A violent distortion of space washed over Li-Wen's senses, accompanied by a blinding flash of blue light and the chaotic whistling of atmospheric wind.
When the spatial turbulence subsided, the clean white marble plaza of Azure Sky City was gone, replaced by a vast, desolate realm beneath a dim, twilight sky.
The air inside the Sovereign Night Ruins was heavy, cool, and laden with the ancient scent of damp earth, decayed vegetation, and thick, dormant Qi. Towering, black-barked primordial trees reached hundreds of feet into the overcast sky, their thick canopies blocking most of the pale light and casting deep, perpetual shadows over the jagged landscape.
SWOOSH!
Li-Wen descended silently from a height of twenty feet, landing softly on a bed of damp, mossy rocks without causing a single rustle.
He did not immediately rush forward. His dark, golden-flecked eyes scanned his immediate surroundings with absolute, practiced calm, while his divine consciousness expanded outward in a subtle wave, mapping the surrounding three miles.
"Random spatial teleportation," Li-Wen analyzed silently, feeling the distinct fluctuation of ancient arrays embedded in the land. "The three thousand participants have been scattered across the outer perimeter of this ancient realm. The spatial density here is at least twice as strong as the outside world."
He raised his head, looking toward the dark center of the horizon, where a massive, black mountain silhouette pierced through the low-hanging purple clouds like an ancient, sleeping sovereign.
That was the central core of the ruins—the location of the Sovereign Night Tomb.
"The spatial origin I refined from the Abyssal Meteorite Core is reacting faintly with the central region," Li-Wen murmured, feeling a subtle, rhythmic thrum within his Dantian. "There is definitely a high-tier ancient secret sealed deep beneath that mountain."
CRACK!
Suddenly, the crisp sound of dry twigs snapping echoed from a thick patch of black thorn bushes fifty yards to his left.
Three young cultivators wearing matching crimson robes embroidered with a golden hawk emblem stepped out into the clearing. They carried heavy steel sabers and held glowing tracking talismans in their hands. All three radiated the aura of the First Stage of the Earth-Realm.
When their eyes landed on Li-Wen's plain, unadorned light-grey robes, their anxious expressions instantly dissolved into cold, greedy sneers.
"Hahaha! Brother Zhang, look at our luck!" one of the crimson-robed youths laughed, twirling his saber arrogantly. "We just landed and already stumbled upon a solitary bug!"
"A Second-Stage Earth-Realm brat from some backwater town," the leader named Zhang scoffed, stepping forward with a sinister smirk. "Hey, grey-robed kid! Hand over your wooden entry plaque and your spatial ring right now! If you cooperate, we might just break one of your legs and let you crawl out of these ruins alive!"
Li-Wen didn't even look at them. He casually turned his back, walking toward the northern path.
"Insolent bastard! Ignoring us?!" the third crimson-robed youth roared furiously, his Ki exploding as he lunged forward, executing a lethal slash aimed directly at Li-Wen's spine! "Die!"
Li-Wen did not turn around. He merely flicked his left sleeve back casually.
BOOM!
A concentrated shockwave of silver-gold Ki erupted from his sleeve like an invisible iron hammer!
PUNCH!
The attacking youth didn't even have time to scream. The violent shockwave crushed his heavy steel saber into iron filings and slammed directly into his chest! His chest cavity caved in instantly, his eyes bulging as his body cannoned backward through five thick black trees before collapsing into a bloody, motionless heap!
Dead in a single, casual sleeve flick!
The laughter on the faces of the remaining two youths froze instantly. The room-temperature air felt as if it had dropped into a freezing arctic abyss.
"J-Junior Brother Liu!" Leader Zhang shrieked in horror, his legs trembling violently as he backed away in sheer panic. "Y-You... who are you?!"
Li-Wen stopped, looking back over his shoulder with eyes as cold as an ancient tomb.
"Hand over your plaques," Li-Wen said softly.
Leader Zhang and his companion didn't hesitate for a single second. Throwing their wooden entry plaques and spatial pouches onto the ground with frantic screams, they turned and fled into the dark forest as fast as their legs could carry them.
Li-Wen casually swept his hand, bringing the three wooden plaques into his sleeve with a flick of Ki.
"Three tokens," Li-Wen murmured indifferently. "Collecting three thousand of these through minor flies will be tedious. The fastest way... is to let them gather the tokens for me."
He raised his gaze toward the central black mountain and leaped into the treetop canopy, blurring into a grey shadow as he sped toward the deeper zones of the ruins.
As hours passed, the outer zone of the Sovereign Night Ruins turned into a blood-drenched arena.
