Xue Chuang of the Blue Deer Daoist Sect had been defeated.

Over a dozen legacy disciples of Sevendeaths Court had been defeated.

Now, Xun Jiu’an, the heaven-defying monster in seventh place in the Unfettered Ranking, had been defeated too!

Never mind the Unfettered Realm cultivators; even the Heavenly Monarchs were overcome with shock. Their hearts shook, and they couldn’t calm down.

In the Eternal Heavens Domain, there was a common consensus that anyone who made it into the top ten of the Unfettered Ranking was sure to one day become a Heavenly Monarch and shine brightly on the Path of Eternity!

These were the future leading experts of their orthodoxies. One day, they’d shoulder heavy responsibility and direct the course of the future.

Yet now, Xun Jiu’an, the man ranked seventh, had admitted defeat. This unquestionably meant that Li Muchen’s strength was solidly in the top six!

But that was the strangest part, as Li Muchen’s name wasn’t anywhere to be found in the top hundred of the Unfettered Ranking.

Lian Yue watched in a daze, her eyes full of thought.

Xia Rouyun rested her head in her hands and batted her charming eyes. She gazed at the blue-robed man in a trance. He’s so good-looking!

Dong Liujia gently tapped his pine-patterned cloud crown, his eyes bright and his qi coursing through him. He won with such ease that he’s got to be strong enough to vie for a spot in the top three of the Unfettered Ranking!

But it’s strange. It’s not just the people of the Five Great Continents who’ve never heard of him; even the Divine Reverence Pavilion has never taken note of him before, not even his name. There’s something fishy about all this.

Dong Liujia instantly understood. There’s got to be something suspicious about Li Muchen’s identity!

Or perhaps something strange about his origins!

It wasn’t just Lian Yue, Xia Rouyun, and Dong Liujia. All of the unparalleled figures on the Divine Contemplation Lotus Platforms had similar thoughts.

Meanwhile, Su Yi stopped before the lotus platform he’d won and beckoned to Fu Lingyun.

She hurried over. “What is it, Daoist Brother Li?”

Su Yi pointed to the Divine Contemplation Lotus Platform. “This one’s yours. Quick, sit down and see how many mysteries of the Grand Dao you can grasp.”

Fu Lingyun was stunned. Li Muchen had said he’d seize a platform for her, but she’d dismissed it as a joke.

Now, it seemed he was dead serious! 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

A clamor of voices arose. Yuwen Che suddenly bellowed, “Li Muchen, you can’t give the Divine Contemplation Lotus Platforms away so casually!”

“Who made that rule?” Su Yi asked flatly. “Miss Lian Yue offered me a platform earlier. I didn’t see you objecting then.”

Yuwen Che fell silent.

Heavenly Monarch Jin Xun of Eternal Lightning Court said coldly, “Li Muchen, that girl is nowhere near strong enough to hold a Divine Contemplation Lotus Platform. If you don’t believe me, you’re welcome to test it.”

His meaning was readily apparent. If Fu Lingyun occupied a platform, others were sure to challenge her position!

Su Yi laughed. “Then I’ll make myself perfectly clear. Anyone who tries to take it from her will become my enemy. That means they’ll either die or be forced to leave the Nine Luminaries Forbidden Zone early!”

He swept his gaze across the crowd. “If you don’t believe me, you’re welcome to try me!”

Silence descended over the crowd. Everyone exchanged glances.

Even Xun Jiu’an had lost. Who among the onlookers could possibly be a match for Li Muchen now?

If he really attacked anyone who tried to seize Fu Lingyun’s lotus platform, who could bear the consequences?

Many of them had unsightly looks on their faces. They were so angry that their noses almost went crooked with fury.

They were from the Five Great Continents and had powerful backgrounds. It had always been they threatening and suppressing the cultivators of the Literati Continent, not the other way around. When had they ever been threatened like this before?

Even the Heavenly Monarchs furrowed their brows. This was their first time seeing a cultivator of the Literati Continent so arrogant. He was unbridled to the point of utter lawlessness.

Mo Lanhe, meanwhile, felt his horizons expanding. How satisfying!

Throughout the ages, none of the cultivators of the Literati Continent who’d explored the Nine Luminaries Forbidden Zone had ever dared to fight those from the Five Great Continents, much less compete for Divine Contemplation Lotus Platforms.

Yet Li Muchen had done more than just seize a platform. He was even challenging the cultivators of the Five Great Continents without the slightest fear!

A long time passed, but no one dared to respond to his challenge.

The Heavenly Monarchs of the Five Great Continents felt deep shame just watching this. Nothing of the sort had ever happened before!

Su Yi looked at Heavenly Monarch Jin Xun of Eternal Lightning Court. “See that? It seems they’re all convinced.”

Jin Xun glowered darkly in silence.

Su Yi chuckled and urged Fu Lingyun to hurry up and test out the Divine Contemplation Lotus Platform. This time, she listened and climbed right on up.

Su Yi, meanwhile, swept his gaze across the remaining platforms and asked, “Who’s a disciple of Eternal Lightning Court?”

Heavenly Monarch Jin Xun bristled with fury. “What are you up to this time?”

Su Yi said calmly, “I’m claiming a second Divine Contemplation Lotus Platform for myself, of course.”

The crowd’s expression shifted. Li Muchen was obviously the type to avenge a grudge, and he wasn’t the patient sort, either.

Earlier, it was Eternal Lightning Court’s Jin Xun and Sevendeaths Court’s Yuwen Che who’d been most aggressive with Li Muchen.

Sevendeaths Court had already paid the price. Xun Jiu’an had been sent packing, his Divine Contemplation Lotus Platform claimed by another.

Now, it was obviously Eternal Lightning Court’s turn to suffer!

