# Chapter 1146: Heaven-Sent Bad News 2.0
Since Wu Guike had confined Yun Che, he naturally didn't intend to kill him. He took a fierce breath, finally calming down just a bit, and suppressed the impulse to tear Yun Che into pieces with all his might. His words were dark and heavy: "If I agree to your conditions... how do you guarantee that Mysterious Shadow Stone will never reappear in this world?"
At this point, no matter how furious he was, how utterly aggrieved, he could only accept his fate.
Indeed, as Yun Che had said, being killed by him was a tremendous humiliation, but it wouldn't affect his entry into the second round of preliminaries, nor would it impact his subsequent matches. In terms of results, there was no loss at all.
But if Yun Che really leaked the Mysterious Shadow Stone, the consequences were absolutely unbearable for him.
Why had another Mysterious Shadow Stone identical to the one from back then appeared? Could it be that the one I traded for with the Nine-Star Buddha God Jade had been swapped out by Tianlangxing Shen at some moment? No! After I got the Mysterious Shadow Stone, I specifically examined it. Then there's only one possibility...
Back then, Tianlangxing Shen had simultaneously imprinted two identical Mysterious Shadow Stones!
As for how it ended up in Yun Che's hands, Wu Guike's mind was in chaos and he had no time to think about it.
"I can't guarantee that," Yun Che said without hesitation.
"You..."
"Young Master Wu," Yun Che said with a smile. "If I said that after the transaction is complete, I would immediately destroy that Mysterious Shadow Stone, would you believe me? I wouldn't be stupid enough to hand it over to you, because that would be sending myself to my death. On the contrary, I need to keep it well preserved, to prevent it from accidentally falling into someone else's hands, or yours, Young Master Wu."
"But you can rest assured." Yun Che spoke slowly and deliberately. "I, Yun Che, have no past grievances with you, Young Master Wu, no recent enmity, and certainly no deep-seated hatred. I was forced to resort to this today out of necessity. As long as Young Master Wu doesn't cause me trouble in the future, no matter what, I wouldn't risk my life to fight you to the bitter end. Perhaps I'm even more afraid than you, Young Master Wu, of it being leaked. Isn't that so?"
*Crack.*
A crisp sound rang out as Wu Guike actually snapped his own right finger bone from clenching too hard.
Yun Che's words, rephrased, meant: You have to trust me whether you want to or not! You need to handle things on your end, but I won't hand over the bargaining chip. Not only does this prevent you from settling scores later, it might even allow me to use it to pressure you again in the future.
How utterly infuriating!
Time would not stop. The first round of preliminaries could end at any moment. Though his inner anxiety and impatience were even greater than Wu Guike's, Yun Che's expression and gaze remained calm. His words were firm yet measured, sometimes soft, sometimes hard, pressing step by step, and occasionally showing appropriate weakness...
To facilitate this transaction with Wu Guike, he had exhausted all his mental energy.
"Young Master Wu, you'd better make a decision quickly," Yun Che said slowly, as if he couldn't care less. "The preliminaries might end in the next instant. When that happens, there won't be any chance!"
His last words carried a sudden weight, slamming straight into Wu Guike's soul.
"Fine... Fine!" Wu Guike's face was blood-red, his scalp twitching wildly. All the anger and humiliation he had felt in his entire life probably couldn't compare to this moment. "I accept my fate!"
"But, Yun Che... remember this. You'd better guard that Mysterious Shadow Stone like your own father. If it ever leaks out one day... even if you flee to the edge of chaos, I will make you regret being born in this world!"
"Congratulations, Young Master Wu, on making the right choice." Yun Che smiled faintly. "Let's begin then."
*Crack!*
Another finger was snapped by Wu Guike's grip, but he felt no pain at all. He took a few more heavy breaths, using all his rationality to swallow the endless unwillingness and humiliation.
*Bam!*
With a slight air explosion, the aura that had been confining Yun Che dispersed. Then, though Wu Guike said nothing, the profound energy on his body began to rapidly withdraw, until even the last traces of protective profound energy were completely retracted.
But his entire body trembled uncontrollably, every vein bulging high.
Wu Guike's surrender and his current state ignited wild joy within Yun Che, and his palms trembled slightly. He calmly walked behind Wu Guike, gathered his profound energy, and suddenly struck, slamming heavily into Wu Guike's back.
