"That's the Crimsonguard of Grand Chen! Since when did they arrive?" An Jing had his guesses, but he was still shocked to see things unfold. "They're engaging the guards of the manor!"

It appeared that Direlife Manor was so secretive and seclusive because Grand Chen had set their sights on them! How long have the Crimsonguard been eyeing this situation for them to strike precisely during the Imperial Sky Starslaying Grand Ritual? Either that, or they had informants within Direlife Manor. No doubt, Direlife Manor was only one of their many targets.

"Retreat!" Something occurred to An Jing and he gave orders without hesitation. "Everyone, back away into Direlife Canyon! Don't get wrapped up in the battle between Grand Chen's soldiers and the demonic cultists!"

An Jing was a subject of Grand Chen and was well aware that while the Crimsonguard wouldn't intentionally slaughter innocents, they wouldn't show any mercy to the children either. After all, it was hard to determine whether the children were with or against the demonic cult. Every one of them could be a loyal deathsworn of the cult! The safer way would be to go with the plan he had agreed with Yvelbane about: hiding within Direlife Canyon and watching the situation unfold.

"Big Brother Jing, are you staying behind?" Gu Yeqi was just about to retreat, but she had a bad feeling when she saw An Jing remain. "You can't take the rearguard! You're the senior disciple! Without you, we wouldn't know which way to go!"

The disaster children listened to An Jing because of his charisma, making them a rather stable group whenever he was around. But in his absence, there wasn't any deputy that An Jing could count on to hold the group together.

"Listen to me," An Jing said without turning back, staring at the manor lord in the distance. "I need you and Cang Linzu to lead the group into the depths of the canyon. If things go well, I'll be able to shake off the soldiers and catch up with you all. Don't worry. The fiend qi got all absorbed into the terrorfiend. The canyon is safe for now!"

Strictly speaking, that was a lie because only a small fraction of the fiend qi in the canyon had been used up. However, An Jing could sense the state of the sword soul and its razor-sharp intent that kept the fiend qi within the canyon at bay. The disaster children who had undergone the ritual would not get swept by it a second time; only the cultists and the soldiers from Grand Chen would, making the canyon safe for the children.

"Big Brother! Sigh... Alright, I'll do what you say!" Gu Yeqi was agitated and angry, but she decided to go along with his plan. She pleaded for him not to risk his life before going back to lead her group.

An Jing breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the footsteps recede deeper into the canyon, allowing him to focus his full attention on his enemies and the state of the battlefield.

So far, the terrorfiend kept the cultists' instructors and lecturers at bay. It wasn't likely for the cultists to win soon, but it was only a matter of time since the terrorfiend was just a phantom manifestation of fiend qi.

The defenders at the canyon were busy facing off against the Crimsonguard. An Jing saw one unit of the crimson-armored troops approach the canyon. Regardless of their aims, he would make sure to not get swept into the chaos.

The only problem was the manor lord who wasn't engaged in a fight with anybody. An Jing furrowed his brow, looking at the dazed manor lord. If the Fortification Realm martialist decided to slaughter the children behind An Jing, it would no doubt end in a massacre. He had proven to be capable of that much after spilling so much blood during the ritual.

Even though it was rather unlikely that the cult would kill the children that they saw as their wealth, An Jing would still have to confront him if he was to escape the cult's control. This fearsome old man was his biggest obstacle!

Soon, An Jing saw a piercing flash and finally knew why the manor lord was looking at the sky without moving. Far away on the horizon, blinding, bluish beams of frost streaked across the sky and parted the clouds. It was as if two new suns had appeared out of nowhere! The sudden change in weather caused the energies of frost and flame to clash and trigger a wild reaction, resulting in a storm that ravaged the nearby forests.

"It's a clash between sages of the Void Divine Treasures Realm..." The manor lord's green eyes seemed to burn brightly. "Sage Mystic Mirror has started fighting the Lord Inspector of the North. Hmm... It does seem that we have a traitor among our midst."

He turned around towards the youth with a hint of doubt in his voice. "An Jing, is this what you were counting on? Or were you led astray by this traitor?"

"No," An Jing said, snapping out of the awe at seeing sages fight. "Even though I have a guess about the nature of Direlife Manor, I never would've been able to predict this ambush. It really does seem that you have a traitor in your midst, Manor Lord. The consequences of your heinous actions have caught up to you. You deserve it, all of you."

"Heinous, huh? If our actions alone justify our extermination, do you think the same applies to the imperial court and this world at large?"

When the manor lord's gaze landed behind An Jing, the youth felt something was amiss. He snapped around and saw that one group of children hadn't obeyed his orders and stayed put, led by a girl with waist-length black hair. She quietly kept her gaze on the ground the whole time. Bai Qinghan stood there soundlessly like a statue.

Her group members were behind her, some of them with awakened lifearcs. In total, there were more than a dozen of them.

"Qinghan, why did you all not leave?" An Jing already had a guess, but he couldn't bring himself to voice it. That would completely invalidate the time they had spent as friends. "It's a rare chance! We can escape Direlife Manor! Don't waste it!"

"Senior Disciple," Bai Qinghan said, looking up timidly at him. Her eyes were serene but also hollow. "I was never able to understand you back then, but now, I can say that we are the same kind of person. Like you said, it is a rare chance to escape... I have finally managed to escape Grand Chen. Why would I waste this opportunity?"