As Kunyu Ridge ground away the Fox Demon Lady's soul, the Fox-Pressing Pagoda began to totter, soon collapsing into rubble. The sealing pagoda that had existed to suppress the Fox Demon Lady was reduced to ruins forever.
Perfected One Nagiko returned to the Supernatural Affairs Bureau. She still had to report to her Sect elders.
"I'll head back to cultivate too." Hu Yunting was equally impatient. "Before the City Heroes' Battle, I plan to spend some time in seclusion. I'll try to reach the Peak Astral Realm. That should give me a better chance of securing a spot."
"With your strength, my son, crushing those so-called local 'geniuses' of River City would be child's play." Hu Hanyi's face was full of fatherly affection. "It's good that you're willing to work hard, but don't put too much pressure on yourself."
Hu Yunting's expression was grave. "Perhaps."
When he had first returned to River City, he had shared his father's confidence. But two successive encounters with Yue Wen had cast a shadow over it.
Though both of Yue Wen's victories over him had involved a certain amount of trickery, Yue Wen always managed to come up with moves he never thought of. Didn't that count as strength too?
And who could guarantee that Yue Wen wouldn't devise new tricks on the stage of the City Heroes' Battle?
Even taking a huge step back, could he really win in a head-on fight in the arena?
The scene of Yue Wen killing that Super Malice kept replaying in Hu Yunting's mind. He had a vague sense that Yue Wen's strength far exceeded the cultivation realm he displayed.
Among Heavenly Prodigies, fighting above one's realm was nothing unusual.
*If I don't step up my cultivation and lose to him a third time at the City