Before Ye Yu, a new spatial distortion had formed, coalescing into another gate.
This gate was cast in an unsettling shade of dark gold, as if forged from congealed blood of greed and boundless wealth. It exuded a chilling, oppressive aura—so heavy it seemed capable of swallowing souls whole.
Carved upon its surface was the figure of a man prostrated on the ground, his hands desperately clutching mountains of gold coins and treasures. His eyes, reflecting the gleam of gold, burned with fanaticism, his body even distorted from his insatiable hoarding.
Greed.
For the first time, Ye Yu's brows furrowed—not out of fear, but because he sensed the deeper, deadlier rules woven into this trial, far more profound than those before.
Greed struck at the most primal, inescapable desires of living beings: possession and expansion. And here, it would manifest in ways far more insidious and lethal.
Meanwhile, outside the Mystic Realm…
The atmosphere aboard the Tyrant Feather Pirate Ship had grown suffocating.
Xia Ling, Zhang Tian, and the others stared fixedly at the churning Black Crimson Secret Realm, its depths darker than blood. Nearly four hours had passed, yet the mist's turbulence had only intensified, growing more erratic—as if something monstrous was brewing within.
"Four hours… Brother Ye…" Zhang Tian's voice trembled, her face pale.
Cold Energy radiated from Xia Ling's body, frost creeping across the deck. Her nails dug into her palms, her tension palpable.
Xiao Ke spoke up, "Trust the Captain. He's stronger now—stronger than any of us can even gauge. Even if this is the Black Crimson Secret Realm, bordering on the Crimson tier… I believe he'll clear it."
The dark golden Gate of Greed swung open before Ye Yu, and without hesitation, he stepped through.
The scene before him abruptly shifted.
He stood at the edge of a sunlit island, its sands pristine and white. Yet the sight that greeted him would have driven any weak-willed person to instant madness.
No longer was he surrounded by the cold grandeur of the Golden Hall. Instead, as far as the eye could see—piles upon piles of treasures glittered with alluring hues.
*Countless gold coins blanketed the ground like sand, stretching endlessly under the sun, their reflections blinding.
*Fist-sized flawless diamonds, pigeon-blood rubies, Imperial Green Jadeite, deep-sea pearls… Rare treasures beyond measure lay scattered like worthless pebbles, heaped into small mountains.
Chests of gold coins stood open, crisp banknotes rustling faintly in the sea breeze.
*Further ahead, unknown treasures shimmered with strange, otherworldly energy—clearly artifacts of extraordinary power.
And at the heart of this sea of wealth stood two objects that would make any power-seeker's eyes burn with desire.
The first was a colossal warship, its pitch-black hull forged from an unknown metal, blotting out half the island's sky. It hovered silently dozens of meters above the ground, its streamlined form bristling with menacing cannons, radiating an aura of apocalyptic destruction. At its prow, a skull-and-crossed-cannons emblem was unmistakable—the Ancient Weapon, Pluto!
Second, beneath the Pluto warship, within a massive transparent pool crafted from pure crystal, a breathtakingly beautiful woman lounged lazily in the water.
She possessed blue, seaweed-like hair, skin as lustrous as the finest pearls, and a face of unparalleled beauty—ethereal and enchanting in an almost inhuman way. Most striking were her deep, ocean-like eyes, which seemed to contain the power to command the vast seas! Her identity was unmistakable—the Ancient Weapon, the Sea King! She could summon and control all the Sea Beasts of this world!
Wealth! Power! Beauty! All within reach!
Even more maddening was the fact that guarding all this were only a few seemingly dull, weak, oversized groundhog-like low-level Exotic Beasts.
They rolled mindlessly among the piles of treasure, gnawing on gold coins, utterly oblivious to Ye Yu's presence.
"Do you see it, Ye Yu?" A grand, endlessly seductive voice echoed across the island, as if the entire world were whispering to him. "Step forward! Deal with those insignificant little creatures! All of this—limitless riches, a warship capable of destroying the world, the goddess who commands the seas—will be yours! Now! Immediately! You can have it all! You'll ascend to the pinnacle of this world in an instant! No more arduous voyages, no more life-or-death battles—the entire ocean will bow at your feet!"
The voice was like a spell, laced with potent mental suggestion, ruthlessly stoking the most primal desires for possession and power. Anyone in this situation would likely have their reason devoured by greed in an instant, charging forward recklessly to crush those bothersome Exotic Beasts and embrace this ultimate temptation of "ascending to greatness in a single step."
Ye Yu's gaze was indeed drawn to the scene before him. His eyes swept over the mountain of treasure, skimmed past the Pluto warship radiating an aura of destruction, and finally settled on the ethereal, incomparably beautiful "Sea King" in the crystal pool. A flicker of emotion seemed to cross his face?
This treasure alone could instantly elevate him to the highest level. And with such a powerful warship—Pluto—his own strength would be unmatched. Add to that such a formidable Pirate Ship, and the acquisition of such a powerful subordinate, the Sea King.
Even Ye Yu was tempted.
Ye Yu took a step forward, moving slowly toward the mountain of treasure, toward Pluto, toward the Sea King.
One step, two steps…
The sand was soft, the sunlight warm, and the gleam of the treasure nearly blinding.
The "groundhog" Exotic Beasts seemed to sense something, pausing their coin-chewing to lift their heads blankly at the approaching Ye Yu. They emitted a few meaningless "gurgles," appearing even more weak and harmless.
Ye Yu drew closer to the Exotic Beasts, closer to the "pinnacle" within his grasp.
Ten meters… five meters… three meters…
He could even see the Sea King's long blue eyelashes trembling faintly in the sunlight.
The seductive voice grew more urgent, more fervent: "Yes! Just like that! Go on! Crush them! All of this is yours! Now! Immediately! You'll be the king of the world!"
Just as Ye Yu stood a single step away from the Exotic Beasts, as if he were about to casually flatten them into paste in the next second—
He stopped.
The flicker of "emotion" on his face vanished, replaced by utter boredom.
"Hmph." A faint, almost inaudible scoff escaped Ye Yu's lips.
He raised his head, his gaze seeming to pierce through the metal hull of Pluto's warship, through the alluring facade of the "Sea King," straight into the core of this greedy system.
"Endless wealth? And after obtaining it? Lying on piles of gold counting coins?" Ye Yu's voice was terrifyingly calm, carrying an icy clarity that saw through all pretense. "Pluto's warship? Blasting islands to rubble, annihilating enemies? And then? Sitting alone amidst the ruins like some solitary tyrant? The Sea King Poseidon? Commanding Sea Beasts? That's the least appealing—my combat strength is already more than sufficient."
Ye Yu shook his head, his eyes devoid of any greed, filled only with profound disappointment and disdain.
"Such 'pinnacles'..." Ye Yu's tone dripped with contempt. "Are utterly dull. So dull... they can't even spark the slightest interest."
(End of Chapter)