The wind blew fiercely on the mountain. The millions of people who had gathered on the mountains near the Green Dragon Hill were quiet. The only sound was Pei San’s resounding voice.

The Power of Life gathered above the clouds.

Teng Qingshan stood on the cloud and stared back at Pei San, who stood on the Green Dragon Hill, heavily injured and covered in blood. Yet, Teng Qingshan did not respond.

“Afraid?” Teng Qingshan asked himself, “Am I afraid? I hesitated! Why did I hesitate?”

“I am still clinging to things in this world.”

“I am worried and anxious!”

Teng Qingshan instantly recognized his inner voice. “Qin Shiqi achieved a breakthrough during the fight and became much stronger than me. However, even after Qin Shiqi achieved a breakthrough, he still died! If Qin Shiqi, who is more powerful than me, died, I would most definitely die in a fight with Pei San. Unless I fled like Huang Tianqin, I will die!”

“If I die, my parents, children, and Xing Yi Sect…”

He felt attached to many things in this world.

Teng Qingshan could not let these things go!

Teng Qingshan remained silent. He thought about so many things. The millions of people of the Land of the Nine Prefectures on the mountains and canyons nearby began discussing loudly. They were all amazed by Pei San’s fierce and tough aura.

Many people were also talking about Teng Qingshan. of people of the Land of the Nine Prefectures on the mountains and canyons nearby began discussing noisily. They were all amazed by Pei San’s

“Is Teng Qingshan really not afraid? Currently, Teng Qingshan is the only one in the land strong enough to fight Pei San.”

“Why would Teng Qingshan be afraid? He is the truly gifted cultivator who is almost as powerful as the four Omnipotent Experts.”

“It’s not weird to be afraid. Think about it. How many years has Teng Qingshan been cultivating? How many years has Pei San been cultivating?”

“Sovereign Teng will definitely kill that demon! And avenge our Buddhist Sect!” Some inhabitants of Liangzhou and Rongzhou were here as well. Almost all of them were Buddhists. The citizens of Liangzhou and Rongzhou held a deep grudge against Pei San, who had destroyed the Mani Temple. They wanted someone to kill the demon who destroyed their Buddhist Sect. However, two of the four strongest cultivators in present-day had died and Teng Qingshan was the only one who can fight against Pei San. Therefore, they had high hopes for Teng Qingshan.

“Sovereign Teng will definitely win.”

…

There were people speaking against Teng Qingshan and there were people supporting Teng Qingshan. Nevertheless, Teng Qingshan didn’t care at all. He only cared about his inner voice.

“Hmph.” Standing beside Teng Qingshan, Hongwu humphed and said furiously, “Pei San is despicable. How could he say these things so loudly in front of millions of people? And now, the people who have gathered on the mountains and canyons have all been reminded that the duel at the White Horse Lake will be happening in three years. They will look forward to the duel! They will have such great expectations.”

‘If my father chose not to show up for the duel, the world will mock him. They will bombard him with insults. He will lose his reputation!” Hongwu clenched his fist as he said furiously.

Honglin then realized what Pei San had done. She said angrily, “Pei San actually used public pressure.”

“Hongwu, Linlin, say no more.” Teng Qingshan said calmly.

Suddenly—

A beam of light flew over to the ruins site on the Green Dragon Hill. It was Qin Shiqi’s disciple, the one who had been beside Ying Haitong, the Emptiness Realm Expert of the Ying Family. The young man, dressed in a green cloak, landed on the ruins site and dashed toward Qin Shiqi’s collapsed body.

“Teacher!” The green-cloaked young man knelt and wept before his teacher’s corpse.

“Haiyang.” Ying Haitong, who stood at the side, sighed and said, “Don’t feel too sad. Your teacher has spent a lifetime pursuing the Dao of the Omnipotent Realm. However, it is just too difficult. It is already good enough that he had achieved a breakthrough during the fight of life or death with a powerful cultivator like Pei San.

“Haiyang, the dead cannot come back to life. You need to develop and promote your teacher’s Dao of Sword.” Ying Haitong comforted softly.

“Yes.”

The green-cloaked young man knelt on the ground. He then carried his teacher’s corpse and glared at Pei San, who was flying away from the Green Dragon Hill and towards Li Chao, and Pei Xuelian.

…

Teng Qingshan stared at the young man who carried Qin Shiqi’s body and left with Ying Haitong. As someone who might face the same fate, he really sympathized with the young man. “If I die during the fight three years from now, Hongwu and Little Jun will be the ones carrying my body away! However, if I do succeed, I will reach the Omnipotent Realm, the pinnacle of my cultivation.”

It was a struggle.

Teng Qingshan was indeed struggling with an internal conflict.

“Why am I forcing myself?” Teng Qingshan suddenly realized something. “Pei San desperately desired to reach the Omnipotent Realm as soon as possible, but my situation is different. I still have four hundred years to live. Even if Pei San didn’t exist or even if I chose not to show up for the fight, I still have a chance to reach the Omnipotent Realm.”

“Must I reach the Omnipotent Realm in three years?”

“Maybe I should choose not to participate in the fight three years from now. The people of the Land of the Nine Prefectures will say that I am afraid of Pei San. They will look down on me. However, why should I care about what those people think!”

“Should I really force myself to fight because of those people? If I ended up dying because of the high disparity in power, Little Jun, Hongwu, Linlin, and my parents…” Teng Qingshan finally heard his inner voice. He could not help but lament how the public opinion was powerful enough to spark confusion. Unknowingly, the social pressure created through the opinions of millions of people became powerful enough to confuse an extremely strong cultivator.

