Nangong Qian’er silently cursed in her heart, yet maintained a pitiful facade.

“Elder Sister Huan, why do you have to hurt me like this?”

“Hurt? You’ve never seen real hurt, have you? Want to try?” Nangong Huan grinned, raising the shining golden blade and inspecting it. “First, I’ll sever your tendons, then set you on fire, and toss you into the mud. Watching you roll around and scream would be quite entertaining, don’t you think?”

Her smile was chilling, causing Nangong Qian’er to tremble uncontrollably, fear spreading in her eyes.

Wasn’t this exactly what she had done to Nangong Huan before?

“Nangong Huan, you venomous woman! Is this something a human can do?” Wei Yuguang immediately shouted, unaware that the creator of this chaos was standing right beside him.

“Shut up!” Ye Wanjun yanked off Wei Yuguang’s shoe and stuffed it into his mouth.

He had decided to support Nangong Huan unconditionally!

Wei Yuguang’s face contorted in discomfort, wanting to vomit but unable to, the earthy taste exploding on his tongue, making his stomach churn.

“Hmph, I’m done playing with you. Let me see how many flags are left here.” Nangong Huan turned, raising her hand to release her spiritual energy.

Waves of energy rippled out, spreading across a ten-mile radius.

“A-Huan, what’s this move? I saw you use it in front of the Spirit Gathering Pavilion last time. Can it summon spirit beasts?” Ye Wanjun asked curiously.

“Spiritual sensing,” Nangong Huan chuckled softly, “Just wait to collect flags.”

In no time, countless spirit beasts emerged from all directions around Daling Lake.

They belonged to various species, ranging from weak prey to powerful predators, but at that moment, they maintained a strange peace, pulling flags from one another and dropping them on the ground before leaving in an orderly fashion.

Soon, a small mound formed on the ground.

The sight was spectacular, causing Nangong Qian’er and Wei Yuguang’s eyes to nearly pop out!

Why could this wretched girl effortlessly gather so many flags?

Ye Wanjun was grinning from ear to ear, rushing over to count. He found ninety-two yellow flags, thirty-two blue flags, and one red flag.

That red flag had been contributed by the mother beast of the wind fox cub.

At that moment, the wind fox cub was snarling fiercely at Nangong Qian’er and Wei Yuguang, looking harmless but its words could be translated as: “Mom, these two big idiots bullied me!”

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The mother beast bared its teeth, drool dripping from its sharp fangs. After dropping the red flag, it lunged at Wei Yuguang and Nangong Qian’er!

The ensuing scene was far from pretty. The two stood frozen like wooden stakes, receiving several slaps from the mother beast, leaving deep claw marks on their faces.

Of course, to avenge her cub, the mother beast didn’t kill them outright; she first gave them a beating before letting them suffer to death!

At that moment, Nangong Huan noticed the thorn fruit stuck in the mother beast’s fur and called out, “Big Fox, are there any thorn fruits in the forest? Can you point me in the right direction?”

The root of the thorn fruit was one of the materials needed for the Three Spirit Life Advancement potion. She hadn’t been able to buy it at the apothecary, and now was the perfect opportunity to gather some.

“Roar—” The mother beast immediately abandoned the fight, wagging its tail and trying to show a gentle smile. It raised its paw to point in the direction for Nangong Huan.

Such a gentle demeanor was a stark contrast to its earlier ferocity.

“Thanks a lot!” Nangong Huan waved goodbye and left with Ye Wanjun.

Now, let Nangong Qian’er and Wei Yuguang enjoy their fate slowly.

As the mother beast watched them leave, it bared its teeth and lunged at Wei Yuguang and Nangong Qian’er with ferocity.

“Get away! Ah—” Nangong Qian’er screamed repeatedly, her jealousy nearly breaking her sanity!

Wei Yuguang was still struggling to break free. Under the mother beast’s claw attacks, the roots binding him were torn apart. Remaining rational, he quickly pulled out a small, marble-like light ball and tossed it to the ground.

The light ball instantly bounced up, forming a shield that enveloped the two, sending both the mother beast and cub flying!

Finally given a moment to breathe, Wei Yuguang quickly broke free from the root bindings and cut through the roots entangling Nangong Qian’er, swiftly carrying her away.

“Brother Yuguang, I’m so scared,” Nangong Qian’er clutched his shirt, drinking a potion to stabilize her injuries.

Losing her spirit beast would leave her weak for a while.

“Don’t be afraid, I’ll protect you.” Wei Yuguang, now at his limit, had a deep gash on his leg from the mother beast’s claws, causing him immense pain.

The mother beast, of course, wouldn’t let them off so easily. After ensuring her cub was safe, she gave chase!

They fled, and she pursued!

**At the Judges’ Stand.**

Everyone was in shock, watching the rankings on the crystal board. Team Seven shot up to first place like a rocket!

“Cheating! It must be cheating!” Someone couldn’t help but shout, “There’s no way they could collect so many flags so quickly!”

“Tch, just because you can’t do it doesn’t mean others can’t. My Ye family’s children never cheat!” The elder from the Ye family held his head high, initially skeptical about Ye Wanjun’s team but now pleasantly surprised.

“Interesting,” Elder Xue chuckled, his gaze profound.

“It’s them!” Song Xiran exclaimed in surprise. She hadn’t thought much of Nangong Huan’s team at first, but they were now galloping ahead!

Song Que, who had been fanning himself, froze at that moment, studying the crystal board more closely, realizing he hadn’t been mistaken!

“Who is this Nangong Huan? Is she Nangong Qian’er’s sister?” Song Que still found it hard to believe. In his mind, Nangong Qian’er’s team should be in first place; he couldn’t accept such a large gap so early on.

However, he tried to console himself, reminding himself that early results didn’t mean anything. The flag counts would change as the competition progressed, and until the last moment, victory was uncertain.

“If there are any violations, the red ring will kick them out of the trial directly. They might be using some unusual method,” an elder stroked his beard and remarked.

No method could evade the red ring’s detection!

This inevitably reminded everyone of the scene where Nangong Huan summoned a multitude of spirit beasts at the Spirit Gathering Pavilion. Word of such abilities spread quickly among the judges.

If she had such skills, then the trial would indeed be extremely advantageous for her.