"Nice job, Ryan Ling! You broke through to the Foundation-Building Stage—now you’ve finally stepped onto the Immortal Path, no longer stuck in the mortal world!" Ghost Elder shouted in excitement as he saw Ryan Ling finally achieve Foundation-Building, instantly yanking him out of the Yin River and dragging him, along with Granny Soul, back to the shore.
But just as they reached the shore, the entire Yin River froze solid in an instant. The speed was jaw-dropping—if Ryan Ling had still been in the river, even at Foundation-Building he wouldn’t have lasted long.
"Seriously, Hell is weird this year. What month is it, and the whole Yin River’s already frozen?" Granny Soul looked around in shock.
"Looks like the Western Pacifying King is making moves this year!" Ghost Elder glanced worriedly into the distance, but quickly shook it off. "Forget it, let’s not dwell on that. Ryan Ling did awesome—just blasted straight through Foundation-Building! That’s worth celebrating. You’re officially a real cultivator now!"
"Yeah, it’s worth celebrating! Your future’s limitless. Foundation-Building at eighteen—barely anyone ever pulls that off!" Granny Soul beamed at Ryan Ling, eyes full of joy.
"Sigh." Ryan Ling let out a quiet sigh.
"What’s wrong?" Granny Soul asked, surprised.
"It’s a shame—I didn’t manage to break straight through to the fifth layer of the Purgatory Soul-Suppressing Art!" Ryan Ling shook his head. He’d wanted to keep the momentum going after the fourth layer and rush right into the fifth, so he could finally seal the deal with Sophie Su. But as soon as he hit the fourth layer, it was like he’d gone limp—totally stalled out. Or to put it bluntly, he crashed and burned in an instant. Ryan Ling was seriously bummed.
"Haha, you rascal! Hold on a bit longer—it won’t be long now. You’ll see hope soon!"
"That’s right, just one more layer. You’re about to break through—hang in there!"
Ghost Elder and Granny Soul were totally in sync, clearly hyped up—tonight they were ready to celebrate big time.
"Forget it, I need to head back right now. Who knows what’s happening to my body!" Ryan Ling shook his head—no point worrying about that now. There was only one thing on his mind: counterattack.
Azure Dragon Society, the Huo Family, Tang Sect, Japan’s Chiba clan, and even those two mysterious Void-Realm masters from Jinling—every damn one of those bastards is dying today!
"Exactly. Don’t think about anything else—get back there and make them pay. Remember, this is your first battle as a Foundation-Building cultivator. Make it epic!" Ghost Elder flashed a victory sign.
Ryan Ling nodded fiercely, his blood pumping—Foundation-Building was a total game-changer. He wasn’t scared at all now!
Kill! Kill! Kill!
In a flash, Ryan Ling spun around—his soul shot madly toward the mortal world.
……
Right now, the Provincial Capital Sports Stadium in Jiangdong had turned into a living hell. On the perimeter, Tang Yulin had cleared a three-kilometer zone with his troops. All the city’s violent departments were mobilized—officially, it was because of a massive terrorist incursion. The whole city’s anti-terror level went max, and around the stadium, it was a ghost town—soldiers and cops everywhere, tanks and APCs rolling in, artillery set up all around. It looked like a full-on war.
Closer in, Azure Dragon Society’s Grand Elder Walter Gu led his crew—every one of them a top-tier grandmaster. They’d knocked out almost everyone not involved, and gathered the rich attendees together. Anyone tied to Ryan Ling? No way they’d let them go. They’d already squeezed and purged as much as they could—there were over a dozen corpses piled up nearby.
The stench of blood hung over the whole stadium. Nobody really knew what was happening inside.
Deeper in, Ryan Ling’s brothers—Jason Lin, Warren Yuan, Harvey Jin, and the rest—were all tied up together. Sophie Su, Angie Chen, Lily Liu and the other women were locked up nearby, with several thugs clearly eyeing them up.
