Su Ji only felt a flash of white before his eyes.

The little red-haired girl carried that crimson spear which completely mismatched her tiny stature, looking down from above at Su Ji in the deep pit.

"Anger, unyieldingness... these are just opportunistic triggers."

"They can help you grasp the basics quickly."

"But the true essence lies in being able to release and retract at will."

She curled her lips, her delicate little face filled with undisguised disdain.

"A fire ignited by emotions will be extinguished by a mere gust of wind."

Su Ji struggled to climb out of the pit, coughing up a mouthful of bloody froth mixed with dirt.

All over his body, every single bone was screaming in pain, and his internal organs felt as if they had shifted.

This little thing in front of him was not human at all; she was a primeval fierce beast wearing the skin of a little girl.

"Senior is right to lecture me."

Su Ji wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, squeezing out a smile that was uglier than crying.

He couldn't beat her.

He absolutely couldn't beat her.

Even if the other party suppressed her cultivation to his level, it was still a one-sided crushing defeat.

"Again."

The little red-haired girl clearly had no intention of letting him rest. She beckoned with her finger, looking as if she were teasing a disobedient puppy.

Su Ji took a deep breath.

"Boom!"

Pitch-black spiritual energy erupted from his body once again, even more violent and surging than before.

He turned into a bolt of black lightning, the spear in his hand bringing up a sharp whistle that tore through the air as it thrust straight at the little red-haired girl's face.

However.

"Clang!"

The result was no different from before.

The little red-haired girl didn't even change her posture; she just casually held out the crimson spear in her hand to block.

Su Ji's spear thrust, which had condensed all his essence, energy, and spirit, was easily blocked.

Immediately after, an indescribable immense force rebounded along the shaft of the spear.

"Crack!"

Su Ji only felt his arms go numb.

The new spear in his hand flew out of his grasp, and his entire body was uncontrollably sent flying backward again.

Her figure blurred, unexpectedly arriving first despite moving later, appearing directly on the path of Su Ji's backward flight.

She reached out a tender white little hand, seemingly pressing it lightly against Su Ji's back, helping him dissipate the vast majority of the force.

Only then did Su Ji's body come to a halt.

Then, the little red-haired girl let go.

Su Ji collapsed onto the ground.

He only felt his vision going dark in waves, and his consciousness began to blur.

He panted heavily, lacking even the strength to move a finger.

"Still wrong."

The little red-haired girl's voice came from above, still in that indifferent tone.

She walked up to Su Ji and stepped on his chest.

"Just like a demonic beast hunting, does it roar from far away to tell its prey 'I'm going to eat you'?"

"It doesn't."

"It only quietly lurks, quietly approaches, and then at the most suitable moment, unleashes the most fatal strike."

"Your anger, your unyieldingness, are all just telling the enemy, 'I am very angry, I am very defiant.'"

"What use is that?"

"Other than making you look like a cat with its fur standing on end, it has no meaning at all."

Lying on the ground, Su Ji listened to these words, yet his mind was clearer than ever before.

It seemed...

He completely didn't understand.

"Can't figure it out?"

The little red-haired girl's voice rang out again, interrupting his thoughts.

She seemed to see through Su Ji's confusion, and the corners of her mouth curled into a wicked arc.

"If you can't figure it out, I'll just beat you until you do."

"Again."

The cold voice carried not a trace of emotion.

The following time was simply a nightmare for Su Ji.

He was thrashed by the little red-haired girl in all sorts of unimaginable ways.

Sent flying with a slap from the spear.

Kicked over.

Spun seven hundred and twenty degrees in the air.

In the end, Su Ji didn't even have the strength to muster his anger.

He was like a tattered sandbag, passively enduring heavy blow after heavy blow.

His consciousness switched back and forth between clarity and blurriness.

He couldn't even feel the pain anymore; all that was left was a numbness originating from the depths of his soul.

At the end, he couldn't summon a single ounce of strength.

Since he was going to get beaten up anyway, he might as well lie down and take it.

