Chapter 408

Chapter 408: Passing Off Fish Eyes as Pearls, Shameless Boasting
Around the Dao Arena were companions Yu Zhao knew well.

There were close friends who were like her dearest brothers and sisters, teammates who had fought by her side, and enemies who could not stand the sight of each other.

But Yu Zhao did not feel relaxed at all. Instead, her heart felt incredibly heavy.

Because just now, she had gone against Dao Lord Tai Wei’s wishes.

As she lowered her eyes, she made another shocking discovery.

Right now, she could not recall Dao Lord Tai Wei’s appearance at all.

Clearly, she had just been looking up and speaking to the other woman, but what remained in her memory now was a face so blurred she could not make out any features.

Having tasted the Divine Ability of a Mahayana Cultivator, Yu Zhao felt even more uneasy.

Dao Lord Tai Wei said calmly: “Yu Zhao, you may be a genius in this Small World, but you must know that the Northern Region is full of geniuses. Even the person at the bottom of the Northern Region Heaven’s Chosen Ranking is an Integration Stage Cultivator.

“Before you grow up, you are nothing, and you are even less qualified to bargain with me. Do you understand?”

Once Dao Lord Tai Wei realized that Yu Zhao was not as obedient as she had imagined, she took back her leniency. Her voice became so cold that it carried no warmth at all, yet it somehow felt only natural.

Yu Zhao said nothing.

The Cultivation World had done many things to restore the Heavenly Ladder. She was only one of many. Behind her stood the Seven Great Sects, Bai Ling who had poured out her heart and blood, Nine-Tails, and many others she knew or did not know.

How could Yu Zhao be selfish enough to throw away the future of all the cultivators in the Cultivation World just for her own prospects?

So even though she knew what she did might anger Dao Lord Tai Wei, she still chose to do it.

She had no other reason.

She only wanted to face her own heart without regret.

Dao Lord Tai Wei said: “Since this is your first offense, I, a Dao Lord Realm cultivator, will not hold it against you. If you want me to repair the passage of the Small World as soon as possible, then be smart and show your worth. Do not let me, a Dao Lord Realm cultivator, be happy for nothing.”

Yu Zhao answered quietly: “Yes, this junior understands.”

The odds were stronger than she was.

In front of a Mahayana Cultivator, the only thing Yu Zhao could do was obey.

In truth, with Yu Zhao’s proud nature, she did not need pressure from outside. She would never relax her demands on herself.

But now, with Dao Lord Tai Wei’s words that were both a threat and a spur, Yu Zhao tightened another string inside herself and did not dare slack off at all.

Seeing her nod and agree, Dao Lord Tai Wei’s mood finally improved a little.

“Time is almost up,” Dao Lord Tai Wei said. “If they still cannot wake up, it will be very hard for them to ever wake. You can count it as having saved them once.”

It took Yu Zhao a moment to react before she understood what Dao Lord Tai Wei meant.

Her back turned cold, and a chill surged through her heart.

The Dao Arena was meant to be a place to preach the Dao and clear doubts, but in Dao Lord Tai Wei’s eyes it looked more like a harsh elimination match.

Only those who won had a chance to keep living and gain great opportunities. Those who lost would become nameless stepping stones, dying without a sound.

Yu Zhao did not dare imagine it. If she had not understood the Path of Reincarnation, would everyone present here have died?

And if the people who stayed behind in the Cultivation World never saw them return, what kind of feelings would they carry in their hearts?

Many thoughts flashed across Yu Zhao’s mind, but in fact it all happened in just an instant.

Dao Lord Tai Wei waved her sleeve, and a burst of golden light scattered out.

Part of the golden light covered her face again, while the rest drifted down over the others. Very soon, someone cried out and struggled awake from the spell.

Among everyone, Ye Cong Xin was the latest to wake up.

Stranger still, there was no sudden shock in her eyes. There was only the drowsy confusion of someone who had just woken up from sleep.

Dao Lord Tai Wei announced: “The sermon is over. Among you, only Yu Zhao has grasped the true meaning of the Cycle of Reincarnation. I, a Dao Lord Realm cultivator, will take Yu Zhao as my disciple and bring her to the Bei Ming Realm.

“If any of you later have the chance to leave this Small World, you may also come to the Bei Ming Realm and continue this bond.”

