"You brat! Can you stop making us worry?!" Xie Lan said as he pulled on Cheng Sheng's cheeks when he, Chen Jing and Wu Yuan arrived in the Yunxiao Inn after they had a meeting in the Righteous Alliance.

"ICH CHURTCH!" Cheng Sheng cried and there are tears in the corner of his eyes as he glared at Xie Lan bullying him after his fellow disciples reported him to him when Xie Lan arrived.

"How dare you go out without permission, ahn?" Xie Lan frowned as he pinched Cheng Sheng cheeks.

"ICH CHURTS, AICH CHED!" Cheng Sheng said as he narrowed his eyes and kicked Xie Lan.

Xie Lan already expected Cheng Sheng's move and he moved his body back. However, Cheng Sheng's hands that are holding Xie Lan's arms tightened.

Xie Lan's eyes widened and he gasped in pain when he felt Cheng Sheng's fingers pressed his flesh until they touched his bones. "OW!" he cried and his hands holding Cheng Sheng's cheeks loosened. He immediately looked at his arms and, sure enough, he saw purple finger marks on his arms. "You brat!" he said and glared at Cheng Sheng.

Cheng Sheng grinned despite his cheeks are red and swelling. His body will heal his cheeks, anyway, so he let it be. "What did the Alliance tell you?" he asked them.

"Initially, it's the Cleansing Stone in the bottom of the Spring of Life." Chen Jing answered. "However, they suddenly gotten heard of the Cleansing Talismans. There are people who would like to test their abilities, thus the demonic cultivators thought it was a fake news." He said, his face became solemn. "To test if the rumors are true, they attacked various sects for the Cleansing Talisman to come out and see if it is real." He explained and then looked at Cheng Sheng. "And it is." He said.

"The attack at the Youxiwang Sect." Cheng Sheng said.

Chen Jing nodded. His expression his heavy. "That's how they also found out about you." He finished.

"So it's because of my talent why I am going to be killed." Cheng Sheng said and sighed. His face helpless. "How can I live if I won't have a talent?" he asked.

"Your life is still threatened to cease because of your talent." Wu Yuan told him. "The Alliance gathering the talented contestants here is not only for the sake of developing camaraderie between them for the third stage, but also to protect you." He explained. "They want to hide you from the demonic cultivators' eyes by mixing you with the crowd." He said.

"The fake Jing Yu already slipped in their net. How can they be sure there won't be another one?" Cheng Sheng asked.

"They already checked each person who will be entering the Yunxiao Inn with the Cleansing Stone." Xie Lan said. "Thus, you can be reassured." He told him. The Spring of Life gave birth to two Cleansing Stones. One of the Cleansing Stones is in the Righteous Alliance's hands while the other one is left in the Spring of Life for safekeeping, and they do not know what will happen if they would take both of the Cleansing Stones and nothing will be left to the Spring of Life.

Cheng Sheng frowned as he looked at the large crowd downstairs. He doesn't like large crowds as he is already used to the serenity in the Xinfaxian and its small number of people. "So I have to bear with this situation until the demonic cultivators are caught? Until the Intersect Competition is over?" he asked.

"The Alliance isn't that much worried since you're a master mage and there's also your swordsmanship skills." Xie Lan said as he shrugged. "You even beaten two demonic cultivators. However, you can win against them by ten people at max." he said. "What if you'll be attacked by twenty demonic cultivators all at once?" he asked. "Thus, the more the number of people around you, the better." He explained before he paused.

Cheng Sheng frowned. They really have this all well-thought. He's not suicidal, either, nor a Mary Sue character who'd rather get hurt himself than let others be hurt for his sake. He's a scum, in the first place. Thus, he will do anything just to live. Even if it's for the sake of giving up his peace. "I understand." He said as he crossed his arms before he went to the door.

"Where are you going?" Chen Jing asked.

"Looking for two more people to make up for the number of our team tomorrow." Cheng Sheng said as he opened the door. "Hey, you cannon fodders!" he called downstairs. "It's time you do your work! I'm going out!" he told them as he walked down the stairs.