Enounters between competing geniuses from different regional clans and sects sparked fierce, deadly clashes across the canyons, forests, and ancient stone ruins. Screams of agony, the clashing of steel weapons, and the roaring explosions of martial techniques echoed endlessly throughout the desolate landscape.
By afternoon, news of a terrifying "Grey-Robed Phantom" began to spread like wildfire among the surviving participants in the northern sector.
A solitary youth in light-grey robes was walking calmly toward the central core, completely unbothered by ambushers. Anyone who dared to strike at him—whether they were solitary hunters, mercenary groups, or elite disciples from regional sects—was crushed instantly by a single, casual strike!
"Don't go near the northern valley!" a wounded cultivator shouted to his companions as he fled in terror. "There's a grey-robed monster there! He shattered an entire five-man squad from the Iron-Blood Sect with a single palm!"
"Is he a hidden monster from the central capital?!"
"Avoid him at all costs!"
Meanwhile, three miles ahead in a narrow, misty stone canyon leading toward the inner region.
Li-Wen walked casually over the damp cobblestones. Behind him lay twelve unconscious or dead cultivators scattered across the canyon floor, their wooden plaques already swept into Li-Wen's spatial ring. His total token count had effortlessly reached fifty-eight.
Suddenly, a heavy, bloodthirsty pressure descended from the high canyon walls above!
BOOM!
A massive, fifty-foot black heavy spear descended from the sky like a falling meteor, slamming violently into the canyon floor thirty feet in front of Li-Wen!
The sheer physical shockwave shattered the surrounding stone walls into dust, sending a curtain of shattered gravel into the air!
Through the settling dust storm, a tall, muscular figure stepped down from the high canyon ledge, landing heavily beside the giant spear.
It was Lin Zhan!
He wore heavy dark-iron armor, his broad shoulders draped in a blood-red cape. His eyes burned with violent, beast-like murder, and his aura—having reached the Late Sixth Stage of the Earth-Realm—radiated a suffocating pressure that caused the air in the narrow canyon to hum with static electricity.
Behind Lin Zhan stepped out four elite elders and senior disciples of the Lin Clan, all hovering at the Fourth and Fifth Stages of the Earth-Realm, completely blocking the exit of the canyon.
"Hahaha! Found you at last, rural dog!" Lin Zhan roared, his voice echoing like striking iron against the stone walls. "Did you really think you could escape my Lin Clan inside these ruins?!"
Li-Wen stopped, looking at Lin Zhan and the four Lin Clan members with complete, undisturbed composure.
"Escape?" Li-Wen asked smoothly, a subtle, cold smile touching his lips. "Why would I escape from prey that delivers itself directly to my door?"
"Insolent rat!" one of the Fourth-Stage Lin Clan senior disciples stepped forward furiously, unsheathing a pair of long, hooked daggers. "Young Master Zhan, allow me to tear his legs off first!"
SWOOSH!
The disciple blurred into a streak of red light, executing a high-speed movement technique as he lunged toward Li-Wen's throat with lethal precision!
Li-Wen didn't even shift his posture. The moment the disciple entered a five-foot radius around him—
Void Sovereign Technique: Spatial Pressure!
BANG!
An invisible, terrifying gravitational wave slammed down from above!
The attacking disciple felt as if a physical mountain had collapsed onto his skull! His movement technique was violently interrupted, his legs snapping instantly under the sheer weight as he slammed face-first into the stone ground, spitting out a fountain of fresh blood!
Before he could react, Li-Wen casually stepped forward and crushed his skull under his boot.
CRUSH!
Silence fell over the canyon once more.
Lin Zhan's eyes narrowed slightly, a trace of surprise flickering across his fierce face, replaced immediately by even deeper, bloodthirsty excitement.
"Good! Very good!" Lin Zhan gritted his teeth, grabbing the shaft of his massive black heavy spear and pulling it from the shattered earth with a single arm. "No wonder you could kill my useless younger brother! Your physical strength is indeed impressive for a Second-Stage ant! But before my Dragon-Cleaving Spear, your parlor tricks are useless!"
BOOM!
Lin Zhan's crimson Ki flared violently, enveloping his heavy spear in a churning vortex of blood-red flames! The ground beneath his feet cracked under the sheer density of his power!
"Kill him together!" Lin Zhan commanded coldly to the remaining three elders. "Don't give him room to breathe!"
"UNDERSTOOD!"
The three Lin Clan experts unleashed their martial aura simultaneously! Three massive sword beams and spear shadows erupted, interweaving into a dense, inescapable net of blood-red death that surged toward Li-Wen from three directions!
