Chapter 48

As the scene in the main hall shifted, the spiritual realm displayed an endless desert. Quite a few disciples were allocated to this desert, numbering more than a dozen. The strength of the monsters in this desert was not formidable, but the realm affected the mental state of individuals. Cultivators, having undergone the fasting period, no longer needed to drink water. However, the desert inexplicably gave people a sense of heat, affecting their mental clarity and making them uncontrollably yearn for water.

Among the disciples in this area, Zhou Yeran easily found his daughter's figure. There was no other reason; among the dozen or so people, only his daughter and Wei Zhao were female. His daughter had attracted quite a few people wanting to establish connections, while Wei Zhao stood alone, creating a stark contrast.

Zhou Yeran was quite familiar with this realm. He couldn't help but worry about his daughter, not because he was concerned that she couldn't defeat the monsters but rather about her endurance in the heat. Didn't he know his daughter well?

Wei Zhao looked at the crowded Zhou Qingxue without any intention of going over. She was only interested in her Mistress and the protagonist of the story. Oh right, she also needed to protect her Mistress's little partner. The rest of the people, in Wei Zhao's eyes, were no different from cabbage, so she didn't care at all.

Growing up in the Cold Mountain Sword Sect, Zhou Qingxue had lived a life of luxury and had become accustomed to being surrounded. Seeing Wei Zhao alone, she shouted loudly, "Hey, they are all with me. When we encounter monsters later, I can still protect you. Why don't you come over with us?"

Wei Zhao just glanced at her and continued walking forward on her own. Wei Zhao was the most considerate Guardian of her Mistress. Did she need others to protect her?

Seeing Wei Zhao ignoring her and walking away, Zhou Qingxue immediately felt a bit unhappy. Her fair face showed a slight frown, "Hey, what's wrong with you? I kindly offered to help you, and you're not grateful. I'm talking to you, ice block!"

Wei Zhao couldn't be bothered to respond and continued sitting on the ground to meditate. Zhou Qingxue heard the people around her saying, "That's right, Senior Sister Zhou is just trying to help her, and she doesn't even appreciate it."

"What kind of person is she, acting like a lone wolf in this day and age? Hmph, I bet she won't be so arrogant when she encounters trouble later."

"Yeah, Senior Sister Zhou, let's not bother with her. Let's see if she can still be so arrogant when she faces difficulties later."

Zhou Qingxue, hearing the comments of the people around her, lost interest. She only blamed that ice block for not paying attention to her. She couldn't understand why she needed to protect others. These disciples were just enjoying the protection of others, right?

Suddenly, the previously hot desert stirred up waves of yellow sand, and cultivators with insufficient cultivation were blown forward bit by bit by the yellow sand.

Wei Zhao immediately infused her spiritual qi into the soles of her feet, anchoring herself in the sand like a root. She randomly took out a piece of clothing from her storage bag and wrapped it around her head to prevent sand and wind.

She curiously glanced at Zhou Qingxue and others but couldn't help feeling that Zhou Qingxue was quite loyal. She was using her own spiritual qi to protect the people around her. What were these people here for? Enjoying the protection of others? It had nothing to do with her, and she sat down on the ground to meditate. Otherwise, in such a strong wind, maintaining one's posture required a considerable amount of spiritual qi, so she needed to replenish it promptly.

On the other side, Zhou Qingxue struggled to stabilize the figures of more than a dozen people around her. She gritted her teeth and said to the people around her, "You guys, use your spiritual qi."

Only then did those people use their spiritual qi to stabilize their figures. However, some of them, seeing that Zhou Qingxue could handle it on her own, only made symbolic gestures without exerting much effort. Even though Zhou Qingxue had a higher cultivation level, she couldn't withstand such consumption.

Fortunately, the strong wind lasted for an hour before subsiding. Zhou Qingxue's spiritual qi was almost depleted, and her limbs were so weak that she couldn't move.

One daring male cultivator squatted in front of Zhou Qingxue, pretending to offer her back support. Zhou Qingxue, on one hand, believed that she could recover after resting for a while, and on the other hand, she felt that it was not appropriate to let an unfamiliar male cultivator carry her. Therefore, she refused.

At this moment, Zhou Yeran's face in front of the mirror turned green. His daughter, who was ignorant of the ways of the world, wanted to ensure the safety of these people? Obviously, just now, some people didn't use their spiritual qi, relying entirely on his daughter. Now, it was even more excessive; someone actually wanted to take advantage of his daughter's weakness. Zhou Yeran wanted to rush in, pull his daughter out, and teach her a lesson about the world. This secret realm was considered a lesson for his daughter.

However, the temporary calm after the yellow sand did not last long. Soon, giant lizards emerged one after another from the sand, each about two to three meters long, with their tongues oozing a considerable amount of mucus.

