Chapter 1153: One Step to Heaven
Inside the Zhou Tian Pearl, the second prelim battlefield of the Xuan Shen Assembly.
Everywhere, fierce and brutal battles were raging. For the chance to obtain the qualification to enter the Zhou Tian Divine Realm, even though this was not a projection and there was no respawn, they would still risk their lives without hesitation.
Yun Che, however, was the sole anomaly—and an absolute anomaly at that.
In the first prelim, he had idled about in the main city for thirty days.
And now, in this second prelim, where everyone was fighting for their lives and where the qualification to enter the Zhou Tian Divine Realm was at stake, he still hadn't fought anyone. Instead, he remained in a state of concealment throughout. Under the immensely powerful concealment ability of Moon-Breaking Shadow Flick, he hadn't been detected by anyone from start to finish, and naturally, no one had attacked him.
The second prelim lasted only three short days. Yun Che silently kept track of the time, and before he knew it, the end was near.
Yun Che materialized the ranking list with his mind, and the first thing he saw nearly blinded him—the first place had a soul orb count that stretched to a staggering nine digits!
Although the second prelim had fewer participants and a shorter duration than the first, since everyone who entered here was from the top ten of each battlefield and had inherited all their soul orbs from the first prelim, the efficiency of plundering soul orbs was instead increased a hundredfold.
The strong plundered wildly; every successful kill was accompanied by a massive surge in soul orb count. Meanwhile, the weak in the middle and lower tiers could only become prey again and again—their soul orb count not only failing to increase but continuously plummeting.
Under this special plundering rule, the entire battlefield presented an extremely cruel polarization.
And the first place, holding over a hundred million soul orbs, was still Luo Changsheng.
However, Yun Che didn't care at all who was first or second. He searched with his mind and first found Huo Poyun.
Ranked seventy-third on the list—almost the same as in the first prelim. With less than two hours left until the end of this prelim, at this moment, let alone the top thousand, as long as he wasn't unlucky enough to suddenly fall, entering the top hundred was already a foregone conclusion.
His heart settled slightly. He then searched for Wu Guike's ranking, and his gaze finally locked onto the list at... nineteenth place!
Yun Che was stunned.
Now *this* was what you called strength!
He had been forcibly killed by me in the first battlefield, causing his rank to plummet. Yet here, in the even more brutal second battlefield, relying on his own strength, he had actually fought his way back into the top twenty!
Holding over fifty million soul orbs, compared to the first-place Luo Changsheng, he was only half that amount.
If I kill Wu Guike, I can directly obtain over fifteen million soul orbs. Adding the nearly two million I already have... let alone the top thousand, even the top three hundred would be as steady as an old dog!
"This Wu Guike is practically a ten-life benevolent reincarnation!" Yun Che exclaimed inwardly, quickening his pace as he flew toward the place he had agreed upon with Wu Guike three days ago.
If he could successfully reunite with Mo Li this time, Wu Guike would definitely deserve a share of the credit. Yun Che even began to wonder if he should just hand over those two Mysterious Shadow Stones to him... as a form of repayment.
He pondered for three breaths... better forget it. Such a benevolent man should be kept firmly in hand! Who knows when he might come in handy again.
Yun Che arrived at the spot where he had found Wu Guike three days ago, timing it precisely. From a distance, he saw that Wu Guike was already waiting there.
Clearly, he was truly afraid. The son of the Great Realm King of the Shenwu Realm—a genuine genius who could climb back into the top twenty of the overall rankings even after being ambushed by someone; an incomparable identity, incomparable talent, incomparable prestige. And all of this, if Yun Che so wished, could be completely destroyed.
How could he not be afraid? How could he not obediently comply?
He was so afraid that he didn't even dare to be late.
After deactivating his concealment behind a large boulder, Yun Che unhurriedly walked up to Wu Guike.
Wu Guike's face was ashen. Seeing Yun Che, his lips trembled violently, but he still didn't manage to shout in anger. Instead, he took the initiative: "Hurry up and do it. Don't waste my time."
After three days to vent, Wu Guike had clearly calmed down a lot. He knew that under that completely unacceptable consequence, there was no way to escape Yun Che's clutches. To eliminate future troubles, he would have to wait until they left the Zhou Tian Realm. Here, he had no choice but to comply.
