Volume 1, Chapter 23: Competing for the Final Spot

Therefore, most spirit masters who enter the Skyfrost Forest to hunt spirit beasts—unless they are exceptionally daring and skilled—either travel in large groups or attach themselves to the protection of established factions before venturing into the Great Wilderness Forest.

It is safest to enter the Great Wilderness Forest under the wing of powerful families, such as the strongest among the Five Great Sword Sects of the Nine Provinces. However, these elites rarely take notice of ordinary people. Meanwhile, the Luo and Xu families, long backed by the Southern Domain’s Sword Soul Sect and the Green Lotus Sword Sect, have been suppressing the Mu family and do not deign to recruit others. As for the Mu family, which lacks such powerful backing, they are more than happy to select exceptional sword spirit masters from Ice-Condensation City to join their ranks, thereby bolstering the overall strength of their team.

Gently pulling his foot from beneath Qishi’s oppressive weight, Zhao Yi’s mouth twitched involuntarily. Observing Gelda’s inscrutable expression, Zhao Yi felt no urgency; he lay back comfortably, watching the duel unfolding before him as if it were truly just a movie.

Time ticked away, and within the hall, with one standing and one kneeling, neither made a sound. The silence was chilling.

"I have not been quite myself lately. Fortunately, it is not my turn to serve before the throne today; otherwise, appearing in this state might have caused a disaster," Xue Haimei said with a bashful smile, concealing emotions that should not be there.

Dressed in simple, elegant attire, she knew that anyone else would hardly dare to enter the palace for the imperial selection in such modest clothing. Clearly, Liang Bairou had given this much thought.

Thinking of how he had been inexplicably punished during the day, only to be scolded again for no reason, Nick felt the shadow looming over his heart was truly immense.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Mo Yize got up, walked to the bathroom door, and pulled it open.

Xue Haimei never denied that Nan Jiuxi was a wise and saintly monarch, but he was simply never a man to whom one could entrust a lifetime.

Light, wispy clouds gently adorned the perimeter of the floating city, and streams of pure vital energy swirled around, making the density of spiritual essence here even higher than below. Many of the buildings were not merely built upon the floating city, but were held aloft directly above the clouds by the strange pull of the spiritual energy.

Lin Yujia felt a flicker of doubt. This elderly man was so familiar with the map—could he really have been playing this game for such a long time?

Mo Bei saw that the person before her was indeed Master Bairou, whom she had seen many times in the Western Tribe, while the last one to emerge from the Spirit-Slaying Sword was Mo Nan.

Ye Feng sensed the divine consciousness sweeping toward him. Perceiving that the cultivation level radiating from this consciousness matched his own—at the early stage of the Golden Core—he unleashed his own consciousness in the direction of the intrusion.

Having returned to Earth, people lived lives just like any other mortal; eighty years is truly a very, very long time.

"I think you’ve got nothing better to do. If you have the time, help me deliver something to the Central Domain," Sima Baili glanced at Xia Moqiuyi before picking up his tea and taking a sip.

Jiang Yaoxing threw Makarov forward, then looked at the soldier in an extremely "friendly" manner.

Not daring to linger, he violently flapped his Fire Cloud Wings, forcibly teleporting away to break free from the giant hand’s restraints, and then fled madly.

Daoist Xuanji was filled with gratitude. He had not expected Ye Tian to be so generous, offering him not only the treasures from within the Hook-Serpent but also its inner core.

After executing three consecutive teleports, he stopped. Finding that Wang Zifeng and the purple-clad youth were no longer in pursuit, Ye Feng withdrew all his consciousness and spiritual fluctuations, hiding himself within a different mountain forest.

"Perhaps that ring and the jade slip are giving me a choice. If I choose the ring, it means I will continue to pursue immortality. If I choose the jade slip, then, as recorded in the one you gave me, I must exhaust all my cultivation to become a mortal, then marry, have children, and spend the rest of my days in peace."

Calculating the time, more than a day had passed since Zhou Hui retreated yesterday, and Chu Nian had not stepped out of his room once. The master suddenly felt a sense of foreboding. She hurriedly grabbed a garment and rushed to the door of Chu Nian’s room.

Although Zhao Li’s Rain-of-Pear-Blossoms spear technique and internal energy were quite refined, they were still vastly inferior to the professional killers of the Leopard Group, and even more so when compared to You, who had his strength enhanced by the internal energy Yang Chen had infused into his body.

The two people on the side of the street chatted with indifference; they had long grown accustomed to such events, just as they might discuss others' tragedies while laughing, as if watching the news.

Han Ningxin returned joyfully, placing her left arm against Di Chongxiao’s right arm. The pair of Dragon Seals shimmered brilliantly, looking truly like a couple’s spirit mark.

At this moment, the water sword had pierced through the iceberg, carving out a massive ice cavern over a person’s height and dozens of meters deep.

"Should I come to pick you up, or will you drive to find me? Or should we set a place and meet there?" Lan Yue asked.

Upon donning the "Blood Butcher," Chen Rong instantly felt the killing intent and bloodlust that had permeated the room and his surroundings being drawn in and contained within the "Blood Butcher" destiny. This destiny, which Chen Rong had barely touched before, suddenly swelled and flourished.

Because the dense fog had not dissipated, the outcome of the battle remained unclear. Thus, even though the fight had ended, public opinion and the frantic discussions surrounding the scene remained heavily biased toward Yan Yeniu.

Moreover, the Great Strength Ghost King was now a true Ghost King-tier entity. His Foundation Establishment aura was enough to cover every corner of the Ten Thousand Ghost Cave, making it easy to detect whether any powerful intruders had arrived.

Throughout the morning, only ten were selected from thousands, and only one was truly qualified. Some parents, seeing the contrast between their own children and those who had been chosen, pulled their children away from the line.

Following the escape plan, Bai Huazang and Tong Xuanyun, as well as Bai Huazhen and Bai Huazhen, crossed the border one after another, successfully reuniting in the city of Oman. Following Guan Shuanyan’s prior arrangements, they found a secret point of the Shenyin Wind Group in the city, posed as merchants from Dahua visiting for pleasure, rented a tour boat, and began sightseeing along the Cang River.

Indeed, after a moment of contemplation, the officers in attendance expressed their willingness to assist their lord. With one pledging ten million, another several million, the nine great families ultimately pooled together one hundred and thirty million taels of silver.

At the same time, he knew that the Song family had only this one male descendant; his father would at most scold him, and since he was currently injured, it was not appropriate to beat him.

The Five Clouds Sect and others, forced into a corner, had no choice but to close their various branch offices, recall all their disciples and important figures scattered abroad, hold fast to their mountain gates, and wait to see how the situation would unfold.