Rushing to Wutan

After leaving the Soul Realm, Hun Ruoruo did not directly leave Central Continent as she had previously told Hun Tiandi. Instead, she continuously disguised herself under different identities and spent a great deal of time exchanging every last resource he had given her.

It seemed laborious and thankless, but at the very least, their origins were reliable, so she did not have to worry about any tampering.

After all, when it came to things Hun Tiandi gave her, she never hesitated to suspect them with the greatest possible malice.

Northern Region of Central Continent, Jiang City

As a borderland of Central Continent, Jiang City was not as prosperous as the central region, but it could still be called a vital junction between the Northwest Region and Central Continent. Naturally, it did not lack for crowds.

Within Jiang City, large and small factions stood side by side, with Zhenjiang Auction House reigning above them all. Though it bore the name of an auction house, its president was a High-level Dou Zong. With such formidable strength, it could practically be said to monopolize the entire city's economic lifelines.

Under the protection of such an expert, the auction house's advantages were brought fully into play—wealth, information, connections, it had everything. Furthermore, its neutral stance did not provoke resentment from Jiang City's other factions.

In fact, anyone who offended the auction house would be ostracized or even expelled by the entirety of Jiang City. This united attitude left many passersby clicking their tongues in amazement.

But it was only reasonable. Who would pick a fight with money?

In a lounge at the top floor of Zhenjiang Auction House, Hun Ruoruo, dressed in a Black Robe, leaned by the window and looked down at the scenery below.

Looking at the endless rows of shops outside and the unceasing stream of people on the streets, the Girl pondered aloud, "It's been so long already. There's far too much stuff in this ring."

As the strongest man to ever stand above the continent, even a Storage Ring Hun Tiandi casually handed out contained an ocean of treasures.

Or rather, precisely because he had given it to her so casually, most of its contents had never been sorted or considered, leaving all sorts of miscellaneous items piled together.

After taking stock of them, Hun Ruoruo found no fewer than twenty Earth-tier Dou Techniques. As for Profound-tier ones, there were so many that she could not even remember all their names.

If she auctioned off all those Dou Techniques, she could probably buy an entire city in the Northern Region.

Fortunately, after repeatedly confirming it, she found that these Dou Techniques had not been created by Hun Tiandi. Thus, she did not need to worry about him tampering with them. Once she exchanged the remaining Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and medicinal pills in the Storage Ring, she could set aside her suspicions and head peacefully for the Northwest Region.

"Honored guest."

As she was lost in thought, there came a soft knock at the door. A mature, scantily clad beauty entered the room, bowed respectfully, and said, "The items you consigned for auction have all been sold. As requested, they have been exchanged for medicinal ingredients and low-grade pills. There were also some remaining Gold Coins, which this concubine has brought along."

With that, she gently took a Storage Ring and an ornate Crystal Card from her bosom and placed them on the tea table nearby.

"Additionally, the maps of the various countries in the Northwest Region that you asked our house to collect have been prepared in the Storage Ring. Given the great value of the items you provided this time, we will not charge you extra for the maps."

"Thank you."

At that, the mature beauty revealed a professional smile. After chatting briefly, she excused herself on the grounds of work and left the room, giving Hun Ruoruo ample privacy.

Once the other woman had left, Hun Ruoruo picked up the card on the tea table and glanced over the amount stored within it.

"My, my. This Life-Returning Pill truly deserves its reputation as a life-saving medicine. It sold for nearly twice the price of an ordinary Seventh-grade Pill."

She slipped the card into an inner pocket, then drew out a map of the Jia Ma Empire from the dazzling assortment of medicinal ingredients in the Storage Ring.

The Girl licked the corner of her lips. Her beautiful eyes blinked and shimmered, their gaze flowing as her pure face beneath the Black Robe gained an inexplicably bewitching charm.

"Once I leave Central Continent, I can finally take off these damned disguises."

Two months later, Wutan City

"Dou Qi, Third Stage!"

Looking at the familiar black stone tablet before him, the young man could not help putting more force into the hand he had pressed against it.

One second, two seconds.

After a long while, the five large words on the Prodigy Magic Stone Tablet did not change in the slightest. Their shining light even seemed somewhat glaring at this moment.

He withdrew his palm expressionlessly, a trace of self-mockery at the corner of his lips. The fingernails of his other clenched fist had dug deeply into his palm from the excessive force, bringing waves of piercing pain.

"Xiao Yan, Dou Qi, Third Stage! Rank: Low!" The middle-aged man standing beside the Prodigy Magic Stone Tablet announced his result in an indifferent tone.

The moment his words fell, waves of mocking commotion erupted across the crowded Azure Stone Training Ground, as though everyone had long expected this outcome.

"Third Stage? Heh heh, just as I expected. This 'genius' has spent another year standing still!"

"Sigh, this trash has disgraced the entire clan."

"If the Clan Leader were not his father, trash like him would have been driven from the clan long ago and left to fend for himself. How could they let him freeload here?"

Listening to the ridicule and sighs around him, the young man standing there stiffly like a wooden post began breathing a little faster. He raised his head, revealing a youthful face with delicate features.

These people are still as harsh and calculating as ever. The humbler they once were before me, the more arrogant they are now. Is this them collecting a debt? Xiao Yan showed a bitter smile whose meaning was hard to discern. He numbly nodded toward the examiner, then turned and walked despondently toward the back of the line.

That solitary figure seemed utterly out of place with the world around him.

"Fine, then. After all, this world never belonged to me." The young man cast a listless glance at the noisy crowd, then used the inside of his clothes to wipe away the blood seeping from his palm.

The wound hurt badly, and the bloodstain on his clothes was vivid red.

"Sigh, fine. After all, this world never belonged to me~"

"Who?!"

Xiao Yan was struck with terror. He abruptly turned toward the direction the voice had come from.

At his empty side, only a breeze rolled a fallen leaf past him, as though silently mocking him.

"Was it an illusion?"

The gloom in Xiao Yan's heart deepened. He turned to look at the crowd—

As expected, after his sudden shout, the people who had already looked down on and ridiculed him became even more excessive. There was even a trace of pity in their gazes, as though they pitied this fool who had gone mad from the enormous fall he had suffered.

Overwhelming malice swept through the young man's heart. He gritted his teeth hard, no longer caring about any rules, and turned to leave the Training Ground.

"Next, Xiao Xun'er!" The examiner's voice rang out at just the right moment, making Xiao Yan hesitate.

The noisy crowd abruptly fell silent upon hearing that name. Most people cast Xiao Yan's absurd antics from moments ago to the back of their minds and instead fixed their gazes on the front.

At the point where everyone's gazes converged, a beautiful young woman in a purple dress calmly walked onto the platform. Her lovely face was tranquil, and her elegant, ethereal temperament drew wave after wave of cheers from the crowd below.

"Xun'er."

Xiao Yan stared blankly at the young woman on the platform, who was surrounded like the moon among stars. His steps halted again and again before he finally let out a long sigh and withdrew his gaze.

He moved on, leaving behind only a lonely back that seemed cut off from the world.