SSS-Rank 10x Reward System: Accepting Disciples to Live Forever-Chapter 204: Secrets

Wang Chen calmly followed Demon Queen Zi Han from behind, his hands loosely clasped behind his back, posture relaxed, expression faintly indifferent.

To any observer, he looked like a magnanimous senior allowing a junior to demonstrate her competence.

Of course—

That was only how it looked.

In reality, Wang Chen had absolutely no idea where they were supposed to go.

The convergence zone stretched endlessly in all directions, the scorched terrain offering no clear landmarks. If not for Zi Han’s prior knowledge and keen perception, he would have been standing in the middle of this desolate wasteland like a tourist who forgot the map.

So he followed her.

Calmly.

Silently.

Trying not to look like someone who was internally navigating chaos.

Yet no matter how much he attempted to discipline his thoughts, they drifted back to Mo Huyan’s words.

People are still falling for that nonsense...

Nonsense.

Why would she say something like that?

Was she dismissing the entire Dragon Race Inheritance phenomenon?

Or was she implying something deeper?

He clenched his jaw slightly.

He wanted to pull the Thousand Soul Flag out immediately and interrogate her face to face. He needed clarity, not vague disdain.

But this wasn’t the right time.

...Wait.

What was he even thinking?

"Not the right time"?

Would there ever be a right time?

Or would he only question her after he had already walked into some carefully laid trap?

The moment that thought crystallized, a decisive light flashed across his eyes.

Enough hesitation.

Without slowing his steps, Wang Chen reached into his inventory space and drew out the Thousand Soul Flag.

The golden banner materialized in his hand, its fabric shifting faintly as though woven from condensed starlight. After its complete restoration, it was no longer a mere Nascent Soul-level treasure. It had ascended to a lower-tier Realm Gate—a treasure standing at the very peak of what the lower realm could tolerate.

Such an item was rare beyond measure.

Entire sects would wage war for it.

Naturally—

Zi Han noticed immediately.

Her crimson eyes locked onto Wang Chen’s hand. For the briefest instant, her composure fractured, pupils widening subtly as recognition dawned.

A Realm Gate.

And not an ordinary one.

Yet she said nothing.

Her restraint was deliberate.

Wang Chen sensed her gaze and sighed inwardly.

He was not prepared to answer the questions that would inevitably arise.

Not yet.

The Thousand Soul Flag was not merely a treasure.

It was a secret layered upon secrets.

After that brief moment, Zi Han’s demeanor shifted slightly. She moved with even greater caution now, her steps light, her spiritual fluctuations minimized to the extreme.

She did not wish to attract attention.

Especially not from Domain Sovereign-level existences.

Although Wang Chen stood beside her, and she was confident in his strength, avoiding unnecessary confrontation was still preferable. A direct clash with such beings at the center of the convergence zone would be reckless.

The air grew heavier as they advanced deeper.

Subtle spatial distortions flickered at the edges of perception. The qi density fluctuated unpredictably, sometimes surging, sometimes thinning without warning.

Wang Chen tightened his grip on the Thousand Soul Flag.

The golden surface of the banner pulsed under his touch, he could even faintly hear the growls of resentment ghosts.

He didn’t pay attention to any of this.

There was no room for ambiguity now.

If the Dragon Race Inheritance was bait...

Then what exactly were they walking into?

The scorched earth beneath them seemed to hum faintly, as if carrying echoes of a power that had rewritten reality not long ago.

And somewhere ahead—

The true convergence awaited.

Wang Chen sent his divine sense into the Thousand Soul Flag.

His consciousness manifested within as a perfect replica of his physical body, robes, expression, even the faint ripple of his aura intact.

The interior of the Thousand Soul Flag was pitch black.

Not dim.

Not shadowed.

Black in a way that swallowed depth and direction, as if space itself had been stripped of color.

From every direction came the howls of trapped ghosts. Shrill, broken, drenched in resentment. Compared to before, the cries were sharper now, more bloodthirsty, more frenzied. The upgrade from a simple inner space to a lower-grade Realm Gate had not made this place grander.

It had made it smaller.

Tighter.

More suffocating.

Unlike the vast first floor of the Tower, this space felt like a sealed coffin. The ghosts were no longer drifting entities in an endless void. They were prisoners pressed against invisible walls, their hatred fermenting in confinement, their killing intent thickening like coagulated blood.

Wang Chen did not spare them a second glance.

He was not here to improve prison conditions.

His gaze moved forward, focusing on the lone figure floating in the darkness.

Mo Huyan.

She looked exactly as she had the first time he laid eyes on her.

Unchanged.

Timeless.

Her long black hair flowed behind her back, the purple strands at the tips shimmering faintly despite the complete absence of wind. The darkness seemed to bend subtly around her, as though even this space dared not press too close.

Not a single resentful ghost hovered within several dozen meters of her.

They avoided her instinctively.

Terrified.

Wang Chen’s eyes narrowed slightly.

It was only now that he realized something. The increasing hostility of the ghosts... it might not be because the space had shrunk.

It might be because of her.

A Supreme-level existence, even in a weakened state, radiated pressure. Not intentionally. Not consciously. It was simply the weight of her being.

The ghosts were not merely trapped.

They were being suppressed.

He exhaled slowly and forced his thoughts back to the reason he came here.

Focus.

Immediately, the calmness returned to his expression. He met Mo Huyan’s gaze directly.

"Nether Empress," he said evenly, "you mentioned something about the Dragon Race Inheritance Ground. What did you mean by ’people still believe that nonsense’?"

Mo Huyan’s slender brows lifted slightly.

Her expression softened just a fraction.

After being drawn out of the inventory space earlier, she had been able to sense the outside more clearly. Realizing this truly was a lower realm and not the Upper Realm had calmed her initial hostility.

Her evaluation of Wang Chen was not low.

He was cautious. Sharp. Not easily deceived.

So she answered.