That little vixen is going too far.

Seeing that no one intervened, Luan Zhong and Luan Ping grew bolder. Exchanging glances, the two brothers suddenly and without warning launched a coordinated attack on Lu Yin.

Two streaks of sword Qi shot from their sleeves, aiming directly at the young girl's arm and slender waist respectively. Luan Ping’s intention was obvious: while his younger brother Luan Zhong distracted Lu Yin, he would seize the storage pouch at her waist.

Lu Yin's storage pouch contained the jade talisman required to teleport out of the Lingtian Canyon. Without that talisman, teleporting away would be utterly impossible.

Though Lu Yin possessed exceptional spiritual roots and innate talent, her youth left her severely lacking in combat experience. Caught completely off guard by the sneak attack from the Luan brothers, who were at the half-step Foundation Establishment stage, she panicked and failed to react in time.

*Swish.* Unwilling to await her doom, Lu Yin tried her best to dodge while hastily erecting a protective spiritual barrier.

However, the barrier had barely formed before it was shattered by Luan Zhong’s sword Qi. Immediately after, the blade grazed her right arm, while the clothes at her waist, along with the silk cord securing her storage pouch, were slashed open.

With a cold, sinister chuckle, the Luan brothers closed in from front and back the moment the girl clutched her bleeding arm in pain.

With an injured shoulder and the cool breeze brushing against her exposed waist through the torn garments, Lu Yin was unable to attend to both front and rear. Under such circumstances, how could she possibly fend off the joint ambush of two half-step Foundation Establishment practitioners?

Luan Zhong lunged forward, slamming a palm toward Lu Yin’s delicate shoulder, a low, sneering chuckle hissing in her ear: "Little girl, since you refused a toast only to drink a forfeit, you'll have plenty to suffer now..."

*Clang!*

Just as Luan Ping reached for Lu Yin’s storage pouch and Luan Zhong struck at her shoulder, a crisp, resonant chime rang out from afar. A golden longsword pierced the sky, slashing fiercely straight toward the two men.

"Oh no! It's a Foundation Establishment expert—fall back!"

Sensing the sharp, biting intent to kill, the Luan brothers' expressions shifted drastically. Abandoning Lu Yin instantly, they scrambled to flee into the distance.

However, Chu Xin'er, who was swiftly gliding through the air toward them, had already made her move—how could she let them slip away so easily?

Flicking her finger, she accelerated the Diamond Sword. In the blink of an hour, it caught up to Luan Zhong and Luan Ping. Seasoned by countless battles, the two men realized they could not escape and hastily drew their own magic artifacts, trading blows for defense.

After all, while they excelled at coordinated offensive tactics and possessed the ability to challenge ordinary early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, being forced into passive defense would inevitably spell disaster for them.

Though Chu Xin'er was unaware of the grievances between the Luan brothers and Lu Yin, seeing the young girl bullied to such a miserable degree, she had no intention of holding back.

*Boom, boom, boom!*

The mid-grade magic artifact, the Diamond Sword, collided with the Luan brothers' flying swords. Sword Qi crisscrossed the air while dirt and debris flew everywhere. Compared to this clash, the other skirmishes scattered around paled in comparison.

"Elder Sister Chu! It's her—she's actually at the Foundation Establishment stage! Oh, thank goodness!"

Having escaped disaster, Lu Yin looked up at the doll-faced young girl surrounded by swirling spiritual energy who was descending swiftly through the air, her tear-stained eyes filled with joy and relief.

Not far away, Xu Lingzi wore a complicated expression. Chu Xin'er's beauty and cultivation were unlike anything he had ever witnessed. Furthermore, they were bound to become fellow sect members in the future. Wouldn't it be wonderful if he could develop a romantic relationship with her?

It was only a pity that he had previously wished to avoid unnecessary trouble and thus refrained from stopping the Luan brothers from bullying Lu Yin, missing the prime opportunity to befriend her.

"Damn it! How could that little girl have such a formidable companion? What rotten luck!"

Barely had the exchange begun when Luan Zhong and Luan Ping felt a bitter taste in their mouths. Even with their combined strength, they couldn't gain the upper hand; if this dragged on, defeat would be their only outcome.

