A mysterious master, the Heavenly Pride Battle
"Don't act rashly!"
"Trust him!"
Shangguan Feiyue held Jiang Xueyi's hand, looked into her lovely, pleading eyes, and gently shook her head as she spoke.
Jiang Xueyi nodded and simply watched the figure within that sea of blood-colored flames. Though she said nothing more, an indescribable agony filled her heart! Though it was not her body, the pain struck her heart, like ten thousand blades scraping and slicing.
"Little Fan, hold on. This is like a phoenix undergoing Nirvana, finding rebirth amid destruction and comprehending life amid death. Carefully contemplate these mysteries. The sun and the moon, destruction and rebirth, life and death-these are among the most terrifying profound truths in the world. If you can comprehend even a sliver, your achievements will be limitless!"
Just then, an ethereal voice sounded in Su Fan's mind, as though it came from ages past. The voice was very gentle, yet carried an indescribable feeling, a loneliness that had seen through eternity. It was a woman's voice!
"M-m-m... master... d-don't worry, I'll definitely hold on! I'll contemplate them carefully!"
"At the extreme of life lies death, and at the extreme of death lies life. After destruction comes the beginning of new life..."
Su Fan gritted his teeth, sensing every slightest change within his body and recording every step of his transformation.
Hold on!
Keep holding on.
He fought to keep from passing out, enduring through willpower alone. He yearned to grow stronger, he needed to grow stronger. His mother was still somewhere far away, waiting for him to... bring her home and reunite her with his father!
His master was also waiting for him to find a peerless medicinal treasure for her and reconstruct her physical body! So he could not die!
None of his promises had been fulfilled. How could he dare die so easily?
He could definitely hold on, definitely, and he had to hold on. He firmly believed it.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The transformation continued, and time passed. Finally, at a certain moment, the transformation was complete.
At the same time, he broke through to the middle stage of the Divine Power Realm!
Su Fan clenched his fists. At this moment, it felt as though his body held boundless strength.
"Though you haven't comprehended even the slightest surface trace, profound truths like those are still far too distant for you now. Being able to merge with this flame of destruction is already a considerable gain. But... in front of young ladies, you should put your clothes on first."
The mysterious woman's ethereal voice, tinged with stillness, sounded in Su Fan's mind once more.
Su Fan had just opened his eyes when he heard his mysterious master's voice. Then he stiffly looked toward Jiang Xueyi and Shangguan Feiyue in the distance, only to see both women's faces flushed crimson with utter embarrassment. With a "Pah!" they turned their heads away and stopped looking at him!
Hiss!!!!
Su Fan's shameless old face instantly reddened. He had been seen completely naked-by three women!!!
The blood-colored flame of destruction had burned his clothes to ashes, and he was now stark naked. It's over! It's over! I've utterly disgraced myself! That was how he felt at this moment!
Without another word, he hurriedly took clothes from his sacred ring and put them on. Once that was done, Su Fan looked at the two women, grinning foolishly and awkwardly, not daring to speak!
Jiang Xueyi was all right. After all, she was his beloved, his future wife.
His master was an old mon... no... a great beauty who had lived for who knew how many years. In any case, she was a woman who had weathered great winds and waves, so that should be all right too!
But Shangguan Feiyue was different! They had only met yesterday, and today he had already... let her take advantage of him. His lifelong good name had now vanished without a trace!
"L-l-let's... let's go! It's time we headed out!"
Su Fan looked at Jiang Xueyi and Shangguan Feiyue, his face burning red, and spoke quietly.
"Now? What if the people from Thunder God Hall are still waiting outside for us? Wouldn't we be lambs walking into a tiger's jaws?"
Jiang Xueyi spoke with a bashful blush, seemingly having recovered from what had just happened.
"It's fine. Miss Jiang, don't worry. I've already sent word home. I imagine they should have arrived by now. A mere Thunder God Hall-if they dare cause trouble again, I'll have their name erased from Heavenly Moon Commandery!"
Shangguan Feiyue glanced at Su Fan and spoke to Jiang Xueyi. Though her voice was gentle and calm, her words carried dominance, disdain, lofty superiority, and murderous intent!
At these words, Su Fan and Jiang Xueyi could not help exchanging a glance. Then they both looked at Shangguan Feiyue, their eyes filled with shock!
This woman had such a distinguished background?
Wasn't she just an ordinary cultivator who had nearly fallen into the hands of petty bandits?
Though she had the cultivation of the late stage of the Divine Power Realm, wait! Right, with late-stage Divine Power Realm cultivation at her age, how could she possibly be ordinary?
What poor judgment.
What poor judgment indeed.
"May I ask who you are, Miss Feiyue? Uh! If it's inconvenient to say, then never mind..."
Su Fan asked, but as soon as he spoke, he remembered that this was her private business, so he did not insist!
At his words, Jiang Xueyi also looked at Shangguan Feiyue with curiosity. Without leaving the Desolate Domain, one would never know how vast the outside world was. A sect like her Star Divine Sect would struggle to rank among the top ten even in the Profound Domain, let alone among the nine domains of Heavenly Moon Commandery!
"Hehe! I'm from the Central Heavenly Domain... Heavenly Moon Commandery City! Let's go!"
Shangguan Feiyue's beautiful eyes swept over their expectant faces as she spoke softly with a faint smile.
"The Central Heavenly Domain?"
"Heavenly Moon Commandery City?"
Su Fan and Jiang Xueyi could not help being shocked. Heavenly Moon Commandery had nine domains: Heaven, Earth, Profound, Yellow, Space, Time, Vast, Desolate, and the Central Heavenly Domain. Heavenly Moon Commandery City was located in the Central Heavenly Domain. Rumor had it that experts gathered there like clouds, and peerless heavenly prides were everywhere!
"What's so shocking about that? Oh? Right! I almost forgot! Next month, the commandery city will open a secret realm and hold a Heavenly Pride Battle to select the one thousand most outstanding peerless heavenly prides to go to the divine capital and participate in the divine dynasty's Heavenly Pride Battle!"
"Judging by your cultivation realms and battle prowess, you two have a good chance of making it into the top thousand! Especially you, Su Fan. Are you interested in... going to experience the splendor of the divine capital?"
She smiled.
Just as she took a step forward.
Shangguan Feiyue suddenly spoke.
"The Heavenly Pride Battle?"
Su Fan and Jiang Xueyi were taken aback, their gazes filled with confusion as they looked at Shangguan Feiyue.
"Yes! The divine dynasty's Heavenly Pride Battle, held once every hundred years. Don't you know about it? It's a grand occasion for the divine dynasty! Every commandery has one thousand places!"
"My father started preparing for this long ago. When the time comes, the peerless heavenly prides of every top faction throughout Heavenly Moon Commandery will come to participate!"
Shangguan Feiyue explained.
"A grand occasion for the divine dynasty? Held once every hundred years? Your father started preparing long ago? The heavenly prides of all the top factions in Heavenly Moon Commandery will participate?"
Hearing Shangguan Feiyue's words, Su Fan and Jiang Xueyi's minds were filled with question marks.
Why had they never heard of it?
And what did she mean, her father had started preparing for this long ago?
What was all this supposed to mean?
Seeing their expressions, Shangguan Feiyue could not help being taken aback as well. Then, as though something had occurred to her, she asked in some surprise:
"Could you two possibly be... from the Desolate Domain?"