Du Mu Xing Ling still looked like a 14 or 15-year-old, with a delicate and slender figure, plump breasts, a slim waist, refined facial features, a pair of round and beautiful eyes, dense eyelashes that were long and curled, as if she would forever remain in her teenage years.

  Her hands were clasped behind her back, and her bright red lips curled up slightly, revealing a charming gaze. "It's only been a month since we last met, how can I sense a chill from you?"

  Du Mu Xing Ling was originally an ice-attribute physique and was extremely sensitive to icy auras.

  Although Zhang Ruochen had refined the Ice Marrow Pill, he still hadn't fully merged the cold ice energy into his true energy, which was why Duanmu Xingling had detected it.

  Zhang Ruochen didn't answer her, instead he stared at her carefully and said: "Duanmu Shijie, it seems that your cultivation has improved during the time you were away from Wu Shi Xue Gong."

  "Your observation skills are impressive."

  Du Mu Xing Ling's eyes sparkled as he smiled, "My cultivation technique has broken through to a new level, reaching an even more profound realm. My cultivation has indeed made significant progress. With my current strength, even if I'm not as fast as Chen Jie, my combat power is in no way inferior to hers."

  Suddenly, Du Mu Xing Ling's eyelid twitched, staring at Zhang Ruo Chen, and teased: "I heard that you recently went to Qian Shui Jun Guo, defeated the top swordsmen of various countries with a broken sword, won the first place in the Jian Lun Dai Hui, and even got engaged to the most beautiful Yun Chen Jun Zhu of Qian Shui Jun Guo"

  Zhang Ruochen smiled slightly and didn't hide anything from her, telling her the entire story from start to finish.

  After listening to Zhang Ruochen, Duanmu Xingling nodded lightly and said: "So that's how it is. You're also helpless. As long as you become an inner disciple of the Wumeng Academy, even if you are the King of Qianshui, he won't dare kill you easily. Besides, Dust Sister can be considered a peerless beauty, if you can marry her, it's not a loss at all."

  "Now everyone in the Wushu Academy knows about this, many people are very envious of you, of course there are also many people who are jealous, and even some people are planning to kill you."

  Zhang Ruochen looked fearless and said, "Who wants to kill me?"

  "Xun Gui Hai."

  Du Mu Xingling smiled and said: "Xun Guihai has already made a statement, if you dare to participate in the intermediate relic exploration exam, he will definitely take your life. Xun Guihai had originally prepared gifts to propose to Qian Shui Jun, but was preempted by you, you don't know, he's almost been driven mad."

  Zhang Ruochen said, "Xun Guihai resents me, which is within my expectations. After all, Huang Shijie originally wanted to use me as a shield, and given my situation at the time, I had to go and help her block the arrows."

  Du Mu Xingling's expression turned serious, saying: "Xun Guihai is the 14th person on the Mysterious List, his strength is far greater than you can imagine, don't underestimate him."

  "It's said that he once killed a mid-term helmsman of the Moon Worship Sect, and it was that battle that made his name shake the world, becoming a legendary figure outside the Wushang Academy. With his strength, if he wanted to kill you, just one move would be enough."

  "When soldiers come, we'll block them; when water comes, we'll dam it. I won't not attend the intermediate relic exploration exam just because of his one sentence." Zhang Ruochen said.

  "After some thought, Zhang Ruochen said: 'Duanmu Shijie, you've been preparing for the intermediate relic exploration exam for a long time and should be very familiar with intermediate relics. Can you tell me what preparations I need to make before entering an intermediate relic?'"

  Du Mu Xingling's eyes blinked slightly as she leaned in a bit closer to Zhang Ruochen, saying: "Sister Dust hasn't told you about it"

  Zhang Ruochen said, "My engagement with Huang Shijie is just nominal. In reality, my relationship with her isn't as close as outsiders imagine. At least in my opinion, I'm closer to Duanmu Shijie."

  It's clear that Zhang Ruochen's words just now were quite pleasant to hear. Duanmu Xingling's smile became even more radiant after hearing them, and she said: "You're still pretty good at talking, I thought you'd gotten a fiancée and forgotten about me, your master sister. Alright then, let me start from the very beginning. First of all, you have to know where those ruins came from."

  "The Kunlun Realm has a history of billions of years, from the earliest ancient times, followed by the ancient, distant past, medieval and recent past. In the eternal river of time, countless heroes were born, the darkest and bloodiest wars took place, and there were also prosperous eras where all saints emerged."

  "In the history of Kunlun Realm, countless semi-saints and saints were born, but now they have all passed away, leaving behind only some relics and former residences."

