《Solitary warrior》


 Azure Water city

    The world has never been a safe place, Ye Mo knew it firsthand.


    His parents died when he was four.


    Ye Mo is born in Azure Water city. It was a big town of the cloud region. His father was an humble farmer and his mother a housewife, while strolling on the streets of a market they encountered a man who wanted to take his mother as a servant, when she refused and his father intervened he killed both of them.


    He was a cultivator.


    When he saw Ye Mo he damaged his meridians. There was already less than 1% chance this poor boy could ever take revenge on him but the man didn''t want to take any risk.


    And so the cultivator left Ye Mo unconscious, no one tried to stop him and no one tried to help.


    This scene was engraved on his mind. He would never forget the despair, the fury he felt.


    After that he barely had the strenght to move, he would have died if it wasn''t for a homeless old man that took pity of him.


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    His son died of sickness long ago, he drowned in alcohol everyday losing his wife and his house but seing Ye Mo reminded him of his son so he helped him.


    The old man shared the scraps of food he had with Ye Mo, showed him where to sleep, where to beg, how to steal but most importantly where he could go and where he should never set a foot. There were many clans in Azure Water city and a couple of martial institutes. Going there as a simple mortal would be akin to a chicken seeking a pack of wolfs.


    Two years later when Ye Mo was six the old man died, he and Ye Mo weren''t living but barely surviving. It was already good he held out until then but with his death Ye Mo was alone once again and needed to fend for himself, life was harsh and he didn''t have the time to mourn, he was barely able to bury him with his frail body.


    -


    He was now twelve and currently on the ground getting kicked by three men.


    "You trash! How dare you steal an apple from my stall !" One of the men said.


    Another continued "Thieves like you don''t deserve to live!".


    "Damn it, i''m gonna die at this rate. I am too weak, i can''t do anything." Thought Ye Mo.


    It couldn''t be helped, stealing wasn''t safe. He was just a starving boy and no matter how skilled he was, he was bound to get caught one day but begging doesn''t wield much results and he would die as well if he don''t get anything to eat.


    After some time the three men were done venting their anger and realized Ye Mo wasn''t moving anymore.


    "He will drive customers away if we let him here, go take him outside the city, dig a hole and toss him inside." Said a man to the other two.


    "Yes brother/uncle." Both obeyed and carried Ye Mo away.


    Later at night, outside the city the pair of father and son throwed Ye Mo in a shallow hole they digged and left.

 Start of the end

    Ye Mo wasn''t dead but two of his ribs broke and he fell unconscious. The two men didn''t bother to check and just tossed him there.


    Fortunately the hole wasn''t deep and they made cheap work of burying him so mustering the little strenght he had, Ye Mo could get out.


    From this, it could be seen how little these guys thought of him.


    But Ye Mo wasn''t saved yet, he was miles away from the city and with two ribs broken and a malnourished body he feared he wouldn''t have the strenght to get back. Even if he did he would be in a critical state and could only wait for death.


    While thinking about it Ye Mo saw something black sticking from the shallow hole he just left. Getting closer, he got the dirt off of it and realized it was some kind of manual.


    "Nine Revolutions Fiend Body" Ye Mo couldn''t believe his eyes.


    It was a body refining technique he heard about only in legends the old man told him about.


    Martial arts were divided in three categories, cultivation techniques, body refining techniques and battle skills.


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    Martial arts were also classed in terms of power from yellow rank, star rank, earth rank then heaven rank and were further divided in low, mid, high and peak tier.


    From what he coul read the nine revolutions fiend body was a high tier body refining technique of the star rank. Ye mo wasn''t sure if there was even one peak tier yellow rank martial art in azure water city without even talking about the star rank.


    Not only talking about the rank of the martial art but it must be known that a body refining technique was much rarer than a cultivation technique or a battle skill.


    It was so because body refining techniques took a lot of time to cultivate and consumed a lot of ressources while their method of cultivation for most of them were quite barbaric, a very strong will was required to cultivate them to completion but cultivating qi was rather mild and was the basis of cultivation for every cultivator, as such it takes them all their time already and weighing the pros and cons, cultivating their body wasn''t worth it.


    As such body refining techniques became less used and with time a lot of them were lost.


    Ye Mo perused through the manual and discovered it was a demonic technique, although it could be cultivated by gathering qi the pace would be very slow and the results not up to the efforts. The real method described through the black book was to harness the blood and life force of people and to disperse it through the body.


    Also the nine revolutions fiend body technique had nine levels and every time the user would breakthrough he would feel an excruciating pain that would kill anyone not mentally prepared.


    A cold light shined in Ye Mo''s dark eyes. He had no family, his parents died, the old man that took care of him joined them soon after, he was alone and he had nothing.


    Nothing but one dream, becoming the strongest. Stronger than anyone else, until no beings in the world could stop him, and for that he was ready to do anything!

 Death

    "I can''t get careless, i need to heal first." Ye Mo sat down in a lotus position and started to absorb qi inside his body through the method described in the book.


    He could feel vibrations throughout his body like his whole being was trembling, his ribs were slowly going back in place, his skin took a fiery teint and strenght filled his muscles.


    After some time in meditation Ye Mo rose up and his skin returned to it''s tanned color.


    "Such a strong feeling only after a short time cultivating and it was just the qi cultivation method, a star rank technique is truly something else."


    He was overjoyed, he could finally see the light after all theses years struggling, like his life was just starting now. But the hunger took him back to reality, he had to go back to the city.


    Being shirtless he concealed the body refining technique in his pants. Fortunately it was night and no one would care about him anyway so he didn''t worry too much about it.


    After some time he safely reached the city and got back to his rundown shack in the slums of the periphery of the city.


    Ye Mo slept a bit and cultivated the rest of the night. He would never sleep too long in case someone approached him but also because he was too cold.


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    -


    The next day in a dark alley, a young man with messy black hairs was hurriedly eating some fruits and drinking water while looking left and right. It was Ye Mo and the fruits were stolen, with the state of his body right now stealing something from a food stall was a piece of cake. The vendor wouldn''t notice one or two fruits missing and he did this half his life after all. The last time was an isolated case since thievery wasn''t a sure science and he was very weak at this time and urgently needed to eat but it was still rare for him to get caught else he would have died long ago.


    "Phew, i can feel i got stronger and now that im sated the plan can start." Ye Mo muttered while touching his stomach.


    -


    The evening in a tavern of the town, a drunkard was leaving the place.


    He was staggering every steps, it could be seen he drank a lot.


    "F***ing hell, i have no chance today." The man grumbled as he looked at the twelve bronze coins in his hand.


    One hundred bronze coins was the same as one silver and one hundred silver equalled one gold coin. Twelve bronze coins was barely enough for two drinks. The man was a regular of the tavern, no one knew his real name so everyone called him old fool.


    He lost his job long ago and to pay for his booze he was selling nights with his wife to scums and gansters of the slums. Of course he didn''t leave her the choice.


    But with time her condition was degrading and less and less people would pay for her hence his fool mood.


    "I need to find a solution fast, maybe i can sell her as a servant to some young master, worst comes i can just kill her and sell her organs. Im sure it would last me a pretty long time hehehe..."


    Talking to himself the drunkard came to an empty alley and started relieving himself when suddenly a hand was put on his mouth. He didn''t have time to do anything as a sharp piece of glass was already ripping through his throat. His eyes rolled back and he fell in a pool of blood.


    A small shadow could be seen dragging the body.

 Power

    Back to his small cabin Ye Mo was panting, it wasn''t easy to bring the man here but he was at ease. The slums had no laws and murders happened everyday here, no one would care about it and no one would search for this kind of person. He thought killing would have some kind of impact on him but apart from trembling a bit before the act he felt nothing.


    Ye Mo lived in this place for a long time and saw many deaths, it didn''t bother him anymore and he probably would have killed already if his body wasn''t so weak making him avoid confrontations.


    Back to the situation at hand, Ye Mo put the corpse at the center of the room and placed his palm on it according to the method described on the manual.


    All of a sudden he felt something madly pouring from it''s chest going through his hand then his arm and passing by every corner of his body.


    The corpse shriveled bit by bit until it became a mummified pack of bones. A simple touch would turn it to dust.


    But Ye Mo couldn''t bother about that, a massive energy was reinforcing his whole body. the pores of his skin opened up, the bones gained in density, the muscles became stronger and even his organs had a qualitative change.


    But the most miraculous development was that he could feel his meridians healing. Even though it was by a small margin this is only his first time cultivating this way so wouldn''t his meridians heal completely at some point?


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    Ye Mo was exhilarated, he didn''t think it was possible. If his meridians healed he would be able to cultivate qi and become a true cultivator. With the nine revolutions fiend body he would have many possibilities.


