"If you dare to harbor any more covetous thoughts towards me, don't blame me for being impolite," warned the beautiful woman with utter coldness.
Zhou Hong, at this moment, didn't know what to do, but he could feel his spirit trembling, his heart bleeding. It was as if the woman's words were like sharp knives, piercing his soul again and again, yet he loved her so deeply, regarding her as a goddess.
"What am I supposed to do now? What should I do?" Zhou Hong mused silently. The voice of the Dark Golden Crow also ceased, as if afraid that appearing would disturb this spirit and cause the scene before him to vanish in an instant.
"This spirit clearly loves this woman to the bone. Now, I must follow this spiritual energy and let it feel released. Only then can this spirit allow me to achieve a sublimation of my spirit," Zhou Hong thought to himself.
"But how am I supposed to make this spirit feel released right now?"
"I'll do it my way."
Zhou Hong immediately let out a sly chuckle and said to the beautiful woman, "What if I do want to be a toad yearning for swan meat?"
"You are truly shameless to the extreme," the woman said.
"Shameless or not, do you think I like you because of your noble spirit? No, you're wrong. I like you only because of your beautiful appearance. Do you really think you're so great? You're just a pretty face."
"You...!"
"What 'you'? Whether you like me or not is irrelevant. As long as I get your appearance, I'll be satisfied."
After speaking, Zhou Hong surged forward instantly.
Zhou Hong could feel that this spiritual energy seemed to be somewhat stirred. Few men in this world love a woman for her inner qualities; most are drawn by her beauty.
Indeed, the owner of this spiritual energy was no different.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Hong regained his senses. All the distracting spiritual information that had plagued him vanished in an instant.
Zhou Hong also felt a sense of lightness in his body.
"Zhou Hong, congratulations. You've really got it in you, actually using someone else's spirit to achieve your own sublimation," the voice of the Dark Golden Crow echoed in his mind.
"Have I broken through now?"
"Of course. It was very direct, you've leaped into the middle stage of Heartbeat."
Zhou Hong sensed his own condition and indeed, he was no longer in the early stage of Heartbeat but had reached the middle stage. Although it was only one level apart, even geniuses might take several years of hard work to break through.
"Haha, I've broken through to the middle stage of Heartbeat!" Zhou Hong was also overjoyed.
"Big Brother Golden Crow, has the spiritual energy in the valley disappeared?"
"Not yet. However, this spiritual energy, to put it bluntly, is merely a wisp of resentment. And it's been there for a very long time. It will likely dissipate naturally before long."
"Oh, oh." Zhou Hong lowered his head and felt a blush creep up his face.
"By the way, how much time has passed?" Zhou Hong quickly asked.
"Almost three days."
"What? So long?" Zhou Hong was greatly shocked. He had felt as if only a few hours had passed, and yet three days had gone by in reality.
"Yes, you can go out now."
"Alright."
Zhou Hong immediately picked up the Nine-Colored Phoenix Cry and ran out of the valley.
Outside the valley, the students of Class 30 and Lu Qianqian were waiting anxiously. They had set up tents and stayed outside the valley for these three days.
"Instructor Lu, it's almost three days. If Zhou Hong doesn't come out on his own, what should we do?" a student asked.
"I'll go in and look for him," Lu Qianqian said helplessly. Originally, instructors were not supposed to participate in student missions, and if discovered, the class would be heavily penalized. However, for Zhou Hong's safety, Lu Qianqian couldn't care less. If something happened to Zhou Hong inside, it would be more important than anything.
Just then, a student shouted, "Instructor Lu, Zhou Hong is coming out!"
Indeed, at the exit of the valley, Zhou Hong was sprinting out.
"Zhou Hong, are you alright?" Lu Qianqian rushed up to ask.
"Instructor Lu, don't worry, I'm fine."
"You kid, I didn't expect you to actually be able to resist the spiritual interference of the Dragon-Transforming Ghost Valley. I was worried if something might happen to you."
"Thank you for your concern, Instructor Lu. I'm doing great now."
"Then let's go back. You listened to instructions and came out within three days. You're quite a good student." Lu Qianqian said, about to lead everyone back.
"Instructor Lu, aren't you going to ask if I completed the mission?" Zhou Hong said speechlessly.
"Does that even need asking? So many senior students before couldn't complete it. How could you alone achieve it? The senior students from the seven classes before all entered as a whole class. How could you do it alone?"
"That's not necessarily true," Zhou Hong said, instantly producing the Nine-Colored Phoenix Cry.
"Look, what is this?"
"Ah." Lu Qianqian's expression changed instantly, and she looked at Zhou Hong with disbelief.
"Instructor Lu, this is the Nine-Colored Phoenix Cry, isn't it?" Zhou Hong said with a grin.
"Zhou Hong, how could you possibly find it?" Lu Qianqian was stunned.
"Instructor Lu, perhaps it was my luck. After I went in, I kept resisting the spiritual energy of the valley. While resisting, I actually broke through."
"What? You even broke through?"
"Yes, look at my current realm, middle stage of Heartbeat." Zhou Hong immediately released his aura.
"My heavens." Lu Qianqian found it incredible.
"After that, I kept searching and searching. Unexpectedly, not long ago, I found this. I saw it was colorful and somewhat resembled the Nine-Colored Phoenix Cry you mentioned, so I pulled it out. Instructor Lu, I didn't pull out the wrong thing, did I?"
Lu Qianqian chuckled and said, "Zhou Hong, Zhou Hong, I never expected you to have such skills. You're quite lucky. Others who go in and come out without becoming idiots are already considered amazing. But you, you broke through upon returning, and you even found the Nine-Colored Phoenix Cry. The instructors are now deeply impressed by you."
"Hehehe, it's good I didn't pull out the wrong thing." Zhou Hong handed the Nine-Colored Phoenix Cry to Lu Qianqian.
The students in the class surrounded Zhou Hong, cheering excitedly. Their eyes were filled with adoration as they looked at him. Especially some of the female students, their eyes sparkled as they looked at Zhou Hong, wishing they could serve him.