  "The intelligence agency of Wushi Qianzhuang, spread throughout the Kunlun Realm, has recorded all the relics of semi-saints and saints in history on the Shengji Shouzha."

  "According to the danger level of those ruins, the chance of treasure appearing will be divided into multiple levels."

  "In fact, the cultivation of outer palace disciples, even if they only go to primary ruins for training, may also encounter life-threatening dangers. Therefore, the Martial City Academy only allows the top ten outer palace students from each of the four academies to participate in the intermediate ruin exploration exam. You must listen clearly, it's just an exploration exam, not a trial."

  "What is the difference between exploration and experience?"

  Du Mu Xingling smiled and said, "Exploring means that we only need to enter the intermediate ruins to take a look and search for precious treasures. If we can't beat them, we can escape. However, if it's training, then we have to complete the tasks assigned by the Academy, which is even more dangerous. Generally speaking, only high-level inner disciples will actively go to intermediate ruins for training."

  Du Mu Xingling continued, "Within the entire Tianmo Ridge's thirty-six counties' range, there are only two mid-level ruins. One of them is located deep within Tianmo Ridge and is called Chi Kong Secret Mansion. It is said that Chi Kong Secret Mansion is located at the bottom of the earth and was once the sacred mansion where the four-winged dragon, the master of Tianmo Ridge, resided."

  "The cultivation of the Four-Winged Earth Dragon is comparable to that of a Saint among human warriors. When it was alive, it was extremely tyrannical, dominating an area of 100,000 miles and devouring an entire city's worth of humans every time it fed."

  "Even now, the superior counties of Qian Shui County had to pay tribute to the Four-Winged Earth Dragon every year, sending over spiritual crystals, silver coins, elixirs, and blood food. Every year, Qian Shui County would send hundreds of thousands of human slaves to Tian Mo Ridge as food for the Four-Winged Earth Dragon. If they didn't send them, even more people in Qian Shui County would die."

  "Five hundred years ago, the arrogant four-winged earth dragon finally enraged the newly enthroned Queen Chi Yao. With a single order from Queen Chi Yao, the great army of the First Central Empire was dispatched to besiege Tianmo Ridge and slay the four-winged earth dragon."

  "The First Central Empire waged a heaven-shaking and earth-shattering great war in the Red Sky Secret Mansion to kill the Four-Winged Earth Dragon and those powerful ferocious beasts on Tianmo Ridge."

  "In that war, the human race lost two and a half saints, but they killed seven semi-saint level barbaric beasts. Even the four-winged earth dragon died in the Red Sky Secret Mansion. After all the semi-saint level barbaric beasts were extinct, the once deadly land became much more peaceful."

  Later, the Wu City Xue Gong advanced to the Tianmo Ridge, helping the First Central Empire to suppress the remaining barbarians in the Tianmo Ridge. At the same time, some human cities that were originally only on the edge of the Tianmo Ridge continuously swallowed up the living areas of the barbarians, and over the course of hundreds of years, formed a country. Your ancestors, the founders of the Yunwu County State, rose to power at that time. The Yunwu County State was also established at that time.

  Zhang Ruochen said, "In other words, the current territory of the 36 states of Tianmo Ridge was a vast wilderness five hundred years ago, ruled by the Four-Winged Earth Dragons and the Barbaric Beasts. Humans have developed over the past five hundred years, from the initial scattered cities and villages to the 36 states on the periphery of Tianmo Ridge."

  Du Mu Xingling nodded and smiled, "Now the territory of the thirty-six counties combined is only one-fifth of the territory of Tianmo Ridge. However, with the human tribe's strong momentum, in a few hundred years, they will inevitably completely devour the barbarian territories of Tianmo Ridge. At that time, there may be seventy-two counties, one hundred and eight counties, or it is also possible to unify them thoroughly, becoming an upper-class county like Qianshui County."

  "Besides the Red Sky Secret Mansion, what about the other mid-grade relic?"

  Another mid-grade relic is in the Tongming River, located at the bottom of the river. It's said that the Four-Winged Earth Dragon established a dragon palace at the bottom of the Tongming River because the Four-Winged Earth Dragon set up a large array on the periphery of the dragon palace. Therefore, only warriors below the Tianji Boundary can enter the dragon palace. If one wants to forcibly break through the array from the outside, they will destroy the dragon palace.

  "For hundreds of years, many warriors have gone in to explore, but out of ten people who enter, only two or three can come out. The danger level of the underwater Dragon Palace is even higher than that of the Red Sky Secret Mansion."