*Boom!!*
Under normal circumstances, Yun Che couldn't possibly harm Wu Guike. But with all profound energy defenses withdrawn and only his physical body remaining, how could he withstand Yun Che's full-force strike? In a thunderous roar, Wu Guike's body was blasted through from back to chest, flesh, blood, and organs flying everywhere. His body was severed in midair into two halves, rolling far away before coming to a stop.
"Don't... let me... see you... again..."
Wu Guike's front half uttered a bitter, strained voice, then vanished into white light.
At the same time, another white light suddenly descended from the sky, landing on Yun Che and causing his soul pearl count to soar rapidly, stopping only when it reached 1.95 million.
And Yun Che's rank in the ninth battlefield shot up like a rocket from the very bottom, leaping straight to fourth place... less than 100,000 soul pearls behind third place.
Wu Guike's soul pearl count plummeted by 1.95 million, but he still remained first in the ninth battlefield.
Using his mind to manifest the ranking list of the ninth battlefield, Yun Che looked at his own name on it and smiled contentedly. The coldness and heaviness that had filled his chest completely dissipated.
Fate had played a cruel joke on him, but he had found another door.
"At least heaven never seals off all roads," Yun Che murmured with a smile.
Although Wu Guike was of noble status, extremely talented, and had astonishing cultivation, he was arrogant, of poor character, and had even engaged in improper relations with his own aunt. Yun Che held him in contempt.
But now, in Yun Che's eyes, Wu Guike was like an angel sent by heaven to save him!
Princess Cai Zhi could never have imagined that the two Mysterious Shadow Stones she had thrown to Yun Che as a prank back then would save him from an impossible situation at a time like this.
And through the butterfly effect, it would change Yun Che's life trajectory... and even the fate of the entire God Realm.
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Inside the Zhou Tian Pearl, at the location of the Shenwu Sect.
"Sect Master, something strange has happened."
An old man bowed, standing behind a middle-aged man, reporting to him: "Just now, Young Master Guike's ranking suddenly dropped sharply, and his soul pearl count decreased by a full third."
"Oh?" The middle-aged man turned around. He wore a dazzling golden robe, with brows like stars and a moon, an imposing aura that easily inspired reverence. If his identity were revealed, it would shock countless profound practitioners in the God Realm to the point of losing their souls.
The Great Realm King of Shenwu Realm, Wu Guike's biological father — Wu Sanzun!
"Meaning Ke'er actually suffered a defeat? Haha, interesting." Wu Sanzun was not angered but rather intrigued.
"In Young Master Guike's battlefield, there should be no one who can match him, not even anyone who can put up a fight. This old servant thinks that the young master must have carelessly fallen into a fatal natural disaster or encountered an extremely high-level profound beast," the old man analyzed calmly.
"That's fine too." Wu Sanzun spoke lightly. "Though Ke'er has more than enough talent, his life has been too smooth, and his arrogance is excessive. A setback will do him nothing but good. In mere preliminary rankings, the first and the ten-thousandth are no different at all. No need to mind."
"This old servant thinks the same." The old man bowed again. "In that case, Sect Master, please rest. This old servant takes his leave."
Wu Guike's sudden drop in ranking and soul pearl count naturally drew a lot of attention. After all, he had been among the top twenty. His name suddenly disappearing made it hard not to notice.
But it was only noticed. Anyone would assume he had suffered a defeat. As for how it happened... even the Shenwu Sect didn't care, so why would anyone else?
After all, this was only the first round of preliminaries. As Wu Sanzun said, the first and the ten-thousandth were essentially no different.
However, all the profound practitioners in the ninth battlefield could clearly see a completely unfamiliar name suddenly appear in fourth place like a gift from heaven. And his total soul pearl count perfectly matched the number Wu Guike had lost.
In the main city of the ninth battlefield, Xiao Mo stared dumbfounded at the name "Yun Che" that had suddenly appeared on the list. Before he could come to his senses, a white light fell not far in front of him, and soon a golden figure was ejected. With a sweep of his mind, he could clearly see the name "Wu Guike."
"Yun... Che..." Wu Guike muttered bitterly, his face alternating between crimson and dark, his internal energy in chaos as if boiling.
