However, when you thought about it carefully, it made sense. At their current age, anyone in the Five Great Sects who could be called a genius had to have reached the Transcendent Realm.
Zhong Ci was currently in the early Transcendent Realm, which meant she could already be considered a genius.
As for the so-called geniuses of the Inner World, they had to reach the Boundary-Breaking Realm.
This was not because the people of the Inner World had greater talent. It was simply that they lived longer and remained young for a longer period of time. In itself, this was unfair to people from the outside world.
Zhong Ci also glanced at Xu Mu. When she noticed Xu Mu looking at her, she immediately turned her eyes away.
Last time, she and Xiao Gui had gotten into an argument because of Xu Mu.
She was an extremely even-tempered person. Ever since Xiao Gui returned, she had never complained about him, much less argued with him.
Only after seeing Zhong Ci turn away did Xu Mu smile and look toward Jiang Cisui.
He was still wearing a loose Taoist robe that exposed most of his chest, and he looked as if he had just woken up.
“Brother Jiang, long time no see.”
Xu Mu walked toward Jiang Cisui. Then, his face suddenly changed with surprise. “Good heavens, you’ve actually reached the Boundary-Breaking Realm? That’s terrifying.”
Of course, for Jiang Cisui, this was nothing difficult.
After all, when he had won the Martial Arts Championship, he had already reached the peak of the Transcendent Realm, leaving all the geniuses of the Five Great Sects far behind.
“Brother Xu Mu, you’re the terrifying one. When we competed for the Martial Arts Championship, you were only at the Grandmaster Realm, but now you’re in the late Transcendent Realm. You’re advancing faster than a rocket.”
Jiang Cisui smiled. This person before him was indeed impressive.
Recently, he had begun working hard, but his rate of improvement was still nowhere near Xu Mu’s. It seemed that his efforts were not enough.
“I was just lucky. I found several miraculous herbs while undergoing training.”
Xu Mu spoke with a hearty laugh.
“Big Brother Xu, you’re amazing. I’ll definitely learn from you.”
The person following behind Jiang Cisui was none other than Wang Fugui.
He was an ordinary-looking young man who appeared honest and down-to-earth.
No one had expected that he would also reach the early Transcendent Realm. After all, he possessed a fifth-level Heavenly Mandate. As long as he did not die prematurely, he would most likely become a powerful expert in the future.
“You should learn from Brother Jiang. As for me, forget it.”
Xu Mu waved his hand with a laugh.
At that moment, Shi Yao of the Force Court also walked over from a distance.
He was wearing a tank top, revealing a lean, dark-skinned body that stood a full six feet three inches tall. He gave off an intimidating sense of power.
“Xu Mu, long time no see.”
“Why are you here alone?”
Xu Mu looked at Shi Yao and noticed that he had originally been in the early Transcendent Realm, but was now at the peak of the middle stage.
“Meimei and the Grand Elder went to train in a relic. They haven’t returned yet, so I came by myself.”
Shi Yao folded his arms as he spoke.
Xu Mu nodded lightly before surveying the other people around him.
The Spirit Hall had sent Wang Taolue. His cultivation was the same as Shi Yao’s, and he had also reached the peak of the middle Transcendent Realm.
He was dressed in a suit, with his hair tied back, revealing a delicate, almost feminine face.
This sect primarily cultivated arcane techniques and also possessed spiritual attacks. Overall, its prospects were quite good.
Then there was Yan Jingqiu from the Shennong Cauldron. He was not particularly handsome and wore a purple robe. His neck leaned slightly forward, and he had long hair.
Finally, the Artifact Sect had sent two people: Yun Yao and Zhong Ci.
There was no denying that Yun Yao was the most handsome among these geniuses.
He wore a dark-red martial outfit, with a long sword hanging at his waist. His black hair framed a pair of deep-set eyes beneath sharp, sword-like brows.
He was the quintessential handsome man from an ancient-style painting.
As for Zhong Ci, there was even less to say. After all, she was the female lead with a tenth-level Heavenly Mandate.
Even if her appearance had been merely average, the enormous thunder penalty alone would have been enough to place her among the ranks of beauties.
Not to mention her elegant bearing, refined features, and the beauty mark beneath the corner of her eye, all of which added greatly to her charm.
