Chapter Twenty-Four: Brother Qian, You’ve Got This

“Open sesame!” Song Yue shouted loudly.

No response.

“Grandmaster Dao Ancestor, please open the door!” His tone carried a hint of reverence.

Still no response.

“Damn it, open the door for me!”

Song Yue was furious, and a powerful thought surged in his mind: I want to get out!

And then, he was out.

“Hell, so you have to curse, do you?” Song Yue found himself once again amid the wild grass of the small mountain hollow. Though he had spent less than half an hour inside the stone tablet, it had left him with a sense of disorientation, as if he had passed through ages.

Letting out a deep breath, he suddenly recalled something—the space inside the stone tablet was vast; could it be used as a storage space?

He was carrying two standard large backpacks. Everyone had been issued one before entering, but his own was left with a student at the cultivation academy, since he hadn’t brought it when he was about to fight Zhang Zixing and the others.

Now, returning openly with two large backpacks would surely arouse suspicion among those with a keen eye.

He acted on his thought immediately: I want to go in!

The next moment, he was once again inside the stone tablet’s space.

I want to get out!

He emerged again.

“Heh, this is fun!”

Song Yue, like a child with a new toy, enjoyed going in and out several times until he grew a bit tired and finally stopped.

He put the two backpacks inside, then prepared to pull out the stone tablet and carry it away.

Although hauling a stone tablet back would seem a bit odd, it didn’t matter much—the tablet was inscribed with characters, and where there are characters, there is value; others couldn’t say much even if they saw it.

Just as Song Yue began to pull the stone tablet out with the technique of uprooting a willow, he felt the entire mountain hollow tremble slightly.

It wasn’t an illusion—it actually happened.

Immediately, the hollow was filled with the rumbling sound of wind and thunder.

Song Yue was startled and quickly stopped pulling at the tablet; as he ceased, the unsettling tremors and the thunderous sounds also stopped.

He tried again, and the tremors returned.

This time, the shaking was especially pronounced—the ground beneath his feet quivered noticeably.

At the same time, Song Yue noticed some previously invisible runes glowing on the tablet. Despite several attempts, the tablet wouldn’t budge, as if deeply rooted in the not-so-solid earth.

“This won’t do!” Song Yue grew anxious. Such an excellent storage space—even a small aircraft could fit inside! If he couldn’t take it with him, wouldn’t that be a great loss?

Recalling that he could control entry and exit with his mind, Song Yue tried thinking at the tablet: Come out!

Whoosh!

The tablet leapt from the soil, hovering before him.

Song Yue was dumbfounded.

Is it really possible?

The portion buried was less than twenty centimeters, still carrying fresh earth. The entire tablet, over sixty centimeters tall, floated in front of him.

Buried so shallow, yet impossible to pull out by force, unmoving; but controlled by mind, it responded instantly, and the hollow showed no further anomalies.

Utterly magical!

Song Yue had always envied practitioners who could wield supernatural arts, while he could only beat them up.

Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine he’d one day control something with his mind.

And this thing was so extraordinary.

If only it could shrink a bit, Song Yue thought.

Then, the tablet shrank slightly.

Is this possible too?

Song Yue felt his mind was barely keeping up.

If all this hadn’t happened right before his eyes, he wouldn’t have believed it.

A bit smaller, he thought.

The tablet shrank again.

Smaller!

Smaller still!

Even smaller!

At last, Song Yue looked down at the tablet, now resting in his palm like a needle, speechless.

The tablet, resembling granite, was normally quite heavy, but now, in needle form, it was as light as a feather.

Longer! Song Yue mentally commanded.

After a moment, the tablet became a stone rod, which, when swung, whistled through the air.

He found a tree as thick as a bowl, and with a nearly effortless swing, broke it cleanly.

He tested the tablet’s hardness, discovering that despite its battered appearance, the runes' power was immense. No matter what he did, he couldn’t damage it in the slightest.

“Hey, this rod is pretty handy!” Song Yue praised.

Then, he used his mind to make the tablet grow larger and larger. When it reached tens of meters high, Song Yue suddenly felt dizzy, as if his mental energy had been drained.

He quickly let the tablet drop into the hollow. With a thud, it made a deep, booming noise, leaving a huge crater.

No longer daring to mess around, Song Yue shrank the tablet and slipped it into his pocket.

A faint, intangible link formed between him and the tablet, allowing him to sense its presence at all times.

Because of this link, the tablet in his pocket felt weightless.

A tremendous windfall!

Song Yue felt that even if he left the Kunlun Secret Realm now, he wouldn’t lose out!

Leaving aside the nine paths to unknown worlds, the vast storage space alone was enough to satisfy him.

Not to mention, the tablet could serve as a weapon—becoming an incredibly durable stone rod, equal to a divine artifact, and when enlarged, could be used to smash people!

