Holy crap!

Zang Peng was dumbfounded! Only then did he realize just how many bizarre rules there were in the Dali Realm!

He was one of the four Law Enforcement Officers of Lingchi City, and Law Enforcement Officers were forbidden from befriending officers from other cities!

The excuse I thought was so clever now just makes me look like an idiot! That bastard Ning Xuan... he’s not even human! This was clearly all his handiwork, yet now he has the gall to play the victim!

What made Zang Peng even more furious was that *he* was the actual victim. But now, thanks to Ning Xuan’s antics, he had become the prime suspect!

Zang Peng wanted to explain, but he found he didn’t even know where to begin. Tell them the truth? Give me a break. That bastard Ning Xuan is so meticulous, he didn’t leave a shred of evidence!

Just as he was wondering what to do, a voice cried out, "Elder... Elder, there’s a situation over there!"

The little old man vanished in an instant. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Meanwhile, Ning Xuan had already snatched the roast chicken from Zang Peng’s hand. He tore into it without a shred of courtesy, gobbling it down hungrily.

"What did you do?!" Zang Peng asked, lowering his voice, his curiosity piqued by Ning Xuan’s actions.

At the same time, he kept putting more distance between them. I still haven’t explained the last incident. If I get caught with another piece of leverage against me, I’ll never be able to clear my name, no matter how right I am.

"What? Money?" Ning Xuan said, tossing over a Divine Crystal. "Right. We aren’t acquainted, so I should pay."

Zang Peng had been about to refuse, but upon hearing Ning Xuan’s words, he deftly pocketed the Divine Crystal. With this, I can clear myself of the suspicion of befriending an officer from another city. I have to take it. In fact, I’ll keep it somewhere very safe.

"See you tomorrow!" After giving Ning Xuan a deep look, Zang Peng turned to leave.

Just then, the little old man’s voice boomed across the entire field. "Everyone, the selection trial begins now! Your first test is to find Su Quan and Ye Ting!"

As his voice faded, images of Su Quan and Ye Ting materialized in the void.

After a deep look, all the Law Enforcement Officers sprang into action. They knew this sudden test would be crucial to their final rankings, so no one dared to take it lightly.

Ning Xuan and Zang Peng also reacted quickly, going with the flow and dashing away. Those old-timers from the True Servant Society are probably observing from the shadows right now. It would be a disaster if they took notice of us.

However, unbeknownst to the two of them, they were already under surveillance.

From the shadows, someone watched the departing Zang Peng and asked, "Who is that? His aura seems a bit off."

Another immediately responded, "That’s Zang Peng from Lingchi City. On the surface, his Cultivation is only at the Third Layer Heavens of the Holy Realm, but his actual strength is definitely greater! Is there a problem with him?"

"His aura is peculiar. He must have obtained something extraordinary!"

"Something extraordinary? Should we..."

"Let’s wait and see."

"I, on the other hand, think that other fellow—what was his name, Ning Xuan?—is more worthy of attention. His aura is strange, too. That doesn’t feel like the First Layer Heavens of the Holy Realm!"

"No, he arrived late. I asked why, and it was because he was delayed by a breakthrough in his Cultivation on the way here. He’s at the Second Layer Heavens of the Holy Realm now!"

This was a testament to Ning Xuan’s cunning. When he arrived, his Cultivation had indeed only been at the First Layer Heavens of the Holy Realm. But he could have claimed to be at the Third Layer Heavens, not just the Second, and people would have believed him. He chose to claim the Second Layer Heavens to seize as much of an advantage as possible.

As it turned out, this choice proved to be the right one. After absorbing the Divine Crystal Energy from the Secret Vault of the Four Seas, his Cultivation had just advanced to the Second Layer Heavens of the Holy Realm.

"Second Layer Heavens? No wonder. Still, even for that level, the aura he inadvertently releases is too powerful. Go tell them to lower his odds."

The person he was speaking to was dumbfounded. After all that talk, I thought you were going to do something big. And you just want to lower his odds? Are you insane?!

Just then, a disheveled person with an immensely powerful aura suddenly appeared beside them. After their initial shock, they realized it was the Realm Lord!

"Realm Lord, what’s happened to you?"

"I need money! A crazy amount of money! Also, where are my men? Have them seal off the Realm Capital! Don’t let a single fly escape! Otherwise, I’ll annihilate their entire clans!"

As his words fell, the Realm Lord of the Dali Realm disappeared.

"What’s wrong with him?"

"I don’t know. He’s acting completely insane!"

"And we’re not even his subordinates. Honestly..."

The group huddled together, grumbling amongst themselves. They weren’t fools, however, and didn’t waste time acting, as they had already pieced together the reason for the Realm Lord’s outburst.

That fire must have been targeting the Realm Lord! Something he owns, something we don’t know about, must have been stolen! Otherwise, he wouldn’t be acting like this. For him to be this frantic, whatever was taken must be incredibly valuable!

The thought flashed through someone’s mind. I heard his fortune surpasses even the Zhang Family’s. Could someone have raided his Secret Vault?! At this thought, their gazes turned towards the dueling ground.

Someone even wondered if the Zhang Family had taken this opportunity to strike, but they immediately squashed the idea.

"Look! There’s a fire over there!" a voice suddenly cried out.

"Holy crap, that’s in the direction of the Zhang Family!"

"Incredible! Not satisfied with raiding the Realm Lord’s Secret Vault, the thief went after the Zhang Family, too?!"

Unlike the others, the moment Ning Xuan saw the fire at the Zhang Family’s estate, he headed straight for it without pausing. However, a mental transmission changed his course before he could get there.

「In a secluded, weed-choked area in the northern part of the Realm Capital.」

Before Ning Xuan stood a mountainous pile of Divine Crystals.

The large man Ning Xuan had met at the Zhang Family estate stood beside him. "Do you dare to take them?" he asked.

"My thanks," Ning Xuan said. The large man nodded and then left without another word.

Ning Xuan had been worried his consciousness space wouldn’t be able to hold so many Divine Crystals, since the area he could open was still limited. But as it turned out, the moment the Divine Crystals entered, they all vanished. To be precise, they were devoured by that golden koi.

It had appeared in his consciousness space at some unknown time. Its tiny body was like a bottomless pit, devouring every last Divine Crystal.

"What in the world are you?!" Ning Xuan exclaimed, stunned.

One must understand that even a Cultivator who had reached the Holy Realm wouldn’t dare to devour such a massive quantity of Divine Crystals so recklessly. Ning Xuan, of course, was the exception.

The only response he got was the koi’s munching.

By the look of it, it could still eat more.

Ning Xuan’s face darkened. Are you kidding me?! He desperately needed that Divine Crystal Energy! After all, now that he had entered the Holy Realm, advancing even a single layer required Divine Crystals measured in the tens of billions