Gu Wufeng stared at the string of points before him. He had just slain the third wave of sword beasts, and the sword intent had yet to dissipate—yet Ye Chuan had already slaughtered a thousand desolate beasts in the span of nine breaths.
Three billion points hung at the very top of the Prodigy Stele, like a mountain pressing down on the heads of every prodigy.
Gu Wufeng stared at it for a long time before finally speaking in a low voice. “This isn’t funny.”
Was that really still a human being?
Had he truly been crushed so easily?
It wasn’t that he couldn’t accept losing, nor was he jealous of Ye Chuan. It was simply the first time he had clearly realized that the invincibility among his peers he had always been so proud of seemed to amount to nothing at all before that man.
The corpses of the sword beasts behind him gradually dissolved into specks of light, but from the depths of the Burial Sword Valley came an even denser chorus of sword cries, as though countless ancient swords were urging him to continue forward.
Gu Wufeng raised his head, and the fluctuations in his eyes soon settled back into calm.
Points were not the final result. The Myriad Dao Ancient Realm was not solely about slaughter, and the true inheritance of the Burial Sword Valley still lay deeper within.
He did not look at the Prodigy Stele again, nor did he linger where he stood. Instead, he stepped over the broken blades covering the ground and walked steadily toward the deepest part of the Burial Sword Valley.
Outside the realm, the area occupied by the Nine Heavens Sword Sect had also fallen silent for quite some time.
Those young sword cultivators had initially wanted to speak up for Gu Wufeng, but when they saw the nearly hundredfold difference in points, none of them could bring themselves to say a word.
Gu Changge stood at the very front of the immortal vessel, his gaze fixed on the direction of the Burial Sword Valley. He was not disappointed by Gu Wufeng’s temporary disadvantage. If anything, he seemed even calmer than before.
“Wufeng hasn’t lost.”
Several elders beside him instinctively turned to look at him.
Gu Changge slowly continued, “He chose Heaven-grade difficulty and successively slew three waves of Immortal Venerable sword beasts. In any previous Myriad Dao Ancient Realm, that would have been enough to suppress his entire generation.”
Only then did he turn his gaze toward the name at the very top of the Prodigy Stele.
“It’s just that the name Ye Chuan can no longer be measured by the standards used for ordinary prodigies.”
The people of the Nine Heavens Sword Sect immediately fell silent. As sword cultivators, they naturally understood what Gu Changge meant.
Acknowledging the gap was not frightening. What was frightening was losing the courage to draw one’s sword.
Gu Wufeng had neither withdrawn from the ancient realm nor stopped in his tracks because of Ye Chuan’s points. That alone proved that his sword heart remained unshaken.
On the other side, the expressions of the Taiyi Immortal Sect’s people were completely different.
Lu Taixu stood at the front of the immortal vessel, trying his best to maintain the dignity of a sect master, but the corners of his mouth still kept creeping upward.
No, no. I have to control my smile.
This mouth of mine is millions upon millions of years old. Hold it together!
The number one name on the Prodigy Stele belonged to the Taiyi Immortal Sect. The number one spot on the points ranking also belonged to the Taiyi Immortal Sect. There was even another one of their disciples, Lin Fan, firmly occupying a place in the top ten.
Lu Taixu had never even dared dream of such a scene before.
An Supreme Elder glanced at the complicated looks being cast by the various immortal sects nearby, then gave a light cough and pretended to be calm.
“Holy Son Ye’s performance this time has been fairly… steady.”
The expressions of several nearby immortal sect elders stiffened at the same time.
Killing a thousand desolate beasts at the peak of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm in nine breaths, then soaring directly to thirty billion points—no matter how one looked at it, there was nothing steady about it.
That Supreme Elder himself knew that his words were a bit excessive, but he still refused to take them back. He even clasped his hands behind his back and put on an air suggesting that the Taiyi Immortal Sect had anticipated all of this long ago.
Lu Taixu shot him a glance but did not expose him.
Because he himself very much wanted to put on the same act.
Within the Myriad Dao Ancient Realm, Lin Fan stood in the center of the abandoned village, staring at the thirty billion points projected on the Prodigy Stele. His heart was filled with indescribable complexity.
He had just completed a hidden quest and, relying on the fivefold point multiplier from choosing Earth-grade difficulty, broken into the top ten. This should have been an achievement enough to make everyone take notice.
At the early Celestial Immortal stage, he had slain an Earth-grade Soul-Devouring Beast right after entering the ancient realm, triggered a hidden quest, and obtained an ancient immortal technique.
It was such a perfect beginning, like something out of the legends of a child of destiny.
But Ye Chuan was on the same ranking board.
Lin Fan looked at his own twenty-five million points, then at the string of thirty billion digits behind Ye Chuan’s name. The joy that had only just risen in his chest was instantly crushed.
