The Professional Rankings, in twelve volumes, each bearing the name of my lord.

A thousand years later.

Songgua Island, the Island of Heroes.

The military camp on the island has become a ruin.

This place has been deserted for many years.

Until recently, a rumor has been circulating in the Earth's cultivation community, drawing attention to this place once again.

"Hey Dog Bro, do you think our combination will work?"

Song Feng boarded a small smuggling boat and, following an old gangster named Chen Gou, landed on Songgua Island.

The night was pitch black. The two climbed out of the weeds on the shore and stealthily approached the stone statue on the island.

"Thousands of tons of stone statues, and all we have to do is get a few ounces of lime to refine elixirs? Is that so hard? It's really, really simple, okay?"

Chen Gou was dressed in a tattered Taoist robe, with a mustache and slicked-back hair, looking just like a traitor who had stolen a Taoist's clothes.

He was thin and had shifty eyes. He led Song Feng closer and closer to the stone statue.

"Brother Dog, I heard that recently, various powerful forces and ancient clans have been approaching Songgua Island to seize the stone statue. How can we possibly snatch food from their mouths, not even a tiny bit of lime?"

"Hehe, little brother, you don't understand, do you? These big shots are fighting and vying for power. That stone statue isn't made of solid iron. It's quite possible that it would be caught in the aftershocks of the battle and some dust would fly out, right?"

"Are we going to pick up bargains?"

"What do you think? Do you expect me, the dignified 18th-generation sole heir of the Tang Clan, to fight to the death against those alien races, prodigies, geniuses, giants, and remnants of the old regime?!"

Song Feng chuckled obsequiously.

"Who cares if it's a black cat or a white cat, as long as it catches mice, it's a good cat. Our method may be a bit underhanded, but it definitely has a chance of success. Dog Bro, you're brilliant!"

"That is, that is, that is..."

Just as the two were moving forward in the dark, everything around them suddenly lit up.

Looking up, they saw a mechanical phoenix, its body seemingly covered in LED lights and with a wingspan exceeding one hundred meters, sweeping over their heads with a long, fiery tail.

"Damn! It's the Heavenly Phoenix T-800! The people who came must be high-ranking members of the ancient Yuwen family! Sure enough, all the big shots have come!"

Immediately following, from another direction, thousands of rays of light and auspicious colors appeared, and a Qilin, stepping on an icy bridge, soared through the sky, attracting attention.

Like the mechanical phoenix, the water unicorn is not a real creature, but a mechanical creation whose appearance and movements are extremely similar to those of an animal.

The dog exclaimed in surprise again.

"Another ancient family from the highest echelons of history, the Wang family! Azure-eyed, icy water unicorn PLUS!"

It seems to have triggered some kind of chain reaction.

From all directions, more and more mechanical strange beasts, emitting various colors of light, stirring up gusts of wind, and emitting all kinds of thunderous sounds, flew out continuously.

This was the first time Song Feng had ever seen such a large mechanical construct.

Previously, he had only seen small gadgets like mechanical dogs and mechanical cats in the city, which were used to assist people in their daily lives or for cultivators in their battles and training.

Such enormous creatures, large enough to serve as mounts for multiple people, are rarely seen in the city.

It's probably because the city he lives in is too small.

These large creations have a nice name—Mechanical Divine Beasts, or simply Machine Gods.

Each of these Machine Gods is an invaluable strategic resource. On this planet, only powerful forces, the magnificent empire in the east, or the eight surrounding kingdoms can possess them.

Song Feng was not without envy.

"Just thinking about riding on these machines, soaring through the sky and diving into the depths, sounds amazing!"

Chen Gou chuckled.

"Once we cultivate to the King level, won't we be able to fly too?"

Song Feng gave an awkward smile.

"Brother Dog, you're joking. We're both acquired spiritual warriors. The King Realm? That's just a dream."

In today's world, cultivators only need to obtain a spiritual martial arts technique to embark on the path of cultivation.

