Zhao Yang was just an ordinary wrongful death ghost in Wangsi City.

Early in the morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, waves of shouting came through the old window lattice to his ears, disturbing his sleep.

“What’s all this commotion about now?”

With drowsy sleepiness, he muttered irritably, opening his eyes. His chin was covered with dark stubble.

A ray of morning light entered his vision.

He had been drinking with a few fair-weather friends until late last night. His cultivation wasn’t very high, so he couldn’t handle it well. Now he hadn’t slept enough, and with all the noise outside, Zhao Yang’s eyes couldn’t help but take on a bloodshot hue.

“Damn it all, isn’t it just a cauldron competition? All this noise, what the hell!”

In a foul mood, he started cursing, directly throwing the blanket on the ground and bolting upright!

The room’s furnishings were quite simple.

One bed, one square table, four stools, a wardrobe, a small cultivation formation, and hanging by the window was a ruyi bell that some previous tenant had hung there.

Such rooms were the most common in Wangsi City.

For ghost cultivators without background or wealth, being able to live in such a place was actually quite decent.

At this moment, a wrinkled paper lay on the table, still faintly carrying last night’s alcohol scent.

Zhao Yang glanced at it. His head was foggy now, and he wasn’t close enough to clearly make out the writing on the paper.

Seemed like it was casually stuffed to him by some friends yesterday?

Seemed like it was the cauldron competition announcement distributed by the Eighteen Floors Above Ground this year?

He could only vaguely remember those friends saying there would be big excitement this year.

But he had been quite drunk at the time, agreeing enthusiastically to everything, directly grabbing it and stuffing it into his chest, which was why it looked so wrinkled.

Cauldron competition?

Hmph.

What could be interesting about that thing?

Zhao Yang’s time in Wangsi City wasn’t actually that long—only about thirty years—but he had already watched several cauldron competitions, held every few years.

At first, Zhao Yang would enthusiastically go join the excitement, but later he realized he could never stand out in it, so his enthusiasm waned.

Especially the last two cauldron competitions were nothing but killing back and forth.

Today you’re more black-hearted than me, tomorrow I’m more ruthless than you, scheming and plotting—the strong always won…

Having seen enough, Zhao Yang could predict with eyes closed who would lose, who would win, and how they would die.

With so many people in the entire Extreme Realm, couldn’t they make the cauldron competition a bit more distinctive?

So this year, Zhao Yang was too lazy to pay attention to the cauldron competition.

Following the cauldron competition also required dark jade. Though he still had enough money to spend, he really didn’t want to waste it on such boring things.

“Hmm, let those proud sons of heaven slowly slaughter each other… Anyway, I won’t pull out another cent from my purse.”

Zhao Yang said this to himself, and also to the Eight Yama Palaces who couldn’t hear these words.

“Ahh…”

He stretched lazily, yawned, swayed to the table, reached out to grab that paper, casually glanced at it, and was about to crumple it up and throw it away.

“Same old thing every year, no interest—hm?”

Zhao Yang’s voice suddenly raised with a somewhat surprised tail note.

The five fingers about to crumple it also stopped at that instant.

A pair of drowsy, bloodshot eyes slowly widened, even his mouth opening along with them.

“Am I seeing things because I haven’t slept enough?”

He quickly raised one hand, rubbed his eyes, and looked again—

What the hell!

The words on it hadn’t changed?

Didn’t rub carefully enough? Used more force to rub again, then looked!

Still those two lines of text!

“…”

Zhao Yang, who had slept at most two hours all night, was shocked awake.

Holding this wrinkled page, he almost couldn’t believe his eyes.

After a long period of confusion, he suddenly burst out with a curse: “My Eight Yama Palaces really have no shame when it comes to making money!!”

They dared to use such nonsense as a gimmick?

Though my cultivation is low, I’m not ignorant about cultivation!

Damn it, who are they trying to fool?!

“The weakest Soul Orb Realm cultivator in Extreme Realm history!”

“Unprecedented, overturning the past!”

“Dust-speck soul orb, light like firefly!”

“Frail female cultivator, cauldron competition fate, life? Or death?”

…Life or death your whole family!

Such exaggerated descriptions were truly shameless!

Zhao Yang felt that if he knew who concocted this thing, he would definitely mercilessly crumple this paper and stuff it in their mouth!

Dust-speck soul orb, light like firefly!

You cultivate with such a small soul orb and show me!

Lying without even drafting—boasting to the heavens!

“Really hopeless, seems they’re truly desperate for money…”

Zhao Yang shook his head, sneering, completely disbelieving.

