These words, tinged with faint indifference, dissipated within the cold, dark hut of the Silent Stone District.

  Three days later, the second round of preliminaries arrived as scheduled.

  The martial arena overflowed with the aura of combat and fierce struggle—a meat grinder of flesh, blood, and honor. The clamor was so great it could faintly carry over half of Black Blood Stockade's walls, reaching even this secluded corner.

  Yet this small stone hut remained as quiet as an isolated island, cut off from the world.

  Lin Mu didn't join the excitement, nor did he bother watching those so-called "genius duels."

  After successfully breaking through to Rank 1 Peak, he chose to continue his seclusion, using a full three days to thoroughly temper and stabilize his surging cultivation.

  In the dimness, he turned his vision inward to his aperture.

  There lay a deep, nearly pure-black ink-green sea of Primeval Essence. Beneath the calm surface churned viscous, explosive power.

  This was the absolute limit a mortal Gu Master could reach at the Rank 1 realm.

  However, at the center of this perfect Primeval Sea, there was a discordant note of laziness.

  It was Lin Mu's life-bound Gu, and his greatest cheat—the Liquor Worm.

  At this moment, this little creature that had once been plump and white, tirelessly devouring and purifying Primeval Essence, now floated listlessly on the ink-green surface, drifting with the currents.

  It no longer gulped greedily. It even showed a sort of "too full to eat" disinterest toward the surrounding peak-quality Primeval Essence.

  "The iron law of the power system ultimately cannot be crossed."

  Lin Mu gazed at the Liquor Worm, a thread of understanding rising in his heart.

  Though the Liquor Worm was of supreme quality, its current grade was still only Rank 1. It could purify initial-stage to mid-stage, mid-stage to upper-stage, and upper-stage to peak.

  But it could not cross major realms—could not purify Rank 1 Peak ink-green Primeval Essence into the "light red Primeval Essence" representing Rank 2.

  "The laws are incomplete. Forcing purification would only rupture its body."

  Lin Mu slowly opened his eyes, his gaze clear. "My greatest cheat has temporarily stalled."

  Since the shortcut had reached its end, he had to pave a new road. To maintain this unreasonable combat superiority in the future, Rank 1 configurations were no longer sufficient.

  He had to begin preparing Rank 2 Gu refinement recipes and materials.

  For example, the Liquor Worm's advancement path—the Rank 2 Four-Flavors Liquor Worm—required four extremely demanding types of famous wines as auxiliary materials, and even another Liquor Worm.

  Such harsh conditions were enough to give him a headache.

  The strengthening of the Red Mud Gu, the upgrading of the Iron Leaf Gu—all needed to be put on the agenda.

  Having settled his cultivation, Lin Mu pushed open the door. The piercing sunlight made him squint slightly.

  The clamor of the preliminaries had already fallen silent.

  When he arrived at the Steward's compartment on the second floor of the External Affairs Hall, Lin Ping, who had been waiting for some time, immediately and respectfully presented a thick battle report summary.

  "Steward Mu, these are today's results. The top thirty-two list has been officially released."

  Lin Ping's manner had grown increasingly like that of a qualified personal secretary; even his form of address had subtly changed.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  Lin Mu took the roster and flipped through it quickly.

  The results were all within expectations. No earth-shattering upsets.

  Lin Feng, Lin Xue, Lin Yan, Lin Ze—these four deeply-rooted seeded contestants—along with several other inner sect elites, occupied the top positions without any suspense.

  "What about Lin Wuxie?" Lin Mu's gaze searched the list.

  "He also advanced. Ranked sixteenth."

  Lin Ping pointed to a name in the middle, his tone carrying some amazement.

  "That kid's quite ruthless too. According to the battle reports, he won all his matches purely through brute force and 'innate divine strength.'"

  "Though he won every round, his opponents weren't weak either. He took quite a few wounds—in two matches he was even carried off the stage."

  "He didn't use any other methods?"

  "No. Just fists and his body to tank everything."

  "Very good."

  A satisfied curve appeared at the corner of Lin Mu's mouth. It seemed that night's intimidation had been highly effective.

  This fierce hound had perfectly followed the "sect rules," preferring to take beatings and bleed rather than reveal even a hint of demonic black light.

  "What does the clan say?" Lin Mu closed the roster.

  "To prepare for the upcoming high-intensity ranking battles, and to let these battered elites recover, the Patriarch has ordered a one-week recess for the competition."

