Chapter 102: This World Has a Problem! (Seeking Recommendations, Seeking Collections!)

Yang Fan, Hu Dao, Li Xianyi, and three other team members sat in a spacious room filled with various decorations, the floor paved with hides of exotic beasts. Yang Fan and the others sat clustered together, brows furrowed.

Yang Fan said, “This world has a problem.”

Li Xianyi nodded in agreement. “Exactly. They’re far too fixated on the tenth-grade experts above us. Almost every sentence in their conversation circles back to eleventh-grade masters.”

Hu Dao and the others nodded as well.

Anyone paying attention could see it, even if they hadn’t reacted immediately at the time. After a moment’s thought, it would become clear.

Since their first encounter, Kun Sha had been probing Earth’s high-end combat strength. Once he learned Earth possessed eleventh-grade experts, his questions turned entirely around them.

Yang Fan pondered for a moment. “You think this world might lack any eleventh-grade experts?”

The suggestion hung in the air. Such baseless speculation could hardly be argued.

“Enough of these thoughts,” Li Xianyi cut in. “We are nothing more than third- and fourth-grade martial artists. In this place we are insignificant. Our mission is to explore the Kunlun Secret Realm, retrieve messages and resources, and return them to Earth. As for the people here and what motives they may hold—friend or foe—is none of our concern. Once we return, everything will be reported upward, and others will handle it.”

He glanced at the group. “We are now in an unknown world. Everything is unfamiliar to us, yet we are currently safe. The clan leader, whatever his intentions, will not harm us at present. He still has questions for us. While the spiritual energy here is abundant, cultivate diligently. Strength is the foundation; even small gains matter.”

The others agreed.

The spiritual energy of the Kunlun Secret Realm was extraordinarily rich; the qi of the ruins was nothing in comparison.

After some time, Yang Fan and his companions returned to their rooms to cultivate.

Yang Fan ensured the doors and windows were tightly sealed, then seated himself cross-legged on the bed.

Since tempering his body with body-refining liquid in the ruins, he had not truly cultivated for such a long time.

He circulated his qi, feeling it gather like a luminous orb in his dantian, drawing in external spiritual energy and converting it into a form he could control.

The sensation was subtle—turning one substance into another, transforming something harmless into a weapon of killing.

Especially in the Kunlun Secret Realm, where spiritual energy was infinitely abundant, the process was swift.

Yang Fan, now fully immersed, felt a quiet surprise. On Earth the qi had been thin and conversion slow. In the ruins it had been far richer, prompting him to sigh that if the ruins had been free of conflict and cultivators meditated there, humanity’s strength would have advanced at an unimaginable pace. Today, his first cultivation session in the Kunlun Secret Realm taught him that one must never count one’s chickens before they hatch. Compared to the Kunlun Secret Realm, the qi of the ruins was negligible—like a small witch beholding a great one. If the ruins’ qi were one, the Kunlun Secret Realm’s could reach five or higher.

Time passed quickly in cultivation. Yang Fan, at the peak of the third grade middle stage, spent an entire night cultivating as much as ten full days on Earth or three days in the ruins.

When the Kunlun Secret Realm’s array shifted and night became day, a knock sounded on the doors of Yang Fan and his companions.

Most cultivators did not require sleep. The path of cultivation was long and unyielding; any slack meant stagnation. Few were willing to waste time slumbering. Meditation and qi refinement were themselves a form of profound rest.

The knock woke Yang Fan. Opening his eyes, he felt irritation surge through him. The discomfort of being interrupted during cultivation was intolerable. Only now did he understand why the dormitories at the Demon Capital Academy were single rooms with no two sharing a villa, and why in the ruins—even with many people present—they insisted on private quarters during rest. They dreaded being disturbed.

For the first time Yang Fan had experienced this. Previously he had cultivated whenever he chose, but now he finally felt the thoughtfulness behind the academies’ arrangements.

Face darkening, he rose and walked to the door. “Who is it? What do you want?”

A sweet, gentle voice answered from outside. “The clan leader requests that several young masters come to the hall.”

Yang Fan shook his head. “I know. I’ll be there shortly.”

The woman continued. “Please hurry, miss. Your servant waits at the door.”

Realizing it was the tenth-grade clan leader, Yang Fan rubbed his face, forcing the irritation away. No choice. To meet a tenth-grade expert with a dark expression would look poor, and on their territory any such rudeness would be unforgivable.

Not long after, Yang Fan stepped out. A tall woman at the door bowed and led the way.

The patriarch’s mansion was truly grand. As he looked about, the route from the reception hall yesterday now felt unfamiliar, twisting seven bends and eight corners. He was a third-grade martial artist with powerful spiritual sense, yet even that could not keep the path in mind. It was truly embarrassing.

Along the way, Li Xianyi, Hu Dao, and the others gradually joined him, all heading toward the hall.

The reception hall was unchanged from yesterday. Kun Sha and Kun Li sat in their places, and beneath Kun Li lounged a handsome youth clad in iron armor.

As the approaching figures drew nearer, a trace of disdain crossed the youth’s face.

Kun Li glanced at the youth and frowned. “Little brother, when Father questions them later, do not interrupt. He has important matters to discuss; you must not be willful.”

Kun Yuan turned to face his elder sister. His expression shifted from contempt to a harmless smile.

He nodded at Kun Li.

Kun Sha smiled, watching his son and daughter.

Yang Fan and the others soon reached the hall.

Kun Sha motioned for them to sit.

“Several friends, I trust you rested well last night?”

Kun Sha spoke with a warm smile, benevolent brows and kind eyes.

Yang Fan looked at the two-meter-tall strong man who insisted on appearing benevolent, feeling an inward twist of awkwardness, yet replied, “Thank you for your concern, Clan Leader. I slept well last night.”

Before the words faded, Kun Yuan on the opposite side spoke up. “Rest? You rested well? You’re joking. You didn’t sleep at all last night, did you? You were busy cultivating, not losing face, yet you claim you rested. Do outsiders like to lie so much?”

Kun Li’s expression darkened. How had her mischievous brother promised, then changed his tune so quickly?

Kun Sha was helpless. How was he supposed to continue this conversation? He glanced at his son, speechless.

Yang Fan and the others had no idea what to say. Who was this person? Did he have a problem? Had they provoked him? It was only a polite remark. Why push so hard? What was the point?

For a moment the atmosphere in the hall fell into brief awkward silence.