Chapter 157 Finding the Target

On a massive boulder, Shen Qingyun and the others sat or reclined, watching the numbers on the heavenly steelyard shift continuously and rapidly approach the top spot.

"The further along we get, the easier those strongholds are to find," Feng Chuxun remarked. Furthermore, the strongholds encountered lately were hardly low-tier; primary-level strongholds were practically non-existent.

"The real point is that they're trying hard enough, though defeating those guardians takes a fair bit of time," Shen Qingyun said, sitting atop the boulder and gazing up at the stele. "Zhan Yan no longer holds the advantage of moving alone."

Although Zhan Yan's strength was commendable, he was ultimately just one person. His only advantage was greater traveling speed without needing to worry about a group. His disadvantage was that two fists could hardly match four hands, making the occupation of strongholds somewhat troublesome.

In contrast, while a larger team sacrificed some traveling speed, they were incomparably faster when it came to eliminating stronghold guardians.

Feng Chuxun frowned and asked, "Boss, are we just going to sit here and watch them surpass us?"

Shen Qingyun gave a slight nod. According to his plan, it was best to let them surpass him—ideally uncovering every single stronghold hidden within the mystic realm! Plundering them right now would yield little actual effect, as no one knew how many high-tier strongholds still remained in the realm. Doing so prematurely would undoubtedly grant those people a second chance at resurrection, leading to needless trouble later on.

"But if we just sit here and do nothing, it's rather boring," the large black wolf whined lazily as it lay on the ground.

Shen Qingyun reached out and grasped a handful of the spiritual energy saturating the mystic realm, speaking calmly, "Actually, I find it quite boring too, but for now, we simply have to endure. The spiritual energy here is quite decent; let's settle our minds and cultivate for a while. We won't have much time for rest afterward."

"Fine, Lord Wolf shall quiet down and engage in the rare luxury of cultivation!" The large black wolf stood up, changed its posture, and let its front legs fold downward. For a wolf, cultivation ultimately meant lying down to sleep.

Shen Qingyun and Feng Chuxun exchanged amused glances, and then Feng Chuxun also composed his mind to continue comprehending his sword intent. Shen Qingyun did not cultivate; instead, he stared blankly at the stele in the sky.

Soon, golden light scattered once again from the firmament. The position that had belonged to Shen Qingyun was squeezed downward, replaced by the name Yan Mutuge.

Shortly after, Shen Qingyun, who had dropped to second place, was replaced by a third.

The people within the mystic realm looked up at the stele in the sky with lingering perplexity. Shen Qingyun's points remained completely unchanged, yet his ranking kept plummeting, on the verge of falling off the leaderboard entirely.

"What's wrong with this Shen Qingyun? Did he lose his edge?"

"Surely not. He was insanely fierce at the beginning."

"Then how do you explain the fact that he isn't moving at all right now?"

"Uh... well, I suppose he did lose his edge."

Because Shen Qingyun had been far too conspicuous in the beginning, his current motionless state motivated quite a few people to begin frantically searching for strongholds to earn points.

Clashes and scrambles occurred frequently within the mystic realm.

Only the top ten individuals were qualified to have their names inscribed on the stele. Once Shen Qingyun's name dropped out of the rankings, fewer and fewer people paid attention to him, reducing him to a topic of casual conversation during brief rests after stronghold battles.

Five days later, the statue-like figure on the giant boulder finally moved. Tapping his fingers lightly against his knee, Shen Qingyun slowly spoke, "It's time for us to make a move."

As his voice fell, the two dormant figures began to awaken as well. A terrifying surge of sword intent shot straight into the sky, its sharpness dazzling to the eye. The other figure slowly stood up as well, resembling a revived primordial beast.

After withdrawing his sword intent, Feng Chuxun stood up in silence, his eyes appearing deeper and more composed.

"We can finally move; Lord Wolf's bones were practically rusting," the large black wolf complained.

