Chapter 182: Only Through Brute Force (5k)

KingCobraResearch.

At one o'clock in the morning, four senior executives from PaulsonAdvantagePlus Fund stood in their boss's office, staring at a name that left them deeply unsettled.

At the very least, this was a venomous snake that devoured sleep!

After reading the research report from this emerging short-seller, they all felt the same sinking sensation: trouble!

Now,

Moments later, the scene atop the peak finally appeared before Wudi, filling him with awe.

Zhuang Wangu and Jiuye had already settled life and death; Jieyin and Duobao were locked in fierce combat, while Yuanshi Tianzun and Kongxuan had yet to begin.

Xi Sa's face twisted in panic; before he could utter a single word, the Dao Zun beside him had already drawn his sword and struck—his opening move was the Unfeeling Ocean, clearly with no patience for his sophistry and no mercy to leave behind any threat.

In the evening light of Fengyang Palace, Li Qingmu lay on her bed, eyes open, expressionless, lost in thought.

"What if I insist on leaving you?" Mu Xilan smiled faintly. Is this guy really that confident?

The Nanhai Commandery had three passes: the already breached Taiyin Pass, the current Taiyang Pass guarded by all, and the original Nanhai Commandery, renamed Nanhai Pass by Wang Chunyang, with Kuafu's Daoist seat lying beyond at the shore of the Southern Sea.

Cao Yang glanced at Zhao Zhengce, then at Cheng Budong and Wang Dongwei, before gritting his teeth and pointing at one at random.

"You bastard!" Zhao Zhengce roared, lunging forward with a barrage of punches and kicks, utterly abandoning all former fighting discipline.

"It's not necessarily a covert inspection," Tang Guoliang waved dismissively. "Didn't he say he was paying respects to his family's fallen heroes?" He privately sneered: "With your level of cultivation and refinement? If not for protection from higher-ups, you'd have been exiled to some backwater township long ago—how the hell are you even mayor?"

Yangge, as practiced across China, varied by region—but in Xiao Family Settlement, it was different: in Kenfeng, people came from all over the country, so Xiao Family Settlement's yangge style became a fusion of all regional styles—a discovery that delighted Xiao Han.

If the Dao was the unity of all idealism and materialism, then Li Chen, who controlled idealism, held half of the Dao.

"It's not your fault—you know human lives matter most. You saved Professor Lu—don't you remember? And this place… was meant to be their trap all along." His elder brother quickly comforted her.

Like Yun Youge? Still claim you didn't break the rules?! You've just jumped a generation!

The world was white. In the center of the image, the mysterious straw-shod master appeared once more, gazing at her with solemn expression.

One principle was this: whatever could be seen was generally obtainable—meaning Li Chen also had a chance to claim these rewards.

Violent airwaves roared outward, the ground around them torn by invisible blades into countless narrow, jagged fissures.

"Looks like they got separated from the refugee group…" In recent months, they'd seen this happen too often.

A faint footstep came from behind; Yun Tiange didn't need to turn—he knew Jiang Tianyan had arrived.

I ask you, then—how did you learn all this? You were born two thousand years ago; back then, the ancient conflict had already been over for tens of thousands of years.

Especially since the outcome of this trip remained uncertain, she felt increasingly uneasy. At such a moment, Baili Xingchen's sudden appearance brought her immense psychological comfort—a feeling beyond words.

Er Dan could hold on no longer. He collapsed to his knees, yet his hands still clamped tightly to either side, refusing to budge an inch—his intent was clear: he would use his life to block this final line of defense.