Gong Shangyu was mercilessly “invited” off the stage by the referee.
Amidst a sea of either disdainful or mocking gazes, her pretty face turned red then white with rage.
Her pink eyes were nearly spitting fire as she glared fixedly at the purple figure growing more distant in the sky, her teeth grinding audibly.
“Gu Qingying! It’s all your fault! If you hadn’t been flying so slowly, how could I… Hmph!”
Meanwhile, having finally broken free of the “human pendant,” Gu Qingying felt as light as a swallow, and her Spirit Energy circulated much more smoothly.
Although she was still resentful of Gong Shangyu’s despicable behavior, seeing her rival’s pathetic elimination smoothed over the frustration in her heart, leaving her with a faint sense of schadenfreude.
‘Serves you right! That’s what you get for trying to be clever! You’ve completely played yourself, haven’t you? As expected, if I want to win this fair and square, I have to rely on myself, Gu Qingying!’
The corners of her mouth curled up involuntarily, as if she could already see the beautiful image of herself being the first to obtain the Stone Casket and winning a reward under her Master’s approving gaze.
With her motivation redoubled, her figure performed several agile flashes and turns in the air.
She even deliberately used the heads or shoulders of other struggling contestants as stepping stones to propel herself upward, ignoring the torrent of curses from below.
Her speed surged again, and like a bolt of purple lightning, she plunged into the roiling, grayish-white God-Blurring Mist above!
The moment she entered the range of the mist, Gu Qingying’s sensations changed instantly!
The sounds of the outside world seemed to be cut off, and as far as her eyes could see, there was only a vast expanse of grayish-white.
Visibility was less than three zhang.
Most lethally, her habitually released Divine Sense was like a clay ox entering the sea; it was suppressed by the eerie mist within a range of only one foot around her body, making it impossible to extend outward for scouting!
Up, down, left, and right—every direction looked exactly the same!
Having lost all reference for direction and distance, she couldn’t even accurately judge whether she was still ascending or simply spinning in place!
‘Oh no…’
Gu Qingying’s heart sank, and the smug smile on her face froze.
She tried flying a certain distance in several different directions, but her hands touched nothing but cold mist.
There wasn’t even a shadow of the so-called “Stone Casket.”
As the minutes and seconds ticked away, she could feel the auras of other contestants rushing blindly through the mist.
Occasionally, she heard the sounds of collisions and curses nearby; clearly, everyone was stuck in the same predicament.
At this rate, let alone winning, it would be a problem just to find the Stone Casket within the allotted time!
Was she supposed to just crash around here like a headless fly and rely on luck to win?
Gu Qingying was unwilling!
She was someone determined to win her Master’s reward!
In her anxiety, a figure she was extremely reluctant to think of surfaced in her mind—Gong Shangyu!
Her annoying Second Senior Sister who possessed the [Time Stop System]!
‘If… If she could use Time Stop to freeze all the participants, I would have enough time to find the Stone Casket!’
Once the thought appeared, it grew like wild weeds.
Although she was extremely reluctant to bow her head to the person who had just sabotaged her, compared to losing the match and missing out on Master’s reward, it seemed her pride… wasn’t something she couldn’t temporarily set aside?
Gu Qingying grit her teeth, a trace of struggle flashing across her face.
Ultimately, her desire for victory and the reward outweighed her distaste for Gong Shangyu.
Relying on her memory of the general direction of Gong Shangyu’s aura and the subtle, faint connection between them—born from their shared cultivation method and system—she attempted to send a Transmission toward the stage below.
The Transmission was filled with indignation and reluctance, and it even carried a hint of gritted teeth.
“Gong! Shang! Yu! Help… help me!”
Standing below the stage and still seething with anger, Gong Shangyu suddenly received this familiar Transmission, which was clearly flavored with a condescending tone.
She was stunned for a moment, then a flicker of disbelief flashed in her pink eyes, followed immediately by intense mockery and delight.
