Night Without End
Chapter 298 - 193: Victims Come in Pairs

Chapter 298: Chapter 193: Victims Come in Pairs

A gentle breeze brushed by, and ripples spread across the blue lake. The green bamboo forest rustled, the Golden Vine Tree swayed in brilliant hues, and clusters of flowers and grasses emitted a fresh aroma.

Qin Ming and Wu Yaizu each moved into houses with large courtyards. Compared to the earlier, dim forest huts, here the Fire Spring gurgled, the view was expansive, and it felt utterly refreshing.

Xiao Wu spoke, "Brother, Xin Youdao seems to have lost. Could it be that the earlier battle affected him? I feel guilty."

During the battle between the two prodigies of Shanhai Academy, the spectators continuously cheered and shouted. Even without being at the scene, one could hear the sound, like ocean waves.

No matter how one said it, the two moved into a new residence and looked at the picturesque surrounding scenery, feeling very pleased.

...

"Cheng Rui." Xin Youdao called to the yellow-clad woman, wanting to stop her.

"Don’t worry about it. I don’t believe it’s such a coincidence. It’s definitely someone temporarily brought in with a high-level Divine Seed, suppressing their power to intercept you before the decisive battle."

Cheng Rui couldn’t believe that in this batch of fresh students, two "dragons" could suddenly arise. It simply wasn’t realistic.

Looking across Kunleng City, among the dozen high-level academies, besides Ling Yu with a Pure Yang Body, where else could there be new disciples to rival Xin Youdao?

Cheng Rui walked quickly, the old residence was in sight.

She saw the two at once, and that elder brother was leisurely using the fishing rod she left behind to fish for Five Colored Dragon Carp in the lake.

In an instant, her chest heaved violently, feeling suffocated, she said, "Look, it’s those two, don’t say you don’t know them!"

Ling Yu, clad in black, with raven hair over his shoulders, and bright, spirited eyes, held a restrained heroic air, exuding immense confidence amidst calm composure.

Especially tonight, having defeated one of the strongest in this year’s comprehensive exam, Xin Youdao, he seemed to have nurtured a certain aura, completing a transformation.

Now, Ling Yu’s spirit, energy, and essence were elevated, even he could feel it, as his Taoist practice had clearly advanced.

His pupils slightly contracted. Is this the person Master Wu highly regards?

With a swish, he seemed to teleport, stepping on the branches of the Golden Vine Tree, lightly and quietly like a falling leaf arriving upfront, staring at the boy fishing.

Wu Yaizu, shouldering a grill, happened to step out of the courtyard gate, witnessing this scene, he said, "Just moved in, and already someone’s challenging? To take back the house?"

"Why did you act?" Ling Yu approached, staring at Qin Ming.

"It’s none of your business." Qin Ming glanced at him.

Ling Yu thought for a while and said, "I want to have a duel with you!"

He decided to cut the Gordian knot quickly, to dispel the misunderstanding between Xin Youdao and Cheng Rui. Most importantly, he himself also wanted to weigh the other, for Master Wu valued this person greatly.

Therefore, he simplified things, neither explaining nor elaborating.

Qin Ming was surprised. So direct?

Ling Yu believed in the simplicity of the great Dao, and as someone challenging the world with the sword, he needed no other reason.

"No duel!" Qin Ming flatly refused; he didn’t want meaningless sparring.

"Right here, it won’t take much of your time." Ling Yu said, his black hair rising in the night breeze, deep eyes emitting a strong conviction.

"Still right here, are you crazy, or am I crazy?" Qin Ming decisively refused. Finishing one fight had already exhausted him, another would force him and Xiao Wu to sell themselves to Shanhai Academy.

"Is there someone else coming?!" The upperclassman Qian Chuan was quite helpless. He was on duty here today, only to constantly encounter such things.

"Hiss!" He drew a breath of mist off the lake. Who did he see? It was Ling Yu!

He immediately felt a headache. Initially, he thought this pair were nameless soldiers, but how do they keep getting involved with such celebrities?

