Volume Two, Travels in the State of Qi, Chapter 127, A Frenzied Harvest

Zhang Heng started walking forward, but Yu Xiaochuan did not move. "Brother Xiaochuan, let's go. Why are you standing there?" Zhang Heng asked, puzzled.

"Brother Zhang, you should go ahead and leave me behind," Yu Xiaochuan said, head bowed and voice low.

"Aren't we teammates? Shouldn't teammates act together?"

"Brother Zhang, you are powerful. There is only one hour left before the competition ends. If you focus on hunting spirit beasts, you might have a chance to advance to the next round if luck is on your side. If you take me with you, I fear we will both be eliminated."

Zhang Heng’s spiritual energy was only at the third stage of the Qi Sea realm; no matter how extraordinary he was, even if he possessed the combat strength of a high-stage Qi Sea cultivator, what good would it do? There were over a thousand Primordial Core cultivators participating in this Imperial City Grand Competition, and only one thousand could advance in this first round. If Zhang Heng was lucky, he had a chance, but dragging him along would make that chance even slimmer.

Seeing Yu Xiaochuan’s state, Zhang Heng understood his concerns. He smiled with relief. "Brother Xiaochuan, if I encounter a worthy opponent, having you by my side gives me a chance at victory, doesn't it?"

Yu Xiaochuan thought it over and realized there was logic in Zhang Heng’s words. After all, Zhang Heng did have the strength of the third Qi Sea stage. If a high-stage Qi Sea cultivator didn't fight back, he might stand a chance of inflicting injury. Thus, Yu Xiaochuan said nothing more and immediately rose to follow him.

*Who should I target?* Zhang Heng wondered as they walked. *Forget it, whatever. I’ll just keep walking; whoever I run into can consider themselves unlucky.*

"Brother Zhang, where are we going?" After walking for a long time without encountering any cultivators or spirit beasts, Yu Xiaochuan began to panic. Time was running out, and he feared he would drag Zhang Heng down.

"Brother Xiaochuan, we don't need to look for them. They will come to us naturally," Zhang Heng said with a mysterious smile, then picked up his pace, leading Yu Xiaochuan forward.

As they passed through a forest, a dozen cultivators suddenly leapt out and surrounded them. Seeing these people, Yu Xiaochuan felt a surge of despair. *It's over. It’s truly over.* Most of them were high-stage Qi Sea cultivators, and there were even two at the Primordial Core realm.

"You two brats, come here and let us kill you," the group sneered. They had already ambushed many cultivators here, and seeing that Zhang Heng and his companion were only at the third stage of the Qi Sea realm, they decided to strike immediately.

The group laughed boisterously, while Zhang Heng watched them with cold eyes. Just as one of the Primordial Core cultivators began to posture, Zhang Heng suddenly burst into action. Moving with blinding speed, he appeared before him and struck his forehead with two fingers. The first-stage Primordial Core powerhouse collapsed instantly, his body dissipating into the void.

Killing a Primordial Core cultivator didn't stir much emotion in Zhang Heng. He stood where he was, cracked his knuckles, and said with an arrogant flair, "Time is short. I don't have time to play with you lot."

The sudden turn of events terrified Yu Xiaochuan and stunned all the other attackers. They froze, forgetting even to flee. *How is this possible? A third-stage Qi Sea cultivator killing a Primordial Core genius in seconds? How can this be?*

Zhang Heng wasted no time. Using the Little Aurora Phantom movement technique combined with the Spirit-Gathering Finger, more than half of the men were lying on the ground, unable to fight back, in the blink of an eye. The remaining few finally snapped out of their shock and scrambled to escape.

Zhang Heng smiled with disdain. "Run? Can you outrun me? I am the ancestor of fleeing."

He pushed his movement technique to its limit. Even though the cultivators scattered in different directions, it didn't take long before Zhang Heng had struck them all down.

