Fame Spreads Far and Wide, Challengers Abound

The wind still blew, leaves rustling gently. I sat on the blue stone platform, the medicine bottle in my hand now empty. My shoulders no longer felt numb, but a dull ache pulsed from my ribs, like something was slowly tearing at them from the inside.

**

The spirit beast lay at my feet, its ears twitching now and then. It wasn't asleep; I knew it was listening.

**

There were more footsteps outside than before. Not just one person, but several. They walked slowly, some stopping at the edge of the woods, others heading directly towards the valley entrance. I could sense their presence, not entirely hostile, but certainly not friendly either.

**

The System interface floated into view: [Current Area Attention: 18%]

Below it was a line of small text: [Estimated Challenge Probability increases by 7% for each additional witnessed transmission.]

I didn't close the notification, just stared at the numbers for two seconds. Then, I withdrew my spiritual sense and continued circulating the Nine Revolutions Profound Origin Art. The residual spiritual power flowed slowly through my meridians, each cycle granting me a little more strength.

**

The first one to enter was a one-horned demon cultivator. He stood at the valley entrance, clad in grey-brown armor, the tip of his horn glowing a dark red. He didn't speak, charging straight at me.

"After the North Plains Horn King, today I'll test if you're real!" he roared, shaking his arms. Three fissures opened in the ground, sending gravel flying.

I dodged the first wave of impact, using the edge of the blue stone to launch myself into the air. His attack missed, his forward momentum too great, exposing a weakness. I didn't use my blade, just held Flowing Abyss horizontally in front of me, its spine lightly tapping the inside of his right knee.

He stumbled, falling to one knee.

"I am not the Earth Splitting Rhinoceros," I said, landing steadily. "You see the truth you sought."

He looked up at me, his eyes filled with unwillingness and hesitation. Finally, he gritted his teeth, got up, and walked out of the valley without another word.

**

As soon as he left, the second one arrived.

It was a plant spirit, tall and slender, with green markings on its face. As soon as it entered, it vanished, and the surrounding vines suddenly came alive, coiling towards me.

I immediately summoned the Mystic Light Blade, its edge slicing through the air, leaving an afterimage. But the vines were fake; the true body was hidden underground.

The System popped up a question: [For Primordial Wilderness shapeshifting creatures, where is their true body most often hidden? Twenty-second countdown.]

Options appeared.

A. In shadows B. Within underground root systems C. In the direction of the wind's flow D. In the opponent's blind spot

I remembered reading in an ancient text—the spirit of plants relies on its roots for existence. Without roots, even the strongest illusion would break.

I chose B.

[Correct! Reward issued: One bottle of Soul Protecting Dew]

The bottle appeared in my palm, cool to the touch. But I didn't have time to drink it; the ground vibrated. A thick vine burrowed out of the soil, lunging straight for my face.

I ducked, avoiding it, and simultaneously slashed at the ground three feet to my left. Earth exploded, and a main root glowing with green light was severed. The plant spirit cried out in pain, revealing itself from behind a tree, clutching its chest and stumbling back a few steps.

"You... How did you know?"

"I guessed," I said, sheathing my blade. "Next."

It didn't attack again, clutching its wound as it left.

**

The third one followed closely.

A Swamp Snake Demon, slick all over, a long tail dragging behind it. As soon as it entered the valley, it spewed poisonous mist, yellow smoke quickly filling the air.

I held my breath, relying on my spiritual sense to track its movements. It was fast, preferring to move close to the ground, targeting the lower body.

After a dozen exchanges, I noticed it exhaled before each attack, a brief pause before changing its move. I waited for its third surprise attack and suddenly dropped low, my blade grazing its spine and severing the tip of its tail.

The poisonous mist thinned slightly.

It retreated to the valley entrance, panting, and said, "I heard you obtained a secret treasure, one that can reveal heavenly secrets?"

"No."

"Then why can you always find weaknesses?"

"Because you are too similar," I replied. "Everyone tests me in the same way."

