Chapter 172: The Enemy in the Shadows

"Elder Wu, please forgive Bai Zhi for being rude, but Su Chen is not at fault; it is Huang Yang who has been causing trouble behind the scenes all along."

Bai Zhi shook her head, still insisting on her decision.

"Hmph! Saintess, you are muddled! Are you really going to side with an outsider like this?"

Wu Taining's expression turned even uglier upon hearing this.

He did not expect Bai Zhi to actually defend an outsider; this was simply preposterous.

"Senior Sister Bai Zhi, please step aside; I cannot let you be put in a difficult position."

Seeing the two at loggerheads, Su Chen frowned and spoke in a low voice.

He knew that today's matter could no longer end peacefully, but he absolutely could not let Bai Zhi suffer even the slightest harm.

"Wangshu, Senior Sister will not step aside!"

Bai Zhi, however, was firm in her stance.

In her view, the whole matter started because of her, and she would never allow Su Chen to be bullied.

This scene immediately caused the surrounding disciples to whisper among themselves.

"Who exactly is this pretty boy, to make the Saintess defend him so?"

"Regardless of who he is, daring to provoke our Heavenly Dao Sect is seeking death!"

"So he is just a newcomer participating in the sect recruitment assessment; I really don't know what he did to earn the Saintess's favor."

This matter quickly caused a huge uproar, especially among the male cultivators, whose eyes were red with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

The image of Bai Zhi in their hearts was too beautiful, like the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden, someone to be looked up to.

"Hmph, since the Saintess insists on shielding this person, then give this Elder a reason, otherwise, do not blame this Elder for being heartless."

Seeing Bai Zhi still protecting Su Chen, Wu Taining's eyes flashed with malice as he spoke coldly.

Upon hearing this, Bai Zhi rolled her eyes, her face lit up, and she pointed to a pillar in the distance: "Elder Wu, you can look at the Image Jade on that pillar to see the sequence of events and understand what happened."

"Hmph!"

Wu Taining followed Bai Zhi's jade-like hand to look at the pillar, then snorted coldly, stepped through the void, and retrieved the Image Jade from the pillar.

Setting up such Image Jades at the recruitment assessment site was to prevent people from cheating.

He had not expected that it would come in handy at a time like this.

Wu Taining held the Image Jade in his palm and injected Spiritual Power into it.

In an instant, the scene from just moments ago appeared in his mind.

Soon, he understood why Su Chen had coerced Huang Yang.

He glanced at Su Chen and Bai Zhi once more, and understood the cause of the entire matter.

He placed the Image Jade back on the pillar, snorted coldly, and turned to leave.

But before leaving, he cast a deep glance at Su Chen.

Seeing Wu Taining leave, the many disciples were in an uproar.

Everyone found it unbelievable that a dignified Guardian Elder of the Heavenly Dao Sect would just leave like that.

Although they knew Huang Yang was at fault first, he was, after all, an Inner Sect Disciple of the Heavenly Dao Sect and a lackey of the Saint Son Chu Xiu.

This Elder Wu did not seem to care about the Saint Son Chu Xiu's authority.

"Wangshu, let's go to the next assessment item!"

Without waiting for Su Chen to respond, Bai Zhi directly took Su Chen's large hand and hurried toward the next test item, without the slightest regard for the surprised gazes of the crowd.

At this moment, in her eyes, Su Chen was more important than anything else; as for the opinions of others, she did not care at all.

Su Chen nodded slightly, letting Bai Zhi hold his hand as they left, leaving only a group of stunned disciples at the scene.

"How could the Saintess so easily hold that guy's hand? Could it be that the Saintess is feeling romantic?"

A male disciple said with a stunned expression; he really could not understand why Bai Zhi would do such a thing.

"Impossible! How could the Saintess like that kind of wet-behind-the-ears youth! You must be overthinking it," another male disciple immediately retorted.

"That's right!"

The female disciples nearby also hurriedly chimed in; they knew that Bai Zhi was always indifferent to male disciples.

"Then why is the Saintess so intimate with that guy?"

The disciple from before scratched his head, his face full of confusion.

Hearing this, the surrounding female disciples were also stunned and fell into silence.

The following few assessments went very smoothly.

Su Chen followed Bai Zhi to the final assessment location.

He was stunned to discover a familiar figure.

It was none other than Huang Yang, who had been causing trouble in the dark earlier.

However, at this moment, Huang Yang's clothes were disheveled, his aura was withered, and he was covered in blood, looking miserable.

"This... Huang Yang has been beaten into such a state! Who beat him like this?"

Seeing Huang Yang's wretched appearance, Bai Zhi's eyes widened in disbelief.

One must know that Huang Yang was an expert in the Inner Sect and a lackey of the Saint Son; who would dare to bully him?

Seeing Bai Zhi's confusion, Su Chen whispered in her ear: "Who else could it be? It must be his master, the Saint Son."

"Ah, this—"

Upon hearing this, Bai Zhi could not help but cover her small mouth and exclaim.

She never expected that Chu Xiu would actually do such a thing.

Being so ruthless to his own subordinates showed just how vicious Chu Xiu was.

"Wangshu, what should we do now? Should we tell the Sect Master?"

Bai Zhi's delicate brows furrowed slightly, her pretty face full of worry.

Su Chen smiled indifferently and said, "What use is there in telling her? Does she trust the Saint Son more, or does she trust you more?"

Hearing this, Bai Zhi's expression shifted for a moment, then she sighed and said nothing more.

Indeed, given the extent of Chu Xiu's sinister and ruthless nature, since he dared to do this, he had likely already calculated how to keep her from finding any evidence.

"Alright, Senior Sister Bai Zhi, there is no need to worry."

Su Chen patted Bai Zhi's shoulder to comfort her.

"Then what should we do now?"

"When soldiers come, block them; when water comes, earth covers it!" Su Chen said with a mysterious smile.

Hearing this, Bai Zhi immediately rolled her eyes in a charming manner; she found that she was truly becoming less and less able to fathom Su Chen's thoughts.

When Huang Yang heard the talking, he looked up and, upon discovering it was Su Chen and Bai Zhi, his body instinctively shrank back.

He was afraid of Su Chen.

The feeling Su Chen gave him was too evil, simply like a devil, making one fearful.

"You..."

He opened his mouth wanting to say something, but after meeting Su Chen's icy gaze, he was so scared he swallowed the rest of his words.

In the end, he mustered his courage and said, "You passed."

He did not want to see Su Chen for even another moment.

He was thinking of sending this plague god away as soon as possible.

"Hmph!"

Hearing this, Su Chen let out a cold snort, took the Assessment Form from his hand, and turned to leave while holding Bai Zhi's hand.

Watching the backs of Su Chen and Bai Zhi as they left, Huang Yang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said with lingering fear, "Damn it, finally sent this god of slaughter away."

Walking out of the testing hall, Bai Zhi was strolling with Su Chen on a mountain peak, feeling very pleasant as the gentle evening breeze blew.

Su Chen followed quietly behind Bai Zhi.

This caused a long-lost smile to appear on the corners of Bai Zhi's mouth, and she suddenly stopped walking.

"Senior Sister Bai Zhi, what is it?" Su Chen frowned slightly and asked.

"It's nothing, it's just that I haven't taken a walk like this in a long time."

Bai Zhi playfully stuck out her tongue and said with a giggle.

Su Chen nodded upon hearing this and said nothing more.

Just at this moment, Su Chen sensed a thick murderous intent.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, his eyes narrowed, and he said chillingly, "What are you doing sneaking around? Get out here at once!"

(End of chapter)