Nothing more than trying to trick people into paying attention.

He spat on this page, cursed “attention-seeking” in his heart, and finally crumpled the thing into a ball and threw it under the table.

Outside was still a cacophony.

Zhao Yang wanted to lie back down and sleep, but felt it was really too noisy to sleep.

“Isn’t it just an opening? What’s worth watching about the literary test? Not exciting at all! Really…”

Hm?

Wait.

Literary test.

Only then did Zhao Yang realize he had overlooked something.

Right, this was just the literary test.

Generally speaking, the literary test had no appeal. People paid attention to it only to know who would participate in the real third-round slaughter.

Whether the Eight Yama Palaces or the Ten Great Ghost Clans, during this round they would freely provide all relevant information to every ghost cultivator in the Extreme Realm.

In other words, watching the second round didn’t require reaching into one’s purse.

Zhao Yang stood before his simple bed, seeing the blanket he had thrown on the ground, really too lazy to bend down and pick it up.

He had sworn never to waste another piece of dark jade on the cauldron competition.

But this year, the big shots of the Extreme Realm were boasting so extravagantly that he was really quite curious—was there really someone with such a small soul orb?

This completely defied common sense!

“…Anyway, it doesn’t cost money, just wasting a day to take a look, and it won’t kill anyone…”

Zhao Yang stroked his chin, pondering.

“The important thing is, would there really be such a cultivator?”

Right, which place’s cauldron competition participant was it again?

Zhao Yang suddenly thought of this, looked back, and saw that the paper ball had already been thrown away.

“Really brought this on myself!”

He cursed again, somewhat shamefully walked over, crawled under the table, and pulled out the paper ball he had previously thrown away.

The originally wrinkled paper, after being crumpled once more, looked even more disheveled.

Zhao Yang muttered, somewhat impatiently unfolding it.

The writing on it was heavy and still clearly legible.

“First Palace Lord Qin Guang, early Soul Orb, Wangsi City, Jian Chou, female cultivator.”

Hah!

Not only from Wangsi City, but also took Lord Qin Guang’s spot!

Exciting enough!

“And it’s a woman too…”

Zhao Yang’s eyes immediately lit up.

Because the Eight Yama Palaces had a City King Jiang Chang who was herself a female cultivator, she never liked seeing other female cultivators die needlessly in the cauldron competition, so her subordinates tried not to select from the cauldron competition, instead coming directly to Wangsi City to pick first.

The City King had always been special among the Eight Yama Palaces, and no one questioned this behavior.

But this led to a problem—

Female cultivators participating in the cauldron competition were very few, especially from Wangsi City.

And other female cultivators participating in the cauldron competition mostly came from the Ten Great Ghost Clans.

Zhao Yang couldn’t help recalling the situation from previous sessions…

Female cultivators with fish gills, with leopard tails, with bull heads, with horse faces, and those whose skin turned dark and wielded tridents when fighting…

It wasn’t that they weren’t beautiful—this was mainly Zhao Yang’s own aesthetic, originally living in the mortal islands, with normal “human” standards.

The Ten Great Ghost Clans were established by the Ten Great Yin Marshals, all beings born in this Extreme Realm, different from humans, and their cultivation methods were the same.

The male cultivators of the Ten Great Ghost Clans were ugly, and the female cultivators weren’t much better.

Especially when fighting…

No aesthetic appeal whatsoever.

Thinking about it, Zhao Yang couldn’t help shuddering with disgust.

Now this was actually a female cultivator from Wangsi City, and there was no notation after her name indicating she belonged to the Ten Great Ghost Clans, meaning she cultivated independently.

So…

This person must be a normal female cultivator!

Just didn’t know what she looked like…

The people who wrote this thing really had no morals!

Couldn’t they put a portrait on it?

Really!

Zhao Yang couldn’t help cursing those responsible for publicity in his heart, but at the same time, his thoughts couldn’t help floating.

Although he had previously sworn never to spend a penny on the cauldron competition, the second round didn’t cost dark jade!

So paying attention wouldn’t count as breaking his oath, right?

“Clap!”

He suddenly clapped his hands together, pressing the page.

Zhao Yang nodded decisively: “Right, doesn’t count as breaking the oath! I’m just going to see if it’s real, I won’t spend money on the third round…”

Very good, that was settled.

Having finished debating with himself, Zhao Yang heard the boiling outside and felt like cat claws scratching his heart. He directly rushed to the door, grabbed his outer robe, opened the door and walked out.