At that moment, they even suspected Lu Yin of intentionally playing the pig to eat the tiger. Otherwise, had she mentioned having a Foundation Establishment-stage elder sister inside the Lingtian Canyon, would the two of them have ever dared to provoke and attack her?

*Humph!*

Growing impatient at her failure to instantly subdue the two fellows, Chu Xin'er let out a cold snort. With a wave of her hand, the Willow Leaf Blade roared forward, while a needle-like magic artifact was quietly concealed within her palm.

Faced with yet another mid-grade magic artifact, the Luan brothers felt their pressure multiply instantly. In particular, when the spinning Willow Leaf Blade slashed ferociously toward Luan Ping's head, he was forced to recall his flying sword for defense, instantly dissolving their coordinated offensive formation.

Foundation Establishment was, after all, Foundation Establishment. Although Luan Ping had managed to acquire a mid-grade flying sword by sheer luck, his current cultivation level prevented him from unleashing its full might.

Amidst the screech of clashing refined iron, his flying sword was sent spiraling backward by a direct strike from the Willow Leaf Blade. Luan Zhong’s situation on the other side was no more promising.

His artifact was inferior to his older brother's, consisting only of an ordinary low-grade flying sword. When pitted directly against the Diamond Sword under Chu Xin'er's full control, it immediately fractured upon impact.

Right at that moment, a chilling streak of light shot forth from the young girl's hand, targeting his throat directly.

Chu Xin'er showed no mercy whatsoever. With his face draining of color, Luan Zhong had no time to dodge; he could only jerk his head to the side, twist his torso, and desperately throw up his protective spiritual shield.

However, the needle artifact arrived the instant his barrier formed.

*Rip!* Sounding like tearing fabric, the flying needle pierced directly through the light shield, tearing a massive spray of blood from Luan Zhong's right shoulder. This was only the result of him seeing danger at the last second and twisting desperately to avoid a fatal strike to his throat.

"Stop! Let's talk this over—we are willing to offer compensation!"

Seeing his younger brother injured, and watching the needle artifact loop around to strike at his vital points once more, Luan Ping hurriedly brandished his jade talisman and shouted at the top of his lungs.

Chu Xin'er furrowed her brows slightly, yet she halted her movements as requested.

Because she remained ignorant of the root cause of the conflict, and knowing both Luan Ping and Luan Zhong regarded forfeiting the trial as their ultimate safety net, pushing them too hard might cause them to crush their jade talismans and flee, preventing her from continuing to vent Lu Yin's grievances.

"Humph! Letting you off depends entirely on whether Junior Sister Lu agrees or not."

With a cold snort, Chu Xin'er kept her aura locked onto the Luan brothers while turning her gaze toward the young girl, who had retrieved her storage pouch, swallowed a healing pill, and was currently hurrying over while clutching her injured shoulder.

"Elder Sister Chu, thank you."

Reaching Chu Xin'er's side, Lu Yin wiped away her aggrieved tears and expressed her gratitude.

Chu Xin'er offered a faint smile, gently patted the girl's head, and said, "No need to be so formal with me. Tell me, what is this all about?"

"Elder Sister Chu, it's like this. Not long ago, I was teleported into a valley... These two scoundrels chased me the entire way. If Sister hadn't arrived, they would have... they would have done unspeakable things. We can't let them off easily; we'd better take their storage pouches and points as well."

Knowing that within the Lingtian Canyon where escape was possible at any moment, completely annihilating an opponent was exceedingly difficult, Lu Yin settled for the next best thing upon hearing Chu Xin'er's inquiry.

Hearing Lu Yin demand their possessions and points, the expressions of Luan Ping and Luan Zhong turned exceedingly grim. Yet, neither was willing to abandon this rare opportunity to join the Lingtian Sect, leaving them in deep internal conflict.

At that very moment, Chu Xin'er's icy voice rang out: "You heard her. Hand over your storage pouches and points, or die!"

"Die? Hahaha! You little wench, pushing us too far! Do you really think our brothers are afraid of you? At worst, we'll just forfeit this opportunity—what can you possibly do to us?"

Chu Xin'er's aggressive cornering completely shattered any lingering hope the Luan brothers harbored. Luan Ping let out a harsh laugh, shook the jade talisman in his hand, and replied without a shred of courtesy.