"I... my father is..." Xiang Feixie, being choked by Wu Tian, didn’t want to die just like that. He deeply regretted not having devoted himself to cultivation. He had always thought that as long as his father was alive, he wouldn’t need to work so hard and could simply enjoy the fruits of his father’s labor in the future.

"Even if your father were Li Gang, it would be useless." With that, Wu Tian snapped Xiang Feixie’s neck. As he died, a single, puzzled thought crossed his mind. Who is Li Gang? Could he be more formidable than my father? But he would never get an answer. He was dead.

"You... you actually killed him?" one of the men stammered. "You..."

The burly men were all panic-stricken, at a loss for words. Threaten Wu Tian with the Evil Alliance? They didn’t dare. The Righteous Alliance had already been annihilated by Wu Tian’s group. The Evil Alliance was on par with the Righteous Alliance, so completely overpowering Wu Tian would be just as difficult.

"Tell me, what are you doing in this godforsaken place?" Wu Tian asked coldly.

Liu Tianji and the others advanced with an aura of murderous intent, their message clear: speak, or die. Under the immense pressure, the men found it hard to breathe. Fearing death, they immediately revealed their purpose.

The reason was simple. In the view of the Evil Alliance, cultivating by absorbing Spiritual Energy was far too slow. The best method, they believed, was to absorb Spirit Roots instead. However, if they targeted the Immortal Seekers of the Righteous Path to absorb their Spirit Roots, they feared the Evil Alliance would once again become a public enemy before they could even harvest a few.

Therefore, years ago, the Alliance Hierarch of the Evil Alliance, Xiang Lingtian, accepted the Sword Emperor from the Surface World as his disciple. Xiang Lingtian promised that if the Sword Emperor served him well, he would be made the Deputy Alliance Hierarch upon entering the Underground World.

The Sword Emperor gladly agreed. What the Evil Alliance wanted from him was to procure children and funds. They sought to create Artificial Spiritual Roots—roots made with modern technology that only children could perfectly integrate with. Of course, Artificial Spiritual Roots were inferior to natural ones; their bearers couldn’t live past the age of twenty. But the Evil Alliance didn’t care.

The children were brought by the Sword Emperor. He established schools in mountainous regions on the surface, seemingly for the public good. In reality, the hopeful children from these mountains, who thought they were getting a proper education, were all sold by the Sword Emperor to the Evil Alliance.

"How cruel!" Qin Yuhan clenched her teeth.

Many who knew of the Sword Emperor’s actions actually thought he was performing good deeds and sang his praises. Impoverished parents extolled the Sword Emperor and sent their children to his schools. Though it meant they wouldn’t see their children for years, they endured, hoping their sons and daughters would one day return successful and lift their families out of poverty. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

But could they ever return? Most of the children had Artificial Spiritual Roots implanted in them, only for the roots to be absorbed by the Evil Alliance for their own cultivation. Without their Spirit Roots, the children were doomed to die.

"I miss my dad, I miss my mom," a six-year-old child finally burst into tears, unable to hold it in any longer.

"Me too!"

"Please save us."

Other children, however, had grown numb. They were beaten so often that they no longer dared to express their thoughts, their hearts having closed off completely.

All of this was the Sword Emperor’s sin. It was also the great sin of the Evil Alliance.

"What should be done with these children?" After learning the dangers of the implanted Artificial Spiritual Roots, Qin Yuhan hurriedly looked to Wu Tian.

Lin Fa stepped out from behind Yin Fengxue and volunteered. "I’ll take them back to the Surface World. We can check with hospitals and scientists to see if there’s a way to extract the Spirit Roots from their bodies."

"It won’t work," Liu Tianji shook his head, speaking earnestly. "The Spirit Root is a mysterious existence. It has form, yet it is formless. The science and medical techniques of the Surface World are utterly useless against it. It would be impossible unless humanity on the surface advanced another thousand years, reaching the level of technology you see in your Marvel movies."

Qin Yuhan and Lin Fa were left speechless.

Hearing that they were beyond saving, the children began to cry, or simply hung their heads and sighed, their faces ashen. They had been poor since childhood and had wanted to work hard to change their fates. Yet heaven denied them this chance, subjecting them to such a cruel destiny. They were already angry at the unfairness of the world, having started so far behind everyone else. Now, with Artificial Spiritual Roots in their bodies, they were doomed to die before they turned twenty.

They clenched their fists, veins throbbing with rage. They were filled with indignant fury. Why has heaven treated us this way? What did we do wrong?

"Let me handle it," Wu Tian said. He was no Holy Mother, but this was something he had to do for three reasons. First, they were people of Dragon Country, just like him. Second, they were still just children. Third, he had a way to extract the Artificial Spiritual Roots while leaving behind their essence. This would turn them into invincible Kings of Soldiers on the Surface World!

Wu Tian stretched out his hand, his fingers forming a claw. With a swift pull, a terrifying suction force emanated from his palm. No one knew how he did it. The next moment, the Spirit Roots appeared outside the children’s bodies and fell to the ground. Visually, they resembled medicinal herbs like ginseng, lotus, and goji berries, but each was covered in mysterious patterns.

"Lin Fa, take them back. From now on, they’re part of my Boundless Corporation," Wu Tian said. With that, he and the others left, leaving Lin Fa in charge of escorting the children back to the Surface World.

"What is the Boundless Corporation?"

"Is it big?"

"If we work there, can we make five thousand a month?"

Hearing this, Lin Fa couldn’t help but laugh. These kids had been sold here by the Sword Emperor long before the Boundless Corporation even existed on Earth. Now, its name was renowned. Five thousand a month? A janitor responsible for just a single subsidiary of the Boundless Corporation earned tens of thousands a month.

Lin Fa gave them a detailed introduction to the Boundless Corporation as he led them out of the Underground World. The children were astonished, then overjoyed. They never imagined their tragic fate could take such a turn.

「At the same time」

Ten kilometers ahead in the direction Wu Tian’s group was traveling, there was a bottomless, unfathomable abyss. Strangely, the area around the abyss was enveloped in a white glow—a barrier preventing anyone from entering.

The Abyss had once gone unnoticed. However, what the chubby girl didn’t know was that just a few days after she had climbed out, the people of the Taoist temple had set up this Barrier, wanting to prevent anyone else from entering. The appearance of the Barrier, however, had also attracted the attention of the Great Sect.

The members of the Great Sect wanted to break the Barrier and see what lay within the Abyss. They deliberately avoided clashing with Xiang Feixie’s group and thus remained unnoticed, because the Great Sect did not want to stir up friction with the Evil Alliance at this crucial juncture and risk revealing the secrets of this place.