to the hall as fast as they could, both hoping that they wouldn’t run into a bunch of demonic practitioners and would only have to confront the trio of Song Yu Zheng. When they finally arrived … those hopes were dashed immediately.

Just as they turned into the corridor, they could see a group of disciples lingering around the doorway into the hall. They had already perceived them earlier using their spiritual sense but didn’t want to give up yet so they still approached. Seeing the specific number of people though … there was no way they could win in this fight.

Right now, ten people were standing in the corridor as if all the teams had sent somebody to check just what was going on when they heard the explosion. Well, that was very likely indeed the case. As for Song Yu Zheng and the other two … they couldn’t see them. But even without them, this group was too big to win a fight.

Even though they had taken out eight people before, they had done so in two parts, only ever facing four of them at once. Out of those four, they had taken down one or two almost instantly by relying on the moment of surprise. Fighting eight or ten people at once when their levels weren’t that much higher? No, that was simply impossible. They didn’t even have to try.

Zhi Guan lowered his gaze and then glanced at Liu Bao Ru. They had already come here and had likely been noticed. Leaving without checking would only blow their cover if that hadn’t happened already and they weren’t far enough away to make it out of the building. Certainly, the demonic practitioners would be after them as soon as they fled.

Liu Bao Ru gave a faint hum that was almost inaudible even at a close distance. She naturally understood the situation as well. In this case, they had to pretend to check out what was going on there, maybe add a word or two, and then try to leave after reducing suspicion. If they did that and no accidents happened, they might be able to get away. Anyway, it was a good opportunity to find out how Mu Qing was doing. Of course, it was also dangerous. She hadn’t seen Song Yu Zheng or one of the other two yet but as soon as either of those three got a glimpse of them, they would be done for.

The two of them walked over there, both worried about how the situation would develop. The next few minutes would determine whether they survived this or not.

Zhi Guan wanted to speak up and ask what had happened as if they had also just rushed over after hearing the explosion and were worried about the meaning behind it. Just when he opened his mouth though, he fell silent again. He hadn’t seen it from the distance because of the people standing around but being closer now, he finally realized that there was a person lying on the ground.

He had expected that they might come too late to save Mu Qing. Even though he didn’t want to see that outcome, he was realistic enough to know that it was possible. After all, there had only been Mu Qing against three, maybe four people, and one of them had been his Master who was at a level none of them could compare to. Anyway, even if he knew Mu Qing, Zhi Guan wasn’t that close to him so while he would feel that it was a pity, he’d be able to deal with it calmly.

The problem was that the person on the ground clearly wasn’t Mu Qing. This person wore the robe of the righteous faction or, more precisely, that of their Teng Yong Sect so it had to be one of the disciples from their own team, someone who had been caught outside and brought back for some nefarious reason.

Zhi Guan quietly stepped even closer, pushing through the ring of demonic practitioners, and then had to clench his hands into fists to not make any obvious reactions.

The person on the ground was none other than his little junior. He couldn’t see any obvious injuries on him. The robe wasn’t disturbed, there were no cuts, and no blood was seeping out. Looking at him from here, he almost seemed as if he was just sleeping. It was just … they were in a building of the demonic faction and there were ten demonic practitioners standing around him. How could he just be asleep?

Zhi Guan genuinely didn’t know how to react. His whole life, he had studied sword arts to protect the people close to him. He had advanced through the stages of cultivation with minimal resistance, his gaze always trained on this one goal: To become strong enough that nobody could get past him and his sword so those he loved would never come to harm again.

Over the years, he had made progress and he had also started to include more and more people among those he had to protect. He had genuinely thought that he wasn’t that far off from realizing his goal. Just a few more years, maybe a few more decades, and he could have made the next breakthrough and there would be no one in the cultivation world who could defeat him.

Now … what was the point?

He stared at Yun Bei Fen’s face, unsure what to do. He couldn’t leave him here. If he couldn’t save him, then he at least had to bring him out of here. Yes, he had to bring him back. It was just … with all those people around, how could he do that? It seemed like an impossible task. Even this last honor, he couldn’t do it for his little junior. As his first senior martial brother, he had truly failed him.