Sun Guang challenged Yue Lan to a duel. The crowd's cheer was louder than before. They faced each other. Sun Guang's grin couldn't be wiped off his face, while Yue Lan frowned the entire time. When the battle began, they clashed, followed by a blast. The floor cracked, the pillars crumbled; fortunately, Liu Yong's barrier managed to hold the fall.
Yang Luoya's eyes glimmered at the sight of the fight. He was captivated by it. The battle reminded him of action film scenes he usually watched. But this time, what he saw was not edited—this was a real fight.
Both of them fought aggressively, and giving up never crossed their minds. After an hour, they finally grew tired, and Sun Guang defeated Yue Lan. "I win~," Sun Guang said smugly. The fight ended, and Liu Yong removed his barrier. "Did you see that, Gao Jun? I win!" He yelled proudly at Gao Jun. "Whatever..."
Sun Guang then looked at Yang Wei. "How about it? Will you accept me as your master?" Yang Wei fell silent for a few seconds before suddenly kneeling down. "This disciple greets master." "It's decided then. From now on, you're my disciple," Sun Guang said smugly, looking at Yue Lan, who glared back at him.
"Master, I have something to say," said Yang Wei. "I want to undergo closed-door training after this, and I hope you allow it." The crowd suddenly became silent. "What? You just became my disciple, and you want to leave me already?" Sun Guang complained. "I want to become stronger," Yang Wei said with determination. Sun Guang sighed in defeat. "Let it be then. You have a lot to prepare before you go. Meet me at my room later," said Sun Guang. "Yes, master." As soon as he said that, Sun Guang returned to his seat.
"Shen Ming, why have you been so quiet until now? Aren't you interested in taking in a new disciple?" Sun Guang asked Shen Ming, who was sitting beside him, curiously. Shen Ming glanced at him once and then replied indifferently, "Young people these days don't interest me. They're strong, but they don't have enough courage to catch my attention." "Whatever you say~."
The exam ended. Liu Yong delivered his speech before closing the exam. The crowd finally dispersed, returning to their respective places. "Yang Wei," Yang Luoya called as he went to his brother. "Your decision is firm, huh... be careful. I don't know how strong the beasts are in the closed training realm," Yang Luoya said worriedly.
The closed training realm is almost the same as the training realm used in the entrance exam. But what makes it different is that the beasts inside are not controlled. The training realm used in the exam is regularly checked, so no beast above a certain grade should appear. But in the closed training realm, the beasts are not monitored—they may become stronger or even mutated.
"Don't worry, brother. I will become stronger, healthier, or maybe even taller than I am now," he said with a bright smile. Yang Luoya felt touched by his brother's cuteness, and he couldn't help but stroke his hair repeatedly. "If you encounter enemies you cannot defeat, just run. Don't try to fight back," Yang Luoya said firmly, placing his hand on Yang Wei's shoulder.
.
.
.
At night, Yang Wei was reading a book on his bed. Suddenly, he heard rustling leaves outside his open window. He was expecting Yang Wei to jump in as always, but unexpectedly, it wasn't him.
It was Song Ren, holding Xiang Rui in his arms. They jumped inside through the open window. "Hey," Xiang Rui innocently waved his hand at Yang Luoya. "You... why are you here?" Yang Luoya asked. Song Ren put down Xiang Rui. "What? Is it wrong to trespass into your room?" he asked. ".... It's rude," Song Ren replied. "Hey! Whose side are you on?" Xiang Rui scolded.
"I heard you went into the Vermilion Sect. Why are you here?" Yang Luoya asked. "Going overseas without a communication device is a bad choice, so I wanted to give you this!" Xiang Rui handed over a jade pendant to Yang Luoya. "It's one of the artifacts from the novel, a two-way communication device, in case I encounter the culprit, I mean," Xiang Rui explained. Yang Luoya accepted the pendant.
"Ugh, I hate whoever stole the candle. I will catch them and skin them alive. Because of them, the carriage I bought with a lot of money got destroyed by the blood boar," Xiang Rui grumbled. "Blood boar... the third one..." Yang Luoya muttered with concern.
"Ah, I remember... tell me about the novel's ending," Yang Luoya said. "The ending? The ending is simple. Qing Shan defeated the devil. What else?" Xiang Rui said. "No, what I mean is, how did it end?"
Xiang Rui put his hand on his chin and thought. "Now that I think about it, the ending is weird. As if there's another story that hasn't been mentioned in the novel itself."
"What do you mean?" Yang Wei asked in confusion. "Well... you're aware that Yang Luoya became the devil's puppet, right? After Yang Luoya was defeated, the devil suddenly went berserk, just like the third phase of boss enemies in an RPG."
"That's weird. Or is it because he felt threatened after his guard was defeated?"
"Maybe. The entire land was engulfed in darkness. Even the devil's form no longer looked human. I don't know what to call it, maybe a mutated version of him? But it's weird, I tell you! Qing Shan hadn't landed a single scratch on him. Why would he feel threatened?"
"And what happened after he was defeated?"
"The devil's body and Yang Luoya's body were engulfed in flames, burned to ash. The only one who had the fire core is Yang Wei, but I'm sure he's not strong enough to burn the devil to ashes." Yang Luoya suddenly remembered his nightmare. He felt the burn, but the scene was completely different.
"He got burned out of nowhere? Is there any connection to something in the past?" Yang Luoya muttered. "The past? What are you talking about?" Xiang Rui asked. "Kirin Peak's former master is also a transmigrator like us. He said he had defeated the last boss based on the novel he had. Maybe the variable comes from the previous novel."