"Traitor of the Demon Barbarians!" the Bear Demon Commander of the Saint Clan cursed… "When your Blood Demon Barbarians were slaughtering our Star Demon Barbarians, the humans didn't even have their talents yet!" The Savage Cow looked down on the opponent with contempt. The Bear Demon, unable to retort, left bitterly, joining the other demons.
"Should we secretly follow this Fang Yun to avenge the tiger?" the Bear Demon Commander suggested. The Fox Demon, waving its paw, used its qi and blood power to cut off the outside world and said, "I've used a secret method to inform the Demon Prince. They already know Fang Yun has reached the Seventh Corridor and must have a strategy against him. Fang Yun is too strong; we mustn't send ourselves to death! There are rumors that in the Comet Corridor, the closer humans get to the front, the stronger the God of Literature's power becomes, enhancing their War Poetry."
"That's just a legend; how can it be true?" "You saw the War Poetry just now. Forget about comparing it to the Presented Scholars' poetry; its power has already far surpassed ordinary Imperial Scholars' War Poetry, mainly due to the abundance of God of Literature's power and earthly qi here. Our Demon Barbarians surpass humans in the ingenious use of qi and blood, but we can't manipulate earthly qi as well as humans' talents. This Fang Yun is extraordinary. I'm leaving the Comet Corridor now and will quickly spread this news to the Demon Realm!"
"Can't you wait until the Comet Corridor event ends? Are you planning to…" "Don't think only humans and the ape clan are clever; my fox clan is no less! Think about it, the Dragon of the Kong Family became the King of Stars by luck, thanks to the Demon Ancestor's secret order. But look at this Fang Yun, effortlessly moving in the deadly snow without external help, and killing the tiger demon with a single War Poetry. In my eyes, he has already surpassed the Dragon of the Kong Family! A single Dragon of the Kong Family shook the Demon Realm, and eventually, the Demon Emperor had to kill him with the help of All the Saints. If Fang Yun becomes the King of Stars, what would that mean?"
"You make a lot of sense! Right, Fang Yun must not be spared! But even if the Demon Saints know Fang Yun might become the King of Stars, what can they do? This is the Demon Ancestor's territory. They can't interfere with the Comet Corridor." "The Demon Ancestor's life and death are unknown, and they probably don't fear him much anymore. Besides, even when the Demon Ancestor was around, he couldn't do much about the Demon Realm's All the Saints. Now what? To eliminate the human King of Stars, offending the Demon Ancestor doesn't matter, especially now that his descendants guard the Comet Corridor. As long as they are given enough benefits, why wouldn't they agree? After all, it's the humans who are being killed."
"But still, the Comet Corridor is built by the Demon Clan itself; its power is probably extraordinary." "Although the Demon Ancestor built the Comet Corridor, it's ancient and without his continuous empowerment, it's naturally not as strong as before. Actually, even if it were ancient, our clan's All the Saints might not dare to act. But fortunately, the Fifth Corridor suddenly collapsed, The Carrying of the Mountain fled, and the Demon Ancestor's power dissipated a lot, otherwise, I wouldn't think of asking the All the Saints for help."
"That makes sense! You should leave quickly. Don't be late! Fang Yun is doomed!" said the Bear Demon Commander, glancing dissatisfiedly at The Savage Cow in the distance. The Fox Demon confidently smiled, "As long as the Demon Saints truly want to kill him, he is indeed doomed! Now, humans are just so-so! Once this genius falls here, I want to see what the humans will use to mock our Demon Clan's lack of cleverness!" The Fox Demon, holding the ice stone, prepared to leave. It glanced at the entrance and noticed an ape demon with prominent white hair on its head.
"Hey? You're that… Ape Bei, right? Unexpected that you, not even a member of the Saint Clan, could make it here!" Ape Bei laughed, "I've been quite lucky recently, mysteriously entering the Demon Ancestor's Courtyard. Then, just as mysteriously, I entered the Fifth Corridor's maze. I was about to be taken out of the Comet Corridor by The Carrying of the Mountain, but then that stone lion saved me."
"How did you pass the Sixth Corridor? With so many poison beasts, how could you have made it alone?" "That's why I said I'm lucky. When I reached the Sixth Corridor, I found all the poison fog gone, and I just naturally passed through."
"What? How is that possible? Tell us in detail!" exclaimed the Fox Demon. Ape Bei smiled, "The fog was too thick; no one knows exactly what happened. We only know that the Snake Clan Prince tried to stop the human Presented Scholars, then someone among them used the Military Strategists' Holy Path Sound, sweeping away all the poison fog, killing all the Blood Demon Barbarians of the Sixth Corridor. The Star Demon Barbarians were unharmed. When I entered, the human Presented Scholars were gone, but the power of the Holy Path Sound remained."
"The Holy Path Sound? Damn it! How could the Blood Demon Barbarians behind us pass the Sixth Corridor then? Ape Bei, how come you're not afraid of the Holy Path Sound?" "I am afraid, but don't forget, we're from the ape clan and don't harm humans. The Holy Path Sound mistook me for a Star Demon Barbarian. Those Star Demon Barbarians fear the Holy Path Sound, but I don't."
"Lucky dog!" laughed the Bear Demon Commander. The Fox Demon, looking deeply at Fang Yun and the others, said, "The situation is more serious than I initially thought! If the Holy Path Sound isn't their own power, it means they can use even stronger forces in the Comet Corridor. If it is their power, whoever it is must be eliminated!"
