One Pound Meat, One More Attribute Point

The Cloud Heaven Secret Realm opened, and violent winds roared in.

Between a steep cliff, old vines as thick as wrists grew, and a pine tree stretched out obliquely from the crevices of the rocks.

At the edge of a pool of water beneath the cliff.

A massive ape over five meters tall, with jet-black fur, lay on the ground.

Its chest was withered, its head completely blown apart. The black blood that seeped from its body stained the entire ground and the nearby pool a dark red. Su Heng’s burly figure stood next to the ape’s carcass, using the power of "Bodhisattva’s Cut Hair" to create a mass of hair, washing away the few crimson blood stains on his hands.

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In the howling wind, a shadow passed by.

Li Lingxiu’s figure appeared beside Su Heng; he first glanced at the ape’s carcass beneath his feet. Then, with a determined expression, he said firmly, "The secret realm has opened, it’s time for us to prepare to set off."

"Indeed." Su Heng looked up towards the distant sky.

The black energy surged like a sandstorm, uprooting giant trees, turning rocks into powder. Even some of the mountains that were close by were snapped in half and plunged into the abyss with a thunderous crash, disappearing without a trace.

Before Su Heng and Li Lingxiu, a scene akin to the end of the world unfolded, terrifying in nature.

"Are you also coming with us?" Su Heng withdrew his gaze and asked Li Lingxiu.

"Mm." Li Lingxiu nodded, then said with an easy smile, "This is not my first time in the Cloud Heaven Secret Realm. Last time the realm opened, I reached its depths with the help of the Cloud Key. This time, I want to see how much I have changed over the past thirty years."

"Indeed." Su Heng saw his eager look of fighting spirit.

He nodded and said no more.

Boom!

With a tap of his toe to the ground.

As the soil erupted, Su Heng leaped upwards.

His towering body turned into a streak of black light, reaching the top of the cliff in the blink of an eye.

Enveloped by the surging black mist like a deluge, Su Heng felt as if he had plunged into a pitch-black, cold deep sea. Sand and gravel whirled towards his face, as if countless tiny blades were scraping across his skin.

Su Heng, for his part, didn’t feel any pain.

However, his vision was greatly affected by the pitch blackness.

He suddenly realized that without reaching Heavenly Deceit, even with the "Cloud Key," it was extremely difficult to move in such a harsh environment.

Luckily, Su Heng was in a special situation.

Although he hadn’t activated the heightened senses unique to Heavenly Deceit, he still possessed the "Gravity Sense" provided by the Skeleton Dragon Armor.

"Gravity Sense" covered a three-hundred-meter radius around his body.

Everything that happened within that range was a detailed experience for Su Heng, and he wouldn’t encounter any accidents.

He took the Cloud Key out of his chest, infused it with energy to activate it.

A pale white light enveloped him in an instant, isolating him from the harsh exterior conditions.

The cold, suffocating feeling vanished in a moment, and Su Heng felt as if he had climbed out of a turbid current, his body suddenly much lighter. But at the same time, the white light from activating the Cloud Key was very conspicuous in such a dim environment, resembling a bright lamp. ṝà�

The moment Su Heng activated the Cloud Key.

He immediately felt more than a dozen malevolent gazes fall upon him.

Su Heng, not wanting to attract trouble, stepped forward. In the blink of an eye, he had covered a distance of hundreds of meters, swiftly passing several mountains as he advanced towards the depths of the Cloud Heaven Secret Realm.

His speed was extremely fast, but an unexpected event still occurred.

Because it felt as if Su Heng was afraid, actively fleeing, some people took him for an easy target, a "soft persimmon."

"Stop right there!"

Just as Su Heng landed on a mountain peak.

An explosive sound rang in his ear, and suddenly everything went dark as a burly figure blocked Su Heng’s path.

Anyone able to move freely within the Cloud Heaven Secret Realm was clearly no weakling.

This person was tall and burly, with ears reaching his shoulders and arms hanging down to his knees, his wolf-like narrow face gave off an unapproachable vibe, and his bright, glowing eyes shone. He wore a simple robe, embroidered with a large golden "Zong" on the front.

This "Zong" did not imply the person was a Grandmaster.

Rather, it proved that he was born into the Zong Family, a great clan in Liu State.

The strength of the Zong Family in Liu State was far below that of Li Lingxiu’s family but stronger than the Hong Family annihilated by Su Heng. With three powerful Heavenly Deceit Realm experts in the family, they were considered a formidable force. The man in front of Su Heng was called Zong Wu, one of the clan’s Supreme Elders.

Whoosh, whoosh!

Sounds of cutting through the air resounded, and two more people appeared beside Zong Wu.

They were two robust middle-aged men, with the aura of fully matured monster embryos, and likely elders of the family.

"Young man, this is not a place for you," said an elder on the left in a deep voice.

"Hand over the Cloud Key and leave quickly," another elder on the right demanded coldly, a chill flashing in his eyes, "This is for your good; we don’t want to fight you and earn a reputation for bullying the weak."

Hearing these words.

Su Heng’s expression remained unchanged; instead, he spoke in a very mild tone, "Are you threatening me?"

The two middle-aged elders looked at each other, now feeling somewhat uncertain.

"What’s the background of this person?"

"Don’t know, but most likely not Heavenly Deceit," Zong Wu replied with a highbrow air.

"If he’s not from Heavenly Deceit, then there’s nothing to fear," the left elder, who took the lead in speaking and was more impulsive, immediately reached for the hem of his robe and violently swung it!

