The second Extreme Realm mission

He returned to the room.

Lin Tian sat cross-legged on the bed.

Then he began cultivating the "Sword Heart Body Refining Art," seated cross-legged on the bed.

He now possessed the Kui Bull manifestation.

The thunder power throughout his body had even merged into his blood.

Combined with Sword Qi, it could temper his flesh even better.

He wanted to cultivate the "Sword Heart Body Refining Art" to the second level of Sword Grinding within two days.

Two days later.

"In the end, I'm still far short."

Lin Tian spoke somewhat helplessly.

The further he progressed in the "Sword Heart Body Refining Art," the slower his improvement became.

Now, he still had not reached the second level, Broken Sword.

He had no confidence whatsoever in taking the lightning from Blood Town's formation head-on.

If that red lightning really were red lightning, that would have been one thing.

Possessing thunder power himself, Lin Tian had not sensed the slightest trace of lightning within that red lightning.

Instead, it gave Lin Tian an extremely familiar feeling.

That day, when he first came to Blood Town.

He had entered a steamed bun shop.

The presence of the little girl inside that steamed bun shop.

It was almost identical to that red lightning.

Earlier, Lin Tian had also asked Qingcheng.

Qingcheng told him that the little girl was not missing an arm.

That made things even stranger.

Lin Tian had clearly severed one of that little girl's arms.

What realm would someone need to be in to regrow a severed limb?

If her realm really was extremely high, why had she remained trapped within Blood Town?

And why had she not killed Lin Tian that day?

There had to be something strange about the little girl.

Lin Tian had to watch out for that.

And just then.

An inexplicable feeling of dread arose.

[Ziwei: Zhenwu, it's time. Can you come to the Extreme Realm?]

[Ziwei: Zhenwu, Big Shot Zhenwu?]

Lin Tian curled his lips and extended one hand.

His slender fingers tapped lightly at the empty air.

A blood-red mask appeared in his hand.

Then he pressed it onto his face.

Lin Tian felt the scene before him suddenly change.

He arrived above the familiar lake once more.

"Zhenwu, you're here."

Ziwei appeared beside Lin Tian, dressed in purple and wearing a flame mask.

"The goods."

Lin Tian spoke indifferently.

Ziwei froze for a moment, then took out a jade vial and tossed it over.

Lin Tian caught the jade vial and pulled out the stopper.

A refreshing fragrance lingered around his nose. Inside the vial were two pills emitting a faint yellow glow.

"These are Cloud Spirit Pills?"

Lin Tian asked with a frown.

"The genuine article! I went through a lot of trouble to collect these."

Ziwei spoke hurriedly.

"Mm."

With a thought, Lin Tian put the jade vial into his spatial ring.

Lin Tian had received this ring as a reward after completing his last mission.

There had been other rewards, too: several dozen perfectly fitting outfits inside the spatial ring.

"Zhenwu, you've got money now! You're wearing new clothes, and you've even got a spatial ring."

Ziwei spoke in surprise, seemingly sizing Lin Tian up.

"The Extreme Realm gave them to me," Lin Tian said.

Pfft!

Ziwei clutched his stomach and laughed.

"That's priceless! This is the first time I've seen the Extreme Realm reward someone with clothes. Looks like even the Extreme Realm couldn't stand it anymore."

"Hahahaha!"

As Ziwei laughed, he suddenly heard the metallic ring of a sword being drawn.

Then he hurriedly shut his mouth.

"The Extreme Realm decides its rewards based on its members' needs. It's actually quite normal for the Extreme Realm to reward you with clothes."

He spoke haltingly, only falling silent when he saw Lin Tian sheathe his sword.

Splash!

The sound of water rose as a water gate formed before Lin Tian and Ziwei.

"Haha! This young master won't die! Are you mad?"

A plump figure shot out of the water gate.

It was a fat man in luxurious clothing, who fell onto the lake's surface in a sorry state.

Lin Tian and Ziwei looked over, both remaining silent.

"Oh, someone's here."

