Xu Ming looked at his own portrait and felt that this was more than just a simple ambush.
It seed like the other party had a deeper motive.
They didn’t pick him at random—they had been targeting him from the start.
Xu Ming couldn’t understand why.
He hadn’t done anything, nor did he have a deep grudge against them. So why were they trying to kill him?
He didn’t even know them.
Could it be because he had ranked second on the Qingyun Ranking, and the Yao (Demon) Clan wanted to nip him in the bud?
The more Xu Ming thought about it, the more this seed like the only reasonable explanation.
He wasn’t unfamiliar with the history of assassinations targeting geniuses on the Qingyun Ranking.
This ti around, geniuses from the Central Plains dominated the ranking. Out of the top ten, six were from the Central Plains, and both first and second place were taken by them.
But there had been similar situations in the past.
In previous Qingyun Rankings, geniuses from the Southern Demon Kingdoms had even taken seven of the top ten spots, including the entire top three.
That era was known as the darkest period for the geniuses of the Central Plains.
Back then, the Central Plains also attempted to assassinate the Southern Demon Kingdom’s top geniuses.
But those attempts generally ended in failure.
After all, anyone who could rank high on the Qingyun Ranking would have a protector.
If soone of the sa realm—or at most, one realm higher—ca to challenge them, the protector wouldn’t interfere. After all, geniuses needed to be tempered.
If you died at the hands of a peer, even if it was just bad luck, that ant you weren’t qualified to hold a spot on the Qingyun Ranking.
Only those who had survived life-and-death trials would have the potential to make it onto the Tianxia (World) Ranking in the future.
Otherwise, if a so-called genius grew up sheltered like a flower in a greenhouse, they would be useless. In the future, when the great Dao struggle unfolded, they would die even more miserably.
But an open assassination like this—where his portrait had even been distributed—was rare.
Especially when Xu Ming noticed that the three disciples’ clothing didn’t seem to co from the sa kingdom.
That confird sothing.
This wasn’t the work of a single faction.
At the very least, the entire Southern Demon Kingdoms had reached a consensus to eliminate him.
“This is a bit troubleso…”
Xu Ming stroked his chin, realizing that if he encountered a Yao Clan mber, they would likely attack him on sight.
He needed to stay on high alert around the Yao Clan—double the usual caution!
After looting the three Yao Clan mbers, Xu Ming continued flying toward the Blood Bodhi Fruit.
On the way, he stumbled upon so Golden Horn Fruits.
He casually picked so—about twenty or so—not just for Xu Zheng, but also for the n of the Xu and Qin families.
This was no small gift, especially since he was delivering it himself. The recipients would definitely accept it with a smile.
Though Xu Ming had little fondness for the Xu family and disliked dealing with such social obligations, his mother still lived there. She might even spend the rest of her life in the Xu family.
So, in reality, he was doing this for her—to help her maintain good relations within the family.
anwhile, elsewhere in the Rootless Secret Realm, three individuals gathered.
“Where’s our dear Prince Consort headed?” one of the n asked.
“Who knows? If not Erald Dragon Lake, then Bodhi Mountain, or maybe the Golden Sands Desert. Those three places have the most opportunities,” replied a scarred man nad Wang Mingshan, his tone casual.
“Should we split up?”
“Forget it.”
At that mont, the man with the nose piercing walked over and said to the group,
“Our dear Prince Consort’s cultivation level is no joke. If we split up, we’ll just get picked off by him one by one.”
The scarred man shot him an annoyed look. “Then what’s your plan?”
In truth, he didn’t like this guy.
The nose-pierced man, nad Zeng Rong, smirked. “On my way here, I ran into a few mbers of the Yao Clan. Seems like our dear Prince Consort has been marked. Every single mber of the Southern Demon Kingdoms participating in this trial has one goal—kill him.”
The group fell silent.
A man nad Bai Zhan frowned. “How did Xu Ming end up offending the Yao Nations?”
“Who knows?” Zeng Rong laughed, clearly enjoying the situation. “Either way, it’s good for us. Who knows, we might not even need to lift a finger—his head could be rolling on the ground any minute now.”
Wang Mingshan shook his head. “That would be ideal. Saves us the trouble. But those beasts from the Southern Demon Kingdoms might not be strong enough to take Xu Ming down.”
“In that case, we should be the ones to send him on his way.” Zeng Rong continued, “I saw him flying toward Bodhi Mountain earlier. We should head there now.”
As he spoke, a sinister glint flashed in his eyes. “When we find him, we can act all friendly with him, get close… then stab him in the back. Wonder how he’ll feel when that happens.”
“Since we know where he is, we shouldn’t waste any ti. Let’s go,” said the scarred man, Wang Mingshan.
No one objected. They imdiately set off toward Bodhi Mountain.
Who would’ve thought that the people who once entered the Rootless Secret Realm together would one day turn their blades against a forr friend?
—
anwhile, Shi Xin was making her way toward the imperial capital of the Wu Kingdom. She had already passed Jiangnan County.
If all went as expected, she should reach the capital in half a month.
But at that mont, a twisted door appeared before her.
Shi Xin tilted her head, staring at the strange portal. Then, she reached out and touched it.
In that instant, her entire figure vanished.
A dizzying sensation overtook her.
When she opened his eyes, she found herself falling.
“Shit!”
Right after that, she heard a man curse.
Before she could react, she crashed straight into soone, and the two of them plumted toward the ground.
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