Calamity Poison Body, Heavenly Tyrant Body

Monster Mountain Range, outer region.

A group of mercenaries watched Liu Yun from afar as he stood within a Dou Qi vortex, each of them utterly stunned.

Just a day ago, this man had been a bloody mess of flesh, barely looking human. That gruesome sight was still vivid in their minds.

Yet after only one day, he was already looking perfectly fine—and damn it, he had even broken through. Wasn't that just absurd?

Soon, the Dou Qi vortex in the sky began to weaken, and the restless energy in the surroundings gradually calmed. Liu Yun stopped absorbing Dou Qi.

The instant the energy vortex vanished, Liu Yun, who had been sitting cross-legged, suddenly opened his eyes.

In an instant, the black hair behind him stirred without wind, and his clothes billowed on their own. A tyrannical aura radiated from him, like a fierce tiger awakening from its slumber.

"Phew... I've finally broken through to the Dou Master realm!"

After softly exhaling a breath of stale air, Liu Yun felt his body brimming with power. He was more than ten times stronger than before. This breakthrough felt as though he had been given an entirely new body.

"Ding. Yun Yun has cultivated 5,000 points of Dou Qi, triggering a 100% Return Ratio. Congratulations to the host for obtaining 50 points of Dou Qi."

The long-awaited system prompt sounded. A surging wave of Dou Qi appeared within his body, and he quickly focused his mind and began refining it.

Not far away, Mu Li had just been about to step forward and congratulate Liu Yun when the sudden eruption of Dou Qi sent him stumbling back in fright.

The air became restless once more. Dou Qi from all around gathered toward Liu Yun, and that familiar energy vortex appeared again. Liu Yun sat cross-legged at its center, as though he had become a bottomless pit.

Another full day passed, and Liu Yun broke through to become a Five-star Dou Master.

When he opened his eyes, Liu Yun discovered that many people had gathered around him. Most were members of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, while the rest were mercenaries.

Though they belonged to different factions, they all looked at him in much the same way—some with respect, others with admiration.

Xiao Yi Xian stood at the front of the crowd, her beautiful eyes seeming to glow as she stared intently at Liu Yun.

Liu Yun met her gaze and smiled at her. Xiao Yi Xian returned it with a sweet smile.

"Congratulations, Senior, on your successful breakthrough and greatly increased strength!" Mu Li was the first to break the silence, laughing loudly.

"Thank you." Liu Yun returned the smile politely.

"I am Mu Li, the young leader of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group. May I ask where Senior intends to go next? If you do not mind, the Wolf Head Mercenary Group welcomes you to join us," Mu Li said.

The Wolf Head Mercenary Group?

Liu Yun frowned. Wasn't this Xiao Yan's first stepping stone in the original story? Why were they inviting him to join?

"I won't be joining the Wolf Head Mercenary Group. I still have matters to attend to. I appreciate the young leader's kind intentions," Liu Yun declined politely.

Mu Li was dumbfounded. They had saved this man. Shouldn't he have been overwhelmed with gratitude and sought a way to repay them? Why had things turned out like this?

If Liu Yun had been weak, Mu Li would definitely have taught him a lesson about how to behave. But Liu Yun was clearly an expert. Mu Li was no fool, and he had no desire to provoke such a formidable enemy, so he could only give an awkward, bitter laugh.

Still, he should count himself lucky—lucky that Liu Yun did not know what he was thinking. Otherwise, Liu Yun would have shown him the consequences of trying to guilt-trip him.

If Xiao Yi Xian had made such a request, he might have agreed. After all, she truly was his lifesaver.

As for Mu Li and the others from the Mercenary Group, they had indeed happened to show some kindness and helped him along the way. Liu Yun was someone who repaid kindness, so he intended to give them some benefits and be done with it.

"Since that is the case, I will not force the matter. If Senior has the time in the future, you are welcome to visit the Wolf Head Mercenary Group anytime," Mu Li said, forcing out a smile.

Afterward, Mu Li berated his men and dispersed the onlookers under the excuse that they were not allowed to disturb Senior's rest.

At that moment, only Liu Yun and Xiao Yi Xian remained, gazing at each other.

Just as Liu Yun was about to speak, a system prompt sounded in his mind.

