Many Elders, upon seeing the unique Bronze True Essence in Hong Yuan's hands, immediately felt an itch in their hearts, wanting to recruit Hong Yuan under their wings to work for them and secure benefits.
Had Elder San not been presiding over the Aperture Opening Ceremony, they would likely have directly sent their disciples to make contact with Hong Yuan.
"A genius like you is exactly what we need in the Enforcement Hall," Elder Niu Juhe said, very satisfied with Hong Yuan.
Compared to diligent individuals with insufficient talent, he preferred geniuses, even if such a genius was incredibly lazy.
Although he had promised to become Chen Dongsheng's master, having another genius disciple would make Niu Juhe even happier. He seemed to see a wonderful vision of himself holding great power, scrounging all resources, and advancing into the Martial Saint Realm with the help of many strong disciples.
「...」
After successfully opening his aperture, Hong Yuan didn't immediately leave. Instead, he seized the time to capture the misty Essence Qi in the air and compress it into his aperture.
The aperture was extremely mysterious. It existed within Hong Yuan's body yet not in the same space as his organs; it was infinitely large and yet infinitely small.
Within it was a sea of verdant bronze-hued True Essence. Because Hong Yuan had opened a Class A aperture, his True Essence sea occupied ninety-five percent of the area!
Every drop of seawater in the True Essence sea was True Essence, representing the condensation of Hong Yuan's spirit and vitality.
At that moment, Hong Yuan was rapidly capturing the essence of the outside world with his mind, refining it into his own True Essence. With Hong Yuan's relentless efforts, though the ninety-five percent True Essence sea didn't grow by even a fraction, the color of the verdant bronze-hued sea deepened.
When it turned half silver and half bronze, it would signify that Hong Yuan had officially stepped into the second rank as a Martial Artist.
Hong Yuan refined the external Essence Qi while observing the situation of others.
Currently, eight people had already climbed to the Class A aperture area. Five of them were cultivator disciples, successors from within the Sect. Hong Yuan glanced at them and quickly moved on, shifting his gaze to look for traces of Chen Dongsheng.
Chen Dongsheng was not in the Class A aperture area. Hong Yuan had to squint to find Chen Dongsheng still struggling in the B-rank area, though he was nearly finished there.
His perseverance really is astonishing, Hong Yuan thought, watching that exhausted yet determined figure struggling forward, feeling slightly moved. Barring any accidents, Chen Dongsheng should also be able to barely reach the Class A area.
Even though Hong Yuan wanted to kill Chen Dongsheng, he had to admire his willpower.
The scene was beautifully serene on one side, but on the other, faces were contorted.
"HUFF. HUFF." Chen Dongsheng exhaled raggedly, gritting his teeth and moving forward.
He had originally planned to just stay in the B-rank area and be done with it. But unexpectedly, when he looked up, he found that Hong Yuan, whom he had bullied in the past, had actually turned the tables and opened a Class A aperture in one fell swoop.
It made no sense at all. That guy Hong Yuan was so trashy; even a glance at him was a waste of time.
When he realized that Hong Yuan was truly about to rise, an intense regret gnawed at his mind. Especially when he remembered how people like Hong Yuan, these "honest folk," treated those who had oppressed them after gaining power, a shiver went down his spine.
Come on, come on, I must not let Hong Yuan turn the tables. At the very least, I need to be able to speak to him on equal terms, Chen Dongsheng quietly cheered himself on.
At this moment, he showed none of the assertiveness he usually had, and the so-called strong willpower in his words was nowhere to be seen.
As much as he had enjoyed bullying Hong Yuan, now he was just as wretched.
One step, two steps...
Chen Dongsheng was breathing rapidly, his heartbeat erratic. He felt like he was about to die, but after resting briefly, he continued on his way.
The image of Hong Yuan and other "honest folk" coming into power was truly terrifying to him.
"If only I had dealt with him that day," Chen Dongsheng murmured bitterly, feeling as if he could cough up blood from frustration.
He had considered using his B-rank aperture to crush Hong Yuan with his Class A aperture, but he knew how difficult that would be to achieve.
Once you give an honest person like Hong Yuan enough time, they can overturn everything!
"PANT! PANT!" Chen Dongsheng gasped, taking in fresh air.
Hong Yuan, who was weighing heavily on Chen Dongsheng's mind, was indeed thinking about how to deal with him. Especially when Hong Yuan saw Chen Dongsheng's Transcendent willpower, he too felt a chill in his heart.
Damn it, why are my enemies either sly old foxes or people with extraordinary willpower? Hong Yuan silently complained.
Although he didn't know whether Chen Dongsheng still harbored any enmity towards him, Chen Dongsheng's current tenacity made it impossible for Hong Yuan to feel at ease and continue to lay low.
The premise of outlasting an opponent with Life Span was to avoid being killed by them first. Yet, facing Chen Dongsheng, he had a faint premonition of capsizing. What if Chen Dongsheng held a grudge and decided to strike him hard?
Offense is the best defense. If I want to lay low and survive, it seems I need to find an opportunity to deal with this Chen Dongsheng, Hong Yuan silently decided, then quietly began to track Chen Dongsheng's movements.
Hong Yuan watched as a Blood Spring erupted from Chen Dongsheng's body, observed Chen Dongsheng struggling to push through the Essence Qi barrier, being forced out by it only to push back in, watching Chen Dongsheng faint...
"Fainted!?"
"What the—Chen Dongsheng's body couldn't handle the pressure? Did he just faint at the Essence Qi barrier?!!!"
Hong Yuan was stunned.
So, the human body does have its limits.
Slogans like "Come on, I can definitely do it!" or "Hold on, I can surely make it!", which seemed imbued with mysterious power, didn't work here...
Not only was Hong Yuan stunned, but the other disciples and Elders were also astonished.
"Hmph." The First Elder of the Enforcement Hall, Niu Juhe, snorted coldly.
He was very dissatisfied with Chen Dongsheng's temperament. In his heart, Chen Dongsheng was not only lacking in talent but also exceptionally foolish. He needed to reconsider whether to take Chen Dongsheng as a disciple.
An Outer Sect Deacon wanted to enter Yuan Peak to rescue Chen Dongsheng but was stopped by Elder San's ice-cold gaze.
"The Sect does not need disciples who overestimate themselves," Elder San said indifferently.
If outsiders wanted to approach a disciple who was opening their Aperture, the Formation on Yuan Peak would need to be disabled. However, deactivating and reactivating the Formation would consume thousands of Energy Stones. Chen Dongsheng was not worth such an effort from the Sect.
A person who couldn't even restrain their own desires was considered worthless by the Sect, let alone the fact that he only had B-rank talent.
Thus, Chen Dongsheng was abandoned.
He lay on the ground, deeply unconscious. He was just one step away from the Class A aperture region—just one step!
Because Chen Dongsheng usually bullied the servant disciples, not only did no one step forward to help him up, but anyone who showed pity was also fiercely deterred by glares from others.
In the Ice-attribute B-rank area, Le Congsheng looked at Chen Dongsheng's prone form with sheer delight in his heart, continuously gesturing and glaring to chase away those girls with overflowing charitable hearts.
Le Congsheng wished desperately for Chen Dongsheng to just die there!
Coincidentally, Hong Yuan thought the same way.
He could never have imagined that this formidable opponent would push himself to death. How ridiculous.
Suppressing the urge to laugh, Hong Yuan continued to refine the Energy Mist while keeping an eye on Chen Dongsheng's movements.
Pushing himself to death, is that even possible? HAHAHAHA...