"Xiao Mei!!!!"
Su Mei's sudden collapse startled a great many people. The Left Heavenly Lord was the first to rush downward, swooping to catch Su Mei's crumpled form before she hit the ground.
Once he had steadied her, the Left Heavenly Lord immediately set up a formation to treat her injuries. His face was drawn tight with gravity.
"My Lord, is Miss Xiao Mei all right?"
At the same time, Miao Renlong and the Alliance Master of the Spirit World Alliance all descended as well, their eyes fixed anxiously on Su Mei.
That dagger — though small, and though it had only pierced through Su Mei's left shoulder without striking a vital organ — had been enough to send her collapsing to the ground, unconscious.
This outcome made everyone realize that the weapon was no ordinary dagger. It had been imbued with a powerful formation.
People also recalled that ever since Dongfang Zexuan had begun falling behind in his fight against Su Mei, one of his hands had remained clenched tight. No matter how his body twisted and turned, no matter what formations he deployed, that hand never opened — not until the moment he launched the dagger. Only then had he finally unclenched it.
This proved that Dongfang Zexuan had been scheming from the start. He had been steadily building the formation within that fist the entire time, waiting for the critical moment to strike with a surprise attack that would decide the battle.
"She's fine. She's merely been paralyzed — she'll wake up after a brief rest." The Left Heavenly Lord carefully examined Su Mei's body before finally letting out a breath of relief.
He knew that Dongfang Zexuan had held back. Otherwise, with that move just now, it would have been entirely possible for him to kill Su Mei on the spot.
But even knowing that Dongfang Zexuan had shown mercy, the Left Heavenly Lord still cast a cold, hostile gaze toward him. Regardless of whether Dongfang Zexuan had held back, he had still wounded Su Mei — and the Left Heavenly Lord had already taken note of that grudge.
However, Dongfang Zexuan clearly had not noticed the resentment simmering in the Left Heavenly Lord, because at this very moment his face was painted with the smug satisfaction of victory.
"This girl called Su Mei — you thought you had completely suppressed me, yet you know nothing about what is real and what is false, nothing about what is illusion and what is truth."
"When two forces clash, absolute strength is necessary, but so is cunning and deception. Strength is one factor; strategy is another. Miss Su Mei, you have the strength."
"But when it comes to this—" Dongfang Zexuan tapped his own temple with a finger as he spoke, insinuating that Su Mei's intelligence was lacking. "—you fall far short."
"You..."
Hearing Dongfang Zexuan's humiliating words, the members of the Spirit World Alliance were seething with fury. Every last one of them wanted to lash out and berate him — after all, what Dongfang Zexuan had done was simply too despicable.
But the words caught in their throats and were swallowed back. Even prominent figures like the Left Heavenly Lord hadn't said a word, so they naturally didn't dare speak up either.
And so, in that moment, the stifled frustration and suffocating rage churned wildly in the chests of every Spirit World Alliance member — that pent-up fury was nearly driving them all insane.
"So then, does the Spirit World Alliance have anyone else who can fight me? If not, then I'll be taking my leave." Dongfang Zexuan spoke again, and as he did, his provocative gaze swept across the crowd.
It was as if his eyes were telling every member of the Spirit World Alliance: You can despise me all you want, but what are you going to do about it? Send out one junior who can actually face me, if you've got the guts.