Number One and Number Two

Inside the Ascension Academy, the lake shimmers, and swathes of weeping willows along the shore Lingering wisps of green smoke.

Although the scene was bustling with people and many famous disciples had come, Qin Ming and Little Wu suspected that they might not be able to find partners.

Little Wu squeezed through the crowd, approached a bright and beautiful young woman surrounded by others, and said, "Divine Maiden Jiang, we've finally waited for you."

The bright and beautiful young woman came from the Bodhi Academy, which had a background in the Esoteric Sect. Her name was Jiang Ruorui, and she was quite famous. She was the leader of the group. She looked surprised and asked, "Excuse me, who are you...?"

Little Wu immediately flashed a bright smile and said, "Me? Wu Yaozu, one of the most capable people on this year's New Life Path. My brother and I want to join your team."

Instantly, Jiang Ruoli realized that this wasn't some acquaintance; this person was volunteering to enter the Secret Realm with them. She smiled and said, "I'm sorry, Brother Wu, we're full here. Why don't you look somewhere else?"

"Alright, Leiti No. 2." Wu Yaozu didn't linger, turned around and left immediately, heading to the next place. "What do you mean?" Jiang Ruoli and the people around him were puzzled.

Then they saw Little Wu squeeze into the Sky Roc Dao Field, his face beaming again, and say, "Senior Brother Gan Jincheng, I've heard so much about you, I've been looking for you for a long time..."

He was quickly rejected again, muttering, "Goodbye, Tianpeng-1!"

"Fairy Lin Qianyi, pure and ethereal, is truly the best among us. We have been waiting for you for a long time..." Little Wu came to the genius disciple of the Ascension Dao Field again.

Lin Qianyi suspicious. She didn't recognize the person, and after learning his purpose, she politely declined. "Alright, Feather Transformation Number Two, goodbye." Little Wu turned and left.

Jiang Ruoli and the others gradually realized that this guy was extremely enthusiastic when he greeted people, and when he called out names, he would include terms like "Divine Maiden," "Senior Brother," and "fairy." Once rejected, he would abandon the name, change "Senior Brother" to "number one," and change the terms "fairy" and "Divine Maiden" to "number two," with the prefix being the academy or dojo he belonged to.

"This is really... reality!"

"Huh, Bodhi No. 2 is observing me. Has it changed its mind?" Little Wu said to Qin Ming, noticing that Jiang Ruoli was looking in their direction.

Jiang Ruoli's expression stiffened slightly. Her hearing was exceptionally sharp; she had indeed guessed correctly. She had transformed from Divine Maiden Jiang into Bodhi Number Two. "Keep your voice down," Qin Ming reminded her.

The main reason is that there are more than a dozen famous academies and training grounds here, and there are quite a few talented disciples. After being rejected, Little Wu had no time to remember their names in detail.

"Senior Brother Wang Lijie, with a handsome and refined appearance..." "Alright, Dragon Elephant Number One!"

Gradually, some people noticed that there were two teenagers who kept running into obstacles, no team wanted them, and they also learned that they were giving people code names.

"Your two friends are running into walls everywhere," Zhao Muyao, dressed in white, chuckled and glanced at Ling Yu.

She had barely finished speaking when she noticed the person in question had arrived. Little Wu was unaware that this woman from Pure Yang Academy had already politely declined Ling Yu's recommendation.

"Fairy Zhao, your beauty is unparalleled..." Little Wu said sincerely, first praising her, then expressing his desire to join the team.

"I'm sorry, we don't need anyone else." Zhao Muyao shook her head slightly.

"Goodbye, Pure Yang No. 2!" Little Wu said without hesitation, turning her back on Zhao Muyao before she could finish speaking. Zhao Muyao was stunned, her expression frozen!

Immediately, Xiao Yaqin, a very famous disciple of the Calamity Avoidance Dao Field, was also given the title of Abdication Number Two by Little Wu. "Xin Youdao, what does your friend mean by this?" Xiao Yaqin asked.

