Late at night, Zhou Jinglei tossed and turned in bed.
Recalling the sparring during the day, the pressure in his heart increased.
Half a month ago, Chen Mu was just an ordinary person.
Now, he was no longer Chen Mu's match.
In just half a month, the gap had widened…
If this went on for too long, he might not even be qualified to spar with Chen Mu, let alone surpass him.
He was a strong-willed person. Thinking of this, he could not fall asleep.
Before long, he sat up in bed, lit the lamp, and began cultivating.
...
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
In a certain courtyard in the bamboo forest, the second Outer Sect disciple who headed to the stone forest during the day, Wen Sheng, was in a daze.
In his sleep, he faintly heard those words again.
"One step slower, and every step becomes slower!"
"Don't you know who your true competitor is?"
Then, another voice that sounded like a nightmare came from the depths of his heart!
"How can you fall asleep!"
"You lost eight spirit stones during the day. Can you fall asleep?"
"How useless can you be?"
...
Wen Sheng suddenly woke up from his dream, his body drenched in cold sweat.
"Huff… Huff…"
After taking a few deep breaths, Wen Sheng regained his senses.
He had lost eight spirit stones. Logically speaking, he should have worked hard to make up for it, but he was really very tired, so he directly fell asleep.
However, after experiencing a nightmare, his sleepiness was mostly gone.
Wen Sheng touched his damp sideburns and decided to go out for some fresh air.
After getting dressed, he got off the bed and walked out of the room.
He realized that the lights in the neighboring courtyard were still on.
This caused his heart to tremble slightly, and he faintly had a bad premonition.
Looking into the distance, there were quite a few courtyards with their lights on!
What was going on?
Were they still cultivating?
At this thought, he quickly walked to the courtyard next door and softly called out, "Brother Zhao, why aren't you sleeping yet?"
A reply came from the courtyard, "Oh, I'm washing my clothes. I'll be sleeping soon!"
Washing clothes?
Wen Sheng did not believe it.
Who would wash clothes at this time?
He could not hear the laundry sound either.
At this thought, he crept to the window and peeked inside.
He saw Brother Zhao sitting cross-legged on a cushion, breathing in and out. There was even a trace of a sly smile on his face.
Upon seeing this scene, Wen Sheng felt his scalp go numb, and his entire body was about to explode!
Had the competition unknowingly reached such an intense stage?
It was too terrifying!
He did not hide it and directly rebuked angrily, "Brother Zhao! You are clearly secretly cultivating! Why did you lie to me!"
The Outer Sect disciple surnamed Zhao suddenly opened his eyes, and his gaze became somewhat evasive.
After a moment, he stammered, "That Zhou Jinglei is so talented, yet he's still cultivating. What's wrong with me cultivating?"
Wen Sheng rushed out and looked into the distance.
As expected, the lights in the corner of the courtyard were still on.
This made his heart go cold.
The Outer Sect disciples who had just entered the sect all had their own pursuits, and it was not time to give up. After he snapped back to his senses, Wen Sheng returned to his courtyard without another word.
Good lord!
Wasn't it just cultivation?
Couldn't he also cultivate as well?
You bunch of dogs!
No one can push me into becoming a servant disciple!
...
As the night deepened, half of the northern district of the bamboo forest was lit up.
An Outer Sect disciple, who was a second generation immortal, came out to pee. When he saw so many lights in the distance, he was dumbfounded and unknowingly peed on his hands.
"Is there something going on tonight? It's so weird!"
Seeing that the lights next door were also on, he hurriedly went to ask around.
The reply was the same as earlier.
"Zhou Jinglei is still awake, what's wrong with me cultivating?"
The Outer Sect disciple was shocked when he heard this. Only then did he realize that the majority of the people who lit up the lamps were Outer Sect disciples, and they were also from the commoner faction.
In contrast, his faction was all sleeping!
He immediately reacted!
This was a planned group event!
The newcomers were probably up to something!
With this in mind, he rushed to another companion's courtyard and shouted, "Don't sleep! They are still cultivating! I feel that they are up to something! Perhaps they have some big plan! Quickly inform the others!"
When the Outer Sect disciples in the courtyard woke up and saw the situation outside, they were stunned.
They were still cultivating at a time like this!
Were they crazy?
Were they really going to cause trouble?
He did not dare to wait, and he hurriedly notified the other disciples of this sect.
"Wake up, they are causing trouble! They are still cultivating at this hour!"
...
"Wake up, they are causing trouble!"
"What? They're going to screw with us?"
...
"Wake up, those outsiders are still cultivating. They said that they want to increase their cultivation and beat us!"
...
One by one, news spread.
Eventually, it reached Mu Xiong.
"Senior Brother Mu, Zhou Jinglei is still cultivating!"
"He said… that he wanted to beat you up at the Outer Sect Competition to take revenge for the Entrance Competition!"
Mu Xiong was in a daze. When he suddenly heard this, he shot up from the bed!
Without another word, he jumped off the bed. As soon as he got out, he saw the lit courtyards in the distance.
At this moment, his limbs were cold and his face was twitching.
After a long silence, he said with a trembling voice, "This is too much! This is too much!"
"Cultivate!"
"When the time comes, we will see who gets beaten up!"
With that, he stomped his feet and returned to his courtyard.
...
It was almost dawn.
By right, everyone should be sleeping the most.
The black-clothed deacon chose this time to go to the stone forest to handle some matters.
But when he passed through the bamboo forest, he was completely stunned!
The place was brightly lit!
Through the window, he could see figures sitting cross-legged!
There were also some who were currently sparring with others in the courtyard. Their punches and kicks were added together, creating crackling sounds.
"D*mn, what's going on?"
"Did these people just wake up or did they not sleep?"
"Is this batch of Outer Sect disciples so hardworking?"
Three questions flashed through his mind, but the black-clothed deacon did not have time to think about them. He quickly circled around the bamboo forest.
The mission was more important!
A moment later, he arrived at the stone forest.
Good lord, the cave in the stone forest was still lit.
The deacon could not help but sigh…
It was good to be young!
Young people were full of energy!
Taking a deep breath, he held his breath.
The black-clothed deacon half floated in the air, moving towards the standing stone that the First Elder had designated.
There were faint whispers in the cave.
"…borrowed 210 spirit stones this time…"
"…will definitely return it…"
Hearing this, the black-clothed deacon faintly smiled.
This kid was too young. He had lent out more than 200 low-grade spirit stones in a day. How could he expect others to return it?
Haha…
However, it had to be said that this kid was quite kind, unlike the Sect Leader.
The Sect Leader was very evil.
The First Elder said that this kid was the illegitimate son of the Sect Leader and came all the way here to seek refuge with the Sect Leader…
In the end, the Sect Leader's illegitimate son came. For the sake of his reputation, he did not even give him a title. Instead, he used this method to secretly give him some benefits…
Now, he even directly left the sect to hide. What was the point?
Shaking his head, the deacon in black placed his hand on the stone and rubbed it a few times.
Soon, some words appeared on the boulder.
After he was done, the black-clothed deacon quietly retreated.
...
The next morning, Chen Mu woke up groggily and prepared to go out for some fresh air.
As soon as he left the cave, he caught a glimpse of the rock from the corner of his eye.
"What's going on?"
Chen Mu took a few steps to the stone and swiped it a few times.
Swish! Swish!
Stone fragments fell one after another. Before long, a monolith inscription appeared on the standing stone.