《Heavenly Path Lists: I Am Exposed As The Sword God》 Chapter 1 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°Human child, how dare you to trespass my Stone Devil Mountain? Are you lost?¡± The infamous stone demon¡¯s voice was like a bell that shook Li Yu to the point his eardrums hurt. He could not help but dig his ear with his fingers. The stone demon in front of him was more than three meters tall. Its skin was rock-like, seeming like it was wearing heavy iron armor. With the scarlet copper hammer in hand, the ground trembled as he moved. It was the demon that terrorized the Grand Xia Dynasty, Shi Potian! Rumor has it that it was once a huge divine stone that suppressed evil and baleful influences. However, as it absorbed the essence of the sun and moon and the baleful miasma over the years, it cultivated into a spiritual being and transformed into a powerful monster. Its cultivation was rather advanced, incomparably powerful while possessing an almost imperishable body. Even the most powerful sect in the Grand Xia Dynasty, the Jade Pure Dao Sect, could not do anything to it. They had sent experts to subdue it multiple times, but they all returned in defeat. Hahaha¡­ Hehehe¡­ The lesser demons in the surroundings roared with laughter as well. As if they were looking at a fool, they looked at the elegant, handsome, sixteen or seventeen-year-old Li Yu. Not even the old Daoist priest of the Jade Pure Dao Sect dared to come alone. A brat like him who was still wet behind the ears actually dared to come over and seek death. They could already imagine the scene of Li Yu being smashed into minced meat by Shi Potian. Li Yu did not speak. He brushed off the dust on his robe and silently pulled out the sword behind him. The surrounding lesser demons laughed even louder, and they even cried out in excitement. ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± Seeing Li Yu unsheathe his sword, Shi Potian stomped his foot, causing the earth to tremble. The surrounding lesser demons nearly fell to the ground. However, Li Yu was as steady as an old dog. He did not say a word as he slashed out with his sword! There were no spectacular sword gleams or fancy special effects. It was an ordinary strike. Swoosh! The air seemed torn apart. The stone demon froze. Then, like a fragile clay sculpture, it shattered into pieces with a bang! Silence! The laughter of the lesser demons stopped abruptly. They witnessed everything in shock. It was as if they had seen a ghost! The terrifying Shi Potian with extraordinary strength was actually¡­ insta-killed by this young Daoist¡¯s sword in one strike. If they had not seen it with their own eyes, they would never believe it. This¡­ this young Daoist was too terrifying. Run! All the lesser demons were terrified to the point their souls left their bodies, and they immediately fled in all directions like frightened birds, causing blades, spears, halberds, axes, and hooks to fall to the ground. Li Yu could not be bothered with those monsters and silently walked forward. He bent down and picked up the stone demon¡¯s Scarlet Copper Hammer. This hammer was the real purpose of his trip! ¡°Ding¡­ successful collection of the Scarlet Copper Hammer!¡± The system¡¯s voice sounded. Li Yu was calm. He casually kept the hammer in the storage space of the system. This system had accompanied him through his transmigration. He could not really put a finger on what this system was. It was a little difficult to explain. Simply put, it could allow him to fight monsters and level up like a game character. However, a mission panel suddenly appeared a few days ago. It began to release system missions to obtain experience points after completing them. If he failed, he would lose ten times the experience points. His main task was to develop his sect into the number one sect in the Great Xia Dynasty. Of course, in order to achieve this purpose, many small missions were required. For example, he could take in various geniuses, collect various divine weapons, cultivation techniques, natural oddities, and so on, all to strengthen his sect. ¡°Strange, why haven¡¯t my experience points increased at all after killing this stone demon?¡± Li Yu was puzzled as he looked at the experience bar in front of him that looked like a progress bar. The data displayed was: ¡°You are still 13.1415926¡­ away from becoming invincible.¡± Logically speaking, there should be changes after he killed this powerful stone demon¡­ Right at this moment, the Stone Devil Mountain beneath Li Yu¡¯s feet suddenly trembled violently, and it was as if the mountain was collapsing. A roar that seemed to come from Nine Nether resounded. ¡°So this stone mountain is its true form!¡± Li Yu murmured in his heart, but he remained expressionless. The next second. The stone mountain beneath his feet rose and transformed into a huge stone monster. Terrifying demonic power began to spread, making the world seem discolored. Li Yu frowned slightly. He stomped his feet and leaped into the air before he slashed down with his sword. Boom! It was as if this sword was about to split heaven and earth apart. Space became twisted to the extreme, emitting thunderous booms. The terrifying might of the sword poured down as the stone demon¡¯s roars stopped. Its red eyes widened in horror. Bang bang bang bang bang¡­ The stone demon that had just transformed collapsed again. The ground beneath it collapsed as well. All in a single strike! Shi Potian¡ªthe great demon that struck fear into countless sects and made commoners of Qing Prefecture tremble. It got utterly obliterated! A bottomless rift that was a few kilometers long and more than ten meters wide appeared on the ground, like a natural chasm. Countless lesser demons got pulverized by the strike. ¡°Sigh, I used too much strength!¡± Li Yu scratched his head. At this moment, the experience bar in front of him finally moved. However, it was still only an increase in value after the decimal point. At least there was an improvement. Moreover, it was a small step towards completing the system mission. After killing this stone demon, Li Yu did not stay longer and flew out of the mountain. After some time, a group of cultivators in the Jade Pure Dao Sect¡¯s Daoist robes flew over. Today, they gathered the top experts of their sects to eradicate the demon, Shi Potian, who was wreaking havoc in Qing Prefecture. However, when they arrived at Stone Devil Mountain, they were stunned by the scene in front of them. The Stone Devil Mountain had disappeared, and a huge chasm appeared on the ground. The impact of what they had witnessed was too shocking, and it caused the elders of the Jade Pure Dao Sect to be stunned for a long time. ¡°Shi Potian has been eliminated?¡± ¡°Who can actually have such a divine power?¡± Everyone was shocked. An elder surnamed Hu flashed across and grabbed a lesser demon from the mountain below to question it. The lesser demon was so frightened that it trembled and spoke incoherently. However, Elder Hu more or less understood what was going on. Indeed, an expert had helped them eliminate Shi Potian. Looking at the battlefield in front of him, he was truly shocked. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry back and report to the sect master!¡± Elder Hu said as everyone left. However, not long after everyone from the Jade Pure Dao Sect left, red light seemed to flicker in the gigantic crack. Following that, torrential Demonic Qi suffused the air. It surged like a black fog in the crack, blotting out the sun. It was as if the mountain forest had turned into the Nine Nether Demon Domain. Demonic roars and howling ghosts echoed through the mountains, causing one to shudder uncontrollably. ¡­ Luo Water Town, which was about 500 kilometers away from Stone Devil Mountain, was a small town under the jurisdiction of the Great Xia Dynasty in Qing Prefecture. Li Yu¡¯s sect was located west of Luo Water Town, on the Nine-tailed Mountain around 5km away. A slightly dilapidated Daoist temple with dark green tiles and red walls sat quietly on the mountaintop. The Daoist temple¡¯s wall was slightly mottled as if it had been neglected for years. Boston ivy was crawling all over the walls. There were a few words inscribed in a lively style on the signboard at the door that was almost indiscernible¡ªThat¡¯s Quite a Large Sect! Each time he saw those words, Li Yu suspected that his father¡¯s surname was Shen. That¡¯s right. It was the sect founded by Li Yu¡¯s cheap father. A sect that was renowned throughout the area. Under his relentless efforts, the sect successfully developed from the initial ten-odd people to the current three. Li Yu felt immense pressure to turn such a sect into the number one sect in the Great Xia Dynasty! Gulp¡­ As soon as he entered the Daoist temple, Li Yu¡¯s stomach suddenly growled. ¡°Sigh, I forgot to hunt on the way back!¡± Li Yu thought. Just as Li Yu was thinking about what to eat for dinner, something peculiar occurred in the sky above Nan¡¯an City, over 5000 kilometers away. All of a sudden, rays of golden light shone down, and seven-colored auspicious clouds surfaced in the sky. Amidst the heavens and the earth, deep voices sounded out. They resembled the whispers of the gods or the echo of nature. What was going on? Everyone in Nan¡¯an City looked at the wonder in the sky, shocked. They had never seen such a miraculous scene in their lives. Some people thought that auspiciousness had descended from the heavens, and they knelt to pray for blessings. Then, a golden scroll that seemed to fall from the nine heavens rolled out. An awe-inspiring voice of the Great Dao reverberated through the sky. ¡°On the Heaven Dao and Earth roll, there are endless opportunities for anyone who enters the list!¡± With the sound of the Great Dao, a ranking appeared on the golden scroll in the sky: the Hidden Dragon List. ¡­ Chapter 2 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios After the Hidden Dragon Rankings appeared, a few rows of clear, shiny golden characters appeared below. ¡°This ranking is the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s Hidden Dragon Rankings. Young elites below the age of thirty can enter the ranking. A total of 100 people will be ranked in ascending order, and they can obtain the Heavenly Dao¡¯s reward! The rankings will be refreshed in real-time, and a reward will be given every month!¡± The entire Nan¡¯an City and the cities and towns within a few thousand kilometers could see it clearly, and everyone was extremely shocked. Such a miraculous sight was a once-in-a-lifetime event even for an old fellow who had lived for hundreds or thousands of years. Not only that, but the Heavenly Dao Rankings of the various countries¡¯ capitals, cities, and sects also appeared in the sky. The world was stunned! However, besides being shocked, everyone was discussing and anticipating just who would be able to ascend the Heavenly Dao Rankings. And who would occupy that dazzling top spot? Hidden Dragon Rankings # 100: Zhu Hong Origin: Zhu Family of Liang Prefecture Age: 23 years old Reward: Xuanyuan Pill Once the first name appeared, a golden light flew out of the ranking list and headed southwest. The direction was the Liang Prefecture. It seemed like the golden light was the reward of the Heavenly Dao. The hundredth place actually rewarded the Xuanyuan Pill. Many seemed surprised and full of envy. Although this Xuanyuan Pill was not exactly a rare treasure, it was still a valuable pill. This pill could supplement cultivation and improve one¡¯s physique. It was highly beneficial. More importantly, as long as he stayed up on the rankings, he would be rewarded with this pill every month. It was simply awesome. ¡°If only I could get on the Heavenly Dao Rankings too.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not dream as ordinary folks. Whoever is up there on the rankings are definitely members of large family clans and large sects!¡± ¡°Yeah, if the 100th place is from the Zhu family. Ordinary disciples can forget about it!¡± ¡°Sigh, if such an expert becomes stronger, then the weak will be even weaker!¡± Everyone talked animatedly. Hidden Dragon Rankings # 99: Zhang Daniu Origin: Heavenly Water Pavilion Reward: Xuanyuan Pill No. 98 on the Hidden Dragon Ranking: Wu Yuan Origin: Million Sins Clan Reward: Xuanyuan Pill ¡­ As the rankings began to get announced, strands of golden light flew out from the ranking list and into various directions. The Grand Xia Dynasty, Liang Prefecture, Zhu Manor. As a former lord and the family behind the current prime minister, the Zhu family was powerful. They had many descendants and mercenaries, and their overall strength was not inferior to some large sects. ¡°The Heavenly Dao Rankings has finally appeared!¡± A man in luxurious clothes stood on the pavilion with his assistant standing beside him as he looked up at the golden rankings in the sky. He had sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, giving off an imposing aura. On his dashing face, there was a pair of deep eyes that seemed to have experienced the vicissitudes of life. It remained sharp and deep, even though it had just witnessed something extraordinary. His eyes were still calm as water in an ancient well, as only a smile surfaced on his lips. He was the top prodigy of the Zhu family¡¯s current generation. His talent and strength were unmatched in the entire Great Xia Dynasty. Even the top elites of the Jade Pure Dao Sect could not compare to him. Not only that, he was a reborn person. Of course, no one else but him knew about this. In his previous life, he had been the number one existence on the Heavenly Dao Ranking¡¯s Hidden Dragon Rankings. He knew the Heavenly Dao Rankings better than anyone else. The Hidden Dragon Rankings was only the beginning. Three months later, the Heaven Dao Earth Rankings would also announce the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s Divine Weapon Rankings. It was a much more important ranking with more generous rewards. Furthermore, the Heavenly Dao Earth Rankings was only ranked according to country. It meant that only the young elites of the Great Xia Dynasty were on the list. The Heaven Rankings would appear in the future. That was the actual valuable ranking list. By then, it would encompass a wider area that would include the various humans, monsters, and demon races. The rewards would be even more extraordinary. In his previous life, countless people had relied on the opportunities from the Heaven Rankings to become peerless experts. Those who could reach the top ten of the Heaven Rankings have a chance to enter the Immortal Rankings in the future and enter the Immortal class. ¡°In this life, I, Zhu Xiaotian, will surely ascend into the Immortal Rankings!¡± Zhu Xiaotian thought to himself. After rebirth, he knew everything about the future and was confident that he could devise a strategy to seize the fortune of heaven and earth. He planned to utilize the Heavenly Dao Rankings to advance rapidly and ascend into the Immortal Realm. Below the pavilions, everyone from the Zhu Family was excitedly discussing this matter. In their hearts, Zhu Xiaotian must be the only candidate at the top of the Hidden Dragon Rankings. ¡°Brother Xiaotian, so you¡¯re here!¡± A beautiful girl with snow-white skin and charming eyes ran over. Her name was Yi Caidie, the beloved daughter of the Pingnan King of the Great Xia Dynasty. ¡°Brother Xiaotian, the first place on this Hidden Dragon Rankings surely belongs to you!¡± The girl walked to Zhu Xiaotian¡¯s side and looked at the ranking. She was not flattering him, as Zhu Xiaotian was the publicly acknowledged number one prodigy of the Great Xia Dynasty. His natural talent was unmatched. Zhu Xiaotian smiled slightly and did not speak, but his face was filled with determination. In his previous life, he was the first on the list. Now that he was reborn, his cultivation was higher and better than in his previous life. Therefore, no one could compete with the first on the Hidden Dragon Rankings in this life. ¡°With Sister Cai Die¡¯s abilities, you¡¯ll surely have a place in the top ten!¡± Zhu Xiaotian said. According to his previous life¡¯s memories, his childhood friend Cai Die ranked tenth. ¡°I hope so! Brother Xiaotian, look at how many fiend sect disciples are on this ranking!¡± Yi Caidie said with a grave expression. Half of the rankings had already been announced. And there were already more than 20 fiend sect disciples among the 50 people. ¡°Sigh, the righteous path is declining, while the demonic path is rampant. Chaos is inevitable!¡± Zhu Xiaotian said solemnly. He knew clearly that the Great Xia Dynasty was not alone. The entire Huaxia continent was the same. In the next few hundred years, it was highly likely that the era would be filled with demons. The appearance of the Heavenly Dao Rankings intensified this situation. As the saying went, nature was heartless and treated everything as straw dogs. The Heavenly Dao Rankings were not just limited to a particular race species. In the struggle for the Grand Dao, a myriad of races competed for the chance to become immortals and seek the Dao! Still, heroes emerge from chaos. Zhu Xiaotian wanted to capitalize on the winds of change to transform into a true dragon and ascend to the nine heavens. ¡­ The Grand Xia Dynasty¡¯s Yue Prefecture, Jade Pure Dao Sect. The Sect Master of the Jade Pure Dao Sect, Perfected Yu Hua, stood at the entrance of the Jade Pure Palace Hall. He looked at the Heavenly Dao Rankings in the sky with a heavy expression. Indeed, the appearance of the Heavenly Dao Rankings filled him with pleasant surprise and anticipation. Many disciples of their sect had also entered the Hidden Dragon Rankings and received the rewards of the Heavenly Dao. However, looking at the full rankings was like looking at the world¡¯s future. He could not help but worry. The Demon Sects already occupied half of the 80 announced places. This was especially true for the Netherworld Demon Sect, as the number of disciples ranked had already surpassed their Daoist Sect. Demons were rampant in the current Great Xia Dynasty, and the greater demons from all over were wreaking havoc. There were countless deaths and injuries among those in the righteous path, and it was difficult to eradicate them. Everyone was afraid. The decline of the righteous path and the expansion of the demonic path were undeniable. In recent years, the strength of the Netherworld Demon Sect had already surpassed them. Now, their younger generation was filled with crouching tigers and hidden dragons. And the mere thought of such potential was terrifying enough. What was even more troubling was that the Heavenly Dao Rankings would reveal this cruel fact to the public. It was truly a public execution, leaving the righteous sects ashamed. At this rate, it would inevitably cause panic in the world. It could even threaten the righteous sect¡¯s status in the people¡¯s hearts. At the thought of this, Perfected Yu Hua truly felt depressed. Right at this moment, a group of figures flew over from afar. Perfected Yu Hua focused his gaze. It was the returning Elder Hu and others. They had set out to eliminate Shi Potian even if it meant losing their lives. ¡°So soon?¡± Perfected Yu Hua was slightly surprised. However, when they saw that everyone had returned without any injuries, they could not help but be shocked. ¡°Elder Hu, why are you back so soon?¡± ¡°Reporting to Sect Master, when we arrived, the Stone Devil Mountain had already disappeared. Shi Potian was already killed by someone else. From the traces of the battle, it was likely done by a certain expert!¡± Said Elder Hu as he cupped his hands. ¡°Really?¡± Perfected Yu Hua revealed a look of joy. This huge boulder that was weighing on his heart had finally disappeared. If they still could not get rid of Shi Potian, their Jade Pure Dao Sect would probably be too ashamed to face the commoners. They were going to be mocked and ridiculed by the fiend sects again. ¡­ Chapter 3 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Hidden Dragon Ranking # 11: Yi Caidie Origin: Daughter of the Pingnan King Age: 16 Reward: Foundation Building Pill ¡°11th?¡± Zhu Xiaotian frowned in surprise. How could it be eleven? He clearly remembered that Yi Caidie was tenth in his previous life. And her reward should be the Spirit Ascension Pill, a precious pill that could improve the quality of one¡¯s Spirit Root. ¡°What a pity that I¡¯m out of the top ten!¡± Yi Caidie stuck out her tongue, but she didn¡¯t pay too much attention to it. After all, this was not too far off from her expectations. At this moment, a golden light flew over from the sky and turned into a jade bottle that flew towards Yi Caidie. She grabbed it through the air and kept it in her storage magic treasure. Hidden Dragon Rankings # 10: Leng Yue Origin: Netherworld Demon Sect Age: 19 Reward: Spirit Ascension Pill As he looked at the new name on the list, Zhu Xiaotian¡¯s expression became more solemn. He felt that the overall placing of this ranking seemed to have moved backward by one spot. What was going on? The top ten on the Hidden Dragon Rankings was the most striking existence. At this moment, everyone¡¯s eyes were fixated on the names that kept appearing on the rankings. Everyone wanted to see which young elites could reach the top ten. A group of people gathered at the entrance of Qingyuan Restaurant in Nan¡¯an City. As they looked at the names that were getting announced one after another, their expressions slowly turned grim. ¡°Why are the tenth, ninth, and eighth place all members of the Netherworld Demon Sect?¡± ¡°They said that it¡¯s the rise of the fiend sects, and they have already surpassed the orthodox sects. Seems like it¡¯s true!¡± ¡°Three people in a row are from the Demon Sect. This isn¡¯t good news. So far, no one from the Jade Pure Dao Sect has entered the top ten!¡± ¡°I heard that Lin Chen of the Jade Pure Dao Sect is a prodigy of the current era who is extremely strong!¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve heard of it too. This kid should have the chance for the top spot!¡± ¡°No, no, no. The top spot should be Zhu Xiaotian from the Zhu family. This child is the number one prodigy of our Great Xia Dynasty, and he¡¯s definitely going to be the number one!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I heard that he entered the Foundation Establishment realm before he was twelve. He¡¯s already at the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm and is about to enter the Golden Core realm. Such talent and cultivation are probably unmatched in the world!¡± ¡°This child is actually at the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm? Then he must be number one!¡± ¡°Mmm, this first place must not be occupied by someone from the demonic sect anymore. That would be too embarrassing!¡± Everyone discussed animatedly, and they looked at the newly announced names with nervous and expectant gazes. # 7: Murong Xingqiao Origin: The Royal Family of the Great Xia Dynasty Age: 17 Reward: Spirit Ascension Pill ¡°Congratulations, your highness!¡± In the Eastern Palace, an old man cupped his hands with all smiles. This person was called Shen Qiuming, the current royal tutor and the prince¡¯s teacher. In front of him was the Crown Prince of the Great Xia Dynasty¡ªMurong Xingqiao. He had a handsome face and limpid eyes. He was excessively dashing, to the point that even women would become jealous of him. ¡°I¡¯m only in seventh place. What¡¯s there to be happy about? Sigh, I¡¯m still too weak. In the future, I will use all my time to cultivate. The next time the rankings refresh, I, Murong Xingqiao, will be in the top five!¡± Murong Xingqiao had an unsatisfied expression. ¡°Your Highness is only 17 years old. To have such a cultivation level is already one in a million!¡± Shen Qiuming said amiably. ¡°Old Shen, don¡¯t make fun of me!¡± Murong Xingqiao supported his chin with his right hand and looked at the Heavenly Dao Rankings in the sky with a bitter expression. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± Grand Tutor Shen Qiuming bowed. ¡°Old Shen, you said that the first place should be the prime minister¡¯s son, right?¡± ¡°Yes, if I¡¯m not wrong, it ought to be him. This kid is a peerless genius that possesses great talent. He¡¯s indeed the best in the younger generation of the empire!¡± Murong Xingqiao nodded, but his brows furrowed even more tightly. He was well aware that the Zhu family¡¯s power had already surpassed the Murong family. Prime Minister Zhu Hongyuan was ambitious. Despite the Zhu family being on his side, he was well aware that the Zhu family was definitely not his friend. The Hidden Dragon Rankings continued to announce the rankings. The sixth place was again a member of the Netherworld Demon Sect¡­ # 5: Lin Chen Origin: Jade Pure Dao Sect Age: 23 Reward: Golden Body Spiritual Liquid # 4: Ye Qiu Origin: Nan¡¯an City¡¯s Ye Family Age: 18 Reward: Golden Body Spiritual Liquid # 3: Gu Cangming Origin: Netherworld Demon Sect Age: 23 Reward: Divine Flame Pill # 2: Zhu Xiaotian Origin: Zhu Family of Liang Prefecture Age: 23 Reward: Divine Flame Pill ¡°Second place? Impossible!¡± Zhu Xiaotian¡¯s eyes widened as he looked at every word on the ranking list in disbelief. Impossible. What¡¯s going on? How did I become second? I should be number one! Although he had an ominous feeling when the top ten was announced, he was unwilling to believe that his ranking would fall by one position as well. He could not understand how this could have happened. After his rebirth, everything that he had experienced was no different from the trajectory of his previous life. But why was there such a significant change in the Heavenly Dao Rankings? It suddenly frightened him. It was as if everything he knew got overturned suddenly, and everything he saw had suddenly become bubbles. He thought he would control everything in his new life and predict the future. However, he never expected that something beyond his control would suddenly appear here at this point. ¡°Who is it? Who stole my first place?!¡± Zhu Xiaotian¡¯s pupils trembled as he stared at the rankings in the air. Yi Caidie was also shocked, and her eyes were filled with surprise. The Zhu Family people below were in an uproar. Zhu Xiaotian was not at the top! Then who would be the number one? Everyone outside the Qingyuan Restaurant was in an uproar as well. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Even Zhu Xiaotian from the Zhu family isn¡¯t the first?¡± ¡°No way, if he¡¯s not even at the top, then who could be at the top!¡± ¡°The epitome of the Xia Dynasty¡¯s younger generation are all on the list already. Who else can it be?¡± ¡°Perhaps there¡¯s a hidden genius?¡± ¡°To be able to surpass the Zhu Family¡¯s Zhu Xiaotian, just how monstrous is this child¡¯s talent?!¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be someone from the fiend sects again, right?!¡± ¡°That will be bad! Half of the top ten have been occupied by fiend sects. If the first place is also obtained by the fiend sects, then¡­¡± Those people were not the only ones shocked and worried. Even Murong Xingqiao, Ye Qiu, Lin Chen, and Perfected Yu Hua had the same doubts and worries in their hearts. Please don¡¯t be a member of the Netherworld Demon Sect! Perfected Yu Hua muttered in his heart. If the top spot was seized by someone from the demonic path, it would be a huge blow to the entire orthodox sects of the Great Xia Dynasty. Where would their reputation go! In the sky, the golden light on the golden scroll suddenly flourished. As light patterns flowed, a few golden words surfaced slowly. Those words were twice the size of the rest. Everyone held their breaths and focused their attention on the golden words. Hidden Dragon Rankings #1: Li Yu Origin: That¡¯s Quite a Large Sect Age: 17 Reward: Heavenly Spirit Pill Additional Reward: Chongming Bird1 Fledgling ¡°Who is Li Yu?¡± At the same time, this question arose in the hearts of everyone that were paying attention to the Heavenly Dao Rankings, and they were even more puzzled by Li Yu¡¯s origins. That¡¯s Quite a Large Sect? Which sect is that? ¡­ Chapter 4 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°Li Yu, who is this person? Why have I never heard of him in my previous life?¡± Zhu Xiaotian frowned as killing intent flashed through his eyes. Yi Caidie was also slightly surprised, and she couldn¡¯t help but sneak a glance at Zhu Xiaotian¡¯s rather sullen expression. ¡°He even got an additional reward!¡± Zhu Xiaotian was even more shocked! Not to mention that number one had been seized by a fellow called Li Yu. He was also the first in his previous life, but he had only obtained the Heavenly Spirit Pill. There was no additional reward. What ability did this person have to obtain the favor of the Heavenly Dao and even obtain additional rewards? Moreover, the additional reward was too great. Chongming Bird was a divine bird! It was said that this bird was shaped like a chicken and sang like a phoenix. It had two eyes and was born with the ability to dispel evil. It was the natural enemy of demons and ghosts. It could reach adulthood in sixty years. Once it did, it would possess the strength of the Profound Void Martial Stage at the very least. Obtaining this divine bird was equivalent to acquiring a powerful aid in combat strength with limitless potential. Such a reward was a desirable and crazy opportunity for the entire Huaxia continent. If his family obtained this divine bird, they could possess an expert at the Profound Void Martial Stage in the future. The Zhu family would dominate over the entire Huaxia continent. The Heavenly Spirit Pill was another incomparable treasure. A single Heavenly Spirit Pill could shape a heavenly spiritual root. In the past, he had relied on this pill to cleanse his marrow, reconstruct his foundation, and establish an even more monstrous cultivation talent. However, in this life, not only did he lose the top spot, he did not even obtain this Heavenly Spirit Pill. Zhu Xiaotian felt as if he had suffered double the damage. At this moment, he only had a single thought in his mind¡ªhe must eliminate Li Yu. This guy was an uncertain factor for him, a hidden threat to his future plans. He had to get rid of him. He had to make everything return to the path he was familiar with. ¡­ In the Eastern Palace, Murong Xingqiao and Shen Qiuming looked at the name of the rankings with faces filled with bewilderment. ¡°Who is Li Yu? And that¡­ large sect? Why have I never heard of it before?¡± Murong Xingqiao had a puzzled expression. ¡°From the name, you can tell that it¡¯s very likely a small sect that¡¯s not up to standard. It¡¯s normal that you haven¡¯t heard of it, Your Highness!¡± Shen Qiuming said. ¡°Elder Shen, quickly send someone to find this person. I want to take this person under my wing and ensure his safety!¡± said Murong Xingqiao. He was very clearly aware that such a hidden genius was like an unpolished jade that had not been developed. Many factions would likely scramble to recruit such talent. After all, obtaining this person would not only give them a young elite with limitless potential, they could even improve their own reputation with him. After all, being the first on the Heavenly Dao Ranking was simply too dazzling. Likely, after today, there would be no one in the world who did not know Li Yu. The next time the rankings refreshed, the information about Li Yu¡¯s background was the key to the rise of the reputation of countless factions! Not only that, if they accepted this child, they could even obtain more rewards from the Heavenly Dao through him in the future. They would have endless opportunities to grow. Of course, there would definitely be many jealous people who might even have ill intentions. After all, if he was eliminated, the ranking of others would increase, especially for the second place. Moreover, the Heavenly Spirit Pill and the Chongming Bird were peerless treasures that were enough to drive everyone in the world crazy. A man¡¯s wealth is his ruin by itself. If such a reward went to the imperial family or large factions like the Jade Pure Dao Sect and the Zhu family, no one would dare to think of obtaining it. However, it had fallen into the hands of such a small and unknown sect, it would likely invite a fatal disaster. Perhaps the first to take action would be the demonic sects. So, Murong Xingqiao had to protect that person and take him under his wing as his retainer. ¡­ Perfected Yu Hua had the same idea as Murong Xingqiao. Once he saw the rewards of the Heavenly Dao transform into two golden lights and flew towards the northwest, Perfected Yu Hua hurriedly turned to Elder Hu. ¡°Elder Hu, quickly send someone to find Li Yu. We must recruit him into our Jade Pure Dao Sect. ¡°Also, this child will certainly be in danger. The fiend sects will take action too. We must find him before they do!¡± Perfected Yu Hua also knew that the Heavenly Dao rewards were too tempting, and plenty of people must have ill intentions. That was a Chongming Bird, and even he, Perfected Yu Hua, was tempted greatly. If possible, he was even willing to use his intrinsic magic treasure to trade with Li Yu and obtain the baby bird. At this moment, the various powers were definitely searching for Li Yu. It was a race against time. Whoever could find this child first would be able to seize the initiative. Almost at the same time, the various powers of the Grand Xia Dynasty started to make a move. Everyone was looking for That¡¯s Quite a Large Sect and Li Yu for different reasons. Nan¡¯an City¡¯s Ye family, the General¡¯s Estate. The Ye family was a family of generals in the Great Xia Dynasty. Their family had been generals for generations, and they had produced countless heroes. The Ye family was loyal to the country. The disciples of the Ye family guarded the borders and fought bravely to protect the country. Therefore, whenever the citizens of Nan¡¯an City passed by the Ye Residence, they would look at them with respect and admiration. ¡°That¡¯s Quite a Large Sect! How come I feel like I¡¯ve heard of it somewhere before!¡± Ye Qiu frowned and rubbed his chin, deep in thought. He was the youngest son of the General of the Great Xia Dynasty, Ye Guxiong. He was also the cream of the crop among the younger generation of the Ye family. The members of the Ye Family cultivated martial arts body tempering techniques. The difference from the Qi Refinement cultivation system was that martial practitioners focused on cultivating the physical body, using strength to break through spells and attain immortality. The cultivation realms were divided into Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Formation, Profound Void, Tribulation, Mahayana. On the other hand, the Martial Body Refinement Realm was divided into the Meridian Opening, Body Tempering, Aureate Body, Transcendence, Soul Conduit, Rebirth, Life and Death, Deity. Also, every cultivation realm was divided into the early, middle, and late stages. Ye Qiu was now at the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm, and he cultivated the Ye Family¡¯s Profound Yang Tyrant Body Art. His physical body was powerful, and he had limitless strength. He could fight even peak Foundation Establishment cultivators. He was born gallant and fond of fighting. Other than those from the Demonic Sects, he had challenged almost every top talent of the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s younger generation. Therefore, when he saw that the first on the ranking was a fellow he had never heard of before, his first thought was to spar with this fellow to see how powerful he was. He had experienced Zhu Xiaotian¡¯s abilities first hand before. He was indeed powerful but not invincible. That sparring session with Zhu Xiaotian had allowed him to improve greatly. If Zhu Xiaotian had not declined to fight him after that encounter, he would have definitely sparred with him a few more times until he defeated him. The Heaven Dao Rankings had allowed him to see a new goal. He would surely find out more about the person ranked first on the Hidden Dragon Rankings as it could bring him new inspiration and growth. ¡°I remember now. I think it¡¯s near Luohe Town!¡± Ye Qiu clapped his hands excitedly. He recalled carefully just now and remembered that he had heard of such a strange sect name when he went out to travel last year. ¡°Uncle Fu, bring my mount over!¡± Ye Qiu grabbed his Azure Dragon Spear, his face filled with battle intent. While countless people were searching for Li Yu, the man himself was in the Daoist temple. He was completely unaware that his identity had been exposed by the Heavenly Dao Rankings. Moreover, at the remote area of the Nine-tailed Mountain, he could not have seen the Heaven Dao Rankings. Just as Li Yu entered the kitchen, two golden lights flew over from the sky, coincidentally blocked by the door he casually closed moments ago. Bang! The door was smashed open, giving Li Yu a fright. When he focused his gaze, he saw a big, feathery pheasant that was getting up from the ground in a daze. ¡°Heh, my goodness, this is really a chicken flying into a wok!¡± Li Yu was pleasantly surprised. He was only just worried about not having anything to eat at night when this pheasant came knocking on his door. Li Yu would never have thought that the big chicken-like bird in front of him was the baby bird of the Chongming Bird. Also, he did not notice the small porcelain bottle that flew in with it. At the moment, he only had eyes for the big, fat chicken. Looking at it was like looking at a pot of fragrant chicken mushroom stew. Hmm, I remember there are plenty of delicious mushrooms in the kitchen ¡­ Chapter 5 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios After the sunset, a pot of fragrant chicken mushroom stew was ready. Li Yu could not wait and took a bite of the chicken. He instantly felt his soul sublimate. Awesome! Awesome! This chicken was not ordinary. The texture of the meat was unmatched, and its taste was heavenly. It was a pity that his cheap father and junior brother did not have the good fortune to enjoy it. His junior brother, Tang Chi, had left the mountain a few days ago to visit his family. Li Yu felt that this fellow was probably thinking of escaping. Meanwhile, his father went out to earn money. According to his plan, he would complete the repair and expansion of the Daoist temple this year while recruiting 100 disciples. They needed money, and more importantly, disciples. However, his father planned but would never see it through year after year. Li Yu was used to it. If not for the fact that the system had suddenly issued a mission a few days ago, he could not be bothered to expand his sect and recruit any new disciples. He would rather stay away from prying eyes and unnecessary troubles. The peace the three of them had is enough. A large pot of fragrant chicken mushroom stew was quickly finished by Li Yu. If there was anything special about this body, it was that he could really eat¡ªthe type who could not live without meat. Of course, food was the source of his strength. Li Yu, who had relied on the system to kill monsters and level up, was not part of the Qi Refinement system, nor was he part of the Body Refinement system. Anyway, it was a particularly unique existence. He did not have any magic power or internal energy in his body, but he had a strange energy. He could not unleash the spells and divine arts of various cultivators, but the power of a single sword could destroy the world. Therefore, he could not be bothered with what system he belonged to. All that mattered was that he was powerful! Li Yu was satisfied as he sat under the scholar tree in the courtyard. He picked his teeth while opening the system interface. The first thing that appeared was his personal information interface. Name: Li Yu (automatically generated) Age: 17 years old (automatically generated) Gender: Male (automatically generated) Owner¡¯s Sect: That¡¯s Quite A Large Sect (automatically generated) Constitution: Human Body (filled in manually) Bloodline: Type A (filled in manually) Weapon: An ordinary-looking sword (filled in manually) Magical Power: Basic Attack Sword Art (filled in manually) Special Skill: Serious Slash (filled in manually) Mount: Bus 11 (filled in manually) ¡­ There was a lot of information on the mission interface. Essentially, it was a minor mission to develop a sect into the number one sect in the Great Xia Dynasty. For example, to recruit a thousand disciples in a year, at least ten of them must have excellent talent. There was a disciple management module in the system that could administer disciples. It had comprehensive functions. The system would also automatically evaluate the talent of the disciples, which was somewhat user-friendly. In addition to that, there are other requirements to meet: collecting cultivation techniques and building a Skill Pavilion; collecting divine weapons and building the Divine Weapon Pavilion; collecting medicinal pills, pill formulas, pill furnaces and building the Alchemy Pavilion; collecting refining techniques, refining furnaces, and others and create an artifact refining pavilion; collecting spirit herbs and building a spirit herb garden. There were also a series of missions to improve the sect¡¯s prestige. After all, to establish a truly major sect, one needed to have all kinds of ultimate techniques and cornerstones. Although the sect was small, those were everything it needed to support its development. Then, he would subdue demons, restore justice, improve the sect¡¯s social status and influence, etc. In addition, the mission interface had strategies and guidelines for completing the mission. For example, when he did not know where to find divine weapons, the system notified him that he could obtain the Scarlet Copper Hammer by killing Shi Potian. That was how he followed the directions and found Shi Potian¡¯s location with ease and obtained the supreme-grade Numinous treasure. It also increased the sect¡¯s prestige points. Currently, the mission progress of collecting divine weapons has become 1 / 20. Prestige became 3 / 100. Hold up! 1 / 50 completed for pills? What was going on? Li Yu was a little surprised as he clicked on the details. [Obtained Heavenly Spirit Pill] Li Yu followed the system¡¯s directions and found the small porcelain bottle lying by the stove. ¡°Heavenly Spirit Pill? Where did this come from?¡± Li Yu was puzzled, but he did not think much about it. He simply deduced that he had picked up a treasure. At this moment, the system asked, ¡°Will you analyze the formula for the Heavenly Spirit Pill?¡± ¡°There is even such a function!