Chapter 112: Public Execution

"Senior sister, you are so fierce!" Bai Ruoling stuck out her tongue at Luo Yunshang, making a comical face. "Fine, I'll change back, I'll change back!"

With a loud "poof," a thick cloud of white smoke erupted around Bai Ruoling, completely obscuring her figure. When the smoke finally cleared, Luo Yunshang's eyes widened. "You only changed your backside to be bigger?"

"But you told me to change back to Master's original figure! Master's backside was always this large," Bai Ruoling said, sounding somewhat aggrieved.

"I meant for you to change back to your own original human figure," Luo Yunshang said, slapping her own forehead in exasperation.

"I know, I know, I'll change back right now."

"Wait!"

Luo Yunshang suddenly wore a cunning expression. Her right hand curled into a claw, and she swiped at the small of Bai Ruoling's back. With a crisp "smack," Luo Yunshang looked triumphant. "I've always wanted to try this whenever I saw Master's backside like that..."

"Senior sister," Bai Ruoling wiggled her waist, "do you want to try the other side too?"

"Ahem... Enough, enough. Hurry and change back. You must keep what happened just now a secret. Don't tell anyone. If Master finds out that I—" She stopped abruptly, a daze washing over her as she remembered that her master was already dead.

At this moment, Bai Ruoling shed the Xuan-Yuan Nine-Nether Dress, reverting to her own form, and changed into a vibrant red dress with a low neckline, open back, and high slits.

"Good grief!" Luo Yunshang sighed at her attire. "Bai Ruoling, can't you dress a bit more modestly? It's very inconvenient to travel the world dressed like this."

"This is the most modest one I have," Bai Ruoling replied. "Besides, it took so much effort for me, a White Nightmare Snake, to take on a human form; naturally, I want to dress as gorgeously as possible."

"I suppose you have a point there," Luo Yunshang conceded, seemingly agreeing with her junior sister.

"By the way, senior sister," Bai Ruoling's expression suddenly turned serious, "do you truly believe the Master is still alive?"

"Do you want the truth or the lie?" A trace of inexplicable sorrow clouded Luo Yunshang's face.

"Naturally, I want to hear the truth," Bai Ruoling said.

"The Master is dead."

"And the lie?"

"The Master is still alive, and she will return very soon."

"Senior sister, actually, I think I still prefer the lie..."

...

Seven days later, Yan City.

Prefect Wang Demao had been pacing back and forth in the government office's courtyard, looking restless ever since receiving an official document that morning. Zhao Zhigao and Song Ye happened to enter the courtyard and noticed the Prefect's anxious state.

Zhao Zhigao asked curiously, "Lord Wang, has something happened?"

"Sigh, sigh, sigh!" Wang Demao let out three heavy sighs. "Yan City is truly plagued by misfortune, and being the Prefect here is no easy task. If I had known it would be like this, I would have been better off staying in Cheng County as a lowly magistrate."

Zhao Zhigao asked hurriedly, "Lord Wang, don't scare your subordinates. What exactly happened?"

"The document that just arrived states that the three Immortal sects—the Immortal Edict Sect, the Divine Moon Palace, and the Longba Gate—intend to bring a prisoner to our Yan City for a public execution. These three sects have already notified the Li Kingdom's imperial court, and the court has already consented," Wang Demao said. "After all, the court had no choice but to agree."

Song Ye asked, puzzled, "Do Immortal sects even do public executions?"

"Lord Wang, since it is the Immortal sects executing their own prisoners, what does it have to do with us? We can just watch from the sidelines. Doesn't our imperial court have a tradition of not interfering in the affairs of the Immortal and Demon realms?" Zhao Zhigao asked.

"We don't interfere because we lack the power to do so, but these powerful cultivators from the Immortal and Demon realms have never cared about our lives," Wang Demao shouted. "You were a witness to the great battle here three years ago; you should know that more than a hundred thousand innocent civilians perished, and the entire city of Yan was reduced to ash."

Zhao Zhigao's expression turned grave. "Lord Wang, are you worried that this public execution by the three sects will trigger another battle that will devastate the people of Yan City?"

Wang Demao nodded. "Exactly. That is my fear, because the prisoner they intend to execute publicly is He Yixin, the personal disciple of the Xuan-Yuan Demon Lord."

He Yixin was Qin Xuanxi’s second disciple, known by her own title, the "Taiyin Demon Lord."

"He Yixin, as the Taiyin Demon Lord, killed many members of the Immortal sects on behalf of her master. Many from the Immortal Edict Sect, the Divine Moon Palace, and the Longba Gate died at her hands," Wang Demao continued. "In the past, with the Xuan-Yuan Demon Lord reigning as the Emperor Demon, no one dared to touch her disciple. But the Xuan-Yuan Demon Lord has fallen, and that 'Taiyin Demon Lord' He Yixin declared her departure from the Fanyuan Sect, which gave these three sects the opportunity to seek revenge. They joined forces, mobilized several Immortal Sovereigns, and finally captured He Yixin alive in the Cloud Kingdom."

"Because the Xuan-Yuan Demon Lord died in Yan City, they want to execute her beloved disciple here as well. It is an act akin to whipping a corpse in its coffin—a form of revenge by the Immortal sects against the fallen Xuan-Yuan Demon Lord."

"The problem is that while the Xuan-Yuan Demon Lord is dead, her disciples are still alive, and they are all ruthless. They will not stand by and watch He Yixin be executed; they will surely come to Yan City to rescue her."

"Sigh!" Wang Demao sighed deeply again. "When that time comes, a great battle will be inevitable in Yan City. Do you think this city has bad feng shui? Why does it always attract such unprovoked catastrophes?"

Zhao Zhigao tried to console him. "Lord Wang, perhaps it won't be that bad. Maybe when both sides meet, they will sit down for negotiations, have some tea and buns, and resolve the problem with a laugh? It's not guaranteed that they will fight!"

Wang Demao replied, "I hope so."

At that moment, Song Ye wondered: on the day He Yixin is to be publicly executed, would Qin Xuanxi appear? After all, Song Ye knew that Qin Xuanxi was not dead; she was merely in a place no one could discover. Yet, if she knew her beloved disciple was to be publicly executed, she would surely appear.

...

The present world, Planet Hailan.

After a long wait, it was finally Song Yao's turn to stand before the Mysterious Stone Stele. The stele was cyan, looking like an ordinary bluestone monument, save for a large, engraved character "Xuan" in the center.

Song Yao bit her finger and took a step forward, dripping her blood onto the short stone stele. The blood immediately seeped into the stone, leaving no trace on the surface. Suddenly, the engraved "Xuan" burst into a dazzling golden light.

With that, the registration was complete. The official website did not state exactly when the results would be released, but twelve days later, the three-month test login would open promptly. Those thirty-two players selected for this test would find a "Xuan" mark appear on the back of their right hands.