The Mystic Realm Blows Up

Drain! Keep draining! Drain like crazy! At this moment, Su Yu could not care less how much pressure Grandmaster was under. What kind of joke was that? What realm was his grandmaster at? An expert capable of taking on Sun and Moon cultivators! Besides, the willpower he was absorbing did not come from Grandmaster—it had been burned into existence using the Single Divine Character Faction's resources. It had no effect on Grandmaster, so Su Yu naturally was not going to worry too much. Willpower saturated? Leaking out? Far too much? None of that was a problem! His little hammer pounded away relentlessly! Compress! Purify! Toss the dross aside; all he wanted was pure willpower. All eighty divine apertures completely saturated? Could not hammer it down anymore? No problem! He could still open more. Keep opening them! He had plenty of divine apertures left to unlock—he could push all the way to one hundred and eighty if he wanted. With a full eighty divine apertures, his absorption rate reached an astonishing speed. An ordinary ninth-layer Lingyun only had seventy-two apertures open. Of course, Su Yu's willpower was slightly weaker, so his absorption speed did not actually match a true ninth-layer Lingyun's, but with eighty divine apertures, he was hardly slower than those at the seventh or eighth layer. Keep draining! Five hours, six hours... He absorbed continuously for a full twelve hours! Those twelve hours were twelve hours of nonstop, ravenous draining on Su Yu's part. He had no idea that the resources burning outside were already completely exhausted. They had burned away far too quickly! And in those twelve hours, Su Yu had brought his total to one hundred opened apertures! In twelve hours, he went from seventy-one to one hundred, opening twenty-nine divine apertures in one breath! That was far faster than before! By now, the thick barrier of willpower had grown substantially thinner. Su Yu's willpower fullness level could no longer be hammered down either; it had been forced all the way to around ninety percent. No matter how he struck it, the little hammer could not compress it any further. It was rock-solid! If he hammered any more, it would practically manifest, turning from intangible to tangible! Yet that required willpower manifestation to accomplish! Right now, Su Yu had not achieved manifestation, and the willpower had not poured out from his sea of will. If this went on, it was going to be hammered into a solid. …… While Su Yu was pounding away wildly, Hong Tan was on the verge of wanting to die. *I'm fine!* *I can hold out!* *I have to fool everyone into thinking I'm fine.* At this point, he genuinely was struggling to hold on. The absorption was too fast and too vast—a full one hundred divine apertures siphoning willpower, which was practically on par with a ninth-layer Lingyun. A Lingyun wildly and unrestrainedly siphoning willpower placed far too great a strain on the mystic realm. It was going to collapse! Hong Tan knew very well that if this continued, the mystic realm would truly cave in. But it absolutely could not collapse on his watch. Hong Tan's gaze swept around from the corners of his eyes. *Old Qi... you'll do! You're Fatty Xia's friend. I'll hand it over to you shortly. You take charge, and if it blows... it'll be your responsibility. Don't blame me. I can't hold on anymore! You aren't afraid of offending people, but I am. The Multiple Divine Characters Faction already has it hard enough. You'll just have to step up and hold the fort.* Even as these thoughts crossed Hong Tan's mind, his face remained as calm as still water. He drew off some of the willpower from Su Yu's side and scattered it throughout the mystic realm to keep it running and allow the others to cultivate, preventing anyone from noticing the signs that the realm was on the verge of collapse. By the time Old Qi took over, nothing would be left but a thin shell! Its collapse would take place in the blink of an eye. Of course, since the guy doing the draining was Su Yu, he had to give the kid advance warning to get lost and stop absorbing! Unable to speak? That was no problem! …… Inside the mystic realm. Su Yu was still cultivating. Although he felt the willpower thinning out slightly, it did not matter; less was fine. As he cultivated, the surrounding willpower barrier rippled. Su Yu looked up. The willpower wall was trembling. Gradually, a word appeared! *Run!* Yes, *Run!* Su Yu froze. What did that mean? *"Run!"