And having done it once, it was naturally easier to accept a second time, even the sense of humiliation had diminished.
Yun Che didn't want to waste words either. With a flash, he appeared behind Wu Guike. At the same time, Wu Guike had already released all his profound energy. Without turning around, his eyes were as venomous as a snake's, and he said darkly, "This is the last time. If you dare to threaten me with those Mysterious Shadow Stones again... then we'll fight to the death! I'll only lose my reputation, but you—not just you, everyone related to you—will die without a burial ground!"
Wu Guike's threat meant nothing to Yun Che. He sneered, too lazy to speak, and simply blasted a palm strike at Wu Guike.
BOOM!!
Wu Guike was once again snapped in half like a piece of rotten wood. His upper body hit the ground... still alive, and his face, twisted in pain, suddenly revealed a sinister smile: "Don't say... I didn't warn you... a piece of trash like you... making it into the top thousand... will only become a laughingstock! Entering the Zhou Tian Divine Realm... is just a dream... Just wait... to be punished... by the Zhou Tian Realm... heh... heheh..."
"No need for you to worry about that." Yun Che was completely unfazed by Wu Guike's words. With another palm strike, he blasted Wu Guike's upper body into smithereens.
A flash of white light, and Wu Guike's corpse disappeared. On Yun Che's body, the number of soul orbs suddenly surged, skyrocketing by fifteen million.
His ranking also surged upstream, from the bottom of the listing straight up to the front, finally settling at two hundred and fifty-third place.
Yun Che took a long, deep breath. The feeling of relief immediately replaced all his unease and anxiety.
Twice, two consecutive times, the same method, the same person. With the lowest profound strength in the entire battlefield, he had consecutively obtained qualifications to advance. This was by no means the result of his strength; it was undoubtedly cheating. Given his nature, he would have normally felt extreme disdain and contempt for such despicable acts... but for the sake of seeing Mo Li, he didn't hesitate.
But even in his relief, he didn't let his guard down. He quickly went into concealment again.
There was still nearly an hour until the prelim ended. Carrying so many soul orbs, he absolutely could not be targeted by anyone.
He chose a direction and found a spot that seemed relatively safe. Yun Che sat down, curled up, and quietly waited for the second prelim to end.
The power of Moon-Breaking Shadow Flick was perfectly demonstrated through Yun Che. Over these two years, while Mu Xuanyin had been teaching him to cultivate, he had also used his own methods to convey his understanding and insights about the "concealment" realm of Moon-Breaking Shadow Flick to her.
Breakthroughs in profound arts and techniques were different from breakthroughs in the profound way. The latter relied most on understanding and accumulation, while a breakthrough in the realm of the former often required only a moment of enlightenment.
Yun Che had already had a faint feeling that Master Mu Xuanyin... should also be able to execute the "concealment" realm, even though she had never shown it.
Time passed. With barely half a quarter of an hour left before the second prelim ended, two female figures suddenly appeared in Yun Che's line of sight.
"Sister, it should be over soon. Should we continue?"
The voice was delicate and soft, as sweet as a heavenly melody. Hearing it in the ears gave a tingling, numbing sensation throughout the body, making one desperately want to see the owner of the voice.
"Of course. Jun Xilei is only a thread away from me. If I relax even a little, she'll overtake me."
This was a fairly gentle female voice, but it carried a habitual coldness. And what she said made Yun Che's heart stir suddenly.
Jun Xilei... a thread away from her!?
Someone who could make the Sword Lord's successor within a thread's distance of her, and a woman at that—her identity could only be one person.
One of the Four Divine Sons of the Eastern Domain—Shui Yingyue of the Liuguang Realm!
Yun Che looked up and indeed saw Shui Yingyue flying in midair, her blue robes fluttering, like an untouchable moon palace goddess, her immortal posture outstanding.
And beside her was unmistakably that fifteen-year-old girl in black dress with eerie black pupils who had shocked Huo Poyun into losing his color...
"It's those two sisters." Yun Che murmured inwardly. That Shui Yingyue would be in this battlefield was beyond doubt. What surprised him was that this black-dressed girl had also passed the first prelim and entered this battlefield!