Wei Zhao directly took out her long whip and injected spiritual qi into it. The whip lashed out, swiftly dismembering several monsters that approached her. The mucus from the monsters' bodies splattered everywhere.

Zhou Qingxue initially had people protecting her, but gradually, those people were overwhelmed dealing with the monsters themselves. Moreover, they were eager to accumulate points by killing monsters. Slowly, no one was protecting Zhou Qingxue. However, Zhou Qingxue's spiritual qi was already depleted at this point, and she didn't even have the strength to stand up.

Soon, a monster appeared near Zhou Qingxue, sticking out its tongue at her. Zhou Qingxue shouted to the people she had just saved, "Come and help me! I've exhausted my spiritual qi trying to save you."

Those people pretended not to hear and completely ignored Zhou Qingxue. Finally, someone responded, saying, "Senior Sister, since you don't need points for ranking, why not just break the wooden plaque and leave?"

Upon hearing this, the male cultivators who had left Zhou Qingxue alone earlier felt somewhat guilty. Now that they realized Zhou Qingxue could break the wooden plaque to leave, they no longer cared about her well-being. As long as she could leave, they hurriedly focused on killing monsters to earn points.

Zhou Qingxue was stunned. Breaking the wooden plaque was something she hadn't even considered. With her current cultivation in the Nascent Soul realm, breaking the plaque and leaving would be embarrassing. She didn't expect that the people she had just saved had no intention of helping her.

Just as the slimy tongue of a lizard was about to reach Zhou Qingxue's clothes, the entire lizard was encircled by Wei Zhao's whip and thrown dozens of meters away. Wei Zhao leisurely walked towards Zhou Qingxue, continuously wielding her whip to kill the monsters.

Zhou Qingxue was almost moved to tears by Wei Zhao's timely help. She saw that disgusting monster being thrown away, and the person who saved her was none other than Wei Zhao, whom she had not treated well just now.

Wei Zhao didn't particularly want to save the cabbage in front of her, but having read too many stories recently, including many where heroes saved the beauty, she instinctively saved the person.

However, Wei Zhao couldn't help but roll her eyes. Zhou Qingxue might be beautiful, but her mind wasn't sharp. How could she be deceived by those people just now? Therefore, there was some disdain in Wei Zhao's eyes as she looked at Zhou Qingxue.

Zhou Qingxue was about to express her gratitude when she noticed the disdain in Wei Zhao's eyes. She held back her words of thanks, watching as Wei Zhao stood in front of her, whipping away the monsters.

Wei Zhao's moves were decisive, and she quickly surpassed many people, reaching second place on the points leaderboard.

The large group of monsters in front of her was also wiped out by Wei Zhao. The male cultivators had to go to a more distant area to find monsters since they couldn't compete with Wei Zhao's speed and strength.

Now, only Wei Zhao remained by Zhou Qingxue's side. Wei Zhao used a spell to clear away the corpses of the monsters around them. She then sat down beside Zhou Qingxue and took out a pill from her storage bag to restore her spiritual qi, showing no intention of offering it to Zhou Qingxue.

Only now did Zhou Qingxue remember that she also had pills to restore spiritual qi. Without needing Wei Zhao, she tried her best to take out her storage bag. However, after putting in all her strength to take out the bag, she found that she couldn't use her spiritual qi to open it.

She had to force herself to say to Wei Zhao, "Hey, help me open the storage bag."

Wei Zhao looked around and pointed to herself in confusion, "Are you calling me?"

Zhou Qingxue's eyes turned even redder, tears swirling in her eyes. With a stiff tone, she said, "Of course, I'm calling you. Can't you see there's no one else here?"

"I have a name. Besides, if you're asking for help, you should have the attitude of asking for help. I didn't know you were calling me just now." Wei Zhao spoke without taking the storage bag.

After Wei Zhao finished speaking, Zhou Qingxue couldn't hold back her tears any longer. One by one, they fell. She choked and said, "Wuwuwu, I don't need your help."

Wei Zhao glanced at Zhou Qingxue, nodded, and said, "Alright, then I'll go ahead."

Saying that, she continued walking forward. Zhou Qingxue's heart tightened. This was different from what she had imagined. In the past, when she was in the sect, others would always surround her. Moreover, she was just a young girl. Was this ice block really going to leave like this?

If she also left, she would have to break the wooden plaque and embarrass herself. Thinking of this, Zhou Qingxue cried even louder.

After walking a distance, Wei Zhao noticed that the cabbage seemed to be crying even more miserably. Wei Zhao felt a bit sorry and, considering the novels she had read, where heroes didn't abandon the damsel, she found herself in a difficult situation!