Xiang Wendian laughed; it had been many years since anyone had been worth his time.

In fact, over the years...

He has only lost once.

Seven years ago, Xiang Wendian came to Linyuan City and suddenly suffered a seizure!

They began indiscriminately slaughtering the people of Lin Yuan City.

Ye Linyuan's three heroes—Shadow, Embroiderer, and Old Knife—joined forces to launch an attack on Xiang Wendian.

As a result, the three heroes were no match for...

At the last moment, Ye Linyuan appeared.

With just one sword strike, he subdued Xiang Wendian...

Once Xiang Wendian regained his senses, he couldn't understand why Ye Linyuan's combat strength was so outrageous, even though they were both at the Golden Core stage.

The power of that sword strike was almost comparable to that of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

He couldn't figure it out, so he simply stopped thinking about it.

Xiang Wendian, grateful for Ye Linyuan's mercy in sparing his life, joined Linyuan City and became the leader of Ye Linyuan's four heroes.

Xiang Wendian, at the eighth level of the Golden Core Realm, is the second strongest person in Lin Yuan City!

He never failed in the dozens of missions, large and small, that followed.

As Shadow's assassination skills have become increasingly sophisticated, he has not needed to take action against Wen Dian for a long time.

"How strong is Chu Tianyao?"

Shadow pondered for a moment, "Before I left, I saw that his combat power was at the fourth level of the Golden Core Realm... but he is a Yin-Yang Chaos Body."

"Two minor realms will be added by default when assessing combat strength!"

"This person possesses at least the combat strength of the sixth level of the Golden Core stage... As for whether he has any other trump cards, it is impossible to determine."

Xiang Wendian nodded. "In that case, it is indeed worth it for me to take action myself."

The shadow whispered, "Brother Xiang, my advice is to head to Zuiyue County as soon as possible... Chu Tianyao is acting strangely... his cultivation level is rising too fast."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"I saw it with my own eyes: he went from the first level of Foundation Establishment to the fourth level of Golden Core Realm... in just one afternoon!"

Xiang Wendian scoffed, "This is absolutely impossible. Crossing twelve realms in one afternoon? Such a thing is unheard of."

"This Chu Tianyao must be hiding his cultivation level."

Shadow said in a deep voice, "I hope so too... but there are too many variables surrounding this person, so it's not advisable to delay any longer. Brother Xiang, you should set off as soon as possible."

Xiang Wendian nodded. "Okay, I'll head to Zuiyue County this afternoon."

Shadow thought for a moment and added, "If Chu Tianyao is hiding in the Rainbow Tower, we can wait for him to come out."

"Although the Rainbow Tower in Zuiyue County is nothing special... we still need to be wary of Xu Jinghong in Qiongming City."

A hint of anticipation flashed in Xiang Wendian's eyes. "Xu Jinghong, the number one young master of the Qionghuang Dynasty... Hehe, I'll have to meet him sooner or later."

"I understand. I will try my best to kill Chu Tianyao after he leaves the Rainbow Tower."

......

Chu Tianyao has been in seclusion for ten days, during which he has gained five thousand points of Dao Derivation Points.

"Phew...Counting the previous four thousand points, I now have over nine thousand Dao Evolution Points."

"There are still less than 7,000 Dao Evolution Points needed to reach 16,000 points..."

Chu Tianyao sighed softly, "Once you reach the Golden Core Realm, the progress slows down a bit."

"Since I have nothing else to do, I'll go out for a stroll and maybe buy some supplies."

And so, Chu Tianyao walked out of the Rainbow Tower and came to the shop.

He spent 80,000 crystals to purchase some magical artifacts and pills, and then had the system recycle them again.

"System, recycle these materials and convert them into Derivation Points."

"Boom! Cultivation pills and magic artifacts are being collected. Dao Points are being calculated. Please wait..."

"Boom! After confirmation... 7100 Dao Regeneration Points have been recovered."

"Boom! We currently have enough Dao Derivation Points to advance our cultivation level. These points will automatically convert into cultivation realm points..."

"Current realm is Golden Core Realm Level 6! (Each Golden Core Realm advancement requires one Dao Evolution Point.) Remaining Dao Evolution Points: 770."

Reaching the sixth level of the Golden Core Realm signifies officially entering the late stage of the Golden Core Realm.

"Phew..." Chu Tianyao took a deep breath, "I've finally advanced another minor realm, but I'm running out of crystals now."

"System, open my properties panel and take a look."

"Boom! Here is the host's attribute panel."

Name: Chu Tianyao

Age: 21

Realm: Golden Core Level 6

Constitution: Yin-Yang Chaotic Body

"Techniques: Yin Yang Evolution Heaven Technique, Six Styles of Wind Slash, Cloud Mist, Overlord's Barrier, Heaven-Shaking Fist."

"Items: Crystal beads, small storage bag, battle armor, plum-patterned armor, and a concealing bead (used to conceal one's aura of power)."

"Dao Evolution Points: 770 (One Dao Evolution Point is required to advance one level in the Golden Core Realm)."

Chu Tianyao looked at the data panel and pondered for a moment.

"I don't have many crystals left... The safest thing to do right now is to stay in the Rainbow Tower and raise my strength to the ninth level of the Golden Core Realm by signing in daily!"

"To reach the sixth level of the Golden Core Realm, I still need more Dao Derivation Points. At 500 Dao Derivation Points per day, it would take over ninety days..."

"Given my relationship with Qin Hongjin, staying at Honglou for more than ninety days is no problem."

Just as Chu Tianyao was pondering his next move...

Xiang Wendian was also observing him from a short distance away.

Xiang Wendian had already arrived in Zuiyue County a few days ago.

He waited at the entrance of the Rainbow Tower for Chu Tianyao to come out.

Then he quietly followed Chu Tianyao all the way...

"Yes, just now for a brief moment, Chu Tianyao unleashed the aura of the sixth level of the Golden Core Realm."

"Heh... Shadow, your intelligence is really inaccurate, missing two whole realms."

Xiang Wendian's lips curled up into a strange smile. "Sixth level of Golden Core Realm plus Yin-Yang Chaos Body... Interesting, truly interesting!"

Chu Tianyao walked out of the shop and was on his way to Honglou.

Suddenly, a chilling killing intent emanated from behind...

"Hmm?" Chu Tianyao stopped and slowly asked, "Who are you? Why are you locking onto me with killing intent?"

Xiang Wendian said calmly, "Linyuan City, Xiang Wendian has come to kill you on the orders of the city lord."

"I see... Is it because of Wu Dalang in Bitter Sea Town?" Chu Tianyao nodded. "You plan to make your move here?"

Xiang Wendian said in a deep voice, "This is not the Rainbow Pavilion. Do you have any last words to say?"

As he spoke, Xiang Wendian's powerful aura as an eighth-level Golden Core cultivator was fully revealed.

"Eighth level of the Golden Core Realm... I might be able to defeat him!"

Chu Tianyao also raised his aura to its peak, "I had been showing weakness all along, but in the end I easily defeated my opponent by suppressing his realm."

"This is the first time I've encountered an opponent of a higher realm since my rebirth... There are only two minor realms between us, I should be able to win."

The next moment, Chu Tianyao suddenly turned around.

A devastating punch was unleashed with overwhelming force!