384: Brother, times have changed.

As the frenzy of seeking defeat on the wasteland grew more intense, it showed signs of sliding from mutual verification through sparring into a pure farce of chaos.

Several elders from great Sects who still retained their reason finally couldn't help themselves, each using a majestic voice to shout and stop their Disciples.

The Head of the Archaic Royal Family also had a livid face, and with a complex and indescribable mood, he led his people to retreat silently.

The successive departure of top powers and prodigies was like a receding tide, taking away the greatest clamor and danger.

The remaining Cultivators also gradually woke up from that collective excitement, looking at each other in bewilderment.

Looking at the messy traces of sparring around them and their peers who were bruised and swollen but had bright eyes, the feelings in their hearts were difficult to describe, and they eventually dispersed in twos and threes.

Outside the Emperors Tomb, silence returned once more.

On the mountain peak, Gu Changge withdrew his gaze and said indifferently to Xuan Yangzi beside him, "The excitement is over, let's go back."

Xuan Yangzi, holding the Emperor's Scripture, looked back at the wasteland once more before his figure slowly faded away along with Gu Changge.

Ling Canglan also returned to the side of the Lingxiao Disciples and led everyone back to the Holy Land.

Xiao Ruobai, Ling Xi, and the others had also long since disappeared.

The storm of the Emperors Tomb ended here.

However, the storm was only just beginning to spread outward.

The name of Azure Rakshasa, in a manner more rapid, more terrifying, and more legendary than that of Battle Asura, swept through the entire Eastern Region like a hurricane and spread to other large regions at an astonishing speed.

Defeating a Saint with a single finger.

Her reputation, through countless word-of-mouth accounts with added embellishments, quickly reached a height that people looked up to, becoming a synonym for the mysterious, powerful, and unfathomable of this era.

Accompanying this world-shaking name was a subtle yet profound change in social atmosphere.

Perhaps it was the shock of Wang Zhan's Nirvana through defeat, or perhaps it was the infection of that first cry of 'grant me a defeat' on the wasteland.

An atmosphere completely different from the past 'seeking only victory, ashamed of defeat' actually spread quietly among the younger generation of the Eastern Region like a spark.

Not long after, walking throughout the Eastern Region, one could often see young Cultivators stopping their peers or even Seniors, not to provoke them, but to clasp their hands with a serious expression.

"Please grant me your guidance, Fellow Daoist. I seek only a defeat to understand my own shortcomings."

At first, it drew countless looks of shock, ridicule, and even angry rebukes, but gradually, people actually began to try it, accept it, and even regard it as a new way of cultivation.

Many prodigies who had been in seclusion for many days, had occasional Breakthroughs, and were feeling complacent, wanting to find someone to test their swords, verify their cultivation, and regain their reputations.

The moment they emerged from seclusion and stepped into marketplaces or Sects, they were stunned to find that their peers were no longer discussing 'who defeated whom,' but rather 'where someone sought defeat and actually gained enlightenment.'

On the challenge platforms, many strange requests for battle appeared, all 'seeking only a defeat.'

They held their newly tempered Divine Abilities, carrying ambitions of making a name for themselves, and stood at the edge of the bustling crowds.

Listening to those inconceivable conversations and watching those duels that were completely different from expectations, the high-spirited expressions on their faces gradually froze, turning into a state of bewilderment.

Many couldn't help but grab a familiar friend, pointing at the chaos, their voices carrying an uncertain drift:

"Wait, Fellow Daoist, how long have I been in seclusion?"

"Why does it feel like the world has changed?"

The friend would often return a complex and indescribable glance, finally patting his shoulder, sighing, and saying earnestly:

"Sigh, brother, the times have changed."

"Nowadays, to get by among the younger generation of the Eastern Region, you can have never won, but you'd better have the awareness and stories of daring to 'seek defeat.'"

That Prodigy stood frozen in place, looking at the now unfamiliar atmosphere, only feeling that the divine weapon in his hand was no longer appealing.

The Realm he had just broken through to was also unstable, and his head was filled with only one thought circling around:

"What the hell has happened to this world?!"

