The news, in this age of advanced technology, spread like wildfire to every corner where influence held sway. The instant almost anyone received the word, they were utterly staggered. Zuo Dongting, the Sleeping Lion who practically ruled East Asia with an iron fist, a rival to the Serpent King Du Hen, and possessed of eighteen-star martial power, was dead!

That group of seemingly reckless youngsters had fought and won the decisive battle in the Sahara!

Securing the four major families of Europe and America—some through kinship, others by overwhelming force—certainly opened the eyes of various Federation factions, yet it hadn't truly placed Qin Fen and his group on the highest pedestal. If those four families had counterattacked with their full might, no one would have bet on the survival of these youths.

When the world learned they had provoked the wrath of the Sleeping Lion, even fewer people were optimistic about their fate; that was a true powerhouse, commanding immense influence.

However, this battle—orchestrated by Xing Wuyi—resulted in the complete annihilation of the entire Zuo family when only Zuo Dongting himself entered the fray.

Zuo Dongting’s death instantly thrust Qin Fen and his allies into the intense focus of the world. Factions began reassessing the future of Qin Fen’s group and reacting accordingly. The families of Caesar and the other three suddenly became the busiest clans on Earth; nearly every significant power, without prior arrangement, began making urgent contact with them.

This battle, the death of Zuo Dongting, made the major powers truly feel that Qin Fen and his allies might indeed possess the capacity to sweep across the world in the future.

At almost the exact same moment, Earth families with branches established on Saturn also received news that shocked everyone: Yan Luo Tianzi of the Saturn Underworld had slain Han Xiangzi, one of the Eight Immortals of the Heavenly Gate!

Excluding the Jade Emperor, Tathagata, Guanyin, Monkey King, Yang Jian, and Nezha, the strongest within the Heavenly Gate were the Eight Upper Immortals. Among them, although Han Xiangzi wasn't the most famous of the Eight, his strength could not be underestimated; aside from Lu Dongbin, the strongest of the Eight Immortals, he ranked equally with He Xiangu and Tieguai Li.

Yan Luo Tianzi, the mysterious Yan Luo Tianzi—rumored to possibly be Shangguan Chuanqi—this piece of news diverted a small portion of everyone's attention.

In the Sahara Desert, Xing Wuyi watched Du Hen depart. Glancing at Zuo Lin, who was roaring in fury on the ground, he asked Qin Fen, "What about Zuo Lin?"

Qin Fen looked at the raging Zuo Lin below. In his mind, he recalled the past Li Mingzheng. Weak martial strength did not imply a lack of threat. Even if he himself wasn't threatened, what about the people beside him?

"Kill him. Click… A series of shattering sounds echoed from Zuo Lin’s bones. Du Peng raised his hand, not sparing a glance at Zuo Lin’s continuously exploding body. The Immortal Thunder Skill inherited from Du Zhanpeng was sufficient to turn a person into pulverized meat; there was nothing more to say.

Qin Fen took the earpiece handed to him by Xing Wuyi and spoke softly, "Lin Ling, drop your weapon and return." Xing Wuyi looked at Qin Fen. "What next?"

Qin Fen looked at the dazed Butcher. "Send my instructor back to Zhou Province. Through every channel, notify the powers we indirectly offended in this battle, tell them: if they seek revenge, they can come find Qin Fen, and I will face them head-on. If they dare touch my family or friends, the extermination of the Zuo family will be their consequence."

Xing Wuyi shrugged, his expression one of natural acknowledgment.

Qin Fen supported the still-somewhat-dazed Butcher, whispering in his ear, "Instructor, you protected me before. From today onwards, let your disciple protect you."

A flicker of clarity returned to the Butcher's eyes. He looked quietly at Qin Fen for a long moment, then raised a hand to clap his shoulder without a word, walking silently back into the Secret Realm Battleship.

Xing Wuyi transmitted a list to the four families of Caesar, tasking them with contacting the powers indirectly offended by this battle, relaying Qin Fen’s message.

However, it was not Qin Fen's exact words that were relayed. Xing Wuyi added considerably to Qin Fen's statements. "We do not wish to remain hostile towards any of you. Let bygones be bygones. We must look toward the future, mustn't we? We hope to have the opportunity to collaborate with all of you in developing Saturn's resources and sharing the fruits of our cooperation."

Words that mixed both softness and strength—a blend of threat and enticement! Xing Wuyi understood clearly that if you only offered temptation to these families, they would think you easy to bully; if you only threatened them, even if they outwardly did nothing, it was hard to guarantee they wouldn't resort to underhanded tactics.

The stick and the carrot, though an incredibly stale method, Xing Wuyi cared nothing for its antiquity. For truly intelligent individuals, if one strategy works a hundred times, there is no need to employ a second strategy; choosing only what is most effective is the mark of true wisdom.

Xing Wuyi put away his device and looked back at Qin Fen. "And then?"

Qin Fen pondered briefly, his gaze fixed faintly toward the distant North, and said plainly, "The Arctic."

"Back to the Arctic?"

The eyes of several young warriors immediately lit up. That location was indeed an excellent place, especially combined with the various insights Qin Fen provided, making it a perfect training ground.

