Chapter 314 - 313: Duel

The Hundred Ghosts Sect’s duel arena was located within a Secret Realm Space. The sky here was bright, with overlapping mountain silhouettes visible in the distance. A large, circular dueling area lay in the center, where dozens of Elders sat in their designated seats. They all wore grotesque masks, revealing not a hint of emotion.

Meanwhile, in the stands, tens of thousands of disciples were in an uproar, their voices rising and falling in waves of discussion. "Holy crap, he’s actually dueling Snow! The peerless prodigy who made it snow throughout the entire Hundred Ghosts Sect ten years ago! The number one genius!"

"That guy Ghost Head has some insanely good luck. I heard a ton of senior disciples who wanted to challenge Snow were all rejected."

"This really is a great opportunity. Even though Snow is just a piece of trash who can’t cultivate, her unique nature has always been fascinating. Not even Elder Zhao Sheng could explain it. I wonder what changes a person would go through after absorbing her."

"Still thinking about absorbing her? Elder Zhao Sheng tried to absorb her himself before and got no results. It seems they also tried to turn her into a Cultivation Dish, but that basically failed every time. No one was compatible."

"It’s worth a shot, right? What if it works? For example, what if I absorb Snow, break some kind of strange seal, awaken my cultivation Talent, and ultimately ascend to the Yin Yang Celestial Pride List!"

"In your dreams!"

Amid the overwhelming roar of discussion, Ghost Head was already standing in the center of the arena. He held his head high and puffed out his chest, as if displaying his heaven-defying fortune for all to see.

Although numerous rumors claimed Snow was a tough nut to crack—despite having no cultivation ability, she couldn’t be absorbed or turned into a compatible Cultivation Dish.

An "untouchable" individual.

But it was precisely these rumors that stoked the desires of ordinary disciples like him. ’If everyone in the world has failed, but I succeed, wouldn’t that make me peerless?’

VMMMM—

A sudden spatial tremor rocked the area. An Elder was leading her disciples into the dueling Secret Realm Space. Everyone looked up, including Ghost Head.

The sight made his eyes go wide, and he stared in a stunned daze.

He saw Elder Bell Fish leading several hundred Elite Disciples into the area. A young man and woman stood at the very front, right by her side.

Of course he recognized them. One was the famous Snow. For some reason, she seemed to have grown taller and her frame had filled out, but that wasn’t the important part.

’The crucial thing is that guy... why is he wearing the robes of a Direct Disciple?!’

"Whoa, is that Elder Bell Fish’s Direct Disciple? He’s huge! I remember the Yin Yang Summoned Life was just three days ago, right? What did they feed him to get him that big?"

"You don’t know about that? I heard this Yin Yang Summoned Life produced a weird prodigy, too. He was born at that age but doesn’t seem to have any special abilities. He was named Bai Mo."

"Ah, so that’s what happened. The Yin Yang Summoned Life has been really weird these past hundred years, always producing these freaks..."

The Hundred Ghosts Sect wasn’t the only one to practice Yin Yang Summoned Life; other sects did it as well. The resource consumption was immense, something smaller sects couldn’t possibly afford.

Meanwhile, the truly Major Sects didn’t want to bother with it. They were capable of nurturing their own powerful prodigies; rather than waste resources summoning a genius, they preferred to invest directly in their own talent.

Decades ago, Yin Yang Summoned Life rituals in many places throughout the Netherworld Dynasty had simultaneously produced freaks—deformed creatures that didn’t resemble a proper human form.

It was as if an entire Demon Race from some Great Realm had been annihilated, their corpses all slaughtered and cast into the void. How else could there have been such a huge disturbance?

To be fair, even if the corpses were in the void, there was no guarantee they would enter the Yin Yang Great Realm. But no one knew why the Yin Yang Summoned Life of those few years produced so many freaks...

"Silence—"

A sudden, chilling voice swept across the entire arena. All the disciples’ voices were suppressed, the words caught in their chests, unable to escape.

It was the Duel Elder, seated in the very center of the Elder seats, who had spoken. He was a Grand Elder at the Dao Entry Realm. The title "Grand Elder" simply denoted a higher-ranked Elder; Elder Zhao Sheng was also a Grand Elder.

Bell Fish was merely an ordinary Elder.

"Bai Mo, guide Snow to victory over Ghost Head. Absorbing an opponent is very useful for one’s cultivation."

After giving this instruction, Bell Fish hurried to the Elders’ seats. All the Elite Disciples who had followed her filed into the spectator stands, filling the empty spaces.

"Snow, don’t worry. I’ll help you once you get on stage."

After gently rubbing Snow’s head for a moment, Jiang Qiu followed the group to the spectator stands.

The entire arena was silent; no one dared to make a sound. But their gazes, like fireflies gathering into a sea of stars, were fixed on Snow’s small, five-foot frame as they watched her walk onto the stage alone to face Ghost Head.

They couldn’t perceive what Realm Snow was in. She seemed to be a complete blank, with no traces of cultivation whatsoever.

This wasn’t because they didn’t know how to probe her; it was because Jiang Qiu had already activated [Ghost Possession]. Concealing her Realm was a part of the power he had lent her.

How many people could possibly comprehend the methods of a Dao Entry Realm expert?

This was especially true for Ghost Head, who had barely cultivated to the Fourth-Layer of the Spirit Body Realm. At this moment, the greed in his eyes was completely unconcealed, as if his true nature was showing through his ox-headed ghost mask.

"Still a useless piece of trash who hasn’t cultivated. What gives you the courage to fight me? To challenge me to a Duel!"

Ghost Head gritted his teeth, his mind clouded by desire. He was desperate for attention, hoping to "vindicate" his status as an ordinary disciple.

Every ordinary person had wondered if they were actually a peerless genius who just hadn’t found their path yet—as if they were simply missing the key to unlock their Talent.

However, Ghost Head wouldn’t say he had shortcomings. He just felt that he must have some kind of untapped potential, and that’s why he was stuck as a low-ranking, ordinary disciple.

Of course, his status wasn’t actually that bad. The Hundred Ghosts Sect was a Major Sect in Sunset City, and countless people who yearned to join couldn’t even get through the gates.

But it was for this very reason that he felt that if his Talent already surpassed that of so much other trash, he should be able to go a step further and surpass those around him. ’Why can’t I be the one to rise above the rest?’

’Just as I surpassed countless others to get into the Hundred Ghosts Sect, I should now surpass countless disciples inside it and become a Saint Heir of my generation!’

Extreme desire magnified in Ghost Head’s mind. His pupils gradually narrowed into vertical slits, and for a brief moment, it was as if a venomous snake was staring at Snow.

’Senior Brother...’

A sudden chill ran down her spine. Snow silently mouthed the two words and glanced back toward the spectator stands. She only felt at ease after confirming her senior brother was there.

"The rules have been sent to you via the Yin Net, so I won’t elaborate. I am here to judge your victory and defeat. The loser will become sustenance for the victor."

The Duel Elder gave the two a cold glance, then announced, "The Duel begins—"

At that very moment, a golden light erupted from Snow’s eyes, and the shadow of a dragon flickered within them before vanishing.

[Ghost Possession]!