Chapter 58: Sudden Turn of Events

He was a young man, yet appeared exceptionally composed.

He swept his gaze over the Scattered Cultivators before him and spoke slowly.

“Fellow cultivators from all corners, welcome to Yunzhou City. I am Tang Mu of the Qingyun Alliance. All proceedings of this Recruitment Assembly will be conducted under my supervision.”

As Tang Mu finished speaking, the Scattered Cultivators began to murmur among themselves.

“Qingyun Alliance… Tang Mu? Who’s that?”

“No way, don’t tell me you only know the Xingyue Alliance? You don’t even know who Tang Mu is?”

“Tang Mu is the ‘Yunzhou Second Sword’, his swordsmanship is second only to Li Ruobai! Not only that, his cultivation would rank third even among the Ten Stars of the Xingyue Alliance!”

“Eh? If this Tang Mu is so strong, why hasn’t he joined the Xingyue Alliance and is instead in the Qingyun Alliance?”

“You really know nothing, huh? The Qingyun Alliance was the first alliance in Yunzhou and is the very foundation of Yunzhou City! Though the Xingyue Alliance has indeed stolen the spotlight in recent years, the status of the Qingyun Alliance has never diminished!”

The conversation between these two Scattered Cultivators proved one thing.

Though many wished to join the Xingyue Alliance and become the elite among elites, for even more people, joining the long-standing Qingyun Alliance was the most suitable choice!

The Qingyun Alliance did not judge by cultivation, but by one’s character and conduct.

As long as one possessed a skill and could contribute to the Qingyun Alliance and Yunzhou City, there was a chance to join and shine.

Next, two more representatives from the Qingyun Alliance stepped forward.

One was a tall, stoic man, while the other was a thin, small youth.

“I am the adjudicator for this Recruitment Assembly, Tang Yan.”

The tall man spoke expressionlessly.

“The Recruitment Assembly upholds fairness and justice. If I find anyone using external power or secret medicines, they will be severely punished.”

“I am Tang Qing, responsible for medical care.”

The thin youth smiled at the gathered Scattered Cultivators.

“Don’t be fooled by my size—I’m already twenty this year, and my medical skills won’t disappoint you. So please, go all out without worry!”

“With the ‘Qingyun Three Elites’ guarding us, it seems we have nothing to fear at this Recruitment Assembly!”

“Yeah, yeah! Now I can fight without psychological burden—just thinking about it gets me fired up!”

The Scattered Cultivators rolled up their sleeves, spirits high.

The atmosphere on the New Moon Terrace was more heated than ever!

“Hey, I only came to accompany you for a bit, but now this atmosphere has me excited too.”

Fang Xiaoyu, enjoying the mood around her, spoke to Chi Ming at her side.

Then she noticed Chi Ming’s hand gripping her blade, trembling slightly.

She teased, “Chi Ming, don’t tell me you’re nervous?”

“Nervous? No…”

Chi Ming listened to her own rapidly intensifying heartbeat, the corners of her mouth lifting involuntarily.

“Right now, I’m just extremely excited…”

Her jet-black hair seemed to flicker with fiery red light, as if it might burst into flames at any moment.

But suddenly, at that instant, a thunderous explosion erupted from the rear of the Scattered Cultivators!

“Boom!!!”

The force of the blast made the entire New Moon Terrace tremble.

The Scattered Cultivators, confused and tense, readied themselves.

“What happened?”

“Is this our first trial?”

The Qingyun Three Elites exchanged glances, all looking surprised.

Clearly, this sudden blast was not part of their plan, nor was it a test arranged for the Scattered Cultivators by the Recruitment Assembly.

The next moment, the Scattered Cultivators at the rear shouted loudly.

“Several massive boulders! The road down the mountain is blocked!”

Tang Mu frowned, signaling to Tang Yan with his eyes.

The tall Tang Yan nodded and quickly moved toward the rear where the incident had occurred.

