As the bird droppings fell like a torrential rain, the three found themselves caught off guard, scrambling for cover!

Wei Yuwu attempted to open an umbrella, but before he could, the spirit birds had pecked it down to just a skeleton!

“Ah—” Nangong Qian'er screamed in disgust, only to have the droppings land right in her mouth!

The trio fled in a panic, occasionally getting slapped in the face by the wind blades of the spirit birds!

Of course, Nangong Qian'er and Wei Yuwu were the main targets.

A slightly larger spirit bird, at the peak of the Two Spirits, landed gracefully beside Nangong Huan, gazing at her with gentle eyes.

It was the king of this flock of spirit birds.

“Master, we apologize for our late arrival,” the spirit bird king's voice echoed in her mind.

Though the fighting power of the spirit birds was low, their sheer numbers combined into a force that was indeed fearsome!

Nangong Huan gathered some spiritual energy in her hand and stroked the spirit bird king, smiling softly, “You arrived just in time, thank you.”

Actually, it was her first time using this skill, and she hadn’t controlled her power well, inadvertently summoning the lower-tier beasts from the forest. So, she had used it to bait Nangong Qian'er.

“To fight for our master is our honor,” the spirit bird king bowed, showing absolute submission.

“She... she actually summoned a flock of spirit birds!” Ye Wanjun’s jaw dropped. Although they were just low-level beasts, even a summoner at the Three Spirits level would find it hard to achieve this!

Ye Sang couldn't help but smile faintly.

Dong Yancuo watched the plump spirit birds flying overhead, his mouth watering uncontrollably.

“Even if a hundred more came, it would be hard to defeat the spirit bird flock!” The disciples were left in shock, their mouths agape.

“No wonder Nangong Huan is so confident! Who just called her a waste?”

“Ahem, I was actually supporting Nangong Huan! Miss Huan is truly impressive!”

...

As the droppings fell like rain, only the area around Nangong Qian'er and her companions was piled high with it, and no one believed it was unintentional!

“Ahem, that’s enough,” the elder coughed lightly, signaling Nangong Huan to end this farce.

Nangong Huan patted the spirit bird king's head, and it understood, letting out a low chirp before soaring into the sky, leading the flock away.

The three, now in a sorry state, finally caught their breath, collapsing to the ground in shame and anger!

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Nangong Qian'er trembled, her white teeth nearly grinding to dust. After the bird droppings, her once delicate face was nearly unrecognizable, twisted in rage that made her look even uglier.

“Nangong Huan, you’ve gone too far!” Wei Yuwu could no longer maintain his composure, shouting madly at Nangong Huan.

His hairpin had fallen into the droppings, his hair a mess, his handsome appearance completely ruined, resembling a frenzied gorilla.

“Too far? You could have refused me!” Nangong Huan shrugged innocently.

“You did it on purpose! You did it on purpose!” Nangong Qian'er screamed hysterically, not caring about her image anymore—she had become the laughingstock!

“Yes, I did it on purpose,” Nangong Huan admitted nonchalantly, a hint of coldness in her eyes.

This small lesson was nothing compared to the thousandth of what Nangong Qian'er had done to her before!

“You!” Nangong Qian'er’s eyes turned red, her cheeks burning with rage, wishing she could tear Nangong Huan into a hundred pieces on the spot!

“It’s time to fulfill our bet; everyone is watching,” Nangong Huan crossed her arms, her expression turning icy, as if she were a stern judge.

Three kowtows...

Veins bulged on Wei Yuwu’s forehead. No matter how unwilling he was, he decisively knelt down and knocked his head three times toward Nangong Huan!

Yet his eyes were filled with resentment.

This made Nangong Huan look at him with newfound respect. Ah, a true man can bend and stretch.

Nangong Qian'er’s face flushed red and pale; since Wei Yuwu had done it so readily, she couldn’t back out in front of so many people!

Trembling, she slowly knelt down, lowering her head to avoid the mocking gazes of the crowd, perfunctorily knocking her head three times.

Some sticky droppings slid down her hair, representing her lost dignity and self-respect.

Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably as she stumbled to her feet and pushed through the crowd, running away.

“Qian'er!” Wei Yuwu chased after her, disregarding his own disheveled appearance, along with his guards, quickly disappearing from everyone’s view.

“Okay, I admit you’re not a waste; you’re quite impressive!” Ye Wanjun openly confessed, glancing at the black stains on Nangong Huan’s face, which made her look a bit ugly... but he wouldn’t judge a woman by her looks.

Nangong Huan shot him a dismissive glance, saying nothing.

The arrival of the spirit birds had proven Nangong Huan’s strength. No one opposed her entering the Spirit Gathering Pavilion anymore; the title of “waste” faded away with this battle.

“Cuo, wait here for me and don’t run around, okay?” Nangong Huan handed Dong Yancuo a few candies, knowing he couldn’t resist sweet treats.

But just as she was about to leave, Dong Yancuo pulled her back, stuffing a candy back into her hand and pointing at his open mouth.

This left Nangong Huan both amused and exasperated; was this glutton wanting her to feed him?

“Alright, I’ll peel it for you.” Nangong Huan patiently unwrapped the candy and placed it in his mouth.

Dong Yancuo looked satisfied, his eyes sparkling as he gazed at her.

“Stay here and wait for me,” Nangong Huan stuffed him with a few more candies before turning to enter the Spirit Gathering Pavilion.

As soon as she stepped inside, Nangong Huan felt her spiritual platform come alive, like a hungry tiger, spinning rapidly.

What rich spiritual energy! She couldn’t help but take a deep breath.

In her perception, she detected the surge of nine spiritual veins underground!

The Spirit Gathering Pavilion had set up a formation to condense spiritual energy, allowing the energy from these nine veins to converge here, incredibly dense. Just sitting in the formation would enable absorption.

Ye Sang entered with her, standing beside her and asking, “Are you really a summoner?”

A summoner... could have such power?

“Of course, I want to become the strongest summoner,” Nangong Huan smiled, her goal clear: to protect herself and her grandfather.

Nangong Huan reminded her, “By the way, you should sit down and absorb the spiritual energy quickly.”

Otherwise, when her spiritual platform turned, the energy here might be gone...

The spiritual platform could absorb all natural forces in the world, including spiritual energy.

“Alright, I wish you success.” Ye Sang nodded and sat down, the thought of becoming the strongest taking root in her heart: I want to protect my mother and my brother too!

Nangong Huan followed suit, sitting cross-legged.

In that moment, her spiritual platform began to ravenously absorb everything, the rich spiritual energy in the air no longer attracting it; its target was—the spiritual veins!