"Ding. A Return target eligible for binding has been detected: Xiao Yi Xian. Would you like to bind her?"

Available binding method: 20x physique Return. (The Return Ratio depends on the relationship between the host and the bound target. Current relationship: "Secretly in Love.")

"This...?"

Liu Yun stood there with his mouth agape, completely dumbfounded.

Had the system bugged out?

He looked at Xiao Yi Xian opposite him, momentarily speechless.

Miss, please be a little more cautious. Isn't this 'Secretly in Love' happening way too easily?

If Mu Li could have heard Liu Yun's complaint, he would have cursed out loud. I've been simping for years, and she's never been secretly in love with me!

"Bind her," Liu Yun said inwardly.

"Ding. Congratulations to the host for binding target: Xiao Yi Xian."

"Ding. Xiao Yi Xian's current physique: Calamity Poison Body. Triggering 20x Return. Congratulations to the host for obtaining the physique: Heavenly Tyrant Body."

In that instant, a mysterious and indescribable substance was born within his body. Liu Yun heard dull drumlike thuds coming from inside himself. His bones, meridians, and heart all trembled violently, as though undergoing some mysterious transformation.

The process lasted only a few minutes, but to Liu Yun, it felt terrifyingly long. The extreme agony numbed him and nearly swallowed him whole.

After the transformation was complete, the blood vessels across his body rapidly swelled and burst. Red blood streamed down his body, and before long, he had become a man covered in blood.

Liu Yun was greatly alarmed and hurriedly examined himself inwardly. He discovered that Purple Blood was continuously pouring out from his heart and bone marrow. The purple blood was incomparably domineering, as though it could not tolerate even a grain of sand, forcing Liu Yun's original blood out of his body.

"Is this Blood Exchange? Purple blood... the Tyrant Blood of the Heavenly Tyrant Body?"

Liu Yun was overjoyed. Had he truly become a Heavenly Tyrant Body? It was indeed exactly like the legendary Tyrant Blood.

For a moment, boundless ambition rose in Liu Yun's heart. A conviction to fight against heaven and earth seemed to take shape, as though the Overlord Body's physique were changing his personality.

This drastic change startled him. His words from yesterday were still fresh in his mind. Had he set a flag only to get slapped in the face this quickly?

"No. I'm not getting stronger through cultivation, so I don't need to fight heaven and earth. I'm using cheats!" Liu Yun roared inwardly.

A new conviction took shape, resisting the instinctual influence of the Heavenly Tyrant Body.

At the same time, Xiao Yi Xian panicked when she saw blood spraying all over Liu Yun's body. She thought his old injuries had relapsed, so she hurriedly took out every hemostatic medicine she had and began applying them to him without hesitation.

"Don't do this! I worked so hard to save you!"

Xiao Yi Xian fumbled in panic. Despair appeared on her face, and her voice carried a sobbing plea.

Liu Yun opened his eyes. His purple pupils gleamed, and an incomparably domineering aura burst from him, frightening Xiao Yi Xian into retreating several steps.

After letting out a long breath, Liu Yun finally recovered. That domineering will had been suppressed by his powerful desire to live and could no longer affect him.

"Heavenly Tyrant Body? Some grand ambition to fight heaven and earth? I refuse. I'm going to aspire to become the most cowardly Overlord Body," Liu Yun said with a smile.

Since ancient times, most people who declared they would fight heaven and earth had come to no good end. Liu Yun still wanted to live for a few more chapters. Wouldn't it be better to keep a low profile and develop properly? Wasn't cheating far more comfortable than fighting?

Seeing Xiao Yi Xian standing before him cautiously, too afraid to approach, Liu Yun immediately withdrew his aura and gave her a gentle smile.

This was the girl who had been "Secretly in Love" with him from the moment they met. Shouldn't he treat her more gently?

"Hello, Xiao Yi Xian. My name is Liu Yun. Thank you for saving me," Liu Yun said as he walked up to her and extended his hand like a gentleman.

"Hello, Young Master Liu Yun."

Xiao Yi Xian was somewhat nervous. Seeing Liu Yun extend his hand, her heart pounded wildly as she reached out and shook his hand as well.

In an instant, it was as though they had both been electrocuted, and they immediately pulled apart.