Chapter Thirty: Gaining Recognition

Qin Shuang had not expected that this green snake would turn hostile so quickly, without even giving him a chance to speak, launching an attack without warning.

The surrounding strands of green silk had already encircled Qin Shuang tightly; with the naked eye, all he could see was a field of emerald.

“Heh, I didn’t expect the silk released from her body to be as tough as top-grade immortal artifacts.” Qin Shuang was a bit surprised, but his heart settled; the spirit snake’s attack didn’t contain divine power, so at most, she was at the level of a ninth-tier Immortal Emperor.

“Hmph, it’s too late for regrets now. Anyone who’s seen my face must die. Bind!” The spirit snake’s voice grew colder, and as soon as the word left her lips, the green silk closed in, wrapping Qin Shuang completely. From afar, he looked like a green egg.

“Break!” Qin Shuang’s voice was soft—so soft, the spirit snake barely heard it. Suddenly, the green egg erupted in brilliant light; in an instant, the silk vanished, and Qin Shuang stood exactly where he’d been, unmoved.

The silk, hard as top-grade immortal artifacts, was utterly useless against Qin Shuang. It shattered in a heartbeat.

“An eighth-tier Immortal Emperor is indeed considered top-tier on this continent.” The spirit snake nodded, not at all surprised by Qin Shuang’s display, and even showed some appreciation for his strength. “If you’d grown up elsewhere, perhaps you would have reached the Divine Realm by now.”

“Divine Realm? What a joke...” Qin Shuang sneered. “I know as much about the Divine Ones as you do. Don’t try to fool me with that.”

The spirit snake’s words had struck a nerve.

Elsewhere? Wasn’t the environment of the Divine Realm good enough? Zixuan Mansion was filled with God Kings, and even a few Holy Emperors, but so what? Aside from broader horizons and a deeper understanding of space, what else did he have? After years of cultivation, he’d reached only the seventh-tier Immortal Emperor, while his elder brother Qin Si had reached the upper Heavenly God stage within decades. Compared to him, Qin Shuang felt like a failure.

“Heh, did I touch a sore spot?” The spirit snake looked at Qin Shuang and suddenly laughed.

“Seems you really do have some mind-reading abilities,” Qin Shuang replied coldly. “But your smile makes your face even uglier.”

Qin Shuang was thoroughly enraged by the spirit snake.

His slow cultivation was the very reason he’d descended to the lower realm, and now, to be mocked by a mere spirit snake!

“You...” Qin Shuang’s words hit the spirit snake’s own sore spot; her face turned red with anger. “Fine, I was going to spare you, but since you asked for it, die!” As she spoke, a long whip appeared in her hand, covered in countless tiny barbs and glowing with a greenish light.

“Hmph, a mid-grade artifact, laced with poison?” In the Divine Realm, although Qin Shuang’s cultivation was slow, his knowledge was vast. One glance was enough to identify the whip’s grade, and he even sensed the venom.

“Swish!” The spirit snake swung her whip along a mysterious path. It seemed slow, yet in the blink of an eye, it was before Qin Shuang.

“Childish. Want to compare your understanding of space?” Qin Shuang sneered. This attack relied on manipulating space, making the distance seem shortened, creating an illusion of slowness while actually being extremely fast.

“Crack!” The whip struck Qin Shuang squarely, and the spirit snake felt a surge of joy—until she sensed danger and quickly dodged aside.

“Boom!” Right where the spirit snake had been standing, a long staff appeared out of nowhere. Though it missed, the residual force sent the spirit snake flying dozens of meters.

“Seems I’m still not quite there, only managed to unleash half its power.” Qin Shuang shook his head, dissatisfied with his attack.

The Heaven-shaking Staff Technique, directly passed down by Hou Fei. Perhaps others looked down on Qin Shuang, but Hou Fei did not, even teaching him the Heaven-shaking Strike because Hongyun and Cai Xia liked Qin Shuang so much.

A trace of panic flashed in the spirit snake’s eyes; Qin Shuang’s strength had exceeded her expectations. Her previous attack, infused with her understanding of space, had only struck Qin Shuang’s afterimage.

But that was not the terrifying part. Qin Shuang’s staff strike truly frightened the spirit snake. An eighth-tier Immortal Emperor from the Infinite Continent could also comprehend the workings of space—not obsess over domains like other Immortal Emperors.

“That staff strike... you really meant to kill me.” The spirit snake was angry; she was chosen and sent to the lower realm by that great figure. Thinking of that person’s status in the Divine Realm, she felt deeply humiliated.

“That whip of yours wasn’t meant to show mercy either. Just the poison alone could kill an eighth-tier Immortal Emperor.” Qin Shuang misunderstood; he believed the so-called spirit beast incident was orchestrated by a God King in the Divine Realm, and these spirit beasts were mere pawns.

If a God King truly saw Qin Shuang, they wouldn’t dare harm him, yet these clowns acted as if the God King were their backer, fearing nothing.

