Duan Rong continued to move forward, staying close to Xiao Yu.
After crossing the white line and moving a few more steps, Xiao Yu suddenly trembled. She hesitated to place her foot down.
Fear surged in her eyes, draining the color from her face!
Slowly, Xiao Yu lowered her raised foot back to its original spot, while Duan Rong turned to look at her.
Xiao Yu gave a bitter smile to Duan Rong, saying, "This is as far as I go. Duan Rong, you go ahead. I’ll be here, watching you."
Her gaze truly fixed on him when she said she would watch him.
Duan Rong felt stirred, nodded slightly, then turned his gaze beyond the three-zhang distance to the red line, and further towards the ritual platform.
In front of the Great Cauldron at the center of the platform, Jiang Hanyan was sitting cross-legged, absorbed in playing the zither, eyes lowered, regarding all life as if nonexistent.
The sound of the zither echoed like a tide in the Deep Valley...
Looking ahead, Duan Rong saw Ximen Kankan had already moved in front of Shen Mizi.
Just as Duan Rong reached Shen Mizi’s side, her right foot slightly lifted, her body suddenly trembled, and she looked shocked!
Duan Rong knew that the position Shen Mizi had reached was already her Divine Soul’s limit. Just moments before, she felt the sensation of death.
Yet, the fear in Shen Mizi’s eyes transformed into intense mania in an instant. She grinned wickedly and resolutely stepped forward by half a step.
The next moment, she fainted beside Duan Rong.
However, after crossing the white line, the registered disciples who fainted were not carried away but left to lie there.
Duan Rong glanced at Shen Mizi and shook his head slightly.
Shen Mizi and Xiao Yu are truly two different types of people.
Xiao Yu, upon sensing the feeling of death, withdrew her foot; she would not choose to take the risk.
Because she has someone behind her, someone in her eyes.
Behind her stands Xiao Zongting and Zhu Xiaoqi.
And Duan Rong knows that her gaze is currently fixed on his back.
But Shen Mizi, has no one behind her, nor anyone in her eyes. Although she has Shen Yanliu as a father, Shen Yanliu is blinded by ambition, only wanting to climb higher, often neglecting her feelings.
During the Talent Selection Conference, Duan Rong noticed that deep within Shen Mizi’s heart resides an obstinate and crazed wounded soul.
Duan Rong walked past Shen Mizi and continued forward. The pressure on the Divine Soul grew heavier as he proceeded.
Not far ahead, Ximen Kankan had reached the red line, only to suddenly tremble with his fleshy body.
Ximen Kankan involuntarily shrunk his neck.
On the peak of a solitary mountain in the southeast of the Deep Valley.
Zhu He sat in his seat, gently stroking his beard, gaze fixed on the figure at the center of the ritual platform, with the serene sound of the zither drifting towards him.
Zhu He couldn’t help but praise, "Sister Lin, it seems that Hanyan’s skill in the Tide Clearing Heart Spell has progressed significantly in three years!"
Lin Youjian turned his eyes, saying, "Do you think my Hanyan has been wasting away for three years? Why wouldn’t she improve?"
Zhu He was taken aback, but he only grumbled internally, thinking he never expressed disapproval of Hanyan’s progress, and didn’t retort to Lin Youjian.
Seeing Zhu He’s discomfiture, Lin Youjian’s expression softened, saying, "Still, Hanyan’s Tide Clearing Heart Spell only works on the periphery. Beyond that red line, it’s all up to themselves."
Lv Zhongtang suddenly declared, "The periphery is sufficient. Those who can cross the red line have strong Divine Souls and won’t easily die from soul shattering."
At that moment, Ge Rusong, sitting beside Lv Zhongtang, suddenly said, "Look, someone is retreating back there?"
"Where?"
"Where?"
The elders atop the mountain clearly became interested.
"Over here, at the entrance of the gorge." Ge Rusong stood up and pointed.
Ge Rusong was pointing at the entrance where Duan Rong and the others were, the one retreating was Ximen Kankan.
"That kid, I just saw him. Near the red line, he couldn’t cross. Others are pushing against it, but he’s already retreating." a smiling elder remarked.
"He doesn’t feel comfortable staying there. What a slick one." Ge Rusong continued, "Even if he achieves the Qi Vortex Realm someday, I wouldn’t accept such a person as my disciple."
After finishing his sentence, Ge Rusong suddenly sneezed.
He could not have foreseen being contradicted by this statement years later.
Duan Rong was walking when he noticed Ximen Kankan retreating.
Ximen Kankan reached Duan Rong’s side.
Duan Rong asked, "What are you doing?"
Ximen Kankan squinted at him and said, "It’s uncomfortable there, so I’m stepping back a bit."
Duan Rong was speechless. That kid!? The registered disciples around were mostly enduring, many had fainted, but this guy seemed to be the only one retreating.
Ximen Kankan retreated until he was not far from Xiao Yu, and then stopped, because stepping back further would cross the white line.
Xiao Yu looked at Ximen Kankan suspiciously, asking, "Why did you retreat?"
Ximen Kankan replied with a fearful expression, "That red line is terrifying; I want to stay farther from it."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu felt a chill, seeing Duan Rong approaching the red line.
She wished for Duan Rong to cross the red line, yet feared he would faint or get hurt. Her heart tangled with worry and hope, her tension knotting her hands together.