Then, the woman named Xiaolian whispered sinisterly in Yu Xiaoping’s ear, "Yu Xiaoping, it’s time to shatter your Heavenly Destiny Bone."

As she spoke, the True Qi from her entire body surged violently into the dagger, intent on shattering Yu Xiaoping’s Heavenly Destiny Bone.

At that moment, Lu Chao arrived in a flash, but he froze for a second. ’With Yu Xiaoping’s current strength, she shouldn’t have been hit.’

Before Lu Chao could make a move, a burst of True Qi erupted from Yu Xiaoping, emanating from her wildly vibrating Heavenly Destiny Bone. It blasted Xiaolian backward, sending her sprawling to the ground. The dagger fell into the alley with a KLANG.

Yu Xiaoping’s blood, staining the dagger, dripped onto the ground.

The next moment, Yu Xiaoping slowly turned, her youthful face cold as she stared at her so-called good friend.

Sitting on the ground, Xiaolian asked in a daze, "Yu Xiaoping, how are you a Heavenly Bone?"

The moment the blade had pierced her, Xiaolian had discovered that Yu Xiaoping’s Heavenly Destiny Bone was at the Heavenly Bone Level. But that couldn’t be right! Before, Yu Xiaoping had only been an Earth Bone.

Of course, Yu Xiaoping wasn’t about to tell her it was because of Dragon Flame Academy’s Divine Bone Nine Sons Array. She simply continued to stare at Xiaolian.

Finally, she spoke softly. "Xiaolian, when we were children, I was once so hungry I nearly fainted. You gave me a piece of candy, and I’ve remembered your kindness to this day. But with that stab just now... we’re even."

Lu Chao, who had stopped at the alley’s entrance, now understood. ’So that’s why she didn’t dodge the dagger. She wanted to settle this debt.’

"Honestly, even after that stab, I don’t hate you."

"I thought perhaps you were being forced into it. But you didn’t hesitate at all. You truly wanted to destroy my Heavenly Destiny Bone."

"It’s heartbreaking. I guess when people grow up, some things are bound to change."

Yu Xiaoping’s voice was tinged with sorrow and disappointment. She asked softly, "Why didn’t you hesitate? Why do you hate me?"

She needed an answer from Xiaolian...

The girl on the ground slowly looked up, her expression gradually twisting into a sneer...

"Giving you a piece of candy? Bullshit! I just dropped it by accident. I never thought you’d pick it up and eat it."

"Later, my family said..."

"They said you might be useful, so I should pretend to be your friend. That’s why I lied, telling you I felt sorry for you and gave it to you on purpose."

At these words, Yu Xiaoping froze in stunned silence.

"A parasitic prisoner like you—you think you’re qualified to be my friend?"

"Originally, I was going to trick you into becoming my brother’s concubine so he could have his fun with you until you were dead. But then you joined the assassination attempt against Lu Hanyan, and you actually managed to survive."

"You even kicked up a huge fuss and made a name for yourself."

"During the first two rounds of the tournament, you were swaggering around with that Fake Lu Chao. The sight of you makes me sick."

Xiaolian poured out all her resentment in a single torrent...

Yu Xiaoping’s stunned expression slowly turned cold, then twisted into a self-mocking smile. "How naive of me. It turns out you haven’t changed at all."

With that said, Yu Xiaoping turned her back, making no move to attack or retaliate against Xiaolian.

The wound on her back wasn’t deep, but it still stained her clothes red. She spoke, her voice laced with desolation, "Even if you only dropped that candy by accident, it did save me. So we’re even... The next time we meet, we fight to the death!"

With that, she walked out of the alley and saw Lu Chao and the three others waiting.

She stuck her tongue out for a moment and chuckled. "Don’t worry, Brother Lu. Brother Luo and the others and I, we all knew what they were up to. We were prepared. It’s just her..."

As she said this, Yu Xiaoping pointed toward Xiaolian in the alley...