    He was marveling at the sensation of power, absorbing qi in his body once was able to bring him to his peak state from a starving boy but this one directly broke past his limits. Right now he would have no problem fighting any grown man and he wasn''t even thirteen yet.


    Ye Mo was craving for more but he forcefully calmed down, he heard many stories about demonic cultivators losing all reasons wreaking havoc and quickly getting butchered by the "righteous" ones.


    He couldn''t let that happen.


    It was the bad side of demonic cultivation, their organizations needed to constantly remain hidden while the righteous sects lived in the light and would immediately form an alliance to slaughter them and share the profits if one was spotted.


    Lone demonic cultivators were chased and missions to kill them would be issued in sects as a form of training to their disciples.


    For Ye Mo both sides were the same, the only difference was that the righteous ones cares about appearances and hide their deeds while demonic ones were more honest about it.


    Getting back to himself he crushed the remains of the corpse and dispersed the dust behind the house. After meditating some time on what to do next he went to sleep.


    -


    The next day.


    Ye Mo was having a meal in a cheap restaurant of the town. He wouldn''t have left the bronze coins to the drunkard.


    He took a bath in the cold water of a stream before coming so although he was barefooted and shirtless the waiter didn''t chase him but would rather take money where it was. They had seen worse and as long as you were clean and didn''t smell bad it was okay.


    Subtle muscles were defined on his body and an air of brutality was around him as he was eating like there was no tomorrow.


    No one bothered him during his meal, this wouldn''t have been possible a couple days ago, after all even though the employees didn''t chase you it didn''t mean the clients wouldn''t.


    The strong prey on the weak and it was hard to find someone weaker than him before but now they all ate by themselves and ignored him.

 Disappearances

    While eating, Ye Mo was paying attention to the discussions of people.


    "Did you hear, the tiger martial institute will hold a recruitment competition in two months." Said a thin man.


    "Yes, too bad theses bastards don''t accept anyone over sixteen years old." Continued another bulky one with a huge beard.


    "Shhh, are you crazy what if they hear you?!" The thin man started panicking.


    Laughing the bearded one answered "It''s okay, fancy guys like them would never come to this kind of place."


    Getting into a martial institute was akin to a carp becoming a dragon, the status it confer would make you untouchable by anyone who''s not a part of an institute or a major clan and even those could only fight each other but couldn''t kill you without a good reason. It was also the best place to cultivate and as such everyone wanted to get in but not only would you need to be under sixteen there usually were thousands of participants and only the top twenty could enter so it was near impossible for most people.


    Satisfied Ye Mo left the place, the last time he had a normal meal like that was when his parents were still alive so he was in a good mood.


    ''Two months is a bit short but i have no choice, im still too weak. I must get my hands on battle skills and cultivation techniques as soon as possible.'' Ye Mo was adamant on joining the tiger martial institute. He didn''t have any time to lose, to achieve his dream he has to use every seconds to the fullest.


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    Getting back to his house, he sat down and started cultivating. When the sun went down and darkness enveloped the city Ye Mo rose up.


    A couple hours later he came back with a body on his shoulders. It was a girl with a plain face and a lot of makeup. She was a prostitute working at a brothel. On her way back home she was ambushed by Ye Mo and killed on the spot.


    Proceeding the same way as last time he absorbed her blood and life force then dealt with the remains and sat down to cultivate.


    He did so the whole night and at daybreak he returned to the restaurant.


    Keeping this routine Ye Mo passed his days eating, killing and cultivating the nine revolutions fiend body.


    After three weeks it became harder, people in the slums started to realize something was going on. They all locked themselves in their houses and those going outside stayed in groups. Also the gangs organized themselves, there were multiple times where he tailed someone and felt the presence of several people following quietly. They were obviously waiting for the culprit to make a move on the bait to catch him. They didn''t notice him and even if they did they probably wouldn''t suspect a kid to be the killer, Ye Mo wouldn''t expose himself either so he just left.


    He couldn''t hunt in the slums anymore so he set his eyes on the rest of the city. There he was much more meticulous, he would only target the poor and those with no social standing while before he only concerned himself with their strenght or if they had connections with a gang, he was also very careful not to leave any traces whereas he didn''t care to leave blood or hairs of his victims at the crime scene previously.


    This way Ye Mo resumed his routine until two weeks before the competition.


    When killing he also looted the bodies. Sometimes he wouldn''t get anything and other times he would have a big surprise like once when he found two silvers and eighheen bronze coins on an unassuming man. It probably was an act of him to hide his wealth from others. Currently he could eat until full and didn''t have to worry about money anymore which was a major problem for most of his life.


    Seated in the same restaurant as always a thoughtful expression was on his face.


    ''I can feel im very close to breakthrough, my meridians are almost healed as well. I just need one or two more persons and i can do it.'' Ye Mo was troubled.


    The past month many people disappeared because of him, among them were the three merchants that buried him alive. But now the authorities were alerted by the incidents and groups of guards could be seen patrolling on the streets at all time. It was very risky to keep going and chances were some cultivators would involve themselves to deal with him. He needed to find a solution before the competition or he wouldn''t be able to assure himself a spot in the top twenty. Who knew what kind of guy there would be among the participants.

 Liu Hualing

    Outside of Azure Water city to the northwest was situated a vast expanse of wild land called the jade forest. It was so huge you could easily lose yourself going through and it was filled with vicious wild beasts. The further you go the stronger they get. Many died inside so there weren''t much people coming here anymore.


    Under a big tree Ye Mo was cultivating his brows furrowed, beside him were the mummified remains of a black wolf.


    Sighing he stood up and crushed the wolf corpse.


    "As expected of a demonic body refining technique, it''s the most effective against humans..."


    Ye Mo has come to the jade forest trying to cultivate by killing beasts but as he thought it''s a lot slower, he would need hundreds of them to breakthrough while just one or two humans would be enough currently.


    He couldn''t spend this much time hunting and he was just in the outer parts of the jade forest where the wild beasts weren''t as numerous and strong as the inner parts but he wouldn''t go there and risk himself. His life was the most important, as long as he was alive everything was possible. He wouldn''t gamble on it if the benefits didn''t outweight the risks.


    Pondering on a solution Ye Mo heard sounds of fighting. Climbing on a tree he silently approached the scene. When he was close enough he peeked at the place and saw a red leopard with a horn on the forehead fighting a young girl around fifteen years old and three servants all dressed in the same green martial suit. Five more of them were laying around the zone in a pool of blood probably dead.


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    This leopard was a wild beast that evolved thanks to the environment or something he ate while the girl and the servants were low rank cultivators. Ye Mo could see the beast had a wound on the neck but it still held the advantage and his opponents wouldn''t last long anymore. The three servants seemed stronger than the young girl, if they abandoned her and ran they might be able to escape but they were resolved on protecting her from harm so not only they could not run away but they couldn''t even fight properly.


    Taking his time Ye Mo waited for the right moment, one servant fell then another, until only one remained. Soon enough his belly got lacerated and his innards were flowing out of it before he flatly fell on the ground. The girl screamed which attracted the attention of the red leopard who pounced on her. As a last attempt to protect herself or hiding the horrible scene from her eyes she put her arms in front of her face. Expecting pain to follow soon enough she stopped moving but even after some time she couldn''t feel anything. Slowly removing her arms to take a peek she saw a young man with spiky black hairs, dark eyes and bare chested holding a machete in his right hand.


    It was something Ye Mo bought to hunt animals as doing it bare handed would waste too much time. It was suposedly extremely resistant since the vendor told him the machete was made from a special ore making it very durable but Ye Mo didn''t believe it, he just thought it was good enough as a weapon and took it.


    Behind him was the corpse of the horned leopard. The head was severed from the body.


    Approaching Ye Mo asked.


    "Are you okay?".


    "Yes. T-thank you." She answered blushing.


    It was like a scene from stories she heard where women in distress would be saved in extremis by a man. She never thought it would happen to her.


    "Who are you and why were you fighting with this monster, don''t you know how dangerous is the jade forest?" Ye Mo inquired


    "Im Liu Hualing from the Liu clan, of course i know venturing here is dangerous but i had no choice." She said, explaining her situation to Ye Mo.

 Breakthrough

    The Liu clan was a small clan from Azure Water city. It has been declining for many years and a lot of people were coveting their businesses. Recently Hualing''s father the patriarch got poisoned by a  rival clan that has sent a spy as a servant to put a toxin in his glass. Her father was using his cultivation to push back the poison but his health was degrading bit by bit.


    Liu Hualing and a couple of servants left for the jade forest in hope of finding the moon pacifying herb and stabilize her father''s situation.


