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“Who else dares to step forward?” Li Xun asked, his voice calm but resonating like thunder.

The words sent a chill down everyone’s spine, causing them to instinctively retreat. In their eyes, Li Xun now stood as a true god of war. Anyone who challenged him at this moment would surely die!

Under Li Xun’s gaze, no one could muster the courage to meet his eyes. One by one, they lowered their heads in submission.

For a time, the entire Phoenix Origin Secret Realm fell into dead silence.

“Senior Brother Li Xun is so powerful!”

The disciples of Profound Sun Sect were thrilled, their faces beaming with pride. Each of them was overcome with excitement, basking in the glory of their senior brother’s dominance.

It was difficult to grasp just how terrifying Li Xun truly was without witnessing it firsthand.

“I dare say that in a few hundred years, under the leadership of Daoist Li Xun, the Profound Sun Sect will reach heights it has never known before,” murmured one of the sect’s prodigies.

He was utterly convinced. After only two years of cultivation, Li Xun had managed to slay a prince of the Great Chu. What would happen in twenty years?

By then, everyone present today would likely be unable to even catch a glimpse of Li Xun’s shadow.

And in two hundred years…

By then, Li Xun would have stepped onto a much grander stage, while they might still be confined to the Great Zhou’s borders, competing against their peers.

“How could a true dragon ever walk among ants?” remarked the leader of the Shenxiao Sect, his voice tinged with bitterness.

Earlier, he had exchanged a single move with Li Xun. Just one.

And in that single exchange, he was defeated, along with several other prodigies.

Despite years of cultivation, he could not withstand even a single strike from Li Xun.

It was almost laughable, but undeniable. Before, they had assumed that Li Xun must have fought a fierce and hard-won battle to defeat Ning Cheng.

Now, it seemed likely that Ning Cheng had been effortlessly slain as well.

“Although I lost today, perhaps this battle will become a tale I can boast about for the rest of my life,” said another prodigy with a casual shrug. His mindset was surprisingly relaxed.

He had already come to terms with the fact that he would never surpass Li Xun in this lifetime.

“Brother Li, after today, your name will surely resonate throughout the entire Great Zhou Empire,” said Yao Feng as he approached.

His face was pale, his aura unsteady, clearly indicating that he had recently fought a fierce battle.

In truth, when the group of prodigies had initially planned to attack Li Xun together, Yao Feng had intended to step in to assist. However, at the last moment, someone else intercepted him.

The two had exchanged blows for some time, eventually reaching a stalemate.

Ultimately, when Li Xun emerged victorious, the fight against Yao Feng lost its purpose, and the other party withdrew.

“It’s just a hollow reputation, not worth mentioning,” Li Xun replied, his tone calm.

Descending from the void, he gestured with his hand. The Azure Dragon Halberd let out a soft hum before returning to him, along with a storage ring.

Li Xun’s spiritual sense probed the ring for a quick inspection.

He felt slightly disappointed.

The belongings of the attendant were meager—apart from 10,000 low-grade spirit stones, there was little else of value.

“Brother Li, here are the storage rings of the Great Chu prince and his other attendant. I’ve collected them for you,” Yao Feng said, handing over the two rings with a smile.

“Thank you for your trouble,” Li Xun replied with a faint smile, accepting the rings.

He put away the Azure Dragon Halberd and reached out to take the rings.

“Brother Li, after such an intense battle, your energy must be depleted. Why not rest and recover? I can stand guard for you,” Yao Feng suggested.

His words revealed a deliberate humility.

It was no longer just about repaying a debt; it was as if he were actively trying to align himself with Li Xun. And this was perfectly understandable.

Li Xun’s performance just now was enough to justify such effort.

If Li Xun were to one day reign supreme, Spirit Sword Valley could rise alongside him, riding on this connection to glory.

“Then I’ll trouble Daoist Yao Feng,” Li Xun said without hesitation.

Having recently broken through to the late-stage of the Profound Elixir Realm and expended significant energy in battle, he indeed needed to stabilize his cultivation.

Given the number of powerful individuals in the vicinity, leaving Profound Sun Sect disciples to stand guard left him somewhat uneasy.

But with Yao Feng by his side, it was a different matter entirely.

As the leader of Spirit Sword Valley’s contingent, Yao Feng was among the top few strongest figures in the Phoenix Origin Secret Realm.

“A trivial matter,” Yao Feng replied with a smile.

Li Xun said no more. Moving to the side, he sat cross-legged. Instead of immediately beginning his recovery, he first examined the storage ring belonging to the green-robed man.

As a prince of Great Chu, his possessions should be substantial, right?

Li Xun’s spiritual sense entered the ring and began a quick survey.

A faint smile appeared on Li Xun’s face. Things were as he expected—this storage ring held a substantial fortune.

There were hundreds of thousands of low-grade spirit stones, tens of thousands of mid-grade spirit stones, and even some high-grade and peak-grade spirit stones.

This was a massive sum, far exceeding the combined wealth of all the prodigies present.

After all, most people rarely carried such an abundance of spirit stones while traveling.

Beyond the spirit stones, the ring also contained a variety of pills and heavenly materials, all piled up in a corner.

“Hmm? What’s this?”

Li Xun’s expression shifted as he discovered an ancient, yellowed book among the items in the storage ring. With a flick of his hand, he retrieved it.

“Heavenly Mind Transformation?”

That was the name inscribed on the cover of the ancient book.

At first glance, Li Xun assumed it to be an ordinary manual. After all, at his current level, high-grade techniques or divine techniques were typically recorded in jade tokens, not paper.

This Heavenly Mind Transformation being recorded on paper made it seem unremarkable.

However, upon delving into its content, Li Xun’s expression gradually grew serious.

This ancient text was not a cultivation manual but a secret technique. It was precisely the technique that the green-robed man had used in his final moments!

The secret technique allowed one to manifest a self-contained realm. While it was called a realm, Li Xun felt it was more akin to a domain.

Within this domain, the user could, to some extent, achieve “words becoming law.” For example, the green-robed man had summoned chains of order capable of inflicting widespread damage.

Additionally, the technique could suppress the power of enemies within the domain.

However, at the time, Li Xun hadn’t noticed this suppression, likely because the green-robed man hadn’t activated that aspect of the technique.

The cost of using the Heavenly Mind Transformation was astronomical.

Li Xun estimated that even if he were to use it, he wouldn’t be able to maintain it for more than half an hour before his energy was completely drained.

As for the green-robed man, who had already been severely injured, forcing the technique had only hastened his demise.

“Once my strength improves, I might be able to use this technique more effectively. If I shrink the affected area slightly, it should last longer,” Li Xun mused, carefully memorizing the contents of the Heavenly Mind Transformation.

The advantage of secret techniques was evident—they required no cultivation. To use them, one simply followed the prescribed steps, often involving the burning of essence blood or soul energy.

However, the effects of secret techniques were fixed. Once an opponent’s strength surpassed a certain level, the technique would lose its effectiveness.

For example, the Blood Burning Secret Technique Li Xun possessed would have little impact once an opponent’s strength exceeded the Profound Elixir Realm.

The same applied to the Heavenly Mind Transformation. If the enemy was too powerful, the technique wouldn’t be able to suppress them.

This stood in contrast to martial technique or divine techniques, which scaled in potency with the user’s strength.

As he flipped to the last page, Li Xun’s smile deepened with satisfaction.

Low-grade Heaven!

This secret technique’s level was on par with a low-grade Heaven divine technique. In some respects, it was even more valuable because of its simplicity and practicality.

Secret techniques, by nature, were often used as life-saving measures or trump cards, making them incredibly rare and desirable.