“What is this?” What kind of strange place have I come to? “If this is a fortuitous encounter, why is no one else here?” This was too abnormal. Wen Yuncheng grew vigilant. She stared at the relief carving on the ground. The formation patterns seemed to squirm faintly, like a demonic beast gradually waking and opening its eyes, or like a human face breaking into a bizarre smile.

Perhaps because the pattern slightly resembled a human face, a cold, sinister aura shot up Wen Yuncheng’s spine and pierced her heart the moment she saw it.

[…Strange. I can’t detect anything here.] 1947 was full of questions. It was a high-dimension system, yet there was something it couldn’t identify? It was clearly a pattern that couldn’t be more ordinary. [Here… my scans show everything is normal.] But looking at it, the system could also feel that it was extremely abnormal.

Wen Yuncheng scratched her head and hesitantly tossed a fire explosive down. The bomb exploded and flames shot up, but nothing unusual happened.

Suppressing the doubts in her heart, Wen Yuncheng turned back the way she came and had 1947 scan for directions, hurrying toward a place with a secret treasure.

However, not long after Wen Yuncheng left, a black, shadowy figure appeared directly in the center of the relief. The man had a long, deep, and terrifying scar on his left cheek, as if half his face had once been cleaved off by a blade. He crouched down, pressed his hand on the relief, and sensed it for a moment. His expression turned grave-someone had been here?! But neither the illusion nor the protective formation had been activated. What was going on!

-Could it have been an ordinary person? No. An ordinary person couldn’t possibly reach the depths of the Xuanhuang Tomb. The residual Star Power fluctuations here couldn’t be faked either.

His eyes flickered with shock and uncertainty. Had someone discovered their arrangement? No… impossible. But who had come in? How much did they know? And what was their star rank? Damn it! He was just a minor member of the organization. With the emergence of the Xuanhuang Tomb, he had fought hard for a chance to prove himself. He couldn’t let the plan suffer the slightest setback.

He took a deep breath, drew a dagger, and sliced open his palm, letting his blood drip continuously onto the bizarre relief. A wave of Star Power slowly began to spread…

People with Star Power shouldn’t be able to see this place; to them, the entrance is just a wall. They could only have entered by mistake, but if they entered by mistake… the defensive barrier isn’t fake, it should have stopped them. He would have sensed it even if it was attacked. Damn it, could there be a traitor among the people here this time! “The operation cannot fail. We have to speed up the process… I must fully activate the formation here.”

Wen Yuncheng had no idea what kind of place she had just stumbled into, nor the shock and suspicion she had caused that group of people. She just felt the place was exceedingly strange, and even though 1947’s scans showed nothing abnormal, she didn’t want to stay a moment longer.

Continuing deeper, Wen Yuncheng finally saw other people again, though she didn’t recognize any of them. They were all rushing inward in a hurry, and not a single person shouted about any treasures ahead. Everyone was just forging ahead silently, as if afraid of being late. Seeing this, Wen Yuncheng’s interest was piqued, and she quickly followed.

Soon, she saw a massive manor with three powerful characters written above the entrance: “Xuan King’s Manor.” Wen Yuncheng narrowed her eyes, feeling that the aura contained within the calligraphy was incredibly astonishing. Xuan King?… A powerful expert who fell in ancient times? Then is there also a Huang King…

Wen Yuncheng’s expression suddenly turned strange. Huang King? Huang King’s Manor? Would anyone really use a name like that? She didn’t delay and entered the manor directly. Passing through the front hall, she saw a large crowd gathered together. Observing their cultivation levels, she found they were all around the Star Lord rank. Moreover, with so many people clustered together, the divisions between factions were obvious. Wen Yuncheng didn’t have to search for long before she spotted Lin Jinyu’s figure. The people from the Flowing Cloud Sect were at the very front, clearly one of the most prominent factions present.

As if sensing Wen Yuncheng’s gaze, Lin Jinyu looked over. Her eyes flickered, and her icy expression softened for an instant. The elder beside her was frowning, negotiating with people from other sects about something, seemingly arguing over who this fortuitous encounter should belong to…

Unfortunately, Wen Yuncheng didn’t even know what they were arguing about.

Wen Yuncheng scratched her head, but she didn’t see Yao Mu and the others. She took a step forward, intending to ask Lin Jinyu, but she had barely taken two steps when one of the people negotiating with the Flowing Cloud Sect suddenly saw her.

-“It’s you! You brat, I’ve finally caught you! Senior Brother, he’s the one who stole my opportunity!”

It was… that idiot who announced his name before running away. Kun Yi, was it?

Following this sudden accusation, Wen Yuncheng instantly became the focus of all the important figures present. Cold sweat trickled down Wen Yuncheng’s back. While she could handle one or two Star Lords, a whole group like this…

Wen Yuncheng was stunned for a moment, then her face took on an expression of utter confusion. Looking puzzled, she gave a shy smile and looked at Kun Yi. “I don’t know this… what should I call you? I don’t believe I’ve met you before, big brother?”

“Pah! How could I mistake you? You’re the Red Scarf of Lei Feng!”

“Lei Feng? What faction is Lei Feng?” Many of the sects looked bewildered. And the name “Red Scarf” was too strange, wasn’t it? Who would have a name like that?

Several disciples from the Blood Fiend Sect came over and faintly surrounded Wen Yuncheng. The resentful look on Kun Yi’s face didn’t seem fake. The spectating sects had no intention of getting involved in this dispute. They silently cleared a circle, leaving the Blood Fiend Sect to handle its private affairs without interference.