"Ah, I was daydreaming, I didn't hear anything."

Qin Ming felt that Little Wu was ready to graduate. In his current state, he didn't need anyone to guide him at all. He went out to attack everywhere without feeling embarrassed at all.

However, the two of them still found it difficult to find someone to share their lives with.

Soon after, they discovered a special New Life Evolver who immediately attracted everyone's attention as soon as he walked over because he was so unusual: his hands were as big as fans, his face was as big as a basin, and his legs were as thick as pillars.

Qin Ming recognized him as Xiang Yiwu, whom he had met at the Luofu Immortal Mountain Ruins — Tathagata's Abandoned Disciple.

Xiang Yiwu's unusual physique made it impossible to hide his identity; he was wider than two people combined, and his thick, coarse black hair was as hard as steel needles.

Before long, some teams started trying to recruit him because they knew who he was—a top expert among his peers. Little Wu was indignant; why was there such a huge gap between Mortal World? Neither of them were interested in joining; they were all rejected.

"Now, a big, burly guy is actually so popular!" Qin Ming secretly informed One of Us.

"Never mind then."

However, the Tathagata's Abandoned Disciple did not stay here.

A senior figure came over, took him away, and said that he was not a disciple of Kunling's various academies and was to be sent to the Esoteric Sect and the Beyond the Mundane. He was told to go with that group of people and enter through another entrance.

There are others like Lu Zhen from the Yin Yang Temple, who was able to fight Tang Xumi to the death at Luofu Mountain and helped Li Qingxu almost obtain the Near Immortal Object. He also came, but was quickly asked to leave.

Qin Ming was astonished. Were these formidable figures about to emerge one after another on the New Life Path?

Subsequently, he had to face a harsh reality: neither he nor Little Wu had been able to join any team, whether it was the renowned geniuses of the previous generation or the new disciples of this generation. No one had taken them on.

Because these teams had already privately decided on their members in advance.

Even Liu Hannya, a renowned figure from the Mountain River Academy, didn't choose either of them.

"Senior, One of Us!" Little Wu said.

"But I'm already full," Liu Hannya said, looking troubled. With that, Shanhe Number Two was completed.

After Liu Hannya understood what she meant, she glared at the two of them.

Qin Ming and Little Wu learned that this Secret Realm was worth exploring, as it contained many valuable items.

Someone with good connections revealed the inside story. "It's said that this time we're not entering the old Secret Realm, but a newly conquered area, Secret Realm on the plateau ruled by the Auspicious Beast mentioned before!"

The older generation has already begun the initial clearing of that plateau.

Qin Ming and Little Wu couldn't help but sigh. The New Life Evolver were having a really tough time. They had to make connections in advance to be hired or teamed up with others. Now that they were just unknown nobodys, they had no way to join anyone on short notice!

In the end, the two thought about it and decided they had to find a way to form their own team.

"Senior, I walk two paths simultaneously, so I'm also on the Immortal Path. I can form my own team!" Little Wu said to someone.

He transformed the Rainbow Light within his body into Consciousness Spirit Light. The middle-aged man did not notice anything unusual, mainly because the young man in front of him could not possibly be demonstrating the Dharma on the New Life Path.

Thus, under the watchful eyes of the teams led by the No. 1 and No. 2 leaders of various universities, the small team of only two people, the smallest in number, could be described as "rudimentary".

With his youthful spirit, Little Wu said, "Everyone, if we encounter demons or monsters, or face any danger, or fierce competition, and we're needed to help again, I doubt you can afford the price!"

Everyone except Xin Youdao and Ling Yu laughed.

"Wang Lijie of the Dragon Elephant Dojo, looking forward to his two junior brothers' amazing performance in the Secret Realm!"

