86: People who have passed away are like dreams, and regrets surge like a tide.

At the seating area of the Jingtao Martial Arts School, Duan Tianba's expression instantly became a spectacular sight.

He stared fixedly at that figure, his body trembling uncontrollably.

It's him!

That scourge has arrived!

Look at the City Lord's attitude!

He has the City Lord's deep trust!

Thank goodness, thank goodness I apologized first!

Meanwhile, in the seating area of the Lingxiu Hall.

Chen Meng's gaze had been frozen on his face from the moment the youth appeared.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

All the surrounding sounds, all the discussions, all the gasps of surprise faded away from her.

In her world, only that familiar yet strange face remained.

Although the youth had changed greatly—his height, build, and bearing were vastly different from the person in her memory.

In the past, he was frail, skinny, always lowering his head, with a trace of timidity in his eyes.

But the person before her now was upright, confident, his eyes calm and profound, as if they could see through people's hearts.

Yet the contours of that face... those eyes and eyebrows... no matter how much they changed, one could still recognize him as that Attendant who used to follow behind her, at her beck and call.

The one who lived in the Slum, whom she had dismissed.

No, the one who voluntarily resigned... Li Qing!

"No, impossible!"

Chen Meng's lips lost their color, her body swayed slightly, unsteady on her feet.

How could it be him?

How could this possibly be him!

In just over a month, how could a person undergo such a earth-shattering transformation?

That mysterious, well-connected, pre-selected Genius by the City Lord's Mansion they were all talking about... was this Li Qing?!

This thought exploded in Chen Meng's mind like a thunderbolt from the Nine Heavens, shattering all her previous certainties!

Absurd!

This was the only thought in Chen Meng's mind.

The scene before her was ten thousand times more absurd than the most bizarre storybook tale she had ever heard!

That youth she had seen as a burden, believed would never amount to anything, and casually discarded.

Now, he was appearing on the highest-profile stage in Jinling City, in a posture she could only look up to.

He stood behind City Lord Zhuang Bai.

That position itself represented unimaginable status and glory.

In all of Jinling City, besides the Chief Steward of the City Lord's Mansion, who else had the right to stand there?

Chen Meng's breathing became rapid, her heart pounded wildly, as if trying to escape her chest.

She stared fixedly at Li Qing's profile, trying to find the slightest trace of deception.

But there was none.

That face, she knew it too well.

Although his bearing was completely different, the underlying bone structure was something that could never be changed.

"Menger, what's wrong?"

A Senior Sister beside her noticed Chen Meng's odd state and asked with concern.

Chen Meng didn't answer. She instinctively turned her head to look towards the other end of the spectator stands.

There, she saw her father, Chen Shui.

Chen Shui at that moment wasn't much better off than her.

He sat dumbfounded in his seat, his originally ruddy face now deathly pale, his mouth slightly agape, his eyes vacant, as if his very soul had been sucked away.

Father and daughter's gazes met in the air.

They both saw the same emotions in each other's eyes.

Shock, horror, and... an indescribable regret!

"It really is him!"

Chen Shui's lips moved soundlessly, uttering these words.

A month ago, when Chen Meng told him that a Disciple from the Iron Bone Martial Arts School named Li Qing had been pre-selected for a spot, how did he react?

He dismissed it with contempt, scoffing.

He concluded it was merely a coincidence of sharing the same name.

He even mocked that Li Qing from the Slum, saying that even if he had the luck of the devil, he could never climb to the heights of the City Lord's Mansion.

Said the grass on his grave was already a zhang tall.

The words still echoed in his ears, yet reality had delivered the loudest slap to his face.

That slap, burning hot, struck his face, leaving him dizzy and his dignity utterly shattered.

What kind of opportunity had he personally pushed away?

A peerless Prodigy who could be so highly regarded by a City Lord at the Spirit Transformation Realm!

If, if back then he hadn't been so snobbish, hadn't dismissed Li Qing, had even treated him slightly better... then today, standing on the Viewing Platform, enjoying the attention of thousands, sharing in the glory, wouldn't it have been him, Chen Shui?

Wouldn't the Chen Martial Arts School have soared to become one of Jinling City's top martial arts schools?

At this thought, a piercing regret, like a venomous snake, gnawed at his heart.

He felt his breathing becoming difficult.

Meanwhile, Chen Meng's heart was also roiling with stormy waves.

She remembered more.

She remembered the despair when she was at her wit's end after the Fierce Wind Martial Arts Hall was destroyed.

She remembered how she and her father were discriminated against and rejected by all the major martial arts schools because of their identity as "Disciples of the Fierce Wind Martial Arts Hall."

If Li Qing had still been there then... given the status he displayed today, forget about a small martial arts hall that had lost its master.

Even Duan Tianba, the master of the Jingtao Martial Arts School, would probably have to bow and scrape before him, right?

How could she have suffered such humiliation then?

She also remembered how she was practicing boxing in the park when she was noticed by the master of the Lingxiu Hall, Miss Liu, and found a lifeline in a desperate situation.

She had considered this the biggest turning point in her life.

But now, it seemed that so-called turning point was laughable compared to the heights Li Qing had reached.

She had struggled with all her might just to barely reach the starting point that others could obtain effortlessly.

No, it wasn't even the starting point.

Li Qing was already a pre-selected candidate. His appearance today was just a formality, a declaration.

While her admired Senior Sister, Qin Shuang, still had to fight desperately here for the remaining two spots.

And she herself hadn't even made it to the finals!

The immense disparity, like a cold tide, completely overwhelmed Chen Meng.

Her pride, her self-respect, were shattered into pieces by reality at this moment.

So, she had been the clown all along.

Looking at that calm-as-water youth on the stage, for the first time, a feeling called "envy" arose in her heart.

Why?

Why did this youth, whose origins were even lower than hers, have such fortune?

But after the envy, an even deeper sense of powerlessness washed over her.

She didn't even seem to have the right to envy.

Because they were no longer people from the same world.

Just as Chen Meng was in a daze, the official on the central high platform began introducing the rules and contestants for the final battle.

"...Now, let us welcome the ten Prodigies who have emerged from over a thousand contestants to take the stage!"

Following his words, ten figures from the contestant preparation area walked onto the central grand arena one by one.

Leading them was Qin Shuang from the Lingxiu Hall.

Her appearance immediately triggered a huge wave of cheers.

"Fairy Qin Shuang! Fairy Qin Shuang!"

"Goddess! You're sure to win!"

Qin Shuang paid no heed to the surrounding cheers. She calmly walked to her position and stood still, her gaze as placid as still water.

Following closely behind was Duan Lang from the Baizhang Martial Arts School, a burly young man with a fierce aura.

And then Zhao Cheng from the Jingtao Martial Arts School, a man with a sinister gaze and elusive movements... The ten Geniuses represented the highest combat strength of Jinling City's younger generation, each possessing at least Late Stage Condensing Essence Realm strength or above.