The Portal of Wonderland

The blue-haired man’s brow lifted and he cursed in a low voice.

He unleashed a move with one hand in order to summon the cyan dragon shadow back to him, but it was too late.

“Hula!”

The silver whirlpool rose, and after the cyan dragon shadow was swallowed up, a young man’s face emerged.

If Shi Mu was here, he would undoubtedly recognize who this person was at first glance, for it was none other than Zhao Ji!

It was only at that moment when a faint smile formed at the corners of his mouth as he lifted up his hands.

His palms lit up, one with white and the other with a black light.

“Second phase of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art!” the blue-haired man said in shock.

“Hmph! It’s all thanks to this arm of mine!” Zhao Ji sneered.

As soon as his voice fell, his hands suddenly turned in front and swung away toward the blue-haired man.

Ka-cha!

In the sky above the blue-haired man was a black white and white light, as well as a crescent moon.

Wherever the two rays passed, the snowflakes on the left side melted away, while the snowflakes on the right side were completely frozen.

The blue-haired man saw this and immediately emitted a bright blue light from his body. Like a ray of cyan light, he flew toward Zhao Ji at full force and speed.

However, the speed of the two black and white arcs was too fast for him.

Ka-cha!

A cracking sound could be heard as it swept past the blue-haired man who had transformed into a ray of cyan light, bursting open.

A black and white group of clouds broke out like a sun in the sky!

Under the tremor of cyan light, his body appeared faint though it was still in its sudden acceleration, far away.

…

After a half-month, news about the hundred-year-old disciple Zhao Ji who successfully cultivated the second phase of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art had spread widely through the Holy Land of Qinglan.

Zhao Ji was already at the forefront, but he was now more famous than ever.

Any disciple who was a century old and had learned the second phase of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art without a problem was legendary.

Some questioned if he was human, due to the racial limitations in cultivating the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art. After all, from ancient times to the present, there had never been anyone from the human race who successfully mastered the art.

However, most were optimistic about it. They believed that he would be a promising candidate in the upcoming grand championship, and would definitely rank among the top ten disciples. Some even asserted that his future potential was promisingly huge and he would be the first human in history to reach the final stage of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art.

Of course, being such a famous figure made Zhao Ji’s days more uneasy compared to his previous life.

…

In Shi Mu’s cave residence, in the secret chambers.

“Shi Mu, I didn’t expect Zhao Ji to be like you. Not only did he cultivate the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art but he’s human too!” Cai said.

“So, what about it?” asked Shi Mu.

“Now his name is everywhere! He’s not only the talk of the Holy Land but also East Saint. That’s how much of an impact his power has now. I just feel this isn’t fair to you, Shi Mu. You progressed almost half a year faster than him and you’re younger, yet…” Cai mumbled indignantly.

“That’s not exactly right. Cai, have you noticed that ever since Zhao Ji became known, he’s been targeted in countless assassination attempts?” Shi Mu said with a smile.

“That’s true… Wow, those people are scum!” Cai was stunned upon realizing how true Shi Mu’s words were.

“The higher a person goes, the more secretive they have to be about it, or they’ll get burned. After all, anything can happen in just a short time. Speaking of which, the grand championship is coming soon and I need to make some preparations. I’ll hand over the spiritual land to you for the time being.”

“Don’t worry, Shi Mu, I got it covered!” Cai said as he fluttered his wings and flew out of the residence.

“Zhao Ji, I see you’re no ordinary person…” Shi Mu muttered to himself as his gaze fixed on the entrance of the secret chambers.

As soon as his words fell, Cai’s voice suddenly rang in his ear.

“Hey Shi Mu, Cui Huan wants to see you. She’s at the entrance.”

“Let her in.”

After a while, in the hall of the residence…

“Young master Shi Mu, I’ve come to announce my retreat. For the past ten years, you’ve been extremely kind to me and protected me from all harm. For that, I am truly grateful! Cui Huan’s expression was cold as ice but her eyes showed a hint of gratefulness. However, Shi Mu showed no expression on his face.

“It’s nothing. I did what I promised. This is the receipt of the token with me as your guarantor. In addition, there are some spirit materials in this storage ring. Take it, it may be useful for you,” Shi Mu said as he handed the items to Cui Huan.

The token was purchased from the Heavenly Pavilion in Qinglan City. Although he had used up quite an amount of spirit stones for it, it did not mean much to him.

“Thank… Thank you, young master!” Cui Huan seemed flattered as she took the storage ring and the token.

“Well, if there’s nothing else, you may leave now.”

