Cang Song's expression darkened instantly upon hearing this, and he slammed the table as he stood up, rebuking sternly.
“Qi Hao! I have repeatedly ordered you not to go to Xiaozhu Peak—why do you keep disobeying!”
Qi Hao's heart trembled violently as his mind raced. He hurried to explain,
“Master! Your disciple is deeply infatuated with Junior Sister Lu Xueqi of Xiaozhu Peak. This time, I only sneaked in to atone for my previous mistake.”
“Silence!”
Cang Song was furious. He grabbed the teacup in his hand and smashed it hard at Qi Hao's feet, shards scattering everywhere,
“So what you said yesterday was a complete lie? You were the one who attacked Lin Jingyu first?”
“Your disciple has been wronged!”
Qi Hao dropped to his knees with a thud, veins bulging on his forehead,
“I admit I snuck into Xiaozhu Peak to see Junior Sister Lu, but I absolutely did not start the fight! With the gap between my strength and Lin Jingyu's, if he hadn't ambushed me, how could I be this badly injured?”
Cang Song's brows furrowed deeply as he recalled the shocking injuries in Qi Hao's body from the previous day.
Though he hadn’t lost consciousness, the severity was far beyond what could be faked.
Given Lin Jingyu’s cultivation at the Seventh Level of Jade Purity Realm, it truly should not have been enough to inflict such grievous wounds on Qi Hao.
His gaze slowly turned to Lin Jingyu, full of suspicion.
Lin Jingyu’s expression didn’t change as he immediately argued loudly.
“Master, please see clearly! Senior Brother Qi previously snuck into Xiaozhu Peak—he must’ve already fought with Senior Sister Lu Xueqi. He must have been seriously injured by her, and only worsened his condition when he fought me. He’s simply trying to strike first and accuse later!”
Cang Song’s elderly face turned pale in an instant, rage flooding his eyes.
He slowly raised his hand, knuckles whitening from exertion, and slam!—struck the table forcefully.
Cang Song's suspicions grew heavier, his gaze locked tightly on Qi Hao.
Qi Hao was so anxious the veins on his forehead bulged, and he cried out loudly.
“Master! I did fight with Lu Xueqi, but she didn’t injure me at all.
If you don’t believe me, you can go to Xiaozhu Peak to verify! It’s obvious Lin Jingyu saw me returning from the back mountain and seized the opportunity to strike, hoping to get rid of me and snatch the Top Disciple position of Longshou Peak!
He’s long harbored resentment toward me as his senior brother, coveting the position of Peak Master for quite some time!”
Cang Song’s gaze swept between the two of them.
Lin Jingyu’s face darkened immediately. He opened his mouth, but had nothing to say.
Indeed, when Qi Hao returned, he wasn’t heavily wounded. With Lin’s own Seventh Level of Jade Purity Realm strength, without a sneak attack, it was nearly impossible to injure him that badly.
Unable to explain himself, Lin Jingyu could only stay silent for a moment before speaking softly.
“We leave it to Master’s judgment.”
Looking at the two who stood at daggers drawn before him, Cang Song felt a stab of pain in his heart.
He couldn’t help but recall the tragedy of Wan Jianyi years ago. He had hoped his disciples could live in harmony, but reality was so cruel.
He couldn’t help sighing inwardly.
‘Could the position of Peak Master really drive fellow disciples to turn on each other?’
He had just learned that Lin Jingyu had reached the Seventh Level of Jade Purity Realm in just a few short years and had felt overjoyed, thinking Longshou Peak had a worthy successor;
Yet now, this very talent had become the fuse of internal conflict.
He began to hesitate—Qi Hao had always been his chosen successor for Top Disciple, but Lin Jingyu’s talent was too monstrous. At this rate, surpassing Qi Hao was only a matter of time.
When that day came, how would their conflict end?
Cang Song let out a heavy sigh, his tone grave.
“As for what happened yesterday, I won’t investigate for now. The Seven Peaks Tournament is approaching—I don’t want to punish you at this critical moment. But remember, this kind of incident must never happen again, or you will be punished severely!”
Qi Hao and Lin Jingyu answered in unison.
“Yes, Master!”
“Leave.”
Cang Song waved his hand weakly. Watching the two of them walk away, his heart was filled with desolation.
Then, as he thought of future plans, his gaze turned ice-cold.
Outside the Discipline Hall, Lin Jingyu glared at Qi Hao, gritting his teeth.
“Senior Brother Qi Hao, I will remember the humiliation from yesterday!”
Qi Hao sneered coldly, murderous intent swirling in his eyes.
“Right back at you! I’ll make you pay for ambushing me! I never thought you were hiding your strength this deeply!”
“We are both transmigrators. You should understand that a single world cannot accommodate two of us—there can only be one Chosen One. You are destined to be my stepping stone!”
Lin Jingyu’s eyes were vicious and cold.
Qi Hao sneered,
“Just you?”
“You think I can’t figure out your system? Binding others to enhance your power—too bad you tried to bind me yesterday and failed, didn’t you? With my talent, surpassing you is only a matter of time. After the Seven Peaks Tournament, it will be your death day!”
Qi Hao raised an eyebrow disdainfully.
“Then let’s see the truth at the Seven Peaks Tournament!”
With that, he turned and walked away with a cold laugh.
Lin Jingyu watched his back, his expression icy as he let out a cold snort and strode off in the opposite direction.
Lin Jingyu harbored deep wariness toward Qi Hao.
Though Qi Hao had failed to bind him yesterday, he could still choose someone else.
Once he succeeded, Qi Hao’s strength would skyrocket.
However, when Lin Jingyu thought of how the talents within the Qingyun Sect—besides himself and Lu Xueqi—were all slightly inferior, his taut nerves eased a little.
He quickly ran through the list of Qingyun Sect’s top disciples in his mind.
According to the original story, the most gifted ones included Xiao Yicai, Qi Hao, Lu Xueqi, Zeng Shushu, himself, and Tian Ling’er.
Now, with Lu Xueqi and himself ruled out, and Xiao Yicai not currently in the Qingyun Sect, Qi Hao’s only remaining options were Tian Ling’er and Zeng Shushu.
After careful consideration, Lin Jingyu concluded that Qi Hao was more likely to bind Tian Ling’er.
After all, Qi Hao had interacted with Tian Ling’er before, whereas he had no dealings with Zeng Shushu.
With that thought, Lin Jingyu’s eyes sharpened as he secretly made up his mind.
From now on, he had to keep a close watch on Qi Hao. If he discovered him leaving Longshou Peak to go to Dazhu Peak, he must find a way to sabotage his plan.
In Lin Jingyu’s heart, while Tian Ling’er didn’t compare to Lu Xueqi—his greatest desire—she still held an important place.
If the opportunity arose, he too wanted to bring Tian Ling’er under his wing, to become his woman.
Lu Xueqi, meanwhile, had no idea that after returning to Longshou Peak, Qi Hao had gotten into a brutal fight with Lin Jingyu and was now seriously injured.
Nor did she know that Lin Jingyu was also a transmigrator.
If she learned this, her wariness would certainly deepen.
After all, in such a short time, this world had already seen two transmigrators appear. Including herself, that made three.
Only, her transmigration was quite different—a soul transmigration. Without memories of her past life, she was nearly indistinguishable from the people of this world, making her situation entirely unlike the other two.
No one knew how many more transmigrators might appear in the future—or what unknown path the fate of this world would be led down.
As her thoughts churned, Lu Xueqi’s gaze involuntarily drifted toward the chat group.