Everyone was at the edge of life and death.
But Ryan Ling was in the most danger of all.
Right now, Ryan Ling looked dead—strapped to a cross, hands and feet nailed down, his body riddled with poison needles and hidden weapons. Obviously, this was the work of Tang Sect’s branch leader Harold Hua. At the same time, his chest, stomach, and lower back were covered in bloody fist marks—clearly from Hector Huo. They called it Southern Fist and Northern Leg; Hector Huo was the Southern Fist master, legendary for his martial arts, and he’d punched his way into the Void Realm.
And besides those two, the two Jinling Void-Realm masters had also gone all out—Ryan Ling was covered in knife wounds, blood pouring out everywhere. At first it was bright red, but by the end, it was almost colorless—he was nearly bled dry.
Anyone watching was stunned—everyone knew Ryan Ling was basically doomed. No normal person could survive such insane torture.
At this point, most people around had lost all hope. Nobody expected the Special Warfare Unit, Azure Dragon Society, and even so many Jiangdong officials to join forces and openly persecute a hero who’d fought against Japan. It was unheard of—pure madness.
Ryan Ling definitely couldn’t last much longer. He hadn’t moved at all since just now, letting them torture him—no matter how tough you are, nobody could stand up to this.
Right now, Ryan Ling was probably down to his last breath.
"Hazel Chiba, it’s your turn. You’re the MVP today—I bet you can get something out of this kid!" The four Void-Realm masters hadn’t managed anything, so Aaron Zhao turned to Hazel Chiba.
"Alright, since everyone’s tried, let me have a go!" Hazel Chiba smiled behind her hand, then pulled out an ultra-fine long needle from her sleeve. Suddenly, she stabbed it into Ryan Ling’s temple, pushing hard until it went straight through to the other side.
In that instant, Ryan Ling’s whole body jolted violently, like he’d been electrocuted.
"Damn, you old witch—aren’t you going a bit hard? You’re not gonna kill him, are you?" Aaron Zhao jumped up at Ryan Ling’s reaction, and the other Void-Realm masters stood up too.
"Relax, he’s not dying that easy—and I won’t let him die. I’m just flooding his brain with even stronger poison so I can read his memories!" Hazel Chiba smiled, letting waves of pitch-black venom seep in. Ryan Ling started shaking even harder.
"Shit, you Japanese hag are ruthless! Ryan Ling’s basically turning into a poison zombie—can he even talk after this?"
"No kidding—the four of us together couldn’t torture him like you do. Japanese really are freaks!"
"I’m convinced. I need to learn from you—never seen an interrogation like this before!"
……
The other Void-Realm masters looked a little shaken. Hazel Chiba flashed a cold smile, then pulled out two more needles and stabbed them straight into Ryan Ling’s crown point. His whole body started shaking even harder.
But Hazel Chiba suddenly frowned, looking surprised.
"Well? Did you get anything?" Aaron Zhao pressed, unable to wait.
"Weird—I can’t get into his spiritual sea at all. And his consciousness is huge, like an ocean!" Hazel Chiba exclaimed.
"So what now?" Aaron Zhao asked, and the other Void-Realm masters crowded around. Before, they hadn’t cared much about Ryan Ling, but now, hearing Hazel Chiba, everyone was interested.
"If it won’t work, I’ll go all out—I refuse to believe I can’t break in!" Hazel Chiba pulled out three more needles and stabbed them into Ryan Ling’s head. Six needles at once—Ryan Ling convulsed three times, then went completely still!
"Shit, is he dead?" Aaron Zhao froze, rushing to check Ryan Ling’s breathing. Harold Hua went to feel his pulse.
Both of their faces changed—Ryan Ling showed no signs of life.
Everyone nearby instantly broke down in tears—Sophie Su, Lily Liu, Cindy Sun all fainted; Jason Lin and Warren Yuan knelt and sobbed; Harvey Jin collapsed to the ground. Despair filled the room…