* The writing grew increasingly distinct. Soon, the letters churned again: *"Going to blow!"* Su Yu was stunned! *Holy crap! What does that mean? Is the mystic realm going to blow, or is this spot going to blow? What kind of joke is this? Wasn't this mystic realm left behind by a Sun and Moon big shot? How could it blow?* Despite the endless questions swirling in his heart, Su Yu suppressed his panic and waited a moment longer. By now, the text had vanished, and the willpower wall was growing thinner and thinner. Su Yu could vaguely see the figures outside. Not daring to delay, he swiftly retracted his divine apertures and cloaked himself with the Shadow divine character. A barrier went up! Su Yu rose, maintaining his composure, and strode outward. Passing smoothly through the barrier with an unruffled expression, Su Yu caught the gazes of several people around him. Ji Xiaomeng, who was cultivating close beside Zhou Pingsheng, asked curiously, "Why aren't you cultivating anymore?" Everyone knew Hong Tan had set up a private session for Su Yu. Although Zhou Pingsheng and the others were displeased, they also knew that breaking through something created by a half-step Sun and Moon expert would be exceedingly difficult, and even if they succeeded, it could easily cause the mystic realm to destabilize. Therefore, despite knowing Su Yu was inside, none of them had forcefully shattered the willpower wall. Su Yu put on an amiable smile. "I'm only in the Yangxing Realm after all, so my capacity is limited. I'm already fully saturated, so there's no need to stay inside any longer." Saying that, Su Yu glanced at the crowd cultivating along the perimeter and chuckled. "Many thanks to the seniors of the Single Divine Character Faction. My willpower fullness has reached over ninety percent, and I've made great progress. Looks like the Tengkong Realm isn't far off!" Su Yu beamed from ear to ear. Hu Wensheng and Xia Yuwen merely glanced at him and ignored him. Zhou Pingsheng wore a frigid expression and remained silent. Liu Hong remarked playfully, "Su Yu, advancing so quickly—have you finished outlining your divine character? Could it be that you're planning to join our Single Divine Character Faction?" Su Yu chuckled. "Look at what you're saying. Aren't I already part of the divine character faction? Wait, no—the academy only has one divine character faction. There's no division between single and multiple." "..." Liu Hong chuckled, though suspicion stirred in his heart. Why had this kid stopped cultivating? Was he really saturated? That was possible! After all, from yesterday until now, nearly two full days had passed. Su Yu had absorbed a tremendous amount of willpower, so reaching saturation was only natural. Ignoring him, Su Yu headed toward the exit, saying as he walked, "To enter the mystic realm for free—I really must thank all the seniors. Sincere thanks! Please don't think I'm being sarcastic..." Su Yu looked utterly sincere! *I truly mean it! I'm grateful to you all!* *Such good people. It's just a pity I only managed to open one hundred divine apertures. Why did Grandmaster tell me to run? And what did he mean by saying it's going to blow? That shouldn't happen!* *I was planning to open at least one hundred and eight apertures. Fortunately, the willpower in my sea of will is currently at saturation, and all one hundred divine apertures are filled to the brim. Not bad at all! Once I head back and digest it, opening two or three more apertures won't be difficult. If that doesn't work, I'll reap another haul right before leaving. Even if I don't reach one hundred and eight, one hundred and five will be good enough to pass muster.* Su Yu walked over toward Wu Jia, scanning for people as he went. He did not care about the crowd behind him. With a group of Lingyun and Tengkong experts present, even if it blew up, it wouldn't hurt them. As for Ji Xiaomeng and the other students, that wasn't an issue either—those experts could easily shield them. If the Single Divine Character Faction dared fail to protect them, they might as well wait for death. If Ji Hong's daughter vanished inside a mystic realm, he would slaughter the lot of them! …… "Wu Lan!" Spotting Wu Lan along the way, Su Yu called out with a smile, "Saturated yet?" Wu Lan glanced at him, unwilling to pay him any attention. She had been saturated long ago! Right now, she was nurturing her divine characters! "Come on, let's head out together. The willpower over here is too dense..." Wu Lan was speechless. *What an idiot! The denser it is, the better it is for cultivation!