Zhang Molin stood at the doorway, staring blankly at the backs of the people.
The way ahead is a path to survival.
As long as we take this step, everyone will be safe.
The entire hall has turned into a sea of ghostly flames. Is it too risky to gamble our lives for a membership qualification?
Do they all trust Lu Fei that much?
But—
In the end, he gritted his teeth, took a step back, and chose to stand with them.
"Die——"
The Red and White Fiend let out a resentful screech.
The raging fire roared like a frenzied demon, surging forward.
The heat wave whipped up the hem of their clothes.
Lu Fei dipped his face into the water and opened a black umbrella.
The five people standing at the doorway raised their magical instruments at the same time.
Tian Yuan hurriedly hid beside Ku Deng.
Boom——
The blaze instantly engulfed them.
The onlookers outside the door were so frightened by the terrifying gust of wind that they all stepped back.
A flicker of tiny electric light appeared.
Then, there was the fluorescence of the Seven Stars, the glow of the symbols on the paired rods, and the golden light from the coin sword and the wooden fish.
All these forces converged, forming a small gap in the raging fire.
Lu Fei stood at the forefront, holding a black umbrella.
Innumerable strands of hair emerged from under the umbrella, interweaving into a black barrier that held back the flames.
The surface of the umbrella trembled, and the black hair turned to ashes piece by piece.
Everyone stood inside the gap, desperately holding on, with their clothes turning to ashes in the flames.
The eastern sky was about to turn white.
However, the gap was continuously shrinking.
The scorching flames approached the five people, the fire almost touching Tianyuan's face.
He was severely injured and had no strength to resist, relying solely on hiding besidekul Deng to hold out until now.
But everyone was already huddled closely together, with no extra space left.
As the flames drew near, there was nowhere left to retreat.
His expression turned panicked, and he suddenly reached out, pushing Kul Deng out the door and taking his place.
Dawn broke.
In the eastern sky, the sun slowly rose above the horizon.
Sunlight spilled across the earth.
Night represents yin, while day represents yang.
The once-arrogant hellfire instantly turned to nothingness at the appearance of the sun, leaving only ashes drifting about.
With a venomous glance at Lu Fei, the Red and White Malevolence transformed into a light and fluttering double happiness character, flying into the dim staircase and disappearing.
It turned out that this Red and White Malevolence was also an evil entity!
The ashes fell to the ground, turning into dust.
The building reverted to its abandoned and eerie appearance, as if nothing had happened.
Lu Fei slumped at the entrance, without even the strength to walk out the door.
The others also collapsed one after another, panting heavily, their hands trembling to varying degrees.
"We... succeeded?"
Zhang Molin looked at the empty building, still feeling an unreal sensation.
"We really succeeded!"
"That's great!"
Smiles appeared on their weary faces, as they looked at each other, their bodies utterly exhausted but their hearts filled with excitement.
"Hey? Where is Master Kudeng?"
At this moment, Lu Fei realized that Kudeng was not by his side, and he instantly felt a sense of panic.
Supporting his feeble body, he turned his head to look around. When he saw Kudeng outside the door, he was stunned.
"Master Kudeng, why are you outside?"
Kudeng did not respond, hanging his head in dejection, sitting on the ground with a pale face.
"What happened?"
Lu Fei looked at everyone, and they all shook their heads in shock; they had been so busy trying to survive that no one noticed when Kudeng went out.
Tianyuan kept his head down, silent.
Lu Fei frowned, his gaze sweeping over Tianyuan, and he probably guessed what had happened.
Clap, clap, clap!
At this moment, the sound of applause came from outside the door.
"Congratulations to everyone for passing the assessment!"
Xu Bei clapped his hands and strode towards the group, followed by Gao Xiaofeng and Ye Bing.
"This guy really managed to hang on till the end?" Gao Xiaofeng kept looking at the disheveled Lu Fei, "Most likely because he was with Zhang Molin, who is a kind-hearted person and has been busy saving people all along..."
Xu Bei's face was full of an appreciative smile.
"Sure enough, heroes come from the young! Even in such a dangerous situation, you all managed to hold out until dawn. You are exactly the talents we are looking for!"
"On behalf of the Ling Yin Association, I welcome everyone to join us!"
The onlookers stepped forward one after another, looking at these disheveled young people with eyes full of admiration and respect.
"Thank you, Vice President Xu!"
Lu Fei and the others hadn't said anything yet, but Tian Yuan got up from the ground first, holding his chest as he walked out of the building, avoiding Lu Fei's gaze.
"Vice President Xu, I'm injured..."
Xu Bei glanced at him, squinted his eyes, and still had Ye Bing take him to the side for treatment.
He was about to flee as if escaping.
"Wait!"
Lu Fei propped himself up and stood, staring coldly at his back.
"He is not qualified to join the association!"
Tian Yuan paused in his steps, holding his chest and putting on an innocent look: "Manager Lu, what do you mean? I held out until dawn just like you all, so how am I not qualified?"
"Do you not know what you did just now?" Lu Fei's gaze was as sharp as a knife, "Grandmaster Kudeng treated you well, but you stabbed him in the back at the last moment. Do you have any conscience left?"
With these words, everyone immediately looked at Tian Yuan with strange expressions.
"Fine! I was wondering what happened to Master Kudeng, turns out it was you! Are you even human?" Jing Jian pointed at Tianyuan and cursed angrily.
"I should have just let you die in there. Master Kudeng shouldn't have risked his life to save you!"
Zhang Molin was extremely shocked: "Tianyuan Taoist, why did you do this?"
"What else could it be for?" Tie Shenglan's eyes were full of disdain, "There was no place for him just now. If he didn't push Master Kudeng out, where would he stand?"
"I didn't do it, how can you just talk nonsense!" Tianyuan couldn't look him in the eye and made a pitiful expression, "Miss Ye Bing, please take me to get treated, I'm not feeling well…"
Ye Bing did not move, ignoring Tianyuan's request, and looked at Xu Bei.
Xu Bei made a gesture to Ye Bing: "Take him to get treated."
A sly smile immediately appeared on Tianyuan's face.
"Vice President Xu, you actually let someone like him join the association?" Lu Fei frowned, "If this is the kind of person you choose, then I'm sorry, but I'm not interested."
"That's right! This membership spot belongs to Master Kudeng, it has always been the five of us who persevered until the end!" Jing Jian shouted excitedly.
"We can testify!" Zhang Moli and Tie Shenglan were also indignant.
Ku Deng raised his head, looking at them with red eyes.
The onlookers started whispering among themselves.
"Relying on selling out teammates to last until the end, who would dare to be in the same group with someone like him if he joined the association…"
"Fellow cultivators, there seems to be a misunderstanding!" Xu Bei smiled calmly, "I merely had Ye Bing treat his injuries; I never said anything about letting him join the association. The assessment is held by the association, and naturally, we must be responsible for the life of every fellow cultivator."
Upon hearing these words, Tian Yuan trembled with anger and shouted loudly.
"On what grounds? You only said before that lasting until dawn was enough, and I clearly did that!"