"Did she go to see little Mei?"
"What if something happened to her?" Chu Feng's keen observation picked up on the details in the grandstand.
He noticed that throughout this entire time, Su Mei's figure had never once appeared in the square. There were most likely two possible explanations for this.
The first was that Su Mei simply wasn't at the Alliance of World Spiritists, and therefore hadn't shown up. Otherwise, she would have surely represented the Alliance in the competition.
The other possibility was that something had happened to Su Mei, making it impossible for her to compete. And if that were the case, then Chu Feng suspected it was most likely the backlash pain acting up once again.
Thinking of this, Chu Feng quietly set off, flying toward Su Mei's residence.
After all, Su Mei was the one he held dear, and so he cared more about her safety than anyone else.
And in truth, something had indeed happened to little Mei — and just as Chu Feng had guessed, Su Mei was being tormented by the backlash pain.
At that moment, inside a hall within Su Mei's dwelling, Su Mei sat cross-legged on the ground. Not far from her sat the Left Heavenly Venerate, and between the two of them was a healing formation.
The formation was being driven by the Left Heavenly Venerate, its energy continuously flowing into Su Mei's body.
The Left Heavenly Venerate had worried that Su Mei might suffer from the backlash, and so she had arrived here first thing in the morning to stay by her side, hoping that if anything went wrong, she could help Su Mei deal with the backlash pain as quickly as possible and let her make it to the competition.
Yet no one had expected that Su Mei would not only truly be afflicted by the backlash, but that this time it would be more violent than ever before. Even the Left Heavenly Venerate couldn't quickly dispel this backlash pain — she could only alleviate it.
By now, a fair amount of time had already passed since the match against the Eastern Imperial Clan was supposed to begin, and the Left Heavenly Venerate was anxious as well. The outcome of this competition was tied to the reputation of the Alliance of World Spiritists, and Su Mei was the key to winning it.
"You cannot go in."
By this point, Miao Renlong had brought Sima Ying to Su Mei's residence, only to discover that the Left Heavenly Venerate had posted guards at the entrance, barring anyone from entering.
And these two guards were no ordinary figures — they were two high-ranking elders of the Alliance of World Spiritists. Even Miao Renlong had no say in front of them.
"Lords, might I ask whether Miss little Mei is inside?" Miao Renlong inquired.
"What's this? The little brats of the Alliance can't beat that kid from the Eastern Imperial Clan?" one of the dark-faced elders asked coldly.
"Yes… the situation is a bit dire right now. We really do need Miss little Mei to step in," Miao Renlong said.
"A bunch of useless trash. Isn't this supposed to be a competition of barrier techniques? How can you still lose to that Eastern Imperial Clan brat? The reputation of our Alliance of World Spiritists has been completely ruined by you good-for-nothings!" The elder's displeasure was palpable.
"This…" Miao Renlong's face flushed with embarrassment, not knowing how to respond. It was, after all, a deeply humiliating matter — but there was nothing he could do about it.
"Forget it. It's the disciples who lack ability — why are you giving Renlong a hard time?" The other elder spoke up. His attitude was miles better than that of the dark-faced elder, and he even offered Miao Renlong an explanation:
"Little Mei isn't feeling well at the moment. The Heavenly Venerate is treating her. Once the treatment is done, she'll naturally head over."
"Might I ask what exactly is wrong with Miss little Mei? Is there anything I can do to help?" Miao Renlong asked kindly.
"If the Heavenly Venerate can't handle it, do you really think you can?" the dark-faced elder said with utter disdain.
"I…" Miao Renlong was rendered speechless. If it was something even the Left Heavenly Venerate couldn't deal with, then he was obviously powerless as well. But he had only meant well, and to be spoken to like this truly left him feeling humiliated.
At that moment, Sima Ying standing behind Miao Renlong was gritting her teeth in fury. Had it not been for the elder's lofty status, she would have started shouting at him long ago.
After all, Miao Renlong was someone she held in the highest regard — practically no different from her own grandfather. And this dark-faced elder's words were far too cutting, intolerable to the point that she simply couldn't stand it.