68: The farewell bell, the name engraved on the monument of the hero

Clang!

The deep, resonant sound of a bell, for the third and final time, echoed throughout the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm.

The sound seemed to carry an undeniable force of rules, penetrating mountains and rivers, sweeping through dense forests and deep valleys.

It was both urging and bidding farewell.

In the center of the Secret Realm, the massive teleportation platform, engraved with countless runes, was already glowing.

The surviving Disciples from various Sects transformed into streaks of light from all directions, converging on this spot.

Each face bore the fatigue of surviving a catastrophe and the excitement of a fruitful return.

However, almost everyone's gaze was firmly drawn to the even more towering and ancient stone tablet beside the platform.

The Prodigy Tablet.

It was entirely grey-black, as if coeval with heaven and earth, exuding an immortal divinity.

The tablet's surface was covered with countless names of varying depths, each name once representing the peerless brilliance of an era.

To leave one's name here was the ultimate affirmation of talent and Dao Heart.

"Blackwood Sect's Chen Ye, I request the Prodigy Tablet to bear witness!"

With a booming shout, Chen Ye, the Young Lord of the Blackwood Sect, stepped forward, his aura having reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment Late Stage.

He walked to the tablet, took a deep breath, and pressed his hand to its surface with a solemn expression.

Buzz—!

A will-pressure, heavy as a mountain, surged into his Sea of Consciousness!

Chen Ye's body trembled violently, his face instantly flushed red, veins bulging on his forehead, and his bones emitted a 'creaking' sound under the immense strain.

Onlookers were all shaken; just a trace of the emanating pressure made them feel suffocated.

Time passed, and Chen Ye's seven orifices began to bleed. Finally, just when everyone thought he would fail, his fingertip carved a shallow mark on the middle-lower section of the stone tablet.

The two characters, "Chen Ye," were crooked.

He was struck as if by lightning, flying backward, his face pale, yet his eyes filled with ecstasy.

"He succeeded! Senior Brother Chen Ye has hope for a Golden Core future!"

The Blackwood Sect Disciples erupted in cheers, drawing envious glances from Disciples of other Sects.

Next, Ji Haoxuan, the Third Prince of the Great Yan Imperial Dynasty, stepped forward. With Dragon Qi protecting his body, he appeared much more composed, eventually carving his name three inches higher than Chen Ye's.

Another round of soft gasps.

Several people attempted afterward, some succeeding, some failing, perfectly highlighting the sacredness and insurmountable nature of the Prodigy Tablet.

Just then, a cool, detached figure slowly stepped forward.

The entire scene instantly fell silent.

Li Hanyue.

She was still in a plain white dress, unblemished, her beautiful face serene.

Everyone's gaze converged on her, filled with admiration, awe, and even more, curiosity.

To what height could this rare Sword Dao Prodigy of the Heavenly Heart Sword Sect reach?

Li Hanyue walked to the tablet, extended her delicate finger, and gently touched the surface.

Boom!

The will-pressure, enough to shatter the Divine Soul of an ordinary Prodigy, swept towards her like a world-ending tsunami.

Li Hanyue's body, however, did not even sway a bit.

Deep within her Sea of Consciousness, a crystal-clear, sharp Sword Heart slowly rotated.

Any external will-impact was instantly fragmented by that invisible, sharp Qi the moment it approached.

She raised her hand, using her finger as a sword.

Without any hint of fanfare, she calmly carved her name, stroke by stroke, onto the stone tablet.

"Li Hanyue."

The three characters had sharp strokes, exuding a supreme Sword Intent capable of cleaving the sky.

Their position was conspicuously in the middle-upper section of the stone tablet!

Far surpassing all previous Prodigies!

Buzz—!

The stone tablet hummed softly, and a brilliant white light shot into the sky, so dazzling it made people unable to open their eyes.

"Oh my god! Middle-upper section! Such talent promises a Nascent Soul future!"

"As expected of Fairy Li, we are far beyond her reach!"

Exclamations and gasps rose and fell, countless male Disciples looking at that cool, detached figure with admiration that had turned into fanaticism.

Li Hanyue, however, merely withdrew her hand calmly, as if she had done something trivial.

