The charming widow of the Marquis's mansion: The stable boy carries the flag and raises the dra

Song Tiange didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was already quite clear.

Ye Wushuang did not reply, but simply nodded slightly, her gaze returning to the Heaven-Slaying Mirror.

On the Heavenly Mirror, the number in the Central Region has broken through the "500" mark, while the number in the Eastern Region remains unchanged at "387".

The numbers for the Southern and Western Regions are steadily approaching each other; the Southern Region's "97" has become "156", and the Western Region's "124" has become "189".

The Eastern Region's ranking slipped from second to third, and then from third to fourth.

Although the Northern Region is the slowest, it is catching up little by little, jumping from "52" to "73". Although there is still a considerable gap between it and the Eastern Region's "387", at the current speed, it is only a matter of time before it surpasses the Eastern Region.

The people from the Eastern Region stood on that gray-white plain, looking at the line of numbers on the Slaughtering Mirror that were being surpassed one by one by other major regions, their expressions varied.

Zhou Yanzhi gripped the broken spirit sword tightly, gritting his teeth and whispering.

"If only there were more of us..."

Chen Yuanzhi squatted on the ground, his hands supporting his knees, his voice muffled.

"Wang Shengzi's attack was good enough; we were the ones who held him back."

Wang Long remained silent, simply staring at the numbers on the Heavenly Slaughter Mirror with a calm and composed expression.

Ye Niannu stood beside him, reached out and gently took his hand. His fingertips were slightly cool, but his palm was warm.

"My lord, there is still a chance."

Wang Long turned his head to look at her and nodded slightly.

"Yes, there's still a chance."

He raised his head, his gaze passing over the gray-white plain and landing on the still quietly standing Haotian Divine Deer in the distance.

Its eyes remain warm and deep, and its body remains as steady as a mountain.

Although the attack just now made it retreat half a step, it did not cause any substantial damage.

The ripples on those scales had long since subsided, and the surface was even more lustrous than before, as if the power of that attack had been absorbed, digested, and transformed into a part of itself.

Wang Long's gaze froze slightly.

He sensed that although his attack had left a damage number of "387" on the Heavenly Slaughtering Mirror, the deer-shaped clone itself did not seem to have weakened because of that attack.

It remains unchanged.

Meanwhile, attacks from the Central Region, Southern Region, Western Region, and Northern Region were relentlessly raining down on it, each attack seeking different angles and gaps in an attempt to inflict greater damage.

The numbers on the Heavenly Mirror continued to climb.

The Central Region is "543", the Western Region is "241", the Southern Region is "198", and the Northern Region is "89".

The Eastern Region, with a score of "387", ranks fourth.

Wang Long withdrew his gaze, looked down at his palm, then turned to look at Ye Niannu beside him, and finally fixed his gaze on the golden fluff ball in his arms.

Little Chirp snuggled against him and let out a soft "Chirp," as if asking, "Master, shall we fight again?"

Wang Long gently stroked its head, but did not answer.

He simply raised his head and looked at the clone of the Haotian Divine Deer again, a golden light flashing slightly in his eyes.

"Wait a little longer."

He said something in a low voice, so softly that only Ye Niannu, who was standing next to him, could hear it.

Ye Niannu nodded slightly and gripped his hand even tighter.

On the gray plain, the wind still did not blow.

But the eyes of everyone in the Eastern Region had already refocused on Wang Long.

On the platform, countless gazes were fixed on the enormous Heaven-Slaying Mirror. As the Eastern Region's numbers were gradually surpassed by other major regions, some breathed a sigh of relief, some shook their heads, and some sighed softly.

"As expected, having too few people still doesn't work..."

Ye Wushuang stood at the very front of the Eastern Region spectator area, staring at the line of numbers for the Eastern Region on the Slaughtering Mirror that had stopped moving, and remained silent for a long time.

"It's not over yet."

On the platform, the numbers on the Heaven-Slaying Mirror were still changing.

The Central Region is "612", the Western Region is "287", the Southern Region is "243", the Northern Region is "112", and the Eastern Region is "387".

The Eastern Region's ranking has slipped to fourth, only slightly higher than the Northern Region.

In the Eastern Region spectator area, the faces of several team leaders were so somber they could drip water. Some clenched their fists, some sighed softly, and some even began to comfort themselves by saying, "At least we're better than in previous years."

