Volume 1, Chapter 28: Repayment

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The official alchemy competition differs from the preliminary rounds; each heat allows only 100 participants. While not a small number, it lacks the chaotic spectacle of the tens of thousands who competed in the preliminaries. Wei Chennian’s mood and expression were both dismal, as Ji Ling’s departure would inevitably affect his sister. As soon as these words were uttered, alchemists from various cities immediately began taking roll calls to identify who was missing—those were the three alchemists capable of triggering alchemy tribulations. "Heh, if the Great Venerable Cangyuan could easily return to the Hunyuan Heaven, would he have ignored the Tianyuan Domain for all these years?" Zhao Xianjun remarked with a smirk. Ahead in the tunnel, there were many intense spectral lights; they were not particularly powerful individually, but their sheer numbers were overwhelming. Zhang Shuo had no visible wounds, but he certainly suffered internal injuries; after all, under the impact of such an explosion, even a bulletproof vest might not be enough to withstand the force. His anger meter kept climbing, fueled not only by his own frustration but primarily by the backlash from that social media post. The furniture was so large it could not have been stolen, and with the craftsmen constantly present, it could not have been severely damaged; at most, it might have been scratched or soiled. It was no major matter, yet blaming the child was merely a way to spite her. "A water man? What is going on?" Gongsun Cang was stunned; he racked his brains, unable to find the words to describe it. A specific clause in the mobilization order had suddenly captured everyone’s attention. Venus nodded vigorously; learning was the thing he longed for most, second only to freedom. Xi Xi witnessed this scene and felt her worldview shattered; she suspected Qian Daoliu was using public opinion and moral blackmail to coerce them, but she could find no proof. Both of them felt deep anguish; although they hadn't met in many years, Qin Ming had indeed acted this way to help their Shrek Academy. The reign was already that of a tyrant, so there was little regard for decorum; one could catch a glimpse of the truth from the title alone, which revealed just how indifferent the original owner was toward this Empress. The short-backed turtle let out a miserable shriek and collapsed, its twitching limbs struggling in vain, unable to rise again.

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"Why must you bring her along? Are you plotting something?" Tang Qingya’s reaction was clearly excessive. Yet this time, he seemed to see a vision of Luffy sneaking up to him, smiling and begging to be taken out to play. A thirty-year-old man—neither too old nor too young, mature and capable, steady yet playful—possessed the vibrant energy of youth and the aura of a successful man who had shed his youthful naivety, making him appealing to all ages. "Desolation, life, life, desolation?" These words echoed continuously in Ye Lingling’s mind within the illusion. Dai Mubai dared not flaunt his status as a Prince of Star Luo, nor did he have the inclination to do so. "Boom!" The palm print crashed into the metal-attribute immortal essence energy deployed by Jun Yixiao. As the defense shattered, the immense force sent Jun Yixiao flying into mid-air. Even so, Wanyan Zonghan, clutching the seal of Yanjin City, remained brimming with confidence, thinking that although Liu Yan and Liu Da were valiant, they were trapped beasts at the end of their rope. He believed that in a moment, as he exerted control over the seal, Yanjin City would fall without a fight. To him, the game *Don't Starve* had two selling points: the survival elements and the cooperative mode. The tornado summoned by the wind dragon was not the usual cyan, but a mutated black vortex! It appeared significantly more lethal than an ordinary tornado. Second, where did these monsters come from? What happened to this city? And how could one gather enough intelligence to survive? From the walkway on the other side of the sewer, an arrow flew out of nowhere, striking Zhang Zi’s wrist. It pierced his carpal bone as if it were plywood, and the sheer force slammed him against the wall. With one slash, it felt as if the entire firmament were collapsing, crushing down on Lin Chen from all sides with no blind spots. The Second Sect Master took the box and silently recited the formation incantation. A purple-gold aura drifted from the seal, manifesting as a line of text: "Those below the ninth rank, killing intent strikes the heart within ten paces!" Ye Zixin pushed open the door to the 24-hour convenience store, nodded to the proprietress as a greeting, and began browsing the shelves for snacks. "The Undead World is my divine kingdom; here, I am the supreme being. Don’t even speak of your current severely wounded states; even at your peak, you would never escape from here," Shi Lie said coldly.

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Until his dying breath, the man with the goat-beard never imagined he would meet such an end—his schemes backfired, and he ultimately fell to Li Yan’s flying sword. "If there is something to discuss, we can talk about it when we get home," Baili Tong stepped forward, reaching out an empty hand, waiting for Xu Mingfei. The Sword Immortal and the Myriad Sword Immortal locked their gazes on Qi Xuanyi, completely ignoring the provocations of the Daoist child Yuande; they had known him for years, and it appeared his cultivation had not yet fully recovered. A sharp glint suddenly flashed in Han Qingyu’s eyes as he fell into deep thought, the entire sequence of events flashing through his mind like lightning. The disciples of the Five Clouds Palace scattered like monkeys when the tree falls, and by the end of the day, every single one of them had departed, leaving no one behind. "Brother, there was gunfire and roaring just now—what on earth is going on?" Chen Jia asked Chen Yu. As a company boss, he was accustomed to ordering everyone around; Gu Nanshun had no rebuttal and could only stare at them in a daze. The room suddenly fell silent, as if the oxygen had been sucked out of the air. The stifling heat combined with the monotonous drone of the old air conditioner only added to the agitation. However, Tang Yanxue had already followed her mother, Qin Yan, out of the Tang estate and did not hear his words. The next day, a piercing hunger jolted Yuan Ling from his sleep. After a day of crying and a day of rest, his emotions had stabilized; although he wished to simply stay there, the instinct for survival drove him to search for food. Xie Le glanced at Wang Tian, wondering if he had been summoned intentionally to witness all of this, thereby giving Wang Tian more leverage in the upcoming negotiations.