But her cool, clear eyes unconsciously drifted towards an inconspicuous corner of the crowd.

There, a young man wearing an ordinary Qingyun Sect Disciple uniform was shrinking his neck, trying hard to minimize his presence.

Lin Gou.

Just as everyone's attention was drawn by Li Hanyue's peerless grace.

The legend about Lin Gou, the "Son of Fortune," quietly spread through the crowd once more.

"Look, that's the guy!"

"He's Lin Gou? The lucky guy who 'cursed' a Xuan Yin Sect Golden Core Elder to death?"

"Shh! Lower your voice! That guy is really evil; anyone who goes against him comes to no good end!"

"I wonder if he dares to go up and try? Will his luck still be useful in front of the Prodigy Tablet?"

Complex gazes, one after another, all fell upon Lin Gou.

There was curiosity, scrutiny, apprehension, and even a hint of unconcealed mockery.

They all wanted to see what this guy, who had relied on "luck" to get this far, would look like in front of the Prodigy Tablet, which truly tested hard power.

Lin Gou felt these gazes.

He "panicked" and lowered his head, looking helpless and wishing he could find a hole to crawl into.

Inside, however, he was already overjoyed.

"Yes, yes, just like this."

"The spotlight is on me, expectations are high!"

"'Dying' in this atmosphere will surely get me a high rating!"

He could even clearly feel that extremely venomous gaze from the crowd, coming from Xiao Chen.

That Prodigy, at this moment, clenched his fists, his eyes sinister, just waiting to see him make a fool of himself in public and perish.

"It's my turn to perform."

Lin Gou cheered himself up internally, then "forced" by the surrounding pressure, he slowly, step by step, walked out of the crowd.

He walked to the Prodigy Tablet.

He looked up at the towering stone tablet, his face showing a perfectly appropriate mix of awe and nervousness.

Then, he took a deep breath, as if making a huge decision, and extended his seemingly ordinary hand.

Touch.

Rumble—!

A will-pressure, a billion times more immense than what anyone before had endured, as if all the anger and majesty of the entire stone tablet since its birth had found an outlet, transformed into a destructive spiritual torrent, and without reservation, fiercely surged into Lin Gou's Sea of Consciousness!

Lin Gou's body instantly froze.

His mind went blank.

He felt his Divine Soul being thrown into a terrifying furnace composed of countless gods, demons, stars, and the birth and destruction of the Universe, being completely erased from the Origin of existence.

This was ultimate pain.

But.

Just a split second before this endless pain descended, a frantic shout of ecstasy erupted within Lin Gou's heart.

"Bring it on!!"

He offered no resistance.

He even actively opened his Divine Soul, abandoning all defenses, like a madman embracing a tsunami with open arms, meeting that all-annihilating will with an almost devout posture.

"More fiercely!!"

[Ding! Detecting that the Host is attempting to leave his name on the Prodigy Tablet...]

[Assessment complete! SSS+ Grade · Divine Soul Martyrdom!]

[Commentary: Under the watchful eyes of all, you, a Mortal, challenged the might of a god. Not only did you not flinch, but you offered your Divine Soul as a sacrifice to this immortal monument in the most heroic and resolute way! This is not a challenge; this is a magnificent martyrdom! Your death has added a glorious chapter to your life of courting death!]

[Reward settlement in progress...]

[Congratulations, Host! You have obtained the unique special talent: "Indomitable Will"! Your Divine Soul Origin has undergone qualitative change, exempting you from all mental, will, and illusion-type attacks!]

[Congratulations, Host! Your Divine Soul power has surged! Sea of Consciousness strength increased by 300%!]

[Congratulations, Host! Due to the deep resonance between your manner of death and the Prodigy Tablet, your name will be automatically inscribed!]

The System's notification perfectly concluded a second before Lin Gou's Divine Soul completely dissipated.

Outside.

Under the horrified gaze of everyone.

Lin Gou's body, as if all bones and Soul had been drained, limply and stiffly fell backward.

With a "thud," he hit the ground.

His eyes lost all their luster, becoming hollow and grey.

No trace of life could be felt from his body.

He was dead.

