Qiao Muyi knew Ren Suo wasn't the type to feign injury for compensation. He had, after all, mastered the core technique of such deception: even if someone beat him half to death, he could bring himself back to life. In this sense, aside from a little pain, it was almost risk-free for a Healing Cultivator to fake an accident.

Trembling, Ren Suo raised a hand and stammered to Qiao Muyi, "Help, help me up."

Just moments ago, Ren Suo had fully digested the Mysterious Energy within his body and finally freed himself from the game's control. Before he had time to rejoice, he encountered a serious problem—

He had previously relied on a Determination Value of 170% to hypnotize himself into enduring the excruciating pain of his body tearing apart and healing, all brought about by the 'Mage's Death-Defying Feather.'

Now that the Determination Energy was digested, the masochistic 'Born from Death' state naturally disappeared as well.

After digesting it, he had stood motionless. During his chat with Little Jiu, he only dared to nod. He felt that any more significant movement would cause the pain, previously suppressed by 'Born from Death,' to erupt instantly!

Although 'Pain-Relieving Therapy' was potent, muscle recovery still took time. Ren Suo's entire body was repairing and growing muscle, making it not only painful but also itchy!

Qiao Muyi also noticed something was wrong with Ren Suo, so she took his hand to help him up. Ren Suo stumbled and leaned toward her. Luckily, Qiao Muyi was only a little shorter than him and just tall enough to support him.

Qiao Muyi certainly didn't want Ren Suo to fall again. Otherwise, her subordinates would surely say she was retaliating by picking up a downed enemy to continue with a second round of combo attacks—and she had indeed done similar things before.

"I... had a problem with my spell cultivation," Ren Suo said, trying to breathe gently to ease the pain that even reached his lungs. He whispered in Qiao Muyi's ear, "Just take me to a safe place to sit…"

Qiao Muyi had initially wanted to casually call a Great Han to tend to Ren Suo. But the sound of his ragged breath and voice so close to her ear left her momentarily entranced.

His voice, like a light breeze wrinkling a lake's surface into ripples, or a deer leaving plum-blossom prints across a snowy field, plucked at her most sensitive heartstrings.

Her heart softened. "You guys go up first," she instructed her subordinates.

"Yes." It must be her ex-boyfriend, no doubt, the team members thought.

Qiao Muyi helped Ren Suo to a seating area on the ground floor. "I need to go up and help too," she said. "Stay here for a while... Did you come with other people?"

Ren Suo nodded slightly and asked softly, "Do you need, my help?"

"No need," Qiao Muyi shook her head. "This isn't Heavenly Lotus Academy. This matter is under the full jurisdiction of the Tactical Bureau, and it seems Sky Capital wants to get involved too. You're an unrelated civilian; you're not allowed to be part of this... I'm leaving now."

"Be careful."

Suppressing the fluttering in her heart, Qiao Muyi turned and left.

What's wrong with me? What on earth is happening? Why does my heart feel so joyful just from talking to him, just from hearing his voice?

The thought she had suppressed for so long surfaced once again.

Qiao Muyi abruptly recalled what Ren Suo had said to her at the dinner party eight days prior. His promise to trust her unconditionally seemed to echo in her ears once more.

This is just too unfair, she thought.

「————————」

Touching the blue mark on his left ring finger, Ren Suo calmed himself and contacted the adventurers in the venue.

Once he was free from the game's control, 'Rippling Spring Sounds' immediately reverted to a mark. The game console seemed practically afraid that Ren Suo, now unmonitored, would lose the item's True Form.

"Ren Suo!"

Ren Suo opened his eyes to see Zhao Huo approaching with the anime club members. He gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.

"Did something go wrong with your spell cultivation?" Zhao Huo asked, keeping his distance. "Should we call for an ambulance?"

Ren Suo shook his head slightly. "Let me... stay here a while."

After a moment's thought, he asked, "Did you... run into Qiao Muyi?"

The fact that Zhao Huo immediately asked if his spell cultivation had gone wrong clearly meant Qiao Muyi had told them.

Zhao Huo nodded. "I finally managed to find someone I knew. I asked her to let me go back into the venue to watch, but she refused."

Zhao Huo's tone was filled with regret. "The Fairy Palace, the Mysterious Country, the Federation... a battle of Transcendent beings from three major powers! It's rare to witness such a fight in person. This might be the only chance."

"It will be over soon," Ren Suo said.

"Hmm, I think the outcome is about to be decided. The people from the Fairy Palace will definitely get away safely, but who knows if the Federation members will be caught by the Tactical Bureau…" Zhao Huo mused, then his gaze fixed on Ren Suo. "Speaking of which, Ren Suo, why do you sound so… alluring when you talk?"

Ren Suo was taken aback. What did I say? My lungs are still killing me! How could I sound alluring? Even if my lungs weren't hurting, I'm not the alluring type!

Suppressing a laugh, Sun Shu said, "Brother Huo means, Brother Ren, you have a particularly pleasant voice."

"Yeah, listening to Brother Ren is really comfortable."

"Does Brother Ren have a girlfriend? As a voice lover, I can't control myself~"

"Does Brother Ren have a boyfriend?"

"You're into voices too?"

"No, look, Brother Ren is a Healing Cultivator, right? That would make so many things convenient..."

"Eww…"

The anime club members started chattering animatedly, but they all agreed on one thing: listening to Ren Suo's voice was very soothing.

My voice sounds particularly pleasant? A connection suddenly formed in Ren Suo's mind, and his heart skipped a beat.

Just then, however, the group heard a loud bang overhead. It was followed by a thunderous crash and the sound of shattering glass as a figure plummeted to the ground outside the convention center!

It was Pallbearer R—Roy!

Seeing this, Zhao Huo and the others were invigorated. "Did our side win!?"

Ren Suo, who already knew from the 'Rippling Spring Sounds' link that Pangolin had defeated Roy in their duel, wasn't surprised. "He's trying to run," he said.

Indeed, Roy was trying to flee. If he didn't run then, it would be too late. Because I can already feel that 'referee,' the adventurer, has developed killing intent, he realized.

Now that the Little Nine-Tailed Fox had escaped safely, Ren Suo no longer needed Roy and Pangolin to keep each other occupied. So, he had the adventurer join the fray against Roy—a little trophy for Yu Kuangtu and his team!

But Roy reacted with incredible speed, managing to break through the encirclement and escape.

However, he wouldn't get far.

Sure enough, the adventurer landed, his voice booming to fill a hundred-meter radius. "You lost to me. Your defeat is not unjust."

Roy couldn't even be bothered to curse the adventurer for his shamelessness in ganging up on him, despite his strength. After all, if he hadn't escaped so quickly, the adventurer would have ambushed him. And insulting someone who sees no dishonor in ambushes is merely a form of praise, Roy knew.

Besides, every word I waste cursing him is a lost chance to escape.

However, compared to Pangolin's ground-based speed, the adventurer was much faster—he had wings!

I must find a way to slow him down… Roy thought, forcing himself to remain calm.

Thanks to the Tactical Cultivators' warnings during the evacuation, not many people remained outside the convention center; most visitors had already entered the subway or driven off.

Just then, Roy saw four people walking down the road ahead:

a young man in a Hanfu Scholar Robe and glasses;

a tall, white-haired, powerfully built man in a white tank top, nearly two meters in height;

a slender, white-haired young man in a white shirt and black pants, currently munching on some dates;

and a bald little boy wearing a Five-Clawed Golden Dragon Robe.

Roy's eyes lit up. Heaven is truly on my side!

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