"Since everyone has gathered here, I assume Mr. Ge already informed you all about the situation in Yanhe City."

"I’ll get straight to the point."

Di Xi, the head of Donghe Academy, had a face full of worries. As he spoke, he instinctively stood up and looked at Liou Yuan and a few others in the room, sharing his thoughts:

"I’m just someone who happened to acquire cultivation methods from ancient texts, with no real experience in magic or combat."

"It seems that none of us here have particularly high cultivation."

"The idea of joining forces to maintain order is truly laughable."

"It would be wiser to take advantage of the sudden change in Yanhe City’s situation, before the City Lord can react and take notice of us, and leave quickly. That’s the best strategy."

Liou Yuan couldn’t help but be amused at these words.

Because Di Xi’s thoughts mirrored his own previous inclination to run away.

Despite the notion of scholars being noble, there’s an old saying in Liou Yuan’s previous world, "Righteousness is often in butchers, while scholars often betray."

Liou Yuan still had to consider his family and had given up the thought of fleeing.

But Di Xi seemed ready to abandon everything and run away.

"An honorable title of head of Donghe Academy, yet with such low character; no wonder it’s said that those from Donghe Academy might not be good either." This was said by the girl in the light green robe.

Her voice was light and clear, yet each word was aggressive.

As she spoke, her eyes met Di Xi’s without hesitation.

The atmosphere was explosive from the start.

"This young girl is interesting." Liou Yuan gave the green-robed girl another glance and then turned his head toward the old Mr. Ge beside him, blinking.

Mr. Ge understood and began to whisper about the girl’s background.

"This is Mr. Wei’s daughter, Wei Ying. Thirteen years old, at the Qi Cultivation Second Layer, extraordinarily gifted."

"The Yanluo Sect noticed her years ago. Mr. Wei insisted on keeping her by his side until she turned fourteen before sending her to the Yanluo Sect, which delayed matters."

"But her cultivation didn’t stop, as she practices the Breathing Skill bestowed by the Yanluo Sect."

Mentioning the Yanluo Sect, Mr. Ge specifically added, "By the way, Mr. Wei is also an Outer Sect disciple of the Yanluo Sect, stationed in Yanhe City under orders."

"So she’s Mr. Wei’s daughter!" Liou Yuan realized. No wonder the girl seemed so silent and preoccupied with the candlelight after he entered.

Liou Yuan thought she was introverted, only to realize she was immersed in the grief of losing her father.

"Her father died protecting the city, so she must be very opposed to Di Xi’s cowardly behavior, which makes her speak so bluntly."

Understanding the connections, Liou Yuan squinted and murmured the name of the cultivation sect Mr. Ge just mentioned: "Yanluo Sect."

Since there are cultivators in this world, naturally there would be a heritage of cultivation.

Having sects is inevitable.

"Mr. Wei is the leader of the Qinghe Division, yet just an Outer Sect disciple of the Yanluo Sect."

"I wonder how the Yanluo Sect ranks as a force compared to the one backing my elder brother."

Liou Yuan couldn’t help but pay more attention to the Yanluo Sect.

On the other side, the atmosphere in the room became very tense following Wei Ying’s remarks.

Even as the head of the academy, Di Xi, an esteemed figure in Yanhe City, blushed with shame when chastised by such a young girl, and retorted in a coarse voice, "You naive little girl, what do you know? Human power has its limits. The current situation in Yanhe City isn’t something sheer determination can hold."

His puffed-cheek, glaring demeanor was a far cry from someone with educational virtue.

"You can leave if you’re afraid of dying; it won’t matter with you gone." Wei Ying sneered.

"What the head of the academy says isn’t unreasonable." Hua Xuanyi, who was smoking by the door, chimed in casually, making a fair point. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"But Di Xi, where would you run now?"

"The nearest city is two to three thousand miles away from Yanhe City, and the Star Rotation is only four days away."

