The Law patterns within the Light Pillar shook violently for several breaths, then gradually settled.
The phantom of the old man in Dragon Robe stood where he was, his gray eyes fixed on Zhou Xuan's clenched fist.
Silence.
A long silence.
Ye Changqing had already climbed up from the floor and was leaning against a table leg, gasping for breath. His face was covered in blood, but his mind was sharply focused.
Lin Qingzhu knelt on one knee in the corner, the skin scraped off her knee. Her breathing had not fully steadied, yet she committed every condition Zhou Xuan stated to memory.
The bead curtains of the old man in Dragon Robe's crown swayed gently, the Metal beads clinking softly against one another.
The Cross-Realm Projection had reached its time limit. The Light Pillar began to shrink, causing the Law patterns to dissipate and the old man's phantom to turn transparent.
Just before his phantom vanished completely, the old man in Dragon Robe suddenly threw back his head and laughed.
Laughter spilled from his thin, withered throat. The sound shook the hall's stone walls, widening the cracks in the floor and sending dust cascading down the walls. The remnants of the starry illusion overhead vanished with it.
Ye Changqing's eardrums stung from the vibrations, and he clapped both hands over his ears.
Lin Qingzhu curled into a ball, her teeth grinding audibly.
The laughter lasted a long time.
Then the old man in Dragon Robe's voice came from every direction, carrying an emotion Zhou Xuan had never heard from him before.
"What an arrogant ant! Very well, I shall wager the great fortune of this world with you!"
The laughter faded, and the Law patterns within the Light Pillar settled once more.
The old man's phantom in Dragon Robe