Yun Che gave a bitter smile.

  “Void Transformation Realm… to this junior, it is far too distant.”

  “Bullshit!”

  The voice suddenly rose in fury.

  “With this old man—a Void Venerable from a seventh-grade cultivation nation—supporting you, what the hell is a mere Void Transformation Realm? Every time you entered the dream to cultivate over these decades, I secretly nourished your foundation with my own Void Origin. Otherwise, with your patchwork talent, even forty years under tenfold time dilation wouldn’t have gotten you this far!”

  “Moreover, you have already fused with traces of my Void Origin aura. Unless you encounter an existence of equal rank, no one will be able to see through your true cultivation.”

  “And with the Heaven-Defying Pearl in your hands—what are you afraid of? Damn it, back then, this old man fought thirteen experts of my own level to seize this suddenly appearing chaotic supreme treasure. In the end, my physical body shattered, my remnant soul nearly dispersed, and I barely managed to flee into the pearl.”

  “I originally planned to seize a body and reincarnate—but this cursed pearl! Without a physical host residing within it, I cannot leave at all!”

  “I won’t hide it from you, brat. When I first sensed you entering, I intended to seize your body. But I discovered that this pearl is like a cage—it bound me completely.”

  “Only after years of research did I gain some understanding: the pearl must first recognize a master before part of its power can be revealed. Only then can I escape.”

  “When I obtained this pearl, I was hunted down before I could study it properly. To initiate recognition, the pearl requires the Five Elemental Origins—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. Even then, you must reach at least the Void Transformation Realm to help me break free…”

  He sighed deeply.

  “Brat, just consider it an act of virtue and cultivate faster! When the time comes, find me a suitable body to seize. This favor—this grace—I, Annihilation Ancestor Li Han, will remember for life. With my protection, I guarantee you’ll run rampant across the Northern Domain—whatever you want, you’ll get!”

  By the end, the voice that named itself Li Han no longer carried its earlier arrogance—only desolation and helplessness.

  Yun Che fell silent for a moment, about to speak—

  Suddenly, Li Han’s voice turned sharp and urgent.

  “Brat—someone’s approaching! I’ll send you out first—”

  A tearing sensation surged violently.

  Yun Che’s body shook, and his eyes snapped open in the real world.

  His divine sense expanded instantly. Two figures were stealthily approaching the ice cavern—a man and a woman, both inner disciples of the Xuanfrost Sect. They stopped ten zhang away, whispering intimately. Before long, they began to loosen their robes, soft gasps and low moans echoing within the cavern.

  Yun Che found both of them vaguely familiar—he had encountered them several times in the Frozen Abyss Secret Realm. He watched quietly for a moment, his gaze lingering briefly on the woman’s pale, glistening neck and shoulders before silently retreating.

  Back in the menial hut, Yun Che pondered Li Han’s words.

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  He did not fully trust the old man—but the explanations regarding cultivation nations and realm hierarchies were almost certainly true. Such foundational knowledge served no purpose to fabricate.

  Three days later, the long-awaited exchange sparring between the Xuanfrost Sect and the Snow Domain Alliance officially began.

  This event was a century-old tradition between the two factions, conducted without elaborate ceremony. The exchange was held on Ice Soul Peak, a subsidiary summit beside the Xuanfrost Sect’s main peak.

  A long bridge of condensed ice crystals spanned the gap between the two peaks.

  Yun Che had glimpsed Ice Soul Peak from afar several times before, but it was always shrouded in cold mist, its full form impossible to discern.

  This peak was one of the Xuanfrost Sect’s sacred grounds. Its spiritual energy rivaled that of the Frozen Abyss Secret Realm and served as the long-term seclusion site of two Core Formation elders.

  At the summit stood an ice-crystal combat platform built specifically for exchanges. Surrounding it were eight massive Ice Soul Cold Jade Pillars, each engraved with the Xuanfrost Sect’s eight-hundred-year epic history.