Simply unbeatable.

Song Yue left the hollow, gathering many spirit-nourishing herbs along the way.

He also discovered that Zhang Zixing’s backpack contained a high-grade cultivation herb. Unfortunately, its age was insufficient, and its effects fell far short of cultivation standards, but such a herb could still fetch a fortune outside.

“What a squanderer!” he exclaimed happily.

When Song Yue finally emerged from the dense forest and reached the camp of the cultivation academy, it was already the next morning.

From a distance, he saw a crowd gathered, voices raised in heated argument—clearly, the two sides were embroiled in a dispute.

Song Yue approached quietly and calmly.

He saw a group of young cultivators from the Western camp confronting students from the academy.

Qian Qianxue’s expression was grave, and she looked somewhat angry.

Opposite her stood several young men and women from the Western camp. Among them, a beautiful woman with golden hair and green eyes was berating Qian Qianxue.

She spoke fluent Mandarin, her expression tinged with impatience.

“The secret realm isn't exclusive to your Eastern camp. Since we entered, we naturally have the right to be here. Therefore, we are entitled to what's inside. Why are you stopping us?”

Qian Qianxue frowned slightly. She truly disliked such scenes, especially confrontations; she instinctively recoiled from conflict.

But with Song Yue absent, she was the group's anchor.

Originally, Meng Xudong had stood at the front, but now he lay on the ground, drenched in cold sweat, having been knocked down.

“We found these items first. I never said you weren’t qualified, nor did I stop you from doing anything. But the items were discovered by our people—you came over and tried to take them. Isn’t that too much?”

Qian Qianxue tried to reason with the blonde woman.

Meng Xudong lay pale and sweating on the ground but still called out loudly: “Stop reasoning with them—just fight! There are so many of us, how could we let ourselves be bullied? If Song Yue comes back and sees this, he’ll kill me!”

At that moment, a tall, handsome young man with flaming red hair from the Western camp mocked in flawless Mandarin: “World Martial Arts Championship gold medalist? You’re nothing but a weakling. Just keep quiet—if you annoy me, I’ll cripple you!”

Song Yue stood at the edge of the forest, watching silently. He took out his alloy spear, activated the mechanism, transforming the alloy cylinder into a spear, and strode forward, saying not a word.

Someone from the academy spotted Song Yue, and joyfully exclaimed, “Song Yue is back!”

Qian Qianxue turned and gazed at him, her beautiful eyes softening. Her tense face finally relaxed as she looked at Song Yue, feeling her backbone had returned.

“Trying to steal, are you?” Song Yue said as he walked, eyeing the Western camp.

“Who are you? We found these items first—you’re the ones trying to take them!” the tall, handsome red-haired youth replied coldly.

“You’re lying! We found them first!”

“Yes, we were about to gather them when you suddenly appeared and started fighting…”

The academy students were furious, many voicing their indignation.

Ah! Song Yue sighed.

This bunch of rookies—when will they finally mature?

They’ve witnessed death firsthand, yet remain so naive.

Can’t they let me worry less?

Carrying the alloy spear, he strode up to the tall, nearly two-meter red-haired youth, pointing the spear at him, “Enough talk. Put down our things, then either fight or leave!”

Reasoning? Rules?

It’s not impossible, but depends on the occasion, and the people.

What’s the point with this crowd, whose faces practically say ‘trouble’? There’s nothing to discuss.

They only recognize strength.

Otherwise, why would Meng be lying on the ground?

Was that comfortable?

Meng Xudong, seeing Song Yue return, felt relieved but also ashamed.

He warned Song Yue, “Song Yue, be careful with that redhead. He’s a brute, but has magical tools—I was just caught off guard by him!”

The tall red-haired youth sneered, “Don’t make excuses for your weakness. And who do you think you are? Want to fight? Fine, let’s do it!”

With those words, he charged at Song Yue bare-handed, showing no fear of the sharp alloy spear.

At the same time, a familiar mental attack emanated from a bracelet on the red-haired youth’s wrist, stabbing at Song Yue’s mind like a needle.

It was blocked by Song Yue’s protective aura.

Then, with his free hand, Song Yue delivered a powerful punch.

Bang!

Their fists collided with a dull thud.

The red-haired youth’s expression changed, and he staggered several steps back.

Song Yue pressed forward, spear aimed at his throat.

The blonde woman who had been confronting Qian Qianxue quickly formed a spell, chanting softly. A burst of flame descended from the sky toward Song Yue’s path.

Qian Qianxue’s eyes turned cold; she waved her hand, summoning a strong wind that swept the flames aside.

Song Yue advanced with his spear toward the red-haired youth, loudly encouraging, “Brother Qian, get in there! Don’t be afraid, you’ve got this!”