That single snip drew the attention of all the mighty figures present.
In the void, divine senses intertwined, and ripples of shock spread through them. Vague voices even echoed from the depths of their consciousness.
"What a powerful Yin-Yang Shear. What astonishing Innate Yin-Yang Eyes. This is an innate divine ability. Limitless potential—cutting light and darkness, cleaving through chaos with a single snip."
"Yi Tianxing is extraordinarily fortunate. He's clearly Heaven's chosen. Awakening a life aperture innately, nurturing divine abilities, possessing immense combat power, comprehending the essence of martial arts, cultivating both body and magic—his future is limitless. A pity the Immortal Sect didn't recruit him from the start, or his accomplishments would be even greater by now."
"Hmph, he's just a mere Sea of Divine Origin stage cultivator. Our Western mages have yet to rise, otherwise, would he have won so easily? The stronger a mage becomes, the greater the magic repertoire—and the power they unleash is worlds apart."
Divine senses clashed in the void.
Clearly, what was happening on the battlefield had not escaped their notice.
Far from ignoring the participants due to their modest cultivation, they were in fact paying very close attention.
After all, no powerhouse was born strong. Every great figure rose from obscurity. At such formative stages, talent and strength already signaled future potential.
In at least ninety percent of cases, future achievement could be foreseen this way.The other ten percent? Variability.
And those gathered to compete here—without a doubt, they were the most elite of the younger generation on the Eternal Continent. If they grew, they could shake the world. They were the backbone of humanity's future. Every bit of attention was well warranted.
From among them, one might rise to stand at the pinnacle of the Eternal Continent.
To rule a region. To become a hegemon. A mighty one.
"To enter the teleportation gate together? You're practically begging to die. This is just a divine ability formed from a life aperture—not some divine artifact. Outside, I might have needed effort to kill you, but walking right into the gate? You're asking for it. Let me grant your wish."
Yi Tianxing smiled faintly and waved his hand, collecting all the loot left behind by the fallen into his Spirit Pearl. There was no time to examine it now—that would wait until later.
"Hongye… and that invisible thief… definitely a seasoned pickpocket. His techniques are superb—practically the stuff of legends. If not for a flicker of intuition, I wouldn't even have noticed when my dimensional pouch got stolen. He's likely a Divine Thief."
Yi Tianxing took a deep breath. His armor was torn and cracked all over, but the fissures were already healing rapidly before the naked eye. With a thought, the armor dissipated from his body.
Beneath it, his black combat attire was tattered in places but bore no blood. Not a single wound marked his body.
Since breaking through to the Black Cauldron, Six Ringings stage as a body refiner, his physique had become nigh indestructible—even blades couldn't pierce him. It was almost like the fabled Diamond Indestructible Body—relatively speaking, of course.
Though the armor had been breached, the force of those attacks had been mostly absorbed—unable to pierce his defense.
"Golden Roc!"
With a shout, the Golden Roc descended. Yi Tianxing leapt on its back and soared forward in pursuit.
He'd already seen the Divine Thief and Hongye bolting ahead after stealing his pouch. As long as he caught up—he'd find them.
"Ow ow! You damned mutt! Let go! I said let go! Or I'll beat you to death!"
Standing atop a winged serpent, Sikong Zhaixing had a dog latched onto his butt—teeth sunk in deep. The pain was indescribable. Along the way, he'd tried everything—blades, fists—but the Green Emperor refused to let go. When he hacked at its head, his blade bounced off. The mutt's skull was rock solid.
"Daoist Sikong, your backside's fashioning a new trend. Truly remarkable. I'm impressed," Hongye said with a smirk, seated safely atop her Exploding Ape mount, keeping a respectful distance—not from Sikong, but from the Green Emperor biting him.
"That cursed dog brings nothing but disaster. I'd bet there are traps ahead. Better be careful—you're going to need it."
Everyone bitten by the Green Emperor had ended up miserable—falling into traps, dying tragically.
