Chapter 107: To Block or Not to Block? (Seeking recommendations, seeking collections!)

Earth. At the entrance to the Kunlun Secret Realm, an immense crowd had already gathered. As far as the eye could see, countless heads swayed in a dense throng. Among them were people from Europe and America, Africa, the Middle East—representatives from every country and continent across the globe had all come.

Zhang Daoyi remained seated at the forefront, paying no heed to the multitude behind him.

Within the mist that shrouded the Kunlun Secret Realm, a golden staff shimmered and twisted, darting up and down like a mischievous child. It would occasionally break through the fog before vanishing once more.

At this moment, a young man in military uniform approached Zhang Daoyi. "Director Zhang, everyone has arrived. We can proceed," he said.

Zhang Daoyi nodded, rose to his feet, and led the large contingent forward. Just as they were about to enter the fog, the golden staff suddenly flashed and swung down toward Zhang Daoyi.

His feelings were conflicted. If he fully blocked the strike, the force of their clash would endanger all the cultivators behind him. Yet if he didn’t intercept it, he himself would bear the brunt. To block or not to block—this was a dilemma indeed.

As Zhang Daoyi hesitated, the staff froze midair, not actually striking him.

He twitched at the corner of his eye. That staff was teasing him!

Just as he was about to lash out, the mist ahead parted, revealing a passage, much like the last time.

Composing himself, Zhang Daoyi waved his hand, signaling those behind to step forward and enter the passage. He himself remained standing at its entrance, taking no further step.

Looking up from his position, Zhang Daoyi saw the infuriating staff spinning in the sky, then nodding toward him, as if acknowledging his good performance.

His anger simmered anew. In these few days, the staff had constantly provoked him—always teasing, never fully engaging in combat.

Beyond anger, Zhang Daoyi was filled with wonder. Since first encountering this staff, he had found it incredible. It was just a weapon, yet it seemed to possess its own consciousness. Whether in battle or in playful provocation, it exhibited a remarkable intelligence.

This phenomenon had been reported to the Sky Network. The eleven-grade masters within the Network expressed astonishment. However, due to the need to guard the ruins and prevent incursions from the Dark Realm, none of the eleven-grade masters could intervene. Since the staff showed no hostility, the matter was temporarily set aside.

Yet Zhang Daoyi constantly faced this staff and truly sensed its extraordinariness. Firstly, its material was incredibly hard. There were few metals in the world that could catch the attention of a ten-grade Martial Emperor, and the staff’s composition was beyond Zhang Daoyi’s understanding—far harder than his own Dragon Spear. His spear was forged from meteoric iron and the essence of a ten-grade exotic beast, yet it paled in comparison to this staff. Every collision between his spear and the staff left his spear at a disadvantage.

Secondly, as mentioned, the staff possessed intelligence—its mastery of various combat techniques and angles was flawless. At first contact, Zhang Daoyi had been drawn into the staff’s battle rhythm. It was truly astonishing.

While Zhang Daoyi pondered, the team had all entered the passage. From a distance, he watched as the gate at the passage’s end opened, and the group began to proceed inside.

The first group to enter numbered two thousand—all native Hua Xia warriors.

The second batch was even larger, over twelve thousand strong.

Hua Xia’s allocations to other nations were not equal: five hundred for major powers, three hundred for the next tier, one hundred fifty for the tier below, and only a few dozen for the smallest tribes with populations under a million. Yet even so, over ten thousand had gathered here.

Once the passage vanished and all had entered the Secret Realm, Zhang Daoyi stepped back a few paces and sat down again, eyes fixed ahead.

He dispatched others to explore, instructing them to take a quick look inside and return immediately, regardless of what they encountered.

Zhang Daoyi waited—waiting for the first to emerge, waiting for the initial report.

...

Yang Fan and his companions slowly departed the reception hall. Kun Sha arranged for several attendants to escort them on a tour of the Kunpeng Tribe.

This task had originally been assigned to Kun Li, but with Kun Yuan injured by Yang Fan, entrusting it to the emotional Kun Li was unwise. Kun Sha had no choice but to find others to guide Yang Fan’s group.

They gladly accepted.

Though the first group had entered the Kunlun Secret Realm three days prior, beyond this Kunpeng Tribe, they knew little else. Even the tribe’s own knowledge was limited to its name and its strongest member; most other details were blank.

Such scant information was insufficient for exploring the Secret Realm.

Walking through the Kunpeng Tribe’s main street with the attendants, the guides pointed out the surrounding buildings.

“See that towering building? That’s our Kunpeng Tribe's Martial Hall. All juniors who reach the appropriate age must report there. The Martial Hall instructs them in the ways of cultivation.”

Yang Fan’s gaze followed the guide’s finger to a building over ten meters tall, standing amidst shorter structures. Young people came and went frequently.

Yang Fan smiled inwardly. A "towering" building? That would be an ordinary apartment on Earth. But here? Scanning his surroundings, he conceded it was indeed tall for this place.

The architectural style of the Kunpeng Tribe resembled ancient Earth, mostly two-story buildings, with three-story ones rare, and only the Martial Hall reaching four stories.

Further along, the guide pointed to a three-story building. “That’s the New Silver Bank. It connects every tribe in this world, large or small. Every tribe has a New Silver Bank branch. Legend has it the New Silver Bank handles all commerce in the Forbidden Land. It manages the flow of money across the entire world!”

Yang Fan was taken aback. This bank was essentially the realm’s financial hub. How vast was the Secret Realm? By his estimation, it couldn’t be smaller than Hua Xia.

The general layout was becoming clearer: many tribes forming a world, akin to many nations.

Yet all these nations used the New Silver Bank’s currency. Essentially, the bank served as the central bank for the whole world, issuing and managing all money. This was terrifying.

Consider that on Earth, Hua Xia alone had countless banks—beyond the big four, there were innumerable local banks and credit unions. Although money issuance was governed by the government, that was just one country.

Now, the New Silver Bank spanned the entire realm—this was truly formidable.