Chapter 180 - 179: Ruthless
Zhou Shuwei seemed stung by the words. She suddenly reached out, gently taking Chen Shouheng’s right arm and leaning her body slightly against him, as if declaring some kind of ownership.
She looked up at Mu Yuanying. "Shouheng has taken great care of me throughout our journey; it was an act of honor. I don’t believe I know you... Miss Mu? Why are your words so aggressive? What passes between Shouheng and myself seems to be no business of yours, is it?"
This sudden intimate gesture and her provocative words were like adding fuel to the fire.
Mu Yuanying’s pretty face instantly frosted over, and rage and killing intent erupted in her eyes.
"A fine ’no business of mine’!"
She slammed a hand on the table and shot to her feet. With a CLANG, the Longsword at her waist was already drawn.
"Stop!"
Alarmed, Chen Shouheng stepped between the two. "Miss Mu, stop! This is all a misunderstanding."
However, it was as if both women had lost their minds. They began to fight fiercely.
Seeing him intervene, they both turned their anger on him, unleashing a flurry of fierce Sword Techniques that forced him to retreat again and again.
"Chen Shouheng! You’d better make things clear today!"
"Shouheng! Are you going to choose this woman over me? You can only pick one!"
The two women pressed him with questions as they attacked.
Chen Shouheng was hard-pressed and in a sorry state, his heart filled with anxiety.
On one side was Mu Yuanying, fiery and straightforward, who had once fought alongside him. On the other was Zhou Shuwei, who had helped him on numerous occasions. He didn’t want to abandon either of them...
Wait!
Chen Shouheng felt a sudden jolt, and all his anxiety and hesitation vanished in an instant.
It was like a moment of sudden enlightenment!
Clarity and calm suddenly returned to his eyes!
’What’s my relationship with Zhou Shuwei? We have no romantic feelings for each other, so why would she suddenly act so intimately? And why would I even consider choosing her?’
’Miss Mu has a fiery temper, but she’s open-minded and straightforward. She’s not the coy, sentimental type, and she certainly wouldn’t be so irrational as to fly off the handle without reason!’
’Something’s wrong!’
’I... I’m still in the Illusion Realm!’
He came to his senses completely, horrified by the realization.
He activated the Prajna Glaze Heart Sutra of the Self-Viewing, but the two women were still fighting fiercely, with no sign of the illusion shattering.
But he could feel a strange sense of restraint imposed on the illusory scene.
’Could it be real?’
Seeing the illusion persist, Chen Shouheng stopped trying to explain. He took a deep breath, retreated several steps, and completely exited the battle.
He faced the two women with a calm and composed gaze and said in a deep voice, "Ladies, I, Chen, am dedicated to the Martial Dao, my heart set on the Great Dao. I have no time for romantic entanglements, nor do I have any intention of becoming dao companions with either of you. Please, stop this!"
His resolute words were like a cold, sharp sword, instantly piercing the two women’s defenses.
Zhou Shuwei looked as if she’d been struck by lightning. Her face turned deathly pale, and tears streamed from her eyes. Her voice was filled with mournful despair. "Shouheng... how could you be so heartless! To think... to think I gave you my whole heart... If this is how you feel, what’s the point of me going on?"
Before the words had even left her mouth, she suddenly reversed her Longsword and, with a flash of cold light, drew it across her own pale neck.
On the other side, Mu Yuanying’s body trembled violently, her eyes filled with despair and grim resolve. "Fine! A fine ’set on the Great Dao’! A fine ’no time for romantic entangleaments’! Only today do I see what a stone-hearted man you truly are, Chen Shouheng! I, Mu Yuanying, must have been blind!"
She, too, brought her sword around, unhesitatingly stabbing it toward her own heart.
Faced with this dramatic joint suicide, Chen Shouheng’s pupils contracted slightly. But he clenched his jaw, his feet nailed to the spot. He didn’t move an inch, nor did he make any move to stop them.
He just watched silently, a frost-like calm deep in his eyes.
