CHAPTER 384: CHAPTER 384 NO MORE CHEN PINGPING

「Nine Heavens, Southern Diaspora.」

In some unnamed corner, within a deserted mountain range...

Suddenly, a fluctuation emerged, followed by violent tremors in the space around them. A crack appeared, and two young people stepped out.

A man and a woman.

The man was handsome and well-dressed, but at that moment, he looked somewhat disheveled. His clothes were stained with mud, as if he had just crawled out of a cave.

The woman was slender with an ordinary appearance. Her long hair was messy, with some twigs and leaves still entangled in it.

The two surveyed this strange world and then exchanged a glance, both smiling.

"Nine Heavens!" Liu Changqing could hardly restrain his excitement.

"Yes," Alan chuckled softly.

"Chen Pingping, that bastard, shouldn’t be able to make it up here, right?" Liu Changqing sighed.

"He can’t come up anymore," Alan said. "To find this passage, we almost died on the way, and even the damaged Sacred Soldiers shattered because of it. We paid a great price; he won’t be able to make it up here."

"It wasn’t easy!" Liu Changqing took a deep breath, then began to curse, "I never want to be in the same world as Chen Pingping again!"

Who could understand that feeling of suppression?

He was clearly a genius himself; his aptitude and comprehension were both top-tier, far surpassing ordinary people. Yet, somehow, along his cultivation journey, he had lost his Dao Heart. It wasn’t as if he’d been through any great trials or fought many battles. It was all because of Chen Pingping. No matter where Liu Changqing went, he couldn’t compete with him or defeat him.

Moreover, every time he saw that guy, Liu Changqing felt like an utterly incompetent cultivator. For instance, Chen Pingping, while merely in the King Tao realm, could easily slay Emperor Realm experts.

Alas! Was that something a human was capable of?

Furthermore, whenever Chen Pingping was present, no one else stood a chance of obtaining any Great Opportunity.

Liu Changqing felt like he could vomit blood!

Therefore, for the sake of his own cultivation, for the invincible path, he had decided to find a way with Alan to set foot in Nine Heavens.

It had taken them a full year, and he didn’t know whether to call it good luck or bad luck. In any case, they had safely arrived in Nine Heavens. Only he and Alan could truly understand the hardships they had endured along the way.

Alan chuckled softly. "From now on, the mountain bird and the sea fish will travel separate paths."

"Yes!" Liu Changqing’s mood improved markedly. "We’ll cultivate diligently and one day return to the Heaven Martial Continent to suppress Chen Pingping."

"Right, to suppress Chen Pingping."

"Let’s go! Let’s leave this place first," Liu Changqing said with a smile.

However, just as they had left the mountain range, a familiar figure walked past them.

Liu Changqing paused. "Huh? Wasn’t that the Little Princess just now?"

Alan, beside him, frowned. "I didn’t get a clear look. It probably wasn’t her. So many years have passed; the Little Princess should have grown up by now. It’s impossible for her to still look eleven or twelve years old."

Hearing this, Liu Changqing breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "You’re right. Who doesn’t grow up?"

Ahead lay an ancient town with over a hundred houses and a relatively dense population. Many merchants passed through here on their way to the next Ancient City.

At this moment, inside a bustling inn, dozens of young people, both men and women, had gathered. They were all disciples of Fairy Valley. The difference was that the group on the left belonged to the Fifth Academy, while those on the right were disciples of the Second Academy. Each faction had about ten people. The oldest among them were only twenty-six or twenty-seven, while the youngest were around seventeen or eighteen.

They were currently in a standoff.

Passersby seemed accustomed to such scenes, finding them unremarkable. After a cursory glance, they paid no further attention.

"You lot from the Fifth Academy are trash! You don’t have the ability to hunt ferocious beasts yourselves, so you always have to steal from our Second Academy!" a young man from the Second Academy’s group sneered.

"Exactly! Have some shame!"

"If I were you, I’d have quit this competition long ago."

