Chapter 506: He Lives Again

Hearing Lu Chao continue to denigrate the Thunderbolt Sect, the fury in Xiao Ru's eyes burned even hotter.

She spoke again, her voice cold.

"Stabbing someone to death with a spear can't be an accident. You did it deliberately! The Qianjian Sect put you up to this..."

"Men!"

It was the same story. Xiao Ru had no intention of letting the Qianjian Sect off the hook, and she would never admit Lu Chao's actions were an accident.

At Xiao Ru's command, the expressions of the Qianjian Sect members fell once more.

Xiao Ru was using this as a pretext again, aiming straight for the Qianjian Sect. She was still determined to use this opportunity to crush them.

Meanwhile, the members of the Shengting Sect and Thunderbolt Sect smiled. 'Xiao Ru is really going to finish off the Qianjian Sect this time.'

A group of Xiao Ru's subordinates stepped forward. "Lord Xiao, please give us your orders..."

Xiao Ru sneered. "Arrest the murderer, the Miracle of the Nether Spring. Then, arrest every single person from the Qianjian Sect. I'm going to conduct a full investigation to see if they are involved with the Demon Dao or possess the power of a Life-taking Bone."

As her words fell, the eyes of the Qianjian Sect members reddened with fury. 'Will she really not stop until she has destroyed us?'

Suddenly, Lu Chao spoke up. "Wait a moment."

Xiao Ru glared at him. "Even if you are the Miracle of the Nether Spring, you must be punished for your crimes. You'd better testify that the Qianjian Sect ordered you to do this. Otherwise, you won't live long enough for the Green Bone Palace to get here."

She couldn't kill the Miracle of the Nether Spring out in the open, so her only option was to force him to confess that the Qianjian Sect was behind the murder.

With that, she would have all the evidence she needed to deal with the Qianjian Sect as she saw fit.

To this, Lu Chao simply smiled and said, "Actually, I was about to say that this disciple from the Thunderbolt Sect... isn't dead."

Hm?

The entire crowd froze. After a collective blink, everyone's gaze snapped back to Yu Hui, who was still on the ground under Lu Chao's spear.

Before the crowd could process this... PSHHH!

Lu Chao abruptly yanked his spear out. With a sickening GAG, Yu Hui spat out another mouthful of blood and dazedly raised his head. He stared blankly at his surroundings, then at the people gathered on all sides. "Why... is everyone on the stage?" he asked.

His voice was hoarse, but he was undeniably alive—just a little disoriented.

The arena fell silent once again. Everyone stared at each other, a single question on their minds: 'How is he suddenly alive?'

Just then, Lu Chao looked back at Xiao Ru. "Lord Xiao, as you can see, I didn't actually kill him. It was just a normal duel between myself and the disciple from the Thunderbolt Sect... Shouldn't you be declaring the Qianjian Sect the victor of the sixth match?"

Having said his piece, Lu Chao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

'Earlier, I had clearly felt Yu Hui's life slipping away; the man had even stopped breathing. But I immediately channeled the power of my Star Moon Spring Bone through the Profound Mysterious Spear and into his body.'

'It was the same Star Heavenly Destiny Bone I used to heal Cheng Yunsu's burns, and it worked on external wounds as well.'

'Still, it was a difficult task, especially since the spear had gone straight through his heart.'

'Fortunately, I then remembered the Saint Bone Shen Family's Blood Sword Bone and its ability to grant a Dying Glow. I used the attributes of that bone—now fused into my Red Blood Fierce Wolf Bone—to give Yu Hui that very same Dying Glow.'

'With the power of those two Heavenly Destiny Bones, Yu Hui's heart restarted, and he was brought back to life.'

But now, whether it was the Shengting Sect, Xiao Ru, or even Chi Xingxun and his group, none of them wanted Yu Hui to be alive.

Even within the Thunderbolt Sect itself, some people wished he hadn't survived.

'If he's alive, how can they punish the Qianjian Sect? If he's alive, they'll have to declare that the Qianjian Sect has kept its status as a Four Moon Sect!'

Just then, Yu Hui, who had just been snatched from the jaws of death, seemed to sense something amiss.