* Su Yu actually had not wanted to call out to anyone, but Wu Lan was Wu Yuehua's grandniece, and Wu Yuehua was his... what was she? Martial Aunt? Almost like a martial mother? Something like that! Probably! He did not know the details; all he knew was that Teacher Liu and Wu Yuehua definitely shared an unusual history. What a shame for Teacher Liu. Teacher Liu had once said that women distracted one from cultivation, and his inability to enter the Tengkong Realm all these years might well have been influenced by women. No wonder he had warned him so earnestly! It made total sense; Teacher's advice came from personal experience, and he had clearly suffered for it. "Wu Lan, Xia Huyou called you trash and said he plans to challenge you to a spar. Did you know about that?" "..." The moment those words landed, Wu Lan stopped cultivating and stood up abruptly, demanding coldly, "Are you telling the truth?" "Absolutely!" Su Yu smiled. "I ran into him earlier, and he said it himself. He said you're far too arrogant relying on your sister and your grandaunt, and that he's been wanting to beat you up for a long time!" "Humph!" Wu Lan sneered. "Where is he?" "Up ahead..." Su Yu chuckled and, while walking, swiftly sent a voice transmission to Xia Huyou. …… At the same time. Xia Huyou pulled out his communication talisman and checked the message from Su Yu. *"Wu Lan is looking to spar with you. My bad—I casually remarked that you're very strong, definitely not trash, and that being Upper-Medium is quite impressive. But she refused to accept it and insisted on challenging you. Go ahead and deal with her."* "..." Xia Huyou wanted to curse! *What does that have to do with me?! Instead of cultivating, why the hell did Su Yu go run his mouth to Wu Lan? That bastard isn't deliberately screwing me over, is he?* Glancing at Wu Jia not far away, Xia Huyou suddenly beamed. "Senior Sister Wu Jia, Su Yu just said he finished cultivating alongside Wu Lan and is heading back. He asked you to be a bit gentler with her. Wu Lan is proud by nature and looks down on everyone, so please don't take it to heart, and don't pick a fight with her for no reason..." Wu Jia frowned at him. "Why didn't Junior Brother tell me himself?" "He was afraid of making things awkward!" Xia Huyou offered an embarrassed chuckle. "Isn't he worried you two might get into a quarrel? Elder Wu is an ally of your faction—a close friend, in fact. How awkward would it be if you clashed? Senior Sister Wu Jia, once Wu Lan arrives, she might try to pick a bone. That's just... the way she is, so don't mind her. Of course, she isn't familiar with you, but she takes aim at all women. She might pick a bone with me first just to drag you into it..." "Pick a bone with you to drag me into it?" Wu Jia frowned. *Her picking on you has nothing to do with me.* Xia Huyou laughed. "That's just her temper—she's an expert at throwing indirect insults. When she gets here, she'll probably call me trash, but she'll really be taking jabs at you. After all, Senior Sister was... cough, heavily injured before..." Wu Jia's expression darkened! Xia Huyou hurriedly smoothed things over with a smile. "Of course, while she has a nasty temper, she isn't genuinely malicious. She admires the strong. If you can spar with her and teach her a lesson, she'll behave right away. That's just how she is!" As Xia Huyou spoke, he breathed a quiet sigh of relief in his heart. *Go ahead and fight! You women can duke it out; I'm not getting dragged into this. That bastard Su Yu definitely set me up on purpose. Giving tit for tat and letting his senior sister take the heat isn't crossing the line, right?* Wu Jia huffed. "I enrolled earlier than her. Why would I bother sparring with her!" "Senior Sister, you've got it wrong. It's not a spar; it's teaching her a lesson. You have to put her in her place. Otherwise, constantly being sneered at as trash... to be honest, I feel terrible on your behalf!" Xia Huyou egged her on a bit more, and Wu Jia fell silent. It was hard to tell whether she had tacitly agreed or simply had no intention of responding. After chatting a while longer, Su Yu returned from the distance. Sure enough, Wu Lan was trailing right behind him! Meanwhile, Su Yu was busy notifying Zhang Hao and the others to find a spot where the willpower was thinner, so they would not be caught up in the fallout if the mystic realm blew up. The moment Wu Lan arrived, her glare locked onto Xia Huyou! Her eyes were hostile, but at least she had the sense to ask what had happened. "Xia Huyou, you want to spar with me?" Xia Huyou cursed furiously in his heart! *Damn it! Su Yu, you bastard, you really did screw me over. Good thing I'm clever!