¡± Li Yu was pleasantly surprised. As long as he could collect the pills, he could then analyze and derive the pill formulas. That would be a pretty powerful ability. Collecting pill formulas would become simple. Li Yu did not hesitate to click to confirm. The system quickly analyzed the pill formula. The progress of collecting the pill formulas also indicated 1 / 50. Not bad, not bad! Li Yu was overjoyed. Once Dad returns, I¡¯ll change the name of the sect too! Li Yu thought. If he wanted to develop his sect, he would first have to give a proper name. Otherwise, this name was filled with Shen¡¯s humor1 did not suit the mainstream aesthetics of this world. Who would be willing to join a sect with an unreliable name? ¡­ Deep into the night. Within Black Bear Mountain, 25 kilometers away from Nine-tailed Mountain. This was the lair of the infamous bandits in Qing Prefecture¡ªthe Juyi Hall. These mountain bandits branded themselves as heroes of the greenwood, but they were just outlaws who assaulted and pillaged. Luo Water Town and the nearby townspeople were gnashing their teeth in hatred. However, it was useless as these bandits remained powerful. The Qing Prefecture had attempted to eradicate them for many years, but they had never been able to eliminate them. Of course, the incompetence of the local authorities played a big part. Today, the second-in-command of the Juyi Hall, Zhou Erlang, was headed to the Liang Prefecture to handle some matters. He happened to witness the Heavenly Dao Rankings. Although not many people knew about That¡¯s Quite A Large Sect, as a faction around Luo Water Town, Juyi Hall was naturally aware of it. Therefore, Zhou Erlang immediately rushed back to the base through the night at the fastest speed to report the good news to his eldest brother, Zhou Dalang. After hearing the news, Zhou Dalang pushed the girl he had kidnapped away and jumped out of bed excitedly. This sort of precious treasure had actually fallen into the hands of that small sect on the Nine-tailed Mountain. It was simply like a lump of fat meat delivered to their doorstep, which they were about to strike the jackpot this time. Not mentioning the value of the Chongming Bird, just the priceless Heavenly Spirit Pill would make anyone tempted. ¡°Loot it! You must get it back for me. It¡¯s better if you could kidnap that Li Yu too. This kid is a money tree!¡± Zhou Dalang¡¯s eyes sparkled. A Heaven Spirit Pill rewarded once a month was simply too fantastic. ¡°Big Brother, leave it to me. I heard that the sect only has three or four disciples. It¡¯ll be enough if I bring ten brothers!¡± Zhou Erlang patted his chest and said. ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate the enemy. Although this sect is small, to nurture the number one elite on the Hidden Dragon Rankings means they probably have some ability. It¡¯s best to bring more people!¡± ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll bring thirty brothers. That should be enough!¡± ¡°Okay! Then I¡¯ll wait for your good news here!¡± Zhou Dalang laughed. Zhou Erlang quickly gathered the thirty strongest bandits in the base and rushed to the Nine-tailed Mountain with the cover of the night. When they arrived at the Nine-tailed Mountain, it was already the latter half of the night. Li Yu was sleeping in his room when a loud bang sounded. It was as if the door of the temple had been forced open. Following that, a series of noises sounded as the flickering flames illuminated the outside. Li Yu was startled as he put on his robe and rushed out. Dozens of burly men had rushed into the temple with torches in their hands. ¡°Who are you all?¡± Li Yu shouted and blocked the crowd. ¡°Hey, kid! Where is Li Yu?¡± Zhou Erlang walked out of the crowd and asked coldly. ¡°That¡¯s me!¡± Li Yu frowned. He looked at the group of people in front of him who seemed like a group of bandits. He could not help but sigh at the degeneration of the world. Were the mountain bandits already so impoverished to rob a small and poor sect? ¡°Haha, good! Hand over the Heavenly Spirit Pill and the Chongming Bird obediently so that you won¡¯t suffer any physical pain!¡± Zhou Erlang ordered. The surrounding bandits grinned maliciously, staring at Li Yu like hungry wolves. They kept swinging the weapons in their hands as if they were going to pounce at any moment. Li Yu was puzzled. How did these mountain bandits know that I had a Heaven Spirit Pill? Where did it come from? And what was with that so-called Chongming Bird? Could the chicken I cooked at night be¡­ Li Yu was filled with questions, and he sensed that something was off. It was clear this group of people in front of him should know something that he did not. And they were clearly here to rob him. ¡­ Chapter 6 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios At this moment, the system interface popped up. A new system mission appeared: [Exterminate the bandits of the Juyi Hall of Black Bear Mountain to obtain 1 prestige point] Mm, a reward. Not bad. A point is a point. Li Yu was not picky. Moreover, even without the system mission reward, he had intended to deal with the mountain bandits. If it were in the past, he would not have bothered about these pests. But now that they had come knocking on his door, he did not mind robbing them. It just so happened that his sect lacked people and was short of money. ¡°Kid, hand it over quickly. Don¡¯t refuse a toast only to be puni¡­¡± Before Zhou Erlang could finish his sentence, his face was twisted by a strong force as he flew into the air. Bang! Bang! Bang! Kacha! In the blink of an eye, more than thirty robbers were either embedded in the wall, hanging from trees, sinking into the ground, or smashing through the wall into the house. It worsened the already dilapidated Daoist temple¡¯s situation. It was filled with desolation and wailing. ¡°You can¡¯t even take a single blow. Boring!¡± Li Yu clapped his hands, walked up to Zhou Erlang, and squatted down. At this moment, Erlang Zhou was so frightened that his soul almost left his body. He hurriedly begged for mercy, ¡°Please spare my life, please spare my life!¡± He had never imagined that Li Yu¡¯s strength was so terrifying. He originally thought that even if Li Yu was ranked at the first position on the Hidden Dragon Rankings, he was only a 17-year-old brat. How strong could he be? In addition, the Heavenly Spirit Pill and the Chongming Bird were too tempting, so he did not think much about it. Furthermore, he was at the peak of the Body Tempering Realm, after all. Coupled with his brothers, they should at least not be instantly killed if they were to fight a Golden Core realm cultivator. The boy¡¯s strength was too terrifying! ¡°Cut the crap. Tell me, how did you know that I have a Heaven Spirit Pill? And what did you say about the Chongming Bird?¡± Li Yu asked in a stern voice. Zhou Erlang did not dare to be negligent and hurriedly told him in detail about the Heavenly Dao Ranking. After hearing Zhou Erlang¡¯s words, the corners of Li Yu¡¯s mouth twitched. That, that chicken was a divine bird? And I ate the divine bird rewarded from the Heavenly Dao. Wow, if this were to spread, I wonder how people would react. Well, it¡¯s a divine bird, after all. Its meat was really delicious. Li Yu couldn¡¯t help but reminisce, and his mouth was filled with delight¡­ If only he could get another divine bird as a reward the next time¡­ ¡°Looks like I can¡¯t lay low anymore!¡± Li Yu felt rather helpless. He had been living a quiet life, and he did not expect to be exposed like this. Now everyone in the world knew that he was gifted and had even obtained the Heavenly Spirit Pill and the Chongming Bird. There were probably plenty of people who wanted to kill him for his treasures. Li Yu began to consider whether he should flee. However, it did not seem like he needed to escape with his current abilities on second thought. Furthermore, the Heavenly Dao Rankings might be a chance for him to strengthen his sect and complete his mission sooner. In that case, it did not seem that bad. There will probably be many ¡®guests¡¯ paying a visit to our temple in the next few days! Li Yu rubbed his chin in thought. Li Yu looked at the devastated temple. He raised Zhou Erlang and said unhappily, ¡°Look, look at what you have done. See what you did to my Daoist temple? The walls have collapsed, and the house looks nothing like before. And this ground! Look at this fine ground! And you guys filled it with a bunch of holes! Let me tell you that you have to compensate me and repair my Daoist temple. Besides, you have disturbed me in the middle of the night. You have to pay for this psychological damage¡­¡± Zhou Erlang wailed in his heart. F*ck! That was clearly your own doing. We¡¯re victims too. As for the mental damage compensation, we probably suffered more than you mentally. ¡°You¡¯re right, sir. I¡¯ll compensate you. Let me go back, and I¡¯ll get someone to send the money to you tomorrow!¡± Zhou Erlang said. ¡°Dream on! You can forget about going back!¡± Li Yu threw Erlang Zhou to the ground. He then picked up a bandit beside him. ¡°Your leg isn¡¯t broken, right?¡± ¡°No, no, I only broke a few ribs!¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as your leg isn¡¯t broken. Go back and inform your boss to bring silver over to redeem him. As for each person¡­ each will be 100 taels. In addition to the losses here and my mental damage compensation, I¡¯ll give you a discount, so pay me 5,000 taels. ¡°Deliver it by tomorrow. Otherwise, I will send these guys to the authorities to collect your bounty! ¡°Li Yu said in all seriousness. ¡°Okay, okay!¡± the bandit replied excitedly. Then, he rushed down the mountain faster than a rabbit. Zhou Erlang did not say a word, although he knew that their village could not take out so much silver. However, his eldest brother was a middle-stage Aureate Body realm expert, so he should have the chance to save them. ¡°As for you fellows, you can stay behind and repair the Daoist temple for me! But in order to prevent you from escaping, I think it¡¯s necessary to break your legs!¡± Li Yu rubbed his fist as he spoke. ¡°No, no, no. We definitely won¡¯t escape. If our legs break, how can we fix your house!¡± Zhou Erlang shouted in a panic. ¡°You can crawl. I¡¯ll leave my hand for you guys. It¡¯s team cooperation, understand? Aren¡¯t you mountain bandits the most particular about team cooperation? Use your imagination! You guys can do it!¡± As Li Yu spoke, he stepped on Zhou Erlang¡¯s calf. ¡°No, no, ah¡ª¡± Crack! The sounds of bones breaking and miserable cries reverberated through the entire Nine-tailed Mountain, adding some noise to the quiet night. At the same time, there was a sudden movement on the Hidden Dragon Rankings in the sky above Nan¡¯an City and the Jade Pure Dao Sect. The Heavenly Water Pavilion disciples on the rankings began to disappear one by one, replaced by the names of the people behind them. At the same time, new names appeared on the rankings. In the end, there was no longer a single Heavenly Water Pavilion disciple on the rankings. This anomaly attracted the attention and surprise of many people. Especially Perfected Yu Hua, who had always been concerned about the safety of everyone in the world. He felt that something huge might have happened to that sect, so he quickly called for the Elders and disciples to follow him to the Heavenly Water Pavilion. However, when Perfected Yu Hua and the others arrived at the Heavenly Water Pavilion, it had already turned into a living hell. Corpses were everywhere, and blood flowed like a river. The strongest sect in the Qing Prefecture, the Heavenly Water Pavilion, was destroyed! ¡°How could this be?¡± Perfected Yu Hua was shocked, and a bone-chilling cold arose from the bottom of his feet. This Heavenly Water Pavilion could be considered one of the top sects in the Grand Xia Dynasty. Although they were not as strong as the Jade Pure Dao Sect, they were not too far off. Still, such a powerful sect was destroyed by someone overnight. The shock was even more intense and impactful than when he saw the appearance of the Heavenly Dao Rankings. The shocking scene made it impossible to calm himself down for a long time. ¡°Who did it? Could it be the Netherworld Demon Sect?¡± Perhaps only the Netherworld Demon Sect had the possibility of destroying the Heavenly Water Pavilion in a single night. But why would the Netherworld Demon Sect do so? The righteous and the demonic path were like fire and water that could not coexist, and they often clashed due to differing interests and ideals. Still, it was not to the extent of destroying an entire sect. Looking at the miserable state of the Heavenly Water Pavilion, it could only be described as insane and tragic. Unless it was a blood feud, no one would do such a thing. ¡°Sect Master, there are survivors!¡± A disciple below shouted. Everyone quickly flew over. In the sea of corpses below, they discovered a few Heavenly Water Pavilion disciples who were still alive. After Perfected Yu Hua asked, he heard a terrifying name from the surviving disciple. ¡°Demon child!¡± ¡­ Chapter 7 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios It was said that in ancient times, a barbarian tribe used a forbidden method in a bid to summon a god to descend into the world, only to summon out a terrifying demon baby. After the demon baby was born, a disaster befell this world. The demonic baby was extremely terrifying. It was bloodthirsty, and it enjoyed destruction and slaughter. After he was born, he slaughtered barbarian tribes one after another, feeding on their flesh and blood to grow into a stronger demon child. Then, the calamity swept through the entire world. For a time, life was in misery, and countless sects were destroyed. Later on, it was said that over a hundred mighty cultivators had burnt their Essence Souls as the price in order to seal it. No one had expected that this terrifying demonic child would reappear in the world again. Now that demons were rife in the world, the reappearance of the demon child was adding fuel to the fire. The world was probably going to experience another destructive calamity. Looking at the fate of the Heavenly Water Pavilion, Perfected Yu Hua seemed to see the fate of his sect, and chills went down his spine. Based on the words of the surviving disciple, Perfected Yu Hua understood that the sect master of the Heavenly Water Pavilion¡ªShan Ruoshui, had actually stimulated the tremendous power of the Sky Water Sword with her blood essence and Essence Soul as a sacrifice. However, she still could not kill the demon child. Even the Sky Water Sword was devoured by the demon child. Upon hearing this, Perfected Yu Hua sighed endlessly in his heart. Once Shan Ruoshui did that, it was practically equivalent to her soul dissipating. Not even some men could be as bold as her. He thought about how this person was only thirty years old back then and was already the sect master of the Heavenly Water Pavilion. Not only was she extraordinarily talented, but she was also unmatched in terms of looks. Perfected Yu Hua could not help but feel a sense of pity that she had died just like that, and her soul had even dissipated. The heavens were really jealous of heroic geniuses! The next day, the news of two consecutive events shook the entire Grand Xia Dynasty. The first was that the greater demon that wreaked havoc in the Qing Prefecture, Shi Potian, had been eliminated by a mysterious expert. When this news spread, it was truly satisfying. The entire country was excited as countless citizens rushed to spread the word and kowtowed to thank the mysterious expert who had done a big favor. However, soon, the news of the Heavenly Water Pavilion in the Qing Prefecture being destroyed by the Demon Child was like a basin of cold water, instantly extinguishing everyone¡¯s joy. For a time, the world was shaken, and everyone was panicking. It was as if a new wave rose before the first wave subsided. Many male cultivators felt sorrow and pity for Shan Ruoshui¡¯s death. They even felt that their youth was over. Shan Ruoshui was definitely the number one beauty in the cultivation world of the Great Xia Dynasty. Over the years, countless people from the various large sects had a crush on her and pursued her madly. However, this frost beauty was dedicated to cultivation. Especially since she became the sect master, she strived to strengthen the sect. In ten years, she had developed the Heavenly Water Pavilion into a first-tier sect in the Great Xia Dynasty. However, who would have thought that such a heavenly, peerless beauty would die just like that? This made many people who had a crush on her feel extremely sad. Of course, apart from sorrow, everyone in the various large sects of the Great Xia Dynasty began to fear for their lives. They had heard of the infamous demon child. They were afraid that their sect would be next after the Heavenly Water Pavilion was destroyed. Of course, the person panicking the most was Zhu Xiaotian from the Zhu Family. Because these two things had once again broken the development trajectory of his memories from his previous life. Everything was developing in an unpredictable direction. He clearly remembered from his previous life that Shi Potian only appeared after the Divine Weapon Rankings were revealed. And obtaining the scarlet copper hammer helped him ascend to the 9th position, attracting the attention of various powers. Then, he was surrounded and beaten up by the various large factions. In the end, he was killed by the Jade Pure Dao Sect, while the scarlet copper hammer fell in the hands of the Jade Pure Dao Sect. At that time, the Heavenly Water Pavilion was not destroyed, nor was there any demon child appearing. The Sky Water Sword of Shan Ruoshui, the sect master of the Heavenly Water Pavilion, was ranked fifth. She also obtained rich rewards from the rankings, allowing her strength to improve significantly. However, from yesterday onwards, the development of the situation became incomprehensible to him. What is going on? Who had killed Shi Potian? Where did this demonic child come from? Could this be a chain reaction? Is it because I didn¡¯t become the first on the Hidden Dragon Rankings that everything went wrong? Or is there something wrong with my memory? Zhu Xiaotian began to doubt himself. ¡°No, it must be because of that damned Li Yu. His appearance broke the balance!¡± Zhu Xiaotian did not think that those two events had anything to do with Li Yu. However, he felt that it all began when Li Yu had snatched his top spot. If Li Yu was eliminated, perhaps everything would return to the path he was familiar with¡­ Right at this moment, a figure suddenly appeared behind Zhu Xiaotian. However, his figure seemed to fuse with Zhu Xiaotian¡¯s shadow, preventing others from seeing his figure and appearance. This person was one of the top assassins of the Zhu family, Seven Steps. Within seven steps, his kill will be guaranteed. If this Heavenly Dao Rankings had a killer ranking, Seven Steps could absolutely rank in the top three. ¡°Seven Steps, did you find that brat?¡± Zhu Xiaotian¡¯s eyes brightened. Their Zhu family controlled the largest intelligence network and killer organization in the Great Xia Dynasty. It was not a problem to find and eliminate Li Yu. ¡°Young Master, I found him. He¡¯s in a Daoist temple in the Nine-tailed Mountain¡ªViper is waiting for Young Master¡¯s orders and is prepared to attack at any time!¡± Seven Steps said in a low voice. The Viper he talked about was another top killer, a terrifying presence. The peak Aureate Body realm expert was even stronger than Seven Steps. His physical body was comparable to a spirit artifact, and his strength and speed were far beyond peak Golden Core cultivators. With his extremely fast sword drawing technique, even a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator might not survive an attack from Viper. Already, countless Nascent Soul cultivators had died in his hands. ¡°Okay, let him do it. Don¡¯t forget to bring it back!¡± said Zhu Xiaotian. He was still confident with Viper¡¯s help. ¡°Yes!¡± As Seven Steps spoke, his figure disappeared again. ¡­ Nine-tailed Mountain. Within the Daoist temple of That¡¯s Quite A Large Sect. A group of bandits dragged their two broken legs. They were disabled but determined, and they supported each other while leaning on each other. They fully utilized their team¡¯s cooperative spirit and worked hard to repair the damaged buildings of the Daoist temple. The scene was actually a little¡­ touching. Li Yu sat at the side, drinking tea and supervising the work, seeming carefree. He naturally would not pity this group of mountain bandits who committed mass murders and all sorts of crime. Li Yu had heard of their infamy countless times. These guys had hands stained with blood. There were at least eight hundred innocent people and families harmed by them. Breaking their legs was already considered light punishment. Even if Li Yu had broken all their bones, it probably could not offset the sins they had committed. ¡°Hurry up! After the repairs, we¡¯ll be building two new houses in the south. These chores are all yours. When you are done, that¡¯s when you can rest!¡± Li Yu said as he drank his tea. Zhou Erlang really wanted to cry. F*ck, now he wants to build a house? He really did not treat them as humans. Zhou Erlang was filled with regret now. How could he have been so rash as to rob this kid? Not only did he not manage to snatch the item, he even threw himself into this mess. Moreover, Li Yu was simply a devil. Not only did he get them to repair their houses and work as laborers, he even broke their legs and meridians. Now, they have become crippled. Despite the hatred in his heart, he was powerless to resist. He could only listen to Li Yu and obediently serve as labor. ¡°Big Brother, why aren¡¯t you here yet? I can¡¯t hold on much longer!¡± Zhou Erlang looked into the distance with tears in his eyes. At this moment, a huge flying spirit beast flew over from the sky and soon arrived above the Daoist temple. ¡­ Chapter 8 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios A person was standing on the back of the flying spirit beast. He was tall and straight, and he held a silver spear in his hand. He was assertive and handsome. His face seemed carved by a knife, and there was a hint of domineering aura between his brows. This person was none other than Ye Qiu. Ye Qiu¡¯s appearance instantly attracted the attention of everyone in the Daoist temple. Li Yu remained calm as he looked at Ye Qiu. ¡°Is Li Yu here?¡± Ye Qiu looked down with a powerful voice. ¡°They are quick to find me.¡± Li Yu sighed, then he stood up. ¡°What do you need?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Ye Clan of Nan¡¯an City¡ªYe Qiu. I¡¯m ranked fourth on the Hidden Dragon Rankings. I¡¯m here to have a taste of your skill today!¡± Ye Qiu¡¯s gaze was like lightning. His entire aura was like an unsheathed blade that was sharp and overflowing with battle intent. Li Yu had long guessed that there would be challengers unconvinced of his ranking, and he was not surprised in the slightest. It was easy to deal with such a person. He only needed to teach him a lesson. However, right at that moment, an interface popped up in front of Li Yu. It was a detailed introduction of Ye Qiu. His gender, height, weight, hobbies, and cultivation realm were shown. His weapon was the Azure Dragon Spear. His body tempering cultivation technique¡ªProfound Yang Tyrant Body Art, cultivated to the sixth tier. His martial technique was the Wandering Dragon Tyrant Art at the fourth tier. What shocked Li Yu more was that¡­ There was a row of large red words at the bottom of Ye Qiu¡¯s information panel. [This person can activate the Qing Cang Ancient Emperor¡¯s Hidden Treasure mission.] Damn, there¡¯s even such a function! This is getting ridiculous. Li Yu increasingly felt that his system was not as simple as it seemed. Since the system told him that he could use this person to open some Qing Cang Ancient Emperor¡¯s treasure mission, This meant that this person was valuable to him, and he was fated to meet him. In that case, he would be merciful later on and ensure he did not beat him to death! Li Yu looked at Ye Qiu and was about to use the Curtain Lotus Sect¡¯s ultimate technique on him: Come at me!1 Suddenly, a commotion sounded from the foot of the mountain. It was Zhou Dalang charging over with a group of bandits. They came in a menacing fashion as if they wanted to flatten the Daoist temple. ¡°Um¡­ wait a moment. I have a small problem that I need to resolve first!¡± Li Yu said to Ye Qiu. ¡°Do you need my help?¡± Ye Qiu could also tell that the people rushing over from below were probably a group of vicious bandits. A sense of righteousness could not help but rise in his heart. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I can handle it by myself!¡± Li Yu took another sip of tea and leisurely walked to the Daoist temple¡¯s door. At that moment, the shouts of Zhou Dalang and the bandits could be heard from outside the door. ¡°Li Yu, you better get out here now!¡± Zhou Erlang knew that his older brother had brought help here and was immediately overjoyed. He thought that he was saved. Seeing that Li Yu had already walked out of the Taoist temple, he looked at everyone and secretly put down his work before crawling towards the door. When Li Yu walked out the door, the mountain bandits had already surrounded the Daoist temple so tightly that not a drop of water could trickle through. The leader, Zhou Dalang, had confirmed from the subordinate who had returned that the person in front of him was Li Yu. He shouted sternly, ¡°Punk, where is my brother? Hurry up and let them go. And I can spare your life!¡± ¡°Did you bring the silver?¡± Li Yu folded his arms and asked instead of answering. ¡°Humph, it has always been me who asks others for money. No one has ever dared to ask me for silver!¡± Zhou Dalang roared. When he heard his subordinate return this morning to say that Li Yu wanted five thousand taels, he was furious. If you opened your mouth to ask for five thousand taels, why don¡¯t you just rob for it? Furthermore, in his opinion, even if this boy¡¯s strength was extraordinary, he was at most at the initial stage of the Golden Core Realm. Zhou Dalang had the strength of a middle-stage Aureate Body Realm martial artist. It must be more than enough to deal with that brat. Therefore, he brought more than a hundred people here to take revenge today and kidnap this money tree back at the same time. ¡°So you didn¡¯t bring it. In that case, you can die!¡± Li Yu clenched his fists, stomped his feet, and instantly sped off. He was so quick that no one could catch a glimpse of his figure. When Zhou Dalang snapped out of his daze, he felt as if a meteor had struck his chest. The powerful blow made him feel as if his soul had been punched out. He even saw his corpse fly into the air. Then, nothing. At the same time, Zhou Erlang, who had just crawled to the door and was about to call out to his older brother, suddenly stopped. He happened to witness his older brother being punched to the sky by Li Yu. He immediately turned around and silently crawled back while his entire body was drenched in a cold sweat. Li Yu did not choose to use his sword to deal with these bandits. Firstly, these minions were not worthy of him drawing his sword. Secondly, he did not want their blood and corpses to dirty the ground in front of his Daoist temple. So using his fist to shatter their organs was simple and environmentally friendly. He could also directly send their corpses out of the Nine-tailed Mountain while he was at it, simply killing two birds with one stone. Bang! Bang! Bang! One bandit after another was blasted into the sky by Li Yu like cannonballs. In the end, they turned into black dots that disappeared into the horizon. Li Yu controlled his strength very precisely. He ensured that while he killed those bandits, he could also allow their trajectories¡­ uh, flight path to form a perfect parabola. They happened to fly out of the range of Nine-tailed Mountain and accurately landed at the mouth of Xishui Village, located a few kilometers away. At that moment, the villagers were busy in the fields. They saw figures falling from the sky and falling by the side of the village. The villagers rushed to the village entrance in shock. When they took a closer look at the corpses¡¯ clothes, they were overjoyed. ¡°It¡¯s, it¡¯s those bandits from Black Bear Mountain!¡± ¡°Those mountain bandits have finally been killed!¡± ¡°Thank you, God, for eliminating the bandits for us!¡± ¡°My son¡¯s spirit in heaven can now rest in peace!¡± The villagers knelt on the ground excitedly and kowtowed to the air. They had all been persecuted by the Juyi Hall. Other than robbery, some had family members who died in the hands of these mountain bandits, some had daughters abducted by the bandits, and there was no news of them at all. Today, they witnessed that the mountain bandits were beaten to death mercilessly. They could finally vent the hatred in their hearts. On the Nine-tailed Mountain, Ye Qiu watched as those bandits were sent to the west by a single punch from Li Yu. The corners of his eyes seemed to be twitching non-stop as a chill ran down his spine. Fortunately, he did not fight him just now. Otherwise, he would probably be the one sent to heaven right now! Ye Qiu felt some lingering fear. He had never known what fear was. In the past, when he fought in martial arts, even if he encountered someone stronger than him, he had never been afraid. However, at this moment, when facing Li Yu who possessed unfathomable strength, he became a little cowardly. To be able to punch someone until they disappeared without a trace, what sort of horrifying power was that? It was probably the same for his father in the Transcendence realm. Could it be that this guy had already reached the Nascent Soul realm or the Body Tempering Transcendent realm? How could he compete with that? He was on a completely different level from that freak. It was like a baby challenging a grown man who could make you cry just by flicking your head. ¡­ Chapter 9 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°The last one!¡± Bang! After sending the last bandit on his way up, Li Yu slapped his hands. His expression was typical, his breathing was calm, and there was no sweat on his forehead. It was as if those bandits had flown up by themselves earlier on. However, right when he was about to count his prize, a bright light suddenly flashed in his eyes, and his figure vanished on the spot again. When he reappeared, he was already on the dark side of the forest to the side. ¡°Hmph, there¡¯s actually someone who slipped through the net!¡± Li Yu said as he looked at the person who had completely fused with the tree shadow. Li Yu did not know if this guy was in cahoots with Zhou Dalang, but judging from his wretched appearance, he knew that he was not a good person. The fellow seemed to be wearing an Invisibility Cloak that blended in with the ground and a mask. He was the killer sent by Zhu Xiaotian with a name that struck terror into countless hearts¡ªViper. Viper had just received the order and was planning to attack at night. However, as he saw the large group of mountain bandits heading up the mountain aggressively, he came along to check on the situation. After all, he had to ensure Li Yu¡¯s death, and the Heavenly Spirit Pill and the Chongming Bird had to be present. Hence, he had been hiding in the dark to observe the situation. As a top killer, hiding his aura and figure was fundamental. And he was the best in this aspect. The various concealment techniques he cultivated could even turn him into a stone without breathing, heartbeat, or temperature. He could hide on the spot without moving for several days that even a Nascent Soul realm expert passing by nearby would never discover him. However, he never imagined that the concealment technique he took pride in would be easily seen through by Li Yu. This! Viper¡¯s hair stood up as a bone-chilling cold arose. Instinctively, he attacked without hesitation. He specialized in drawing his sword. When he drew his sword, he could instantly take someone¡¯s life. He was as quick as lightning and could kill with a single strike. However, this time, his sword was snatched away by Li Yu before it could be drawn. At the same time, he received a solid punch to the chest. He was a martial arts body cultivator, and the strength of his physical body was comparable to a spirit artifact. Still, despite that, his breastbone was shattered by the power of Li Yu¡¯s punch, and his organs were reduced to slime. The top killer of the Great Xia Dynasty, Viper, is dead! ¡­ ¡°This sword looks pretty good!¡± Li Yu looked at the sword in his hand, which was as thin as a cicada¡¯s wing and was about two feet long. The sword emitted a faint halo while the sword Qi seemed to be breathing. It felt extraordinary. ¡°Ding¡­ successful collection of the Cicada Sword!¡± The system¡¯s voice sounded. At the same time, the mission progress of the divine weapon collection became 2 / 20. ¡°Aha!¡± Li Yu was pleasantly surprised. He did not expect how easy it was to collect another divine weapon. As for the group of bandits earlier, they did not have any decent treasures on them. However, he did manage to obtain a lot of silver. Furthermore, Li Yu planned to bring Zhou Erlang to Black Bear Mountain to plunder after he was done with the renovation of the Daoist temple. Li Yu put away the treasures he had looted from the bandits. When he returned to the Daoist temple again, they saw Zhou Erlang and the group of bandits working as if they were on steroids. Their movements were clean and efficient, and their speed was more than two times faster than before. ¡°Everyone, work harder. Even if you don¡¯t eat, drink, or sleep today, you must build the house properly. You can¡¯t let the Daoist priest down!¡± Zhou Erlang shouted. Li Yu nodded in satisfaction. This child was worth teaching. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ Ye Qiu, right? You want to spar with me?¡± Li Yu looked at the stunned Ye Qiu. ¡°Uh¡­ about that¡­¡± Ye Qiu panicked, not knowing what to do. If he sparred, he would not even have a chance to counter a single hit from Li Yu. He might even become crippled for life. If he backed out, it was too embarrassing to admit defeat. However, right at this moment, a yell sounded from outside. ¡°Senior Brother, Senior Brother, I¡¯m back!¡± Li Yu turned to look at the door of the Daoist temple and saw Tang Chi rush in excitedly. Tang Chi was actually six years older than Li Yu, but he was the last to enter the sect. In terms of seniority, Li Yu was definitely his senior brother. ¡°Senior Brother, Senior Brother, when I was climbing up the mountain just now, I saw many people flying overhead. I wonder what happened in the west that so many cultivators flew there!¡± Tang Chi said in surprise. Then, his gaze was attracted by the group of hardworking mountain bandits. ¡°Master is really¡­ He actually hired a group of disabled people to work, all to save money. Sigh¡­ he¡¯s the only one I know who could think of that!¡± Tang Chi shook his head and sighed. ¡°Oh yes, Senior Brother, I recruited a new junior brother for our sect on the way back¡­¡± Tang Chi pointed at the child who walked in behind him with a smug expression. This child looked seven or eight years old, but there was a hint of¡­ evilness from his countenance. His eyes were not as innocent as a child¡¯s. Instead, they were filled with coldness and cruelty. Li Yu frowned. There is something wrong with this kid. He was definitely not an ordinary kid. To be precise, he was not a child at all. ¡°Kid, is this the big sect you¡¯re talking about?¡± The child looked at the Daoist temple with two buildings and could not help but reveal a disappointed expression as he said with an old tone. Tang Chi did not mind hearing the child call him a kid. He had called him that along the way, despite Tang Chi¡¯s attempts to teach him how to address an older person. However, this child clearly did not have much upbringing and refused to change. He could not be bothered to care anymore. After all, it was already a blessing to have someone willing to enter their sect. Why would Tang Chi care about all the red tape? ¡°That¡¯s right. Our Daoist temple might not be big, but it¡¯s filled with crouching tigers and hidden dragons. If you cultivate here, you are guaranteed a limitless future!¡± Tang Chi said shamelessly. Li Yu wanted to praise his junior brother for his thick skin. His ability to lie through his teeth was so superb that even Li Yu felt inferior in this aspect. However, it was clear that his junior brother had duped a fella that he shouldn¡¯t have provoked today. Li Yu did not speak. He pulled Tang Chi behind him and stared at the child. Indeed, before Tang Chi could finish his sentence, an extremely terrifying smile surfaced on the child¡¯s lips as his eyes suddenly turned bloodthirsty red. ¡°Well, let me see what kind of expert you¡¯re hiding here. Hahaha, the Heavenly Water Pavilion is so boring. A thousand people can¡¯t even fight me. It¡¯s no fun!¡± The child suddenly let out a creepy laugh and jumped into the air. Demonic Qi surged out and enveloped the entire Daoist temple as if the sky was falling down on it. The terrifying pressure caused the bandits in the Daoist temple to collapse on the ground, unable to move. Tang Chi also knelt on the ground with a plop, his face filled with fear and cold sweat. He would never have thought that the Little Junior Brother he duped along the way was actually a¡­ great demon! ¡­ Chapter 10 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Thud! The spirit beast beside Ye Qiu was also like a bird startled by the twang of a bow. It fell from the sky and lay on the ground, unable to move. As for Ye Qiu, even though he could barely support himself to stand, he felt as if a mountain was pressing down on his chest, and he was unable to breathe. He could not even muster up any strength. At the moment, he was absolutely shocked. He never imagined encountering the Demon Child who destroyed the Heavenly Water Pavilion here. On the way here, while he was resting and drinking tea in Qingyang City, he heard the surrounding people talking about the destruction of the Heavenly Water Pavilion by the demon child. At that time, he was shocked, but he also doubted the authenticity of the news. Now, however, he could feel the pressure and aura emitted by the demonic child. Ye Qiu now believed that the demon child was the only one who could have destroyed Heavenly Water Pavilion. He was too terrifying! Although he looked like a child, he was like an insurmountable mountain that was impossible to defy. He was also like a demon god that had descended into the world, causing one¡¯s heart to tremble and one¡¯s body to go cold. Ye Qiu was like an ant in front of him, a lone boat in the middle of a raging storm. His heart was filled with despair and fear. He knew that he was probably going to die today. Although he knew that Li Yu was powerful, this demon child was a monster who had just destroyed the entire Heavenly Water Pavilion alone. Probably no one in the entire Great Xia Dynasty was his match, let alone the 17-year-old Li Yu. Surely all of them would die today. At this moment, Li Yu also had a trace of surprise on his face. However, he was not surprised by how terrifying and powerful this demonic child was. The system interface popped up in front of him again. There was information regarding the demon child on it. At the bottom were the bold red words: [You can obtain 15 Prestige Points by killing the Demon Child.] He had killed Shi Potian for only 3 points and 1 point for killing those bandits from the Juyi Hall. And this demonic child was already worth 15 prestige points. Holy shit, so this is a big boss. Li Yu instantly became serious. Thud! Under this torrential demonic pressure, Ye Qiu finally could not withstand it anymore and knelt on the ground. He felt as if his body was about to collapse. It was as if the pressure was sufficient to crush him to death. Meanwhile, Tang Chi and the bandits could not withstand the pressure anymore and faint. In an instant, only Li Yu remained standing on the spot without moving. The Demon Child looked at Li Yu in surprise, his eyes revealing a trace of excitement. He could actually stand firm under my presence. This brat got some strength. ¡°Hahaha, I never expected that there would be a surprise in this inconspicuous Daoist temple. Kid, you are outstanding. I¡¯m going to kill you! ¡± The demon child¡¯s smile became even more ferocious and terrifying. He liked to kill, but he preferred to kill experts. Stepping on ants was definitely different from the pleasure of killing a dragon. Therefore, seeing that Li Yu seemed powerful, the demon child was truly incomparably excited. He felt that he could finally have some fun and slowly torture this kid to death. Eat his meat, drink his blood, and devour his soul¡­ The more the demonic child thought about it, the more excited he became. His laughter became increasingly sharp and sinister, like a demon from the netherworld that gave one the creeps. Li Yu didn¡¯t say a word as he withdrew the sword behind him, and his figure instantly vanished on the spot. As the air exploded, Li Yu seemed to contain the power of heaven and earth as he pressed down on the demon child. The demon child¡¯s laughter stopped abruptly as his expression changed drastically. He hurriedly retreated as a sense of death that he had never felt before arose. Although Li Yu did not release any magic power or aura, it still gave him a palpitating pressure. Fear. This was a feeling he had never experienced before. Ever since he was born, he had never experienced what fear was. He had always been the one who brought fear, death, and destruction to others. However, the moment Li Yu rushed over, he sensed it. It was an instinctive fear. This person was superior and more terrifying than him¡­ Bang! Li Yu swung his sword. It was an ordinary strike, but it shook heaven and earth. A black rift was torn open in the space, and it was like a black bolt of lightning that instantly swept towards the demonic child. The demon child¡¯s blood eyes widened as all the hair on his body stood up. A bone-chilling cold swept through his body. The shadow of death pressed down like a giant hand from the heavens. He suddenly experienced the feelings of those he had killed. ¡°No, don¡¯t¡­¡± He cried out in terror, wanting to escape, but he was instantly enveloped by the sword¡¯s blast. The terrifying destructive power immediately tore apart the domain around him, tearing apart his body and the entire sky. Boom! The void was like a shattered mirror as it collapsed. Countless cracks spread as the surrounding space began to collapse. The terrifying devouring power sucked the demon child, torn apart by the sword¡¯s blast, into it. The Demon Child¡¯s broken body transformed into countless ferocious ghosts. He screamed miserably and struggled to escape. However, a black pearl and a small translucent sword surfaced from the demon child¡¯s dispersed body. Li Yu¡¯s eyes flashed as he sped over and grabbed the two items. ¡°Ding¡­ successful collection of natural oddities: Demon Spirit Pearl.¡± ¡°Ding¡­ successful collection of divine weapon: Sky Water Sword.