"Lexuan?" a disciple of the supervisory group said in shock. "What does this have to do with Senior Brother?"
"..." Ruo Mu's eyes flickered. She waved her hand and asked the suddenly enraged girl with concern, "Lexuan, what happened?"
"This is Brother's jade pendant! It has the aura of the soul power he and I nurtured together." Zhang Lexuan pointed at the Black-Robed Man's waist, her voice thick with killing intent.
"Senior Brother Lu Cheng?!!"
"Did Senior Brother also fall victim to foul play?"
The surrounding Inner Court disciples were all deeply shaken. Connecting this to Lu Cheng's earlier absence, all sorts of speculations ran wild. After all, it was said that this guy was proficient in mental force and illusions; one wrong move and they could be sabotaged.
Although Senior Brother was powerful in combat, it wasn't impossible for him to suffer an unexpected setback...
"Speak!"
Zhang Lexuan grew even more enraged. Her jade-like hand pressed the Black Sickle deeper, and a visible wound opened on the black-robed man's neck. Fresh blood flowed down the beauty's arm.
Yet the Black-Robed Man still kept his head lowered.
Shrouded by the black robe, his eyes could not be seen.
"Lexuan..."
Ruo Mu narrowed her eyes and reached out to pull off the mask, but at the very moment her hand was about to touch it...
The Black-Robed Man slowly raised his head.
The corners of his mouth curled up.
Within the blood-red eyes beneath the ghost mask, intricate patterns emerged, glowing with an eerie crimson light.
"Tsukuyomi!"
"Not good; watch out!"
As Ruo Mu cried out, several Inner Court Disciples who were staring intently at Lu Cheng suddenly stiffened. Then, as if losing control, their bodies slumped and they fell to the ground.
"A mere mirror image... playing with you all for this long is not bad..."
A voice rang out leisurely.
In her shock, Ruo Mu looked into the distance and saw another figure, identical to the man in black, standing atop another ancient tree.
Meanwhile, the man in black who had been heavily wounded emitted a crisp cracking sound. Like a mirror, he shattered layer by layer, turning into faint shadows under the soft moonlight.
"Damn it..." Ruo Mu's expression was extremely grim.
With such unpredictable movements, could Lu Cheng really have been sabotaged by him...?
"Wait! The mirror image shattered, so his true body must have been injured as well!"
A disciple from the Supervisory Group who specialized in mental force suddenly spoke up.
"Chase him!"
Lu Cheng glanced at the blank-eyed Zhang Lexuan, who seemed trapped in a nightmare. He casually dazed a Supervisory Group disciple, dodged their attack, and sped deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest.
...
"I'll see just how many mirror images you have!"
The mental-type supervisory group disciple shouted angrily and shattered another of Lu Cheng's mirror images. Consequently, the revealed Lu Cheng's true body grew a shade paler, and his speed became increasingly sluggish.
Lu Cheng frowned slightly.
He looked around.
Although he had added four ten thousand-year Soul Rings to his other Martial Soul, it still wasn't enough in the end...
"There's no escape now."
The Inner Court Disciple completely blocked Lu Cheng's path of retreat and shouted sternly.
"Speak! How exactly did you get this jade pendant?!"
Lu Cheng remained silent, calculating a way to escape.
Ruo Mu's brow furrowed even more. "Enough. Let's strike first. We'll capture him and bring him back to the Inner Court for interrogation."
With that, she formed hand seals again, and the black soul ring beneath her feet flickered.
But in the next instant...
...she was interrupted by Zhang Lexuan.
"Lexuan?" Ruo Mu looked at the girl beside her in surprise, a hint of confusion in her eyes.
The beauty stared blankly at Lu Cheng. Her gaze was probing, yet she seemed afraid to shatter the cruel truth. After hesitating for a few seconds, she took a gentle step forward and moved toward Lu Cheng.
"Be careful!"
Ruo Mu's brow furrowed, and she was about to step forward.
But she was stopped by Zhang Lexuan's gesture. She slowly walked toward Lu Cheng.