However, beneath this seemingly absurd trend, a more intense and even cruel competition was quietly being fostered.

When failure was no longer terrifying and was even given a sacred color of having the potential to prove one's Dao, the adventurous and enterprising hearts suppressed in the bones of many Cultivators were instead completely ignited.

The number of people who dared to challenge the stronger, or even challenge across Realms, increased visibly to the naked eye.

"Anyway, losing isn't shameful, and it can even reflect one's shortcomings." This new logic became the best reason and psychological shield for many people to cross the gap in strength and launch an assault toward higher ground.

For a time, cases of challenging across ranks emerged one after another throughout the Eastern Region.

There were Heavenly Human Realm Cultivators who, knowing they were no match, still launched a battle for defeat against King Realm Seniors, just to personally feel the momentum of a higher Realm.

Even if they were beaten until they vomited blood and flew backward, as long as they could see a trace of the operation of Dao laws in the battle, they felt they had benefited immensely. Returning to seclusion to digest it, their cultivation Bottlenecks actually showed signs of loosening.

Many people tempered their Divine Souls and comprehended Realms in an almost self-torturing manner. Although they lost ten out of ten battles, their Qi became more refined each time.

Some even walked on the edge of life and death, verifying what they had learned in bloody battles and breaking through their limits.

The casualty rate climbed because of this, but the progress of those who survived was also surprisingly fast.

Eastern Region, Heavenly Secret Pavilion, Star Gazing Platform.

The night breeze was slightly cool, blowing the scroll in Xing Lan's hand, which was woven from special star-patterned silk and had fresh ink on it.

On the first page of the scroll, the three large characters 'heavenly pride list' flowed with Dao Rhyme, shining brightly under the starlight.

Below them were names and annotations he had painstakingly deduced, verified, and weighed before carefully arranging them.

This should have been another grand event for the Heavenly Secret Pavilion to determine the rankings.

However, Xing Lan's handsome face lacked its usual composure at this moment, his brow slightly furrowed.

The subversive duel outside the Emperors Tomb, the back of Wang Zhan leaving in isolation, and the absurd wave of seeking defeat that was subsequently ignited were like indelible brands, deeply imprinted on his Dao Heart as he deduced the secrets of heaven.

In the list in his hand, the rise and fall of every name seemed out of place with that bizarre new trend of 'seeking the Dao through defeat.'

The atmosphere of the younger generation seemed to have slid overnight from competing for fame to tempering the heart through defeat.

"Revered Master."

Xing Lan stopped a few steps away, his voice carrying a rare hesitation as he held up the list in his hand.

"Should this newly revised heavenly pride list still be released as scheduled?"

Heavenly Secret Master did not look back.

There was only the sound of the wind on the Star Gazing Platform.

After a long time, he finally spoke slowly, his voice calm yet carrying a hint of desolation that Xing Lan had never heard before:

"Suppress it for now."

He paused, his gaze as if penetrating the galaxy to see the source of that unpredictable variable, whispering:

"The changes in this world, let alone you, even I can no longer see them clearly."

Xing Lan's mind shook slightly, and the list in his hand felt as heavy as a thousand tons.

He silently rolled it up, bowed in salute, and quietly withdrew.

Just as he was about to completely step out of the range of the Star Gazing Platform, a very weak, intermittent muttering drifted down with the wind from the very high edge of the platform.

The voice was vague, carrying deep confusion and a hint of cursing.

"It makes no sense. The world is recovering, the Emperor Star is about to appear, and it should be in the Eastern Region, but this omen is just too damn crooked..."

"It's one thing to defeat a Saint with one finger, but how can it lead to a world full of lunatics begging to be beaten?"

"That kid Wang Zhan's fate is a bit strange, but with the word 'defeat' leading the way, it can still trigger a trend?"

"In the past thousand years of deduction, I've never seen this kind of move..."

"What the hell is going on?"

Xing Lan's downward steps paused imperceptibly for a moment, and the corner of his mouth twitched very stiffly and almost unnoticeably.

He immediately restored his expression and quickened his pace to leave, as if he had heard nothing.