Chapter 34: Where Did My Big Nephew-Disciple Duan Go?

"Why have those two stopped moving?"

In the eyes of the onlookers, after that sound of the zither rang out, both of them closed their eyes simultaneously and fell into silence, standing in a stalemate without moving a muscle.

"Are they competing?"

"I suppose so?"

They did not see the intense clash they had hoped for, nor could they understand the current situation.

Niu Rixing blinked, leaned in toward Peak Master Teng Junwei, and asked with a thick-skinned grin:

"Peak Master, Peak Master, can you explain it to us?"

Watching the tall young man reveal such a disgusting smile that was both simple-minded and sycophantic, the corners of Teng Junwei's mouth twitched, and he barely managed to suppress the urge to kick him.

Since they were his own people after all, he couldn't bear to let him lose too much face in public.

"Quiet, keep your voice down."

With no other choice, Teng Junwei explained to Niu Rixing, and at the same time to the other disciples around them who did not understand:

"The reason you cannot feel the profound mystery within it right now is because your cultivation has not reached the Earth Realm, and your spiritual power is insufficient."

"The two of them are currently clashing in the spiritual world, and by the looks of it, they have already reached a critical moment!"

"The outcome will be decided within seconds."

In the eyes of the disciples at the Earth Realm, the stage was not as calm as it appeared on the surface.

This match could be called the most dangerous one since the start of the Inter-Peak Grand Competition.

From the very beginning, neither of them had any intention of dodging, choosing the most direct frontal collision and stubbornly taking on the other's illusion.

This was a form of contempt, but at the same time, it was confidence in their own strength.

They possessed the same confidence, believing that the other would be the first to retreat in their own illusion, and believing that they themselves would hold on longer.

But after only a short while, the situation changed.

It turned from mutual attacks into two forces holding each other in check.

The combat arena was split down the middle, with each of their spiritual powers occupying exactly half—not a fraction more, not a fraction less.

Could there be two perfectly equal spiritual powers in this world?

Naturally, there could not.

Then, there was only one possibility: one of these two was deliberately controlling their own spiritual power to match the other.

Was it Duan Xiaoling? Or Ren Yidao?

Teng Junwei actually leaned toward the former.

Duan Xiaoling sat holding her zither, her expression showing no change.

While Ren Yidao had a look of fury on his face, appearing somewhat exasperated and even looking as if he hated that she wouldn't improve, though one couldn't tell what exactly he had encountered in the illusion.

"To have such geniuses is a blessing for the sect; we must ensure nothing goes wrong."

In a certain sense, a competition of the Spirit Dao is more dangerous than a battle of the physical body.

Physical injuries are easy to treat, but once the spiritual Consciousness Sea is damaged, the difficulty of treatment rises sharply.

Teng Junwei had already prepared himself; if any abnormality occurred, he would intervene at any moment.

And on the other side, behind the Lingxu Peak disciples, Duan Hong's expression was equally serious.

But unlike the worried Teng Junwei, there was more confusion in the depths of her eyes.

Duan Hong was very clear about her daughter's strength, and she knew exactly how much power the "Senluo Hell" illusion that Duan Xiaoling had concocted possessed.

Therefore, Duan Hong was very puzzled.

"How could they persist for so long?"

Duan Xiaoling's dear mother turned her head and sent a voice transmission to Jing Yueqin, who was mixed in with the Lingxu Peak team, asking:

"Why hasn't Xiao Ling lost yet? What is Yidao doing?"

No one knows a daughter better than her mother.

Duan Hong had always had a clear and cruel understanding of her child.

Duan Hong was clear about Ren Yidao's strength, and understood the significance of the nine bell tolls even more.

Among the disciples in the Human Realm, the only one who could cause trouble for the current Ren Yidao was Zuo Yungui.

This Inter-Peak Grand Competition was actually a contest designed specifically for these two.

It was an opportunity to appease Zuo Su and allow Lieyang Peak to compete for the Dragon Scale in a justifiable manner.

Everyone else was merely a companion student reading along with the crown prince.

Including her own daughter.

Compared to Ren Yidao, the current Duan Xiaoling was still very far behind.

But Duan Hong did not make Duan Xiaoling give up directly from the start.

One must always venture out in life to know whether one can actually do it.

Failure is also a part of life's experience, and it is also a normal state of life.

After hearing Duan Hong's voice transmission, Jing Yueqin scratched her head, then spread her hands, indicating she knew nothing:

"Oh my~ don't you worry! My junior brother has a sense of propriety, and aren't I very reliable?"

Duan Hong: "..."

I shouldn't have asked you that!

It would have been fine if you hadn't said anything, but now that you've said that, I'm starting to panic!

And under the gaze of everyone, the situation on the stage finally changed.

Duan Xiaoling was the first to react, her eyelids trembling slightly, as if she were about to wake up.

Niu Rixing was greatly excited and raised his arms to shout:

"Great! Senior Sister Duan won!!! She won... Mmph!"

Before he could finish his excitement, he was directly pressed to the ground by Teng Junwei and kicked hard twice.

"Shut your mouth, you blockhead!"

The people around were shocked by this scene and also realized that something was wrong.

"Wait, the situation doesn't seem right, Senior Sister Duan, she seems to..."

Duan Xiaoling's brows furrowed; not only were her eyelids twitching, but her entire body began to tremble unnaturally.

What is happening?

Fear rapidly crawled across her face; Duan Xiaoling suddenly opened her eyes and screamed in terror:

"No, no, no, no!"

"Don't! Don't come near me!"

"I am not your mother!!!"

Not a shred of her fairy-like temperament remained; all that had awakened was a young girl scared out of her wits.

She wailed miserably, and before she could even stand up, she scrambled backward quickly... and then fell right off the arena.

Thud.

"Gulp!"

Duan Xiaoling hit the back of her head on the ground and passed out instantly.

A deathly silence shrouded the vast venue.

In their hearts, a voice kept repeating.

What the hell just happened!!?

Huh?

Did I look down and miss something for a moment?

Just as the crowd was bewildered, the other protagonist on the stage slowly woke up and stretched lazily.

"Ah—ha."

Ren Yidao blinked, his consciousness still immersed in the heated renovation of the hell.

"Although it's not finished yet, it's just about there."

While retaining the general structure of the original Senluo Hell, Ren Yidao had demonically modified the designs of many torture devices for Duan Xiaoling, optimizing the user experience in multiple ways.

It is especially worth mentioning that Ren Yidao had also conducted work mobilization and standardized training for the little ghosts who carried out the punishments.

He instilled in them a sense of honor for realizing their self-worth through this job, as well as the traditional virtue of taking the initiative to work overtime without asking for overtime pay...

It was only because he had woken up; otherwise, he could have even made the little ghosts voluntarily buy company shares in lieu of wages!

Having a kind person like me to teach them is truly a blessing for the little ghosts!

"It's just that I don't know who will be so lucky in the future to be the first to appreciate my masterpiece."

"I really envy them."

For an artist like Ren Yidao, having no one to appreciate his work was the saddest thing of all.

"Hm?"

Immersed in his pride, Ren Yidao suddenly felt that something was missing on the arena...

Eh?

Looking around and finding no one, Ren Yidao tilted his head in confusion.

Where did my big Junior Martial Nephew go?