As Tang Yan left, several flying chariots suddenly soared overhead, appearing above the New Moon Terrace.

Everyone looked up in shock.

On the flying chariots were none other than the ‘Nine Stars’ of the Xingyue Alliance.

Tang Mu stared at Li Ruobai, who stood at the forefront, and shouted.

“Brother Li, may I ask what has happened!”

Li Ruobai looked down at the crowd below, his expression grave.

“Tang Mu, our Xingyue Alliance received reliable information that Demonic Cultivators have infiltrated the New Moon Terrace!”

The moment these words were spoken, the entire area erupted.

Everyone exchanged looks of disbelief.

“Demonic Cultivators… here?”

Fang Xiaoyu’s face darkened as she turned to Chi Ming.

“Chi Ming, what do you think?”

Chi Ming didn’t respond immediately.

After a long pause, she stammered.

“I… I don’t know either…”

A thin layer of sweat appeared on her forehead, her psychological pressure surging.

“Could it be… I’ve been exposed?”

“This is impossible!”

Tang Mu raised his voice.

“The Qingyun Alliance and Xingyue Alliance have been guarding all the roads leading to Yunzhou City for days! If Demonic Cultivators had invaded, they would have been discovered long ago! How could this be happening now…”

“Hmph, our Xingyue Alliance guards strictly—there’s no room for error! If Demonic Cultivators have infiltrated the Recruitment Assembly, it must be due to negligence on the part of your Qingyun Alliance!”

Li Ruobai snorted coldly, laying the blame squarely at the Qingyun Alliance’s feet.

This instantly roused the discontent of the Qingyun Alliance disciples present.

As the two sides were about to erupt in a war of words, the ever-steady Tang Mu stepped forward.

“Now is not the time for quarreling!”

“Since the Xingyue Alliance claims there are Demonic Cultivators present, do you know who it is?”

He asked Li Ruobai.

“I do not. That’s why we must find the Demonic Cultivator.”

“How do we find them?”

“If no one steps forward and admits it, then we must kill everyone—leave no one alive.”

Li Ruobai smiled as he spoke chilling words.

“After all, it’s better to mistakenly kill ten thousand than let a single Demonic Cultivator escape.”

As he finished, a hot-tempered Scattered Cultivator pointed at Li Ruobai in the sky and shouted.

“Li Ruobai! How can you say such things? Are you insane?!”

“Oh? Why are you so anxious, brother? Could it be that you’re the Demonic Cultivator?”

Li Ruobai looked coldly at the Scattered Cultivator, signaling to someone beside him.

At his side was the most skilled archer among the ‘Ten Stars’.

At Li Ruobai’s signal, the archer instantly drew and loosed an arrow, the sharp shaft piercing through the air and the Scattered Cultivator’s chest.

“Pu—”

The sound of flesh being torn was heard as the Scattered Cultivator collapsed, and chaos erupted.

Tang Qing, responsible for medical care, rushed over with his Medicine Chest.

After a careful inspection, he looked at Tang Mu in terror and confusion, shaking his head.

Tang Mu froze in shock, finally realizing the truth.

Gritting his teeth, he glared at Li Ruobai on the flying chariot, his voice filled with hatred.

“Li Ruobai! No… Xingyue Alliance! You want to weaken the Qingyun Alliance and other forces here, and rule Yunzhou alone!?”

“Tang Mu, you’ve misunderstood us.”

Li Ruobai denied flatly.

“The alliances of Yunzhou are like family. How could we harm our kin? Catching Demonic Cultivators and protecting Yunzhou is our mission, is it not? So what’s wrong with sacrificing a few outsiders?”

Li Ruobai’s words were despicable, and the way his lips curled up seemed to betray his true intentions.

Their real purpose was definitely not simply to root out Demonic Cultivators.

“It’s highly likely the ‘Demonic Cultivators’ story was their fabrication.”

But the subtlety was, it wasn’t a lie either.