Inside the relic space.
Zhao Xuan stared at the mountain of Life Stones covering the ground, and his smile grew brighter and brighter.
Brighter.
Brighter still.
Until finally—
He couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
He threw his head back and burst into loud laughter.
Wild.
Unrestrained.
Filled with uncontrollable excitement.
He laughed for a long time.
A very long time.
Nearly five to six minutes passed before he gradually calmed down.
Taking a breath, he looked again at the Life Stones beneath him and simply sat down atop the small mountain formed by them.
"Whew…"
He exhaled slowly, clearing all distractions from his mind.
"Right now, including the divine medicinal stone bamboo I 'extorted' from the Big Golden Rat, I have roughly 7.3 trillion worth of Life Energy resources."
"According to my earlier estimate, completely tempering the skull once requires about 750 billion Life Energy."
"That means I can temper my skull nine times."
He felt a surge of excitement rise in his chest.
He could hardly wait.
He wanted to grow stronger immediately.
After another deep breath, Zhao Xuan began absorbing Life Energy from the stones in huge gulps.
In the blink of an eye, vast Life Energy filled his body.
His spiritual power began guiding it—
No.
More accurately, directing it—
To flood toward his skull, washing over it again and again.
Zhao Xuan's method had no technique.
No structure.
It looked crude and reckless.
If he were using ordinary spiritual power to do this—
The very first wave would have turned him into an idiot.
The brain was the most fragile, yet most vital part of the body.
Flooding it with chaotic energy would absolutely cause damage.
That was why advancing from Rank Six to Rank Seven was so difficult.
That was why people said there was a huge chasm between the two realms.
Ordinary people required months, even years, slowly tempering small portions of the skull at a time, resting in between.
Even geniuses needed at least one or two months.
This process could not be rushed.
But Zhao Xuan was different.
He wasn't using spiritual power.
He was using Life Energy.
Even if it did damage his brain—
It would be instantly healed.
So his entire process went unbelievably smoothly.
No accidents.
No complications.
Under the washing force of vast Life Energy, his skull was being tempered rapidly.
1%… 2%… 3%… 4%…
The percentage climbed quickly.
Meanwhile—
In the latter half of the Endless Sea.
On Life Island.
The island was bustling with activity.
If Sky Star Island was the most prosperous trading island in the first half of the Endless Sea—
Then Life Island was the most prosperous in the second half.
Almost every rogue ability user who entered this region would come here.
Because—
This island held the Life City Ruins.
Although Life City only opened once a year—
Every year, prodigies returned with massive quantities of Life Stones.
Most of it was confiscated by the seven Ninth-Rank Emperors who controlled the island.
But some inevitably slipped through.
Life Energy was invaluable.
It healed injuries.
Repaired old wounds.
That was why people flocked here.
Today, Life Island was especially lively.
At the central plaza, crowds of Rank Seven and Rank Eight ability users gathered.
Even several Ninth-Rank Emperors stood at the center.
People chatted as they waited.
"Ten minutes until the ruins close, right?"
"This year's harvest should be huge. The batch of geniuses that went in are much stronger than usual."
Then—
"Here it comes!"
A spatial ripple appeared.
A black crack opened in the air.
Everyone fell silent, eyes fixed on it.
Minutes passed.
Then—
Five figures emerged.
Shi Xuefei and her team.
They handed over five relic hearts.
"About 830 billion!" the Rank Eight official announced.
The crowd erupted in surprise.
Shi Xuefei quickly walked to her teacher, Han Ping, a Ninth-Rank Emperor from Jiuzhou.
"Something happened inside. We must leave now," she transmitted mentally.
Han Ping instantly understood.
Without delay, he opened a spatial gate and took them away.
Soon after, more teams emerged.
Fifteen or sixteen in total.
But no more.
People didn't realize anything was wrong yet.
They focused on the harvest numbers.
"560 billion!"
"691 billion!"
But when the official checked the six people Zhao Xuan had robbed earlier—
His face changed.
"Only 2.7 billion."
The six explained they had been robbed before the gate opened.
Then—
They waited.
And waited.
No more people came out.
Then the crack began to close.
And suddenly—
Everyone's faces changed.
"Closed?!"
"Only twenty people came out!"
"What happened?!"
The plaza erupted into chaos.
Only then did people recall how strange Felimon and the others had looked.
A realization struck.
Something had gone terribly wrong.
The Ninth-Rank Emperors released their pressure, silencing the crowd.
One of them looked at Felimon.
"What happened inside? Where are the others?"
Felimon's lips trembled.
"They… they're dead…"
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