Goo Xiechen reclined comfortably within a cave encircled by coral, deep beneath the eastern side of the Tri-Hell Island, near Gong Jia's underwater territory.

Xin Jia was sprawled in one corner of the cave, his ear pressed tightly against the ground. Through the earth’s subtle throbbing, he could clearly perceive everything happening on the island. Zhao Yi and his three companions sat cross-legged in the four cardinal directions—Southeast, North, West, and East—within the cave. They formed hand seals, and a luminous barrier expanded from their bodies, forcing the seawater out of the cavern.

A giant squid, several meters in length, circled the coral cave in furious agitation. This cave had originally been its lair, but these unwelcome guests—Goo Xiechen and his group—had suddenly appeared and occupied the spacious, clean dwelling. If not for the aura emanating from Zhao Yi and the other three, an aura resembling some ancient behemoth, the giant squid would have certainly risked everything to charge into the cave and fight Goo Xiechen head-on.

Stretching contentedly, Goo Xiechen pulled a bottle of Golden Cage Brandy from his Qiankun Pouch. He forcefully tore open the vermilion-gold seal at the bottle’s mouth, carefully uncorked the crystal stopper, and took a long, leisurely sip of the fine liquor. Zhao Yi and the others glanced enviously at Goo Xiechen’s exquisite bottle. Goo Xiechen quickly rummaged through his pouch and tossed several bottles of various fine wines over to them.

“Zhao Yi, you took a huge risk just now. You worked hard!” Goo Xiechen thanked Zhao Yi with genuine earnestness.

Zhao Yi excitedly saluted Goo Xiechen. “This subordinate is not weary, Venerable Superior. It was merely a trivial matter; you need not praise this subordinate so highly.”

The brilliant act just performed—where Maiya and Shalu had seemingly struck down Goo Xiechen—was orchestrated entirely by Zhao Yi. Goo Xiechen had given Zhao Yi the Azure Jade Dao Crown, instructing it to transform into Goo Xiechen’s likeness. With Xin Jia’s assistance, Zhao Yi was launched high into the air. When Maiya and Shalu attacked Zhao Yi in tandem, the resulting radiance was too intense, the energy oscillations too violent. Maiya and Shalu never noticed that before their attacks even made contact, Zhao Yi had already dissolved into a streak of violet light and returned to Goo Xiechen’s Sea of Consciousness.

It was a flawless performance, fully confirmed by the four combatants now furiously tearing each other apart on the island above.

Xin Jia suddenly lifted his head. “Lin Han launched a sneak attack on Huo Lu Lu; Huo Lu Lu suffered severe double leg injuries. Lin Han sustained grievous wounds piercing both arms.”

Goo Xiechen clapped his hands in delight. “Excellent! What other good news do you have?”

Xin Jia kept his ear glued to the ground. The earth’s pulse faithfully relayed every detail of the events unfolding on the Tri-Hell Island.

Maiya soared into the sky once more. Gale-force winds wrapped around her, dark clouds danced nearby, and sheets of silver rain shot downward with a piercing shriek. Shalu sprinted across the Tri-Hell Island, dodging and weaving. Countless silver raindrops grazed past his body, riddling the ground beneath him like a sieve. Every drop pierced deep into the earth’s crust. Magma from the lava lake deep below the island continuously surged out through the tiny perforations; already, one-third of the island’s surface was pockmarked with visible spots of red magma.

Intermittently, Shalu shot crystalline shards, dark green and the size of a fist, towards the sky. Occasionally, he exerted himself to the utmost, launching several thin, nearly transparent slivers of crystal blades upward. The fist-sized crystal shards struck with astonishing force. Maiya deftly avoided the main projectiles, but the tiny, almost invisible transparent crystal blades caused her immense trouble. Several extremely sharp blades grazed past her body, leaving behind thin crimson gashes. The edges of these crystal blades were finely serrated, ripping apart capillaries and muscle fibers in the wounds. While the external injuries didn't look too severe, the damage inflicted internally to the muscle tissue was horrific. Though Maiya maintained an outwardly composed demeanor, she was secretly suffering; nearly half of her body was beginning to go numb.

Suddenly, Shalu stepped into empty air. A pit the size of a human head had somehow opened beneath his feet without warning. He staggered to one side, and dozens of silver raindrops, each the size of a thumb, immediately struck his body. With sharp, glass-like explosions, the hard raindrops shattered against Shalu, releasing vast plumes of cold air that enveloped him. His surface immediately coated with a thin layer of pale blue frost, instantly slowing Shalu’s speed by more than half.