“Master, can this disciple truly catch up to him?”
This time, Emperor Cangxuan did not answer immediately.
Deep within Lin Fan’s sea of consciousness, that remnant soul was also gazing at the projection of the Prodigy Stele. Even his indistinct face bore a trace of unconcealed solemnity.
With the vision he had possessed in life, he had naturally seen countless so-called peerless prodigies.
Yet Ye Chuan’s speed of advancement and display of combat strength still left him feeling unfamiliar.
After a long while, Emperor Cangxuan finally spoke slowly. “Don’t compare yourselves by points. During the early stages of the Myriad Dao Ancient Realm, points increase extremely quickly. That does not represent one’s final gains.”
Lin Fan asked in a low voice, “Then what should this disciple do?”
“Go pursue your own opportunities.”
Emperor Cangxuan’s voice was low and solemn. “Ye Chuan’s strength lies in his power, and in that refining speed even this emperor cannot understand. Your strength lies in your nine-colored fortune, and in your ability to always find paths that others cannot see.”
Lin Fan’s heart trembled slightly.
Emperor Cangxuan continued, “He can rely on sheer strength to crush every obstacle, but you can find true fortune in places that appear ordinary. Do not keep your eyes fixed on Ye Chuan, or your Dao heart will only be dragged along by him.”
Lin Fan slowly exhaled. The turbulence in his eyes gradually settled, returning to calm.
His master was right.
If he kept staring at Ye Chuan, he would only allow that man to disrupt his rhythm again and again. Ye Chuan was indeed absurdly powerful, but Lin Fan had also obtained a hidden quest of his own.
Just then, the Green Lotus Dao Seal on Lin Fan’s chest suddenly began to grow faintly warm once more.
The ground of the already-collapsed village slowly split open after the Soul-Devouring Beast’s death.
A wisp of extremely faint green light seeped out from within the crack.
If Lin Fan had not possessed the Green Lotus Dao Seal, he likely would not have sensed the extraordinary aura even if he had been standing right beside it.
Emperor Cangxuan immediately said, “Go down.”
Lin Fan did not hesitate. He put away the Verdant Wood Life-Nurturing Art and followed the crack in the ground into the underground region of the village.
Below was a passage that had been mostly buried in soil. Many blurred murals were carved into the walls on either side.
The cultivators depicted in the murals knelt before a green lotus, as though praying for some kind of protection. The farther Lin Fan went, the hotter the Green Lotus Dao Seal on his chest became.
At the end of the passage stood an underground stone chamber that had partially collapsed.
A broken wooden sword was embedded in the center of the chamber. Its surface was already badly decayed, yet a strand of green sword light remained sealed within it, as though it had refused to fully extinguish despite the passage of countless years.
[Hidden inheritance discovered.]
[Green Lotus Sword Talisman.]
[Can release a strand of Green Lotus Sword Intent once in a moment of crisis.]
Lin Fan stared at the words floating before him, and his breathing immediately quickened.
The Green Lotus Sword Talisman was not a complete inheritance, but it was the most suitable life-saving trump card for him at his current level.
His cultivation was still low, and what he lacked most was a trump card capable of allowing him to retaliate across realms. With this sword talisman, even if he encountered a powerful enemy at the Golden Immortal level later on, he would have one chance to face them head-on.
There was also a trace of satisfaction in Emperor Cangxuan’s voice. “This is fortune. When other people slay a fierce beast, they can only obtain points. But after completing a quest, you can follow the clues hidden behind it and find something of true value.”
Lin Fan reached out and grasped the Azure Lotus Sword Talisman.
Azure sword light flowed from his palm into his body, soon settling quietly within his sea of consciousness. At the same time, his score on the Prodigy Stele began to rise once more.
【Lin Fan has discovered a hidden inheritance.】
【Obtained the Azure Lotus Sword Talisman.】
【Reward: 30 million Myriad Dao points.】
Lin Fan’s score soared from 25 million to 55 million in an instant, and his ranking climbed again before finally stabilizing at seventh place.
Outside, the people of the Taiyi Immortal Sect had only just recovered from the shock brought by Ye Chuan’s three-billion-point score when Lin Fan’s changing rank quickly drew their attention.
One elder could not help but smile. “Lin Fan is impressive as well. He triggered two hidden rewards in succession as soon as he entered the Ancient Realm. As expected of someone blessed with nine-colored providence.”
Lu Taixu was in an even better mood.
Ye Chuan was an unreasonable monster who seemed determined to smash through the rankings, while Lin Fan was a prodigy blessed by heaven in the traditional sense, proving that the Taiyi Immortal Sect was not relying solely on Ye Chuan to make an impression.
And both of them belonged to the Taiyi Immortal Sect.
Lu Taixu suddenly felt that, as sect master, he really did not need to do anything anymore.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
