Dual cultivation makes you stronger, everyone else is a prodigy, and I'm the only one slacking

murmurs rose and fell among the crowd.

A boy wearing a blue butterfly mask stood in the corner.

He fiddled with a folding fan in his hand, watching the two people in the room with amazement.

"I didn't expect your Dongbao Continent to have such a young genius, but compared to me, he's still a little bit lacking."

The cultivators nearby dared not speak out in anger, for they had already witnessed the power of this young man named Lin Yiyang in this secret realm.

In a corner of the crowd, Shi Shangxu frowned, watching the two fighting like madmen in the arena, and couldn't help but speak up to advise them:

"Fellow Daoists, why fight to the death like this? Once we're out of the secret realm, can't we sit down and talk things over?"

Unfortunately, no one paid her any attention. He turned to the people next to him, "Is there anyone who can try to persuade them? Are there any members of the Li or Feng families among you? Could you contact their elders?"

Unfortunately, no one answered him. People glanced at him and quietly moved aside.

Shi Shangxu was at a loss for what to do. After all, it was the rule in the cultivation world that when two people were fighting to the death, it was not appropriate for others to intervene.

Mo Fei and Mo Yuntian, grandfather and grandson, were also watching.

Mo Fei stared intently the entire time, his expression changing repeatedly.

"Grandpa, do you think those two really want to kill each other? Shouldn't you try to talk them out? After all, you're the eldest in the family. And don't we have some connections with the Li family?"

Mo Yuntian didn't speak, but stopped him with a look.

A little further away, there was a man dressed in a dark robe.

He remained silent, simply staring at the two people in the room.

Beside him stood a muscular, burly man with a respectful expression; the two were clearly master and servant.

The man in black had a solemn expression and a complex look in his eyes.

Looking at the two young figures in the arena, and their fearless spirit, he felt a mix of relief and worry.

The emergence of such a young person in Dongbao Continent is both a good thing and a bad thing.

The roots of aristocratic families grow ever deeper.

How easy would it be for the human court to bring these cultivators under its control?

The two young men before me both come from aristocratic families. Once they have grown powerful enough, they will become an obstacle to the human dynasty.

He didn't speak, but simply suppressed these thoughts.

Among the onlookers, someone couldn't help but ask, "Does anyone know why these two prodigies started fighting?"

At this moment, someone next to him lowered their voice, their tone full of gossip, "I heard it's because of a woman."

"For a woman?" The other person's voice was filled with obvious disbelief.

"Are you kidding me? A dignified cultivator would be blinded by a woman, even fighting to the death over her?"

"Oh, you don't understand. Since ancient times, even heroes have found it hard to resist the charms of a beautiful woman; this truth has never changed throughout history."

"I wonder which prestigious family this woman comes from, that could make these two prodigies fight like this. She must be incredibly beautiful, right?"

Yu Luoning remained standing, her back ramrod straight, and heard all the discussions clearly.

She lowered her head, remained silent for a moment, and then touched her face. The purple birthmark on the left side of her face was still there.

Beautiful as an angel?

Well, not yet.

Look, she only has half a face that looks good, yet she managed to get two men to beat her up like this. It's quite impressive to talk about it.

Yu Luoning chuckled self-deprecatingly.

She looked down at her hands.

She knew very well that these two people were sincere towards her.

But what about her? From the very beginning, she approached them with a purpose.

Now that the copy was complete, the first thing she thought about was how to escape.

She was never sincere with anyone.

She's a con artist in matters of the heart.

Yu Luoning suddenly felt a tightness in her chest.

She closed her eyes and went over everything that had happened in the past few days in her mind.

At least these two people had let her copy their most important techniques.

Well, although it happened without them noticing.

But is this favor genuine? Should she just let them fight to the death like this? That wouldn't be in accordance with her principles.

Having figured everything out, Yu Luoning opened her eyes.

She took a deep breath, turned around, and flew into the air.

At this moment, in the center of the ruins, the two simultaneously gathered their strength; this was their final strike, and everyone felt it.

The air seemed to freeze at that moment, and the two forces collided violently in mid-air.

Just then, a figure resolutely rushed forward.

No one had time to react.

The next moment, a woman leaped and stood between the two.

