Sky Net Star's Strongest, Baili Yuchen

When Dugu Mingjun came down, he saw that Lu Yun had returned to Bluestone Square before him.

Therefore...

He naturally assumed that he had climbed higher in the tower than Lu Yun.

But when he noticed Chu Lingxue's strange gaze and the frighteningly silent atmosphere around them, he finally sensed that something was amiss.

When he looked toward the stone stele, his pupils abruptly dilated.

"Lu Yun, ninth floor!"

Dugu Mingjun felt as though his heart was about to leap out of his chest.

"This... can't be possible, can it?"

Dugu Mingjun found it hard to believe. He had never heard of anyone entering the Unfixed Pagoda and truly reaching the ninth floor!

But...

The facts lay right before his eyes!

The name on that stone stele clearly showed that Lu Yun had reached the ninth floor, and that he had been the first to enter.

The Pagoda Spirit could never possibly falsify it.

This had long been proven through years of tower-entry assessments.

At this moment!

Dugu Mingjun felt a profound sense of defeat, along with an equally profound sense of humiliation!

He thought bitterly, This time, I've truly embarrassed myself all the way to my grandmother's house! I wanted to see Lu Yun make a fool of himself, but I ended up becoming the biggest joke instead.

But...

Although he should have honored the wager and accepted defeat.

His heart was filled with unwillingness and fury.

Why?

Lu Yun was merely from some insignificant place. He had only stumbled into some damned dog-shit luck today. What was so remarkable about him?

Not only did Dugu Mingjun possess the deep foundations of the Dugu Family, he was also a cultivation genius himself. Why should he be trampled beneath Lu Yun's feet?

"No, I will never lose to Lu Yun!"

Dugu Mingjun clenched his fists and stared resolutely at the stone stele, his eyes blazing with fierce fighting spirit and defiance.

"One day, I will make everyone understand that I am the greatest genius of this generation on Sky Net Star."

His heart roared without cease, and he had already made Lu Yun his lifelong rival!

"I will not admit defeat so easily!"

Dugu Mingjun clenched his fists again and said through gritted teeth, as though he had already made some decision in his heart.

He would prove to this world that he was more outstanding and more powerful than Lu Yun!

"Ah-choo~"

Lu Yun stretched lazily and looked around, only to discover that everyone's eyes were fixed on him.

Yet he did not care in the slightest, merely smiling at Dugu Mingjun.

"Brother Dugu, my ten Supreme-Grade Spirit Stones..."

Lu Yun asked with a grin.

At those words, Dugu Mingjun's face immediately turned pale.

"I... I'll give them to you now."

Dugu Mingjun gritted his teeth and took a jade box from his storage ring.

The instant the jade box opened, a rich medicinal fragrance spread through the air, refreshing everyone's minds.

Lu Yun's eyes lit up. He had not expected Dugu Mingjun to be so sensible, sparing him the carefully prepared barrage of words.

He took the jade box and immediately used his Primordial Spirit to inspect the pills inside.

"Sure enough, they're supreme-grade pills!"

When Lu Yun clearly saw the Supreme-Grade Spirit Stones inside the jade box, his eyes widened, and he froze completely.

"Heavens... the Dugu Family truly is rich!" Lu Yun could not help crying out.

A smug expression appeared on Dugu Mingjun's face. He felt that he had finally won back a round.

But Lu Yun did not notice Dugu Mingjun's expression. As he stared at the Supreme-Grade Spirit Stones in the jade box, he could only swallow hard.

"This is truly a huge profit!"

"Um... Brother Dugu, aren't you being a little too generous?"

"Hehe... they're only trivial things."

As Dugu Mingjun spoke, he took out the ten Supreme-Grade Spirit Stones from the jade box and handed them to Lu Yun.

Of course, ten Supreme-Grade Spirit Stones were already absolutely the most valuable items he could afford to part with.

He had originally planned to save them for his own breakthrough, but in a moment of impulsiveness before entering the tower, he had used the Supreme-Grade Spirit Stones as the wager.

By now, his heart was already filled with boundless regret, yet he was too embarrassed to show it.

"Alright, now that the wager has been settled, I'll be leaving first. Until we meet again, everyone!"

As he spoke...

Lu Yun cupped his fists toward everyone, then vanished in the blink of an eye.

At the same time.

As he departed, a middle-aged man was racing toward this place from a thousand miles away.

This man was Sky Net Star's strongest expert, the Martial God Baili Yuchen.

Originally, he had been cultivating several hundred kilometers away from the Unfixed Pagoda when he suddenly felt something and caught a terrifying aura emanating from the direction of the Unfixed Pagoda.

Baili Yuchen guessed that it might be the demonic beast his teacher had mentioned years ago, so he stepped out in a single stride and transformed into a streaking afterimage.

Although Baili Yuchen was revered as the strongest expert of the age, he knew very well that whether it was his teacher Qing Yuanzi or the demonic beast sealed deep underground, both were far stronger than him.

It would be fine if the demonic beast had not broken much of its seal, but if it had recovered around half its strength, the consequences would be utterly unimaginable.

At this thought.

Baili Yuchen could not help sighing inwardly. It was a pity that his martial talent was insufficient. If he had managed to cultivate the Heavenly Sword Art to the seventh level back then, perhaps he would have long ago attained the Nine-Turn Nirvana Realm.

Moreover...

What made him despair most was that although the Martial Arts Assessment was held every year, let alone discovering a genius capable of surpassing him, it was difficult even to unearth a martial seed with the same dual-S talent as his.

This left him increasingly exhausted.

It felt as though the burden of protecting the entire human race rested upon his shoulders alone.

Since he dared not delay in the slightest along the way, Baili Yuchen even used a secret technique for swift travel in order to arrive as quickly as possible.

In no more than the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

He had already reached Bluestone Square outside the Unfixed Pagoda, while Lu Yun had left several minutes earlier.

After obtaining the ten Supreme-Grade Spirit Stones, Lu Yun hurriedly bade Chu Lingxue farewell and returned joyfully to report back to Qing Yuanzi.

Thus, when Baili Yuchen arrived, he saw only a dejected Dugu Mingjun and a dozen or so martial artists who had yet to leave.

Though he still did not understand the general situation, Baili Yuchen secretly breathed a sigh of relief at the sight.

It seemed... that demonic beast had not managed to break through the seal.

Just as he was preparing to descend underground and investigate carefully, the empty air in the distance suddenly trembled several times.

Looking up...

He saw Gu Yuanwei, the Eastern King, and the others emerging one after another from the rift.

Recalling the sight they had witnessed deep underground, everyone still felt lingering fear.

Fortunately, that demonic beast had already stopped breathing.

Otherwise, even if it had retained merely ten or twenty percent of its strength, it would have been enough to wipe them all out.

"Everyone, can any of you tell me what exactly happened just now?"

Baili Yuchen's gaze fell upon Gu Yuanwei.