302: Seeing the immortals, unparalleled power

"Is that for real?"

"It seems to be real..."

Ji Wuchen took a deep breath, confirming this.

The phantom here was not Qin Wudao, but Qin Wangchuan.

He stepped on the heavenly suspended silk, the slowly rotating wheel of fate hovered behind his head, and behind him, nine profound Heavenly Rings, shimmering with different Dao rhythms, revolved like nine divine suns, guarding his body.

Just standing there, an invisible pressure made space congeal and rules wail, as if heaven and earth were bowing before him.

This sight was terrifying!

"Wasn't it supposed to be Qin Wudao? How is it... him!?" Yan Wujin finally found his voice, roaring in disbelief and shock.

"This... how do we fight this?"

This question also expressed the shared sentiment of Ji Wuchen and Ye Lingchuan.

While Qin Wudao's Ancient Desolate Holy Body possessed infinite potential, it was not fully awakened at the Supreme Realm.

For the Prodigies present, he was not difficult to deal with.

But Qin Wangchuan was different.

He stood in mid-air, every detail of his body seemingly proclaiming the words "invincible."

They had no idea where to even begin.

"Let's wait." Chu Wujiu's voice echoed from outside the door, carrying a hint of helplessness.

Just then, movement came from another direction.

Zhao Lingyun and Yun Zexuan appeared one after another.

Zhao Lingyun spotted Chu Wujiu and Li Xuan in the corner, walked over in confusion, and asked, "What are you two doing sitting here, sightseeing?"

Yun Zexuan, however, was more direct.

He ignored everyone, walked straight to the golden ancient door, and stepped inside.

When his gaze fell upon the phantom of Qin Wangchuan in the air, he didn't show much surprise, merely saying:

"As expected..."

"As expected, my foot!" Yan Wujin yelped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "Where's Qin Wudao? Call Qin Wudao out! This isn't right!"

"There's nothing wrong with it."

Yun Zexuan glanced at him indifferently, calmly replying, "I had a suspicion before."

"This eleventh floor imprints the 'strongest' individuals who have entered the Myriad Dao Book Palace throughout history."

"This 'history' naturally includes our generation. Without a doubt, from everything shown so far, Qin Wangchuan... has already surpassed the Qin Wudao of the past."

"So, his appearance here is not strange."

Zhao Lingyun also walked in, but only dared to stay by the door.

He knew that if he took a few more steps, the sleeping "monster" in the center of the arena would awaken.

Although he was prepared, seeing Qin Wangchuan's phantom still made him click his tongue and ask in a low voice:

"Can we win?"

"Hard to say." Yun Zexuan slowly shook his head, his gaze never leaving the figure in the air. "Let's wait, wait for more people."

"Perhaps... we'll need to work together."

After some more time, Prodigies arrived one after another.

Among them, a graceful figure slowly emerged—it was Xie Qingshang.

Although her strength was considerable, her journey to the tenth floor was extremely fortunate—she hadn't encountered a true Supreme Realm guardian along the way.

Otherwise, with her Half-Venerable cultivation at the twelfth Realm, she would have already been defeated.

She had thought that stopping here would be Perfection, but looking at the stairs leading to the eleventh floor, ripples still stirred in her heart:

Such a rare Opportunity; if she didn't even dare to try, wouldn't she regret it when she looked back in the future?

So, she still stepped into this floor.

However, the sight before her exceeded Xie Qingshang's expectations.

This eleventh floor was eerily quiet.

The many Prodigies, led by Chu Wujiu and Ji Wuchen, were not engaged in fierce battle as imagined.

Instead, they were gathered outside the massive golden ancient door, whispering in small groups, discussing something, the atmosphere so heavy it felt as if they were about to face a life-or-death battle.

"What is the meaning of this?" Xie Qingshang wondered, and couldn't help but draw closer.

When she finally approached the golden ancient door, her gaze passed through the gaps between the crowd, and when she saw the figure standing silently in the arena's sky, she instantly understood everything.

It was him... the man with whom she had traveled in the Secret Realm, who made her feel incredibly special, and for whom she had even pursued from the Upper Thousand Provinces to the Myriad Dao Academy—Qin Wangchuan.

