In the crack, Duanmu Yun looked very calm.
She didn’t know if the Academy Master had really captured an Essence Demon King.
However, it didn’t matter anymore.
Be it an Essence Demon or an Essence Demon King, they were all nothing to Duanmu Yun.
She was a woman, and although men and women were equal in the world of immortal cultivation, females would often be weaker than men in terms of cultivation.
It was not an issue about talent, but rather, in the eyes of female cultivators, beauty was more important than cultivation. They felt that as long as they were beautiful enough, all geniuses and powerhouses would have to succumb to them.
Hence, in the world of immortal cultivation, there was a famous saying, men who mastered cultivation would master the world, women would just need to master men in order to master the world.
However, Duanmu Yun did not agree.
On the contrary, she believed that if she relied on men, she would only be a princess. But if she depended on herself, she would be the queen.
That was also the reason why Duanmu Yun had been working hard to cultivate since she was a child.
She wanted to do what men could.
She also wanted to do what they couldn’t.
Hence, she was overjoyed to see that Fang Lei and others like Mo Xiaoping did not pass the test.
The reason being, that was the only way she could prove her strength and capabilities.
At this moment, the crack gradually vanished.
However, in an instant, a loud and clear voice sounded beside her ear.
“Female Patron, watch my fist.”
Someone said loudly.
Before Duanmu Yun could react, the terrifying fist technique had already appeared in front of her.
Bang!
With a loud explosive sound, Duanmu Yun immediately flew upwards before landing hard on the ground.
“Pfft!”
In the next moment, Duanmu Yun vomited a mouthful of blood while feeling confused.
‘I got punched as soon as I came in?’
‘Must you be so straightforward?’
‘Who are you?’
Duanmu Yun was really a little dumbfounded as she was not prepared at all. As soon as she appeared in the Essence Demon Mystic Realm, she received a hard punch in her face.
However, Duanmu Yun was indeed very strong. After suffering a punch from Ye Ping who only used 30% of his strength, she was not seriously injured. Indeed, she was much stronger than Fang Lei and the others.
In an instant, Duanmu Yun disappeared on the spot. She pinched her fingers and cast a spell, after which a blue light suddenly engulfed her, forming a shield.
Clang!
At the same time, Duanmu Yun drew her blue flying sword, and in an instant, thousands of sword energy traversed, each with a menacing force that was enough to slash a cultivator at the perfected Foundation Establishment realm.
The thousands of sword Qi converged and surged towards Ye Ping like a thunderstorm.
In the Essence Demon Mystic Realm, Ye Ping turned into a Godfiend. He was fearless towards the sword energy and simply clenched his fist to attack.
“How is it so powerful!?!”
“Is it really an Essence Demon King?”
Seeing this, Duanmu Yun was stunned.
Her Yin Water Sword Qi was so powerful that even Golden Core cultivators wouldn’t dare to use their physical body to resist. Yet, Ye Ping, who was not far away, relied on his physical body and charged over domineeringly.
When the Yin Water Sword Qi struck Ye Ping, it was akin to thousands of iron needles being stabbed at an ironstone. There were no effects at all.
“Female Patron, watch my fist.”
Ye Ping’s voice sounded again, and soon, he punched his iron-like fist at Duanmu Yun’s face again before she could react.
Kcha.
The sound of her facial bones cracking filled the air. Before Duanmu Yun could shriek in pain, Ye Ping’s Godfiend fist struck again.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In the Essence Demon Mystic Realm, Duanmu Yun was being abused brutally by Ye Ping like a punching bag.
At this moment, Ye Ping was basically already certain that he had come to a forbidden place of the demonic sect.
Otherwise, why was everyone out to kill him?
How many famous sects in this world would be that menacing and hostile?
‘Now, they’re sending a violent wench to seduce me with her beauty. Isn’t that a common trickery of the demonic sects?’
Having figured that out, Ye Ping naturally could not ignore it.
‘You can send an expert to hit me.’
‘You can send an expert to kill me.’
‘However, you can’t send a woman to trick me with her beauty because hitting women is what I detest the most in this life.’
Thinking of this, Ye Ping’s punches became harder.
What Ye Ping hated most was bullying the weak and bullying women, but he was in the world of immortal cultivation. If he didn’t fight, the person to die would be him.
Hence, he gritted his teeth. In order to survive in this cruel world of immortal cultivation, he had no choice but to do it.
“Ah!”
At this moment, Ye Ping’s Godfiend fist became harder again. He was just like a Godfiend who went all out, extremely terrifying.
He launched a series of punches.