* "Nothing of the sort..." Xia Huyou denied it with a dry laugh. "Su Yu told you that? That guy was talking nonsense on purpose. I never said that..." As he spoke, he shot a glance toward Wu Jia over to the side. He signaled Wu Lan: *See that? I didn't say it! Wu Jia said it! Go give her a hard time instead!* Seeing him winking and grimacing, Wu Lan looked disgusted and snapped, "You dare say it, but you don't dare own up to it—trash! If you really want to spar, I'm ready anytime!" "..." Xia Huyou felt utterly exhausted. *Damn it, that was completely lost on you! Couldn't you read my signal? You're not usually this stupid! You have a terrible temper, but your brain normally works fine; it's just your emotional intelligence that's lacking. How could you fail to grasp my hint?!* Before he could say anything, Su Yu smiled and said, "Since Brother Xia has yielded, let's drop it! Wu Lan, don't hold it against him. Brother Xia isn't a bad person; he just has a bit of a loose tongue. Since we're all gathered here, we might as well chat about our insights in cultivation. Our realms are fairly similar anyway..." Su Yu had already seen through it—Fatty Xia was actually trying to egg his senior sister into a fight! That guy was truly wicked at heart! Wu Lan snorted, while Xia Huyou shot a glance at Su Yu and curled his lip. The two exchanged a knowing look. Neither of them was a saint; neither had any right to judge the other. Forget it, no point fussing over this. What Xia Huyou was more curious about was why Su Yu had brought Wu Lan over in the first place. Ignoring Wu Lan's scornful glare, Xia Huyou smiled and said, "Wu Lan, Senior Sister Wu Jia has something to discuss with you. You two chat first while Su Yu and I talk for a moment!" With that, he pulled Su Yu aside, lowering his voice as they walked. "What are you doing? Do you take me for a nanny? You expect me to look after two of them?" "No!" Su Yu glanced around and murmured, "Be careful in a bit. This place is going to blow!" "..." Xia Huyou was utterly astonished. What did that mean? Going to blow? "How could that be? This place is a Sun and Moon Mystic Realm after all. Unless the consumption is so excessive that the willpower becomes imbalanced and can no longer sustain the realm's operation, it won't collapse and throw everyone out..." As he spoke, his eyes flickered. He looked at Su Yu, completely stunned. *Holy crap, no way! Did you drain the willpower here until it was practically bone-dry? That makes no sense! Even if you opened forty or fifty apertures, you'd only equal an eighth- or ninth-layer Tengkong at most. There's no reason it should be this fragile.* Su Yu shrugged, not bothering to reply. In any case, that was what Grandmaster had said! He did not think he had absorbed that much either, but Grandmaster had told him to run and said it was going to blow. He had no choice but to take it seriously. "Whatever. In any case, it's going to blow." Su Yu added, "Probably not right now, though. At least not until the next person takes over." Based on his assessment, that was likely correct. Grandmaster wasn't the kind of person to let a mess blow up in his own face—would he ever agree to that? Telling him to run early was probably also to clear him of suspicion. Now that he had stepped away, the only ones left in that dense zone were several Tengkong and Lingyun cultivators. Even if it truly blew up, they would be the ones who caused it. It had nothing to do with him, and nothing to do with Grandmaster! Right now, the willpower was concentrated there, and everyone else was gathered in that area. If they absorbed too much and collapsed the mystic realm, that was only natural—there were several Lingyun experts among them, after all. Xia Huyou understood immediately and said quickly, "So that means there's still some time?" "Pretty much." Xia Huyou clicked his tongue. Hong Tan was currently in charge; was he already preparing to pass the buck? To whom? Could it be Elder Qi? Before entering, that seemed to have been the arrangement. *This Hong Tan... he's truly ruthless!