    It was an herb reputed to heal most diseases and would also be able to momentarily neutralize the poison. Although it wouldn''t heal him it would still buy time and was good enough.


    After one week of search they finally found one but they only had time to snatch it before the red leopard rushed at them.


    It was probably lurking around using the herb and it''s surroudings rich in qi to gain strenght which was why it was so infuriated seeing people taking it.


    "Did you really kill it?" Liu Hualing asked pointing at the red horned leopard.


    She still had a hard time believing Ye Mo took care of it when it decimated her whole group by itself. He seemed around the same age as her after all.


    Ye Mo wasn''t thirteen yet but his well developed body made him look older, if she knew that she would be much more suspicious.


    "Sure i did, who else?" Ye Mo has been waiting on top of a tree the whole time and when the red horned leopard attacked Liu Hualing, he jumped from his branch and with all the strenght he had cleaved exactly on the neck injury of the beast. He thought it would be enough to decapitate it, it must be known that with his current strenght Ye Mo could break the ribs of anyone with one punch but even then his machete stopped halfway through. The leopard was left flailing on the ground and Ye Mo madly rushed at it ending it''s life.


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    All this happened in a very short time and Liu Hualing didn''t see any of it, Ye Mo wouldn''t tell her either. All this contributed in her impression of him being a very stong and reliable man, he saved her life after all.


    "How about coming as a guest to my Liu clan? We would treat you well, you won''t be disappointed." Asked Liu Hualing with shining eyes.


    She was very expectant. She couldn''t sense any qi fluctuations from Ye Mo which means either he had no cultivation at all or there was a huge gap between his and her level so he could easily hide it from her. Being a witness of his prowess it was obvious what she would think of it.


    If she could make an expert like him join her clan they would have much less trouble handling their ennemies. She didn''t even consider body refining cultivation as those who did would either be retards or extremely rich young master with a top notch body refining technique and no one fitted this description in Azure Water city.


    "I will think about it." Ye Mo politely refused.


    Joining a clan was as far as possible of what he wanted. He needed to be free of his movements, for him becoming a member of a clan was akin to a life slave contract and since he wasn''t even blood related he would never be anything more than an external elder.


    "You should think quickly, there''s many benefits in joining my clan." Smiling Liu Hualing was roaming her index on his muscular chest.


    Ye Mo couldn''t be said to be good looking, his face was just above average but his muscular body and the aura of fierceness surrounding him could be attractive for multiple women. After everything that happened Liu Hualing was more than inclined in giving her body if she could recruit him.


    "Alright but let''s leave the place first, the area isn''t safe." Said Ye Mo taking a step back.


    Liu Hualing was disappointed.


    "Hmph." Pouting she turned around ready to leave but she didn''t even make one step when her vision started spinning. The last thing she saw was a headless body and a young man behind with a bloody machete.


    "Sorry but i only need you dead" Approaching her corpse he removed a small green pouch from her waist and stuffed it in his pocket.


    -


    In the jade forest the sun was setting and the sky was getting darker.


    Under the shadows of the trees a silhouette was rushing like a canonball through the land. Ye Mo was sprinting as if his life depended on it.


    After dealing with the corpses only dust remained but Ye Mo didn''t expect to obtain more than ten times the life force he would get on ordinary people using the nine revolution fiend body on Liu Hualing and even more with her servants.


    A massive energy was contained in his body but he couldn''t restrain it much longer. He had to find a safe place to breakthrough as soon as possible or he felt his body would explode.

 First Revolution

    Rushing through the land Ye Mo arrived in front of a large tree and buried himself in a big hole of the trunk. It was originally the home of squirrels but he enlarged it enough to easily contain a grown man after dealing with them.


    He wanted to use it as a contingency plan in case he was in danger. Sitting inside Ye Mo revolved the energy and dispersed it through his whole body. Soon this familiar feeling of power filled him. His muscles were bulging and his flesh strenghtened but after some time big red veins appeared on the entirety of his body.


    Ye Mo opened his eyes which were completely bloodshot. His skin was ripping bit by bit, his muscles mangled while his bones shattered one by one. Losing his posture Ye Mo was left struggling on the floor.


    Only one thing was on his mind, pain Pain PAIN! Then his organs started exploding continuously before quickly remodeling themselves. The pain was unbearable. It was like every cellules composing his body were getting obliterated and reconstructed again and again.


    This process carried on for a moment before Ye Mo began to lose blood through every orifices.


    He was on the verge of passing out and at the same time the pain would keep him awake. He couldn''t even escape this by losing consciousness.


    He didn''t know how much time passed, one minute, one hour or one day. He couldn''t move, he couldn''t scream, he couldn''t even blink. Everything was painful. Under this hellish suffering he asked himself many questions.


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    Why do i need to go through this, why do i need to get stronger, why my parents had to die, why can''t i just live peacefully?


    He found one answer for all theses questions.


    Power.


    The power to crush everything, to rule the world, an unstoppable existence. He wanted to move unhindered through the lands, doing as he please. His parents died because they didn''t have any power. Being weak in this world, you can only blame yourself for your sufferings. Why didn''t they try to get power. Why didn''t they pursue strenght like Ye Mo. Because of that they died horribly and their son wandered between life and death all this time.


    Agonizing Ye Mo thought he was dying when the pain receded progressively until at some point he slowly stood up. Breaking through the hole Ye Mo directly landed on the ground.


    Looking at the sky, he watched the sun rise. Unknowingly, he has been through this torment the whole night.


    Ye Mo never thought of himself as particularly smart nor talented in any way but he knew one thing. His will was unbreakable. He would never doubt himself again. His path was set. He would succeed or try again until death.


    "I finally attained the first level of the nine revolutions fiend body, i should test my abilities." He thought.


    Stretching, he abruptly jumped reaching four meters high. Trying a second time he attained five meters without momentum. From this he knew he wasn''t in the realm of mortals anymore.


    Sprinting, he ran faster than a horse leaving deep imprints on the ground. Stopping in front of a tree he punched. The trunk broke in pieces at the point of impact and the tree fell on the ground. The tree was large enough for four men to hold hands around it but Ye Mo smashed it like nothing. Looking at his hand the skin was slightly red but it took no damage.


    Ye Mo was very satisfied. He didn''t endure all this pain for nothing. People had the misconception that body refining arts were only good to gain strenght or being more resilient but it was only so for garbages and low rank techniques.


    True body refining techniques would make you tougher and stronger but also faster, more agile and with a better stamina. All your physical capabilities would increase exponentially.


    But the event that moved Ye Mo the most was that his meridians were finally healed. He was now eligible to cultivate qi and become a true cultivator.


    "Now im ready for the competition." Leaving the place, Ye Mo muttered a cold smile plastered on his face.

 Wind Flow

    One hour after Ye Mo left the area, five men in hoods and black clothes arrived in the jade forest. They were moving so fast it was like they were gliding on the wind.


    A couple minutes later they arrived at a place with broken trees and claw marks but couldn''t find traces of anyone.


    A tall man at the front removed his hood and crouched down. He had short white hairs and a scar running across his left eye.


    Passing his hand on the ground he caught a thin long strand of hair.


    "The young miss was definitely here." He exclaimed in a grave tone.


    "Elder, could she have been fighting with a beast?" One of the men asked.


    "Yes and it''s at least a level one mid tier beast."


    The man gasped. Beasts and monsters have nine levels according to their power and each level was further divided in low, mid, high and peak-tier.


    As for humans they started with the qi gathering realm composed of nine ranks before they could breakthrough to the foundation establishment realm.


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    The weakest level one mid tier beast could easily dispatch a rank four qi gathering cultivator while most of them could deal with rank five and six.


    Liu Hualing and her group were only around the rank four of the qi gathering realm while merely two of their members were rank five and six respectively.


    If they really met this kind of beast by themselves it was very unlikely they survived.


    "But something is wrong..." The white haired man furrowed his brows "Beasts are very territorial creatures and would attack any intruders but we have been here for some time now and didn''t encounter anything. Also if they were killed by a beast why is there nothing left? No blood, bones or even clothes remains."


    "Could they have been helped and managed to escape?" Someone wondered.


    "Maybe, in any case we will have to report this to the patriarch" Putting his hood back, the scarred man and the others departed as fast as they came.


    -


    Back at his small house Ye Mo took a nap.


    It''s been a long time since he did that but the last days were exhausting and he needed to rest.


    He woke up in the afternoon completely refreshed.


    Getting up he retrieved a small green pouch from his pocket. It was the one he took from Liu Hualing.


    It was a spatial pouch containing three cubic meters of space. It immediately caught his attention when he met Liu Hualing because he once saw a scary man leaving the city while taking a huge axe out of one of those.


