Stop pretending, the seemingly useless junior sister is the real boss.

Bai Xiaobai was stunned after hearing Ling Tian's words.

Yuanbao was somewhat incredulous, staring at that pale, bloodless face, regretting that they had noticed something was wrong but hadn't stopped it because of the competition rules.

"Senior Brother, Junior Sister Ye... she..."

Thinking of the girl who smiled at him before the competition, now looking like a broken doll, Yuanbao felt a pang of pain in his heart.

Bai Xiaobai's face turned pale. She understood that Mu Yu had targeted Ye Qinghe in order to get revenge on her.

She stared intently at the figure on the stage, her back teeth clenched, her temples throbbing, feeling both regret and self-reproach.

She felt that it was all her fault. If she hadn't offended that bastard Mu Yu, how could Ye Qinghe have ended up like this?

Bai Xiaobai slowly squatted down on the ground, looking at Ye Qinghe, whose face was pale, her eyes involuntarily reddened, and her heart was overwhelmed by a strong sense of self-blame.

She used to think that her sect was powerful enough, and that even if she was a little willful, her master and senior brothers and sisters would always protect her.

Even though her third senior brother, fourth senior sister, and senior brother Yuanbao clashed with Yuling Peak and were injured while trying to register her for the competition, she felt guilty then, but it was nothing compared to the distress she felt today.

That's because she knew that her senior brothers and sisters were strong enough to completely overwhelm the disciples of Yuling Peak.

But this time was different. If she hadn't offended Mu Yu, Ye Qinghe would have at most lost the match, but wouldn't have suffered such a serious injury.

It was my own willfulness that dragged her down, causing her to be targeted and seriously injured.

Fengling fed Ye Qinghe the Rejuvenation Pill and the pills to heal her injuries, and also infused her with spiritual energy.

Knowing that Bai Xiaobai felt guilty, he offered her words of comfort.

"Junior Sister, this is not your fault. Blame Mu Yu, that bastard. Who would have thought he would be so despicable and shameless?"

Yuanbao clenched his fists tightly, but in the end he couldn't help but want to confront Mu Yu, but Mu Wan stopped him by raising her hand.

"Even if you go to him, it won't solve anything; he didn't violate the competition rules."

Qin Yuan nodded. "Junior Brother, your Fourth Senior Sister is right. Going to see him now is pointless. We should take Junior Sister Ye back to heal her injuries first."

Ling Tian patted Yuanbao on the shoulder. "I know you're angry, and we're angry too. Junior Sister Ye is a good girl, but going to him now won't solve anything. We'll just get blamed for breaking the rules. So, Junior Brother, calm down. Junior Sister Ye's injuries won't be in vain. We'll settle accounts with Mu Yu sooner or later, but not now."

Yuanbao finally calmed down, his hands hanging limply at his sides as he looked worriedly at Ye Qinghe, who had fainted in Fengling's arms.

Bai Xiaobai bit her lip tightly and reached out her little hand to gently grasp Ye Qinghe's slightly cold palm.

"I'm sorry, Qinghe, I've dragged you into this. But don't worry, if he dares to hurt you, he should be prepared to pay the price. I won't let you get hurt in vain."

After she finished speaking, she used her small hands to wipe the dirt off Ye Qinghe's face and slowly stood up.

"Please trouble your senior brothers and sisters to take Qinghe back to recuperate. I will do my best in the remaining competitions."

Everyone stared at the little dumpling, who had grown a bit taller than before. Seeing her determined gaze, they all felt that their junior sister seemed different.

Whether in terms of her aura or her overall appearance, she is no longer the cute, playful little dumpling who used to come up with all sorts of mischievous ideas.

After exchanging glances, the group nodded.

Fengling picked up Ye Qinghe and, together with Yuanbao, took her back to the courtyard where the new disciples of Yuling Peak were located.

Ling Tian patted Bai Xiaobai's fluffy little head reassuringly, and seeing that she was staring in the direction where Fengling and Yuanbao had left, he spoke to comfort her.

"Don't worry too much. Mu Yu is only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. Although Junior Sister Ye's injuries are not light, there is still hope. Senior Brother will go to Master in a while. He has many treasures and all kinds of pills to help him recover from injuries. Before we formed our cores, we were often injured, but no matter how serious the injury was, Master always had a way."

Qin Yuan added, "Senior Brother is absolutely right. As long as Master is here, even the most dire situation can be resolved."

Hearing his two senior brothers' words of comfort, Bai Xiaobai felt a little better.

"Okay, I understand."

After she finished speaking, she glanced at Mu Wan, who seemed to have something on her mind.

"Fourth Senior Sister, what's wrong? You seem to have something on your mind. Are you alright?"

Hearing Bai Xiaobai's soft, sweet voice, Mu Wan finally came to her senses.

She gently shook her head, and her big, round eyes held a sadness she had never shown before.

"It's alright, Junior Sister. You don't need to push yourself too hard in the later matches. Winning or losing isn't important. Just protect yourself. The disciples in the third group are all very strong. If you can't beat them, just admit defeat. We don't want you to get hurt."

Although Bai Xiaobai didn't know what had happened to Mu Wan, she could clearly sense that Mu Wan was in low spirits and seemed distracted.

But Mu Wan didn't say anything, so she didn't press her for details and just nodded slightly.

"I understand, Fourth Senior Sister. I will know my limits."

Just as she finished speaking, the results of the second group's competition were also announced.

"The winner of the second group is Lingyun from the Hehuan Sect."

Upon hearing that Lingyun had won, Qin Yuan looked on with a lovesick expression.

"The fairy is truly a fairy! She won in such a short time. That bastard Mu Yu only knows how to bully the weak and fear the strong. If he were to encounter Ling Yun, he would be utterly defeated. Alright, junior sister, it's your turn soon. Hurry up and get ready to go on stage. Remember to admit defeat if you can't win. Don't be stubborn. Senior brother is going to find Fairy Ling Yun now."

Knowing that his third senior brother had never been able to resist beautiful women, let alone a stunning beauty like Lingyun, Bai Xiaobai shrugged helplessly when he saw him eagerly going to find Lingyun.

"Senior Brother, Fourth Senior Sister, I'm off."

Ling Tian nodded to Mu Wan, staring at her receding figure. It would be a lie to say he wasn't worried, after all, it was a battle between groups of ten.

Perhaps because of his short legs, Bai Xiaobai was the last disciple to compete in the third group.

As soon as she entered, she received the attention of all the participating disciples.

Her group consisted mostly of disciples from the outer sect, and most of them were seeing Bai Xiaobai up close for the first time.

"So she's Bai Xiaobai. We're in the same group as her, and it feels like we're bullying a kid."

"Who says otherwise? She's too young. Besides, a mere Qi Refining Level 3 cultivator poses absolutely no threat to us."

"That's right, let her play by herself for a while, let's decide the winner first."

"That makes sense. We should at least let her stay on stage a little longer."

"..."

Bai Xiaobai was surprised that the contestants in her group were quite polite.

Moreover, aside from being polite, they completely disregarded her status as a Qi Refining Level 3 cultivator.