"Clang!"
As his double pupils opened and closed, strands of runes flickered within them. Those eyes were terrifying, truly the eyes of a divine being, as though possessed of some uncanny power.
Shi Zhao quietly retreated, placing everyone in front of her like a shield, concealing both her deeds and her fame.
"Ah!" The foxlike girl merely met his gaze and felt her hair stand on end. She immediately collapsed to the ground, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth, an indelible mark of terror branded into her heart.
But when Shi Yi's gaze swept over another girl standing nearby with a charming smile, his expression suddenly froze. His eyes went from fathomless to blazing, all four pupils abruptly contracting.
At once, a ferocious beast beside him seized the opening created by his distraction and lunged viciously at him.
"Look, mister. I didn't even have to lift a finger. One look, and I knocked Shi Yi flat." Shi Zhao clasped her hands behind her back, her smile as radiant as ever.
"..." The middle-aged man opened his mouth, suddenly afraid to answer.
He kept feeling that this was no place to linger. If Shi Yi heard his conversation with the girl, wouldn't he be beaten black and blue?
"Are you really some little celestial maiden?" he asked quietly.
"No, I'm from the countryside!" Shi Zhao stubbornly stuck to her story.
The middle-aged man wouldn't believe that even if someone beat him to death. Now he was beginning to suspect that this little girl might be the favored daughter of some clan, or perhaps a princess from some kingdom.
She might not even be human, but a pure-blooded ferocious beast from the Primordial Divine Mountain that had assumed human form.
He wanted to ask more, but countless people around him suddenly cried out in unison.
In that instant, fierce winds swept across the wilderness. Light woven from runes burst forth like lightning, engulfing the beast king as it let out a shrill howl.
"Boom-!!"
Mountains collapsed and the earth shattered. It was hard to imagine anyone in the Blood Moving Realm unleashing an attack that could rend mountains and split the earth, yet the wielder of double pupils before them had done just that.
Double Pupils Heaven-Opening, its might shook the world!
"Where is she?" Shi Yi suddenly appeared before the middle-aged man and demanded coldly.
"I-I don't know." Under the glare of those double pupils, the middle-aged man's legs went weak, and he nearly dropped to his knees. Only then did he realize that the mysterious girl had already vanished.
"Yi, come back at once. Breaking the record comes first," Shi Yuan called.
Shi Yi snorted coldly and held nothing back. Dazzling light erupted from his double pupils as he slaughtered the remaining beast kings with overwhelming force.
Soon, a stone stele appeared, announcing that Shi Yi had broken a record in the Void God Realm and granting him a reward. Dazzling light instantly illuminated the sky.
Several lines on the stele recorded the result: Shi Yi, Double Pupils Heaven-Opening. Slaughtered nine beast kings in a single battle, setting the record for the most kings slain in the Initial Land!
Everyone knew this record was extraordinary, carrying tremendous weight.
To face a siege by nine beast kings in one battle and slaughter them all was an achievement of unsurpassed brilliance.
It was the ultimate demonstration of true combat strength, the very foundation so many people sought as they tempered themselves.
Unfortunately, the Void God Realm provided corresponding protection for challenges like this, concealing the challenger's aura so that the Precious Techniques he used would not be exposed to others.
Thus, the spectators were destined to miss their chance to witness Double Pupils Heaven-Opening.
As for Shi Zhao, she had long since fallen in behind a certain pair of unscrupulous old men.
"Sir, your bird is so pretty!" The girl fluttered her big eyes, her face utterly innocent, staring fixedly at the Five-Colored Bird perched on one old man's shoulder.
The two old men exchanged a look, their mouths quirking as they laughed together. Their coordination was astonishing; everything went without saying.
"This bird is no ordinary creature. Within it flows the legendary... phoenix bloodline."
"Exactly, exactly! It has five colors, and phoenixes have five colors too. A perfect match!"
The two unscrupulous old fellows began putting on an enthusiastic performance.
