Chapter 234: The Latecomer Surpasses the Predecessors!
Hua lowered her head. She had known Ding Ning for a very long time—they’d grown from nothing together.
Back then, the competition wasn’t so fierce. The ten thrones were all vacant, and at that time, each throne was opened for competition one by one, after a certain period.
It’s the same as now, waiting for the other ’Kings’ to fall.
Each round, a batch of ss-level Lords with lingering aura would compete and fight together.
She wasn’t the kind of vengeful spirit suited for combat, and her growth was slow. From that time on, she’d always been by Ding Ning’s side, using her abilities to assist her.
Hiding their presence, or setting up Illusion Techniques to confuse other opponents.
Already then, she deeply admired Ding Ning, because Ding Ning was just like her—not a combat-type vengeful spirit—which was why she needed Hua’s support, why she had to resort to wild scheming when faced with strong enemies.
She truly envied Ding Ning for her clever mind, always able to win with strength.
If only she had the Rabbit-man’s one-time explosive powers, she wouldn’t have to worry about so many things.
Ding Ning wasn’t a combat-type vengeful spirit—her fighting abilities were very weak. Hua worshipped her, because whenever danger arose, Ding Ning would stand in front and kill all the enemies.
So, when Ding Ning created the Dungeon, Hua willingly became her first subordinate.
She always thought Ding Ning had gotten to her current position by relying on her own abilities. It was also because Ding Ning wanted that ’throne’.
She lowered her head, watching Ding Ning sway her vine, and remembered the days when they hid together in the shadows, supporting one another.
Whenever danger came, Ding Ning would step forward, while she would use her abilities to cover for her.
Hua only felt a sour ache in her heart—her inner energy surged, madly wanting to break through the sss-level limit.
Moments later, the frenzy of energy subsided, and the energy that couldn’t break the barrier returned to calm.
"Wow, you see, you’re really just a step away from sss-level. If you don’t succeed, who will!" Ding Ning looked at her joyfully. Typically, a ss-level Lord would only have one energy storm—that’s when they first touch the sss-level threshold.
Now, Hua had experienced it a second time. That meant, when the throne opens, she’d actually have priority over the other Lords.
Hua calmed her sour feelings. She had never thought about whether Ding Ning was scared when facing danger, whether she would lose fights. She only knew that Ding Ning was amazing—always able to resolve any problem in the face of danger.
Only today, after hearing Ding Ning’s words, did Hua realize it belatedly.
Maybe Ding Ning never wanted that ’throne’ at first. Maybe she only kept advancing because Hua was always behind her—forcing her to keep moving forward, clearing enemies ahead.
Just as she said—Jiang Che would protect his friends.
So it turned out, Ding Ning had also been protecting Hua all along.
Hua grinned. "Alright, I’ll try my best." Ding Ning always stood in front of her before, and now it was her turn to be brave.
"Jiang Che’s friend—it’s really a tough situation right now." This time, Hua was genuinely considering Jiang Che’s feelings. Ren Fengxiang didn’t have any control over the Dungeon; if Jiang Che didn’t act, he’d definitely lose the initiative.
And this is the most fatal point.
"If, in the end, you’re afraid of hurting your friendships and don’t want to act, I’ll do it." She was talking about resolving the Ren Fengxiang issue.
"What do you mean, ’you’ll do it’!" Ding Ning immediately cut her off. "You can’t make a move on him."
"Even though it really is troublesome—Ren Fengxiang lacks Dungeon control—but you have to believe, in this situation, we aren’t the ones most anxious. Jiang Che isn’t the most anxious either." Ding Ning patted Hua’s head.
"Ren Fengxiang is the one who’s the most desperate."
"He definitely already knows he doesn’t have control; he knows the risks of building his Dungeon next to Jiang Che’s." Ding Ning shook her head.
"Being someone from Copper Vase, maybe he himself will sense he needs to solve this problem."
"It may be hard, but this is the path he has to walk. What we need to do is simply make up for his failures." Ding Ning smiled naturally. Everyone thought she should worry about this problem; everyone thought if she didn’t solve Ren Fengxiang, and Jiang Che held onto that so-called human emotion, then eventually both she and Jiang Che would be doomed.
"If you fail, I’ll kill those vengeful spirits who hurt you. If Ren Fengxiang fails, we’ll prepare to cover the series of consequences his failure brings."
Hua froze for a moment—she thought of herself. If she were Ren Fengxiang, she’d surely be the most anxious right now.
He wouldn’t want to drag Jiang Che down, wouldn’t want to harm him. He must be searching for a solution, no matter how hard—and he’d press ahead without looking back.
Thinking that, Hua finally relaxed.
She finally understood why Ding Ning would fall for a human—perhaps part of it was their pure expression of emotion, but the other part was their emotional resemblance.
Yes—what they needed to do was cover for Ren Fengxiang’s failure.
Not solve him pre-emptively to prevent his failure.
"Let’s get ready. Prepare a projection of spiritual energy and bring Jiang Che over for some intensive training." Ding Ning looked at Hua. Spiritual projection required Hua’s help, and her Illusion Technique would create various Dungeon stages.
Jiang Che’s task was to find a way to survive those Dungeons within the illusions.
If he died in the illusion, his spirit would die—but it would be reborn.
Jiang Che would experience mental death many times, each time a terrible ordeal of the soul.
But it’s all what Jiang Che has to go through. Only by memorizing these Dungeon solutions deep within his Spirit God and feeling the pain of dying, can he remember in the real challenge—never allowing himself to fail.
She couldn’t guarantee that the Rabbit-man or Copper Vase wouldn’t actually go for the kill.
A promise is a promise—reality is reality.
If you really expect others to hold back, then Jiang Che is basically done for.
Most likely, when Jiang Che navigates the Rabbit-man’s Dungeon, Copper Vase will sense something’s off.
Logically speaking, someone as useless as Jiang Che should either die or be crippled in the Rabbit-man’s Dungeon. Just by talking to Rabbit-man, you’d know whether she’s actually going easy or not.
At that point, Copper Vase will definitely notice something.
He might promise to go easy on the surface, but later, just in case, he’ll put Jiang Che to death inside the Dungeon.
Once Jiang Che’s really dead, all this effort will have been pointless.
"Alright, I’ll go get ready." Hua waved her vine. "With that second energy surge just now, the illusion I set up will be even stronger and more precise than before."
"We’ll show the other Lords what it means for newcomers to surpass the old!"