99: Exposing strength

"Oh my, I almost forgot about this!" Qin Chen slapped his forehead, his eyes wide.

"The me in the simulation must have guessed that the System has the ability to rewind time, so it could definitely fix this thing."

His heart pounded with joy; indeed, the simulated him had made the right gamble.

"My brain is quite useful, but this Aptitude is truly too trash to look at."

Thinking of how it took him decades to Breakthrough a single layer in the simulation, he couldn't help but laugh at himself, looking like a Clumsy fool.

At the same time, Liu Ruyan, who was meditating next door, suddenly frowned—her Divine Sense had just swept past, catching Qin Chen smiling foolishly.

This sight immediately piqued her curiosity: "What is this boy giggling about?"

"Could it be... he's fantasizing about this Venerable One?" A cold glint flashed in her eyes.

The more she thought, the angrier she became. Killing intent erupted in her eyes, and a wisp of Divine Sense transformed into an invisible sharp blade, silently piercing towards Qin Chen!

This strike, imbued with the wrath of a Nascent Soul Cultivator, was enough to crush a Golden Core Cultivator's Sea of Consciousness!

At this moment, Qin Chen was still blissfully fantasizing about the heavenly craft tablet's Cultivation Technique, his mouth almost reaching his ears, completely unaware of the impending disaster.

Suddenly—

He felt as if his head had been struck by an invisible heavy hammer!

"Boom—!"

A violent roar exploded within his skull. His vision instantly darkened, and golden stars swam before his eyes.

Immediately after, warm blood uncontrollably streamed from his eye sockets, nostrils, and ears—he was bleeding from all seven orifices!

The smile on his face instantly froze, his body swayed twice, then he fell straight backward—

With a "thump," he completely lost consciousness.

At the same time, deep within his Sea of Consciousness, which was in a state of Chaos, that incomparably powerful Divine Sense blade, capable of tearing apart a Divine Soul, was instantly—

Stoutly blocked by the Divine Sense barrier spontaneously formed by the slowly rotating, seemingly ordinary Golden Core within his Dantian!

The Golden Core hummed, emitting a tough yet ancient light. Although it was a passive defense, appearing somewhat shaky, it stubbornly resisted the Nascent Soul-level Divine Sense impact.

Two invisible Divine Sense forces fiercely clashed in his Sea of Consciousness. Though silent, the confrontation was extremely perilous.

This scene greatly astonished Liu Ruyan next door.

She hadn't expected Qin Chen to be a Golden Core Realm Cultivator.

Because Heavenly Human Realm is for Martial Artists, who primarily Cultivate their physique and not their Divine Soul. Whereas Cultivators Cultivate the "Dao," which includes Cultivating the Divine Soul.

Therefore, Qin Chen's ability to withstand the Divine Sense impact relied precisely on his Golden Core Realm cultivation.

Liu Ruyan naturally perceived this as well.

She immediately had a thought and withdrew the Divine Sense blade.

In an instant, the invisible blade in Qin Chen's Sea of Consciousness dissipated.

But Qin Chen remained unconscious—the previous Divine Soul impact had severely damaged his Divine Soul, forcing him into a dormant state.

Liu Ruyan slowly rose, her figure flickering, and instantly appeared in Qin Chen's room.

She carefully observed Qin Chen, her Divine Sense repeatedly sweeping over him, and a hint of surprise suddenly flashed in her eyes.

Qin Chen's defense just now not only exposed his Golden Core Realm Divine Sense cultivation but also revealed his Heavenly Human Realm strength.

"Eighteen years old?"

"Heavenly Human Realm?"

"Golden Core cultivation?"

"There's actually such a Prodigy Genius in this broken Secret Realm?"

"No wonder he could withstand my Divine Soul Secret Art!"

Her tone was filled with disbelief, her heart both shocked and surprised, with a hint of relief.

She had come here to find an eighteen-year-old Xiantian Realm Martial Artist.

Unexpectedly, she encountered an eighteen-year-old Heavenly Human Realm Martial Artist.

Such Prodigy Aptitude was top-tier even within their Liu Clan Immortal Family, and indeed, the entire Zixiao Immortal Domain.

