Chapter 172
Meanwhile, that very night.
Inside the Ashen family’s guest hall, a young woman with an absolutely beautiful appearance quietly revealed herself wearing night-traveling clothes.
Brina Ashen.
She held her breath and concentrated. Quietly arriving at the dense forest behind the Azure Phoenix Pavilion.
Looking left and right to confirm no one was around, she summoned a spirit beast from her storage ring.
A cheetah with a dark red body. Its tail burning with raging flames.
This was a very popular type of spirit beast called the Raging Fire Cloud-Piercing Leopard.
Although its cultivation was only at the Nascent Soul Realm, its speed was extremely fast. It could travel a distance of three thousand miles within one hour.
"Go to the Southwestern region immediately..." Brina narrowed her eyes and, with a thought, issued orders to the Raging Fire Cloud-Piercing Leopard.
The leopard instantly understood, nodded heavily, transformed into a streak of firelight and darted into the distance.
Just as Brina revealed a look of joy, sitting happily on a bluestone and silently calculating in her heart, a cold, stern female voice suddenly came from beside her.
"Heh, Miss Brina, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
Brina instantly revealed a nervous expression. Immediately stood up from the bluestone.
A gentle and refined woman dressed in white walked out from the dense forest, Leona Vire.
"It’s you!" Brina revealed hostility.
"What are you doing here?"
"If Miss Brina can come, why can’t I?" Leona asked with a faint smile.
"Moreover, I asked the question first just now. You should answer first."
"Miss Brina, what are you doing in this forest in the middle of the night?"
"I felt stuffy staying in the hall, so I came out to get some fresh air. What does it have to do with you?" Brina’s expression was somewhat unnatural.
"You should hurry up and leave. Don’t let people see you and me alone here, lest it provoke gossip."
"Rumors exist all day long. If you don’t listen, they naturally don’t exist. I’m not afraid of any gossip." Leona smiled faintly.
"Miss Brina, lying is not very good."
"If you truly came out for fresh air, why did you send out a Raging Fire Cloud-Piercing Leopard to the Southwestern region?"
Brina didn’t expect to be caught red-handed, momentarily unable to defend herself.
Leona smiled mysteriously. "If I’m not guessing wrong, it should be to pick up Brother Knox, right?"
"...Exactly." Seeing that she couldn’t hide it, Brina had no choice but to nod helplessly.
"This year’s Secret Realm Treasure Hunt is absolutely different from previous years."
"My father has already calculated that in this year’s Secret Realm, countless massive fortuitous encounters will descend. As long as one can obtain them, they can ascend to the heavens in a single step."
"Brother Knox wholeheartedly wants to become stronger. To this end, he spares no risk to his life. Discarding life and forgetting death."
"It makes my heart ache immensely for him. I always want to find ways to help him."
"This Secret Realm is a good opportunity for him, isn’t it?"
"Miss Brina, you’ve finally told the truth." Leona nodded. Smiling.
"It seems the two of us truly happen to hold the same view by coincidence."
"Oh?" Brina’s face was full of confusion. "Could it be, you also want to..."
"How could a golden fish remain a thing of the pond? Once it encounters the wind and clouds, it will transform into a dragon."
"Brother Knox is a hero of the world, where Destiny belongs. Although his cultivation is not strong right now, sooner or later, he will definitely become a supreme prodigy of his generation."
"This Secret Realm is precisely Brother Knox’s opportunity to soar ninety thousand miles straight up!"
"To tell you the truth, Miss Brina. I have already arranged an identity for Brother Knox to enter the Secret Realm."
Leona smiled faintly. "My Vire family has a young disciple named Alric. He was injured in the arena a few days ago and has not recovered despite prolonged treatment."
"I have already had my father secretly send Alric back to the Holy Land. After Brother Knox arrives, we can just let him use Alric’s identity to enter the Secret Realm alongside our Vire family."
"What?" Brina froze. Instantly becoming anxious.
"Miss Leona, why would you need to help with such a small favor?"
"My Ashen family also had a young disciple named Vael get injured. I’ve already had my father send him back."
"After Brother Knox arrives, he can use Vael’s identity and enter the Secret Realm alongside our Ashen family!"
"Miss Brina, doing this is a bit unkind of you, isn’t it?" Leona’s face sank slightly.
"You have already used the Raging Fire Cloud-Piercing Leopard to pick up Brother Knox and bring him here. That will already make Brother Knox feel grateful towards you."
"Could it be that you also want to fight with me over this opportunity to help him enter the Secret Realm?"
"Perhaps, you are wanting to use this opportunity to monopolize Brother Knox and kick me out of the picture?"
"That is exactly my intention!" Brina didn’t yield in the slightest.
She said angrily. "Miss Leona, on the arena today, you and I were unable to determine a victor."
"If you are unconvinced, the two of us can perfectly have another match right here!"
"Whoever’s strength is greater, Brother Knox shall belong to them!"
With a single disagreement, the atmosphere between the two women instantly became daggers drawn.
Brina unleashed her full firepower, directly summoning dozens of powerful spirit beasts that lingered around her body.
Her pair of slender, delicate jade hands transformed into tiger claws radiating surging blue light.
Six cat-like whiskers grew on her cheeks. An illusory tail resembling blazing, deep blue flames materialized behind her back.
Fiercely adorable. Both cute and playful, yet absolutely full of wild nature.
"Heh, fight then fight! Do you think I am afraid of you?" Leona laughed coldly.
Waving her hand, she summoned a writing brush over a meter long, wielding it in mid-air like a swimming dragon.