    Only the most important clan members and disciples of martial institutes had one as it wasn''t easy to make and required the help of a master in formations.


    Taking a look inside Ye Mo found three gold coins which showed how poor was the Liu clan. As the daughter of the patriarch he expected much more but he wasn''t disappointed, it wasn''t what he was looking for anyway.


    Next Ye Mo grabbed several bottles with all kinds of pills inside. He didn''t know their use so he randomly opened one and took a sniff inside.


    "They are odorless, i will need to find out about them later." Taking note of this he continued.


    Finally he retrieved a small box, his eyes shining. Opening it he found the moon pacifying herb. It was round like a full moon with grey petals. Putting it back inside Ye Mo kept rummaging until he seized a small green book.


    Wind Flow battle skill. Yellow rank - low tier martial art.

 Training

    Ye Mo skimmed through the manual. The wind flow battle skill was a movement technique that focused on using the force of the wind to move faster.


    You had to understand the wind current patterns and move along with it until you feel no resistance. At it''s completion you would be like an air current, moving unobstructed.


    Besides this battle skill the rest were just women''s clothes and cosmetics. Storing everything inside the pouch, Ye Mo left for a meal. Leaving the restaurant sated he returned to his house and cultivated for the rest of the day.


    He wouldn''t make much progress in the nine revolutions fiend body by absorbing qi until the competition but it helped him relax and stay energetic.


    When night fell, he set out. Ye Mo knew very well the importance of discretion, he couldn''t let anyone see him practice. He was an orphan starving not too long ago if people were to see him using martial arts out of nowhere it would be suspicious. He wasn''t afraid of ordinary men anymore but he didn''t want cultivators to set their eyes on him yet.


    Ye Mo left through the south gate and ran for some time until he arrived on a desert patch of land.


    "This place should be good enough."


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    Ye Mo would have prefered training in the jade forest but he didn''t know if the Liu clan found about Liu Hualing already. Although he cleaned the place they were bound to find something at some point. In case they notice him while searching the killer, he might be in danger.


    Sitting cross legged Ye Mo closed his eyes and tried to feel the wind around him. He completely immersed himself in the movements of the wind.


    One minute later he rose up and ran for a short distance before sitting again.


    "I can feel the wind resistance, i must increase my comprehension of the air currents. If my movements are in harmony with the movement patterns of the wind and i can move along with it, i would have mastered the wind flow technique."


    Ye Mo focused back on the breeze surrounding him. Sometimes he would stand up and run a couple meters before stopping and calmly sensing the wind. He was growing more familiar with the wind and it''s movements.


    At dawn he got back home to sleep. Waking up he would go eat outside then cultivate the whole day and when night came he would go back to the same place to train in the wind flow technique.


    This way time passed until the day before the recruitment competition of the tiger martial institute.


    Outside the city on a barren land in the southeast, a silhouette could be seen sprinting in the dark of the night. It was so quick you could barely follow it with the eyes.


    "I can feel almost no resistance anymore but this is still far from the wind current depicted in the wind flow battle skill." Ye Mo stopped, contemplating his progress.


    He became faster but he still didn''t master the martial art and he couldn''t progress anymore though he knew his comprehension wasn''t the problem. He soon realized what was wrong.


    "I can''t use qi." Almost every battle skills were meant to be used with qi. It was normal as everyone would start cultivation by absorbing and storing qi in their dantian. In this way Ye Mo was an exception since circumstances made him start by refining his body first without cultivating qi which was a very rare case. He didn''t have any reserves of qi in his dantian to complement with his understanding of the Wind Flow martial art so he couldn''t perfect the technique.


    "I guess i''m stuck. Well, it should be enough for tomorrow. My speed increased a lot, i don''t believe i can''t join the Tiger Martial institute."


    Confident Ye Mo left in direction of the city.

 City Center

    Night gradually gave way to dawn as the sun spread it''s sunshine over the land.


    Ye Mo who has been sleeping in his house suddenly opened his eyes. Getting up he turned around and walked out of his small accomodation towards the city center.


    It was where the three martial institutes of the city took place, the tiger martial institute, the sky martial institute and the golden martial institute.


    The four major clans which were the li, gao, yan and shen clan resided each in the north, east, south and west respectively.


    They clash against each other a lot for ressources and territories and fight would regularly break out between their members but they would never engage in conflict against the martial institutes.


    It was because institutes were slightly stronger than clans as it was a place specially made for cultivation, they had better martial arts, pills and their cultivators were more poweful though clans compensated this by being more numerous and united.


    But the most important was that martial institutes never tried to enlarge their territories or fight for the city businesses. They kept a low-profile and never participated in the struggles between the powers of Azure Water city. They were wholeheartedly focused on finding promising disciples.


    Their only job was to nurture good seeds and send them to the sect they were affiliated to which would reward them afterwards. The more talented the disciple was the more ressources they would receive but if he turned out to be a disappointment they wouldn''t get anything.


    Ye Mo arrived in the center of Azure Water city. He had never been there before, the old man clearly told him it was too dangerous as there were many strong cultivators in this place so he had to ask passers-by the way to the Tiger Martial institute.


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    He somewhat found his way taking turns left and right and arrived in a wide area filled to the brim with thousands of people and incessant chatting resounded everywhere.


    Most of them were youths standing on a huge square, some were excitedly talking together while others were motionless. In front of them were huge iron doors and just above the main gate was a signboard with the three characters, "Tiger Martial Institute", engraved in calligraphy style writing. Each stroke was grand and magnificent making people immediately notice it when passing by.


    Beside the square he could see many stalls with middle aged men in sleeveless light brown martial outfit sitting behind. In front of each one was a huge queue of around a hundred kids sometime accompanied waiting in line.


    Despite the large number of participants it was very orderly and no one was cutting in line or bothering someone else. This was a special rule of the institution to maintain equity and anyone breaking it would be beaten to the brink of death and thrown out. They were never allowed to participate again no matter their background or status.


    Ye Mo approached the shortest queue and waited. Fortunately participants were registered relatively fast and after less than an hour it was his turn.


    "Name and age?" The man in front of Ye Mo had a short beard and didn''t let him say anything, immediately asking a question. Disdain flashed in his eyes.


    "Ye Mo, twelve." Of course Ye Mo saw it but he didn''t care, he was focused on the competition. Without greeting him he flatly answered.


    The man inscribed something on a token and gave it to him. It was just a simple wooden token with his name and age on the back of it.


    "Take this and go wait with the others." He said pointing to the square.


    Ye Mo put the token in his pocket and left. He didn''t show it but he was slightly frustrated. He had enough of waiting. It was a waste of time he could use to train and cultivate but he had to put up with it.


    The stall owner didn''t mind Ye Mo attitude. It might not seem like it but every members in charge of registering the participants were foundation establishment realm cultivators. The man could clearly see Ye Mo had no cultivation. Kids like him were cannon fodder quickly eliminated by the real experts in the recruitments.


    In the thousands of youths coming every time, most of them were in the same case as Ye Mo, ordinary kids with no cultivation but they thought they were destined to become dragons among men in a single day. Like doing some push ups and slashing the wind with a sword was enough or just determination and a bit of luck would do the trick but the man knew almost none of them would remain in the end.

 Life and Death Trial

    After two more hours the middle-aged men closed their stalls and left. Registrations ended and the late arrivers could only blame themselves. You could even see some teens crying on the street because they missed their last chance.


    The gates of the institute slowly opened. Everyone quieted down while those who sat on the ground to wait rose up. Four men and one woman appeared and stopped before the participants.


    The man in front had long grey hairs and a beard fluttering in the wind, his deep gaze analyzing the youths. He wore a large dark brown robe with golden outlines and a lifelike tiger head on the back. His aged face contrasted with his fit and muscular body. Although the robe was soft and loose, it looked like heavy-duty armor on him.


    His name was Hong Li, the dean of the tiger martial institute. He was originally the second in command but the ancient dean left on an adventure 20 years ago after naming him for the post.


    "Dean, what do you think of them?" Asked Wang Fei one of the teacher at his sides.


    His shoulder-lenght silky black hairs and his handsome face attracted the attention of the young girls. He was the one in charge of the recruitment competition with the others helping. Hong Li only came to take a look.


    "They''re too many. Let''s cut their numbers first."


    Nodding Wang Fei stepped out and annouced how the competition will unfold.


    "This year, a total of more than three thousand eight hundred individuals are participating. The competition will be separated in two parts.


    The first part is about the survival of the fittest. The second one are battles in the arena.


    Only through the first part can you access to the arena and have a chance to fight for the top twenty."


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    Wang Fei spoke softly but everyone could hear him clearly as if he was just beside them.


