Miles Ming received the order and went to carry it out.
Liam Li, completely unaware, was drugged by Miles Ming. By the time he realized, it was already too late. He only heard Miles say, "Elder said, as long as you do the job well, you'll get the antidote later."
Liam Li was deeply frustrated—he'd gotten himself into this mess. Facing his current predicament, he could only cooperate with the elders. He wasn't ready to die just yet.
After all, Elder Hubert Hu had every right to kill Liam Li. So he knew that Miles Ming gave him the drug just to make him do something. Liam asked, "What does the elder want me to do?"
"It's simple. There are two more pills here—give one to Patrick Li, the Li Family patriarch, and the other to whoever you think has the most power and influence. Remember, just because you're from the Li Family doesn't mean you can leak this. If you do, the elder won't let you off," Miles Ming said.
Liam Li was stunned—he was being told to poison Patrick Li, his own family patriarch. This was truly difficult for him.
Seeing Liam Li hesitate, Miles Ming said, "Relax, it's not a deadly poison. As long as the Li Family behaves, the drug won't harm them. Same as you—just follow orders, and you'll be fine."
Liam Li saw that it wasn't a deadly poison, so he could only answer helplessly, "Understood, Elder."
"Go quickly. Tonight, we need to see them at Shadow Soul Sect as guests," Miles Ming said.
Liam Li nodded and left, heading toward the Li Family estate.
Meanwhile, Evan Yang and Lora Luo were sitting in an inn. Lora stared at Evan and said, "Why did you bring me here?"
"What's the point of fighting all the time? How about we just talk for a bit?" Evan smiled.
"Talk? I'm not interested in chatting with you. Let's go duel outside," Lora said, frowning.
"Haven't we dueled more than once already? After all these rounds, neither of us won. I say let's drop it. As for your Silver-Spirit Sword, I'll give it back," Evan said with a smile.
The reason Evan changed his mind was because Chase Chu had joined Blue Robe Sect, and he had no major grudge with Lora Luo—no need to make things complicated. So he decided to return the Silver-Spirit Sword to her.
Lora Luo looked skeptical. "Are you sure you're giving it back?"
"Yeah, here you go." Evan took out the sword and handed it to Lora.
Seeing her Silver-Spirit Sword returned, Lora grabbed it like a long-lost treasure. "Alright, your stuff is back with you. From now on, there's no grudge between us," Evan said.
Lora put away the Silver-Spirit Sword, but said, "It's not that simple. Sure, you gave me back my sword, but I've spent so much energy chasing you these days. I still want to duel you."
Evan was stunned. Even after returning the sword, things were still like this. It wasn't that Evan couldn't subdue her, but fighting would mean breaking with Blue Robe Sect. Evan sighed, "What's the point?"
"There's no 'what's the point' or 'not the point.' Anyway, this isn't over yet," Lora Luo said. In truth, her anger had faded, but she hadn't expected to get her sword back so easily, and she didn't want to return to Sean Shen and the others right away—so she was just making excuses.
"So what do you want, then?" Evan asked helplessly.
"Tomorrow, after they leave, we'll go to another planet and duel—until one of us wins. If I win, that rusty sword is mine. If you win, I won't pursue anything," Lora Luo said.
"Why after they leave? Aren't you going back?" Evan felt something was off. Lora replied, "My business is none of yours. Just focus on how you're going to beat me tomorrow."
Lora snorted and left. Watching her walk away, Evan was confused—he had no idea what she was up to. If she really wanted to duel, they could do it now; why wait until tomorrow after the Blue Robe Sect people left?
After stepping outside, Lora Luo let out a breath. She started thinking about how she would explain things to Sean Shen and the others later.
Sean Shen and the other Blue Robe Sect disciples waited in the inn. Lucky asked, "Senior brother, aren't we going to help senior sister?"
"Your senior sister won't let us help," Sean Shen replied, frowning. He wanted to secretly follow her, but had to lead the group today, so he couldn't sneak away.
"What should we do, then? If something happens to senior sister, it'll be a problem," Lucky said, worried.
"Don't worry. Your senior sister's cultivation is much higher than her opponent's. She'll be fine," Sean Shen said.
Just then, Lora Luo returned. When everyone saw her, they relaxed. Sean Shen couldn't wait and asked, "How'd it go? Settled?"
"No, we'll continue tomorrow," Lora said.
"Continue tomorrow? What does that mean? Did he get away?" Sean Shen frowned.
"Yeah, you could say that. I plan to look for him again tomorrow, so you guys should take the Chu Family member to Blue Robe Sect first," Lora said.
Sean Shen disagreed. "No way. If we're going back, we all go together. We can't leave you behind."
"Senior brother, what did the elders say when we left? After the competition ends, we must return within a day. Tomorrow you all have to go back, no lingering. As for my business, I'll explain to my master," Lora said.
Sean Shen hadn't expected Lora to be so firm, and looked at her with a bit of displeasure. "You're sure you want to stay?"
