Minutes earlier when everything when descended into chaos, Victor, Lady Li Yang, and Qin Lan found themselves besieged after Shen Mo announcement about the limit of three scoops.
Before they could even rush forward, the Jade Serpent Sect suddenly turned on them.
"Apologies," sneered Zhao Feng from the Jade Serpent Sect while unsheathing his blade. "But the sect must come first."
Yan Rui spun her chain weapon threateningly as her sharp eyes zeroed in on Lady Li Yang.
"I'm afraid we can't let you get any closer," she voiced with a smirk.
The third Jade Serpent cultivator,
Xu Jian twirled his iron staff and stepped between Victor and the pond, completely blocking his path forward.
"You helped us get here," he admitted while grinning wickedly. "Now, we'll be taking it from here."
Victor clenched his fists.
"Traitors," Lady Li spat with a tone of fury.
Before anyone could move, Qin Lan suddenly flung his poison-laced darts at Zhao Feng, forcing him to dodge backward.
"You Jade Serpent bastards sure like biting the hand that feeds you," Qin Lan snorted with his gourd clinking as he stepped forward.
"I'd rather drink a thousand bowls of my own poison than let you take that pond."
Zhao Feng clicked his tongue. "Then die."
With a flash, he lunged at Qin Lan while swing his blade with Qi-infused power.
Qin Lan jumped and twisted his body mid-air, evading the deadly strikes with an almost drunken grace.
Then, with a flick of his wrist, he sent out another burst of poisoned needles, forcing Zhao Feng to retreat yet again.
"You missed," Jiang Tao taunted—
Until he felt his body slow down as his movements turned sluggish.
Qin Lan grinned while twirling another dart between his fingers.
As dozens of cultivators rushed toward the pond, Shen Mu merely sighed and swung his sheathed greatsword.
A wave of raw Qi pressure blasted outward.
Six cultivators were sent flying.
Some coughed up blood mid-air before even hitting the ground.
"Fools. Until I have had a scoop myself, none of you are allowed to come close," Qin Lan stated with a tone of superiority.
Xiang Fei staff blade carved through attackers with flawless as she moved like a shadow.
Ren Yifei's twin swords cut through two enemies before they could even react.
Luo Mei's kusarigama danced, wrapping itself around a cultivator's neck before yanking him into the air and snapping his head off.
"You heard what Shen Mu said... no one is allowed to get close to the pond," she voiced with a seductive tone while licking a bit of the blood that splattered all over her face.
Within seconds, Shen Mu's team had already taken down over a dozen cultivators.
Meanwhile, Victor's new sword clashed violently against Xu Jian iron staff.
Each of his strikes carried enough force to shatter rock, yet Victor parried each one with growing momentum.
He ducked low, letting his Wind Arts guide his movement, before slashing upward in a crescent motion.
Xu Jian barely dodged in time—but Victor had predicted it.
He immediately spun, shifting his Qi, and unleashed a Gale Strike with his free hand
The burst of wind energy slammed into
Xu Jian, sending him crashing through the air.
He barely managed to land on his feet, but Victor had already closed the distance.
The two others didn't even let Victor savour the victory before attacking him from both sides.
Victor parried a strike from the left and ducked to evade the one from the right but before he could even return to a full standing position, a kick ram into him from behind.
This kick was from Xu Jian.
Victor's vision blurred as he stumbled forward—toward the pond.
There was no footing left.
There was no way to stop.
The moment seemed endless as Victor felt his body fall toward the deadly waters.
"Fang Chen!" Lady Li Yang screamed while lunging forward...
Victor's body crashed into the Pond of Dragon Tears causing gasps to fill the air.
Everyone expected Victor to die instantly.
But when they looked down at the pond, expecting to see him frozen solid, their eyes widened in shock.
Victor remained perfectly fine.
Not only was he still alive, but the waters of the Pond of Dragon Tears didn't harm him at all.
Instead of killing him, the pond's energy seemed to be flowing towards him.
The crystal-clear water around him glowed, sending spiraling ripples outward, reacting to his presence in a way that no one had ever seen before.
Shen Mu's smirk finally faded.
Even the Jade Serpent Sect cultivators who had betrayed Victor looked on in horror.
Lady Li Yang's hands trembled.
"This is impossible… No one should be able to survive that…"
A voice from the crowd cut through the chaos.
"He's a transmigrator!"
The words echoed like a thunderclap.
A hush fell over the battlefield as dozens of cultivators turned their eyes toward the pond.
"Damn it! That makes sense!" someone else shouted in rage and disbelief.
A storm of realization swept through the cultivators.
Transmigrators—beings who defied the natural order, walking outside the rules of the world, blessed with powers that no normal cultivator could ever attain.
And now, one of them had fallen into the most coveted sacred pond—but wasn't perishing... instead them seemed to be basking in its power.
A barrage of notifications burst into Victor's sight, glowing bright within the mystical waters.
> [System Alert: You have fallen into the Pond of Dragon Tears.]
[WARNING: The pond is attempting to merge with your being.]
[Option Available: Absorb the properties of the Pond of Dragon Tears?]
[Warning: The aftermath of this process is unknown.]
Victor's heartbeat pounded in his chest.
A rational person might have hesitated.
But did he really have a choice?
He gritted his teeth and willed the YES option.
A violent force erupted from the depths of the pond, and Victor was suddenly pulled downward.