C542 Crisis

A few hours later, everyone regrouped at the original spot, having found nothing. Just as things seemed to settle, another crisis emerged. While the group was resting, a disciple from the Sea Heart Martial Palace was suddenly swept away by the ocean water.

The remaining six were shocked. After careful observation, they finally understood the reason! The palace beneath the sea was sinking, or perhaps the water was slowly rising! Earlier, the disciple had been resting at a safe distance from the water. But without anyone noticing, he had gotten closer and closer to the water behind him. Eventually, the suction from the wall failed, and the pull of the ocean took over, dragging him in...

Outside the Misty Mountain Range, members of the three Martial Mansions were becoming increasingly busy. The Bewilderment Dragon Stream had been open for several days, and disciples who had ventured in were now being sent back out.

From these disciples, the three Martial Mansions learned more about this mysterious journey. However, the person everyone was most concerned about, Woo Zhengyang, still had no news. From others, they had gathered that this trip to the Bewilderment Dragon Stream was quite enigmatic, with one intriguing world after another appearing. Ultimately, those who survived found themselves in an oceanic world, each on a separate platform. In the end, there were exactly sixteen people gathered on the platforms.

After that, it was time for the dragon boat race. Sixteen participants and seven boats were in the competition. Woo Zhengyang had already eliminated five members from the Moon Light Martial Mansion, making the contest even fiercer. Many young competitors fell into the water during the struggle and were sent out of the race. Some managed to stay dry but couldn't secure a boat, leaving them waiting on the platform.

Those who fell into the water later were already on the boats. Everyone was guided by the dragon boats to a thatched hut known as the Dragon Palace. Here, another round of battles ensued, and naturally, some fell into the water again.

Disciples from three Martial Mansions kept returning with increasingly detailed reports, but there was no news about Woo Zhengyang. Given his combat skills, winning a dragon boat should have been no problem, but let's not forget Yu Wenqing from the Heavenly Mirror Pavilion was also on that platform. Would there be a showdown between the two?

The tale of Woo Zhengyang taking on five opponents from the Moon Light Martial Mansion was spreading rapidly, becoming common knowledge. On this day, another disciple from the Moon Light Martial Mansion was sent out. If Woo Zhengyang were here, he would surely recognize him—Yuen Jinli. After being questioned about his experiences, Yuen Jinli returned to where the Moon Light Martial Mansion members were gathered. Coincidentally, they were discussing Woo Zhengyang, and Yuen Jinli overheard them.

"Woo Zhengyang? You ran into that guy too? I've been looking for him!" Yuen Jinli walked over and said to the young man who mentioned Woo Zhengyang.

"You're looking for Woo Zhengyang? Why?" the young man asked, puzzled.

"To teach him a lesson, of course. The kid's skills aren't impressive, but his attitude sure is," Yuen Jinli replied, still annoyed that Woo Zhengyang had the nerve to talk back to him in front of Situ Jingxiang.

"Teach him a lesson?" another young man nearby said in disbelief, thinking he must have misheard.

Yuen Jinli, oblivious to the young man's confusion, continued, "Don't even get me started on that country boy..."

"Wham..."

Before Yuen Jinli could finish, a large hand grabbed his shoulder from behind and yanked him back.

...

"Who the heck... oh, it's you, sir..."

Stumbling from the pull, Yuen Jinli was about to curse but realized it was the head of their family who had grabbed him.

"You encountered Woo Zhengyang? The country boy who came with the Azure Sun Martial Mansion?"

"Yeah..." Yuen Jinli replied, suddenly realizing the gravity of the situation. "Uh, sir, you know Woo Zhengyang too?"

The family head wasn't in the mood for small talk and snapped, "Tell me everything about your encounter with Woo Zhengyang, down to the last detail, or you'll be in big trouble!"

Yuen Jinli shivered, cold sweat trickling down his back. Though the head of the Yuen family was usually hot-tempered, he was always good to his own family. Yuen Jinli couldn't fathom what he had done to provoke such anger.

Faced with the situation, Yuen Jinli dared not hide anything. He recounted everything about his encounter with Woo Zhengyang in detail. After hearing Yuen Jinli's account, the head of the Yuen family kicked him to the ground and stormed off in fury.

Yuen Jinli picked himself up, trembling with fear, still utterly confused about what he had done wrong.

"Yuen Jinli, you're really the pride of the Yuen family's youth, aren't you?" The speaker was another disciple from the Moon Light Martial Mansion, a young man from the Yue family. When the head of the Yuen family was questioning Yuen Jinli, many from various families had gathered around, including some powerful figures. The young man from the Yue family was among them.

The relationship between the two families at the Moon Light Martial Mansion was far from harmonious, and Yuen Jinli was often compared to that young man. So, the young man seized the opportunity to mock him.

Still bewildered, Yuen Jinli had no interest in exchanging barbs. He pulled aside the young man who had mentioned Woo Zhengyang earlier and asked, "What's the deal with Woo Zhengyang? Why does everyone know about him?"

"Woo Zhengyang single-handedly fought against a group of five led by our senior sister Sun Siyu and won decisively!"

"What! That's impossible. How could a country boy have such strength?" Upon hearing that Woo Zhengyang single-handedly defeated five opponents, including Sun Siyu, Yuen Jinli's first thought was disbelief.

That guy, although he had become more arrogant recently, still seemed like an ordinary country boy. Plus, he was only at the Skin Stage. How could he possibly be a match for Sun Siyu, let alone take on five people at once?

"It's true!" The young man nodded confidently and continued, "They say Woo Zhengyang has a special combat technique, a sword skill that includes soul attacks, and he's mastered sword force!"

"Sword force?" Yuen Jinli felt his worldview shatter.

He couldn't reconcile the description of this boy with what he knew about Woo Zhengyang.

"Moreover, he has a natural fire attribute spirit body, which is quite powerful and happens to counter the Moon Light Martial Mansion's moonlight poison..."

By this point, Yuen Jinli was standing there, speechless.

He could accept anyone else rising to prominence in this trial, but Woo Zhengyang? The one he considered a mere ant he could crush at will? He had been so strong all along, and Yuen Jinli had never noticed...

Should he be grateful he never encountered Woo Zhengyang?

Reflecting on his own arrogance and dismissive attitude towards Woo Zhengyang, Yuen Jinli felt like crying but had no tears. This was a major embarrassment...

Yuen Jinli was still feeling down, while things were getting lively over at the Sea Heart Martial Palace. A disciple from the Sea Heart Martial Palace emerged; he had been in the same Ocean World as Woo Zhengyang.