* A transmission talisman appeared in his hand... Su Yu blinked, looking at him. Xia Huyou looked back, completely unruffled. "What? Transmission talismans work inside the mystic realm too. I'll notify Elder Qi not to wade into these muddy waters and let the Single Divine Character Faction keep going instead. In any case, they've rested for a day and should be recovered by now." Su Yu stood there in a daze! *Damn it! I actually forgot about that! I should have used a transmission talisman to coordinate with Grandmaster! Why the hell did we have to guess each other's intentions?!* He was utterly speechless! Su Yu had forgotten all about it and had not thought of it. Hong Tan probably hadn't thought of it either—why bother using transmission talismans when communicators were usually far more convenient? "Wait a second..." Su Yu said hurriedly. "This Elder Qi... won't sell us out, will he?" "How could he!" Xia Huyou whispered. "He's an old friend of my sec—cough, of Marquis Xia! In truth, he's a representative of our Xia family. Of course, not Xia Yuwen's branch, but the representative of... the direct lineage, the one Xia Chan and the rest of us belong to." Su Yu felt tired. *You're really persistent! Is this your final stand? You just refuse to admit your identity, don't you? Between the two of us, who are you trying to fool?* As Xia Huyou spoke, he sent the transmission, then added quickly, "No, I have to find Xia Chan so she doesn't get hurt. While the collapse of a mystic realm isn't a catastrophic event, it's still troublesome for someone in the Yangxing Realm. If she gets injured, my sec—Marquis Xia will definitely settle scores with me, and he'll come after you too. Don't think you can hide anything from my... second grandfather!" Forget it, he was done pretending. Chatting with someone who already knew his identity while trying to maintain the disguise was simply exhausting. Su Yu rolled his eyes! *Done pretending now?* "That works, but don't make it too obvious. After all, Xia Chan joined the Single Divine Character Faction..." Xia Huyou dismissed it nonchalantly. "What does that matter? Single or multiple is your division. To the Xia family, whether it's single or multiple, they're all people of the Xia household. That's the plain truth. As long as the Single Divine Character Faction doesn't oppose the Xia family, they're on our side. You don't need to overthink it. Just because I'm closer to you doesn't mean the Xia family favors your faction. The Xia family generally holds the bowl level, unless someone truly displeases them!" Su Yu nodded. That was true. From the perspective of the Xia family, whether single or multiple, so long as they did not oppose the Great Xia Prefecture, they were all their subjects. The current friction with the Single Divine Character Faction had nothing to do with anything else; in Su Yu's view, it was primarily because the Single Divine Character Faction seemed to have become entangled with the Great Zhou Prefecture, which had earned the Xia family's displeasure. Su Yu did not dwell on it and said casually, "Suit yourself. Just find a place where the willpower is thinner, and the impact shouldn't be too severe. Just don't run toward Zhou Pingsheng's side." Then he added, "Help me look after my senior sister, and Wu Lan too... I need to make one more trip." "Where to?" Su Yu grinned. "Drain a bit more. Can't let it go to waste—once it blows, it'll all be gone." Xia Huyou was rendered utterly speechless. He sighed helplessly. *He loves money more than his own life! Even at a time like this, the guy still wants to squeeze out one last harvest.* …… Su Yu ignored him. He walked over and spoke briefly to Wu Jia, telling her to stay with Xia Huyou, and also exchanged a few words with Wu Lan. As for how to keep Wu Lan in place, he left that to Xia Huyou. …… Leaving their side once more, Su Yu began wandering all over the place. A sip here, a gulp there—wherever the willpower was dense, he siphoned a bit. This was also for everyone else's safety, preventing the willpower from becoming so dense that it harmed people. It was all for the greater good! Stopping and starting along the way, Su Yu absorbed a considerable amount more. At this moment, hardly anyone was paying attention to him. Those in the Yangxing Realm were almost all saturated, mostly focusing on nurturing their divine characters. …… While Su Yu was wandering about, Hong Tan was genuinely struggling to hold out. It was not because of Su Yu's wandering absorption, but because the willpower had been reduced