Chapter One Hundred: This Is Not the Land of Trials

“Big Sis, don’t make trouble. I already have a wife and a child,” Ma Yi said with a bitter face. By now, he was practically a celebrity; the likes of Xu Xian were nothing compared to him—after all, he hadn’t even spared a zombie! Even though it was Ruhua who’d taken the initiative, hadn’t he ultimately accepted it? Even Liu Wen had been the one to make the first move. It got to the point where Ma Yi felt as though he was always on the receiving end, being pursued rather than pursuing. And now, this woman—who knows how many years she’s been dead, a ghost or something—wants him to take responsibility? Good heavens, this was going to push his evolution to new extremes, turning him into a beast in every sense of the word.

“It’s fine, I understand. In my tribe, the chieftain has more than a dozen wives,” Yueji said, lowering her gaze shyly after a moment’s thought.

“Huh?” Most men, confronted with this, would just exchange a few courteous words and go along with it, but Ma Yi was not like most men. He was nearly frantic now; he didn’t want any more emotional entanglements. He already had a human wife, a zombie wife—did he really need a ghost wife too? He couldn’t run, and as for fighting—what chance did he stand? She was a Boundary-Breaking expert, a figure at the very peak of the human race, whereas he’d only just started out. How could he possibly win?

Was Yueji unattractive? Of course not. Her naturally flawless skin put to shame all those women who spent fortunes on themselves; among women, she was a top beauty. If this had happened back when he was still single, he’d have been overjoyed to have such a stunning woman as his wife. But now, Ma Yi was a man of principle—he already had a wife and couldn’t go around ruining other women’s lives. It wasn’t that he minded her age.

“You’re unwilling?” Yueji glared at him. In truth, she was gentle, understanding, and considerate, but the wildness of her tribal roots prevailed in the end. As the once-strongest girl in the tribe, no matter how virtuous she was, she still had that bold and wild streak. How could she let her destined little man slip away from her hands, now that she was a Boundary-Breaker?

“No, no, I’m just worried you’ll be taken advantage of!” Ma Yi was sweating coldly. This seemingly gentle and soft big sister could turn into a tyrannosaurus at a moment’s notice. Better to agree for now—no need to suffer immediate losses. He could always stall for time; once this trial was over, he could leave anyway.

“I don’t feel taken advantage of. In fact, I feel quite happy,” Yueji’s expression softened instantly. Boldly, she walked up to Ma Yi and ran her trembling fingers across his cheek. For all her boldness, she was still a maiden at heart.

Ma Yi did his best to keep his smile from looking forced or unnatural.

“You’re still very weak right now. I happen to have many pills I used in the past that are perfect for your current stage. As always, focus on compressing your energy to strengthen your foundation.” With a mischievous grin, Yueji pulled out a collection of bottles and jars from her spatial pouch.

Ma Yi was instantly excited—what could be more thrilling than getting stronger? Then a saying suddenly popped into his head: “Three years older, worth a bar of gold; thirty years older, bestows you a kingdom; three hundred years older, grants you an elixir; three thousand years older, you ascend to immortality.”

He watched as Yueji sorted through the pills, dividing them into those suitable for now and those for future stages. He wasn’t even at the Extraordinary Realm yet, but she’d already prepared pills for that level—it was as if she planned to push him all the way to the Boundary-Breaking stage in one go. Truly, older women were great… No, what was he thinking? Wasn’t he supposed to be reluctant? Ma Yi watched the busy Yueji, struggling with the complexity of his feelings.

But as he swallowed the pills and felt his strength rise, Ma Yi could only marvel at how wonderful it was, all doubts swept aside. He focused on absorbing the medicine’s energy and compressing it to the limit. This process was both joyful and painful—after taking the pills, his power rose to mid-level eight, but after compressing it through meditation, it would drop back to the peak of level seven. He lingered at that peak, consuming five pills just to reach level eight.

Over the following days, Ma Yi spent his nights absorbing blood energy to solidify his foundation and his days using pills to enhance and then compress his energy. He didn’t neglect physical training either—every day, Yueji watched as he climbed the colossal tree by hand, back and forth, without using any energy. This alone doubled the strength in his arms.