Duanmu Yun was completely dumbfounded.
‘Must you be so exaggerated?’
‘Isn’t this outrageous?’
‘I’m a woman.’
‘Hey! Can’t you be a little lighter?’
‘Is there some feud between us?’
Duanmu Yun broke down into tears. She was extremely miserable. In the beginning, she was full of confidence, but she did not expect this Essence Demon to be the Essence Demon King which had a tough body.
It was so tough that even her Yin Water Sword Qi could not pierce through it. There was nothing to fight then.
Thinking of this, Duanmu Yun instantly wanted to crush the mystic realm ancient token.
However, in an instant, Ye Ping was quick to kick Duanmu Yun’s hand, causing the ancient token in her hand to fly away. Immediately afterward, Ye Ping grabbed the token. He was as quick as a bolt of lightning.
“Want to run? No way!”
Ye Ping’s voice sounded and his eyes were full of coldness.
He was an orthodox practitioner and had to do justice for heaven today. However, for the goodness of the world, Ye Ping did not want to kill. However, he wanted to completely expiate the female demon in front of him.
Since the Golden Wheel of Expiation could not expiate her, he would use physical expiation to beat her up until she decided to turn over a new leaf.
“Oh dear.”
Duanmu Yun felt a chilliness in her heart when she tossed the ancient token out.
With the ancient token, she could at least escape, but without it, she would be in hot soup.
She might really die there.
In an instant, Duanmu Yun took out a purple pill and swallowed it directly. Soon, her injuries healed immediately and she then drew her sword again. She started attacking Ye Ping.
Clang clang clang!
The Yin Water Sword Qi appeared again and it was much stronger than before.
The Sword Qi bombarded Ye Ping.
In an instant, there were various sounds of explosion and each Sword Qi exploded.
Unfortunately, Ye Ping’s speed was extremely fast and he was as quick as a bolt of lightning. Not only was he fast, but his physical body was also very tough. He immediately charged at Duanmu Yun.
The dense Sword Qi landed on Ye Ping and the sound of metal clashing rang out.
“Female Patron, it’s not too late to turn back. Don’t defect to the demonic Dao.”
Ye Ping’s gaze was calm and clear.
However, his fist did not seem calm at all.
Duanmu Yun’s figure once again flew past the gladiatorial arena like a broken kite.
Bang!
With the violent explosion, Duanmu Yun fell hard onto the ground while the area within hundreds of meters around her turned into ruins. The gladiatorial arena itself was not large, and after being ruined by Ye Ping, it became extremely shabby.
“Ahem.”
Duanmu Yun was undeniably very strong and powerful. Under such a fierce attack from Ye Ping, she was still hanging on to her very last breath and hadn’t passed out yet.
However, at this moment, Ye Ping did not choose to continue with the fierce attacks.
He did not intend to kill, but he didn’t want to be killed either. The woman in front of him was stronger than the previous few cultivators he faced. Hence, in a moment of helplessness, Ye Ping decided to strike hard.
Now that Duanmu Yun was completely dumbfounded, Ye Ping was also slightly relieved.
“Patron, I may have mistakenly intruded into your forbidden land, but even if you are a member of the Demonic Dao, shouldn’t there be some rules too?”
Ye Ping pinched the mystic realm ancient token and walked towards Duanmu Yun.
Duanmu Yun’s eyes were red and teary. She looked at Ye Ping and was at a complete loss for words.
‘What do you mean member of the Demonic Dao?’
‘You’re a member of the Demonic Dao.’
‘Your entire family is.’
She couldn’t say anything because her injuries were grave and she really didn’t have the strength to speak.
Ye Ping continued to speak.
“Patron, I can choose not to harm you but I hope that you can understand the truth. Since ancient times, evil will never trump the good. You may have defected to the Demonic Dao but you don’t have any devilish aura. Clearly, you haven’t been there for long. So, can you listen to my advice?”
Although he believed that Duanmu Yun was in the Demonic Dao, Ye Ping could tell that she didn’t have any demonic aura at all.
He reckoned that it should have been a momentary misstep that led her onto the path of no return.
If he could convince Duanmu Yun to turn over a new leaf, he might receive good merit.
“I… I’m not in the Demonic Dao.”
Duanmu Yun’s voice slowly sounded as she tried hard to explain with all her might.
Although she did not know why she was trying to explain that to an Essence Demon, she still wanted to clarify that she was not in the Demonic Dao.
However, as soon as she said that, Ye Ping’s gaze turned cold and he said slowly, “Oh, it seems you’re not convinced, Patron.”
His gaze was somewhat cold, and his five fingers were squeezed tightly.