to a razor-thin layer. If people kept draining it, it would be entirely gone. An amount meant to last three days was now almost depleted. Seeing that the third day had not yet arrived, Hong Tan's willpower fluctuated slightly. Inside the main hall, Chen Yong suddenly spoke up: "Master, Junior Brother sent word saying his injuries have flared up. You should go back and take a look!" "What?" Hong Tan blinked in apparent surprise. "His injuries flared up?" With that, he glanced at Zhou Mingren and the others, frowning. "Fine, I'll go check on him first. Old Qi, come help me sustain the mystic realm's operation..." Over to the side, Elder Qi smiled. "Alright, you go ahead. I'll help you—" Mid-sentence, his expression shifted slightly. Outside the hall, someone rushed in out of breath and cried frantically, "Master, Little Nine knocked over a bottle from your experiment! For some reason, he suddenly collapsed unconscious!" "Impudent bastard!" Elder Qi flew into a rage on the spot. "That was a secret medicine meant for dealing with the Shanhai Realm... I have to go check on him. That worthless brat—I'm going to teach him a lesson today..." Mid-rant, as if suddenly remembering something, he turned urgently to Hong Tan. Hong Tan glanced back at him, his eyes flickering, before quickly saying, "Go fetch Manor Head Xia or Manor Head Su..." Beside them, Zhou Mingren frowned, clearly displeased. "I'll do it!" *Fetch Manor Head Xia or Manor Head Su? What does that mean? This mystic realm was opened by our faction! We only agreed not to interfere earlier because of the deal, but having rested until now, I've practically recovered. I can take over again.* "You..." Hong Tan said with dissatisfaction, "Are you planning to target our people again?" Zhou Mingren frowned. "Most of the students inside the mystic realm are from the Single Divine Character Faction. How many people does your faction even have in there? I'm not that bored, nor do I have the time to pick them out one by one!" The majority were their own people! He couldn't be bothered to distinguish them individually—did Hong Tan think that didn't consume energy? Hong Tan truly was petty to the extreme! Just as Hong Tan was about to speak, Chen Yong urged hurriedly, "Master, go back first! I'll keep watch here. Junior Brother's injuries flaring up is very troublesome!" "Fine..." Hong Tan sighed helplessly, sounding aggrieved. "It hasn't even been a full day yet..." What a regret! He hadn't even had the chance to give his two granddisciples another private session. With that, Hong Tan stepped back directly. Zhou Mingren swiftly took over! Without another word, Hong Tan departed in haste. Across from him, Elder Qi stepped out the door at the same time. The two exchanged a knowing glance, then went their separate ways, taking to the air. *None of our business! The Single Divine Character Faction took over of their own accord!* …… The moment Zhou Mingren took over, his brow furrowed. *It's so unstable! What's going on?* However, upon a general sweep of his senses, the willpower seemed reasonably dense, so it shouldn't be a major issue. Perhaps it was just that Zhou Pingsheng had absorbed too much willpower earlier, destabilizing the realm. It wasn't a big deal! He was still a cut below Hong Tan, after all, and Hong Tan was a cunning old fox who had coated the mystic realm with an outer shell of willpower. At the moment, it appeared relatively stable, so Zhou Mingren did not pay it much mind. Sensing the layout, he noted that the willpower had gathered in one place. One area was exceptionally dense, but that was also where many people were absorbing, so it seemed several Tengkong and Lingyun cultivators had gathered there. He did not alter the willpower distribution; leaving it concentrated was more practical anyway. Nearly half an hour later, both Hong Tan and Elder Qi returned. Elder Qi shot Hong Tan a surprised look. *You actually dared to come back?* Hong Tan couldn't be bothered with him. The moment he walked through the door, he announced, "Fortunately, it wasn't anything serious! Old Zhou, let me take over!" "No need!" Zhou Mingren replied flatly. "Switching personnel too frequently can easily cause the mystic realm to collapse. There's no need to switch!" Hong Tan frowned and said hurriedly, "Then seeing as nearly two days have passed, let Old Qi take over..." Just as Zhou Mingren was about to speak, Elder Qi chuckled. "Whatever works. If Old Zhou can hold out, let him handle it." He wasn't going to fight for it! Hong Tan's return at this juncture couldn't possibly be out of goodwill; watching the show was far more likely. That fellow's heart was pitch-black through and through. He had even made a show of offering to take over! …… Meanwhile. Inside, Su Yu sensed the distribution of willpower and swiftly sent a voice transmission to Xia Huyou: *"What did Elder Qi say?"