The battle of the Divine Court was underway.
Six deity-level experts were besieging a black venomous insect. The surrounding space occasionally dissolved into streams of particles, collapsed, or was outright severed… The six masters unleashed their full power, employing every technique at their disposal. The black insect roared and struggled, but its injuries grew increasingly severe. Finally, a slender sword slashed into its body once more, splattering blood. The insect ceased its struggles, though the other five experts still took the opportunity to land a few more blows.
Then, the six of them looked up at the enormous blood-red ranking list in the sky. A new name appeared at the 191st position.
“Haha, my luck was good—that last strike just happened to finish it off,” a tall, lean man holding twin swords said with a laugh. “Only by working together do we stand a chance of breaking into the top hundred. If we acted alone, we’d probably all be ranked beyond five hundred! Right now, Brother Ni is at fifteenth, and I’ve made it into the top two hundred.”
“Enough gloating. The four of us still aren’t even on the list.”
The rule for killing these venomous insects was simple: whoever dealt the final, fatal strike would be credited with the kill.
“Let’s keep going. I refuse to believe my luck will stay this bad forever.”
“Again.”
The six of them continued their hunt for more insects.
Three mountains away, Dongbo Xueying was also searching for targets. He glanced into the distance, spotting the six deity-level experts working together to take down another insect. “These fighters are slightly weaker than me. They must realize that acting alone won’t get them into the top hundred, so they’ve formed groups?”
“I’d better steer clear of them.” Dongbo Xueying remained vigilant. Groups of deity-level experts and those who had mastered first-grade divine hearts were all threats. If he were killed, he’d be eliminated prematurely.
Historical records showed that in every Divine Court’s Myriad Flowers Banquet, it was all too common for powerful individuals to fall to coordinated attacks.
—
No matter how carefully he avoided them, deity-level experts moved with terrifying speed.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
While three of Dongbo Xueying’s avatars were attacking an insect, the surrounding space suddenly twisted. A group of figures flickered twice in the distance before appearing within the range of his mountain.
This group consisted of eight deity-level experts!
“That’s Dongbo from Anhai Prefecture! Kill him!”
“Attack!”
Without hesitation, the eight unleashed their assaults.
One of them, draped in a gray robe, stretched out his hands, plunging the world into an endless, obstructive mire. Invisible ripples permeated everywhere, invisible to the naked eye, yet they penetrated all layers—the Void World, the Shadow World, the real world—affecting even his true body hidden within the Void World. Dongbo Xueying was shocked.
“His true body is here!” Among the eight, only the gray-robed figure could detect Dongbo Xueying’s real form, effortlessly dismantling his concealment.
“Die.” A blade of thunder streaked across the sky, instantly piercing the Void World and arriving before Dongbo Xueying’s true body.
“Bind.” Countless white silk threads wove into a dense net, entangling toward him.
“Annihilate.” Blinding light converged from all directions, targeting him.
In an instant, they all struck.
Swish!
Terrified, Dongbo Xueying willed his body to switch positions with one of his Void World avatars.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Using his avatars as anchors, he rapidly shifted his form, fleeing at high speed. His movements were erratic—after all, the appearance of his avatars was entirely at his whim.
“There, there, there!” Though the gray-robed expert could sense Dongbo Xueying’s shifting position, the others’ attacks couldn’t keep up. In the end, they could only watch helplessly as he escaped.
“This Dongbo… his Void World techniques are truly formidable. Killing him won’t be easy.”
“Forget it. Let’s finish off this insect first.”
The eight figures hovered mid-air, casting a glance at Dongbo Xueying’s fleeing figure before turning their attention to the heavily wounded insect he had left behind.
This ambush hadn’t been a guaranteed success. Killing him would’ve been ideal, but even failing meant they could still claim the insect.
—
After fleeing across more than a dozen mountains, Dongbo Xueying finally stopped and looked back, sighing. “Though few can detect my true body hidden in the Void World, the participants here are all extraordinary… Probably one in ten can find me.”
The Void World was powerful, but not invincible.
The gray-robed expert had cultivated the “Microcosmic Divine Heart” to an extreme level and created his own domain-type technique. His perception penetrated to the microscopic level, rendering Dongbo Xueying’s concealment useless.
Beyond that, techniques infused with space-time mysteries could also counter it. Dongbo Xueying had already encountered several others capable of locating his true form. After all, every participant here had reached extraordinary heights in their cultivation. Even if they couldn’t defeat him, many could still detect him.
“No choice but to be more careful.” Spotting a newly spawned insect in a distant cave, Dongbo Xueying dashed toward it.
His current strength was awkward.
Against those who had mastered first-grade divine hearts, he stood no chance.
The weaker ones, knowing they had no hope alone, banded together—sometimes even swearing oaths of loyalty to prevent betrayal.
Only those confident in their individual strength remained solo.
Teaming up didn’t improve hunting efficiency, and dividing kills fairly benefited no one.
—
“How despicable! They ganged up on my master!”
“Alas, he couldn’t escape…”
—
“Quick, quick! Run!”
“Big Brother was ambushed by a group…”
—
“He got away… That was too close.”
—
Countless spectators in the Divine Court watched the colossal mountain projections in the sky, observing the battles with bated breath. Many participants moved in groups, while the supremely confident acted alone. Solo hunters kept all their kills, while groups had to rely on chance for credit—making solo hunting more efficient.
Yet many strong individuals fell to coordinated attacks.
“Interesting.”
“Look at that little guy—so cunning.”
“That tall axe-wielder’s self-created movement technique is impressive.”
The mighty ones observed leisurely.
Those who chose to act alone and were overwhelmed… The mighty felt no pity. They had chosen their path. Overconfidence led to their downfall.
“Dongbo, hurry! That was too close!”
“Close? With Dongbo’s strength, surrounding him isn’t so easy.”
The Xia Clan deities, Yu Jingqiu, and the others watched anxiously. Every time Dongbo Xueying encountered a group, their hearts clenched.
But by hunting alone, he steadily accumulated kills.
His name climbed the blood-red rankings: 52nd, 39th, 33rd, 25th, 19th…
After all, Dongbo Xueying was inherently powerful. Aside from those with first-grade divine hearts, few could surpass him. As long as he survived, his ranking would naturally rise.
“15th now!” Lord White Sand, drinking with friends like Ronghai King, looked up.
“This Dongbo might even break into the top ten,” City Lord Moyun remarked with a smile.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage