Chapter 1144: The Last Hope
“Brother Yun... what's wrong?” Sensing something amiss, Xiao Mo quickly turned in front of Yun Che, only to see his face pale and his lips trembling, as if he had suddenly fallen gravely ill.
Eliminated... the true body is expelled from the Zhou Tian God Realm... and is forbidden to enter again...
Those cruel few words of the Zhou Tian’s voice were nothing short of a thunderbolt to Yun Che.
In the three years since arriving in the God Realm, he had been striving every moment with the goal of entering the Zhou Tian God Realm. At the last moment, he had miraculously reached the Divine Tribulation Realm and smoothly entered the Profound God Convention. He had thought that Mo Li was within reach, imagined countless ways to find her, and countless times dreamed of their reunion...
But fate had suddenly played a cruel, merciless joke on him.
Being expelled from the Zhou Tian Realm meant that all his persistence and efforts over these three years would turn to ashes. From now on, perhaps he would never again have the opportunity to set foot in the Zhou Tian God Realm, and would never again have the chance to see Mo Li...
With his current strength, no matter how desperately he tried, he could never break into the top ten of the battlefield without being eliminated, let alone that for an entire month, he hadn't even set foot on the battlefield. He was ranked dead last in the entire Eastern Divine Region...
“How... could... this be...” Yun Che muttered, lost and dazed, his body and soul turning ice-cold, as if falling into an abyss.
————————————
Within the Zhou Tian Realm, at the residence of the Bing Huang God Sect, upon hearing the same Zhou Tian’s voice, Mu Bingyun’s ice-cold face drastically changed: “All eliminated are expelled from the Zhou Tian Realm... It’s over!”
Beside her, Mu Huanzhi was unaware of the reason. Thinking she was worried about the safety of the Bing Huang disciples, he said, “Don’t worry. No one dares to cause trouble within the Zhou Tian Realm. Han Yu, Fei Xue, Yun Che, and the others can return directly to the Yin Xue Realm through the teleportation profound formation after the battle. There’s no need to worry at all.”
“No, it’s not that matter.” Mu Bingyun’s profound aura was in turmoil. She paced back and forth, then suddenly said, “Grand Elder, the invited star realms for observation are allowed five hundred people in total, as long as their profound strength is at least at the Divine Tribulation Realm. We haven’t filled our quota. Can we still bring in others, like Yun Che or Fei Xue?”
“Of course not!” Mu Huanzhi said without any hesitation: “The Zhou Tian God Realm is a king realm, standing proudly above all realms, and its rules are extremely strict. How could it allow ‘latecomers’? From the first day of the preliminaries, the Zhou Tian God Realm has been effectively closed off to entry.”
“Moreover, the Zhou Tian’s voice just now made it very clear: all eliminated are expelled and cannot re-enter. The words of the Zhou Tian are like the edicts of the Heavenly Dao—they will not be retracted.”
“...” Mu Bingyun stood silently for a long time, then sighed, “Could there really be no room for leniency?”
“If it were another king realm, there might be a way. Perhaps some star realms could also be persuaded, but our star realm... is low in status and carries little weight. It’s absolutely impossible no matter what.” Mu Huanzhi shook his head and frowned, “Bingyun, you have always been as calm as ice and snow. Why are you so agitated now? What exactly is the matter?”
“...” Mu Bingyun’s chest heaved, unable to explain. She closed her eyes and murmured helplessly, “Perhaps this is just his fate.”
As Mu Bingyun sighed inwardly, from the neighboring Yan Shen Realm, earth-shattering cheers erupted continuously, forming a stark contrast with her current state of mind.
————————————
“Hey? Hey hey! Brother Yun, so what if you can’t go to the Zhou Tian Realm? At worst, it’s just a wasted trip. You haven’t lost anything, have you? There’s no need to be... like this, is there?”
After the Zhou Tian’s voice, Yun Che seemed to have been struck by lightning and lost his soul. His reaction was extremely strange, making Xiao Mo not only puzzled but also a little frightened.
“You... wouldn’t understand...” Yun Che said bitterly.
“Uh, maybe... I really don’t understand.” Xiao Mo said cautiously. Thinking about how Yun Che had seemed preoccupied earlier, and now this unusual reaction, he naturally connected the two: “Could it be... that you have something very important to do in the Zhou Tian Realm? Don’t be discouraged yet; maybe there’s another way. Let me think, let me think...”
Xiao Mo wildly tugged at his hair... Think of what?! That’s no ordinary place, it’s the Zhou Tian God Realm, a king realm! Even a realm king of a star realm has to be respectful there, absolutely not daring—and unable—to defy the rules of the Zhou Tian God Realm.
And in front of an existence like the Zhou Tian God Realm, which stands at the pinnacle of chaos, they aren’t even a tiny ant. How could they possibly have any way?
“Another way...” Yun Che felt as if a mountain was crushing his chest. He clenched his teeth, his heartbeat wild, but his mind was eerily cold and clear: No... there must be another way... there has to be...
I left my parents, left Cai Yi and the others. For three years, I haven’t relaxed for a single moment. Countless times, I almost died in the God Realm... And this is my only chance to see Mo Li...
I can’t let all of this come to nothing...
Absolutely not...
Crash!!
At that moment, a white light shot down from the sky like a thunderbolt. Within the white light, a figure rolled out, landing less than fifty steps away from Yun Che and Xiao Mo.
They had long become accustomed to such white lights and figures—they were all people killed by profound beasts or other profound practitioners and teleported back to the main city to be resurrected. After the person landed, he let out a roar, slammed his fist into the ground, and said resentfully, “What bad luck! I actually ran into Wu Guike... This is going to drop me by at least a million ranks. Damn it!”
