Li Ling laughed uproariously and was about to leave when a voice suddenly sounded out that captured the attention of everyone.

"Wait."

All eyes shifted to Shen Ziyan, who still sat atop the podium in a stoic stature, her expression indifferent though her eyes were only fixed on Li Ling. For that matter, Li Ling turned around to regard her, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

"Yes, how might I be able to help the exalted Core Disciple?" Li Ling asked with a tone that barely concealed his amusement.

Shen Ziyan flicked out a finger, sending a jade slip that was radiating pitch-black energy flying over to Li Ling, to which the young man fearlessly caught with a frown on his face.

"Just because my uncle did not make a bet does not mean that your time can be wasted. Take this as your reward for your exemplary victory and congratulations," Shen Ziyan explained succinctly, disappearing from her spot in a flash of light the next moment, causing everyone in the area to breathe a sigh of relief.

Li Ling glanced at where she had been with narrowed eyes and then sent his refined spirit sense into the jade slip, but his face changed greatly when he did. He could sense that an esoteric art was contained within, one that even had its own Dao Rhythm, which meant it could be cultivated to the Dao Integration Realm at the least!

A minimum peak Spirit Path cultivation technique for free? In a demonic sect?

Li Ling was not naive enough to believe that it was due to his victory. It was likely that this technique had some hefty requirements that could only be cultivated by a special person, which was something he seemed to qualify for somehow, and she needed someone who could cultivate this for some reason.

Thinking of the hint from the Infinite Slaughter System, Li Ling seemed to understand what might have been the cause for his fate being merged with hers down the line. In the end, he pocketed the jade slip into his Void Space, planning to investigate it more later on.

Right now, he had to return to his abode and wait for the final siege that would occur tomorrow to harvest his final bout of Slaughter Points in this War of Annihilation in order to prep himself for the third realm of both qi and body cultivation.

Li Ling took a step and vanished from the stage, not giving anyone the chance to talk to him post-match or even watch his movements. The faces of everyone changed as they saw him leave, wondering how he could manage such a speed until one person spoke.

"Huh? Spatial ripples? Did this guy waste a Grade Four Void Breaking Talisman just to leave?"

Immediately, those who remained here felt enlightened, and with enlightenment came speechlessness. Even though the sect obviously had talismans even at the Essence Path level for sale and in production, the price of those made in the rarer elements like space and time was extremely exorbitant!

To use one just so that he wouldn't be annoyed by them when leaving—they didn't know whether to be flattered or offended, leaving most exasperated.

As for the idea that Li Ling broke space himself, not a single person had that thought. After all, such a power was reserved for those at the Void Refinement Realm, True Inheritors of the Upper Sect who ruled over the entire Tian Ming Continent with a few other similarly strong powerhouses.

Likewise, only such a difference could be discerned by Void Refinement powerhouses. The only reason why one person could even detect the faint spatial ripples was due to possession of a space-element-related artifact himself, which only gave him a faint feeling.

The only one who was confused and shocked was Bai Yegui, who was in the crowd with a startled and disbelieving expression. As a minor 'protagonist' himself, he had naturally tried to cultivate the Tai Xu Mysterious Method after acquiring it with much difficulty but found out the hard way the wall of talent required to even start.

He had tossed it into his stall after giving up on it, forgetting it existed until Li Ling appeared one day asking for it specifically. Even though he lost the duel that day, Bai Yegui was not too bothered because he felt that Li Ling would hit the same wall he did, but who would have known?

Li Ling actually had the 12th-ranked Void-Touched Physique, which meant that the bastard had a minimum 50% fixed chance to enter the Void Refinement Realm and become a True Inheritor!

This made Bai Yegui's eyes narrow as he felt a smile creep up his pale lips. It seemed that on this boring journey to the top, he might finally have a peer to accompany him!

Like Bai Yegui, many people recognized Li Ling's talent and began making plans on how to handle him, whether it was to befriend, to subordinate themselves, to control him, or to try and eliminate him.

The plans were as varied and plentiful as grains of sand in the grass, and even more irrelevant to the one being plotted against, for he had just gotten home and was feeling extremely overjoyed. With such a windfall of merit points, he slightly regretted not being greedy during his seven-day dispatch and harvesting Slaughter Points crazily.

However, he never actually expected to beat his merit ban during the wait for the final siege, as that was where he initially planned to farm heavily for his return to the sect's main hall in Tianmo Empire.

Anyway, he resolved to avoid this mistake in the future. Rather than purposefully limit himself to prevent feeling useless and unable to advance, he would hoard in advance to make sure that he was prepared for any change in situation.

Then again, his situation did change often, did it? When did he have any form of stability these past three weeks since the Infinite Slaughter System activated? It felt like his life was currently a fast-paced blur of lights and sounds, without giving him time to sniff the flowers on the pathway as he went.

As Li Ling sat down in his chamber, he began to ponder with a slight smile. He realized that he had somewhat strayed from his motto of living life to the fullest without harboring a fear of death nor the typical cultivator desire for endless life for the sake of it.

Li Ling understood that he might be acting a little ignorant and ungrateful given that he had such an awesome system that could carry him to the top, but it was precisely because he spent a large majority of his life in Firmament Heaven at the bottom that he more deeply felt the terror of the top.

Most people with a blessing like his would want to tough it out during the climb and enjoy life when they got to the top and were infallible, but Li Ling felt this was redundant. The excitement of life came majorly from the climb itself, and experiencing the flavors of life at each level.

A small merchant in a county town lived a luxurious life to a serf farmer by the countryside, but that merchant also envied the clan patriarch who had a powerful family in the provincial city. That clan patriarch looked on with envy toward the provincial governor who had real political power in hand and could decide life and death, while that same governor schemed against the emperor, coveting his power over the entire nation.

Each stage held a different status, a different way of life, and different privileges along with different challenges. The kind of food the merchant ate was different from what the farmer did, the kind of entertainment and amenities the merchant could pay for was different from what the clan patriarch could afford, and the kind of women the clan patriarch could lead to his bed were in a different class from what the governor could take.

What Li Ling wanted was not to rush through the ranks to the top as an emperor before choosing to enjoy all the wine, beauties, and delicacies, but rather to savor them at each stage from that stage's point of view. This would elevate his attunement with life and the world, and, more importantly, was just more fun and interesting!

Sighing deeply, a black cloud of gas leaked from his mouth that formed a visage of a malevolent demon that screeched at Li Ling with anger before dissipating with the wind. Li Ling simply watched it with an emotional expression, once again feeling the danger of one's thinking process in cultivation.

Seriously, if Li Ling had a shred of kindness or goodness in him, he would have probably worked toward installing some sort of institute or sect that catered to the mental health of cultivators worldwide, because it was a much more severe issue than on Earth.

Unfortunately, that ship had sailed, so it was every man and woman for themselves in the cultivation world, just as it had been since the dawn of time!

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