I gain ten years' worth of cultivation every day, and even geniuses will only see my doorstep!

As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Qin Yuan twisted his body strangely the instant the spear was about to hit him. The spear flew past his ribs, and he grabbed the shaft, using the momentum to spin around and throw the spear back with his other hand! The speed was faster and the force was greater!

"Pfft!"

The spear-throwing lieutenant's battle spirit was pierced through the chest by his own spear and pinned to the ground. His soul fire flickered violently, and his life force was greatly diminished!

Taking advantage of the moment when the War Soul Commander was distracted by the injury to his deputy, Qin Yuan suddenly rose high and appeared beside his head. His right leg swung up like a battle axe, with a sharp whistling sound as it tore through the air, and slashed fiercely at the commander's neck!

The War Soul Commander hastily raised his arm to block!

"Snap!"

A clear cracking sound rang out! The left arm armor that the War Soul Commander had used to block was actually dented and shattered by Qin Yuan's kick! Its massive body was also pulled to the right by this tremendous force!

Qin Yuan pressed his advantage relentlessly, springing up again the instant he landed, his fists raining down on the right side of Qin Yuan's armor joint!

"Boom boom boom boom!"

A series of muffled thuds! The armor on the right side of the War Soul Commander shattered completely, revealing the churning dark golden aura within! Qin Yuan's final punch slammed directly into its body!

"roar--!!!"

The War Soul Commander let out an unprecedentedly fierce roar, its massive body finally giving way, and it knelt on one knee! The greatsword in its hand clattered to the ground. The dark golden soul fire in its eye sockets flickered and dimmed violently, like a candle in the wind!

Qin Yuan landed several feet away, panting heavily. The continuous high-intensity bursts of energy, burning his cultivation, had taken a heavy toll on him, even with the system's replenishment. Seventy percent of his spiritual power was gone, his blood and qi were churning, and he had several wounds on his body from the sword energy, the blood staining his tattered blue robe.

But he remained standing, his gaze cold as he looked at the kneeling War Soul Commander.

The War Soul Commander struggled to raise his head, his dark golden soul fire fixed on Qin Yuan. In his eyes, there was anger, resentment, and even a trace of... relief.

It did not stand up again, but instead raised its only remaining right arm and slowly raised a thumb towards Qin Yuan—this was a gesture of respect from ancient warriors to a powerful opponent.

Immediately, its massive body began to disintegrate inch by inch, transforming into countless dark golden specks of light. Together with the four vice generals' battle spirits, they slowly rose into the air and dissipated into the blood-red sky. The broken giant sword and the scattered fragments of armor also turned to ashes.

As the War Soul Commander dissipated, the dark red cage of malevolent energy that enveloped the battlefield also quietly vanished. The endless skeletons and ordinary War Souls in the distance, as if having lost their leader, ceased their movements, the soul fire in their eyes gradually extinguished, and they returned to silent corpses.

The entire Bloodbath Secret Realm suddenly became deathly silent.

"It's... over?" Mu Wanqiu murmured in disbelief.

Mu Changchun was also deeply shocked, his eyes filled with awe as he gazed at the blood-soaked yet ramrod-straight figure in the distance. To defeat a Battle Soul Commander at the early stage of the Void Refinement realm with a peak Nascent Soul cultivation level… such a feat, if it were to spread, would surely shake the entire younger generation of the Southern Continent!

Qin Yuan did not immediately adjust his breathing. He turned his gaze to the spot where the Battle Soul Commander had disappeared. That place was not empty.

A fist-sized crystal, dark gold in color with blood-red patterns flowing across its surface, seemingly formed from the purest battle intent and malevolent energy, floated silently in mid-air, radiating a terrifyingly powerful energy fluctuation. Beside the crystal were three other items: a fragmented black token, neither gold nor jade; a small, dark gold sword phantom shrunk to about a foot long, yet still exuding a sharp sword intent; and a dark red ball of light that constantly shifted shape, seemingly containing some profound and mysterious rules.

