The Wolf King, overly agitated, instinctively let out a low, rumbling growl.

The Beast Race around him noticed the disturbance and turned to look.

“Tu Lu, what’s wrong with you?” someone asked.

The Wolf King was always reticent about his experiences in the human world and shook his head, saying, “Nothing.”

However, his five eyes remained fixed on the direction of the human team.

The posture he assumed, as if ready to lunge and rip out someone’s throat, did not seem like “nothing” to the other beasts, who were skeptical.

The Wolf King remained silent, internally resolving to channel all his humiliation and past grievances—both from losing Little White Spirit Fox and from being mocked and expelled—toward that detestable human.

The Wolf King did not care if these matters were directly related to Qin Ruqing; he needed an outlet for his frustrations, and Qin Ruqing would bear the brunt of it.

Fortunately, today’s battle was held on the Ancient Arena, where life and death were not considered, and no one could interfere.

The Wolf King thought that the human appeared much stronger than before, but he himself was no longer the same.

Having emerged from the great Three-Eyed Wolf Tribe and received the Beast Emperor’s bloodline purification, his power had increased significantly.

The fragile human would undoubtedly die under his claws today!

With the battle list finalized, the two Dao Sovereign and the Beast Emperor summoned the Ancient Arena.

The Ancient Arena was not a physical arena but a manifestation of the Heavenly Dao’s will as the judge.

Once the “arena” was summoned, a veil of golden light slowly descended upon the combatants.

From this moment on, no creature other than the opponents and themselves could intervene in the duel.

The golden light made everyone’s expression serious, as being judged by the Heavenly Dao was no trivial matter.

Among them, Qin Ruqing appeared the most serious.

Although she originally felt no particular discomfort under the golden light and even found it somewhat soothing, she noticed that others seemed distressed.

Her overly relaxed demeanor made her stand out conspicuously.

This wouldn’t do!

With the barrier to the Void Realm closing soon, she had obtained everything she wanted and only needed to make it through the arena to leave with her rewards.

The final stretch couldn’t afford any mistakes.

Qin Ruqing quickly adjusted her expression to one of greater concern, blending in perfectly with the crowd.

The first match was between the third-ranked combatants from both sides.

That was Fifth Lingyu and a beast of indescribable appearance.

During the previous tests, the length of Fifth Lingyu’s cracks was only two inches less than Qin Ruqing’s.

Qin Ruqing suspected that he might have been hiding his true strength, just as she had, playing the part of a hidden tiger.

After all, this was Fifth Lingyu’s area of expertise.

Qin Ruqing maintained her vigilance as she watched Fifth Lingyu and the beast take their stances.

Nearby, human elders whispered among themselves—though they only discussed trivial matters, as anything sensitive was kept quiet.

From their conversations, Qin Ruqing learned that the indescribable beast was a member of a bloodline-strong race within the Beast Race.

Although their numbers were few, each one could handle ten opponents at once.

This beast, known among humans as the Shadow Weaver Beast, was characterized by its varied and cunning methods, secretive movements, and highly corrosive attacks.

Qin Ruqing nodded as she listened, planning to carefully observe this battle, mainly focusing on Fifth Lingyu.

She still remembered how that scoundrel had been ruthless to her during the path of inheritance.

She had long been planning to find an opportunity for revenge, so she needed to understand her enemy’s methods thoroughly.

Fifth Lingyu mainly relied on his magical weapon, the golden ring, in combat.

When the golden ring is in its ring form, it serves as armor, absorbing part of the attack and then returning the absorbed attack back, essentially functioning as a self-reflective armor.

When the golden ring is stretched out, it transforms into its second form: a golden spear.

Fifth Lingyu’s spear technique was fierce and domineering.

This allowed him to gain the upper hand at the beginning of the battle due to the power of his weapon.

Qin Ruqing watched with admiration and clicked her tongue, sending a message to Tang Zifeng: “Little Tang, this weapon of his is quite impressive!”

Tang Zifeng responded with an “mm” and said professionally, “That golden ring is not a contemporary magical weapon. It’s an ancient divine artifact passed down from the ancient times. After being damaged, its rank fell, but it has been repaired with heavenly materials and earthly treasures, maintaining half of its divine artifact power.”

Wow, it’s actually an ancient divine artifact! Even with such power, it’s only at a lower rank now.

So, there are still many good things at the immortal grade.

If Fifth Lingyu could find good materials in the future, wouldn’t that mean it could be restored to its ancient rank?

That would be like having a divine artifact!

Seeing Qin Ruqing’s appreciative gaze fixed on Fifth Lingyu, or more accurately, on his weapon, Tang Zifeng frowned and pointed out:

“Qingqing, don’t envy him. His golden ring is almost impossible to restore to its original rank.”

Hmm? Qin Ruqing tilted her head.

“For artifacts of this level, repairing and restoring them is more difficult and requires more materials than creating a new one.”

Qin Ruqing realized that means the cost-effectiveness of restoration is extremely low.

Fifth Lingyu managed to restore the golden ring to its current state thanks to the support of the Fifth Clan’s resources.

Restoring it to its original rank would touch the limits of the current era’s weapon refinement level, which even Celestial-grade experts would struggle with.

With Tang Zifeng’s comment, Qin Ruqing looked at the golden ring, and it indeed seemed less impressive than before.

At this moment, Tang Zifeng gently added:

“With the inheritance obtained this time, my weapon refinement skills have improved even more than before. I already have some new ideas for improvements on the Little Lutos Artifact.”

Great!

Qin Ruqing’s eyes sparkled as she threw Tang Zifeng a look of admiration.

Tang Zifeng smiled, feeling pleased.

Disillusioned by Fifth Lingyu’s magical weapon, Qin Ruqing then focused on a detail she had previously overlooked.

Fifth Lingyu had used this golden ring before, but had he ever showcased all of its mystical functions like this time in the arena?

He demonstrated the weapon’s comprehensive attack and defense capabilities in front of everyone.

Now, anyone with some insight could see that this weapon was extraordinary.

Thus, Fifth Lingyu’s own prominence was overshadowed by his weapon…

Could he be playing tricks?

Deliberately revealing all its features to hide his own shortcomings?

Qin Ruqing was suspicious.

However, whether Fifth Lingyu was indeed playing tricks was irrelevant to her.

Qin Ruqing focused on herself.

This battle provided her with a new idea.

That is, to present something that has little impact on oneself but attracts everyone’s attention, thereby concealing what one truly wants to hide.

The key point of this strategy is in the balance between what to reveal and what to hide…