Lu Chao smiled and cut her off. "Good. As long as it’s handled. Let’s head back."

Lu Chao wasn’t too worried about the five from Azure Flame; underhanded tricks wouldn’t be very effective against his group. As for Xiaolian in the alley, he certainly wasn’t going to intervene.

After all, Yu Xiaoping had already decided to let her go this time.

Just then, Jiang Yu hurried forward. "Xiaoping, let me see your wound."

"It’s fine. Just a small wound."

Yu Xiaoping said with another smile. Her Heavenly Destiny Bone had already sealed the wound, so it wouldn’t affect her in tomorrow’s battles in the slightest.

As they left, Xiaolian, still in the alley, muttered with growing, twisted malice, "By what right does that little bitch Yu Xiaoping get to be at the Heavenly Bone Level? I’m not even a Heavenly Bone, so how dare she?!"

The words had barely left her lips... SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Three figures suddenly dropped down. It was the Luo Wendeng brothers and Tan An, all of them staring coldly at Xiaolian...

Tan An replied in a frigid voice, "Because you are utterly disgusting."

As he finished speaking, Tan An and Luo Wendun pounced, giving Xiaolian a vicious beating.

She tried to scream, but Luo Wendun had already clapped a hand over her mouth. Only after they had beaten her speechless did Tan An snort coldly, "Just because Xiaoping let you go doesn’t mean we will."

With that taken care of, the three of them immediately left the alley to catch up with Lu Chao’s group.

Afterward, the groups met up at the entrance to the Dragon Flame Academy courtyard.

Of course, Luo Wendeng and the other two didn’t mention what they’d just done, not wanting to burden Yu Xiaoping’s conscience. Instead, he just said to Lu Chao, "Brother Lu, Beast Flame tried to use threats and bribes on us, but we’ve already taken care of it."

Lu Chao nodded, unsurprised...

Of course, he knew exactly what the three of them had just done, as they hadn’t been far away. But he didn’t expose them in front of Yu Xiaoping.

Just then, Luo Wendeng continued, "Chang Qi invited Jinxiang and Master Fan to see Marshal Fan. Elder Sun went with them, so there shouldn’t be any major problems."

Lu Chao nodded in understanding. "It’s a classic case of luring the tiger from the mountain. But with Marshal Fan there... they wouldn’t dare touch Master Fan and Jinxiang."

Sending Fan Jinxiang and Master Fan to see Marshal Fan...

The siblings couldn’t possibly refuse such a summons. They had to go, even knowing it was a trap, which was why Sun Shijin had to accompany them.

And this, of course, was the whole point of luring the tiger away from the mountain; Sun Shijin was the person Beast Flame’s upper echelon was most wary of.

With him out of the picture, dealing with the others would be much simpler.

Besides, Marshal Fan Changcun was the key to unsealing the Azure Flame Forbidden Land. Who would dare to harm his grandson and granddaughter? Fan Changcun would either fly into an uncontrollable rage or even kill himself on the spot...

For now, at least, the Six Great Flame Countries wouldn’t dare to make a move against Jinhu and his sister.

Just as they finished discussing Jinhu and his sister, Elder Yu Fei returned from a distance with two young men in tow.

One of the young men was Jiang Yi.

The other was a veteran student from Dragon Flame Academy named Wu Yue, who didn’t have much of a presence.

But for that very reason, he was also a prime target for Beast Flame’s leadership.

However, Yu Fei, despite his age and bad temper, was also one of the most cautious people around...

Not long after Jiang Yi and Wu Yue had been lured away, Yu Fei had forcibly caught them and dragged them back.

And just like that, except for Fan Jinxiang, all the Dragon Flame Students had been accounted for and returned.

Of course, there was also the newcomer, Wu Caicai, but she was still inside the courtyard.

However, just as everyone was gathering in the courtyard, a group suddenly appeared outside the main gate. A woman’s bone-chilling voice immediately rang out, "Wu Caicai, get the hell out here."