The swords flashed, but no blood appeared.
The figures of the two women suddenly twisted and blurred, then shattered without a sound, dissolving into specks of flowing light that completely dissipated into the air.
As they vanished, the scene of the Dining Hall also began to fluctuate violently and collapse, peeling away piece by piece like a faded scroll painting.
Light and shadow shifted before his eyes as the Cloud Mist re-formed.
Chen Shouheng was startled to find himself still standing on the stone steps of the Heaven-Ascending Road.
Around him, dozens of other candidates were still marching in place on their respective steps.
Their faces showed expressions of obsession, greed, pain, and hesitation, each lost in their own Illusion Realm. Not one of them had woken up.
By the mountain gate.
Seeing this scene, Duan Mengjing couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise, "Brother Anshi, your move... he broke through it?"
Zhao Anshi snorted coldly. "He saw through it, alright... but his method was simply too cold-blooded. To remain unmoved while his loved ones kill themselves? I fear this boy’s temperament is that of a ruthless and disloyal person. It would be better not to accept such a disciple!"
Duan Mengjing said thoughtfully, "Could it be... he saw through the trick?"
"Impossible!"
Zhao Anshi’s expression soured. "I acted personally, and I targeted him alone. Forget someone at the Spirit Realm First Level—even a Grandmaster would be hopelessly ensnared."
With that, he flicked his sleeve and turned away. "Come, Brother Mengjing, let’s get back to our game. As for this boy... we’ll just consider him passed."
Clearly, he was quite displeased with the way Chen Shouheng had broken the illusion.
...
Mist swirled across the mountaintop plaza.
Chen Shouheng chose an inconspicuous stone platform at the edge of the plaza to sit and regulate his breathing.
Sunlight spilled across the white jade ground.
From the top of the stone steps, figures who had passed the Heaven-Ascending Road’s trial emerged one after another.
About an hour later, a slightly staggering figure stepped onto the plaza.
It was Zhou Shuwei.
Her face was pale and her breathing was ragged. The hair at her temples, soaked with sweat, clung to her cheeks. A trace of sorrow and exhaustion that hadn’t completely faded lingered in her once-bright eyes.
She had clearly endured a difficult struggle of the Heart Spirit in the Heart Inquiry trial.
She steadied herself, took a few deep breaths, and her gaze subconsciously swept across the plaza.
When her gaze fell upon Chen Shouheng, sitting quietly on the stone platform, her expression faltered, and an indescribable look appeared in her beautiful eyes.
Zhou Shuwei hurried over, her voice rising slightly in surprise. "Chen... Shouheng, you... when did you get to the top? How... how were you so fast?"
She believed she had given her all and was among the first group to break free, yet there were still fewer than ten people who had passed on the entire plaza.
She never would have imagined Chen Shouheng would arrive so much earlier than her.
The similar scene he had just experienced in the Illusion Realm flashed through Chen Shouheng’s mind, stirring a strange feeling within him. He answered vaguely, "I only arrived a short while ago myself. I suppose I was just lucky and managed to break free from the Illusion Realm a step ahead."
Zhou Shuwei calmed her breathing slightly but still couldn’t help saying, "There’s no need for such modesty. To pass so quickly shows a willpower that far surpasses the rest of us. When they assign us to our halls later, I’m sure you’ll get into Suixing Hall."
"Suixing Hall?"
Chen Shouheng looked confused.
"Yes."
Zhou Shuwei nodded and explained, "The Martial Arts Academy is divided into six halls: Suixing, Xiudao, Chengxin, Zhengyi, Chongzhi, and Guangye. Ostensibly, all six halls teach Martial Arts, and there is no official hierarchy among them."
She lowered her voice slightly and confided, "But in reality, the Cultivation, seniority within the academy, and even the courtly influence of the Masters of each hall are all different. Among them, Suixing Hall is supreme, its status transcendent. Those who can enter it are destined for a limitless future."
Chen Shouheng nodded thoughtfully.