'Feng Xue Xin, Hong Renjie... First place should be decided between those two. However, with only nine days left until the Celestial Nether Tower closes, who will be the one to take that final, decisive step?'
The Elder stationed in the hall of the Cyan Nether Sword Sect, responsible for the Mirror Image Array, crossed his arms and fixed his gaze upon Feng Xue Xin's and Hong Renjie's Mirror Image Crystal Stones.
After staring for a mont, his gaze shifted slightly, landing on the third, fourth, and fifth Mirror Image Crystal Stones.
The figures on them were Guo Fei, Ling Tian, and Hong Gang, respectively.
A hint of anticipation appeared on the Elder's face. 'These three little guys are rare talents, especially Guo Fei. He has great perseverance and patience. Back then, he was defeated by the rapidly rising Hong Renjie and eliminated, sent to the Outer Sect. But he didn't wallow in despair. Instead, he endured for years and has now finally soared to the heavens. After this trial, that fellow Li Tie will probably make this Registered Disciple an official one, won't he?'
'And this Ling Tian—his talent is truly terrifying! The Sect Leader himself personally admitted that Ling Tian's talent is in no way inferior to Hong Renjie's or Feng Xue Xin's!'
The Elder murmured, 'I really look forward to seeing how this little guy develops in the future!'
His gaze finally fell on Hong Gang. 'This boy is a natural-born Sword Cultivator. The Sect Leader once said that once he breaks through to the Celestial Soul Realm, he'll be allowed to go to the Sword Tomb and attempt to obtain the inheritance of a Sword Sect master. If he succeeds, he'll surely soar to the heavens. Of the Hong Family's Four Kings, only Hong Long is a bit lacking. The other three are all extraordinary talents! Especially Hong Renjie, and that little fellow Hong Lingtong...'
His calm gaze swept back and forth across the Mirror Image Crystal Stones of the top ten.
Suddenly, the Elder thought of soone—the youth who had shocked everyone in the first round and taken the championship by storm.
'This Hong Yu... his talent is likely on par with Ling Tian's. It's just a sha he seems to have an irreconcilable grudge with Hong Renjie. What a pitiable little fellow. Within the entire vast Sword Sect, absolutely no one thinks he stands a chance in a fight against Hong Renjie.'
The Elder shook his head slightly, a trace of disappointnt and regret in his eyes. 'After clearing the First Layer, this little guy seems to have just stayed at 1,000th place without moving. How strange. Could it be that he really doesn't want to provoke Hong Renjie any further and has deliberately given up on the rest of the competition?'
A look of displeasure crossed the Elder's face.
'A Martial Artist should have an indomitable spirit that always presses forward.'
Although he also felt that nothing good would co from Hong Yu opposing Hong Renjie, the thought of such a talented youth giving up on himself still filled him with regret and pity.
But when he looked at the 1,000th place on the points leaderboard, his eyes widened. 'What's going on? Hong Yu isn't in 1,000th place anymore?'
The Celestial Nether Tower trial was now nearing its end. Among the fifteen remaining participants, the weakest—besides Hong Yu—had at least reached the fourth Celestial Nether Tower.
It was naturally impossible for any of them to have dropped to last place.
That could only an Hong Yu's rank had gone up!
'Hmm? So he's already passed the second trial. But he's only just starting now. With nine days left, he'll probably only make it to the third Celestial Nether Tower!' the Elder muttered to himself.
But very quickly, he was completely stunned.
On the points leaderboard...
938th place: Hong Yu, 600 points!
Hong Yu had already passed the Third Layer.
A dozen or so minutes later...
893rd place: Hong Yu, 1000 points!
These were the points for clearing the fourth layer of the first tower.
Another dozen or so minutes later...
772nd place: Hong Yu, 1500 points. He had astonishingly reached the Sixth Layer of the first Celestial Nether Tower.
'What's happening? H-His speed is just too fast, isn't it?'
The Elder's expression changed slightly. 'Even Feng Xue Xin and Hong Renjie don't seem to be this fast!'
He frowned and said in a deep voice, "Move Hong Yu's Mirror Image Crystal Stone to the fifteenth position and keep a close eye on it!"
"Yes!"
The expert under his command moved quickly, bringing up Hong Yu's Mirror Image Crystal Stone.
When he saw the scene on the Mirror Image Crystal Stone, the worldly and experienced Elder was finally dumbfounded. His eyes went wide in astonishnt, and he was left speechless. "I... I'll be damned. H-How can he be so fast?"
Inside the Mirror Image Crystal Stone.
Hong Yu was on the Sixth Layer of the first Celestial Nether Tower. Before him, the number of Blood Yellow Ants had already reached six thousand.
A dense mass of Blood Yellow Ants crawled out from underground. The terrifying number ford a dark, oppressive tide, like a black beast stampede surging forward. The mighty montum made the very ground tremble. Each Blood Yellow Ant gnashed the pair of sharp, steel-like pincers before it, creating a piercing "SCRAPE SCRAPE" sound.
If it were just one Blood Yellow Ant doing this, it wouldn't be so terrifying.
But...
With more than six thousand Blood Yellow Ants making that sound at once, the sheer shock of the scene was overwhelming!
Just by watching through the Mirror Image Crystal Stone, even the experts operating the Mirror Image Array couldn't help but feel their scalps tingle.
"The Sixth Layer, huh? I still need to speed up," Hong Yu said with a light sigh.
His left hand was clasped behind his back, his right hand held at his side. He executed the "Wandering Dragon" Body Technique, his profound footwork following the obscure patterns of the stars. His body was as agile as a fish in water, darting left and right, weaving through the dense army of Blood Yellow Ants with ease, moving completely unimpeded.
"ROAR!"
At the sa ti, hundreds of Blood Yellow Ants lunged at him from all directions.
