Gao Wu: I'll enjoy the benefits, but you'll bear the side effects.

Gao Jie and Huang Xu exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with contempt and certainty towards Huang Laosi.

They never expected that even in this dire situation, Huang Laosi would still be so arrogant and cocky.

However, the situation was now different. They felt as if they had a burning ember in their hearts, warm and confident. After all, possessing the magical ability to freely open imaginary spaces was equivalent to holding Huang Laosi's lifeline in their hands. No matter how much he flaunted his claws, he was nothing more than a cornered beast struggling, only adding to the amusement. It would be incredibly easy for them to subdue him now.

Seeing that his threats had sunk without a trace, with Gao Jie and Huang Xu standing there indifferently, completely ignoring his threats, Huang Laosi was shocked. In the past, whenever he made a threat, it would send shivers down his spine.

"Have these two gotten themselves into a frenzy today?" Filled with doubt, his brows furrowed into a deep knot, and he instinctively opened his mouth, shouting to call his thugs over to lend a hand.

But before he could even utter the words "Help!", a blinding light suddenly flashed before his eyes, like lightning exploding in the night sky, making his eyes sting.

Immediately afterwards, an overwhelming force surged forth, as if carrying a thousand pounds of power, irresistibly engulfing him and shoving him violently into that mysterious and unpredictable imaginary space, which seemed like an endless abyss.

As soon as he stepped inside, Huang Laosi felt a bone-chilling cold envelop him, and the eerie atmosphere pressed down on him as if it were a tangible force.

Fear gripped his heart instantly, and he lost control, screaming and cursing at the top of his lungs:

"You two bastards, what kind of evil trick are you playing? What kind of hellish place have I ended up in? Let me tell you, I have a lot of connections out there, thousands of brothers. I'll find you sooner or later, and I'll tear you both to pieces, leaving you with no trace of your bodies. Do you understand?"

After cursing Gao Jie, he glared fiercely at Huang Xu, veins bulging on his neck, spittle flying everywhere.

"Huang Xu, you traitor! You actually teamed up with outsiders to bully your own people! Just you wait, once I get out of here, you'll be the first one I deal with. I won't let you get away with this; I'll make you pay! Do you understand?"

He cursed and waved his fists, spinning wildly in place, each stomp making a loud "bang" sound on the ground, trying to find even the slightest sign of an exit from this chaotic mess.

As he walked forward, gusts of cold wind swept past him from time to time. The wind howled past like the wailing of evil spirits, carrying shards of ice that seemed to seep straight into his bones.

Old Huang's lips instantly turned pale and bluish-purple from the cold, his jaw chattering. He hadn't walked more than a few steps when he couldn't help but shiver violently; the chill shot up his spine to his head, and he mumbled incoherently:

"This is outrageous! What kind of place is this? I'm freezing to death! Why did they have to put me in such a cold place for no reason?"

As he grumbled, he cursed Gao Jie and Huang Xu a thousand times in his heart, secretly vowing that if he could get out, he would make them wish they were dead.

"Once I get out of here, I will not let you go. I will make you pay an absolute price. This is a vow I made, and I will never forget it."

Before he could finish speaking, he tripped over something and stumbled forward, frantically grabbing at the air to steady himself.

Having finally regained his composure, he was filled with rage and about to unleash a torrent of curses when he glanced up. That one look terrified him; his legs went weak, and he collapsed to his knees with a thud, immediately prostrating himself and kowtowing repeatedly in confession.

"Boss, I was wrong. I didn't scold you, and I didn't mean to be with your secretary. It's just that woman kept saying she felt empty and lonely."

His forehead slammed heavily against the ground, each thud accompanied by a full-force thud. Soon, his forehead was bleeding, and blood mixed with cold sweat streamed down his face.

"I was really wrong. I will never do anything I shouldn't with your men again. Please forgive me, boss. I was really wrong."

As he continued to stumble, he suddenly sensed something was wrong. Trembling, he looked up again and discovered that the boss's body seemed to be nothing more than a skeleton. In this gloomy and dim space, the white bones exuded an extremely eerie aura, and the empty eye sockets seemed to be staring at him with a sinister gaze.

Huang Laosi's eyes widened in disbelief, his eyeballs seemingly about to pop out of their sockets.

His heart pounded wildly, as if it would burst out of his throat at any moment. A deep-seated, unprecedented fear, like a surging black tide, completely overwhelmed him.

In this gloomy and desolate imaginary space, the surrounding darkness seemed to come alive, wrapping around his body in strands. Every chill reminded him that danger had become an inescapable shadow, and the slightest mistake would mean his end with the gruesome sight of the white skeleton before him.

In the instant he realized what was happening, Huang Laosi turned around abruptly, his survival instinct driving him to run for his life.

