C4 You Are Poisoned!

The desolate mine was eerily silent, until Qiao Gao's voice boomed like thunder, shocking everyone and causing their faces to change dramatically. After a brief moment of dead silence, panic spread through the mine like a plague. Everyone quickly distanced themselves from the stunningly beautiful instructor with skin as fair as snow.

The poison, like a relentless maggot, was highly contagious. Any ordinary warrior who came into contact with even a trace of it would find their body decaying, slowly transforming into a mindless, flesh-eating corpse with immense strength.

Hwang Ningxue was taken aback, her brows furrowing slightly as she spoke with a hint of anger, "What nonsense are you spouting, student? I've never encountered a corpse, so how could I be infected with such poison?"

She focused her gaze again on Qiao Gao, who looked rather ordinary and lacked any significant power. Her intuition told her that this guy was just trying to make a shocking statement to grab her attention. After all, people often did strange things to cause a stir, hoping to win her favor.

With that thought, Hwang Ningxue's eyes turned cold, and her exquisite face began to show a hint of disgust.

"Your last name is Qiao, right? You're from the Qiao family?" Bai Jutian appeared in front of Qiao Gao with incredible speed, the air vibrating around him. He looked down with a hostile expression and said, "Ningxue's energy is strong and vibrant, showing no signs of poisoning whatsoever."

“You attempted to disrupt the examination process and spread false rumors. Your qualification is revoked, and Cloud Soaring Academy will not accept such a student.”

Bai Jutian's gaze was as sharp as a sword, his voice carried the weight of a verdict, exuding authority. His intimidating presence enveloped Qiao Gao.

“Yeah, the senior's skin is flawless, and she looks full of life. There's no sign of poisoning at all.”

“Exactly, someone poisoned would look lifeless, but she’s glowing. There are no symptoms of poisoning.”

“Spreading lies and causing panic, no wonder his qualification was revoked.”

The students, initially panicked, seemed to awaken from their fear, murmuring in discontent at Bai Jutian's words.

If it were an ordinary low-level martial artist with only one energy channel opened, they'd be terrified by the aura of Bai Jutian, a master with nine channels open, and would probably be in a state of panic.

However, Qiao Gao had merged the memories of the Myriad Tribulation Pill Monarch, inheriting a trace of the Monarch's aura. How could he be intimidated by the mere presence of a Vein Connecting Stage martial artist?

Qiao Gao regarded Bai Jutian as if he were invisible, meeting his gaze without flinching, and scoffed coldly, “Who do you think you are? You're neither the dean nor a mentor. You're just a small-time student in the inner academy, so stop bossing me around.”

The students participating in the examination were stunned, their mouths agape, as if they could fit an egg inside. They all rubbed their ears to make sure they heard correctly.

A student who hadn't even entered the outer courtyard, merely participating in the assessment, was a low-level warrior with astonishingly weak energy. Yet, he dared to publicly reprimand an elite inner courtyard student, and not just any student—Bai Jutian, a formidable talent who had opened nine energy channels and was on the brink of breaking through the Vein Connecting Stage.

"Well, well, well!" Bai Jutian was so furious he laughed, his chest heaving. The sword on his back hummed, as if ready to strike Qiao Gao at any moment. However, he held back, as he didn't have the authority to disqualify Qiao Gao from the assessment.

Hwang Ningxue was also enraged, viewing Qiao Gao as an annoying clown. Her energy surged, enveloping the entire mine, rapidly lowering the temperature and filling the air with an icy chill.

Infuriating two Vein Connecting Stage powerhouses at once, the mine felt like a stormy sea, yet Qiao Gao strolled casually, circling the Ice Snow Goddess and taking in her delicate fragrance.

"Oh my gosh, he actually dared to smell the senior's scent!"

"Flirting with an inner courtyard senior in public—he's asking for it!"

Faced with such audacity, Hwang Ningxue was livid, ready to slap Qiao Gao across the nose. But Qiao Gao's words struck her like lightning, causing her to restrain her energy.

"The Blood Soul Flower on you is only nine-tenths ripe. Harvesting it too soon reduces its potency. What a pity," Qiao Gao remarked quietly.

"How do you know I have a Blood Soul Flower?" Ningxue blurted out, quickly covering her mouth, realizing she had given herself away.

The Blood Soul Flower is the main ingredient for crafting Grade Two medicine pills, extremely rare and valuable. Even on the black market, it can fetch tens of thousands of dollars. Moreover, since it can repair the soul—a property incredibly scarce in medicine—its value rivals that of a Grade Three pill.

Grade Three pills are exceedingly precious; there are only a few in the entire Great Flame City.

Clearly, Bai Jutian understood the value of the Blood Soul Flower. His anger dissipated completely, replaced by a fiery gaze as he looked at Ningxue and asked, "Ningxue, did you really pick a Blood Soul Flower?"

Ningxue's face was full of shock, her eyes now wary, but she nodded in acknowledgment.

"Even if I have a Blood Soul Flower, what does that have to do with me being infected with corpse poison?" Ningxue retorted angrily, trying to shift the focus away from the flower.

Qiao Gao replied calmly, "I’m sure you know that the Blood Soul Flower grows in places thick with death energy. Such places are formed over countless buried corpses and usually carry corpse poison."

"Hey, you must have stumbled upon the Blood Soul Flower while chasing the Scorpion Tail Tiger, risking the Corpse King Poison just to pick it," Qiao Gao remarked, half-amused, half-concerned.

Hwang Ningxue was both angry and surprised. Angry that Qiao Gao had exposed her secret, and surprised that a mere student participating in the academy's exam could be so well-versed in pharmacology and deduce the situation so accurately.

"So what if I did? I picked it without touching it directly, so there's no way I could have been poisoned," Ningxue retorted, trying to keep her cool.

With all her nine major meridians open, the next level for her was the Soul Connecting Stage. At this stage, a martial artist could project their energy outward and manipulate objects from a distance.

"Is that so?" Qiao Gao tapped his head thoughtfully. "If it were a natural Blood Soul Flower, you'd be fine. But you picked one cultivated by the Corpse King. With your current strength, you can't resist the Corpse King Poison."

"The poison has already reached your heart meridian. If you don't believe me, try channeling your energy there," Qiao Gao added calmly.

Ningxue was fuming. She had never heard of a Corpse King appearing at the edge of the Devil Dragon Mining Area. Besides, the Corpse King was just a mindless zombie; how could it cultivate a Blood Soul Flower? It was absurd!

She began to suspect that Qiao Gao might have accidentally witnessed her picking the flower and was just making wild guesses.

"Go ahead and try; I'm going to expose your lies," declared Summer, her confidence unshaken. She was always the top of her class, and never had she faced such a challenge. She quickly recited the mantra, channeling her energy to her heart.

Suddenly!

"Ugh."

Summer's body shuddered as she coughed up dark blood that sizzled upon hitting the ground. Her face turned ashen, losing its usual radiance, and a shadow of death loomed over her features.

"This... can't be happening!" Summer's expression shifted to one of disbelief, unable to comprehend the situation.