* *"Your grandmaster ran off long ago and is watching the show right now!"* Su Yu's heart leaped. *Grandmaster is impressive! That means it has nothing to do with Grandmaster anymore.* *"Get ready, don't get hurt!"* Su Yu offered a brief warning and sprinted toward the area with the densest willpower. Along the way, he continued absorbing willpower, leaving behind nothing more than a wafer-thin shell. Upon reaching the zone of greatest density, Su Yu did not dare get too close. Keeping his distance, he rapidly absorbed the willpower while making sure the sensing jade did not change color. He drank it in faster and faster! When the sensing jade shifted slightly in hue, indicating that someone seemed to have noticed and was reaching out with their perception, Su Yu unleashed the Shadow divine character. Cloaking himself, he fled in an instant. Before leaving, he did not forget to take one final, massive gulp. With that, the already fragile willpower was completely drained away! …… At that exact instant. Zhou Mingren froze! A small vacuum suddenly opened up inside the mystic realm. Just as he went to mobilize willpower from elsewhere to patch it up... the moment he channeled it—*fuck, the other areas are empty!* *It's paper-thin!* Zhou Mingren was stunned for a heartbeat, then the realization slammed into him. He whipped his head around, glaring furiously at Hong Tan! *You bastard!* "Quick, help stabilize the realm!" Zhou Mingren roared! He bellowed frantically, "The mystic realm is about to collapse—" At those words, the other elders blanched. Hong Tan and Elder Qi exchanged a glance and stepped forward to help without hesitation. As he moved, Hong Tan barked, "You idiot! I offered to take over just now, but you insisted on holding on! Damn it all, if anything happens to my granddisciples, I'll never let you off!" Zhou Mingren's lungs nearly exploded with rage! *Damn it! Curse your entire ancestral line! Do you dare say you actually intended to take over just now? You bastard! You probably realized something was wrong ages ago and ran off on purpose. If it was going to collapse, couldn't you have given advance warning?! You just had to drag me down with you!* Zhou Mingren had no time to argue with him. His willpower erupted as he roared, forcefully holding the mystic realm's entrance stable while bellowing at the top of his lungs, "Everyone inside, stop cultivating—" *BOOM!* The moment the words left his mouth, a tremendous explosion rang out! *Rumble!* The shockwave flipped the roof clean off the entire hall! In the next instant, silhouettes were hurled out of the fractured space! *Pfft!* Figures materialized one after another. The first to appear were Zhou Pingsheng and his group, all of them coughing up blood. None of them had reached saturation yet, and since the willpower had been densest in their vicinity, the blast had nearly wounded them severely! Even so, Zhou Pingsheng was currently shielding someone with all his might! He was cursing wildly in his head! *What happened? Why did it suddenly explode?* The daughter of the Yuqiang Department head was right beside him; he had to protect her no matter what. Fortunately, his cultivation was robust, but having to shield someone else meant he had still been struck until he spat blood! The others were in a similar state! Blood sprayed everywhere! One by one, they shielded the students beside them. Most of them were Single Divine Character Faction students whom they had called over after seeing how dense the willpower was. As they were blown out, the others were ejected one after another! Su Yu experienced an instantaneous spatial shift, coughing up a mouthful of blood! The Blood character was truly unmatched when it came to spitting blood! His face turned deathly pale, and his willpower wavered. Su Yu brought his little hammer down hard on his own sea of will; his willpower was so solid that he nearly failed to shake it, but he had to make it tremble somehow, or it would look far too conspicuous. After striking it several times with the little hammer, his willpower finally began to oscillate, making it look as though he had suffered severe injuries. Su Yu's face went white and his vision blurred; hitting himself that hard genuinely made him dizzy! *Thud!