When You Came Out, Didn't You See Him?

"Senior Brother Zhou, are you alright?" Lu Yaoyao called softly.

Zhou Qing shook his head. But seeing the "So Awesome" note above her head, and facing such a fangirl, he gritted his teeth and directly removed the Yang Fire Talisman from his body.

"Your cultivation is the weakest, so you're under the least pressure and can move faster. Take this!" Zhou Qing said, then tossed it over.

Lu Yaoyao froze, about to say something, but Zhou Qing made a shushing gesture.

There was no helping it. If you moved faster, I could hide in the back and slowly farm Ignorance Points. Otherwise, if you kept looking at me, I'd have a sense of presence.

To put her at ease, Zhou Qing simply sat down on the ground. "I'm not interested in first place. I might as well use this gravity to properly stabilize my cultivation. You'd better work hard. I used to be the weakest among the Core Disciples, but now that's you."

Seeing Zhou Qing's serious expression, Lu Yaoyao bit her lip lightly. Then she suddenly gave him a sweet smile, her eyes glittering brightly, and nodded hard.

The "So Awesome" above her head, which had only just transformed, turned into "So Kind" in the blink of an eye.

Seeing that, Zhou Qing nearly failed to catch his breath.

What did "So Kind" even mean?

I'm not your dad!

You can't even use adjectives properly? Is that what I am in your heart right now?

Heart Insight Points +7

Only after hearing the notification did his displeasure ease somewhat.

Seeing that the seven people ahead had already gone on, Zhou Qing hurriedly waved her forward.

"I definitely won't let you down!"

Eyes full of gratitude, Lu Yaoyao promised Zhou Qing, then trudged forward with heavy steps.

It had to be said that the pressure here had a fine stabilizing effect on those who had advanced too quickly.

He had risen through the ranks again and again recently. If not for the Ice Soul Dark Scale Fish, this place would have been an exceptional cultivation ground.

Seeing everyone's backs about to vanish from sight, he hurriedly stood and moved forward against the pressure.

The prerequisite for farming Ignorance Points was a tense, thrilling place with many people. Once everyone was gone, who would ignore you?

It was just like fishing in the back mountain of Divine Peak back then. Even if he found a secluded spot, he still had to make sure other senior brothers could see him.

And so, Zhou Qing kept trailing the others bit by bit.

Ignorance Points +1, +1, +1...

But just as he reached the halfway point, an icy howl came from ahead once more. Then Wandering Souls three times more numerous than before burst out with a roar.

At their head were even more than a dozen terrifying Wandering Souls emanating the aura of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

At the sight, Zhou Qing immediately crouched down, disbelief written all over his face.

"Why are there so many?"

These Grand Elders were far too unreliable. They were practically treating them as cannon fodder.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions rang out incessantly ahead. Before long, someone could no longer hold on. With what little strength remained and the dimming glow on their body, they turned and fled in terror.

Zhou Qing suddenly regretted giving the Yang Fire Talisman to Lu Yaoyao in a moment of hotheadedness. Although his innate skill, Reduce Presence, had reached Level 1 perfection, it only gave a 90% chance for those in the Qi Condensation Realm to ignore him. There was still a 10% chance they would notice him.

What if it just happened to be that unlucky?

Even taking ten thousand steps back, even if those in the Qi Condensation Realm couldn't spot him, weren't there still Foundation Establishment Realm Wandering Souls? It was only LV2: (44/100) now.

Those in the Foundation Establishment Realm had a 60% chance of locking onto him.

Without another word, he immediately turned his retreat into his advance and ran back.

But he had underestimated those whose potential had been unleashed by crisis. Under gravity as thick and inescapable as mud swallowing a bull, a senior sister at the late Foundation Establishment Realm jogged right past him like the wind.

She let out pig-slaughtering shrieks as she ran, stabbing pain into Zhou Qing's eardrums.

As though setting off a chain reaction, the others also turned and ran. There were simply too many of them; they could not be defeated at all.

Watching person after person race past him, Zhou Qing grew even more frantic.

Perhaps because their lives mattered most, or perhaps because they were too anxious, not one of them spared Zhou Qing a glance, much less gave him a hand.

