The Han Zhen who was battling Ying Bing had a true form rooted in the skeletal remains of a Palm Profound Realm cultivator, making him far stronger than his younger counterpart.
Yet.
He never could have imagined that the Blood Phoenix Essence power he had painstakingly accumulated would be turned against him.
Even more unexpected—
Ying Bing was terrifying to this extent.
Under normal circumstances, forcibly elevating someone’s cultivation by a major realm would leave them struggling to wield even thirty to forty percent of their full strength.
But Ying Bing... was stronger than any Divine Observer he had ever encountered.
Including himself.
That was why he had Yin Huaxuan join him to deal with Ying Bing first.
As for Li Mo, his strength was equally astonishing—augmented by the Dragon-Tiger Golden Elixir, his power surged to overwhelming heights. Yet, in the end, he posed no real threat.
No matter how immense his brute force, it was still far from the realm of "overpowering all techniques with sheer strength."
Once the Blood Phoenix Essence was reclaimed, the situation would be settled.
"Ying Bing!"
"At this point, do you still intend to resist stubbornly?"
Yin Huaxuan’s voice shook the heavens.
Within his domain, he commanded wind and rain, summoning storms at will.
A gale surged, and behind him, countless roaring beasts twisted and overlapped, their bloodlust palpable. A savage, frenzied power continued to build.
Eighth Heaven of Inner Scenery.
Truly capable of shaking the heavens and earth.
The four-tiered bronze palace trembled violently, nearly collapsing under his presence.
"That’s... Elder Yin Hua?"
Ouyang, the senior disciple of Ruyi Peak, paled in shock.
Why was he inside the secret realm?
And why was he attacking Ying Bing?
Everyone present was stunned—including Bai Jinghong. No one had expected an Eighth Heaven Inner Scenery expert to appear in the Blood Phoenix Secret Realm, which was supposed to be accessible only to Divine Observers.
His identity was even more surprising—a Qingyuan Sect elder.
But the most shocking part? He was an enemy, not an ally.
In the blink of an eye—
The half-human, half-serpent figure, erupting like a volcano, descended with a ferocious, murderous momentum.
"Yin Huaxuan..."
Ying Bing seemed to have realized something.
With the power stored in the Blood Phoenix Essence, she wasn’t afraid of facing an Inner Scenery cultivator one-on-one.
But against two? That was troublesome.
Han Zhen, once a Palm Profound Realm expert, had unfathomable methods—who knew how many hidden trump cards he still held?
Moreover, his Palm Profound skeleton was nearly indestructible. With Yin Huaxuan interfering, she couldn’t find an opening to unleash her "Selfless Sword" again.
Most critically—
The Blood Phoenix Essence wasn’t fully hers yet.
Li Mo...
Even if he used his divine weapon, it likely wouldn’t be enough to turn the tide.
Yin Huaxuan was several times stronger than that Earthly Fiend Assassin from the Fine Rain Tower.
Every time Li Mo wielded the Pangu Calamity Star Hammer, he was left drained and weakened—effectively putting him in grave danger.
It was she who wanted the Blood Phoenix Essence.
In her past life, when she ascended to the Nine Heavens, she had faced countless life-and-death struggles. She had encountered deadlier situations and slain stronger foes.
But.
She had never once stood behind anyone.
"Hum—"
Endless moonlight surged upward, freezing the middle-aged Han Zhen for a brief moment.
Countless sword energies condensed, wrapped in radiant light, forming a breathtaking tide of sword light.
She stepped forward upon the radiance, defying the storm.
Clang! Clang! Clang!—
Sword energy rained down like a tempest, slashing through the air, crashing against Yin Huaxuan’s half-human, half-serpent form. For a moment, countless beastly shadows were obliterated.
Yet, Yin Huaxuan himself remained unharmed.
Eighth Heaven of Inner Scenery—his realm was simply too high.
Han Zhen, too, was immobilized for only an instant.
Ying Bing stood still, her jade-like face flushing with an unhealthy red.
Forget Divine Observers.
Even among Inner Scenery cultivators, few could withstand these two.
Despite Ying Bing pushing her Divine Observer realm to its absolute limits and drawing from her past life’s experience, she still found herself struggling.
"It’s over."
"You refused the easy way—now face the hard way."
Han Zhen took a step forward, his figure flickering as if teleporting.
His palm strike carried the essence of a Palm Profound Realm expert grasping the Great Dao, sealing all space around Ying Bing.
Yin Huaxuan lurked, ready to strike the moment she moved.
