On the gentle white clouds, Zuo Mingqiu lightly turned his head, his eyes, clear yet exceedingly proud, looked towards Xu Mu.
Then, a hint of confusion appeared in his eyes.
Zuo Mingqiu stared at Xu Mu, lost in thought.
He was very confused, wondering why he could sense a similar aura to his own from this unknown, seemingly ordinary youth, and it seemed even more potent?
Unsure, Zuo Mingqiu slowly turned his head back.
On the other side, Xu Mu also silently shifted his gaze. He had no idea why this genius, the first to pass the illusion realm trial, had suddenly looked at him, nor did he understand the meaning of the confusion in the latter's eyes.
What Xu Mu cared about was why, when he saw those clear eyes, he felt an inexplicable sense of closeness and familiarity.
This feeling was terrifying. In his entire life, Xu Mu had only felt this close to Wu Kui, because the latter was the elder who had truly raised him. Apart from that, having lived in the domain of the strange night and being a hunter, Xu Mu had been accustomed to life and death from a young age and was somewhat cold-blooded.
He had never met this Zuo Mingqiu before.
So, what was the reason?
Xu Mu suppressed the urge to walk over and ask Zuo Mingqiu directly, looking up at the sun with some annoyance. It was at this moment, gazing at the sky above, that he suddenly thought of someone.
"Could it be..."
As if recalling something, Xu Mu's pupils trembled slightly, then he immediately turned his head back, staring intently at Zuo Mingqiu.
But the latter was no longer looking at him. He was focused on the white cloud arena, because at this moment, one of his strongest opponents, the young sword saint Chen Changkong, was fighting a youth ranked lower.
Thus, Xu Mu could only turn his head back, his heart filled with complex emotions, as such a guess was too risky and he needed time to verify it.
And at the very moment he turned his head, Zuo Mingqiu looked back once more.
This time, his eyes were not filled with confusion, but with solemnity.
After Zuo Mingqiu, the one to appear was Chen family's young sword saint, Chen Changkong.
Following the rules, he casually picked a genius with a lower ranking and then, with a swing of his large sword sheath, shattered the rock-elemental ability unleashed by his opponent, winning the match with ease.
"Well done."
Chen Changkong, a straw in his mouth, walked out leisurely. A young girl in a purple long gown greeted him with a smile; she was Chen Changkong's sister, Chen Ziyi.
"You don't need to tell me. That person couldn't even defeat me, let alone you, brother," Chen Ming said silently from the side, with a hint of dissatisfaction in his eyes as he looked at Chen Ziyi.
He had never imagined that someone he had bullied relentlessly since childhood and who was of humble status from a collateral branch would one day stand on the same arena as the two of them. In Chen Ming's eyes, this was simply a disgrace!
Upon hearing this, Chen Ziyi's expression immediately stiffened, and her small face flushed red. She lowered her head, feeling a little wronged.
Chen Changkong, who had just walked back, saw this and calmly asked, "Chen Ming, do you think that person was weak just now?"
"I've told you countless times, when fighting others, don't always underestimate your opponent. Even if they are a rabbit, you must exert twelve parts of your effort to kill him."
"That person just now was not weak; in fact, his strength might even be greater than yours. The reason he lost so badly is simply because he knew I was Chen Changkong, and that once my sword was unsheathed, he would inevitably lose. So, he chose not to struggle, reserving his strength for the next match."
Chen Ming was stunned. He hadn't expected there to be such a nuance. So, that person wasn't too weak, but rather knew he would lose, so he held back.
Even so, Chen Ming still pouted, unconvinced, and said, "So what if he held back? I didn't go all out in the previous round either."
"His ranking is over 3,700, only about 200 places above mine. But if we were to fight, I believe my sword would be stronger than his, because my strength simply doesn't belong in this ranking tier!"
Chen Changkong listened calmly and asked, "Then where do you think you should be ranked? A thousand, a hundred, or in the top ten?"
Hearing the latter two numbers, Chen Ming knew his brother was intentionally mocking him. He coughed awkwardly and lowered his head, saying, "I think, if I were to unleash my full power, I would have the strength to contend for a thousandth place."
"As for that fellow, although I didn't see him go all out, I could sense from his probing strike that he was very weak, at most comparable to Ziyi."
After saying this, Chen Ziyi, standing beside them, blushed again. She clenched her fists, tears welling up in her eyes, and said somewhat indignantly:
"Chen Ming, you're talking about him, why bring me into it!"
Chen Ming hadn't expected Chen Ziyi to dare to question him directly. The anger he felt from being lectured by Chen Changkong found an outlet, and he immediately turned to the girl and shouted angrily, "What, am I wrong!"
"Don't you think about it? You, a weakling of your strength, do you really deserve to be on this stage? When you were a child, you were too weak to even lift a bucket of water. Now you're standing on the same cloud as us. Tell me yourself, isn't that ridiculous!"
Chen Ziyi heard this, wiped the tears from her eyes, and said even more indignantly, "So what? You bullied me as you pleased when we were kids because you were stronger. Now that I've awakened my abilities and become stronger, do I still have to let you bully me forever!"