Several members of the Second Academy’s group chimed in, their words cold and sarcastic, their eyes filled with derision.

This was a ferocious beast hunting competition organized by the higher-ups of Fairy Valley. The First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Academies each selected ten members to hunt ferocious beasts within a designated area for a period of ten days. During this period, the academy that hunted the most ferocious beasts, and beasts of the highest levels, would win first place and receive various rewards from the Fairy Valley higher-ups. These included Spirit Stones, Spirit Pills, Spiritual Medicine, Divine Weapons, Cultivation Techniques, and more.

The rewards were very tempting.

For this competition, all the academies had made ample preparations, carefully selecting ten young geniuses to participate. Among them, the First Academy’s overall strength was relatively high. In just three or four days, they had already hunted over ten powerful ferocious beasts, leaving the Fairy Valley higher-ups sighing in admiration. Next were the disciples of the Second Academy. Several among them were exceptionally strong, having reached the late stage of the King Tao realm, and they had also killed a significant number of beasts in four days. Following them in the rankings were the Fourth Academy, the Third Academy, and then the Fifth Academy.

Originally, the disciples from each academy hunted their own ferocious beasts, keeping to themselves like well water and river water. However, things rarely go as planned. Within the large family of Fairy Valley, the Second Academy and the Fifth Academy had always been at odds, and nearly every encounter between them ended in conflict. There were even several occasions where they nearly killed one another. If the Fairy Valley higher-ups hadn’t intervened, they might have already caused a major tragedy.

This ferocious beast hunting competition was no exception. Disciples from the two academies clashed frequently, and as the incidents mounted, disputes inevitably arose. Eventually, the two sides agreed to a confrontation, which led them here, to the inn.

The Second Academy disciples accused the Fifth Academy of stealing their kills, while the Fifth Academy claimed the Second Academy had stolen theirs. Both sides stuck to their claims, neither willing to back down.

Just as a fight seemed imminent, with swords drawn and an air thick with killing intent, Zi Ji arrived. Her small face was flushed, and she panted slightly as she scanned the crowd.

She was also a competitor from the Fifth Academy, but Guang Xiaoyu had forbidden her from taking action, saying it was merely a childish competition.

That was true. With Zi Ji’s strength, not to mention Lao Huang or Hei, she could slaughter every ferocious beast in this entire area within an hour if she wanted to. If she were to participate, wouldn’t it be a clear case of bullying the weak?

Guang Xiaoyu had earnestly admonished her, "We absolutely must not do such things." She always remembered her Senior Brother’s teachings: after entering Nine Heavens, they must maintain a low profile and avoid stirring up trouble.

Yes, that was absolutely right! For an entire year, the two girls had maintained an extremely low profile. Even when disputes arose between the academies, escalating to fights where Second Academy disciples clamored to eliminate them, neither Guang Xiaoyu nor Zi Ji had intervened, content to watch from the sidelines.

That was, until today, when the Second Academy disciples actually slandered the Fifth Academy members, accusing them of stealing their prey. They even claimed the Fifth Academy lacked the ability to find their own targets and could only trail behind them, picking up scraps.

Truly shameless!

When Guang Xiaoyu heard the news, she flew into a rage. "Go! Deal with them for me!"

"Kill them?" Zi Ji asked, stunned.

Guang Xiaoyu’s mouth twitched. Wiping a bead of cold sweat from her brow, she realized her Junior Sister’s comprehension skills were truly lacking. "We’re all fellow disciples of Fairy Valley," she amended. "We can’t kill them."

"Then what should I do?" Zi Ji asked.

"If they make a move, you make a move. If they don’t, then just help the Fifth Academy disciples hunt ferocious beasts. Remember... be discreet," Guang Xiaoyu reiterated.

What she meant by that last part was that Zi Ji should moderate her strength when attacking and, while hunting ferocious beasts, try not to reveal too much of her capabilities or attract undue attention.

Unfortunately, she had still underestimated Zi Ji’s capacity for literal interpretation.