    "Now let me explain the rules for the first part. The venue it will take place is the jade forest. Many dangerous blood beasts reside there.


    Your mission is to survive for four days and hunt enough blood beast. Level two blood beasts and higher have been cleared out in the outer parts but level one high or peak tiers are still there and could kill most of you easily. To pass the test you have to bring either the core of a blood beast or the token of another participant."


    The youths were flustered by the rules and started talking about the test with each others.


    "How are we meant to hunt all these blood beasts although they have no wisdom, their body is too strong!"


    "Under normal circumstances you need three or more persons at the same level as the beast to kill it"


    "The stronger the blood beast the higher the chances it has a core but there is no way we could go against high tier ones. Without talking about killing them just surviving would be great."


    "It''s obvious they want to make us fight each other, we need to join groups if we want to survive."


    Most of them started to team up or strike alliances with each other.


    Ye Mo in a corner was pondering.


    ''They want to eliminate the majority of the participants before proceeding to the battles. It seems easier to take the tokens of others but now that they are forming groups it''s not really the case anymore though it''s not a problem for me. The most important is that although they told us to hunt beasts they didn''t say we couldn''t steal the cores from others.''


    Ye Mo knew blood cores were worth a lot of money. He needed as much as he could to prepare for his future needs in cultivation. He was expressionless but killing intent was slowly growing inside him.


    He was still planning his next courses of action when a smiling blond boy approached him.


    "Hey, i can see you''re alone. How about joining my group, it would be easier to pass the test this way."


    Ye Mo took a look at the members of his team staring at him a distance away.


    It was composed of four boys and two girls. Four of them were just common teens that trained a bit and thought they might have a chance entering the top twenty. The other two, a boy and a girl were both in the beginning ranks of the qi gathering realm.


    The boy who invited him looked like the leader but he didn''t even seem as strong as Liu Hualing.


    "Piss off." Ye Mo didn''t plan to join a team in the first place but even if he did he would join one of the best not these weaklings who would only die or depend on him for the whole trial.


    "Y-you, what did you say! Don''t you know what kind of place the jade forest is, don''t be too full of yourself you really think you can survive there alone?!"


    "I told you to piss off."


    "Hmph, fine i will wait for the instructors to bring your corpse out at the end of the test." With these words the youth left red of anger.


    He felt humiliated, he couldn''t sense any qi from Ye Mo so he knew he was just an ordinary kid like the others yet he dared talk to him, a third rank qi gathering cultivator this way.


    In his heart he had put a mark on him. If by chance they met during the test, he would make him regret refusing his offer.

 Fight to the Death

    While people were teaming up with each others, Wang Fei clapped to attract the attention of everyone once again.


    "I want to remind you guys that despite the fact that we got rid of the strongest beasts, the risk of death remain. If you want to give up there is still time however once it starts it''s too late to regret."


    After this speech some youths left afraid but they were a grain of rice in the crowd of participants, the rest didn''t budge.


    "Good, then let''s go." From the south side of the plaza, a path was opened up through the crowd of people. Wang Fei, the teachers and the participants departed for the jade forest.


    The sun was at his zenith when they reached the place. Standing before the deadly woods Wang Fei gave instructions one last time.


    "You can begin going in, after the time for an incense stick to burn your tokens will glow a pale blue light for a moment. It means the test officially started."


    With these words spoken a vast amount of people flocked in like a herd of boar, Ye Mo was one of the latest to engulf himself in the jade forest.


    In an instant no one remained beside the teachers.


    -


    Speeding through the land, Ye Mo was frowning. When entering the jade forest he felt someone watching him. After all this time in the slums making sure he remain hidden, ensuring that no one took notice of him was a second nature.


    The jade forest was very dense and you could easily lose yourself if you didn''t pay attention. Ye Mo purposefully drifted away from the flow of participants and took a path devoid of people. Soon he could sense a presence following him.


    ''As i guessed, im being tailed.'' Ye Mo was calm, he was prepared for this kind of occurences.


    The person was staying a distance away from him like he tried to stay out of Ye Mo perception but he underestimated his senses. Ye Mo kept playing dumb and trotting through the bushes until his token began emitting a pale blue light.


    Stopping on an empty area Ye Mo called out. "You have followed me long enough now, come out."


    High up on a tree, a boy revealed himself. Jumping down he landed in front of Ye Mo.


    He was a fair-skinned youth around 14 years old. He wore a light green martial suit with a complex design, it was clear the silk fabric it was made from was of first-rate quality. His long dark blond hair was tied into a ponytail at the back of his head. Overall he was very good-looking. On his waist, a blade resided in it''s scabbard.


    "How did you notice me?" The youth asked, a doubtful expression on his face. He seemed surprised to have been found.


    "Does it matter?" Ye Mo answered nonchalantly.


    "You''re right, my name is Liu Huan from the Liu clan. My sister Liu Hualing disappeared in these woods 2 weeks ago and some bystanders saw you going there in the same period and coming back one day after she stopped all communications." At the end of his sentence Liu Huan was giving off killing intent as Ye Mo could feel the pressure weigh upon him.


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    "Tell me everything you know and i will spare your life but if i sense something''s off just once i will kill you right away. If you have something to do with my sister disappearance and admit it honestly i will give you a clean death and you won''t have to suffer. You know that we will find out at some point no matter what right?" Through all the hardships his clan was enduring Liu Huan matured quickly. No traces of a reckless 14 years old could be found on him. His tone was firm and he didn''t give Ye Mo any leeway.


    "What if i refuse?"


    Immediately pulling his sword out of it''s scabbard Liu Huan made his way towards Ye Mo, the pressure increasing on his shoulders. "I don''t remember asking your opinion nor would i tolerate any resistance."


    "Fine, i will tell you what i know no need to go through this." Stopping Liu Huan on his tracks Ye Mo conceded.


    Lowering his sword Liu Huan listened attentively.


    "This day, i went to the jade forest to hunt some animals but then..." Halfway through his sentence Ye Mo suddenly mustered all the strenght he could and rushed at Liu Huan like a beast. The ground cracked under his foot as he moved at an inconceivable speed.


    Liu Huan never lowered his guard and kept his sword in hand even against what seemed like an ordinary commoner but he could never have imagined this. In an instant Ye Mo stood before him, he barely had the time to raise his sword as protection before he could feel an immense strenght project him further.


    ''How is this possible, isn''t he just an ordinary kid from the slums? How could he be this strong to go against me like that. Im already a 6th stage qi gathering realm at 14 years old, father said im a genius. Even against my peers from the other clans not many are my match so how could i be sent flying by this guy.'' Many thoughts went through Liu Huan''s mind before smashing against a tree, breaking it apart.


    He kept stumbling on the ground multiple times before stopping himself in a cloud of dust.


    Getting up the handsome young man was no more, at his place was a beggar in ragged clothes with a dislocated shoulder and a thin trail of blood seeping out of his mouth. His sword-wielding arm angled backward, his blade was of no use to him anymore.


    "What you used... it''s the Wind Flow technique of my Liu clan. So you did kill my big sister..." Liu Huan said quietly, but his bloodshot eyes and the bulging veins on his forehead betrayed his emotions.


    It might not be evident for someone else, but Liu Huan could see there was no wind resistance in Ye Mo''s movements.


    "Nothing personal. She was at the wrong place at the wrong time." Said Ye Mo indifferent which enraged Liu Huan even more.


    "But it doesn''t seem like you mastered our martial art completely and since the start i didn''t feel any qi from you so i think you actually don''t have any cultivation which is why you can''t complete the Wind Flow battle skill."


    Ye Mo didn''t react but Liu Huan wasn''t done.


    "Since you have no cultivation but still are this fast and strong it means you cultivate a body refining technique but from the informations i got you''re just a homeless kid with no relatives and i know that you were still starving on the streets not too long ago so my guess is that either you have a hidden master that imparted you some martial art which is highly improbable since there is no reason anyone would care about you, or you have lucked out an amazing body refining technique recently." In one go Liu Huan spilled most of Ye Mo''s secrets out.


    But all this gave them another reason to kill each other.


    "A demon like you can''t be left alive. I will show you the real Wind Flow battle skill." As soon as he said that he vanished.


    Ye Mo just felt wind blowing on his body when Liu Huan was already behind him.


    "Scorching Palm."


    Ye Mo could barely follow his movements however he had just turned around that he could see a blazing red palm heading towards him. Raising his guard the palm striked his arm burning his skin and marking his flesh, yet he didn''t flinch and counter attacked with an uppercut.


    Exchanging blow for blow both seemed evenly matched. One was a hurricane darting all around attacking through every angles, the other was a charging colossus never retreating one step. Wherever they went destruction followed and the area soon became a battlefield.