“Young master, it might no longer be in my place to ask but may i know if…” Cui Huan stopped mid-sentence.

“You’re still head over heels about the spirit weapon of your ancestor?”

“Young master, please don’t misunderstand my words! Ever since we came to an agreement in exchange for the spirit weapon to you, I never had thoughts about it. It’s just that I’ve always wondered what the weapon looked like since it brought so much misery and pain to my family. If the young master doesn’t allow it, I won’t press it,” Cui Huan quickly added.

“To be honest, I did look for the master of refining a few years back and gave him the token. Unfortunately, the redemption period was long overdue and the weapon had since been resold to a new owner. I was given two additional conditions by the master as compensation,” Shi Mu said as he continued to briefly describe what the conditions were.

After listening to Shi Mu’s explanation, Cui Huan stayed for a while and had a bitter smile on her face as she let out a sigh. After a while, she turned around and bowed to Shi Mu one last time before walking out of the cave residence.

…

Two months had passed by.

The Tenth Grand Championship of the Holy Land of Qinglan had officially begun.

In the early morning of the same day, the entire yellow region was extremely lively with people scattering all around. From time to time, there were two or three rays of light rising from the sky, shining straight in the direction of the Xuanling Tower.

Though Shi Mu had arrived at the Xuanling Tower early in the morning, the tower was already bustling with people. Many of the disciples had even brought their attendants along.

In addition to the disciples of the Holy Land, the management and attendants were not allowed to enter the Xuanling Tower. However, if they were given permission by their respective young master, they were allowed into specific places areas of the tower such as the transmission array and arena.

Shi Mu was not in a hurry. After waiting for a while, he entered the Xuanling Tower with the others in the crowd.

When the door was opened again, a familiar forest was before him.

As Shi Mu walked into the forest along with the crowd, he could not help but feel nostalgic.

The last time he was here on the guidance of Ling Feng, everything looked exactly the same. The memories were still fresh in his mind as if it happened just yesterday. Of course, it had really been a full decade.

After passing through the woods, Shi Mu once again saw the open plains and demonstrations of martial arts.

The crowd was moving and did not look as lively as before.

The first time he was there, he could only look from a distance. This time, he was one of the participants in the grand championship. The more he thought about it, he could not help but feel extremely excited.

He passed through the crowds of people, bypassing several platforms before he arrived at the central area of the plain. In the middle of the field stood a huge blue stone monument that was ten feet high.

Upon closer inspection, the surface of the monument was covered in dense characters and letters.

Shi Mujing looked at it and noticed three characters on top of the monument. It had the word “Qinglan Ranking” carved on it.

Under it, names began to appear in silver light.

Shi Mu took a close look and found the name on top of the list. He was a disciple named Long Zhanye of the demon race.

What surprised him the most was Ling Feng’s name, the person who was responsible for showing them when they first got into the Holy Land of Qinglan. He placed second, right behind the demon disciple.

Looking down, Shi Mu’s eyebrows arched little as he picked up a familiar name.

It was none other than Liao Yong, the man who had joined forces with Lu Jing in the northern region of the Qinglan City and attacked him for the sake of the Extreme Yin Aura. He was placed seventeen in the ranking.

As the names appeared one by one under the silver light, the upper thirty-two disciples of the yellow region appeared.

Among these temporary disciples, Zhao Ji placed first while Shi Mu placed second-last in the ranking. His name was written in purple, presenting him as the cut line to the lower graded disciples.

Shi Mu looked down again and the names below him were in orange. The list continued down to almost its thousands.

While Shi Mu was occupied with the ranking on the monument, he heard a familiar voice.

“Hello, brother Shi Mu. It’s been a while.”

As soon as Shi Mu turned his head, he saw Ma Long arching her hand out to greet him in respect. Standing beside her was a little girl around the age of around eighty years.

“So it’s Lady Ma Long and Ziling. It’s been a long time,” Shi Mu responded but he was puzzled by Ziling’s appearance. It’s been a decade now, yet she looked exactly the same.

“Big brother Shi Mu, where is Cai?” Ma Long asked as she looked over Shi Mu’s shoulder.

“Oh, that fellow knows nothing but eating. Since today is the grand championship, I did not bring him along,” Shi Mu said casually.

In the midst of their conversation, there was a sudden commotion in the crowd ahead.

Shi Mu looked in the direction where the sound came from and saw Zhao Ji walking through the crowd from the outside with a cold expression toward the stone monument.

Wherever he stepped, the crowd would immediately back away, forming a passage for him to walk.