"Chen Ming, I'm telling you, the difference in our rankings in the first round is less than five hundred. If we were to fight, I'm not sure I would lose to you!"
Chen Ziyi's voice was quite loud and tinged with a crying tone, immediately attracting the attention of others. Gazes from the outside world turned towards them.
Chen Changkong saw this and remained silent.
Chen Ming's face immediately turned an unnatural shade of red as Chen Ziyi, whom he had bullied since childhood and looked down upon, defied him in front of everyone. He then gritted his teeth and pointed at Chen Ziyi, shouting:
"You, a collateral descendant of humble status, shut your mouth!"
"You still have the nerve to mention the ranking in the first round. Chen Ziyi, your strength is so weak, do you really think I don't know how you passed the first round? I just didn't want to say anything!"
Chen Changkong frowned upon hearing this.
Chen Ziyi herself hadn't realized what he meant and stared at Chen Ming, asking angrily, "Chen Ming, can you explain clearly? What do you mean by me using some means? I passed the trial of the illusion realm in the first round with my own strength!"
"Oh, really?" Chen Ming shook his head dismissively. "But someone told me you teamed up with seven or eight men. Chen Ziyi, was it they who helped you through that maze? Facing those third-stage skeletal ghoul異鬼s, did you even make a move?"
Chen Ziyi found this amusing and said, "Chen Ming, listen carefully. Although someone did help me, I was the main attacker who killed that third-stage skeletal ghoul異鬼!"
"After that, I chose the cave trial that tested comprehension, and then passed. I did not violate any rules throughout the entire process. You have no right to accuse me in this regard!"
The girl spoke earnestly and logically.
But unexpectedly, Chen Ming sneered again, "Is that so, Chen Ziyi, very impressive."
"As a support medical ability user who awakened the earth element, you dare to boast that you were the main attacker when killing that third-stage skeletal ghoul異鬼? You can't even spin a convincing lie, it's laughable."
Chen Ming said, glancing up and down at Chen Ziyi with a smiling, meaningful look.
"You're quite young, girl, but you've developed well. You're the type of woman those men like to conquer."
"Although the illusion realm is just consciousness, the pleasure of certain things is real. If you exchanged your body for their help in hunting the skeletal ghoul異鬼s, then a ranking similar to mine would be normal."
Chen Ziyi finally understood what Chen Ming had meant earlier. She immediately became enraged, her abilities surging, and she shouted, "Chen Ming, I warn you, don't try to provoke me!"
"This unfilial son!"
Outside the white cloud space, the conversation between Chen Ming and Chen Ziyi was transmitted perfectly. The various domain lords from the Chen family also heard their dialogue and immediately felt a sense of shame.
Because they had witnessed the trial of the illusion realm in the first round, and Chen Ziyi's process of passing had no issues. This was because she had awakened a second ability: the wind element.
As the proverb goes, "The strong wind reveals the strong grass." Although Chen Ziyi had been a medical ability user before, after awakening her wind ability, the two complemented each other. Her offensive power became surprisingly strong, leading to a qualitative leap in her strength, no less than that of other geniuses, which was why she could pass the assessment.
However, Chen Ming had slandered her, claiming she passed by exchanging her body.
Regardless of whether it was true or false, this was an insult to their Chen family.
The elders outside the space were helpless.
Even though Chen Ziyi was furious, she dared not act rashly because Chen Ming was from the main family, and his father was one of the people her own father feared the most, making him difficult to offend.
But Chen Ming needed to be disciplined.
So, Chen Changkong took action.
*Slap!*
A crisp and loud sound. Chen Changkong walked to Chen Ming's side without any warning and coldly slapped him. A bright red palm print immediately appeared on Chen Ming's face, stinging him.
"Look quickly, they're actually fighting!"
In the arena, other geniuses couldn't help but exclaim. They had been watching this for a long time and were very interested in what Chen Ming had said. This was a family matter for the Chen family, and they had been curious about how Chen Changkong, the face of the Chen family, would handle it.
And now, he had given his answer.
A slap, simple and direct.
"You are punished with kneeling for reflection and are not allowed to get up until before the match," Chen Changkong said sternly to Chen Ming, his casual gaze becoming sharp.
Chen Ming covered his face, about to retort, but was so intimidated by Chen Changkong's stare that his whole body trembled. He immediately lowered his head, not daring to say another word.
"Clap, clap, clap!"
At this moment, a round of applause echoed from the crowd.
Everyone was surprised and suspicious. Who dared to clap at this moment? Weren't they afraid of being targeted by the Chen family?
Chen Changkong heard the sound and looked up. The crowd parted, revealing a young man with a fierce expression and a green birthmark, looking at the scene with admiration.
"As expected of the opponent I've taken an interest in. Decisive in action, not bad. However, if it were me, I might have just killed him."
Seeing that it was Zhou Jie, Chen Changkong frowned and said, "What exactly do you want to say?"
Zhou Jie smiled slightly and said, "I want to show you how I fight."
"You, Mu Xu, come up here!"