You go first, I'll cover the rear. (2/3)

As soon as Gu Qingfeng had this thought, Wang Fatty and Xu Daizi fell out of the Mirror Space.

Both of them had torn clothes and were covered in injuries, looking quite disheveled.

"How did you two end up in the Mirror Space?" Gu Qingfeng asked in surprise, thinking to himself that these two were really foolish - they knew not to look in mirrors, yet they still went in.

Hearing Gu Qingfeng's voice, the two looked in his direction and were overjoyed to see him unharmed.

"Lord Gu, you're not dead!" Wang Fatty exclaimed happily.

"Hehe, thanks to your blessing, I managed to survive," Gu Qingfeng chuckled.

Wang Fatty quickly apologized with a smile: "Look at my stupid mouth, I don't know how to talk. By the way, Lord Gu, what's going on here? Why has the Shadow Realm turned into this state? Where's the Mirror Demon? Did someone come to rescue us?"

"Can't you ask questions one at a time? The Mirror Demon is dead."

"Dead!?" Wang Fatty exclaimed: "No wonder Xu Daizi and I could get out of the Mirror Space. So the Mirror Demon is dead - which great master came to rescue us?"

"No one came to rescue us. I killed the Mirror Demon," Gu Qingfeng said calmly.

Wang Fatty's eyes bulged: "You... you killed the Mirror Demon!?"

"Yes."

"But that was one of the Seven Demon Generals! Even a Grandmaster wouldn't dare claim they could kill the Mirror Demon."

At this point, Xu Fan spoke from the side: "The Mirror Demon is indeed dead, otherwise the Shadow Realm wouldn't be collapsing and we wouldn't have been kicked out of the Mirror Space. Besides, there are only the three of us here, no rescuers."

Though the facts were right before his eyes, Wang Fatty still found it hard to believe. Although Gu Qingfeng was strong, that was only relative to those in the Qi Gathering Realm. The Mirror Demon was one of the Seven Demon Generals! It had killed multiple Grandmasters before!

An ant killing an elephant? It sounded incredible no matter how you looked at it, but the facts were there, and he had no choice but to believe it.

"How is this possible... Lord, are you perhaps one of those legendary hidden masters? Is your Qi Gathering Fourth Level cultivation just a disguise, and you're actually a Grandmaster?"

Gu Qingfeng shook his head and told the lie he had prepared earlier: "The Mirror Demon's ability was replication. Although he could copy realm levels, weapons, techniques, and even combat experience, he couldn't copy external martial arts. With my Golden Bell Shield and Iron Cloth technique at their peak, defeating a Qi Gathering Fourth Level copy was child's play."

This was the explanation Gu Qingfeng had prepared beforehand. Otherwise, a Qi Gathering Fourth Level martial artist killing one of the Seven Demon Generals would be too shocking to explain, unless he revealed that he had a system and was essentially cheating.

As for whether others believed it or not, the Mirror Demon was a figure from two hundred years ago - too long ago to verify, and now dead, leaving no one to contradict the story. He could say whatever he wanted.

"What! So external martial arts was the key to defeating the Mirror Demon!" Wang Fatty exclaimed. He seemed about to say more, but at that moment, the cracks in space grew larger, and the shaking became more violent.

Xu Fan's expression changed: "Run! The Shadow Realm is collapsing. If we don't leave quickly, we'll all be shredded to pieces by spatial forces."

Wang Fatty was startled and quickly asked, "Which way do we run?"

"To the village entrance. That should be the entry and exit point of the Shadow Realm. Now that the realm is collapsing, the exit must be open."

As they were speaking, they prepared to run toward the village entrance.

Suddenly, a group of spirits emerged from nearby, their faces twisted in grotesque expressions, howling as they charged toward Gu Qingfeng and the others - they were the villagers of Black Water Village.

Xu Fan immediately shouted: "Ignore them, run! With the Mirror Demon dead, these spirits are out of control!"

So the three quickly turned and fled.

While running, Gu Qingfeng suddenly thought - if this Shadow Realm was the Mirror Demon's technique, wouldn't the damage caused by its collapse count as the Mirror Demon attacking him?

If that was true, then...

Gu Qingfeng quickly shared his thought with the system, asking if it was feasible, and received an affirmative response.

He was instantly overjoyed. The Shadow Realm's collapse would cause spatial destruction, and if he didn't leave, he would be subject to the grinding forces of space itself - spatial force!

Who knew what benefits it could bring him?

With this thought, Gu Qingfeng suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Wang Fatty and Xu Daizi were stunned and stopped as well.

Wang Fatty anxiously said: "Lord Gu, why are you stopping? We need to run quickly, or it'll be too late!"

Gu Qingfeng shook his head: "Do you remember what I said when you joined my team?"

"Lord, this is no time for conversation. Let's run!"

Gu Qingfeng remained unmoved: "I said that when danger comes, I would cover your retreat and buy you time to escape. You two go first, I'll hold back these spirits."

After speaking, Gu Qingfeng resolutely turned around, facing the hundreds of approaching spirits alone.

He left only a heroic silhouette for Wang Fatty and Xu Daizi to see.

Having done all this, Gu Qingfeng secretly gave himself a thumbs up - this Oscar-worthy performance must have really moved Wang Fatty and Xu Daizi!

Moreover, it was killing two birds with one stone - he could both enjoy the attack of spatial forces and create an image of self-sacrifice in front of his subordinates.

Perfect!

"Lord Gu!" Wang Fatty called out anxiously.

Without turning around, Gu Qingfeng waved his hand casually: "No need to try to persuade me. My mind is made up. You go first - this is my responsibility as team leader."

Wang Fatty became even more anxious and spoke rapidly: "No, Lord Gu, what I meant to say was that these spirits were ordinary people when they were alive, and even as spirits they're not strong. At our speed, they definitely can't catch up to us, so there's no need to stay behind!"

At these words, Gu Qingfeng's waving hand froze in mid-air.