However, Teng Qingshan managed to figure out what he truly wanted.

“I want to reach the Omnipotent Realm!”

“But I don’t have to reach the Omnipotent Realm within three years! Why should I give Pei San the chance to make me his stepping stone? Qin Shiqi is over four hundred years old, but I am still young. I can study the Dao of the Omnipotent Realm with the remaining 400 years of my life.” Teng Qingshan had made his decision.

“Three years! Three more years!”

“For the next three years, I will focus entirely on the cultivation of martial arts. If I can fuse the Dao of Life and the Dao of Death within the next three years and become as powerful as Pei San, then I will show up for the duel. However, if I made no breakthrough during the next three years, I will just admit defeat!”

Teng Qingshan gave himself two choices.

A person should live for himself and for his family, instead of living for the millions of people in the world. If he lived for the millions of people in the world, then he would eventually be tortured to death.

“However, I will not give up. I will not give up easily.” Teng Qingshan was not someone who would choose to fight and risk it all even when the opponent was obviously much stronger. However, he still desired to fight against Pei San in three years. Teng Qingshan muttered to himself, “Three years… If I made a breakthrough in three years, I will be strong enough to fight against you.”

…

While Teng Qingshan felt a sense of determination, Pei San had already arrived beside the members of the Heavenly God Palace.

“Father, are you alright?” Pei Xuelian said worriedly.

“I am fine.”Pei San covered his chest as he answered, “Qin Shiqi’s dagger did not injure the vital parts. The wounds will recover after several months of recuperation.” Pei San made things sounded much simpler. However, the fact that he needed several months of recuperation indicated that the injuries, especially the terrifying wound on his fist, were quite severe. After all, Pei San normally recovered very quickly.

The sword pierced through the fist, broke through his ribs, and then tore through his muscles.

A perfect recovery would be extremely difficult.

“Teacher, when you said that, Teng Qingshan did not respond at all. Do you think…” Li Chao, who was at the side, frowned as he asked.

“Hmph.”

Pei San said calmly, “I know Teng Qingshan’s personality and character. I wanted the world to know. I wanted to influence his Spirit with the pressure created through public opinions. Words are the most terrifying things in the world. As the saying goes, public opinion can obscure the actual truth and kill people. Normally, if a person became the target of the gossip, he or she might break down psychologically or die of anger.”

Li Chao knew that public opinions could obscure the actual truth and kill people.

Anyone in the world would inevitably be influenced by other people’s opinions. Even someone with a firm heart could crumble psychologically if he was slandered by millions of people.

“Because I said those things publicly, he will feel the intangible social pressure. Even if Teng Qingshan had no intention of fighting with me, he would have to cultivate arduously during the next three years. If he made a breakthrough, he will show up for the fight. However, if he failed to achieve a breakthrough, but still decided to risk his life because he felt pressured to do so, then I won’t bother fighting with him.

“Why?” Hearing this, Pei Xuelian felt very confused. “Father, why are you unhappy when he could be willing to risk his life for this fight?”

“A person’s confidence should be based on his ability.”

Pei San explained calmly, “If Teng Qingshan did not make a breakthrough, it means that he is not powerful enough. If he decided to risk his life because of the intangible social pressure, then it means that his heart is not strong enough. It means that he has yet to recognize his inner voice and he has yet to understand himself fully. If he has not achieved these things, how can he pursue the Dao of the Omnipotent Realm?”

When the people around heard this, they nodded in agreement.

They all understood.

A calm and rational person might be unable to react when there are millions of people around him charging forward crazily. He might conform to the norm and charge forward crazily just like the others. Conformity is the result of social pressure.

And now, Teng Qingshan felt the pressure coming from the billions of people in the Land of the Nine Prefectures.

If he could resist the pressure, recognize his actual desires, and choose his own path in life, he might then achieve greatness.

However, if he couldn’t handle the pressure and impulsively decided to risk his life for the sake of his reputation, he could only be considered as a person who had no fear of death. He would never be a truly powerful cultivator. He would never have the heart of a truly powerful cultivator!

…

The millions of people below were still discussing fervently. However, Teng Qingshan, who sat on the cloud, remained very calm.

“Father, are you not responding to Pei San?” Honglin was obviously very angry.

“Why should I respond?”

Teng Qingshan smiled and said, “This duel has ended. Qin Shiqi died. We have watched everything. It is time to go back. Father, Mother, please climb onto Little Blue’s back.” Teng Qingshan immediately helped Teng Yongfan, Yuan Lan, Hongwu, Honglin, Lei Xiaoru climb onto the back of the Undying Phoenix.

Then, Teng Qingshan held Li Jun’s hand.

“Qingshan, about the duel three years from now…” Li Jun whispered, unable to resist the urge to ask.

“I will go.” Teng Qingshan answered softly.

“Eh?” Li Jun was shocked. She couldn’t help but grip Teng Qingshan’s hand more tightly.

Teng Qingshan glanced at Li Jun and grinned. His smile was infectious, causing Li Jun to feel calm and relaxed. Teng Qingshan said softly, “Little Jun, don’t worry. I won’t risk my life if I have no confidence at all.”

Li Jun heaved a sigh of relief. But then, she felt worried again as she asked, “Then, what about the people of the Land of the Nine Prefectures?” At this moment, Li Jun could hear the sounds of the ongoing discussions coming from down below.

“Just pretend they don’t exist.” Teng Qingshan said with a smile.

Whoosh!

The beam of light pierced through the air and disappeared. Teng Qingshan and his family flew back to the Great Yan Mountain