Streaks of white light moved through Jianmu's body, and wherever the white light touched, Jianmu's body cracked open, revealing blinding light.

In the blink of an eye, the Jianmu tree's body was riddled with holes and cracks.

"Holy crap, bro, don't go too far! You're stuffing all sorts of filth inside your body!"

Qin Xiao was somewhat anxious, but looking at Jianmu's appearance, he felt he couldn't offer any help.

However, from the intermittent messages conveyed by Jianmu, she indicated that she was in good condition.

After another half hour, it still looked like it was covered in cracks.

Qin Xiao frowned and withdrew from the demon realm.

"Master, how is Jianmu?" Ilya's voice rang out.

Qin Xiao shook his head. "I don't know, but it looks alright."

Open the Jianmu panel.

The Towering Tree

[Qualification: Color]

[Attributes: Wood, Space]

Loyalty: 100

[Rank: Gold Nine-Star] Upgrading in progress

[Talent: World (Color)] Evolving

[Skills: Root Void Channel (Gold); Life Essence (Gold); Symbiosis (Gold); Generating]

Qin Xiao muttered to himself, "Talent advancement, rank upgrade, is this the start of Platinum level?"

What exactly is that sphere?

Based on the evolution of the world of talent, Qin Xiao guessed that it was probably some kind of space-type treasure or a world seed.

Jianmu's talent has never been revealed, so is it because it hasn't developed yet?

Although I don't understand what's going on, judging from the panel, it should be a good thing.

Coming to my senses, I realized the collapse of the secret realm was becoming increasingly severe; it was best to leave first.

Jingjing plunged into the portal and appeared in the wilderness.

Between traveling for two days and flying back in an hour, Qin Xiao chose to fly.

Now that he's alone, any problems are easier to handle and won't be major issues.

An hour later, Qin Xiao stood in front of the outpost.

Only half a day had passed since they were caught at the border and all these events occurred.

Before nightfall, the border post was open, and Qin Xiao successfully returned to the city.

Back in the city, Qin Xiao rode his scooter again and headed towards the lakeside cottage.

On the bracelet, messages from Ye Qingya and Wang Xinian kept beeping.

They were all concerned about his condition and situation, and Qin Xiao gave Wang Xinian a brief reply.

Qin Xiao: I've returned. Let's meet at the lakeside cottage tomorrow morning.

In a small courtyard in the Second Ring Road area, Wang Xinian sat in the pavilion, still looking exactly the same as before.

Upon seeing Qin Xiao's reply, the person making tea paused, a slight smile appearing on their face.

Wang Xinian: Okay.

Regardless of whether they genuinely cared about Qin Xiao's safety, all of their group's gains were still with Qin Xiao.

A small house by the lake.

Qin Xiao walked into the room. In the living room, Ye Qingya and Ye Qinghuan were watching the broadcast on the projector TV.

"Little Qin!"

Ye Qingya stood up first and pounced on Qin Xiao.

Qin Xiao froze on the spot, his hands hanging in mid-air, unsure whether he should hug her or not.

Especially when he saw Ye Qinghuan's deep, mysterious gaze, Qin Xiao felt as if he were being pricked by needles all over his body.

After her initial excitement, Ye Qingya seemed to realize something, and her movements suddenly stiffened.

But the other person was still clinging to him, their chest pressed tightly together.

"Ahem, Sister Qingya, you haven't rested yet?"

Qin Xiao tried to make conversation by changing the subject.

Ye Qingya took the opportunity to back down, withdrew her hand, and sat back down on the sofa.

"Xiao Qin, come and sit down. There shouldn't be any problems going on this trip, right?"

Qin Xiao sat properly on one side of the sofa, while Ye Qinghuan's eyes swept back and forth between the two of them.

However, the two seemed to be discussing this matter very seriously.

"There's no problem. The strange threat from that secret realm was also captured by that young man."

"That person is probably not simple; he is most likely a big shot in the Temple of the Gods."

Ye Qingya analyzed.

Qin Xiao nodded. "By the way, Sister Qingya, let's sell the spirit weapon tomorrow. After we split the profits, you can go back, right?"

Ye Qingya picked up her water glass, took a sip, and said with a smile.

"It's okay, we can stay longer this time."

"My dear mayor, isn't it a bit inappropriate for you to abandon your citizens and go out to have fun by yourself?"

Ye Qinghuan said calmly, her eyes fixed on the projection screen.

Ye Qingya paused, "Mom also needs to cultivate herself, it's okay to do it once in a while."

"I'm just worried that if I stay too long, I won't want to go back, and that would be really tough."

Ye Qingya raised her eyebrows and grabbed Ye Qinghuan by the back of her neck.

"Huanhuan, you're even interfering with your mother now, aren't you? Go and cultivate yourself."

Ye Qinghuan was inexplicably angry. "I don't want to! I want to watch the game!"

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit off, Qin Xiao spoke up.

"Qinghuan, what kind of competition is this?"

Ye Qinghuan said dryly, "It's a campus selection competition, broadcast internally."

"Oh, is that so? How come I didn't receive a notification?"

Qin Xiao noticed the problem; he had also signed up to participate.

Ye Qinghuan tapped the air, and a screen appeared.

After a few clicks, a form appeared.

"Of course you don't need to participate. You're in first place now, so you're guaranteed a spot in the national league."

Well, Qin Xiao looked at the list and sure enough, his name was number one.

It seems that Teacher Sun mentioned that it was possible to advance directly, but he had forgotten about it.

"Xiao Qin is really amazing. You're the only one who got a direct admission to the national league this year. The other students have to fight for the remaining spots."

Qin Xiao didn't feel anything, since he had only just broken through a tower and it didn't feel real to him.

He didn't realize how valuable this opportunity was, and he didn't take the national league seriously at all.

After all, the National College League adopts a dual-restriction system, which means there are restrictions on both age and ability.

With his current strength, he would struggle a bit against Diamond-rank opponents, but he could easily handle Platinum-rank opponents.

The World Youth Competition does not have any age restrictions; anyone under the age of thirty can register to participate.

Besides those who participated in the national league and won the top three places, directly securing tickets.

Many other people from society, as well as members of various influential teams, also participated in the competition.

This kind of global event, which involves the entire society, is a completely different concept from the academic level.

If we were to find a corresponding concept, it would probably be similar to the Olympics or the World Cup in the previous life.

It is said that this World Youth Competition is also related to the allocation of some global public resources, but Qin Xiao's access to information was not explained.

The World Youth Championships were the real challenge for Qin Xiao.

After all, he is only 18 years old, and even during the competition, he was only 19 years old, so he is definitely at a disadvantage in terms of age.

"Speaking of which, I also need to train hard and strive to advance to Platinum rank before the World Youth Competition."

Qin Xiao said it as a matter of course.

Ye Qingya's eyes widened. "You're going to participate in the World Youth Competition?"

"Mmm."

Ye Qingya was surprised; she had thought Qin Xiao was just participating in the National College League.

It's really a disadvantage for a teenager to compete with the world's top young geniuses.

"Xiao Qin, the World Youth Competition is too complicated. You are still young and can grow for a few more years before making a decision."

Ye Qingya offered gentle words of advice.