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Her question echoed without an answer. Bain Bengwan came cutting through the wind like a meteor, landing on the swamp in front of her, sending dirt and water all around. Through the settling dust, She looked at his bloodshot eyes with an amused grin. Wich, she hid and put on an obvious fake worried expression.

"To be angry like this.. what happened to you all?" Her actions seemed to be from cheap commoner theaters, there was simply no attempt on denying anything. The only ones who believed her were the ones who already worshiped her.

Baion Bengwan landed his hands on the ground. and Zhi Rui felt heavy and dense earth energy gathering in specif directions and lines forming a triangle with her in the middle. The spike shot up from the ground on the three corners of the triangle, with its element. On Zhi Rui's back, was fire, to her left there was thunder and on her right, water.

It happened in an instant, Zhi Rui didn't expect them to act first. Even more so so viciously like this, she learned the basic about formation.from what she understood. if she attempted to leave the center of the triangle, the earth will bind her feet and she'll be attacked by the three other elements at the conjurer's will. As weakness as she was because of the cloning process and small exchange with Gao Fang. If Bain Bengwan acted without thinking, she'd be dead. At the very least, crippled and incapacitated of continuing the competition, which for her, was the same as dying.

Her eyes cooled down from her previous expression to a silent, cold gaze.

"What's the meaning of this?"

"Stop pretending you bitch! We know it was you!" A BAin Begnwan blind form anger said.

as his tone elevated, so did the elemental energy on the three corners of the formation.

Her face was still expressionless. She ignored him and looked at the rest coming slowly.

"Confess you slut! spill it out!" Bain Begnwan yelled.

Zhi Rui showed no reaction. which infuriated him,

He laughed out of anger a snake of electricity snapped near Zhi Rui's cheek, a huge fire went ablaze behind her and a high-speed water beam tire the floor around her feet. She didn't move a muscle.

"if you don't give back what's ours, I won't miss again."

Her emotionless eyes that were ignoring him until now slowly turned to him and silently seeped fear into his spine.

His anger faded for a second and he unconsciously stepped back. Then he trembled after understanding his instinct. He clenched his fist tightly until his knuckles were white.

There was drool coming down from his clenched teeth. He was blinded by rage

"SLUT!" He screamed and stomped the ground, at a line in the formation.

Zhi Rui's foot was suddenly taken hold of by the earth and she couldn't move.

Instead of growing more larger and threatening, the three elements around her concentrated in a smaller more condensed form. Zhi Rui could feel it aimed at her chest and back. a concentrated attack like this for all three sides would kill any four levels in one shot, she mused that it could even seriously injure a person of the fifth level easily.

Silently. Her eyes went back to Gao Fang who was leading the pack.

Bain Bengwasn was charging the formation with his energy once he was finished then she'd be dead.

She didn't even bother to try and defend herself so she'd die without a doubt if it hit her.

Her eyes laid on Gao Fang, daring him to allow it to continue. If she defended herself then she'd be seriously injured, and it wouldn't be an issue. But if she's defenseless and suffered an attack like this, they'd have no face with the disciples of the sect, regardless of their strength. they'll always be known as unreasonable cowards, and that's something Zhi Rui knew Gao Fang couldn't afford to allow.

The fire grew stronger, her clothes her nearly caught fire, the electricity snakes giving her the creeps and the water was calmly waiting to launch a deadly high-pressure beam of water.

But her posture didn't wave in the slightest. To everyone watching outside, she looked imposing and heroic in the face of danger.

"Bain Bengwan, stop."

HE looked at Gao Fang with a nearly foaming mouth. "But she dared to steal from us! She dared to make us out as fools!"

"STOP, NOW!"

Abin BEngwan eye was bleeding a the corners as he looked at Zhi Rui. he cut off his attack sending backlashes on his body. wich trembled.

He coughed blood repeatedly, but his venomous eyes never left Zhi Rui figure, who was staring at the wave of people in front of her.

Her indifference towards him gnawed on his chest, it made him remember of the attention his brother has, and the disregard his parents have for him. And coming from a beautiful girl such as Zhi Rui, was almost equally damaging for him.

Gao Fang was floating above a common-looking sword and he gently jumped off of it, the sword kept swirling on the air around him as he looked at Zhi Rui and sighed.

His silver robe shone with the eery moonlight.

