Listening to the DJ music, letting the passion and blood burn, I’ll keep coding until midnight when I hit my limit, then I’ll release the chapters. I hope everyone gives me a first subscription tomorrow when the book goes live—a four-chapter, 12,000-word explosion!

As the great battle concluded, news of the duel swept through the base city like a storm. Many who hadn't witnessed it firsthand still received word, which spread rapidly—one to ten, ten to a hundred—until even the common soldiers knew the outcome. “He lost.” “Yun Shaojing actually lost?” Disbelief rippled through the crowd. The foremost powerhouse of the entire base city, defeated so easily by a relatively unknown Major General? In a pristine courtyard. Hua Bu Luo stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing up at the distant horizon. Behind him stood the black-clad youth known as "Yin," his expression cold and distant, like ancient, unmelting ice. Hua Bu Luo sighed, pulling his eyes down from the sky, and turned around, his tone tinged with bitterness. “I didn’t expect him to win. I didn’t realize he possessed such terrifying power.” The black-clad youth’s expression remained impassive. “Your decision to expel him was a mistake.” Hua Bu Luo shook his head. “This person is not someone we can control. He was destined to leave sooner or later. I suspect he intentionally provoked me into expelling him by issuing the challenge. It served two purposes: eliminating Yun Shaojing and freeing himself from our oversight—a perfect solution for him.” “Perhaps it was just coincidence.” Hua Bu Luo sighed softly. “I pray it was coincidence. Otherwise, the depth of this man’s scheming is terrifying.” “He has no reason to break away from us. As long as he remains loyal, we would grant him more resources,” the youth stated coldly. Hua Bu Luo shook his head, managing a wry smile. “This young man is no ordinary pond fish. Not only can we not bind him, but the entire Huaxia Base City cannot hold him. His reason for leaving us is simple: first, he scorns the resources we offer; second, he wants to prevent future entanglements where, after leaving the organization, we might demand repayment for those resources. Such a demand inevitably leads to conflict, and conflict leads to bloodshed.” The black-clad youth paused, slightly taken aback. “You mean he doesn’t wish to kill?” “Perhaps,” Hua Bu Luo sighed, then grew solemn. “In the future, remember this: do not provoke this man.”

In another pavilion. By the windowsill sat a pot of vibrant flowers. A maiden in purple, possessing peerless beauty and skin as white as snow, delicately poured water from a small pitcher. The scene was picturesque, the beauty poetic—a tableau of seeming eternity. Suddenly, footsteps sounded, and a middle-aged man entered, bowing respectfully. “Miss, the results of the martial competition are in.” “Oh?” The purple-clad maiden, Qin Lan, nodded slightly, asking casually, “Roughly what percentage of his strength do you think Yun Shaojing exerted?” The middle-aged man hesitated, his expression somewhat strange, before whispering, “Miss, Yun Shaojing likely exerted two hundred percent of his combat power, yet in the end, he was still killed by that Ye Chen.” Clang. The watering can dropped to the floor. Qin Lan spun around abruptly, fixing her gaze on the man. “You’re telling me Yun Shaojing is dead?” The man nodded with a bitter smile. “How is that possible?” Qin Lan was stunned. “With his strength, even Murong De would have to give his all to defeat him. And he was just... killed?” The man offered another wry smile. “This news has already spread; many people know it now.” “Yun Shaojing is dead…” Qin Lan murmured the words, then suddenly broke into a radiant smile. “Good riddance!” The middle-aged man nearly fainted. “Right,” Qin Lan quickly added, “What about Ye Chen? How badly is he injured? I have some specially formulated trauma treatment here; help me send it over.” The man scratched his head and mumbled, “If I saw correctly at the time… he didn’t appear to be injured at all.” “Ah?” Qin Lan, who had been turning to fetch the medicine, froze mid-motion, her face a mask of utter bewilderment. “He won without a scratch?” “…Yes.”

In other locations, various reactions erupted. “What?” “Yun Shaojing is actually dead? Killed by that young General?” “Impossible!” “How could someone of his power die at the hands of a General? What weapon did the opponent use?” “What? No weapon used? How is that possible?”

In the General’s Encampment, Residence No. 58. Ye Chen pressed his palm against Yun Shaojing’s chest. A surging vital essence flowed from the deceased body, channeled through his palm and absorbed deep into his meridians. Not long after, Ye Chen felt the strength depleted during the battle fully restored. As absorption continued, his internal vital energy grew steadily thicker and more profound, forcing open many previously unopened meridians. With the meridians cleared, the vital energy could now circulate in a complete Heavenly Cycle—from bottom to top, left to right. This cycle served to temper the body’s internal warmth, nourish the liver and lungs, and accelerate the absorption rate of incoming energy. The vital essence increased until Ye Chen felt an illusion: with the slightest twitch of a finger, the energy within him would overflow, his entire body feeling like an overinflated balloon. Absorb. Absorb more. The life force within his body gradually reached a critical point. Boom! Ye Chen felt a resonant hum deep inside, every inch of his skin trembling, his blood boiling—a pure, physical euphoria. As the trembling intensified, every pore on his body opened and closed like a mouth, expelling streams of black impurities with each contraction. All his muscles swelled and then compressed… This was biological evolution. A moment later, Ye Chen gradually calmed down. He took stock and felt his vital energy had become purer, more condensed. Though it had compressed from the previous ‘great river’ into a ‘small stream,’ its destructive power had tripled. Moreover, as his energy broke through, the immense power refined his physique once more, instantly boosting his constitution by 10 levels, bringing him to Level 53. Such an opportunity was extremely rare, occurring only during breakthroughs. Whoosh. The last vestiges of vital essence were drawn from Yun Shaojing’s corpse. Ye Chen retracted his hand. Yun Shaojing’s body was now skeletal, the skin wrinkled, emitting a foul, putrid odor. Any corpse, once devoid of life essence, rapidly decays. The stronger the body, the richer its inherent life essence; even when leaking, it takes a long time to fully deplete. Thus, the bodies of physically powerful individuals decompose much slower. Preservatives and the like are merely stop-gap measures; they prevent immediate rot but cannot halt the dissipation of life energy. “Second Tier.” Ye Chen stood up, flexing his fist, feeling the refined vital energy within him, his eyes shining brightly. If he fought Yun Shaojing again now, a single punch would obliterate him.

In the base city, while the shockwaves of Ye Chen and Yun Shaojing’s battle were still settling, another monumental piece of news arrived: an exploration team, near the ruins of Old Shanghai, had discovered a relic from a prehistoric civilization. The civilization of Atlantis had finally emerged…

Now for the real excitement, let's keep the satisfaction rolling until the very end!