The fat man noticed Lin Tian and Ziwei, then hurriedly stood up. With a wave of one hand, the stains on his clothes vanished instantly.

"Haha, sorry to make a spectacle of myself."

The fat man spoke with a chuckle. He was not tall, and his belly was round.

His green robes were embroidered with golden writing, and he wore a mountain-patterned mask on his face.

"Nice to meet you. I'm the Great Emperor of the North Pole. You must be Ziwei. I've heard Big Brother Azure Emperor mention you."

The fat man smiled at Ziwei.

"Hello, Big Brother North Pole."

Ziwei replied with a smile.

Then the Great Emperor of the North Pole looked at Lin Tian, clicking his tongue in wonder.

"Zhenwu, I never thought I'd see this mask again. The sights of the past are still vivid before my eyes."

Lin Tian glanced thoughtfully at the Great Emperor of the North Pole.

This was not the first time he had heard others mention the previous Zhenwu's great name.

But what did that have to do with him?

Even this Extreme Realm Mask was an opportunity he had intercepted.

"It looks like you've fully absorbed the Kui Bull blood essence. Have you awakened a manifestation?"

North Pole continued speaking.

Ziwei was instantly startled. He pointed at Lin Tian, somewhat at a loss for words.

"Zhenwu, you really managed to snatch the Kui Bull blood essence?"

That day, the sight of the second Kui Bull had frightened him into fleeing immediately.

Only after he had come to his senses afterward did he feel as though he had missed an opportunity.

He simply had not expected Lin Tian to have actually obtained it.

Watching Zhenwu make a fortune felt even worse than losing money himself.

It hurt so much.

Lin Tian glanced at the Great Emperor of the North Pole, somewhat surprised.

Still, it was not as though no one had seen him seize the Kui Bull blood essence.

It was normal for the other man to know.

"How are things in Sword Capital?" Lin Tian asked.

The Great Emperor of the North Pole froze for a moment, then sized Lin Tian up again and extended his right hand.

"What does that mean?" Ziwei was puzzled.

"Ahem."

The Great Emperor of the North Pole straightened his collar and said with a smile:

"Let me introduce myself again. I make my living selling information. As long as you pay, I can investigate any major affair under heaven for you.

"Of course, if you have any valuable information, I can also buy it from you. Preferential rates for insiders."

Lin Tian frowned, then looked at Ziwei and asked:

"You know the situation in Sword Capital, right?"

Ziwei glanced at the Great Emperor of the North Pole and said with an awkward laugh:

"I do."

"Do you charge?" Lin Tian continued asking.

"No charge."

Ziwei glanced somewhat apologetically at the Great Emperor of the North Pole.

The Great Emperor of the North Pole stood stunned for a moment. Just as he was about to speak.

A red light flashed beside the lake.

A majestic voice rang out.

"Ziwei."

"The sons and daughters of the Su Clan's head in Willow Capital will lead the young prodigies of the world into the Fire Nether Forbidden Land. You will impersonate a member of the Capital's Wenren Clan and join the Su Clan's eldest son's party."

"The Extreme Realm will send you there."

"Go at once. Surviving will count as success."

"Failure means death."

"Time limit: two days."

The Extreme Realm's voice resounded.

A water gate appeared above the lake.

"If surviving counts as success, doesn't that mean it'll be very difficult?"

Ziwei spoke with his heart pounding in alarm.

Then he hurriedly took a jade talisman out of his spatial ring.

"Extreme Realm, I have a team-up jade talisman. I request to go together with Zhenwu."

After he finished speaking, the Great Emperor of the North Pole glanced at Lin Tian again.

He stroked his chin, his thoughts unknown.

Buzz!

The jade talisman in Ziwei's hand turned into a streak of green light and vanished instantly.

"Zhenwu, Ziwei now invites you to go with him. Do you agree?"

Red light flickered on the shore as the Extreme Realm's voice rang out again.

"I agree."

Lin Tian spoke indifferently, and only then did Ziwei breathe a sigh of relief.

Then the two walked toward the water gate and vanished from above the lake.