The girl who came was none other than Zhao Shuning.
She didn't notice at all that the young man behind her was no longer the naive Mo Bai from before.
Zhao Shuning thought that the man in the black cloak in front of her must have been sent by Lady Begonia to deal with Mo Bai. Little did she know that Mo Bai was actually the young master of the Ghost Domain that the mysterious man in the black cloak had been looking for.
"Mo Bai, don't be afraid. I'm here for you," she said.
The little girl had her back to Mo Bai. But she still reached her hand behind, as if trying to shield the white - robed Mo Bai from the mysterious man.
The young man's eyes changed.
His steps actually followed the girl's words and he stepped backward.
Seeing this, Qing Feng looked at the young man behind Zhao Shuning.
The young man's eyes were no longer the same as when he was just Mo Bai. Now, all that could be seen in them was hostility.
"Mo Bai, I'll protect you. Don't be afraid," she said again.
Hearing this, a gentle look appeared in the young man's eyes.
Then, Mo Bai shook his head at Qing Feng.
He mouthed the words, "Don't hurt her."
Qing Feng was one of the four guardians. At this moment, Zhao Shuning was no match for him.
After seeing Mo Bai's reaction, Qing Feng took off his black cloak and gave a gentlemanly smile.
"Little girl, I haven't introduced myself properly. My name is Qing Feng. I'm an assistant of Lady Xiao. I mean no harm to this little friend named Mo Bai behind you. I just thought he resembled an old friend of mine, so I talked to him a bit."
Zhao Shuning stared at him warily.
Wasn't he sent by Lady Begonia?
What should she do? It seemed that Lady Xiao had this trump card. Did it mean she had no chance of winning in the upcoming spiritual power competition?
"Why should I believe you?"
The man in black just smiled. "You'll believe me when the spiritual power competition starts. Well, little girl, I won't talk to you anymore. The competition is about to begin. I'll go back to the venue to prepare. You should also hurry up."
After saying that, the man put on his black cloak again and disappeared from Zhao Shuning and the others' sight in an instant.
Qing Feng was full of doubts.
In his memory, the young master was extremely cruel. Since childhood, countless maids, guards, and servants had died at his hands. Whoever disobeyed him would surely be tortured to the brink of death.
Just like those who had once laughed at him. By now, the grass on their graves must be several feet high.
Qing Feng, as a guardian, knew very well what kind of person the young master was. He was a prodigy with great ambition, willing to trample on anything for his own power.
In the young master's eyes, power was everything. He didn't seem to care about anyone, not even his father, the Divine Throne.
But just now, Qing Feng saw tenderness and reluctance in the young master's eyes.
These were not the traits of the old Mo Bai.
After Qing Feng left, Zhao Shuning let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness he's gone. If we had fought, I wouldn't have been his match."
No match for him? But this little girl had still bravely stood in front of him, hadn't she?
Zhao Shuning didn't know that Mo Bai had now been infused with his past memories by Qing Feng, and his sealed bloodline had been awakened. Now, Mo Bai was no longer a fool but a blood - thirsty young master of the Ghost Domain.
"Mo Bai, I was so scared when I couldn't find you just now. You're not familiar with this place, so don't wander around. It would be a real hassle if I couldn't find you."
After Zhao Shuning finished speaking, she didn't hear a response from the person behind her.
She turned around to look at Mo Bai.
At that moment, Mo Bai's eyes returned to their previous state.
Even Mo Bai didn't know why he still wanted to pretend in front of her. Was he afraid of losing something?
Zhao Shuning smiled and reached out her hand. Mo Bai just hesitated for a moment and then squatted down as usual, putting his head under Zhao Shuning's hand.
"Mo Bai, next time, you must stay close to me."
"Ningning—"
This was the first time Mo Bai had called her so affectionately. He couldn't even describe his own feelings at that moment.
Zhao Shuning smiled, turned around, and skipped forward.
She didn't forget to say, "Mo Bai, hurry up and follow me."
"Follow you? I want to—always follow you—"
Mo Bai leaped and followed right behind Zhao Shuning.
When they arrived at the venue, the list of contestants for the competition was already being announced.
Sure enough, the person Lady Begonia had sent this time was Situ Yun. Once Situ Yun stepped onto the stage, it was almost like announcing the winner.
The second person to step onto the stage was an assistant of Lady Xiao.
It turned out that the mysterious man they had met outside the wall before was really an assistant of Lady Xiao. When he first came on stage, no one paid much attention to him. But when he released his spiritual power, everyone was shocked.
"This person's strength is probably no less than Lord Situ's."
"Where did Lady Xiao find such a powerful assistant? There was no news about him before."
"It seems that this year's Qianyuan Competition is uncertain."
"It's still too early to tell who will win. This competition is going to be really interesting."
The other contestants who came out later were, according to Zhao Shuning's initial estimate, around the fourth - stage spiritual pharmacists. She could handle them.
The contestants would draw lots to determine the order of the spiritual power competition.
Two people would compete in each round, and the winner would advance to the next round.
Zhao Shuning just prayed that in the end, she wouldn't have to face the mysterious man. She hoped that he would be eliminated by Situ Yun.
But things didn't go as she wished. In the previous rounds of the competition, the mysterious man in black never faced Situ Yun directly, nor did he face Zhao Shuning.
Those spiritual pharmacists were no match for Situ Yun and Qing Feng. They were defeated quickly, and the winners were soon announced.
As for Zhao Shuning, it took her a bit longer to defeat several fourth - stage spiritual pharmacists in a row.
But in the end, only three contestants remained on the stage.
They were Situ Yun, Qing Feng, and Zhao Shuning.
Actually, most people already had a rough idea of the outcome of this competition.
There was a strange light in Mo Bai's eyes. His hand tightly grasped the token hanging on his chest.
And Qing Feng seemed to sense something as well.
Next came three rounds of drawing lots.
Fortunately, Zhao Shuning wasn't selected. This round of the competition was between Qing Feng and Situ Yun.
Zhao Shuning got a break and stepped off the stage.
Mo Bai handed her a cup of tea.
Zhao Shuning took it and gulped it down.
After drinking, she didn't forget to praise Mo Bai.
"Not bad, Mo Bai. You're learning how to take care of people."
A smile appeared on the young man's face, shining brightly in the sunlight.