Outside the Secret Realm, in front of the Monitoring Light Screen.
Presiding Elder Hu Shi was staring at the scenes of the Core Zone appearing in real-time on the light screen, but his gaze was locked onto the figure in the image that wore his own face, appearing somewhat dazed for a moment.
In the light screen, Lu Qiancha, in Disguise as Elder Hu Shi, was standing near the Secret Exit with a serious expression, as if he were patrolling something.
This kid… wearing my face, what on earth does he want to do?!
Seeing someone else using his face to parade around, even though Elder Hu Shi’s temperament was considered peaceful within the Sect, at this moment, he only felt the veins on his temples throbbing violently, an indescribable feeling of disgust and nameless fire surging in his heart.
Fortunately… this kid seems to have some sense of propriety and hasn’t worn my face to do anything scandalous or disgraceful to one’s refinement… Otherwise… Hu Shi didn’t dare to think further.
“Elder Hu,” Xuanmo Shigu, who was participating in the monitoring nearby, caught sight of Hu Shi’s restless appearance and couldn’t help but cover her lips with a light laugh, her voice teasing, “I am very familiar with this Tianquan Peak little Chenzi, Lu Qiancha; he has enough wicked ideas to fill a basket.”
“You had better be careful, lest he ruins the reputation you’ve accumulated over many years, ending up with your integrity in your later years unpreserved~”
“Cough, cough,” the nearby Xuan Ping Elder stroked his beard. Although he didn’t quite understand what his Shimei was up to, he habitually chimed in with a stiff face, “What Xuanmo Shimei says is absolutely correct.”
“This Daoist has also met this child; he is mentally active and full of many tricks. In this Daoist’s view, he is currently wearing your identity mostly because he wants to borrow a tiger’s prestige to intimidate other teams, making them wary of taking action.”
“When the time is ripe, he will take them by surprise and act… cough, act as the fisherman gaining the profit!”
He tried his best to speak more elegantly.
“What?!” Upon hearing the words about his integrity in his later years being unpreserved, Elder Hu Shi was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, suddenly springing up from his seat.
He stared fixedly at the “himself” in the light screen, the worry and anxiety in his heart growing like wild weeds.
If my reputation is damaged, how can I still have the face to live in this world?!
He wished he could rush into the Secret Realm immediately, seize that audacious kid, and give him a harsh lesson.
However, reason told him that the other party had not violated any explicit rules—after all, the Grand Competition rules didn’t have a clause “forbidden to Disguise as a Presiding Elder.”
This made him like an ant on a hot pan, unable to sit or stand, pacing back and forth in front of the light screen, restless and uneasy.
“Elder Hu,” Xuanmo’s eyes flickered with a trace of cunning as she took the initiative to propose, “Worrying like this isn’t a solution. How about this: you give the two of us a hand-written order, allowing us to enter the Secret Realm.”
“If that kid really dares to use your face to do anything out of line, the two of us will immediately step in and take him down, controlling the influence to the smallest range and never letting him ruin your name. How about it?”
“This…” Elder Hu Shi showed hesitation. Sending people into the Secret Realm temporarily seemed somewhat against the rules.
“Yes, Elder Hu,” Xuan Ping Elder, though still not knowing why, saw his Shimei speak up and assisted with a serious expression, “Xuanmo Shimei’s considerations are thorough. If that kid really causes trouble and damages your reputation, that would be truly regrettable.”
“With the two of us watching by his side, we can certainly prevent trouble before it happens and ensure your late years are worry-free.”
The two words “late years” were like a heavy hammer, striking hard at Hu Shi’s heart.
He suddenly gritted his teeth and threw caution to the wind: “Fine, then… I will trouble the two Elders. Be sure… be sure to keep a close eye on that kid.”
“If he really dares to act recklessly, take him down immediately. We absolutely cannot let disaster happen.”
He quickly wrote out a Clearance Document and solemnly handed it to Xuan Ping Elder and Xuanmo.
“Rest assured, Elder Hu,” Xuanmo took the document, her smile bright, “We will handle it properly and give you a perfect result.”
