A faint glimmer of light appeared, casting the entire sky in a gray haze where nothing could be seen clearly. In an unknown courtyard, a figure was practicing martial arts in the dimness.
The figure kept repeating a single movement—a straight punch.
"Your technique is quite strange; it doesn't seem like a mystic skill. If I hadn't already confirmed that your meridians are shattered beyond repair, I'd really suspect there's nothing wrong with them," Sikong Kuang said as he came out to wash his hands. Catching a vague shadow making odd movements, he wondered who was up so early doing such peculiar things. Approaching for a closer look, he found it was Ye Yu.
Hearing Sikong Kuang's remark, Ye Yu explained, "This really isn't a mystic skill. It's a technique that doesn't require mystic power."
"Is that so? I've never heard of a technique in this world that doesn't use mystic power." Sikong Kuang didn't believe Ye Yu's explanation after hearing it.
"Most people on the continent focus on cultivating mystic power, so it's normal not to have heard of a technique like mine." Ye Yu was telling the truth.
"Hmm, keep practicing then." Sikong Kuang didn't press further and instead strolled off elsewhere.
Not only was Ye Lanshan strange, but even her subordinates were odd. Had he made the wrong choice by staying? What if they imprisoned him like Sikong Cheng did?
Back in his room, Sikong Kuang was overwhelmed by various worries again, leaving him restless.
Meanwhile, Ye Lanshan was also practicing mystic skills, just like Ye Yu.
"Meteor Firestorm"—clusters of flames shot toward the Wu Jiao like meteors, about to strike him, yet he remained utterly calm.
"Water Curtain"—a shield formed of water, like a curtain, blocked all the fireballs.
"How is this possible?" Ye Lanshan had been confident this move would hurt him, but to her surprise, he was completely unharmed.
"Sigh, you're still too weak. If you don't train harder, you probably won't even be able to touch a single finger of the Holy Land," Wu Jiao said, shaking his head.
"You know about the Holy Land? How strong are the people there?" Ye Lanshan heard the term "Holy Land" from Wu Jiao for the first time. She hadn't expected even a magical beast to know what the Holy Land was.
"How could I not know? It's the top power on this continent—hard to avoid knowing about it, I'd say!"
"As for the strength of the people there, at least five of them are stronger than me." Mentioning this, he couldn't help recalling his own powerful days. Back then, though young and reckless, believing only the victor reigned supreme, at least he wasn't as weary as he was now.
Ye Lanshan pulled various talismans from her space and said, "Let me use these to spar with you again and see who wins this time."
Seeing her take out a few strange pieces of paper and claim to use them for a match, Wu Jiao found it utterly absurd.
"This isn't a game. You can't even beat me now, and you're still in the mood to play around?" Wu Jiao was genuinely exasperated.
Seeing him dismiss her talismans, Ye Lanshan snorted coldly and dashed toward him at top speed, using her most common talisman, "Body-Freezing Talisman."
The moment it stuck to him, he couldn't move.
"What's this? What are these strange papers?" Only then did Wu Jiao take the odd papers seriously.
Ye Lanshan looked into Wu Jiao's eyes and said, "This is my trump card. So, want to spar again and see who wins this time?"
Wu Jiao replied calmly, "Fine, but you'll have to wait until I break free from this freezing spell of yours."
Ye Lanshan also wanted to see how effective the Body-Freezing Talisman she'd crafted at her current cultivation level was, so she didn't stop him.
Within a minute, Wu Jiao broke free from the freezing spell's restraint.
"Come on, I want to see how powerful your trump card really is." After witnessing the strange paper's effectiveness, his fighting spirit was ignited.
"Five-Thunder Curse."
"Water Curtain."
Seeing him completely block the Five-Thunder Curse, Ye Lanshan wasn't discouraged but instead curled her lips into a smile.
"Profound Ice Curse." The water curtain before Wu Jiao slowly froze into ice. He immediately dodged backward but still got injured by the lightning.
When Wu Jiao had no room to evade, he unleashed his ultimate move, "Tsunami."
Ye Lanshan defended with the Diamond Curse but was ultimately injured by the tsunami.
"I didn't expect that even with my proudest trump card, I'd still lose. It seems I was too arrogant before." Ye Lanshan clearly recognized her mistake.
It wasn't entirely her fault, though. She had once been the top genius in the cultivation world, with no one daring to provoke her, so over time, pride had naturally crept in.
But this match had thoroughly shattered that arrogance.
In the days that followed, Ye Lanshan didn't eat or drink, training day and night. This was actually normal—whether in cultivation or mystic arts, seclusion was a common practice.
With her exceptional talent and the abundant mystic power in her space, she finally faced another lightning tribulation.
"Get out quickly. The lightning tribulation can't strike inside the space; it'll just spread across the roof until you come out," Wu Jiao urged her in a low voice.
Ye Lanshan knew she absolutely couldn't advance here. If everyone found out, someone with ill intentions would surely scheme against her.
She immediately left the space and flew toward the wilderness outside the city. Finally, she reached an old temple, where the lightning tribulation began to gather.
Though the sky was pitch-black, as if it could drip ink, and the rolling clouds occasionally flashed with streaks of lightning, Ye Lanshan wasn't afraid. She tilted her head slightly, looking up at the sky, a faint curve forming at the corner of her mouth, her eyes filled with disdain, as if mocking the lightning tribulation for its delay.
As if angered, the lightning tribulation struck her one bolt after another. Ye Lanshan dodged as they fell, but the lightning seemed to have eyes, clinging to her relentlessly.
She could only endure the pain as the lightning struck her body. Finally, the storm passed, and the lightning slowly dissipated.
Ye Lanshan lay on the ground, black as charcoal, without any dignity, silently cursing: Lightning tribulation, you'd better hope I never catch you, or I'll show you what the eighteen levels of hell mean.
"Are you okay? Can you stand up?" A slightly concerned voice came from above.
Ye Lanshan opened her eyes to see Wu Jiao standing beside her, having arrived at some point.
She closed her eyes again and said, "Guard me for a while. Let me rest."
Knowing she was badly injured, Wu Jiao didn't say much and dutifully stood watch beside her.
After resting for a while, Ye Lanshan slowly managed to stand up. Seeing her clothes torn to shreds, she had no choice but to re-enter the space.