Even when Lu Yaoyao, her face flushed red, sped past him, Zhou Qing knew his innate skill had taken effect.

As long as he didn't call out, no one would notice him.

Just as he opened his mouth, intending to ask for the Yang Fire Talisman back, a huge mass of Wandering Souls came rushing from behind.

"I'm finished!" Zhou Qing's face turned pale as he prepared for one final desperate fight.

Yet those Wandering Souls, including the dozen or so at the Foundation Establishment Realm, did not so much as glance at him. They howled straight past him and chased after the others.

Zhou Qing's heart pounded wildly. Clearly, in such a tense environment of pursuit and escape, everyone had entered that 40% zone where they would ignore him.

Even with luck on his side, Zhou Qing did not dare delay. He forced his aching, swollen legs forward and hurried toward the exit.

Fierce combat erupted ahead again, making Zhou Qing even less willing to relax in the slightest.

Not long after, when he arrived three hundred meters from the exit, his expression changed sharply. He hurriedly pressed himself against the wall.

The countless Wandering Souls from before had crowded densely at the entrance, continuously roaring outward.

"This is bad!"

Zhou Qing instantly recalled something. At the beginning, when those Wandering Souls chased people to the entrance, they would vent for a while before returning to the depths.

Now, leaving aside the fact that they were blocking the door, what if...

At that thought, Zhou Qing's face turned even paler.

He had been lucky enough to be ignored just now, but if he went back and happened to fall into that 60% zone instead...

With so many Foundation Establishment Realm Wandering Souls, along with hundreds of scattered Qi Condensation Realm souls, they could tear him alive.

Even if the Grand Elders were close at hand, they likely would not be able to rescue him in time. Besides, they did not dare enter at all, afraid of awakening some terrifying existence.

"Before they return along the same route, there's only one road left!"

Zhou Qing gritted his teeth and looked toward the depths of the passage. No longer daring to delay, he cautiously turned around and headed off, using every last ounce of strength...

"What's going on?"

The several Grand Elders waiting outside hurried forward to ask anxiously when they saw someone burst out in a bedraggled state.

But before they could exchange more than a few words, the others fled out after them as well.

Seeing them drenched in sweat and gasping for breath, the elders all furrowed their brows.

"Why are there so many Wandering Souls? There shouldn't be!"

For a time, they too could not understand what exactly had happened inside.

"Senior Brother Zhou! Where is Senior Brother Zhou?"

Just as several of them were discussing calling over a few Core Disciples of the Golden Core Realm, Lu Yaoyao suddenly cried out and hurriedly looked around.

The others, still shaken by the ordeal, also quickly looked from side to side. Sure enough, Zhou Qing was nowhere to be seen.

"Wasn't he at the very back?"

"Yeah, logically, he should have rushed out before us, shouldn't he?"

"Didn't you see him when you came out?"

"I was too busy running. I didn't see him."

Everyone spoke at once, utterly puzzled. A living person that large had somehow gone unnoticed by every one of them on their way out.

Lu Yaoyao dropped to her knees before the old women with a thud, her face full of anxiety.

"Grand Elders, please, you must save Senior Brother Zhou! He even gave me his Yang Fire Talisman. Alone, he can't possibly fight those Wandering Souls!"

The old women frowned deeply, all turning in unison to look at the enormous Bronze Gate in the mountains.

"Should I go in and take a look?" asked the old woman whose cultivation technique had broken through this time.

But the others quickly stopped her.

"It's too risky. Once that thing awakens, it won't distinguish friend from foe. It could very well cause irreversible damage inside. Wait a moment—I'll notify the Sect Leader to bring people over at once!"

One of the old women instantly transformed into a streak of light and departed.

Lu Yaoyao's eyes were red as she stared anxiously at the Bronze Gate.

Not long afterward, Sect Leader Cao Zhengyang hurried over with two of his direct disciples.

"You two, get inside immediately. Make sure you rescue Zhou Qing at the first opportunity. Remember, suppress your cultivation as much as you can!" Cao Zhengyang instructed with a grave expression.

The two saluted to show they understood, then quickly entered...