Xu Mu was not familiar with the people from the other three sects, and they did not take the initiative to greet him either.
“So these are the geniuses of the Five Great Sects? They all seem incredibly powerful.”
Chen Xuan followed beside Xu Mu, carrying a woven fertilizer sack over his shoulder.
“These people are all the young talents of Yanhuang. They’re destined to become the pillars defending our nation in the future.”
As Xu Mu spoke, he put an arm around Chen Xuan’s shoulder. “This is my brother, Chen Xuan.”
“Hello.”
Jiang Cisui smiled and greeted him. “Anyone who can become sworn brothers with Xu Mu is clearly no ordinary person.”
Xu Mu shook his head before asking, “By the way, Old Chen, why didn’t you put the woven sack inside your clothes today?”
“The weather’s a little hot here.”
Chen Xuan smiled as he replied.
While the group was chatting, the helicopters around them gradually took off and disappeared into the night sky.
Several people emerged from the tents in the distance.
At the head of them was Li Hongdou, with Lin Ruoshi beside her.
Lin Ruoshi wore a white blouse and a pleated skirt. Her hair fell all the way to her waist.
Her cute, lively eyes were still filled with unease, and she looked as socially awkward as ever.
“Xu Mu.”
Li Hongdou called out from a distance.
Xu Mu and Chen Xuan walked over together.
An old man was standing beside Li Hongdou. He was none other than Hu Qingyun, a senior cleaner.
He touched the eyepatch he was wearing and said with a smile, “Xu Mu, everyone’s safety this time will be in your hands. Do your best to keep them safe.”
Upon hearing this, Wang Taolue of the Spirit Hall said flatly, “Senior, we’re all capable of protecting ourselves.”
“That’s right. It’s not as if we’ve never been to the Inner World before. Besides, we agreed before coming that if we encountered danger, it would only mean that our strength was insufficient. There would be no need for the Sanitation Department to rescue us.”
Yun Yao rested a hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist and spoke softly.
“This time is different. The places you visited before were either small fragments of the Inner World or remote backwaters. This time, the destination is the Northern Underworld Continent. Although the location is still rather remote, you could easily encounter first-rate foreign races there.”
Hu Qingyun shook his head. “Forget it. There’s no point saying more. Hongdou, take them over. Be careful.”
“Understood.”
Li Hongdou nodded, then addressed the others around her. “Let’s go over now.”
Xu Mu, meanwhile, greeted Lin Ruoshi. “Long time no see.”
[Affection +10]
Lin Ruoshi hurriedly nodded. “Please guide me this time.”
Everyone followed Li Hongdou toward a stone wall not far away. They entered the interior of the relic through it.
After Xu Mu followed them inside, he discovered traces of battle.
Judging from the collapsed, shattered ground and the damaged trees, the battle had taken place only a few days earlier.
The foreign races had probably discovered this convergence point and come to investigate, only to be driven back in the end.
As they continued deeper inside, an unusually bright patch of light appeared in the distance.
When they approached, they noticed that the surroundings were shrouded in darkness. Only a region more than thirty feet above the ground was illuminated as brightly as daytime.
Li Hongdou flew upward and took out the Boundary Fire from her body. “Everyone, go in.”
Xu Mu followed the others through the convergence point into the Inner World.
After arriving on the other side, he finally understood why they had set out at night.
It was because it was daytime here in the Inner World.
Once everyone had entered, Li Hongdou followed them through as well.
After leaving the small relic on the other side, they could be considered to have truly arrived in the Inner World.
Xu Mu spread out his senses to survey the surroundings and discovered a group of people standing atop a mountain peak in the distance.
It wasn’t far from here. No wonder someone had discovered this intersection—it was only two kilometers from the entrance to the ancient ruins over there.
Li Hongdou said to everyone, “Put on your black robes and disguise yourselves. We’re heading over now.”
With that, she led everyone toward the distant mountain.
When they arrived, a man guarding the ruins’ entrance walked over and asked, “Who are you?”
] [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!"
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
g Yu was preparing for retirement when her organization decided to eliminate her. She transmigrated to a zombie apocalypse world. However, a tiny unexpected situation occurred: She somehow transformed into an adorable little girl?!