“Brat, I’m going to break your legs and show you the consequences of provoking me-and that Luoyan Sect. A mere mid-tier sect dares to humiliate my Blood Fiend Sect like this.” Kun Yi raised his hand, and several first-layer Star Lord disciples from the Blood Fiend Sect completely surrounded Wen Yuncheng.

The two elders from the Flowing Cloud Sect and the Blood Fiend Sect who were in discussion paid no mind to this dispute. In their eyes, such conflicts between juniors weren’t worthy of their attention.

-“Hold on.”

Kun Yi’s expression froze. He looked over in disbelief. The one who spoke was actually Lin Jinyu? You have to understand, this person… had never taken the initiative to say anything since arriving in the secret realm.

“You cannot touch this person,” Lin Jinyu said coolly. “She has done me a favor. Whatever grudge you have between you, forget it for now.”

“…Haha, Student Lin, you must be joking… asking me to drop my grudge with just a word. I suffered a huge loss over that opportunity…”

“Heh, who stole whose opportunity is still up for debate. You’re a first-layer Star Lord, while I’m only a first-layer Star Master. At the time, you even had two third-layer Star Masters and one second-layer Star Master with you! I was just passing by. You were the one seizing the opportunity from three members of the Luoyan Sect-it was just a Martial Arts Stele. After you pathetically abandoned your companions and fled, I never went to comprehend that technique.” With Lin Jinyu speaking up for her, Wen Yuncheng certainly wasn’t going to cower. She stepped forward, her voice ringing out, “I dare to swear a blood oath, a heart-demon oath. Do you?”

“Ha, do you have any proof for what you’re saying? Oaths… oaths have loopholes too.” Kun Yi forced himself to remain calm, but his eyes darted about.

When the Blood Fiend Sect elder saw this, what was there not to understand? The style of their Blood Fiend Sect had always been… they knew perfectly well what their disciples were capable of. If the kid hadn’t gotten the Flowing Cloud Sect to step in, it would have been fine, but now… “Enough. Since it was a misunderstanding, there’s no need to say more,” he rebuked in a low voice, and the matter was thus dropped.

Kun Yi lowered his head, his expression conflicted, but ultimately led his men obediently back to their group. Wen Yuncheng gave a playful smile. This guy… if she ever ran into him alone next time, she would definitely have to teach him a good lesson. With this thought, she looked toward Lin Jinyu. The Little Ice Mountain nodded at her, and Wen Yuncheng quickly walked over.

“A first-layer Star Master at such a young age. The younger generation is truly formidable,” an elder beside Lin Jinyu remarked, glancing at her with a somewhat friendly smile. “Are you really from Lei Feng? And your name is Red Scarf?”

“Eighth Protector, don’t tease her.” Seeing Wen Yuncheng’s awkward expression, Lin Jinyu cut in. “How were your gains?”

“Hah, my luck wasn’t great. I only got a Yellow-rank Spirit Treasure.” Wen Yuncheng rolled up her sleeve to show Lin Jinyu the LingSha Bracelet. “I was hoping to get more materials or pills, sigh.”

Lin Jinyu was slightly exasperated. Probably only Wen Yuncheng would say something like that. Anyone else would have been ecstatic to obtain a Yellow-rank Spirit Treasure, yet she was actually complaining.

The Eighth Protector’s expression was odd. He seemed to want to say something but held it back. His gaze shifted between Wen Yuncheng and Lin Jinyu. He exchanged a look with another protector behind Lin Jinyu, having vaguely guessed Wen Yuncheng’s identity.

The main peak of the Flowing Cloud Sect had twelve protectors, with ranks between Star Lord and Star Spirit. They typically maintained order among the disciples and led them in training and duels. With such ranks, after the Xuanhuang Tomb emerged, Sect Master Lin had chosen three of them-“Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth”-all third-layer Star Lords, to protect Lin Jinyu as she sought opportunities in the tomb. Of course, Sect Master Lin had also instructed that if Lin Jinyu was competing with peers of the same rank, they were not to interfere. But if someone tried to bully the weak with superior strength, they were to let them know that the Flowing Cloud Sect was not to be trifled with.

“Then you can try to compete for this as well.” Lin Jinyu smiled calmly and looked toward the head of the main hall. “Do you see the prayer mats below the high seat?”

“Hm? Are those all spirit treasures?”

“Those are the spots for this opportunity to begin,” Lin Jinyu said. “By sitting on a prayer mat and meditating, you have a chance to obtain an opportunity from within the Xuan King’s Manor. It could be martial arts techniques or combat skills, or perhaps pills, spirit treasures, or Star Stones. How much you get, and what you get, all depends on your personal fortune.”

“There are only thirteen spots. Won’t it be difficult to compete for one?”

“The prayer mats have an age restriction.” Lin Jinyu looked at Wen Yuncheng. “Only those under twenty years of age can sit on them.”

So there’s an age limit. But that makes sense. Since the Xuan King called himself a king, he naturally wouldn’t want his legacy to fall into the hands of a mediocre person of advanced age, especially since there was already a star rank restriction for entering this secret realm.

“The spots are obtained through strength,” Lin Jinyu said. “This opportunity hasn’t officially begun yet. When it does, you can fight for one.”

“Alright, I’ll do my best.” Wen Yuncheng smiled. She vaguely understood the Little Ice Mountain’s meaning. She could have told her all this in private, but to say it so openly in front of so many people, and even encourage her to compete… it was a way of backing her up.

Although it was based on individual strength, without the support of a powerful faction, it would likely not be so easy to take any obtained opportunities out of the tomb.

Lin Jinyu… Wen Yuncheng glanced at her expressionless face and chuckled to herself: How can there be someone as cute as Lin Jinyu?