"A Spirit General!?" the crowd cried out, sensing Ji Lingxuan’s formidable aura.

"Impossible! Doesn’t the Spirit Emperor’s Tomb have restrictions? How could a Spirit General get in?" Wu Mengqi cried out in disbelief. At the same time, a sudden wave of regret washed over her. ’So I’ve been provoking a Spirit General this entire time!’

Yang Yu was also taken aback for a moment when he sensed Ji Lingxuan’s aura. Then his eyes narrowed and he chuckled. "Heh, Miss Ji, you can stop with the smoke and mirrors. Your imitation of a half-baked Spirit General’s aura is pretty good, I’ll give you that!"

"Imitation?" The crowd was baffled by Yang Yu’s words, not understanding what he meant.

"Your aura is unstable, incredibly weak! It’s not like I’ve never seen a real Spirit General. You can’t fool me with this little trick!" Yang Yu said with a smirk.

At his words, Wu Mengqi and the others focused on Ji Lingxuan’s aura again. They found that it was just as Yang Yu had described: unstable, clearly the consequence of forcibly increasing one’s power.

"So she was just faking it to look strong!" Wu Mengqi sneered, now certain that Ji Lingxuan didn’t actually possess the power of a Spirit General.

In truth, Ji Lingxuan wasn’t pretending to be a Spirit General. She simply hadn’t fully suppressed the Nine Nether Qi inside her. She had to divert her focus to resist its corrosion, which was why the power she could display was severely diminished!

"Still, the fact that you can forcibly raise your power to the Spirit General Tier means you must have received the inheritance from this Spirit Emperor’s Tomb! Hmph, I knew you and that Shen Haoran were up to no good. The two of you sneaking away from the group was all so you could take the Spirit Emperor’s inheritance for yourselves!" Wu Mengqi said with a sinister tone.

Hearing Wu Mengqi, Luo Xiaowen grew even more disgusted with her. ’Such vicious words are clearly an attempt to sling mud at Shen Haoran and his companion, pointing the finger of blame directly at them!’

But Ji Lingxuan paid no mind to Wu Mengqi’s slander. She just stood her ground, coldly observing the crowd before her.

"What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue now that I’ve exposed you? Hmph, the two of you are quite the schemers. You used us as cannon fodder, and in the end, not only did we get nothing, we nearly died for it! Meanwhile, you and Shen Haoran are here reaping our rewards. Even if I could stomach that, I doubt anyone else here can swallow this insult!" Wu Mengqi shouted to the Martial Artists behind her.

With Wu Mengqi fanning the flames, and recalling the dangers they had just faced, the more the crowd thought about it, the more they agreed with her. They immediately turned on Ji Lingxuan, resentfully shouting, "Yeah! Why should we be the ones risking our lives while you two just sit here and enjoy the spoils?"

"Using us as cannon fodder... how devious!"

The crowd added their own accusations, one after another, their words growing increasingly foul. Yet Ji Lingxuan remained silent, simply standing in place, her thoughts unreadable.

"Shut up!" Luo Xiaowen could no longer hold back and finally yelled.

"Wu Mengqi, stop judging noble people by your own vile standards! If Shen Haoran hadn’t cleared the way for us, how could we have ever reached the depths of this Spirit Emperor’s Tomb? What’s more, we agreed before entering the tomb that our lives were in the hands of fate, and that Heavenly and Earthly Treasures would go to those destined to find them. Don’t act like everything in this tomb is yours by right!" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Hmph, even so, we lost a lot of people! We can’t just go back empty-handed!" Wu Mengqi snorted.

"Lost people? If you hadn’t recklessly triggered the mechanisms in the main hall, would we have run into danger? Would we have lost anyone? On what grounds do you blame Little Brother Shen for this!" Luo Xiaowen sneered.

"You..."

"Enough! Stop arguing!" Yang Yu barked, cutting the two women off before stepping forward.

"Miss Ji, if Brother Shen hadn’t led us astray, we wouldn’t have lost so many of our people. So how about this: we’ll forget about any treasures from the Spirit Emperor’s Tomb that you might have found. Just give us what Shen Haoran obtained as compensation, and we’ll call it even. We can all still be friends after this. What do you say?" Yang Yu said with a smile, looking at Ji Lingxuan.

Luo Xiaowen was livid when she heard Yang Yu. ’What does he mean, Shen Haoran led them astray? What does he mean, they can still be friends after this? How can he say something so shameless?’

But just as she was about to give Yang Yu a piece of her mind, Ji Lingxuan finally spoke.

"I said, another step forward and you die without mercy. You’ve crossed the line!" Ji Lingxuan’s words had absolutely nothing to do with Yang Yu’s proposal. As she spoke, a tangible killing intent washed over him.

"Hmph!" Sensing her killing intent, Yang Yu snorted. The full power of his Tier Eight Spirit Pupil aura erupted, creating a stalemate with hers.

"Miss Ji, are you sure you won’t consider my offer? What’s the point of following that waste of space? You’d be much better off with me. You’ll have a life of wealth and luxury, free from all worries. What do you say?" Yang Yu said with a lecherous grin.

"You talk too much!" Hearing Yang Yu insult Shen Haoran, Ji Lingxuan was consumed by a cold fury. Her words seemed to freeze the very air around them.