And this wasn't just a bite—Sikong Zhaixing had the mutt stuck to him! He'd punched, kicked, and hacked at it—more aggressive than anyone else. According to rumors, the worse you treated the Green Emperor, the more disastrous your fate would be.
Yet strangely, no trap had sprung yet. That made Hongye even more uneasy.
"Green Emperor, I know you can talk. If you don't let go, don't blame me… You forced this! I'm going to fart!"
Sikong's face was grim. He knew full well how terrifying this mutt was, but it just wouldn't let go. What was he supposed to do—go on adventuring with a dog dangling off his butt?
When all else failed, he made up his mind.
Pffft!!
A sharp, resounding blast echoed out.
For cultivators, releasing a fart took no effort at all. This one came with great satisfaction—and a thick wave of noxious stench blasted directly at the Green Emperor's face.
Even before the fart was released, the Green Emperor had sensed doom. It had tried to retreat—but too late.
The stench struck. With its ultra-sensitive nose, the effect was amplified a thousandfold. Disgust surged through its soul.
Its intelligent mind—no different from a human's—reeled in agony. Its whole body stiffened, then began convulsing violently.
It tumbled off the flying serpent and hit the ground hard. Its hind legs twitched in spasms, body wracked with dry heaves—an image of total despair.
Hongye was stunned.
She never expected the troublesome Green Emperor to be defeated… by a fart.
Boom!!
But the moment the dog fell off, Sikong's luck turned for the worse.
Without warning, a trap triggered midair. A bolt of Heavenly Lightning exploded from the void and struck him full force. The power was devastating—crackling arcs of destruction lit up the sky.
When the thunder faded, Sikong was a mess. His long hair stood up like a broom, charred and frizzled. Feeling his neck, he found a protective jade talisman, now dimmed and crumbling into dust.
"Damn… If not for that talisman, I'd be dead right now. That mutt really is cursed. The moment it let go, I got blasted. That lightning was no joke—it wanted to kill me."
He was clearly shaken.
He already knew about the curse—but hadn't expected it to be so real.
Now he didn't dare move. He'd already used his only protective charm. If more traps lay ahead, he might not survive.
"Daoist Sikong, you're clearly cursed now. I happen to have a Calamity-Suppressing Talisman. It's a rare treasure I found by chance—it can suppress misfortune for a time and lessen the lingering bad luck. Should help you get through safely."
Hongye's eyes gleamed as she pulled out a jade talisman and offered it quickly.
"Daoist Hongye, you're a true saint. Hurry, give it to me!" Sikong's eyes lit up.
"No rush. Let's first see if that dimensional pouch has any Monkey Wine," she said cheerfully.
"Fine, let's check it. That was the only pouch on Yi Tianxing. If there's Monkey Wine, it'll be in there. My Star-Snatching Hand never fails."
Sikong knew exactly what Hongye was implying, but didn't argue. He took out the pouch with full confidence.
"No way…"
But when he opened it, his eyes widened in disbelief.
"What is it?"
Hongye's heart sank. She asked quickly.
"It's empty. Completely empty," Sikong said quietly.
Hongye grabbed the pouch and checked—indeed, nothing inside. Her expression darkened.
"Daoist Sikong, I shared my secrets with you. I trusted you with the Monkey Wine—and this is how you repay me? How shameful."
"Daoist Hongye, I swear on my life—I never opened that pouch before. It was empty from the start. I didn't pull any tricks. And you saw how I got out—I had no time to tamper with anything!"
He looked genuinely wronged.
He'd had a dog hanging off his rear the whole time—how could he possibly sneak around?
"Hmph. You're the godfather of thieves. If you did anything sneaky, would I even notice? You'd better cough up the goods—because if your bad luck explodes, no one can save you."
Clearly, Hongye didn't believe a word.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Sikong stretched out a hand toward her, and as if an invisible force swept through the air, the Calamity-Suppressing Talisman vanished from her hand—appearing in his.