The charming widow of the Marquis's mansion: The stable boy carries the flag and raises the dra

Wang Long's gaze fell on the jade tablet, where the string of numbers in the upper right corner was decreasing at a visible rate.

With hundreds of thousands of participants, dozens of people die every second.

He put away the jade pendant and looked up at the sky.

It was already sunset.

We can't travel too much today, so we need to find a good place to stay overnight.

Wang Long quickly found a sheltered cliff with a recessed cliff face, forming a natural cave.

The entrance to the cave was small, about ten feet wide, but the depths were quite spacious, enough for one person to move around in.

He set up a few simple warning barriers at the cave entrance, took out a tent from his storage ring, and set it up deep inside the cave.

Inside the tent were thick animal hide rugs and a soft cotton quilt, all prepared for him by Xu Wanyun.

Wang Long set up a campfire at the cave entrance, took out ingredients from his storage ring, and began preparing dinner.

He was very relaxed, like he was camping.

Little Chick crawled out of his arms and squatted by the campfire, its dark, grape-like eyes fixed on the food in the pot, its mouth practically watering.

"You're getting craving more and more."

Wang Long smiled and shook his head, then added a few more seasonings to the pot.

The chunks of meat in the pot tumbled in the rich broth, the meat already tender and mushy, the rich aroma of meat mixed with the spiciness of the seasonings wafting through the cave entrance.

Just then, a rustling sound came from the dense forest.

Wang Long paused slightly, raised his head, and looked in the direction from which the sound came.

In the darkness, pairs of eerie green eyes lit up.

There were more than a dozen of them, more than twice the size of wolves in the outside world, covered in jet-black mane, with saliva constantly dripping from their mouths, emitting a foul stench.

Their eyes gleamed with a cold light in the darkness, fixed on the dragon king by the campfire and the fragrant piece of meat in the pot.

A fifth-grade magical beast, the Black-maned Wolf.

Wang Long remained calm; this level of magical beast posed no threat to him whatsoever.

He continued cooking, too lazy to even move.

Little Chirp instantly flew to the cave entrance and let out a sharp howl at the pack of black-maned wolves.

Clear and melodious, it echoed in the night sky.

The sound waves transformed into golden ripples, spreading outwards.

The lead black-maned wolf stiffened abruptly, a flicker of fear flashing in its eerie green eyes.

It let out a low growl and turned to run away.

Over the next few hours, more and more magical beasts were drawn by the campfire and the aroma of meat, ranging from fifth to seventh rank, and even an eighth-rank silver-maned tiger.

Without exception, they were all frightened away by the little chirp.

A few of them were too stupid and were swallowed whole by Xiao Qiu.

Little Chick, its belly round and full, lay by the campfire, its eyes half-closed in satisfaction, occasionally letting out a burp.

Wang Long picked up the bowl, took a bite of meat, then took out Xu Wanyun's calligraphy brush from his bosom, held it in his palm, and activated his literary energy.

The brush was slightly warm, emitting a faint golden glow.

But it was still very faint, like a candle flickering in the wind.

Wang Long frowned slightly, put away his brush, and, holding his bowl, ate meat while lost in thought.

Was the ultimate goal of the Warring States period really just the Heavenly Stone?

Not at all.

For the individual participants, what truly matters is the opportunity within the secret realm.

Wang Long had read through a large number of ancient books in the library of Wenxin Academy and had a deep understanding of the Heavenly Palace Secret Realm.

Within the Heavenly Palace Secret Realm lie caves, ruins, and realms within realms.

In every edition of the Ten Thousand Dynasties Championship, all the participants who survived have already successfully advanced to the Grandmaster realm.

This is why, despite the extremely high mortality rate, so many ninth-rank martial artists flock to each Wanchao Tournament.

If you can never break through to the Grandmaster level in your lifetime, why not take a gamble!

Wang Long finished the last bite of meat in his bowl, leaned against the tent entrance, and looked up at the stars in the sky.

The night sky in the secret realm is completely different from the starry sky outside.

The stars were arranged in a very regular pattern, like a huge array, slowly rotating in the night sky, emitting a faint light.

Wang Long looked at it for a while, then felt a little dizzy and quickly looked away.

He yawned, crawled into the tent, and pulled the blanket over himself.

Little Chick flew up from the campfire, nestled into his arms, and curled up into a golden ball of fluff.

The little fairy floated out of his body, landed on his pillow, curled up in a ball, and closed her eyes.

The next morning.

Wang Long woke up just as dawn was breaking.

He packed up his tent, extinguished the campfire, washed up quickly, ate two pieces of dry rations, and continued on his way.

As dawn broke, the mist in the dense forest had not yet completely dissipated.

Wang Long moved very fast, with spiritual power and literary energy circulating within his body simultaneously, pushing his speed to its limit.

They encountered many magical beasts along the way, but they were all scared away by Xiao Qiu's cry.

A few of them were too foolish and were swallowed whole by Xiao Qiu, which served as their breakfast.

Wang Long was speeding along when he suddenly heard a woman's cries for help from ahead.

"Help! Help me!"

The voice was sharp and urgent, with a sobbing tone, as if the person was truly in danger.

Wang Long suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Instead of rushing over, he darted forward and jumped onto a large tree.

Hiding in the dense canopy of trees, I peered through the gaps in the branches and leaves, watching the direction from which the sound was coming.

Not far away, a woman dressed in white was being attacked by several magical beasts.

She was slender, with disheveled black hair and a beautiful face.

At this moment, however, her face was filled with terror and her eyes were filled with tears. While fending off the attacks of the monsters, she kept shouting for help.

The woman's left sleeve was torn, revealing a shocking wound, with blood dripping from her fingertips.

Her movements were also somewhat slow, as if she was forcing herself to stay upright.

The monsters worked in perfect coordination, attacking from the left, right, and rear, forcing the woman to retreat repeatedly.

"Help! Someone, please help me!"

The woman's voice grew more urgent and desperate.

Wang Long hid in the tree, his face calm and motionless.

He's not some idiot with an overflowing saintly heart.

Apart from Xu Wanyun, all the other contestants are Wang Long's enemies.

If the woman dies, he can still lick her bag.

Just then, two loud shouts came from the dense forest.

"Don't be afraid, girl! I'm here to save you!"

Two figures burst out of the dense forest, one on the left and one on the right, and pounced on several magical beasts.

In an instant, blades flashed and sword energy crisscrossed.

Soon, several magical beasts were either killed or fled.

The young man sheathed his sword, turned around, walked up to the woman, and smiled gently.

"Young lady, are you alright?"

The woman looked up at the two of them, her eyes filled with tears and her lips trembling slightly.

"Thank you both for saving my life... I... I have no way to repay you..."

Her voice was soft and tearful, making her all the more endearing.

The young man quickly waved his hand.

"Young lady, you needn't be so polite. It is the duty of us martial artists to help those in need."

Another man stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the woman, a hint of amazement flashing in his eyes.

"Young lady, you're injured. Would you like us to bandage you up?"

The woman nodded and said softly.

"Thank you both for your rescue, young masters!"

Both men were captivated by the woman's beauty and said with silly grins that there was no need to be polite.

The next moment, the woman's tearful eyes turned cold and sharp in an instant.

Her right hand emerged from her sleeve, a short sword appearing in her palm, which she silently thrust towards the young man closest to her!