Following Linghu Yueyue, the Liangqiu sisters also entered the grand formation one after another.
The time gap between the three of them wasn’t significant, though those who came after took noticeably longer.
Yet, in the end, everyone successfully made it into the formation.
Of the twelve zodiac entrances, only the Rat Zodiac remained unopened within the formation by the end.
The Rat Zodiac’s trial was the simplest, yet while all the harder entrances had been breached, it stayed shut, leaving many perplexed.
“Master, what’s going on?”
At this point, Wuming Xingyun, Lady Fox Immortal, and the other two turned their puzzled gazes toward Master Liangqiu.
Unlike their confusion, Master Liangqiu remained calm, his face betraying no hint of concern. They suspected he might know something.
“No need to worry,” he said simply, offering just those four words before falling silent.
This left Liangqiu Chengfeng and the others even more baffled, forced to speculate on their own.
Meanwhile, inside the formation, the climbers had begun their ascent, using their respective skills to break through the formation checkpoints blocking the mountain paths.
Among them, Linghu Yueyue and the Liangqiu sisters were the fastest at dismantling the arrays.
But even the Liangqiu sisters paled in comparison to Linghu Yueyue.
Linghu Yueyue’s spirit techniques outshone the sisters’, and her cultivation was something they couldn’t hope to match.
If passing the entrance trials relied solely on spirit techniques, entering the formation demanded both spirit prowess and martial strength.
The Liangqiu sisters’ weakness lay in their martial power.
For Linghu Yueyue, however, neither the spirit nor martial challenges posed any issue.
“This Linghu Yueyue is truly impressive, Master… Why didn’t you take her as a disciple back then? With your guidance, she might already be a Serpent-Mark Exalted-Cloak Spiritist by now,” Lady Fox Immortal remarked.
Years ago, Master Liangqiu had intended to take Linghu Yueyue as a disciple.
For reasons unknown to outsiders, he ultimately didn’t, though the specifics remained a mystery.
“In the end, it just wasn’t meant to be,” Master Liangqiu said with a faint smile, his expression unruffled. He seemed to harbor no regrets over missing out on such a prodigy.
Yet no one noticed that after speaking, he instinctively glanced at the Rat Zodiac entrance.
A subtle upward curve tugged at his lips.
By now, the climbers had broken through numerous arrays, reaping some rewards within the formation.
Due to their weaker cultivation, despite their strong spirit techniques, the Liangqiu sisters’ pace had slowed considerably, allowing others to catch up.
Since each array could potentially hide the Boundary Sword, many had teamed up to speed up their progress.
Naturally, several sought to ally with the Liangqiu sisters.
But the sisters refused every offer.
Their rejection puzzled the others, though only they knew why—they were waiting for someone, the one they most wanted to team up with.
*Rumble—*
Suddenly, a boom echoed from the Rat Zodiac’s direction.
As the sound rang out, Tang Zhenghao and the others powering the palace formation outside turned their eyes toward it.
Master Liangqiu and his group did the same.
Even Linghu Yueyue and the others, mid-array-breaking, paused and looked over.
They all wanted to know who emerged from the Rat Zodiac—Chu Feng or Wuma Shengjie.
Under everyone’s watchful gaze, a figure stepped out from the entrance.
But upon seeing who it was, many faces fell with disappointment.
It wasn’t Chu Feng—it was Wuma Shengjie.
“How could it be him?”
“Could this kid really be that strong, to have beaten Chu Feng?”
Seeing Wuma Shengjie, not just the juniors but even Liangqiu Chengfeng, Lady Fox Immortal, Wuming Xingyun, and Master Longxuan were visibly surprised.
“Well, looks like you were right—quite the unexpected twist,” Lady Fox Immortal said to Wuming Xingyun.
Wuming Xingyun’s eyes betrayed a flicker of disappointment he couldn’t hide.
Though he’d praised Wuma Shengjie as a rare monstrous genius, deep down, he’d hoped Chu Feng would come out on top.
In truth, it wasn’t just Wuming Xingyun—many shared that disappointment.
While Wuma Shengjie was hailed as the prophesied child, once Chu Feng’s strength became known, people had pinned their hopes on him instead.
The son of Chu Xuanyuan facing off against Linghu Hongfei sounded far more thrilling.
“This guy actually beat Chu Feng?”
“Doesn’t that mean his cultivation surpasses Chu Feng’s?”
“No wonder it took him so long at the Rat Zodiac entrance. His spirit techniques might not be top-notch, but his martial prowess must be extraordinary.”
The crowd buzzed with speculation.
*Whoosh—*
At that moment, Wuma Shengjie sprang into action, landing on a mountain peak and charging toward its arrays.
In the blink of an eye, he shattered the first array.
Then the second, the third…
Arrays that others struggled to crack were like chopping vegetables for Wuma Shengjie—effortless.
His speed outpaced Linghu Yueyue’s by more than tenfold.
Everyone watched in awe.
They could sense his Sixth Rank Martial Immortal cultivation and see his Insect-Mark Exalted-Cloak Spiritist prowess.
Most strikingly, his array-breaking speed was simply staggering.
Put plainly, compared to Wuma Shengjie, the others in the formation weren’t even in the same league.
Not even Linghu Yueyue could hold a candle to him.
At that moment, the juniors weren’t the only ones shaken—Liangqiu Chengfeng and the others showed astonishment too.
It was as if they finally understood why Wuma Shengjie had been dubbed the prophesied child.
In terms of talent, he might truly have what it took to challenge Linghu Hongfei.