The streets were already packed with people, everyone heading in groups toward the Eighteen Floors Above Ground.

There was a sizable plaza there where each cauldron competition’s second round was held—very similar to imperial examinations’ literary test, basically producing results on the spot.

Wangsi City’s cultivators took the literary test in Wangsi City’s plaza, and other cities did the same.

Only after the second round ended would everyone go through the entrance to the Eighteen Levels of Hell into the same venue.

Zhao Yang walked while putting on his outer robe.

A thin member of the Day-Walking Clan came over, seeing Zhao Yang very surprised: “Brother Zhao? From your direction, you’re also going to watch the cauldron competition? You’re not…”

During the cauldron competition the year before last, Zhao Yang had spent over a hundred dark jade to see who would win the cauldron championship.

After the slaughter ended, he immediately started cursing, swearing to his group of friends that he would absolutely never spend half a penny on the cauldron competition again.

This Day-Walking Clan fellow was one of those present at the time.

Hearing the other party greet him, Zhao Yang felt inexplicably guilty.

He laughed dryly, forcing naturalness: “I’m just going to watch the second round, you know, this round doesn’t charge money…”

“That’s true.”

The Day-Walking Clan friend didn’t pursue it further.

But he quickly got together with Zhao Yang, extremely excited: “You must be disappointed with the cauldron competition and haven’t paid much attention. Let me tell you, this year’s cauldron competition has a very special female cultivator. I heard her soul orb is the weakest and smallest in Extreme Realm history!”

“I also…”

Shit!

Just one word “also” came out before Zhao Yang wanted to slap himself!

He almost exposed that he was also very concerned about this issue!

He quickly coughed, making amends: “I haven’t heard about this, there’s such a thing?”

Something seemed off…

But with all the noise around, the Day-Walking Clan member didn’t clearly hear the half-sentence Zhao Yang had cut off.

He just maintained an excited curiosity, wishing he could chat clearly with Zhao Yang.

“Really, just don’t know what she’s like. The whole city’s been talking about it crazily these past few days—you actually don’t know, really… Let me tell you, someone said they once saw her at Shanhai Market. Her soul orb really was that small, you couldn’t see it without looking carefully, like a needle point!”

“Hey, are you also going to see that female cultivator?”

Another voice interjected—actually from an unfamiliar Bull Head Clan strongman, currently glowing red with excitement. When he spoke, it seemed his entire chest was resonating, making people’s ears buzz.

Zhao Yang’s heart was practically cursing.

He was just about to answer his friend, and now someone was stealing his response?

“I…”

“Yes, yes! Brother, you too?”

Before Zhao Yang could speak, the Day-Walking Clan cultivator had already floated up like finding a kindred spirit, directly embracing the much taller and stronger Bull Head Clan cultivator’s broad shoulders.

“Let me tell you, someone also said this beauty is beautiful, you know what a beauty is?”

The Bull Head Clan strongman seemed not to know this, his eyes lighting up: “I haven’t heard this, does she have a big head and long horns?”

“…”

The Day-Walking Clan thin man suddenly felt his arm around the other’s shoulders stiffen.

Different races, truly different aesthetics!

What the hell did this have to do with horns?

Cursing inwardly, the thin man simply didn’t know what to say.

Zhao Yang, left aside for a while, sneered coldly, cursing two words in his heart: Vulgar!

Bull heads, horse faces, fish gills—these lower-ranked among the Ten Great Ghost Clans were all damn ugly!

“What’s wrong?”

The Bull Head Clan man still didn’t know what he’d said wrong, somewhat confused.

The Day-Walking Clan thin man quickly shook his head, laughed twice with “hehe,” and decisively changed the topic: “Anyway, she should be very beautiful. How do you think she got the spot that His Highness Lord Qin Guang gave?”

Unexpectedly, before the Bull Head Clan man could answer, someone else on the street joined the conversation.

“Need you ask? What if she’s a genius?”

“Bullshit! I think they’re just trying to trick us into spending dark jade!”

“Makes sense!”

“But this time the Eight Yama Palaces and Ten Great Ghost Clans messed up, right? Releasing the news so early—hmph, the second round doesn’t cost money! I’ll watch the excitement and leave, won’t pay for the third round.”

“Haha, me too…”

“I want to see the Ghost King Clan’s Young Master Li, and that dead-faced guy, what’s his name?”

“Zhang Tang, I died under his hands back then! Slow slicing, you know…”

…

For a moment, the entire street became lively.

The Day-Walking Clan thin man, the Bull Head Clan strongman, and Zhao Yang all looked at each other, not knowing what expression to make—

So many people were all going for that “weakest soul orb female cultivator in history”?