"Since you refuse to see reason, I’ll have to do this the hard way. Don’t blame me for being cruel to such a beauty!" Yang Yu’s expression darkened as he charged straight for Shen Haoran, who was behind Ji Lingxuan. He had a feeling Shen Haoran had obtained some incredible treasure!

Yang Yu was actually quite a perceptive person. He had noticed from the start how Ji Lingxuan seemed to be guarding Shen Haoran behind her. When his gaze fell on Shen Haoran, he sensed an Energy that made his heart tremble. ’This must be the Spirit Emperor’s inheritance!’ he concluded. That was why he had made his earlier demands. He didn’t care what anyone else thought. If he obtained the Spirit Emperor’s inheritance, his future accomplishments would be no less than the Spirit Emperor Realm. When that day came, the entire Celestial Martial City would be his to command!

At that thought, Yang Yu pushed his speed even further, lunging like a bolt of lightning toward the still-unconscious Shen Haoran.

"You dare!" Seeing that Yang Yu’s target was Shen Haoran, Ji Lingxuan cried out. She instantly appeared in front of Yang Yu, her Jade Fist clenched, and threw a vicious punch at him.

BANG! With a dull thud, their fists collided. Both figures were thrown backward. However, Yang Yu only retreated two steps, while Ji Lingxuan was forced back a full seven steps before regaining her footing.

"Hahaha, you actually have a constitution of the Extreme Ice Attribute! Hahaha, the heavens are truly on my side! If you and I were to... join, my own constitution would take a quantum leap. It might not be impossible to match some of the ancient body types! With that and the Spirit Emperor’s inheritance, reaching the peak of Martial Arts will be just a matter of time!" Yang Yu’s eyes burned with feverish desire as he stared at Ji Lingxuan, laughing maniacally.

"Hmph!" Hearing Yang Yu’s vile words, Ji Lingxuan snorted. She took a deep breath, forcing down the roiling Nine Nether Qi in her body, then said coldly, "Come and try me."

"Hehehe, my little beauty, don’t worry, I won’t hurt you!" Yang Yu chuckled lewdly. His figure then blurred into an afterimage and shot straight for Ji Lingxuan.

Seeing Yang Yu closing in, Ji Lingxuan met him head-on. To keep him from disturbing Shen Haoran, she had no choice but to face him in direct combat.

Both moved with incredible speed. In the next instant, their figures collided, and a fierce battle erupted.

Neither Yang Yu nor Ji Lingxuan was a pushover. One was a Tier Eight Spirit Pupil, the other a Tier Five Spirit Pupil whose true strength was far greater than her rank suggested. Their fight was neck and neck. Powerful shockwaves of Spiritual Power radiated out from the epicenter of their clash, kicking up clouds of dust that slowly obscured the scene. The onlookers watched the two combatants with awe.

As the fight wore on, however, Ji Lingxuan gradually began to lose ground. The Nine Nether Qi within her seized the opportunity to break free of her suppression. The strain of the battle also caused the crack in her Nine Nether Reincarnation Seal to widen, allowing more Nine Nether Qi to leak out. Slowly but surely, Ji Lingxuan was losing her grip.

BOOM! After another explosive exchange, Ji Lingxuan was knocked to the ground. The clear print of Yang Yu’s foot was visible on her lower abdomen. Beads of sweat on her forehead froze the instant they appeared, courtesy of the Nine Nether Qi in her body, and fell like tiny pellets of ice.

"Cough!" Ji Lingxuan let out a weak cough, her face contorted in pain. Inside her body, wisps of black mist drifted about, freezing her meridians, bones, organs, and even her Spiritual Qi wherever they passed. Within minutes, ice crystals began to form on her skin. A layer of ice visibly crept up her legs. Her long black hair was already caked with frost, and her exquisitely beautiful face was deathly pale, a truly pitiful sight.

"Tsk, tsk. My little beauty, it looks like your own Ice Spiritual Qi is turning against you. How about it? Do you need my help?" Yang Yu taunted, watching as Ji Lingxuan’s body slowly encrusted with ice.

"Hmph. Yang Yu! In my eyes, you aren’t even worthy of shining Brother Haoran’s shoes. Don’t stand there and pretend to be a good guy!" Ji Lingxuan said weakly, glaring at Yang Yu. The backlash from the Nine Nether Qi was so agonizing she could barely speak.

Hearing her words, Yang Yu’s face grew dark. He looked down at her from above and said in a venomous tone, "I’m going to show you just how pathetic the Shen Haoran you worship is! But before that, I think I’ll enjoy your body first!"

With that, his face twisted into a savage sneer, and he reached out to grab at Ji Lingxuan’s clothes.

However, just as his hand was about to touch her clothes, a dark figure flashed in front of him. A pair of massive fists, radiating a scorching aura, hurtled violently toward Yang Yu’s face.

The sudden attack caught Yang Yu completely by surprise, and all he could do was cross his arms in front of his face to block the strike.

BANG! A thunderous sound erupted as the punch sent Yang Yu flying. He tumbled over a dozen times before skidding to a halt. Then, a voice, utterly devoid of emotion, rang out: "You dare touch my woman? You must be tired of living."