Their huge, sharp pincers were like blades and sword auras, crisscrossing as they flew toward Hong Yu, coated in a viscous saliva containing a paralyzing toxin.
A cyan light flowed in Hong Yu's left eye. Executing the Wandering Dragon Step, he would often dodge away at the most critical instant.
The sharp pincers would graze past his body, looking as if they were about to injure him, only to pass by without causing the slightest harm.
This level of exquisite control and Body Technique made everyone operating the Mirror Image Array exclaim in amazent.
The Elder's eyes, in particular, shone brightly. 'What a kid! This Body Technique secretly aligns with the trajectory of the stars and is full of variations. It's in no way inferior to the Sect's Mortal Level High-Grade Body Technique, the "Sun, Moon, and Stars Step." In fact, his Body Technique seems even more refined. This is practically a perfect Body Technique!'
Amidst his excitent, however, the Elder felt an even greater sense of regret. 'It's just a sha he went and offended Hong Renjie. Otherwise, if he were properly nurtured, he would definitely beco another top-tier genius on the level of Hong Renjie and Feng Xue Xin! A pity, what a true pity...'
Hong Renjie seed to possess imnse special privileges.
Even he, an Elder with Real Power, was extrely guarded when speaking of him.
'Hm? What Fist Technique is this?'
The Elder was suddenly taken aback.
He noticed that while Hong Yu was dodging, his right fist, held at his side, was frequently making subtle vibrations.
This vibration was extrely subtle.
If not for the Elder's profound strength and the fact that he happened to be paying close attention, it would have been difficult to notice.
The magnitude of each vibration from Hong Yu's fist was incredibly subtle. At first glance, it looked as if he were just casually waving his hand.
With each vibration, a ripple, imperceptible to the naked eye, silently spread out.
If one had carefully observed the vibration of the Blood Yellow Ant King's sharp pincers when it attacked, it would not be hard to see that the montum of Hong Yu's vibrating fist was surprisingly similar.
"BUZZ! BUZZ!"
As the fist-generated ripples vibrated, one Blood Yellow Ant after another was shaken to death.
The Blood Yellow Ants killed by Hong Yu showed no obvious external wounds, only ghastly trickles of blood from their mouths and noses. At this mont, if soone were to cut open the corpses of the Blood Yellow Ants, they would be shocked to discover that while their exteriors were completely unhard, their insides were utterly pulverized.
"BOOM!"
The movents of Hong Yu's fist arts grew faster and faster.
Everywhere he passed, chaos was left in his wake!
One Blood Yellow Ant after another fell dead.
He had killed all six thousand Blood Yellow Ants in just half an hour!
"On to the Seventh Layer!"
Hong Yu let out a light breath and strode toward the entrance to the Seventh Layer.
"What in the world is going on? What just happened?" The Elder's expression grew solemn. He commanded in a low voice, "Magnify Hong Yu's Mirror Image Crystal Stone and move it to the eleventh position. I want to take a closer look!"
"Yes, Elder!"
His subordinate quickly made the adjustnt.
The Elder watched with intense focus.
And at this mont, Hong Yu's points had already reached 2000, propelling him to 710th place in one fell swoop!
Hong Tianduan's expression was extrely grim. He had been staring at Hong Yu's rank, but for forty straight days, Hong Yu's 200 points hadn't changed, leaving him stuck at the very bottom in 1,000th place. As ti ran out, he had nearly given up, falling into complete despair.
The Fifth Elder and Fourth Elder were constantly mocking him. "Third Elder, you should just give up hope. That Hong Yu is smart enough, at least. He knows to bide his ti and not provoke Renjie anymore. Besides, no disciple from your lineage has ever made it into the Inner Sect before. For you to finally have a little guy who broke into the top 1,000 of the Celestial List is already pretty good!"
The Fourth Elder chuckled sinisterly. "Third Elder, I'd advise you not to get your hopes up. The higher the expectation, the greater the disappointnt!"
"Hmph!"
Hong Tianduan snorted coldly and looked down, suddenly realizing Hong Yu's na was no longer in 1,000th place.
Greatly puzzled, he scrolled up and finally found Hong Yu's na at 710th place.
A flash of excitent and ecstasy appeared on his despairing, ashen face. "Excellent! He's finally moving up!"
The Fourth Elder and Fifth Elder were taken aback for a mont, also noticing the change on the points leaderboard.
But the two of them still thought nothing of it, mocking him relentlessly. "It's only 710th place. Nothing to make a fuss about."
"There are only nine days left. How far do you think he can climb? 500th place at most!"
The two of them continued to trade barbs, mocking and discouraging the Third Elder.
The Third Elder gritted his teeth, his fists clenched tightly. 'Hong Yu, can you create another miracle?'
"Third Elder, don't tell you still think he can break into the top ten? Let tell you, stop entertaining such unrealistic ideas. One must learn to accept reality. That Hong Yu..."
The Fourth Elder was still in the middle of his taunt when he saw the Fifth Elder's eyes go wide. Puzzled, he couldn't help but look at the leaderboard.
At a glance, he too was stunned.
On the leaderboard...
Hong Yu's rank was continuously rising.
600...
500...
...
As the sun set, Hong Yu's rank once again underwent an earth-shattering change.
From dead last at 1,000th place, he had spent just one day to charge all the way to 100th place. A rank of 100 was the standard for reaching the Fifth Layer of the third tower, a level where the vast majority of experts stopped. And Hong Yu's rank had also stopped at the 100th position.
Throughout the entire night, there was no change.
"He's reached his limit!"
"He must have!"
The Fourth and Fifth Elders looked at each other and breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Only the Third Elder remained, his fists clenched and his body trembling slightly, his eyes glued to the leaderboard. 'Hong Yu, have you truly reached your limit?'
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