Time slipped by quietly.
Half an hour.
One hour.
Two hours.
…
In the blink of an eye—
Ten hours had passed.
The six squads that had originally stayed relatively close to one another had gradually begun drifting farther apart.
The reason was simple.
There had always been hostility between them.
They came from different nations and factions.
Even if their countries weren't outright enemies, they were at the very least competitors.
If Zhao Xuan—the "stirring stick"—had never appeared, clashes and battles would likely have broken out between them whenever they crossed paths.
The only reason they had united earlier was because of the pressure Zhao Xuan placed on them.
Of course—
They were also eyeing the nearly one hundred billion worth of wealth in Zhao Xuan's possession.
But now…
As time passed and Zhao Xuan still hadn't appeared, their united hostility gradually returned to mutual competition.
On top of that—
They had stayed too close together for too long over the past several hours.
Nearly all the ancient city guards emerging from this area of the inner city had already been slaughtered by them.
If they wanted to continue hunting Golden Guards, they had no choice but to spread out.
As for all of this—
Zhao Xuan, who was repeatedly rebuilding and refining his limbs inside the relic space, knew nothing about it.
Finally—
After another hour—
BOOM!!!
A powerful aura erupted from Zhao Xuan's body inside the relic space.
"That's about enough. I'm almost out of Life Stones. Only thirty ordinary ones left."
Muttering to himself, Zhao Xuan slowly opened his eyes.
After feeling the surging power within him, he immediately opened his attribute panel.
And when he saw it—
A radiant smile spread across his face.
4026.
Yes.
Zhao Xuan's physique had once again surpassed four thousand.
Although it was still over a hundred points lower than before he rebuilt his cultivation—
Was that the same?
No.
It was completely different.
Before rebuilding, he had been a Sixth-Rank Grandmaster.
And now?
He hadn't even used life energy to refine his internal organs yet.
He was still only a Fifth-Rank Grandmaster.
A Fifth-Rank possessing the same physique as his former Sixth-Rank self—
What did that mean?
It meant something explosive.
Some might think Zhao Xuan's physique growth was absurdly overpowered.
But in reality—
They would have to see the price he paid.
That was 85 billion worth of life energy.
Eighty-five billion.
If used on other people, it would be enough to push seven or eight people into the Seventh Rank.
If used on someone talented, it might even forcibly push them into the Eighth Rank.
To put it simply—
In gaming terms, in a pay-to-win game—
Zhao Xuan was a complete whale.
His level might be low, but his equipment was outrageous.
All growth-type divine gear, fully socketed with attribute gems.
With that kind of equipment—
A low-level Zhao Xuan could easily crush high-level enemies.
…
"Phew…"
After a deep breath, Zhao Xuan took out the divine stone-bamboo herb.
"Just you wait… all of you wait… you bastards just wait for me. The moment I return to the Sixth Rank, that will be the day you all die."
After silently making that vow, Zhao Xuan opened his mouth.
He began eating the divine herb in large bites.
After only a few mouthfuls, he swallowed the entire thing.
If anyone—
Whether Seventh Rank, Eighth Rank, or even a Ninth Rank Emperor—
Had witnessed Zhao Xuan devour a divine herb like Zhu Bajie eating a ginseng fruit in a few bites—
Their jaws would have dropped.
They would have cursed him in their hearts for sheer waste.
The moment the herb entered his stomach—
The next instant—
BOOM!!!!!!
Vast life energy exploded from his abdomen.
In the blink of an eye, it flooded his entire body.
What did it feel like?
It felt exactly like suddenly plunging into a hot spring on a freezing winter day.
"Ahhhh~~~"
For a brief moment, Zhao Xuan couldn't help but groan.
But the next second—
He snapped back to clarity.
Mental power surged from his mind, poured into his body, and began guiding the life energy to wash through and refine his internal organs.
Because he had done this once before, the process went much faster.
Well—
Not exactly fast.
But far faster than the first time.
The first time, refining his organs had taken him one to two full days.
Time slipped by quietly.
In the blink of an eye—
Two hours passed.
The five organs were successfully refined.
Zhao Xuan didn't stop for even a moment.
He immediately began refining the six bowels.
Another two hours passed.
Finally—
Under the constant washing of life energy—
Zhao Xuan returned to the Sixth-Rank Grandmaster realm.
BOOM!!!
An unprecedentedly terrifying aura burst from his body.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
A violent wind even stirred within the relic space itself.
Then—
Zhao Xuan abruptly opened his eyes.
Feeling the unprecedented power in his body, the corner of his mouth lifted.
The next second—
He opened his attribute panel.
[Heavenly Dao Rewards Diligence System]
Name: Zhao Xuan
Age: 18
Mental Power: 494.23 / 536.13
Physique: 5034.45 / 5034.45
Abilities:
Shave (Grandmaster: 15500 / 32000)Iron Body (Grandmaster: 23700 / 32000)Paper Drawing (Grandmaster: 16200 / 32000)Moon Step (Grandmaster: 14900 / 32000)Tempest Kick (Grandmaster: 21700 / 32000)Finger Pistol (Grandmaster: 15000 / 32000)Swordsmanship (Master: 1935 / 16000)Observation Haki (Master: 53700 / 80000)Armament Haki (Master: 47700 / 80000)Conqueror's Haki (Grandmaster: 11701 / 160000)Azure Dragon Fruit (Master: 40600 / 80000)
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