VMMMM!

A brilliant silver light erupted from the Frost Thorn Spear!

To Jian Ziheng, the dazzling radiance seemed almost solid.

It emanated a terrifying pressure that bore down on him!

Under the spear’s intimidating might, his mind went into a daze!

[Soul Suppressing]

In the next instant.

With a roar of displaced air, the sharp, silver light was upon him!

BANG!

An irresistible, terrifying force surged from the Frost Thorn Spear!

By the time Jian Ziheng came to his senses, he was horrified to find his body being carried away by the Frost Thorn Spear, flying backward!

"Damn it... What kind of technique is this? Dammit... Stop!"

Jian Ziheng was both shocked and enraged.

He roared, fully activating the Gravity Superpower of his Gold Melting and Iron Refining Skill to increase his own weight dozens of times over!

BOOM!

Brilliant golden light flared as the thirty-foot-tall golden giant’s body sank downward.

His legs slammed into the ground, like two chopsticks plunging into butter, and he slid backward, using the friction to dissipate the force!

SCREEECH!

The earth trembled, and dust billowed into the air!

After sliding back for hundreds of yards, Jian Ziheng’s back slammed into the inside of the Protective Array with a deafening "BANG"!

A visible dent appeared on the Protective Array!

The crowd gasped in shock!

THUD.

Braced by the Protective Array, Jian Ziheng finally came to a stop.

But he had paid an immense price for it!

CRACK.

The golden giant he had transformed into now had a dull, ashen light.

Fragments were constantly flaking off, dissolving into motes of golden light!

In moments, Jian Ziheng shrank back to his normal size.

His heavy battle armor was mostly shattered, covered in a spiderweb of cracks!

And with his Melted Gold Battle Body gone, his mortal flesh no longer had the ability to block pain.

An excruciating pain shot through his organs and limbs!

Jian Ziheng’s body went limp, and he collapsed to one knee with a THUMP!

"Pfft..." He coughed up a mouthful of blood, mixed with fragments of his internal organs!

"I..."

’I... I was almost killed?’

The unbelievable thought surfaced in his mind. Jian Ziheng looked at Su Ye, his heart filled with terror.

’This Jian Ziheng isn’t that strong after all...’

’Good thing I held back seventy percent of my power in the end. Otherwise, that Whale-Hunting Spear attack would have skewered him...’

With a flicker of Magical Power, Su Ye leisurely recalled the Frost Thorn Spear and spoke coolly.

"Do you want to continue?"

But Jian Ziheng just stared into those dark, profound eyes. The coldness within them was like a bucket of ice water.

It instantly extinguished all the emotions of ’revenge’ and ’resentment’ in his heart!

’If this goes on... I’ll die...’

Jian Ziheng’s heart seized with dread. At the same time, he could feel the countless mocking gazes from the crowd...

’It’s over... my reputation... all those years I spent building it...’

The thought that he had just become a stepping stone for Su Ye...

Jian Ziheng’s vision went black as rage and frustration overwhelmed him.

"WAHH..." He actually spat out another large mouthful of blood!

His body went completely limp, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious!

"Oh no! Mr. Jian has fainted!"

"Quick! Where’s the physician?! Someone save him!"

...

As the unconscious Jian Ziheng was carried away.

Every cultivator present now looked at Su Ye with profound awe!

Even the two or three Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators in the crowd regarded Su Ye with newfound respect!

"Not bad..." Sensing the change in everyone’s gaze.

Su Ye’s heart stirred. A faint smile touched his lips as he swept his gaze across the crowd in satisfaction.

"I’ve won this sparring match."

"According to my prior agreement with Jian, I will be taking command of the Reverse World cleanup operation."

"Does anyone have any objections?"

"None, I agree..."

"Mr. Su’s strength is immense and his Body Refining is peerless. The Reverse World cleanup needs a powerful leader like you..."

There were no objections.

Awe for the strong was rooted in the very bones of every cultivator in this world!

Besides, everyone present had some experience with the dangers of the Reverse World.

With a powerful expert like Su Ye leading them, their own chances of survival would undoubtedly be much higher!

"Everyone, rest and recuperate."

"We’ll gather here in two hours to prepare for the Reverse World cleanup."

Su Ye said impassively.

...

「Inside the military camp.」

In the main tent, which was luxuriously decorated and filled with the scent of sandalwood.

This tent had originally belonged to Jian Ziheng.

But after his defeat, it had naturally and rightfully become Su Ye’s temporary residence.

Su Ye sat in the main seat and smiled. "Mr. Bai, would you care for some tea?"

"Ah... yes." Bai Xiuying seemed a little reserved.

VMM.

Su Ye channeled his Magical Power, controlling a stream of water that flowed into a white porcelain cup.

The elegant and refreshing aroma of tea slowly spread through the air.

Bai Xiuying held the porcelain cup, feeling the heat of the scalding tea, her fingers twitching unconsciously.

Her eyelashes fluttered as she carefully chose her words.

"Mr. Su, Jian Ziheng’s provocation earlier was his own foolish act. It does not represent the will of Immortal City..."

"Immortal City has always treated you with the utmost courtesy and holds you in high regard..."

Su Ye smiled and took a light sip of tea.

"Of course, I’m well aware of that."

"Every organization has its black sheep. These insignificant fools won’t affect the relationship between me and Immortal City..."

Hearing this, Bai Xiuying felt a sense of relief.

"By the way, there is one more thing I’d like to ask of you, Mr. Bai."

"If you have the time, could you brief me on the results of Immortal City’s exploration of the Reverse World so far..."

"And... any information on the ’node’ monsters?"

Su Ye asked, his expression calm.

He was about to lead the Reverse World cleanup, so this information was essential.

"But of course!" Bai Xiuying nodded.

Then, she began to explain to Su Ye.

"Currently, we have discovered a total of seventeen nodes..."

"Seventeen..." Hearing this number, Su Ye’s eyes darkened slightly.

Each ’node’ signified one or more powerful leaders whose strength was no less than that of a Sewn Corpse!

In addition, there were large numbers of lesser monsters that gathered at these ’nodes’!

The strength of these monsters was generally around the Late-stage of Qi Refining.

Furthermore, the monsters of the Reverse World almost all possessed strange and troublesome abilities.

For example, potent venoms, aura concealment, regeneration, and so on...

Even the lesser monsters could pose a threat to Foundation Establishment cultivators if there were enough of them!

Therefore, Immortal City had to concentrate its elite forces!

"This time, the nodes we are preparing to clean up correspond to four rather critical locations within the inner city..."

"The monsters guarding these four nodes are..."

"Based on our probes, their abilities are roughly as follows..."

Bai Xiuying explained in a steady, flowing voice.

Su Ye listened very intently. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

This intelligence was something the cultivators of Immortal City had spent a great deal of manpower and resources to obtain.

It had even been paid for with blood and lives!

After hearing the briefing, Su Ye nodded slightly. He now had a clear picture.

...

...

I had some things to take care of this morning, so I was busy.

There will be another Chapter this afternoon.