¡± The system¡¯s voice sounded. At the same time, the collection of natural oddities increased to 1 / 10. The mission progress of the divine weapon collection became 3 / 20. Delight surfaced in Li Yu¡¯s eyes. He did not expect this Boss to drop such good items, helping him obtain two treasures at once. In the sky, the terrifying space devouring power sucked the demon child¡¯s body and demonic qi into the collapsed space and disappeared. Soon, the collapsed space rapidly recovered. When the sky returned to normal, everything calmed down. With the demon child dead, the demonic aura dissipated, the suppression disappeared. Ye Qiu, who had a mountain of pressure on him, felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He was like a drowning person who had climbed onto the shore and finally caught his breath. His face was still filled with shock and fear. However, it was no longer because of the demon child. It was because of Li Yu. Li Yu¡¯s sword had actually shattered the sky. The Demon Child, who had annihilated the entire Heavenly Water Pavilion, had actually been insta-killed by him. Is he even human? The shock in Ye Qiu¡¯s heart could no longer be described with words. When he looked at Li Yu again, he was left with reverence and admiration for him. Ye Qiu had always been a proud person. Born with extraordinary talent, he felt that he was the chosen one. He had never submitted to anyone, nor did he admire anyone before. In his opinion, as long as he worked hard, he could surpass and defeat anyone. At the moment, though, after facing Li Yu, his pride collapsed, and his confidence had dispersed. This person¡¯s powers seemed to be something he could never surpass no matter how hard he tried. He finally understood why the Heavenly Dao Rankings would bestow an additional reward to Li Yu. After all, Li Yu was not on the same level as ordinary people like him. Li Yu was on the Hidden Dragon Rankings only because he was in the same age group. If there was a power ranking, he would probably rank top too. In the entire Xia Dynasty, or even in this world, there was probably no one who could compete with him. ¡­ Chapter 11 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°Sigh, I thought that you were something. In the end, you still couldn¡¯t withstand my strike. That¡¯s just boring!¡± Li Yu put away his sword and spoke with slight disappointment. When he looked at that demonic child just now, he felt that he was simply a powerful demon that was unmatched in the world. In the end, he was the same as Shi Potian, unable to withstand a single blow! At least it was a pleasant surprise to find two treasures. ¡°Hey, Junior Brother, wake up!¡± Li Yu patted Tang Chi. Tang Chi sat up in a daze, his eyes glazed. He then grabbed Li Yu¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Senior Brother, I just had a terrifying nightmare. I dreamed that I brought back a demon from outside who wanted to kill us. It was scary¡­¡± ¡°Okay, you¡¯re confused. The floor is cold. Get back in and sleep!¡± Li Yu patted Tang Chi¡¯s shoulder. It was obvious that Tang Chi had been too shaken up. He probably needed to rest and recover. ¡°Oh, right!¡± Tang Chi nodded blankly and walked towards his residence. At this moment, Ye Qiu suddenly walked over and knelt on the ground, giving Li Yu a huge fright. Just as he was wondering, Ye Qiu cupped his hands and spoke with a serious expression, ¡°Please accept me as your disciple, Master Li!¡± Ye Qiu wanted to take Li Yu as his master from the bottom of his heart. Although Li Yu was a year younger than him, the strong reigned supreme. With Li Yu¡¯s abilities just now, it was more than enough to become his father¡¯s master. Moreover, judging from the battle just now, Li Yu was clearly not a cultivator, but more like a martial practitioner, and he was at the pinnacle of it. If he could obtain Li Yu¡¯s guidance, perhaps he could become an expert like him in the future. ¡°Huh?¡± Li Yu was slightly bewildered, even though he did intend to trick Ye Qiu into joining his sect earlier. After all, he was an elite ranked fourth on the Heavenly Dao Rankings, so his talent should be considered outstanding. The system required the recruitment of a thousand disciples, of which ten must be exceptional. Ye Qiu should be able to meet the system¡¯s requirements. However, Li Yu did not expect that while he wanted him to be his junior brother, he wanted him to be his master. ¡°Haha, we¡¯re similar in age. It¡¯s not right to take me as your master, right?¡± Li Yu laughed. Although he wanted Ye Qiu to join their sect, it was better to forget about making himself a master. ¡°In martial arts, strength has always reigned supreme! Age has nothing to do with this!¡± Ye Qiu¡¯s words were sonorous, and his gaze was firm. ¡°Well, I can understand how you feel, but I don¡¯t have anything to teach you. If you want to find a master, you can become my father¡¯s disciple. He taught me everything I knew!¡± Li Yu said in a serious tone. He wasn¡¯t lying about the first half of his sentence. He really did not have anything to teach Ye Qiu. Though his father did have something up his sleeves. His father had not taught a decent disciple for the past ten years. However, according to him, it was due to the fact that this group of disciples had low talent and were unable to comprehend or cultivate the cultivation technique he taught them. Ye Qiu thought for a moment and felt that it was reasonable. If this Li Yu was so strong, his father must be something else as well. Becoming his disciple and Li Yu¡¯s senior brother was not a bad alternative. ¡°Alright, then may I ask where my master is? I¡¯ll pay my respects to him right now!¡± Ye Qiu directly changed his words. He really did not treat himself as an outsider. ¡°My father went out for a vacation and will probably be back soon. However, Junior Brother, I have to tell you in advance that our sect has a rule. You have to pay the sect fee to become my disciple!¡± Li Yu said. Seeing that Ye Qiu was taking the initiative, how could he not kill him? Furthermore, judging from his attire and the flying spiritual beast mount, he seemed to be from a wealthy family. ¡°I understand. How much is the fee?¡± Ye Qiu asked. ¡°That¡¯ll depend on how sincere you are. Anyway, that Junior Brother Tang handed over a hundred taels when he first joined, and his cultivation level is at the late stage of the Qi Refinement realm now.¡± Li Yu said with a sly smile. ¡°I understand. Don¡¯t worry, Senior Brother. I promise to make you, uh, make my master satisfied!¡± Ye Qiu was smart and naturally knew what Li Yu meant. ¡°Oh, and if your relatives and friends also want to enter our sect, you can introduce them to us. ¡°If you bring one along, the two of you can enjoy a 10% discount on your sect fees. If you bring two, each person could enjoy a 20% discount on their sect fees. If you bring three, you can all enjoy a 30% discount, if you bring four, 40% discount, and so on. You can enjoy a maximum of 70% discount!¡± Li Yu said. As the saying went, everything could be bought by splitting the bill, and recruiting disciples was no exception. The corners of Ye Qiu¡¯s mouth twitched. If he had not just witnessed Li Yu¡¯s terrifying strength, he would have thought that this was a sect that scammed money. ¡°Cough cough, junior brother will do his best to publicize it for our sect!¡± Ye Qiu cupped his hands and said. Li Yu nodded. ¡°Right, our sect has changed its name. In the future, it¡¯ll be called¡­¡± Li Yu pondered for a moment. He couldn¡¯t wait for his father to come back. He had to settle this himself. His father¡¯s name was Li Qingyun, so he might as well be called Qingyun Sect. ¡°Qingyun Sect!¡± Li Yu said word by word. ¡°Rise up beyond the clear sky, Qingyun Sect. Okay, this is a good name!¡± Ye Qiu nodded. Compared to the previous unusual name, Qingyun Sect sounded much more imposing. ¡­ At night, in the Zhu family mansion, the Inquiry Pavilion. Zhu Xiaotian stood at the top of the observatory, gazing at the countless stars. As a star fell from the sky, the corners of his mouth curled up. Judging from the time, Viper should have already taken action. The threat was finally going to be eliminated. He turned to the east and looked at the even more dazzling Heavenly Dao Rankings in the night. He waited for Li Yu¡¯s name to vanish from the first position. Before long, a figure suddenly appeared behind him. It was Seven Steps. ¡°Young Master!¡± Zhu Xiaotian turned around with an expectant look. He was about to ask about the results when he heard Seven Steps say, ¡°Young Master! Viper has failed!¡± ¡°What? Fail? How is that possible?¡± The smile that had just appeared on Zhu Xiaotian¡¯s lips turned into shock and disbelief. ¡°When Viper¡¯s corpse was discovered, it was with the corpses of a group of bandits. It is said that those corpses flew from afar to the entrance of Xishui Village. Viper was the same as those bandits, as he was forced to death by an extremely terrifying force. His breastbone, organs, and meridians were all shattered, killed by a single strike!¡± Seven Steps¡¯ deep voice was like a death knell. Every word ruthlessly struck Zhu Xiaotian¡¯s mind, causing a buzzing sound to echo. ¡°A single strike!¡± Zhu Xiaotian was shocked. Viper was a top martial arts expert, and his body was comparable to a spirit artifact. With the ability to shatter all his meridians and bones with a single strike, how terrifying would the power of the person who killed him be? Moreover, Viper had never failed, so how could his whereabouts be exposed this time? And he even became thrown together with the corpses of a group of bandits. Strange, it¡¯s too bizarre. Perhaps a peerless expert was hidden in that measly small sect? The thought that Viper was killed by Li Yu never came across Zhu Xiaotian. ¡­ Chapter 12 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°Is Viper¡¯s sword still with him?¡± Zhu Xiaotian asked. That Cicada Sword was a high-grade spirit sword, the divine weapon ranked thirteenth on the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s Divine Weapon Rankings in his previous life. ¡°Viper¡¯s sword was already gone when we found his corpse.¡± Zhu Xiaotian¡¯s face was grim. He had suffered heavy losses this time. Viper was dead, and his spirit sword had been robbed. ¡°Young Master, do you need me to do it personally?¡± Seven Steps asked in a low voice. Zhu Xiaotian was silent for a moment before he shook his head. ¡°Hold on. I have another plan!¡± Zhu Xiaotian was well aware that the various factions were close to finding Li Yu. They would probably come knocking on his door tomorrow and send people to secretly monitor him. He had already missed the best opportunity, and Viper¡¯s death had already alerted him, so it was probably more difficult to kill Li Yu. It might even expose him! He did not want to get himself into trouble. As a reborn person, he should be the big shot behind the scenes, and he had to be more patient. He had been too rash previously. He was not the only person in the world who wanted Li Yu to die. Why don¡¯t I wait for good news? Furthermore, it was safer to get someone else to do it than him. Upon hearing Zhu Xiaotian¡¯s words, Seven Steps secretly heaved a sigh of relief. He was ready to sacrifice for his mission as an assassin, but no one was willing to die out of instinct. Even Viper had failed, and he would probably not be able to return had Zhu Xiaotian sent him. ¡­ Nan¡¯an City, Eastern Palace. ¡°So it¡¯s in Qing Prefecture¡¯s Luo Water Town!¡± Murong Xingqiao was overjoyed when he got the news from his subordinate. Immediately, he called for Imperial Tutor Wu Cheng. ¡°Immediately send someone to the Grand Tutor¡¯s Mansion and tell them that they¡¯ve found him. Accompany me tomorrow at six in the morning,¡± Murong Xingqiao said. ¡°Yes, Your Highness!¡± Wu Cheng cupped his hands. At the same time, the Third Prince of the Great Xia Dynasty, Murong Taisheng, and the Fifth Prince, Murong Zhengnan; As well as the various marquis factions, such as the Pingnan King¡¯s Yi family, the North Garrison King¡¯s Luo family, and others¡ªthey all received news of Li Yu¡¯s whereabouts. However, at the moment, Li Yu was in the Juyi Hall of Black Bear Mountain. He dealt with the remaining bandits in the village alone and obtained a lot of gold, silver, and treasures. He also rescued the women and laborers who had been abducted by the bandits. As for Zhou Erlang and the others, they were sent off to reunite with Zhou Dalang. After all, Tang Chi had already returned. Leaving those bandits in the Daoist temple would inevitably lead to trouble. It might even threaten Tang Chi¡¯s safety. Now that he had the money he had plundered from the bandits, he could hire actual craftsmen to expand the Daoist temple. After all, there were specializations in every profession. The work of these mountain bandits was too low in standard. The night passed uneventfully¡­ The first ray of sunlight in the morning sprinkled over the land on the official road to Luo Water Town. More than ten disciples of the Jade Pure Dao Sect were splitting up to inquire about the news of That¡¯s Quite A Big Sect. ¡°Hello, uncle, I have something to ask you.¡± A handsome, frosty-looking man stopped an uncle carrying two baskets of vegetables. This man was the fifth place on the Hidden Dragon Rankings, the number one genius of the Jade Pure Dao Sect, Lin Chen. After some investigation yesterday, Elder Hu and the others had already narrowed the area where Li Yu was located to the vicinity of Luo Water Town. Therefore, early in the morning, Elder Hu led everyone to split up in the village near Luo Water Town to continue inquiring about Li Yu¡¯s whereabouts. Lin Chen had just come over to meet up with Elder Hu and the rest this morning. He wanted to see what sort of person this Li Yu was. As the current number one prodigy of the Jade Pure Dao Sect, he was also the most valued disciple. Lin Chen did not have a good impression of Li Yu in his heart. To be precise, he was jealous. This was especially true when the Sect Master had the intention to take Li Yu under his wing. He was extremely displeased. If this fellow was recruited into their Jade Pure Dao Sect, his own status would definitely plummet. The future number one genius of the sect would be Li Yu. He was afraid that most of the cultivation resources and attention would be focused on him. By that time, he would only be a green leaf. So he wished for nothing more than to never find Li Yu. ¡°Please speak, sir!¡± the old man said amiably. ¡°Have you heard of That¡¯s Quite a Large Sect?¡± Lin Chen asked. ¡°Which sect?¡± The old man looked at Lin Chen in surprise. ¡°That¡¯s Quite a Large Sect!¡± Lin Chen said. ¡°Yes, I know. Which sect is it?¡± The old man asked again. ¡°That¡¯s Quite a Large Sect!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°That sect¡¯s name is That¡¯s Quite a Large Sect!¡± The old man looked at Lin Chen as if he were a fool, then shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of it!¡± Lin Chen cursed ¡°That¡¯s Quite a Large Sect¡± in his heart. However, right at this moment, a senior brother flew over from a distance, and he shouted excitedly, ¡°Elder Hu, I heard that it¡¯s on Nine-tailed Mountain that¡¯s 10 plus kilometers to the west of Luo Water Town!¡± ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Elder Hu was overjoyed and immediately led everyone to fly towards the Nine-tailed Mountain. However, they did not fly far before Elder Hu saw a group of people flying over from another direction. It was the members from the Great Sky Dao Sect. The person in the lead was the person he least wanted to see¡ªJia Qinglin. ¡°Dammit, this old fellow is here as well!¡± Elder Hu frowned immediately. He did not have to think to know that the Great Sky Dao Sect had surely arrived to look for Li Yu. Moreover, based on the direction they were flying in, it was obviously Nine-tailed Mountain. Jia Qinglin noticed the members of the Jade Pure Dao Sect as well. Jia Qinglin did not say anything and started speeding up. His figure transformed into a ray of light, speeding towards the direction of the Nine-tailed Mountain with the fastest speed, leaving the group of disciples behind. ¡°Humph, you want to compete in speed with me?¡± Elder Hu snorted. ¡°Thunder Dash Art!¡± Elder Hu was not to be outdone. He, too, transformed into a bolt of lightning that pursued closely. Only the disciples of the two sects looked at each other, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Actually, they were already used to it. Although Elder Hu and Elder Jia were both Sect Elders, it was as if they were facing off against each other every time they met. The two did not have any deep hatred, while some say they were from the same hometown. Still, the two of them had liked to compete since they were young, comparing height and strength. Despite their age, it was still the same. Every time they bumped into each other, arguments were unavoidable, and there were even times when they fought. ¡°Jia, you old prick, I will definitely get there before you!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t say that if I were you!¡± Elder Hu and Elder Jia could be said to have brought out their best as they madly rushed towards the Nine-tailed Mountain as if their lives depended on it. Before long, the two of them flew to the top of the Nine-tailed Mountain and rushed into the Daoist temple. Li Yu was sleeping in his room while Tang Chi was practicing alone in the yard. Tang Chi was definitely much more hardworking than Li Yu in cultivation. ¡°Where is Li Yu?¡± Elder Hu shouted as soon as they entered the temple. Elder Jia echoed as well. The two of them had a race, and their faces were turning red from exhaustion. Coupled with the fact that they were competing with each other, they gnashed their teeth with a scary look on their faces. They did not seem to be here to recruit talent but to seek revenge. Tang Chi almost pissed his pants. He had just experienced the incident with the demon child yesterday and had not recovered from that yet. ¡­ Chapter 13 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°May I know why you two seniors are looking for my senior brother?¡± Tang Chi asked nervously. Meanwhile, Li Yu was awoken by the shouts of the two elders, and he walked out of his room while rubbing his drowsy eyes. ¡°Who¡¯s looking for me?¡± Li Yu asked while yawning. ¡°You are Li Yu? Greetings, I am Hu Dongshan, an elder of the Jade Pure Dao Sect. I have come especially today¡­¡± ¡°Hey, hey, first come first serve! I arrived first, so I should be the one introducing myself!¡± Elder Jia grabbed Elder Hu and exclaimed indignantly. ¡°What do you mean you came first? I clearly arrived first!¡± Elder Hu said indignantly. ¡°Are you kidding me? I¡¯m a little bit faster than you, okay?¡± ¡°You¡¯re still so unreasonable, old man!¡± ¡°Who¡¯s being unreasonable? It was obviously our Great Sky Dao Sect that found Li Yu first. You shamelessly followed me here!¡± Elder Jia roared. ¡°Haha, you sure know how to joke. Everyone from my Jade Pure Dao Sect arrived in Luo Water Town yesterday. You guys were clearly the ones who followed us here!¡± Elder Hu was not unconvinced as he raised his voice. ¡°Alright, since you¡¯re so unreasonable, let¡¯s do it as usual. We¡¯ll compete in martial arts, and whoever wins will count as the first to arrive!¡± ¡°So be it, you thought I¡¯ll be afraid?¡± Li Yu was dumbfounded as he looked at the two old men arguing. ¡°What are they fighting about?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know! I don¡¯t understand either!¡± Tang Chi was also dumbfounded. The two white-haired elders¡ªprobably have a combined age of several hundred years¡ªwere about to fight it out. Li Yu hurriedly rushed forward and shouted, ¡°Hey, hey, uncles, ah wait, seniors. Would you just calm down? If you really want to fight, can you please go elsewhere? I just repaired my temple yesterday!¡± It was obvious that these two people¡¯s cultivation levels were not low. They could flatten the entire temple with one move if they really fought here. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go out and compete. Let¡¯s not injure these two kids here!¡± ¡°Hmph, I think you¡¯re afraid of embarrassing yourself in front of him!¡± ¡°Cut the crap. We¡¯ll see who¡¯s going to lose face later!¡± Elder Hu and Elder Jia were about to fly out of the Daoist temple and find a deserted place. However, right at this moment, the disciples of the Jade Pure Dao Sect and the Great Sky Dao Sect flew over. There were more than thirty disciples from the two sects. They were dashing young people as they stood on flying swords and flying magic treasures. Their clean Daoist robes fluttered in the wind, giving them the aura of an immortal sect. ¡°Elder!¡± ¡°Elder!¡± The disciples of the two sects hurriedly stepped forward and pulled their elders back. A sensible female disciple stepped forward and advised, ¡°Elder, since both our sects are here, we should let Li Yu decide for himself. After all, our Jade Pure Dao Sect is, no doubt, the number one sect in the Grand Xia Dynasty. Why would we be afraid of losing to the Great Sky Dao Sect?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Elder, don¡¯t stoop to their level!¡± Another older disciple persuaded him. Hu Dongshan grunted. However, he calmed down as he understood that his disciples had a point. On the other hand, Elder Jia calmed down after his disciple consoled him. After all, the matter at hand was more important. There was plenty of time in the future for him to teach Hu Dongshan a lesson. ¡°Senior Brother, are they here because of that demon child?¡± Tang Chi could only think of that demon child when he saw the people from the two sects coming here together. Are they here to capture that demon child? ¡°No, stay at the side and keep quiet!¡± Li Yu walked forward as the two elders brought the disciples back to the temple. He knew that these people were probably here because of the Hidden Dragon Rankings. Everyone landed in the courtyard, and the gazes of the disciples of the two sects converged on Li Yu. They were also very curious about what sort of person ranked first on the Hidden Dragon Rankings. Li Yu was standing tall. Although he had just woken up and his hair was slightly messy, it was still unable to conceal his handsome and distinguished appearance. Coupled with the fact that he was only 17 years old now, even though he seemed slightly immature, Li Yu gave others the feeling that he was full of vigor. Dressed in a simple Daoist robe, he gave off an extraordinary aura. From his looks and temperament, he was indeed a dragon among men. Some female disciples looked at Li Yu with shining eyes. Although there was no lack of handsome men in their sect, people would get tired of looking at them every day. Getting tired of the old and fascinated by a new person was part of human nature. Otherwise, how could one wish for time to stop at the first meeting? ¡­ Seeing that the two elders had stopped fighting, Li Yu flew back calmly. Li Yu cupped his hands. Whoever came were guests, and he had to treat them respectfully. ¡°Li Yu, your potential isn¡¯t bad. Are you willing to join my Jade Pure Dao Sect?¡± Elder Hu was the first to speak. ¡°My Great Sky Dao Sect¡¯s master wishes to take you in as a personal disciple!¡± Elder Jia immediately said. ¡°Our sect master wishes to do the same!¡± Elder Hu glared at Elder Jia and hurriedly said. I knew it! Li Yu guessed their objective was probably to rope him in. At this moment, Lin Chen¡¯s face was grim as he stared coldly at Li Yu. Although he secretly hoped that Li Yu would not join the Jade Pure Dao Sect and chose to join the Great Sky Dao Sect, he knew very well that Li Yu must be ecstatic. The two sects were here to snatch him, and the two sect masters wanted to take him in as their personal disciple. What kind of honor was that? It was a dream come true for many. He would probably wake up from his dreams laughing about this. Moreover, the overall strength and resources of the Jade Pure Dao Sect were slightly superior to the Great Sky Dao Sect. Therefore, there was a high chance that he would choose the Jade Pure Dao Sect. He was not the only one feeling that way, as the disciples from both sects were also envious of Li Yu. They hoped they could replace Li Yu, starting out as the sect master¡¯s personal disciple at the very least. His starting point was the destination they could never reach. Comparisons are indeed odious! As everyone thought that Li Yu would be overjoyed, he looked as calm as usual without any hint of surprise. He cupped his hands to the two elders and said calmly, ¡°Thank you, seniors, for your appreciation and your Sect Master¡¯s great kindness. Still, I will not leave my sect!¡± Li Yu¡¯s words stunned everyone. Elder Hu and Elder Jia exchanged a rare look and confirmed that they did not mishear it. The surrounding disciples widened their eyes in shock. Did I hear that correctly? Did he reject the offer? He really refused! Is there something wrong with his head? After a brief moment of shock, joy surfaced in Lin Chen¡¯s eyes. This is madness. He actually rejected it! ¡°My friend Li Yu, you are a rare genius. It¡¯s a pity for you to stay in this small sect. If you join our Jade Pure Dao Sect, you can obtain more cultivation resources and have a broader future. ¡°Furthermore, you are at the top of the rankings and obtained the best rewards of the Heavenly Dao Rankings. So you are in a precarious situation. ¡°The fiend sects and people with ulterior motives might threaten your safety! If you enter my Jade Pure Dao Sect, we can protect you before you fully develop yourself!¡± Elder Hu said earnestly. What he said was true and came from the bottom of his heart. However, he did not know that Li Yu did not need anyone to protect him. ¡°That¡¯s right. The fiend sects have been very restless recently. Incidents of killings and kidnappings of our disciples have been recurring. ¡°Moreover, the world is now filled with demons and devils. With the birth of the demon child, the world will probably be in chaos again. Everyone will be plunged into misery and suffering. Why don¡¯t you join our Great Sky Dao Sect before the calamity descends? It¡¯ll at least provide you with more assurance of survival!¡± Elder Jia also tried his best to persuade Li Yu. ¡­ Chapter 14 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°Thank you for your concern, seniors. You don¡¯t have to persuade me anymore! Although our sect is a little small, it was founded by my father single-handedly. I¡¯m also determined to bring our sect to greater heights. This is also my ambition, and I won¡¯t waver!¡± Li Yu said with a firm attitude. Elder Hu and Elder Jia seemed helpless as they sighed and shook their heads. The disciples of the two sects discussed animatedly. They did not expect this either. How could Li Yu reject the warm invitation of the two major sects in such a firm manner? It was a chance that many people could only dream of. If he were to become the personal disciple of the master right now, he would definitely soar into the clouds in the future. His path as an immortal would definitely be broad. Yet, he refused. To them, that was simply a foolish decision. Even if he was indeed talented, resources were always the most important in martial arts and cultivation. No matter how talented he was, without the support of powerful resources, it was likely that he would not fulfill his potential in the future. Still, Li Yu¡¯s words made some people admire him a little more. He wanted to develop his sect. This boy was indeed ambitious. However, he was too young and naive and had not experienced the vicious beatings of society. He did not understand that his dream might only remain as a dream. He would definitely regret giving up such a good opportunity in the future. Moreover, it was hard to say whether he would even have the chance to regret it in the future. The tallest tree in the forest was bound to be destroyed by the wind, not to mention that he was carrying a priceless treasure right now. As the two elders had said, the world was not peaceful now. It would become difficult for him to survive without the protection of a large sect. When they thought of that demon child, they could not help but fear. After this demon destroyed the Heavenly Water Pavilion, he disappeared without a trace. They wondered if he would attack their sect. If the Heavenly Water Pavilion was instantly destroyed, their sect probably would not be able to hold on for much longer. They were even afraid now that when they returned to the sect, would that place be destroyed by the demon child? Although they had already requested help from the Clear Void Holy Land of the Huaxia State, distant water could not quench one¡¯s immediate thirst. Moreover, the demonic child¡¯s strength was unpredictable. Who knew if the people from the Clear Void Holy Land could deal with him. ¡°Young friend, don¡¯t be in a hurry to decline. Think about it carefully. My Jade Pure Dao Sect welcomes you at any time!¡± ¡°It¡¯s the same for my Great Sky Dao Sect. As long as you¡¯re willing to come, we¡¯ll surely provide you with the best cultivation environment!¡± The two elders hadn¡¯t given up. After all, the benefits of accepting Li Yu were truly too great. Li Yu did not say anything else and cupped his hands. The meaning was clear. At this moment, a large group of people arrived majestically as if dark clouds loomed above. There were carriages pulled by flying spirit beasts and boats that flew in the sky. The lineup was massive. Everyone looked over curiously, only to see the carriage and the flag flapping on the flying boat. They recognized that it was none other than the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s imperial family, the Murong family, the Pingnan King¡¯s Yi family, the North Garrison King¡¯s Luo family, the Qi King¡¯s Wei family, and various other lords. They had encountered Li Yu on the way before they arrived in Luo Water Town. This was expected. After all, everyone had been looking for Li Yu for the past two days, so the speed of obtaining information was not too different. With the arrival of the various large family clans, the temple instantly became crowded. Tang Chi was downright shocked. What is going on? What happened in the past few days when I went home to visit my parents? First, the two major sects want to recruit my senior brother. Now, even the royals are here. Did my senior brother save the world? Meanwhile, Li Yu had a calm expression. Still, as he looked at this group of nobles and aristocrats, he began to think of a plan. Hehe, it¡¯s pretty lively today! After arriving in the temple, Murong Xingqiao¡¯s curious gaze immediately locked onto Li Yu. However, his eyes brightened up at the sight of his looks and aura. This hidden genius who was ranked first on the Hidden Dragon Rankings did not disappoint him after all. He had an extraordinary bearing. At the same time, the young disciples of the various large family clans felt the same. The Luo Clan¡¯s Luo Yi, ranked sixteenth on the Hidden Dragon Rankings, the Wei Clan¡¯s Wei He, ranked thirteenth on the Hidden Dragon Rankings, and the Yi Clan¡¯s Yi Caidie and other young disciples were present. Everyone examined Li Yu curiously. As part of the younger generation, they were naturally curious about the first place on the Hidden Dragon Rankings, Li Yu. They wanted to see who had overcome the Zhu Family¡¯s Zhu Xiaotian and top the Hidden Dragon Rankings. The first to step forward was naturally the crown prince, Murong Xingqiao. The third prince, Murong Taisheng, and the fifth prince, Murong Zhengnan, were clear about their intention to vie for the throne. And it was common knowledge that they competed openly and secretly. However, Grand Tutor Shen Qiuming was right behind Murong Xingqiao. The elders and young masters of the various vassal families were also present. Naturally, the two would not be rude on such an occasion. ¡°You should be Li Yu, right?¡± Murong Xingqiao smiled and cupped his hands, showing courtesy to talent. ¡°That¡¯s me!¡± Li Yu cupped his hands as well. At this moment, the system interface suddenly popped up in front of Li Yu. Similar to Ye Qiu, detailed information regarding Murong Xingqiao appeared on it. Gender, height, weight, hobbies, cultivation realm, etc¡­ Hold up? Gender¡ªfemale? Li Yu was surprised. The crown prince in front of him was actually a woman¡­ However, one could not tell from appearance alone. Although he was extremely handsome, his physiological features were indeed that of a young man. She must have used a form of magic treasure to change her appearance, even her voice. Therefore, no one could tell that she was a girl. At the bottom of the introduction, there was a row of large red words. [This person can activate the Mystic Bird Palace mission.] It looks like another person I¡¯m fated to meet! Although he was filled with thoughts, Li Yu¡¯s expression remained natural. Murong Xingqiao sincerely invited Li Yu to become his retainer and promised him very generous treatment. Li Yu only politely thanked Murong Xingqiao for his kindness, but he did not give him a direct answer. At this time, the other two princes stepped forward one after another and offered more generous benefits in their attempts to snatch Li Yu. The various vassal families did not give up either, and they similarly promised money and status that exceeded their original plans for Li Yu. They wanted to contest recruiting Li Yu to join their family or become their retainer. Upon hearing the benefits and conditions offered by the various powers of the Great Xia Dynasty, Lin Chen and the disciples of the other two sects could only envy Li Yu. This was especially so for Lin Chen, who was on the verge of losing his cool. He was an absolute star in the Jade Pure Dao Sect, the most dazzling existence, developing a sense of superiority in him. However, comparison breeds discontent. He seemed to be only fit to be a green leaf compared to Li Yu. How great would it be if he could be fought over by so many nobles? ¡°Third Uncle, you can¡¯t beat the Crown Prince and the two princes with this offer!¡± Yi Caidie said with a smile. She saw that her third uncle was like everyone else, promising the standard treatment to recruit Li Yu as a guest of the Pingnan Estate. ¡°There¡¯s no other way. We¡¯ll do our best and leave it up to fate!¡± Yi Caidie¡¯s third uncle, Yi Wanxiong, said in a low voice. Seeing that the crown prince and the others were here, Yi Wanxiong felt hopeless already. Hearing Yi Wan Xiong¡¯s words, Yi Caidie¡¯s eyes sparkled. Her thoughts were unknown. After the various factions named their conditions and offered their sincerity, Li Yu pondered for a moment before saying, ¡°I¡¯m indebted to everyone for your kindness. However, I only want to lead a carefree life, so I might disappoint everyone!¡± Li Yu knew that becoming a retainer was different from becoming a sect disciple. Becoming someone¡¯s retainer was equivalent to working for someone in his previous life. He would be given salary and benefits while generating value for the employer. It¡¯s more like an employment relationship. However, Li Yu would never work for someone else again. Therefore, he promptly rejected everyone¡¯s invitation. ¡­ Chapter 15 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Everyone was filled with surprise when they heard Li Yu. They never imagined that Li Yu would refuse everyone in the end. ¡°But¡­ Your Highness, if I have the chance in the future, I can come to your place as a guest. I wonder if you¡¯ll welcome me?¡± Li Yu said with a smile. Since she was a fated person, he could not treat her like the others. Although he would not work under her, he could still consider becoming her boyfriend, uh¡­ male friend. Not to mention with her special status, he might be able to wander around the royal library with her help. He heard that there were many good things in the royal library. He might be able to collect some precious cultivation technique manuals. Hmm, in any case, Murong Xingqiao can be helpful to me. ¡°Of course, you¡¯re welcome. My Eastern Palace Gate is open for you at any time!¡± Murong Xingqiao revealed a hint of surprise. Li Yu¡¯s words meant that there was hope. It seemed that he did not want to offend anyone else in public, so he chose to stall for time. This Li Yu is rather clever. However, a cold glint flashed through Murong Taisheng and Murong Zhengnan¡¯s eyes. Since the child had switched sides to stand on the Crown Prince¡¯s side, they could not stay any longer. ¡°In a few days. When I¡¯m done with the matters at hand, I¡¯ll pay a visit to Your Highness!¡± Li Yu said with a smile. ¡°Young Friend Li Yu, this old man has a request. I wonder if you can let us admire the elegant bearing of the Chongming Bird!¡± Elder Hu suddenly said. It was a pity that he could not recruit Li Yu. However, if he was lucky enough to see that divine bird, the trip would not be in vain. ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right. We¡¯ve never seen this divine bird before. I wonder if we can have the fortune of witnessing it today!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, please let us take a look at the legendary divine bird!¡± Everyone echoed in agreement, their enthusiasm soaring. Obviously, everyone was curious about the legendary Divine Bird, the Chongming Bird. Even the noble crown prince Murong Xingqiao and the two princes had faces filled with anticipation. After all, they had never seen a divine bird before and only knew about such a powerful bird in some ancient books and legends. ¡°Ah? Haha, um¡­ um, to be honest, I ate that bird!¡± Li Yu scratched his head and said awkwardly. What?! Everyone¡¯s eyes widened in utter shock, and their jaws almost dropped to the ground. He ate the divine bird! ¡°Hehe, at the time, I didn¡¯t know that it was a divine bird rewarded by the Heaven Dao Rankings. I thought it was a wild chicken, so I stewed it!¡± Li Yu told everyone the truth as he hoped to break some people¡¯s thoughts. After all, compared to the Heavenly Spirit Pill, that divine bird was much more enticing. Therefore, he needed them to know that the divine bird had been eaten to dispel the thoughts of snatching the treasure in many people. It would also save him from being disturbed by those guys who were blinded by gains. ¡°Cough, cough. Well, you must be joking, my young friend? Heh, I can understand. You can rest assured that no one could have the opportunity to snatch it from you. As long as I¡¯m here, I will not tolerate anyone who dares to cause trouble. ¡°So, Little Friend, you shouldn¡¯t hide it. We only want to admire the elegant demeanor of the divine bird!¡± Elder Hu patted his chest and said. He could not believe that Li Yu had really eaten the divine bird. ¡°Yes, yes. There are so many people here. No one dares to mess around. Everyone only wants to take a look!¡± someone echoed. ¡°I really don¡¯t need to lie to all of you. I¡¯ve unfortunately done it. Alright, since you guys insist on seeing it, wait here!¡± Li Yu walked into the kitchen and soon walked out with a basket of feathers. ¡°There¡¯s only this basket of feathers left now. Take a look if you want.¡± Li Yu originally planned to keep these feathers to make a feather duster, so he did not discard them. Of course, if everyone knew what Li Yu was thinking, their jaws would probably drop again. Gasp¡ª Everyone gasped as they looked at the feathers in the box in shock. Although there were only feathers left, they could tell that these were not the feathers of an ordinary pheasant. Those feathers were still emitting spirit energy. Furthermore, the quality and color of the feather seemed extraordinary. It seemed that the divine bird had really been eaten by Li Yu. What the¡­ Everyone gasped. ¡°What a reckless waste of a heavenly treasure! That¡¯s a divine bird! A divine bird! How could you eat it!¡± Elder Hu and Elder Jia really felt as if it was their divine bird that had been eaten. Their feelings were understandable. The Chongming Bird was powerful enough to suppress demons. Even if this divine bird did not land in their sect¡¯s hands, it was not a big deal. As long as they were alive, they could help Li Yu raise the divine bird and become a powerful force in the future, helping the righteous path fight the demons. This divine bird was simply the hope of the righteous path. Yet, it was stewed and eaten by Li Yu. It was a huge blow to them. ¡°Hmm, I have to say that the divine bird¡¯s meat is absolutely delicious!¡± Li Yu thought nothing of it. In any case, it was his freedom to eat or not to eat the rewards given to him by the Heavenly Dao Rankings. And so he believed that there was no need for them to grieve over it. Furthermore, keeping the divine bird might bring more trouble to himself. Elder Hu felt his head buzz. His heart was about to break from such a blow. What a pity! ¡°Oh yes, are any of you interested in the Heavenly Spirit Pill?¡± Li Yu looked at everyone and asked suddenly. ¡°Are you planning to sell this pill?¡± Someone was interested. The Heavenly Spirit Pill was another absolute treasure. It was a heaven-defying pill that could cleanse one¡¯s marrow, remodel his foundation, and condense a heavenly spiritual root. Who wouldn¡¯t want it! Obtaining it was equivalent to possessing the opportunity to transform from a cocoon to a butterfly and turn something rotten into a masterpiece. A single pill could allow an ordinary person to become a paragon existence. The temptation was not small. ¡°Mmm, that¡¯s right!¡± Li Yang nodded. A commotion broke out among the crowd. ¡°I want it, I want it!¡± ¡°Our Luo Clan is willing to buy it!¡± ¡°I wonder what¡¯s the price?¡± The disciples of the two sects and the group of nobles asked. This Heavenly Spirit Pill was extremely useful to them. This trip would not have been in vain if they could purchase it. ¡°Okay, you can have it, but I¡¯m not selling it!¡± Li Yu said with a smile. Everyone was startled by his words. Some looked at Li Yu unhappily. Are you messing with us? Li Yu continued, ¡°However, you can make a bet with me. Each side can send someone to compete with me as long as you can take out something of the same value to bet. If I lose, you can take the Heavenly Spirit Pill. And I won¡¯t take a single cent! If I win, your bet will be mine! ¡± When these people first arrived, Li Yu had already made up his mind. He could not let them come here for nothing! With so many leeks coming to his door, how could he not ruthlessly harvest them? He lacked everything now: pills, spirit stones, cultivation techniques, and weapons. ¡­ Chapter 16 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Everyone gasped again when they heard Li Yu¡¯s words. A bet? Is this kid serious? Although he was ranked first on the Hidden Dragon Rankings, that could only mean that his strength was ranked first amongst the young people below the age of 30. In everyone¡¯s opinion, no matter how freakish Li Yu¡¯s talent was, he was at most at the Golden Core or early stage of the Aureate Body realm at his age. However, many people present had cultivation levels that far surpassed his. Wouldn¡¯t his gamble with the various forces be equivalent to giving away the Heaven Spirit Pill for free? ¡°Are you serious, young friend?¡± Elder Hu asked in surprise. In fact, he was also interested in the Heavenly Spirit Pill. ¡°Of course, everyone can give it a try! The Heavenly Spirit Pill is here, and it belongs to whoever can take it from me!¡± Li Yu withdrew the Heavenly Spirit Pill and held it in his hand. He looked at the Heavenly Spirit Pill. It was crystalline and as warm as jade as it emitted a rich medicinal aroma and spiritual power. Everyone¡¯s eyes brightened up instantly. They were truly fascinated. ¡°Is there a cultivation realm limit? Are you saying that everyone here can try?