Liu Na waved her camera in front of Wang Ye with a cunning smile and spoke to him, "You just mocked Elder Xu and President Yuan's scene, but I've already captured it on camera."

"Next, if you do anything that dissatisfies me, you're done for, I'm telling you."

"Don't worry, I'm sure I'll satisfy you next," Wang Ye replied to Liu Na.

But the words he said made Liu Na feel something was off, and a blush appeared on her face instantly.

She stole a glance at Wang Ye—was it his words that were problematic, or were her own thoughts lately skewed, leading her to misunderstand?

More than fifty fourth-rank peak martial artists.

At this moment, over thirty fourth-rank peak martial artists were still persevering.

Each step they took required resting in place for a while before moving on, sweat pouring down like flowing water, their faces contorted with increasingly twisted masks of pain.

The nearest fourth-rank peak martial artist was just a hundred meters away.

Bai Zi Suo was also making continuous progress, following behind these fourth-rank peak martial artists. Whenever it seemed like Bai Zi Suo was about to be left behind, he would muster superhuman willpower and quickly catch up.

His complexion was even paler than any of the fourth-rank peak martial artists.

As he advanced, his legs trembled more than any of them.

Yet, under such conditions, Bai Zi Suo continued to move forward without giving up, gasping heavily each time his foot hit the ground.

His clothes were completely soaked with sweat.

This spurred on some of the fourth-rank peak martial artists who had already given up to follow Bai Zi Suo's pace and keep advancing.

In their view, if even an ordinary young man could keep moving forward under these circumstances, then it would be utterly embarrassing for them, who had been fourth-rank peak martial artists for a long time, not to make it to the city gates.

Liu Na kept her eyes on Bai Zi Suo. She nudged Wang Ye with her elbow and said, "What do you say, should we hitch a ride on Bai Zi Suo's coattails?"

"Huh?"

Liu Na's nonsensical remark left Wang Ye somewhat puzzled about her intent, "Why should we hitch a ride on Bai Zi Suo's coattails?"

"Haven't you read novels? Usually, in novels, people like him are the protagonists. Even though they're not that strong at the beginning, they manage to make a massive comeback later on and become powerhouses who can destroy a universe with a single hand."

"Why destroy a universe instead of creating one?"

Wang Ye's question left Liu Na speechless.

Right.

Why destroy a universe instead of creating one?

Liu Na's puzzled expression only made the smile on Wang Ye's face grow stronger, "Whether he's the protagonist or not, I don't know. But what I do know is that, as long as he can persevere, he's already the protagonist of his own life."

Half an hour later.

A hundred meters, which normally would take only about a minute to cover, but here, they spent a full half-hour to traverse this distance.

And during that half-hour, some couldn't keep going and ended in failure.

There were five meters left in front of Bai Zi Suo; nobody pulled him along, yet everyone's gaze toward Bai Zi Suo was filled with anticipation.

Finally.

Bai Zi Suo struggled to cover the five meters to the city gate. Upon arrival, he collapsed on the ground, not caring about his image, and took in deep, labored breaths.

While approaching the gate, fear of wasting strength through heavy breathing had made him cautious. Even when gasping for air, Bai Zi Suo dared not exert himself too much.

Now, finally, he could breathe freely.

Originally, among those planning to explore the ancient relics were twenty-seven youths and fifty-three fourth-rank peak martial artists.

However, in the end, only Bai Zi Suo, a single youth, and twenty-five fourth-rank peak martial artists made it to the city gate.

The remaining fourth-rank peak martial artists who did not reach the gate had essentially forfeited their chance for transformation.

From now on, they would be stuck at the level of fourth-rank peak martial artists, unable to break through.

If they wished to advance from fourth-rank peak martial artists to third-rank peak, the difficulty would be much greater than before.

Because this meant that in the times to come, they would have to overcome the Heart Demon of not arriving at the city gate today, where they were bested by Bai Zi Suo, an ordinary person.

Of the twenty-five fourth-rank peak martial artists, three broke through to the realm of Third Grade Martial Warrior upon reaching the gate.

They comprehended the force.

After comprehending this force, a killing intent radiated from them, gleaned from the armors on the city walls.

During the ordeal of withstanding the pressure from the armors above, they also absorbed something from these armors, which ultimately led them to breakthrough.

The killing intent emanating from them was not brutal but represented the will to face enemies, defend the territory, and exterminate all foes.

In that killing intent, loyalty and a unique spirit were embedded.

For these three martial artists who had broken through to the Third Grade Martial Warrior realm, whether or not they entered the city or obtained anything from it was irrelevant -- their journey to explore the ancient relics had already paid off.

Xu Heng naturally could sense the force they had comprehended. He immediately invited them to join the Bureau of Military Affairs and promised them excellent conditions.

This made Bai Zi Suo, who was watching from the side, incredibly envious.

But just after Xu Heng finished speaking with those who had broken through to the third rank, he turned his gaze to Bai Zi Suo and said,

"Envious?"

Xu Heng nodded frantically.

Of course, he was envious!

To say he wasn't would be a lie!

At the time when Xu Heng was persuading Wang Ye to join the Bureau of Military Affairs, Bai Zi Suo felt immense envy standing by.

Now that Xu Heng was inviting these three Third Grade Martial Warriors to join, Bai Zi Suo felt the same intense longing.

Although the Bai Family, to which Bai Zi Suo belonged, was well-regarded throughout Dragon Country, the key issue was that Bai Zi Suo knew all that belonged to his father, not him.

He also knew that someday, all those things would become his.

But Bai Zi Suo did not want them.

He did not want to tread the same path as his father.

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