Instead, the first news they received from the pocket world was that he had fought two opponents alone and defeated both the Wrathful Vajra and Heavengazer. That was therefore the third time Wilderness Hermit's name truly caught their attention, and the implications extended beyond Luo Chen himself.

With the Wrathful Vajra eliminated, Xiang Qi had lost his Dao Protector. Hunting illusory beasts would become far more dangerous, and even cultivating in seclusion would be difficult without anyone to guard him. As a result, confidence in Xiang Qi's prospects fell sharply.

Fu Qinglan, on the other hand, began appearing more frequently in their discussions. Her foundation might be shallow and her aptitude somewhat lacking, but she had only recently formed her Nascent Soul. That left her closer to heaven and earth and therefore well positioned to grasp the Power of Laws. More importantly, with a Dao Protector as formidable as Luo Chen, she could potentially obtain far more illusory cores than the other competitors.

Then, on this particular day, a vortex suddenly opened inside the hall. The Wang family's True Inheritor stumbled out with a dazed...