Whatever happens, happens.

When the little red-haired girl's crimson spear came whistling over once again.

However, the expected severe pain did not arrive.

He waited for a long time, but the surroundings were completely silent.

Su Ji confusedly opened one eye.

He saw that the crimson spear burning with fierce flames had its tip hovering half an inch in front of his glabella. The scorching heat radiating from the spear shaft roasted his eyebrows to the point of curling.

For the first time, a look of confusion appeared in the little red-haired girl's crimson eyes.

"Not fighting anymore?"

Su Ji said weakly, "I can't fight anymore, let me rest a bit."

Looking at his appearance of a dead pig unfazed by boiling water, the little red-haired girl didn't get angry. Instead, as if she had discovered some novel toy, she walked around him twice.

"Interesting."

"I've beaten up at least eighty thousand people, if not a hundred thousand. You're the very first to give up this quickly."

"You are truly... very afraid of dying."

Su Ji's heart skipped a beat.

It was over, she saw right through him.

He simply decided to smash the cracked pot, closing his eyes and saying no more.

The little red-haired girl, however, was relentless. She crouched down, reached out a finger, and poked Su Ji's cheek.

"Hey, why are you so afraid of dying?"

Su Ji continued to ignore her.

"Being afraid of death won't make you a powerhouse."

"The path of immortal cultivation is inherently about struggling against the heavens, fighting against the earth, and seizing from others. If you are even afraid of death, why bother cultivating immortality?"

Su Ji finally couldn't hold back anymore. He opened his eyes and snapped back crossly.

"I cultivate immortality precisely for longevity, to not die."

"To not be bullied at will by others."

"The fear of death is the very foundation of my cultivation, my Dao."

"If I wasn't even afraid of death anymore, then what would be the point of me cultivating immortality?"

This twisted logic actually left the little red-haired girl momentarily speechless.

She stared blankly at Su Ji, a thoughtful light flickering in her crimson eyes.

After a long time.

She suddenly clapped her hands, a look of sudden realization appearing on her face.

"I get it!"

She leaped up from the ground excitedly and hopped twice beside Su Ji.

"Your 'momentum' isn't anger, isn't unyieldingness, but... the fear of death!"

Su Ji: "..."

Aren't you being a bit impolite?

"That's right!"

The more the little red-haired girl thought about it, the more it made sense to her, and the more excited she became.

"Anger can be extinguished by a stronger force, and unyieldingness can be broken by a harder fist."

"But the fear of death is the instinct of all living beings!"

"It originates from the deepest part of life and is a flame that will never extinguish until death itself!"

"As long as you still want to live, this 'momentum' will never disappear!"

The way she looked at Su Ji instantly changed.

It was no longer the look of viewing a weak ant, but rather like looking at an unpolished, peerless piece of jade.

"Genius!"

"Oh right, you also have the inheritance of the Night King on you, right?"

Su Ji was a bit bewildered by her sudden praise.

I just simply wanted to slack off, how did I become a genius?

"Come!"

The little red-haired girl didn't allow for any explanation, grabbing Su Ji and yanking him up from the ground.

"Then it's simple."

A smile that made Su Ji's hair stand on end appeared on her face.

"As long as I make you feel like you're going to die, it'll work, right?"

Before her words even faded.

The crimson spear resting on her shoulder lit up without warning, erupting with a radiance far more dazzling than ever before.

A genuine, palpable threat of death instantly enveloped Su Ji's entire being.

At that moment, his sixth sense screamed in an unprecedented, violent alarm.

He was going to die!

Only this thought remained in Su Ji's mind.

Without a second thought, acting purely on instinct, he poured every ounce of his power unreservedly into the spear in his own hands.

He cast aside all thoughts of anger or unyielding pride.

Only one desire echoed in his head.

Survive!

He had to live!

In that instant, the spear in his grasp seemed to fuse into one with him.

This strike condensed his every longing for life.

Clink—

A crisp, light sound echoed out, like the shattering of colored glass.

Su Ji's vision went completely white.