"Why can't I break through?"
"Isn't my spear supposed to press forward without retreat, able to cut through all illusions?"
"Why... why is there no end here?"
Inside the mirror, the questioning voices of countless Li Muyuns turned into a jumble of echoes, reverberating layer upon layer through the Cloud Mirror World, battering Li Muyun's mind.
Li Muyun's gaze gradually sank into anxiety, confusion, and unwillingness.
It was as if he could feel the spear intent he had cultivated for many years shaking violently within this illusion.
Every spear thrust he made reached perfection.
But every time, he stopped just one step short of breaking through.
"Is this a barrier I'm destined to be unable to break?"
"Could it be that my spear intent itself is flawed?"
Fine beads of sweat seeped from Li Muyun's forehead, and the fingers clinging to the Hidden Dragon Pillar had gone white from the force.
To the outside world, he merely seemed frozen in place.
But within the hazy outline projected by the ancient bronze realm, the spectators could vaguely see countless spear-wielding figures stabbing rapidly into the air, only to end in futility.
"Look, that Li Muyun seems to be trapped!"
"This second stage is an illusion. His knot seems to have something to do with the spear path! Those shadows are all practicing spear techniques, but they seem to have all run into a bottleneck..."
"The spear path is all about hardness and sharpness, about advancing without retreat. But if one becomes obsessed with that, it's easy to imprison oneself. It looks like this illusion strikes straight at the true heart, testing whether one's Dao heart is complete and unobstructed!"
"..."
Amid the discussions in the stands.
The other Hidden Dragon Ranking prodigies were also seen arriving at the second stage one