Chapter 219: Whoever Loses Kneels and Apologizes

Chapter 219: Chapter 219: Whoever Loses Kneels and Apologizes

Yun Sheng froze, subconsciously looking up into a pair of dark, amber-gold eyes.

A desire so intense it was practically overflowing churned within those eyes, searing enough to burn right through her.

Xing Che was very close to her now, so close that every breath he took washed over her face, hot enough to make the tips of her ears turn red.

"I-I was just trying to practice..." Yun Sheng’s voice trailed off.

Xing Che looked down at her, his fingers tightening for a moment on her waist before relaxing again.

"Practice?" he repeated in a low voice, a cryptic undertone lacing his words. "Do you have any idea what that kind of ’practice’ means to a Sentinel?"

Yun Sheng’s cheeks grew even redder. She wasn’t that clueless.

She had simply been focused on improving her abilities and hadn’t intentionally tried to entangle Xing Che’s spiritual power; she had been wholeheartedly focused on guiding it.

How was she supposed to know that even a normal guiding session would make him...

The two of them were pressed so close together now. Besides feeling Xing Che’s searing breath, she could also feel something else... that was particularly prominent.

Yun Sheng’s body stiffened slightly at the thought.

She didn’t look down, but the sensation was too distinct. Even through the thin layers of their clothing, she could feel its undeniable presence.

"Feel it?" Xing Che’s voice was low and husky, tinged with that same unreadable tone.

Yun Sheng didn’t reply. It was mainly because she was a little embarrassed and didn’t know what to say.

It wasn’t that she had never been in a situation like this before, but she wasn’t exactly experienced, and besides, she didn’t know Xing Che very well.

Thinking of this, she subconsciously raised her hands to his chest and tried to push him away.

But Xing Che didn’t budge at all.

He didn’t let go of Yun Sheng, nor did he press any closer. He just held her, his fingers gently caressing her waist, as if to soothe her, or perhaps to restrain himself.

"That’s why I said," his voice was low, laced with a hint of a helpless chuckle, "it’s enough. Any more and I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold back. And I’d like to continue being a good teacher for a few more days."

His tone was teasing, as if he were deliberately trying to defuse the suffocatingly intimate atmosphere.

Yun Sheng paused for a moment. Her tense body relaxed slightly, and she said in a muffled voice, "Then you should let go first."

Xing Che looked down at her, complex emotions swirling in his eyes. After a long moment, he sighed softly, released his grip on her waist, and took half a step back.

With the searing heat receding slightly, Yun Sheng breathed a sigh of relief but still didn’t look up at him.

"You should head back," Xing Che’s voice returned to its usual lazy drawl, but it now carried a distinct rasp. "Tomorrow, same time, we train again."

"Okay."

Yun Sheng answered quickly and turned to leave. Her pace was much faster than usual, as if she were fleeing.

A low chuckle sounded from behind her—very soft, but clear enough for her to hear perfectly.

She gritted her teeth and walked even faster.

Yun Sheng quickened her pace, returning to the camp in one go.

As she neared her tent, she heard a clamor of shouting from inside, a mixture of Cheng Nian’s anxious and furious voice and Zhao Qian’s sharp retorts.

She frowned, pushed aside the flap, and stepped inside.

The tent was in chaos.

Cheng Nian and Zhao Qian were standing face-to-face, both breathing heavily with flushed faces, a toppled folding chair between them.

A few other trainees stood to the side; some were trying to mediate, others were just watching the spectacle, but no one dared to step forward.

Li Wen stood beside Cheng Nian, her brows tightly knitted. She had tried to jump in and help a few times, but Zhao Qian’s tongue was too sharp. Cheng Nian, for her part, was so angry her eyes were red, and the two were in the thick of a heated argument, completely ignoring anything Li Wen said.

She was stamping her foot in frustration when she looked up and saw Yun Sheng enter. Instantly, as if she’d found her backbone, she rushed over to greet her.

"Yun Sheng, you’re finally back!"

"What’s going on?" Yun Sheng frowned and asked in a low voice.

Li Wen gritted her teeth, unable to suppress the anger on her face.

"While you were gone, Zhao Qian was secretly bad-mouthing you to the others. She said you ran off first thing in the morning to find Xing Che, and that all you know how to do is seduce Sentinels... She also said the final test is in a few days and you don’t even have a spiritual body, so your rating will definitely still be F-level. When that happens, you won’t become an official guide and will be kicked out of the Tower.

I just got back myself; I only heard what happened from the other trainees. Zhao Qian must have said a lot of nasty things, and Cheng Nian couldn’t stand it, so she started arguing with her. They were going at it so fiercely I couldn’t even get a word in..."

Hearing this, Yun Sheng pressed her lips together, her gaze falling on Cheng Nian.

There was a faint red mark on Cheng Nian’s face—Yun Sheng couldn’t tell if she had been hit or something else—and her eyes were rimmed with red, but she was glaring stubbornly at Zhao Qian, refusing to back down an inch.

A blaze of anger surged through her. She immediately walked over and stood in front of Cheng Nian, looking at Zhao Qian with a blank expression.

"Zhao Qian, the last time you used Beast-attracting Incense to harm me, Major General Qi returned to the Capital Star, and I didn’t get the chance to settle the score with you. Instead of laying low, you actually dare to stir up trouble on purpose?"

Yun Sheng’s voice was cold, and every word she spoke was exceptionally clear, instantly silencing the clamor in the tent.

When Zhao Qian saw her and heard her words, her expression changed abruptly.

But she quickly recovered her disdainful expression, crossed her arms, and sneered, "Me, lay low? Yun Sheng, who the hell do you think you are?"

Yun Sheng stared at her, her face impassive. "Zhao Qian, don’t you look down on me for being F-level? Fine. I’ll show you who’s really useless. Let’s fight. Whoever loses has to kneel and apologize."

"Hah, fight me?"

Zhao Qian scoffed, looking Yun Sheng up and down with eyes full of contempt.

"You useless F-level, you think a few days of training gives you the right to run your mouth?"

"Enough with the trash talk. Are we fighting or not?"

The tent fell silent in an instant. All eyes were on Yun Sheng, filled with a mixture of surprise, excitement, and concern.

Cheng Nian hadn’t expected Yun Sheng to propose a fight with Zhao Qian and subconsciously grabbed her sleeve.

"Yun Sheng, don’t..."

"It’s fine." Yun Sheng patted her hand, her voice softening slightly. "You stood up for me. I can’t be a coward!"

Cheng Nian’s eyes instantly grew redder. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but she swallowed her words.

At first, she had been worried, especially since Zhao Qian’s Level was so much higher than Yun Sheng’s. But then she remembered Yun Sheng’s performance on their previous missions, and hearing the determination in her voice now, her worry began to fade.

Li Wen, who was standing to the side watching Yun Sheng, didn’t try to stop her either.

She knew Yun Sheng wasn’t an impulsive person. If she dared to make the challenge, she must be confident.

Zhao Qian’s expression flickered. An image of Yun Sheng dealing with the contaminants flashed through her mind—her clean, efficient movements and her ruthless, decisive power.

Her confidence suddenly wavered. Her lips moved, but for a moment, she couldn’t come up with a reply.

Seeing her hesitation, Yun Sheng’s lips curled into a slight smile, her tone growing even more mocking. "Heh. What’s wrong? Scared?"