Chapter 176: A Night of Tension

It was already very dark.

The wind outside was howling and beating, and from time to time some dark shadows were cast on the white paper window.

To Wang Yanglin, these were usually very ordinary occurrences, but after hearing those words just now, a trace of nervousness arose in his heart.

Wang Yanglin furrowed his brows tightly, then relaxed them slightly, letting out an involuntary self-mocking laugh.

How could there be ghosts in this world? Besides, the fellow disciples were all living nearby; even if a ghost came, it would be crushed.

Then, without thinking further, Wang Yanglin sat cross-legged on the bed and entered a cultivation state again.

Outside, it was very quiet, without a hint of noise.

But just then, Wang Yanglin suddenly felt as if something was outside the house, and he immediately opened his eyes.

And upon opening his eyes, he was so startled that his whole body trembled. On the paper window, it seemed a human figure stood there silently, motionless...

"Who..." Wang Yanglin said in a low, wary voice.

But even so, the figure still made no sound, nor did it move, just standing there quietly.

Wang Yanglin's breathing grew rapid, his little heart pounding. Finally, gritting his teeth, he instantly appeared at the door and flung it open.

He had to see who dared to play tricks here.

Yet outside, there was no one, and looking from outside, the shadow on the paper window had also vanished.

Wang Yanglin swallowed hard, then abruptly thrust his head back into the room to look at the paper window, only to find in horror that the shadow on the window was still there.

The shadow was even moving, as if tilting its neck and sticking out a long tongue.

"Who!" At this moment, Wang Yanglin roared angrily.

"Senior Brother, what's wrong?" This roar also alerted the others.

"Nothing." Wang Yanglin gradually calmed his uneasy heart. "Junior Brother, is there anything unusual on your side?"

"No." That disciple shook his head in confusion, then came up to Wang Yanglin and asked doubtfully, "Senior Brother, are you too nervous?"

"No..." Wang Yanglin breathed a sigh of relief. Could it really be that he was too nervous? But just then, Wang Yanglin's eyes suddenly widened. Behind his junior brother, there was actually a ghostly figure in white robes, its face covered by long hair.

Wang Yanglin stepped back in terror, blinking his eyes. The white-clad figure he had just seen vanished instantly.

"Senior Brother, what's wrong..."

Wang Yanglin's breathing was now rapid. "Nothing, I saw wrong, too nervous..."

"Oh, Senior Brother, rest early, don't be too nervous."

"Mm."

...

When he returned to the room, Wang Yanglin picked up the teapot to pour a cup of water to calm himself, but just then, he suddenly noticed that what poured out of the teapot was crimson blood.

Wang Yanglin's body trembled, and the teapot crashed to the ground, shattering into pieces.

What terrified Wang Yanglin even more was that on the bed, some crimson characters had appeared.

"I died so unjustly..."

At that moment, Wang Yanglin stumbled backward, staring in horror at everything before him.

Those crimson characters stirred a monstrous wave in Wang Yanglin's heart.

Lin Fan, in his invisible state, watched Wang Yanglin's terrified expression and revealed a slight smile.

This one was scared enough; he could try someone else.

And because of this scare, Wang Yanglin didn't sleep all night, remaining on high alert.

That night was sleepless; for some disciples of the Nine Heavens Sect, it was a night of heart-pounding terror.

The next day.

The Strongest Prodigy Battle officially began.

The venue for this Strongest Prodigy Battle was on the Middle Heaven Peak, which had the sect's largest martial arts arena.

At the same time, the formations around the arena were personally arranged by Supreme Elder Lü Mingyang of Middle Heaven Peak, allowing disciples to fully display their skills without affecting the safety of the watching disciples.

Now, on Middle Heaven Peak, there was a sea of people. Disciples of the Holy Sect arrived one after another. For the triennial Strongest Prodigy Battle, they were full of anticipation, hoping not only for their sect's victory but also to see the heroic bearing of the sect's prodigy senior brothers.

Lin Fan was currently discussing matters with Supreme Elder Wuyan. As for the Strongest Prodigy Battle, Lin Fan originally didn't want to join in the excitement, but Supreme Elder Wuyan had forcibly pushed him to participate.

"Lin Fan, yesterday I already announced you as a prodigy disciple of the sect, so this time, I'll trouble you to go up and compete." Supreme Elder Wuyan said.

Lin Fan looked at Wuyan. "Elder, you're not losing hope in the sect's disciples, are you?"

Lin Fan really had this thought. In his view, Supreme Elder Wuyan must have had no one else in mind and ultimately placed all his hopes on him—after all, wherever he went, he shone so brightly.

Elder Wuyan squinted at Lin Fan, his expression as if to say, "You know too much."

"The people from the Nine Heavens Sect are here." At this moment, a stir went through the crowd, and they voluntarily made way.

Walking in front was Elder Liang Yichu, followed by the prodigy disciples of the Nine Heavens Sect.

But what surprised the Holy Sect disciples was that some disciples of the Nine Heavens Sect seemed a bit off.

As if they hadn't rested for days, their faces were haggard and listless.

"Hey, look at those disciples from the Nine Heavens Sect. What's wrong with them? They look very tired."

"I don't know. Look, that disciple looks so haggard, as if he's about to faint."

...

Wang Yanglin followed in the procession, completely spiritless. Yesterday's events had kept him in a state of high tension all night.

He didn't even dare to close his eyelids, afraid that the moment he did, something terrifying would happen.

Lin Fan looked at Wang Yanglin's appearance and felt a bit helpless. With such high cultivation, he was still so cowardly.

Afraid of ghosts? If word got out, it would be a real laughingstock.

Then Lin Fan said nothing more and went to where the inner sect prodigy disciples were.

Zong Hentian sat motionless, resting with his eyes closed.

"How is it?" Lin Fan stepped forward and patted his shoulder, asking.

"Uncle-Master, I'm okay." Zong Hentian was also a bit nervous now, especially when he saw the imposing Xin Feng; his eyelids twitched slightly.

"Uncle-Master Lin, go for it!" At this moment, Ye Shaotian came over from a distance and said.

"Mm." Lin Fan nodded.

"Uncle-Master, we'll all be cheering you on over there. The prodigy disciples from the Nine Heavens Sect this time seem much stronger than last time. Uncle-Master, you need to be careful." Ye Shaotian and the others were outer sect disciples, but their talent and comprehension were not much inferior to those inner sect senior brothers; it was just that their cultivation hadn't yet reached the level of inner sect disciples.

But in their view, it was only a matter of time.

Perhaps in the next session, they would have the chance to participate.