I Can Extract Divine Power

With that thought, he reached into the box, casually picked out a single Bead, and silently withdrew.

This Bead emanated a strange Qi. Sealed within was an aberration from the Void Realm.

To Shen Bai, nothing else mattered.

This Bead might not have been particularly useful to others, but it was exactly what Shen Bai desperately needed.

Shen Bai then crushed the Bead.

Ten wisps of Evil Qi drifted out, and he absorbed them.

He now had another ten wisps of Evil Qi, enough to induce a second qualitative transformation in his Divine Power.

Having made his choice, Shen Bai didn’t linger. He turned, stepped back, and said to the others,

"Old Zhou, you and your people can pick first."

The implication of his words was simple: the prodigies of the Great Zhou Country would have priority.

The prodigies from the other nations fell silent, but they all ultimately accepted Shen Bai’s decision.

The reason was simple.

Here, might made right.

Although the members of the Celestial Pride Salvation Society hadn’t betrayed them in the heat of battle, Shen Bai still didn’t know them well.

That was why he let Zhou Qing and the others from Great Zhou Country have the first pick.

This wasn’t a time to debate about fairness.

For Shen Bai, insisting on fairness at a time like this would have been naively idealistic.

With Shen Bai having gone first, Zhou Qing and the others went forward one by one to select the rewards they desired.

Only after all the prodigies from the Great Zhou Country had finished did Nan Huang allow the members of his Celestial Pride Salvation Society to go up and choose.

Once the last person had made their choice, the wooden box automatically closed and gradually vanished.

Shen Bai said, "Let’s go. On to the next area."

’Zhu Qingyao has escaped for now,’ Shen Bai thought, ’but her death is only a matter of time.’

’And in the meantime, I can explore the Celestial Pride Hall and see if I can reap some more rewards.’

Without waiting for a reply, Shen Bai turned and started walking ahead.

Led by Zhou Qing, the prodigies of the Great Zhou Country followed closely behind Shen Bai.

Meanwhile, Nan Huang and his group from the Celestial Pride Salvation Society brought up the rear.

...

This was a long corridor.

It was called a corridor, but it was exceptionally wide, spacious enough for a hundred people to walk abreast.

The inside was bare and empty.

As Shen Bai walked on, he suddenly saw something gleaming up ahead.

He walked forward, only to find the ground littered with wreckage.

The pieces looked as if they had been smashed by someone.

A closer look revealed them to be some kind of special components.

Shen Bai took one look and realized the parts were very similar to the puppets they had encountered before.

Using his Void-breaking Red Eye, he discovered something unusual.

In a corner, shreds of a ribbon hung quietly from a piece of debris.

’So that’s what happened. She’s not half bad, fighting her way all the way through here.’

The ribbon was Zhu Qingyao’s. One glance was all it took for Shen Bai to know that she must have been the one who cleared this place.

However, judging by the blood on the ribbon, Zhu Qingyao had also paid a heavy price.

At this time, Nan Huang yawned and said,

"Lord Shen, it seems she has other tricks up her sleeve."

"What makes you say that?" Shen Bai asked.

"If she is truly one of the masterminds behind the Era of Ten Thousand Cities, then she would certainly have more intel than we do."

Nan Huang continued, "She would have also assessed your strength, Lord Shen.

"She wouldn’t have made a move so recklessly."

Nan Huang didn’t finish his sentence, but his meaning was obvious.

He was telling Shen Bai that his opponent must have taken his strength into account and only acted because she was absolutely confident.

Shen Bai mulled it over for a moment, then nodded. "That makes sense. In that case, let’s see what ace she has up her sleeve. Let’s go. Full speed ahead."

Since Zhu Qingyao was clearing the obstacles ahead of them, Shen Bai figured they could throw caution to the wind and rush forward to hunt her down.

With Shen Bai’s command, no one said another word. They all fell in behind him, pursuing Zhu Qingyao in the direction she had fled.

...

Not far ahead, the ground was covered in increasing amounts of wreckage and debris.

Beyond that, they could also see numerous bloodstains from time to time.

At first the stains were dry, but they gradually became fresh.

Shen Bai knew they were getting closer and closer to Zhu Qingyao.

Up ahead, not far in the distance, was a massive exit.

The exit shimmered with a vast, white light.

When Shen Bai led the group through the exit, they emerged onto a prairie.

At that moment, the prairie was covered in all kinds of wreckage.

Every piece of wreckage radiated a terrifying aura.

And in the very center of the prairie, Zhu Qingyao stood, covered in blood, her entire body riddled with horrific wounds.

Her fair, beautiful face was covered in gouges, some so deep that bone was visible.

Following the line of her arms, one could see that the nails on her index fingers had grown several inches, and were now dripping with fresh blood.

And her eyes, now nothing but white pupils, fixed Shen Bai with an icy stare.

"You’ve finally found me. But I’ve already succeeded."

Though covered in wounds, Zhu Qingyao’s voice held a hint of madness, as if she were flaunting her achievement to Shen Bai.

"This place will be your burial ground."

Before she could finish, a flash of blood-red Sword Qi bloomed from Shen Bai’s Cold Moon, slashing across Zhu Qingyao’s neck.

Her beautiful, scarred head tumbled to the ground with a THUD, its white eyes wide with an expression of utter disbelief.