Han Xuhan was immensely relieved to see that his obstinacy, coupled with the instability of the factional disputes in the Stardust sect was working its charm. Despite having him surrounded, his three opponents decided not to risk breaking any rules.
"Well, it's not an issue to get the official recognition. We just need to call some disciples from the middle ring," one of the girls said in a cautious tone.
"Let's use the flair," the other girl agreed.
"Oh you don't need to waste a flair on an insignificant opponent like me," Han Xuhan quickly interrupted them before the situation could go spiraling out of his control.
"Just call your martial sister Shen Mi. She's right there."
The three disciples of the Stardust Sect were stunned once more as their gazes swiveled in the direction he was pointing at. Han Xuhan had seen Shen Mi disappear behind one of the houses in that area.
"...And how do you know that?" the male disciple enquired in a suspicious tone.
Han Xuhan beamed joyfully.
The fish was right where he wanted it to be.
"Haven't you heard? Your Phoenix Faction has been accused of colluding with disciples of foreign sects. And rightfully so."
All three disciples looked stunned for a moment.
"...Nice try. Do you think you can incite an infighting among the factions just because we are in the middle of a conflict?"
"The Mouth of Destiny, your trusted treasure, confirmed it," Han Xuhan said plainly, wiping off the derisive expressions of his three opponents.
"If you don't believe me, just call her over."
Seeing his relaxed, fearless countenance, the seed of doubts in their hearts grew. One of the girls finally relented and strode away to call Shen Mi over.
The other two disciples became extra cautious in their battle stances. One versus three was a hard confrontation to get out of, especially when the outnumbered party also had the lowest cultivation base. But a two versus one fight was too unpredictable due to the variety of cultivation techniques available.
Han Xuhan, however, had no such intentions. He placed his hands behind his back and stood with his face upturned, exuding the demeanor of an otherworldly expert.
Hardly a minute had passed that way when the sound of something exploding came from behind.
Boom!
All three of them turned to look at the middle ring from where the sound seemed to emanate from.
"A thunderstorm trial?" said the remaining girl to her compatriot in an unsure tone.
"Doesn't sound like it. Those trials are visible from any part of the island," he replied.
At that moment, they sensed a huge wave of qi rolling over towards them like a tsunami tide. Both of their expressions turned somber.
"Seems more like two cultivators at the late stages of the Physique Transformation realm are fighting," the boy said.
"His teammates must have been caught." The girl sounded hopeful.
"Then we don't have to worry about any of his teammates coming to save him," the boy said somewhat maliciously. "I hope you don't mind some...interrogation tactics, brother."
Han Xuhan turned to flash him a grin before looking back at the middle ring island, hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever was taking place there.
"Not at all. I am a very honest man. You can trust everything I say," he muttered.
Destructive sounds continued to come from that direction, accompanied by sensations of chaotic qi.
Boom!
Gong!
The sound of a large bell being struck seemed to have implied something, because both of Xuhan's opponents gasped audibly.
Seeing them exchange a nervous look, Han Xuhan's heart relaxed.
Even in a three versus ten fight, his martial siblings weren't bound to suffer a loss. Worrying about them wasn't necessary.
Suddenly, a giant boulder was thrown up in the sky above the floating island, reaching as high as the top of the white tower in the central ring. But dozens of swords materialized around the boulder as if they were waiting for this to happen. Each of the swords swung out in precise arcs, leaving deep cuts on the boulder one after one until the last strike which reduced it into countless bits and pieces.
The entire process barely took five seconds. Han Xuhan recognized the flying swords. He had seen Yuen Zhou practice them back in their sect, right before the execution of the Celestial Gateway Technique.
"What's going on here?" shouted a familiar voice.
The attention of all three shifted towards the newcomer accompanied by the third member of the trio of disciples who had caught Han Xuhan.
"Hello, sister Mi. Short time, no see," Han Xuhan said with a cheerful wave.
"...Who the fuck are you and how do you know me?"
Shen Mi didn't seem to be in a good mood, which was reasonable in her circumstances.
"How surprising...has she not shouted at your face upon finding you that a person from another sect has come to fulfill the prediction made by Brother Leng Qing?" Han Xuhan pointed at the messenger girl with his chin.
