After Su Chen's persuasion, Li Hongwen finally agreed to take action. Meanwhile, Li Ming arranged the exchange with the Twelve Heavenly Fiends and set a meeting place.

  The Twelve Heavenly Fiends arrived without the slightest caution. In their eyes, as long as no expert above the seventh layer of the Spirit Soul Realm intervened, they could always escape if things went south. But they never imagined that the ancestor of the mighty Li faction—one of the top five powerhouses in the world today—would personally step in over such a "trivial" matter.

  Li Ming's great-grandson was rescued. Until their final moments, the Twelve Heavenly Fiends could not believe it. They roared in unwilling fury.

  "Li Hongwen—how could you be here… you shouldn't be here!"

  Li Hongwen severed all twelve of their heads and hung them neatly in the wilderness, leaving behind a single bold inscription: "Those who offend the Li Clan shall be punished, no matter how far they flee."

  When the news spread, the entire realm erupted. Though the Twelve Heavenly Fiends had terrorized the Heavenly Wind Kingdom for only a few decades, the crimes they committed in that time were too numerous to record, enough to fill days of endless recounting.

  Now those twelve villains had been slain by the Li Clan. The Great Plain Li family harvested an enormous wave of prestige.

  Just as Su Chen had predicted, the strategy of "spending gold to buy horse bones" worked anywhere. The collateral branches, seeing such a clear precedent, grew even more loyal to the main branch.

  At the same time, the second young master of the Li faction—Su Chen himself—was thrust into the spotlight. Numerous powerful cultivators began seeking him out and pledging allegiance. An unexpected bonus. Not long after Li Ming's great-grandson was saved, Li Ming sought Su Chen again. He expressed his gratitude and specially prepared a banquet in thanks.

  Su Chen thought to himself that the old fellow was surprisingly courteous and readily accepted the invitation. At the banquet, a girl of about fifteen or sixteen trailed behind Li Ming, stealing glances at Su Chen.

  After two cups of wine, Li Ming revealed his true intentions.

  "Damn you, Li Ming! How are you going to face me down in the Yellow Springs? I treated you like a brother, and now you want to become my grandfather-in-law!"

  Su Chen inwardly raged. He refused without hesitation.

  The girl behind Li Ming flushed red, tears welling in her eyes.

  Su Chen remained unmoved.

  'Little sister, if you must blame anyone, blame your great-grandfather.'

  Li Ming looked disappointed. He had believed this second young master of the Li Clan was no ordinary man, destined to become a true dragon in the future. Unfortunately, it seemed the second young master had no interest in his great-granddaughter.

  With that regret, Li Ming never mentioned the matter again. Some time later, a major announcement swept across the Heavenly Wind Kingdom.

  The Profound Origin Sacred Sect had begun its Hundred Kingdoms Selection. Those with exceptional talent could enter the sect. When Su Chen received the news, even he felt a surge of astonishment.

  During his third life, amid his quest for vengeance, he had glimpsed a fragment of the vast world through records left by the Feng Clan. He learned that the world they inhabited was called the Eastern Wasteland.

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  Su Chen suspected this was not the name of the entire world, but rather the region encompassing the Heavenly Wind Kingdom. The Eastern Wasteland was ruled by sacred lands. Forces that had given birth to Saint Realm experts were known as sacred lands.

  The Saint Realm… the ultimate dream of countless martial cultivators. The Profound Origin Sacred Land was one of the sacred lands dominating the Eastern Wasteland. The Heavenly Wind Kingdom was merely an insignificant nation under its rule.

  Several of the highest-ranking clan elders turned their gazes toward Su Chen.

  Su Chen blinked. "So, the elders hope I will participate in the Hundred Kingdoms Trial and see if I can enter the Profound Origin Sacred Land?"

  The elders nodded.

  After a moment's thought, Su Chen nodded in agreement. He, too, wanted to see what the wider world looked like—and what true geniuses were capable of. The Heavenly Wind Kingdom no longer held any challenge for him.

  Su Chen set out to join the Hundred Kingdoms Grand Competition, with Li Hongwen accompanying him as his guardian.

