1324 Dream
“Did you guys… also enter an illusion and discover that you had become a youth called Ding Zizhen?” Ling Han asked.
“Mm-hm!” The Heavenly Phoenix Divine Maiden was the first to nod in affirmation.
The expressions of the others changed drastically. Then, they all nodded one after another.
They described their “experience”, and sure enough, their experiences had all been exactly the same. They had become Ding Zizhen and entered a clan competition, where they had been brutally defeated.
This obviously hadn’t been a dream. Dreams couldn’t be so realistic, and they couldn’t be identical to everyone, either.
“It’s this blanket of fog!”
Everyone looked at the thick and persistent fog around them. This was a very easy conclusion to draw. It was definitely this fog that was affecting them. However, among everyone present, the lowest cultivation level was the consummate level of the Sun Moon Tier, while the highest cultivation level was the consummate level of the Heavenly Body Tier. Yet, this huge discrepancy in cultivation level hadn’t changed the fact that they were all caught off guard by the illusion at exactly the same instant.
Moreover, they were all aboard a chariot that was forged from Saintly Material. In terms of defense alone, this chariot was even more powerful than elites at the consummate level of the Eternal River Tier.
However, they had still been affected by the fog.
Could it be that this fog possessed Saint-level power?
They all looked at one another, deep frowns on their faces.
“Should we continue forward?”
This was the question on everyone’s mind.
Even the Stone Emperor was slightly hesitant. He was confident that his chariot could guarantee everyone’s safety as long as no Saint appeared. However, reality proved that this dense fog could still invade their minds and forcefully drag them into an illusion.
There hadn’t been any danger in the previous illusion, but who could guarantee that things would remain this way?
They were all prodigies of the younger generation, and as long as they grew up without a hitch, their future would be limitless. It wasn’t necessary for them to take a huge risk for the opportunities in this place.
“I want to advance for at least a little longer,” Ling Han said first.
“Same,” Faceless said.
More and more of them nodded in agreement. They were all young king tiers, and thus they were extremely courageous and resilient individuals. At the same time, they were also incredibly curious individuals. This thick fog was like a puzzle that whetted their appetite to investigate.
“Haha, then let’s continue forward!” the Stone Emperor said with a loud laugh. He started to steer the chariot forward.
They were still surrounded by thick fog, and they still couldn’t see their surroundings. However, at some point in time, the surroundings suddenly became clear again. What appeared before them was still that training ground.
‘I’ve returned again?’
By testing whether he could sense the Black Tower in his body or not, Ling Han could determine whether or not he had entered the “dreamland”.
He had become Ding Zizhen again. However, he was clearly older this time; this was probably one year into the future. However, his cultivation had barely increased at all. He was still at the early stage of the low extreme. Looking at the people from “last year”, however, they had all grown taller and stronger. They had all advanced at least one sub-minor level.
The most impressive person was Ding Yaolong, who had already advanced from the low extreme to the high extreme. He had actually advanced two minor levels!
He was only 11, yet he had already reached the high extreme of the Mountain River Tier. This was simply incredible!
Thus, it wasn’t surprising that Ding Yaolong had become the most brilliant star in the intra-clan competition. Meanwhile, Ding Zizhen had become an absolute joke.
“This kid… If it weren’t for Clan Elder Ding Guo sacrificing his Source Power at all costs to forcefully elevate him to the Mountain River Tier, it would have been impossible for him to reach the Immortal level in his entire lifetime.”
“Yeah, he was only at the Spiritual Ocean Tier when he was born. I’ve heard that only lowly commoners are born with such a low cultivation level.”
“You know, I’m starting to doubt whether he’s a genuine child of the Ding Clan.”
Many people slandered him coldly, not showing any care and compassion at all, even though they were all members of the same family.
The scene abruptly ended here, and Ling Han’s vision became a blur as he returned to the real world.
Everyone was awake now, and they were all wearing a look of displeasure.
In that “dream”, they were Ding Zizhen. Thus, Ding Zizhen being humiliated was equivalent to them being humiliated.
