After the loud noise, the dust gradually dispersed, and the shadows of four people stood still, becoming clear again under the light.
Yin Wangzhi suddenly felt that his master beside him seemed a bit taller than before. He tilted his head to look, his gaze drifting down, only to find that Yu Sheng was already floating in mid-air, while the ground beneath the other three was scattered with dirt from the explosion.
Yu Sheng shook the dust whisk dismissively, clearing away the dust floating around him, then focused his gaze.
Three people, two had their palms showing, while only Yin Wangzhi was showing the back of his hand.
Yu Sheng stroked his beard and smiled, “At first glance, it seems like Yin Wangzhi has won… but, well,” he paused for a moment, “you all think you’re the best in the realm, believing your movements are quick enough to evade detection, and even think that I, your master, am kind enough that even if I noticed, I wouldn’t point it out, right?”
Kind? The expressions of the three suddenly turned a bit strange.
Yu Sheng didn’t notice at all, still looking at their hands, and continued, “Wen Jiu, when you made your move, you flipped your palm from back to front at the last moment.”
Then he turned to Zhan Xiaotian, “As for you, you deliberately slowed your move slightly compared to the other three, but from the very beginning, you were seen through by Wen Jiu. So he intentionally created a pit in the ground to obscure your vision with dust, making it difficult for you to judge how much he slowed you down; you haven’t changed, still using the palm.”
The three exchanged glances, their expressions not looking good, with only Wen Jiu still forcing a smile.
Yu Sheng said, “While Wen Jiu blasted the pit, you and Yin Wangzhi also made your moves. However, your intention was to make it so that Wen Jiu couldn’t see clearly. You impulsively wanted to retaliate, but you forgot that Wen Jiu never relies solely on his eyes to see.”
Wen Jiu lowered his head in shame, “I’m sorry, Master. I lack skill.”
Zhan Xiaotian’s mouth twitched, “Lack skill? What you should be apologizing for is cheating!”
Wen Jiu: “…”
Yu Sheng shot a sideways glance, and Zhan Xiaotian flinched, immediately turning from a bristling dog into a harmless little one, looking back innocently, “Master, I was wrong too. Please don’t be angry.”
Yu Sheng cleared his throat and waved his hand, accepting their apologies, letting it go, “Based on your original results, it should have been Yin Wangzhi and Wen Jiu showing the back of their hands, and Zhan Xiaotian winning.”
Zhan Xiaotian displayed a joyful expression.
“But the two of you made too many little moves, so it doesn’t count. In this round, it still has to be considered that Yin Wangzhi won.”
Zhan Xiaotian's face darkened again, gritting his teeth in unwillingness.
Yin Wangzhi raised his chin, casting cold, silent ridicule at the other two, silently retracting his hand and crossing his arms.
Yu Sheng said, “Yin Wangzhi, I was originally curious why you would also resort to a critical hit, but now I’ve found the answer.”
He pointed with his dust whisk at the ground, revealing three pits in the center of the four, two shallow and one deep. The deepest and largest pit was clearly the one created by the Ghost King Yin Wangzhi.
What was that saying? According to the original result, although the Ghost King lost the match, he gained proof of his strength. The largest and deepest pit symbolizes that he is extraordinary and took the match most seriously!
Or perhaps, one could say that only a straightforward powerhouse like Yin Wangzhi would naively think that the sudden critical hits from three people were meant to see whose pit was the deepest.
Yu Sheng patted his shoulder sympathetically, giving him an encouraging look.
Though Yin Wangzhi didn’t quite understand the meaning of that look, he had won, so his mood was naturally quite good, and he smiled.
The master is indeed the master; he could see clearly even in such a fleeting moment, not missing any details, earning respect!
With the dilemma successfully resolved, Yu Sheng was satisfied and announced the result, “Then it’s settled; let’s head to the Ghost Realm.”
The Ghost Realm, also known as the Soul Realm, is the territory of his second disciple, Yin Wangzhi.
Upon hearing this verdict, Wen Jiu looked utterly dejected.
He literally lost color, transforming from a normal human appearance back to his semi-transparent form.
Yu Sheng still cared for Wen Jiu and asked worriedly, “What happened?”
