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.
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
le for a sister-in-law. But Xu Mu couldn’t bring himself to rejoice. The reason? He had transmigrated into the brainless villain of a novel—one who abused his wife, forced the Dragon King’s sister to live in a doghouse, and ended up having his ashes scattered upon the Dragon King’s return. Fortunately, Xu Mu awakened the "Justice System," and he was determined to rewrite his doomed fate. A wife should be cherished, and of course, his sister-in-law deserved to sleep in the villa’s cozy bed. When the Dragon King finally returned, he was greeted by a loving and harmonious family. Xu Mu soon realized that aside from the Dragon King, countless other protagonists began emerging—all targeting him—forcing him to fight back. You have a few breathtakingly beautiful senior sisters? Sorry, but they’re my senior sisters now. You’re a retired soldier king searching for your first love? Too bad—your "white moonlight" already sees me as hers. …
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
