A violent aura erupted from Zheng Qian, sweeping through the area as his figure shot directly toward Li Yang.

Seeing Zheng Qian charge at him, Li Yang’s eyes narrowed slightly.

’So, you’re finally going to show your true strength?’

He gripped the longsword in his hand, also preparing to unleash his own true power!

"Hm?"

Just as he was about to make a move, Li Yang suddenly stopped.

SWOOSH!

As Zheng Qian attacked, a figure suddenly shot forward and intercepted him. It was Li Yu who had intervened.

"Li Yu, you dare to stop me?"

Seeing Li Yu blocking his path, Zheng Qian roared in anger.

It was as if all his pent-up rage was suddenly choked back down his throat, and the frustration was unbearable.

But Li Yu was slightly stronger than him. With Li Yu in the way, there was simply no way for him to attack Li Yang.

Li Yu’s expression was calm as he said, "Zheng Qian, have you taken a look at the situation? The team has just arrived and we haven’t even reached the base yet. What do you think you’re doing, a team leader making a move like this?"

He frowned slightly and continued, "It’s not like you’re unaware of the Celestial Origin Palace’s orders. Right now, I’m still the leader of this squad. If you attack Li Yang, the punishment from the Celestial Origin Palace will fall on my head."

Right now, the team was just gathering; the treasure-hunting phase hadn’t started.

Hearing Li Yu’s words, Zheng Qian’s expression became dark and uncertain.

This Li Yu was stronger than him, and Li Yu also had a King Level expert backing him—a backer even stronger than his own Zheng family.

After just a second, Zheng Qian said in a low voice, "Fine, Li Yu. I’ll give you face this time. Once we reach the base and the island exploration begins, I’ll make my move then. You won’t have any excuse to stop me."

Hearing this, Li Yu smiled calmly and said, "Of course. My only responsibility is to get the team to the base."

"Good!"

Hearing Li Yu’s confirmation, Zheng Qian nodded. He shot Li Yang a dark look, suppressing the fury in his heart, and said in a low voice, "Li Yang, I’ll give you a little more time."

With that, he turned and walked away.

Watching his retreating figure, Li Yang’s expression remained calm, but he was thinking, ’Why did Li Yu help me?’

’So-called rules are made by people. Especially for Cultivators, as long as no one is killed, fights are generally not restricted. But Li Yu stopped him directly. Didn’t he realize that by blocking him, he was creating a conflict with Zheng Qian?’

’Creating conflict with a Celestial Level Cultivator like Zheng Qian for the sake of a "weakling" like me?’

"Alright, let’s head to the base now." Li Yu glanced at Li Yang but didn’t say anything else at the moment.

In his heart, however, he thought, ’Is there something special about this Li Yang? Consul Shao Jie specifically told me to pay close attention to him.’

He didn’t know Li Yang, so why would he suddenly stick up for him? It was because of Shao Jie’s orders.

’Cousin Li Yang is safe for now.’

In Zheng Qian’s group, Zhao Xiang breathed a small sigh of relief. In truth, he didn’t want anything to happen to his cousin, Li Yang.

’But Zheng Qian still won’t let Cousin Li Yang off the hook.’

Zheng Qian’s earlier words had reached all of their ears.

...

"Li Yang, that was amazing. Even Lord Li Yu stood up for you." As the team moved forward, Zhang Lie walked up to Li Yang and said in a low voice.

He truly admired Li Yang. If he were in Li Yang’s shoes, he would never have dared to say anything to Zheng Qian.

Hearing this, Li Yang just smiled but didn’t say anything.

Just like that, the group soon arrived at their destination.

In the distance was a huge, open-air area. There were no houses, only some rain-sheltering eaves and the like. Many people were sitting cross-legged under those eaves. Apparently, this was the base, but it had no proper rooms for lodging.

Of course, for Cultivators, sleep wasn’t a necessity.

"Li Yu, you’re here?"

"Haha, so you’re interested in this island too?"

Seeing Li Yu arrive, several people walked over, greeting him with smiles.

To be able to speak so casually with Li Yu, it was obvious that those few were all Celestial Level Cultivators!

"Li Yang, those eight Celestial Level Cultivators are..." Beside Li Yang, Zhang Lie began to introduce them in a low voice.

At that moment, there were also two people next to Zheng Qian.

"Zheng Qian, isn’t that Li Yang? You’re actually tolerating his presence right in front of you?"

"That’s not like you."

The two of them laughed loudly.

"Hmph!"

Hearing them, Zheng Qian snorted coldly and said, "If Li Yu hadn’t interfered, I would have already crippled that Li Yang."

"Li Yu interfered?"

"Why would he suddenly help this Li Yang?"

"They both have the surname Li. Could they be related?"

The two were full of surprise, unable to understand Li Yu’s intentions.

"They can’t be related." Zheng Qian shook his head.

’If the Li family had a backer like Li Yu, would Li Guohai’s situation have been so difficult before?’

