Chapter 21: Seclusion Once More

  Su Xingchen on the Douluo Continent looked like he was about to participate in a battle, his face as usual, walking with a slight wave of ripples above his head, revealing a large cluster of light.

  The light cluster quickly cleared up and transformed into a bird-like shape, with an icy blue color that was almost colorless, as if it were composed of cold air currents. It had three long tails behind its body, with a fluttering posture, and its eyes were like two icy blue gemstones, resembling a divine object. When paired with Su Xingchen, they formed a strange yet harmonious match.

  The stout boy Li Maoqiang opposite him squeezed out a smile and bowed his head, saying:

  "Sister Su, please spare me. My magical powers are weak, I only ask to hold on until the competition time is up, and I will admit defeat willingly. Please have mercy."

  Su Xingchen did not respond, stretched out his hand and pointed, the divine bird on his head dived down, opened its mouth and sprayed a colorless cold current, directly hitting the short and fat boy.

  Li Mao's face was shocked, but he didn't lose his composure. He quickly retreated and his body began to change and disappear bit by bit. The light around him flickered strangely, hiding the short and chubby boy inside, creating a magical phenomenon of Li Mao disappearing from sight.

  Li Mao's stealth technique was not any magic they had learned in the past year, nor was it similar to Xi Yang's fusion with the void.

  But it was a kind of illusory light divine ability that his plant demon corpse brought with him, which was good at hiding and ambushing.

  Su Xingchen remained calm in the face of her suddenly disappearing opponent, having already reached the second stage of cultivation, with a mastery of magic far surpassing that of many young people, including Zhu Jiu.

  At this time, although the eyes couldn't see where the opponent was, closing one's eyes and sensing slightly would immediately reveal Li Mao's hidden location. Quickly turning around, with a light flick of the finger, a red glow flashed at the fingertips, which was exactly the second-level magic skill "Draining Fire Technique".

  The next moment this flame reappeared, accompanied by a scream, and appeared in front of Su Xingchen about four or five meters away.

  The fireball suddenly expanded, wrapping around the withered tree bark-like monster in Li Mao's hand, fiercely burning and breaking his stealth technique, forcing it to appear on the fighting stage.

  Su Xingchen was annoyed that the young man had been lurking behind him, clearly with ill intentions. He set fire to the demon corpse in Li Mao's hand, burning it clean, before turning around and walking down from the stage.

  Losing the demon corpse, Li Mao's soul was in intense pain, his face pale. In the cruel competition of the demonic sects, losing the demon corpse and damaging his soul meant that he would not only lose his status as a disciple but also risk his life.

  Su Xingchen ignored his dispirited opponent on stage and quietly returned to his seat under the gaze of many young people.

  Jiu looked at Li Mao on stage with a lost soul and asked in a low voice:

  "Why didn't you kill him? This kid has a narrow heart and will definitely harbor resentment in secret, leaving him alive is an unstable factor."

  Su Xingchen fell silent for a moment before responding in a cold tone:

  "Let him be restless, he will only drift further away from me. Holding grudges in secret is something that only the incompetent would do, I don't care about him. If it were you and me as enemies, I would have killed you by now."

  Jiu Ku smiled wryly and said:

  "Is this supposed to be praise? It doesn't sound like a compliment."

  Su Xingchen didn't pay attention to him anymore and quickly stood up instead.

  Just as Jiu turned his head, he found that Lie Chuanfa had also stood up and made a gesture of ending today's challenge with victory. He took the lead and walked ahead, with many young men behind him casting their eyes on Su Xingchen.

  Xu Xingchen stood up and followed Li Chuanfa, and then everyone else followed in order of their cultivation.

  All the way without a word, after returning to the Xiu Fa Hall, Lie Chuan and several other Dharma transmission masters separated from each other, leading different groups of disciples back to their respective regions.

  Entering the second floor of the hall where many people were learning magic at the beginning of the month, Lie Chuan's difficult-to-come-by smile appeared as he said:

  "Today, Jiǔ's performance was the most eye-catching. He even killed Sun Bùfù, the number one young cultivator of the outer temple, which greatly added to the prestige of our Xīu Fǎ Temple. In two days, you won't need to participate in the annual assessment challenge and can cultivate freely. I have received a notice that your and Sū Xīngchén's cultivation materials and various benefits will be increased next year. Alright, those who have participated in the challenge can leave, while the rest of you stay behind."

  Jiǔ and Sū Xīngchén, along with another student, stood up to leave under the envious gaze of the remaining young people.

  After Jiuchu made a gesture to let another boy go first, the boy's face turned slightly red. He also wanted to get closer to Su Xingchen, but he lacked the courage and hesitated for a moment before reluctantly walking away.

  Su Xingchen blinked her beautiful eyes, pretending not to see anything. After the young man left, Zhu Jiu quickly caught up with Su Xingchen and walked alongside her. Neither of them spoke a word.

  All along in silence, until they reached the fifth floor, Zhu Jiu couldn't help but ask:

  "Why don't you ask me what I want to talk to you about?"

  Su Xingchen's mouth corners had a faint, almost imperceptible smile, and he said softly:

  "So you tell me!"

  Jiu Xiao smiled and said:

  "I was thinking of discussing with you, to arrange the time for our respective cultivation and seclusion, so that when you're in seclusion, I won't come out and miss seeing you, hehe! What do you think?"

  Su Xingchen's delicate little face suddenly flushed, and she didn't answer, quickly turning around to go upstairs. A soft voice floated down from afar:

  "I'll think about it before I respond to you."

  Jiu Yu responded with a "yes" and turned around to head towards her own room, thinking as she walked.

  "It's time to break through the bright upper realm, and once I unify the realms, I can possess a second demon corpse. I must hurry."

  Back in the house, before long, someone knocked on the door. When he opened it, a robust woman stood outside, sizing up Zhu Jiu with an appraising gaze.

  Jiu was made to feel extremely uncomfortable by her gaze, and it wasn't until after a while that the servant woman finally pulled out a piece of paper and said:

  "This is what Miss Star sent me from our home, you take it!"

  At nine o'clock sharp, just as he was about to close the door, the servant woman said in a tone of reprimand:

  "I advise you to focus on your practice and not think about things that are beyond your qualifications, otherwise it will not only delay yourself."

  This servant woman thought that after she finished speaking, Zhu Jiu would definitely retort back, but unexpectedly Zhu Jiu had a very good attitude and instead bowed slightly and said with a smile:

  "Thank you for your teachings, I will definitely remember them in my heart at all times, seize every opportunity to cultivate myself, and do my best to complete my own tasks."

  After Zuo Jiu finished speaking and closed the door, the servant woman walked a few steps before reacting. This kid's attitude was good, but he was clearly mocking her for meddling in things she shouldn't be concerned with. She immediately became furious and wanted to go back and scold Zuo Jiu again, but for some reason, she stopped in her tracks and muttered to herself:

  "Hey! This kid doesn't know how to behave, when you're in trouble, I'm not busy teaching this kid a lesson now." Saying that, he turned around and left with a huff.

  But in a moment, Zhu Jiu's door opened again, and he came out with the sunset, heading towards the mountain belly cultivation room to prepare for breaking through his own cultivation level.

  The soul fire of the sunset, in the dark red, there is already a thread of orange light flashing, it is also time to break through the barrier.

  The words of the servant just now reminded him that some depth and sharpness should be occasionally displayed, increasing his own weight, which can avoid many troubles from hidden places. If he can make progress bravely and attract more attention from higher-ups, it is a way to protect himself.

  Jiǔ arrived at the practice room with the sunset, and another closed-door training session began.