In the silent sealed chamber, candle flames flickered.

  A flash of light tore through the darkness, illuminating the figure in white seated lazily in a wheelchair forged from silver blades.

  He had appeared without the slightest warning.

  Du Longyang’s entire body turned ice-cold, hairs standing on end. With one foot already in the Yin Spirit Realm of the Three Gods Realm, he hadn’t sensed Lu’s arrival at all!

  Just how terrifying had Lu’s strength become?

  “Young… Young Master Lu.”

  Du Longyang forced a smile and rose to cup his fists in greeting.

  Why had Lu come? Was White Jade Capital finally making its move?

  Countless thoughts raced through Du Longyang’s mind.

  Lu leaned back in his wheelchair, eyes deep as the starry expanse, gazing calmly at Du Longyang with a faint, almost mocking smile.

  That strange expression made Du Longyang deeply uncomfortable.

  “Earlier, your projection appeared above Buzhou Peak and attacked that girl, didn’t you?” Lu asked, voice casual.

  Du Longyang blinked. He hadn’t expected that to be the reason for this visit.

  That girl was monstrous—one sweep had killed twenty-seven Nascent Soul cultivators, including one who had just broken through to Infant Transformation.

  How could he sit by and do nothing?

  Du Longyang gave a wry smile. “So Young Master Lu is here because of that.”

  “I failed to rein in the various Tianyuan powers. They grew too arrogant, too reckless. That was my fault.”

  He spoke as if apologizing, assuming Lu had come to demand justice for the oppressed Five Phoenixes.

  But Lu merely shook his head.

  “That’s not why I’m here.”

  “I want to know—did you attack that girl?”

  Du Longyang’s cheek twitched.

  Could he deny it?

  He had indeed struck at Zhulong, trying to stop her and save those Nascent Souls.

  “I heard you were bullying someone weaker than you?”

  “I heard you were acting all high and mighty?”

  Lu tapped the armrest of his Thousand-Blade Chair. Clear, crisp ding-ding-ding sounds echoed through the chamber.

  Du Longyang’s mouth twitched. He was speechless.

  When had he ever bullied the weak?

  When had he acted high and mighty?

  Don’t slander him!

  That girl’s strange energy had shattered his spear intent in an instant.

  He was the one who got wrecked!

  “Young Master Lu, there seems to be a misunderstanding… I never bullied anyone.”

  Lu stopped tapping, raised a brow, and glanced at him.

  “So… you’re saying I’m slandering you?”

  Du Longyang froze.

  Remembering Lu’s famously petty temper, his face stiffened.

  “She’s just a child. Don’t you feel guilty bullying her?” Lu asked.

  Du Longyang didn’t know how to respond.

  Just a child?

  The girl who could whip a Nascent Soul to death with one tail and exude apocalyptic pressure—you call that a child?

  “Don’t worry,” Lu continued. “I saw how fiercely you two were fighting, and my hands got itchy. Come on—let’s spar.”

  With that, his figure blurred and vanished.

  Du Longyang’s face was full of bitterness.

  He just… left? No room for refusal?

  The chamber fell deathly silent.

  After a long moment, Du Longyang took a deep breath, picked up his black spear, and resigned himself.

  Fine. Let’s fight.

  Night.

  Du Longyang emerged from the chamber, shot into the sky like a streak of black light, and vanished beyond the horizon.

  Beyond Dongyang County, the boundless sea.

  Waves roared, crashing against reefs and sending up towering sprays.

  On the churning ocean surface, the white-clothed youth sat motionless in his wheelchair like a statue.

  Du Longyang stepped across the waves, each footfall perfect, his aura pushed to its peak.

  “Young Master Lu…”

  He held his spear in one hand. Dao Intent surged around him, making him look like a god or demon.

  Even the thunderous crash of the waves couldn’t drown out his voice.

  Lu nodded slightly, rubbing the dark jade ring on his thumb before flicking it lightly.

  The Spirit Pressure Chessboard floated before him.

  “Before we begin,” Du Longyang said, spear tip dipping into the sea, brow furrowed, “may I ask why?”

  Lu smiled.

  He picked up a warm, smooth chess piece from the white box.

  “Because the girl you bullied… is my kid.”

  The words fell.

  Du Longyang’s pupils contracted.

  Now he understood why Lu had suddenly appeared.

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  The young one got hit—so the old one came for revenge?!

  Wait—no!

  He hadn’t done anything to Zhulong!

  He was the victim here!

  BOOM!

  As the words left Lu’s mouth, he placed the piece.

  Clack.

  The piece landed on the Spirit Pressure Chessboard.

  Invisible waves and pressure exploded outward. The world seemed to freeze.

  The roaring sea fell instantly silent, as if a cascading waterfall had suddenly run dry.

  Boundless pressure crushed down on Du Longyang.

  His pupils shrank.

  He whipped his spear out of the water.

  BOOM!

  A chasm thousands of feet long split the sea.

  A water dragon formed at his spear tip, roaring ferociously as it surged forth.

  Du Longyang unleashed every ounce of his Infant Transformation power.

  But Lu placed another piece.