Zhan Xiaotian quickly perked up, directly answering for him, “He’s in meditation. Don’t mind him; let’s go ahead, we need to be fast”
Yin Wangzhi’s tone was unfriendly, “We? Who are you calling ‘we’?”
Zhan Xiaotian was about to retort, but Yu Sheng interrupted their quarrel, appearing serious as he reassured them, “Oh, of course, it’s the four of us, master and disciples. In this ‘we,’ he certainly includes you, so don’t worry. Your senior brother wouldn’t deliberately exclude you.”
This tone, this expression, and the pat on the back resembled a teacher soothing a lonely, pitiful student, trying hard to mediate due to the exclusionary actions of other classmates, fearing the poor student might think he was truly being ostracized and become even sadder, and also giving the bullies a way out to change their ways.
Even more frighteningly, Zhan Xiaotian was shamelessly backing him up from the side, “Yeah, Ghost King, look on the bright side. I actually have no issues with you being a ghost.”
It was as if what he had just said was truly what Yu Sheng had expressed—wanting to move forward together with the other disciples, enthusiastically and kindly integrating into this collective.
For a brief moment, the simple-minded Yin Wangzhi almost believed it.
But after all, he was the Ghost King, the lord of a realm. He had his dignity and pride and would never easily be led off topic. What he had wanted to retort was clearly not—
Yu Sheng: “When are we setting off?”
Ghost King: “... Today.”
He wanted to take back his earlier words.
He believed it.
Even if he didn’t believe it, the earlier point was now meaningless; after all, in the eyes of his master, the other two bothersome guys were bound to follow along, unable to be shaken off.
But he felt he could still struggle a bit.
“Master,” Yin Wangzhi said seriously, staring at Yu Sheng, “the Ghost Realm is filled with heavy yin energy. If the two junior brothers go there, they will inevitably feel uncomfortable, and their strength won’t be as robust as it is in other places.”
Yu Sheng nodded, “That makes sense.”
Then he turned his head, “If you need it when the time comes, you can enter this Linglong Snail with me to take shelter.”
Yin Wangzhi: “Hiss…”
Zhan Xiaotian: “Thank you, Master!”
Wen Jiu also trembled for a moment, suddenly coming to his senses. Just as he was about to speak, he was retorted by Yin Wangzhi, “The Linglong Snail has abundant spiritual energy, but it lacks vitality; it won’t be of much use to Junior Brother Wen.”
He particularly emphasized the words “Junior Brother Wen,” as if wanting to crush those three words.
If it were in the past, Yu Sheng would have been happy to let them scatter, fearing that one day they would fight to the death and he would be dragged in as well.
At this moment, however, he genuinely felt a bit worried. If Wen Jiu didn’t go along, he would lose many opportunities for his disciples to become familiar with each other and to discover each other’s charm.
Fortunately, Wen Jiu had already come back to his senses and took a deep breath, “Master, although entering won’t benefit me much, I still hope to plant some of your favorite spiritual fruits and vegetables, so that your cave dwelling won’t be left with only weeds and dead branches… If you really don’t like it, I can let only the unconscious split soul enter.”
Yu Sheng felt a pang of sympathy for him, “How could I bully you like this? If you want to come, just follow along. This snail contains a place you’re all familiar with, and there’s nothing I need to hide. You’re doing this for my sake, and I’m sure your senior brothers will care for you and understand you.”
The two senior brothers who would presumably care for and understand Wen Jiu: …
After saying this, Yu Sheng didn’t leave them a moment to react; he directly placed the Linglong Snail he was holding into Yin Wangzhi’s arms and then dove right in.
Although magical artifacts have various functions, their methods of use are quite similar. Yu Sheng, used to collecting various treasures, found the entrance on his first attempt, and in the blink of an eye, he returned to the familiar cave dwelling in front of him. At first glance, it seemed the same as before; it was just that the feng shui and energy had changed, appearing as rich in spiritual energy as the human realm. It seemed that after Yin Wangzhi acquired the Linglong Snail, he had already gathered this energy.
Looking at it optimistically, the Linglong Snail was quite good; Yu Sheng could already see his wonderful future of retreating into his shell at any moment.