At the same time, Lin Zhan stepped forward, his body blurring into a crimson lightning bolt as he thrust his heavy spear directly toward Li-Wen's heart with mountain-shattering force!
Spear Art: Blood-Dragon Piercer!
The combined attack of four Earth-Realm experts locked down all spatial retreat routes within the narrow canyon!
Faced with this lethal, inescapable strike, Li-Wen's golden pupils flared with divine, ancient brilliance.
"A pack of flies attempting to pierce the heavens," Li-Wen whispered softly.
He took a half-step back with his right foot, his bare right hand clenching into a simple, unadorned fist.
Void Sovereign Technique: First Stance—Sovereign Tyrant Fist!
The translucent gold luster of his Jade-Bone Foundation hummed with supreme power. The combined physical strength of one hundred and twenty thousand pounds, backed by his dense, silver-gold liquid Ki, condensed into a tiny, blinding sun at the center of his knuckles!
BOOM—!
Li-Wen threw a single, straightforward punch directly into the incoming storm of blood-red attacks!
An absolute, catastrophic shockwave erupted from his fist!
The three incoming sword beams and spear shadows shattered like fragile glass upon contact with the silver-gold shockwave!
"WHAT?!" the three Lin Clan experts shrieked in utter terror as the lingering force of the punch swept over them!
PUNCH! PUNCH! PUNCH!
Their armor, meridians, and bones were instantly pulverized! Their three bodies cannoned backward, crashing into the canyon walls and embedding deep into the solid rock as lifeless, bloody smears!
Meanwhile, Lin Zhan's heavy black spear struck Li-Wen's bare fist directly!
CLANG—!
A deafening, metallic ring echoed across the entire valley!
Sparks flew like a pyrotechnic explosion! The crimson blood-dragon flame on Lin Zhan's spear was instantly extinguished by the tyrannical silver-gold Ki!
Lin Zhan felt an astronomical, unstoppable force surge back through the shaft of his heavy spear into his arms! His heavy iron armguards exploded into splinters, blood spurting wildly from his palms as he was forced back ten heavy steps, his boots carving deep trenches into the stone floor!
"Im... Impossible!" Lin Zhan gasped, his arms trembling uncontrollably, his heart pounding with unprecedented, ice-cold shock. "Bare fist... stopping my Blood-Dragon Piercer?!"
Li-Wen stood in the center of the canyon, his light-grey robes spotless, his hand slowly relaxing back into an open palm.
"Is this the full power of the Lin Clan's top genius?" Li-Wen asked, his voice smooth and devoid of any emotion. "Disappointing."
"YOU BASTARD!" Lin Zhan roared in pure, unadulterated humiliation! He bit his tongue, spitting a mouthful of essence blood onto his heavy spear!
The black spear vibrated frantically, absorbing the essence blood as its size expanded by double, flaring with an ominous, dark-red blood aura!
"Secret Art: Sacrifice of the Blood Dragon!" Lin Zhan screamed hysterically, his aura surging forcefully from the Sixth Stage to the Peak Seventh Stage of the Earth-Realm! "I don't care what body-refining technique you cultivated! Today, I will tear you to pieces!"
Lin Zhan leaped eighty feet into the air, his heavy spear transforming into a hundred-foot crimson dragon silhouette that dived down toward Li-Wen with earth-shattering fury!
The entire canyon began to collapse under the crushing pressure of the blood dragon!
Li-Wen looked up at the descending hundred-foot crimson dragon, his dark eyes showing neither fear nor excitement—only the absolute, eternal detachment of an ancient God Emperor looking down at a dying insect.
He slowly raised his right index finger, pointing it directly toward the center of the crimson dragon's forehead.
Void Sovereign Technique: Finger of the Void!
SWIISH!
A single, slender beam of silver-gold light, no thicker than a needle, shot forth from his fingertip!
It carried no grand momentum, no roaring flames, and no deafening sound. Yet, the moment the slender silver-gold light touched the hundred-foot crimson dragon—
POP!
The massive crimson dragon silhouette froze instantly in mid-air!
A fraction of a second later, a tiny, spiderweb-like crack spread from the tip of Lin Zhan's heavy black spear across its entire hundred-foot body!
BOOM!
The entire hundred-foot blood dragon exploded into fine, harmless red mist!
Lin Zhan's high-grade heavy steel spear shattered into thousands of metallic fragments!
"AAGGGHH!"