It froze for a moment, then turned and left.

**

The fourth and fifth arrived together. Two demon generals, one wielding a hammer, the other a spear. Their coordination was skillful, clearly having fought together often.

I had just finished dealing with the first three, and my stamina hadn't recovered. This fight was difficult. They forced me off the blue stone platform and drove me into the open ground.

The hammer demon attacked the front, while the spear demon flanked for a surprise attack from behind. After blocking two rounds of combined attacks, my arms began to ache. The spiritual power in my Dantian felt drained, circulating slower and slower.

The spirit beast suddenly rushed forward, spitting a beam of golden light from its mouth. The light didn't harm them, but it made both of them flinch. I seized the opportunity, slashing at the joint of the hammer demon's shoulder armor, throwing half its body off balance. Then, I spun and swept my blade, the spear tip grazing my sleeve as it passed. I countered with a slash to its wrist.

They both retreated simultaneously.

"We lost," the one holding the spear said, "but more will come."

After they left, I leaned against the spirit beast and sat back down on the blue stone platform. My fingertips trembled slightly, and my forehead was covered in sweat. I took out the Soul Protecting Dew from my storage bag and took a swig. The cool sensation slid down my throat, and my mind cleared considerably.

The spirit beast lay beside me, panting even harder than I was. Its golden markings were much dimmer, clearly having expended a lot of energy in the recent battle.

There was movement in the distance again.

Three figures stood at the edge of the forest, not entering. One of them pointed at me and said something, and the other two nodded. They didn't leave or move, as if waiting for someone else.

System Notification: [Area Attention: 32%]

[Signs of group assembly detected, raising alert level recommended]

I ignored it and closed my eyes to regulate my breathing. I opened them ten breaths later, my spiritual power in my body barely recovered to thirty percent.

Another one arrived.

This time it was a rogue cultivator, wearing an old Daoist Robe and holding a rusty sword. He walked in, cupped his hands in a salute, and said, "Senior, you defeated the Earth Splitting Rhinoceros in battle. This junior has come to seek guidance."

"I am not a senior," I said. "I'm not any kind of expert either."

"But you won."

"Winning doesn't mean being strong."

"But it at least shows you're worth challenging."

After he finished speaking, he raised his sword and thrust.

I no longer held back, directly activating the third rotation of the Nine Revolutions Profound Origin Art, infusing my spiritual power into the blade. Flowing Abyss hummed, and the blade's edge drew an arc, directly deflecting his sword.

He stood there stunned.

"You can leave now."

He bent down to pick up his sword, lowered his head, and retreated from the valley.

The seventh, the eighth, the ninth...

I didn't know how many people had come. Some left after the fight, while others would ask, "Who exactly are you?" before leaving. More people said nothing, just fought and retreated.

The sun gradually set, and the light in the valley dimmed. My clothes were soaked with sweat, and every breath pained my chest. My Dantian was empty, and I was relying entirely on the Calming Heart and Concentrating Spirit Pill and the Soul Protecting Dew to keep going.

The spirit beast was also tired, lying there motionless, its ears no longer twitching.

The last group was three young demon cultivators who arrived together. They stood at the valley entrance, looked at each other, and one of them stepped forward: "We're not here to steal treasures. We just want to know, how did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"To win so many battles while injured."

"Because I can't lose," I said. "If I lose, this place won't be mine anymore."

They fell silent for a moment, then turned and left.

The valley became quiet.

I sat on the blue stone platform, holding the last medicine bottle in my hand. The bottle was no longer cold, but my fingertips slowly grew warm. The mark on my brow felt slightly hot, as if something was awakening.

There were still figures moving in the distant woods, but no one else entered.

I knew they were still watching.

I also knew that tomorrow, more people would come.

The spirit beast suddenly raised its head, its nose twitching.

I felt it too.

A new aura was approaching from the southeast. It was moving fast, not on foot, but riding the wind.

I slowly stood up, putting the empty bottle into my storage bag.

The saber was still in its sheath, but my hand was already resting on it.