"Cultivators at the early stage of Qi cultivation can’t ride artifacts; unless they’re exceptionally physically strong body cultivators, I can’t think of anyone who could cross three thousand miles of mountain road in four days."

"It still offers a sliver of hope, better than waiting to die in Yanhe City." Di Xi was unyielding, voicing his concerns.

"What kind of person is Mr. Xu? Ruthless. Once the Star Evil shows up in the city, won’t we all just end up as cannon fodder?"

"Heh!" Liou Yuan sneered.

He couldn’t stand Di Xi’s attitude any longer.

Though he also had the idea of fleeing, he still cared for his family. Di Xi, however, seemed truly ready to abandon his wife and child.

Liou Yuan wouldn’t be polite with such a person and immediately let out a sarcastic laugh: "If it were me, I’d stay in the city; even if I died, at least I’d leave a good name."

"I hear you have a wife much younger than you and a chubby son."

"If you die defending the city, the people of Yanhe City might remember your kindness and help take care of your child a bit."

"If you flee, who’s to say the road ahead is any better? Have you thought about the kind of infamy your beautiful wife and child would have to bear?"

After being mocked repeatedly by Wei Ying, Hua Xuanyi, and Liou Yuan,

especially those words from Liou Yuan, which were just shy of calling him sanctimonious,

even Di Xi, as thick-skinned as he was, blushed with shame and fell silent, no longer speaking.

"What’s your take, Mr. Ge?" Liou Yuan asked Ge Jinhong after mocking Di Xi.

Mr. Ge had already made up his mind, stating firmly, "Both my grandsons are still in the city. I don’t mind dying, but nothing must happen to my two precious grandsons."

"So, that’s four votes in favor of defending the city, four to one, no need to argue. Think about what to do when the Evil Star Shift arrives in four days." Liou Yuan finally steered the conversation back on track.

Despite her youth and inexperience, Wei Ying saw Liou Yuan as an ally since he supported her stance.

Following Liou Yuan’s words, she decisively stepped forward, revealing her situation without reservation: "I have a magical artifact bestowed by my sect elders, but it consumes too much spiritual power and requires two people to activate."

"The artifact’s power is formidable; it could likely kill the Star Evil."

This was undoubtedly good news.

Liou Yuan’s eyes gleamed as he listened. What he lacked now was a powerful magical artifact.

And Wei Ying conveniently provided what he needed.

Since she laid her cards on the table, Liou Yuan couldn’t keep secrets either. If he did at this critical moment, it would be suicide.

So he also casually stated, "I have a defense magical artifact left by my elder brother, which can work well with Miss Wei Ying’s artifact."

The Liou Family in Yanhe City was somewhat known.

Especially among the cultivators present, who knew the Liou Family produced two cultivators, and Liou Yuan’s older brother Liou Zhen wasn’t weak.

So no one showed surprise at Liou Yuan having a defense magical artifact.

"I can trap the Star Evil with my magic and imbue everyone’s weapons with decent magical power," Mr. Ge also revealed his abilities.

Hua Xuanyi’s response was even more straightforward: "I can handle a single Star Evil."

Liou Yuan raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself, "As expected, loose cultivators are tough. If not for his poor aptitude, which no sect would accept, Hua Xuanyi would definitely be someone significant."

Finally, all four looked at Di Xi in unison.

The head of the academy blushed again and didn’t respond.

Because he had already said he learned cultivation methods from books but had no expertise in magic, nor had he ever fought anyone.

"Dead weight, useless." Liou Yuan quietly cursed.

The five of them continued to discuss the details of their plan.

Of course, mainly Liou Yuan, Hua Xuanyi, Wei Ying, and Ge Jinhong were involved in the discussions.

Di Xi was like an outsider, just listening from the side.

The four subconsciously ignored him.

If not for his Qi Cultivation Second Layer, which barely qualified him as a cultivator, he wouldn’t even have had a place in this room.