* Su Yu hit the ground. Across the area, others were tumbling down as well. The experts were preoccupied dealing with the realm's collapse and had no time to care about them. Chen Yong reached out with a large hand, scooping up both Su Yu and Wu Jia. Wu Jia was fine, practically unharmed. Turning to Su Yu, Chen Yong's expression shifted, and his willpower surged forth to stabilize Su Yu's sea of will... If he hadn't tried to stabilize it, nothing would have been amiss. But the moment he did... Chen Yong's face warped with utter disbelief! *Holy shit! Solidified?! Don't fucking joke with me! What the hell is this?! Why does this kid's willpower feel like it's solidified?! Did my senses fail me?! How could willpower this robust be shaken by mere shockwaves?!* Su Yu seemed to realize something was off and immediately began hammering away with his little hammer again. *I'm injured, I've fainted, I know nothing, I didn't do anything!* His willpower wavered violently once more, and he coughed up another spray of blood. Ten thousand Fire Swine galloped through Chen Yong's mind! *Holy crap! What the hell are you doing?!* In the next moment, his expression shifted rapidly, and he called out in haste, "Master, Su Yu is injured! I'm taking him back for treatment!" Hong Tan was still busy stabilizing the remnants of the mystic realm. Hearing that, he looked over at Su Yu, his expression changing slightly. "Hurry back! I'll be there shortly!" "Understood!" Chen Yong grabbed the two of them, leaped into the air, and departed at top speed. They couldn't stay here long! If anyone inspected Su Yu closely, nothing would stay hidden. At that moment, Zhou Mingren also looked over. Seeing Su Yu's pale face, chaotic willpower, and seemingly half-conscious state, he sneered inwardly. *The brat is heavily injured—serves him right! He must have gotten greedy for willpower and cultivated in the densest zone!* Looking around, he noted that the situation was manageable. There hadn't been enough willpower left to cause fatal devastation when the realm popped; only a few people were injured, and no lives had been lost. Most of the injured were their own people, so the fallout wouldn't be too terrible. Yet in the very next breath, an enraged voice rang out: "It was bad enough that Vice Director Zhou kept disrupting our cultivation over and over! But no sooner had things quieted down than something went wrong with the mystic realm! We must be compensated! Master, I gained almost nothing from this session! The Single Divine Character Faction must pay us back!" "..." Among the crowd, a Shanhai Realm elder froze, looking toward Zhang Hao. *Almost nothing?* Furious, Zhang Hao continued rapidly, "Master, after I went in, Vice Director Zhou deliberately sabotaged and targeted me multiple times! Just as I finally settled down, the mystic realm collapsed! I gained next to nothing from this..." He was not the only one. Another voice immediately chimed in: "Me too!" "Same here!" "The willpower was completely drained multiple times in the middle of it!" "..." Students from various other factions raised their voices in indignation. They had paid an enormous price to enter! To be met with so many infuriating setbacks left everyone deeply dissatisfied! These slots had been secured through the efforts of Shanhai experts—some had called in massive favors, while others had paid exorbitant costs. For it to end in this debacle, how could any of them let it slide? Ji Xiaomeng, who had been shielded by Zhou Pingsheng, looked conflicted. She glanced at Zhou Pingsheng's dark face and whispered, "Uncle Zhou is a good person; I don't blame him. Just paying compensation will do. That was my entire life savings!" Zhou Mingren and the others turned purple in the face! *Compensate your ancestors! Did you even pay a single cent to get in here?!* Yet at this moment, a colossal headache seized every one of them! Elder Sun and the other elders looked dreadful. *Damn it, why did it suddenly blow up?! Zhou Mingren is a dignified half-step Sun and Moon expert—could he not even tell that a mystic realm was on the verge of exploding?!* They felt utterly suffocated! They had opened the mystic realm at immense cost, intending to hand out favors, but instead, they had managed to offend everyone across the board!