Although the black-dressed girl's talent was terrifyingly high, she was still too young. A Divine Spirit Realm first-level profound cultivation at her age was not an exaggeration to describe as unprecedented and unmatched, but in a battlefield gathering fifty million top experts, by common sense, there was no way she could enter the top ten thousand.
...Of course, he himself was even more impossible.
Listening to her sister's words, the black-dressed girl nodded very obediently: "Alright. It's all because I've been dragging you down, sister. Otherwise, you would have already left that Sword Lord's successor far, far behind."
Hearing this, Yun Che suddenly had some understanding.
Could it be that this shockingly talented little girl managed to enter the second battlefield by relying on her sister?
That made sense. Shui Yingyue was one of the Four Divine Sons of the Eastern Domain, one of the biggest powerhouses in the entire battlefield. If she wanted to protect her sister through the prelim, it couldn't be simpler.
So that meant, during the first prelim, these two sisters were assigned to the same battlefield?
Although it was hard to believe... because out of a thousand battlefields, the probability was truly too small, but given the fact that the black-dressed girl had entered the second battlefield, that should be the case.
Thinking of this, Yun Che felt a bit more balanced... So I'm not the only one cheating here!
Compared to that Xiao Mo guy, who just idled and waited to die with no ambition at all, these were true like-minded people.
But the other party was the daughter of the Liuguang Realm's Realm King, the sister of the Yingyue Immortal... completely from a different world.
Yun Che's gaze lingered on the black-dressed girl for a long time. Using the battlefield's special detection rule, he saw the girl's name.
Shui Meiyin.
A girl as dark as an elf, yet with a name that carried a rather alluring charm.
Just as Yun Che was about to look away, he suddenly saw Shui Meiyin slowly turn around. Her eyes shifted, like an starry night, and finally settled on Yun Che's position.
Yun Che's heart tightened slightly.
She... can she see me? No! Impossible! It must be a coincidence.
But that gaze just stayed fixed on Yun Che's location, not moving away for a long time.
"Mei Yin, what's wrong?" Sensing Shui Meiyin's abnormality, Shui Yingyue also turned around and immediately released her spiritual sense.
Suddenly, Yun Che felt a powerful mental awareness sweep toward him. When it touched his position, it didn't pause at all, then completely withdrew.
Clearly, Shui Yingyue hadn't detected his presence, even in her state of releasing her spiritual sense.
But Shui Meiyin's gaze still remained on him... and it seemed to be staring directly into his eyes.
What's going on? Moon-Breaking Shadow Flick plus Flowing Light Thunder Concealment—a near-perfect all-round concealment. Even a powerhouse like Shui Yingyue, who was already at the peak of the Divine Spirit Realm, hadn't detected him at all. How could this little girl, who was only at the first level of the Divine Spirit Realm...
His heart still refused to believe it. Yun Che maintained his concealment state with all his strength and tentatively moved to the right.
And as he moved, Shui Meiyin's gaze followed him. Whether he moved left or right, she stared directly into his eyes... and even revealed a very faint smile.
Now, no matter how incredible Yun Che found it, he had to believe it—Shui Meiyin really could see him!
How is this possible... How did she discover me?
And she had turned around from facing away initially, which meant it wasn't just her eyes that could see me, but even her spiritual sense...
Damn it!
Yun Che was first startled, then his heart sank heavily—he was carrying seventeen million soul orbs! In front of these two sisters' strength, he was like a super fat sheep ready to be slaughtered. If they wanted to kill him, he definitely wouldn't be able to escape!
Her tender lips slightly curled. Though her face was young, she bloomed with an exceptionally seductive and captivating smile: "Nothing much. I just suddenly thought of a very interesting person."
She turned her eyes back and took her sister's hand: "Sister, let's go."
A hint of doubt flickered in Shui Yingyue's eyes, but she didn't ask further. She led Shui Meiyin and quickly moved away.
From afar, Yun Che saw Shui Meiyin suddenly look back and smile gently at him. Her soft, pink lips moved lightly, and in his ear, a girl's voice, as if from a dream, rang out:
"Yun Che big brother, keep it up."
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