In his panic, he staggered violently, his legs feeling weak and powerless as if they had been stripped of their tendons. He swayed and staggered, looking exactly like a drunken brute.

He was panting heavily, each breath tearing at his chest, but fear kept him from stopping; he only wanted to escape this nightmarish place.

However, fate had no intention of letting him off easily. Before he could run very far, a pair of scarlet eyes slowly emerged from the thick, inky darkness ahead.

Those eyes were like two will-o'-the-wisps burning with evil fire, emitting a chillingly fierce light as they glared at him menacingly. At the same time, they rushed toward him with a pungent, fishy wind.

Huang Laosi felt his mental defenses collapse instantly, and the sense of collapse was like a flood bursting its banks. He could no longer suppress it and started shouting at the top of his lungs.

The sound echoed back and forth in the deathly silent space, becoming increasingly mournful and desperate, each note filled with his fear and helplessness in the face of death.

Just when he thought he was about to die here and his soul was about to be swallowed by the endless darkness, a miracle happened!

Suddenly, a mysterious and powerful force appeared out of nowhere, like an invisible hand from beyond the heavens, carrying an irresistible force that abruptly pulled him out of the imaginary space.

With a "thud," Huang Laosi fell heavily onto the ground in the real world, instantly collapsing into a heap.

He was panting heavily, his chest heaving violently, like a drowning person who had just been pulled from the bottom of a turbulent sea, each breath a desperate attempt to reclaim the chance to survive a brush with death.

His face was deathly pale, devoid of any color, and large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, splattering onto the ground.

His legs were still trembling violently and uncontrollably, like a sieve, and his eyes were empty and terrified, as if his soul had been ripped out.

After a long while, he finally found his voice and cried out:

"Oh my god, that really scared me to death! I never want to go in there again. Tell me your conditions now. In short, from now on, I will never go into that kind of place again."

Gao Jie and Huang Xu exchanged a smile, a smile that held a hint of smugness, as if they were satisfied with the effectiveness of their methods, and also a sense of relief that they had finally subdued the troublesome Huang Laosi.

Gao Jie spoke slowly and deliberately, his words carrying an undeniable air of authority, like the resounding toll of a great bell:

"It seems this time you've really learned your lesson. That's good. Without experiencing some problems, you'll probably never grow up. People always have to be tempered in desperate situations to know their own limitations."

After saying that, his face suddenly darkened, his eyes instantly blazing with intense light, his gaze like two sharp, gleaming blades piercing straight at Huang Lao Si, and his voice also turned colder:

"Do we need to waste any more words with you? Where are they?"

Huang Laosi trembled with fear at that glare, his neck shrank back, and he didn't dare to hesitate for even a moment.

He hastily raised his trembling finger, which was as stiff as a leaf in the wind, and pointed to a dilapidated house not far away, his voice filled with terrified trembling:

"Over there...over there."

Upon hearing this, Gao Jie and his companion did not hesitate and immediately set off, their feet barely touching the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust as they sped off in that direction.

At this moment, Xu Rourou, who had finally been rescued, was only temporarily relieved of her condition. She leaned weakly against the corner of the wall, her whole body was so thin that she looked unrecognizable. Her once round and rosy cheeks were deeply sunken, as if the years had ruthlessly ravaged them, and she was completely devoid of color.

His lips were cracked and covered in scabs; every slight movement of opening his mouth felt like tearing open a wound.

She struggles to even stand up, let alone take on the crucial and demanding content of the upcoming exam.

Every time she tried to concentrate, it felt like someone had forcibly poured a sticky paste into her head, leaving her confused and dizzy, shattering her last bit of confidence and leaving her feeling utterly defeated, her emotions sliding further and further into the abyss of collapse.

Xu Rourou could only stay in bed all day, quietly recuperating.

For Huang Muran, Huang Xu, and Gao Jie, the wheels of life did not stop turning because of this turmoil; they continued to attend classes on time every day.

However, that thrilling and perilous experience has become like a heavy boulder, crashing into the once calm and tranquil surface of their lives, stirring up layers of ripples that linger for a long time.

On the surface, everyone listened to the lecture as usual and took notes diligently, but in their hearts they were all secretly wondering how to go on with things having come to this point.

As for Teacher Davida, he seemed completely unaware of everything that had happened before, and he didn't mention the addition or reduction of team members at all. He was only focused on imparting new knowledge to them.

During break that day, Huang Muran, like a curious kitten, quietly approached Gao Jie with a fawning smile and bright eyes: "I heard from Huang Xu that you have a really weird skill. Can you show it to us? To be honest, we've never seen any of these skills before. Don't hide it from us, just show us!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Jie inwardly groaned and couldn't help but glare at Huang Xu, who was playing around with his classmates in the distance. He thought to himself how this big mouth could spread the news of his ability to enter the imaginary space so quickly.

