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.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
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...
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