  When Li Yuanfa learned that Su Chen was leaving to participate, joy burst across his face. He could barely contain his smile all day.

  "Little Brother Chen—at last you're gone!"

  Lately, the elders had been looking at him with increasingly strange expressions. Even his father had begun to favor Su Chen more openly.

  Li Yuanfa had lived every day under Su Chen's looming shadow. But now he knew. The shadow would finally lift. Su Chen was leaving. The skies would clear.

  Li Yuanfa felt a wave of relief wash over him.

  …

  Within the royal capital, the Heavenly Wind Kingdom's representatives for the Hundred Kingdoms Trial included, besides Su Chen, Feng Zhengqi of the Feng Clan, Wan Miao'er and Wan Yuanbao of the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild, Kong Gaoyu of the Peace Plain Kong Clan, and Song Wuxia of the Spirit Martial Hall.

  Of course, there were a few others as well, bringing the total to a full team of ten. Without exception, these were the absolute pinnacle of talent in the Heavenly Wind Kingdom. If anyone were to rank the top ten geniuses, these ten names would occupy every spot.

  Su Chen, however, had no interest in them. Not a single one had reached the Spirit Sea Realm. The strongest among them stood only at the seventh layer of the Spirit Vein Realm.

  To break through to the seventh layer of Spirit Vein before the age of twenty was indeed monstrous. Yet in front of Su Chen, it meant nothing. His own cultivation had already reached the fourth layer of the Spirit Sea Realm.

  Though their respective factions stood apart and often competed, on this journey to the Hundred Kingdoms Trial, they all represented the Heavenly Wind Kingdom. This was the last shred of dignity the kingdom could muster.

  The Hundred Kingdoms Trial required participants to travel to a place called Mysterious Spirit City.

  Mysterious Spirit City lay an immense distance from the Heavenly Wind Kingdom. Even if a Spirit Soul Realm expert carried them at full speed, the journey would take half a year. Teleportation arrays were something kingdoms simply did not possess. So the trip lasted six full months.

  During that time, Su Chen's cultivation advanced from the fourth layer to the fifth layer of the Spirit Sea Realm. Along the way, after countless twists and turns, he encountered many things he had never heard of before. The world was far vaster than he had ever imagined.

  When they finally arrived at Mysterious Spirit City, its sheer scale overwhelmed even Su Chen. Spirit Soul Realm experts—who seemed untouchable back home—were everywhere here, almost as common as passersby.

  And among them drifted a few truly terrifying auras. Those belonged to genuine Profound Connection Realm kings. The descendants of those kings had also been brought along, either to participate in the trial or simply to broaden their horizons.

  Some among them, roughly the same age as Su Chen, had already broken through to the Spirit Sea Realm.

  "Chen'er, what do you think?"

  Li Hongwen smiled as he glanced at Su Chen.

  Su Chen drew a deep breath and murmured, "The Heavenly Wind Kingdom… is truly too small."

  Li Hongwen nodded in agreement and let out a soft sigh. "Yes… far too small."

  Even the Hundred Kingdoms were merely a tiny corner of the Eastern Wasteland.

  Everyone settled in, quietly awaiting the start of the trial.

  Before the trial officially began, Wan Yuanbao sought out Su Chen.

  "Please, Big Brother Li—save my sister!"

  Wan Yuanbao dropped straight to his knees before Su Chen and slammed his forehead against the ground. Su Chen frowned slightly and quickly reached down to help him up.

  Over the past six months of travel, he had exchanged words with the siblings from the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild and could loosely call them friends. He knew Wan Yuanbao's character well. For the boy to kneel and beg like this, something catastrophic must have happened.

  Wan Yuanbao's face twisted with rage and anxiety. "Today on the road, we ran into people from the Azure Wave Kingdom and the Barbarian Desert Kingdom. They hurled insults at my sister. I couldn't stand it and fought back. To protect me, Sister and Grandpa Geng were captured by them. Now they demand that the Heavenly Wind Kingdom face them in a genius battle!"