He scratched his head, trying to brush it off:

"Actually, it's nothing much. It's just that I figured out some tricks by chance after practicing kung fu to a certain level. It was purely accidental and not worth mentioning at all."

As he spoke, his eyes darted around, and he shifted the topic to Huang Xu.

"Huang Xu is even more skilled. Otherwise, why don't you ask him to demonstrate a couple of moves for you? He might just blow your mind."

Huang Muran immediately curled his lip. He wasn't stupid; he could tell Gao Jie was joking.

He snorted, stopped arguing, and turned to leave.

Gao Jie, not idle either, took out his notebook and planned to review the obscure and difficult knowledge that David had just explained.

As soon as Gao Jie opened the notebook and saw the dense text and complicated charts, he felt a headache coming on.

The content was simply too outrageous—energy circulation circuits, analyses of mysterious runes—it made his eyes dizzy and his head throb. After flipping through it only a couple of times, he quickly closed the notebook and let out a long sigh of relief.

Just then, Huang Muran suddenly pointed to Huang Xu's side and shouted loudly:

"There are bugs!"

Huang Xu was timid to begin with, and upon hearing this, he jumped up with a loud "Aow!" waving his hands wildly in the air, his eyes wide open, and muttering to himself:

"I'm terrified of bugs, but where are they?"

The two of them rummaged around for ages, but didn't even see a single insect hair.

On the contrary, Gao Jie seemed to have been inspired by the commotion. Suddenly, the corners of his mouth turned up, revealing a thoughtful smile. Then, taking advantage of the fact that the two were not paying attention, he quietly left his seat.

Huang Muran and Huang Xu were stunned for a while before they suddenly realized what was happening. They turned around and looked around, but Gao Jie was no longer in the classroom.

Huang Muran raised his voice and shouted anxiously:

"Gao Jie! Gao Jie!"

Huang Xu also shouted a few times, but the only response was the echoing sound from the empty classroom.

Seeing that their search for the person was fruitless, the two exchanged a glance, shrugged helplessly, and had no choice but to give up.

At this moment, Gao Jie's mind was completely focused on how to help Xu Rourou recover.

He hurried along, jogging towards the campus herb garden, hoping to find some rare herbs to help Xu Rourou recover.

After that, he frequented libraries, searching through countless ancient books for any potentially useful methods of recuperation. He tried every method he could think of without hesitation.

However, reality was like a cold, hard wall, relentlessly blocking his efforts time and time again.

No matter how hard Gao Jie tried, Xu Rourou's body remained as weak as a candle in the wind, showing no signs of improvement.

That day, sunlight streamed through the cracks in the window, casting a few faint rays that fell on Xu Rourou's pale face.

Looking at Gao Jie's dejected face, she felt a pang of pity. Gently reaching out, she took Gao Jie's hand, her sincere gaze filled with unspoken words:

"Gao Jie, thank you so much. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have had the confidence to get to where I am today. No matter what, I still have to acknowledge your hard work and dedication."

At this point, she paused slightly, a flicker of lingering fear flashing in her eyes, like a frightened bird recalling a past nightmare.

"If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't be alive today. But I'm curious, how did you discover I was missing?"

Gao Jie forced a smile; he really didn't want Xu Rourou to worry about the previous close call, so he vaguely replied:

"Don't overthink it, just focus on getting better."

Although he said that, other questions lingered in his mind. His brows furrowed slightly, and after thinking for a moment, he turned to Xu Rourou and asked:

"I'm asking you, do you even know why the level of martial arts has become like this?"

Seeing Xu Rourou's puzzled expression, he added in more detail, "Or do you know what truly affects our level? Is it the cultivation technique or the skills we choose?"

Xu Rourou was taken aback at first, as if she hadn't expected Gao Jie to suddenly ask this, then the corners of her mouth turned up, a confident look returned to her eyes:

"You can't stump me with these things. I know all about them. Basically, these are things that everyone is born with. From the moment you're born, your talent and aptitude are already set, and most of them are things we can't get through hard work."

She tilted her head, her clear eyes full of curiosity, and looked at Gao Jie.

"But I'm curious, why are you asking me these things? Are these things really that important? Or could they be a key factor in certain specific situations?"

Gao Jie did not answer, but slowly shook his head, a gesture that conveyed a sense of helplessness and desolation.

Then, he turned and walked to the side, his shadow stretched long by the sunlight streaming in from the window. Each step seemed to carry a heavy burden, or perhaps he had already figured something out in his heart, but simply didn't want to say anything more...