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Of course, Yang Jian had no idea whether the Great Sage had really caught Zixia with another man.

 

He was just guessing, and giving his usual rivalry with the Great Sage, his thoughts really did run in a negative direction.

 

But no matter what had caused the Great Sage to go mad, Yang Jian could have suppressed him on his own. Thing is, due to the gap in cultivation, he’d almost certainly injure him in the process.

 

Yang Jian detested that blasted monkey, but he didn’t want to hurt him.

 

All Yang Jian could do now was wait for Ye Zichen and Pu Jingwan to come over. Then he could join forces with Pu Jingwan. That way, they’d have much better chances of suppressing the Great Sage without hurting him.

 

Then, regardless of whether the Great Sage had been cheated on whatever, they could take their time and comfort him.

 

Ye Zichen now understood that this was a real crisis, so he slipped his phone back into his pocket, his expression solemn.

 

“What is it? I saw that video, and it seems like your little friend’s rather angry.”

 

“We have to go pay a visit to the yao,” said Ye Zichen solemnly.

 

Pu Jingwan nodded. “So, we’re just going to disregard these guys?”

 

Murong Xue and the others’ were truly acting strange, and he still didn’t understand why his friends from Anti-Upheaval weren’t here as well.

 

But Ye Zichen was also well aware that given Murong Xue and Xue Mo’s friendship, they most likely weren’t deliberately isolating Anti-Upheaval or otherwise trying to harm them.

 

If they really were up to something like that, they’d have no reason to try and push him to drink, anyway.

 

It was possible that he was just overthinking things, and that his friends really just wanted to drink with him, and that Anti-Upheaval’s other members really were just resting. It was possible.

 

After all, the tavern didn’t just hold Pang Zheng and Di Long. Murong Xue and Jiang Yong were here too.

 

They absolutely wouldn’t do anything to hurt Xue Mo.

 

Ye Zichen suddenly thought of another possibility. After mulling it over, he decided that the Great Sage’s situation was more important. Or at least, it was more obviously urgent.

 

“Nevermind them.” 

 

Pu Jingwan dispersed the surrounding seals. When they saw Ye Zichen’s expression, everyone else at the table’s expressions grew solemn as well. Murong Xue immediately probed, “Brother Zichen, did something happen?”

 

“Are you hiding something from me?” Ye Zichen fired back.

 

“How could we? Who do you think I am? We’re brothers; how could I possibly hide something from you?” Jiang Yong said with a burst of hearty laughter. “We just saw that you seemed to be in poor spirits, so we were worried about you.”

 

“You’re acting strange.” Ye Zichen narrowed his eyes, which glinted with suspicion.

 

Anyone he looked at subconsciously averted their gaze. Some forced themselves to focus on their alcohol, drinking and refilling their glasses in awkward silence. Others looked at the floor or up at the rafters. In short, all of them looked uncomfortable.

 

“As expected.” Ye Zichen took in their expressions, then laughed. “Anti-Upheaval washed out of the competition, while you all proceeded to the next round, right? You’re here to celebrate, but felt awkward inviting Xue Mo and the others.”

 

The others’ expressions shifted. Finally, Jiang Yong grimaced and nodded. “That’s right. As expected, Brother Ye, you saw through us.”

 

Indeed!

 

This was the possibility that had just occurred to Ye Zichen. The Battle of Geniuses naturally had winners and losers.

 

After losing him, Anti-Upheaval’s strength had dropped far below the other teams. This competition was a gathering of monsters; the odds of washing out were high.

 

After losing their qualifications to participate, even someone like Li Hu wouldn’t be so shameless as to share a celebratory banquet with the victors. 

 

“Haha, look at you guys! You’d go so far to keep such a trivial matter from me, and even try and get me drunk just to stop me from going back to the academy? What, were you worried I’d burst into tears after finding out?  

Ye Zichen shook his head and laughed bitterly. “Don’t worry about it. I already know that among the representatives of Skyspan Academy, our Anti-Upheaval Society is the weakest, especially without me around. I have no one but myself to blame. After you go back, please comfort Xue Mo and the others on my behalf. But don’t worry about it too much; they might have lost, but you’re still in the running.”

 

“Wait, you’re not going back to the academy?” asked Pang Zheng.

 

“I can’t. I have to make an urgent errand to the Yao Realm. You stay here and enjoy your victory banquet. Don’t worry about me. When you go back, please be sure to comfort my friends for me, especially you, Murong Xue. You’re close to Xue Mo, so please look after her. When I get back, I promise I’ll make everything up to them.”

 

With that, Ye Zichen glanced at Pu Jingwan, and they disappeared from the tavern in a flash.

 

The other society heads walked up to the door and watched them leave. When they were out of earshot, they sighed and returned to their seats.

 

“It seems our luck is decent. Even if we got him drunk, it’d buy us a few days of most. Now he’s suddenly running off to the Yao Realm. That should take him at least a few weeks.” Di Long rubbed his cup as he spoke.

 

“That’s right.” Pang Zheng nodded.

 

“We can finally quit wasting time in the tavern,” sighed Xue Lei.

 

Were they really here to celebrate?

 

Of course not!

 

Not even Ye Zichen had figured it out, but they’d actually occupied this tavern for a full three days now since it was en route to Divine Martial Academy. 

 

They were here precisely to stop Ye Zichen whenever he showed up and prevent him from going back to the competition.

 

“IIs this really okay?” Xu Chao’s face was red; he’d had a lot to drink. His eyes were full of confusion. “Even if we delay him, we can’t delay him forever, right? Brother Ye will find out eventually.”  

“Every minute counts. No, every second counts. Given his friendship with Xue Mo, if he finds out what happened, how do you think he’ll react?” Jiang Yong pounded the table and shouted.

 

“But what’s the point of delaying him if he’ll find out anyway? Don’t shout at me; I’m just saying that rationally, there’s no point in delaying the inevitable. What are you shouting for?” Xu Chao fired back.

 

“What are you two doing?” Pang Zheng stepped between them. “Don’t get so worked up. We just have to delay until Xue Mo wakes back up. If she wakes up, it’ll be easier for Brother Ye to accept what happened. Jiang Yong is right; we have to delay him as long as possible. Every second counts. We have to keep this ruse going until Xue Mo wakes up!”

 

“It’s all my fault.” Murong Xue suddenly wrapped her arms around herself, then wailed, “If I’d held out just a little longer, I could have rejoined Xue Mo. If we’d fought together, that might never have happened. Or rather, if I’d been there and sensed the danger, I could have convinced her to forfeit and stay out of the jam-packed play-offs. It’s all my fault, it’s all my fault…”

 

Everyone else in the tavern fell silent. Jiang Yong pulled Murong Xue into his arms and tried to soothe her. “How could it possibly be your fault? If we were stronger, we would never have just watched as that happened to Xue Mo, nor would we let that guy disappear so proudly right before our eyes.”

 

“We have nothing to blame but our own weakness.”

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