THE RULE KING

The square was deathly silent. Xu Shan stood there, his mouth wide open, watching as a rain of bronze fragments fell in front of him. He felt like crying but had no tears. The huge pillar disappeared, and two white lights and a fist - sized that eerie blue bead floated in mid - air. Xu Shan only took a quick look. Before he could react, the two balls of light rushed towards him and merged into his body.

Sun Yuanzheng's lips trembled non - stop. Something was wrong! This was all so wrong! Even if the inheritance really had chosen him, where was the ancestor? The ancestor was gone. Where did he go? If he didn't show up, what was the use of leaving a wisp of divine soul? The records in the sect couldn't be wrong!

Countless unfriendly eyes turned towards Xu Shan. Xu Shan smiled bitterly and looked at Sun Yuanzheng. "Sect Master Sun, can I refuse this inheritance?"

In an instant, Sun Yuanzheng adjusted his expression and smiled. "Little friend, you're joking. Anyone can obtain the inheritance. Since it has recognized its master, it can no longer be separated. Besides, you're the one recognized by our ancestors. How can you return it? If you really did return it, what would all the cultivators in the world think of our Zixiao Sword Sect?"

"The bead above your head is the Spirit Crystal Soul used to operate the Immortality Seeking Platform. Since the inheritance is yours and the Immortality Seeking Platform is destroyed, you might as well take it too." Sun Yuanzheng waved his big sleeve, and the Spirit Crystal Soul entered Xu Shan's body.

The people present let out a burst of exclamations. The Spirit Crystal Soul! The Zixiao Sword Sect really made a huge sacrifice this time. The spiritual power needed to operate the Immortality Seeking Platform was obviously terrifying. Such a big Spirit Crystal Soul was probably enough for a cultivator to start from scratch and cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage, and maybe even the Deity Transformation stage.

Sun Yuanzheng said it so generously, but Ye Qingbi and Jin Yangqiu looked extremely ugly. They were just here to go through the motions, but now they had snatched the thing that was meant for someone else. The inheritance was good, but one also needed the ability to keep it, and they didn't have that ability. Coupled with the timing of this competition... Xinglan Sect had become the target of everyone. If Xu Shan didn't die and the inheritance didn't change hands, things wouldn't end well!

Sun Yuanzheng said loudly again, "Since the inheritance has chosen its master, the competition officially begins."

"Before we start, I'd like to reiterate that the trial in the secret realm will last for one month. There are no restrictions on competing for resources. After one month, you will be ranked according to the value of the resources you've obtained! Each participant can take a teleportation jade slip when boarding the flying boat. Crushing the jade slip will allow you to escape from the secret realm. It can ensure your safety if you encounter any danger."

"Besides, there's one more thing to tell you all. This secret realm is rather special. The teleportation formation has been affected to some extent. So when you enter the secret realm... you will be scattered in various places on the outskirts. If you want to find your fellow disciples and meet up, you'll need to put in some extra effort."

"Alright, now you can...."

"Wait a minute! Why wasn't it mentioned in advance that we'll appear in random positions when teleported into the secret realm?" A sect master below the steps angrily asked.

Sun Yuanzheng smiled. "Sect Master Chen, the teleportation formation was set up after the rules were agreed upon, so there wasn't time to notify everyone. But this doesn't seem to affect the fairness of the competition, does it?"

"You...." Seeing that no one was backing him up, Sect Master Chen glared angrily at Sun Yuanzheng, flicked his sleeve hard, and turned his head away.

Some insiders couldn't help but chuckle when they saw this. Tiantao Sect and Zixiao Sword Sect discovered the new secret realm together. They couldn't divide the spoils evenly, so they finally made it the venue for the Centennial Competition. But Tiantao Sect was best at combined attack magic techniques. Once their disciples were all separated after entering, their strength would undoubtedly drop significantly. The little trick played by the Zixiao Sword Sect was quite clever. At least it didn't affect the other sects at all and weakened a strong opponent.

"Since there are no objections, please board our sect's flying boat now and head to the secret realm!" The hundreds - zhang - long flying boat of the Zixiao Sword Sect slowly descended from the sky and gradually hovered in place. Many sect disciples flew up.

Diwu Lianfeng looked at Xu Shan and showed a playful smile. This was getting interesting. It seemed he had to take the inheritance back himself this time.

"Lianfeng, this unexpected situation is really..."

