Forget it, forget it. Even though it's a small-scale business and a bit beneath me, I don't mind at all... Besides, these big shots are at the Martial Emperor Realm. They're definitely better at making money than me. I don't strive to surpass them in quality; I just can't let them surpass me in quantity...

Especially when the System wasn't bringing in any revenue, Wang Zhan found making money particularly difficult.

So, even if it's just a mosquito's leg, it's still meat; can't let it go to waste.

As long as I believe that 'Sky-high buildings rise from the ground,' if I pick up ten billion or so a day, it won't be long before I can eat the dust of these bigwig Martial Emperors.

SIGH, this is so tough...

The Beast Nest was the true priceless treasure; it couldn't be exchanged for any amount of gold—not a hundred thousand jin, not even a million jin. Thinking this, Wang Zhan's gaze towards the Four Symbols Formation filled with bitter longing, his eyes practically glowing green with desire.

When will it be my turn to get rich? System, oh System, can't you give me a little boost and let me catch up to these old fogeys quickly...

If anyone heard Wang Zhan's inner thoughts, they'd probably be angered to death on the spot.

A young man, starting from nothing, had gone from an ordinary person to the verge of advancing to Martial Master, stuck at the threshold of the peak Warrior realm—all in less than a year.

What kind of monstrous talent was this? Especially with the System backing him up—even though it was just an inanimate object, Wang Zhan still wasn't satisfied.

However, nobody knew that in Wang Zhan's heart, he was more nervous than anyone else at this time.

Thanks to the Supreme Clear Thunder Summary, his mental power had long become his most outstanding attribute.

So, he could clearly sense the true situation of the four great Martial Emperors and the Martial Emperors from Jing State. It would have been great if everything was as those old guys claimed—just chatting and reminiscing.

But unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

What a game! Wang Zhan lamented.

The Beast Nest wasn't using its full strength at all; it seemed more like it was toying with the Martial Emperors in the field.

First, there were the deans of the Federation's four great institutions, then the newly arrived Martial Emperors. Although their capabilities varied, they were all decisive and ruthless individuals, none to be trifled with.

However, even so, the situation in the field was still in a stalemate. Who would believe it?

Never mind those Martial Emperors; even Wang Zhan, who was still just a Warrior-level Martial Artist, could see it clearly.

Further words are useless, Wang Zhan suddenly thought.

Looks like I need to prepare an escape route in advance. If this keeps up, I might really perish here.

I even suspect I've come to the Beast Nest's attention.

After all, I've slaughtered dozens of 'pigs,' big and small, by now. Perhaps that old animal in the Beast Nest is hiding within the Four Symbols Formation, sinisterly plotting against me.

"Yikes, the more I think about it, the scarier it gets! Better hurry, slaughter a few more pigs, and collect some more Pig Head Treasures..." Wang Zhan muttered to himself.

If the Beast Clan knew Wang Zhan already regarded them as mere pig feed, squealing and waiting for him to slaughter and harvest, they would probably swarm him and turn him into excrement.

After muttering to himself for a good while, Wang Zhan finally stopped overthinking and drifted away, leaving behind only a resonant lyric.

"Want to fly high, shoulder to shoulder with the Sun..."

However, what Wang Zhan did not know was that it was not just him; the entire Jing State was also preparing for evacuation. Even Shi Zhongming, the highest-ranking official in Jing State, had no intention of hiding this. It was all quite open and aboveboard.

Perhaps the only unfortunate ones were the commoners in Jing State City, swept up in this for no reason, then abandoned and forsaken.

「A few seconds later.」

Where Wang Zhan had been standing, a furtive and thoroughly dishevelled figure suddenly appeared, looking strangely at Wang Zhan's retreating back.

After searching the ground for a good while without finding any treasures, instead picking up a lump of dung, Su Tao had a flash of insight and, much to his dismay, understood what had happened.

"What happened to not wanting it? The trust between people? The harmony, friendship, unity, and mutual assistance between friends? Wang Zhan, is this how you treat me!"

He was about to go mad.

"Want to fly high, shoulder to shoulder with the Sun? I really fucking believe it now! You're so shameless, you'd even snatch the hottest shit to eat!"

He had just seen Wang Zhan drop a beast core and had deliberately found a place to hide, wanting to pick up a bargain.

Even though beast cores aren't worth much...

PAH! Su Tao hurriedly shook his head and spat.

He'd been corrupted by Wang Zhan, his ego inflated, to the point where he actually thought one billion wasn't much money.

One billion!

If he had picked it up, that would have been one billion! Enough to woo thousands, no, millions of girls, drink thousands of jugs of fine wine, eat tons of energy-rich meat, and buy countless heavenly treasures and spiritual medicines...

Alas, the dream was shattered! It was all snatched away by that kid Wang Zhan, and to top it off, he still had to fork out another ten billion.

Su Tao was about to curse loudly.

"Can't you have some integrity? You said you didn't want it! A gentleman doesn't go back on his word! Doing this makes me feel so wronged, WAH... What kind of family raised such a delinquent youth? He's no different from a scoundrel—shameless! The disgrace of the Federation, the shame of the Human Race! ..."

