"So that was it," Yino muttered, sighing softly in mockery. "And here I thought the Noble Family was pulling strings behind the scenes to buy off the Immortal Alliance host."
His casual tone acted like a blade, slicing directly into her deepest vulnerability.
Zhihan stood frozen, realizing her own failure. Not only was she a disappointing, useless disciple to the Primordial Sword Ancestor, but now she was exposed as a blind master who could not even guide her own charge.
Even before the tournament began, she had never truly believed in Lin Che, doubting his strength to claim a spot in the top three.
Doubt had paralyzed her. She could not bring herself to endorse him under the prestigious name of the Primordial Sacred Land. For over half a year, she had sheltered the boy, listening to him call her master every day, yet she stubbornly refused to acknowledge him as her True Inheritor.
Weighed down by shame, she stared at the floor.