"It's okay, Sect Master. You don't need to say more. He won't be able to refine the inheritance in a month. I'll go into the secret realm and take it back myself. Then the agreement between the sect and my family will still hold, and I'll return the Spirit Crystal Soul to the sect." Diwu Lianfeng paused. "However, I'm worried that he's too timid and will escape from the secret realm early."

"You deal with things inside the secret realm, and the sect will deal with things outside. How about that?" Sun Yuanzheng said.

"That's great. Then I'll go first."

...

Xu Shan was still standing alone in front of the bronze fragments, in a daze. His expression showed neither joy nor sorrow.

"Xu Shan." Ye Qingbi's voice sounded beside him.

Xu Shan turned his head to greet her and then immediately asked, "Sect Master, can the inheritance of the Zixiao Sword Sect in my body be taken out? I don't want it."

Ye Qingbi shook her head. "Judging from the situation just now, the inheritance has chosen its master and is connected to your soul. Unless you have a high enough cultivation level to break the connection on your own, forcibly separating it will only severely damage your soul. With your current cultivation level, you will definitely die."

Xu Shan let out a soft sigh. "It seems I've caused quite a bit of trouble. This is a really tough problem, isn't it?"

Ye Qingbi remained silent. It was indeed extremely difficult. A major inheritance that could attract the mainstream sects in the Water Mirror Region to gather once every fifty years. Now everyone could try to snatch it, and no one would give up this opportunity. This competition had changed from a sect - level competition to a hunt for Xu Shan. Although there were some rules in the cultivation world, the temptation now was too great. Even if Xu Shan directly withdrew from the trial and returned to Xinglan Sect, he would still face various crises both openly and secretly... This was not something a small sect could bear.

After a while, Ye Qingbi said, "You... exit the secret realm immediately after entering. We'll figure out the other problems later."

"Aren't you curious about what the inheritance is, Sect Master?" Xu Shan suddenly changed the topic.

Ye Qingbi smiled helplessly. "Something you can't hold onto has no meaning. The inheritance of the Zixiao Sword Sect may not be suitable for Xinglan Sect either."

"Sect Master has a good attitude." Xu Shan said seriously. "I won't back out of this competition, and I won't bring trouble to Xinglan Sect. Sect Master, please don't worry."

"What on earth do you want to do? Don't seek your own death." Ye Qingbi frowned.

Xu Shan shook his head and walked towards the flying boat. Jin Yangqiu saw him coming and wanted to say something but held back. By the time Xu Shan had boarded the flying boat, he still hadn't said a word.

"Elder Jin, is disciple Xu Shan always like this?" Ye Qingbi walked up to Jin Yangqiu and looked up at him.

"Like what?"

"After such a big thing happened, he doesn't seem to be afraid at all..."

....

On the flying boat heading to the secret realm, Xu Shan and Lu Xiangjun were lying on the side of the boat, looking at the scenery below. Lu Xiangjun frowned tightly. "Junior Brother, just exit the secret realm as soon as you enter. Look, everyone behind us is waiting to go in and take your life. Why are you acting like nothing's wrong?"

Xu Shan turned around and immediately met dozens of pairs of fierce eyes. A faint smile appeared on his lips. The smile was a bit cold, a bit mocking, and a bit careless.

Five minutes ago, he was scared to death. Now, looking at these people who had evil intentions towards him, they were nothing but lambs waiting to be slaughtered! He hadn't even checked the inheritance yet, but he had already experienced the function of that Spirit Crystal Soul. The spiritual power inside could be almost infinitely drawn by him.

The most crucial thing was the third item... He had taken a rough look at it. Xu Shan had never expected such a thing to appear. Just one look at it made him feel calm and gave him an unprecedented sense of security! Although the usage of the items from the Green Seal was strange, he had thought of all the possibilities for this thing, and there was definitely no other way to use it! With the Spirit Crystal Soul as a foundation, plus this... he would be invincible in the secret realm. Not to mention these mere Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, even Core Formation stage cultivators might not be his match. Maybe he could even fight evenly against a Nascent Soul stage cultivator. At the very least, there was no problem with him escaping!

Now he couldn't get rid of the inheritance on him, and Xinglan Sect couldn't bear the pressure it brought either. To be fair, Xinglan Sect had treated him well. They were full of human kindness and had given him a precious buffer period to adapt to this cruel new world. In th