Chapter 126: In This World, You Can't Play Without Cheats

Stepping out of the courtyard, Wang Ping immediately spotted Chenlong waiting outside.

"Thank you for your help, my lord."

Wang Ping bowed before Chenlong could even open his mouth. This immediate show of respect instantly softened Chenlong’s expression, soothing the lingering sense of crisis that had made him view the kid as a slight eyesore.

He even wondered if he had been a bit too harsh.

Thinking it over, the kid actually had a solid character. He respected his teachers and revered the Dao, and according to the First Seat, Chenlong was going to be his master.

Having a disciple like that would bring prestige to any master.

Especially since this disciple was practically guaranteed to reach the Great Grandmaster Rank in the future, and Chenlong himself was on the verge of a breakthrough. A single lineage with two at the Great Grandmaster Rank would make for a spectacular tale.

A smile instantly surfaced on Chenlong's face.

"No need for such formality, my good disci—"

"Bang!"

An invisible weight slammed down on Chenlong's head before he could finish. The words "good disciple," which had already reached his throat, were forcefully shoved right back down.

Wang Ping still caught the keywords, and his eyes lit up. Chenlong wanted to take him as a disciple? That was perfect. He had just broken through and lacked experience; having a master to answer his questions was exactly what he needed... What's more, Chenlong's Divine Armor was still on him!

Wang Ping hurriedly bowed.

"I am indebted to Mas—"

"Bang!"

A tremendous boom like a giant temple bell exploded in Wang Ping's ears before he could finish. His head buzzed, and more than half of his Grandmaster Rank vitality was scattered on the spot.

What just happened?

"Hmph."

An ethereal cold snort drifted on the wind. Immediately after, Wang Ping's utterly astounded gaze fell to the space beside Chenlong.

It was a woman.

She wore a phoenix-tail pleated skirt and a cloud-collar cape draped with colorful ribbons. Her sleeves hung empty. Though she had appeared entirely out of thin air, it felt as if she had been standing next to Chenlong the entire time.

Is this... Divine Intent!?

Wang Ping's pupils shrank. Having just cultivated the Mind Monkey, how could he not recognize it? This woman's essence was identical to the Mind Monkey—both were physical manifestations of Divine Intent!

However, unlike the still-illusory Mind Monkey, this woman could clearly affect reality with ease, and her interference was massive. Even against someone like him who had just broken through to the Grandmaster Rank, she could easily scatter his vitality. If she actually made a move, a single punch might kill him instantly!

Wang Ping immediately understood the woman's identity.

"Yin Hu greets the First Seat!"

Wang Ping bowed without a fraction of a second's hesitation. The woman gave a slight nod, and her ethereal voice drifted on the wind into his ears.

"Do not take Chenlong as your master."

"He is mediocre. His willingness to endure hardship is his only redeeming quality. With your talent, learning aimlessly from him will only waste your precious time."

Chenlong: "..."

First Seat, that wasn't what you said earlier!

Unfortunately, having witnessed Wang Ping's entire breakthrough process with his own eyes, Chenlong couldn't find any reason to refute her, no matter how displeased he felt.

A second later, however, Wang Ping spoke with a face full of righteous indignation.

"First Seat, you are mistaken!"

"Lord Chenlong's kindness to me is as heavy as a mountain. If not for his careful guidance over the past half month, I would never have my current martial arts. This is the grace of rebirth."

"In my heart, Lord Chenlong has long been my master!"

These words genuinely moved Chenlong. Good kid. It wasn't in vain that I taught you so many martial arts over the past half month and even let you wear the Divine Armor...

"Alright, spare me the act."

The ethereal voice rang out again. "Kneel and acknowledge me as your master. I will authorize lending you Chenlong's Divine Armor for a month; he is going into seclusion anyway."

Before she could even finish speaking, Wang Ping dropped to his knees with a loud thump. Without the slightest hesitation, he completely bypassed Chenlong and bowed respectfully to the woman.

"This disciple greets Master!"

Chenlong: "?"

You little bastard! So you were just eyeing my Divine Armor all along. The moment the First Seat gave the word, you took it and immediately turned your back on me. My wholehearted sincerity was wasted!

Thinking of this, Chenlong was instantly furious.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

"My lord? Are you alright?" Wang Ping hurried forward, gently patted Chenlong's chest, and circulated Qi Restriction to unblock his vitality.

A warm current immediately flowed into Chenlong's limbs and bones. While it wasn't enough to completely repair his Grandmaster Rank physique, it did make him feel better. Seeing Wang Ping's face full of worry, he felt a bit more gratified. This kid still has some conscience...

"Alright, alright."

Chenlong simply waved his hand. "The First Seat is right. Your martial arts are already catching up to mine. As things stand, I can't teach you much more."

"And some things, only the First Seat can teach."

"Ah..."

Chenlong suddenly snapped his mouth shut, as if he had just remembered something. Yet, through a sudden flash of intuition, Wang Ping instantly grasped the words Chenlong hadn't dared to say out loud:

"You can learn the martial arts the First Seat teaches you—the more the better. But when she teaches you how to conduct yourself... just listen, and absolutely do not take it to heart."

Wang Ping was taken aback.

Is there something wrong with the First Seat's personality? He didn't even dare say it aloud, forcing me to glean it through intuition—is he that terrified she'll hear him?

Just then, the woman's ethereal voice rang out again.

"Chenlong, were you secretly cursing me?"

"Absolutely not!"

Chenlong shook his head decisively.

However, the woman said with certainty, "No, my intuition tells me you cursed me in your heart... Perfect timing. This time, you can come in with Yin Hu."