With all this training, Ma Yi’s body underwent obvious changes. Previously, he stood less than 1.8 meters tall but weighed tons. Now, not only was he far stronger, but he was also lighter—because the human body is carbon-based. The old Ma Yi was like several tons of coal, but now he was more like a few hundred pounds of diamond.

Though Ma Yi was reluctant to admit it, being cared for by such a vastly older woman was actually quite nice. Looking no older than Ma Yi himself, Yueji was, in truth, at least ten thousand years old, her strength keeping her youthful and beautiful. It was hard to accept at first, but as the saying goes, “Familiarity breeds affection.” Even if they hadn’t taken the final step, they still enjoyed each other’s company, chatting and laughing together.

After more than half a month, Ma Yi finally regained his peak level nine strength—all thanks to Yueji. Without her, he might have reached the Extraordinary Realm sooner, but his foundation would have been shaky and his future prospects limited.

“By the way, when is this trial ground supposed to send us back?” Ma Yi leaned against the crystal coffin with Yueji, watching the giant birds flying in the distance.

“Missing home already?” Yueji teased, a hint of jealousy in her voice, having learned about Ma Yi’s family over the past few days.

“I was just asking. I’m not sure how I’m supposed to take you with me,” Ma Yi replied.

“I can’t go back with you. I don’t have a teleportation token like you do,” Yueji said quietly, clearly unhappy and a little sad.

“So as long as you have a token, you can leave with me?” Ma Yi was surprised. No wonder the Butcher had simply handed him the token and told him to keep it close before leaving.

“Yes,” Yueji nodded, but her expression remained gloomy.

“Then why not just take one? This place is so dangerous, it’s not unusual for others to die here,” Ma Yi laughed. “Though, come to think of it, I haven’t seen any other trial participants.”

“There’s something I haven’t told you. This isn’t actually a trial ground,” Yueji said, glancing at Ma Yi, reluctant to continue.

“What? This isn’t a trial ground? Then how did I get here?” Ma Yi was dumbfounded, mouth agape in astonishment.

“I’ve checked—this is actually a spatial layer. The real trial ground is over there.” Yueji pointed east.

“What’s a spatial layer?” Ma Yi asked, ever the curious one since learning his world wasn’t purely scientific.

“Think of it like a secret realm—a special environment where a unique region forms. Both spaces exist in parallel dimensions, yet are separate entities. This space is parasitic, like my spatial pouch: it exists in this world, but unless you’re its owner, you can’t sense its internal space or even its existence,” Yueji explained, gesturing with her pouch.

“Aren’t you a Boundary-Breaker? Can’t you break through the barrier between the two worlds?” Ma Yi joked. After all, he’d read plenty of novels—he was familiar with these concepts. And now, even talk of parallel spaces and dimensions was creeping in. It all felt like a dream.

“I can open it, but if I do, the space could be destroyed,” Yueji sighed.

“Then I’d be stuck here too?” Ma Yi was taken aback, unsure whether he understood or not.

“You could leave. You’re not strong enough to cause any damage to this world by leaving. But I’m different—if I go, my strength would upset the balance here,” Yueji explained, her words growing increasingly profound. If Ma Yi still had hair, he’d be pulling it out by now.

After a long silence, Ma Yi suddenly slapped his thigh. “Wait, I think you’ve misunderstood something.”

Yueji looked at him, puzzled.

Ma Yi thought for a moment. “Let me put it this way—you were in a state of death before, correct?”

Yueji nodded.

“So some expert discovered this place and put you here. Let’s suppose that person wanted to resurrect you. Your presence would upset the balance of this world, so the expert must have set up a stronger formation to compensate. It’s like me absorbing blood energy every day—even that is disrupting the world’s balance. Every day, many beasts are killed. Why would they risk everything to come here?”

“There must be something here drawing them, or something here threatening them. Either way, they’re compelled to obtain or destroy it. Am I right?”

Yueji paused, then nodded slowly. “That does make sense.”

“Besides, your presence here might actually cause more slaughter than your absence. Every day, countless beasts rush here to provide you with blood energy,” Ma Yi said, feeling as if he’d grasped something important but couldn’t quite put it into words.