"Yes, that's right," Lora replied.
"Alright, I get it," Sean said, then went back to his own room.
The others were at a loss, but Lora said to them, "Don't just stand around. Go do whatever you need to do."
Back in his room, Sean Shen angrily slammed the table. "What does she mean, 'look for him tomorrow'? She's making us go back while she stays behind—damn it."
Lora's words had clearly provoked Sean Shen, making him even more determined about the matter. He snorted, "I'll just take care of that guy first and see what excuse she has to stay!"
Muttering to himself, Sean Shen left alone to search for Evan Yang's whereabouts.
As for Evan Yang, he hadn't shown up before the others or gone back to find Chase Chu and the group. Instead, he sat near the agreed meeting spot in the east of the city, waiting for the next day to arrive.
Meanwhile, chaos erupted at the Li Family. Patrick Li glared furiously at Liam Li. "You—you actually betrayed us!"
"Patriarch, I didn't do it on purpose. I had no choice—the elder made me take the pill too, and they forced me to do it," Liam Li said, frustrated.
Colin Li, the white-robed man, was also furious—he felt he'd been set up, and by his own nephew.
"Liam Li, you even dared to harm your uncle," Colin Li said angrily.
"I didn't mean to hurt you. I just put the drug in the water, but those two pills automatically entered your bodies," Liam Li said, surprised at how strange the pills were.
"Still making excuses!" Colin Li said angrily.
"The elder said, as long as you follow their rules, nothing will happen to you," Liam Li quickly invoked Elder Hubert Hu as a shield.
Both Patrick Li and Colin Li were furious, but there was nothing they could do. Patrick Li snorted, "What do they want us to do?"
"They want you to go sit there. That's all I know," Liam Li said.
"Let's go," Patrick Li said angrily.
Colin Li asked, worried, "Patriarch, should we bring anyone?"
"We're all poisoned. Can you detoxify it?" Patrick Li had found that the poison couldn't be expelled, so he asked Colin Li.
Colin Li shook his head. "I can't cure it."
Patrick Li said, "If we can't cure it, then let's go." Faced with this choice, Patrick Li felt helpless. Who could have guessed the Shadow Soul Sect would use such ruthless tactics, and strike first?
Hearing Patrick Li's words, Colin Li could only follow him. Led by Liam Li, they went to the Shadow Soul Sect manor.
Inside the manor, Elder Hubert Hu sat waiting with two assistants.
After a while, Liam Li returned, followed by two others.
Seeing them, Elder Hubert Hu smiled. "Welcome to both of you."
"Elder Hubert Hu, what is the meaning of this?" Patrick Li didn't bother to hide his displeasure—anyone would be upset after being set up like this.
Elder Hubert Hu smiled, "Don't misunderstand. Once things are done, you'll be free again."
"Is everyone in the Shadow Soul Sect this shameless?" Patrick Li said angrily.
"Patriarch Li, as I said, once things are done, there'll be no trouble. Besides, I called you here so we could deal with someone together." Elder Hubert Hu tried to calm him. "You had to drug us just to deal with one person?" Patrick Li couldn't help but protest.
"It's for better cooperation," Elder Hubert Hu said with a smile. The real reason was simple: to prevent them from interfering.
Patrick Li and Colin Li weren't fools; hearing this, they were naturally displeased.
"Enough about the poison. Let's discuss our business," Elder Hubert Hu said with a smile, seeing their faces darken.
"Just tell us what you want. Once it's done, give us the antidote," Patrick Li said, knowing he had no other options and relying on the antidote to cure the poison.
Elder Hubert Hu smiled, "Straightforward—I’ll be direct. I want to capture Evan Yang, but on this planet, you’re probably the ones best suited for the job."
"Elder Hubert Hu, you overestimate us. If we could find Evan Yang, we’d have caught him already," Patrick Li replied with a cold laugh.
"He’s hiding for now, but he has a disciple—the one from the Chu Family. There are many experts in the Chu Family, and with just the people here, we’re not enough. That’s why I need the Li Family’s cooperation," Elder Hubert Hu said with a smile.
"Elder Hubert Hu, aren’t you forcing the Li Family to become enemies with the Chu Family? Once you leave, we’ll be the ones to suffer," Patrick Li immediately saw the problem.
"Do you have a choice?" Elder Hubert Hu suddenly smiled.
Patrick Li cursed the old fox inwardly, but had no way to refute him. He could only snort, "Fine, tell us what to do."
"That’s better. Tomorrow, Evan Yang’s disciple will head to Blue Robe Sect. You need to capture him before he reaches the teleportation array. The rest, we can arrange to lure Evan Yang out," Elder Hubert Hu said.
"Elder Hubert Hu, you really are ruthless," Patrick Li said sarcastically.
"Thank you for the compliment. Tomorrow, I want to see Chase Chu. You can go back now," Elder Hubert Hu said.