More and more people were transported into the secret realm as time passed.

A light flashed, and Hei Qi found himself in a new place.

“That damn rule. It sent me in so late into the contest,” Hei Qi growled with dissatisfaction.

Despite killing many rule breakers, it had still taken a few waves for him to be transported. It had gotten to the point where he had even been considering killing his own team to increase the chances of entering this place. Fortunately, he was transported into the secret realm before his patience could get the better of him, saving him some energy.

Once inside the secret realm, Hei Qi summoned his black blade. The nine eyes on the blade scanned their surroundings with their respective effects.

“I’m going to kill Han Wu!” he roared.

Then, another voice murmured from his mouth, “No, it's suicide to go and find Han Wu. You will not go.”

“Kill!” cried a third voice. “I need to kill more people! Kill everyone I see!”

“Divine Weapons. I’ve caught the scent of Divine Weapons. I want to devour them all!”

Each voice differed from Hei Qi’s usual speech. A thick plume of evil energy shrouded him as the nine eyes darted about in search of a target.

Hei Qi suddenly disappeared and reappeared five hundred meters away, cutting down a member of the Divine Weapon Civilization. The blade sliced through their body, draining their life force dry.

Seizing the dropped Divine Weapons, he allowed the black blade to absorb them.

“Not enough. This isn’t enough. I need more!” Hei Qi snarled greedily, the nine eyes on the blade darting about once more.

At the same time, Baili Changhe, of the Divine Weapon City’s team, was transported into the secret realm. As one of the five greatest blacksmiths in Divine Weapon City, he held considerable power.

Each of the five greatest blacksmiths had their own specialty. For instance, Lady Huang excelled in forging support-oriented Divine Weapons, General Liu in evil blades, and Baili Changhe in defensive Divine Weapons.

Baili Changhe’s pride was such that he confidently proclaimed himself the foremost expert on defensive Divine Weapons in the entire Divine Weapon Civilization. He was a stout user of his own defensive Divine Weapons and even donned five layers of armor.

The first layer, a silk inner layer, increased his resistance to elemental damage. Meanwhile, the second, a cotton layer, reduced the impact of blows. The next layer, a chainmail, defended against piercing and slashing attacks, and the fourth, a metal armor, protected against blunt force. Finally, the outermost layer, a platemail forged in a stupa motif, raised both physical and magical defense as well as reflected damage.

The five armors made him as durable as the city walls that protected Divine Weapon City. In addition to his armor, he also equipped a variety of shields—a small, round shield on his arm to block projectiles, a shield made from an extremely rare wood to defend against melee attacks, and a tower shield as tall as him on his back.

During emergencies, he would turn and use the tower shield as protection. Not only could he defend against the attack, but the impact would also propel him away from his enemies.

He wore all of these on a regular basis. In truly dire circumstances, he would use a skill to raise his defense threefold. Almost no one in the Divine Weapon Civilization could ever hope to crack through his defense.

Baili Changhe greatly relied on his defensive power to survive in the contest for the legendary Armament Spirit, and it had already come in useful several times. Unfortunately, his luck ran out when he encountered Hei Qi.

The moment the two locked eyes, Hei Qi swung with his black blade. Baili Changhe raised his shields to block the attacks, reflecting the damage back to Hei Qi.

Feeling provoked, Hei Qi swung his sword faster and faster. Even the mighty wooden shield couldn’t withstand Hei Qi's incessant slashes and was soon cut into strips.

Baili Changhe felt helpless. The constantly reflected damage would’ve normally left his opponent heavily injured and out of commission. The issue wasn’t that the damage wasn’t hitting, but that Hei Qi appeared to be enjoying it.

Such misfortune! To think I would encounter a pervert who gets excited from cutting himself! Baili Changhe thought to himself.

This wasn’t his first time encountering a person who became more powerful and fervent with every injury, but they didn’t get any easier to deal with. Not wanting to spend more time than necessary on Hei Qi, he quickly activated one of his Divine Weapon’s skills, Air Wall.

Four walls of air shot out from him, repelling everything in its path.

Hei Qi was unaffected. His blade had an effect that could cut barriers, allowing him to easily slice through the walls of air and continue to attack. His relentless slashes soon broke the round shield as well.

As Hei Qi showed no signs of stopping, Baili Changhe decisively chose to turn around and use his tower shield to escape. Hei Qi struck the tower shield on Baili Changhe’s back, blasting the latter away from the impact.

Despite this, Hei Qi persistently gave chase. For the next three hours, Hei Qi chased Baili Changhe, getting strikes when he could and gradually chipping away at his armor and shields.

Just how much do they hate me? Baili Changhe wondered, on the verge of tears. The grudge must be deep for them to chase me an entire fifty kilometers without rest.

When his final layer of armor broke, Baili Changhe was forced to use his strongest defensive skill, Golden Body, to save his life. The effect negated all damage, but only lasted three minutes. In other words, he either had to escape within that timeframe or stop Hei Qi from attacking him. If not, he would die trying.

“Wait, stop! Brother, father, uncle, grandfather! What do you want? Just tell me what you want! I can give you whatever you want if I can!” Baili Changhe pleaded.

Hei Qi’s blade swung down, uncaring for his pleas.

Terror overwhelmed Baili Changhe. He had never met a madman like Hei Qi before.

Suddenly, Hei Qi’s blade halted, and a distorted voice said, “I want you to make armor for me!”

Baili Changhe’s skill in forging defensive Divine Weapons was obvious after attacking him for so long.

“I don’t have anything here. What can I use to forge for you...?” Baili Changhe whimpered. Regardless of his talent, he still needed materials and a forge.

Hei Qi’s blade descended once more, but Golden Body nullified the damage. Still, it was enough to strike fear into Baili Changhe’s heart.

“Ok! I’ll do it! I’ll do it!” Baili Changhe cried helplessly. “I’ll make armor for you!”

He had no choice but to use his own broken Divine Weapons to make the armor.