"Zhi Rui, with the exception of Xa Dayu and you, all the materials gathered throughout this time was stolen, from me, Chao Cheng, An Bai, and Bain Bengwan."

Zhi Rui's eyes remained the same. "So? I hear an incident, but I don't hear the cause for this treatment I'm receiving." calm and composed Zhi Rui spoke.

The person who's usually boisterous and loud. Chao Cheng was staring at Zhi Rui while leaning on a tree to the side, he looked at her with incredulity.

He looked a this Dao protector drinking booze on the top of the tree.

"It mustn't be, right? I mean, anyone with a head would know better than to do that. We are confined in a small place, there simply nowhere to hide. And even if we can't prove her wrong, the issue still remains, and people will still go after her. IT doesn't matter if she's proven innocent, the first suspect will still be killed, that's the world we live in after all."

The old man sipped on his booze. With bleary eyes. "High risks, high rewards boy, birds dies for food, humans die for treasures. But I understand her thoughts. We are all against her already so hse might as well go all out. You might think she started to play hardcore now, but you'd be wrong, she knew how high was the best from the moment she decided to compete with you all. And since the beginning, she seems to be betting everything she has."

"Dumb woman, to think I actually thought of her as a potential partner." Chao Cheng said. To which the old man shook his head.

"Look at it lie this boy; If you lose this, you'll just go back to your house and choose between five or more different paths to success, the danger doesn't matter, even if venerable tries to kill you today, you know you'd be saved somehow by your family. You may think you're tough because you had some really hard fights, but truthfully, every step you take is surrounded by safety nets. Always protected in some way. Do you think it's her first time betting everything? No, boy. it's not. And that's the difference that put her in the game, and also the trait that might take her out of this alive."

Chao Cheng frowned. He didn't like the inferred meaning at all.

"Watch your tongue old man, you might be in the sixth level but that's an eventual level for me to reach, and when I pass that level you'll still be stuck in it. By then let's see if you dare to treat me as a pampered and sheltered person again." He snorted.

Making the old man shook his head helplessly. 'That's what I'm talking about a boy. Anywhere else you would've died after uttering this kind of threat...'

Gao Fang looked at Zhi Rui with a helpless gaze. "It's not me who came up with this approach, everyone else seems to suspect you. rather than Xa Dayu, that's why we assumed these measures would work best against a strong person like you."

Zhi Rui felt that everyone was there, she sighted the Dao protector spread around, and the elders of the sect, every single person from the light sect was watching her. She figures it was Gao fang's idea to throw mud no her, he only needs one stain to remain, As long as one dirt remained unclean then her every word will be doubted. But she expected no different.

Laughing inside, Zhi Rui looked sternly at the eyes of everyone there.

"I didn't do it."

"Prove then." An Bai said. "Make a Statement oath; 'I didn't rob anything' or something. once the thunders echoed through the sky and your soul isn't crushed, we'll know if you're truly innocent."

"No" Bain Bengwas shook his head. "We don't know the methods she used to steal it, she might've even have erased the memory of her mind. If she made an oath in that state, heavens will acknowledge her as innocent."

For a second Zhi Rui admired him, finally something intelligent came out of his mouth.

An Bai tsked with frustration.

Gao Fang stepped forward.

"Zhi Rui. the Dao protectors will be inspecting every corner of the bae you created, and they will also need to search your storage pouches. yours and of your subordinates."

"Other than suspicion bor out of rivalry, you have no evidence. Unless you give me the appropriate compensation or this damage to my reputation, I won't concede access to my things casually."

"Haha, woman! you're too blind, can't you see? everybody here is against you, if we want to hold you down and search even your panties, you have nothing else to do but nod along." Chao Cheng exclaimed with a laugh and Abin Bengwan laughed along.

Zhi Rui didn't say anything more. but her stance was clear, she'd rather die than submit.

When nerves were getting sharper as the tension rose.

Gao Fang nodded.

"If it's not concluded that you did it, then I'll apologize on behalf of the others, and we all will pay five percent of the total we gather at the end of this week. But if you're proved innocent, then we'll give you ten percent. If proven guilty, you'll cripple your cultivations and be expelled. How's that?"

Zhi Rui nodded. it was reasonable.

Gao Fang then smiled as if his plans succeeded

"Then show us your portable pocket dimension, we heard of it. And will need to search through it."

Zhi Rui froze, a thin layer of cold sweat formed on her forehead.