He won!
The Holy Son of Buddhism had actually lost to a youth from the Azure Cloud Sect.
And someone in the Nascent Soul Realm had lost to someone in the Core Formation Realm!
The spectators present, unable to discern their cultivation, had seen only countless Buddha palms and countless flashes of sword light.
Then Leng Qingsong had returned to Ouyang's side, while Hui Zhi, his sleeves shredded, had bowed his head and conceded defeat.
Although the winning side had a rather foul mouth, the spectators still had to marvel at their strength.
Core Formation and Nascent Soul were two major realms as far apart as heaven and earth, yet someone at Core Formation had actually defeated someone in the Nascent Soul Realm!
It seemed the Azure Cloud Sect, one of the Nine Great Sacred Lands, was still as unfathomable as ever!
Having lost the match, Hui Zhi naturally had no desire to linger. He bowed slightly to everyone, then headed toward the side room above the mountain gate.
With no more spectacle to watch, the crowd dispersed in high spirits, discussing how Leng Qingsong, who was only in the Core Formation Realm, had just defeated Hui Zhi.
Ouyang walked up to the dejected Ling Feng, patted his shoulder, and said, "Old Ling, it's all right. That bastard just bullies people by throwing his higher cultivation around!"
Ling Feng forced a smile and cupped his hands toward Ouyang. "Thank you for your help, Senior Brother Ouyang. You have my gratitude."
Looking at the still rigid and pedantic Ling Feng, Ouyang shook his head inwardly. Ling Feng remained as pure as a white lotus. There was nothing wrong with being a white lotus, but a saintly fool who stayed that way even toward his enemies really deserved to die when danger came.
"Senior Brother Ouyang!" A familiar voice rang out. Holding a jade flute, Su Ling'er ran toward Ouyang.
As Su Ling'er ran, Ouyang felt the earth shake and the mountains tremble. Then his vision went black as she gathered him into her arms.
At the sound of Su Ling'er's voice, a glimmer had flashed through the eyes of the dejected Ling Feng. But when he saw her leap up and hug Ouyang, that light vanished completely.
Ling Feng turned and quietly left. As a loser, he could only lick his wounds alone.
"Heh heh heh. Well? Wasn't it just as I told you?" A voice sounded beside Ling Feng's ear.
"Shut up!" Ling Feng snapped under his breath.
"Shut up? With your mediocre talent, your enemies trample you however they please, and someone else effortlessly steals all your glory. Even the woman you love will one day be writhing beneath another man. You really can stomach anything!"
"I told you to shut up!" Ling Feng hissed, his eyes bloodshot.
"Do you finally believe me now? Only I can help you change all this. I am you, and you are me. How could I possibly harm you?"
The voice brimmed with temptation, shaking Ling Feng's resolve. He looked back once more at Su Ling'er, who kept acting coy beside Ouyang, then fiercely turned away.
Ling Feng walked to a pond and looked at his reflection.
Another version of him, black aura rising all over his body and eyes crimson, stared back at him with a cold smile.
"You said I could kill Ouyang in the future?" Ling Feng asked his reflection uncertainly.
"Of course. Just listen to me. That fellow who keeps stealing our limelight-I cut his head off at the first opportunity in the future!" Ling Feng's reflection said with a sneer.
Conflict crossed Ling Feng's face. He lowered his head to look at the reflection in the water. "Is everything you said true?"
"Of course it's true. As long as we plan carefully, this time the entire world will be ours, and everything you want will be in your hands!" the reflection coaxed.
Listening to the tempting words beside his ear, Ling Feng thought back over his life.
The sect leader had taken him as a disciple when he was young. His talent had shone so brightly compared with so many others, and he had lived surrounded by praise and wonder.
But everything had changed after Ouyang and Leng Qingsong came up the mountain.
He, who had once been hailed as a genius, had become mediocre. Everyone took his excellence for granted, treating all his hard work as nothing more than what was expected of him.
Those monsters on Little Mountain Peak had reduced him from a genius to an ordinary person!
Since childhood, others had seen him as the sect leader's successor, and he had believed the same. One day, he would inherit his master's mantle.
So he dared not make mistakes, nor could he afford to. Wearing a mask, he smiled every day and imitated his master's easygoing, obliging manner.
But the more he did so, the less others thought of him.
"He's just a people-pleaser!"
"He sure knows how to put on an act!"
"That white-lotus act makes me sick!"
These rumors and snide remarks had left him utterly bewildered. Yet when he tried to establish himself as a stern senior brother, everyone questioned him.
"What's his problem? He's just the sect leader's disciple. Why's he putting on airs?"
"Does he really think being a genius makes the Azure Cloud Sect his?"
"He's already throwing his weight around. If he really becomes sect leader someday, who's going to have an easy time of it?"
Wear a mask for too long, and you could no longer take it off. That was exactly how Ling Feng felt.
He had remained in the Nascent Soul Realm for far too long-so long that people less talented than him had surpassed him.
When he asked his master what he should do, his master had merely shaken his head and said his heart demon weighed too heavily upon him.
Ling Feng raised his right hand. An ancient-looking ring sat on it, a ring that had appeared out of thin air.
It had appeared on his hand one day. He had initially thought it was some great stroke of fortune, never imagining it had come to push him into the abyss!
Someone claiming to be his future self had told him things he would never even dare imagine!
In the future, he would do many things that defied all accepted teachings!
In the future, he would become someone the world despised and feared!
"Fear? That might not be so bad, actually," Ling Feng murmured.
"Senior Brother, Senior Brother, what are you doing here?" Zu Yuan came up behind Ling Feng, looking in puzzlement at him standing beside the pond.
Zu Yuan stared at Ling Feng venomously. This useless fool had indeed been defeated again. An eldest senior brother who only brought him shame? How disgusting!
Ling Feng turned around. Meticulous as he was, he still caught the fleeting venom in Zu Yuan's eyes.
This junior brother before me is the Devil Race Sacred Son? I originally wanted to use Little Mountain Peak to kill him, but in the end, I couldn't bear to let my junior brother die at the hands of fellow disciples like that. It seems I'm still too softhearted! Ling Feng sighed inwardly.
Why hadn't those monsters on Little Mountain Peak simply run him through with a sword?
Despite those thoughts, Ling Feng lowered his hand and hid the ring behind his back. Putting on his usual good-natured smile, he said to Zu Yuan, "Nothing. I was just standing here lost in thought. Junior Brother, let's hurry to the main hall at the summit."
"Yes, Senior Brother. I came to find you. Let's go. If we're late, Master will definitely scold us," Zu Yuan said obediently.
The two walked one behind the other toward the summit of Azure Cloud Peak, the very picture of brotherly devotion.
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