The rapidly descending raindrops also left several small holes, nearly an inch deep, in Shalu’s form. The frigid air penetrated deep into his viscera, causing Shalu to howl in agony, “Lin Han, you despicable fiend!” His body convulsed violently as he strained every fiber to evade further hits.

Maiya watched with glee as Shalu was struck, shrieking as she unleashed wave after wave of Cyclone Slashes toward him.

Shalu struggled forward, but the frost covering his body reduced his running speed to that of a common elderly woman. The ground beneath his feet suddenly softened, his legs sinking rapidly before the earth instantly solidified, pinning Shalu firmly in place. Nearly a hundred Cyclone Slashes screamed down from the sky, seemingly about to slice Shalu into fragments—when hundreds of extremely fine rose vines, spraying countless petals, shot up from the ground with a sudden roar, firmly binding Maiya, who had been basking in her success. Huo Lu Lu roared, pulling downward with tremendous force, dragging Maiya down several hundred meters until she was less than fifty meters above the ground.

A thick arm smashed through a patch of ground and extended outward. The massive palm contracted and released, sending hundreds of melon-sized, ovoid stones rushing outward from the surrounding earth with a tearing whoosh, pelting Maiya from all directions. Startled and thrown into disarray by Huo Lu Lu’s sudden assault, Maiya let out a piercing scream as the hundreds of ovoid stones thwacked-thwacked-thwacked against her body. Amidst the dull impacts, the remaining combat armor on Maiya’s outfit was blasted into tatters, revealing the white, skintight undergarment beneath.

The stones continued to impact Maiya. Her tight underclothes swiftly followed the fate of her battle suit, disintegrating into dust. Maiya’s fair, supple, and alluring body was completely exposed, but the tender flesh instantly turned a bizarre greenish-black. The stones had crushed her muscles, shattered her bones, and caused massive internal hemorrhaging as countless capillaries burst. The accumulated clotted blood instantly transformed Maiya’s inviting form into something as terrifying and ferocious as an ancient zombie.

Nearly a hundred Cyclone Slashes slammed into Shalu. He howled toward the heavens as thick purple fluid constantly welled up from within him. This violet liquid rapidly solidified on his skin, quickly forming a crystalline armor several inches thick around him. The Cyclone Slashes gnawed ferociously at the crystal armor, sending sparks and crystal fragments flying amidst the screeching friction. Amidst dreadful cracking sounds, the crystal armor shattered after absorbing over sixty Cyclone Slashes. The remaining two dozen or so strikes hit Shalu’s body, blasting him violently backward. Since his feet were still locked to the ground, now solid as metal, the immense impact force sent his body flying, but his legs were torn off and left behind.

Blood jetted from the ruptured knees, causing Shalu to twitch in agony. Both of his arms had been severed by the Cyclone Slashes, and his lower torso was cleaved open, exposing his internal organs. If not for Shalu’s powerful spiritual energy fiercely protecting his viscera, he would already be dead.

Frenzied and beside himself with rage, Shalu howled, and four blindingly bright beams of purple light erupted from his brow. A new Purple Light Death God coalesced within the radiance.

The massive Purple Light Death God leaped high, soaring nearly a thousand meters into the sky, before its entire body transformed into a single, viscous purple liquid stream that slammed down onto the Tri-Hell Island. Puffs of dense purple mist spewed forth from the rapidly descending sphere of liquid, which appeared almost as if it were burning.

With a thunderous CRACK, one-third of the Tri-Hell Island was instantly pulverized by the purple liquid sphere. Countless spears made of amethyst, ranging from one to thirty meters in length, pierced haphazardly through every inch of the remaining two-thirds of the island. These spears sank deep into the ground. Violent purple halos surged between the spears, and immense energy churned beneath the surface. The island’s ground suddenly split open with countless cracks, large and small.

Amidst agonizing cries, Lin Han struggled to claw his way out from underground. This time, the Lin Han revealed was not a Puppet Body, but his true form, evidenced by the three amethyst spears piercing his right chest, left abdomen, and right thigh. The spears were densely covered in tiny barbs. The three wounds on Lin Han constantly spurted large amounts of blood, which rapidly pooled into a wide stain on the ground.

Maiya, who was still plummeting from the sky, let out a soul-shattering scream. Over a dozen thumb-thick amethyst spears pierced her body, spraying blood far more copiously and rapidly than Lin Han's. Furthermore, her left arm had been cleanly severed at the shoulder by one spear; the detached limb drifted down lightly, landing on the ground with a slight bounce.

"Aoo-oooh!" The shrieking Maiya slammed heavily onto a piece of volcanic rock. The amethyst spears piercing her body were violently driven out upon impact with the rock, tearing away swathes of flesh, especially the three spears through her thigh, which nearly reduced her legs to two bare bone sticks.