Lin Qianyi of the Ascension Dao Field wishes her two junior brothers to shine brightly in all directions. We eagerly await their arrival. Some couldn't help but tease, feeling the two youths were overestimating themselves; how dare their team make such boastful claims?

Jiang Ruoli, Gan Jincheng, Su Junlin, and others chuckled and whispered among themselves. "Your friend is unreliable!" Zhao Muyao, dressed in white, said to Ling Yu.

Ling Yu wanted to refute them; they were indeed very reliable. If he hadn't been warned, he would have wanted to team up with those two directly. Xiao Yaqin looked at Xin Youdao, shook her head slightly, and said, "I feel that these two you know are going to make a fool of themselves in the Secret Realm." "I think what they said is not an exaggeration." Xin Youdao sighed, very regretful that he couldn't join them.

Little Wu complained, "Liu Hannya, who is also at the Mountain River Academy, is actually targeting us. That's going too far."

Qin Ming was lost in thought and didn't pay any attention to those things.

He thought of those acquaintances, wondering if he could see Li Qingyue in the Secret Realm, and whether his old friend Ning Siqi, who had joined the Esoteric Sect, had come.

The faces of Li Qingxu, Wang Caiwei, Cui Chonghe, and others flashed through his mind. "Tang Xumi, Hu Tingwen, you still owe me a copy of the Divine Ape Force Technique!"

Immediately, Qin Ming's expression turned solemn. If everyone entered the same Secret Realm, the competitive pressure would be immense, and he wondered how things would be arranged.

After all, he had encountered seven people on the Vermilion Bird, including Su Shiyun and Zhao Yaoting, who were all Near Immortal Seed or God Seed, each more powerful than the last.

Wu Yaozu nudged his arm and said, "Brother, didn't you hear me? These people are laughing at us."

"You were daydreaming." Qin Ming laughed and said, "What's the big deal? We'll see what happens later. Now that we have a team, it's time to head back."

"You're destined to be alone for life, what are you daydreaming about? Do you know anyone who's also going to enter that Secret Realm?" "If you can't speak properly, shut up."

Over the next few days, Qin Ming not only studied the Dragon Snake Scripture, but also began to study the Undying Butterfly Scripture, constantly trying to comprehend its essence.

Clearly, Yu Gensheng and Zhao Ziyuan's promise not to "feed" him, fearing he would be ruined, was not actually kept; otherwise, they wouldn't have given him the second Extraordinary Art directly.

Moreover, the two of them letting him enter the Secret Realm this time was also to arrange fortuitous opportunity for him.

Five days later, Qin Ming and Little Wu set off and encountered a large group of teams led by Number One and Number Two at the neighboring Ascension Academy.

Everyone boarded a huge spaceship, heading towards the Secret Realm on the plateau. Suddenly, Qin Ming felt a chill run down his spine.

He had fallen from a bird, landed in the Divine City of the Giant Centipede, and even fallen from a ship. Although he survived the ordeal, he was left with a deep psychological scar.

Hundreds of miles wasn't far; they traveled by spaceship and arrived at their destination, landing on the plateau. Qin Ming breathed a sigh of relief—thankfully, they hadn't crashed this time!

"This is the Secret Realm?" Many people were astonished and found it unbelievable.

Ahead, there was a peculiar patch of land. There were no tall trees or thick vines; it was covered with a layer of moss, standing out from its surroundings.

"Look closely," the old man who brought them said, taking a sudden step forward. It was just a small piece of land, yet it possessed this strange power.

Many people crouched down to gaze intently, even able to see the old man's tiny figure, as small as an ant. "Is this the Secret Realm?"

"Do you know how it was formed?" The old man stepped out and returned to his original form.

He explained that it was a fragment of a star, possessing extraordinary attributes and powers; standing on it was equivalent to stepping on a star.

Immediately, everyone lined up and stepped forward from the same spot, soon standing on the star, looking at the scenery of this planet, feeling quite awe.

(There's more to come!)