Holding Everyone Back
After watching Old Bai's tutorial, Zhou Hu and the others turned their attention to Ji Wuhui.
From their earlier conversation, they had already gathered that Bai Lao and Ji Wuhui were on equal footing in terms of status.
However, upon closer observation, they noticed something interesting—Old Bai seemed to defer to Ji Wuhui.
When they looked over, they found that Ji Wuhui had just entered the arena mode of the Tower of Trials.
To be honest, they were a little puzzled.
He took this long just to enter?
This only confirmed one thing—Ji Wuhui struggled with decision-making even more than Old Bai!
And now, it was time for the Mirror Challenge.
Ji Wuhui suddenly appeared above a vast ocean, the endless waters stretching in all directions beneath him.
Zhou Hu and the others barely reacted.
Some even looked down to check if their instant noodles were ready…
After all, in the battle arena, if a player doesn't manually select a map, the system assigns one randomly.
Everyone knew that.
But as they continued watching, their casual attitudes vanished.
Their eyes widened.
Their expressions froze in shock.
What… is that?
Right from the start, Ji Wuhui unleashed his full strength.
A towering phantom—over a thousand meters tall—appeared behind him, wielding an immense Emperor's Sword.
The sheer presence of the manifestation caused distortions in the space around it.
Zhou Hu and the others exchanged glances.
Since when did cultivator battles start at this level?!
No, that wasn't even the real issue here.
The sheer size of that phantom was staggering, and the surrounding space was beginning to crack under its pressure.
That meant one thing—Ji Wuhui was at least at the Pathseeker realm!
Slowly, Zhou Hu and his group turned away from the screen and stared at Ji Wuhui in silence.
He's a hidden powerhouse!
Without a word, they stood up and quietly returned to their original seats.
Picking up their instant noodles, they resumed eating.
But for some reason, the noodles… didn't taste as good anymore.
Every now and then, they glanced at Old Bai.
He still looked like an ordinary man.
But they knew better now—anyone accompanying a powerhouse like Ji Wuhui was unlikely to be ordinary.
So this is the kind of people who visit the boss's shop?
They swallowed their food.
Sorry, we're the weak ones here…
After finishing their noodles, the five silently put on their helmets and entered the virtual world.
Once again, the Origin Mall returned to peaceful quiet.
Luo Chuan yawned.
Outside, the sun had begun its descent, casting warm golden hues across the sky.
He had just woken from a nap.
In his dream, he was still an ordinary college student back on Earth, leading a simple yet fulfilling life.
Ordinary. But comfortable.
Turning his gaze back toward the shop, he saw Yao Ziyan resting her chin on her hand, lost in thought.
A serene expression graced her delicate features, making her look like a painting come to life.
Luo Chuan smiled faintly.
Maybe… life is even better now.
"Good afternoon, Boss!"
"Good afternoon, Boss!"
A series of greetings pulled him from his thoughts.
Murong Haitang had arrived with eight students in tow.
Luo Chuan gave a slight nod.
By now, they were all used to his unenthusiastic responses.
Without hesitation, they stepped into the shop.
"It looks like we're a bit late," Murong Haitang remarked, scanning the room.
There weren't any open seats.
Zhou Hu and the others were still immersed in the virtual world, helmets on, completely unresponsive.
"They arrived around noon. It's been almost three hours now," Yao Ziyan commented from behind the counter.
"Then we'll wait a bit," Murong Haitang said with a smile.
This gave them just enough time to enjoy a cup of instant noodles.
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