However, just as he was lost in his resentful complaints, a light voice suddenly drifted over.

"If you don't hurry over, I'll just take a photo of your retreating back! And let me tell you, even if it's just your back, that ten billion is non-negotiable... Also, is there something wrong with your brain? You're actually interested in worthless stuff like beast cores. Wouldn't carving off a couple of prime cuts of meat to go with a few jugs of good wine back home be far better?"

Su Tao gritted his teeth. If it's so worthless, why don't you just toss it to me then, damn it!

Ah, forget it. I can't beat him anyway. Besides, this meat is from a mid to high-grade beast at least. It should be quite tasty, right?

To hell with it, I'm cutting!

「Not long after the two left.」

A group of five or six people quietly passed by, their eyes immediately falling on the mangled beast on the ground and the traces of saber energy that had neatly split it in half.

"It's that mad man!"

A kid, barely a teenager, scrutinized it for a moment and immediately recognized the saber technique that had cleft the corpse.

A single fatal slash, perfectly centered, raising no dust, yet every strike was deadly!

This was the signature style of a formidable figure who had suddenly emerged on the Jing State Wilderness Battlefield, sweeping through areas virtually unchallenged. If one slash wasn't enough, he'd deliver two. His targets had no hope of survival, after which he would vanish without a trace.

People had already begun to speak of him as a true hero: one who sought neither fame nor fortune, who fought with the tenacity of someone reborn from dire straits, a master of hiding in plain sight.

He had captured the hearts of those on the martial path even more so than that young hero of the Federation, Wang Zhan, the notorious guest of the Royal Martial Arts Academy.

However, after confirming it, the kid stared at a particular spot and said in confusion,

"Huh, that's weird! Why is this part cut off too? So strange, the previous ones definitely weren't..."

As everyone looked, Hanqing's and Chu Yuming's faces showed puzzlement. Yuan Mengru and Lin Xiaoyin, however, blushed as red as rouge. Too embarrassed to look directly, they quickly circulated their Essence Energy to dispel their awkwardness.

That part was near the beast's lower limbs. It looked as if a pair of organs there had been symmetrically sliced off, the cuts on each almost identical.

Yuan Mengru coughed softly, diverting the kid's attention, and said casually, as if nothing were amiss,

"Never mind about that; we should hurry. Even with a Grandmaster escorting us, we've only killed one General-level beast. That's not up to our usual standard."

Everyone's attention was indeed diverted. They all nodded in agreement, not discussing the severed part of the beast further, tacitly ignoring the kid's question.

"Indeed. Killing only one General-level beast makes us look pretty useless. We'll lose so much face if word gets back to the Martial Arts Academy."

"Let's hurry. This is a rare opportunity; we should kill a few more. Otherwise, with just one beast core, there'll barely be anything to split among us. Still, it's better than nothing."

The kid snickered, exposing them.

"I get it! It's for *that*, right? I've heard you can use a certain part of a beast to strengthen your own corresponding part. No wonder it was cut off! Besides, I have those too, so why are you all... MMPH, MMPH..."

Before he could finish, Chu Yuming, expressionless, clamped a hand over his mouth and hauled him up.

"You talk too much. No one would think you're mute if you just kept quiet."

Meanwhile, Yuan Mengru and Lin Xiaoyin's faces were even redder, glowing like the morning sun.

And Yuan Mengru had an even bigger reaction than Lin Xiaoyin, almost instinctively turning her head away, not wanting anyone to see.

She had seen this kind of saber technique before.

It was identical to that man's—the one who, when outmatched in a fight, would try to take his opponent down with him. Just as sharp, just as brilliant, just as restrained, and just as capable of dismembering with a single slash.

This vague guess made her somewhat incredulous. She could only murmur in her heart,

Could it be him? But the cut surface really looks like his work... Yet, if it were him, why would he need that kind of... supplement? Could it be that *his*... just like his saber technique... isn't very... long-lasting...?

The more she thought about it, the more chaotic Yuan Mengru's thoughts became, her heart thumping wildly. Five flavors churned within her.

Lin Xiaoyin, having regained her composure, looked curiously at her cousin's dazed state and whispered,

"Cousin, what's wrong with you?"

Yuan Mengru jumped, almost crying out. Turning to see Lin Xiaoyin's mischievous grin, she smacked her cousin's hand away and snapped,

"It's nothing. I'm just wondering when this battle will end."

"Oh!" Lin Xiaoyin gave a knowing, sly smirk.

Such a clumsy cover-up only makes it more obvious. Someone's definitely hiding a big secret!

Yuan Mengru, after all, was a peerless genius, worldly and experienced; she wouldn't stoop to dignifying such teasing.

However, Yuan Mengru wasn't the only one with conjectures about the saber technique; Hanqing and Chu Yuming also had their own suspicions.

Yuan Mengru's reaction made their gazes deepen as they exchanged looks, their minds racing with further connections.

Yuan Mengru and Wang Zhan met on the Oceania Battlefield, didn't they?

And I heard Yuan Mengru suffered a major setback at Wang Zhan's hands back then. Could it be...

Looks like there really is something to this...

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