The Ruins End, Team Silver Takes the Stage

Hearing this, Su Muwan glanced at the crowd below, her disdainful tone reaching everyone’s ears.

"A bunch of useless fools. I told you not to enter the ruins."

Qin Luo nodded in agreement. "They really know how to make trouble for others."

The crowd: "......"

"Enough."

"If they’ve survived this long, they must at least be somewhat resilient minnows."

"They might still be useful in future battles."

With that, Su Muwan raised her head, her gaze lingering for a moment on the wildly operating Spirit-Devouring Array before she lightly lifted her right hand.

The crowd was momentarily stunned.

What was Su Muwan planning to do?

The Sword Immortal quickly warned, "Miss Su, you mustn’t! The more spiritual energy you use, the more this array will—"

"Annoying."

Before he could finish, Qin Luo coldly interrupted. "Don’t lump my young mistress in with the likes of you."

"Uh..."

The crowd shrank back, and the Sword Immortal awkwardly fell silent. Fine, he’d see how she planned to break it.

The next second, the temperature in the air plummeted, and countless ice crystals materialized out of thin air.

ROAR!!!

A massive ice dragon coalesced before Su Muwan.

What?!

Everyone was shocked.

Just how vast was this woman’s spiritual energy? To summon an ice dragon in a place like this?!

"ROAR!"

The ice dragon was lifelike, its scales glinting with a cold light as it let out a deafening roar that made everyone’s eardrums throb.

"Break."

Su Muwan parted her lips slightly, uttering a single word.

The ice dragon obeyed, shooting toward the Spirit-Devouring Array like an arrow loosed from its bow.

Wherever the dragon passed, the air seemed to freeze, even distorting the light around it.

BOOM!

The moment the dragon collided with the array, the Spirit-Devouring Array erupted in a blinding flash, emitting a piercing shriek.

Black runes and blue ice crystals intertwined, clashing violently as waves of immense energy exploded outward.

Yet, against Su Muwan’s frost power, the Spirit-Devouring Array quickly faltered.

The crowd watched as the ice dragon’s power relentlessly corroded the array, the black runes shattering one after another, dissolving into nothingness.

As the array collapsed, the overwhelming suction force vanished instantly. The crowd, finally released from its grip, slumped to the ground in relief.

But their eyes remained fixed on Su Muwan in the air, their hearts trembling with awe.

This... this was beyond ridiculous.

The array that had nearly wiped them out was effortlessly dismantled by Su Muwan?

SWOOSH!

Su Muwan and Qin Luo descended back to the ground.

The Yu Xu Sword Immortal struggled to his feet, clasping his hands toward Su Muwan in gratitude. "Many thanks to Miss Su and Master Qin for saving us. Without you, we would have surely perished today."

The others quickly followed suit, rising to their feet.

Su Muwan gave a slight nod, her tone indifferent. "No need for thanks. This ruin was only made public to lure out the Shadow Organization."

"Saving you was incidental."

The crowd stiffened awkwardly.

Su Bailian let out a quiet sigh of relief.

I knew it. These two were behind everything.

So... does that mean it’s over now?

Oh, right.

Now’s the time to...

She tightened her grip on the cow’s tail, gulped, and timidly called out in a small voice, "S-Su... Su-jie..."

Su-jie?!

Everyone immediately whipped their heads toward Su Bailian.

Wang Yan, too, looked at her in alarm.

What is Little Bailian doing provoking this terrifying woman—

Wait a second.

Wang Yan’s eyes widened in realization.

Su Muwan’s surname was Su. Su Bailian’s surname was also Su.

So... were they...?

Su Muwan studied Su Bailian’s expression—three parts fear, three parts joy, one part hesitation—before speaking coolly after a brief pause.

"So you’re here too."

"With how weak you are, how many people will have to risk their lives just to protect you?"

As she spoke, Su Muwan strode toward Su Bailian, her face icy.

"My foolish little sister..."

The moment those words left her lips, the entire crowd gasped, their eyes darting between the two.

They were sisters?!

Su Bailian’s face instantly paled, her lips trembling as terror washed over her like a tidal wave.

She instinctively took a few steps back, her pitiful demeanor enough to stir sympathy in anyone’s heart.

Chu Yu, seeing Su Muwan like this, clenched her fists in frustration, lowering her head.

Her eyes were filled with dread.

It’s... it’s exactly the same...

This Su Muwan... is identical to the one who killed me in my past life...

The crowd swallowed hard.

This sisterly relationship didn’t seem too harmonious.

Could it be...

Su Muwan intended to kill Su Bailian right here?!

Poor Bailian, look how she’s shaking in fear.

Seeing this—

"W-Wait a second!"

Wang Yan’s heart clenched, and without thinking, he stepped forward, placing himself between Su Bailian and Su Muwan.

He spread his arms, his body trembling slightly, beads of sweat forming on his forehead—but his eyes held a stubborn resolve.

"P-Please, Miss Su... don’t hurt Little Bailian!"

His voice wavered slightly.

Su Muwan’s steps didn’t falter. Each footfall was steady, the oppressive aura around her thickening like a physical weight.

The air itself seemed to solidify under her presence, making it hard for the onlookers to breathe, as if an invisible mountain pressed down on their chests.

Her gaze, colder than a frozen abyss, swept over Wang Yan as if he were nothing more than an insignificant ant.

After a long silence—

"Hmph."

Su Muwan scoffed dismissively.