Xiao Mo stared blankly at Wu Guike for a while, heard him say the words "Yun Che," then stared at Yun Che's name on the list, and the simultaneous changes in their soul pearl counts...
After a long time, he looked up and muttered, "It seems some kind of dirty deal must have taken place."
*Boom——*
Space shook, clouds rolled, and the voice of Zhou Tian announcing the end of the first round preliminaries finally sounded: "Young warriors, your battlefield will come to a temporary halt. The first round of preliminaries ends now. The top ten in each battlefield will remain in the battlefield; the rest will leave. Your true bodies will appear before the various teleportation arrays outside the Zhou Tian God Realm. May this fierce battle, which has consumed all your profound energy and will, become a lifelong treasure for you."
*Zheng!!*
With the majestic voice of Zhou Tian, a sky-covering white light fell from the heavens, enveloping everyone.
Within the white light, the projections distributed across the battlefield, whether people or profound beasts, rapidly disappeared as if melted. The month-long fierce battle finally came to an end... but not for everyone.
Because ten thousand profound practitioners' projections did not disappear. They remained intact in the battlefield, awaiting the next fierce battle to come.
These were the victors who had emerged from among over fifty million top profound practitioners of the Eastern Divine Region. Each and every one of them was undoubtedly a prodigy worthy of the world's attention. Serving as the backdrop for these ten thousand victors were over fifty million practitioners who had been eliminated.
Their projections disappeared. When they awoke, they were already outside the Zhou Tian God Realm, standing on the light curtain they had stepped on when they first approached it. Not far away were the teleportation arrays that could return them to their own star realms.
And naturally, the eliminated did not receive much attention from the world. All eyes were firmly fixed on the new battlefield that was sure to be even more intense.
The sounds of fierce combat disappeared, even the roars of profound beasts completely vanished. The entire battlefield was quiet. Confirming that he was still in the battlefield, Yun Che was completely relieved. He had been worried earlier that this was, after all, a projection formed by the Zhou Tian Pearl, which might have extremely strict and fair rules. Perhaps his actions could be judged as cheating, leading to disqualification...
It seemed he had been worrying for nothing.
"At least I can enter the Zhou Tian God Realm now. The top ten thousand in the entire Eastern Divine Region..." Yun Che smiled self-deprecatingly. After all, he had obtained this through somewhat despicable means. "I should at least be qualified to enter the Zhou Tian God Realm, right?"
As soon as he finished muttering to himself, the voice of Zhou Tian sounded again from above:
"Young warriors who still remain in the battlefield, you have proven yourselves through strength and will. Without a doubt, you are the pride of the Eastern Divine Region, and also its future. However, only a thousand can enter the Zhou Tian Pearl and obtain the qualification to cultivate for three thousand years in the Zhou Tian Divine Realm."
"And next is the battlefield that will decide these thousand!"
Under this voice of Zhou Tian, every profound practitioner still in the battlefield felt their blood boil. Outside the battlefield, those who had been eliminated or who were unqualified to participate in the Xuan Shen Convention, were all in their hearts wildly envying, jealous of, and yearning for it.
To cultivate for three thousand years inside the Zhou Tian Pearl — the first time in the history of the entire Eastern Divine Region — a miracle land that could allow a practitioner to ascend from their "infancy" to the heavens in one step! Any practitioner with even a trace of pursuit of the profound path would find it impossible to resist such a reward!
To obtain such an opportunity, they would unhesitatingly fight to the point of bloodshed, pay any price, even sacrifice half their lifespan!
"Next, you will be sent into a single battlefield. This battlefield has no natural disasters, no profound beasts, and nothing else to disturb you. Only a single safe main city and a battlefield that belongs solely to you. The rules will be reset, but they will be exactly the same as the previous battlefield. The soul pearls you hold will be brought intact into the new battlefield."
Yun Che listened quietly, but unlike the others, he was not nervous at all. On the contrary, he felt a lightness he hadn't felt in a long time.
But the next words from Zhou Tian's voice made his face stiffen, and he almost cursed out loud.
"In the new battlefield, only a thousand can be victorious. These thousand chosen ones will be sent into the Zhou Tian God Realm for the final battle. After the final battle, they can enter the Zhou Tian Divine Realm, which will change their fate over the next three years. The other nine thousand will be eliminated from the battlefield, and their true bodies will be expelled from the Zhou Tian God Realm."
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