He looked around and asked blankly, "Why is everyone staring at me like that? What do you want?"

Yu Hui could feel a terrifying killing intent radiating from all around, and it was all directed at him.

'They're my own people, yet they're all directing killing intent at me.'

Qian Zeng and Qian Ya seemed to realize what was happening. They quickly moved to shield Yu Hui as Qian Ya announced, "Lord Xiao, Young Master Lu had no intention of killing his opponent. His control over his power was perfect."

Up on the city wall, Xiao Ru's face flushed with a mixture of anger and humiliation.

She glared daggers, first at Yu Hui, then at Lu Chao. She felt as though she'd been brutally slapped across the face yet again. 'No,' she thought, 'Lu Chao did this on purpose. The Qianjian Sect is deliberately trying to humiliate me.'

'The second I ordered his arrest, that damned disciple from the Thunderbolt Sect just had to come back to life.'

At this, Qian Zeng pressed, "Lord Xiao, may I ask if this means we have won six out of six matches and have officially retained our status as a Four Moon Sect?"

No matter what, they had to press the question and get a final decision.

Xiao Ru squeezed her eyes shut. With everyone watching, she obviously couldn't continue her tyrannical display of favoritism.

Nor did she have any opportunity to pull any more underhanded tricks.

Finally, after letting out a palpable wave of killing intent, Xiao Ru spoke in a low voice to her subordinate, "You... stay here and make the announcement..."

With that, Xiao Ru turned on her heel and stormed away. She couldn't bear to remain on the city wall a moment longer.

Xiao Ru's subordinate had no choice but to announce, "With six wins in six matches, the Qianjian Sect's points have surpassed those of the Thunderbolt Sect. They have retained their status as a Four Moon Sect."

The moment the announcement was made, the members of the Qianjian Sect erupted into cheers once again, clenching their fists, barely able to contain their excitement.

'It hadn't been easy. It hadn't been easy at all.'

Meanwhile, the faces of those from the Shengting and Thunderbolt Sects were dark enough to explode with rage. They stared daggers at the Qianjian Sect members, their gazes filled with overwhelming hatred as they locked onto Lu Chao. Finally, the Shengting Sect Leader spoke, "We are returning to the Sect."

And just like that, they departed without another word, making their way back into Rising Moon City.

「At the same time...」

The other sects in the vicinity began to slowly disperse. Not a single one approached the Qianjian Sect, nor did anyone offer their congratulations. Some headed back into Rising Moon City, while others simply turned and walked away.

Some of the sects were headquartered inside Rising Moon City, while others were located in the surrounding region.

「Before long...」

Outside Rising Moon City, only the people of the Qianjian Sect remained. The initial euphoria faded, and they all began to sober up. Their expressions turned grim, especially when they realized that not a single other sect had come to offer congratulations.

"Sect Leader, we've secured our status as a Four Moon Sect, but in doing so, we've made a mortal enemy of Lord Xiao Ru."

Just then, Second Senior Brother Ren Tang walked over, his face grim.

His words spelled out the Qianjian Sect's predicament. "We're completely isolated now. Xiao Ru won't let this go."

At Ren Tang's words, a dead silence fell over the Qianjian Sect members, and worry began to creep back in.

But just then, Lu Chao's voice cut in softly. "Shouldn't you be saying that *she* is the one who has made a mortal enemy of *you*? You all know perfectly well what state your Fourth Junior Brother is in right now, don't you?"

His words sent a tremor through the Qianjian Sect members. The thought of how Xiao Ru had secretly schemed to cripple their Fourth Junior Brother made them clench their fists in anger.

Lu Chao continued...

"Had any of you ever offended Xiao Ru before today?"

"If not, then her campaign against you is completely inexplicable. Either she accepted benefits from the Shengting Sect and the Thunderbolt Sect, or this is all simply because her authority was lightly questioned."

Hearing this, everyone's gaze shifted to Master Tian. It was he, after all, who had simply asked Lord Xiao to investigate the first and second matches.

And what was the result? Because the Miracle of the Nether Spring had appeared—and because she was determined to be the one to "manage" him—she resolved to cripple them all.