“Could it be that this place was created by Ding Zizhen?”
“In that illusion, he’s only at the Mountain River Tier. However, this thick fog can seep through Saintly Material and affect our minds. This is definitely the handiwork of a Saint.”
“He definitely experienced some incredible opportunity afterward, allowing him to flip the tables!”
The prodigies started to discuss their thoughts.
Ling Han pondered for a moment before saying, “Did you guys take note of Ding Yaolong? Only one year passed, yet he advanced two entire minor levels!”
Everyone nodded in response. They were all prodigies of the younger generation, so their talent was naturally top-notch. However, how long would it take for them to advance one minor level?
Even in the Mountain River Tier, this would take them at least several decades!
Those who possessed essence divine flames—like Chi Huangji had—were outliers. As for people like Ling Han who possessed a Reincarnation Tree, that was even more freakish. The Reincarnation Tree would be a precious treasure even in the Celestial Realm.
“What on earth is this clan?” The prodigies were all stunned. Not only had Ding Yaolong’s cultivation advanced in leaps and bounds, but the cultivation level of the other people in the illusion had also advanced at an astonishing speed.
A thought suddenly flashed through Ling Han’s mind. ‘Perhaps… Ding Zizhen is from the Celestial Realm?’
If this were the case, it would be understandable why the cultivation speed of the children in this clan was so fast. After all, they were using celestial techniques. In any case, Hu Niu had advanced to the Genesis Tier in only five years! Calling this astonishing would be an understatement.
“Let’s continue forward!”
At this moment, everyone’s interest was piqued. They all wanted to make sense of the situation.
The chariot continued forward, and they were stealthily dragged into the illusion again. It was impossible for them to avoid this illusion.
Another year had passed in the illusion, and it was time for the intra-clan competition again. However, Ding Zizhen was still only at the early stage of the low extreme of the Mountain River Tier.
In fact, such a situation would be standard in the Immortal Realm. Generally speaking, advancing one sub-minor level in the Mountain River Tier would take several hundred years. So, how could one be much stronger after just a year?
However, in the Ding Clan, everyone else’s cultivation level had seen huge improvements. This was especially the case for Ding Yaolong, who had already advanced to the consummate level of the Mountain River Tier.
During this intra-clan competition, Ding Yaolong wasn’t simply impressive. Rather, he was able to place 10th—he was the only Mountain River Tier cultivator in the top 10. Moreover, he had even defeated an opponent who was at the late stage of the low extreme of the Sun Moon Tier.
Ling Han knew that Ding Yaolong had definitely reached the pinnacle level of the Mountain River Tier. Moreover, he had reached the peak stage of the pinnacle level. However, those at the peak stage of the pinnacle level would only possess power on par with the early stage of the low extreme of the Sun Moon Tier. Yet, Ding Yaolong had defeated someone at the late stage of the low extreme!
‘Can I achieve this?’
Ling Han admitted that he could indeed exhaust such an opponent to death using his freakish physique. However, defeating such an opponent head-on? That would be impossible!
Ding Yaolong possessed a secret technique that could “age” his opponent’s attacks.
That was right, age.
When a punch was thrown, its power would naturally weaken with the passage of time. Eventually, it would lose all of its power. Ding Yaolong’s secret technique could accelerate this process by hundreds, or even thousands, of times.
Thus, his opponent’s attacks would have already lost much of their steam by the time they reached him.
‘Can he control time?’
Ling Han’s heart thumped in excitement. Time was the most mysterious power. If he could wield the power of time, his battle prowess would increase by heaven knew how much!
This… Was the intention of these illusions to help them master the power of time?
In any case, the result of the intra-clan competition was just as expected. Ding Zizhen was crushed, and his result was naturally the worst.
The illusion ended, and everyone came to their senses at the same time. Some of them were dazed, yet some of them—like the North Emperor and Stone Emperor—had a glimmer in their eyes. Like Ling Han, they had also noticed Ding Yaolong’s terrifying secret technique.
“Let’s continue forward!”
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