In a pitch-black hall, a dazed and terrified Song Zhi’ang kneeled on the cold floor. Darkness pressed in around her. Not a sound reached her, and fear gradually took hold of her.

Even her once-prized Nascent Soul Realm cultivation now felt utterly feeble.

There was no aura around her whatsoever, not even a trace of any presence, yet her vital force felt frozen solid.

The hall was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Song Zhi’ang could even make out the sound of her own heartbeat and breathing.

Suddenly, she jerked her head around and looked behind her. A man in a dark-red mask stood right behind her.

The inexplicable pressure felt like falling into an ice pit. It was as though his figure kept rising without end while she sank into the dust, shrinking into something infinitely small.

The man slowly crouched down in front of her, and Song Zhi’ang trembled uncontrollably. She stared at him in terror, desperate to back away, but her body refused to obey and stayed frozen in place.

His eerie mask wore a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, with complex, mysterious patterns inscribed across its surface. The warped lines seemed to mock anyone who looked at it.

“Don’t you want Li Guanqi to see you differently? Wasn’t it only because of Meng Wanshu’s status and strength that he looked down on you and humiliated you?”

The masked man’s voice carried a strange power, lingering in her ears and bewitching her.

Even when she closed her eyes and sealed off her senses, the voice echoed through her mind like an inner demon that refused to leave.

The masked man had a tall, slender frame. He slowly crouched behind Song Zhi’ang.

Ice-cold hands pressed down on her shoulders. He leaned close to her ear and murmured, “Don’t you want to surpass her? Once you have the strength, status and standing are nothing but illusions. Work for me, and I will give you everything you desire. This is the chance I’m offering you. A chance... to make Li Guanqi change his mind and be with you.”

Song Zhi’ang trembled. Her pupils dilated. She could feel just how terrifying the man’s aura was.

Images from before flashed through her mind in rapid succession. Her face twitched faintly, and her gaze gradually turned ice-cold.

Song Zhi’ang struggled to clear her head and attempted to sound as natural as she could. “What price would I have to pay? Who are you? Why would you help me?”

The man slowly rose to his feet, looked down at her, and spoke quietly. “You may call me... Leader. Or... Wang!”

Song Zhi’ang’s pupils quivered. She snapped her head up and stared at him. “You’re the leader of the Sha organization!”

“I am. But if I can give you everything you desire, does it matter who I am? As for the price... Hehe...”

The masked man’s posture didn’t change. He simply looked down at Song Zhi’ang, his mask seeming to tell her he already knew every thought in her head.

Song Zhi’ang lowered her head. Her eyes flickered, and then she smiled faintly. “You’re right. I don’t care who you are. Can you truly... give me the strength and standing to rival Meng Wanshu?”

The masked man smiled. He cut his finger open and held a drop of blood to her lips, saying softly, “Yes. As long as you become stronger than her, that alone will prove your talent isn’t the least bit inferior to hers. Li Guanqi will naturally see you differently from that moment on. With me behind you, I can give you status and standing that the entire world will recognize. What does it matter if she’s a territory lord’s daughter? Drink this. From this day forward, all you need to do is cultivate hard so that Li Guanqi will take you seriously.”

Song Zhi’ang’s mind grew increasingly foggy, a constant stream of images flashing before her eyes. By the time her consciousness cleared even slightly, only a trace of dried blood remained at the corner of her mouth.

The metallic sweetness in her throat made her stomach turn. Then it felt as though ten thousand writhing creatures were crawling up from her throat and into her body.

Song Zhi’ang clawed frantically at her throat, convulsing wildly on the ground.

A bloodcurdling shriek from her throat.

“Ahhh! Ahhh!”

The masked man spread his arms wide and tilted his head back slightly, as though the most beautiful sound in the world were echoing in his ears.

Song Zhi’ang’s aura surged uncontrollably, and her vital force gradually turned pitch-black. She reached the peak Nascent Soul Realm in an instant, yet her aura continued to climb, showing no signs of stopping.

Rumble!

Sinister demonic qi surged across Song Zhi’ang’s body. Her Heavenly Tribulation was imminent.

A black flower mark gradually appeared at the center of her brow, flickering faintly.

Her appearance changed dramatically, turning far more striking, with an alluring quality suffusing her brows and eyes. Her entire bearing grew wickedly seductive, giving her an unapproachable air that still drew the eye without effort.

Song Zhi’ang slowly rose from the ground, her breathing steady once more. Only the vivid black flower at the center of her brow gave any sign of what had just happened.

She had always been tall and slender, and now her figure was even more striking. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Her beautiful irises shimmered with an icy light, dark pupils like a pool of still ink.

The masked man smiled slightly at the sight, took a step, and disappeared.

Song Zhi’ang raised her head, sensing the gradually intensifying aura from the heavenly tribulation. She murmured, “Li Guanqi. I will make you regret this. Only I... only I can be with you!”

***

Meanwhile, in the Purple Spirit Paradise Realm, Li Guanqi stared at the red-gold jade case in his hand, lost in thought.

Back when Meng Wanshu was gravely wounded, Long Hou had paid a visit. During that time, Li Guanqi had asked for a share of fortune on behalf of Ye Feng and Xiao Chen. It was the power Ye Feng had been refining, something capable of enhancing their comprehension.

But what he now held was something prepared specifically for Ye Feng. Something Su Xuan had asked Long Hou to bring over. Something that could make Ye Feng a true heaven-defying genius, a one-in-ten-thousand extraordinary talent.

Swallowing the contents would elevate Ye Feng’s spirit root to a Saint Spirit Root and improve the quality of his sword spirit void, making it only natural for him to reach the Heaven-Opening tier.

Yet Li Guanqi had never given it to him, since swallowing it carried a nine-in-ten chance of death. That was why Long Hou had left a few words of warning when handing it over.

The woman in the stone pool, Hong Zhi, now had a slightly more stable aura. It seemed that her awakening was only a matter of time.

Li Guanqi turned, put the case away, took a deep breath, and said in a low voice, “Brother Ye, come over here.”

Ye Feng slowly opened his eyes, teleported to the mountain peak, and sat down. He looked at Li Guanqi with a grin. “Boss, what do you need?”

Li Guanqi stared at him with a serious expression. “Brother Ye, if there was a chance to send your strength soaring and even raise your talent to my level despite a real risk of death, what would you choose?”

The corner of Ye Feng’s mouth curved upward. He sat cross-legged across from Li Guanqi and spoke without a moment’s hesitation. “Boss, you know how it is. My luck at gambling is terrible, so you’ll have to make the bet for me. If I take the risk, can you make it work?”

Li Guanqi snapped at him, exasperated. “Knock it off. I’m being serious! If you take the risk, you’ll be walking into a hopeless situation with almost no chance of survival. You’d have to struggle for that single thread of life on your own.”

Ye Feng gazed at Li Guanqi and said softly, “Which is exactly why I’m asking you to bet for me, Boss! I want you... to bet that I’ll win!”