  "One week, is it..."

  Lin Mu leaned back in the grand armchair, fingers lightly tapping the desktop, lost in thought.

  For normal Gu Masters, a week was for healing. But for Lin Wuxie—who cultivated an incomplete Food Path and suppressed rampant bestial nature within—this week was a death sentence.

  "Calculating the time, the Food Path backlash inside that vicious dog should be reaching its limit again."

  Lin Mu understood the essence of controlling subordinates perfectly: controlling someone couldn't rely solely on intangible pressure and intimidation—you also had to offer sweetness.

  Only by repeatedly bestowing favors at their most desperate moments could you form long-term physical and psychological dependence.

  "The leash on the collar needed tightening."

  Late at night, a black wind howled.

  The familiar Rotten Shed District. The familiar decrepit straw hut.

  Just as Lin Mu had predicted, Lin Wuxie was currently curled up on the cold mud floor, biting down hard on a piece of dead wood, his entire body convulsing uncontrollably.

  The accumulated wounds from battle after battle, combined with the bestial Dao marks his body hadn't digested in time, were savagely tearing at his sanity, making life worse than death.

  Just as he teetered on the edge of collapse—even wanting to tear open his own chest—

  Swoosh.

  Outside the window, an extremely faint sound of something cutting through air.

  A small paper packet precisely passed through the drafty window gap and landed before Lin Wuxie's eyes.

  Lin Wuxie's whole body shuddered. Those bloodshot eyes instantly lit up—the fervor of a drowning man seeing a lighthouse.

  Ignoring the intense pain throughout his body, he lunged like a stray dog guarding food, grabbed the packet, and stuffed it into his mouth along with the oiled paper wrapping, chewing and swallowing frantically.

  The extra-strength Ice Heart Powder entered his stomach.

  That familiar cooling sensation instantly spread, suppressing the boiling beast blood, dragging him back from the cliff of cultivation deviation.

  "Hah... hah..."

  Lin Wuxie gasped heavily, greedily breathing in the cold air.

  "Good junior brother. Well done. You didn't disgrace the Shadow Sect. Keep it up."

  Lin Mu hid in the shadows outside the window, lowering his voice to send these hoarse words drifting into the straw hut on the night wind.

  Then all fell utterly silent—not another sound.

  No appearance. No lingering.

  But for Lin Wuxie, this simple sentence was more effective than any miraculous medicine.

  Ignoring the mud on the ground, he dropped to his knees and kowtowed three heavy times toward the darkness outside the window. His voice carried an almost devout fervor and suppressed whimpering:

  "Thank you, Senior Brother, for bestowing medicine! This disciple would die ten thousand deaths without complaint!"

  In the darkness, Lin Mu's figure, merged with the night, had long since departed.

  He didn't need to hear words of loyalty. He only cared about results. This chess piece had completely entered the game, becoming the sharpest and most obedient blade in his hands.

  Having handled Lin Wuxie, Lin Mu returned to his small hut in the Silent Stone District.

  He drew the window lattice closed, walked to the bed, and lifted the hidden stone slab.

  In the faint lamplight, the mountain of Primeval Stones piled in the secret compartment glowed with an alluring luster.

  Even though he had squandered massive resources during this period to break through to Rank 1 Peak, the number of Primeval Stones in the compartment still exceeded a thousand!

  This was the profit of being the house—iron proof of the operator's dimensional harvest of those within the game.

  Those inner sect elites fighting tooth and nail on the arena, bleeding and sweating, probably couldn't even dream that the few Primeval Stones they risked their lives to compete for were merely a rounding error in Lin Mu's ledger.

  "Money only becomes an asset when it's spent and converted into strength."

  "Otherwise, it's just a pile of broken rocks that can't save your life when it matters."

  Lin Mu grabbed a handful of Primeval Stones, feeling their cold, heavy touch.

  He urgently needed Rank 2 refinement materials—especially the other three special famous wines required for the Four-Flavors Liquor Worm.

  Such things could never be gathered through legitimate channels in a backwater like Black Blood Stockade. Even a slight inquiry would arouse suspicion.

  "It seems what I need can only be found by trying my luck with that old fox, Old Ma."

  Lin Mu packed the Primeval Stones in batches, his gaze gradually deepening.

  "Grey Street—it was time to visit once more."