Stepping on the heavenly suspended silk, just a phantom, yet it compressed space into stillness.

The whispers around her continued to reach her ears:

"There's no other way, we can't retreat to the tenth floor, so we can only bite the bullet and fight."

"Are you sure this phantom won't kill us? The Book Palace's rules should protect us..."

"Hard to say, that's Qin Wangchuan! Who knows if his power will exceed the Book Palace's rule limits..."

"This imprint is said to have ninety percent of his true strength? And it can perfectly manifest even Magic Treasures?"

"It can manifest Magic Treasures? Then how can we fight?"

Listening to the discussions of the crowd and looking at the figure that, even as a phantom, made all the heroes helpless.

An indescribably wonderful feeling surged within Xie Qingshang's heart.

'Look, just a phantom imprint of him has already made this generation's top Prodigies so troubled.'

'My judgment was indeed not wrong; he is so special, so dazzling.'

But on the other hand, looking at the Prodigies around her, who usually held their heads high but now showed solemnity and even apprehension, a trace of confusion arose in Xie Qingshang's heart.

Hadn't she come to the Myriad Dao Academy just to see him again?

Now, not only had she seen him, but she had also clearly witnessed his peerless grandeur, overshadowing his peers. She should feel at ease.

But why... in the depths of her heart, did that sense of unwillingness and distance grow even stronger?

"Little Qing, look! Isn't that your 'old flame'?"

A clear and slightly mischievous voice suddenly rang in Xie Qingshang's ear, not only startling her but also drawing many eyes to her instantly.

The speaker was Hua Qianning, a fellow academy friend who was traveling with her.

Xie Qingshang's cheeks flushed slightly, and she quickly covered Hua Qianning's mouth, lowering her voice to chide, "Don't talk nonsense! What old flame? I've never said such a thing!"

"Love at first sight, why isn't that an old flame!" Hua Qianning broke free, still whispering in that 'I understand' tone.

"Love... at first sight?" Xie Qingshang was momentarily dazed by these four words.

"Exactly!" Hua Qianning said righteously.

"You chased him all the way from the Upper Thousand Provinces, going to great lengths to inquire about him. If that's not love at first sight, I'll eat my hat!"

"No..." Xie Qingshang instinctively wanted to argue, but deep down, she couldn't help but ask herself:

Was it really not?

When they first met, she was merely attracted by his unique temperament.

Traveling together in the Secret Realm was just going with the flow.

But along that journey, the calm demeanor he displayed, the excellence in his every move... made her vaguely feel that he and those so-called Prodigies were simply not in the same world.

It was a difference as vast as clouds and mud.

If other outstanding talents were human splendors, he was a banished immortal who had mistakenly fallen into the mortal world, his robes still carrying the clear radiance of the Nine Heavens.

This realization should have made one shrink back, yet it took root in her heart.

Why?

Perhaps it was his strength in resolving crises with a laugh, perhaps it was the transcendent demeanor in his brows, or perhaps, it was just that quiet night by the bonfire, the silhouette cast by the dancing flames on his profile was too stunning.

Those seemingly ordinary moments, repeatedly etched in memory, finally converged into the flutter of her heart at this moment.

This emotion came silently, yet before she even realized it, it had already grown lush and strong.

But—

"What good is love at first sight anyway..." Xie Qingshang murmured dejectedly, "A person like him... surely wouldn't lack outstanding women by his side."

"So what?" Hua Qianning pouted carelessly. "It's the same for male or female cultivators!"

"The more outstanding a person is, the more suitors they're bound to have around them. But if you don't fight for it yourself, if you don't pursue it, then the Opportunity definitely won't fall to you!"

These words were like a thunderclap piercing through the fog.

Xie Qingshang instantly had an epiphany.

That's right!

Outstanding people never lacked suitors.

If she retreated out of fear of competition, she would forever remain in place, looking up at his back.

Thinking this, Xie Qingshang looked at the figure inside the door, the confusion in her eyes gradually fading, replaced by a steadily clearer determination.