Lingxu Cave Heaven, in the dining establishment set up at the sect plaza.

  Third floor, VIP room.

  Zhao Yunji was eating and drinking with Lin Yu while discussing their next plans.

  But Zhao Yunji suddenly received a transmission, his expression changing dramatically.

  "Senior Brother Zhao, what happened?"

  "Wang Zhang is dead."

  Zhao Yunji spoke these words in the calmest voice possible. Lin Yu was so shocked upon hearing this that he couldn't hold onto his wine cup.

  With a crash, the cup fell and shattered on the floor.

  "Wasn't that old thing not following?"

  "If the Third Elder had been following, Wang Zhang actually wouldn't have been harmed—at most he would have been persuaded to retreat..."

  Zhao Yunji furrowed his brow. How had Xia Li killed Wang Zhang? Wang Zhang's strength was by no means weak—even if an ordinary Soul Transformation cultivator came, Wang Zhang could exchange several moves and retreat with his life intact.

  Wang Zhang was a True Transmission of Lingxu Cave Heaven!

  His strength surpassed even the sect masters and elders of small sects and schools—definitely a powerhouse among Nascent Soul cultivators.

  But Wang Zhang had died, at the hands of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

  "Jumping two major realms... Could he be a world-shaking prodigy? No, we must have someone at Void Refining take action. No—we should request a Dao Merging ancestor to personally act!"

  Lin Yu immediately suggested Zhao Yunji request a Dao Merging powerhouse to execute this Foundation Establishment cultivator.

  By Earth's standards, this was equivalent to using a nuclear bomb to kill a mosquito.

  "No."

  Zhao Yunji shook his head. Forget Dao Merging—even Soul Transformation cultivators were difficult to dispatch. Heaven Alliance's practice of having high-realm cultivators wantonly slaughter low-realm prodigies—how could the anti-Heaven Alliance forces not guard against it?

  If they succeeded, fine. But if they failed, it would be equivalent to finding Xia Li a place to go.

  If the demon race found out, the result would be even more troublesome.

  The demon race would do everything possible to cultivate human prodigies who were enemies of Heaven Alliance.

  Currently, many human prodigies of humble origins had defected to the demon race, becoming sharp blades the demons wielded against humanity. This matter had already enraged many neutral powerhouses.

  Those powerhouses were keeping a very close eye on Heaven Alliance's experts.

  Last time, having a Dao Merging expert pursue a Golden Core cultivator had already made Heaven Alliance's reputation notorious.

  "I think even if it means tearing things apart with those old fogeys, Xia Li must be eliminated."

  "We can't act rashly before investigating clearly. What if he has other powerhouses protecting him from behind? This kind of thing... Heaven Alliance can only do two or three more times at most. We can't casually waste these precious opportunities."

  They couldn't push those temporarily neutral powerhouses into opposition. Those powerhouses could tolerate crossing one major realm—it could be seen as a test for prodigies.

  But if Heaven Alliance went too far, those who originally didn't want trouble and just wanted to guard their own territory might unite against Heaven Alliance.

  Not to mention the demon race watching eagerly.

  If the demon race found out, they would use all kinds of propaganda to recruit another batch of human prodigies.

  "Damn it... Why are these so-called prodigies so terrifying? A mere Foundation Establishment... just a mere Foundation Establishment!!"

  At this moment Lin Yu thought of Lin Ye. Lin Ye was his younger cousin, also his nightmare—he knew full well how terrifying Lin Ye's talent was. Lin Ye might be the hope for the Lin family's rise.

  But if the Lin family didn't rise because of him...

  He'd rather the Lin family crumble.

  "I've already said not to rush. Send out some more people to test him—whether he has backers, or truly can cross two major realms on his own strength. We'll wait and see."

  "If it's the latter... so what if Heaven Alliance is shameless one more time?"

  World-shaking prodigies had to die. The founding ancestors of various major powers were precisely such figures—once powerful enough, they could establish sects and create Dao traditions lasting for eternity.

  "Heaven's Dao is unfair, the heavens are unjust!!"

  Lin Yu was now very jealous of Xia Li. Killing a major sect's Nascent Soul cultivator while at Foundation Establishment—he couldn't even imagine such a thing.

  He'd only met Wang Zhang once or twice, but if Wang Zhang had wanted to kill him, it would have taken merely a flick of his finger. Yet such a powerful Wang Zhang had been killed by Xia Li, a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  This matter couldn't even be publicized—they had to do everything possible to hide it. Otherwise, the conservative faction of Lingxu Cave Heaven might directly establish Xia Li as Holy Son.

  At that point, killing Xia Li would become nearly impossible.

  Meanwhile.

  In the wilderness, after Xia Li had decisively eliminated Wang Zhang, he quickly found a secluded spot to rest and recover his mental power.

  He knew full well how shameless Heaven Alliance could be. When killing enemies, they always went all out—back when pursuing Ning Ge, a mere Golden Core, they had deployed several Soul Transformation cultivators.

  Now that he'd killed a Nascent Soul, the next enemy would probably be Soul Transformation.

  He couldn't stay within Heaven Alliance's sphere of influence!

  He had to go somewhere Heaven Alliance couldn't reach.

  "Third Elder, the Eighteenth True Transmission Wang Zhang just appeared and tried to kill me."

  Xia Li reported this to the Third Elder.

  "What? They're actually this shameless... How is your situation now? Did you escape?"

  "I killed Wang Zhang."

  After Xia Li said this, the Third Elder fell silent.

  "Using the Three-Aperture Stone Heart I gave you?"

  "Didn't use it."

  "On your own?"

  "With the help of a treasure's power—a one-time-use treasure with extreme destructive force."

  "What a pity..."

  The Third Elder suddenly said it was a pity.

  "What's a pity?"

  "If you had killed Wang Zhang through your own strength, once you return and your memories are verified, the Sect Master would most likely establish you as Holy Son. Lingxu Cave Heaven would firmly oppose Heaven Alliance, no longer wavering."

  Major powers weren't stupid. If a world-shaking prodigy appeared in their ranks, why would they still collude with Heaven Alliance? Going with Heaven's Dao would benefit the entire sect—they could borrow the prodigy's fortune.

  "Then I suggest Third Elder pay more attention to Lin Ye."

  "Lin Ye? He's quite extraordinary, but not enough, because I can see through him. But you—I cannot see through."

  "Being unable to be seen through is also an important characteristic of world-shaking prodigies—one manifestation of heaven's favor."

  "This..."

  Xia Li admitted he was indeed favored by heaven's fortune, but that was purchased. Moreover, it was only favor in terms of finding people—it didn't protect his life or bring fortuitous encounters. Ten thousand spirit stones for one use of favor, fair price for young and old alike.

  "In any case, since you didn't win through your own strength, Heaven Alliance will probably continue to test you next. Hide if you can."

  "Is there really no force that Heaven Alliance can't reach?"

  "There are many forces Heaven Alliance can't reach. But in this world, all hearts are corrupt—can you be certain there are no petty people around you?"

  "The ability to fight above one's realm is now an original sin. Even if you could easily crush the opponent to death, as long as your cultivation realm is lower than theirs, you must kneel. This is the rule Heaven Alliance wants to promote."

  Only caring about one's status as an elder, not about one's true ability—subtly changing people's cognition, eliminating their will to resist high-realm cultivators.

  This way, Heaven Alliance's rule could be strengthened, because Heaven Alliance could ensure their internal experts always maintained the highest cultivation realms, but couldn't guarantee combat power.

  "This is complete nonsense. If the human race is all about empty realms, how can we resist external enemies? I suspect Heaven Alliance might actually be secretly cultivated by the demon race!"

  Xia Li found this laughable upon hearing it. Even Earth, with its somewhat hollow realms, had begun emphasizing realm quality and introduced a series of remedial measures.

  Earth's traditions currently emphasized actual combat power more, which was why they had classifications like standard realm strength and armament levels.

  Never judging people by realm alone.

  Heaven Alliance was laughable, going against the grain. If defeated by a lower-realm cultivator, they could just point and call the opponent a prodigy, then openly gang up on them and bully them with superior strength.

  With Heaven Alliance around for even one day, who knew how many "prodigies" would suffer. Many so-called prodigies were probably just cultivators who worked a bit harder and had more solid foundations.

  Yet they had to make way for those empty shells with nothing but realm to show for it.