    Despite that Ye Mo was slowly taking the advantage, as a body refiner his body was tougher and he took less damage than Liu Huan. He also had a better stamina, could keep up longer and heal faster. Also Liu Huan was fighting with one hand so he kept in motion at all time as to avoid getting caught which was very taxing to the mind.


    ''I can''t keep this, he doesn''t give me any time to use an healing or qi rejuvenating pill. I need to end this now or flee and get the board of elders to kill him. Here an opening!'' After a couple more rounds Liu Huan started to feel in danger.


    But just when he was planning to escape he saw a hole in Ye Mo''s guard. Roaring madly he attacked with all his might. The temperature of the area increased exponentially as the burning palm buried itself on the chest of his foe however before it could reach the organs, his opponent grabbed the wrist of his hand imbedded on his torso.


    ''Shit, it''s a trap!'' Liu Huan could feel the embrace of death closing on himself.


    The sizzling skin released the smell of burned meat but without waiting Ye Mo withstood the pain and followed with a roundhouse kick in the stomach.


    Liu Huan flew like a rag doll before crashing against another tree. Ye Mo neared the crash site, the palm print on his torso releasing smoke.


    "As they say, give them your flesh and take their bones. Compared to the first revolution of the fiend body, this kind of pain is nothing."

 Mayhem

    Approaching the scene, Ye Mo saw Liu Huan on the ground next to the trunk of the tree he broke in two in the collision. His eyes wide open, no breathes came from him. He was dead on the spot.


    His legs were broken and his belly was dented inwards displaying an odd angle against his lower body. On the ground beside his mouth was blood mixed with pieces of organs.


    Ye Mo to make sure he was dead decided to wait a bit, he wasn''t that knowledgeable about cultivators so he prefered to be cautious. Who knew if this guy wasn''t just waiting for him to draw closer to make a last chance attack. After all an injured animal is the most dangerous.


    Seconds passed in a deathly silence until Ye Mo began searching through the remains. He struggled this much even though Liu Huan was fighting bare-handed. Fortunately he injured him from the start or else he would only be able to escape for his life. However there was no doubt for him, this youth should be one of the strongest participants out there but now the heir of the Liu clan was no more.


    All he found on him was a spatial pouch and his sword. It was an ancient sword around a meter long. Nothing special could be found on it, there were only two characters engraved on the blade ''Soaring Leaf''.


    In the pouch was 50 gold coins, 3 bottles of different pills each and some water.


    "He''s much more mindful than his sister" In this world there''s two kinds of spatial pouch owner.


    A lot of them would keep most of their belongings inside but the risk was that if someone robbed it or they died they would lose everything. Even worst is if they were assassinated it was akin to offering everything to their killer as the pouches had no protection and anyone could gain access to what it contained. Of course the majority didn''t care about it as most of them would think of themselves as heroes that would rise above masses and didn''t even consider dying so the best place their possessions could be was with them.


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    The others like Liu Huan would only take the necessary with them and safeguard the rest somewhere else though if something happened and someone took everything away in their absence they might regret it their whole life. That''s why those who do that are generally from a clan or important members of a sect and can leave everything in security at home where no incidents could occur.


    Ye Mo wasn''t disappointed as he took the habit of never expecting anything in the first place.


    The pouch had 8 cubic meters of space inside and was of much better quality than his sister''s one. Liu Huan''s furnitures occupied only a little part of the space so Ye Mo took it. With this he would be able to carry more things and he could still sell one later if needed.


    Without forgetting the token, Ye Mo packed everything and left.


    "I should find a place to recover, fighting in this state could be dangerous and i still have a lot of time left." Ye Mo was covered in burns some reaching his bones, hopefully his vital points weren''t touched and it would heal by itself with time.


    A huge gash was threatening to slice his right hand in two and sprinkled blood on the grass. It came from his sneak attack when his opponent guarded himself with his sword. As he kept fighting, the injury worsened but the healing capacity of his body was astonishing and the wound showed signs of closing up already. Ye Mo used pieces of cloth from Liu Huan to bandage it before leaving.


    Today, he clearly saw the difference between a martial artist using battle skills and someone without any. Qi was the source of power and battle skills was the way to unleash it. One can''t lack the other.


    If Liu Huan fought Ye Mo without using battle skills he would have been butchered in spite of the fact he was a 6th stage qi gathering realm. Even though qi cultivation reinforce the body as well, it was nothing comparable to body refining.


    Whereas when using battle skills Ye Mo was barely on par with his injured ennemy fighting with one hand. If he didn''t take a risk, Liu Huan could have escaped and he wouldn''t have been able to stop him.


    He couldn''t cultivate the Nine Revolutions Fiend Body with his corpse since it was an official test from the Tiger Martial institute. With their strenght he wasn''t able to know if they were watching or not.


    Even if they weren''t watching, it only takes one participant to witness everything and leave without him noticing and he would be doomed.


    "A wise man don''t pursue small gains for greater danger. Oh? Im here." Ye Mo spoke lightly, stopping in front of a tree.


    It was small next to the other gigantic trees of the forest but compared to him it was still rather wide.


    For Ye Mo the best places to hide in the woods without anyone bothering him was holed up inside a tree or underground. He chose both. Grabbing the trunk Ye Mo used his enormous strenght to pull the tree out of the ground. The big roots extracted from the soil wrecked the ground which helped him dig a hole good enough to accomodate himself.


    When he was done he got inside and put the tree back above his head blocking and hiding the entrance from others. The little cave he made was sufficient for him to sit and the size of the hole at the entrance was just enough for the trunk to fit in, this way it wouldn''t attract suspicions.


    Easing up Ye Mo sat cross-legged, closing his eyes. He started absorbing qi in his body unaware that outside, as the instructors expected, a bloodbath was unfolding.

 The Hunt

    Cultivating the Nine Revolutions Fiend Body with qi accelerated his healing process and the injuries could be seen slowly mending with a glance.


    Outside Ye Mo''s peaceful lair, rain poured heavily from above and snake-like lightning danced in the sky.


    Sounds of thunder echoed constantly burying the shouts of the participants and the sound of their footsteps in the rain.


    Everywhere fierce battles broke out and people were killed, whether it was against a beast or from the hands of a fellow contestant, every seconds the death count increased.


    Ye Mo was completely immersed in his cultivation and didn''t pay any attention to the exterior. Focused on recovering, he constantly absorbed qi from heaven and earth.


    Time flies when cultivating and in the blink of an eye two days passed.


    The third day the rays of the sun pierced through the clouds casting it''s light upon the earth illuminating a young boy walking in the vicinity.


    With each stride he made he would look all around him and seemed very nervous. His name was Shao Yong, he was the illegitimate child of a rich commercant with lots of relationships which helped him get his hands on some martial arts enabling him to enter the world of cultivators.


    "Damn sword bastard, why did this have to happen to me." Mumbling to himself Shao Yong clenched his fists.


    Being an illegitimate son, he couldn''t inherit the family business and was given the cold shoulder by his siblings. This unfair treatment made him desire power, as such he begged his father day and night and finally obtained a low class battle skill and cultivation technique.


    It was already the best his father could get his hands on as gold coins alone couldn''t give you everything.


    This way Shao Yong embarked himself on a journey to pursue strenght, he worked diligently and at 16 he reached the 4th rank of the qi gathering realm. He wanted to become a strong cultivator surpassing everyone''s expectations and making his family recognize him so he decided to enroll in the tiger martial institute before it''s too late.


    It was his last chance before he turned seventeen thus he striked a friendship with some other teens his age and around the same level, building a solid team to face the dangers of the trial.


    The two first days were going well, no one dared to attack them. They got a couple tokens beating others and even some blood cores from beasts they killed relying on group tactics.


    Then on the night of the second day a young man suddenly appeared. He had silvery white long hairs a white robe and a long curved, single-edged blade on the back. Without a word he attacked, hacking left and right without restraint.


    His cultivation was profound and each hits deadly as all his comrades were sliced apart in a single strike.


    Shao Yong who had been sent to gather dry wood for the fire witnessed the scene from afar. Frightened, he laid down on the ground among the thick grasses, ignoring the cries of distress from his comrades. If you didn''t particularly look his way you wouldn''t even notice him. He was so terrified that even when no sound could be heard anymore he patiented for hours before sticking his head out taking a glance.


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    All that remained were the minced corpses of his teammates, the tokens and blood cores were taken by the assailant.


    "I must be cursed to run into this kind of monster, it was supposed to be an easy test but now that im alone with no tokens or blood cores how can i succeed? I would be lucky to survive this ordeal already." Every time Shao Yong thought of this scene and the stolen goods, anger rushed through his mind but even more than that, he was scared out of his wits.