  It was as if a colossal invisible hand dropped the piece from the heavens.

  BOOM!

  The sea exploded.

  The water dragon shattered into pieces.

  Du Longyang felt the sky itself crashing down.

  He was smashed into the ocean like a cannonball, dragging a trail of white bubbles as he plummeted into the depths.

  He… was utterly miserable.

  Every time he burst out of the water, Lu’s terrifying presence slammed him right back in.

  He never even got a chance to swing his spear.

  This was a one-sided beatdown.

  That day, the people of Dongyang County heard the sea raging as if an earthquake had struck, massive waves exploding again and again.

  Half a day later…

  Du Longyang crawled out of the water, drenched and battered.

  Though humiliated, he was still alive.

  Lu had stopped. Du Longyang exhaled in relief, but the sense of defeat was overwhelming.

  The gap… had grown too wide.

  In the past, he could at least trade blows with Lu.

  Now? He was just a punching bag.

  What realm had Lu reached?

  Yin Spirit Dao Lotus? Yang Spirit Nine Steps?

  Or even… the legendary Primordial Spirit Unity Realm?

  No matter which, Du Longyang knew he was falling further and further behind.

  Bruised and swollen, he sat on the sea’s surface and waved a weary hand.

  No more… keep going and you’ll kill me.

  Enough, Young Master Lu.

  Lu didn’t press further.

  He beckoned.

  Du Longyang hesitated, then walked over.

  The Spirit Pressure Chessboard hovered between them.

  Lu poured wine into a cup and handed it over.

  Beat him up, then offer a sweet.

  The two sat on the ocean, drinking and playing Go.

  If Du Longyang weren’t black and blue, the scene might have looked immortal.

  During this game, brilliance flickered in Du Longyang’s eyes.

  The blockages in his cultivation that had puzzled him for so long suddenly cleared—like a revelation.

  When he snapped out of his enlightenment, Lu was already gone.

  Despite his battered face, excitement shone in Du Longyang’s eyes.

  Getting beaten this time… totally worth it.

  He bowed toward the rising sun on the horizon, gratitude in his heart.

  Slinging his spear across his back, hands hanging limp, he walked across the sea back to shore.

  The Yin Spirit Realm… he was close!

  …

  Tianji Pavilion sent word to the world.

  The massacre at Buzhou Peak shocked every corner of existence.

  Whether in the Five Phoenixes or Tianyuan, everyone was stunned speechless.

  Twenty-seven Nascent Soul cultivators dead in a single battle.

  One had even broken through to Infant Transformation on the spot.

  Countless second- and third-rate powers in Tianyuan wailed—their sect masters and elders had all perished.

  The balance of the world had shifted completely.

  For weaker sects, losing a Nascent Soul meant not just a drop in status, but a fatal loss of resources.

  Tianyuan descended into chaos.

  Strong cultivators vied for power.

  Fights broke out everywhere—between individuals, between sects, even between minor factions seeing opportunity in the vacuum.

  The chaos lasted half a month.

  It was called the Sect Upheaval.

  Fortunately, the Four Great Holy Lands quickly dispatched Nascent Soul cultivators to take control of the fallen powers, restoring order.

  Buzhou Peak became a forbidden zone.

  To Tianyuan cultivators, it was now more terrifying than the former “Tianyuan Demon Domain.”

  At the end of the first month after the battle, Martial Emperor City declared Buzhou Peak off-limits.

  From then on, no Tianyuan cultivator—even peak Nascent Soul—dared step within its borders.

  The girl atop the peak was dubbed the Forbidden Witch.

  A great demon who slew Nascent Souls without blinking!

  For the Five Phoenixes, this was joyous news.

  The arrogant invaders from Tianyuan finally learned restraint.

  Five Phoenixes forces reclaimed many cultivation resources.

  The world settled into a rare period of stability.

  Of course, the undercurrents of rivalry never ceased.

  Outside Wolong Ridge, on a small peak.

  Tianji Pavilion.

  Ever since White Jade Capital withdrew, Lü Dongxuan had become a complete hands-off leader, traveling the world with Xie Yunling and Sword Saint Hua Dongliu.

  Pine needles littered the cold stone steps.

  Mo Tianyu and Lü Mudui sat across from each other, a pot of hot tea between them. The cooled tea in their cups still rippled gently.

  They talked for a long time.

  Mo Tianyu had now stepped into the Heavenly Lock Realm. With the Dao Intent of Defying Fate, his divinations were terrifyingly accurate.

  Lü Mudui possessed his own exclusive Tianji deduction arts.

  Their exchange brought mutual insight.

  When Mo Tianyu finally left with his carefree swagger,

  Lü Mudui tapped his bamboo staff. The beautiful woman brought him a porcelain bowl filled with pig blood.

  He dipped his brush, took a sheet of profound yellow paper, and began to write.

  Name after name appeared.

  He calculated with his fingers as he wrote.

  The beautiful woman’s eyes widened.

  She sucked in a cold breath.

  “Old Lü, what are you doing?”

  Lü Mudui smiled, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead.

  “Re-ranking the Human List.”

