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"This battle nearly drained all the spiritual power within my body, to the point of exhaustion. If I hadn't let go at the last moment, I'm afraid I would be nothing but a dried corpse right now."

"Although the consumption was severe, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Having only recently made a breakthrough, that third illusory Golden Core has actually begun to solidify."

Li Xiaoyao mused to himself, dissolved the hand seal, opened his eyes, and slowly exhaled a breath of murky air.

Following the current trend, within a month at most, he should be able to successfully condense the third Golden Core.

Having reached his current level of cultivation, Li Xiaoyao could clearly sense that his cultivation level was increasing at an extremely slow pace.

Each advancement in rank required at least half a year or even longer of arduous cultivation.

If outsiders knew of Li Xiaoyao's thoughts, they would probably be so annoyed that they would spit blood.

For normal people, let alone reaching the Golden Core Realm, even ordinary cultivators in the Qi Refining stage need continuous and arduous cultivation to advance a single level, taking at least several months to a year and a half to break through.

Moreover, for many cultivators, reaching the Condensation stage is already the peak of what they can achieve in this lifetime.

Take Cheng Dongliang, for example, who, after reaching the first level of the Condensation stage, has not made any further breakthroughs to this day. If no miracles occur, this peak of the Condensation stage will be the ultimate limit of his lifetime.

"Eh? Someone's there?" With a light exclamation, Li Xiaoyao's gaze instinctively turned towards the villa's main gate. He stood up and walked toward the door.

The door opened, and Li Xiaoyao stood inside, looking calmly at the two people outside.

Hearing the noise, both of them looked over almost at the same time. Seeing that it was Li Xiaoyao who opened the door, Cheng Dongliang's lifted heart instantly settled.

The grand battle was obviously between Li Xiaoyao and Gui Hai. His biggest worry was that Li Xiaoyao had died, but now, it seemed that such fears were somewhat superfluous.

"Are you alright?" Cheng Dongliang's somewhat cloudy eyes thoroughly examined him. Seeing his steady breathing, ruddy complexion, and his clothes without the slightest damage, he didn't seem injured.

"What could possibly be wrong with me?" Shaking his head, Li Xiaoyao glanced at Zhen Jie and then looked at Cheng Dongliang with an inquiring gaze.

Cheng Dongliang said, "This is Zhen Jie, from the military's general district."

Li Xiaoyao nodded, not asking too much. He wasn't interested in whatever the general military district was.

Zhen Jie felt somewhat displeased in his heart. Li Xiaoyao's look was filled with an indifferent detachment towards all worldly matters which made him quite uncomfortable.

"Your excellency must be Li Xiaoyao. I've heard of you." The name Li Xiaoyao was known to a fair number of people. The video of him slaying Li Shisan with a single sword had spread online but was soon deleted. However, people in Ling City still knew of it.

Leading the Long Chi Troop in the military competitions, and achieving the distinguished record of slaughtering three teams in the first three days and causing all the other troops to surrender.

This record made his name widely known within the military system.

But to Zhen Jie, this meant nothing.

What Li Xiaoyao could do, he could do as well.

As the top disciple of Ling Tian, the number one figure in the military district, he had this confidence.

"Zhen Jie, I have some matters to discuss with Mr. Li. You go back first. After I take care of things here, I'll give you a call."

"Alright, I'll head back then." Zhen Jie nodded and turned to leave.

After Zhen Jie left, Cheng Dongliang walked into the villa and casually closed the door.

The two sat on the sofa, looking at each other.

As Cheng Dongliang grew somewhat unable to bear Li Xiaoyao's indifferent demeanor, Li Xiaoyao finally spoke up.

"I know what you want to ask. Go ahead," Li Xiaoyao said with a smile.

Cheng Dongliang asked, "What happened to that pile of ruins?"

"It was caused by my battle with Gui Hai," Li Xiaoyao stated nonchalantly, while Cheng Dongliang listened, his heart racing with fear.

Although he wasn't certain of Gui Hai's cultivation level, being an elder of Da Lin Temple, his cultivation had to be at least at the Golden Core Realm, or perhaps even stronger. And yet, Li Xiaoyao was able to fight him without falling behind. No wait, the fact that Li Xiaoyao could sit here calmly indicated that he had the upper hand in their fight.

It was a terrifying thought!

With hesitation, Cheng Dongliang asked, "Did you win?"

"If he hadn't fled, he would already be dead by my hand," Li Xiaoyao replied.

Cheng Dongliang sucked in a breath of cold air. Although everything here proved that the victor was Li Xiaoyao, hearing him admit it himself still made Cheng Dongliang's heart surge with shock.

"What is your cultivation level now?" After asking this question, Cheng Dongliang's heart couldn't help but beat faster. He had his own guess but didn't dare to confirm it.

Li Xiaoyao glanced at him and said, "Golden Core Realm."

Cheng Dongliang immediately asked, "And Gui Hai?"

"Spirit Condensation Realm, but I'm not sure which stage," came the response.

"Crack!" Cheng Dongliang's right hand, resting on the sofa armrest, accidentally exerted too much force and broke the wooden armrest.

"Good, good, good!" Cheng Dongliang's eyes turned a bit red with excitement.

Ever since the higher-ups had tacitly agreed to hand over the botanical garden to Gui Hai, Cheng Dongliang knew that his position in the hearts of those above had fallen. And now, this news was nothing short of a pleasant surprise for him.

"I'll take my leave first. I'll have someone deal with these ruins," Cheng Dongliang said, then stood up and left.

Li Xiaoyao smiled and shook his head. He didn't know what Cheng Dongliang had gone through, but he could guess.

After all, they were both within the system. Aside from himself, Cheng Dongliang didn't have a second card up his sleeve. And with him stirring the pot from time to time, Cheng Dongliang must have been on tenterhooks recently.

And just now, he had given Cheng Dongliang a few reassurances, effectively giving him immense confidence.

After Cheng Dongliang left, he immediately called Director Chen, but the call couldn't get through as it was always busy. Under normal circumstances, Cheng Dongliang would be anxious and frustrated, but now, he was rather calm.

On the other end of the line, Director Chen was having a serious conversation with someone on the phone.

"Are you sure?"

"Alright, I understand."

After hanging up, Director Chen carelessly tossed his phone aside, irritably picking up a cigarette.

The state had always monitored these large families, especially for large-scale events like those in the Human Realm.

He had just received a message about the Human Realm.

The informant said the Human Realm had concluded several days ago, and the entire ordeal lasted only three days.

The reason the Human Realm trial was shortened to three days was due to a major event that had transpired.

According to the intelligence, the number one figures from the Hehuan Sect, Luo Family, Long Family, and Da Lin Temple of Xuan Country's Eight Great Sects within this iteration of the Human Realm were all killed.

Not only that, after the Guardians of the four sects made their move, they ended up heavily injured.

If these reports were enough to astonish Director Chen, then learning that the person behind it all was named Li Xiaoyao nearly made him drop his phone.