“Oh? Isn’t this our high and mighty Junior Sister? What’s the matter? Have you become a headless fly in the mist? That’s not the proper attitude for asking someone for a favor~”
She crossed her arms leisurely, deliberately prolonging her tone as she transmitted her reply.
The sarcasm in her voice was almost overflowing.
“Hoho~ My dear Junior Sister, are you begging me? Tsk tsk, didn’t you just call me shameless and say you were going to kill me? Why the sudden change of face to beg this ‘shameless person’? The wind certainly changes direction quickly~”
Gu Qingying was fuming as she listened within the mist, but she had to suppress her anger and push forward.
“Enough talk! Gong Shangyu, use your Time Stop… help me freeze this area! Help me win!”
“Help you?”
Gong Shangyu scoffed, asking slowly, “Why should I help you? What’s in it for me? I’ve already been eliminated. Seeing you suffer is the only thing making me happy right now~”
“You!”
Gu Qingying was so angry she nearly choked.
Forcing down the urge to curse, she knew this bastard Senior Sister would never give in without a practical benefit.
She took a deep breath and said, with extreme reluctance, as if squeezing the words through her teeth.
“I… If I win, the reward I’ll ask Master for is… to have him take me on a date in the city! Shopping! Looking at the lanterns! I’ll… I’ll bring you along too! Is that enough?!”
This was the most compelling condition Gu Qingying could think of to move Gong Shangyu.
After all, being able to enjoy the night scenery and lantern festival in Yicheng with Master was incredibly tempting to both of them.
However, Gong Shangyu was not satisfied.
She raised an eyebrow and transmitted, “Oh? A date? Sounds nice. But since it’s a date, the itinerary—where we go and what we do—must follow my plan! Otherwise, I have no interest in helping you.”
“Gong Shangyu! Don’t push your luck!”
Gu Qingying stomped her foot in the mist in a fit of rage.
“Then no deal~”
Gong Shangyu’s tone was relaxed.
“Have fun playing in the mist by yourself. Good luck; maybe a blind cat will stumble upon a dead mouse?”
“You…”
Gu Qingying was practically spitting blood.
Seeing time slipping away, she knew that while the other contestants were also wandering aimlessly, someone might get lucky and stumble upon the Stone Casket.
She weighed her options over and over, and finally, her desire for victory triumphed once more.
“Fine! Fine! I’ll do as you say! Everything! The itinerary is up to you! Just help me!”
Gu Qingying practically screamed the words, cursing Gong Shangyu a thousand times in her heart.
‘After I win the competition and get the reward from Master, I’ll settle the total score with you!’
Hearing Gu Qingying completely surrender, a winner’s brilliant smile finally appeared on Gong Shangyu’s face.
She didn’t delay any longer.
Her powerful Divine Sense spread out silently like spilled mercury, quickly scanning the entire competition grounds and the surrounding high stands.
‘Hmm… The referee is at the Nascent Soul Stage, and there are no old monsters above the Yuanying Stage in the audience… Good!’
After confirming everything was safe, Gong Shangyu’s gaze sharpened, and she spoke internally.
“Time Stop System! Activate!”
An invisible, intangible, yet profound fluctuation centered on her and instantly expanded, enveloping the entire stage and the God-Blurring Mist area above!
In an instant, the wind stopped, and all sound vanished.
The roiling grayish-white mist above the stage looked as if a pause button had been pressed, freezing in mid-air.
The contestants who were frantically rushing through the mist—anxious or lost—all maintained their postures from the previous moment, frozen in place like insects trapped in amber.
Even the slight facial expression of the Nascent Soul Stage referee on the high stand was frozen at that exact moment.
The entire world seemed to have turned into a massive, static painting.
Only Gong Shangyu, and Gu Qingying—who was at the core of the Time Stop Domain and had been deliberately “exempted” by her—could still think and act freely!
“It’s now! Gu Qingying, it’s up to you!” Gong Shangyu’s Transmission rang out clearly in the silent, frozen world.