Chapter 151: The Shattered Sword

Crackling...

The scorching red flames instantly swallowed the thrown wooden stick, surging with a renewed burst of intense brightness. They danced violently, emitting a strange, crackling noise.

"Hehe (^o^)/~..."

Like a refined lady, Qi'er tore off a piece of golden, fragrant, and juicy roasted meat and stuffed it into her mouth. In high spirits, she chewed happily, completely ignoring the three magical beasts glaring hungrily at her from the side. Her eyes turned toward the nearby forest, where two lean figures were slowly walking out.

Oink-oink...

Squeak-squeak...

Roar-roar-roar...

Seeing the two figures gradually emerging clearly from the forest, the three beasts instantly let out a chorus of mournful wails. They looked pitifully at one of the figures whose face was extraordinarily gloomy, yet who had to force a smile when facing the slightly stumbling person beside him.

"Stop crying! There's nothing to eat tonight!"

Speechlessly glancing at the three beasts putting on a pitiful act, Wang Luo, exasperated, ruthlessly crushed their hopes. Without even looking at Qi'er not far away, he waved his hand, and another piece of roasted meat lying on the leaves beside Qi'er automatically flew into his hand. He tore off a ferocious bite.

Gurgle...

Hearing a stomach rumble from beside him, Wang Luo froze, a look of embarrassment immediately crossing his face. He handed the roasted meat in his hand to the person beside him, and without forgetting to affectionately pinch her cheek, he ended up smearing her entire face with beast fat.

"Hehe..."

Seeing this, Qi'er, standing nearby, burst into carefree laughter once more. The three beasts each suppressed their smiles, closed their eyes, and began to snore loudly. It was much wiser for them to see less of their master's embarrassing moments; otherwise, the tragedy of having no roasted meat to eat in the future would follow.

"What are you laughing at? Isn't this all your fault? Didn't you say someone was nearby? Where are they?"

Defeated, Wang Luo saw the alluring face wreathed in joyful smiles, and unable to suppress his irritation, he shouted directly.

Gusi, standing beside him, froze at these words, her face instantly turning crimson. She stealthily looked at Wang Luo beside her, suddenly understanding something. Glancing at Wang Luo's fingers, her little face turned a few shades redder as scenes unsuitable for children flashed through her mind.

"Wang Luo!"

Unlike Gusi, upon hearing Wang Luo's angry roar, Qi'er's expression changed drastically, revealing a look of terror. Three white tails instantly materialized, shielding her entire body, while wisps of intertwined crimson and grey gas flickered and shrank between her fingertips.

"Fox tails—"

Seeing Qi'er's sudden transformation into a defensive and offensive stance, Wang Luo and Gusi were both stunned. Having never seen this form of Qi'er, nor having ever witnessed a beastman's beast-transformation firsthand, Wang Luo pointed at the tails behind Qi'er and cried out in shock.

Before he could finish his sentence, Wang Luo's expression shifted violently. A bone sword instantly materialized in his hand, suffused with a dense, blood-red glow, and he lunged straight at Qi'er. Gusi, still somewhat dazed, stared blankly at everything unfolding before her.

Bang—

Crack—

A gust of chilling wind swept past. Wang Luo's body was sent flying directly backward, crashing heavily into a tree. Meanwhile, the bone sword that had accompanied him since childhood and had been personally refined by him lay broken on the ground, split into two halves.

"Wang Luo, save—me..."

A voice of ethereal lightness laced with unmasked panic reached Wang Luo's ears, gradually fading into the distance. The bonfire continued to crackle and burn fiercely, yet the person who had been quietly laughing and talking beside it moments ago was now gone.

Roar—

The fire bear, clearly dazed for a moment, instantly reared onto its hind legs and let out an angry roar toward the sky to vent the sudden terror that had arisen in its heart just a moment before.

Oink-oink...

Squeak-squeak...

The pig and the monkey huddled close to each other, running toward Wang Luo simultaneously. They nudged Wang Luo upward, leaning against him as if only by doing so could they regain a shred of security.

"Wang Luo!"

Gusi, who had been frozen in shock, finally snapped back to reality. She hurried to Wang Luo's side, pulled a medicinal pill from her tunic, and shoved it into Wang Luo's mouth. Unmasked panic flooded her eyes; everyone had felt the fatal threat brought by that chilling gust of wind just now.

"Rest assured, I'm fine, and Qi'er will be fine too. That person won't hurt her!"

Taking a deep breath, Wang Luo retrieved the shattered fragments of his bone sword into his spatial ring. He closed his eyes and entered a state of meditative breath-regulation. The blow he had taken just now was not light; without his blood energy, he certainly wouldn't be able to participate in the contention for the miraculous medicine tomorrow. Yet, his bone sword—was broken!

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"Speak, what on earth is Geda plotting?"

Under the moonlight by the pool, Elijah stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the white-robed maiden beside him. A slight frown furrowed his brow, yet it failed to conceal the astonishment gleaming in his eyes.

"Many thanks to Teacher Elijah for helping me pull off this act."

Straightening her disarranged attire, Qi'er bowed slowly and unhurriedly to Elijah. Whether intentionally or not, as she lowered her head demurely, a certain breathtaking curve flashed into view, exceptionally alluring.

"Hmph, put away your useless charm arts, and that perverted body as well, or I won't mind destroying it!"

Glancing at those intoxicating curves, Elijah felt an inexplicable surge of heat in his heart and let out a cold snort, his frigid voice penetrating Qi'er's ears.

"Yes, Teacher Elijah!"

With a faint smile, Qi'er pressed her chest slightly upward, doing so quite openly right in front of Elijah. Seeing the deepening frown on Elijah's brow, the smile on Qi'er's face grew a fraction richer.

"Teacher Elijah, you also know that I possess the Celestial Fox Charm Constitution. Geda wants to rapidly cultivate me into a peak ninth-rank powerhouse, and ultimately treat me as a vessel for his charm arts, only to devour me in return. By doing so, he aims to absorb all the energy within my body and thereby break through to the Saint Realm!"

"Many people know of this. In order to nurture another Saint Realm powerhouse, the Tianxuan Academy has tacitly condoned this matter. As long as Geda does not violate the academy's regulations, they will not interfere with his affairs. If this is all you have to say, then I have no reason to help you."

Indifferently glancing at Qi'er, Elijah spoke in an even, unhurried tone without a trace of expression on his face. His long green hair flowed like vines, drifting in the night breeze and bathing in the moonlight.

"Teacher Elijah is so beautiful!"

Gazing at the exquisite face that seemed almost unearthly, appearing and vanishing amidst the fluttering strands of hair, Qi'er was momentarily spellbound. She blurted out the words in a daze, before instantly acting as though she had realized her mistake and offering repeated apologies.

"It is nothing. Continue!"

A fleeting smile brushed across the corner of his lips. In a much better mood now, Elijah spoke in the same even tone, though his voice was noticeably softer than before. The smile on Qi'er's face deepened once more.

"Teacher Elijah knows the vast gap between the Saint Realm and the peak of the ninth rank. Even a hundred peak ninth-rank powerhouses might not be able to bridge it. Even if Geda absorbs the power of a peak ninth-rank existence, he still cannot break through to the Saint Realm. This is also one of the reasons why the Tianxuan Academy has never disciplined Teacher Geda!"

Smiling faintly and glancing at Elijah's still-composed expression, Qi'er continued to speak slowly. The fate of herself, her younger sister, and the entire fox clan perhaps rested entirely in the hands of the Elf before her.