Swish!

The moment the hem of his robe fluttered up, he stepped forward.

"Crack!" A crisp sound echoed, and the rock beneath his feet burst apart. A streak of red appeared on his left arm, spreading to the tips of his fingers. With the momentum of a gusting wind, he thrust his palm toward Su Heng’s chest. But before his fist could even fall, his expression fiercely changed, and he froze in mid-air.

A figure appeared beside Su Heng; it was none other than Li Lingxiu who was a step behind.

With just one glance, he understood what had happened.

"Damn you, you bastards!" A murderous aura surfaced on Li Lingxiu’s face, "So you’re eager to seek death, robbing right on top of my brother’s head, thinking your life is too long?"

Zong Wu’s face turned ashen.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Both being of Heavenly Deceit, Zong Wu was cursed at by Li Lingxiu, pointed directly at his nose.

Yet he dared not utter another word, and like a mouse that saw a cat, he turned to run.

However—

He had only managed to take two steps forward.

When he heard Su Heng’s cold voice from behind, "Did I say you could leave?"

Behind Zong Wu, Su Heng extended a hand, and in an instant, a great amount of energy converged in his palm like a stream, forming a pitch-black sphere. His five fingers clenched forcefully, and the black sphere "pop" exploded, sending out three energy dragons condensed from his powerful strike, roaring forth.

"Pffft!"

Three consecutive sounds of explosions came almost at the same time.

Among the three Zong Family Elders, including a Supreme Elder from the Heavenly Deceit Realm.

Their hearts and surrounding organs were devoured by Su Heng’s force, dying on the spot, as dead as could be.

"Fools who court death."

Li Lingxiu turned his gaze away from the three men.

In Jiangbei Province, having seen Su Heng act before, Li Lingxiu was not surprised at this moment.

"Let’s continue," Su Heng said with a calm gaze, glancing at Li Lingxiu. The latter nodded, and the two of them vanished in a flash, continuing deeper towards the center of the Secret Realm.

The corpses of the three Zong Wu fell from the sky.

The bystanders who saw this scene exploded in shock.

"That’s the body of Zong Wu, the Supreme Elder, how is that possible!" The Zong Family members reacted most violently, feeling almost as if the sky had collapsed. It wasn’t just because a Heavenly Deceit powerhouse had died, but more importantly, they didn’t know whom they had offended.

Even though Su Heng had no thoughts of retaliation.

For a long time to come, these clan members would have to live in fear and trepidation.

"A powerhouse of the Heavenly Deceit Realm taken down in a single encounter—hiss!" The Zong Family members cried out in despair, while others felt fortunate.

They too had coveted the Cloud Key in Su Heng’s hands moments ago.

But Zong Wu had acted first.

They had been lamenting their missed opportunity just now, but seeing Zong Wu’s corpse fall from the sky, they were immediately drenched in a cold sweat.

"It’s really like cutting in line to the Yellow Springs, thankfully, thankfully…" The storm stirred up from within Cloud Heaven became more violent, and without the Cloud Key, these people couldn’t hold on. Someone in the crowd sighed in bitter relief, then they dispersed, and in the blink of an eye, only the howling wind remained in the entire forest.

Elsewhere—

Without stopping for a moment, Su Heng and Li Lingxiu had already arrived deep within the Cloud Heaven Secret Realm.

The storm here became even more ferocious, accompanied by Heavenly Thunder and calamitous flame. Being inside was akin to falling into hell.

Boom!

A loud crash as lightning struck.

A mountain peak beside Su Heng was directly shattered, as if hit by a missile, its power inconceivably great.

The broken fragments of the mountain, carrying the weight of ten thousand juns, were swept up by the raging wind and came smashing down from above.

Boom!

With a punch out of thin air, Su Heng shattered the mountain to pieces.

But from within the broken mountain debris, a burst of red fire surged forward, forming a wave that rushed at him head-on.

This was calamitous flame, which Li Lingxiu said could instantly melt a cultivator’s flesh and blood. Su Heng, protected by the Cloud Key and with his Copper Skin and Iron Bones, naturally had no fear. However, Li Lingxiu beside him appeared somewhat flustered, trying to dodge to the side, but was caught off guard as both escape routes became blocked.

Seeing this, Su Heng simply swung his arm.

Energy burst forth from his body, sweeping across.

Like a curtain of black smoke against the red scorching inferno.

Two diametrically opposed forces, both terribly powerful, clashed. Like the intertwining of two mighty currents in a river, they hissed as they collided and pressed against each other, then simultaneously exploded and dissolved into nothingness.

A huge pit over ten meters in diameter appeared in front of Li Lingxiu.

He broke into a cold sweat.

Li Lingxiu touched his nose and gave a wry smile, "It seems this is my limit, I’m afraid I can’t accompany you further."

Upon hearing this, Su Heng’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

He hardly contemplated before he removed the Cloud Key from his body and handed it to Li Lingxiu beside him.

"I shouldn’t need this thing much," Su Heng’s voice came smoothly.

Li Lingxiu looked at him in surprise.

Heavenly Thunder, calamitous flames, Yin Winds… inside the Cloud Heaven Secret Realm, all kinds of terrible natural disasters fell like a deluge, sweeping everything in their path. Yet Su Heng did not hide or evade. His robust figure stood tall in this pitch-black deluge, with the occasional burst of lightning or blaze of fire striking his broad, towering body.

His clothes were ignited, burning away.

His muscles, shimmering with a metallic sheen, were now exposed to the air, astonishingly unharmed.