In the past, when Dao Lord Tai Wei dismissed people, she had never said such words. This time, because she had found a piece of uncut jade, she rarely spoke a few extra lines.

But she never thought that after Yu Zhao, there would actually be someone else bold enough to go against her.

After she announced that she would take Yu Zhao as a disciple, everyone present reacted in their own way. Most were happy and proud for Yu Zhao. Only Ye Cong Xin almost crushed her own palms and ground her teeth to pieces.

Again, it was Yu Zhao.

She had stolen Fang Cheng Lang’s attention, stolen Cui Jue’s attention, stolen Master Qing Yan’s attention. Why did even the attention of a Dao Lord Realm expert from the Upper Realm have to be taken by her?

She had clearly become good enough already, so why, in everyone’s eyes, could they only see Yu Zhao and not her?

Why did Yu Zhao not need to snatch or fight, yet still have everything?

[Why! Why! Why!]

Ye Cong Xin suddenly stood up, and the gentle beauty in her brows was filled with thick hostility and jealousy. She shouted: “I am not convinced!”

She glared at Dao Lord Tai Wei and pointed at Yu Zhao as she said: “She and I are both at Mid Nascent Soul Stage. Why did you pick her and not me? I can do better than she can!”

Dao Lord Tai Wei said coldly: “Passing off fish eyes as pearls, boasting without shame.”

Dao Lord Tai Wei’s cultivation was limited by this place, but not her eyesight.

With one glance she could tell that something was wrong with Ye Cong Xin. She had only been too lazy to bother with her and had not exposed her. Yet the girl still dared to stand up and shout, even wanting to compare herself with Yu Zhao. She truly did not know how high the heavens were.

“Passing off fish eyes as pearls?” Ye Cong Xin repeated in a daze.

Her body swayed, and her face turned pale in an instant.

The inferiority she had tried so hard to hide had been ripped open in front of everyone, raw and bare.

Ye Cong Xin felt as if everyone else’s gazes were like sharp blades, cutting her into pieces until no part of her was left whole.

In her heart, she screamed: [System! System!]

She forced herself not to shake and kept calling out to the System in her mind.

As expected, the System gave her no answer.

Ye Cong Xin slowly lifted her head and stared straight at Yu Zhao.

Yu Zhao could clearly see the naked hatred in Ye Cong Xin’s eyes toward her, so strong it made one’s heart tremble.

Yu Zhao asked quietly: “Why do you hate me?”

Yu Zhao had never understood. Whether in her previous life or this one, she had rarely had contact with Ye Cong Xin.

Especially in this life, she wished she could avoid Ye Cong Xin, yet Ye Cong Xin still bore a grudge against her and even seemed to hate her more than in the previous life.

Yu Zhao really could not figure it out.

Where could such baseless hatred between two people come from?

Fang Cheng Lang, Su Ming, and the others also looked at Ye Cong Xin in confusion.

They, too, did not know the reason.

Ye Cong Xin curled her lips and let out a cold laugh. She said: “Yu Zhao, you really do not know why I hate you.”

Yu Zhao frowned slightly.

[Could there really be some past between me and Ye Cong Xin that I somehow forgot? Why do I have no memory of it at all?]

“It seems you really did forget.” Ye Cong Xin suddenly turned to look at Cui Jue and said: “Cui Jue, you do not remember either?”

Cui Jue had not thought this matter had anything to do with him, but when Ye Cong Xin brought him up, he racked his brains. Only with great effort did he dig up a fragment from long-ago memories.

At the same time, Yu Zhao also finally remembered a past event that involved Cui Jue and Ye Cong Xin.

Come to think of it, she had been the one who caused Cui Jue and Ye Cong Xin to meet for the first time.

That was in her fourth year after joining Lone Moon Peak. On the road, she had run into Ye Cong Xin, who had fallen ill and was lying unconscious.

Out of kindness, Yu Zhao had carried Ye Cong Xin back to where she lived and had even invited Cui Jue over to treat Ye Cong Xin.

From then on, Ye Cong Xin had more and more contact with Lone Moon Peak.

The crease between Yu Zhao’s brows deepened.

[She helped Ye Cong Xin, yet Ye Cong Xin hated her for it instead?]

[What kind of logic was that?]

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