¡± Luo Family¡¯s Young Master Luo Guxuan asked. Li Yu pondered for a moment. Although he could crush everyone present by himself, he still decided to keep a low profile and avoid too much hate. Therefore, after some thought, he said, ¡°Anything below the Nascent Soul realm or Transcendence realm is fine!¡± However, his ¡®low-key¡¯ words caused a stir in the crowd. He had asked for anyone below the Nascent Soul realm or below the Transcendence realm. This kid was too arrogant! ¡°Hmph, you really are from a small sect. You¡¯re a frog in a well who doesn¡¯t know anything. You think that you¡¯re invincible just because you placed first on the Hidden Dragon Rankings!¡± A wisp of disdain surfaced on Lin Chen¡¯s face. He admitted that Li Yu¡¯s talent was definitely not bad, and probably everyone present was inferior to him in that aspect. Even so, this should not give him the right to be arrogant. The competition was not just about talent or cultivation level. Even if he were to fight someone of the same cultivation level, he might not have a hundred percent chance of winning. There were many determining factors in a martial arts competition besides the cultivation realm. Factors include the grades of the divine arts and martial arts techniques that one cultivated, as well as the degree of one¡¯s comprehension and mastery of the divine arts and martial arts techniques. Combat awareness, combat experience, even the weapons and magic treasures used, etc Many factors would determine a person¡¯s strength and the outcome of a fight. Even if Li Yu¡¯s cultivation realm had reached the peak of the Aureate Body realm, that did not mean that he was invincible below the Nascent Soul realm. There were plenty of people present who were older and more experienced in combat than him. What right did he have to say that anyone below the Nascent Soul realm could challenge him? Furthermore, whether he could reach such a high cultivation realm was a different affair. Thus, he felt that Li Yu was being too arrogant. Otherwise, there was something wrong with his head. ¡°That¡¯s right. I understand that he¡¯s young and reckless, but it¡¯s wrong of him to be arrogant and conceited. Looks like we have to educate him properly lest he thinks so highly of himself. When he steps into the pugilistic world in the future, he might lose his life!¡± an older Jade Pure Dao Sect cultivator said. ¡°Indeed. Even with my peak Golden Core cultivation, I wouldn¡¯t dare say I could take on anyone below the Nascent Soul realm! This boy is too full of himself!¡± ¡°Humph, he¡¯s going to hand over this Heavenly Spirit Pill to someone for his foolishness!¡± ¡°I just don¡¯t get what he¡¯s doing. He can earn favor by giving it to others straight away. Why start a bet like this? He might even lose his Heaven Spirit Pill and reputation in the end!¡± Everyone was abuzz with Li Yu¡¯s bet. They rubbed their fists and were burning with eagerness. In their opinion, Li Yu was only seventeen years old. No matter how monstrous his talent was, it was impossible for him to reach the Nascent Soul or the Transcendent realm at that age. Hence, his decision to challenge everyone below the Nascent Soul realm was simply arrogant and conceited. ¡°Third Uncle, can you tell what realm this Li Yu is in?¡± Yi Caidie stared at Li Yu with her eyes filled with surprise. ¡°I can¡¯t tell. He doesn¡¯t have any spiritual power fluctuations and should be a martial arts body cultivator. However, even if he has monstrous talent, he¡¯s at most in the Aureate Body realm!¡± Yi Wanxiong said. ¡°Then, if he dares to do this, wouldn¡¯t he be handing over the Heavenly Spirit Pill to someone else for nothing?¡± Yi Caidie¡¯s brows furrowed in confusion. ¡°Hmph, who cares? It would be a waste not to take this Heavenly Spirit Pill! Jingfan, go and meet him. The Yi family can offer 2000 spirit stones, plus the Purple Phoenix Grass, two Pill Blood Flower, and a bottle of Azure Essence Pills,¡± said Yi Wanxiong. ¡°Yes, my lord!¡± A man with a resolute expression cupped his hands. He was at the late-stage Aureate Body Realm and had plenty of combat experience. He was not too old either, thus sending him in could not be considered bullying Li Yu. At the same time, the Luo Clan, Wei Clan, and the other clans arranged suitable candidates to prepare to spar with Li Yu. Essentially, they were in the Golden Core realm or Aureate Body realm. And they were either in the intermediate stage or advanced stage. They also felt that Li Yu was indeed a little too arrogant. Setting up this wager and challenging everyone below the Transcendent realm was simply asking for trouble. However, they would not be merciful. The Heavenly Spirit Pill was a priceless treasure. It would be a waste to not take it. ¡°I, Luo Guxuan, will offer a 500-year-old spirit ginseng, plus 2,000 spirit stones and a Foundation Establishment Pill!¡± Luo Family¡¯s Young Master Luo Guxuan was the first to speak. He immediately stepped forward and unleashed his aura, deciding to fight personally. Although he was the Young Master of the Luo Family, he was already 48 years old this year with a mid-stage Golden Core Realm cultivation. Forty-eight years old was already a middle-aged man to ordinary people. However, this age could be said to be extremely young among cultivators. Typically, Golden Core Realm cultivators could easily live a few hundred years. Thus, this Luo Family¡¯s young master only looked to be in his twenties. ¡°The Wei family offers a Marrow Cleansing Pill, an Essence Surge Pill, two thousand spirit stones, and a flying boat¡­¡± The Wei family named their bet as well. ¡°Our Yi family offers 2000 spirit stones, plus the Purple Phoenix Grass and the Pill Blood Flower¡­¡± Yi Wanxiong shouted as well. Upon hearing the items promised by the various large families, Li Yu was so happy that his mouth could not close. These large families are truly wealthy and generous. I am going to make a killing today! Subsequently, the third prince, Murong Taisheng, and the fifth prince, Murong Zhengnan, took out their spirit stones, spirit herbs, medicinal pills, magic treasures, and various other items before sending their representatives to battle. However, Murong Xingqiao did not participate. Firstly, she did not need a Heavenly Spirit Pill. Secondly, she felt that Li Yu had already hinted that he was on her side. However, Murong Xingqiao could not understand Li Yu¡¯s actions. ¡°My Jade Pure Dao Sect is willing to take out 2,000 Spirit Stones, five Thunder Spirit Pills, and a supreme-grade defense artifact,¡± said Elder Hu. Immediately, they looked at the disciples behind them. Many of their gazes were burning with eagerness. ¡°Yu Heng.¡± Elder Hu said. The man called Yu Heng immediately had an excited look and said to the fellow disciples beside him, ¡°I¡¯ll help everyone educate this brat properly!¡± ¡°Beat him in one move, Senior Brother Zheng!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, let him experience the power of a late-stage Golden Core Realm cultivator!¡± Lin Chen replied. ¡°The Grand Sky Dao Sect will bring out 1,000 spirit stones, 10 Taichi pills, and this low-grade spirit sword of mine!¡± Elder Jia followed up and immediately dispatched a man named Zhu Feng. When Elder Hu saw the disciple Elder Jia sent out, he was immediately displeased. ¡°Elder Jia, isn¡¯t your Grand Sky Dao Sect¡¯s table manners a little too ugly? Everyone has sent out late-stage Golden Core Realm representatives. And you sent a disciple half a step into the Nascent Soul realm? He should be more than a hundred years old! Aren¡¯t you bullying him? ¡± ¡­ Chapter 17 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°Since our young friend Li Yu called for anything below the Nascent Soul realm. I didn¡¯t violate the rules!¡± Elder Jia said indignantly. ¡°I think you might as well do it yourself!¡± Elder Hu continued to criticize. However, no one from the surrounding clans cared. After all, after each family took out their stakes and sent out their representatives, Li Yu still had to choose who to bet with. According to their speculations, if Li Yu wanted to use the Heaven Spirit Pills to obtain more items, he would definitely choose to spar with the person with the lowest cultivation level first. If he sent out someone with especially high cultivation, it might not be his turn to compete with Li Yu when someone else would have already defeated Li Yu. Of course, besides the cultivation factor, whether the stakes every family pledged could move Li Yu was the key. ¡°Humph, why should you care? Our Little Friend Li Yu didn¡¯t say anything!¡± Elder Jia said with a cold face. ¡°It¡¯s fine!¡± Li Yu said nonchalantly. His calm expression managed to puzzle everyone. Is this kid really capable? Or is he bluffing? ¡°It¡¯s these people, right?¡± Li Yu looked at the 11 people in front of him, and they could indeed be considered the elites of the various powers. At that moment, the people from the various powers were the most nervous. They all hoped that Li Yu could choose the representatives from their side to spar with. Li Yu only had one Heavenly Spirit Pill. The first to go would have the highest chance of obtaining one. After all, in their opinion, they had absolute confidence that the person they sent out would win. ¡°Your Highness, please be the witness!¡± Li Yu looked at Murong Xingqiao. ¡°Oh, alright!¡± Murong Xingqiao was a bit surprised to be suddenly named, but she still nodded in agreement. She was frankly nervous for Li Yu now. If he really did not have the ability, and he did that for attention, it would disappoint her greatly. When they saw Li Yu look over, the eyes of Zhu Feng, Jing Fan, Luo Guxuan, Zheng Yuheng, and the others were fired up and provocative, and they hoped that Li Yu would choose them. However, Li Yu believed that only children make choices. ¡°For the sake of fairness, all of you can attack together. The Heavenly Spirit Pill belongs to whoever defeats me first!¡± Li Yu said with a big smile. ¡°Huh?¡± Everyone blew up again. You call this fair? 1v11! Madness. This kid is way too arrogant. He was simply looking down on this group of challengers. Murong Xingqiao tightly furrowed her brows, but there was a trace of anticipation in her heart. Perhaps this guy does have the capability? Otherwise, where did his confidence come from? ¡°Hmph, you must be out of your mind!¡± Lin Chen scoffed. Yi Caidie¡¯s eyes brightened as she stared at Li Yu. For some reason, she was actually looking forward to seeing Li Yu turn out victorious. When they heard Li Yu¡¯s words, Zhu Feng, Jing Fan, Luo Guxuan, Zheng Yuheng, and the others were even more furious and bloodthirsty. ¡°Kid, aren¡¯t you being too condescending?¡± ¡°Li Yu, you¡¯ve done a good job. You¡¯ve successfully infuriated me!¡± ¡°I was thinking about pulling my punches. Since you don¡¯t know the immensity of heaven and earth, I¡¯ll educate you properly on behalf of your father!¡± ¡°Hmph, how egoistic. In that case, I won¡¯t stand on ceremony!¡± Everyone vented their dissatisfaction, but their bodies rushed towards Li Yu. In their opinion, Li Yu stood no chance against them, and the first to defeat him would be the victor. Swish swish swish¡­ Eleven figures charged towards Li Yu together at the same time, while a powerful pressure condensed from their tremendous auras. Even early-stage Nascent Soul realm experts would feel fear and apprehension in such a situation. Nonetheless, Li Yu¡¯s expression remained calm from the beginning to the end. ¡°Take this!¡± Zheng Yuheng was the fastest to arrive in front of Li Yu. The sword slashed down with the power of lightning. Sword Qi rampaged as if it could shred everything. However, when his sword slashed past Li Yu, Li Yu¡¯s body faded into an illusory shadow that disappeared. At the same time, Zheng Yuheng felt an extremely terrifying aura assault his face, causing his hair to stand on end. Before he could react, an impactful blow landed on his chest. Thud! Zheng Yuheng was sent flying like a cannonball. He was so quick that the person who followed closely behind could not dodge in time. The two of them flew off stacked together. Lin Chen and the others did not slow down at all. Everything happened too quickly and too suddenly. Lin Chen and the others had yet to react when they saw that they were about to be hit. Their expressions changed drastically from the fright. It was not until Elder Hu acted just in time and blocked the two human-shaped missiles. At the same time¡­ Thud! Bang! Boom! Slap! Kacha! Li Yu¡¯s figure seemed to only flicker on the spot while the challengers who rushed up flew in all directions. In the end, some were embedded in the walls, some were hanging from trees, some were stuck underground, and some crashed through the walls and into the house. The temple that Zhou Erlang and the others had painstakingly repaired was once again demolished. In an instant, only Li Yu remained on the spot. His aura was calm while his expression remained the same. Then, he cupped his hands at the few people in the surroundings who were in a sorry state and couldn¡¯t get up. ¡°Thank you for letting me win!¡± Silence¡­ The entire scene was deathly silent, and everyone looked at Li Yu as if they were looking at a monster. Some even forgot to breathe! There were eleven Golden Core, middle, and late-stage Golden Core experts and even a peak Golden Core expert. And they could not even combine to compare with Li Yu. They did not even touch Li Yu¡¯s hair before they were sent flying off to the ground and could not get up. What sort of terrifying power was this? What sort of freakish strength was this? If they had not seen it with their own eyes, they would never believe it. The seventeen-year-old Li Yu already possessed such monstrous capability. It was simply too terrifying! ¡°Is this kid even human?¡± ¡°Did he eat the meat of the divine bird and obtain its power?¡± ¡°But no matter what, he¡¯s ridiculously strong!¡± ¡°He has at least stepped into the Martial Dao Transcendence realm. A seventeen-year-old in the Transcendence realm? Heavens, that¡¯s too sick!¡± ¡°No wonder he was so arrogant just now. He said that he could fight anyone under the Nascent Soul realm and Transcendent realm. It turns out that he¡¯s in the Transcendent realm himself. Everyone was tricked by him!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a good thing that Elder did not let me go just now! That punch hurt just looking at it! I wonder how many of Senior Apprentice Brother Zheng¡¯s ribs are broken!¡± The disciples from the two sects looked at Li Yu with apprehension. They knew very well that if Li Yu could defeat all eleven of them effortlessly, he should at least be at the early stage of the Transcendent realm. At the same time, he cultivated a body tempering cultivation technique so terrifying that it gave him an extremely monstrous strength and speed. The combat strength of such a person was probably invincible among the same cultivation realm. Only old fellows like Elder Hu and Elder Jia could probably compare with Li Yu among everyone present. It was no wonder that the Heavenly Dao Rankings would bestow him an additional reward. He could crush everyone on the rankings with his ability. Lin Chen¡¯s lips twitched, and the shock in his heart was indescribable. He had seen monsters but never a freak like Li Yu. He had just been calling Li Yu a frog in the well. In the end, the clown was actually himself. Lin Chen could not even bring himself to be jealous anymore. Who could compare with a seventeen-year-old Transcendent? At the moment, Elder Hu, Elder Jia, Shenqiu Ming, Yi Wanxiong, Murong Taisheng, and Murong Zhengnan were also dumbfounded. However, when they returned to their senses, they suddenly felt that they seemed to have been tricked by the kid, Li Yu. ¡°Haha, I won. I¡¯ll kindly accept your bets!¡± Li Yu was absolutely thrilled. He did not even leave his place to profit greatly. He had earned himself a fortune! ¡­ Chapter 18 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°This brat!¡± Elder Hu felt his heart aching. It was not only because of the spirit stones, pills, and magic treasures that he had been tricked into losing. The main reason was that how could such a monstrous genius be unwilling to join their sect? Elder Hu even had the urge to kidnap him. ¡°He¡¯s so remarkable! He¡¯s much, much more powerful than Brother Xiaotian!¡± Yi Caidie¡¯s eyes sparkled as she looked at Li Yu with admiration. When Li Yu had fought eleven people alone earlier, she had been looking forward to seeing Li Yu win and create a miracle. She did not expect a miracle to really happen, which surprised and delighted her. The invincible aura and tyrannical strength that Li Yu displayed caused Yi Caidie¡¯s heart to race too. Her fair cheeks flushed red. She had always thought that the most powerful and extraordinary person in the world was Zhu Xiaotian. Yet, today, she had witnessed a true peerless genius, a truly extraordinary existence. ¡°Third Uncle, he¡¯s so powerful. He should have reached the Transcendence realm already!¡± Yi Caidie said excitedly. ¡°Yeah, sigh, this kid tricked us all!¡± While Yi Wanxiong was shocked, he also gnashed his teeth in disgust. He had thought they could obtain a Heavenly Spirit Pill for free, but in the end, he had lost so many treasures in one go. Yi Caidie covered her mouth and chuckled. She looked at Li Yu again, and her eyes sparkled as she murmured softly, ¡°This person is so interesting!¡± On the side, Murong Xingqiao recovered from her shock. She had a similar glint in her eyes as joy surfaced on the corners of his mouth. ¡°This Li Yu is really something special!¡± Murong Xingqiao¡¯s heart was also thumping, and she had yet to recover from the shock and surprise from before. She was genuinely worried for Li Yu earlier. Previously, she thought that Li Yu was a little too arrogant and conceited. However, from the looks of it, everyone had underestimated him. It was their knowledge that limited their imagination. That was why they felt that Li Yu¡¯s words were arrogant and conceited. However, when he thought back to Li Yu¡¯s arrogant words, it seemed like he was already being modest and low-key. From the strength he had just displayed, this Li Yu was at least at the Body Refinement Transcendence realm. In the Great Xia Dynasty, they would be a top-tier powerhouse. A seventeen-year-old in the Transcendent was a freak. Even in the entire world, it was probably unmatched. It is a blessing to have such a talent in our Great Xia Dynasty! Murong Xingqiao felt enthusiastic, especially when she thought of how Li Yu had chosen her side. Although he only said he could be a guest at her place, they might become allies. It was truly fortunate to find an ally with limitless potential and monstrous talent. Although they knew that they had been tricked by Li Yu, all of them could only accept their loss and hand over the stakes they promised to Li Yu. In an instant, the system¡¯s voice rang continuously. He had obtained the Azure Essence Pill, Foundation Establishment Pill, Marrow Cleansing Pill, Essence Surge Pill, Thunder Spirit Pill, Taichi Pill, and five other pills. Spirit ginseng, Purple Phoenix Grass, Pill Blood Flower, Jadecalm Fruit, and four other spirit herbs. There were also two spirit swords, a few magic artifacts, and more than sixteen thousand spirit stones. It was like becoming rich overnight. His harvest today was no less than hitting 100 million in the lottery, achieving financial freedom in an instant. Currently, his collection of medicinal pills and pill formulas was at 12 / 50. Divine weapons collection progress was at 5 / 20. Magic artifacts were not included in the category of divine weapons. Li Yu also roughly understood that anyone who could be evaluated by the system as a divine weapon was at least at the spirit artifact level. As for the spirit herb collection progress, 8 / 50. What surprised Li Yu was that the spirit herbs collected by the system could actually produce a spirit plant seed. The function gave Li Yu a new understanding of the system. As for the sixteen thousand plus spirit stones, those were enough for him to develop his sect and purchase various pills, cultivation techniques, magic treasures, and other items. ¡°Elder Jia, you¡¯ve already lost your spirit sword. How are you going to compete with me in the future? Haha!¡± Elder Hu did not forget to rub salt on Elder Jia¡¯s wound. Elder Jia snorted coldly. He looked stubborn, but his heart was bleeding. He deeply regretted his impulsiveness since he threw his spirit sword into the bet. He did not speak and left with his disciples first. The others from the various large family clans did not gain anything while losing lots of money. They left successively as well. ¡°My name is Yi Caidie. Greetings, Cultivator Li!¡± Yi Caidie took the initiative to walk in front of Li Yu and bowed slightly. Her radiant eyes swirled with a sweet smile that was beautiful and enchanting. She wore a red dress, had a curvy figure, bright and lively eyes, and a cheerful face. She was like the rosy glow of the sun that reflected the snow, gorgeous and moving. Even Li Yu¡¯s face brightened when he saw her. ¡°Nice to meet you!¡± Li Yu cupped his hands in return. ¡°Cultivator Li¡¯s abilities are truly breathtaking. You do live up to your reputation, and I¡¯m filled with admiration for you. If you have the chance in the future, I would like to welcome you to Pingnan Estate as a guest. Tai Prefecture City is the famous gourmet city of the Great Xia Dynasty. There are many specialties that I can bring you to taste them when the time comes!¡± Yi Caidie said with a sweet smile. She was meticulous and observant. She could clearly tell that Li Yu liked to eat, so she threw out what he was most interested in. Indeed, as soon as he heard about the delicacies, Li Yu¡¯s nature was exposed, and his eyes sparkled. Compared to beauties, food piqued his interest more! ¡°Alright, thank you, Miss Yi. If there¡¯s a chance in the future, I will definitely taste the delicacies of Tai Prefecture City myself!¡± Li Yu said with a smile. ¡°Here, this waist token is for you. Bring it with you, and you can come to Pingnan Estate as you please in the future!¡± Yi Caidie took out a waist token and handed it to Li Yu. Her actions made Murong Xingqiao frown slightly. She had heard in the past that although this younger daughter of the Pingnan King seemed innocent, she was actually quick-witted and intelligent. Indeed, she lived up to her reputation. This girl was too scheming. Wasn¡¯t this pulling Li Yu into their Pingnan Estate? ¡°I appreciate Miss Caidie¡¯s goodwill, but I can¡¯t accept such a precious object. And don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll surely be a guest at the Pingnan Estate in the future!¡± Li Yu refused. Although the waist token seemed rather tempting, Li Yu knew very well that he would become indebted to them and feel obliged to help them. Not to mention that she offered a waist token of great significance like this. Is this girl trying to trick me? Murong Xingqiao could not help but sigh in relief when he heard Li Yu¡¯s response. Her admiration for Li Yu increased significantly. It seemed that he was not a person who only cared about benefits. He still had his own principles and pride. Only such a person is worthy of befriending me, Murong Xingqiao. ¡­ Chapter 19 Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°Alright, then you must remember to come and find me in Tai Prefecture City!¡± Yi Caidie chuckled as she kept the waist token. She was clever and naturally knew that she could not force Li Yu. Therefore, she left with Yi Wanxiong. ¡°Cultivator Li, then I shall await your arrival in Nan¡¯an City!¡± Murong Xingqiao also walked up and bid farewell to Li Yu. ¡°Okay, Your Highness. Have a safe journey!¡± Li Yu cupped his hands and respectfully sent Murong Xingqiao off. After everyone left, only Li Yu and Tang Chi were left in the temple. And the various holes and dents that Li Yu had just caused. However, these were not important. He had already decided to expand the temple and invite craftsmen to renovate the sect tomorrow. ¡°Senior Brother, Senior Brother, you¡¯re too awesome. You were so handsome just now that if I were a girl, I would definitely fall in love with you!¡± Tang Chi rushed over excitedly and reached out to hug Li Yu. However, he was kicked away by Li Yu. And this guy would lie down wherever he fell. ¡°Senior Brother, what is your cultivation level? I really can¡¯t understand you anymore!¡± Tang Chi said as he lay on the ground with his hands under his neck. He knew that Li Yu was strong, though he did not have a clear idea of how strong Li Yu was. Previously, he had heard that Li Yu had killed that demonic child. He did not know what concept that was. Therefore, he was still shocked when he witnessed Li Yu¡¯s solo win against 11 Golden Core realm experts in the middle and late stages. Li Yu did not speak and checked the system¡¯s mission interface. The names of the people linked to side missions appeared in the mission list. As long as he clicked on the details, he could see the information about this person and the related missions. Three names had already appeared on the list: Ye Qiu, Murong Xingqiao, and Yi Caidie. There was also a sign ¡°Quest not active¡± beside the three names. Li Yu guessed that the system would probably notify him when the related missions began. The Qing Cang Ancient Emperor¡¯s Hidden Treasure, the Mystic Bird Palace, and the Linglong Treasury. It seemed like they were people with great luck, and Li Yu should obtain a lot of treasures through them. ¡°But, Senior Brother, what is going on these days? Why are those people here to rope you in?¡± Tang Chi sat upon the ground and asked Li Yu. This was the biggest question in his mind. ¡°Because of the Heavenly Dao Rankings!¡± Li Yu simply informed Tang Chi about the Heavenly Dao Rankings. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is!¡± Tang Chi jumped up excitedly. ¡°There¡¯s actually such a miracle! But why can¡¯t we see it here? Sigh, seriously!¡± Tang Chi looked east with his toes up. He could not see anything except the blazing sunlight. ¡°Alright, shut up already. Come over and help me count my winnings today!¡± Li Yu took out all the spirit stones, magic treasures, and pills he¡¯d won from the bet earlier. More than 16,000 spirit stones were piled into a small mountain, emitting refreshing spirit energy. With a casual inhale, it seemed to fill one¡¯s body with power and vitality. Tang Chi felt that if he stood by the side, the spirit energy in his body would increase rapidly without any cultivation. Tang Chi¡¯s eyes could shoot out lasers as he looked at the large pile of spirit stones in front of him. He had never seen so many spirit stones before. He had broadened his horizons today. In addition, there were many precious spiritual plants, pills, and magic treasures. ¡°Here, have this Marrow Cleansing Pill. It can cleanse your marrow and improve your physique. Also, this Azure Essence Pill and Taichi Pill can assist your cultivation and improve your cultivation speed. ¡°With the help of these pills, you should be able to advance to the peak of the Qi Refinement realm quickly. At that time, you can directly take this Foundation Establishment Pill and try to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm in one go!¡± Li Yu handed bottle after bottle of pills to Tang Chi. Tang Chi was stunned for a moment as he looked at the bottles in his hand in surprise. He looked at Li Yu in disbelief and asked, ¡°Senior Brother, are¡­ are these pills for me?¡± ¡°What else can I do? You¡¯re my only junior brother for now. Plus, I can¡¯t use these pills!¡± Li Yu said casually. ¡°Thank you, Senior Brother. Thank you, Senior Brother. This is great. I finally see the hope of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm!¡± Tang Chi hugged Li Yu and was moved to the point of tears. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If you follow your senior brother, even if you¡¯re a pig, I can still make you soar into the sky!¡± Li Yu said with a smile. ¡°Yes, yes, thank you¡­ Eh, why do I feel insulted?¡± ¡°Oh, and take these magic artifacts as well as this spirit sword!¡± Li Yu gave Elder Jia¡¯s spirit sword to Tang Chi. Tang Chi had become Li Qingyun¡¯s disciple when he was ten years old. He and Li Yu grew up together. Although they were not blood-related, they were very close. Over the years, Tang Chi never abandoned the sect. Even if everyone else left the sect, he had never thought of it. Besides, he did most of the dirty and tiring work in the temple and did not complain. Hence, apart from Li Qingshan, Tang Chi was closest to him. Li Yu would not be stingy to help him. Perhaps Tang Chi¡¯s talent was indeed very ordinary or even somewhat poor. However, in Li Yu¡¯s opinion, talent was only the starting point. As the saying went, strength could make a brick fly. As long as he had enough resources, his limit could be limitless. Furthermore, he had the system. Why would he be worried about not being able to bring his junior brother along? ¡­ In the Zhu Family residence, when Zhu Xiaotian heard what went down when the Crown Prince, the princes, and the various family clans had gone to recruit Li Yu, he was also shocked. He originally thought that Li Yu¡¯s abilities might only slightly surpass his own. Even if he did not get rid of him, he only needed to speed up his cultivation and improve himself. Then, he could overtake Li Yu directly when the rankings refreshed the next time to become the true number one. Therefore, over the past few days, Zhu Xiaotian had relied on various pills, spirit herbs, and spirit stones to assist him in his cultivation in a bid to surpass Li Yu. However, after hearing the news, his heart turned cold. The Transcendent realm! A seventeen-year-old in the Transcendent realm? How is that possible! Zhu Xiaotian could not believe this fact. Even in his previous life, he had never heard of anyone reaching the Transcendence realm at the age of seventeen. In the entire history of the continent, only the Martial Emperor Qing Cang had such talent. This Li Yu is too freakish. How can I surpass him! Zhu Xiaotian was about to explode. He now firmly believed Li Yu could not be kept alive. However, while he was shocked, he had lived two lifetimes after all. He could still rationalize his thinking. Therefore, after his shock, he began to analyze the current situation. Since Li Yu is clearly inclined to choose the crown prince, the third prince, Murong Taisheng, and the fifth prince, Murong Zhengnan, probably would not let him stay around. Especially after he revealed such a terrifying talent, he must have become the thorn in their hearts¡ªthe type that had to be eliminated. So, even if I don¡¯t do anything next, Li Yu would probably not survive by the next time the leaderboard is refreshed. ¡­ Chapter 20 - Zhu Xiaotians Plans, Divine Weapon Rankings, and Future Trend Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Zhu Xiaotian organized his thoughts. He did not have the time to care about Li Yu. The Hidden Dragon Rankings was only one of the rankings. What was more important was how he could obtain more rewards from the Heavenly Dao through the Divine Weapon Rankings. And how to control the overall situation of the world to pave the way for himself. Before the Divine Weapon Rankings get announced, I must plan carefully. Zhu Xiaotian pondered. He had just received a piece of news today. The Netherworld Demon Sect colluded with the Northern Desert Wolf King Clan and occupied vast territories in the Mo Prefecture. The Ye family guarding the Mo Prefecture, Ye Gusheng, had died in battle. According to his previous life¡¯s memories, many earth-shattering events were about to occur. As for the Great Xia Dynasty, it gradually progressed towards a century-long civil war. However, with such information in his new life, Zhu Xiaotian naturally had to change a few things for everything to develop in his favor. At the same time, he could obtain more opportunities and lay the foundation for his rise. He still remembered most of the divine weapons on the Divine Weapon Rankings then. Especially the top ten divine weapons. In first place was the Netherworld Demon Sect¡¯s Master¡ªMo Lin¡¯s Demonic Carnage Sword. In second place was the Three Purities Sword that originally belonged to Perfected Yu Hua. However, when the rankings were announced, it already belonged to Mo Lin. This was the first major event that was about to occur. Perfected Yu Hua had fallen, and the Demonic Carnage Sword had appeared! Judging from the timings, Zhu Xiaotian believed that now was probably the crucial moment for Mo Lin to secretly forge the Demonic Carnage Sword. He only found out about all of this a hundred years later in his previous life. It was said that this Demonic Carnage Sword was a peerless demonic sword forged by Mo Lin according to the sword casting method on an ancient mural. It could manifest a powerful Demon God power that was extremely terrifying. However, to forge this demon sword, he would still need to use the blood essence of people with Five Elements Spirit Physiques as sacrifices. The Five Elements Spiritual Physiques were five people that possessed the Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth Spiritual Physiques separately. At the moment, Mo Lin should have already found four of them, and he was only missing the final metal spirit body. That last person was Perfected Yu Hua of the Jade Pure Dao Sect. In Zhu Xiaotian¡¯s previous life, Perfected Yu Hua went to the Mo Prefecture to negotiate with Mo Lin in order to save his sect¡¯s elders and disciples. However, he did not know that this so-called negotiation was part of Mo Lin¡¯s scheme. Perfected Yu Hua eventually died in battle. His Three Purities Sword fell into Mo Lin¡¯s hand, and his blood essence became the material Mo Lin used to forge the Demonic Carnage Sword. The Demonic Carnage Sword was born. The Netherworld Demon Sect would dominate over the Great Xia Dynasty. As a result, the Jade Pure Dao Sect suffered an unprecedented blow, and everyone in the orthodox sects felt threatened. One thing leads to the other. With the death of Perfected Yu Hua, the Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty, Murong Cang, lost his backing and good friend. His illness aggravated because of it, and he died not long after. Therefore, not long after the Divine Weapon Rankings was announced, the Third Prince, Murong Taisheng, who had always been secretly in cahoots with the members of the Netherworld Demon Sect and covered for the Demon Sect, began to act. With the help of the Netherworld Demon Sect, he combined forces with the family behind his mother, the Luo Family, and the current Grand Commandant to rebel and usurp the throne. After that, the various lords eventually declared independence, and the Great Xia Dynasty began a civil war that lasted for a hundred years. Consequently, the chaos in the world forced the Zhu family to spend a lot of resources on the power struggle between the lords. This greatly hindered his growth, even taking his father¡¯s life in battle. His access to many opportunities was cut off as a result. Hence, he wanted to change everything in this life. As long as I stop Perfected Yu Hua from meeting Mo Lin for negotiation talks and tell him about the Demonic Carnage Sword, I can prevent the tragedy and change the trajectory of history! Zhu Xiaotian thought. As long as Perfected Yu Hua did not die, the Jade Pure Dao Sect could prevent the Demonic Carnage Sword from becoming a reality. The strings of events afterward would not have happened. Furthermore, without the Demonic Carnage Sword. The Frozen Water Sword that was ranked seventh in the past could move up by one rank. At the same time, weakening the Netherworld Demon Sect was equivalent to undermining the enemy of the Zhu Family¡ªthe Luo Family. This way, the Zhu family could smoothly support Murong Xingqiao to the throne after Murong Cang¡¯s passing. It would allow the Zhu family to expand their influence further and control the imperial court and the Great Xia Dynasty, obtaining more wealth and resources. Not only that, he could also use this opportunity to find an appropriate time to expose the truth about Murong Xingqiao¡¯s gender. And he would find a way to make her marry him. Zhu Xiaotian knew that Murong Xingqiao was the daughter of the heavens, the reincarnation of the Mystic Bird, and the person blessed by providence. In his previous life, in that chaotic world, everyone thought that Murong Xingqiao had been killed. However, she would skyrocket into a peerless expert later on. She would restore the Great Xia Dynasty and unify the nation. So, in this life, he must ride Murong Xingqiao¡¯s coattails. Of course, there was also Yi Caidie. She was the descendant of the first Linglong Holy Lord and possessed the qualifications to open the Linglong Treasury. These two women are hugely valuable to me, so I must make good use of them. I must use them to rise up in this life. It¡¯s a pity that Shi Potian has been eliminated, and I don¡¯t know where the Scarlet Copper Hammer ended up. Otherwise, it should have been mine! Zhu Xiaotian thought. But it doesn¡¯t matter if there¡¯s one less Scarlet Copper Hammer. What¡¯s important right now is to obtain the top weapon on the Xi Liang Dynasty¡¯s Divine Weapon Rankings¡ªthe Reverse Scale Sword. Zhu Xiaotian remembered that the Reverse Scale Sword was the sword of Ji Qinglan, the Thirteenth Prince of the Xi Liang Dynasty. Ji Qinglan was also the top-ranked genius of the Xi Liang Dynasty¡¯s Hidden Dragon Rankings. This fellow was similarly a person with great karmic luck. That Reverse Scale Sword was obtained in the ruins of an immortal abode, and it was said to be an Immortal Artifact. Such an immortal artifact-level divine weapon could definitely be ranked ahead of the Three Purities Sword in the Great Xia Dynasty. Therefore, as long as he obtained the Reverse Scale Sword, he could stop Mo Lin from casting the Demonic Carnage Sword at the same time. In that case, he would have the chance to become the first on the Divine Weapon Rankings. I remember that after a while, Ji Qinglan and the other geniuses in the top ten of the Xi Liang Dynasty¡¯s Hidden Dragon Ranking will come to Nan¡¯an City during the Lantern Festival and challenge the top ten of the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s Hidden Dragon Rankings! Although I lost to Ji Qinglan back then, my cultivation and strength are far beyond my previous self. I can definitely beat him. At that time, I¡¯ll take a page from that Li Yu¡¯s book and bet with Ji Qinglan to win that Reverse Scale Sword of his! If there¡¯s really no other way, I¡¯ll think of a way to kill and snatch the sword! A cold glint flashed in Zhu Xiaotian¡¯s eyes while he slowly clenched his right hand. He had to obtain the Reverse Scale Sword no matter what. There¡¯s also Murong Cang¡¯s Tianwen Sword, the Blood Spirit Monarch¡¯s Blood Spirit Sword, and the Black Flood Dragon War Halberd of the Black Sea Mystic Flood Dragon. I must obtain them too! He remembered that the Tianwen Sword, the Blood Spirit Sword, and the Black Flood Dragon War Halberd were respectively the third, fourth, and sixth-ranked divine weapons. Until here, Zhu Xiaotian already had the big picture in his mind. He was filled with confidence and high spirits. ¡°Uncle Zhong, accompany me to the Jade Pure Dao Sect!¡± Zhu Xiaotian walked out of his room and called for his guardian. He was about to head to the Jade Pure Dao Sect to meet Perfected Yu Hua. ¡°Yes, Young Master!¡± An old man with shriveled skin but eyes as sharp as an eagle bowed and replied. He then took out the flying boat and summoned 20 Zhu Family secret guards to escort Zhu Xiaotian to the southeast. ¡­ Chapter 21 - Perfected Yu Huas Choice Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios In the Jade Pure Dao Sect¡¯s Clear Jade Hall. Perfected Yu Hua¡¯s face was filled with shock after hearing what Elder Hu and the rest had reported. ¡°This kid is the real deal!¡± ¡°What a pity, what a pity. If only he could become a disciple of my sect for us to fully nurture him. Although he cultivates a martial arts body refinement technique, he¡¯ll probably be able to inherit my sect¡¯s orthodoxy in less than a hundred years and surpass us to become the hope of my sect¡¯s rise!¡± Perfected Yu Hua sighed repeatedly. ¡°Yes indeed. It¡¯s a pity that this child is a stubborn one. Sect Master, do you want me to kidnap him here?¡± Elder Hu said. That was what he wanted to do the most now. ¡°No, we stand for what¡¯s right. How can we do such despicable acts like those demon sects!¡± Perfected Yu Hua said seriously. Elder Hu sighed indignantly. ¡°Elder Hu, although this child did not join our sect, he is still part of our orthodox path. We must protect and help him. We can¡¯t let this child be harmed by the demon sects and die young. ¡°If this child can one day fulfill his potential in the future, he would become the hope of our Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s orthodox sects!¡± Perfected Yu Hua said earnestly. ¡°Understood!¡± Elder Hu cupped his hands. He knew that the sect master was concerned about the world¡¯s welfare, and everything was in the interest of the bigger picture. ¡°Sect master, sect master, it¡¯s bad news!¡± At this moment, an elder ran inside in panic with a wooden box in his hand. ¡°What happened to Elder Ma?¡± Perfected Yu Hua¡¯s heart palpitated as his expression tensed. He had received too much bad news over the past few days. First, the Heavenly Water Pavilion was destroyed by the demonic child. Then, he heard that a Demon Mystic Flood Dragon had appeared in the Black Sea of the Yun Prefecture, flooding three cities and causing misery and suffering to all life. Not long ago, he heard that the Netherworld Demon Sect colluded with the Northern Desert Wolf King Clan to invade the Grand Xia Dynasty¡¯s Mo Prefecture. The last thing he wanted to hear was the word ¡°bad¡±. Of course, the thing that worried him the most was the devil child that had disappeared after destroying the Heavenly Water Pavilion. He could vaguely guess that the demonic child¡¯s strength had been greatly reduced after being sealed for countless years. Although he had destroyed the Heavenly Water Pavilion, it was likely that he would be heavily injured by the sword might after Shan Ruoshui used her Essence Soul¡¯s blood essence as a sacrifice. Therefore, he might have temporarily hidden somewhere to recuperate, or he might have left the Great Xia Dynasty. However, as long as the devil child was not eliminated, he would feel as if there was a thorn in his back. Therefore, every time he heard Elder Ma shout, ¡°Bad news!¡± His first reaction was that the demon child had arrived. ¡°Sect Master, Elder Xu, Elder Chu, and Elder Liu have been captured by the Netherworld Demon Sect. Just now, the Netherworld Demon Sect had sent over¡­ Elder Liu¡¯s head!¡± Elder Ma said with a grim expression. Then, he handed over the wooden box in his hand, which contained a head. ¡°What!¡± Perfected Yu Hua only felt a bolt of lightning strike his mind. Looking at Elder Liu¡¯s head, he was overwhelmed with grief. ¡°Bastard! Mo Lin, that bastard!