Han Shi raised an eyebrow.
His deep, unfathomable gaze swept into the distance, where the rankings displayed across the sky had, at some point, shifted.
‘First: Li Mo, 577 beast tokens.’
‘Second: Ying Bing, 240 beast tokens.’
‘Third: Bai Jinghong, 77 beast tokens.’
...
Han Shi: “?”
To be honest.
Even with his millennia-spanning experience, Ying Bing’s performance was nothing short of astonishing.
Facing beasts of equal or even higher cultivation realms, she had slain over two hundred in just an hour—averaging two per minute.
Of course, reality couldn’t be measured by sheer numbers. The more powerful skeletal beasts carried more tokens.
But no matter how you looked at it, Ying Bing’s dominance could only be described as peerless.
Yet...
What in the world was up with the first place?
Five hundred?!
Even if the skeletal beasts stood still and let themselves be slaughtered, it wouldn’t be possible to kill them that fast.
The crimson-robed youth’s brows furrowed.
He distinctly remembered.
During the Nine Peaks Tournament, Li Mo—though undeniably a genius within the Eastern Wasteland Domain—still paled in comparison to a prodigy like Ying Bing.
Had something gone wrong in the secret realm? Had this guy found some underhanded trick?
“Han Shi, should I enter the realm and drag him out?” Yin Huaxuan asked softly.
“Let it be. There’s no need to interfere.”
The crimson-robed youth’s expression relaxed.
“As long as Ying Bing arrives here, that’s enough.”
“Li Mo... is still a rare talent. With our current need for capable hands, it would be ideal if he understands the wisdom of choosing the right master.”
Exploiting loopholes was still a form of strength.
Besides, among the Eastern Wasteland’s younger generation, he was one of the few who had caught Han Shi’s eye.
“But this disciple is Shang Wu’s apprentice. He’s likely wild and unyielding—”
Before Yin Huaxuan could finish, the crimson-robed man turned, his sidelong glance carrying an unspoken weight.
“Isn’t that even better if he’s Shang Wu’s disciple?”
Yin Huaxuan’s heart skipped a beat.
“It would be his fortune to serve Han Shi.”
“But if he refuses...”
The crimson-robed youth said coolly,
“If he won’t be of use to me, his only remaining value is to become nourishment for the Blood Phoenix Essence.”
......
First Layer of the Blood Phoenix Secret Realm.
The vast lake had frozen over in many places.
A monstrous fish, its skeletal tail thrashing, sent ripples of dark energy through the water, desperately resisting the encroaching auroral light.
Yet the frigid power of the Lunar Yin continued to shrink its space for evasion.
The lake grew colder.
So cold it felt as though time itself had frozen.
Then—
Ssssh!
A crescent radiance flickered, carrying a snow-white sword that descended from the heavens.
The skeletal fish struggled with all its might, only to find its immense strength vanishing into nothingness.
The sword pierced through the void.
Dark ripples shattered in its wake.
Thud!
The blade impaled the beast’s forehead.
Lunar Yin energy erupted, freezing everything it touched into solid ice.
In moments, the skeletal fish became an exquisitely lifelike ice sculpture.
A string of beast tokens fell into the maiden’s delicate hand, swiftly tucked into the pouch at her waist.
After completing this, Ying Bing finally lifted her gaze, her eyes tinged with confusion.
First.
She still hadn’t seen Han Zhen.
Had her memory failed her? Or had that man not obtained the Blood Phoenix Essence from here after all?
And then there was Li Mo.
How... was he so fast?
“The top fifty will advance to the next layer.”
“It makes no difference either way.”
After a brief pause, Ying Bing’s thoughts stirred.
The resplendent Phoenix Qi behind her seemed to come alive, forming four radiant wings that rippled with auroral light.
Whoosh—
With a single beat, the phoenix wings carried her into the wind.
......
Elsewhere.
The cavern was draped in countless spiderwebs—delicate in appearance, yet strong enough to immobilize even an Internal Breath realm martial artist.
A jade-white spider, several zhang in length, hissed atop its silken trap.
“Cloud-Cutting Sword Art!”
A hundred sword shadows coalesced before merging into one.
Ssssh! Ssssh! Ssssh!
The jade spider was riddled with wounds, swiftly obliterated by the sword energy.
“Had I used this move from the start last time, I would never have lost!”
Bai Jinghong’s chest heaved.
That duel had been a test. He hadn’t employed his true techniques.
He had merely been caught off guard—his full strength never unleashed...
After collecting the beast tokens, he stepped out of the cave.
But the moment he looked up, Bai Jinghong’s expression froze completely.
......
At the same time.
Before a cascading waterfall, droplets sprayed in all directions.
Behind the falls lay a pitch-black stone wall, within which a small hollow had been carved.
Inside rested a crimson-jade herb, its faint fragrance carrying the phantom image of a phoenix in flight.
Such a treasure was never unguarded.
Over a dozen skeletal apes prowled the waterside.
Unlike ordinary skeletal beasts, they exhibited sharper intelligence—and their auras were far more menacing.
The weakest were at the peak of the eighth rank, equivalent to the Internal Breath Golden Core realm.
The strongest had reached the mid-seventh rank—comparable to a Five-Aperture Insight cultivator.
Two figures, one large and one small, peeked out from the nearby undergrowth.
Xiao Qin and Tang Xiaobao.
Their bodies were smeared with thick black mud mixed with beast bone powder, masking their presence from the skeletal apes.
“Senior Brother Xiaobao, you’re amazing! It really is the Phoenix Blood Spirit Grass!” Xiao Qin whispered excitedly.
He had left markings along the way—signs only Qingyuan Sect disciples could decipher, as Elder Qian had instructed before entering the realm.
Sure enough, he had run into Senior Brother Xiaobao.
And Xiaobao seemed to possess an uncanny talent for locating rare treasures...
“Heh, of course.” Tang Xiaobao snorted, already preparing to leap out.
“Senior Brother, what are you doing?!”
“Going to grab the herb, obviously. Didn’t you want it?”
“......”
Xiao Qin glanced at Tang Xiaobao’s small frame, then at the towering, ferocious skeletal apes nearby.
“Senior Brother, I know you’re strong, but maybe we should... plan this carefully.”
Just dealing with these apes would be beyond their capabilities.
Even with their master’s assistance, the cost would be steep.
And even if they secured the herb, who was to say someone wouldn’t swoop in to claim it afterward?
“Old Xiao, Senior Brother Xiaobao, what’re you two muttering about?”
A familiar voice suddenly called from behind them.
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
agon king storylines. At the start, I obtained the "Ultimate Lackey System" - the more I act as a lackey, the stronger I become. What else could I do? I chose to become the personal henchman of the ultimate villain, Su Muwan. I provoke all sorts of chosen ones, snatch away their opportunities, and commit every evil deed imaginable. You ask who's behind me? Hmph! You're not worthy of knowing my lady's name! ...... ....... I am Su Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. Since childhood, I've possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts, which led to my arrogant and domineering personality in my past life. I was even foolish enough to repeatedly challenge those favored by heaven, ultimately resulting in a tragic death. In this life, I must behave and absolutely cannot walk the same path again!! However... SLAP!! "So you're the Dragon King, huh?!" When I saw my little lackey swagger over and viciously slap the Dragon King who was hiding his identity, I felt my heart sink. Su Muwan's suspended heart finally died as she watched Qin Luo, her utterly loyal lackey, standing before her. She fainted on the spot from shock. Heaven is determined to destroy me!! (Pure love 1v1, light-hearted, no angst, single female lead, villain, reincarnation, lackey)