"So..." The girl grew increasingly tempted, her delight written all over her face.
"Since we've met, fate must have brought us together. Young friend, I see that you have skin like ice and bones like jade, a light body and a pure aura-the very bearing of an immortal. I'll take a little loss and consider it the start of a good friendship. Just nine hundred and ninety-eight Essence Jades, and I'll sell it to you cheap!" Lord Bird declared with a grand wave of his hand.
Before the girl could speak, the other old man grabbed his sleeve and cried out in anguish:
"No, old friend! This phoenix bird was so hard to come by! Back then, the two of us climbed mountains of blades and plunged into seas of fire, enduring countless hardships and dangers before we were lucky enough to obtain a single egg. Then we spent countless heavenly treasures to hatch it. That's far too few Essence Jades..."
Shi Zhao nearly lost control and laughed aloud. She took a deep breath, rolled her big eyes, then lunged forward, snatched the Five-Colored Bird, and took off on her long legs.
"Hey, you can't put it that way, young friend... uh, my bird?!" Lord Bird's eyes instantly went wide, and he unleashed a piercing shriek that carried a faint echo of a dragon's roar.
Crowds of people nearby were shaken dizzy. Some couldn't withstand it; their eyes rolled back, and they were inexplicably forced "offline." It later became an unsolved mystery.
"Hey, this little girl really is quick on her feet. She reminds me of that little lass who broke the Initial Land's speed record back then." The old man demanding more money tugged at his beard, sinking into thought.
"You know, you really have a point. She does look similar from behind. Could she actually be the same person? The little lass has grown up, her legs have gotten longer, and she runs even faster."
"Who cares whether she's the same person? The theft of my bird is a feud that cannot coexist under heaven! After her!" Lord Bird threw back his head and howled, his eyes nearly red as he charged after her.
Then a glowing record stele blocked their path.
"No doubt about it. 'Eat, sleep, beat up little brother.' It really is that little lass from back then." The Essence Jade old man, who had been demanding more money earlier, chuckled.
It wasn't his bird that had been stolen, after all. He wasn't worried in the slightest.
Lord Bird's old face darkened, and he puffed his beard and glared in fury.
What kind of nonsense was this? She had stolen his bird and run off, yet somehow broken a record along the way-and it was a record she herself had broken before.
"I've never felt so refreshed in my life." In the mountain range ahead, Shi Zhao's long legs carried her faster and faster, until she transformed her body into a sword.
Bolstered by strength that had surpassed the limits of the Blood Moving Realm, she reached an inconceivable speed.
Even a Kun Peng chick might not have been able to outpace her.
"Two Immortal Kings are chasing me, but I'm not panicking at all, because neither of them can run as fast as I can!" She nearly laughed herself breathless at her own words.
She didn't run circles through the mountains, either. Anyone could take a bend; true speed was speed on a straightaway. She closed her eyes and started sprinting.
The two Immortal Kings ran themselves numb chasing her. Finally, Lord Bird slapped his forehead, suddenly remembering that the Five-Colored Bird was also his true
body, and summoned it back with a thought.
The Essence Jade old man's mouth twitched. He immediately delivered a mighty kick, showing no regard for their old friendship.
Damn it, what had he been doing all this time? He only remembered when they'd nearly run themselves out of breath.
Looking down at the Five-Colored Bird that had vanished from her arms, Shi Zhao finally stopped.
Just then, another stone stele appeared before her. A line of words emerged upon it, shining with dazzling, brilliant light.
"Uh... the long-distance running record?"
Meanwhile, elsewhere, a little earlier, Shi Yi seemed to have been inexplicably provoked. After killing the nine beast kings, he had wanted to challenge the speed record as well.
But just as he prepared to attempt it, a new record was suddenly set.
Grinding his teeth, he switched to challenging the long-distance running record. After huffing and puffing for ages, another nearly insurmountable record came crashing down before him.
"..."
Before you continue