¡± Perfected Yu Hua could not restrain his anger as he clenched his fists tightly. Rich spiritual power exploded from his body, his Daoist robe flapped, and his eyes surged with anger. Elder Xu, Chu, and Liu were originally leading a group of disciples. They had gone to the Yun Prefecture to subdue the Demon Mystic Flood Dragon and save the commoners from evil. Little did they expect the Netherworld Demon Sect to launch an attack at this moment. They even killed Elder Liu. How could Perfected Yu Hua not be angry? ¡°Mo Lin, are you declaring war on Jade Pure Dao Sect?¡± Perfected Yu Hua¡¯s gaze seemed capable of killing. Although he did not want to start a war with the Netherworld Demon Sect, he did not want people to die in misery and increase bloodshed. In addition, the world was not peaceful. Great demons were rampant, and there was the threat of the birth of the demon child. Obviously, the Netherworld Demon Sect could not restrain themselves anymore. War was inevitable! ¡°Curse that Mo Lin! Sect Leader, I¡¯m willing to bring people to save them!¡± Elder Hu¡¯s eyes were red, and he was fuming mad. ¡°Um¡­ Sect Master¡­ Mo Lin also said that you should go to the Northern Boreal City of the Mo Prefecture to negotiate with him. If you don¡¯t go¡­ he¡¯ll send you a head every day!¡± Elder Ma¡¯s voice became softer and softer as he spoke. However, he hurriedly shouted, ¡°Sect Master, this is definitely part of a scheme. You must not fall for Mo Lin¡¯s trap!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Sect Master, there¡¯s probably a trap here. Let¡¯s not be anxious first. Let¡¯s take our time and think about it!¡± Another elder by the side, Chen, hurriedly advised. He knew that Perfected Yu Hua was very protective of his sect. When he saw Elder Liu being killed and his sect¡¯s disciple captured, he would not suppress his anger. ¡°If I don¡¯t go, Elder Xu and the rest will all die! Even if that Mo Lin sets up an ambush, I have to go too. Otherwise, how can I face the entire sect¡¯s disciples in the future!¡± Perfected Yu Hua was enraged. He could not bear to see his sect¡¯s elders and disciples being killed one by one. ¡°Sect Master, you can¡¯t go. Allow me to do it. I¡¯ll bring disciples to meet that Mo Lin. If there¡¯s really a trap, I¡¯ll accept my death!¡± Elder Hu said. ¡°Elder Hu, don¡¯t add to the chaos. At this time, we must calm down. We must not fall for Mo Lin¡¯s trap!¡± Elder Chen shouted. Elder Hu harrumphed and fell silent. The hall fell into a long silence. Perfected Yu Hua was struggling internally. If he went, he might jump into a trap. If he did not go, he would not be able to get over his conscience. He would probably have problems with his Dao heart in the future if he did nothing and watched his own sect members being killed. He would no longer bring himself to face all of his disciples. He did not want to be seen as a coward, nor did he want to be despised. Right at this moment, another disciple reported that Zhu Xiaotian from the Liang Prefecture¡¯s Zhu family was here to seek an audience. He had something to tell Perfected Yu Hua. ¡°Bring him over at once!¡± Perfected Yu Hua ordered. Not long after, Zhu Xiaotian was brought into the hall. After exchanging greetings, Zhu Xiaotian went straight to the point. ¡°Sect Master Yu Hua, you should have heard about the Netherworld Demon Sect colluding with the Northern Desert Wolf King Clan to attack the Mo Prefecture, right?¡± ¡°Indeed!¡± Perfected Yu Hua nodded with a serious expression. ¡°Zhu Family¡¯s intelligence network has also inquired about a shocking piece of news. It¡¯s regarding the Netherworld Demon Sect, so I¡¯ve come to inform the sect master!¡± Zhu Xiaotian continued. ¡°Please speak, Young Master Zhu!¡± ¡°It¡¯s said that Mo Lin is casting an unrivaled demonic sword¡­¡± Zhu Xiaotian told Perfected Yu Hua in detail about Mo Lin casting the Demonic Carnage Sword. ¡°And he¡¯s currently short of one person with a metal spirit body!¡± Upon hearing this, Perfected Yu Hua, Elder Chen, Elder Hu, and the rest looked at each other in shock. ¡°Sect Master, I knew that there was definitely a conspiracy in this negotiation. He kidnapped Elder Xu and the others to lure you over. Sect Master, you can¡¯t go no matter what!¡± Elder Chen advised again. Everyone knew that Perfected Yu Hua had a metal spirit body. Mo Lin¡¯s motive was clear. Perfected Yu Hua fell silent. He was also weighing the pros and cons. If he really fell into a trap and allowed Mo Lin to complete the Demonic Carnage Sword, then the world would really suffer. ¡°That¡¯s right. Sect Master Yu Hua, you must calm down at this moment. A small sacrifice is better than slaughtering all the living beings in the world. ¡°Now that the Netherworld Demon Sect and the Wolf King Clan occupied the Mo Prefecture, it would surely incur the wrath of the heavens and the resentment of everyone. All the heroes of the world would swarm over to attack them. ¡°Why don¡¯t Sect Master Yu Hua take this opportunity to ally with all the orthodox sects of our Great Xia Dynasty to suppress the Netherworld Demon Sect? ¡°Moreover, according to my knowledge, His Majesty is preparing to send an elite army to the Mo Prefecture. At that time, the Xia Dynasty¡¯s cavalry will restrain the Wolf King¡¯s clan¡¯s army, and Perfected Yu Hua could take the opportunity to lead the orthodox sects to attack the Netherworld Demon Sect. Even if we can¡¯t destroy them in one go, we can at least inflict severe damage to the Netherworld Demon Sect and even prevent the Demonic Carnage Sword from completion!¡± ¡­ Chapter 22 - You Know Nothing Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios The news that the Netherworld Demon Sect conquered most of the Mo Prefecture with the help of the Northern Desert Wolf King Clan spread like wildfire in the Great Xia Dynasty. The world was shaken as panic spread. Since the disciples of the Netherworld Demon Sect had practically occupied half of the Hidden Dragon Rankings. It was a constant reminder to everyone how terrifying and powerful the Netherworld Demon Sect was. The Heavenly Dao Rankings seemed shrouded in terrifying dark clouds. It enveloped the entire dynasty and the commoners, making them feel uneasy. In addition, the news of the demonic child destroying the Heavenly Water Pavilion had already cast a shadow over the hearts of the people of the Great Xia Dynasty. Now, the Netherworld Demon Sect had encroached on the territory of the Great Xia Dynasty with the Northern Desert Wolf King Clan, killing the famous general of the Great Xia Dynasty, Ye Gusheng, and his army. To the commoners, this was simply the sign of the collapse of their world. Moreover, the Wolf King clan had always been a thorn stuck in the hearts of the citizens of the Great Xia Dynasty. Their presence was like a sword that was hanging above their heads. Therefore, it was easy to imagine their panic when they heard that the Wolf King¡¯s clan had invaded Mo Prefecture. Thus, insecurity and fear swept the nation. In the imperial palace of the Grand Xia Dynasty, in the emperor¡¯s chambers. ¡°Cough, cough, cough¡­ Is Ye Guxiong¡¯s injury serious?¡± On the bed, the sickly and weak Murong Cang asked feebly. He had almost died on the spot from anger when he heard about Mo Prefecture¡¯s situation. Ye Gusheng had died in the battle, and Ye Guxiong was also severely injured. It meant that the Great Xia Dynasty had lost two of its prominent generals at once. The loss of most of the Mo Prefecture¡¯s territory was a heavy blow. ¡°Currently, we have already sent him back to the Ye Residence. His life is no longer in danger, but it will probably be difficult for him to enter the battlefield soon.¡± The Grand Commandant, Zhao Qiu, said, ¡°The only person who can lead the army to war now is Ye Guxing of the Ye Family, but he is currently guarding the borders of Qing Prefecture¡­¡± ¡°Then send Ye Guxing!¡± Murong Cang said. ¡°Your Majesty, then the Xi Liang Dynasty might take the opportunity to attack!¡± Prime Minister Zhu Hongyuan said. ¡°Qingzhou¡¯s Jade Peak Pass is easy to hold and difficult to invade. Even if the Xi Liang Dynasty wants to attack, they won¡¯t be able to breach the border in a short while. The war in the north is more urgent now¡­ We must stop the Wolf King clan from advancing south no matter what!¡± Murong Cang said weakly, then coughed violently. In the recent hundred years, the Xi Liang Dynasty¡¯s military power had become far superior to the Great Xia Dynasty. More than a decade ago, the Xi Liang Dynasty invaded the Great Xia Dynasty and annexed large areas of territory. In the end, the Great Xia Dynasty had no choice but to cede the entire Wen Prefecture to the Xi Liang Dynasty and compensate them with a large amount of gold, silver, and treasures. He even sent away many princesses through political marriages in exchange for more than ten years of peace. However, in recent years, the Xi Liang Dynasty seemed restless and eager to make trouble. The current Great Xia Dynasty was facing both internal and external threats. However, Murong Cang knew he did not have much time left. He could not do much. Zhu Hongyuan fell silent. He had no say concerning the war, and he had no better idea at the moment. The north was more urgent than the west. They could cede more land in the west in exchange for temporary peace. On the other hand, invaders in the north wanted to eat meat and drink blood. They killed, robbed, and committed all kinds of notorious crimes. They were savages impossible to reason with. ¡­ The Grand Xia Dynasty¡¯s Mo Prefecture, Netherworld Demon Sect. The Sect Master of the Netherworld Demon Sect, Mo Lin, took off his mask and walked towards a middle-aged man restrained by a piece of magic equipment. He said with a cold smile, ¡°Qingyun Zi, it¡¯s probably been a long time since someone addressed you like this!¡± The man turned his head at the sound, and a tinge of surprise surfaced on his handsome face. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± This man was none other than Li Yu¡¯s father, Li Qingyun. Li Qingyun was in Qinghang Town, located around 30 kilometers from Luo Water Town, tricking a large family into investing in his Daoist temple. In the end, he had only just swindled a large sum of money when he was kidnapped by the Netherworld Demon Sect. At first, he was slightly surprised. Had the Netherworld Demon Sect taken the wrong medicine? What was the point of kidnapping a nobody like him who had nothing but a handsome face? However, when he saw the true face of Netherworld Demon Sect¡¯s Sect Master, Mo Lin, he came to a sudden realization. Enemies were indeed bound to meet on a narrow road! ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You couldn¡¯t stay in the Netherworld Cult anymore and came to the Great Xia Dynasty to form your own faction?¡± Li Qingyun asked with a grin. Mo Lin coldly snorted as he looked at Li Qingyun with a mocking expression and said, ¡°What right do you have to speak ill of me here? As the mighty and illustrious Holy Son of the Divine Firmament Holy Land, you actually slaughtered your way into the Clear Void Holy Land and killed many orthodox experts for a demonic girl. No matter how I think of it, such a deed of yours sounds like it¡¯s something only we are capable of doing.¡± ¡°Li Qingyun, I think that you should have really joined our Netherworld Cult back then!¡± Mo Lin looked at Li Qingyun teasingly. After the Heavenly Dao Rankings had exposed the top genius of the Grand Xia Dynasty was Li Yu, he coincidentally heard Li Qingyun¡¯s name during his investigation of ¡®That¡¯s Quite A Large Sect¡¯. He did not expect that Li Qingyun, who was as dazzling as the stars, as powerful as a god, and who shook the world and led an era, would turn out like this. Appearing in a small place like this in the Grand Xia Dynasty. Back in his glory days, Li Qingyun had fought against the world by himself for the sake of the woman he loved. Although it had caused a stir, it was limited to the cultivation world¡¯s circles, and few people in the secular world knew about it. There were probably some people in the Great Xia Dynasty who had heard of this event. Still, not many knew of Li Qingyun. Mo Lin was from the Netherworld Cult in the Great Zenith Domain and was a core member. Therefore, he had met and fought Li Qingyun many times. They knew each other too. As the Divine Firmament Holy Land¡¯s Holy Son, Li Qingyun had led the charge in the past and killed countless disciples of the Netherworld Cult. His beloved junior sister had died under Li Qingyun¡¯s sword that year. Therefore, he and Li Qingyun could be considered irreconcilable. However, Li Qingyun was too powerful back then. Even ten of himself was not his match. He had even once lived in fear of being under this guy¡¯s mercy. Who would have thought that the world was fickle and that this blessed son of heaven would fall from grace overnight? Li Qingyun became a scum despised by the people of the orthodox path, and his reputation was ruined as he was driven out of the Great Zenith Domain. From then on, he disappeared and gradually faded from everyone¡¯s memories. Mo Lin did not expect to meet him here in the Great Xia Dynasty. ¡°Ptui, don¡¯t flatter yourselves. You guys aren¡¯t worthy!¡± Li Qingyun snapped. Mo Lin grabbed Li Qingyun¡¯s collar and yelled angrily, ¡°Li Qingyun, stop f*cking around with that arrogance here. Do you think you¡¯re still that Qingyun Zi from back then? ¡°Your cultivation level has been crippled by the Divine Firmament Holy Lord, and your meridians have been snapped by members of your orthodox sects. What¡¯s the difference between you and trash now? Anyone of my disciples can easily crush you to death!¡± ¡°If you want to kill me, then kill me. Cut the nonsense!¡± Li Qingyun looked impatient. Having experienced the ups and downs of life, he had long been indifferent to life and death. Now that he was in the hands of Mo Lin, he never thought of leaving alive. ¡°Hmph, then you might have to wait. When you and your son reunite, I will personally send you both on your way. With your son Li Yu by your side, you won¡¯t be lonely anymore traveling to the underworld!¡± Mo Lin said with a cold smile, his gaze icy. ¡°You want to use me to lure Li Yu over here!?¡± Li Qingyun¡¯s expression changed as he revealed a shocked expression. ¡°Haha, so what about it? Are you afraid?¡± Mo Lin laughed. He was immensely pleased with Li Qingyun¡¯s reaction. He wanted Li Qingyun to feel what it felt like to be overwhelmed by fear. ¡°No, just that your Netherworld Demon Sect is finished!¡± Li Qingyun¡¯s reply startled Mo Lin. ¡°What? Do you mean by some chance Li Yu can annihilate my Netherworld Demon Sect? Hahaha! Li Qingyun, are you trying to intimidate me? You should come up with a decent reason first! You really thought that a mere brat like Li Yu could overturn the heavens? ¡°Even if he was the first on the Hidden Dragon Rankings, that was only the ranking among a group of kids. Did you think he¡¯s really invincible? ¡°And don¡¯t you think it¡¯s shameful to use your son to scare others? Li Qingyun, you¡¯re really becoming more and more delusional the longer you live. I really look down on you!¡± ¡°Humph, there are plenty of people who look down on me. Who do you think you are? You¡¯d better think hard about your last words!¡± Li Qingyun could not be bothered to talk nonsense with Mo Lin. He had thought that Mo Lin had kidnapped him to take revenge for what happened back then. He did not expect that this fellow would want to involve Li Yu. Foolish people of the demonic path, you know nothing of my son¡¯s power. ¡­ Chapter 23 - Im Going to the Front Line Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Nan¡¯an City¡¯s Ye family, the General¡¯s Estate. ¡°Mother, let me out, let me out! The imperial decree has already been issued. If you continue to lock me up, that would be disobeying the imperial decree!¡± Ye Qiu kept shouting inside his locked room. ¡°I¡¯m doing this for your own good. No matter what, I won¡¯t let you enter the front line. In a while, I¡¯ll go and beg His Majesty. If it¡¯s not possible, I will go there to fight in your place!¡± Ye Qiu¡¯s mother, Yang Shengnan, said firmly. After Ye Qiu returned from Luo Water Town two days ago, he kept clamoring about entering some Qingyun Sect. He claimed that the sect was filled with crouching tigers and hidden dragons, and the sect¡¯s Eldest Senior Brother was the first on the Hidden Dragon Rankings, Li Yu. And Li Yu had also killed the demon child who had destroyed the Heavenly Water Pavilion. Logically speaking, she should be aware of the person ranked first on the Hidden Dragon Rankings. However, no one had heard of Li Yu and that unknown sect before. How did her son find Li Yu? Moreover, the first thing Li Yu demanded was 1000 silver taels as Ye Qiu¡¯s fees. Ye Qiu could enter any sect in the Great Xia Dynasty without spending any money with his talent. And 1000 silver taels all at once was simply a daylight robbery. It was more ridiculous that Ye Qiu claimed that Li Yu had killed the demon child with a single strike. If the entire Heaven Water Pavilion was no match for the demonic child, how could a child like Li Yu kill the demon child casually? It certainly seemed like a scam. Thus she felt that something was wrong. All kinds of signs pointed to the possibility that Ye Qiu had encountered swindlers. She believed that the so-called killing of the demon child was either a lie they fabricated or an illusion created by their tricks. In short, there was something fishy about the matter, so Yang Shengnan locked Ye Qiu up to prevent him from going astray. However, tragedy struck in the north. Her younger brother-in-law, Ye Gusheng, had died in battle while her husband, Ye Guxiong, was severely injured. The Ye family was immediately shrouded in sorrow and gloom. Yang Shengnan let Ye Qiu off to visit his father, and he stopped mentioning joining the Qingyun Sect. Little did she expect that her kid would actually say that he wanted to go to the front line to fight the Wolf King clan to avenge his third uncle and father. Yang Shengnan did not want her son to die like that, so she locked him up again. To her disbelief, Emperor Murong Cang had issued a decree ordering Ye Qiu to follow Ye Guxing to suppress the Wolf King Clan. In Yang Shengnan¡¯s opinion, this was simply sending Ye Qiu to his death. Although Ye Qiu was not young, he had no experience on the battlefield. Sending him to deal with such a dangerous enemy was simply sending him to his death. Moreover, the Grand Commandant must be behind this, using this opportunity to continue undermining the Ye family. After all, the Ye Family¡¯s experts were not the only generals in the Great Xia Dynasty. The Ye Family disciples, loyal to the emperor, were basically sent to the most dangerous place up north, where they had a slim chance of survival. As for those who clung to Grand Commandant Zhao Qiu, they were all carefree. Yang Shengnan felt that it was unfair. Even if she had to take the risk of infuriating the emperor, she had to protect her son. ¡°Mother, don¡¯t go. Military orders cannot be disobeyed. You can¡¯t change anything even if you do that. You¡¯ll only enrage His Majesty!¡± Ye Qiu shouted. Yang Shengnan did not reply. Instead, she left the estate resolutely and headed for the palace. She would protect Ye Qiu no matter what. However, Yang Shengnan was chased back without even seeing the emperor. She was unwilling to accept this fate, and she repeatedly asked for help through connections. She even begged the prime minister and the crown prince. However, other than Murong Xingqiao, no one else agreed to help. In the end, although Murong Xingqiao went to see the emperor and pleaded on behalf of Ye Qiu, it did not change anything. After all, there was too much interest involved in this. It was difficult for Murong Xingqiao to affect anything by himself. Ye Qiu¡¯s life and death seemed too insignificant in this power struggle. In her despair, Yang Shengnan thought of Li Yu, the likely swindler Ye Qiu had mentioned. A drowning person was willing to struggle even if he only caught a straw. ¡°Qiu¡¯er, since that Li Yu you mentioned is so powerful, why don¡¯t you find him and ask him for help? Since he can kill the demon child with a single strike, he can also easily repel the Wolf King Clan!¡± Yang Shengnan said. She already had the mindset of making a Hail Mary effort. Trying anything was better than sitting around and watching Ye Qiu die for nothing. And something told her that Li Yu might help her son to stay safe. ¡°Mother, how am I supposed to ask for help regarding this matter? He doesn¡¯t have the obligation or responsibility to repel the Wolf King Clan. Ultimately, I¡¯m not a member of the Qingyun Sect yet. So what qualifications do I have to ask for his help?!¡± Ye Qiu said. ¡°If he¡¯s really as strong as you say, then let him prove it. If he can defeat the Wolf King¡¯s clan, Mom will allow you to enter the Qingyun Sect. You can spend as much money as you want, even if it means going broke!¡± Yang Shengnan said impatiently. She seemed haggard at the moment. Ye Qiu did not reply. He felt that Li Yu definitely could defeat the Wolf King Clan. However, this was not his duty. He had no obligation to help the Great Xia Dynasty clean up their mess, nor did he need to prove anything to the Ye family. Ye Qiu knew that his mother was too worried and had already lost her mind, and he could understand why she said such things. He had planned to bid farewell to Li Yu and explain the situation before leaving for the front line. A man had to honor his promise, and he could not just leave without a word like this. Now that his mother would finally let him out to find Li Yu, he could not tell her his thoughts. ¡°Alright. Mom, I¡¯ll give it a try!¡± After a moment of silence, Ye Qiu nodded and said. The next day, before the sun rose, Ye Qiu rode his flying spirit beast and flew in the direction of Qing Prefecture. When he arrived at the Nine-tailed Mountain of Luo Water Town, it was already afternoon. At this moment, a group of craftsmen was expanding the Daoist temple. Apart from the original main hall, almost all the walls and buildings of the Daoist temple were rebuilt. After all, Li Yu wanted to construct a sect that could accommodate a thousand people. At the same time, he also had to consider further expansion after the sect became stronger. Therefore, he revised the overall layout of the sect¡¯s buildings. Of course, the plan was designed by professional craftsmen. It could satisfy the current functional needs as well as facilitate expansion in the future. According to the current plan, the sect¡¯s facilities would be essentially complete. The Hall of Mount Gate, the square, the bell tower, the front hall, the main hall, the east and west deputy hall. The Sect Leader¡¯s Court, the Elder¡¯s Court, the Dao Comprehension Room, the Martial Arts Arena, the Alchemy Pavilion, the Refining Pavilion, the Technique Pavilion, and so on, were all part of the plans. Even the mountain gate at the foot of the mountain was in renovation. Li Yu took the initiative to change the sect¡¯s name to Qingyun Sect. The entire sect would also expand to more than ten times its original size, not inferior to the standard of a middle-tier sect in the Grand Xia Dynasty. Of course, this was costly. It was not a big deal since Li Yu looted the Juyi Hall. Along with the sixteen thousand spirit stones that he had won from the bet, it was enough to support him in building a proper sect. At the moment, Li Yu was idling under a large tree. He thought about the future of the sect and plans for dinner. ¡°Senior Brother!¡± Ye Qiu rode his spirit beast and flew over. Then, he jumped down from the air and landed steadily in front of Li Yu. Li Yu was delighted to see Ye Qiu return. He almost shouted, ¡°Did you bring the money?¡± ¡­ Chapter 24 - Ye Qius Crisis! Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios After Ye Qiu greeted Li Yu, Li Yu could tell that he was troubled. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did something happen at home? If you don¡¯t have enough money for your school fees, you can owe me first. You only need to write an IOU!¡± Li Yu said with a smile. ¡°Senior Brother, no, Master Li, I¡¯m sorry. I might not be able to enter Qingyun Sect for the time being!¡± Ye Qiu said with a guilty look. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Li Yu¡¯s heart tightened, and he thought to himself that he could not let this big fish slip. ¡°I¡¯m going to the north to join the army!¡± Ye Qiu said after a moment of silence before he told Li Yu the truth about the northern war. However, he still could not bring himself to open his mouth and request Li Yu¡¯s help. After all, Li Yu did not have such an obligation. Li Yu felt helpless after hearing Ye Qiu¡¯s explanation. Ye Qiu had no choice as he was born into a family of generals. It only took one decree from the Emperor, and Ye Qiu had to serve in the army in his father¡¯s place. It was a pity that he had finally managed to get a talented junior brother who was about to become cannon fodder on the battlefield. However, everyone had their own fate. He could not force Ye Qiu, so he could only respect his choice. ¡°Since you called me Senior Brother, then I¡¯m already your Senior Brother. I¡¯ll wait for you to return triumphantly from the sect. If you still want to become our disciple then, my Qingyun Sect will welcome you anytime!¡± Li Yu patted Ye Qiu¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Right, if I can come back alive this time, I will definitely return to join the sect!¡± Ye Qiu cupped his hands. ¡°Senior Brother, it¡¯s getting late. I shall take my leave. I¡¯m leaving early tomorrow morning to rush to the front line of the Mo Prefecture!¡± ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll congratulate Junior Brother on your victory and triumphant return in advance!¡± Li Yu cupped his hands. Ye Qiu cupped his hands and did not say anything else. He jumped back onto the back of the flying spirit beast, waved goodbye to Li Yu, and flew in the direction he had come from. Li Yu looked at Ye Qiu¡¯s back view and could not help but shake his head regretfully. ¡°Sigh, changes run faster than plans. I thought Ye Qiu is bringing the hefty sum of payment over. This way, I can save up more spirit stones!¡± At night, a figure in a black robe with strange patterns embroidered flew over from afar in silence. However, just as he reached the temple, which was only left with a hall, Li Yu¡¯s figure appeared out of thin air as he stood in front of him. ¡°Who are you?¡± Li Yu asked coldly. From the way this person was dressed, he did not seem to be a good person. ¡°Ghost Walk, Netherworld Demon Sect!¡± The man introduced himself. After all, he was not here to assassinate, so there was no need to hide his identity. The Netherworld Demon Sect! Li Yu¡¯s brows suddenly knit together because the fiend sects had finally made a move. ¡°Are you here to kill me?¡± Li Yu asked calmly. ¡°No, your father is currently a guest in our Netherworld Demon Sect. Our Sect Master is a hospitable person, and he would like to invite you over. Oh yes, before you go, you must bring the baby divine bird and the Heavenly Spirit Pill with you!¡± Ghost Walk said eccentrically. Bang! A terrifying killing aura instantly erupted from Li Yu¡¯s body, scaring Ghost Walk to the point his expression changed. However, before he could react, he realized that a hand seemed to have reached out from the void and grabbed his neck. At the same time, Li Yu¡¯s murderous face appeared in his field of vision. ¡°Netherworld Demon Sect must be tired of existing. And you dare capture my father!¡± Killing intent and rage rarely seen surfaced in Li Yu¡¯s eyes. If the Netherworld Demon Sect came for him, he would not be angry at all. He would treat it as killing monsters to level up and farm for equipment. However, using his father as a hostage and threatening his family¡¯s safety had touched his bottom line. Having his throat locked by Li Yu, Ghost Walk was scared out of his wits as cold sweat broke out on his back. He never imagined such terrifying strength from Li Yu. He did not even manage to see how Li Yu had arrived in front of him earlier. Especially when he sensed the terrifying aura that he emitted, he felt that Li Yu was even more terrifying than their sect master. Now that his life was in the other party¡¯s hands, Ghost Walk could only blabber, ¡°That¡¯s, that¡¯s right. Y-your father is in our hands, don¡¯t you dare do anything rash, otherwise you¡­¡± Crack! Before Gui Xing could finish his sentence, his neck was broken by Li Yu. ¡°Netherworld Demon Sect. Playing dirty, huh? Then don¡¯t blame me for being merciless!¡± Li Yu said coldly. Since the Netherworld Demon Sect had already threatened his father¡¯s safety, that sect could not be spared anymore. It was also a chance to relieve the pressure on the orthodox sects of the Great Xia Dynasty. At this moment, the system mission interface suddenly popped up: [Kill Mo Lin and eliminate the Netherworld Demon Sect. You can obtain 20 Prestige points.] Good timing! A wisp of a smile curved up the corners of Li Yu¡¯s mouth. He had just intended to eliminate the Netherworld Demon Sect for good, and the system issued the mission. Since he could earn some money from it, he had no reason to let the Netherworld Demon Sect off. However, just as Li Yu was about to put away the mission panel, his gaze could not help but be attracted by Ye Qiu¡¯s name. At this moment, his name had turned red with the word ¡®danger¡¯ at the side. Ye Qiu¡¯s trip to the Mo Prefecture to fight the war is indeed dangerous! Judging from this notification, this kid is probably becoming cannon fodder! Li Yu recalled that Ye Qiu had said that the Mo Prefecture had fallen because the Netherworld Demon Sect had joined forces with the Wolf King Clan. The Wolf King clan slaughtered, robbed, and committed all kinds of crimes. Currently, the people there were in misery and suffering. If the Wolf King¡¯s clan continued south and the Mo Prefecture fell completely, the Great Xia Dynasty would be completely exposed to the wolf cavalry army of the Wolf King Clan. It could directly cause the fall of the Great Xia Dynasty. Initially, Li Yu did not plan to interfere in this matter. After all, it was handled by the officials. He was not a saint, nor did he want to be a hero. There was no need for him to be a busybody. However, now that the Netherworld Demon Sect had implicated him, he decided to head to the Mo Prefecture to eliminate the Netherworld Demon Sect. While he was at it, he would also eradicate the Wolf King Clan, who was in cahoots with the Netherworld Demon Sect. Anyway, he could settle it with one sword! In the end, Li Yu still could not bear to part with a possible cash cow like Ye Qiu. After Ye Qiu left today, he regretted not taking action earlier. If this guy really died, he would not only lose a genius junior brother, he would also lose a large sum of sect fees. There was also the tempting Ancient Emperor Qing Cang¡¯s hidden treasure mission. If the war in the north was over, peace would return to the Great Xia Dynasty. While Ye Qiu would probably not need to fight in the war and he could enter their Qingyun Sect again. After some thoughts and considerations, Li Yu called Tang Chi over and handed over the supervision of their sect¡¯s construction project to him. Nan¡¯an City¡¯s Ye Residence. It was just past three in the morning, and Ye Qiu was already prepared to set off. After Ye Guxing received the decree, he had already headed straight for the Mo Prefecture from the Qing Prefecture border. Meanwhile, Ye Qiu would bring a group of light cavalrymen that escorted his father back and set out from Nan¡¯an City. They head north to the Mo Prefecture to meet up with Ye Guxing. In order to ease his mother¡¯s fear, Ye Qiu lied and said that Li Yu agreed to help him fight the enemy. And that they would surely emerge victorious this time and expel the Wolf King Clan from the country. Perhaps the sign of a man¡¯s maturity was when he learns to tell white lies. Besides their own countries, there were some things that they had to protect and defend with their lives. After all, they have to protect the hearts of their parents, wife, and children too. Although Ye Qiu¡¯s flawless lie made Yang Shengnan skeptical, and she even thought that the ¡®Li Yu¡¯ that Ye Qiu spoke of was a cheat, she had no other choice. If she did not comply, her entire family would be executed. Therefore, Yang Shengnan could only send Ye Qiu off with tears streaming down her face. She held onto the slim hope that Li Yu was truly as capable as Ye Qiu had described him to be. ¡­ Chapter 25 - That Relieving Backview Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios In a villa outside Nan¡¯an City, in a pavilion in the middle of a lake, the Third Prince, Murong Taisheng, played Go with a woman. ¡°Your Highness, is it really worth it?¡± the woman asked as she put down a white stone. She was the daughter of Grand Commandant Zhao Qiu¡ªZhao Xue. ¡°Back then, His Majesty ceded land to the West Liang Dynasty in exchange for a short period of peace. Do you think it was worth it?¡± Murong Taisheng said as he placed a black stone down. ¡°I¡¯m only sacrificing a portion of the Mo Prefecture¡¯s territory so I can use the Wolf King Clan to eliminate the Ye Family completely. At the same time, it will relieve the pressure on the Luo Family due to the Wolf King Clan. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s worth it!¡± ¡°I¡¯m just worried that the Wolf King¡¯s family is not that compliant. If the Mo Prefecture really falls, I¡¯m afraid that Jing Prefecture will be in danger too!¡± Zhao Xue smiled and said. She understood the strength of the Ye Family¡¯s generals and their prestige among the army and the citizens. The issue was that the Ye family was only loyal to the current emperor and had a good relationship with the Crown Prince. That was why Murong Taisheng needed to get rid of the Ye family at all costs. As long as the Ye family was around, it was almost impossible for him to usurp the throne. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, between the Grand Xia Dynasty and the Wolf King¡¯s clan, the Netherworld Demon Sect will surely choose the Grand Xia Dynasty that can bring more benefits to their sect! The Netherworld Demon Sect will not allow the Wolf King¡¯s clan to invade the Grand Xia Dynasty!¡± Murong Taisheng said. At this moment, a man rushed over and bowed. He looked at Zhao Xue and hesitated to speak. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Xue¡¯er is not an outsider!¡± Murong Taisheng said. That person continued, ¡°Your Highness, the Netherworld Demon Sect has replied to you. They will help us get rid of Li Yu. In addition, Ye Qiu has already left the Jing Prefecture and is about to enter the Mo Prefecture! The Netherworld Demon Sect has already rushed over to intercept him!¡± ¡°Mm, very good. Li Yu, Ye Qiu, you two geniuses shall rest in peace!¡± Murong Taisheng placed his black stone down and could not help but laugh proudly. ¡°Xue¡¯er, you¡¯ve lost!¡± ¡­ At the border of Jing Prefecture and Mo Prefecture, Ye Qiu led a group of light cavalry as they rapidly advanced through the mountain path. He had to reach Tiger Forest Pass before night fell and meet up with his second uncle. However, right at this moment, a silver stream of light suddenly flew out of the forest. With a crackle, the front legs of Ye Qiu¡¯s horse were chopped off. The horse lost its footing and flipped forward, but Ye Qiu reacted instantly. His movements were quick as he jumped up immediately. Then, he did a somersault and landed steadily on the ground. At this moment, the silver light spun around and slashed toward Ye Qiu again. It was a magic artifact in the shape of a crescent moon spinning at high speed. Ye Qiu held the Azure Dragon Spear and swept it out. With a clang, he blocked the incoming magic artifact. As a result, it landed in the hands of a black-robed person who had appeared out of nowhere. This person¡¯s long hair scattered down, covering the left half of his face. His right cheek was pale as a zombie. There were four other people following him: three men and one woman. All of them were wearing black robes with strange patterns embroidered on them. Ye Qiu recognized this pattern. ¡°Netherworld Demon Sect!¡± Ye Qiu¡¯s brows furrowed tightly, and he was shocked in his heart. They were afraid of being ambushed on the way, so they specially chose an extremely well-hidden path that few people knew. The light cavalry unit managed to send Ye Guxiong safely back to Nan¡¯an City using this secret path. Other than the soldiers present, no one else knew that they would be taking this path. It seems like there¡¯s an enemy spy among us! Wait, he should be an enemy from within the Grand Xia Dynasty. Ye Qiu was well aware that he was only a minor character compared to this war. Although his surname was Ye, he was still a greenhorn. He had never even been on the battlefield. As for his combat power level, it seemed to be of little use in changing the outcome of the war. It was reasonable if these people wanted to kill his second uncle. The emperor ordered him to the front line only to groom him through learning from Ye Guxing. In the future, he could succeed his father and become another famous general of the Great Xia Dynasty. Therefore, the only possibility was that someone wanted him to die. To be precise, that person desired for anyone from the Ye Family dead. Ye Qiu knew that these people from the Netherworld Demon Sect appearing here was definitely a prearranged ambush. It is impossible that I¡¯m only unlucky and just so happen to encounter these killers. It looks like someone was behind the Netherworld Demon Sect¡¯s colluding with the Wolf King Clan as well. This is a planned massacre. And the target is the Ye family. Ye Qiu instantly understood everything. He could even roughly guess who was behind this. Even so, what could he do? He did not know whether he could escape today. ¡°Young Master, we are not far from the Tiger Forest Pass. We will cover your escape!¡± Ye Guxiong¡¯s deputy general, Zhang Zhizhong, got Ye Qiu behind him and said softly. ¡°Okay!¡± Ye Qiu nodded. He did not want to die here. It was not that he was afraid of death. He was only unwilling to die in this manner and allow evil to prevail. Therefore, even if there was a glimmer of hope, he had to fight for it. ¡°Fellow masters and experts, wait a moment. I¡¯m one of the Third Prince¡¯s men. I¡¯m one of his men!¡± A soldier suddenly rushed out and exposed his own identity. He was afraid that the assassins would kill him along with Ye Qiu¡¯s company. ¡°Kong Jia! Why? Why did you do this?! General Ye has treated you well. How could you turn into a traitor?!¡± Zhang Zhizhong¡¯s eyes widened in anger. He had guessed that there might be a mole among his group of men. When it was confirmed, he still became furious. However, Zhang Zhizhong believed that Kong Jia was probably instigated to turn against him and the Ye Family after arriving in Nan¡¯an City. Otherwise, General Ye might not have returned to Nan¡¯an City safely. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t want to either, but¡­¡± Slit! Before Kong Jia could finish, his head had already been sliced off by the crescent-shaped magic artifact. ¡°Attack!¡± The man with the loose hair ordered as the five of them rushed over. ¡°Protect our young master!¡± Zhang Zhizhong shouted. The soldiers were not afraid of death as they quickly responded to the attack. They surrounded Ye Qiu and attempted to delay those five to buy time for Ye Qiu to escape. However, the difference in their abilities was too great. Practically in a single exchange, half of Ye Qiu¡¯s men were killed. Other than Zhang Zhizhong, who could barely hold on, the other soldiers were not their match at all. At the sight of this, Ye Qiu¡¯s heart turned cold. Those five from the Netherworld Demon Sect were no lower than the Nascent Soul realm. Murong Taisheng had invested a lot in order to get rid of him. These few could be considered top-notch experts in the Netherworld Demon Sect. ¡°Young Master, run!¡± Zhang Zhizhong shouted. Ye Qiu also wanted to leave but was already stopped by the woman. Her expression was cold, and her gaze was filled with cruelty. The sword in her hand was like a venomous snake as it mercilessly slashed at Ye Qiu. The sword was too quick. Ye Qiu had no time to dodge it and could only use his spear to block. Still, their difference was too big. The power of that sword blew away the Azure Dragon Spear in Ye Qiu¡¯s hand. Ye Qiu¡¯s body also flew out uncontrollably. At the same time, that woman approached again and aimed her sword at Ye Qiu¡¯s head. ¡°Young master!¡± Zhang Zhizhong cried out. He used all his strength to break free from his opponent and rushed towards Ye Qiu. However, he was too far away to save Ye Qiu. Seeing that Ye Qiu was about to die under that woman¡¯s sword, Zhang Zhizhong¡¯s eyes turned red. If Ye Qiu died, even if he did not survive here, he would not have the face to see the ancestors of the Ye family. As he looked at the sword that sliced through the air and headed for him, despair overwhelmed Ye Qiu. He could not dodge or block it, and it would end with his head separated from his body. However, just as the longsword was almost touching his throat, it instantly stopped. At the same time, a muffled sound was heard, and the woman disappeared on the spot. Replacing her was an upright figure in elegant green robes. He held the woman¡¯s longsword and stood with his back facing Ye Qiu. There was also a sword on his back. Seeing the person¡¯s back, Ye Qiu was surprised while a smile surfaced on his lips. A sense of security and relief seemed to envelop him like the warm and comfortable sunlight during springtime. ¡­ Chapter 26 - The Wolf Kings Head as a Gift Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Li Yu¡¯s punch had blown up the woman¡¯s chest. She fell deep into the hillside and could not be more dead. Then, Li Yu¡¯s figure flashed a few times. Three experts of the Netherworld Demon Sect, who the soldiers saw as powerful as gods and devils, had instantly died. The last remaining expert with untidy hair and a zombie-like face watched in horror. Knowing that Li Yu was someone he could not mess with, he immediately attempted to escape. Run? Li Yu was so quick that no one could see him coming. After that, a shrill cry resounded as the fleeing expert of the Netherworld Demon Sect perished on the spot. ¡°This kid is a freak!¡± Zhang Zhizhong looked in shock as Li Yu trotted back to Ye Qiu. For a moment, everyone forgot that they were half a step into the gates of hell not long ago. The remaining soldiers looked at Li Yu and could not recover from their shock for a moment. ¡°Senior Brother, why are you here?¡± Ye Qiu was surprised, but he was more grateful. ¡°Just here to settle something! Look at you. How are you supposed to enter the battlefield like this? With such meager ability, you¡¯re going to die!¡± Li Yu pretended to be angry as he scolded Ye Qiu. ¡°Haha, I¡¯ve embarrassed myself in front of my senior brother!