Chapter 58: Ambushed by the Lake

10:00 AM, just before the third class began.

"Wen Wen, what's going on? Why did the group suddenly disperse? Are we still meeting for practice tonight?"

"Did some hostile force target us?"

"Regardless, we paid our membership fees. They wouldn't just abandon us like this, right? I'm starting to feel uneasy."

The tiered lecture hall was still sparsely filled. As Chi Wen took her seat, two or three female classmates immediately surrounded her, blocking her in.

"Don't panic. I'm sure this will be resolved soon," Chi Wen said in a hushed tone. "I'm just a nominal member, and I haven't received any updates yet. Anyway, please stay calm; we're in a state of emergency. I trust our leader will handle it properly."

The girls exchanged glances before nodding hesitantly.

Chi Wen added, "For now, we should all spread out and keep a low profile. Don't participate in any activities over the next few days. If there's any news, I'll inform you right away."

One girl whispered, "But I put in all my pocket money..."

"If anyone suffers a loss in the end, I'll take responsibility." Chi Wen pressed her lips together. "Please trust our leader."

The girls nodded again and quickly dispersed, taking seats in different parts of the classroom.

Chi Wen frowned slightly as she glanced at her phone inside the desk compartment. A trace of anxiety crept into her heart; she still hadn't received a single call.

Rain falls, winds rise, lightning flashes, thunder roars.

This was the highest alert level in the club, and it triggered a series of emergency protocols.

What exactly happened? Is this what the leader warned us about—the so-called guardians of the old order who disapprove of us? Or is this something else...?

Chi Wen's three dormmates sat in the front row, which was reserved for top students. Normally, she sat there too, but today, she was feeling unsettled and had to stay available for communication, so she had chosen a seat further back.

With class about to start, students began arriving in small groups. The classroom was filled with youthful energy; some students were still yawning drowsily.

"Sis, sit here," someone suggested.

Chi Wen recognized the voice. Glancing to the side, she saw the couple whom she had run into twice yesterday.

The strikingly beautiful woman and the ponytailed man, who had shattered his phone screen right in front of her, had left a deep impression on her. She couldn't forget them even if she tried.

Strangely enough, they walked over naturally and sat down—one on her left, the other on her right.

Chi Wen's brow furrowed tightly. She turned to look at the woman to her left but hesitated to speak. She then looked at the man to her right, finding him smiling faintly at her.

She lowered her head. Deciding to move away, she gathered her things.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Wang Sheng. I am your father's disciple," Wang Sheng said in a calm yet serious tone.

Chi Wen froze. The word "father" was so unfamiliar to her that, for a moment, she didn't even know how to react.

Wang Sheng added, "The girl to your left is my senior sister. She has been training under your father since childhood. I joined a bit later—it hasn't even been four years since I entered the sect."

Chi Wen warily stared at Wang Sheng. "What nonsense are you talking about? My father died in a car accident twenty years ago. Who are you?"

A car accident...

Well, that did sound like the type of cover that their mistress would come up with.

Wang Sheng took out his shattered phone and placed it in front of Chi Wen. Then, he pulled out his own phone and showed two old photographs—the ones that his master had drunkenly shown him on the Double Ninth Festival years ago. The creases on the photos evidenced that someone had looked at them repeatedly.

Wang Sheng had secretly taken snapshots of them back then, thinking he might use them one day to help his master find Mistress and their lost junior sister. He never expected them to come in handy today.

"Your mother sent these a few years ago, probably to reassure your father. We don't know the full story of what happened back then. All I know is that your mother vanished without a trace while pregnant with you." Wang Sheng sighed. "Ever since, our master has spent every day gazing in the direction she left, shedding tears. Over the years, he has nearly cried himself blind..."

"

Mm?

" Mu Wanxuan's eyes widened in disbelief. Wang Sheng subtly gestured for her to stay quiet.

"My father...?" Chi Wen's face turned pale as she stared at the photos on Wang Sheng's phone. "No, that's impossible!"

The images were quite convincing. She also knew quite well how hot-tempered her mother could be.

Although she kept denying it, a part of her understood that if her parents had really fought back then, her mother wouldn't have been above storming off in anger and never contacting her father again.

But a master? A senior sister? What was all that about?

"We also have this. Your mother just sent it."

Wang Sheng delivered the final blow. He fiddled with his cracked phone, pulled up a short video, and then handed her an earphone.

They had received the video just minutes ago. In it, Chi Wen's mother was in a car, facing the camera with a solemn expression.

"Chi Wen, Wang Sheng and Wanxuan are your father's disciples. I trust them deeply. Leave school with them immediately. I'll be there in about two hours."

"I... I have a dad?" Chi Wen murmured. Unfortunately, the video did not give her any answers.

Her bangs covered most of her expression. Tears slid down her cheeks, which she wiped away with the back of her hand. Looking up at Wang Sheng with her lips pressed together, she sharply shouted, "Liar!!!"