With diligence and hard work, anyone can become a trained martial artist.

Cultivate techniques, improve your cultivation level, and strengthen your physical body.

To cultivate martial arts skills for combat.

There are nine ranks of acquired spiritual warriors.

A cultivator who reaches the ninth level of the Great Perfection, if they have the aptitude and comprehension, or if they are nurtured with spiritual resources and cultivate with suitable innate techniques, will have the opportunity to overcome the shackles of acquired abilities and become an innate spiritual martial artist.

Song Feng didn't have any great ambitions in his life. He felt incredibly lucky to have become a Primordial Spirit Warrior.

He had met some innate spiritual martial artists in the city.

They are not only far superior in martial arts to those who have acquired spiritual martial arts skills, but they can also use spiritual techniques.

Spiritual arts include methods of transformation and the Five Elements, and can also be used for forging, alchemy, drawing talismans, forming arrays, and so on, with endless wonderful uses.

As for the Overlord Realm and King Realm above the Innate Spiritual Warrior Realm...

Song Feng never even considered it.

Those are extremely rare individuals, exceptionally talented people.

Song Feng followed Brother Gou, sneaking around in the lush weeds of the island amidst the countless flying machines.

"Come on, put on these Turtle Breathing Talismans to conceal our auras and prevent anyone from detecting us. Given the current situation, we absolutely must hide, otherwise we won't be able to steal even a single speck of dust!"

Chen Gou took out two talismans from his pocket, with yellowish backgrounds and thin light strips embedded in the characters and edges, and gave one to Song Feng.

Song Feng stuck the talisman to his chest, and a mechanical synthesized voice came from inside the talisman.

"The Turtle Breathing Talisman is activated. The current shielding level is approximately the third level of a Primordial Spirit Warrior. The remaining time is three hours."

Upon hearing the activation prompt of the talisman, Song Feng said...

"Brother Dog, you can only block the third level of the Innate Realm. There are many powerful figures here, and we still risk being exposed."

Chen Gou scolded angrily.

"Idiot! This is second-hand stuff. Where would I get the money to buy the good stuff? Something useful is good enough, better than nothing!"

The two continued to explore forward.

Suddenly, a loud bang came from ahead.

A terrifying shockwave swept across the night sky, shaking the entire island.

Rocks tumbled from the clouds, and grass and trees flew about.

Chen Gou reacted quickly, grabbing a giant log as thick as a person. His entire body was uncontrollably blown up by the shockwave, and he swayed like a flag.

Song Gua's hand was even faster, grabbing Dog Brother's pants in one swift motion.

"Hey Dog Bro! Hurry up!"

"Hey, relax! It's nothing! It's just the aftershock! You can come back later if you get blown away!"

"Dog Bro! Our partnership can't be broken up!"

"You damn well better pull my pants down right now, I'm fucking..."

Accompanied by a crisp "sizzle" sound.

Song Feng pulled down the trousers under Chen Gou's Taoist robe.

Along with that, they also pulled off a piece of yellow SpongeBob SquarePants men's underwear.

Song Feng was thrown into the air by the shockwave.

Fortunately, Chen Gou held on for a while, and the aftershocks were already very weak.

Song Feng didn't fly very far.

He soon returned, looking disheveled and stumbling.

"Brother Dog, I'm fine."

Chen Gou cursed.

"I'm in trouble! Give me back my pants right now!"

"Alright, Dog Bro, I didn't expect you to like SpongeBob too."

"..."

Judging from the commotion, Chen Gou concluded that a fight must have broken out on the island.

Sure enough, a series of loud noises and explosions followed, along with shouts of battle and the chanting of martial arts names.

The two dared not approach any further.

Looking around, Chen Gou found an excellent edge OB point.

"Come on, let's go to that rocky mountain over there. The view is great, and the rock is sturdy enough. If necessary, we can just run towards the other side of the mountain!"