…

The same conversations, the same scenes, were actually happening in other corners of the Extreme Realm.

The underworld’s seventy-two cities were all simultaneously holding the cauldron competition’s second round literary test, and papers like the one on Zhao Yang’s table had already been scattered throughout the entire underworld.

Almost everyone was shocked by this session’s gimmick.

Some believed it, feeling Lord Qin Guang wouldn’t be so unreliable; others thought it was nonsense, more fantastical than ascending to immortality in broad daylight, completely impossible.

Of course, some opened betting pools, just betting on “true or false.”

Most people actually held the same thoughts as Zhao Yang.

Anyway, the cauldron competition’s second round could be watched without dark jade, and any central plaza in the seventy-two cities could show the literary test situation of other cities, so the Extreme Realm actually witnessed an unprecedentedly strange phenomenon.

For example, when people in Fengdu City were rushing to the plaza, what they discussed wasn’t their own city’s cultivators, but frequently mentioned two words—

Jian Chou.

“Jian Chou…”

Beside Wangsi City’s plaza, Xing Wu looked at this page he had read countless times, his expression changing repeatedly, with indescribable complexity and even inexplicable fear.

For the first time, he felt this female cultivator’s name was very fitting.

When he first suddenly saw this page, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

That female cultivator from Pinzi Tower in the past, that female cultivator from the deep alley in the past…

Indeed, completely matched the characteristics described here: that unbelievably small soul orb!

She had actually come to the cauldron competition too…

And like that detestable Zhang Tang, she had gotten Lord Qin Guang’s spot?

For Xing Wu, this was simply like a dream, a…

Nightmare.

At this moment, there wasn’t much time left before the cauldron competition’s second round began.

Ghost cultivators who had gotten spots in Wangsi City had already gradually gathered here. Those from the Ten Great Ghost Clans generally stood very close together.

Xing Wu belonged to the Wuchang Yizu, coming today with the clan’s elders.

His several clansmen—the Xing Fei and Xing Feng brothers, the capable Xing Zhan, and the fat Xing An—all stood relatively far from him, currently gathered together talking and laughing.

“Hey, what do you think about that Jian Chou—is it real?”

The speaker was Xing Fei, the elder of the brothers, someone who had considerable friction with Xing Wu.

Hearing him speak, especially hearing “Jian Chou,” Xing Wu turned to look and pricked up his ears.

Xing Feng snorted contemptuously: “Fake as fake can be! Look at the people around—they actually say they came to see that woman. Stupid and shallow!”

“Can’t say that, right?”

Xing An was quite fat but seemed honest.

“His Highness Lord Qin Guang doesn’t seem like someone who’d make foolish moves, I think…”

“No matter how much of a gimmick, she’s just a small Soul Orb cultivator, someone who could be crushed with one finger. Why care?”

Before Xing An could finish his words, the hard-faced Xing Zhan nearby had already curved his lips in an evil smile, contemptuously reaching a conclusion.

“Jian Chou? This name is indeed good. With such cultivation, she’d probably worry about anyone she meets, right?”

“Hahaha…”

Xing Zhan’s words were very loud, and many people around heard them.

For a moment, everyone laughed, making quite a commotion.

Xing Wu remained silent, not speaking.

His hand, as if still remembering the pain of that past injury, slowly, unconsciously, reached toward his chest…

Once, there had been a black sword he had fancied, piercing through this spot.

That bizarre scene from their past encounter flashed through his mind.

Just as he was about to touch that nearly healed wound, Xing Wu suddenly felt something strange. From the corner of his eye, someone in the crowd seemed to be watching him.

He raised his head and immediately saw a pair of distinct black and white eyes!

That was…

His outstretched hand froze as if frozen, rigidly stopping halfway.

Xing Wu’s pupils contracted, suddenly feeling somewhat breathless.

At the edge of the bustling crowd, at a distance neither far nor near from their position.

A blue-robed female cultivator, holding a sheathed long sword, with a plain face and calm brows, was looking toward the Wuchang Yizu.

The arrogant laughter was so grating, but she didn’t seem particularly angry, maintaining an air of calm indifference.

When she discovered Xing Wu looking at her, she slowly turned her gaze to meet his eyes.

As if recognizing him, a trace of surprise and bewilderment flashed through her eyes, but immediately transformed into other subtle emotions, containing a feeling that made his scalp tingle.

Then, like greeting an old acquaintance, she nodded slightly and showed him a polite smile…

A chilling smile.