Shen Mi's countenance turned uglier. With a burst of incredible speed, one of her hands clasped Xuhan's throat, pushing his body up in the air and moving him a foot past the edge of the island.
"So you've witnessed the contest and thought you could take advantage of us? Have you wondered what would happen if I dropped you right now? There aren't any subspace gateways below for you to safely land on another sect. Throwing you into the sea should clear our name, right?"
Han Xuhan tried in vain for the first few seconds to detach her grip from crushing his windpipe. But her cultivation was way above his own. Finding the pursuit futile, he chose to take the gamble.
There was only one reason why he had followed this girl to the outer ring.
"Feng Jun needs your help," he said faintly.
Gong!
A tall wave of wind and dust rushed past them from the middle ring, the sounds of battle nearly submerging his words.
The change that sentence brought was immediate, and impactful.
Her grip lost its viciousness, her stance faltering. For a second, he was afraid that she would drop him from the shock. But she recovered quickly.
Han Xuhan was shakily thrown away from the edge. Landing on all fours, he couldn't help but laugh silently in relief.
The gamble had paid off!
As he stood up, he realized that the other three disciples of the Stardust Sect were wearing a similar expression-- confounded, alert, and alarmed.
Shen Mi was breathing heavily, her teeth gritted.
"I swear to the heavens, if you're lying-"
"I'm the last person to see him before his disappearance," Han Xuhan said, interrupting her threats midway.
"If I remember correctly, around twenty to twenty-five of your peers banded together to explore a world fragment half a year ago. Out of that team, less than five members made it past the first test while the rest were either forced to return, or disappeared in the deadly fog, or killed, I'm not too certain. What I'm certain of is that Feng Jun didn't die. He was one of the few who managed to forge a way deeper into that world fragment, from where he never returned. Am I wrong?"
"...."
With each sentence he uttered, Shen Mi's face became a shade paler.
Boomboomboom! Boom!
The tempo of the fighting in the middle ring seemed to have reached its climax. Even Xuhan began to feel a bit concerned.
The three other disciples exchanged complex looks among themselves.
"So you were there? Deep inside that world fragment? How did you return when Brother Feng Jun couldn't? At that time, his cultivation was about to hit the late stages of the Physique Transformation realm already. Judging by your current cultivation level, you should've barely been at the early layers."
This came from the male disciple, who was clearly more experienced than his two sisters. But Han Xuhan had been expecting that question since he had decided to confront Shen Mi.
"I wasn't alone, neither was I as defenseless as your brother. And nor was I as greedy as him."
"Greedy?" Shen Mi repeated after him.
"Yes. He was unable to control his greed for a mysterious inheritance left by a ruined sect. What that resulted in is his permanent imprisonment inside that world fragment. I'm pretty sure he's still alive, though. From a source of information I left inside that world fragment, I've learned that he reached the eighth layer of the Physique transformation realm last month."
The last part of his revelation seemed to hit all four of them like a brick.
"So it was true. Her reading wasn't wrong," Shen Mi muttered to herself, her eyes glowing with joy and relief.
In contrast, the countenance of her three peers wasn't so good.
"Sister Mi, are you thinking about compromising with the enemy? Now?" one of the girls said in a tone of warning.
"Yeah, he just said that Brother Feng Jun has been permanently imprisoned inside that world fragment. And those who managed to return from that mission also confirmed that there isn't a way to open up the portal leading into that place. Please don't make any concessions in such a vain hope of rescue. He's clearly trying to take advantage of you!" shouted the other girl.
But from the corner of his eyes, Han Xuhan noticed that the boy was gesturing at the girls subtly to shut up.
"Sister Mi, I think rescuing Brother Feng Jun is more important than winning this useless competition. It's not like this is the last time this inter-sect competition will be arranged. I say, we should listen to him first and see if it is possible to rescue Brother Jun and anyone else who might be trapped in that world fragment,"
While Shen Mi seemed absorbed momentarily in her own world of thoughts, Han Xuhan sent a cautious look at the young man who had apparently transcended beyond the political scuffles of his sect. The sincere look on his face, combined with the rational logic in his words could convince anyone that he was thinking about the greater good, that he wasn't at all scheming to use Shen Mi's decision as an opportunity to dethrone the Phoenix faction.