  The moment they stepped onto the peak, a vast and ancient aura surged forth from the eight jade pillars, instantly transforming into a chilling, murderous intent. Bone-freezing cold pierced straight into the soul.

  “Daoist Friend Han Jing,”

  Elder Ouyang Shuo sighed deeply, flicking his sleeve as an invisible force rippled outward, dispersing the oppressive killing intent.

  “Every time I behold these eight Ice Soul Pillars, I cannot help but marvel. Truly worthy of being the Northern Domain’s sect-protecting treasures.”

  Behind him, the Snow Domain Alliance disciples revealed shocked expressions. Just moments earlier, the ancient killing intent from the pillars had dragged them into an illusion of an ancient battlefield, their minds nearly collapsing until Ouyang Shuo intervened.

  “My apologies, Elder Ouyang,”

  True Person Han Jing replied calmly, forming hand seals as he murmured an incantation.

  The eight pillars immediately emitted a gentle, clear radiance. The cold mist atop the peak was swept aside as if by invisible hands, rapidly dispersing. The murderous intent faded with it.

  The Xuanfrost Sect disciples lined up behind their sect master, each brimming with battle intent.

  “No matter. By old custom, the first match will be sent by our Snow Domain Alliance,”

  Ouyang Shuo said, briefly conferring with the two elders beside him before calling out,

  “Shen Bingyun—you go.”

  Shen Bingyun—a man possessing an Ice Spirit Constitution—smiled faintly, drew a deep breath, and shot forward like lightning. He landed lightly at the center of the ice-crystal platform and declared loudly:

  “Snow Domain Alliance, Shen Bingyun, seeks guidance from the esteemed Daoists of the Xuanfrost Sect!”

  Yun Che followed behind Zhang Mingyuan, a long, brocade-wrapped object slung diagonally over his shoulder—the ostentatious ‘Frostglory Prosperity Sword’ concealed within. He wore gray robes beneath a dark-cyan short coat, giving him an unexpectedly imposing appearance at first glance.

  Zhang Mingyuan was quite satisfied with his disciple’s presentation.

  Since Yun Che reached the third layer of Qi Condensation, Zhang Mingyuan no longer found this registered disciple as irritating as before. While not exactly fond of him, he did begin to regard Yun Che as someone genuinely under his tutelage.

  Naturally, all of this hinged on Yun Che’s cultivation continuing to advance. If he remained stuck at the third layer for another decade, Zhang Mingyuan’s patience would surely evaporate once more.

  Over the past three days, Yun Che had barely left his room. Most of his time was spent within the stone pearl’s dream realm conversing with Li Han.

  Through repeated exchanges, Yun Che gained a rough understanding of him:

  Li Han was once a peak expert of the seventh-grade cultivation nation, Xuanming Kingdom. His cultivation was unfathomable, his temperament violent and unrestrained. Killing for treasures was second nature to him, arrogance ingrained to the bone.

  As Shen Bingyun stepped onto the platform, silence fell over the field.

  True Person Han Jing studied him briefly before speaking in a low voice:

  “Zhao Yue—you go.”

  Zhao Yue was one of the few inner disciples of the Xuanfrost Sect who had cultivated to the sixth layer of Qi Condensation. Usually taciturn, he had endured four years of relentless cultivation within the Frozen Abyss.

  For the very first match, the Xuanfrost Sect sent out a sixth-layer Qi Condensation disciple—something exceedingly rare in past exchanges.

  Ouyang Shuo, however, showed no concern at all. Smiling faintly, he said:

  “Bingyun, for this first bout, you are permitted to use fifty percent of your strength.”

  The moment those words fell, the expressions of the Xuanfrost Sect disciples changed dramatically.

  This chapter isn’t about victory or defeat—but about scale.

  Seventh-grade cultivation nations, Void Venerables, Five Elemental Origins, and the true cost of the Heaven-Defying Pearl are finally coming into view.

  And the very first match already hides lethal intent.

  So tell me—

  ?? Do you really think Shen Bingyun will stop at “fifty percent”?