Yun Che’s whole body shook as if struck by lightning. He suddenly turned and shouted at Xiao Mo, “Xiao Mo! Let me see the battlefield ranking list, quick!”
“Ah... okay!” Xiao Mo was startled by his beast-like roar and quickly materialized the battlefield ranking list they had just looked at.
The number one on the list had over six million soul orbs.
Starting from the second place, even though it was only one rank lower, the number of soul orbs dropped off a cliff.
The second place had over three million soul orbs.
The third place had only two million.
Fourth place... Fifth place... Sixth place...
Tenth place had nine hundred thousand soul orbs.
Yun Che’s originally dim eyes suddenly shone with light, then turned extremely serious. He suddenly sprinted in one direction.
“Hey, where are you going... Huh?” Xiao Mo was dumbfounded, watching Yun Che rush toward the person who had just been resurrected in the main city.
Yun Che charged up to that person, grabbed him by the collar with both hands, and roared, “Where is Wu Guike? Speak!”
The person clearly hadn’t reacted yet, just stood there dumbfounded.
“Where is Wu Guike? Speak! Speak quickly!!”
Although he couldn’t release his profound strength within the main city, Yun Che’s body was wrapped in a terrifying murderous aura, like a rampaging beast. Even his eyes had a faint reddish tint, startling the person. He instinctively pointed in a direction: “...Over there...”
Yun Che released him and sprinted toward the direction he had pointed.
The moment he stepped out of the main city area, Yun Che activated his profound strength to the fullest, stepping on the Phantom Lightning Extreme. Like thunder and lightning, he shot straight north. His terrifyingly fast speed left Xiao Mo utterly stunned.
“Holy crap...” Xiao Mo stood there, mouth wide open.
Yun Che didn’t care whether the person was telling the truth or not. The preliminaries were about to end, and he had no time left to think.
Knowing only the general direction, with no idea of the exact location or distance, finding Wu Guike was basically a matter of luck.
Having entered the final stage of the first round of preliminaries, Yun Che was stepping onto the battlefield for the first time.
Looking around, he saw cracked earth and collapsed mountains everywhere, with the sounds of clashing forces coming from all directions. The countdown to the end of the battlefield didn’t make people slack off; instead, it ignited their last burst of passion and madness.
Yun Che sprinted all the way, inevitably running into other profound practitioners. But after scanning him with their spiritual senses, they all turned away. No one attacked him as prey...
Because his soul orb count was zero! In the final moments where every second was crucial, killing him was a complete waste of time, energy, and emotion!
Yun Che avoided the fierce battles everywhere, flying at full speed while releasing his spiritual perception to scan the surroundings. For the most part, the path was unobstructed.
Wu Guike! Where... where exactly are you?
I have to find him!
His concentration sharpened, his eyes like an eagle’s. Every remaining moment was precious. With his mind tightly wound, Yun Che didn’t even know how far he had flown or how much time had passed.
Then, at the edge of his spiritual perception, a sense of oppression far beyond the ordinary flashed by.
That was...
Yun Che’s heart stirred, his eyes blazing. He adjusted his direction slightly and charged straight ahead. Soon, in a massive pit formed by a cracked earth, three figures appeared in his view. Among them, one exuded an oppressive pressure and wore a dazzling golden robe that clearly marked his identity.
Wu Guike!
Wu Guike stood at the center of the huge pit, one hand behind his back, expressionless, like a lofty judge, arrogantly looking down at the two people before him.
The two profound practitioners before him were both on their knees, but this was not voluntarily—they were being forcibly pressed down by a vast profound force they couldn’t resist. One of them was at the late stage of Divine Tribulation Realm, and the other was actually at the Divine Spirit Realm, yet under Wu Guike’s profound force suppression, they couldn’t move an inch. Their faces were twisted, drenched in sweat.
“Young Master Wu.” The Divine Spirit Realm profound practitioner on the right said painfully, “I am Xie Jiukun from Hanqian Island in the Purple Spirit Realm. I have long admired Young Master Wu’s reputation... My Hanqian Island also has a longstanding friendship with your sect... Please spare me... In the future, I will surely repay you!”
“Young Master Wu, you have already killed us before... Killing us again will bring you no benefit... Please spare us... We will never forget your kindness.” The other profound practitioner almost begged.
Both had been killed by Wu Guike once before. Killing them again would yield no soul orbs, so there was no benefit. However, they would still lose thirty percent of their soul orbs, inevitably causing their rankings to plummet. How could they accept that? They could only plead.
“Heh heh,” Wu Guike smiled indifferently, his gaze slanting downward. He enjoyed the feeling of controlling others’ fates, and had since childhood. “Trash like you don’t even deserve to beg for mercy! Die!”
“Wait! Young Master Wu... Ah!”
Wu Guike’s hand grabbed, and a burst of profound light exploded in the air, sending the two flying far away, blood spilling in the air. They died instantly. Their bodies hadn’t even started to fall before they disappeared in white light.
The profound arts of the Divine Martial Sect were primarily based on fierceness and dominance; every attack could shatter mountains and split the earth. The release of that profound force for a mere moment shook the surrounding hundred miles. Yun Che, flying at full speed, sensed the danger and quickly erected an Evil God Barrier, but he was still thrown back violently. He barely managed to stabilize himself, his heart filled with terror.
That was just the residual force of a casual move from him, yet it was already so terrifying... This was the horror of the late Divine Spirit Realm.
“Hmph, a bunch of trash.” Wu Guike flicked his hand and let out a disdainful sneer. Then his eyes narrowed, and he turned his gaze toward the direction Yun Che was coming from. He muttered leisurely, “Oh? How did a mosquito manage to fly in here?”
(This chapter ends)