258. You old bastard.

The punitive spirit punishment had not yet landed on the two of them.

"Whoosh—!"

A fiery red longsword pierced through the air from the side of the arena, moving so fast it almost tore through the line of sight, startling everyone present and causing their pupils to shrink.

Dressed in red, Nie Zhao stood at the end of the crowd, his sharp features and eyes fixed on her as he slowly walked over.

The others instinctively stepped back, making way for her.

The Phoenix Girl was extremely beautiful, but now her eyes were filled with a cold and fierce aura, and her aura made the surrounding wind stop abruptly.

Duan Qitian on the high platform narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in them.

Nie Zhao slowly approached, raised his eyes to look at the high platform, his posture upright, and his voice cold as he said, "Master Duan, please calm down."

Duan Qitian couldn't just laugh it off in front of everyone; he had to put on a stern face: "To engage in a private fight in the arena because of personal desires is an act of inappropriate behavior. Is this what a disciple should do?"

"Master Duan's family has strict rules, but today's events arose because of my Nie family, and have nothing to do with the sect."

As soon as she finished speaking, she slightly tightened her grip on her palm.

Long, strong fingers gripped the Phoenix Sword, its surface as red as blood.

Nie Zhao lowered his eyes slightly, glancing at Nie Shiyun behind him out of the corner of his eye, then raised his eyes again to face the platform directly, his tone calm:

"Nie Shiyun is my younger sister, and Shen Chunri is my junior sister. The two haven't seen each other for a long time, and they were so excited to be reunited today that they played around a bit. Please don't take offense, Sect Leader Duan."

Shen Chunri's chest heaved, as if he felt nauseous.

Nie Shiyun snorted coldly and rolled her eyes.

Jiang Yinhuan was completely stunned, muttering, "My God...did she just catch Master's punishment spell with her bare hands?"

"It's possible to do that?" Lin Qiaoyu stared in shock at the figure in red. "How can this be explained away?"

On the high platform, Duan Qitian looked at the extraordinary figure below, his cold expression softening slightly, his eyes revealing a complex emotion.

"Let's have a little fun. Nie Zhao, as the chief disciple, do you even know what the rules of the competition are, or what it means to set an example?"

"Which rule of the competition states that disciples who spar a couple of times will be punished?" Xie Weixing asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

Yu Xintang paused, her lips twitching: "You really dare to act like a scoundrel."

"You old bastard," Xie Weixing's lips moved almost imperceptibly, his slender fingers curled and slowly touched Wenlong's scales, "If you use a chicken feather as an imperial edict again, I'll pluck all the hairs off his head."

He honed his ability to speak without actually moving his mouth by gossiping with Shen Chunri during medical class, right under his senior uncle's nose.

"Nie Shiyun is the second young lady of Nanchuan Chidi, and Shen Chunri is a direct disciple of my Fenghua Sect, so there's no need to trouble Sect Leader Duan with his troubles," Nie Zhao said neither humbly nor arrogantly, his back straight and his eyes cold. "I will discipline him myself."

It means that it's none of your business to criticize my people, even if you're older.

Lin Qiaoyu was shocked again: "She dares to speak to Master like that?"

"Nonsense," Jiang Yinhuan glanced at her, the silver mask on her face gleaming, "This is our master, not his master."

"Oh, okay." Lin Qiaoyu nodded.

Yan Wuyou paused for a moment: "But it seems that the Feng Hua Sect doesn't show much respect to its own elders either."

"Hmm?" Jiang Yinhuan turned her head curiously.

Huo Jiangmei explained, "A few days ago, my senior brother and I saw that snake and that lion embracing the elder of the Fenghua Sect, singing 'Brothers for Life,' the one they call Junior Uncle."

Fu Yao suddenly sneezed over there.

Lin Qiaoyu: ...

She had actually made what she thought were ample mental preparations, but in the end, she still underestimated them.

Duan Qitian looked down at the tall woman on the arena, remained silent for a moment, then slowly raised his hand, withdrawing his remaining spiritual power, and said coldly to Nie Shiyun and Shen Chunri, "I will remember what you two have done. Today's competition ends here."

As soon as he finished speaking, Nie Zhao's tense shoulder line relaxed slightly, but he still stood in place.

"Senior sister," Shen Chunri quietly approached, "What's the matter that's so urgent?"

Ignoring everything around him, Nie Zhao turned to Nie Shiyun and said, "You've reached the Tai Xu Realm, shouldn't you give me an explanation?"

"What explanation do I need to give you?" Nie Shiyun retorted, "Let's each mind our own business..."

Before she could continue to defend herself, Nie Zhao stretched out his long arm with heavy and urgent force, grabbed Nie Shiyun's wrist, tightened his fingers, and dragged her out without allowing her to say a word, with suppressed rage.

"Come with me."

These three short words are cold, hard, and icy, leaving no room for softening.

"Hey!" Lu Qingyou cried out anxiously, "You can't take Yunmei away!"

"You can't?" Xie Weixing raised his hand to stop him, his bangs blowing in the wind. "I've never seen anyone dare to set rules for the Feng Hua Sect. Why don't you give it a try today?"

Nie Shiyun's wrist ached from being gripped so tightly. He frowned abruptly, instinctively struggling to break free. A fierce resentment and defiance flashed in his eyes, and his tone carried the rebelliousness of youth: "Sis! What are you doing? The competition is over!"

"A contest?" Nie Zhao suddenly sneered, each word dripping with anger, striking Nie Shiyun's ear. "Nie Shiyun, you still have the nerve to mention a contest to me?!"

She lowered her eyes to stare at her younger sister's face, which still bore the warmth of the fire, her chest heaving with anger, her voice trembling uncontrollably: "I'll talk to you when we get back."

Nie Shiyun's wrist was gripped so tightly that a clear red mark appeared, and she felt a slight numbness from the pain: "Where are you taking me! I'm not going!"

But no matter how much she struggled, she couldn't break free and was forcibly dragged back to the inn.

"Bang--!"

The door was slammed shut.

Cut off from the noise and bustle outside, the room instantly fell into a deathly silence, so oppressive it was suffocating.

Nie Zhao loosened his grip on her wrist. In his haste, he had lost control of his strength, leaving a ring of red finger marks on her fair and slender wrist, which were grotesque and even had a faint purple tinge.

She had been dragging him along by force, and the surging anger in her eyes had not been suppressed. Her fierce rage enveloped the entire guest room, and even the air seemed to freeze.

This was the first time Nie Shiyun had seen her sister so angry, and she was so frightened that she fell silent.

Before she could struggle and back away again, Nie Zhao reached out and pressed down on her shoulder, while his other hand began to grope her up and down, pulling at her collar, almost looking her over from head to toe. His fingertips carried a wisp of pure spiritual energy as he examined her physical body and probed her spiritual veins.

Nie Shiyun finally reacted, her whole body stiffening, and she subconsciously took a step back: "Nie Zhao, what are you doing?! What did you post...?"

“Pah!”

Nie Zhao slapped her across the face, uttering two words between his teeth: "Shut up."