"Tap tap tap..."
Light, brisk footsteps echoed through the corridor. Su Rou was swaying her slender body, glistening with beads of sweat, running with excitement, because the gate leading to the Green Dragon Garden was right before her eyes.
All she had to do was open that door, and she would have passed the examination to become a Core Disciple. More importantly, the Seven-Colored Flower she so desperately wanted to see was in the world beyond that gate.
"Squeak~"
With a dull creak, the heavy gate was slowly pushed open by Su Rou. A beam of sunlight poured down, forcing her to close her eyes as she basked in the warmth washing over her face.
But when she opened her eyes again and took in the scene before her, the smile that had been hanging on her face froze instantly, replaced by a deep look of shock.
Not far from her, a man was lying face-down on the ground, his face covered in blood. He was struggling desperately to push himself up, and it was none other than Situ Yu, the leader of the Wing Alliance.
"Ugh—"
Before Situ Yu could get to his feet, a powerful foot stomped down hard on his body. The sheer force drove him into the ground, and a mouthful of blood gushed from his open mouth.
The person standing on Situ Yu was Jian Fengyi, leader of the Sword Dao Alliance. Beside him stood another man — Luo Wu, leader of the World Alliance.
"What are you doing?!" Su Rou cried out, horrified and furious at the sight.
"Well, well — if it isn't the number one beauty of the Inner Sect, little sister Su Rou," Luo Wu said with an excited grin.
"Su Rou, run! They've teamed up — they're targeting the Wing Alliance!" Situ Yu shouted the moment he saw her.
"Shut your mouth!" The words had barely left his lips before Jian Fengyi delivered another vicious kick, this one slamming into Situ Yu's abdomen. The pain made him curl up in a ball, unable to utter a word.
"You two scumbags." Facing everything before her, Su Rou couldn't possibly run. She charged forward in a fury.
But at only the Spirit Martial 8th Stage, how could she possibly be a match for Jian Fengyi and Luo Wu? She was subdued in short order. They didn't hurt her, though — they simply pulled out specially made ropes and tied her up.
"What exactly do you want from us?!" Su Rou roared in anger. Even though her relationship with Situ Yu wasn't as close as the one he had with Chu Feng, they were still good friends. Seeing him tortured like this by the two of them, she simply couldn't stand it.
"Heh heh, don't get so worked up, little sister Su Rou. We just want every last member of your Wing Alliance to fall right here."
"If that wasn't clear enough for you, let me put it plainly — in this year's examination, every member of the Wing Alliance will fail," Jian Fengyi said with a smile.
"Scoundrels! This is against the rules! After the examination is over, I'll tell my sister, and I'll make you pay for this!"
"Ha ha, Miss Su Rou, you think far too highly of your sister. I'll admit that we're afraid of her in the Inner Sect, but once we become Core Disciples, will she still have any authority over us?" Luo Wu said dismissively.
"Fine. You said it yourself — we'll see about that," Su Rou hissed through gritted teeth.
"You don't need to use your sister to scare us. We know you've got plenty of friends in the Core Area, but since we've decided to do this, we're not afraid of you or your sister," Jian Fengyi said with contempt.
After that, disciples who passed through the corridor one after another entered the Green Dragon Garden, but every single disciple from the Wing Alliance was beaten down by Jian Fengyi and Luo Wu.
Eventually, eleven out of the twelve Wing Alliance members participating in the examination had fallen into the hands of the World Alliance and the Sword Dao Alliance.
What shocked Su Rou and the others the most was that every member of the World Alliance and the Sword Dao Alliance had made it through the underground palace — even those at the Spirit Martial 7th Stage had all passed, and their speeds had been astonishing.
And right now, the members of the World Alliance and the Sword Dao Alliance were taking turns humiliating the Wing Alliance's members. Nearly every one of them was bruised and battered, their bodies covered in wounds, but not a single person cried out — they simply clenched their teeth and endured the abuse.