Chapter 138: Protection Money? Enemy?

A deep sense of crisis welled up in Zhou Yi's heart. Although his expression remained unchanged, he couldn't help looking a bit more solemn.

"Golden Core! A true Golden Core!" Zhou Yi sighed inwardly, feeling from the bottom of his heart that the Golden Core of this world was by far the strongest he had ever seen or heard of.

Even in his past life, in that era of information explosion, counting all legends, biographies, TV shows, movies, novels, and every work featuring the realm of the Golden Core, he had never seen any that surpassed what he was facing now!

At first, when he first heard about the concept of matching a star with a Golden Core, although shocked, he had also felt a trace of secret delight. After all, this was a goal, a path. With the existence of his cheat system, he believed that given time, he would certainly be able to achieve the Golden Core realm!

Therefore, after the initial shock, he was filled with extreme excitement. The stronger the Golden Core realm, the greater the strength he would be able to attain in the future!

However, right now, the very thought of how powerful a Golden Core was gave Zhou Yi a headache. First, he had not yet reached the Golden Core realm himself; he was still far too distant from it!

Second, it was now practically certain that he had already offended an enemy at the Golden Core realm!

This was troublesome. An enemy at the Golden Core realm—for him right now, the stronger the Golden Core, the more powerful the enemy he had to face!

And correspondingly, the trouble he was in became all the more massive!

What made Zhou Yi feel even more bitter was that he happened to be right in the territory of this formidable enemy. He was like the fish and the chopping board, completely at the mercy of others!

What drove him to despair even more was that he hadn't even met the conditions to leave the island yet. And even if he did meet them, he wouldn't dare to leave!

Judging from various factors, the fastest way to elevate his strength was precisely here on Peerless Island. Once he left the island, trying to improve his power further would become exceedingly difficult!

To say nothing else, take the cultivation technique he had just acquired, the *Northern Black Water Tome*. If he were outside the island, let alone whether such a powerful technique existed out there, even if he managed to obtain it, how would he cultivate it?

The Northern Black Water True Essence and the Northern Black Water Earth Fiend—where was he supposed to find these two essences of heaven and earth?

The outside world wasn't like this place, where there was a tower containing all the essences of heaven and earth ready to be found!

In the outside world, even if these heaven and earth essences existed, finding their locations was a problem in itself. Furthermore, he would have to search for them, and once found, whether he could actually acquire them was yet another question!

With all these problems piling up, even if they were eventually resolved, the amount of time consumed would be immeasurable!

Calculated this way, the gap between the two choices became even more vast!

"Hmm..." Running the numbers, Zhou Yi suddenly felt that being in the enemy's territory might not be such a bad thing after all!

At least the materials needed for cultivation didn't need to be searched for everywhere, and practicing his dharma power didn't require sitting in dry meditation year after year. Even if he grew tired of cultivation and wanted to pick a fight, there would never be a shortage of opponents!

"Well, indeed, there won't be any shortage!"

***

This was Peerless Island, and by now Zhou Yi had pretty much provoked the master of this island. If he could live a comfortable life here, it would truly be a miracle!

"Halt!"

Just as Zhou Yi lowered his head in deep thought, a shout suddenly echoed in his ears.

Hearing the voice, Zhou Yi stopped in his tracks and turned his gaze toward the newcomer.

The speaker was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man. Flanking him on either side were four other men who looked equally ordinary.

"Judging by appearances... their strength is low!"

Sensing the five men's power, he concluded they were mere weaklings.

Zhou Yi's gaze lingered on them for a brief moment before instantly bypassing them to look behind them!

It was a pitch-black expanse of land, vast and boundless, stretching endlessly beyond the limits of sight. Standing proudly in the middle of this open space was a black, seven-storied pagoda. It immediately drew the eye, compelling everyone who arrived here to inevitably fix their gaze upon it.

"Could this be? The Cultivation Pagoda!" Upon seeing the dark pagoda, a sudden wave of realization dawned in Zhou Yi's heart. He had arrived.

"Hey! I'm talking to you, what kind of look is that?"

Zhou Yi's attention was entirely captivated by the Cultivation Pagoda, ignoring the five men entirely. He himself didn't mind, but these five men were not about to let it slide. Their tempers instantly flared up, and they shouted harshly.

Bang!

Mid-speech, feeling insulted by being ignored and burning with anger, the leader—the man who had shouted earlier—slapped his palm directly toward Zhou Yi!

A streak of red light flashed across his palm, radiating intense heat. The temperature soared rapidly, causing the surrounding air to heat up drastically in an instant!

The middle-aged man was named Weng Han. He was at the grand completion of the third stage of acupoint infusion, having cultivated a second-grade fire dharma power. Among those at the third stage on Peerless Island, his strength belonged to the upper echelon!

"Hmm?" The abruptly rising temperature around him snapped Zhou Yi out of his thoughts. He frowned slightly and turned his head to look!

Slap!

The exact moment he turned around, Weng Han's palm landed squarely and solidly against his chest!

Faced with this strike, Zhou Yi lowered his gaze to look at the palm pressed against his chest. He frowned a bit deeper, then raised his head to look at Weng Han: "Take your hand off."

"Huh?"

***

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

Seeing Zhou Yi's reaction and hearing his words, the four men standing behind Weng Han, who had originally been wearing expressions of watching a good show, instantly changed their demeanor. Their eyes widened as they stared fixedly at the palm pressed against Zhou Yi's chest.

"He's fine?"

"How is that possible?"

"He must be putting on a brave front!"

"You have to remember that was a palm strike infused with Weng Han's dharma power! Even without using a specific technique, it's not something an ordinary person can withstand!"

"Exactly! Given Brother Weng's strength, how many people in this third stage can take that strike? He's definitely just bluffing!"

"That's right, a dead duck with a stiff beak!"

The expressions of the men shifted rapidly. Seeing that Zhou Yi showed no reaction whatsoever after taking Weng Han's palm expressionlessly, they felt a wave of shock, but quickly concocted a reason in their own minds to explain it away.

"Shut up!" Just as the men wore smug expressions, convinced they had guessed the reason, Weng Han suddenly barked a command, cutting them off. He stared at Zhou Yi with a solemn expression.

"Who are you?" Weng Han asked in a deep voice.

Zhou Yi did not answer. He merely stared at him, cold flashes appearing in his eyes. You suddenly appeared to block my path, and I didn't bother to argue with you. You should have just walked away, yet you actually dared to make a move. Do you really take me for someone made of clay?

"It's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding!" At that moment, Dugu Shang, who had been watching from the sidelines, saw that the timing was right and suddenly stepped between the two men, speaking loudly.

Taking advantage of the moment they were stunned by his words, Dugu Shang quickly walked up to Zhou Yi and whispered an explanation into his ear:

"These five men are the gatekeepers of the Cultivation Pagoda in this third stage. They are responsible for collecting the entry fee for the pagoda and ensuring the safety of those who pay while they are here."

"An entry fee!" Zhou Yi muttered to himself, the cold gleam in his eyes gradually subsiding. If that was truly the case, it wasn't worth making a fuss over. After all, his strength was still not enough to make an enemy of Peerless Island; forbearance was the best course of action.