"Giggle, he doesn't dare. He's scared." Wang Lian laughed, her laughter brimming with smug satisfaction. Ever since confronting Chen Guan, she'd constantly felt suppressed at every turn—now she'd finally scored a point.
Chen Guan ignored her, his gaze fixed on Qin Ziyu in combat as countless thoughts flashed through his mind. The Qin Ziyu he remembered was the academy's superstar—the most talented, highest-achieving student who stood head and shoulders above everyone else in every aspect. Nearly ninety percent of the female students regarded Qin Ziyu as their dream lover, the undisputed heartthrob and academic god.
Such a person had long basked in endless applause and praise—what flattery hadn't he heard before? Moving such a person's heart clearly wouldn't be easy. Moreover, Qin Ziyu himself was emotionally exceptionally stable. As his classmate, Chen Guan had almost never seen Qin Ziyu display any extreme emotions or behaviors.
Suddenly, Chen Guan recalled an incident. During one lecture when the professor mentioned how the Ancestral Emperor led a million iron cavalry to storm the Sky Secret Realm, Qin Ziyu had seemed unusually engrossed. Even after the story ended and the professor called him to fetch something, he hadn't responded until called several times—the only time Chen Guan had ever seen Qin Ziyu so distracted.
Chen Guan thought to himself: "Wang Lian said the Qin family descended from a branch of the Qin Dynasty's descendants who changed their surname. Does that mean Qin Ziyu carries the Ancestral Emperor's bloodline? Could he possibly want to emulate the Ancestral Emperor in unifying the world?"
But upon reflection, that didn't seem right. The Ancestral Emperor's unification exploits were often mentioned, yet Qin Ziyu had never shown any special reaction. His distraction that time had been specifically about the Ancestral Emperor's assault on the Sky Secret Realm. The source of this content ɪs novel⟡fire.net
"After the Ancestral Emperor entered the Sky Secret Realm, he was never seen again, and the Sky Secret Realm vanished too. Could Qin Ziyu want to enter that realm to find his ancestor?" As these thoughts flashed through Chen Guan's mind, an idea struck him—worth testing.
"Chen Guan, stop hesitating! If we delay any longer, we'll all die! Don't be afraid—this is our collective decision. Whatever happens, we'll face it together." Gongsun Zhuo grew increasingly anxious seeing Qin Ziyu's perilous situation, urging Chen Guan more urgently.
"You underestimate me—and Qin Ziyu. Do you really think I'm withholding the Spirit Energy Capsule because of Wang Lian's words?" Chen Guan declared righteously.
"Of course not! If I don't give him the capsule, we'll certainly die now. If I do, we might not die. Who'd be foolish enough to choose certain death now over an uncertain future?" Chen Guan countered.
Gongsun Zhuo considered this—it would indeed be stupid otherwise—then asked puzzledly, "Then why aren't you giving Qin Ziyu the Spirit Energy Capsule?"
Chen Guan replied calmly, "Because I believe in Ziyu."
Gongsun Zhuo stared blankly, completely lost. Anyone could see Qin Ziyu was at his limit, like an arrow at the end of its flight—nearly dead already. What good was belief now? Did Chen Guan think faith alone could make Qin Ziyu immortal against the Water Burial Buddha?
Chen Guan's eyes grew profound as he watched the retreating, barely-standing Qin Ziyu, pontificating solemnly: "When the Ancestral Emperor led a million iron cavalry to storm the Sky Secret Realm, saving the world from calamity and eradicating countless disasters, he wielded divine powers rivaling heaven and earth itself."
Gongsun Zhuo had no idea what Chen Guan meant—why spout such nonsense at this critical moment?
"Keep talking nonsense and Qin Ziyu will die! Just give him the capsule! Even if the Qin family exterminates us later, it's better than dying now! A living dog beats a dead lion—a few more days alive are better than nothing!" Wang Lian fanned the flames.
Chen Guan ignored them both, noticing subtle changes emerging in Qin Ziyu. His previously slumped posture from exhaustion was gradually straightening.
"It's actually working!" Chen Guan rejoiced internally, continuing aloud: "The Ancestral Emperor battled heaven and gods to secure our peaceful lives—such magnificent power and achievement! As his descendant, Ziyu carries that supremely noble bloodline—nobility stemming not from power, but ability and virtue. Were the Ancestral Emperor here, not just this Water Burial Buddha, but all the gods and buddhas combined wouldn't make him stoop to using something as base as a Spirit Energy Capsule. When the Ancestral Emperor wills it, he slaughters through all realms—gods and buddhas alike falling before him!"
"Having shared classes with Ziyu these years, I've long recognized—though unaware then of his lineage—that he possesses the Ancestral Emperor's indomitable will, fearless courage, reality-defying power, and noble virtue of securing the people's welfare. Had he been born three millennia earlier, the name 'Ancestral Emperor' would rightly have been Qin...Zi...Yu..."
Chen Guan faintly perceived an inexplicable aura rising from Qin Ziyu, thinking: "Looks like I guessed right—this guy's ambitions reach as high as the Ancestral Emperor's eternal legacy."
"I can't speak for others, but someone of Ziyu's caliber will inevitably triumph when he chooses! What's a mere Legendary-grade Mystical Spirit? My Ziyu stands peerless within his realm—below Second Awakening, he slaughters Legendary-grade spirits like weeds! He'd never need trash like Spirit Energy Capsules!" Chen Guan kept stoking the flames.
Gongsun Zhuo and Wang Lian listened dumbfounded, both thinking: "Losing is losing—what good does exaggerating Qin Ziyu's prowess do?"
Yet the next instant, they suddenly saw the previously overwhelmed Qin Ziyu stop retreating—his sword firmly blocking the Water Burial Buddha's palm mid-air!
Though Qin Ziyu's strength couldn't match the Buddha's, now the creature's grip on the blade couldn't force the sword down. Head lowered but posture ramrod straight, Qin Ziyu radiated an incomprehensibly powerful aura—his waning energy now surging stronger.
"Chen Guan...you're right." Qin Ziyu's voice emerged as he slowly raised his head, eyes burning with blazing fire. "As the Ancestral Emperor's descendant...how could I shame his legacy?"
An overwhelming aura erupted from Qin Ziyu as purple and green energies perfectly merged across his body. His formerly half-purple, half-green face now swirled with an eerie, mysterious composite hue that spread to his sword—the blade gleaming with uncanny radiance.
Qin Ziyu's heaven-defying upward slash severed the Water Burial Buddha's fingers gripping his sword—the sword's momentum unabated as its eerie light flashed from the Buddha's chest to crown in one stroke.
Holding his sword pointed skyward, Qin Ziyu coldly watched the Water Burial Buddha stagger back. A crimson line appeared across its head and chest, widening as blood gushed forth—before its upper body split cleanly in two, crashing to the ground.
Gongsun Zhuo and Wang Lian gaped, unable to believe their eyes.
But Chen Guan narrowed his eyes—for as Qin Ziyu became empowered and the Cheerleader's Soul reached full activation, a mysterious force simultaneously surged within his own body.
"Cheerleader's Soul compatibility reached 100%. Empowered target enters Classified state. This classified archive has been recorded."