The prizes for this year's Mountain–River Ranking Tournament were outrageously generous. Hundreds of treasure-grade artifacts were only the beginning. The first-place reward—the Annihilation Gun King Formation—was a formidable magical array. It wasn't on the level of the "Moon-Deriving Sword Formation" or the "Colossal Spirit Array," but in the hands of a newly ascended Divine Ability cultivator, it could let them leapfrog realms—challenging experts of the Triple Astral Qi Realm, or even the Fourfold Yin–Yang Realm.
But what truly ignited Fang Han's hunger were the five Yin–Yang Longevity Pills.
A celestial-grade elixir on par with the Nine-Orifice Golden Core and Thunderbone Relics, each pill granted six hundred years of lifespan. If Fang Han swallowed just one, his physical body would undergo another metamorphosis—his sea of consciousness expanding, his capacity for magic and divine powers increasing dramatically.
Last year he had obtained one, but he had gifted it to Long Xuan to forge ties with Jialan.
Which meant he still hadn't consumed one.
Which meant the full medicinal power remained available to him.
There was no universe in which he would allow anyone else to claim these five pills.
Princess Hongyi needed one. Crane Fairy needed one. The remaining three? As long as the Jialan Association won them, Fang Han could always trade treasures to acquire the pills himself.
If not for the witch's identity—an Asura noble—Fang Han would have made her enter the competition as well. With her power, she could have claimed a pill and several artifacts with ease.
But Yuhua Sect's rules were ironclad: demons and devils could not become true disciples.
Well—Crane Fairy was technically a demon too, but she had been a sect-raised spirit beast since birth. Her "background" was sufficiently clean. And since Fang Han now wielded immense influence, smoothing her identity through a few elders was trivial.
As for the witch, she was currently inside the Five Prison King Cauldron, cultivating with the remaining blood mist from the Demon God's severed palm—an opportunity more valuable than any tournament.
Now, Fang Man, Fang Lie, and Fang Rui—the three arrogant servants—wanted to wreck Fang Han's plans and steal the Longevity Pills and top-ten rewards?
Impossible.
This year's top ten would all belong to his people.
Anyone who stood in the way would be crushed.
Call it blatant power-grabbing if one wished, but Hua Tiandu—the only one capable of counterbalancing Fang Han—was absent. If Fang Han didn't seize the moment to harvest benefits, he'd be a fool. The prestige from defeating Meng Shaobai was still blazing hot; this was the perfect moment to leverage it.
Let every disciple understand:
If you follow Fang Han, he protects you—and the benefits will rain on you.
A thunderous boom.
The Solar Divine Flame that Elder Jin Rilie had unleashed was sucked into Fang Han's hand. But instead of refining it into his Fire Emperor Qi, Fang Han flicked it with his fingers. The golden flame condensed into three pea-sized gold pellets that shot downward like bullets.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Each pellet smashed into the heads of Fang Man, Fang Lie, and Fang Rui.
"Aahhh!"
The three servants shrieked as if their souls were being torn apart. Their bodies deflated like punctured leather bags as torrents of mana burst out uncontrollably, evaporating into the air. Their limbs went limp, their strength disappearing instantly. Fury twisted their faces.
"Fang Han… you vicious bastard… we'll never let this go!"
Fang Han had shattered their seas of consciousness, causing their divine abilities to leak away like a barrel with the bottom smashed through. Their cultivation was destroyed—permanently.
Gasps swept through the stands.
"Three Divine Ability experts—crippled with one move? That's insane."
"He doesn't even care about sect rules. Once you reach the Divine Ability Realm, the sect protects you heavily. Even Hua Tiandu wouldn't cripple them so openly!"
"This Fang Han… he's even more ruthless than Hua Tiandu."
But admiration wasn't absent.
"He protects his people. Jialan Association backed him, and he immediately risked punishment to aid them. If someone like him is willing to cover you, you'll never suffer."
"I've heard his Samsara Peak is overflowing with spirit qi and medicinal herbs. If he selects disciples to cultivate there after the tournament… whoever gets chosen is guaranteed to advance. Maybe even break into the Divine Ability Realm next year."
"But after today's rule violation, let's see how he'll escape punishment!"
Some disciples who had originally leaned toward Hua Tiandu began reassessing. Anyone who entered Yuhua Sect was no fool. If Fang Han viewed them as aligned with Hua Tiandu, he would absolutely suppress them.
Fang Han looked down coldly at the three broken servants, their eyes filled with venom. He stomped on their faces, one after another.