Even he was filled with shock.
Faced with this once-in-a-lifetime prodigy, he had to give it his all.
The observing geniuses—
Their hearts were in their throats.
By now, even a fool could see the Blood Phoenix Secret Realm was a trap from the start!
If Ying Bing and Li Mo fell—
Would they survive?
Contrary to Han Zhen and Yin Huaxuan’s expectations, Ying Bing wasn’t panicked.
Cloaked in burning phoenix feathers, the young woman grew even more ethereal and mysterious.
There was only one option left.
True Phoenix Transformation.
No matter how profound the martial art or how esoteric the secret technique, everything came with a price.
Take the True Phoenix Bloodburning Art, for example.
Without Han Zhen’s "generosity"—slaughtering countless lives to accumulate the Blood Phoenix Essence—she would never have been able to elevate herself to the Ninth Heaven of Divine Observation, nor sustain it for so long.
The True Phoenix Transformation also had its cost.
After using it, the True Phoenix Feathers would temporarily lose their spirituality, requiring time to recover.
In the next system ranking comparison, they wouldn’t count toward her combat power.
Meaning—
She might fall to second place again.
But the situation left her no choice.
As divine light flickered between her brows, a trace of supreme dignity began to emanate—
Han Zhen’s expression suddenly twisted.
He spun around.
A pitch-black meteor, wreathed in boundless karmic flames, streaked toward him like a fallen star.
Against this annihilative force, all things seemed as fragile as paper.
This overwhelming power surpassed mortal limits.
Boom!—
The palm that had sealed space collided with the black meteor.
Thunder roared.
A storm of weaponized killing intent swept forth, churning the bronze ground like waves. The sheer pressure ravaged everything in its path.
Though the hammer didn’t strike anyone else—
Every onlooker felt an instinctive terror, a crushing sense of insignificance.
"A divine weapon?!"
Han Zhen was sent flying, his soul trembling, his body carving a deep trench into the ground.
Even his Palm Profound bones seemed on the verge of cracking.
When the dust settled—
He and Yin Huaxuan finally saw it—a short, ancient hammer, unassuming yet bizarre, standing at the epicenter of that devastating force. The killing aura distorted space around it.
"The Pangu Calamity Star Hammer!"
Han Zhen recognized it.
"Impossible! Even Inner Scenery cultivators can’t wield divine weapons. Did Shangguan Wencang arrive?!"
He dismissed the thought instantly.
But a far more ludicrous idea took its place.
Earlier, the middle-aged Han Zhen had received news of his younger self’s defeat.
Could it be... him?
"Oi."
A figure emerged from the river of blood, bare-chested. His lean yet explosive physique seemed forged from metal.
Behind him, a blood-soaked war deity materialized, its battle intent surging like a rising tide.
The thirst for combat burned hotter than ever.
Ying Bing froze.
He... wasn’t he only supposed to use the divine weapon once per battle?
To wield it consecutively... was it because of that war spirit behind him?
"I’m feeling pretty durable today."
Li Mo grinned, slowly lifting the Pangu Calamity Star Hammer.
The "Stronger Through Battle" effect worked somewhat like a rage meter.
"So it was you who killed Cheng'er!"
Yin Huaxuan erupted in fury.
"You... deserve death!"
The middle-aged Han Zhen, sensing the disappearance of the younger Han Zhen's aura, fixed a deathly glare on the youth.
"I originally intended to interact with you all as a swordsman."
"But now, because of you, my 'forty' and 'eighty' have been exposed. How the hell am I supposed to introduce myself when wandering the martial world from now on, huh?"
"I'm gonna smash you to pieces, damn it!!!"
Li Mo was seething with rage.
His anger gauge was maxed out.
The crowd below the steps gulped nervously.
Just who was challenging whom here?
This didn't seem right.
If they had played games before, they'd recognize it—
This overwhelming pressure felt like a boss entering its final phase, going berserk.
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
and couldn't return to the real world. Finally, I gave up and decided to go with the flow, only to discover that writing a diary could make me stronger. Since no one could read it, Su Luo wrote freely, daring to pen anything and everything. Female Lead #1: "Not bad. This diary helped me steal all the protagonist's opportunities. I just want to get stronger." Female Lead #2: "I don’t care about reaching the peak of the cultivation world. Right now, I just want to enjoy the chaos." Female Lead #3: "What? Everyone around me is a spy? I’m the Joker Demon Lord?" ... It’s so strange. Why is the plot completely off track, yet the ending remains the same? Are you all just messing with me?!
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
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.