But she said nothing more.

Turning away, she addressed Qin Luo, who stood nearby with an amused smile.

"Boring."

"Qin Luo, let’s go."

"Understood, Young Mistress."

Qin Luo grinned before turning to the crowd, his tone light but carrying an unmistakable edge.

"Everyone, evacuate the ruins immediately. From this moment onward, this site is under the jurisdiction of the Alliance."

"Resist, and..."

"You’ll bear the consequences."

The crowd: !!

......

......

Outside.

Wave after wave of newly arrived forces gathered at the entrance of the ruins.

"Boss, are we really doing this?"

A nervous underling turned to his leader. "Didn’t the Alliance say this ruin belongs to the local—"

"Idiot!"

Before he could finish, the leader snapped. "Are you stupid? This is the ruins of the Primordial Profound Sect!"

"If our poaching group can snatch even one opportunity, we can establish our own sect!"

"Besides, didn’t you see that monster Su Muwan fly off with her lackey?"

"Without them, who can stop us?!"

"Exactly."

Another chimed in. "The fools who went in first must’ve already fought each other half to death over treasures."

"By the time they come out, they won’t stand a chance against us."

Just then—

WHOOSH!

Light shimmered at the ruins’ exit as figures staggered out one after another.

Their faces were pale, their spiritual energy faint—clear signs of the toll the Spirit-Devouring Array had taken.

Even the Sword Immortal and the Zen Master were no exception.

"HAHA!! Just as I thought—they’re all injured!"

The leader’s eyes gleamed with greed as he raised his hand.

"Brothers, charge! Seize their treasures!"

"YES!"

The newly emerged martial artists were both furious and alarmed. The Sword Immortal’s expression darkened.

Damn it, incidents of murder for treasure and besieging ruins did happen from time to time.

But in the past, they would always leave some room for retreat.

This time, however, the situation was different. Forget about others—

even he didn’t have a trace of spiritual energy left. Could it be...

they escaped the Shadow Organization only to fall into the hands of this poacher gang?

Just as the thought crossed his mind—

BOOM!

A deafening sonic boom erupted in the sky, like thunder cracking right above their heads.

Everyone instinctively looked up.

What they saw froze them in place—a dense formation of figures clad in silver-white battle armor, hovering high in the air.

The crowd stood dumbstruck, their gazes locked onto the countless silver silhouettes looming above.

Before they could even process it, an icy, deathly aura descended from the heavens with crushing force.

"Kill!"

The Silver Squad captain roared, his voice like thunder. The sword in his hand erupted with blinding light, as if splitting the sky apart.

In an instant, the entire horizon was swallowed by a raging silver tide as the squad members descended like falling stars upon the bandits below.

The air tore apart in their wake, shrieking sharply.

One of the squad members raised an energy rifle, its barrel pulsing with an eerie blue glow as power rapidly condensed at its tip.

BANG!

A deafening blast echoed as a thick beam of energy shot forth, instantly striking a dazed poacher.

The man didn’t even have time to scream before the terrifying energy impact vaporized him into a mist of blood.

Not even ashes remained—only a charred crater scorched into the ground by the blast.

That first shot triggered a chain reaction.

Every squad member raised their energy rifles, and soon, the eerie blue glow flickered like wildfire among the silver-armored figures.

A torrent of energy beams rained down like a storm, mercilessly reaping the lives of the poacher gang.

One bandit barely managed to raise his broadsword in a futile attempt to resist before an energy beam struck him square in the chest.

In a flash, his body erupted like a firework, vanishing in a dazzling burst of light—leaving only the horrified cries of the surrounding warriors.

The sheer brutality of the scene left everyone present in stunned silence.

The Sword Immortal paled. "No way... the Alliance is actually killing them."

A female rogue cultivator from the loose coalition shrank back in fear, muttering, "Damn... this is bad. I’m not part of any local faction either..."

That night, the Silver Squad of the Alliance completely shattered everyone’s understanding of technology.

From then on, they were known as... the White Phantoms.

The Alliance’s most ruthless killing machines.

With the ordeal over, the Spirit Ox carried Su Bailian and the others, preparing to return to the Primordial Holy Land.

"Oxie, are you really okay?"

Su Bailian gently patted the ox’s head, her voice full of concern.

"Moo~~"

"Good."

She sighed in relief.

This recyclable ingredient must not die!

Nearby, Chu Yu stood silently, her fists clenched tight.

She couldn’t shake off the frustration over how she had frozen in fear back at the ruins.

That icy figure haunted her like a nightmare, impossible to forget.

Su Muwan...

In this life, you’re still as cold and heartless as ever...

But it doesn’t matter.

You were never my target to begin with. Chu Yu’s eyes hardened.

I swear... I’ll make every single one of those who wronged me in my past life regret it!!

......

......

Su Family Villa.

Click—!

The front door swung open.

Su Muwan strode in, her expression haughty.

She glanced back at Qin Luo and scoffed, "Hmph! To think a mere Qin Luo could make this young lady go through so much trouble. How audacious!"

"Not even a single bag of chips as thanks? How do you plan to atone for this?"

Qin Luo followed behind, watching her still immersed in her act. He tilted his head slightly and grinned.

"How would the young mistress like me to atone?"

"Tch!"

Su Muwan shot him a glare, then pouted. "I’m punishing you tonight—your hand shall serve as my pillow!!"

"Granted."

"Hehehe~~"