  …

  Three days later.

  After the horrific battle that claimed twenty-seven Nascent Soul cultivators,

  the world had been quiet for some time.

  Tianyuan cultivators tucked away their arrogance and focused on cultivation.

  The terror of the forbidden zone taught them that even without White Jade Capital, the Five Phoenixes were not to be trifled with.

  Though Tianyuan still had its Four Holy Lands, they chose neutrality and would not provoke the forbidden zone.

  Thus, Tianyuan cultivators became remarkably low-key. The wise knew when to bow.

  Five Phoenixes cultivators were equally reserved—they knew they still lagged far behind Tianyuan.

  Tianyuan had countless Golden Core cultivators; the Five Phoenixes had only a handful of Heavenly Lock Realm experts.

  This peace didn’t last long.

  On Tianji Peak, white feathers scattered.

  The Tianji Pigeon once again delivered news to the world, carrying a list that spread like wildfire across both Five Phoenixes and Tianyuan.

  The World Prodigy List!

  Commonly known as—the Human Rankings.

  On the profound yellow paper, blood-red characters glowed like hooks.

  “Secret realms emerged, spiritual energy revived, the age of cultivation reopened…”

  “Tianyuan—guarded by the Four Holy Lands.”

  “Five Phoenixes—unmatched beneath White Jade Capital.”

  “The winds of cultivation blow strong across the world.”

  “Since ancient times, there is no first in literature, no second in martial arts…”

  “Today, Tianji Pavilion re-establishes the ‘World Human Rankings’ to watch the prodigies of the world clash!”

  …

  The new Human Rankings spread like wildfire.

  Nearly every faction had a copy.

  The blood-red names on the profound yellow paper ignited a new peak in the cultivation frenzy.

  It also symbolized the slow merging of the two great cultivation worlds.

  Tianji Pavilion was born from White Jade Capital.

  Though Young Master Lu had taken White Jade Capital into seclusion, he left Tianji Pavilion in the world—a constant reminder and deterrent.

  Tianji Pavilion had no top-tier experts.

  Not even a Heavenly Lock Realm cultivator.

  Yet no power—neither in Five Phoenixes nor Tianyuan—dared offend it.

  Northern County.

  Mount Tai, Asking Heaven Peak.

  In the small tower.

  Tantai Xuan stood barefoot. Beside him, Mo Ju in scholarly robes gently waved a feather fan. Mo Beike hunched with heavy eye bags drooping. And one more—Jiang Li, clad in gleaming silver armor, exuding heroic spirit.

  Jiang Li had finally left the Nine Phoenix Institute and returned to Tantai Xuan’s army.

  Tantai Xuan held the profound yellow paper.

  “The Human List used to be just Tianyuan’s thing. Now… it covers the entire world, including both Five Phoenixes and Tianyuan…”

  He smacked his lips.

  Mo Ju’s eyes gleamed behind his fan. “Ever since Sister Zhulong slaughtered twenty-seven Tianyuan Nascent Souls at Buzhou Peak, the tension between the two sides has eased considerably.”

  “Especially since the Four Holy Lands never stepped in, the two worlds have fallen into a strange peaceful coexistence.”

  “Tianji Pavilion re-ranking the Human List… it feels like they’re stoking the fires of competition again.”

  Tantai Xuan fell into thought, eyes dropping to the paper.

  “World Prodigy List (Five Phoenixes & Tianyuan)”

  “Rank 1: Xiang Shaoyun!”

  Seeing the top name, Tantai Xuan inhaled sharply.

  As expected—the Overlord.

  His battle with Zhou Haisheng, slaying a Nascent Soul, had shaken the world.

  At Buzhou Peak, he and Sima Qingshan had suppressed the South Dou Mountain sect master—a minor accomplishment Nascent Soul—though they hadn’t killed him. Still, a headless Overlord clearly possessed Nascent Soul-level combat power.

  First place was well deserved.

  The atmosphere in the tower remained calm.

  Mo Beike squinted as if dozing.

  They continued reading.

  But as they went down the list, the names completely shocked them.

  Rank 2: Li Sansi!

  Rank 3: Zhong Nan.

  Rank 4: Nie Changqing.

  Rank 5: Feng Yilou.

  Rank 6: Lu Changkong.

  Rank 7: Bai Qingniao.

  Rank 8: Sima Qingshan.

  Rank 9: Demon Monkey King.

  Rank 10: Tantai Xuan.

  …

  The list was long—one hundred names in total—but only the top ten truly mattered.

  And this top ten… was insane!

  What kind of monsters were these?!

  Only two from Tianyuan made the top ten: Zhong Nan and Feng Yilou.

  The other eight? Seven from Five Phoenixes, and one nobody knew where from.

  And most shockingly…

  Rank 10.

  Outside the tower, wind and rain howled.

  Inside, dead silence.

  Mo Ju stared blankly at the paper.

  Even the ever-steady Mo Beike was stunned.

  Both looked up at the same time—at the barefoot man holding the paper, grinning so wide his molars showed.

  Tantai Xuan, King of Northern Xuan.

  Rank 10 on the Human List?!