"This battle is inevitable!" Ling Yu moved forward, his hair flying, black clothes fluttering, his whole body surging with rich Heavenly Light Force.

Above his head, a spirit waterfall faintly descended, though vague, that such a hazy wonder could be constructed from Heavenly Light was already incredibly astounding!

Some called him Young Ancestor, indeed because of his extraordinary gift, reaching a height unattainable for ordinary people.

Simultaneously, at the center of his brows, a fierce Consciousness Spiritual Light like a drawn sword pierced through the night fog; he was a dual-path walker.

Rumble!

The ground quivered slightly. He was gathering momentum; each step forward honed his mental will like a Heavenly Blade, becoming sharp and dazzling, emitting an overwhelming presence.

Ling Yu’s body also emanated light, growing ever more dazzling, resonating with his spirit, akin to the clanging sound of a Heavenly Blade unsheathing, integrating into the vast night, borrowing a fearsome "force."

"Clang!"

A grill flew over, but was shattered by Ling Yu’s Protective Heavenly Light.

He turned abruptly, not expecting someone to intervene forcefully.

Wu Yaizu, seeing the turf being trampled by this person, immediately teleported forward, launching a big move, rainbow light shooting from within, wielding a mysterious bronze pestle.

Of course, avoiding going deeply bankrupt was one reason, but Xiao Wu felt guilty, thinking Xin Youdao’s defeat might have been related to him. On seeing another person coming to cause trouble, he very much wanted to act.

In one great collision, the ground instantly cracked open, and the nearby vines, flowers, and grasses were ravaged once again.

"Do you want us to go bankrupt?!" Xiao Wu got agitated, the Divine Rainbow transformed into a radiant golden arch bridge, pressing down towards Ling Yu, to stop his havoc.

"Hmm?!" Ling Yu was astonished. How could this short-haired boy be so strong?

Regarding the standout individuals this year, he was more or less aware, but these two suddenly standing out with extraordinarily out-of-the-ordinary performances was indeed absurd.

Xiao Wu was the sole seedling of the Fourth Forbidden Land, naturally extremely powerful!

He blocked Ling Yu, using the golden bridge to guide, wanting to pluck out the opponent’s Consciousness Spiritual Light.

Ling Yu, with the ambition to challenge the world with the sword, had terrifying hidden strength and astounding prowess. Now, his entire body erupted in brilliant radiance, like a Heavenly Phoenix bathing in fire, spreading wings to tear apart all obstacles, illuminating this land.

From a distance, some people gasped, as if seeing a scorching sun rising in the nighttime sky.

With a loud bang, Ling Yu felt a sharp pain at the back of his head. He tried to turn his head to see what happened, but he was powerless. His vision went dark, and he collapsed to the ground.

At that last moment, he was enraged beyond limits. The boy valued by Master Wu was so unscrupulous as to sneak attack him!

Qin Ming put down his hand, not at all embarrassed.

Since Xiao Wu had already acted, and with the bloody lesson of financial ruin in the past, Qin Ming naturally wouldn’t allow it to happen again this time, and simply and brutally stopped it.

In the distance, the yellow-clothed girl, Cheng Rui, screamed and ran away, because she was the one who brought them, fearing the two boys would also give her a beating.

At this point, she believed that Ling Yu had no relationship with those two wild boys, as he himself had been knocked down.

Xin Youdao, being injured, moved slower and had just arrived here.

The dozen or so young men and women with him had just witnessed the scene from afar, all dumbfounded and stunned.

They knew very well that the main characters tonight were Ling Yu and Xin Youdao. Yet, two mysterious youths had brutally taken them down successively.

If word of this got out, it would surely cause a huge uproar!

What would those watching think? In a hidden corner, such bizarre "sparring" happened.

Xin Youdao felt complicated emotions. He and Ling Yu were precisely aligned together, both getting taken down!

Cheng Rui whispered, "Youdao, I believe now that Ling Yu didn’t arrange for anyone to ambush you. He...became a victim too."

The group: "..."

They had no idea what to say.