Outside the magical artifact, the three main characters stared at each other. After a moment of tense mutual scrutiny, an almost imminent conflict was interrupted by Yu Sheng’s voice transmitted over a long distance.
—Disciples should get along well; the journey ahead is long and arduous, and along the way, you are each other’s only companions!
His earnest teachings echoed in their ears.
Thus, the tension was dispelled by a strange force, and the three fell silent, each showcasing their abilities as they left the Sanjie Cliff, flying towards the Ghost Realm.
The Sanjie Cliff was a peculiar place; spatially, it was located at the junction of the three realms. However, if one were to leave the Sanjie Cliff and go to another realm, the human realm would be the closest, followed by the ghost realm, and finally the spirit realm, due to the differing boundaries of these three places.
Therefore, even after the three left the cliff, they still needed some time to truly reach the Ghost Realm from the edge that did not belong to any of the three realms.
Unlike the short, nearby levitation, during the long-distance flight, Zhan Xiaotian rode his sword, feeling relaxed as he sat on it. The Ghost King, being a ghost, could float quickly, while Wen Jiu sprouted a pair of thin wings behind him, riding the wind.
As they flew, Zhan Xiaotian moved to the middle and quietly asked if the Linglong Snail could hear sounds from the outside. After receiving a negative answer, he relaxed even more.
“Congratulations, Master Wen.”
Wen Jiu looked at him coldly, “Thank you.”
Zhan Xiaotian had been holding in his feelings for days and finally found a chance to express himself directly, “Do you think Master only likes capable, gentle, and virtuous people?”
Wen Jiu frowned slightly and retorted mercilessly, “If Master doesn’t like it, does that mean he should like someone who can do nothing but play the victim and act coy?”
Yin Wangzhi, rarely seen frowning, also pondered; he had never thought carefully about the type Master liked.
Zhan Xiaotian laughed heartily, “What a joke! With Master’s abilities and status, has he ever lacked gentle, caring cultivators around him? You really think too highly of yourself.”
Wen Jiu shook his head; such words could no longer sway him. Master had said he would accept him for who he was, regardless of what he did or how valuable he was. However, he couldn’t be bothered to share such sweet words with these two senior brothers and just wanted to savor them alone.
Seeing this, Yin Wangzhi recalled how Master had spoken up for Wen Jiu earlier and felt displeased, “Don’t get too ahead of yourself.”
Wen Jiu wasn’t fazed; he had never been the one to get excited too early. Hearing this from the Ghost King only made him want to laugh.
Zhan Xiaotian had always harbored the most resentment toward Wen Jiu. Seeing him so composed irritated him further, especially with all the trouble he had caused recently with his white dumpling antics and various little tricks. He couldn’t help but express his displeasure, “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re planning! But don’t forget, Master specifically changed his appearance to look like an old man. He’s already seen through your little schemes and won’t give you the chance to take advantage!”
Wen Jiu turned his head, his expression calm, “What’s wrong with me having a little scheme for Master’s benefit? Whether Master is old or young makes no difference.”
Yin Wangzhi looked at him in shock. When taking advantage of others, he didn’t care about age?!
“Although you see things differently from us…” Zhan Xiaotian was momentarily speechless, stunned by this revelation, “I didn’t expect you to not care about that at all. How did I not think of this before? Wen Jiu… you’re something else!”
Wen Jiu had a puzzled expression, “What have I done to you?”
Yin Wangzhi looked at him in disbelief and interjected, “There are countless cultivators in the world, many who preserve their youth, and even more who live long lives. But I never knew that for spiritual bodies, it could be like this… Hmm.”
Wen Jiu: ???
Zhan Xiaotian suddenly regained his determination, “I don’t believe it! I don’t believe you can feel anything when facing an old man! Even if you can’t see outer appearances, you have celestial vision and can perceive a rough outline. You’re not deaf, and you still have your sense of touch. Master’s illusion can deceive all five senses!”
Wen Jiu’s flight path suddenly jolted, and he widened his eyes in shock, “You… you actually… have feelings for Master!? All along, you’ve been thinking about that kind of relationship?!”
Zhan Xiaotian’s expression went pale as he froze, “Ah?”
Yin Wangzhi was the first to react, suddenly sensing that something was amiss, “You’re not?!”
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