"Run! Keep running!" He kicked them one by one to where Yu Xiaochuan stood and stood over one of them, eyeing them coldly.

Yu Xiaochuan watched the entire ordeal in a daze, his mouth hanging open. *Zhang Heng is too fierce.*

"Sp-spare me?" the man under Zhang Heng’s boot pleaded with difficulty. Zhang Heng ignored the plea and turned to Yu Xiaochuan. "Brother Xiaochuan, what are you waiting for? Finish them."

"For me?" Yu Xiaochuan was stunned.

"Brother Xiaochuan, I’ve killed a Primordial Core cultivator. My points are already in the top thousand. These ones are yours."

Yu Xiaochuan stood frozen. Every cultivator was trying their best to boost their own ranking, yet Zhang Heng was piling up defeated opponents for him to finish off. He was at a loss for how to choose.

"Brother Xiaochuan, don't dilly-dally. Hurry and finish them; I still need to find others," Zhang Heng laughed.

*That’s right,* Yu Xiaochuan realized. With combat strength as fierce as Zhang Heng's, he certainly didn't lack points. He stopped hesitating, gathered his spiritual energy, and began attacking the cultivators. These were all high-stage Qi Sea cultivators—he wouldn't have been able to beat even one of them before, but now, taking them out one by one was incredibly satisfying.

The Qi Sea cultivators begged for mercy, but Yu Xiaochuan showed no quarter. Everyone who entered the Qingtong Mirror was a competitor; how could he be soft-hearted? Besides, killing them here wouldn't harm their physical bodies outside, so there was no need for guilt.

After this harvest, Zhang Heng had 382 points, ranking 941st. Yu Xiaochuan had 826 points, ranking 457th.

***

At the arena, a dozen high-stage Qi Sea cultivators stood up simultaneously, faces filled with dejection. Who would have thought a third-stage Qi Sea rookie could wipe them all out? This change caught the attention of other spectators. A dozen high-stage Qi Sea cultivators eliminated at once—could they have encountered one of the top geniuses?

Just then, a small cultivator at the third stage of the Qi Sea realm climbed into the top 500 on the leaderboard.

*How is this possible?* The top 500 had always been firmly occupied by cultivators at the third stage of the Primordial Core realm and above. Could this small third-stage Qi Sea cultivator possess the strength of a third-stage Primordial Core cultivator? It was absurd.

All eyes converged on Zhang Heng and Yu Xiaochuan. *Who exactly is Yu Xiaochuan?*

Seeing the change in rankings, Wu Hong sipped his tea and smiled faintly. *The boy is finally acting.*

"Master Wu, is the person you value that Yu Xiaochuan?" the Qi Emperor asked. A third-stage Qi Sea cultivator with the power of a third-stage Primordial Core was truly a peerless genius.

"Your Majesty, just watch," Wu Hong replied. Perhaps he was the only one in the entire Qi Kingdom who dared to speak to the Qi Emperor in such a manner.

Inside the Qingtong Mirror, Zhang Heng was leading Yu Xiaochuan on a frantic harvesting spree. Any cultivator they encountered, regardless of strength, fell under Zhang Heng’s fingers.

Shock could no longer describe Yu Xiaochuan’s state of mind. He felt as if he were dreaming; had he been eliminated and was now experiencing hallucinations?

Suddenly, another group blocked their path. The leader was Liu Hai, the third son of the Grand General. They hadn't come to ambush Zhang Heng and Yu Xiaochuan on purpose; rather, the two had delivered themselves right into their mouths while they were resting.

*Yo, it's you,* Liu Hai laughed wildly. *Heaven has a path you refuse to take, and hell has no gate you insist on barging through.* He didn't need to hide his malice here. He had held a grudge ever since Zhang Heng made a fool of him at the Tianxiang Pavilion, and he had been looking for a chance to teach him a lesson. He never expected heaven to deliver Zhang Heng right to his doorstep.