Chapter 57: The Collar

Everyone in Miling who possessed any ability had long since entered the Void Heavenly Kingdom, and ever since their departure, no news or echoes had ever returned.

Ju Wuba was, after all, a seasoned warrior with 101 points in agility. Although he was far from his prime condition—in fact, in rather poor shape—he gritted his teeth against the pain in his hands and met the incoming serpent spear head-on, barely managing to block it with his immensely thick arms.

"My lord..." Zhou Yu was also struck with utter dismay, though a flash of sudden realization immediately crossed his eyes.

Thief C burst into loud laughter as well, though instead of speaking, he directly brandished his blade right in front of the black-haired young man.

March quietly slipped away amidst these stories, and the members of the Galaxy Private Basketball Team were once again about to embark on a new journey. This time, only a single opponent remained before them.

Recently, Xu Gui had even taken personal charge of the vetting process, knowing that an extraordinary talent was expected to enlist during this recruitment drive, and he feared missing out if he did not oversee it himself.

These robots were all disguised as human beings of every imaginable kind. The director sat atop a dragonfly-shaped combat aircraft, holding a banana in his hand as he roared frantically at the robotic actors scattered across the plaza.

"Your Majesty." Not long after Huangfu Mi departed, Zheng He led Guo Jia into the audience. It turned out that Guo Jia had not slept at all the previous night, having spent the entire night sitting outside the imperial garden within the palace; he happened to run into Zheng He just as he was returning.

At that moment, the main system of the leading Supernova-class flagship suddenly blared a shrill warning alarm, and the kinetic sensors finally captured the dangerous long-range attack.

In an instant, a blaze of burning greed erupted in the eyes of the bandit leader, making Morfei opposite him break out in a cold sweat, feeling utterly baffled by the inexplicable reaction.

"Let's not talk about that for now. Just keep up and see what's going on first," Gao Yiheng said in a deep voice, immediately following after Han Yuxin.

Many elderly people stumbled and fell; those who could get back up did so and continued walking as the floodwaters reached their knees. For those who could not rise, family members who noticed would lend a hand before moving on. Yet some who fell could never get up again amidst the prevailing panic.

Inside the second-floor hall, all the examinees were waiting. They were no longer waiting for newly successful alchemical apprentices to emerge; they were simply waiting for the trial to come to an end.

"So you are a fellow Daoist of the Yin Demon Sect, or rather, an outcast of the Yin Demon Sect. No wonder you always act like a rat in a hole. However, do not assume that your Yin Demon Sect techniques can truly restrain the techniques of our Artifact Refining Sect."

Gazing at the massive, milky-white wave of Qi before him, every single hair on Chu Ling's body trembled incessantly, clearly indicating that the energy contained in Leia's punch had reached a staggering level.

"Mom, what's wrong with you?" Leng Feixin asked with concern, noticing the somewhat grim expression on the face of Leng Siyun, who sat opposite her.

"You—you fellow, how could you possibly possess such formidable strength?!" The chubby man was completely shocked by this turn of events. He sat up from the ground and stared at Chu Ling with a look of utter astonishment.

On one hand, Huo Xiangmei worried whether Xu Sanlang would be able to return home on time in this heavy rain; on the other, she tended the fire while boiling Chinese mesona. This was only the second familiar and heat-relieving item she had discovered in the decade since arriving here—the first, of course, being none other than peppermint.

Master Ruoshui felt that her defeat was truly unjust. Although she knew that Huangshan was a person of great renown with no undeserved reputation, facing the young five-element-root good-for-nothing Huangshan, she could not help but feel a shred of contempt.

It looked like there was no hope of heading back to rest before midnight tonight. However, he simply let Han Zhi do whatever she pleased.

Slightly glancing at the antique, Yuan Sen then looked out into the distant darkness. Would something come lunging out of the darkness next?

Jiang Tianchen would not reveal a matter as momentous as the Dominator System to anyone, not even to Jiang Rou'er or his mother.

As for matters regarding cultivation, he was an ordinary person who understood nothing at all, so he simply let Old Kun fuss over these affairs as he pleased.

During the single second that everyone exchanged glances, a myriad of complex emotions churned within their inner worlds, flashing through countless unspoken words, scenes, thoughts, and ideas, yet none of them revealed a single trace outwardly.

With some web dramas becoming massive hits, fewer and fewer people remained willing to sit fixedly in front of television sets to watch programs. Young people, in particular, often lacked the leisure time to watch television, preferring instead to catch up on updates online.

He spoke of the matter so casually, yet his meaning was crystal clear. The two people opposite him finally came to their senses: the person before them was this year's top scorer in Henan Province, and since he was not a student of their own school, belittling other schools in his presence was clearly rather inappropriate.

"Shihua, circulate your cultivation technique, drive your inner energy, and attempt to open up the first meridian!" Shen Yi communicated through his thoughts.

Ever since old master Sun Hong shared several medicinal wine recipes for Chen Chuliang to brew and drink, even after pulling all-nighters, he would remain full of energy the next day. Chen Chuliang even considered sharing this remedy with men in their forties like Sun Hongqi and Qin Lei.

Chen Qiaoshan knew very well that he did not yet possess the capability to navigate the turbulent waters of the business world; vision was important, but experience was equally indispensable.

"You're here. Let me go prepare some drinks for you first," Ji Ming said gently, resembling a boy next door as he wore his accustomed black-framed glasses at home.

When Ji Ming turned back around, he found that Zhen Ji had already gone to brew tea. Resting his chin on the armrest of the sofa, his gaze shifted to inspect the staircase made of red oak.

"Hehe, thank you, darling. That will make my entire day exceptionally pleasant," Andy said with a smile, reaching out to gently stroke her cheek.

Zhou Haoen could only do so much. As for the annexation of the Ryukyu Islands, he was not optimistic—he was not even certain of securing the Diaoyu Islands, because post-war China lacked the national strength to turn such ambitions into reality.

Gu Linglong had studied the demonic spirit jade slip handed to Li Chengzhu by Pill King Wu Yan. During this period, she had been using the Taoist magic and cultivation techniques recorded within it, which were suited for demonic spirits, to instruct those demon immortals.