Two magnificent sword energies simultaneously pierced through the air, penetrating the figure.

"No, little darling!"

The two voices spoke in unison, but only silence answered them.

The woman named Xiao Guai had dark, empty eyes devoid of any life.

In less than three breaths, it was reduced to ashes by the violent power of the two sword energies.

Even though the two of them tried desperately to salvage the situation.

Time seemed to stand still, and the wind seemed to have stopped too.

Li Yunyu's sword slipped from his hand and fell from the sky.

He stood frozen in place, his Yin-Yang eyes fixed on the empty space.

The Soulfire... is gone.

All the sounds around him seemed to disappear, and his heart seemed to disappear as well.

Feng Qiguang waved his hand, seemingly trying to grab the ashes.

But there was nothing there, not even a speck of dust remained.

She vanished into thin air amidst the sword energy.

He killed her.

He killed the person he loved most.

The crowd fell completely silent; no one spoke or moved.

I thought this war would end with the fall of a genius. But I never imagined it would end with the death of a woman.

After a long while, Shi Shangxu stood in the crowd, his throat moved as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't say anything.

Lin Yiyang, wearing a mask, gripped the folding fan in his hand tighter, no longer displaying his previous nonchalant attitude.

The man in the dark robe withdrew his gaze, turned around, and walked in another direction.

Mo Fei froze on the spot, opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

He stared at the open space for a very long time.

In an instant, a series of things strung together in his mind.

That woman must be Yu Xiaoguai, right?

That evil woman who hung herself from a tree and beat herself.

He hadn't even gotten his revenge yet, and the other person was already dead?

Mo Fei turned around and quietly wiped the corner of his eye with his sleeve.

Mo Yuntian stood a little further back, his whole body motionless, a strange, indescribable feeling rushing through his mind.

With his half-step Purple Mansion Realm perception, he seemed to have caught something extremely subtle the moment the woman disappeared—a fluctuation in spacetime.

Extremely short, extremely short, as if someone had moved within this area.

But the person is dead, and the soul fire has dissipated.

He then used his Purple Mansion Realm perception to probe the area thoroughly, but found nothing.

There was no residue, no breath, and no signs of life.

Perhaps he was overthinking it; it was just the remnant of some kind of magical artifact before his death.

Mo Yuntian didn't investigate further. He pulled Mo Fei away from the place.

In the ruins, the wind blows in and then gently moves away.

~

At this very moment, at the Star-Picking Palace.

A figure emerged from the purple aura of spiritual energy, stood firmly, and dusted herself off.

Yu Luoning took a deep breath. It's so good to be alive!

Just now, she used all the speed she had during her 20 years of being single.

Three breaths, only a short three breaths.

She had to use the Time Reversal Jade Token to freeze time, cast a substitution spell, swap positions with the puppet, and finally use the Transcendental Technique to teleport her main body away.

Heaven knows how difficult this series of actions was? How much it tested a person's reaction speed and agility?

Even she couldn't help but applaud herself and shout, "I'm awesome!"

"You seem very happy?"

A gentle, youthful voice rang out, as clear and pure as ice and jade striking each other.

Yu Luoning looked up and saw the boy walking towards him.

The boy had delicate features, eyes like stars, and a slight smile at the corners of his eyes.

Like a bottle of refreshing sparkling water on a hot summer day, it's clean and comforting.

Yu Luoning also smiled.

The next second, the boy frowned slightly and walked closer to her.

"What's wrong, Xing'er?" Yu Luoning asked.

Xing Qi stared at her for a moment, then said, "There seems to be something else on you."

As he spoke, he raised his hand, his slender fingers touching her brow.

In an instant, a gray-black shadow was forcibly peeled off her body.

The black mist struggled and churned violently in the air, but was instantly dispersed by Xing Qi's palm strike.

Silence fell over the surroundings. Xing Qi withdrew his hand, frowning, and asked, "Why are you carrying someone else's remnant soul? Did you encounter any danger in the secret realm?"

Yu Luoning stared at the dissipated black mist, remained silent for a moment, and felt a lingering fear in her heart.

She didn't know when that dark thing had attached itself to her.

Fortunately, she chose to come to the Star-Picking Palace.

Fortunately, Xingqi discovered it in time.