The old man deeply regretted his past actions! Was Lin Yuan truly the chosen one?

As the words fell.

He suddenly reached out, his five fingers forming a claw, and thrust them ruthlessly into Wang Teng's heart!

“Ah—!”

Wang Teng let out a shrill scream that didn't even sound human!

He could clearly feel that all the essence blood and spiritual energy in his body were being frantically and continuously drained away through Ye Xuan's arm!

His body was rapidly shriveling up!

Meanwhile, Ye Xuan had a look of pure intoxication!

He could feel an unprecedentedly powerful force frantically breeding within his body!

“Such... such powerful strength!”

“Lin Yuan! Just you wait! I'll soon... soon be able to trample you under my feet! Everything you've inflicted upon me, I'll return to you a thousand, a hundred times over!”

A few seconds later.

Wang Teng turned into a dried corpse.

Ye Xuan withdrew his hand with satisfaction, feeling the surging power within him, his heart filled with secret delight!

“Teacher, look, I've become stronger again!”

He boasted triumphantly to the Ultimate Ancestor in his mind.

However, his mind was met with dead silence.

The Ultimate Ancestor did not respond.

Ever since Ye Xuan started associating with that mysterious and powerful father of his, the ancestor had become increasingly silent.

Firstly, Ye Xuan's Father possessed unfathomable strength, making even this remnant soul feel a deep sense of dread, fearing he might expose himself.

Secondly... watching Ye Xuan drift further and further down this dark path filled his heart with complex emotions.

He naturally wanted Ye Xuan to become stronger.

Because only if Ye Xuan was strong enough would he have a chance to escape this damned ring and regain a new life!

But... he didn't want the price to be Ye Xuan completely falling into the Demonic Path, turning into a monster that only knew how to kill and devour!

An old man becomes a fox; when it was time to lay low, he had to lay low!

This kid was already beyond saving!

Back then, he must have been blind!

How did he end up choosing such a twisted fellow?

He looked honest on the surface, making the ancestor think he was a talent worth cultivating, but he was actually rotten to the core inside!

If he had known earlier, it would have been better to... Another figure uncontrollably surfaced in the Ultimate Ancestor's mind.

That youth who lay lazily in his chair, yet suppressed the entire scene with a single thought, treating the world's heroes as if they were nothing.

Lin Yuan!

That kid, though his actions were eccentric and he seemed like a salted fish, that Heart-Nature and that bearing were the true qualities of an emperor!

What a pity... what a shame!

For the first time, the thought of cutting his losses to survive sprouted in the Ultimate Ancestor's heart.

Seeing that the Ultimate Ancestor didn't speak, Ye Xuan let out a disdainful cold snort.

He no longer needed this old fellow's guidance!

At that moment, a tall middle-aged figure and a graceful silhouette stepped out from the darkness.

It was Ye Xuan's Father and Li Xuan'er.

“Very good, Xuan'er, this is exactly how it should be.”

Ye Xuan's Father looked at the dried corpse on the ground, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

“If you want to become a man above men, you must climb up by stepping on the bones of others!”

Beside him, Li Xuan'er stood quietly without saying a word.

But the eerie, cold aura on her was even more intense than before!

...As time passed.

The number of participants in the Wasteland Hunt was rapidly decreasing.

The lights emitted by eliminated participants flickered one after another in various corners of the wasteland.

Those who could survive until now were all true elites.

In a quiet bamboo forest.

Gu Ningxue parried her opponent's attack with a sword strike and closed in, her jade-white finger lightly tapping the opponent's forehead.

Buzz—!

The disciple from a prominent family stiffened and was directly sent flying by an irresistible force.

On the leaderboard.

Her name remained steadily in third place, second only to Liu Mingxuan and Chen Yu.

She sheathed her sword and stood with a cold expression, preparing to leave.

Suddenly!

Several sharp gusts of wind attacked her from different directions!

Gu Ningxue's beautiful eyes narrowed. With a light tap of her toes, her figure drifted back like a soaring swan, narrowly avoiding this wave of sneak attacks.

“Who is it?!”

She shouted coldly.

“Hehe, as expected of the Gu Family's Young Miss and the number one Genius of the Capital Martial Arts Academy, you indeed have some skill.”

Accompanied by a burst of frivolous laughter.

Liu Mingxuan and Chen Yu, leading a dozen elite disciples from various families, slowly walked out from the depths of the bamboo forest.

The looks they directed at Gu Ningxue were filled with ill-intentioned greed.

“Liu Mingxuan? Chen Yu? What do you want?”

Gu Ningxue's brows furrowed tightly.

“What do we want?”

Chen Yu licked his lips, his smile looking ferocious.

“Naturally... we're asking the Eldest Young Miss Gu to come with us.”

Liu Mingxuan added from the side, “That coward Lin Yuan is hiding in Black Wind Valley and won't come out. We have no choice but to use some extraordinary means to force him out!”

“As long as we have you in our hands, are we still afraid that Lin Yuan won't obediently come out to meet his death?!”

“Despicable!”

Gu Ningxue's pretty face was instantly covered in frost.

“Hahaha! Despicable? The winner takes all! Once we kill Lin Yuan, who would dare say a single word against us?”

Chen Yu laughed wildly and waved his hand.

“Brothers, go! Take her down! Remember, we need her alive!”

“Yes!”

Those dozen or so Prodigies instantly turned into hungry wolves, pouncing towards Gu Ningxue!

Facing Chen Yu's undisguised ferocity and Liu Mingxuan's arrogant posture of having victory in his grasp, Gu Ningxue's cold face showed no hint of fear.

There was only a chill like a ten-thousand-year-old ice mountain.

She didn't even bother to say another word of nonsense.

Zheng—!

A clear sword cry echoed through the bamboo forest!

The longsword in her hand was like a stream of autumn water drawn from the Nine Heavens. The sword light flowed, instantly transforming into a sky full of sword shadows as she proactively swept towards those dozen or so Prodigies!

“Overestimating yourself!”

“Everyone together, cripple her!”

Seeing that Gu Ningxue dared to take the initiative to attack, that group of so-called elite disciples let out cruel laughs. They each drew their weapons, their spiritual power exploding as they closed in from all directions!

Blade light, sword shadows, fist winds, and palm strikes!

Dozens of terrifying attacks containing Marrow Cleansing Realm cultivation instantly wove into a dense, airtight net of death, intending to completely swallow Gu Ningxue!

However, Gu Ningxue's figure turned into a dancing ice butterfly within that lethal attack network.

Her footsteps followed a profoundly mysterious rhythm.

With every flash and shift, she perfectly avoided the most lethal edges.

The longsword in her hand became the fangs of the God of Death.

Ding! Ding! Dang!

The crisp sounds of clashing metal rang out as densely as raindrops!

Whenever the sword light flashed, a disciple from a prominent family would inevitably groan and retreat in disarray!

Their attacks seemed fierce, but they couldn't even touch a corner of Gu Ningxue's clothes!

Instead, they were driven into a frantic mess by her elusive sword techniques, and their formation instantly fell into chaos!

In just a dozen or so breaths, four or five people were actually wounded by her sharp Sword Qi, leaving deep, bone-deep bloody gashes on their arms and shoulders!