"You three ants were lucky enough to stumble into fortunes, and instead of behaving yourselves, you chose to act arrogant?"
More blood spurted out—along with teeth. They could no longer form coherent speech.
"You're dead, Fang Han!" Elder Jin Rilie roared. His Solar Divine Flame had been seized, and seeing Fang Han use it to destroy the three disciples' cultivation pushed him over the edge. Fiery swords launched from him, forming a blazing sword formation in midair as he fought against the Heaven-Covering Demon Hand. At the same time, he attempted to ascend and flee toward Yuhua Heavenly Palace.
"You think you can escape?" Fang Han didn't even look up. "I said I would drag you to the Heavenly Punishment Platform. Did you think such meager power lets you slip from my grasp?"
The Heaven-Covering Demon Hand flicked, scattering the fiery swords like sparks. It plunged toward Jin Rilie.
Though formidable, Jin Rilie was merely an average Heaven–Human Realm cultivator. He could not compete with Fang Han's demonic treasure forged from the Ghost Emperor's life's work.
"Fang Han, enough!"
A vast, overwhelming force descended from the sky, smothering the Demon Hand. Fang Han, prepared for this, smoothly withdrew it—letting it fuse back into his left arm's bloodline with a soft hiss.
A young-looking man with austere features and a suffocating aura appeared on the elder's platform.
The Heavenly Punishment Elder.
A peerless ancient giant.
Fang Han had pushed things so far that even he had to intervene.
"Fang Han," the elder said, voice deep and resonant, "your achievements are extraordinary, and your potential vast. You are a candidate for the next sect master. But no matter how talented you are, you cannot ignore sect law. Even if you reach the Longevity Secret Realm, you must abide by the rules. Explain yourself."
The elder had borrowed Forgetful Emotion Water from Fang Han not long ago, greatly aiding his breakthrough into the second level of the Longevity Realm—Undying Body. But rules were rules, and Fang Han had violated them blatantly.
Fang Han's voice cut through the air like a blade.
"Elder… do you think I did this to show off? Those three were plants of the Protoss."
His spiritual sense rippled outward, speaking directly into the elder's mind.
"Fang Qingwei made contacts with a being called Mister Illusory Truth. That 'Mister' took these three as nominal disciples and forced them into the Divine Ability Realm. Through their divine power, the Protoss have been spying on our tournament. I crippled them to cut the surveillance. These three must be interrogated. There may be more Protoss infiltrators inside Yuhua Sect."
The great elder's expression shifted as he received every detail.
His sleeve flicked.
"This matter will be moved to Heavenly Punishment Palace. The tournament continues!"
The world twisted—and Fang Han found himself inside the cavernous, austere Heavenly Punishment Palace.
Before he could speak, the elder tossed the three servants onto the floor. They immediately wailed.
"Elder! We're innocent! Fang Han framed us!"
"You need not defend yourselves," the elder said coldly. "My judgment will be final.
Three Lives Memory—Unravel Three Thousand Layers!"
His palm struck out three times.
The three bodies shivered violently as their souls burst out, displaying streams of memories in glowing images.
The elder scrutinized every frame.
Then his finger stabbed forward.
Black-cloaked figures emerged from the memories—one of them unmistakably the Protoss master Illusory Truth, his cruel smile and halo of divine light unmistakable.
"So it's true. Protoss infiltration. They were even spying nearby!"
The elder's voice thundered.
"Fang Han, you have rendered great service.
Come with me."
Boom.
The elder's aura surged. His sleeve flicked again, and the three servants exploded into ash, bodies and souls annihilated.
"We will hunt down the Protoss—then report directly to the sect master!"
Fang Han swallowed hard.
The elder's ability to extract soul memories was terrifying. Only now did Fang Han realize how unfathomable the Longevity Realm truly was.
When the elder vanished, Fang Han instantly chased after him, following the lingering aura.
Far away, atop a barren snow mountain—
A group of black-cloaked figures hovered around a shimmering water mirror. The image shattered with a sharp crack—the last thing shown was Fang Han crippling the three servants.
Their expressions darkened. The Protoss had indeed planted restrictions on those three pawns.
"That damned boy!" Illusory Truth roared, almost frothing. "How dare Fang Han brazenly destroy my pieces! Impossible! A mere true disciple—how can he openly cripple Divine Ability disciples during the Mountain–River Tournament? How can Yuhua Sect tolerate this arrogance?!"
He smashed his fist into the snow, sending a shockwave ripping through the mountains.
"All my effort—my resources—wasted on those three useless things!"