With Yuan Lei’s words, the other disciples around them couldn’t help but be reminded that there really was something more important. In any case, this was another group. What did they need to care? Thus, they turned to the people in their own groups, deciding not to bother about the problems between Yang Wu Huang and Mei Chao Bing and his fiance any longer. In any case, if something interesting happened, they would soon find out anyway.
Seeing that the disciples had finally quieted down, Elder Baili nodded. "Your task won’t change for the time being. We still want you to go and find more clues. From what we know so far, it is likely that there will be hidden arrays in the border region. Look out for that. But if you find some other signs, no matter how small, take note of them as well.
"Every place that looks different from the rest of the border region could hold important clues. So even if you don’t know what you have in front of you, please make an effort to look through it and if you really can’t figure anything out, come back here to report. We will send more disciples to check it out. And after Elder Xing returns, one of us will also be able to go over with you to have a look.
"For now, just note down whatever it is that you notice. And make sure that you pay attention to your safety at all times. We don’t want a repeat of what happened with Yang Wu Huang’s group the other day." He looked in the direction of Yang Wu Huang, his gaze unreadable.
Yang Wu Huang clenched his fists, angry that Baili Chao would bring something like this up. Back then, he had wanted to take part in the glory and follow Mei Chao Bing’s group to the other sects. Unfortunately, he actually hadn’t managed to do so. Instead, he was sent back and berated for not managing to protect his group, actually making one of the disciples die, several be injured, and Kui Min lost to the enemy. Naturally, he wouldn’t be happy about that. But, well, no matter what, this was just one mistake. In the future, he would still be able to turn things around.
He glanced at the other disciples, and his eyes lit up again when he realized that not only was Mei Chao Bing not there, Song Mu had also left together with the other disciples. While he was a little angry at being left out, despite his level not lacking that far behind the two of them, this also meant that the disciple of the highest level right now in this group was him. In other words: He was bound to be the leader of this group.
Glancing at Yun Bei Fen again, he smiled faintly. As the leader of the group, he was the one who would decide how to split up if something was to be done. If he took Yun Bei Fen with him when that kind of opportunity arose, who could argue with him? Even if they tried to, he could just cite his level as the reason for why it would be best for him to take him along since he could protect him better than the others.
Looking at things from this angle, they were actually quite good. He could make use of the time that Mei Chao Bing wasn’t back yet, and slowly work on changing Yun Bei Fen’s mind. Even if he couldn’t make him see that Mei Chao Bing was not good, he could at least make him realize that he wasn’t bad either. And if they slowly got closer, then there would still be opportunities to finally make Yun Bei Fen reconsider everything in the future. Yes, he definitely wouldn’t just give up like that.
Back at the front, Baili Chao noticed Yang Wu Huang’s gaze and his own expression darkened. This … seemed to be a bit of a problem. It was the logical decision to have Yang Wu Huang’s group and that of Yun Bei Fen merge considering the number of people each of them had, but he naturally wouldn’t want for his little disciple to get into any trouble because of that guy. He just didn’t trust him and the way in which Yang Wu Huang had first approached Yun Bei Fen and then later on looked at him made him even more worried. Unfortunately, he couldn’t take back what he had said before and in any case, there wasn’t a better solution. He could only hope that Yang Wu Huang wouldn’t go too far.
Baili Chao blanked for a moment. Trust in that guy’s moral integrity? It seemed he had lost his mind! No, he had to find some countermeasure to make sure that his little disciple wouldn’t be taken advantage of out there.
His thoughts churned and he finally gave out another reminder. "Considering what happened previously, let me stress again that you are not to split up under any circumstances. Always stay together with the whole group. This way, you might be slower in finding clues, but at the very least, the danger will be reduced quite a lot.
"Don’t forget that your safety will always come first. The path of cultivation might be fraught with danger but that doesn’t mean that you should be careless in handling it. Since you have the opportunity of relying on each other, make sure that you do so. Don’t take unnecessary risks and don’t put the others at risk by acting carelessly.
"Now, since we needed to merge some groups and some areas have already been sufficiently checked, I have prepared a new set of areas for you to scout out. The team leaders should come and get the maps." He took out the maps and the first disciples came over.
Back at Yun Bei Fen’s group, Yang Wu Huang turned to the others, giving an embarrassed smile. "Your group was originally led by Mei Chao Bing but he isn’t here anymore. Since I was the leader of my group, I would propose that I take leadership of this group as well.
"I know it might sound a little presumptuous to suggest himself but just now, junior martial brother Yuan reminded me that we should focus on the task. Since this is something that needs to be established, I hope you don’t find it too much that I suggested myself." He felt quite satisfied with himself after this speech. If anybody had overheard him, there shouldn’t be any handle they could gain on him, and in regard to the group, it should also work out as intended. In any case, they couldn’t pull out their personal reasons to reject him after what Yuan Lei had just said.
Yuan Lei realized the same and could only smile wryly. In any case, while his own level wasn’t that low, it wasn’t higher than Yang Wu Huang’s. There was a reason why he had been following the lead of Mei Chao Bing and Song Mu and even Gongsun Chen before. Now, he couldn’t suddenly try to take the lead himself if there was somebody better around. Thus, he could only stiffly nod his head. "What senior martial brother Yang says makes sense. Let’s do it way then."
"I’m honored that you have enough trust in me left to let me do this. I will definitely not disappoint you." With these hypocritical words, Yang Wu Huang finally turned around and went up to get the map for their group.