Immediately, Xuan Ping Elder and Xuanmo exchanged a look, transformed into two streaks of flowing light, and sped toward the entrance of the Secret Realm.
***
On the other side, Shangguan Yunzhu’s fierce battle with that Stone Tiger Colossus had reached a white-hot stage.
Swordlight crisscrossed, intense flames burned the heavens, and earth and stones crumbled.
It seemed that Shangguan Yunzhu’s sword momentum was sharp and she held the upper hand, but in reality, her heart was filled with extreme anxiety.
This Shitou Xiang’s defense was too perverse. Being unable to take it down for a long time, the consumption of Ling Power was enormous.
If other teams heard the news and rushed here now, attacking from both the front and back, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Just as she was agonizing over a strategy to break the situation, that Stone Tiger Colossus was the first to lose its patience.
“Roar”
A roar shook the valley. The Stone Tiger Colossus’s massive body suddenly stood upright, actually abandoning its heavy rock form as the surrounding earth and stones flowed and deformed rapidly like living things.
In the blink of an eye, a more condensed and faster giant rock tiger head condensed out of thin air, carrying a terrifying prestige that could crush mountains, biting fiercely toward Shangguan Yunzhu in mid-air.
Shangguan Yunzhu’s pupils shrank, and she subconsciously raised her sword to parry.
However, that rock tiger head actually twisted weirdly in mid-air, its bloody maw suddenly opening wide to reveal a deep darkness and sharp stone thorns inside.
A powerful suction force erupted instantly.
Unprepared, Shangguan Yunzhu’s figure lost control, and she was actually swallowed in one gulp by that tiger’s mouth.
Inside the Stone Tiger Colossus, countless sharp stone thorns and surging earth and stones attacked from all directions, wanting to crush and devour her.
At the moment of life and death, the sharp light in Shangguan Yunzhu’s eyes exploded.
“Break for me—!”
She no longer held back, as all the Ling Power in her body burned frantically. Using herself as a lead, she instantly detonated the long-accumulated Divine Flame of Nirvana.
Rumble—!!!
An energy more violent and blazing than any previous time erupted inside the closed Stone Tiger Colossus.
The terrifying explosion shockwave was tightly bound by the rocks, its power increasing geometrically.
Boom—Crackle.
The indestructible Stone Tiger Colossus cracked inch by inch from the inside out. Finally, in an earth-shattering bang, it completely collapsed, turning into dust that filled the sky.
“Aowu—!” The Hanging-eyed White-browed Giant Tiger Main Body, hidden at the core of the Shitou Xiang, let out a miserable wail to the extreme.
Its massive body was violently flipped by the explosion’s aftermath and crashed heavily onto the ground, bleeding from its seven orifices and completely fainting away.
Shangguan Yunzhu’s figure staggered out from the sky-filling dust and smoke, her face pale and her breathing disordered, obviously having consumed a huge amount.
She forced herself to take a breath, the cold light on the Flying Sword in her hand flashing as she was about to step forward and give that fainting tiger Dayao one final strike.
Right at this moment—
A grand, majestic voice that resounded throughout the entire Secret Realm heaven and earth suddenly rang out: “Announcement to all participating Chenzi: The Core Zone Shouhu Dashou has been successfully killed. The Secret Exit is now opening early.”
“The exit location has been marked by a guiding light pillar. All Chenzi must evacuate the Secret Realm within half an hour. Those who do not exit in time will have all points obtained cleared and invalidated.”
Accompanied by this announcement that shook the clouds, a thick, dazzling light pillar that shot straight into the firmament rose thunderously in the distant horizon, like a lighthouse in the dark night, clearly pointing out the direction of evacuation for everyone.
The tight strings in Shangguan Yunzhu’s heart suddenly relaxed, and a smile of relief finally appeared on her exhausted face.
It’s done!
She quickly put away her Flying Sword, tidied her robes which were slightly disheveled in the explosion, and without hesitation transformed into a crimson streak of light, speeding toward the direction of that light pillar.