Chapter 254 (2/2)

Ning Que was slightly startled and said, ”If I lose, so be it. I have suffered so much to clear my acupoints, am I that stupid to follow that oath and make myself an invalid?”

Mo Shanshan could not believe what she heard, and asked, ”What about the master's reputation?”

Thinking about that powerful Psyche Master called Lin Ling, who came from the Tang army of the palace and died with regret, Ning Que revealed a smile on his face.

”I haven't seen my teacher yet. But according to my Senior Sisters and Brothers, I think that he might not care about it. On the contrary, if I lose this bet and really turn myself into an invalid and leave the Academy, he might be furious about how he could have such a stupid student.”

Mo Shanshan still could not understand his words.

Ning Que explained, ”What I mean is that the Headmaster of the Academy doesn't care about his reputation, either.”

”What if Prince Long Qing doesn't fulfill his promise when he loses?”

”If I breakthrough a state first, he has no choice but to fulfill his promise.”

”It would be a big challenge to break through two states at once. Even though you have entered the Seethrough State successfully, you are still at a lower level, how can you breakthrough two states and win this? No matter how good you are at fighting, the disparity in skill between you and Long Qing is still large.”

Staring at her, Ning Que suddenly ask seriously, ”If a person is disturbed during a crucial time when he is trying to break the realm, what would happen to him?”

Mo Shanshan could not figure out why he would care about this. But after thinking for a while, she answered, ”It depends on what kind of disturbance it is.”

Ning Que replied, ”The largest one.”

Mo Shanshan said, ”At that time, the person who is trying to break the realm would be terribly hurt, and he may not be able to break that realm for the rest of his life.”

Ning Que nodded and said, ”That couldn't be better.”

After that, they were silent again.

It seemed as if they were walking aimlessly. In fact, Ning Que had always been walking in a specific direction. That strong and arrogant aura was like a lamp in the Heaven and Earth that directed him to cross green forests, through a wetland, and take a mountain path which was muddy, rough, and covered by moist fog. At last, they arrived in front of a lake.

This lake was not big, covering an area of a thousand feet. Its sh.o.r.eline was winding and its water was calm. n.o.body knew how many years this lake had existed among this fantastic valley because no trace left by human beings could be found here.

Compared with that snow peak of Tianqi Mountain, the verdant valley was warm. But in fact, the valley was still cold, as cold as the winter in Chang'an. Some thin ice was frozen along the lake's sh.o.r.eline and was spread everywhere when the water swelled, and then the water would be frozen on another peaceful surface.

No human traces could be found here. It seemed that this lake was a natural lake in the valley, but Ning Que did not think so. A familiar aura came right from the depths of the lake. Ning Que stood by the bank of the lake in silence, staring at the lake for a long time. Through its transparent water, he saw white sand and round stones lying under the water, yet he found nothing strange.

Mo Shanshan could not sense the strong aura. But she did sense that something else existed here. She walked beside Ning Que, looked at the swimming fish, and said softly, ”This lake is a big tactical array. But it is weird that the lake itself is an array eye, which goes against the rules of a tactical array.”

Ning Que stayed silent before saying, ”The tactical array of an Unknown Place definitely differs from other tactical arrays.”

”You mean this lake is the Front Gate of Devil's Doctrine?”

Looking at the snow peak reflected in the lake, she suddenly remembered something recorded in the codes, and then said in a quaking voice, ”It's been recorded in the codes that there is a lake at the Front Gate of Devil's Doctrine. Is this that lake?”

Ning Que answered, ”It must be this one.”

Mo Shanshan looked at this ordinary lake and could not believe that they had found the Front Gate of Devil's Doctrine so easily. She said, ”I never thought in all my life that I would see the remains of the Front Gate of Devil's Doctrine in person.”

If other cultivators saw the Front Gate in person and saw the Unknown Place that all the people talked about, they would be thrilled. They might even crazily jump into the lake.

If Ning Que had seen this lake at another time, he would have been thrilled, too. But right now, he was very calm. Because whether the ”Ming” Handscroll of the Tomes of Arcane was hidden under the lake or the remains of that predecessor, all of that had nothing to do with him.

He suddenly asked, ”Does this lake have a name? Is it mentioned in the codes of Divine Hall?”

Mo Shanshan asked, ”Why do you care about that?”

Ning Que looked at her and answered with a smile, ”Because in the future, the history books will record that the 13th student, named Ning Que, from the Second Floor of the Academy broke a realm at this lake, so how can this lake not have a name? It doesn't sound good if we call it the Unknown Lake or a Lake Without a Name.”

Mo Shanshan let out a sigh, thinking that breaking a realm was tough and enigmatic and it would not be easy to achieve. He was too arrogant. She reluctantly said, ”The Devil's Doctrine called themselves the Enlightenment Doctrine, so they called this lake Daming Lake.

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