¡± Ye Qiu was not angry. He knew that although Li Yu said that, he must have secretly followed him because he was worried about him. Moreover, his objective for this trip was probably to eradicate the Wolf King clan. I knew it! My senior brother is a great hero who cares deeply about the world. That day I told him about the war in the north and the people¡¯s suffering. Although he did not say anything then, he still traveled here secretly. He must be planning to attack in secret. If I hadn¡¯t encountered an ambush and almost lost my life, he wouldn¡¯t have made his appearance easily. He wanted to get rid of evil for the people, yet he did not want anyone to know about it. He¡¯s truly a hero, a true hero worthy of our admiration! ¡°Alright, if there is nothing else, I shall take my leave!¡± Li Yu waved his sleeves and prepared to leave. ¡°Senior brother, aren¡¯t you coming with us?¡± Ye Qiu hurriedly asked. ¡°What? Do you want me to be your bodyguard? I told you I¡¯m here to settle some matters, not to save you!¡± Li Yu said in annoyance. ¡°Haha, Senior Brother is right. Then your Junior Brother bids you farewell!¡± Ye Qiu did not say anything else and cupped his hands. Li Yu waved his hand. With a tap of his foot, his figure disappeared on the spot again. ¡°Young Master, are you alright?¡± Zhang Zhizhong rushed forward and asked in concern. ¡°I¡¯m fine. We are fortunate that my senior brother stepped in to save us just in time. Otherwise, we would have really died here!¡± Ye Qiu replied with lingering fear. ¡°Young master, who is this senior brother of yours? To have such power at such a young age is absolutely remarkable!¡± Zhang Zhizhong was also filled with curiosity. ¡°Well, he¡¯s a hermit expert. Once I return home after this war, I¡¯ll be preparing to go under their tutelage!¡± Ye Qiu said with a proud expression, though he didn¡¯t plan on saying much about Li Yu. He felt that Li Yu must be someone who liked to keep a low profile. Otherwise, it would be impossible that not many have heard of him until now with his monstrous capability. If not for the appearance of the Heavenly Dao Rankings, he probably would not have known about Li Yu, much less witnessed how he had killed the demon child with a single strike. It was the same this time. Li Yu had clearly decided to come to the Mo Prefecture to deal with the Wolf King Clan, but he pretended to be indifferent. Since his senior brother liked to keep a low profile, Ye Qiu could not do anything that displeased him. Therefore, he did not tell Zhang Zhizhong too much about Li Yu. Zhang Zhizhong was a clever person. Seeing that Ye Qiu did not elaborate, he did not ask further. He only replied with an ¡°oh¡± and continued, ¡°Young Master, let¡¯s continue on our way. Let¡¯s hurry to Tiger Forest Pass and meet up with General Ye. We¡¯ll be safer over there!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Ye Qiu and the others set off again. There were originally 30 people in the escort party. Now, only six were left. When they arrived at Tiger Forest Pass, it was already evening. It was not a big deal as they finally successfully met up with the army that Ye Guxing brought from the Qing Prefecture and set out for the Jade Peak Pass. Meanwhile, Ye Guxing had already rushed to the front line at Elite Peak Pass on his flying spirit beast. At present, the Wolf King¡¯s clan army had amassed outside Elite Peak Pass, ready to attack at any moment. There was an urgent need for a general to oversee the battle, so Ye Guxing rushed over first. ¡­ To the north of Elite Peak Pass, the once prosperous cities had turned into a living hell in the human world. It was filled with desolation, corpses were everywhere, and blood flowed like a river. The fire burnt the buildings in the city, and thick smoke filled the sky. A portion of the men from the Wolf King¡¯s clan had stayed in the city. They were still plundering the remaining wealth and women. They cruelly killed the commoners who survived, not even letting children off. The main army of the Wolf King clan had already headed south to Elite Peak Pass and was stationed there temporarily. They were prepared to break through the newly established defense line of the Great Xia Dynasty at any moment. At the entrance of the army camp, a group of tall and ferocious Wolf King clan soldiers escorted dozens of teenage girls and more than a hundred captured soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty into the army camp. The few in the lead were riding steelback wolves with a body as robust as a cow. ¡°You guys send these girls to the wolf king¡¯s tent first!¡± The leader of the group ordered. These were the women newly captured from the nearby cities, and they were preparing to offer them to their Wolf King and the various commanders for their enjoyment. ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Those few soldiers received the order and quickly escorted the frightened girls to the wolf king¡¯s tent. ¡°The rest of you will send these captives to feed the wolves!¡± the leader said. The soldiers received the order and quickly escorted the captured Great Xia Dynasty soldiers towards the area where the wolves were kept. In the wolf area, steelback wolves as strong as cows growled in excitement when they saw the Great Xia Dynasty soldiers being pushed in. Immediately, they opened their bloody mouths and pounced at those soldiers. The miserable human cries and the howls of the steelback wolves echoed through the entire camp, but it did not cause any discomfort to the members of the Wolf King clan. The group of teenage girls turned pale and shivered. ¡°The girl I slept with today is so fair and tender, and she has big breasts!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, the women of this Great Xia Dynasty are so tender and lively. Their cries are pleasant too!¡± ¡°Haha, I heard that the ladies in the south are more beautiful. Once we conquer the imperial capital of the Great Xia Dynasty, we¡¯ll grab a few imperial concubines and princesses to play with. It¡¯ll definitely be awesome!¡± The few Wolf King soldiers escorting the girls discussed loudly with lecherous smiles. However, just as they brought these women to the wolf king¡¯s tent entrance, a figure suddenly appeared behind them. A short sword as thin as a cicada¡¯s wing sliced through their throats in an instant, and they dropped dead in synchrony. The teenage girls were also shocked to see how those Wolf King¡¯s soldiers escorting them had died. However, none of them screamed or made any noise as they only looked around in fear and confusion. Apart from the dead Wolf King clan soldiers and tent guards on the ground, there was no one else. Meanwhile, at this time, singing and dancing were going on in the wolf king¡¯s tent, and everyone was toasting each other. A group of captured dancers was dancing elegantly in the middle of the main tent. As for Wolf King Tharman and the other commanders, they were sitting around in a circle, hugging young girls with tear-stained faces and fear written all over them. They indulged in the wine and meat in celebration while no one noticed that Li Yu¡¯s figure was swaggering in from the tent¡¯s entrance. As soon as Li Yu entered the Wolf King clan¡¯s camp, the system mission panel popped up again. A new mission surfaced: [Kill the Wolf King Tharman and defeat the Wolf King Clan¡¯s army. You can obtain 10 prestige points.] The Wolf King, Tharman, was in cahoots with the Netherworld Demon Sect! Hence, he planned to bring the head of the Wolf King Tharman as a greeting gift to the Netherworld Demon Sect Master. ¡­ Chapter 27 - The Grand Xia Dynasty is Too Scary Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡± A commander sitting closest to the door was the first to notice Li Yu. He immediately grabbed the saber beside him, pushed the woman in his arms away, and stood up. His shout alerted everyone in the tent. All the commanders drew their sabers and jumped up, looking at Li Yu on high alert. The group of dancers quickly retreated to the side. Those women, who were not fully clothed, also hid in the corner of the tent in a panic. They sized up Li Yu carefully, their eyes seemingly suffused with a trace of anticipation. They could all tell that Li Yu was from the Grand Xia Dynasty, and his presence was like a ray of light in the endless darkness. It reignited a glimmer of hope in this group of desperate and terrified women. Li Yu played with the Cicada Sword in his hand as he walked to the center of the tent with a faint smile. A group of commanders swiftly stood in front of the Wolf King, Tharman, and surrounded Li Yu. ¡°Don¡¯t move! If you do, we won¡¯t hesitate to kill you!¡± a commander yelled. Actually, they were slightly afraid. For this boy to enter their tent silently, his ability must be extraordinary. Therefore, no one dared to act rashly. Li Yu did not look anywhere else as he stared at Wolf King Tharman, who sat in the main seat. He treated the surrounding commanders as nobodies. ¡°You¡¯re Tharman?¡± Li Yu asked coldly. ¡°You¡¯re right, kid. You have the guts to barge into my tent alone. But since you¡¯re here, don¡¯t¡­¡± Tharman wanted to unleash another wave of verbal attacks. However, Li Yu¡¯s figure vanished on the spot. At the same time, the two tall and burly commanders who were blocking Tharman¡¯s path were blasted away by a powerful force. Wolf King Tharman¡¯s expression switched drastically. Although he could not see Li Yu¡¯s figure at all, he still kicked up the table in front of him in an attempt to stop Li Yu while he rolled to the side. He moved as fast as lightning. In the eyes of others, his actions were already unbelievably quick. However, he was facing Li Yu. Just as he drew his saber and stood up, he was pressed down by a hand. A terrifying aura pressed down on him like a mountain, causing his hair to stand on end. He tried to struggle, but he realized that his body could not move at all under the terrifying power. ¡°My King!¡± All the commanders looked in shock. Everything had happened too quickly. By the time anyone could react, the two commanders had only just flown out of the tent. Their Wolf King, Tharman, had actually been captured by that young brat. It was simply unbelievable! ¡°Brat, you¡¯re formidable. I accept my defeat in your hands. I just want to know what kind of benefits the Grand Xia Emperor gave you that made you¡­¡± Slit¡­ With a flash from the Cicada Sword, Tharman¡¯s head left his neck. He was completely overpowered. The Wolf King planned to use the ¡°Great Talking Technique¡± to give himself a chance. Little did he expect Li Yu to not give him any chances. Young people are too impulsive, after all. Sprouting too much nonsense! Li Yu thought to himself. He had not come here to chat with the Wolf King. He was in a hurry because he had to rush to the Netherworld Demon Sect and save his father. At this moment, the system¡¯s voice sounded. ¡°Ding¡­ Tiger Soul Saber obtained successfully!¡± At the same time, the mission progress of the divine weapon collection became 6 / 20. Li Yu did not expect to find that the wolf king¡¯s saber was actually a spirit artifact. Not bad. I actually got an unexpected gain! ¡­ The commanders shivered in fear when they saw the Wolf King killed, and they instinctively took a step back. Their rough faces were filled with terror like the women they had humiliated earlier. After all, their Wolf King was a late-stage Transcendent realm expert. He could thrash every commander present alone. However, the strongest person in their clan, the almighty Wolf King¡­ He was killed by this brat without any chance to fight back at all. He was too terrifying. At the same time, the girls who were squatting together in the corner seemed to have vented their hatred. Their gazes upon Li Yu were filled with worship and admiration. They now believed in miracles again! At this moment, the brief shouting and fighting in the main tent attracted the attention of the surrounding Wolf King clansmen. However, they only saw that the guards around the tent were all killed, and the two commanders who were punched out stopped breathing on the spot. Everyone knew that something big had happened as they hurriedly gathered people and surrounded the tent. However, not knowing the situation in the tent, they did not dare to rush in at the moment. Meanwhile, in the tent, the ten-odd commanders stepped back slowly. They knew that they were no match for Li Yu, so they only had one thought in their minds. Run! Sensing that their men had already surrounded the tent, they planned to escape among the chaos. Unfortunately, Li Yu did not intend to show mercy. He put away the Cicada Sword, pulled out the sword on his back, and swung it horizontally without hesitation. The terrifying sword might was like a giant and invisible blade that instantly cleaved the dozen or so Wolf King clan commanders into two from their waists. The sword might did not stop after killing these commanders. It continued to cut through the surrounding cloth of the tent and swept towards the soldiers outside the tent. Swoosh! A huge hole was cut into the dense human wall. Countless Wolf King clan soldiers were sliced in half. Their corpses were even blown backward by the shockwave generated by the sword might. The rest of the surrounding soldiers were instantly horrified at the sight of this. What kind of terrifying divine power is this! At the same time, Li Yu¡¯s figure walked out of the tent with the head of Wolf King Tharman in his hand. ¡°Wolf King!¡± ¡°He killed the Wolf King!¡± ¡°Our Wolf King is dead!¡± Everyone from the Wolf King Clan was shocked, and their gazes at Li Yu were filled with horror. Although they had a few thousand men surrounding the tent, Li Yu¡¯s oppressive aura made them terrified to the point of ceaselessly retreating. Currently, Li Yu was not a young man in their eyes but a terrifying god of death! ¡°Kill him and avenge the Wolf King!¡± someone shouted. Some men who were not afraid of death were daring enough to charge toward Li Yu. Li Yu remained calm as he tapped his feet and jumped up into the air. Then, he slashed down from the sky. The might of the sword was vast and earth-shattering that could sweep through thousands of armies. The strike seemed to have brought the sky down along with its immense pressure. The tens of thousands of Wolf King clansmen below were pressed to the ground by the terrifying sword might. Their bodies turned cold, and their hearts trembled. As for the ones in the middle of the sword might, they could not withstand it at all. Their bodies exploded with a bang, transforming into bits of flesh and blood. The ground beneath their feet cracked under the terrifying sword might. Thick, widening cracks spread in all directions. The earth shook as if the sky was about to collapse. A huge ravine appeared in the middle of the sword might, extending for hundreds of meters. This strike from Li Yu petrified all the members of the Wolf King Clan in the camp. They looked at the airborne Li Yu in horror, as well as the wolf king¡¯s head in his hand. No one thought of putting up resistance anymore. That single sword strike earlier was like the divine might of the Heavenly Dao. It was too horrifying. This person¡¯s powers had already gone beyond their level of understanding. He could only be described as a god. And how could a mortal resist a god? They did not have the slightest doubt that as long as this man had the intent, he could kill these hundreds of thousands of people with a single move. Run, run away! The Wolf King¡¯s army was utterly scared out of their wits by this strike. They immediately scattered and fled as if they were escaping from a disaster. No one dared to look back and kept sprinting north. They only had one thought in their minds now¡ªgo home! ¡°The Grand Xia Dynasty is too scary!¡± ¡­ Chapter 28 - Do You Guys Really Think Youre Here As Guests? Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Jade Peak Pass, in the city tower. Ye Guxing looked at the sand table in front of him with a frown. The other generals beside him were also silent with grave expressions. The enemy had a 500,000-strong army and was brave and ferocious. The Wolf King had the capability of a late-stage Transcendence realm. Coupled with his inborn divine strength, even Ye Guxing was not his match. There were no more than 50,000 guards in Jade Peak Pass now. Even if they had the geographical advantage, it was still a mammoth task to stop the Wolf King¡¯s 500,000 men army. As for the troops he had brought along and the reinforcements he had ordered to transfer over from other places, it would take at least two days for everyone to rush over. If the Wolf King¡¯s army launched an all-out siege, then Jade Peak Pass might not be able to hold on until reinforcements arrived. Therefore, he had to think of a way to delay the Wolf King¡¯s army here. Otherwise, if Jade Peak Pass fell, who knew how many commoners would be implicated. ¡°General! Our scouts have reported that an unknown expert has infiltrated the enemy¡¯s camp and killed the Wolf King Tharman, scaring off the Wolf King¡¯s army into retreat. Right now, the hundreds of thousands of Wolf King¡¯s men have already begun fleeing to the north in a panic! ¡°A soldier ran in and reported. ¡°Really? That¡¯s great news!¡± Ye Guxing was overjoyed, and the few generals were also surprised with joy. However, after the surprise, Ye Guxing was also slightly shocked. An unknown expert? What kind of expert could scare off the Wolf King¡¯s army of 500,000 by himself? The Wolf King¡¯s clan¡¯s army is battle-hardened, ferocious, and fearless. To be able to scare these guys into fleeing for their lives, just how terrifying is that mysterious expert? I never knew our Great Xia Dynasty had such a powerhouse! It was true that he was stunned, but Ye Guxing was more elated. The huge rock that was weighing on his heart disappeared instantly. He was incessantly worried about how to stop the Wolf King¡¯s army¡¯s advance as the entire Great Xia Dynasty was at risk. He had not expected such a shocking turn of events. He truly needed to thank that mysterious expert who had helped him. With the Wolf King killed, the clan¡¯s army was without a leader and was already routed. It presented them with the perfect opportunity to counterattack. ¡°Du Chao, listen up!¡± ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± ¡°Lead 20,000 cavalry and follow me out of the city to pursue the Wolf King Clan. We must drive these guys out of the Mo Prefecture and reclaim the lost land!¡± Ye Guxing ordered. ¡°Yes, sir!¡± ¡­ Li Yu happily received the 10 Prestige Points from the system as he watched the Wolf King¡¯s army flee. His Prestige had already reached 29 / 100. As long as he eliminates the Netherworld Demon Sect, his progress would be half complete. Li Yu did not loiter around after putting the Wolf King Tharman¡¯s head into the system¡¯s storage space. He tapped his foot onto the air and flew off. The Netherworld Demon Sect was located in the northwest area of the Mo Prefecture, close to Mingchang Mountain. It was unexplored and filled with demonic beasts. As he had triggered the system mission this time, Li Yu found that place with ease with the system¡¯s guidance. As soon as he entered the Netherworld Demon Sect¡¯s territory, a few disciples obstructed Li Yu¡¯s path. ¡°Who are you? How dare you trespass into our Netherworld Demon Sect! Those people looked at Li Yu with vigilance. The fact that this man could arrive here by himself was very telling of his abilities. ¡°Go report to your sect master that I, Li Yu, have come to give him a gift!¡± Li Yu said. He did not intend to force his way in. After all, his father was in their hands. It was not too late to attack after saving his father. Those Netherworld Demon Sect disciples were shocked. They had naturally heard of Li Yu¡¯s name. After all, everyone knew who topped the Hidden Dragon Rankings. The few of them did not speak. One disciple quickly went to report while the others kept on guard. After a while, that person flew back again and said, ¡°Come with me!¡± Li Yu followed that disciple directly to the main hall of the Netherworld Demon Sect, the Nether Hall. There were quite a few people in the hall at the moment. Besides the Sect Master Mo Lin, there were a few elders and more than ten core disciples. Li Qingyun was also among them, but his body was sealed by a piece of magic equipment that immobilized him. However, his expression was relaxed and content as he looked at the hall entrance with anticipation. When he saw Li Yu arrive, he immediately said with a grin, ¡°Yu¡¯er, I heard that you¡¯re the first on the Hidden Dragon Rankings. You really make me proud!¡± That day, he found out about the Hidden Dragon Rankings from Mo Lin, and he also found out that Mo Lin¡¯s true intention was to get rid of Li Yu and obtain the Heavenly Spirit Pill and the Chongming Bird. Hearing his father speaking, Li Yu could finally confirm that his father was safe and sound. He could not help but feel relieved. Then, he smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s only the ranking within the Great Xia Dynasty. There¡¯s nothing to be proud of here. ¡°As for you, have you gotten any money after leaving the mountain for so long? Let me tell you, I¡¯ve already taken the liberty of changing our sect¡¯s name. The original name was too awful. Now that our sect is pretty famous, we should give it a better name. So I used your name to change it to Qingyun Sect. This name sounds much better, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Oh, by the way, the bandits from the Juyi Hall came to rob us, and I got rid of them. I got a lot of money and treasures from their village. Also, a few days ago, I won a lot of spirit stones from gambling with various family clans and nobles. ¡°Right now, we have sufficient funds for the expansion of the sect, and construction works have started these few days too. I believe that when we return, the Hall of Mount Gate should be almost completed!¡± ¡°Haha, my son is amazing! I didn¡¯t expect that you would actually do so much when I¡¯m not around!¡± Li Qingyun laughed heartily. Li Yu and Li Qingyun began chatting. Mo Lin, who was sitting in the front seat, grimaced. Is there something wrong with this father and son¡¯s heads? They are about to die, and they don¡¯t even know it? They even chat here as if they haven¡¯t met in a long time. Do you two think you¡¯re here as my guests? The elders of the Netherworld Demon Sect and the dozen core disciples at the side looked at Li Yu and Li Qingyun as if they were looking at fools. ¡°Li Yu, have you brought them?¡± Mo Lin asked. He tried to interrupt Li Yu and Li Qingyun¡¯s conversation. However, Li Yu completely ignored him and continued to speak to Li Qingyun. ¡°Right, Dad, I did something pretty cool on the way here!¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Li Qingyun was curious. Bang! Mo Lin was so angry that he crushed the chair¡¯s armrest and stood up. A terrifying aura spread out, and his gaze seemed like it could kill. However, Li Yu only took a casual glance at him and continued, ¡°I killed the Wolf King Tharman who invaded the Mo Prefecture and scared away the Wolf King¡¯s army while I was at it!¡± ¡°That¡¯s my good son. You look more and more like me back in the day!¡± Li Qingyun laughed again. ¡°You killed Tharman?¡± Mo Lin, who was about to flare up, looked at Li Yu in surprise. The others in the hall were also startled before they scoffed. Although Tharman¡¯s ability was not considered the best, he was still a late-stage Transcendent expert. Furthermore, he had the protection of those hundreds of thousands of soldiers. How could it be that easy to kill him and even intimidate the Wolf King¡¯s army to retreat at the same time? It was rare to see someone brag to this extent! The father and son were really ridiculous! The surrounding disciples of the Netherworld Demon Sect looked at Li Yu with disdain. If there was a ranking for bragging on the Heavenly Dao Rankings, they believed that Li Yu would probably top that too. ¡°Oh yes, speaking of which, I remember now¡ªSect Master Mo Lin, I¡¯ve brought you a greeting gift!¡± Li Yu finally brought his attention to Mo Lin. Immediately, he took out the head of Wolf King Tharman from the system storage and threw it to Mo Lin. Seeing the Wolf King Tharman¡¯s head, Mo Lin¡¯s eyes widened. He looked at Li Yu in utter disbelief. He was also skeptical when he heard Li Yu¡¯s words earlier. And no words could describe how shocked he was at that moment. This brat really killed the Wolf King Tharman. How is this possible! ¡­ Chapter 29 - True Explosion on the Spot Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios He killed the Wolf King Tharman?? The Elders of the Netherworld Demon Sect could not believe it and quickly arrived beside Mo Lin. Upon closer inspection, they were shocked. It was really Tharman! On the other hand, the expressions of the 10 plus core disciples changed drastically. The disdain from before instantly transformed into shock. When they looked at Li Yu again, their gaze was filled with fear and shock. At this moment, someone appeared by Li Yu¡¯s side¡ªLi Qingyun. Li Yu had just taken the opportunity while Mo Lin and the others were distracted by the Wolf King¡¯s head to feel shocked. He sped to Li Qingyun¡¯s side, crushed the magic treasure that bound him, and pulled him to retreat far away. The entire process happened in a flash. Before Mo Lin and the others could react, Li Yu and Li Qingyun had already retreated dozens of meters away. Upon seeing this, Mo Lin¡¯s expression darkened, and he was even more stunned. Li Yu really had some ability to have such a wicked movement technique and shocking speed that he could take Li Qingyun away from under his nose in a flash. It seems that the only reason he could kill Tharman was because of his strange movement technique and speed. Mo Lin naturally did not know it was all routine for Li Yu. After all, he felt that Li Yu was a brat who was still wet behind the ears. No matter how monstrous his talent was, how strong could Li Yu be? Mo Lin was at the Soul Formation Intermediate Stage, and his physical body had reached the Soul Conduit realm. He was not afraid of even late-stage or peak-stage Soul Formation experts. With such power, he could even kill ten Tharman in one slap! Therefore, when he saw Li Yu save Li Qingyun, Mo Lin did not panic. This was their territory. Even if he managed to break Li Qingyun free, it was utterly impossible to leave here alive. Not mentioning whether Li Yu could get through him, even if he was lucky to escape, he could forget about breaking out of their sect¡¯s Protective Mountain Array. ¡°Dad, when did you find out about my true strength?¡± Li Yu asked curiously. From his father¡¯s attitude just now, he could tell that his father must have known his true strength. It was no wonder that no matter where he went in the past, his father never said a thing. He even suspected that his father did not care about him at all. Now, it was just that his father was never worried about his safety. ¡°Hehe, I¡¯m your father, and I watched you grow up. I¡¯ll know what kind of shit you had when you stick your butt out!¡± Li Qingyun laughed. ¡°Dad, we¡¯re cultured people. Can¡¯t you use some elegant adjectives!¡± Li Yu was speechless. ¡°I¡¯m just afraid that you don¡¯t understand!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Now I really want to send him back into Mo Lin¡¯s loving arms and leave! However, Li Yu was already used to it. Such was the daily mode of communication between him and his father. This was how his father was. He was usually rude! They were just short of calling each other brothers. Yep, that¡¯s my father! Li Yu did not doubt the authenticity of his father at all. ¡°Dad, Netherworld Demon Sect cannot be left alone!¡± Li Yu changed the topic. ¡°Yeah, so are you confident in destroying them?¡± ¡°En, more or less. As long as Dad doesn¡¯t hold me back!¡± Li Qingyun: ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go first then!¡± ¡°Where can you go without me? You mean jog on the spot?¡± Li Qingyun: ¡°¡­¡± That¡¯s definitely my son. When he starts speaking like this, he¡¯s not inferior to me back in my time in the slightest. ¡°You¡¯d better stay here and watch my performance!¡± Li Yu stepped forward and loosened up his wrist and neck. Mo Lin was so angry that his eyes were about to explode. What are the two of you doing here, doing crosstalk? Do you think we don¡¯t exist? Not only did you not flee, you even said in front of us that you would destroy our sect. Who gave you all the courage! Do you really think that you¡¯re invincible just because you killed one Tharman? I¡¯m in the Soul Formation Stage! One single slap from me is enough to turn Tharman into dregs, and a sneeze is enough to scare the Wolf King¡¯s army away. You¡¯re in my territory, and you¡¯re still so arrogant? Don¡¯t you know what the word death means? ¡°Li Qingyun, I really don¡¯t know where you and your son got the courage from. You must be making the most of your final chit-chat before you die. Alright, are you two done talking? It¡¯s time to die!¡± Mo Lin shouted angrily. A powerful aura instantly spread out, and a terrifying pressure enveloped the entire hall. The core disciples at the side could not help revealing their fearful faces, and their entire bodies seemed to become dispirited. The pressure unleashed by a Soul Formation Stage cultivator was simply too terrifying. However, Li Yu¡¯s expression did not change, nor did his heart skip a beat. He used his fingers to pick his nose and flicked the booger onto Mo Lin¡¯s clothes. He mocked, ¡°This little pressure of yours is not even a tenth of the demon child¡¯s. Stop embarrassing yourself and keep that aura!¡± Li Yu¡¯s words were simply like a sharp blade that stabbed into Mo Lin¡¯s heart, angering him to the verge of simply exploding on the spot. And what made him even angrier was that the bragging was practically endless. Demon child? No way you¡¯ve fought the demon child before! Mo Lin could no longer hold back. He released his aura and instantly rushed towards Li Yu, slapping out with his palm. Demonic energy gathered in his palm, condensing into a giant palm print that seemed to carry the power of heaven and earth as it smashed toward Li Yu. He could have used his magic power to slap Li Yu to death through the air, but he did not do that. He wanted to use his palm to experience the feeling of his palm slapping Li Yu into meat paste. This was the only way to quash the anger in his heart. As Mo Lin rushed toward him, Li Yu¡¯s expression instantly turned serious. He blocked Li Qingyun behind him and didn¡¯t dodge while drawing his sword. Boom! The moment the longsword was swung, the world seemed to tremble. Space twisted as a terrifying sword might poured out. Sensing the power of Li Yu¡¯s sword, the expression of the charging Mo Lin changed. A chill instantly rushed up to his head. The anger on his face was replaced by terror. This strike instantly reminded him of the terror he felt when he was dominated by Li Qingyun. That trauma made him sense the danger of death. Having lived to his age, he had seen many experts and experienced countless life and death battles. He was all too aware of how terrifying this strike of Li Yu¡¯s was. He did not have the time to think about how Li Yu could have such terrifying strength at such a young age or if Li Yu had really fought the demonic child. He only knew that this strike was enough to take his life! Therefore, he immediately struck out with his palm, using the palm mark condensed by magic power to withstand the attack. At the same time, he retreated rapidly and released all his magic power to protect his body. He also summoned various life-saving magic treasures to form defensive barriers in front of him. There were gigantic shield-shaped magic treasures, energy screens, and magic barriers formed by talismans. There was also a magic treasure looking like a turtle shell that covered his chest. Including the magic scale armor he wore, a black-scaled defense layer formed on the surface of his body, he was armed to the teeth! However, all these defensive magic treasures were as fragile as clay sculptures before the might of Li Yu¡¯s sword. Bang bang bang bang bang¡­ As the sword might advanced, all the protective magic treasures that Mo Lin brought out collapsed. Yet, the sword might didn¡¯t slow down as it instantly penetrated Mo Lin¡¯s body. Mo Lin felt as if countless sharp blades were stabbing into his body all at the same time, turning into boundless energy that exploded. ¡°No!¡± He screamed as his body exploded, sending blood and flesh flying. Silence rang out. The elders of the Netherworld Demon Sect and the dozen core disciples at the side seemed as if they had seen a ghost, and they were dumbstruck while their entire bodies went cold. Their sect master, the great Soul Formation Stage old monster with a powerful Soul Conduit realm body, was actually insta-killed by a single strike. They were utterly petrified! ¡­ Chapter 30 - Provoked The Wrong Person Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Nether Hall. A strange black symbol suddenly appeared from the pool of flesh and blood of Mo Lin¡¯s remains. It seemed branded on the ground. Li Yu looked over in surprise, but he heard Li Qingyun say from behind him, ¡°Mo Lin isn¡¯t dead yet!¡± ¡°Huh!¡± Li Yu was astounded, and he was just about to execute another strike when he was stopped by Li Qingyun. ¡°This body is already dead. However, this fellow cultivates the Blood Soul Reincarnation Art. Every time he¡¯s killed, he will be resurrected in another body that has a demonic seed planted in it. ¡°That time, he used this method to escape from my sword twice. However, every time he resurrects, his strength will be greatly reduced! He might even directly drop by a major realm!¡± Li Qingyun said. ¡°Then how can we annihilate him for good?¡± Li Yu was slightly surprised. He did not expect Mo Lin to have such a strange ability. ¡°Find the reincarnated Mo Lin and kill him. The Blood Soul Reincarnation Art can¡¯t be used twice in a row. Plus, the demonic seed he reincarnated with wouldn¡¯t be too far from him. Therefore, it is definitely in the body of one of the disciples here in this sect. ¡°For this spell to be successful, the person who got implanted with the demonic seed had to have high compatibility with his soul. It must be nurtured inside the body for at least 50 years. And it had to fuse with the body at a high level. ¡°After reincarnation, it will take at least an hour to completely fuse and control a new body,¡± said Li Qingyun. ¡°But we still can¡¯t tell who the reincarnated Mo Lin is!¡± Li Yu frowned. ¡°After Mo Lin reincarnates, his appearance will not change. Also, there will be a mark on his forehead resembling the black symbol on the ground. Plus, the mark will not disappear for a short period of time!¡± Li Qingyun said. In the past, he had carefully studied this technique in order to deal with those people from the demonic path who cultivated the Blood Soul Reincarnation Art. This art could not be interrupted with a physical attack. If one wanted to stop someone¡¯s reincarnation, he would have to first use a sealing-type spell or a magic treasure to seal him inside before killing him. Otherwise, it would be impossible to stop the reincarnation process. However, this reincarnation technique could not be used freely. Every reincarnation would burn the user¡¯s lifespan while reducing his cultivation level considerably. Furthermore, the higher the cultivation realm, the greater the burning of lifespan. For someone like Mo Lin, who had a Soul Formation Stage cultivation, his lifespan would probably be reduced by four to five hundred years after this reincarnation. As Li Yu and Li Qingyun spoke, the elders of the Netherworld Demon Sect and the dozen disciples recovered from their shock. Without a word, he turned around and wanted to run. If they could not even beat their sect master, rushing over was equivalent to seeking death. However, a cold glint flashed through Li Yu¡¯s eyes. Another sword strike! Rumble¡­ The enormous sound alarmed the entire Netherworld Demon Sect. The once majestic Nether Hall collapsed with a bang under the shocked gazes of all the disciples. Thick smoke sprang up as airwaves surged. Two figures flew out from within. They were Li Yu and Li Qingyun. At the same time, the other elders and disciples of the Netherworld Demon Sect rushed over from the surroundings and surrounded the two of them. They did not know what had just happened in the Nether Hall. However, when they saw the two strangers fly out of the ruins, everyone immediately drew their swords and looked at them with killing intent. ¡­ An underground chamber under the Nether Hall. A middle-aged man sat cross-legged on a circular platform, strange black runes surfacing on his glabella. At the same time, black patterns spread throughout his body from the symbol on his glabella. A strange light lingered over his body as his skin and muscles squirmed. It was as if countless small snakes were swimming around under his skin, a sight not for the faint-hearted. After around ten minutes, the middle-aged man¡¯s appearance changed to Mo Lin¡¯s, and his body stopped twisting and squirming. He opened his eyes. Although his face was expressionless, there was lingering fear in his heart. The fear of death could not dissipate for a moment. That sword strike from Li Yu was simply too terrifying. He even felt that the demon child had been killed by Li Yu. Just who in the world is this kid? How could he possess such horrifying strength? Mo Lin could not understand. With the ability to kill him with a single strike, Li Yu¡¯s cultivation should at least be at the Rebirth Realm. A 17-year-old Rebirth Realm expert! If he did not see it with his own eyes, he would never believe that such a monstrous person exists in the world. Of course, it was not the time to think about these questions. Boom! The earth shook as if there was an earthquake. The entire chamber trembled. He knew very well that Li Yu was probably unleashing a massacre on the surface. With his terrifying strength, his sect was probably doomed. Mo Lin suddenly recalled his conversation with Li Qingyun that day. ¡°You want to use me to lure Li Yu over here!?¡± ¡°Your Netherworld Demon Sect is finished!¡± It turned out that Li Qingyun was not bluffing. Li Yu did have the strength to destroy their Netherworld Demon Sect. He was really regretting it now. His sect was probably really going to be destroyed by this boy. He didn¡¯t even know if he could escape from the Netherworld Demon Sect alive after his reincarnation. Although he had already successfully reincarnated, his soul and body still needed some time to fuse before he could control this body. Moreover, even after complete fusion, his cultivation would directly drop to the Nascent Soul realm. In front of Li Yu, he was as weak as an ant. Right at that moment, the secret room¡¯s door was suddenly pushed open, and two figures walked in. The one in front was a ghost-like figure. His feet could not be seen under the black robe, and under the hood, two balls of ghostly lights gleamed. Behind him was a young man with masculine facial features. He was Gu Cangming, who was ranked third on the Hidden Dragon Rankings. ¡°Sect Master Mo Lin, you are indeed here. It seems like that brat has killed you!¡± A hollow voice sounded from the black-robed figure. ¡°Mister Wu Chang, how¡¯s the situation outside?¡± Mo Lin asked worriedly. ¡°No one could stand in his way. More than a hundred disciples have already died. As we speak, a group of Elders is leading all the disciples to protect the formation, temporarily trapping him within. ¡°However, we think he is at least at the Rebirth Realm, and the Protective Mountain Array will not likely trap him! Our only hope lies in the Demonic Carnage Sword¡¯s completion! Perhaps we can rely on the strength of the Demonic Carnage Sword to stop that kid. ¡°Let¡¯s fuse together and control the power of the Demonic Carnage Sword. Even if we can¡¯t kill him, we should at least force him back!¡± said Mister Wu Chang. ¡°Master, I¡¯m willing to sacrifice my blood essence to the sword!¡± Gu Cangming stepped forward with a determined look. He knew that he would definitely die today during the sect¡¯s calamity, so he might as well die with purpose. As long as the Demon Carnage Sword is complete, it might help grasp a chance of survival for the sect. Hearing Gu Cangming¡¯s proposal, Mo Lin went silent for a moment. In fact, the Demonic Carnage Sword had long been forged. All there was left was for him to use the Five Elements Blood Spirit Array to refine the Demonic Carnage Sword, so he would be able to condense the power of demon gods in it. It would become a true unrivaled demonic sword. As for the five-element spirit physiques needed for the Five Elements Blood Spirit Array, he had already gathered them. It was just that the metal spirit body was his most valued disciple, Gu Cangming. Therefore, Mo Lin did not have the heart to sacrifice his blood essence to the sword, so he thought of Perfected Yu Hua. Therefore, he secretly schemed with the Black Sea¡¯s greater demon, the Mystic Flood Dragon, and set up a trap to capture the elders and disciples of the Jade Pure Dao Sect. He hoped to use this to draw Perfected Yu Hua over, who also had the Metal Spirit Body, and use his blood essence to sacrifice for the sword. Initially, he had everything under control. He only regretted making a wrong move and provoked someone he shouldn¡¯t have. It resulted in the catastrophe today. Looking at Gu Cangming, Mo Lin hesitated again and again. Although he could not bear to part with this disciple, he didn¡¯t want to die just like this, nor did he want the Netherworld Demon Sect to be doomed in this manner. Therefore, he made up his mind and nodded. Gu Cangming cupped his hands with a firm look. He did not say anything else and followed Mister Wu Chang out of the secret chamber. ¡­ Chapter 31 - Annihilation Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios The captured members of the Jade Pure Dao Sect were imprisoned in the Netherworld Demon Sect¡¯s underground dungeon. The dungeon was filled with restrictions. Any attempts to break it with magic power were practically impossible. Not to mention, everyone was severely injured and suppressed by the restriction, making it difficult for them to breathe. They had messy hair and dirty faces. Their bodies lacked vitality, and their eyes were filled with despair and emptiness. This was especially apparent for Elder Xu and Elder Chu, who lay paralyzed on the ground like mud. There was no luster in their eyes. The two of them had their cultivation crippled and all of their meridians shattered by Mo Lin, and they were now powerless. Although they were still alive, they were already dead inside. Pain and despair overwhelmed them. Rumble! A loud noise shook the earth and mountains. The dungeon trembled too. A few young disciples looked up slightly with surprise in their eyes. Then, there was another rumble as the ground shook again. All the disciples seemed to have thought of something as they looked at each other with glee. ¡°Could it be¡­ our Grandmaster has come to save us?¡± A disciple remarked. They were still young and filled with a strong desire to live. Even if it was just a tiny sliver of hope, it was enough to let them regain their zest. ¡°It should be, judging from the commotion. This is great. The sect master hasn¡¯t abandoned us after all!¡± ¡°Elder Chu, Elder Xu, the sect master is here to save us. We can get out of here!¡± the group of disciples shouted excitedly. 