"Right, the Military Strategists' Holy Path Sound is too terrifying; it must be removed!" agreed Ape Bei. "You keep an eye on the human Presented Scholars. If they make any big moves, you must leave the Comet Corridor and inform me! Previously, my clan's Demon King suspected that this early occurrence of God of Literature's Movement and The Holy Land might be a sign of great change. I didn't believe it at first, but now I increasingly think it's a sign of the rise of humanity! Those humans participating in the Comet Corridor must die!"
"Humans must die, and the Demon Clan will flourish!" Ape Bei excitedly agreed, with the other demons also becoming impassioned. "When the humans are dead, I'll go to the Demon Court to claim our achievements!" declared the Fox Demon, holding the ice stone.
Ten breaths later, the ice stone enveloped the Fox Demon in white light, taking it away from the Seventh Corridor. "Bai Bei, did you come to the Seventh Corridor to compete for the King of Stars?" asked the Bear Demon Commander. Ape Bei grinned, "Do you think I'm foolish? I'm just here to take a look. After all, the King of Stars will undoubtedly belong to our Demon Clan!" After speaking, Ape Bei stroked the tuft of white hair on his head, then took out a pitch-black wooden piece, fiddling with it.
Next to Fang Yun, a small comet suddenly soared high, facing the area where Ape Bei and the other demons were. It circled a few times in mid-air before returning to Fang Yun's shoulder. At this moment, Fang Yun sat on the ground, resting with his eyes closed. Soon, a very faint cracking sound emanated from inside Fang Yun's head. No one around heard it, but Yan Yukong and a few others instinctively looked over, watching Fang Yun curiously.
Suddenly, Fang Yun opened his eyes, took a deep breath, stood up with a smile, and began to prepare. All the Presented Scholars looked at Fang Yun, knowing he was about to enter the snow.
"Aren't you going to think it over?" Li Fanming watched Fang Yun, ready to set off. "I want to walk around inside. Don't worry, I won't clash with them head-on. With 'Night Raid' poetry, they can't do anything to me," Fang Yun smiled.
"Alright, we're as good as dead if we enter the Seventh Corridor, but you might find something valuable if you look around." Fang Yun turned to The Savage Cow and the hound, speaking in the demon language, "You two still lack strength; no need to follow me. Focus on breaking through to Demon Commander, striving to become Demon Kings of The Holy Land. I'm leaving. If you're willing, please take care of my friends."
"Rest assured, Your Highness! I'll stay here to strive for Demon Commander. Once I achieve it, I'll have the strength to enter the deadly snow," The Savage Cow said, not insisting on following Fang Yun this time. "Your orders, Your Highness!" The hound breathed a sigh of relief, sneaking a glance at The Savage Cow, fearing being thrown into the deadly snow.
"I'm off," said Fang Yun, and he walked alone into the vast white deadly snow. All the snowflakes were repelled an inch away from him by an invisible force.
Once Fang Yun disappeared into the snow, Li Fanming suddenly said, "Have you noticed? Fang Yun's two entries into the snow are subtly different. The first time, his Courage to Write seemed to 'resist' the snow, but this time, it seemed to 'repel' the snow, as if his power has increased a level." "Fanming, you're overthinking. He's only been a Presented Scholar for less than half a month. If his Courage to Write has increased a level, that would mean he's reached the second realm. How could that be possible!" "True," Li Fanming laughed sheepishly. Yan Yukong stared blankly at the spot where Fang Yun disappeared, silent for a long time.
Two Realms Mountain. In a secret valley under dark clouds, thousands of descendants from the engineering clans were busy. Led by people from the Zhang Heng family, with the assistance of Mo, Luban, Ma, and other engineering clan disciples, they were working around a spherical object as tall as a ten-story building. The object was covered by a huge curtain, obscuring its nature, but the base underneath bore three powerful and vigorous characters: Armillary Sphere. A few disciples of the Zhang family complained while working. "Alas, we're so unlucky. While other Presented Scholars went to The Holy Land, we're stuck in this godforsaken place for Armillary Sphere drills." "This device is one of our ancestor Zhang's foundational tools for his sanctification. It doesn't need any drills; it would endure even through fire and flood for thousands of years." "Sigh. Our old family head is so stubborn. He never involves himself in Jing Kingdom's internal affairs, only focusing on promoting our clan and our ancestor's teachings. When asked to guard Two Realms Mountain, he gathered everyone above the rank of Talented Scholar from our family, truly stubborn!" "No choice, the human race comes first. Since we can't go to The Holy Land, we hope Fang Yun will bring glory to our Jing Kingdom, killing many Demon Barbarians there, or obtaining treasures that others can't, making our people proud." "I believe he will succeed. Wait… the old family head is coming, huh? That person looks familiar, what a presence. Zhang Poyue can't even compare to him. Just one look, and one is reminded of the legendary elderly warriors, Lian Po and Huang Zhong." "That's… the Western Saint!"
Outside The City of Confucius, at the bottom of Inverted Peak Mountain. There are two paths up the mountain. One is a winding road that first-time visitors must take. The other path is a lift made by the engineering clans, but now all the lift doors are sealed and heavily guarded, with stern-faced executioners standing at the entrance. "Why aren't we allowed up the mountain? We've received orders from The Holy Academy! If we're late and it leads to a big problem, we'll be held accountable! What's going on? Someone should explain!"