170: Marching towards the first spine

"Oh? Have you exchanged blows?" the middle-aged man asked, staring intently at Eunuch Wei, who was kneeling on the ground.

"Y-yes... we have," Eunuch Wei answered cautiously.

"From the look of it, you lost?" The middle-aged man's expression turned serious.

"To be precise, this old servant only took two punches. The third punch was blocked by the madam of the Wanchun Pavilion," Eunuch Wei said, feeling ashamed.

"So you mean, you took only two of her punches and concluded she was Nascent Soul Peak? With your cultivation, would someone who could defeat you in three punches truly only be Nascent Soul Peak?" the middle-aged man said coldly.

Eunuch Wei asked, slightly astonished, "Your Majesty, how did you determine that I couldn't have taken the third punch?"

"Hmph, if you were in a state to withstand that third punch, that old devil from the Hehuan Sect would never have stepped in to block it for you! She does business in the Imperial City and naturally doesn't want you getting hurt on her premises," the middle-aged man sneered.

"This old servant is guilty, but that woman is quite young. Nascent Soul Peak was already an overestimate on my part. Could it be that she is actually Void Refining?" Eunuch Wei asked.

"It's no longer important," the middle-aged man said, waving his hand slightly. He then stood in silence, pondering something unknown.

Eunuch Wei remained kneeling on the ground, not daring to rise, waiting motionlessly for the middle-aged man's command.

"Tell me, do you think Li Rufeng found out about the events of that year, and that our Imperial Clan helped him behind the scenes?" the middle-aged man finally asked after a moment of silence.

"That is impossible!" Eunuch Wei immediately replied.

"Not only are most of the people who knew about that year already dead, but our push from behind the scenes was merely following the trend. Even if he did find out, what could he do?" Eunuch Wei said.

"But he returned this time, bringing a so-called disciple and an expert, specifically demanding to see a member of the Imperial Clan. What exactly is his intention?" the middle-aged man asked again.

"This... this old servant does not know!" Eunuch Wei said.

The middle-aged man fell silent again, then asked after a long while, "They said if they can't see me, a Prince would also suffice?"

Eunuch Wei replied, "That is indeed what they said."

"Fine. Go find Third Brother. Tomorrow, have Yi'er accompany you to investigate their intentions," the middle-aged man said.

Eunuch Wei stood up, acknowledged the order, and quickly walked out.

The middle-aged man watched Eunuch Wei's retreating figure and muttered, "Li Rufeng, I hope you truly haven't noticed the events of that year. Otherwise, you will have to stay here."

Currently, inside the Tianquan Peak Secret Realm.

The Moonlight Tavern was clearly the hottest spot currently. Countless Cultivators streamed in and out, and all kinds of Fighting Arenas had been opened, with everyone diligently practicing combat skills.

Quan Wudi was indeed called back to his Sect's Guild by Dragon Overlord, while Jian Wuxie and Xiao Hongyuan also went to the Divine Sword Sect's Guild.

A Fei, who was separated from his group, had no intention of establishing a Guild because the Mo Qian Sect didn't have many people to begin with, and those who came arrived relatively late, having only just completed their Class Advancement.

Coincidentally, A Fei ran into the Guild established by Ergou and Xiaoxiao, which was recruiting members, so he simply joined their Guild.

The time spent practicing in the Fighting Arenas grew longer each day, and everyone gradually realized the importance of equipment.

At this time, whether it was the Auction House inside the Secret Realm or the Trading Market at Dilan Peak, both showed a booming trend. Everyone was frantically exchanging for equipment to improve their strength.

A large number of Loose Cultivators also saw the business opportunity. Those who weren't planning to participate in the competition began their gold rush inside the Dungeon Instances.

One more thing worth mentioning: a Loose Cultivator, having nothing better to do, opened a Jar at the Wooden Jar vendor near the entrance of Sky City and obtained a Legacy piece of Armor, which even triggered a System Announcement.

This instantly brought the Jar Merchants—who had previously been defined as Unscrupulous Merchants by the majority of Players—the most enthusiastic Gamblers since the Secret Realm opened. They all brought large amounts of Gold Coins to the Jar Merchants and began gambling on Jars.

Although the probability of obtaining good items from the Jars was not high, the sheer number of people made up for it. Therefore, quite a few good items were produced, and even several Divine Artifacts appeared.

They were listed on the Auction House and caused a frantic rush.

Now that some Loose Cultivators had tasted success, they actually began inversely acquiring Gold Coins, planning to gamble on their luck at the Jar Merchants.

The Second Prince's Gold Farming Group received substantial benefits from this. Previously, they had to farm Gold Coins for their own use, but now, the Gold Coins they farmed could be exchanged for Spirit Stones.

A Soldier couldn't earn many Spirit Stones in a year, but now, accompanying a Prince to play in a Secret Realm earned them more than their actual job.

Many Soldiers secretly decided that if the Prince ever left this Secret Realm, they would resign and become Gold Farming Loose Cultivators here.

After Jian Wuxie and the three others toured the Auction House and the Dilan Peak market, all of them, including A Fei, were now wearing Rare Grade Set Equipment.

To win this Martial Dao Assembly, the Sects behind these individuals truly invested heavily, arranging the complete Royal Knight Gift Packages for all of them.

Currently, Jian Wuxie and Quan Wudi were wearing the Royal Knight Avatar, coupled with the Ghost Knight Heavy Armor Defense Set, giving them immense Prestige.

Xiao Hongyuan also found a set of Cloud Iron Light Armor Set from the Auction House.

A Fei, meanwhile, was wearing a set of Heatonmar Noble Cloth Armor Set.

Jian Wuxie even tried to trick Jian Wenxuan, attempting to synthesize a complete sky set for himself like the Second Prince, but this plan was dropped after he received a Severe Beating from Jian Wenxuan.

After the four practiced in the Fighting Arena for an entire morning, they decided to go to the First Spine to complete their Mission first.

The four people, fully equipped and ready, arrived at the Sky Curtain Great Beast and entered the First Spine.

As soon as they entered the Room, the four saw many gbl cultists inside, standing in a circle, seemingly engaged in some unknown activity.

The four applied their buffs. Just as they were about to attack, those Cultists suddenly hunched over, and one-eyed octopuses crawled out from inside their Long Robes.

The robes slumped and fell onto the ground, containing some Sticky Fluid inside.

"Damn it, looks like A Fei was Right! Those Octopus Monsters really were transformed gbl cultists!" Jian Wuxie said disgustedly.

"Let's put them out of their misery first!" Xiao Hongyuan said.

The four rushed forward. Relying on the equipment they currently wore, these Octopus Monsters posed no threat at all and were quickly eliminated by the four without taking any damage.

After the Octopus Monsters died, A Fei squatted down, looked at the clothes, and pulled out a Badge from inside a robe. He said, "Let's collect some of these Badges. After we leave, we'll give them to Ophelia. She has the Right to know what happened."

Xiao Hongyuan said with some reluctance, "If she finds out that her Cultists have all turned into these disgusting monsters, she will probably be very sad, Right?"

Jian Wuxie said, "It's an unchangeable fact now. We can only kill that Rotus guy and avenge these people!"