The surrounding supervisory group disciples were baffled, but they could only watch the scene warily, ready to act at any moment.
"Girl, aren't you afraid of having your soul extracted and refined?" Lu Cheng sized up Zhang Lexuan, who was right in front of him, with interest, a hint of a smile in his eyes.
"Brother?"
The beauty's voice carried a hint of trembling and inquiry.
Her pale blue eyes stared fixedly at Lu Cheng. She stopped walking, and her red lips slowly uttered a single word.
The entire field fell silent.
Many supervisory group disciples were stunned. They looked around but couldn't see Lu Cheng. When their gazes finally converged on the black-robed figure, they were all deeply shaken, their scalps tingling...
"Lexuan, what nonsense are you talking about?" Ruo Mu's face was filled with blank shock.
Zhang Lexuan seemed not to have heard any of it, staring blankly at Lu Cheng. "Brother, you can hide from anyone, but you can't hide from me... Your eyes... after ten years of being together day and night, I'm all too familiar with them..."
"Silly girl, it's not a good habit to go around claiming people as your brother." Lu Cheng slowly raised his head, his blood-red eyes flashing with a bit of mockery and coldness.
Boom!
But in the next instant...
...Zhang Lexuan took the opportunity, using the power of the Silver Moon behind her. A silver beam of light struck the Black-Robed Man's face, and the ghost mask was instantly blasted into powder.
A face, both familiar and strange, with a rather wicked smile at the corners of the mouth—the handsome face that made countless Inner Court girls swoon—gradually appeared before everyone's eyes.
"Lu Cheng! What on earth are you doing?!" Ruo Mu shouted, her face full of disbelief.
"Senior Brother?"
"Could tonight be some kind of drill organized by the academy?"
The expressions of countless Inner Court Disciples were incredibly varied, their eyes filled with disbelief.
The top genius of Shrek Academy, the strongest person admired by countless inner court disciples, Lu Cheng, who was honored as senior brother, was actually the saint of the Holy Spirit Cult. This... how was it possible?!!
"But those people... they really did die."
The Healing-type Spirit Master said with terror in his eyes, his throat bobbing.
"And the ones we were suppressing were indeed Evil Soul Masters."
A deathly silence.
"Brother, say something! Say you're innocent! How could you be an Evil Soul Master? You..." Zhang Lexuan's eyes were filled with panic and helplessness. Her lips trembled as she grabbed Lu Cheng's sleeve.
Pfft...
The girl suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, and her body flew backward, only to be caught mid-air by the quick-acting Ruo Mu.
Lu Cheng slowly lowered his palm. Looking at Zhang Lexuan's face full of disbelief, he let out a sneer and cracked his neck. His aura rose inch by inch. "I didn't expect that I'd be stuck with a bunch of pests like you, even forcing me to reveal my identity..."
"It's just as well. After lurking in Shrek Academy for so many years, I can finally make a move on you guys."
A scorching aura surged from within his body.
The familiar aura of the Great Devil King that used to shroud the entire Inner Court in gloom truly manifested before everyone.
"Lu Cheng! You're crazy!"
Ruo Mu shouted angrily, "She's your childhood friend and sister! How could you strike her so hard!"
In her arms, Zhang Lexuan struggled to break free from Ruo Mu's protection and rushed frantically toward Lu Cheng again. With a hint of humble pleading in her eyes, she barely managed to grab the corner of Lu Cheng's clothes and squeezed into his embrace. Trembling, she pulled Lu Cheng's arm around her waist and looked up with panicked eyes, like a kitten afraid of being abandoned. Her voice shook as she said.
"Brother, did Lexuan do something wrong? Why don't you want Lexuan anymore...?"
The girl's two hands tightly gripped the corner of Lu Cheng's clothes, desperately trying to feel that familiar warmth.
Her small face was blurred with tears.
"Please, Brother, tell me this is all just an academy drill. Let's stop acting and go home, okay?"
Notes:
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