In the central viewing area, the elder of the Qian Yuan Sect in the dark gold robe sat back down in his chair, picked up the newly replaced teacup, took a sip, and the smile on his lips returned to his face.

"The burst of power from the Eastern Region was indeed impressive, but a burst is just a burst; the foundation and the number of people are the fundamental factors that determine the outcome. The nearly one hundred people from the Central Region took turns attacking, and their sustained damage far exceeded the single, all-out attack from the dozen or so people from the Eastern Region."

The gray-robed old man beside him nodded, his tone regaining some composure.

"It's already quite good that the Eastern Region has managed to hold on this long, but in this round, the Central Region's number one position will not be relinquished."

The leader of the Southern Region breathed a slight sigh of relief and whispered to the elder beside him.

"Although the Southern Region is currently ranked third, it has at least surpassed the Eastern Region. As long as it maintains this pace, its performance in the second round will not be too bad."

The leader of the Western Regions Serpent Bone Sect kept his eyes fixed on the line of numbers representing the Eastern Region on the Slaughtering Heaven Mirror, a hint of inexplicable wariness in his gaze. He had a feeling that the man named Wang Long wouldn't just admit defeat so easily.

Meanwhile, on the gray-white plain in the eastern region, amidst the battlefield...

Wang Long stood in the center of the crowd, his gaze never leaving the clone of the Haotian Divine Deer.

His spiritual energy threads, like silent whiskers, extended along the ground to the area around his deer-shaped clone, capturing the gaps in the trembling of its scales.

Ye Niannu stood beside him, then suddenly tilted her head slightly and whispered.

"My lord, it seems to be changing."

Wang Long's gaze sharpened slightly.

He sensed it too.

The avatar of the Haotian Divine Deer still stood there quietly, its gentle eyes still calmly watching the people of the Eastern Region, but the layer of light golden scales around its body was undergoing some extremely subtle change.

The luster on the scales was slowly brightening, gradually changing from a warm, pale gold to a more intense, bright gold, like a flame being gradually intensified. The vibrations of the scales were also slightly faster than before.

"It's absorbing damage."

Wang Long said in a deep voice.

"absorb?"

Ye Niannu frowned slightly.

"You mean, the damage we dealt was negated by it..."

"It's not just about absorption."

Wang Long shook his head, his gaze serious.

"It is accumulating power. When the attacks land on it, the power is dispersed, absorbed, and stored by the spiritual energy flow layer on the surface of the scales. Each attack is injecting power into it, rather than consuming it."

Ye Niannu's pupils contracted slightly.

"What happens when it accumulates to a certain level?"

Wang Long did not answer, because he could feel that the power slowly accumulating inside the deer-shaped clone was approaching a critical point.

The bright golden scales were vibrating at an increasingly rapid frequency, like a drum being struck more and more urgently.

His spiritual threads detected that the originally regular tremors in the spiritual energy flow around the deer-shaped clone were being replaced by a chaotic and rapid rhythm.

The gaps appeared more and more frequently and in increasingly random locations, as if something was disrupting its rhythm from within.

"Everyone, back off!"

Wang Long suddenly roared and retreated.

Although the people from the Eastern Region were puzzled, none of them hesitated, and more than a dozen figures retreated rapidly in unison.

At the very moment they retreated, the clone of the Haotian Divine Deer moved.

It slowly raised its head.

For the first time, a different look appeared in those warm and deep eyes—an almost instinctive reaction awakened from the depths of antiquity.

Something seemed to be churning in its pupils, like an undercurrent suddenly rising beneath a calm lake.

Immediately afterwards, a deer cry emanated from its throat.

The sound was completely different from the one that had pulled everyone into this space. It carried a deep and heavy tremor, like a mountain that had been sleeping for thousands of years suddenly beginning to breathe.

The cry of the deer pierced the gray sky, crossed the boundary of the plain, and penetrated the enormous curtain of light.

On the Sendai, everyone's eardrums vibrated simultaneously.

On that enormous Heaven-Slaying Mirror, the five images of the Haotian Divine Deer avatar simultaneously underwent changes.

In that instant, the five deer-shaped clones from the Northern, Southern, Western, Central, and Eastern regions simultaneously raised their heads, opened their eyes wide, and let out a long and deep deer cry.

The five cries of deer converged above the platform, like an invisible giant wave, making all the spectators tremble in their hearts.

"What's going on?!"