"But it doesn’t matter. At most, it just lets Li Yang run free for a little while longer!" Zheng Qian said in a low, dark voice.

His gaze was fixed on Li Yang like that of a viper. To think that after all this time, he still hadn’t been able to deal with a mere junior.

First Shao Jie, now Li Yu. He, Zheng Qian, had never felt so utterly stifled, forced to just watch without being able to act.

As everyone waited, an hour quickly passed. More and more people arrived, with the final count reaching over three hundred!

Among them, the weakest were Initial Profound Level Cultivators.

Most of the explorers who came here were at the Profound and Earth-Levels. Only about ten Celestial Level cultivators were interested in this place.

’The octopus avatar has arrived!’

At this time, Li Yang was also sitting cross-legged in one spot, silently absorbing the Spiritual Power from the heavens and the earth.

His actions didn’t draw any attention, as many people were also sitting cross-legged and cultivating.

Just as he finished cultivating, Li Yang sensed that his octopus avatar had already reached the waters beneath the island and was swimming around leisurely.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, Li Yang’s gaze shifted to the distance.

WHOOSH!

There, a figure flew over rapidly and then simply stood still in the void.

"Flight without support... a King Level expert!"

Upon seeing the newcomer, nearly all the Cultivators’ eyes filled with awe. They stood up and looked at the expert with deep respect.

"Consul Wang Bing."

At this moment, even someone at the Peak of Celestial Level like Li Yu, as well as the other Celestial Level Cultivators, spoke with the utmost respect.

A King Level expert deserved everyone’s respect.

"Mm."

Wang Bing was an incredibly burly man in his forties. His hair was disheveled, and strangely, tiny arcs of lightning seemed to dance within it.

"I am Wang Bing, the one in charge of this island trial. This island has some Spirit Fruit and Medicinal Herbs that you all can search for. So far, three plants have been found."

Hearing Wang Bing’s words, the eyes of the many Cultivators present lit up with immense joy.

For a Cultivator, nothing was more important than Spirit Fruit and Medicinal Herbs!

"However, we’ve also discovered some mutated creatures on this island. They live underground, so you must all be careful."

Hearing this, the joy on the Cultivators’ faces vanished, replaced by a trace of caution.

"Alright, go and explore. One more thing: you are allowed to fight, but killing is forbidden. I will show no mercy to anyone who kills another person!"

Wang Bing’s gaze swept over the crowd as he spoke in a deep voice.

"Yes, Lord Wang Bing," all the Cultivators replied with utmost respect.

Fights between Cultivators were normal, and conflicts frequently broke out among them. The Celestial Origin Palace usually didn’t get involved in such matters.

But there was one restriction: fighting was allowed, but killing the other party was not.

"Go on." Wang Bing waved his hand.

With the exploration about to begin, the faces of the many Cultivators showed immense excitement.

"Haha, time to finally start exploring!"

"I hope I can find a Spirit Fruit or Medicinal Herb! I’m at the Peak of Profound Level right now. If I find one, I’ll definitely be able to break through to the Earth-Level!"

Everyone was excited.

In reality, resources were truly scarce for Cultivators. Out of a hundred Cultivators, you could say that ninety-seven or ninety-eight of them had never even encountered a Spirit Fruit or Medicinal Herb that contained Spiritual Power.

But here, on a newly discovered, remote island, it was confirmed that Spirit Fruit and Medicinal Herbs existed—and more than one, at that. How could they not be excited?

If they could just find one, their strength would increase dramatically!

In the crowd, Zhao Xiang was the same, a trace of longing in his eyes.

’If I could find a Spirit Fruit or Medicinal Herb...’

He had never seen such things before, and his heart was filled with a deep yearning for them.

Following the main group as they dashed into the distance, Zhao Xiang suddenly slowed his pace. He looked worriedly in a certain direction.

There, Li Yang and the others were also walking out of the base.

’Time to look for Spirit Fruit and Medicinal Herbs?’ Li Yang also felt a sliver of anticipation.

Thanks to that miraculous Cultivation Technique, he could clearly feel that with enough Spirit Fruits and medicinal herbs, he could absolutely reach the Peak of Celestial Level in an extremely short amount of time!

One had to know, there were fewer than ten King Level Cultivators in all of Hua Country. If he really reached that stage, he, Li Yang, would be ranked among the top ten Cultivators in the nation!

Li Yang had great expectations for this trip to the island.

’The mysterious little sword in my mind sensed the World Tree before. Maybe it can sense other Spirit Fruit and Medicinal Herbs too.’

Without the fluctuations from that mysterious little sword in his mind, he would never have discovered the World Tree’s special properties, even if it were right in front of him.

With faces full of anticipation and happy smiles, everyone walked out of the base.

But just as they stepped out, an incomparably furious voice suddenly boomed, echoing through the air!

"Li Yang, get the hell out here!"

In a corner of the base, Zheng Qian’s face was filled with a grim, chilling intent, and his utterly enraged voice reached everyone’s ears.