    Nonetheless while he was walking in a relatively remote corner of the woods the ground suddenly shuddered, and then a hole exploded into being.


    A young man leaped out of the hole, as agile as a cat. He appeared to be about fifteen or sixteen years of age and was covered in dirt from head to toe.


    "Hahaha is this guy for real ? Don''t tell me he has been hiding in a hole the whole time." Shao Yong who has been under pressure for hours now, anxious that he might be ambushed any time couldn''t help but laugh out loud in front of this situation.


    "The heavens really didn''t forget me, sending this beggar in my hands. He''s alone and doesn''t even have any cultivation, it really is a godsend opportunity. With his token i can finally pass this test successfully, i just need to stay concealed and come out at the end of the time allotted." Shao Yong was over the moon, he felt like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders.


    "Venomous Spirit Claw" Without wasting any time Shao Yong rushed at the young man his right hand taking the form of a claw enshrouded by poisonous dark green air.


    He could already hear the man''s cries of pain as the claw would puncture his body with the venom infiltrating his blood system killing him.


    But just before his strike reached him, Shao Yong suddenly felt the world spinning before hitting the ground. His shoulder was dislocated and he was dizzy. His foe grabbed his arm at the last moment and using the force of his charge, throwed him the other way. His movements were so fast he couldn''t react in time.


    The last thing he saw was a giant foot nearing his face before being sent on his way to the afterlife. The skull burst like a watermelon soaking the lower body of his killer.


    Crouching down he searched through Shao Yong''s clothes but couldn''t find anything beside his token.


    "Poor bastard." Kicking the corpse away the boy stretched. The young man was Ye Mo and after 2 days of cultivation in a cramped space his limbs were sore.


    Dusting himself revealed his muscular body, the vague shape of burn marks remained but looked more like old scars now. Only the injury on his right hand wasn''t completely healed, the wound closed up but it was still fragile and he could feel it would open if he wasn''t careful.


    However Ye Mo couldn''t wait anymore when walking money bags were scattered across the jade forest. Two days remained and as they kept dying not much would be left for him.


    Ye Mo set out looking for a prey but as he kept wandering he couldn''t find any.


    "Looks like there''s much more casualties than i thought." On his way he only got two encounters. One was a Green Maple Snake who sneak attacked him. The animal was a low-tier level one beast. The color of it''s scales helped them camouflage and their poison could kill a grown man in a couple seconds.


    Ye Mo who was vigilant caught him by the neck and ripped it apart but as expected the snake didn''t contain a blood core.


    The second encounter was a boy casually walking by himself. He had blazing red hair, wearing dark clothes and a thick staff layed on his back, a light smile rested on his juvenile face. Ye mo prefered to leave while he wasn''t noticed yet.


    "Someone alone being that laid back in this kind of situation mean nothing good. I better find someone else instead of facing him." He would rather keep searching than waste his time taking useless risks.


    What Ye Mo was after was blood cores, gold coins and anything that could help his cultivation but he wouldn''t fight to the death if it wasn''t worth it. That''s why he wouldn''t confront those alone since it meant either they had the strenght to protect themselves or they are trash that no one wanted so he wouldn''t gain anything from them anyways.


    Some were alone because they are the sole survivor of their team but it was rather uncommon so Ye Mo didn''t bother about it.


    After another hour roaming, Ye Mo eventually found what he was looking for.


    Behind the cover of bushes he watched a group of seven people eating and drinking together. Three girls and four boys sat in circles on logs of wood as they joyously discussed.


    "Brother Wei Leng your Ardent Flame Ring technique is really marvelous, without you we wouldn''t have been able to deal with this Violent Saber Bear." Complimented Ren Xue Tu.


    "Haha, you praise me too much senior brother Ren, you were the one to give the fatal hit, all the merit belongs to you." Exclaimed Wei Leng.


    "You both did great, if i was alone i don''t know how i would have fared in this situation. Two hands can''t beat four fists, with number comes strenght." One of the girl added happily.


    The party members were in high spirits, the first day a huge fight erupted among the participants and in the chaos they attacked a lot of commoners with no cultivation. They were similar to lambs among tigers and lions, everyone pounced on them at once, some martial artists even fighting against each others to seize their tokens. In the end they obtained a good number of them and left before it became dangerous.


    Later relying on their numbers and great coordinations they were able to kill mid-tier beasts and even obtained some blood cores. With the tokens they got plus the blood cores, all of them could pass the test already and gain access to the second phase of the competition.


    They just had to take it easy and wait for the remaining time to end.


    "Wait, senior brother Ren, someone is coming!" One of the boy that has been silent all this time suddenly alerted his friends.


    Without delay everyone grabbed their weapons or began circulating their qi. Their movements were smooth and natural like a well executed choreography. From this, it was clear they were experienced.


    In the distance, the silhouette of a young man walking in their direction could be seen.

 Pure Iridescent Iron

    Under the shadow of the trees, Ye Mo was walking step by step towards the group.


    At some point the party could clearly see him.


    "Look at his body, he must have suffered a lot."


    "But why is he coming here, does he think we will protect him if he beg us?"


    "No matter what, we can''t take a deadweight in the team, even more if it''s a stranger."


    "Maybe he wants to ask if we have an extra token to give him."


    Seeing his sorry figure the group members relaxed and started chatting with each other.


    Only Ren Xue Tu felt something was amiss.


    "Guys, let''s get in formation." Ren Xue Tu commanded holding the greatsword planted on the ground next to him.


    His companions had a total trust in him. They nodded and executed themselves drawing close to Ye Mo.


    On the way Ren Xue Tu gave instructions to Wei Leng. "Brother Wei use your Ardent Flame Ring technique once again."


    "Are you sure, i don''t think he pose much of a threat." Wei Leng didn''t understand why going this far for a single man.


    "It''s just in case, trust me." Ren Xue Tu reassured.


    "Alright senior brother Ren, you never disappointed me so far" Wei Leng accepted as his hands gave off an orange fire glow.


    Arriving in front of Ye Mo they immediately surrounded him while Wei Leng used his Ardent Flame Ring technique. A giant wall of flame took form on the ground expanding continuously until it encircled everyone.


    Ye Mo placed in the middle was calm as his dark eyes assessed his opponents.


    As the leader, Ren Xue Tu spoke first.


    "I don''t know what your intentions are but now you''re trapped. Don''t even think about escaping, these flames can even scorch a mid-tier blood beast alive. If you leave your pouch on the ground and break one of your leg we will let you go."


    "So what you mean is that i''m confined together with you?" Ye Mo asked.


    "That''s right, no one can leave if i don''t cancel my technique." Wei Leng explained with a smug smile. He was proud of this flame art he bitterly cultivated.


    Ye Mo grinned, revealing an evil intent.


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    His leg muscles contracted while he gathered all his strenght to the limit.


    Whoosh!


    He released it all in an instant as he jumped, causing Ye Mo to shoot out like a meteor.


    The speed was so fast Ren Xue Tu''s iris shrunk as he felt cold sweat gather on his back.


    At the last moment his instincts kicked in, he shrieked as he blindly swung his sword in front of him with the strongest attack he could muster.


    The shadow of a huge blade took form as it encompassed his sword.


    But before it could fully materialize, Ren Xue Tu felt a strong force assault him while he was hit on the chest by Ye Mo''s fist.


    The sword shadow scattered immediately as Ren Xue Tu was sent flying, traversing the fire wall.


    Wei Leng and his companions stared with wide-opened eyes as they didn''t anticipate this turn of events.


    In an instant, cries of pain could be heard. Wei Leng was the first to react and hurriedly stopped his flame ring technique.


    The flames dissipated and on the other side, a raging ball of fire was walking step by step, as it''s shouts of agony echoed in the forest.


    After a breath of time, Ren Xue Tu collapsed as he was turned into ashes.


    One of the girl screamed terrified by the scene jolting the others back to their senses but Ye Mo was already charging towards Wei Leng.


    "Water Shield" Another girl shouted as a sphere of water enveloped Wei Leng like an armor but just when he was going to get hit Ye Mo bypassed him and rushed at the water using girl.


    Ye Mo saw that she was surrounded by her friends as if they wanted to protect her so she became his second target. Rushing at Wei Leng was just a feint.


    Surprised she didn''t have time to dispel her water shield and call forth another one but a girl beside her shot multiple arrows at Ye Mo while a boy faced him, fur and claws growing on his hands as his arms doubled in size.


    Ye Mo easily deflected the arrows with his hands and caught one that he throwed back penetrating the archer''s throat, the boy tried to claw him but was kicked away landing on a rock further no longer showing any signs of life.