The students in the room turned to look at them.

Chi Wen abruptly stood up, glared at Wang Sheng, and then walked toward Mu Wanxuan. Soft-hearted, her senior sister instinctively got up to make way.

Before leaving, Chi Wen turned back and shouted, "You're all liars!"

Wang Sheng chuckled bitterly. He had expected her to react like this.

Mu Wanxuan smiled helplessly and quickly followed. She had to ensure their junior sister's safety.

Wang Sheng, however, remained seated for a moment, scanning the lecture hall.

Chi Wen's dormmates stood up one after another. A few others also rose, but Wang Sheng's gaze made them hesitate.

He slowly spread out his spiritual consciousness and made a faint pressure of sword intent bear down on them. Since they were only at the early stage of the Breath Condensation Realm and were not even technically considered true cultivators yet, they immediately felt a chill run down their spines.

Finally, Wang Sheng stood up and followed his martial siblings. He looked as though he was simply strolling, yet he moved faster than a person in a full sprint.

Chi Wen was currently the only high-ranking member of the Supernatural Revelation Club who hadn't gone into hiding. Though her nominal regional emissary position did not hold much valuable intelligence, she still couldn't afford to let her guard down.

Stepping out of the academic building, Wang Sheng immediately noticed and followed the true essence markers that his senior sister had left along the way. Their junior sister seemed to be running toward the lake. Given her cultivation level and speed, Wang Sheng wasn't too worried about his senior sister losing track of her.

Would the higher-ups of the Supernatural Revelation Club attempt to rescue her?

Wang Sheng actually hoped they would. Realistically, though, it was unlikely. If Chi Wen was important to them, they wouldn't have left her uninformed when they withdrew earlier in the morning.

His junior sister had clearly been deceived. Thankfully, it was only money that she lost.

Wang Sheng spotted them by the lakeside. Mu Wanxuan was sitting on a bench, holding Chi Wen, who was still wiping away tears. Mu Wanxuan, on the other hand, looked anxious but struggled to find the right words to comfort her.

After a moment of thought, Wang Sheng gestured to his senior sister, signaling that he wouldn't approach.

If he stepped in, it would only provoke Chi Wen even more. Letting his senior sister use her charm to gradually persuade her was the best approach.

Looking around, Wang Sheng suddenly felt a slight unease and extended his spiritual consciousness.

With classes starting, the campus had grown quiet. Even the distant chatter from the academic buildings was fading.

Wang Sheng's expression abruptly changed. He turned to the woods by the lake, which were just twenty to thirty meters behind Mu Wanxuan and Chi Wen. A shadowy figure hiding behind a tree trunk raised a concealed sleeve arrow.

Mu Wanxuan was so focused on comforting their junior sister that she had forgotten to scan the area with her spiritual consciousness!

"Senior Sister!" Wang Sheng shouted, his true essence surging wildly within him as he launched forward.

Startled by Wang Sheng's sudden outburst, the attacker immediately triggered the mechanism and glanced at him.

Whoosh!

A sleeve arrow, over ten centimeters long and imbued with true essence, shot straight toward Chi Wen's back!

Sword energy—no, my sword isn't with me!

Empty-handed, Wang Sheng suddenly found himself unable to act. Thankfully, his senior sister didn't falter.

By the time the arrow left the mechanism, Mu Wanxuan had already pulled Chi Wen into her arms and swung her hand backward, unleashing a palm strike toward the forest. Yin and Yang qi converged, forming a whirlwind that quickly swallowed and shattered the arrow!

Though Wang Sheng sighed in relief, his expression darkened. With a leap, he closed in on the assailant and hit them in the back with a palm strike.

Finally, Wang Sheng identified the person who had tried to silence Chi Wen: a short-haired girl in loose athletic wear. Nevertheless, he showed no mercy. If his attack landed, she would be seriously injured.

The girl glared at Wang Sheng as her expression turned grim. She pushed off the tree trunk with her left foot, launching her backward like a falling leaf.

Footwork technique?

She then threw the ruined sleeve arrow at Wang Sheng's face. He dodged with a sidestep, but the brief pause slowed his momentum.

Having gained a few meters of distance, the short-haired girl smirked coldly and immediately turned to flee.

"Wanxuan, protect Chi Wen!"

Wang Sheng's frustration flared. Someone had nearly harmed his senior sister right in front of him. What was the point of his cultivation if he couldn't even prevent that?

Seven-Star Footwork: Stellar Steps!

Pushing the power of his Seven-Star Footwork to its limit, Wang Sheng weaved through the trees at extreme speeds to chase after the fleeing girl.

For some reason, he recognized her aura.

Ah, that's right!

Last night, when he escorted his senior sister back to the dormitory at around 10:00 PM, he used his spiritual consciousness to scan the area and detected a mid-stage Spirit Convergence Realm cultivator in the west wing of the second floor.

It was her!