“Daoist Brother Li is looking to spar with me? Our hearts must really be connected by fate,” Xia Rouyun murmured in a daze. “Is he really trying to seize my heart?”

Lian Yue facepalmed. She was at a complete loss for words. What kind of situation does she think this is? Why is that Celestial Fox girl swooning like a lovestruck fool now of all times!?

“I’ll fight you!” Dong Liujia rose, then said, “Someone capable of defeating Xun Jiu’an is an unparalleled, mighty expert of the present age. I, Dong Liujia, am not looking for much. All I seek is defeat!”

The crowd stirred.

Dong Liujia was a heaven-defying figure of Immeasurable Palace, the genius in fifth place in the Unfettered Ranking!

He was capricious and unpredictable, his heart difficult to fathom, and it was exceedingly rare for him to initiate combat.

However, his strength was incontrovertibly terrifying. He hadn’t been defeated even once since stepping into Eternity!

In the Five Great Continents, many older-generation cultivators thought his rank was too low; they thought he deserved a spot in the top three.

“Your desires are that simple?” Su Yi looked at Dong Liujia. “There really isn’t anything else you want?”

Dong Liujia gestured to Xia Rouyun and laughed. “If I beat you, Xia Rouyun will call me her ‘big brother’ going forward! Isn’t that reason enough?”

Xia Rouyun rolled her eyes. “Boring!”

The others were at a loss for words. He’s seeking defeat just for that?

Dong Liujia, meanwhile, fixed his gaze on Su Yi. His eyes blazed like torches. “Of course, if I win, you can call me ‘big brother’ too!”

Su Yi beckoned to him. “Come here. I’ll grant you defeat.”

Dong Liujia threw back his head and laughed. He took a step forward, then shot off the Divine Contemplation Lotus Platform.

Weng!

With a wave of his sleeves, his pine-marked cloud crown shot into the air, scattering a rain of colorful spatial light.

“No matter which of us wins, defeat will bring shame upon the loser. Why not avoid the onlookers and duke it out in this Five Elements Combat Realm?” Dong Liujia said calmly.

Many of the Heavenly Monarchs looked envious.

The pine-marked cloud crown was called the Five Elements Divine Space Crown. It was a spatial treasure that Heavenly Sovereign Wen had forged with his own two hands, and it contained a self-contained world, the Five Elements Combat Realm.

They said that wearing the Five Elements Divine Space Crown on your head could continuously nourish the soul. It was as if the wearer were standing in the Five Elements Combat Realm at all times. The benefits were inestimable.

The vast majority of Heavenly Monarchs lacked such treasures. It was thus obvious how highly Heavenly Sovereign Wen valued Dong Liujia.

“The Five Elements Combat Realm isn’t a trap,” Xia Rouyun said gently. “Dong Liujia might be a weirdo, and he might spout a lot of garbage, but he’s always been upright when it comes to clashes of the Grand Dao. Rest assured, Daoist Brother Li.”

Dong Liujia laughed. “I’ll take that as a compliment, Miss Rouyun!”

He looked at Su Yi. “Of course, if you still aren’t assured, I can swear on my Dao Heart, or even sign an Eternal Contract with my heart’s blood!”

A series of gasps rang out. Swearing on your Dao Heart was already quite ruthless. Signing an Eternal Contract with your heart’s blood meant that if you violated your agreement, the heavens themselves would strike you down. Not even Heavenly Sovereigns would be able to save you then!

“No need for that.” Su Yi shook his head slightly.

It was just a combat realm manifested from a spatial treasure. That wasn’t enough to scare him.

Whoosh!

A moment later, Su Yi’s figure blurred as he vanished into the Five Elements Divine Space Crown’s rain of spatial light.

Dong Liujia was briefly stunned, then impressed. “You’ve sure got guts, Fellow Daoist Li!”

Xia Rouyun smiled. “He’s the man who made me see him in a new light, and the man who moved my heart so much that I’ve decided to actively pursue him. Of course, he’s got to be fearless!”

Everyone looked on strangely.

Heavenly Monarch Jin Xun, however, was overcome with fury. His hair bristled, and his eyes bulged. “Cut the chatter! Can’t you tell that kid is out to get us and that he wants to seize your Divine Contemplation Lotus Platform?”

Xia Rouyun thought nothing of it. “If Daoist Brother Li wants it, I’ll give it to him. That will mean that the two of us once shared the same lotus platform. If word reaches the outside world, it’ll become a wondrous tale of karmic connection. The very thought of it is delightful.”

She smiled, her eyes narrowing into crescent moons. It was an utterly captivating sight.

The corners of Heavenly Monarch Jin Xun’s lips twitched, but there was nothing he could do.

Xia Rouyun was only in the Unfettered Realm, but she was utterly fearless, and she was backed by the old-timers of the Celestial Fox Race. Even the sect leader of Eternal Lightning Court was exceedingly tolerant of her behavior.

So long as she didn’t betray the sect, it wouldn’t matter how much trouble she caused. The sect leader would look the other way.

As the two of them argued, Dong Liujia blurred into a beam of light and entered the combat realm.

Within moments, he’d vanished. All that remained was the hovering Five Elements Divine Space Crown.

When Yuwen Che saw this, he wondered out loud, “If Daoist Brother Kun Peng were here, he could just seal the crown. Wouldn’t that reduce Li Muchen to nothing more than a beast in a cage?”

Many of the onlookers’ expressions shifted. Mo Lanhe’s heart clenched.

Given Old Yao Kun Peng’s vicious temperament, he might well really do something like that!

...

Meanwhile, in a grand hall.

Granny Snake couldn’t help but ask Old Yao Kun Peng, “If you attacked now, could you capture Su Yi in one fell swoop?”