The words choked Sheng Linglong, her face turning ashen. She quickly retorted, "I'm just advising you not to harbor foolish dreams, lest you make a laughingstock of yourselves."
Feng Ninghe's expression remained largely unchanged. Her clear, cool voice, devoid of any extra emotion, replied, "Miss Sheng, whether I make a laughingstock of myself is my own affair. You needn't trouble yourself with it. If you have this much leisure, perhaps you should consider why you're speaking so much?"
"Pfft."
Nan Rufeng couldn't help but chuckle softly.
Sheng Linglong had always been arrogant and dismissive of others. Her status was clear, and few dared to offend her.
Now, seeing this woman suffer a setback, she couldn't help but laugh softly, finding it amusing.
There were few people in this world who could make Sheng Linglong back down.
Her laughter reached Sheng Linglong, whose exquisitely made-up face turned ashen, her eyes wide with anger.
Before she could speak, a male voice came from the side.
"Linglong."
These two simple words made her pout in exasperation.
Du Chang stood up generously, a warning in his chiseled face. His tall figure strode towards her. "Linglong, the trial hasn't begun yet. Prepare yourself well."
His implication was that she should speak less.
His slightly warning gaze made Sheng Linglong, full of suppressed frustration, shut her mouth. Biting her tender lips, she whined, "Brother Du..."
Du Chang ignored her, retracting his gaze with a hint of disappointment.
Normally, he found Sheng Linglong pampered and prone to small tantrums.
But now, he felt this woman was being utterly unreasonable.
Feng Ninghe didn't want to engage further, while Sheng Linglong was being persistently willful.
The contrast between the two was stark.
This expression made Sheng Linglong panic inexplicably.
"Brother Du, listen to me..." She hurried after him, explaining frantically.
Feng Ninghe raised her eyes, gazing at the stairs of the fourth level. A hint of determination flickered in her eyes. "Senior, I am ready. We can begin the fourth level trial."
The elder walked ahead, leading the way. "Then please, everyone, follow me."
As the elder stepped onto the stairs, Feng Ninghe and the others followed behind.
Su Hongxiu, her bone-articulated hand gently fanning herself with a bone fan, had a hint of amusement on her face, which seemed as if bathed in spring breeze. "Miss Feng, it seems you've been targeted."
Anyone with eyes could see that Sheng Linglong was deliberately provoking her.
Feng Ninghe shrugged with a hint of helplessness. "I don't offend others unless they offend me. If they offend me, I will strike back. Whatever she wants to do is her business. Besides, she's not the only one targeting me."
She deliberately turned her head, looking in the direction of a room.
Two familiar figures stood at the doorway.
Ji Binyu was supporting Lin Yuran.
These two seemed to be saying something, their lips moving in a hushed conversation.
Feng Ninghe was too far away to hear their words clearly.
Lin Yuran's cold eyes gleamed with a chilling light. Her icy female voice slowly uttered, "It seems Miss Sheng Linglong of Sheng Tian Academy has quite an opinion of Feng Ninghe."
As the saying goes, where there is a common enemy, there are friends.
Understanding her thoughts, Ji Binyu's lips curved into a perfectly measured arc. "Yuran, you intend to use Sheng Linglong to get rid of her?"
As if thinking of something amusing, she excitedly pulled Ji Binyu. "Binyu, I have a way to enter Sheng Tian Academy!"
Upon hearing she had a method, Ji Binyu's eyes involuntarily showed a spark of interest. "What method?"
Not far away.
Several figures disappeared at the staircase entrance.
When Feng Ninghe opened her eyes again, she stood in a narrow intersection.
Two lanterns appeared in her palms, and three paths lay before her.
*Dong!*
A dull drumbeat sounded, as if announcing the start of the trial.
A prolonged male voice slowly descended, a low reminder. "The reward for the fourth level is at the exit. If you cannot find your way out of the maze and wish to leave, simply press the red button on the wall, and you may depart."
A button would appear on the dividing wall of each path.
Feng Ninghe also stepped forward at this moment, walking slowly ahead.
With each path she traversed, countless new paths would appear before her. If she were to try every path using conventional methods, it would take an unknown amount of time to leave this place.
She decided to stop, sat down where she was, and slowly spread out her spiritual sense.
As long as her spiritual sense could cover the entire maze, she would find a way to escape.
Her spiritual sense continuously crept outwards, and she gradually began to see her surroundings.
The maze was far larger than she had imagined. It would not be easy for her spiritual sense to cover the entire area...
Within the Thunder Cloud Tower.
Nan Rufeng stepped forward without hesitation, leading the disciples of Bai Zhi Academy into the fourth level.
"Brother Du, Feng Ninghe is simply too arrogant. In all my life, I've never met such an overbearing person. I wanted to teach her a lesson."
Sheng Linglong whispered coquettishly, her slender hand gently shaking Du Chang's sleeve.
Seeing her girlish demeanor, Du Chang sighed with a hint of helplessness. He turned to look at her, his deep pupils holding an unfathomable depth. "Linglong, it's best you don't provoke her."
The woman's demeanor was not to be underestimated.
Without knowing her background, it was not advisable to act rashly.
"Brother Du! What do you mean by 'don't provoke her'?"
Sheng Linglong was displeased. Her pent-up anger had nowhere to go, so she clenched her delicate fists. "Brother Du, she provoked me first, so why are you telling me not to provoke her?"
Du Chang's deep eyes flickered with a hint of light, and he changed the subject. "Linglong, everyone is gradually entering the fourth level trial. It's about time. We should go too."
In a short while, everyone had entered the trial one after another.
In the room.
Lin Yuran and Ji Binyu were still recuperating.
"Pfft!"
A mouthful of bright red blood spurted from Lin Yuran's mouth. She hastily pulled out a handkerchief to wipe her lips. "Those puppet-like figures are truly troublesome!"
Fighting against the puppet-like figures had exhausted her.
It was no small feat to have survived safely.
Ji Binyu looked at her with concern. "Yuran, your physical condition is not optimistic. We can only rest here for three days at most. If we don't continue the trial after three days, we will be expelled from the Thunder Cloud Tower."
"Three days it is!"
Lin Yuran gritted her teeth and said without hesitation, "Just give me a little more time. One day would be enough for me to catch my breath. Even Feng Ninghe managed to enter the fourth level of the Thunder Cloud Tower unscathed. I absolutely cannot be inferior!"
She abruptly swallowed a pill.
As the pill entered her mouth, a fierce power surged throughout her body.
She intended to use this opportunity to break through to the Nascent Soul stage!
Only by breaking through would her injuries become insignificant, and her internal spiritual energy would become abundant.
She absolutely would not stop here!
"Lin Yuran! Are you crazy?"