Xie Lan and Chen Jing's face are covered in black lines. Do you have to be that blunt? They thought. But, remembering how Cheng Sheng is, it's reasonable.

Jing Cheng was the first to come forward. "Where are you going?" he asked. Being the eldest, he has a great sense of justice.

Cheng Sheng looked at him. "I'm going to look for two extra people for our team tomorrow." He answered and saw his fellow disciples with Chen Han and Sun Yi. "You can choose the people you're going to bring." He told Jing Cheng before he walked towards his friends.

Jing Cheng remembered that was the case. "There's me, Jing Bai, Jing Hei, Jing Kang and Qian Lin." He said before he turned to Xi Ming who approached him. "Are you going to team up with us tomorrow?" he asked him.

Xi Ming immediately understood what he meant. "Yes." he answered. "It's better to team up with strong people so that you don't have to burden yourself with the weak ones." He said. The strong people can take care of themselves.

Jing Cheng nodded. "Me, Jing Bai, Jing Hei, Jing Kang and Qian Lin. We have five people." He told him.

"We have only three people on us – me, Ah Xing and Gong Xian." Xi Ming said. Xi Shi and Xi Ning have lost their match.

"So we have eight…" Jing Cheng said before he paused. "Cheng Sheng said they're lacking two members. So they also have eight?" he said.

Xi Ming was also surprised. "Including Chen Han and Sun Yi, shouldn't there be only six of them?" he asked as they looked at the Xinfaxian Sect disciples with Chen Han and Sun Yi as they talked. "Who are their other two members?" he asked.

"Dunno…" Jing Cheng frowned. "Let's hope they're not that strong." He said. They're still competing against each other despite their temporary cooperation.

"Yeah." Xi Ming nodded.

"Cheng Sheng said he's going out today. Wanna tag along?" Jing Cheng asked. "He's going to look for their remaining members. We can check them out, and we can also find ones for our team." He explained.

Xi Ming's eyes lit up. "That's a great idea!" he said.

Just then, they heard Shu Mu spoke. "Cheng Sheng." He called as he approached Cheng Sheng. "Can I tag along?" he asked.

"Why?" Cheng Sheng turned to him.

"Well… as an apology." Shu Mu answered and scratched his cheek as he looked away. "Also – " he said and turned to Jing Cheng and Xi Ming who are watching them. " – aren't you facing against them tomorrow?" he asked. "You sure you wanna be escorted by your opponents? They'll know your teammates and will plan ahead to counter you." He explained then smiled. "While I won't be participating tomorrow. So you don't need to raise your guard towards me." he told Cheng Sheng.

"Oh! That makes sense!" Cheng Sheng said as his eyes widened. "Then – " he said as he turned to Jing Cheng and Xi Ming. " – bye bye. I'll have Shu Mu escort us today." He told them as he waved his hand at them before their group left. The Nanshu Sect was following behind them.

Jing Cheng and Xi Ming's face was covered in dark lines. "… we tried…" they said before they went back to their group. "Let's find some people, too." They told them.

The Huakai Sect watched the Zunjingde Sect and the Shanliangde Sect, together with Qian Lin, also left. They already have ten people, so there's no need for them to go out. They also don't want to pry on Cheng Sheng's team, thus they stayed in the inn.

In the streets, Cheng Sheng was looking around the stalls. "You were with Tang Zhe yesterday. You are friends?" he asked Shu Mu. Fei Yin and Chen Han were walking beside them while Sun Yi, the Xinfaxian Sect disciples and the Nanshu Sect disciples are following behind them.

"Well, yeah." Shu Mu answered. "We hang out sometimes." He said before he paused. "He was surprised when I suddenly changed before, then we had a falling out." he explained. That explains why the Nanshu Sect and the Huakai Sect didn't interact with each other before. "I apologized to him after I bought your magic pills." He told him.

"What about Qian Lin?" Sun Yi asked when he heard their conversation.

"That…" Shu Mu said and looked up at the sky as he scratched his cheek. He does this when he's making decisions. "Maybe after the competition…" he answered.

Cheng Sheng just nodded. It's Shu Mu's decision, anyway. There's no need for them to stick their nose in it. "Let's go find the other contestants." He told them.

"Yes."