One must know, she only achieved Core Formation at twenty—in terms of talent, she was inferior to this boy before her.

And the blood spirit pill she refined required the essence blood of Martial Artists; the stronger the Martial Artist's Aptitude, the better the effect.

Therefore, Qin Chen, in her eyes, was simply a priceless treasure, like a Heaven And Earth Treasure tailor-made for her.

This was simply finding a supreme treasure!

"With this 'treasure,' why worry about not dominating the Immortal Domain?" Her lips curved into a satisfied smile.

Thinking of this unexpected joy, she sat down opposite Qin Chen in a pleasant mood, quietly waiting for him to wake up.

The sun hung high in the sky until noon.

Qin Chen struggled to open his eyes, his head buzzing, making him feel nauseous and want to vomit.

He shook his head hard, trying to clear his mind, but upon seeing the person sitting opposite him, the hairs on his body instantly stood on end—

Liu Ruyan was propping her chin, staring intently at him, her gaze burning as if admiring a peerless rare treasure, even the smile on her lips carried a predatory excitement.

Qin Chen jumped up as if scalded, retreating three steps until his back hit the wall with a "thump": "You..."

"Good, no damage." Liu Ruyan tapped her fingertip on the table, her voice suppressing an undisguised joy.

Having found such a "treasure," she truly couldn't contain her inner excitement.

"Why did you ambush me?" Qin Chen's voice carried suppressed anger.

He couldn't not be angry—he had almost died inexplicably!

That terrifying moment just now made him truly feel death—that cold despair rushed from his feet to his head, making even his Divine Soul tremble!

What shocked him even more was—why did Liu Ruyan suddenly attack? What did he do? Why was it different from the simulation?

Liu Ruyan, however, answered evasively, merely stating, "From now on, you will follow me."

With that, without waiting for a response, she raised her hand to form a seal, outlining a blood-colored rune in the air.

Qin Chen's pupils contracted: This was a Slave Contract Secret Art!

She flicked her finger, and the rune, like a venomous snake, burrowed into Qin Chen's glabella, rushing straight into his Sea of Consciousness.

Just as the contract was about to merge with his Divine Soul, it was quietly dissolved by an invisible force, like ice meeting scorching sun—

The System had intervened!

Qin Chen immediately lowered his eyelids. When he looked up again, his eyes were filled with fanaticism, and he swore in a trembling voice as if looking up at a deity: "Your servant Qin Chen is willing to go through fire and water for Master!"

Liu Ruyan nodded in satisfaction, then suddenly asked, "What were you giggling about last night?"

Qin Chen replied without hesitation: "Master, last night I fantasized about seizing the Great Yan Dynasty's empire and becoming the controller behind this Dynasty."

Liu Ruyan nodded slightly.

If she had previously thought Qin Chen was only in the Xiantian Realm, such words would have been laughable.

But now that she knew he possessed Heavenly Human Realm and Golden Core cultivation, such a feat would be as easy as turning over one's hand.

She continued to ask, "Where are you from? How did you obtain your Golden Core cultivation?"

Qin Chen blurted out: "Reporting to Master, I am from Longyang Town, Nanjiang City. When I was a child, I accidentally found a qiankun ring, a Cultivation Technique, and some Medicinal Pills on a corpse in the outskirts."

After speaking, a qiankun ring appeared in his palm, containing two thousand Spirit Stones, ten bottles of ningyuan pill, and a copy of the Blood Origin Art.

Although Martial Artists do not primarily Cultivate Divine Soul, an ownerless qiankun ring can be opened with martial Dao will, so Liu Ruyan did not doubt him.

Liu Ruyan swept her Divine Sense over it, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes: "Blood Origin Art?"

This Blood Origin Art was a Cultivation Technique specifically used by Liu Clan Immortal Family Disciples for Dual Cultivation of body and pháp.

She secretly guessed—perhaps it was left behind by another Liu Clan Disciple?

Then, she took out a jade bottle and calmly ordered: "Bleed, fill it up."

Qin Chen expressionlessly took the jade bottle, raised his hand and sliced his wrist, and fresh blood gushed out, flowing into the bottle.