Lin Zhan let out a blood-curdling scream as the lingering silver-gold beam pierced straight through his right shoulder, blasting off his entire arm in a spray of dark blood!
He crashed violently onto the stone floor, rolling through the dirt and mud until he slammed against the base of the canyon wall, gasping for air as blood poured from his severed shoulder.
"My... my arm..." Lin Zhan sobbed frantically, clutching his bleeding shoulder, his fierce, beast-like arrogance completely replaced by pure, hysterical terror.
Li-Wen walked over calmly, his footsteps echoing softly in the quiet canyon.
He stood over the trembling Lin Zhan, looking down at him with cold indifference.
"P-Please..." Lin Zhan whimpered, tears and blood covering his pale face as he looked up at the grey-robed youth. "Don't kill me... My father... My Grand Ancestor... The Lin Clan will give you whatever you want... Spirit stones... Rare herbs... Imperial titles..."
"Your Lin Clan," Li-Wen murmured softly, raising his right boot, "does not possess anything that interests me."
"NO—!"
CRUSH!
Li-Wen's boot descended, crushing Lin Zhan's throat with absolute, unyielding finality.
Lin Zhan's body twitched twice before slumping completely limp, his wide, lifeless eyes staring blankly at the dark sky above.
Li-Wen casually swept his sleeve, bringing Lin Zhan's spatial ring and wooden entry plaque into his hand. Inside Lin Zhan's ring alone were over one hundred and twenty wooden plaques collected from other participants.
"One hundred and seventy-eight tokens," Li-Wen noted calmly, sliding the ring into his robe.
He turned his head, looking toward the high canyon wall half a mile away.
Up on the misty cliff edge, three young cultivators from other regional sects who had witnessed the entire fight were trembling so violently they couldn't even stand up. Their faces were as pale as corpses, their minds completely shattered by the sight of the Lin Clan's top genius being slaughtered like a dog.
Li-Wen didn't bother killing them. He turned around, stepping out of the blood-drenched canyon and resuming his calm, unhurried walk toward the central black mountain.
An hour later.
In the central region of the ruins, at the foot of the massive black mountain.
A grand, ancient stone archway covered in dark-purple runes stood carved into the base of the mountain face—the main entrance to the Sovereign Night Tomb!
Surrounding the entrance were dozens of top-tier young geniuses from the capital's major factions, including the Imperial Guard Faction and the Royal Merchant Guild. However, none of them dared to enter the grand archway; a powerful, dark-purple defensive array hummed softly across the entrance, blocking all entry.
Suddenly, the quiet murmur among the geniuses ceased as a light-grey silhouette emerged from the misty mountain path.
Li-Wen walked calmly toward the grand archway, his light-grey robes completely clean, without a single drop of blood or speck of dust.
The surrounding geniuses looked at him with curiosity and caution, noticing his low Second-Stage Earth-Realm cultivation.
"Who is that kid?"
"Does he think he can force his way into the Sovereign Night Tomb?"
"Even Peak Sixth-Stage experts were blasted back by the barrier array!"
Li-Wen ignored the murmurs. He stopped three feet in front of the dark-purple defensive array.
He raised his right hand, gently pressing his palm against the pulsing purple runes.
The spatial origin of the Primordial Void Star within his Dantian vibrated softly. A faint, intricate dark-purple rune flashed subtly at the center of his palm.
HUMMM—!
The ancient defensive array that had blocked hundreds of geniuses for hours suddenly hummed with joy, as if recognizing its true master! The dark-purple runes parted smoothly, creating a six-foot wide doorway directly through the barrier!
Li-Wen stepped through the doorway effortlessly, disappearing into the dark interior of the ancient tomb.
The surrounding geniuses stared at the scene in utter, speechless shock!
"W-WHAT?!"
"He entered?! Just like that?!"
"Follow him! Quick!"
Dozens of geniuses rushed forward frantically, attempting to dive through the doorway before it closed. However, the moment Li-Wen passed through, the dark-purple runes snapped back together with violent speed!
BOOM!
A wave of terrifying dark spatial energy erupted outward, blasting the incoming geniuses backward, spitting blood as they crashed onto the rocky ground!
Inside the dark, ancient corridor of the Sovereign Night Tomb.
Li-Wen walked along the smooth obsidian floor, flanked by ancient stone pillars carved with depictions of primordial starry nights and dark spatial dragons. The air here was filled with dense, pure cosmic energy that made his Divine Core hum with pleasure.
"Sovereign Night..." Li-Wen murmured softly, looking at the ancient murals on the wall. "Let us see what secrets you left behind in this mortal realm."
See you in next chapter....