"Yes! Back to the Arctic," Qin Fen nodded firmly. "Saturn must be visited. I have decided to go to Saturn! The War God Beast title! As a martial artist, without a Divine Beast title, anyone dares to provoke you. Divine Beast! Only upon securing a Divine Beast title will it be safer for myself and my companions. Before going to Saturn, I deem it necessary to return to the Arctic once more."

"The Arctic? I won't be going," Xue Tian scratched his head. "I need to return to the Holy Martial Hall. I’ve learned a lot from this excursion. I plan to go back and pursue Gandharva. Call me when you guys leave; I'll join you then."

Everyone chuckled. What Xue Tian said about pursuing Gandharva was one thing, but catching up to one of the three great beauties of the Holy Martial Hall would not be easy. The moment he returned, before his passionate pursuit could even begin, he would likely be summoned by the Six Stars of the Holy Martial and the Martial Venerable for a serious discussion about certain technical matters.

Xing Wuyi shrugged. "I'll go to the Yang family; I'll stay there for now."

The others nodded in agreement. Xing Wuyi’s greatest strength wasn't his brute force; taking him to the Arctic would be less useful than letting him stay with the Yang family, where he could leverage their power to interact with various factions and develop his own influence.

The others made no further requests. The Secret Realm flew at high speed through the sky, circling the Earth almost once, dropping off several individuals sequentially, then picking up Ji Zhen Xuan Yi, who was staying in Tianbei City, before flying straight back to the Arctic.

The chilling Arctic, where snow and ice howled ceaselessly, was their destination. The group spent a month there. With the sudden, resounding laugh from Yang Lie, the Little Dragon King, they all departed that region, another forbidden zone for human life.

Iceland, the gathering place for Earth’s largest concentration of volcanoes, hosting over a hundred active cones. Boiling magma churned ceaselessly in the craters, like water in a kettle about to boil, occasionally spewing ash plumes.

Caesar walked among these volcanoes, sometimes pausing to observe the churning lava, sometimes admiring the surrounding scenery.

Another month passed. Of the Upper Eight Immortals of the Heavenly Gate, only Lu Dongbin, Tieguai Li, and He Xiangu remained; the other four Immortals had all been slain by Yan Luo Tianzi of the Underworld.

Simultaneously, the Tenth King of Yama and the Eighth King of the City of the Capital from the Underworld were killed by Tathagata of the Heavenly Gate.

At some unknown point, the fighting on Saturn suddenly became incredibly fierce with the sudden rise of Yan Luo Tianzi, putting immense pressure on all major powers stationed on the planet.

Hades, the Little Pluto on Venus, still flitted about the planet, launching surprise attacks here and there and killing whomever he pleased, despite being cornered by the original three Star Constellation Generals. He acted like a terrorist, yet no one dared to truly underestimate his strength. This son of the White Tiger was ruthless and never left survivors; only the blood-written notes remained as proof of his identity.

[Traitor, Die! — From Little Pluto Hades.] Over two months, Yan Luo Tianzi and Little Pluto Hades struck repeatedly, shocking the major powers time and again. Their rapid momentum suggested that these two were the most likely among the younger generation to challenge for the Divine Beast martial status.

The major powers were puzzled: with such fierce conflict raging, how had Qin Fen's once rapidly rising team vanished? Were they truly capable of remaining patient? Or were they intimidated, afraid to venture to Saturn?

Tibet, the sacred mountains of the Himalayas, perpetually covered in snow.

Several young people, dressed simply, slowly ascended the mountain from different directions in quiet reverence. Three months had passed since they killed Zuo Dongting, and they had spent one month entering the Central Continent.

No cars, no transportation tools, not even a single electronic chip on their persons. Everyone moved like ascetic monks, maintaining a certain distance from each other, yet never truly meeting, traveling only on foot.

When thirsty in a city, they would drink a mouthful of relatively clean water from a public fountain; when hungry, they would do a day’s manual labor in exchange for enough food to survive.

When thirsty in the mountains, they sought clear springs; if no spring was available, they collected morning dew.

Casting everything aside wasn't a deliberate refusal to use martial arts, but a genuine abandonment and forgetting of everything, striving to connect with heaven and earth as closely as possible.

Initially, the group restrained themselves from using martial techniques. As time passed, they truly seemed to forget them. Qin Fen was the same; he simply walked every day, thinking of nothing, not even pondering martial skills. Even at night when they slept, Masters and the others never appeared; they too seemed to have vanished into thin air. Indeed, he had entered a unique state.

They did not contemplate martial techniques, nor did they pay attention to any martial arts news. No matter how famous the events on Saturn or Venus, the group paid them no mind.

: Do not demand too much from your friends. Do not let the sight of a friend making sacrifices for you ignite your passion, making you exclaim that having even one such friend in a lifetime is enough, only to then find your friend an inconvenience when they become a supposed burden. In this world, every person contributes mutually. Do not presume you are the sun and everyone else is the Earth revolving around you. Those who shout that Qin Fen's friends are burdens—have you ever considered what Mora did for Qin Fen when his family threatened him? If in reality, you only demand sacrifices from your friends, and when it is your turn to give back, you find them a burden, I guarantee that such a selfish person will never have a true friend.