In an instant, Duanmu Yun trembled in fear before using all her might to say those words.
“I am.”
At this moment, Duanmu Yun felt incredibly aggrieved as an Essence Demon had actually called her a cultivator of the Demonic Dao.
‘What a huge disgrace!’
‘What a huge disgrace!’
‘This is such a huge disgrace!’
Upon hearing Duanmu Yun admit that she was a member of the Demonic Dao, his gaze turned sullen but it soon became warm and mellow. He even smiled.
“Patron, since ancient times, good and evil have been opposing forces. You are lucky to have met me today. If you had met other unfeeling and ruthless cultivators of the orthodox Dao, you might have long died.”
“However, I have always believed that no one in this world is born evil or kind. Sometimes, you just can’t help yourself.”
“I can tell that you’re not a brutal person. Maybe, you entered the Demonic Dao in a moment of folly, but you must believe that after every storm, there is a rainbow,”
“Patron, why are you crying?”
“It seems that you are enlightened. In this case, I hope that you can turn over a new leaf soon.”
Ye Ping’s words were touching and heartfelt.
Duanmu Yun silently burst into tears too.
However, she was not touched but aggrieved.
She was the daughter of the Duanmu Family, the number one female cultivator in the Jin Nation Academy, and a half-step Golden Core cultivator. She never thought that one day she would be forcibly dealt with by an Essence Demon.
She was very aggrieved.
She wanted to explain but didn’t have the strength to do so, and the terrifying expression on Ye Ping’s face made her too afraid to explain.
“Patron, I have to go, if fate allows and we meet again, I hope you will have changed your ways and become a good person.”
At this point, Ye Ping suddenly discovered that there was light spreading from his feet, and that was a sign of the end of the array formation. Hence, Ye Ping was drowned by the light after he said that.
The mystic realm ancient token also fell into Duanmu Yun’s hands.
At this moment, Duanmu Yun could not help but freeze.
‘Why did the Essence Demon leave?’
‘This is impossible!’
‘It is impossible for the Essence Demon to escape from this mystic realm.’
‘This is absolutely impossible. If he could escape this mystic realm, he would have run away long ago. Why did he wait until now?’
“He’s not an Essence Demon?”
In an instant, a thought appeared in Duanmu Yun’s mind.
“Impossible! Absolutely impossible!”
Duanmu Yun couldn’t believe it.
The Essence Demon Mystic Realm was set up jointly by the senior members of the Jin Nation Academy and was considered a small space. One would have to enter the small space using the corresponding mystic realm ancient token.
Without the ancient token, even the Academy Master would not be able to break in, unless… he was a supreme master of array formations.
Of course there was another possibility, which was, someone accidentally broke into the mystic realm during spatial transmission.
Such an incident was not unprecedented but was very rare.
However, no matter what the reason was, Duanmu Yun knew that she had escaped a disaster.
If Ye Ping really had a killing intent, she would have died for sure.
However, Duanmu Yun couldn’t help but lament.
‘If he wasn’t the Essence Demon, why didn’t he explain it?’
Duanmu Yun couldn’t help but cry again.
Had she known earlier and explained clearly, she would not have had to take a beating for nothing.
After a while, Duanmu Yun finally recovered some Dharmic powers. She got up and dried her tears.
Holding the mystic realm ancient token tightly in hand, she wanted to leave.
However, when Duanmu Yun was about to crush the ancient token, she suddenly fell silent.
‘If I go out like this, won’t it be very embarrassing?’
‘Should I wait for an hour before going out?’
Duanmu Yun fell silent.
Calculating the time, she realized that she had stayed in the mystic realm for five minutes, and if she left just like that, she would be a loser just like Fang Lei and the others.
‘Right!’
‘I’ll wait for an hour before going out.’
‘Even if I lose, I will still be proud.’
Duanmu Yun thought to herself.
However, after an hour passed, Duanmu Yun couldn’t help but think of a possibility.
Ye Ping was not an Essence Demon!
However, apart from herself, no one should know that Ye Ping was not an Essence Demon.
Would it be better if she went out and claimed that she had defeated the Essence Demon?
As soon as the thought appeared, Duanmu Yun froze in shock.
‘Yes, I can just lie and say that I have defeated the Essence Demon.’
‘But if I do that, won’t I seem a little despicable?’
‘If someone finds out, won’t it be awkward for me?’
‘No, no, how could this be? I’m in the Jin Nation Academy, and I might have to go to the Ten Nations Academy in the future, what are the odds?’