"Target," Feng Chuxun stated concisely. Who was the first target?

Hearing this, Shen Qingyun gazed far into the distance. Over there, a team was slowly approaching their direction.

"Let's use you lot to get back into the swing of things."

Shen Qingyun smiled faintly, and amidst his words, his figure mysteriously vanished.

This team had not the slightest inkling that danger was descending upon them. The group consisted of six members in total, with their overall strength hovering above the mid-stage of the Spirit Phase realm, including two late-stage Spirit Phase practitioners. Such a lineup was very common within the mystic realm.

The two late-stage Spirit Phase practitioners were the ones truly qualified to participate in this contest for supremacy, while the mid-stage practitioners were likely nothing more than an entourage.

Dust kicked up, and the two late-stage Spirit Phase practitioners immediately became alert, raising their hands to signal the team to halt. Their eyes flashed with vigilance as they gazed forward.

Amidst the swirling dust, a human figure abruptly materialized.

As the dust settled, the two late-stage Spirit Phase practitioners coldly scrutinized the youth's figure. The one on the right spoke with a chilling tone, demanding, "Who are you?"

"Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is you lot—hand over all your points."

Hearing this, the members of the team exchanged flashing glances, their mouths curling into cold sneers. Was this fellow a complete idiot? Could he not even perceive the disparity in numbers?

"Who wants to go wake him up?" someone in the team asked, his tone dripping with flattery and utter disdain for Shen Qingyun.

"Never mind, I'm afraid low IQ might be contagious," someone replied with a light chuckle.

Some even crossed their arms in front of their chests, wearing expressions of spectators watching a good show.

"Come, come, we're right here waiting for you to rob us," the mocking voice of the team drifted into Shen Qingyun's ears. "We just worry your stomach is too small and you'll choke yourself."

Shen Qingyun chuckled softly. "You people are truly kind-hearted, still worrying about whether I can swallow you whole."

"However, your worries are entirely superfluous. To me, you are nothing more than a few small fish and shrimp."

"What did you say?!"

"You courting death, you fool!" The team's expressions turned icy, and the looks they directed at Shen Qingyun surged with fierce anger.

"I'll go deal with him!"

A burly youth stepped out from the ranks, fixing a ferocious, sneering glare on Shen Qingyun and baring a row of stark white teeth.

"Kid, one punch from me might just kill you!" the burly youth sneered coldly.

Hearing this, Shen Qingyun showed no trace of fear; instead, he wore an eager expression, as if itching for a fight. This caused the burly youth to feel deeply insulted, prompting him to beat his chest with a roar and charge toward Shen Qingyun in huge strides.

Bang!

Almost simultaneously, spiritual energy gathered upon the burly youth's fist—whether it was the turbulent spiritual energy or the sonic boom generated by his sleeve tearing through the air, none could tell.

Shen Qingyun smiled faintly and casually threw a punch. Fists of completely disproportionate sizes collided. Amidst the incredulous gazes of the onlookers, the burly youth's arm twisted in a manner defying human capability, accompanied by a miserable wriek.

"Your punch felt limp and soft, lacking any real power," Shen Qingyun said, withdrawing his fist and curling his lip as if the burly youth's strike had failed to satisfy him.

Behind the burly youth, the expressions of the remaining five shifted drastically. The team captain on the left wore a frosty expression. "Damn it, we've run into a tough nut pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger."

"Attack together, take him down!"

The two late-stage Spirit Phase practitioners coordinated exceptionally well. Two formidable auras of spiritual energy expanded outward, and with a single step forward, they shattered the ground into intricate cracks.

Though they were merely ordinary late-stage Spirit Phase practitioners within their academy, their ability to combine forces allowed them to erupt with more than double the power of two individuals, which was how they had managed to stand out during the selections.

However, their opponent was Shen Qingyun—a person who defied all conventional logic.

In the Spirit Phase realm, regardless of the stage, anyone before him was utterly insignificant.