Cruel. Utterly cruel.

Almost simultaneously, Shalu, Maiya, and Lin Han—who had been fighting each other fiercely—were all grievously wounded and rendered combat-incapacitated.

Huo Lu Lu, who had also sustained numerous injuries from the simultaneous attacks by Maiya and Shalu, stared blankly at the three heavily wounded figures. He suddenly burst into wild laughter. “Ha! The victor this time is me!”

Before the laughter died in his throat, a colossal Storm Water Dragon erupted from the nearby sea, transforming into a raging black shadow that slammed into Huo Lu Lu from behind.

Countless purple lightning bolts roared out from underground. Centered on Huo Lu Lu, the area spanning a kilometer around him erupted in intense purple light. Hidden within every beam of intense light were countless thumb-sized, triangular blades. This comprehensive, ferocious assault allowed Huo Lu Lu absolutely no room to flee.

Above, a ten-meter-tall golem constructed of granite descended with a menacing whoosh. Yellow, sinister light flickered in the golem’s eyes. Countless purple beams from the ground ceaselessly scoured the rock golem, but they only scraped off large flakes of dust, causing it no substantive damage whatsoever.

Huo Lu Lu roared up at the sky in despair. Innumerable rose vines shot out from within his body, intertwining to form a massive tangle nearly a hundred meters in diameter.

With a colossal crash, the Storm Water Dragon and the Granite Golem struck the Rose Vine Ball heavily. The Storm Water Dragon dissolved into countless whirlwinds and water blades that scattered everywhere, instantly vaporizing half the vine ball. The Granite Golem brutally smashed the remaining half of the vine ball into pulp. Its arm made a light graze against Huo Lu Lu’s body. Huo Lu Lu screamed as he fell to the ground; the Golem’s slight touch caused comminuted fractures across nearly half his body, and his internal organs were severely damaged within his ribcage. Several purple beams happened to graze Huo Lu Lu’s body, and hundreds of thousands of fine blades whistled past. The lower half of Huo Lu Lu’s body dissolved into a cloud of bloody mist amidst the razor-sharp onslaught.

In the blink of an eye, all four were simultaneously incapacitated.

Shalu, Maiya, and Huo Lu Lu lay sprawled on the ground, all groaning in synchronized pain. Lin Han struggled to stand upright. Slowly, he raised his hands. “According to the rules, I am the only one still standing. I...”

Just as he was about to declare victory, a burst of earthy yellow energy rushed out from behind Lin Han.

Goo Xiechen, gripping Xin Jia’s hand, emerged from underground. He soberly straightened his thoroughly tattered undergarment and delivered a vicious kick squarely to the back of Lin Han’s head.

A "Pushing Gold Mountain, Tilting Jade Pillar" maneuver—Lin Han’s eyes rolled back, and he slumped heavily onto the ground.

Goo Xiechen reservedly raised his right hand. “According to the rules, I am the only one still standing. I... won!”

Goo Xiechen looked up. He seemed to see the high-definition reconnaissance satellites orbiting just outside the atmosphere, and the stunned faces of the personnel in the Easter Island Command Center.

“Xin Jia, see? This is the highest essence of amicable wealth accumulation—watching the tigers fight, letting the clams argue, and the fisherman profit!”

“Amicable wealth; we don’t need to get our own hands bloody, do we?”

Lin Han, possessing strong resistance to blows, groaned and tried desperately to push himself up. Goo Xiechen looked at Lin Han with surprise, shook his head, and waved his hand lightly. “Hmm, amicable wealth... Xin Jia, Zhao Yi! Don't hit his face!”

Xin Jia and Zhao Yi roared their affirmation, then strode forward toward Lin Han.

Dull thudding sounds echoed across the small island. Goo Xiechen waved his tattered sleeve, standing there with an air of effortless composure, adopting the relaxed posture of one watching a distant conflict.

Shalu, Maiya, and Huo Lu Lu were so enraged they spat up blood, passing out almost simultaneously.

Goo Xiechen stood with his hands clasped behind his back, leisurely watching the white clouds drift slowly across the sky, letting out a faint sigh—a classic display of a supreme master lonely in his skill, yearning for a worthy opponent.

He was extremely satisfied with his strategy for this operation. The top experts from the four defense corporations had been completely trapped by his design, leaving them no chance to recover. It was less that Goo Xiechen defeated them than that they had defeated themselves.

With a cold sneer, Goo Xiechen tilted his face toward the sky and shouted, “Now, how shall we calculate the market share?”

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