Chapter 217: Cultivating Feelings, Preparing to Ascend

Chapter 217: Chapter 217: Cultivating Feelings, Preparing to Ascend

Lin Yueyao’s face went pale in an instant. Her lips parted, but she found she had no rebuttal.

Yun Sheng was right.

The spiritual power of an F-level Guide could never enter the spiritual landscape of an S-Class Sentinel.

This was common knowledge; everyone present knew it.

But she refused to be led around by the nose by Yun Sheng, and she certainly wouldn’t admit that Qi Yao’s sudden deterioration had anything to do with her own guidance.

’How could she, an S-class Guide, maintain her reputation? Would any High-level Sentinels ever trust her for guidance again?’

Lin Yueyao took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anger that was welling up inside her. Her voice regained its usual soft cadence.

"Yun Sheng is right. The spiritual power of an F-level Guide certainly can’t enter the spiritual landscape of an S-Class Sentinel. But just because you can’t get in doesn’t mean someone else can’t."

"That Sentinel you were chatting with this morning... if I’m not mistaken, he’s at least S-Class. Even if you didn’t intend to do anything yourself, perhaps someone used you to do their dirty work?"

Yun Sheng’s brow furrowed.

’Since she can’t pin this on me, she’s trying to shift the blame to Xing Che?’

"Yue Yao, are you talking about Xing Che? You don’t seriously think he’d move against Major General Qi, do you?" She let out a soft scoff, then abruptly turned to look at Zhao Heng, who was standing nearby. "Captain Zhao, do you think it’s possible Xing Che would do such a thing?"

Zhao Heng paused, considered it seriously, and then spoke. "I doubt it. With his level of power, if he really wanted to do something to the Major General, he wouldn’t need to go to such lengths. Given the situation yesterday, if he’d simply stood by and done nothing, it’s doubtful any of us would have made it back alive."

Xing Che wasn’t even one of the Sentinels assigned to this training mission. If he hadn’t intervened yesterday, no one could have blamed him. Why would he take a roundabout route and use Yun Sheng to strike?

That would be completely redundant!

A nearby Sentinel who had also been there the day before nodded in agreement. "Captain Zhao has a point. That Xing Che... although we don’t know his background, he really did save all of us yesterday. If he truly meant to harm the Major General, he didn’t need to wait until now."

The other Sentinels exchanged glances. Though they remained silent, their expressions were all ones of agreement.

They had all seen Xing Che save them the day before. They were grateful to him and naturally didn’t want to see him falsely accused.

Seeing their expressions, Lin Yueyao’s face instantly darkened.

She hadn’t been there yesterday and had no idea what had actually happened; she was just seizing on this one detail to shift the blame onto Yun Sheng.

Yun Sheng watched her ashen face, the corners of her own lips twitching into a sarcastic smirk.

"Yue Yao, you see? Even Captain Zhao agrees. Xing Che is the one who saved all our lives. If we go around falsely accusing our saviors, who will dare to help the next time we’re in danger?"

Lin Yueyao bit her lip hard, yet she stubbornly retorted, "Maybe he was just putting on a show because there were so many people watching. How can you trust someone with an unknown background so easily? Why don’t you find him? Have him return to the Capital Star with us, and the Star Alliance will get to the bottom of it."

’Once we’re back on the Capital Star,’ she thought, ’I have plenty of ways to pin this on Yun Sheng.’

’So what if Xing Che is a High Level? He’s just a Sentinel with no background!’

Yun Sheng almost laughed in exasperation at her words.

"Get Xing Che to go back with you? Yue Yao, if you think you’ve got what it takes, go ask him yourself."

With that, she turned to Zhao Heng, her voice steady but firm.

"Captain Zhao, my conscience is clear, and I have absolutely no reason to act against Major General Qi. I insist on staying here until the training period is over. If you try to force me to leave, I will report you to the Tower for revoking my right to complete my training."

Zhao Heng hadn’t suspected Yun Sheng to begin with. Seeing her so resolute, he decided to simply ignore Lin Yueyao’s demands.

Besides, he knew he didn’t have the authority to ask an SSS-level Sentinel like Xing Che to accompany them back.

Anyone could see that if Yun Sheng hadn’t pleaded with him yesterday, Xing Che wouldn’t have helped them at all.

Zhao Heng made the final decision. "Alright, that settles it. We’ll first send the Major General and Miss Yue Yao back to the Capital Star to find out exactly what happened. If this really does have something to do with Yun Sheng, it won’t be too late to investigate after her training is finished."

Lin Yueyao looked like she wanted to say more, her lips parting, but Yun Sheng paid her no mind. She simply nodded to Zhao Heng and walked out of the tent.

She could faintly hear Lin Yueyao’s resentful voice behind her. She didn’t look back, but a small smile touched her lips.

’This round, I won.’

’But once the training test results are out, if my Level increases, Lin Yueyao’s hostility will only grow deeper. I have to get stronger as fast as possible. I can’t be passive like I was before.’

...

Qi Yao and Lin Yueyao were rushed back to the Capital Star.

A new head instructor took charge and immediately dispatched teams to investigate the pollutants around the camp. For the time being, the trainees were exempt from external missions, performing only basic training within the camp.

Yun Sheng took advantage of this lull, meeting Xing Che every day for private training in the small grove outside the camp.

Xing Che’s training method was simple: he relentlessly pushed her spiritual power, forcing her to constantly teeter on the brink of her limits.

"Your spiritual power is much more condensed than it was a few days ago," he said, his amber-gold eyes serious as he looked at her. "But you’re still too slow. In a real crisis, no one is going to wait for you to slowly gather your power."

"Again."

Yun Sheng wiped the sweat from her brow, steeled herself, and charged at Xing Che.

Three thin needles formed from spiritual power shot straight for his face. Xing Che tilted his head to dodge, but just as he regained his footing, more needles flew at him from both sides.

Yun Sheng split her spiritual power into countless threads, a deluge that left no blind spots.

She had never manipulated so many spiritual power needles at once. Her temples throbbed, but not wanting to be underestimated by Xing Che, she gritted her teeth and pushed faster, each needle precisely cutting off his potential paths of retreat.

Xing Che’s figure weaved through the needles, his movements so fast they were nearly a blur.

The final needle grazed the hem of his clothes, tearing a small gash.

He glanced down at the tear, a faint smile touching his lips. It was a subtle expression, but it carried a hint of genuine praise.

"Fast progress," he said, his low voice carrying an unreadable undertone.

Yun Sheng looked up, meeting his gaze, and a small smile played on her lips. "It’s because I have a good teacher."

A flicker of something passed through Xing Che’s eyes. "Next, we’ll try a different training method."

He turned and darted away, quickly returning from the depths of the forest dragging a cage bound by spiritual power.

Inside were three pollutants. They weren’t large, their bodies covered in dark-gray scales and their fangs exposed. They were ramming frantically against the bars, letting out sharp, hissing cries.

Xing Che opened the cage door, took a step back, and said casually, "Three low-level pollutants. Give it a try."

Yun Sheng’s pupils contracted.

She took a deep breath and shot him an exasperated glare. "You call B-level ’low-level’?"

Leaning against a tree with his arms crossed, Xing Che’s lips curved into a smirk. "What, scared?"