“Hmph, of course I wasn’t going to be merciful. I told you, anyone who sees my face must die!” The spirit snake’s appearance was ugly to begin with, and now, all her mixed emotions showed on her face, making her even more frightening.

“Looking at your cultivation, you’re at least eighth-tier Immortal Emperor. Choosing a beautiful appearance would be easy.” Qin Shuang replied indifferently, “Your reason for killing is rather dull.”

Indeed, even a cultivator could easily change their appearance; killing because someone saw your ugliness was rare not only in the Divine and Immortal Realms, but even in the Cultivation Realm.

“My affairs are none of your concern.” The spirit snake, enraged and ashamed, swung her whip again, but such attacks could not harm Qin Shuang; a slight movement was enough to avoid them.

Suddenly, the spirit snake stopped, her gaze ambiguous as she looked at Qin Shuang. “You do have some skill. On the Infinite Continent, even a ninth-tier Immortal Emperor might not be your match.” She knew well that the lower realm’s Immortal Emperors relied on domains, while the gap in space comprehension was vast.

Back then, Wu Lan, only at the eighth-tier Demon Emperor stage, easily killed Yu Huang, who had reached ninth-tier Immortal Emperor—thanks to her understanding of space.

“But!” The spirit snake’s expression turned cold. “The Infinite Continent has changed. Don’t overestimate your strength.

Next, I’ll show you my ultimate move—Spirit Snake Frenzy.” As soon as her words fell, the mid-grade artifact whip in her hand spun madly, sending countless green rays shooting in all directions, making evasion impossible.

“Is that all you’ve got?” Qin Shuang smiled disdainfully, swinging his staff and shouting, “Heaven-shaking Seventy-two Strikes!”

The Heaven-shaking Seventy-two Strikes, while the weakest move in the Heaven-shaking Staff Technique, spread its attacks wide, much like the Spirit Snake Frenzy, covering a vast area.

“Boom boom boom!” The two powerful energies collided, erupting in deafening explosions. Both Qin Shuang and the spirit snake were forced back by the shockwaves.

When the rampant energy had faded, Qin Shuang and the spirit snake stood facing each other across the void.

“Sigh... enough.” Qin Shuang suddenly let out a sigh. “You can’t kill me, so abandon the thought. I’ve never looked down on your appearance, so you don’t need to worry about that. Spirit beasts choose their master regardless of strength; since you won’t pick me, I’ll ascend to the Divine Realm on my own.” With that, Qin Shuang turned to leave.

“Ascending on your own! It takes not just strength, but temperament. And once you reach the Divine Realm, you’ll face pressure from all sides.” The spirit snake suddenly spoke behind him. “Don’t you want to find a backer as soon as you ascend?”

“A backer?” Qin Shuang laughed. In the Divine Realm, was there a force stronger than Zixuan Mansion? Even Holy Emperors served as slaves there, let alone God Kings.

“That’s none of your concern,” Qin Shuang replied calmly.

“But rumor has it, on the Road to the Heavens, there are weapons that even God Kings covet. Aren’t you tempted?” The spirit snake continued to lure him.

“Artifacts coveted by God Kings?” Qin Shuang laughed, turning to the spirit snake. “If even God Kings want them, why don’t they come to the lower realm themselves? Don’t tell me God Kings can’t descend.”

Qin Shuang knew the abilities of God Kings; he himself had relied on a God King to open a spatial passage to descend.

“I can’t answer that, but there are indeed treasures on the Road to the Heavens—more than one...”

“Hmm?” Qin Shuang suddenly grew suspicious. “You were just trying to kill me, so why are you now tempting me to walk the Road to the Heavens?”

“Your strength is exceptional, your temperament unique, and you never mocked my appearance. So, I’ve chosen you.” Her words were shocking; just moments ago, she’d sworn to kill Qin Shuang, but now she acknowledged him—a complete reversal.

Qin Shuang was stunned. “This... doesn’t seem all that difficult.” Receiving the spirit beast’s approval, Qin Shuang felt relieved. He did want to leave this wretched place soon; with such slow cultivation, who knew how long it would take to reach the ninth-tier Immortal Emperor’s peak.

On the other side of the Infinite Continent, word of the spirit beast had already spread, yet decades had passed without a single spirit beast appearing.

In the sky, a figure flashed repeatedly, each time covering a million miles.

“How odd—whenever I search for them, they’re nowhere to be found!”

The figure stopped; Qin Si scratched his head, looking around. He hadn’t paid much attention to the spirit beast matter, but after hearing that someone named Qin Shuang had first received the spirit beast’s approval, he couldn’t sit still. After confirming with Ling Yufei that Qin Shuang was indeed his younger brother, Qin Si joined the search for the spirit beast.

Today is bitterly cold, even Shizi couldn’t sit still this morning. Everyone should take care of their health; if you can stay indoors, do so—the cold is deadly!