"It's a Battle Soul Core! And... an item of inheritance!" Mu Wanqiu, with her extensive knowledge, exclaimed in surprise.

Qin Yuan stepped forward and first took the dark golden "Battle Soul Core" into his hand. It was heavy and warm to the touch, and the pure battle intent and baleful aura it contained were more than a hundred times stronger than the scattered auras he had absorbed before! This was definitely a treasure for cultivating battle intent techniques or tempering the body! He carefully put it away.

Then he looked at the other three items. The black token felt cold to the touch, with an ancient character for "war" engraved on the front and some blurry star map patterns on the back. Its purpose was unknown, but since it was treasured by the Void Refinement Battle Soul, it must be extraordinary. The dark golden sword phantom was a pure "sword intent inheritance," which directly entered Qin Yuan's brow, transforming into countless insights into the sword path of slaughter. Although it did not completely match Qin Yuan's main cultivation method, the killing, decisiveness, and indomitable sword will contained within it would greatly benefit him.

The moment Qin Yuan's divine sense touched that last dark red ball of light, a vast torrent of information surged into his mind!

It was a fragmented star map, and a vague, disjointed thought:

"...I am the 'Heavenly Punishment Warrior,' ordered by the God of War to guard this Blood War Realm... A great calamity is imminent, the God of War has fallen, and the temple has collapsed... The core inheritance, the 'God of War's Record,'... is hidden in the 'Nine Heavens Palace'... Nine 'God of War Tokens' must be collected... With them... one can open... the Gate of the Heavens Palace..."

The message ends here.

Qin Yuan's heart skipped a beat. The War God's Record? The Nine Heavens Palace? The War God's Token? These seemed to be clues to the true core inheritance of the War God's Temple! Could this black token in his hand be one of the so-called "War God's Tokens"?

"Senior Brother Qin, are you alright?" Mu Changchun and his sister also came over at this moment. When they saw what Qin Yuan was holding, their eyes gleamed with a strange light, but they had no greed. They had been saved by his life, and Qin Yuan's strength made them unable to have the slightest thought of taking it.

"It's alright." Qin Yuan carefully put away the three items and looked at Mu Changchun. "Senior Brother Mu, Senior Sister Mu, have you ever heard of the 'War God's Record' or the 'Nine Heavens Palace'?"

Mu Changchun and Mu Wanqiu exchanged a glance and both shook their heads blankly.

Mu Wanqiu pondered for a moment and said, "In the ancient books of my Qingmu Sect, there are not many records of ancient events. It is only vaguely mentioned that the War God Temple was left behind by the ancient War God 'Xing', containing his life's legacy and the treasures he obtained from conquering all the heavens and myriad worlds. As for the 'War God Records' and the 'Nine Heavens Palace,' I have never heard of them. However, the 'War God Token'... seems to have been mentioned in some extremely ancient miscellaneous records. It is said to be a token for opening the core area of ​​the War God Temple, and it is extremely rare."

Qin Yuan nodded; it seemed the clue was indeed well-hidden. He put the matter aside for the time being and said, "This place is not safe to stay any longer, we..."

Before the words were even finished, the entire Blood Battle Secret Realm suddenly trembled violently! Cracks appeared in the dark red sky, the earth split open, and the silent skeletons and battlefield relics began to weather and dissipate at a visible speed!

"The secret realm is collapsing!" Mu Changchun exclaimed. "We passed the trial, the secret realm is about to close, and it will teleport us out!"

Sure enough, a powerful repulsive force enveloped the four of them. The light and shadows before their eyes shifted rapidly, and they felt a pulling sensation in space.

A few breaths later, the four figures appeared in an unfamiliar bronze hall. The hall was small and empty, with only a teleportation array standing in the center, emitting a soft white light, which seemed to be the exit.