1 However, Elder Chu¡¯s eyes were still lifeless, and he did not say a word. He felt as if his heart had died. So what if he made it out alive? He was already a crippled man. ¡°Kill them. Kill all these bastards!¡± Elder Xu shouted through gritted teeth. His eyes were red and filled with hatred. His cultivation that he had cultivated for hundreds of years was destroyed just like that. This was more painful than death. Hence, he simply hated those from the Netherworld Demon Sect to the bone. He could only be happy after killing them. ¡­ Above the Netherworld Demon Sect, a spherical purple light screen was constantly shrinking. A bolt of violet lightning condensed and slashed down at Li Yu. But it was dispersed by his sword with ease. Outside the light screen, all the elders and hundreds of disciples of the Netherworld Demon Sect were arranged in a strange formation while they formed hand seals in unison. Strange runes surfaced in front of them, connecting with each other. Purple light gathered around them and slowly fused with the light screen of the grand array formation. According to Li Qingyun, they were executing a human formation to support the Protective Mountain Array formation, allowing them to become one with the array. It was similar to becoming one with the sword. This was entirely different from relying on magic power to augment the array. One needed to fuse their vital energies into the formation to become a part of it. Furthermore, everyone was connected through a unique array formation, allowing everyone to become one. It allowed everyone¡¯s power to be focused and unleash its greatest power. It was like ten people pushing a heavy box. Each person taking turns could push the box forward, but if their strength could be fully focused and synchronized, they could move it faster and further. If wheels were added to the bottom of the box and leverage was applied, everyone¡¯s strength could be amplified. Thus, the ten people could push ten boxes or more with ease. Such was the effect of becoming one with the array formation. Everyone¡¯s will was synchronized through it, and their strength was united. Then, through the profoundness of the array formation, everyone¡¯s power would be amplified. It would generate power far greater than the sum of its parts. Of course, there was one flaw. As a part of the grand array, once it got attacked, those disciples would suffer a certain degree of damage. If the grand array was destroyed, they would also suffer a backlash from that power and might be seriously injured or even killed. Hence, when he heard about this from Li Qingyun, Li Yu thought of a method that he could execute to annihilate the Netherworld Demon Sect with a single sword strike. Therefore, he hid his abilities and controlled his strength while only applying pressure on the array. He switched from attack to defense and withstood the array¡¯s attack but did not destroy it. ¡°This brat can¡¯t hold on much longer. Let¡¯s gather the strength of everyone and kill him with the array formation!¡± An elder of the Netherworld Demon Sect shouted loudly. ¡°Yes, elder!¡± The hundreds of disciples answered in unison. At the same time, more Netherworld Demon Sect disciples flew over. They, too, formed hand seals and fused into the formation. The purple glow of the array formation became more and more dazzling while the energy became increasingly powerful. Rumble! The giant array formation was like a glorious heaven¡¯s might, with thunder rumbling. Purple energy gathered in one spot, and a lightning bolt that looked like a flood dragon manifested. Then, it slashed down at Li Yu. Li Yu frowned and used his sword to block. Bang! Amidst the loud explosion, Li Yu and Li Qingyun¡¯s figures hurriedly retreated. Their expressions were grim. Everyone from the Netherworld Demon Sect was ecstatic when they saw it. It seemed like there was a chance of killing him after they fused with the grand array to maximize its power. ¡°All disciples, listen up. Quickly come and support the grand array formation to kill the enemy together. No delay shall be tolerated!¡± The Netherworld Demon Sect¡¯s Grand Elder used his magic power to amplify his voice, and it was like a thunderclap that resounded in the sky of the entire sect. After a moment, more figures flew over from all directions. Before the order, some of them were patrolling the periphery, while others were in seclusion in various cave abodes. Although the commotion earlier had already caught their attention, they didn¡¯t know what was going on. So no one dared leave their posts without orders. Some were merely observing. After all, they were simply unable to imagine how powerful the enemy they were facing was and believed the elders could handle it themselves. However, upon hearing the Great Elder¡¯s orders, they naturally did not dare to delay and flew over one after another. In an instant, there were another two to three hundred people outside the light barrier, and there were already a thousand people. ¡°Everyone, listen up. Merge all your essence, energy, and spirit into the formation. Inject all your magic power into the formation, and we will kill these two in one hit!¡± The Grand Elder continued to shout. He noticed that Li Yu could barely withstand that attack just now. With more disciples joining in, they could definitely kill him with their best shot. Even if they couldn¡¯t kill him, they could still deal a heavy blow. ¡­ Everyone should be here by now! Li Yu thought. Indeed, life was like a show where everything depended on the acting! He had successfully lured everyone from the Netherworld Demon Sect to integrate into the grand array. At the moment, the light screen of the grand formation had become more corporeal and glaring. A powerful pressure weighed down on his head like a mountain. In fact, some of the buildings began cracking under immense pressure. It was as if they were on the verge of collapse. The heavens and the earth quaked as a bedazzling purple light gathered in the sky, reminiscent of the blinding sun. The terrifying energy slowly condensed into a bolt of a purple lightning dragon that roared as it charged toward Li Yu. Li Yu stood in front of Li Qingyun, neither dodging nor evading. His right hand gripped the hilt of his sword as he frowned ever slightly. Crack! The sword slashed out, tearing through the void. The bolt of purple lightning dragon instantly exploded, turning into a dazzling glow that spread in all directions. Space trembled as energy ripples spread out. Everyone from the Netherworld Demon Sect looked at the center of the explosion with anticipation. This was the strongest strike that had gathered all of their strength and used up all of their powers. It should be enough to kill Li Yu, right? Even if he was lucky enough not to die, he would definitely be severely injured and vomit blood, leaving him in a sorry state. However, when the light dissipated, Li Yu remained on the spot with a calm expression. Their best attack that had gathered the power of more than a thousand people in their sect and the Protective Mountain Array¡­ A strike more than enough to level a mountain or kill an elite cultivator at the Profound Void Martial Stage¡­ It did nothing! How is this possible! How is he still unharmed! Is he a monster? Everyone was utterly shocked! Right then, Li Yu looked at the people above him, the corners of his mouth suddenly curved up in a thought-provoking smile. Then, he slashed out! This strike seemed to sever time! All was quiet, and it was as if space had stopped for a moment. In the next second¡­ Bang! The light screen of the array formation exploded. ¡­ Chapter 32 - Another Change in the Hidden Dragon Rankings Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Outside Jade Peak Pass, in the Wolf King¡¯s camp. A group of soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty searched for the weapons, treasures, and other items left behind by the Wolf King¡¯s army. They also rescued the captured prisoners of war and women. Ye Qiu was here as well. Last night, he had learned that the Wolf King had been killed by a mysterious expert and that the Wolf King¡¯s army had fled. He rushed here before the army did with Zhang Zhizhong and the others. ¡°What a terrifying divine power it is to actually tear open such a huge hole in this land! No wonder it could scare off the Wolf King¡¯s 500,000 men army. This is simply the descent of a god into the mortal world!¡± Everyone looked at the cracked ground at the campsite in shock. Especially when they arrived near the enormous ravine that was almost seven to eight meters wide and stretched for several hundreds of meters. The visual impact simply made them feel so tiny and weak. They could finally understand how traumatized the men from the Wolf King Clan were back then. Anyone else would be terrified to the point their souls left their bodies, and they would flee for their lives. Ye Qiu didn¡¯t say anything, but he was extremely excited and proud inside! He was now even more sure that this was done by Li Yu. In the entire Xia Dynasty, only he could have such terrifying strength. Looking at the ravine in front of him, he imagined the scene at that time. Li Yu entered the enemy camp alone and killed the Wolf King. Afterward, the might of the next sword strike collapsed the earth, scaring away the Wolf King¡¯s army of 500,000 men. In the end, he left without revealing his identity as fame was irrelevant to him. Thinking to this point, Ye Qiu couldn¡¯t help but want to clap for Li Yu and cheer for him. This is what a true expert, a true hero, is all about! Such a magnificent achievement is unprecedented. Such a heroic feat should be respected by all. Any good man should be like my senior brother! When can I become a powerhouse like Senior Brother! The admiration Ye Qiu had for Li Yu flowed like an endless river. Right then, a sudden commotion broke out among the soldiers nearby, and everyone looked over curiously. Those soldiers were looking at the Heavenly Dao Rankings in the southeast with surprised faces. At the moment, the names of everyone from the Netherworld Demon Sect on the glittering Hidden Dragon Rankings had begun to vanish one at a time. ¡°The name of the members from the Netherworld Demon Sect has disappeared!¡± ¡°What happened? Perhaps someone got rid of the Netherworld Demon Sect?¡± The soldiers were abuzz and couldn¡¯t contain their excited faces. The main culprit of the Wolf King¡¯s clan¡¯s invasion was the Netherworld Demon Sect, so the soldiers hated the Netherworld Demon Sect to the bone. It was especially so since many of these soldiers were from the Mo Prefecture to begin with. In the past few decades, they¡¯d frequently endured being pushed around by the Netherworld Demon Sect disciples. Of course, they were also afraid. As long as the Netherworld Demon Sect was not eliminated, the Grand Xia Dynasty would never have peace. Did Senior Brother eliminate the Netherworld Demon Sect as well?! Ye Qiu was also shocked. If the Wolf King Clan was like a thorn in the back to the Great Xia Dynasty, then the Netherworld Demon Sect was the sword that hung above their heads. Although the Netherworld Demon Sect did not want the Grand Xia Dynasty to collapse completely, they would become a shit-stirrer for their own benefits. They instigated wars and caused trouble everywhere while the commoners were the ones who were suffering. Of course, commoners might be worthless in their eyes. However, they were all living people who had parents and families, just like his third uncle, who had died in battle. Hence, if the Netherworld Demon Sect was eliminated for good, it would simply be too satisfying for everyone. My Third Uncle can now rest in peace. Ah. I told Senior Brother the other day that the Netherworld Demon Sect worked with the Wolf King Clan to invade Mo Prefecture. Senior Brother must have eradicated the Netherworld Demon Sect altogether to eliminate all future troubles. Oh my senior brother. Oh you¡¯re too awesome! Ye Qiu really didn¡¯t know what to say to express his current feelings and admiration for Li Yu. ¡­ The main hall of the Jade Pure Dao Sect. Perfected Yu Hua had invited the elders of the Great Sky Dao Sect, the Five Elements Sect, the Star Dou Sect, and other orthodox sects of the Great Xia Dynasty for a meeting. They had gathered to discuss dealing with the Netherworld Demon Sect together. After they heard that the Netherworld Demon Sect was refining the peerless sword, the Demonic Carnage Sword, everyone was shocked as they denounced and cursed. However, when Perfected Yu Hua proposed to gather the strength of various sects to attack the Netherworld Demon Sect and destroy the forging of the Demonic Carnage Sword, everyone went silent. They looked at each other with hesitation. They knew that the Netherworld Demon Sect was becoming more and more prosperous. If they were allowed to grow further, there would come a day when the righteous path would be completely suppressed by the Netherworld Demon Sect. They would be trampled under their feet and be at their mercy by that time. However, a sect war was not a fight between two children where they fought as and when they liked. Furthermore, the world was on the verge of total chaos with the appearance of the demon child and greater demons that were wreaking havoc within their areas. No one hoped for another war, especially one facing against the Netherworld Demon Sect that was in full swing. At that time, the other fiend sects would definitely take the opportunity to launch an attack. In the end, it would evolve into a bloody war between the righteous and fiend sects. Not to mention the final outcome, such a war would definitely deal heavy losses to both sides, and it could even plunge the world into an abyss of misery. The various greater demons would take the opportunity to cause more trouble and bring chaos. At that time, their world would probably experience an unprecedented calamity. Therefore, they felt that this matter was debatable. Some even suggested seeking help from the Clear Void Holy Land and the Limitless Dao Sect, the top Holy Land sects in the Huaxia continent. After all, the Netherworld Demon Sect and the Netherworld Cult came from the same source. And the Clear Void Holy Land and the Limitless Dao Sect would likely not allow a peerless demon sword like the Demonic Carnage Sword to appear. Yet, Perfected Yu Hua was well aware that the entire world was facing troubling times. The Clear Void Holy Land and the Limitless Dao Sect were too busy handling their own matters, so how could they have the time to care about the business of the Great Xia Dynasty? It was not as though all of the orthodox sects of the Great Xia Dynasty were destroyed or that an apocalypse had really befallen the world. This sort of thing was supposed to be handled by the sects of the Great Xia Dynasty. Furthermore, Perfected Yu Hua was feeling anxious! His elders and disciples were in the hands of the Netherworld Demon Sect, and he couldn¡¯t afford to wait any longer. At the end of the meeting, the hall fell into silence. The atmosphere was heavy to the extreme. However, at this moment, an inner sect disciple of the Jade Pure Dao Sect suddenly ran in. ¡°Sect Master, there are major changes in the Heavenly Dao Rankings. The names of those from the Netherworld Demon Sect are disappearing!¡± ¡°What!¡± The crowd immediately had astonished expressions. They rushed out of the hall and looked at the golden scroll in the sky. Indeed, the names of all the disciples of the Netherworld Demon Sect on the Hidden Dragon Rankings had vanished. Even Gu Cangming, who was ranked third, had disappeared. There was no longer a single disciple of the Netherworld Demon Sect on the entire rankings. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Did someone annihilate the Netherworld Demon Sect?¡± The last time this had occurred was when the Heavenly Water Pavilion was destroyed by the demon child. Hence, when they saw the vanishing names, everyone thought of the same thing. ¡°But who could have the ability to annihilate the Netherworld Demon Sect!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s also possible that the Mo Prefecture fell into the territory of the Wolf King Clan, so the Hidden Dragon Rankings automatically removed the disciples of the Netherworld Demon Sect from the rankings of the Grand Xia Dynasty!¡± ¡­ Chapter 33 - Who Drove Off the Wolf Kings Army? Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°Eh? Do you think it¡¯s that demon child? Maybe only he has such capabilities!¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s possible!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Demon Child has been sealed away for countless years, and his powers have reduced significantly. He wouldn¡¯t make enemies everywhere when he has just returned to the world. Although he¡¯s called Demon Child, his intelligence isn¡¯t like any ordinary child. It wasn¡¯t easy for him to regain his freedom, so he wouldn¡¯t dig his own grave like this!¡± ¡°So if that¡¯s the case, what could have happened to the Netherworld Demon Sect? Had Mo Lin been crazy enough to use his disciples as sacrifices to his sword?!¡± Everyone¡¯s imagination ran wild as they came up with all kinds of conjectures. After all, they didn¡¯t dare believe that the Netherworld Demon Sect, at its peak, had really been eradicated. Even though this was what all of them had hoped for. ¡°Why don¡¯t we go take a look together? Perhaps the Netherworld Demon Sect has really been destroyed by the Demon Child or some unknown expert. We might be able to finish off any remnants still alive if we lead the way!¡± said the Sovereign of the Sky Dao Sect. What he said might not seem like much on the surface, but it contained a lot of information. Even though he said it was to finish off the survivors, everyone knew that the meaning behind it was to divide the wealth of the Netherworld Demon Sect. Although the other party was a fiend sect, there was no absolute distinction between orthodox and demonic, such as spirit stones, spirit herbs, medicinal pills, magic treasures, or even some cultivation techniques. Everyone knew how massive the wealth of such a powerful sect possessed. After the Heavenly Water Pavilion was destroyed, those from the Jade Pure Dao Sect had obtained the most benefits since they arrived first. Humans die for wealth, while birds die for food. Although nothing was confirmed yet, everyone was instantly energized and agreed to the proposal. They returned to gather their disciples and prepared to head to the Mo Prefecture together. ¡­ In the Eastern Palace of the Great Xia Dynasty, Murong Xingqiao also saw the changes in the Hidden Dragon Rankings and was rather shocked. ¡°Those from the Netherworld Demon Sect have disappeared!¡± Murong Xingqiao¡¯s heart suddenly began to race. Thinking of the incident at the Heavenly Water Pavilion, a bold idea surfaced in her mind. The Netherworld Demon Sect must have been annihilated! If the Netherworld Demon Sect was really destroyed, it would surely be a joyous occasion for the Great Xia Dynasty. The fiend sects had been rampant for years, wreaking havoc in their areas. The commoners had suffered terribly, but the imperial government could do nothing to deal with the problems. Now, the Netherworld Demon Sect had even colluded with the Wolf King Clan to invade the territory of the Grand Xia Dynasty and murder its citizens. It threatened the peace of the Great Xia Dynasty and drilled fear into everyone in the world. Of course, personally speaking, the Netherworld Demon Sect was a primary threat to her. Murong Xingqiao also knew that the Netherworld Demon Sect was in cahoots with her third brother, Murong Taisheng, and the Luo family. It was precisely her third brother and the Luo Clan who helped the Netherworld Demon Sect grow more prosperous over the years by providing cover for benefits. Nowadays, the sect has become more and more daring. The Wolf King¡¯s clan¡¯s invasion of Mo Prefecture should also be linked to her third brother. He probably wanted to use this opportunity to eliminate the Ye Family¡¯s influence. The Netherworld Demon Sect would have become a trump card for her third brother in the future. Hence, if the Netherworld Demon Sect was really eliminated, then it would remove a huge concern in her heart. However, when she thought of the power of Mo Lin and the Netherworld Demon Sect, Murong Xingqiao felt that it seemed unlikely. In the entire Grand Xia Dynasty, no one could possess such strength. Perfected Yu Hua could only at most tie with Mo Lin. If anyone wanted to destroy the Netherworld Demon Sect, there was no telling whether they could win even with the combined strength of the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s orthodox sects. Although she knew that it was unlikely, she still anticipated good news. After all, something must have happened behind the sudden changes on the Hidden Dragon Rankings. At this moment, Imperial Tutor Wu Cheng suddenly ran over and said after a bow, ¡°Your Highness! I just received news that there was good news from the Mo Prefecture. Wolf King Tharman was killed by a mysterious expert, and the Wolf King Clan¡¯s army was scared off by that expert!¡± ¡°What? Really?¡± Murong Xingqiao¡¯s eyes widened in excitement. She was euphoric. ¡°It¡¯s absolutely true. General Ye has already led the army to hunt down the Wolf King¡¯s remnant troops and recover the lost grounds!¡± ¡°This is great! This is great! God bless my Great Xia Dynasty!¡± Murong Xingqiao was thoroughly thrilled. This piece of news made her even more excited because the unexpected change in the Hidden Dragon Rankings might really be as she had expected. Maybe this mysterious expert attacked the Netherworld Demon Sect as well? If that was the case, this expert¡¯s strength was too terrifying. It was a feat to destroy the Netherworld Demon Sect! Even every known top-notch expert of the Great Xia Dynasty could not do it even if they joined forces. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that there was actually such a peerless expert hidden in our Great Xia Dynasty! I wonder who this person is?¡± Murong Xingqiao¡¯s heart was filled with curiosity. ¡­ In the Prosperity Palace, the third prince, Murong Taisheng, had an ugly expression on his face as he watched the changes in the Hidden Dragon Rankings. It was at this time that a figure suddenly appeared behind him. He bowed with cupped hands and said, ¡°Your Highness, I have bad news. We just received news that Wolf King Tharman was killed by a mysterious expert. The Wolf King¡¯s army fled in panic and was routed!¡± ¡°What? How could this be?¡± Murong Taisheng¡¯s expression drastically changed as he felt his mind buzz. Not long ago, he had found out that the Netherworld Demon Sect had failed to kill Ye Qiu and was instead killed by a mysterious person. He was left shocked and frustrated. When he saw the unexpected change in the Heavenly Dao Rankings moments ago, everyone from the Netherworld Demon Sect had suddenly disappeared, and he had just begun to worry. Right now, he heard the news that the Wolf King¡¯s army had been driven off by a mysterious expert. It was as if he was struck by lightning, and he felt panicky inside. He did not want to link all these things together. But wasn¡¯t this too much of a coincidence? Of course, his worst fear was the possibility that the Netherworld Demon Sect had been eradicated by the same mysterious expert. If that was the case, everything he had painstakingly built over the years would be for naught. For the sake of borrowing the strength of the Netherworld Demon Sect, he hadn¡¯t hesitated to send wealth to the Netherworld Demon Sect for all these years and provided cover for them. With the Wolf King¡¯s clan gone, his chance to eradicate the Ye family¡¯s power was gone. Instead, it gave the Ye family a chance to gain military exploits and prestige. If his backing, the Netherworld Demon Sect, was destroyed too, then his grand plan would be ruined. ¡°Damn! Why did this guy suddenly pop up? He ruined my plan¡­ Mo Ying, do you have any clues about this unknown expert?¡± ¡°Not at the moment, Your Highness. But based on my investigation, it shouldn¡¯t have been done by the top experts of the Great Xia Dynasty. For some reason, they have all gone to the Jade Pure Dao Sect.¡± ¡°Immediately send someone to the Netherworld Demon Sect to investigate the reason for the changes in the rankings!¡± Murong Taisheng ordered as he still held onto the last trace of hope. ¡­ Chapter 34 - Emergence of the Demonic Carnage Sword Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios In the Ye Residence, Yang Shengnan almost cried with joy when she heard the good news from the Mo Prefecture. Ye Guxiong and Ye Qiu¡¯s grandfather, Ye Tianming, were also overjoyed. ¡°Wonderful, the heavens have blessed me. Gu Xing has averted the danger this time!¡± Ye Tianming was naturally worried about Ye Guxing. After all, the situation in the Mo Prefecture was critical. Not to mention the severe lack of troops, the Wolf King Clan had the Netherworld Demon Sect¡¯s support, and it was even possible that some people in the imperial court were colluding with them. He feared that Ye Guxing would die in the Mo Prefecture. ¡°Yes, the heavens are blessing our Great Xia Dynasty! To think that there would be a powerful person helping us at this time. Second Brother and Qiu¡¯er are safe now!¡± Ye Guxiong breathed a sigh of relief. He was all too aware of how deep and muddy the water was in the Mo Prefecture. He had also escaped death this time. Though with the country in trouble, they could not defy the emperor¡¯s order. The men of the Ye family could only rush to the front and take the lead. ¡°I¡¯m afraid Grand Commandant Zhao will be disappointed this time!¡± Ye Tianming said in a deep voice, his eyes filled with coldness. ¡°It turns out Qiu¡¯er isn¡¯t lying to me. That Li Yu he mentioned must be the real deal with extraordinary power. This is unbelievable!¡± Yang Shengnan said from the side, her face full of joy. Out of desperation on that day, she hoped that the Li Yu her son had mentioned would help. She hadn¡¯t thought that Li Yu would really agree to help Ye Qiu. Moreover, she hadn¡¯t expected that Li Yu would actually defeat the Wolf King¡¯s army. This was enough to prove that Ye Qiu was right about him. Li Yu was an extremely extraordinary person with unfathomable strength. ¡°Li Yu? What does this have to do with him?¡± Ye Guxiong and Ye Tianming looked at Yang Shengnan in surprise. They knew Li Yu¡¯s name, but they didn¡¯t understand how this matter had anything to do with Li Yu. ¡°I think the Wolf King¡¯s army was likely driven off by Li Yu!¡± Yang Shengnan said. ¡°Huh?¡± Ye Guxiong and Ye Tianming widened their eyes. ¡­ After Li Yu destroyed the grand array formation with a single strike, it killed almost everyone from the Netherworld Demon Sect. No one could understand how Li Yu could be so strong. After eradicating the Netherworld Demon Sect, Li Yu did not leave. He had to find the reincarnated Mo Lin. After all, if he did not eliminate the roots, there would be no end of trouble. He was not afraid that Mo Lin would threaten his safety, but that was not the case for his father. Furthermore, the system mission required him to kill Mo Lin. All of a sudden, dark clouds loomed above. Dark purple clouds swirled around a central point, forming a vortex. Thick bolts of lightning flashed within as thunder rumbled, shaking the heavens and the earth. Waves of powerful pressure spread down from the sky as if the gods were about to descend. Li Qingyun was shocked as he looked at the phenomenon in the sky. ¡°This is a tribulation cloud. Lightning tribulation has descended. Is someone going to transcend the tribulation, or¡­¡± At the same time, in the depths of the Netherworld Demon Sect. A black sword covered with red veins floated above the altar. The five dried corpses were arranged in all directions according to the five elements. A strange blood-colored totem floated from the altar and slowly shrank. In the end, it turned into a ray of light that assimilated into the sword. Buzz¡ª The sword shook violently as if a demon had awakened. Demonic Qi filled the air. The surrounding space shook. A strange red light illuminated the entire secret chamber. Waves of sword hums were like the roars of demons, causing one¡¯s heart to tremble. ¡°It¡¯s a success! The Demonic Carnage Sword has finally emerged!¡± Mister Wu Chang exclaimed excitedly. The two lurid lights under the black robe flickered intensely. At this moment, the Demonic Carnage Sword suddenly rushed into the sky and shattered the dome with a bang. It was like a dragon that had escaped its restraints and roared through the nine heavens. At the same time, a thick bolt of lightning hacked down from the vortex-like tribulation cloud. Bang! The world shook as lightning struck the Demonic Carnage Sword. The lightning blast created circles of ripples. ¡°It¡¯s a magic treasure undergoing tribulation! To think the Netherworld Demon Sect has an immortal artifact-level magic weapon coming into being!¡± Li Qingyun looked in surprise at the Demonic Carnage Sword that was baptized by the lightning tribulation in mid-air. Magic treasures were divided into magic artifacts, spirit artifacts, and immortal artifacts from low to high. Every grade was divided into four levels: low, middle, high, and supreme. In the Great Xia Dynasty, spirit artifacts were already considered absolute treasures. Immortal artifacts were even rarer. He did not expect that the Netherworld Demon Sect could actually produce a demon sword of the Immortal Artifact level. Bang ~ Bang ~ Bang ~ Lightning tribulations bombarded the Demonic Carnage Sword one after another, producing a total of four lightning tribulations. ¡°Four bolts of lightning? This is actually a supreme-grade immortal artifact!¡± Li Qingyun was even more surprised. A supreme-grade immortal artifact was absolutely a rare treasure that barely existed in the entire world. A supreme-grade immortal artifact was enough to allow someone to match against one major cultivation realm above him. For example, Mo Lin was at the Soul Formation Stage previously. If he used this supreme-grade immortal artifact to fight, it would give him the combat strength of the Profound Void Martial Stage. Of course, in Li Qingyun¡¯s opinion, there was no magic weapon or sword in this world that could compare to Li Yu¡¯s ordinary-looking sword. Furthermore, Li Qingyun, who had seen top-tier magic treasures, was not surprised to see a supreme-grade immortal artifact. He was only shocked that a supreme-grade immortal artifact had suddenly emerged in the Netherworld Demon Sect at this moment. This surprised him. Mm, it¡¯s an unexpected gain! ¡­ As the lightning tribulation baptized the Demonic Carnage Sword, Mo Lin, who was in the secret chamber, finally fused into his body. However, he did not know that his sect had already been wiped out. He looked at Mister Wu Chang expectantly as he walked in. ¡°Sect Master, the Demonic Carnage Sword has been completed. If you fuse with me now, you should be able to recover your previous strength! With the power of the Demonic Carnage Sword and the power of the sect¡¯s Protective Mountain Array, you should be able to defeat Li Yu!¡± Mister Wu Chang said. He had been refining the sword the entire time and was unaware of what was happening outside. He thought that the sect had used the grand array formation to hold Li Yu back. ¡°This is great!¡± Mo Lin beamed. The Demonic Carnage Sword had finally emerged. However, when he thought of Li Yu, he was still quite afraid. He had not walked out of the shadows from not long ago. The might of Li Yu¡¯s sword was absolutely terrifying. However, he thought of his own sect and the foundation he had built up over hundreds of years. He thought of Gu Cangming, who was willing to sacrifice himself for the sect. He could not back down! If he did not give it his all, his sect might really be destroyed. Furthermore, he had painstakingly cultivated for more than two hundred years before stepping into the Soul Formation Stage. Yet, Li Yu had beaten him back to his original state in an instant. He had even lost 500 years of lifespan after reincarnation and lost his Soul Conduit realm body as well. Therefore, he must make Li Yu and Li Qingyun pay the price today. Otherwise, this matter would thoroughly shake his Dao heart, and he would probably never return to his cultivation peak ever again. ¡°Mister Wu Chang, let¡¯s begin!¡± Mo Lin formed hand seals as a demonic aura surged around him. At the same time, a lurid glow flew out from Mister Wu Chang¡¯s black robe and instantly fused into Mo Lin¡¯s body. The black robe was scattered on the ground. Bang! A powerful aura burst forth from Mo Lin¡¯s body. Light blue flames instantly ignited on his body as his eyes turned black without a trace of white. Coupled with the strange symbol on his glabella, he looked somewhat sinister and terrifying. ¡°Li Yu, Li Qingyun, you two will die!¡± After fusing with Mister Wu Chang, Mo Lin¡¯s aura changed. He roared as his body soared into the sky. He pierced through the roof of the secret chamber, through the floors above, before breaking out of the ground. In the end, he grabbed the Demonic Carnage Sword that had just been baptized by the lightning tribulation.. Chapter 35 - Dads Persuasion Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Hum¡ª The Demonic Carnage Sword let out a sword hum that resounded through the world. Even the void could tremble. A demon god phantom appeared behind Mo Lin, drawing upon the power of heaven and earth to gather around his body, forming a ferocious and overbearing pressure that spread out. ¡°No need to look anymore. He came out himself!¡± Seeing Mo Lin rush out, Li Qingyun said. ¡°Well, that saves me the trouble!¡± A wisp of a smile suffused the corners of Li Yu¡¯s mouth while his gaze was indifferent. He did not care about the changes in Mo Lin at all, even though the current Mo Lin looked completely different from before and even seemed creepy. ¡°Mo Lin does have some trump cards. He actually has such a natural oddity!¡± Li Qingyun said with a smile as he looked at the flames on Mo Lin¡¯s body. ¡°Natural oddity? What kind?¡± Li Yu was immediately interested. He needed to collect natural oddities too. When he heard the keywords, his eyes sparkled. ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, it should be the Turtle Spiritual Earth Core Flame. Plus, it has been cultivated into a demon!¡± Li Qingyun explained. The Turtle Spiritual Earth Core Flame was a profound fire born from heaven and earth, and it was an extremely precious natural oddity. Even to the various Holy Lands, this was definitely a priceless treasure. When it was first born, it generally did not have much intelligence. This type of profound fire could be refined and fused by cultivators into their own great divine art to improve their magic power. At the same time, it was also one of the best flames for pill refinement and weapon refinement. After seeing this Turtle Spiritual Earth Core Flame, Li Qingyun understood why the demon sword could reach the level of a supreme-grade immortal artifact. ¡°As expected of the Divine Firmament Holy Land¡¯s Holy Son. You sure are knowledgeable!¡± said Mo Lin. However, his voice sounded as if two people were talking in synchrony. One was deep while the other was soft, making the sound even more sinister and eerie. ¡°The supreme-grade Immortal Artifact, Demonic Carnage Sword. The natural oddity is the Turtle Spiritual Earth Core Flame. Wow, I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m getting two unexpected rewards today!¡± The corners of Li Yu¡¯s mouth curled into a wisp of a greedy smile. This was really a surprise! ¡°Turtle Spiritual Earth Core Flame, why don¡¯t you follow my son Li Yu? You¡¯ll have a brighter future rather than following Mo Lin!¡± Li Qingyun remarked. ¡°Li Qingyun, stop daydreaming. Today will be your¡­ Huh? Where are my disciples!¡± As Mo Lin took back control of his body, he suddenly noticed that the surroundings were abnormally quiet. He looked down carefully, and his expression immediately changed. All of them were dead! Mo Lin¡¯s pupils trembled, and the pale blue flames around him shook violently. Initially, he believed that the Demonic Carnage Sword would turn the tide by joining forces with his disciples and the array formation. However, he did not expect that Li Yu had already destroyed his entire sect. Looking at the state of everyone¡¯s death, Mo Lin instantly knew the reason. Li Yu destroyed the Protective Mountain Array, and the backlash caused everyone to die from internal injuries. He destroyed the grand array! Mo Lin was shocked again. The fear of being dominated by the sword overwhelmed him again. He knew how terrifying the lethality could be if they used the entire sect¡¯s power to support the grand array formation. Even if he held the Demonic Carnage Sword now, he might not be able to withstand it unscathed. Yet, this did not harm Li Yu at all. He had even destroyed the grand array formation. Just how strong is this guy! Mo Lin felt that Li Yu¡¯s strength seemed to have already exceeded the scope of his understanding. This guy was not human at all. He might even be the reincarnation of a certain Demon Thearch, Immortal Emperor, or Martial Emperor. Up to this point, Mo Lin¡¯s aura immediately weakened, and he even thought of backing out. He felt that even if he had the Demonic Carnage Sword, he might not match Li Yu. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that he could no longer retreat, he would absolutely choose to avoid that terrifying sword strike from Li Yu. However, as matters stood, he had no way out. He could either kill Li Yu or be killed by Li Yu. ¡°Turtle Spiritual Earth Core Flame, see this? The Netherworld Demon Sect has already been destroyed. Mo Lin is only an arrow at the end of its flight. Plus, he¡¯s already terrified. ¡°He has no chance of winning. You should know this better than I do. If you don¡¯t abandon the dark and seek the light, you will only die with him. ¡°You have probably cultivated for at least a thousand years. Sacrificing yourself for a dead person is really not worth it. ¡°If you follow my son, he can help you obtain the Extreme Earth True Fire in the primordial abyss or the Golden Sun True Fire of the Golden Feather Race in the future! ¡°You should know what this means! ¡°And you must have seen my son¡¯s capabilities. It¡¯s enough to sweep through the world. Although I, Li Qingyun, am no longer the Divine Firmament¡¯s Holy Son, my knowledge is definitely not something an ordinary person can compare to. ¡°Therefore, do you choose to perish with Mo Lin, or do you want to pursue the Great Dao of Immortal Ascension with us? You decide for yourself!¡± Li Qingyun¡¯s persuasion was powerful and resonating. It made the flames around Mo Lin seem to become illusory. In fact, Li Qingyun could tell from Mo Lin¡¯s expression that he was afraid. Even the phantom behind him became dim and shrunk, showing that he had already lost mentally. As for the Turtle Spiritual Earth Core Flame, it was fused with Mo Lin. Since their minds were linked, he could definitely sense this change in emotion. Hence, Li Qingyun took the opportunity to convince the natural oddity to flip. And he might be able to subdue the enemy without a fight. Otherwise, with a single sword strike from Li Yu, he would probably really beat the Turtle Spirit Ground Flame back to its original form or even directly destroy it. Sensing the slight hesitation in the profound flame, Mo Lin knew that the situation was dire and yelled, ¡°Shut up, Li Qingyun. Today, I will take revenge for all the disciples of the sect!¡± He immediately wanted to wave his sword and attack. However, right at this moment, he suddenly stopped. The flames around him instantly disappeared. An illusory flame figure grabbed the Demonic Carnage Sword from Mo Lin¡¯s hand and flew to the side. ¡°Mister Wu Chang, you!¡± Mo Lin¡¯s expression changed drastically, and his aura instantly weakened. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sect Master Mo Lin. You¡¯ve already lost mentally. Even if I help you, you¡¯re bound to die. You should know this better than me!¡± the Turtle Spiritual Earth Core Flame said. He and Mo Lin did not have a deep bond. They only needed each other for mutual benefits. Moreover, as Li Qingyun said, he could sense Mo Lin¡¯s thoughts. He knew that Mo Lin was afraid and that they had no chance of winning. So there was no need for him to be buried with the Netherworld Demon Sect and Mo Lin. After weighing the pros and cons, he made a wise choice. Hearing the profound flame¡¯s remarks, Mo Lin bitterly smiled, his eyes filled with despair. He knew that he had been utterly defeated today. He didn¡¯t say anything else and charged right at Li Yu. The desire for death was clear to see. Li Yu made no mistake and casually waved his sword, sending Mo Lin to reunite with the Netherworld Demon Sect¡¯s disciples. After eliminating Mo Lin, Li Yu¡¯s mission was finally completed. Prestige became 49 / 100. Other than his prestige points, his experience points increase as well. At this stage, he had obtained a lot of experience points killing the demon child, Wolf King Tharman, and Mo Lin. The experience bar had changed to: You are still 10.011¡­ away from becoming invincible. Looking at this data, he felt more reassured! ¡°Dad, your mouth, your persuasion is amazing!¡± Li Yu said with a smile as he looked at the Turtle Spiritual Earth Core Flame that had surrendered voluntarily. Li Qingyun gave a smile, then looked at the profound flame and commented, ¡°You¡¯ve made a wise choice!¡± ¡°Here is the Demonic Carnage Sword. It¡¯s my gift to show my loyalty!¡± The profound flame handed over the sword with both hands. Li Yu smiled and received the Demonic Carnage Sword. The system¡¯s voice sounded. ¡°Ding¡­ successful collection of the Demonic Carnage Sword.¡± At the same time, the mission progress of the divine weapon collection became 7 / 20. ¡°You¡¯re called Wu Chang, right?¡± Li Qingyun asked. ¡°Yes!¡± the Turtle Spiritual Earth Core Flame said respectfully. ¡°I still can¡¯t confirm if you sincerely submit to my son, so I have to plant a contract seal in your sea of consciousness!¡± Li Qingyun announced. ¡°Huh? You didn¡¯t say that just now!¡± A look of shock appeared on Wu Chang¡¯s illusory face. He felt like he had been tricked! The so-called contract seal was a special restriction. As long as it was planted, Wu Chang would essentially become Li Qingyun¡¯s puppet servant with his life and death in his hands. As long as Li Qingyun was willing, he could even control him directly. This was definitely a form of humiliation. Li Qingyun revealed a pleasant smile and added, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this is only a test for you. If you don¡¯t even dare to accept this, then it means that you really have ulterior motives. Why don¡¯t we let my son beat you back to your original form now and then refine and absorb you? Wouldn¡¯t that be better!¡± Wu Chang fell silent. Damn, this Li Qingyun is a demon! However, he had no other choice now. His strength was similar to Mo Lin¡¯s in the past, both at the Soul Formation Stage. Not even Mo Lin was a match for Li Yu, so struggling was equivalent to seeking death. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If you prove your loyalty in the future, I¡¯ll surely remove the contract seal for you!¡± Li Qingyun promised. Wu Chang went silent for a moment before he said helplessly, ¡°Alright, to show my loyalty, I¡¯m willing to accept the contract seal!¡± ¡­ Chapter 36 - Panic Among Fiend Sects Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Li Yu did not speak. Although this was the first time he had heard of the contract seal, he could roughly guess what it was. He couldn¡¯t help but sigh in his heart. His father was indeed an experienced man. In this way, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about this Turtle Spiritual Earth Core Flame with an ulterior motive. Otherwise, this guy would be a time bomb. Once his father planted a contract seal on Wu Chang, he would obediently submit to them. This way, Wu Chang could stay with his father in the future and protect his father¡¯s safety. With a Soul Formation Stage bodyguard, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about his father getting kidnapped again. Li Qingyun formed hand seals before a strange golden totem surfaced on his fingertip. ¡°Wu Chang!¡± He looked at Wu Chang, indicating for him to accept this contract. Wu Chang closed his eyes and opened his sea of consciousness, allowing Li Qingyun to send the contract seal into it. As the golden totem fused into the sea of consciousness of the turtle spirit, the contract seal was successfully planted. ¡°Alright, Wu Chang, you are now a member of the Qingyun Sect in the future. In the future, I will be your master, and Li Yu will be your Young Master! You must be loyal to us. Of course, we will not mistreat you. And we will honor our promise!¡± Li Qingyun said solemnly. Although his cultivation was crippled and his meridians had not fully recovered. His actual cultivation was only at the late stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm. However, he still sounded like a revered expert. ¡°Wu Chang will definitely follow Master and Young Master¡¯s lead!¡± Wuchang cupped his hands and announced. After they subdued the Turtle Spiritual Earth Core Flame, Li Yu and Li Qingyun started to seize the assets of the Netherworld Demon Sect. It had to be said that as the most powerful sect in the Great Xia Dynasty, the wealth of the Netherworld Demon Sect was indeed shocking. Spirit stones, spirit crystals, rare treasures, various cultivation techniques, pills, and weapons¡­ Furthermore, with Wu Chang as their guide, the father and son practically left nothing valuable behind. They looted the entire Netherworld Demon Sect empty and filled up over 50 storage magic treasures. Right now, the Netherworld Demon Sect was cleaner than how bandits would have left it. Meanwhile, Li Yu¡¯s collection task was more than half completed. Divine weapons collection: 12 / 20. Refining techniques collection: 15 / 20 Pills and Pill Formulas collection: 39 / 50 Cultivation techniques collection: 35 / 50 Spirit herbs collection, 42 / 50 Natural Oddities: 2 / 10 Li Yu couldn¡¯t help but sigh that he had destroyed the rich to become wealthy himself! Looting was indeed the fastest way to get rich! Four hours after Li Yu and Li Qingyun left the Netherworld Demon Sect. The Jade Pure Dao Sect, the Great Sky Dao Sect, the Five Elements Sect, the Star Dou Sect, and other orthodox sects arrived at the Netherworld Demon Sect. Shock emerged on the faces of everyone when they saw the state of the Netherworld Demon Sect. ¡°The Netherworld Demon Sect has really been annihilated!¡± They¡¯d already guessed it when they entered the Netherworld Demon Sect¡¯s territory earlier since there was no array formation or patrolling disciples there to stop them. It was apparent that something really happened to the Netherworld Demon Sect. However, they could not help but feel shocked when they saw it with their own eyes. Of course, there was also a sense of relief and joy. The Netherworld Demon Sect that was at its peak and terrorized the orthodox sects had actually been destroyed. If they were not at the scene right now and saw it with their own eyes, they would probably not believe this happened. ¡°Look at the huge sword marks on the ground. It must be that unknown expert who killed the Wolf King!¡± commented Perfected Yu Hua in a low voice. Based on the situation at the scene, the person who annihilated the Netherworld Demon Sect was clearly not the Demon Child. Moreover, the gigantic ravine-like sword mark on the ground was identical to the wolf king¡¯s camp. Therefore, Perfected Yu Hua could determine that the same person likely did it. On the way here, they had also heard about the mysterious expert driving off the Wolf King Army, so they especially went to the Wolf King¡¯s clan camp to see for themselves. At that time, Elder Hu had already recognized that the mysterious expert was probably the person who had killed Shi Potian. ¡°I wonder who this expert is!¡± Perfected Yu Hua was filled with curiosity. To be able to destroy the Netherworld Demon Sect, this person¡¯s strength far surpassed his own. He was probably at least at the Profound Void Martial Stage. It was truly astonishing that the Great Xia Dynasty had a hidden Profound Void Martial Stage expert. ¡°Now, I suspect that the demon child might also be killed by this mysterious expert!¡± Elder Hu remarked. ¡°That¡¯s possible!¡± Everyone nodded. ¡°I wonder if Elder Xu, Elder Chu, and the rest are still alive. Elder Hu, lead everyone to split up and search immediately!¡± Perfected Yu Hua hurriedly ordered after recovering from his shock. ¡°Yes!¡± Elder Hu quickly led the disciples to find Elder Xu, Elder Chu, and the others. As for the people from the large sects, they could not wait to begin searching for the treasures of the Netherworld Demon Sect. However, the Netherworld Demon Sect was simply cleaner than being robbed by bandits, much to everyone¡¯s surprise. ¡°This¡­ Could it be that someone beat us to it?¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be, right? It will take some time to empty the Netherworld Demon Sect!¡± ¡°Perhaps that mysterious expert took all of it away! This expert is really¡­!¡± Everyone was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. It seemed that this expert was greedy! Everyone shook their heads in disappointment. However, when they thought of the fact that the Netherworld Demon Sect had been eliminated, they were still satisfied. At the same time, Elder Hu found Elder Chu, Elder Xu, and the others in the dungeon. The captured disciples of the Jade Pure Dao Sect wept with joy after they were freed. In next to no time, the members of the various factions of the Grand Xia Dynasty arrived at the Netherworld Demon Sect. In fact, Million Sins Sect, the Free Spirit Sect, the Yin Yue Sect, these fiend sects had also gathered here. Mo Lin probably did not expect that the destruction of his sect would actually lead to the extremely rare gathering of the various powerhouses of the Great Xia Dynasty. When they saw the destroyed Netherworld Demon Sect, Million Sin Sect, the Free Spirit Sect, and the Yin Yue Sect were filled with panic. Even when faced with the verbal provocation from the orthodox sects, none of them dared to utter a word as they fled in a hurry. How could they know if the mysterious expert that annihilated the Netherworld Demon Sect was amongst these people? They didn¡¯t want to follow in the footsteps of the Netherworld Demon Sect. ¡°Haha, this is too awesome! After all these years where the fiend sects have been rampant, this time, their domineering influence is finally damaged. Looking at them flee with their tails between their legs really makes me feel good!¡± Elder Hu laughed happily. ¡°These fiend sects should start restraining themselves!¡± An elder from the Five Elements Sect said. It was as everyone had expected. After the Million Sin Sect, the Free Spirit Sect, and the Yin Yue Sect¡¯s sect leaders returned to their respective sects, they immediately ordered all the disciples to restrain their behavior and not do anything immoral. They ordered the various elders and hall masters to strictly control their disciples. Everyone was barred from stirring up trouble, especially not people from the orthodox path. Peace was most important. Some fiend sects even went as far as introducing new sect rules that were stricter than an orthodox sect. They were only short of sending disciples to accumulate merit and do good, upholding justice. This caused the fiend sect disciples to doubt their lives. Especially for some disciples who had just entered the sect, they felt that they had joined a fake fiend sect. ¡­ Chapter 37 - Xi Liang Dynastys Hidden Dragon Rankings Number One Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Prosperity Palace. After Murong Taisheng received the news, he collapsed in his chair with an ugly expression. The thing he was most worried about had really happened. The Netherworld Demon Sect had really been eradicated. This was the same as breaking his arm, and it was his most muscular arm. His grand scheme would probably fail. He could not understand where this terrifying fellow had come from. And that he could actually destroy the entire Netherworld Demon Sect by himself. Naturally, Zhu Xiaotian was also baffled. Upon learning that the Netherworld Demon Sect had been destroyed, Zhu Xiaotian panicked again. Although this was what he ultimately hoped for, this was not the result under his control. He had been busy earlier, and now his efforts have gone to waste. The Jade Pure Dao Sect hadn¡¯t done anything yet, and the Netherworld Demon Sect was already annihilated by the mysterious person. And where did that mysterious expert come from? There was no such person in his previous life! Zhu Xiaotian increasingly believed that somehow, there seemed to be a mysterious power competing with him. It had continuously deviated events from the timeline he was familiar with! Since that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll proceed with this situation. I¡¯ll first take Murong Xingqiao down, then think of a way to get my hands on the Reverse Scale Immortal Sword! ¡­ In next to no time, the news of the Wolf King dying under a mysterious expert¡¯s hands, the army¡¯s retreat, and the doom of the Netherworld Demon Sect spread like wildfire in the Grand Xia Dynasty. It instantly caused a huge stir as the commoners spread the news and the entire country celebrated in jubilation. The good news made the citizens of the Great Xia Dynasty rejoice in the sweet rain after a long drought. Coincidentally, the grand annual Lantern Festival in Nan¡¯an City was around the corner. It gave the people double the joy. The event was also integrated into stories filled with legends told by the storytellers. The mysterious expert was described as a god descended from the nine heavens and possessed three heads and six arms. He was a god that moved mountains and filled the seas. He became the hero and idol of many youths. However, the great hero whose heroics spread by word of mouth was roasting a whole lamb in the Daoist temple at the moment. ¡°Wu Chang, the fire is too big. I didn¡¯t ask for the lamb to be cremated. Can¡¯t you control fire at this level as someone who plays with fire?¡± Li Yu¡¯s complaint echoed through the temple. Wu Chang was crumbling inside. I am the profound fire born from heaven and earth¡ªTurtle Spiritual Earth Core Flame. I had cultivated for a thousand years to reach the Soul Formation Realm. My flames could incinerate Spirit Artifacts, causing cultivators below the Soul Formation Realm to instantly disappear from the world. My fire can refine the best divine weapon and pill in the world. And you only used my flames to roast lamb! This brat. When I become an immortal, I¡¯ll roast you too¡­ ¡°Hey, hey, what are you thinking about? It¡¯s going to start burning!¡± ¡°Ah? N-nothing. Young Master, I-I¡¯m going to reduce my fire!¡± Wu Chang yielded immediately. At the moment, hundreds of craftsmen were busy with construction work while Tang Chi was in charge of the supervision of the project. ¡°Senior Brother, Senior Brother, this is the procurement list. Come take a look!¡± Tang Chi walked over and handed the list to Li Yu. Li Yu only skimmed through it. They needed to purchase materials in large quantities, like wood and stone, for the temple¡¯s construction. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s fine as long as you¡¯re sure!¡± Li Yu trusted Tang Chi¡¯s character. ¡°Nice, then I¡¯ll go to Qingyang City to purchase them in the afternoon!¡± Tang Chi replied. He was just about to leave when Li Yu suddenly stopped him. ¡°Hold on, Junior Brother, take this Heavenly Spirit Pill too!¡± Li Yu took out the Heavenly Spirit Pill and handed it to Tang Chi. He originally planned to leave the Heavenly Spirit Pill to his father, but his father said it was useless for his injuries. It just so happened that he obtained an extremely precious Profound Life Fruit from the Netherworld Demon Sect this time, and it possessed a superb healing effect on his father¡¯s injuries. At the moment, Li Qingyun had already consumed the Profound Life Fruit and was recovering in seclusion. ¡°Huh, this is for me?¡± Tang Chi was stunned again. A Heavenly Spirit Pill was a top-class pill that would make any sect jealous. And his senior brother had actually given it to him! ¡°Yep, Junior Brother. See that top ten on the Hidden Dragon Rankings? You better get up there!¡± Li Yu smiled. Since the system required the sect to have at least ten talented disciples, he might as well nurture his junior brother into a prodigy. Furthermore, he wanted Qingyun Sect to occupy the top ten of the Hidden Dragon Rankings in the future! ¡°Thank you, Senior Brother! Thank you, Senior Brother!¡± Tang Chi was so excited that he almost cried. He stretched to embrace Li Yu. ¡°Get lost!¡± Li Yu pushed Tang Chi away. He could not stand this guy who liked to hug him whenever he was worked up. ¡°Okay!¡± Tang Chi replied. He was overjoyed as he hugged the Heavenly Spirit Pill. With this Heavenly Spirit Pill, he could cleanse his marrow and remodel his foundation to become a prodigy. Just the thought of it was thrilling. Coupled with the various pills his senior brother had given him, the top ten of the Hidden Dragon Rankings were not far away. ¡­ At the border of Qing Prefecture, an endless stream of merchants came and went between the Great Xia Dynasty and the Xi Liang Dynasty. Furthermore, as the Lantern Festival of the Great Xia Dynasty drew closer, there were clearly more people from the Xi Liang Dynasty entering the Great Xia Dynasty in recent days. Suddenly, a giant flying boat flew over, attracting the pedestrians¡¯ attention on the main road. The flag of the Xi Liang Dynasty¡¯s royal family was seen on the flying boat, flapping in the wind. A young man in luxurious clothing with a golden belt at his waist, and a jade hairpin on his head, stood at the boat¡¯s bow with his hands behind his back. He was carrying a long sword on his back as he looked at the city in the distance with a sharp gaze. ¡°We¡¯re finally here!¡± the man said softly. He was ranked number one on the Xi Liang Dynasty¡¯s Hidden Dragon Ranking, Ji Qinglan. He was also the Thirteenth Prince of the Xi Liang Dynasty. He was born with the Connate Sword Body, and his cultivation was extremely fast. In addition to the light from providence shining on him and the many opportunities, he had obtained. He had the remnant soul of a sword immortal, who had taught him top cultivation techniques and sword path divine powers. Therefore, at the age of eighteen, he was already at the mid-stage of the Golden Core Realm. His sword techniques were outstanding and had reached the acme of perfection. Coupled with the reverse scale immortal sword, he was confident that no one below the Nascent Soul realm was his match. Even in the entire Huaxia continent younger generation, he was definitely considered outstanding. Ever since the appearance of the Heavenly Dao Rankings, he had successively challenged the number one genius of the Hidden Dragon Rankings from other countries in the Huaxia Continent. And he defeated all of them. However, those so-called geniuses were unable to withstand three moves from him. In his opinion, they were undeserving of their reputation. His only challenge left now was the frail and unstable Great Xia Dynasty. In truth, he hadn¡¯t thought highly of the Grand Xia Dynasty¡¯s number one on the Hidden Dragon Rankings, Li Yu. After all, the Great Xia Dynasty had been dry in talent for nearly a hundred years. Extraordinary young elites were rarely born. This was a known fact among the various large countries. Therefore, in his opinion, the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s Hidden Dragon Rankings did not have any value to speak of. It was not until he heard that the number one person in the Great Xia Dynasty, Li Yu, actually had additional rewards. This displeased him. The first place on the Hidden Dragon Rankings of each country would similarly obtain the Heavenly Spirit Pill as a reward. He could not understand why Li Yu of the Great Xia Dynasty could obtain the additional reward. What ability did he have to deserve it? Could it be that the Heavenly Dao Rankings were helping the poor? Moreover, he heard that Li Yu was a nobody. It showed how exaggerated the rankings of the Grand Xia Dynasty were. Hence, using the Lantern Festival occasion, Ji Qinglan brought along the top ten geniuses of the various families and factions of the Xi Liang Dynasty. They traveled to the Great Xia Dynasty together and were prepared to let everyone witness what it meant to be the real number one on the Hidden Dragon Rankings. People would witness how extraordinary the geniuses of a powerful country were! And they would understand how lousy their country¡¯s rankings were. ¡­ Chapter 38 - Changes in the Hidden Dragon Rankings Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Inside the Qingyun Sect, Li Yu had just distributed the roasted lamb to the craftsmen. Two enormous flying spirit beasts flew over from the sky. Li Yu looked over curiously to see Ye Qiu and two other people. As the spirit beasts landed in the courtyard, three figures jumped down from them. There was an old man, a young man, and a middle-aged man. ¡°Senior Brother, I trust you¡¯ve been well since we last met!¡± Ye Qiu rushed over excitedly. After that, he introduced his grandfather, Ye Tianming, and his father, Ye Guxiong. ¡°Master Li is truly remarkable. Nice to meet you!¡± ¡°Hmm, you young man is indeed a dragon among men!¡± Ye Guxiong and Ye Tianming immediately sang praises, and Li Yu was dumbfounded. ¡°Master Li, I would like to represent the millions of citizens of the Great Xia Dynasty to thank you!¡± ¡°Since ancient times, heroes have always come from the young. It is the fortune of our Great Xia Dynasty to have a young and promising hero like you!¡± Li Yu finally understood the issue. It seemed like Ye Qiu had told Li Yu¡¯s story to his family. ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal. Everyone is responsible for the country¡¯s prosperity and decline. It¡¯s not a big deal to me!¡± Li Yu said humbly. Ye Tianming and Ye Guxiong looked at Li Yu with admiration. This awareness was highly commendable! ¡°Oh yes, is the sect master here?¡± Ye Guxiong asked. ¡°He¡¯s in seclusion,¡± replied Li Yu. ¡°Grandfather, father, since I¡¯ve reached here safely. You two should hurry back!¡± Ye Qiu hurriedly said. ¡°Alright, young man, we shall meet again in the future!¡± ¡°Farewell, sir!¡± Li Yu cupped his hands and sent Ye Tianming and Ye Guxiong off. After his grandfather and father left, Ye Qiu hurriedly explained, ¡°Senior Brother, don¡¯t worry. I know that you like to keep a low profile. You don¡¯t want anyone to know that you killed the Wolf King and eliminated the Netherworld Demon Sect, so I¡¯ve already instructed my grandfather and my parents not to tell anyone of your identity. They¡¯ll surely keep this a secret!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Li Yu¡¯s lips twitched. How could you tell that I like to keep a low profile? However, Li Yu didn¡¯t mind. He didn¡¯t have any feelings for fame. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t want to be a hero and become the center of attention either. That would be too tiring. His father had led a difficult life while carrying the name of the Divine Firmament Holy Land¡¯s Holy Son. He could not even choose who to marry. Li Yu did not want to live such a tiring life. Moreover, because of the Hidden Dragon Rankings, trouble arrived endlessly. Therefore, wretched development was still important. ¡°When will our master come out of seclusion?¡± Ye Qiu asked. ¡°Tonight.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, Senior Brother, I¡¯ll give you the sect fee first!¡± Ye Qiu brought 1000 taels of silver and 200 spirit stones. Even though Li Yu already possessed the enormous wealth left behind by the Netherworld Demon Sect, the payment was still a token of appreciation from his junior brother, so he accepted it graciously. At night, Li Qingyun came out of seclusion. The Profound Life Fruit restored most of his meridians. Meanwhile, Ye Qiu had also completed the apprenticeship ceremony and officially became the third disciple of the Qingyun Sect. That night, on the Hidden Dragon Rankings of the Great Xia Dynasty. Ye Qiu had already taken over third place on the Hidden Dragon Rankings from Gu Cangming, and his background information had changed. Hidden Dragon Rankings # 3: Ye Qiu Origin: That¡¯s Quite a Large Sect This amendment attracted attention and alarmed many instantly. Ye Qiu was a somewhat famous young genius in the Great Xia Dynasty. Coupled with the Hidden Dragon Rankings, he was practically known by everyone. In a restaurant in Xilan City, a group of martial artists looked at the rankings in the night sky outside the window in surprise and discussed animatedly. ¡°The Ye Family¡¯s Ye Qiu entered That¡¯s Quite a Large Sect!¡± ¡°My word. Back then, Perfected Taiwu of the Jade Pure Dao Sect wanted to make an exception and accept him as a personal disciple, but he didn¡¯t join. Why did he suddenly enter that small sect?¡± ¡°Yeah, this choice of his is really hard to understand!¡± ¡°Perhaps That¡¯s Quite a Large Sect is pretty strong. After all, Li Yu is on the top of the Hidden Dragon Rankings!¡± ¡°Hmm, maybe. But I feel that this choice isn¡¯t wise!¡± The Elder of the Jade Pure Dao Sect¡¯s Hall of Justice, Perfected Taiwu, looked at the Hidden Dragon Rankings in disappointment. He exclaimed somewhat disconsolately, ¡°How could Ye Qiu join That¡¯s Quite a Large Sect! I was thinking of a way to take him under my wing through our sect recruitment convention!¡± In the Eastern Palace, Murong Xingqiao also saw the changes in the Heavenly Dao Rankings. He couldn¡¯t help but smile and say, ¡°Ye Qiu is an interesting one!¡± At the same time, far away in the Tai Prefecture, Yi Caidie was leaning against the window of her room. Her hand supported her cheek while her beautiful eyes were filled with curiosity. ¡°I wonder what kind of interesting things would happen between Ye Qiu and Li Yu!¡± ¡°Does Ye Qiu really think that ¡®That¡¯s Quite a Large Sect¡¯ is really a large sect?¡± The third prince, Murong Taisheng, had a mocking look on his face. ¡°But this is good. I¡¯ll find a chance to eliminate these two brats in one go!¡± The people from the various noble families were also shocked. They didn¡¯t understand Ye Qiu¡¯s choice. Although Ye Qiu¡¯s talent was outstanding, resources were also essential besides talent and hard work in the path of cultivation. That¡¯s Quite a large sect was only a little Daoist temple. From the shabby appearance of the sect and Li Yu¡¯s greedy nature, one could tell how poor this Daoist temple was. If Li Yu could become the first on the Hidden Dragon Rankings, he had probably emptied anything the small Daoist temple could offer. If Ye Qiu went there, where would he find the resources to support his cultivation? Any sect in the Great Xia Dynasty would be better than that small Daoist temple. ¡°What is Ye Qiu thinking?¡± Zhu Xiaotian looked at the golden scroll list in the night sky and couldn¡¯t understand. Even if Li Yu topped the Hidden Dragon Rankings, that didn¡¯t mean that his sect was the best. Li Yu was an anomaly that could not be replicated. ¡°Does Ye Qiu seriously think that he can become Li Yu just by entering that small Daoist temple? What a joke!¡± Zhu Xiaotian sneered. ¡°Forget it. Why should I think about his own issues?!¡± Zhu Xiaotian shook his head. He turned around and returned to the Immortal Seeking Pavilion to enter seclusion. The night passed uneventfully. Early next morning, Zhu Xiaotian arrived at Nan¡¯an City and went to the Eastern Palace to pay his respects to Crown Prince Murong Xingqiao. ¡°Is His Majesty¡¯s health getting better?¡± Zhu Xiaotian asked. ¡°Sigh, each day is worse than the last. He did seem much better when he heard about the Wolf King¡¯s death and the Netherworld Demon Sect¡¯s doom. He could even get out of bed and walk around. But today, He¡¯s bedridden again!¡± Murong Xingqiao sighed and said. She actually hoped that her father could recover and live for a few more decades. After all, she was not fond of the throne. If not for her mother, she would not be willing to disguise herself as a man and become the crown prince everyone knew. ¡°I believe heaven helps those who are worthy, like His Majesty. Right, Your Highness, this is the Heavenly Vein Flower that my master found in the Netherworld Demon Sect after destroying it. It¡¯s said to have a great suppressive effect on Your Majesty¡¯s curse poison. I hope it can be of some help to Your Majesty¡¯s illness!¡± Zhu Xiaotian took out a spirit plant from his storage magic treasure and handed it to Murong Xingqiao. ¡°That mysterious expert is your master?¡± Murong Xingqiao looked at Zhu Xiaotian in shock. ¡­ Chapter 39 - Ye Qius Rise Shocking Everyone Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°That¡¯s right. My master is a hidden expert. It¡¯s also thanks to his guidance that I can achieve my current cultivation. ¡°However, he had always kept a low profile and didn¡¯t often stay in our Great Xia Dynasty. This time, I didn¡¯t expect him to secretly attack too. ¡°That day, I only casually told him about the current situation of the Great Xia Dynasty. I didn¡¯t expect that he would really help us!¡± Zhu Xiaotian lied with a straight face. After learning of the events that day, he had decided to take the credit of this mysterious expert for himself and the Zhu family. No one knew who that mysterious expert was anyway. Moreover, he had secretly attacked and disappeared after that. He probably did not want anyone to know his true identity. Therefore, even if he lied, no one would know. This way, he could use the credit to make the Murong family indebted to him. It would allow his father and the Zhu family to obtain more power and status in the dynasty and strengthen their influence while deterring hostile factions. Of course, he could also improve his relationship with the Crown Prince. After all, Murong Xingqiao definitely hoped to obtain the support of this mysterious expert. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is. I didn¡¯t expect the unknown expert would be Young Master Zhu¡¯s master. I wonder if you can bring me to express my thanks to your master?¡± Murong Xingqiao looked surprised, but she was skeptical inside. After all, she would not listen to only one side of the story to determine the truth of the matter. Of course, she wouldn¡¯t deny the possibility yet. What if Zhu Xiaotian wasn¡¯t lying? ¡°My master prefers peace and quiet, and he doesn¡¯t want to be disturbed. Moreover, he¡¯s already in seclusion since he had sustained injuries from the Netherworld Demon Sect! I hope that Your Highness can keep this a secret for me. It¡¯s best not to let anyone know!¡± Zhu Xiaotian replied with a serious expression. ¡°Mm, that¡¯s normal. Then, I must ask Young Master Zhu to thank your master on behalf of my father and the citizens of the Great Xia Dynasty. In the future, if he needs the Great Xia Dynasty¡¯s help, we will definitely not refuse!¡± Murong Xingqiao said. Soon, the lie that Zhu Xiaotian had painstakingly woven was spread intentionally. News spread in the imperial court of the Great Xia Dynasty, and even the various vassal families had heard of it. In the beginning, there might be some who were skeptical, but as this matter spread, it sounded like the truth. Everyone would rather believe it than not. People became more afraid of the Zhu family, especially those who were on the side of the Grand Commandant and were enemies of the prime minister. The Zhu family was already powerful. With such an expert backing them, no one could undermine their influence now. Those who understood the situation began to take sides. Many of them visited the Prime Minister¡¯s estate and the Zhu family¡¯s residence. For a while, the Zhu family was crowded and lively. Of course, this news also reached the Ye family. ¡°Haha, I never expected that Zhu Xiaotian of the Zhu family would take Li Yu as his master. This is interesting. In that case, my son has become Zhu Xiaotian¡¯s martial uncle!¡± Ye Guxiong laughed. ¡°Yes, even Zhu Xiaotian has joined the Qingyun Sect. It seems that Qiu¡¯er didn¡¯t choose wrongly!¡± Yang Shengnan did not think much about it. After all, they were innocent people. How could they have known of Zhu Xiaotian¡¯s wishful thinking? In the meantime, there was another version of the unknown expert¡¯s identity circulating among the people. That mysterious expert was the Patriarch of the Five Elements Sect, who had disappeared for many years. He had returned from a mystic realm. He was the one who killed the Wolf King and eliminated the Netherworld Demon Sect. ¡°It¡¯s actually the Five Elements Sect¡¯s missing Patriarch!¡± ¡°Is that true? I heard that a peerless genius had once appeared in the history of the Five Elements Sect. He helped the Five Elements Sect shine for a time, and at its peak, it even surpassed the Jade Pure Dao Sect. ¡°However, not long after becoming the sect master, he vanished mysteriously. This happened five to six hundred years ago, yet he¡¯s still alive!¡± ¡°He probably increased his lifespan after breaking through during his time in the mystic realm. In fact, many people suspected the credibility of their claim at the beginning. Even the Jade Pure Dao Sect and the Great Sky Dao Sect thought something was fishy about this. ¡°Regardless, the Five Elements Sect took out the head of Wolf King Tharman, which was the real deal. Even General Ye Guxiong, who had fought with Tharman many times, had confirmed it. ¡°Plus, they say that the Five Elements Sect even brought out the manual of the ultimate technique of the Netherworld Demon Sect and a few magic treasures to prove it!¡± ¡°In that case, it¡¯s really the doing of the Five Elements Sect¡¯s Patriarch!¡± ¡°It should be. Otherwise, who would have the ability to destroy the Netherworld Demon Sect!?¡± ¡°But I heard that this was done by Zhu Xiaotian¡¯s master too. Could his master be the Five Elements Sect¡¯s Patriarch?!¡± ¡°Hey, when did Zhu Xiaotian take someone as his master?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. Probably became a disciple only recently.¡± ¡°No wonder the Zhu family has been frequenting the Five Elements Sect these few days!¡± ¡°The Five Elements Sect is going to rise up this time. With this incident, the status and influence of the Five Elements Sect will improve by leaps and bounds!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s said that His Majesty has also rewarded the Five Elements Sect with ten thousand gold! In recent times, the disciples of the Five Elements Sect are well treated wherever they go. Officials from all over the world treat them as distinguished guests and give them all kinds of privileges!¡± ¡°Looks like the Five Elements Sect will definitely shine in the Hundred Sect Recruitment Assembly in a while too!¡± ¡°Indeed!¡± In the Nan¡¯an City restaurant, a group of martial artists discussed energetically. It was as these people had said, the Five Elements Sect had amassed countless praises, and their reputation had skyrocketed. It was just that everything was built on lies. The Zhu family, who had also fabricated lies, had reached a certain consensus with the Five Elements Sect and cooperated tacitly. Both had put on a show for their respective interests to make this falsehood more convincing. Hence, this matter spread like wildfire in the Great Xia Dynasty. The reputation of the Zhu family and the Five Elements Sect could be said to have reached an unprecedented height. This coincided with the quinquennial Hundred Sects Recruitment Assembly around the corner. Many young people, especially teenagers filled with admiration for the mysterious hero, had already changed their initial thoughts and decided to enter the Five Elements Sect. ¡­ On the other hand, a wave of excited cheers resounded from within the Qingyun Sect on the Nine-tailed Mountain. ¡°I did it, I did it! Master, Senior Brother, I did it! I¡¯ve entered the Aureate Body realm!¡± Ye Qiu shouted as he rushed into the main hall. He was so excited that his voice was trembling. After that day, Li Qingyun gave him some guidance according to Ye Qiu¡¯s cultivation process. It benefited Ye Qiu greatly and even allowed him to discover some mistakes in his cultivation. Furthermore, Li Qingyun had also taught him a body tempering cultivation technique that was said to be at the immortal level. It was called the Brahma Saint True Demon Art. Although he only had only the first half, it still allowed Ye Qiu¡¯s cultivation to advance rapidly. Li Qingyun¡¯s cultivation had been crippled, and his memories of the Divine Firmament Holy Land¡¯s cornerstone techniques had also been wiped. However, during his travels in the world, he charged through various mystic realms and immortal abodes and encountered many opportunities. He obtained many top-notch cultivation techniques in the process. This Brahma Saint True Demon Art was only one of them. Even though it was a demon art, the demonic path had superior body refinement techniques, and this Brahma Saint True Demon Art was the best of all. He knew that Ye Qiu possessed great potential for body tempering, and he had heard that the Ye family was upright and honest, with their hearts set on the people. Ye Qiu was also a good child with excellent conduct and a righteous heart. Therefore, he taught Ye Qiu the Brahma Saint True Demon Art, a cultivation technique that countless body cultivators would become crazy about. On top of that, Li Yu also gave some precious supplementary body refinement pills and spirit herbs he obtained from the Netherworld Demon Sect to Ye Qiu to assist in his cultivation. Ye Qiu¡¯s talent was indeed monstrous. In less than five days, he had advanced from the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm to the Aureate Body Realm! If this were to spread, it would seriously make jaws drop. However, Li Yu and Ye Qiu didn¡¯t know that at this moment, many people in the Great Xia Dynasty had their jaws dropped. Hidden Dragon Ranking #2: Ye Qiu Origin: That¡¯s Quite a Large Sect When Ye Qiu¡¯s cultivation broke through, his ranking on the Hidden Dragon Rankings surpassed Zhu Xiaotian and became second at the same time. In a short time, countless people in the Great Xia Dynasty were shocked and in an uproar. ¡­ Chapter 40 - Zhu Xiaotians Meltdown Again Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios ¡°Ye Qiu¡­ surpassed Zhu Xiaotian!¡± ¡°My word! He only just entered that sect not long ago, and already, he had surpassed Zhu Xiaotian. It seems that this small temple is not that simple!¡± ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s just a coincidence!¡± ¡°How can there be so many coincidences! I heard that the Zhu Family¡¯s Zhu Xiaotian has already broken through to the Golden Core realm not too long ago!¡± ¡°Golden Core realm¡­ then Ye Qiu is ranked second. He must have at least stepped into the Aureate Body realm!¡± ¡°Tsk tsk, this is going to be interesting. The top two on the Hidden Dragon Rankings have been monopolized by that sect. This is really intriguing!¡± Countless cultivators discussed as they looked at the Hidden Dragon Rankings. The people from the various large families were equally shocked. They all knew the difference in cultivation between Ye Qiu and Zhu Xiaotian. Moreover, they had also heard that Zhu Xiaotian had just broken through to the Golden Core realm not too long ago. Meanwhile, Ye Qiu was only in the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm. No one expected him to surpass Zhu Xiaotian after joining That¡¯s Quite a Large Sect. This meant that his cultivation had at least reached the Aureate Body realm. If anyone thought it was a coincidence, they were simply lying to themselves. ¡°It has only been five days! Ye Qiu actually broke through to the Aureate Body realm directly from the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm? How is that possible?¡± ¡°Unbelievable, this is simply too unbelievable!¡± ¡°That sect really had something up their sleeves!¡± ¡°I thought that Ye Qiu took the wrong medicine previously to actually enter such a small sect. Looking at it now, I¡¯m afraid that we were wrong again!¡± ¡°This little temple isn¡¯t simple!¡± Besides feeling shocked, the members of the various clans were once again curious about this Daoist temple. ¡°Hehe, this development is interesting. Looks like many people are going to be shocked. Li Yu¡¯s sect always brings surprises!¡± Yi Caidie¡¯s crystalline eyes were paired with a faint smile. Being able to nurture a peerless genius like Li Yu and that Ye Qiu had now surpassed Zhu Xiaotian, she knew very well it meant that there was more than meets the eye in that little temple. ¡°Impossible, this! How is this possible!¡± Zhu Xiaotian looked at the Hidden Dragon Rankings. His name had switched places with Ye Qiu. He was about to split apart! He was even beginning to doubt his life. Had he lived his life in vain? Not only did he fail to secure his position on top like in his previous life, but he also could not even retain his second place! Zhu Xiaotian was well aware of the difference in their cultivation levels. Although he was talented, Ye Qiu¡¯s cultivation was only at the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm. No matter how hard Ye Qiu worked, he shouldn¡¯t reach the Aureate Body realm without three to five years. Unless he obtained a heaven-defying opportunity. ¡°Is it really because he entered That¡¯s Quite a Large Sect¡­¡± Zhu Xiaotian was unwilling to believe this fact. After all, he had previously mocked Ye Qiu¡¯s foolish choice. In the end, Ye Qiu¡¯s cultivation level had instantly surpassed him. This was simply a slap in the face, making his face burn with pain. The truth was right on the Heavenly Dao Rankings, so he had no choice but to believe it. At this time, the entire Zhu Family residence was in a fuss. The Zhu Family could not believe this fact either. After all, Zhu Xiaotian had stepped into the Golden Core Realm. How could Ye Qiu surpass Zhu Xiaotian so quickly? This was simply ridiculous! Sensing the crowd¡¯s gaze, Zhu Xiaotian returned to the Immortal Seeking Pavilion quickly. He felt like he had lost all his face, especially in front of those people from the various families who came to visit the Zhu family. The thought of looking at a joke was practically written on their faces. After today, he believed that he would probably become the laughing stock of countless people over a cup of tea or after meals. I really got another chance to live just to become a laughing stock? I have failed miserably. ¡°No! I must reclaim second place!¡± Zhu Xiaotian gritted his teeth. If he could not return to second place, he would probably be too ashamed to face anyone outside. However, just as everyone was paying attention to Ye Qiu¡¯s name, no one noticed that another person from the same sect had appeared at the 45th position. He was Tang Chi. ¡°Junior Brother, you¡¯re the best! To celebrate your advancement to the Aureate Body realm, I¡¯ve decided to roast a few lambs for the feast!¡± At the moment Li Yu said this, Wu Chang almost dropped headfirst into the ground. ¡°Thank you, senior brother. Although I know that Senior Brother and I are still worlds apart, I will follow your example and continue to work hard!¡± Ye Qiu said excitedly. This tremendous advancement allowed him to see his dream shining into reality. He seemed to have the possibility of following in his senior brother¡¯s footsteps. ¡°Oh yes, Father, can you write down all the cultivation techniques you know? In the future, it¡¯ll be our Qingyun Sect¡¯s ultimate technique!¡± Li Yu suggested. He knew nothing of the cultivation techniques his father had taught him in the past. Therefore, he did not know if they were real. He even suspected that his father had fabricated those earth-shattering stories and exploits that he had boasted about. However, he had previously confirmed that his father was the Holy Son of the Divine Firmament Holy Land. And now, his father had also helped Ye Qiu breakthrough in his cultivation. Li Yu could finally confirm that his father did have something up his sleeves. This way, his task of collecting cultivation techniques could be completed sooner. ¡°Mm, wait until I have the time!¡± Li Qingyun said noncommittally. During dinner, Ye Qiu brought up the Lantern Festival that was about to begin in three days. ¡°Oh yes, Senior Brother, isn¡¯t our sect planning to recruit disciples? On the second day of the Lantern Festival in Nan¡¯an City, the Hundred Sect Recruitment Assembly will be held in the Dao Seeking Square in the east city! ¡°This is a large-scale recruitment event that only occurs every five years. Almost every sect in our Great Xia Dynasty will recruit new disciples, regardless of their size. ¡°At that time, young elites from all over the country will gather there to seek opportunities to enter various sects! ¡°Every year, there will be thousands of people present. It¡¯s extremely crowded and lively. This is also a great opportunity for our sect to recruit disciples.¡± Ye Qiu said unceasingly. ¡°Hmm, this isn¡¯t a bad idea!¡± Li Yu¡¯s brows raised. He naturally could not miss such a chance. The system mission required him to take in a thousand disciples. There were only three in his sect, and they were still far from his goal of 1000. Since there was such an opportunity, he had to take it. Furthermore, he had promised to pay the Crown Prince a visit. He would go there to validate his presence while he attended the recruitment. As they conversed, someone flew over on a flying magic treasure. Everyone looked over curiously and saw a bossy, haughty-looking man. ¡°Is Li Yu here?¡± That person arrived in the air above the Daoist temple. He looked down at Li Yu and the others, his voice filled with arrogance. Li Yu frowned, wondering where this show-off came from. Make me look up to you while you act tough in front of me? He immediately gave Wu Chang a look. With a wave of Wu Chang¡¯s hand, a terrifying invisible force slapped the imperious guy down from above. Bang! He fell flat on his face. ¡°What do you want?¡± Li Yu questioned coldly. ¡­