Southern Region of the Central Continent.
Within the borders of a small kingdom, the sound of endless slaughter echoed straight to the heavens. A tragic, desperate war between humans and Yao Beasts was unfolding across the blood-soaked terrain.
Countless members of the Demon Race had completely surrounded this small nation. Annihilation was only a matter of time. The defensive Martial Artists of the kingdom understood their grim reality perfectly, but at this stage, there was no retreat.
The Demon Race's actions this time clearly indicated they intended to execute a complete extermination—wiping out their nation and cleansing their race from existence. Not only had the beast horde deployed numbers that far exceeded the kingdom's entire population, but they had even invited an existence that transcended the Origin Realm!
Heaven forbid, the local mortal soldiers didn't even know what the realm above the Origin Realm was actually called. Yet, here they were, forced to face an opponent whose oppressive pressure alone choked the breath from their lungs.
As soon as the battle began, the outcome was already sealed.
Just as the remaining human Martial Artists began dropping their weapons, their hearts turning to dead ashes as they prepared to accept their inevitable end, a sudden anomaly occurred.
Above the fractured walls of the Royal City, a clean-faced youth walked leisurely through the empty air, stepping down into the grand Royal Court one step at a time as if descending invisible stairs.
The youth's attire featured a distinct, highly exotic style, but his most eye-catching feature was his eyes. They were completely different from the human race—his pupils were a deep, dark green!
"Who goes there!"
"Protect the King!"
The King's personal guards rushed forward, weapons shaking as they formed a defensive wall. They looked completely startled and uncertain. Facing a powerful being who descended in such a strange, gravity-defying manner, an unspeakable, primal panic gripped their hearts.
Right at that exact second, a sudden change occurred!
An elite Origin Realm Demon Race member broke through the external defensive line, rushing straight toward the Royal Court!
Rolling black Demonic Qi obscured the sky and blocked out the sun. The beast bared its fangs, showing a ferocious expression as it let out a wildly excited roar: "King Tianchen, let me taste your flavor~"
The surrounding guards turned completely pale. Caught in a pincer attack between the mysterious newcomer and a ravenous beast lord, they were in a completely desperate situation!
However, the very next second...
The youth merely turned his head, glancing at the incoming Demon Race member with a slight, highly annoyed frown. "Noisy."
Bang—
Following a sound that was neither too loud nor too soft, the entire court froze.
Everyone present, including the trembling King Tianchen, witnessed the scene with their own eyes. That terrifying Origin Realm Demon Race member—an absolute nightmare to the local forces—suddenly exploded completely from the inside out!
His massive body instantly turned into a rain of blood and meat chunks that splattered everywhere. The youth casually raised a spiritual barrier, blocking the entire bloody downpour outside. Not a single drop stained his pristine robes.
The entire court went dead silent, completely stunned into inaction by the sudden, bizarre scene.
King Tianchen felt a warm, damp sensation on his face. He tremblingly touched it, bringing back a hand coated in fresh, crimson red.
The elite guards almost instantly dropped their armor, collapsing onto the ground and trembling incessantly. The fear in their hearts completely swallowed their remaining resolve like a bottomless abyss.
Such a bizarre and terrifying scene, executed by a powerful and mysterious youth, became the absolute last straw that crushed their spirit.
"Whatever..." one guard whispered, staring blankly at the floor. "It's better to just die... at least I won't have to endure these terrifying sights anymore..."
As the guards completely gave up hope, the youth finally strolled up to the throne, stopping right in front of King Tianchen.
King Tianchen held his breath, staring at the youth whose face remained entirely clean-cut and unbothered. The muscles on the King's face involuntarily twitched. The fact that this stranger could casually delete an Origin Realm demon with a single glance proved he could effortlessly execute anyone in this room, including himself! Facing this kind of existence, all royal dignity and kingly prestige were laughable nonsense. He didn't even possess the courage to ask for the youth's identity.
Right then, the youth silently raised his hand. The guards unconsciously closed their eyes, bracing for impact. In their minds, the horrific fate of that Origin Realm demon was still vivid. They fully expected to die in the same miserable way. At least it would be over in an instant; they wouldn't suffer for long...
However, the youth's next action completely exceeded everyone's expectations.
He extended his right arm, placing his right hand naturally over his left chest, and executed a slight, respectful bow.
"King of Tianchen. Yidun, a subject of the Divine Kingdom, greets you..."
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in a completely different sector of the Southern Region...
[Successfully Slayed Heaven Realm Seventh Layer Wolf Demon, Gained 700,000 Demon value Points!]
[Successfully Slayed Origin Realm Ninth Layer Dog Demon, Gained 90,000 Demon value Points!]
[Successfully Slayed Heaven Realm Fourth Layer Dragonfly Demon, Gained 400,000 Demon value Points!]
[Successfully Slayed Heaven Realm Second Layer Eagle Demon, Gained 200,000 Demon value Points!]
[Successfully Slayed Origin Realm Eighth Layer Leopard Demon, Gained 80,000 Demon value Points!]