Chenlong's expression changed wildly.

"Wait, First Seat—"

Rumble!

Wang Ping's vision went black before Chenlong could finish speaking. When he opened his eyes, the world had transformed into a towering platform.

The vast platform stood in the void. No sun or stars were visible above, and no rivers or mountains lay below. With his current Grandmaster Rank cultivation, he couldn't see the end of it. Even sweeping with his spiritual sense, he could only vaguely make out what looked like three towering statues in the distance, until a faint voice drifted over.

"This is my divine weapon."

Wang Ping abruptly turned his head.

He realized the woman was standing less than three meters behind him. She said softly, "I have used many divine weapons in my life, but in the end, I smelted them all down."

"I kept only this Martial Drill Platform."

Pausing here, the woman continued, "I have killed countless people in my life. Among them were extraordinary persons as well as martial artists. Every time I killed someone, I took their personal artifacts and weapons."

"Then, I placed them into the Martial Drill Platform."

"Powered by my Divine Intent, and strictly confined to this Martial Drill Platform, I can recreate every person I have slain and battle them to the death once more."

The woman pointed a finger. A streak of spiritual light immediately emerged from her slender fingertip and shot toward another corner of the platform. The platform responded; the ground cracked open, and a ghost-headed great saber flew out, merging with the spiritual light to condense into a human form.

"Just like this."

Wang Ping focused his gaze. After the spiritual light took shape, a burly man carrying a ghost-headed great saber had appeared on the platform, his hair and beard bristling.

"Hahaha, it's finally my turn!"

"Little wench, what opponent have you found for me this time?"

The burly man laughed heartily, his voice exploding like thunder. Wang Ping's expression turned instantly solemn. A Martial Dao Grandmaster Rank... and not an ordinary one either!

"Ghost-God Blade. A Seeing-Divinity Grandmaster."

"An outcast of Shenlong Temple," the woman said flatly. "He founded his own sect, the Fierce Ghost Temple. Having concurrently practiced extraordinary arts, he fought across the Thirteen Circuits, slaughtering ten thousand people to sacrifice to his blade."

"In the year 934 of Great Shun, he was killed by me."

Figures stood up one after another across the entire Martial Drill Platform wherever Wang Ping looked. Some held swords, some grasped hammers, some brandished halberds, and some flew on swords with boundless magic. Looking out, there were hundreds, even a thousand of them, and every single one was stunningly lifelike.

"Ten Thousand Demons Sword. A Divine Communion Grandmaster."

"A Protector King of the Qingtian Cult. Because his lifespan was nearing its end, he fell into demonic deviation overnight, secretly collecting ten thousand infants to refine a human placenta elixir to extend his life. After the matter was exposed, he fled."

"In the year 934 of Great Shun, he was killed by me."

The woman continued listing them off, as casually as if she were tallying her family treasures:

"Loose Immortal Chen Zheng. Originating from the Myriad Demons Cave."

"He spread extraordinary arts, using life extension as bait to lure Martial Dao Grandmaster Rank cultivators into demonic deviation to collect their divine weapons. He wanted to use them to refine a great divine artifact array."

"In the year 935 of Great Shun, he was killed by me."

Wang Ping grew more and more shocked as he listened. If the woman's words were true, ever since she achieved greatness in martial arts, she had either been killing people or on her way to kill people.

She had been killing for a full cycle of sixty years!

Number One in the World.

Wang Ping felt the weight of the title Chenlong had once mentioned for the very first time. If this was the case, what had the world looked like sixty years ago?

Even more absurd was the function of this Martial Drill Platform.

Everyone the First Seat has slain can manifest on here, and they look no different from living people. Only their movements are restricted.

What kind of power was this?

Although his Invoking Deities could also briefly revive those he had killed to serve him, it had a strict time limit.

And once used, they were gone. Unless he captured them alive to continuously extract their consciousness fragments, just as he did with Ye Chao, they were all one-time-use tools.

Compared to that, this Martial Drill Platform was much more convenient. She didn't need to leave them alive, and she could clearly use them forever after killing them. No risk, no time limit. It possessed all the advantages of Invoking Deities without a single flaw—a true upgraded version.

She's definitely using a cheat!

Wang Ping once again deeply realized a core truth: in this broken world, there was no way out for ordinary players. You couldn't play without a cheat.

Anyone who managed to stand out definitely had a cheat.

The only difference was how big the cheat was.

The woman's faint voice drifted over, shifting the topic. "Further up is the Great Grandmaster Rank. That is of no use to you for now."

"Well, do you want to give it a try?"

Try what?

Wang Ping was startled. He watched the figures on the Martial Drill Platform recede until only the first to appear, Ghost-God Blade, remained standing on the stage.

"What the little wench means is for you to come and kill me!"

The burly man let out a cold sneer. "If you can kill me, you'll be considered to have mastered the basics of the Grandmaster Rank. Come on! My great saber is already thirsty for blood!"

"This..."

Wang Ping didn't rush. Instead, he sank his mind into the Great Peace Mortuary and looked at the scripture scroll for Invoking Deities, only to see it slowly gathering a faint glow.

The faint glow was gradually tracing a portrait—the exact likeness of the burly man.

Ghost-God Blade.

This dead man actually still had consciousness fragments!?

Wang Ping's somewhat nonchalant gaze turned burning hot in an instant. Looking at the Martial Drill Platform again, his mindset had completely changed.

If that's the case, as long as I stay here, I can continuously collect consciousness fragments and rapidly fill up the character inventory for Invoking Deities!

Your cheat is certainly very useful.

But soon enough, it will be mine!