‘Also, when I go out later, I won’t say that I defeated the Essence Demon, they will naturally think that I defeated the Essence Demon. I just won’t admit or deny it, won’t that be enough?’
‘Yes, yes, I just won’t admit or deny it. Good, very good.’
‘Is this wisdom?’
‘Duanmu Yun, Duanmu Yun, you’re so smart.’
‘Hey!’
“Ahem.”
After some imagining, Duanmu Yun had already determined what she should do next and couldn’t help but smile. However, she accidentally stretched her wound and the pain made her frown.
Ye Ping was too fierce and Duanmu Yun would always remember that beating.
However, thinking of the next scenery, Duanmu Yun’s resentment gradually vanished.
However, she soon crushed the mystic realm ancient token in her hand.
In an instant, a spatial rift appeared.
Duanmu Yun’s figure also disappeared in the middle of the mystic realm.
In the outer world, at the altar.
Thousands of students of the Jin Nation Academy looked at the altar nervously.
Several of the most popular figures in the Jin Nation Academy had basically all lost in the Essence Demon Mystic Realm. Hence, it was obviously a topic of conversation.
It was only the Essence Demon Mystic Realm. If it was the True Demon Mystic Realm, they would be dead.
Even the elders of Jin Nation were anxious, let alone the disciples.
If these disciples couldn’t even beat the Essence Demon Mystic Realm, the Ten Nations Grand Tournament would end early.
They could forget about joining the Ten Nations Academy.
While everyone was full of curiosity, a rift finally appeared.
“Quick, look.”
“Did Senior Sister Duanmu win?”
“I think it’s uncertain.”
“Senior Sister Duanmu’s Yin Water Sword technique is invincible. If even she loses, we’ll be in trouble.”
“I think she should be able to win.”
“It’s hard to say, we’ll know the result later.”
They were discussing.
On the altar, a figure appeared.
It was Duanmu Yun.
She was pinned in place by her flying sword and her lapel was covered in blood. Although she looked very pale, she did not pass out.
Whoosh!
The Academy Master immediately went to Duanmu Yun and healed her injuries with his spiritual energy.
“What exactly happened inside?”
Li Mocheng frowned and asked Duanmu Yun.
He was truly curious. How could a mere Essence Demon beat the geniuses of the academy into such a miserable state?
“Academy Master, there’s indeed an Essence Demon King in there.”
Duanmu Yun said, struggling to hang on.
Her words led to an uproar.
Even Li Mocheng was dumbfounded.
‘Is it really an Essence Demon King?’
“What happened in the end?”
Li Mocheng continued to ask.
“It’s gone.”
Duanmu Yun took a deep breath and slowly said those words.
Everyone was suddenly enlightened.
“Gone? What do you mean gone?”
Li Mocheng could not help but continue to ask.
Duanmu Yun was perplexed.
‘I’ve already made it so clear, don’t you understand?’
‘Academy Master, are you deliberately picking on me?’
To be honest, Duanmu Yun really did not have the cheek to say that she had defeated the Essence Demon King. She could at most mislead them.
Ye Ping was not the Essence Demon King, but he was far stronger than it and he had indeed disappeared too.
Since he had disappeared, didn’t that mean that he was gone?
‘I stated things so clearly, so why are you still asking?’
Thinking of this, Duanmu Yun could only force herself to hang in there long and continue to speak.
“Academy Master, it means…”
Halfway through her sentence, Duanmu Yun suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood before falling onto the ground.
Since she couldn’t explain clearly, she could only play dead.
“Duanmu Yun, make yourself clear. Hey, complete your sentence, don’t play dead. Duanmu!”
Seeing that Duanmu Yun had passed out, Li Mocheng was a little dumbstruck.
‘How can you fall down in the middle of saying a sentence? You should faint only after you finish.’
He scolded Duanmu Yun.
However, a middle-aged woman came directly to the altar.
She chided furiously, “Academy Master, you had good intentions for wanting to train these disciples but don’t go too overboard. You put an Essence Demon King in there? Aren’t you afraid that they’d die in there?”
The woman came over and hugged Duanmu Yun, clearly displeased.
“No. Junior Sister, hear me out.”
Li Mocheng was dumbfounded.
He remembered that he had just caught an ordinary Essence Demon.
“Academy Master, you really went a bit too far this time.”
“Hmph, I was wondering why my disciple couldn’t defeat an Essence Demon. I didn’t expect it to be an Essence Demon King. Academy Master, you’ve gone overboard.”
In an instant, everyone came to a sudden realization. The elders humphed coldly before leaving.
Li Mocheng was left behind, all perplexed and confused.