The violent spiritual energy whipped up fierce gales that caused Shen Qingyun's white robes to flutter violently. Yet, as he watched the oncoming figures, Shen Qingyun merely smiled faintly, his five fingers curling into a virtual grip as a golden painted halberd materialized in his hand.

Whoosh...

The painted halberd swept through the air, drawing a golden semicircle and producing a piercing sound as it shattered the air.

Those individuals only felt a golden flash before their eyes accompanied by a fierce gale. The moment they came into contact with the painted halberd, a colossal force surged directly into their bodies and erupted violently. Immediately afterward, a strange flush rushed to their faces, and they spat out mouthfuls of blood.

Shen Qingyun swept his halberd across, sending the figures flying backward. Skidding across the ground, they left deep gouges in the earth, their pristine robes torn to shreds.

Not a single person had the strength left to stand. The blood spilling from their mouths stained their collars and faces; bleeding from all seven orifices was likely the extent of it.

Shen Qingyun walked over at a leisurely pace and squatted down in front of the late-stage Spirit Phase practitioner who had spoken earlier, wearing a benign expression. "Now, would you mind handing over your points?"

"Cough..."

The late-stage Spirit Phase practitioner's eyes lost their luster, and with a twitch of his finger, a beam of spiritual light flew out from between his brows. Seeing this, Shen Qingyun waved a hand and accepted it without ceremony.

In the sky, the stele continued to shift, but the rankings remained unchanged.

In other words, the points Shen Qingyun had just acquired were still insufficient to put him back on the leaderboard.

However, this was well within expectations and entirely acceptable.

Turning his head, he saw two figures approaching at high speed.

"Boss, why do you always run so fast?"

The large black wolf's voice echoed from afar.

Feng Chuxun arrived before Shen Qingyun, glanced down at the figures lying on the ground, and asked indifferently, "Are they weak?"

Shen Qingyun's gaze drifted into the distance as he let out a long breath. "Weak."

Hearing Shen Qingyun utter this single word, the late-stage Spirit Phase practitioner at his feet spat out yet another mouthful of blood.

"Don't get cocky. We're merely the weakest ones from Tingfeng Academy," the late-stage Spirit Phase practitioner gritted out through his teeth.

"No wonder the boss said you were weak. Turns out you admit yourselves that you're weak," the large black wolf trotted over, shaking its head as it spoke.

"You..."

Upon seeing the large black wolf, the late-stage Spirit Phase practitioner's blood-stained face shifted dramatically. Gazing up at Shen Qingyun in shock, he blurted out, "You... you're Shen Qingyun?!"

Shen Qingyun raised an eyebrow, looking down at him. "You recognize me?"

The late-stage Spirit Phase practitioner shook his head. "Didn't you give up on the supremacy contest?"

"Who told you that?"

"Everyone's saying it. Your ranking plummeted straight down, and rumor has it you abandoned the contest."

Hearing this, Shen Qingyun raised his head to glance at the stele in the sky and chuckled lightly. "It seems resting for a few days has led quite a few people to develop misconceptions about me."

"Let's move!"

Shen Qingyun flicked his sleeve and turned around, his gaze as deep and boundless as a vast sea of stars. If keeping a low profile only led people to forget, then his return would be announced with overwhelming force, shocking everyone.

I, Shen Qingyun, have returned!

"Boss, who's the target?" The large black wolf asked with great enthusiasm, seemingly influenced by the aura Shen Qingyun was now exuding.

Feng Chuxun also cast his gaze forward, harboring a faint sense of anticipation.

Shen Qingyun looked toward the stele, fixing his eyes first on the top-ranked Yan Mutuge, before letting his gaze drift downward. "Let the number one spot earn a few more points for us later on. Sixth place seems quite suitable."

"Let's go with sixth place!"

The large black wolf and Feng Chuxun looked up. Sixth place: Xia Jixuan, with 872 points.