Qian Chuan, who was on duty here, was stupefied beyond belief; Ling Yu, one of tonight’s two top experts, was also lying on this patch of grass.

He knew very well that Ling Yu and Xin Youdao were destined for the front page of tomorrow’s newspaper, yet there was this hidden "inside story", an unbecoming side of tonight. If the outside world found out, it would definitely be a tumultuous discussion.

And all of this was due to those two obscure boys!

Qian Chuan found it incredible, the dilapidated patch of grass seemed to have a magical aura.

He watched for a long time, not daring to get closer, because he held some awe for that mystic grass and those two mysterious boys.

The aftermath of the great battle remained lively; many people were talking about it, with some heading towards this place.

Xin Youdao asked the dozen or so people around him to go over and block a little, to prevent the unconscious Ling Yu from being discovered and losing face.

"Brother, wake up." Qin Ming shook Ling Yu.

Wu Yaizu’s eyes widened, for he saw Brother Ming effortlessly pull out three gold tickets from the man’s bosom. Was this even possible? He felt as if a window to a new world had been opened!

Qin Ming’s eyes were also a bit dazed. Was Tang Jin’s lineage really this wealthy? Each gold ticket was worth five hundred Day Gold!

Before his body exploded, he had saved up for so long, still not accumulating this much.

Qin Ming spoke up, "I’m not robbing him; he attacked me first. I was forced to counterattack, and he became my prisoner. However, since Xiao Wu intervened midway, I must return five hundred Day Gold."

He stuffed one gold ticket back, leaving two along with dozens of Day Gold coins.

"Brother Ming, you’re really considerate, a good person!" Wu Yaizu praised, relieved that they wouldn’t go bankrupt.

After the excitement, he was somewhat regretful, "I lost out; I forgot to touch gold when I beat Xin Youdao."

Not far away, Xin Youdao happened to be approaching and heard this statement, causing his veins to bulge with anger.

Qin Ming said, "The nature is different; you challenged someone, so you shouldn’t have that kind of thought. I was attacked, forced to defend myself, and it’s normal to take ransom from a prisoner."

Ling Yu awakened, immediately furious, wanting to fight to the death with the opponent!

However, he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head, still a bit dizzy, and if he fought in this state, he would surely suffer a great loss.

Xin Youdao spoke, "Brother Ling, don’t get worked up, you should leave here first. Everyone else has returned, best not to stir up more trouble tonight."

He had to stop it, unwilling to escalate things, as he didn’t want these trivial matters on tomorrow’s papers; otherwise, it would practically be a "blood rain and foul wind."

Ling Yu pointed at Qin Ming angrily, his chest heaving violently, then turned and left, also not wanting to be a spectacle in tomorrow’s news.

"I want to officially duel you!" He said before leaving.

"It’s unnecessary." Qin Ming said, wanting to advise him not to be so agitated.

The disciples of the Esoteric Buddhism and Immortal Road residing here had all returned, and upon seeing Xin Youdao and Ling Yu, they became extremely excited.

A large crowd gathered around them, surprisingly enthusiastic, treating them like stars and surrounding them in the center.

"Brother Ling, you truly are the glory of our generation, I eagerly want to see you wiping your sword across the world, sweeping all opponents on various paths, reaching the absolute pinnacle!"

"Brother Xin, though defeated, you are still glorious, amazing to everyone..."

With such praise and fervent gazes, normally Ling Yu and Xin Youdao wouldn’t be bothered, having been accustomed to it. However, currently, both were feeling utterly miserable.

Each of these statements felt like a beating to them.

...

No one knows how long it passed before they squeezed out from the crowd, all taking a deep breath, covered in sweat; the earlier situation was nothing short of torment for them.

"What, you lost to a boy from the Black and White Mountain?!" In the evening, Tang Jin abruptly turned around, looking at the boy with an aggrieved face.

"I wasn’t defeated; he was unscrupulous and sneak-attacked me!" Ling Yu said, getting angrier, clenching his fists.

He shouted, "Please, Senior Sister, arrange it for me; I want to fight him openly!"

"He may not accept the challenge," Purple eyed Crow spoke up.