Lin Gou, the Qingyun Sect Disciple who had created countless "miracles" along the way, had thus Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering before the Prodigy Tablet, utterly and completely dead.

The entire scene was silent.

Xiao Chen's face first showed bewilderment, then was replaced by endless ecstasy and schadenfreude.

"Hahahaha! Trash! Still trash!"

"Without luck, you are nothing! And you dare to attempt to leave your name on the Prodigy Tablet? Overestimating yourself!"

He almost burst into laughter, his accumulated resentment completely swept away.

Li Hanyue's delicate brows, however, were tightly furrowed, and a hint of indescribable complexity flashed in her cool eyes.

Was it regret? Or... something else?

However.

The next second.

An unexpected change occurred!

Buzz—!!!

The entire Prodigy Tablet suddenly trembled violently!

An unprecedented, dazzling golden beam of light shot up from within the tablet, directly piercing through the clouds!

The light was even more dazzling than the sun in the sky!

Everyone was blinded by the golden light, unable to open their eyes.

When they finally adapted to the light and looked at the Prodigy Tablet again.

Everyone's breathing, at this moment, completely stopped.

They saw.

At the very top of the Prodigy Tablet!

In that supreme position, untouched by anyone throughout the ages!

Two golden, resplendent characters, as if written by a god's own hand, were slowly appearing.

Those two characters seemed to contain an Indomitable Will that transcended heaven and earth, suppressing all other Prodigies' names on the tablet, making their light dim as fireflies.

Those two characters were—

Lin Gou!

Time seemed to stand still.

Space seemed to freeze.

Everyone's minds went blank.

They looked at the two radiant names at the top of the stone tablet, then looked down at the cold, stiff "corpse" on the ground.

A thought that subverted their hundreds of years of cultivation knowledge, so absurd that it made their Dao Heart tremble, uncontrollably and wildly grew from the bottom of their hearts.

What... what exactly is going on?!

Exchanging death for the glory of reaching the peak?

What kind of talent is this?

And what kind of... strangeness is this?!

Li Hanyue's pupils contracted into the most dangerous pinpricks.

Her rock-solid Sword Heart, for the first time, showed a violent, uncontrollable tremor.

Xiao Chen's ecstatic expression froze there, like a ridiculous stone sculpture.

His eyes were wide, bloodshot, staring fixedly at those two characters, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.

Impossible... This is absolutely impossible!

This must be an illusion!

Just as everyone was plunged into immense shock and confusion.

Buzz—!

The teleportation platform beneath their feet suddenly lit up with dazzling white light.

The time for the Secret Realm to close had arrived.

A gentle yet irresistible spatial force enveloped everyone, and their figures began to become ethereal.

In the last moment before being teleported out, the final image they saw was still those two characters, hanging high at the top of the towering stone tablet, overlooking all beings like a miracle—

Lin Gou... Outside the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm.

The flying Dharma vessels of the major Sects floated silently.

The Elders and Sect Masters looked solemn, awaiting the return of their Disciples.

Suddenly, space twisted, and a huge light gate appeared out of thin air, spitting out young figures one by one.

Among the Qingyun Sect's contingent, Lin Gou's figure appeared silently.

He patted off non-existent dust from his body, looking refreshed and clear-eyed, even letting out a yawn, perfectly blending in with his fellow Disciples who were still in a daze.

Harvest tallied, Indomitable Will, Divine Soul surged.

This wave, a huge profit.

Just then.

An earth-shattering roar came from the Xuan Yin Sect's Dharma vessel nearby, the boundless killing intent and fury contained within the sound caused the entire sky to change color!

"Lin Gou!!!"

The Xuan Yin Sect Master, a sinister-looking old man in black robes, was staring with bloodshot eyes at the phantom of the Prodigy Tablet suspended in mid-air.

Before him, Zhao Wuji's Soul Lamp had completely extinguished, turning into fragments on the ground!

And at the top of the Prodigy Tablet, the two characters "Lin Gou" were emitting golden light that stung his eyes!

"Qingyun Sect! Lin Gou!"

"Killing my Elder, seizing my supreme treasure! This enmity, will not rest until death!!!"

Terrifying pressure swept out like a tsunami.

A Sect-level storm of immense proportions had already arrived.