Zhao Li Xin’s robes were tattered due to the massive turbulence caused by his breakthrough. His face remained placid as he rose from his seat and left the room. Mong Ki and Mong Yi followed behind him as he walked across the hall. The Hei Shen Sect members knelt on the floor and shouted simultaneously, “Congratulations, Milord!”

Zhao Li Xin continued to walk like he hadn’t heard anything. The Hei Shen Sect members were used to his indifferent behavior, yet this didn’t stop them from feeling proud. Their Lord became the first sovereign in the country to reach such a level after hundreds of years. The future of the Hei Shen Sect was getting brighter with such an achievement. 

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Mong Ki opened a big grey stone door with a cloud engraving close to the cultivation chamber. The door was nearly six meters high. Everything inside the chamber including the wall was covered with white marble. The temperature in the room dropped to a negative degree and people like Mong Ki and Mong Yi needed to circulate their Qi to block the cold.

They walked down the stairs surrounded by a row of white majestic marble pillars on both sides. There was a big pool at the end of the chamber. A white fish sculpture fountain stood at the corner of the pool. The temperatures kept decreasing as they got closer to the pool.

Mong Ki and Mong Yi used their Qi to warm their bodies and to prevent the blood in their veins from freezing. Unlike them, Zhao Li Xin’s face didn’t show any discomfort. He took off his tattered robes with Mong Ki and Mong Yi’s help before he soaked himself into the pool. A ‘hiss’ echoed when his body touched the water. It sounded like hot metal touching water. White fog emerged from the pool as Zhao Li Xin closed his eyes. It seemed like he was taking a normal warmed bath. 

Zhao Li Xin used the pool to calm his Qi after a breakthrough as it quickly made his body adjust to his new power. Those who underwent breakthroughs couldn’t use their powers immediately. If they are forced, their power became unbalance disturbing their progress for the next cultivation.

This was the main reason people had bottleneck problems during cultivation which in turn slowed their progress. Sadly, not many people knew about this because the effects were slow.

The common belief was bottleneck problems were caused by a lack of talent and old age. However, if this was true, then one didn’t need to take pills and elixirs to alleviate such a problem.

The reason pills worked was because they fixed the wrong in their bodies caused by the misuse of power. A few alchemists and physicians knew this, but they didn’t reveal this to others as it meant losing their source of income?

Zhao Li Xin learned this when he found old cultivating secrets inside the Underground Palace. When he first discovered the treasure, he also discovered a bunch of old scrolls on alchemy, armament, array making, and even beast taming. There was no one as fortunate as him when it came to the discovery.

“Any news…?” Zhao Li Xin asked with a lazy voice.

“Yes, Mi Lord,” Mong Ki quickly answered. “There are new rules in this year’s competition. People who don’t have a recommendation from their sect, or from some influential families can’t join the competition.”

This meant talented people who hadn’t yielded to a noble family or sect couldn’t participate. These rules were used to not only control the participants but to also prevent them from shamming noble families if they lost to ordinary people without powerful background. This had happened a few times ruining reputations. The powerful families and sects proposed these rules so that they could shine. 

Zhao Li Xin smirked. He knew how petty and shameless they are. This was the reason Hei Shen Sect never joined such competitions no matter how grand the prize was.

“We already have the participants list, Milord. From the Jiang Wei Kingdom, we have Lao Fei Yan representing the Lao Manor and Crown Prince, a woman named Ying Xuan Xie from Ying Clan representing the Fifth Prince Zhao Qin Feng and the Ying Family, while the Third Prince chose Lao Min Na to represent him.”

‘Seems like she found a powerful man for herself’, Zhao Li Xin sneered. Lao Min Na was quite flexible. Once she knew she couldn’t use Zhao Li Xin, she found the second-best option. Who knew what kind of deal she made with Zhao Yi Chen? However, Zhao Li Xin was not curious about it.

“And Mi Lord…” Mong Ki hesitantly continues his report. “Lao Min Na is still looking for Miss Luo Ri Yi. She even asked Zhao Yi Chen to help her located Miss Luo.”

Zhao Li Xin was silent for a moment as the air around him tensed. He slowly opened his eyes. Dark black eyes stared at the ceiling as anger surged from within. 

“Protect Luo Ri Yi at all costs…” He said with a cold voice. His order couldn’t be simpler and clearer. It meant Mong Ki and Mong Yi could use all Hei Shen’s resources to protect Lory and they couldn’t afford to fail.

“Yes, Mi Lord!!” Mong Ki and Mong Yi cupped their fists and answered simultaneously. They watched their lord interaction with Luo Ri Yi for a few days and quickly concluded she was special to their Lord.

Her ‘maid’ status was only a camouflage to protect her from unwanted attention, especially from his enemies. He also used the title in order to not scare the girl herself. Mong Ki and Mong Yi never saw their Lord paying that much attention to other people, especially toward someone like Luo Ri Yi who practically useless. 

“The competition is already at the elimination stage. The participants already entered the black forest. They have three days to find the jade token,” Mong Yi continued. 

“How many jade tokens were distributed this time?” Zhao Li Xin asked calmly.

“One hundred, Mi Lord” Mong Yi replied.

Zhao Li Xin’s mouth curved slightly. They were about three hundred participants competing for a hundred Jade tokens in order to pass the elimination segment. Although the rules said you couldn’t kill your opponent when they have surrendered, no one could tell what happens inside the forest. 

They were only about five to ten supervisors overseeing the competition and it was difficult for them to oversee three hundred participants spread throughout the forest. This loophole made it easy for ‘accidents’ to happen at the start of the competition.

“Oh, about Miss Xiang Feng Ran… She visited the manor and tried to get in by force. However, she was not as destructive as before. This could be because the gatekeepers dared to beat her,” Mong Yi said. He couldn’t hide his joy as he relayed the situation.

Zhao Li Xin lazily closed his eyes. He was not bothered by Xiang Feng Ran’s crazy behavior, “Don’t let her in and give the gatekeepers a bonus.”

“Yes, Milord!”

Zhao Li Xin stopped talking as he concentrated on regulating the Qi spreading through his meridians. The freezing temperatures helped control the fire within his body.

Zhao Li Xin found the ancient ‘Immortal Flame’ art when he returned to the palace years ago. The art allowed him to create fire using his own Qi. The fire was not like a normal fire as it couldn’t be extinguished by anyone. The fire could easily engulf its victims until their bodies turned to ash. Zhao Li Xin was the only one who could stop this fire.

The fire also evolved together with his cultivation level. The flame had the normal orange and yellow color in the beginning, changing to a red or a deep red, it then switched to a blue then purple before it changed to a gold shade. Having perfected the art using the ‘Immortal flame’ art, Zhao Li Xin’s flame could now turn everything into ash in a second. His current achievement was all thanks to Lory’s healing as his power grew at an incredible speed and at a terrifying level.

Lao Min Na was right about one thing. There was no one on the continent who could match him, and it was possible no one in the world could match him in a few years. This would explain why she degraded herself in order to become his woman. Sadly, she was not fortunate in this ambition.