A rapid stream of system notifications flashed across Li Xuanxiao's vision.
This marked his thirtieth consecutive day since arriving in the Southern Region. Throughout this entire month-long period, he had been constantly searching everywhere for rampaging Demon Race members.
Thanks to his relentless hunting, his Demon Value Points had been climbing at a steady, absurdly lucrative average rate of over 15 million per day. Converted to numbers, this meant he was slaying over 20 Heaven Realm Demon Race members and more than 100 Origin Realm Demon Race members every single day.
This was the absolute limit of his current solo clear speed.
Of course, if the Demon Race members could stand completely still and let him chop them down like wheat—instead of making him waste time tracking them across the map, engaging in high-speed chases, and running defensive battles after finding them—the number he could slay could easily double!
Li Xuanxiao felt a bit regretful. Truly golden opportunities—like when a Supreme Realm powerhouse like Liang Jianqiu personally intervened to restrain the Demon Race members, allowing him to just do the chopping—were incredibly rare.
This month of high-intensity demon slaying had also given Li Xuanxiao deeper experience and insight into Luck.
The ability to mobilize Luck was structurally identical to muscle fatigue in a physical body. If you practice too much, you must rest; otherwise, it leads to symptoms similar to a severe muscle strain, which is completely counterproductive.
Li Xuanxiao had learned this the hard way at the beginning. Not understanding the limits, he had gone on a wild killing spree, eventually reaching a point mid-way through where he was completely drained. His ability to mobilize Luck clearly dropped a whole tier due to systemic fatigue.
From then on, he began meticulously planning his daily kill count, trying strictly not to exceed his threshold to avoid falling into that "strained" state again. Around 120 kills was roughly the limit he could currently manage.
During this time, he used war to sustain war. The exact second the harvested Demon Value Points hit his balance, he immediately reinvested them straight into advancing his cultivation realm.
After consuming a whopping, mind-boggling 230 million Demon Value Points, his realm had officially reached the Fifth Layer of the Void Realm!
In just one single month, he had leaped from the First Layer of the Void Realm across four minor layers to reach the Fifth Layer! This progression speed was truly blistering.
Of course, the cost was equally staggering. 230 million small targets just vanished into the system ether like smoke. Tsk, tsk, tsk... what a terrifying concept.
"Now, advancing just a minor realm actually requires calculations in the hundreds of millions..." Li Xuanxiao shook his head and pulled up the System Panel.
[Demon value Points: 257.2 Million]
Staring at his remaining balance of over two hundred and fifty million points, Li Xuanxiao fell into deep strategic thought. He now faced three distinct optimization choices:
Choice 1: Continue Accumulating for the Core Build.
He could continue hoarding Demon Value Points and dump the entire balance into his primary cultivation engine—the 'Primordial Void Refining Art', which was already at Major Achievement status. The benefit of doing this was that his core realm would continue to see significant improvement, and his maximum capacity to mobilize Luck would experience another massive increase. The drawback was that a technique already at Major Achievement required more and more points for subsequent breakthroughs. With his current demon-slaying efficiency, the time required to accumulate the next milestone pool would become longer and longer.
Choice 2: Invest in Martial Arts and Buddhist Dharma.
He could invest his current points into upgrading his active skills. Whether it was deducing Heaven Realm Martial Arts and Buddhist Dharma up to the Void Realm, or directly advancing his existing Void Realm Martial Arts, both choices would significantly multiply his direct combat power and radically speed up his efficiency in slaying Yao Beasts.
Through his combat testing during this period, Li Xuanxiao had clearly recognized that the gap between the Void Realm and the Heaven Realm wasn't just reflected in raw Luck and True Essence. The gap in Martial Arts was also worlds apart! The same mobilization of Luck yielded entirely different results based on the tier of the art.
To use a modern comparison: if pairing Void Realm Luck with a Void Realm Martial Art was like putting premium 98-octane fuel into a high-performance luxury sports car, then pairing Void Realm Luck with a legacy Heaven Realm Martial Art was like pumping 98-octane fuel into a beat-up Wuling Hongguang minivan. It could still drive, but it was a tragic waste of premium fuel. Moreover, no matter how fast a minivan is driven, its upper limit is locked. Heaven Realm Martial Arts simply couldn't handle the high-throughput intensity of Void Luck. Therefore, improving and deducing his Martial Arts and Buddhist Dharma was a vital path that had to be taken seriously.
Choice 3: The Multi-Class Gamble.
The final, wildest option was to attempt to advance multiple Cultivation Techniques simultaneously. This was an option with completely uncertain returns. Considering that Luck, unlike True Essence, had no concept of internal absorption or storage, Li Xuanxiao couldn't be sure if running parallel techniques would indirectly achieve a passive resonance effect. If it didn't work, it would be a complete waste of a round of deduction and invested Demon Value Points.
But if it did work...
Li Xuanxiao's eyes gleamed. If it worked, his combat build would instantly break the existing balance of the world. He could officially announce to the entire continent the return of infinite firepower!