    The others didn''t have the time to mobilize themselves as Ye Mo was already in front of the young girl. He raised his fist as he bashed her skull, breaking her spine in the process.


    Crack!


    Blood and brain matters covered the place as her body plopped down.


    One girl horrified, tried to run away but Ye Mo chased after her easily catching up.


    He grabbed her leg and raised her up then smashed her body on the ground.


    Once, twice, thrice!


    His movements were brutal and he completely used the strenght of his fiend body.


    In the end, her body turned into meat paste as only her leg remained in Ye Mo''s hand.


    His dark hair raised towards the heavens, his body covered in blood, he looked like a devil ascending from hell leaving mountains of corpses on his way.


    Wei Leng didn''t dare look at him anymore as he layed half kneeling on a patch of grass, his eyes livid.


    Turning around Ye Mo saw the last boy sprinting away with great speed. He obviously had a movement-type battle skill.


    Ye Mo caught Ren Xue Tu''s greatsword left on the ground and exerting his muscles throwed it in the boy direction.


    When he heard the wind whistle his body was already cleaved in two as each side kept moving a couple meters before falling down.


    Then Ye Mo began quietly walking towards Wei Leng.


    "Please, don''t kill me i will do whatever you want." Wei Leng bowed down hitting his head on the ground as he begged Ye Mo to spare his life.


    However Ye Mo was unmoved and kept advancing.


    "Wait i have money, that''s what you want right, here." Taking out 30 gold coins Wei Leng frantically tossed them towards Ye Mo but he didn''t pay it any attention as he got closer.


    When only three steps of distance remained, Wei Leng reluctantly used his last card. Taking out a map in one hand he gathered fire in the other, just a few inchs away from burning the piece of paper.


    "Don''t move, this map carry the location of an ancient cave containing pure iridescent iron. If you get any closer i will burn it to the ground, or do you think your whole body move faster than my fingers?"


    "What''s pure iridescent iron?" Ye Mo was perplexed. He knew very little about the world of cultivators and never heard about pure iridescent iron.


    "Huh, how can you not know that?" Wei Leng was shocked but under Ye Mo''s cold gaze he quickly regained his wits.


    "Pure iridescent iron is one of the most durable materials used to make spiritual weapons, it''s called this way because only in it''s purest state does it gain it''s iridescent surface. It''s very expensive and got a high demand for a low supply. Even it you have the money it doesn''t necessarily mean you will be able to get some."


    "You say that but how can i believe this cave you talk about is true?" Ye Mo wasn''t dumb, he wouldn''t blindly trust him without any evidence.


    "It''s easy. Beside Ren Xue Tu who comes from an aristocratic family with multiple cultivators, the others had more or less of an ordinary background. But while the others could use their parents money to get some weak low level martial arts im actually the worst one, only the son of an ordinary hunter and we didn''t have a single penny to spend on this."


    "Even then i still acquired the mid-tier yellow class Ardent Flame Ring martial art, became the second strongest of the group and had an impact on every battle we fought. Why do you think that?"


    "The pure iridescent iron." Said Ye Mo indifferently.


    "Right, when i was laying rabbit traps i found this cave deep in the mountains. I discovered rocks of pure iridescent iron inside and took a bit of it, exchanging them for the Ardent Flame Ring technique. I can give you the map if you want but you must take an oath upon the heavens that you won''t kill me."

 Sneak Attack

    Ye Mo contemplated the issue.


    He had no way to know if what Wei Leng said is true or not but if the matter of the pure iridescent iron was real he couldn''t let this chance slip by.


    "What''s your name?" Ye Mo asked after he took his decision.


    "My name is Wei, my first name is Leng" Responded Wei Leng with a smile, showing his white teeth. He was delighted, at least he would live.


    "Fine. I, Ye Mo take an oath with the heavens as a witness that i won''t kill Wei Leng. If i break my word, may i suffer a thousand deaths." After his announcement Ye Mo instantly felt a mysterious pain, like some kind of shackles binded his heart, squeezing it.


    "I knew brother was a sensible man, here take the map and you can keep the gold coins as well. Then let''s never meet each other again." Wei Leng handed over the map and was going to depart.


    "We won''t indeed." Ye Mo grinned.


    "What?" Wei Leng didn''t understand.


    Ye Mo had already struck at lightning speed, his phalanx lightly hitting his temple! He fainted immediately.


    Wei Leng fell helplessly as Ye Mo''s hand quickly moved seizing his pouch. Then he stomped with his foot breaking Wei Leng''s limbs and left taking the others spatial pouches.


    "I said i won''t kill you but i didn''t say i won''t injure you." Ye Mo wouldn''t bargain. When he striked he never planned to leave a survivor in the first place.


    The fight has been a one-sided massacre as the place was filled with blood, it was bound to attract packs of beast. Wei Leng and his comrades corpse would be devoured soon enough. Since he wasn''t the one to kill him he wouldn''t break his oath.


    Wei Leng in the spur of the moment didn''t realize it but most of all he underestimated Ye Mo viciousness.


    Ye Mo swiftly collected their belongings but when he approached the boy he kicked previously he noticed his chest slightly heaving and sinking.


    Fellow has been faking his death all this time and was taking quick breaths from time to time as he remained motionless. Ye Mo chopped with his hand bending the young man neck in an odd angle, his shock and unwillingness apparent on his face.


    Even if left alone he might still die from the beasts but Ye Mo couldn''t let him go. If by chance he survived and heard everything about the pure iridescent iron, the map would become a curse more than an opportunity. At this time he would only be able to separate from it if he wanted to live.


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    When he departed Ye Mo could hear wolf howls as shadows were seen moving in the surroundings.


    "A pity Ren Xue Tu belongings burned completely." He was satisfied of his first assault. The reason he decided to hunt candidates wasn''t solely because of ressources.


    When he fought with Liu Huan he noticed something fundamental. He lacked experience.


    Exchanging blows in close combat against Ye Mo with a broken arm, he shouldn''t have been able to last this long but Liu Huan knew when to attack and retreat, he used the environment to his advantage and imposed his own pace in the fight.


    Ye Mo had a hard time following him and landing hits.


    Fortunately, this trial in the jade forest was the best battleground to sharpen himself and fill his pockets.


    As he engaged Wei Leng''s band, only Ren Xue Tu gave him a threatening feeling and when he analysed the situation, not only did he look like the chef positioned in the front, the others also regularly throwed quick glances to him showing some kind of dependances.


    It was understandable as Ren Xue Tu was a 5th layer qi gathering realm, he learned multiple fierce battle skills and had great offensive power. He was the pillar of the group and their main killing force.


    When Ye Mo got rid of him their end was already set in stone. The girl protected by the others and Wei Leng had rank four qi gathering cultivation but only possesed support type martial arts while the rest were rank three and posed no danger.


    "If i didn''t caught him unprepared from the start, even though i wouldn''t die i might get injured. In the worst case i would need to kill Wei Leng or take someone hostage to escape." Ye Mo summarized his battle learnings while speeding through the woods when his heart suddenly started racing as a sensation of freedom invaded him.


    "Seems like he finally died." Ye Mo felt like he was breathing fresh air for the first time after a long sentence of imprisonement. His inner shackles shattered which could only mean Wei Leng has disappeared from the face of the earth.


    "Bursting with strenght from the start to take my opponent by surprise worked a couple times already but it''s only due to my neglected appearance, my non existent cultivation and because im a nobody."


    "Once i enter the Tiger Martial institute people won''t be caught unprepared like before. No, even reaching the second phase of the examination without any qi cultivation will make me stand out." Ye Mo wasn''t delusional. A trick could work once or twice but the real foundation of power was your battle strenght.


    On the afternoon of the same day Ye Mo walked out of a small stream naked, his clothes hanging on a branch.


    His face was plain and he could only be considered average in terms of looks but his scar ladden body and his powerful figure made him look like an experienced warrior that battled his way for his life more than once.


    Ye Mo was formerly covered in blood so he took a halt to have a bath but he just left water and went past a tree when he felt wind behind his back.


    A tall girl with two daggers suddenly appeared behind him and chopped down towards his back.


    She obviously had a battle skill unabling her to blend with the environment.


    However Ye Mo was doubtful from the start. Hiding near a stream was a good idea since water could wash your traces but he remarked the leaves on the ground beside the trees hab been stomped.


    He might have thought a band passed by some time ago but he had been ambushed this way a couple times already on his way here.


    He just waited for the rat to leave it''s nest and catch it.


    Ye Mo using his speed and his incomplete Wind Flow battle skill easily avoided the blades as he turned around and grabbed her neck.


    She wasn''t strong, around the same level as a rank two qi gathering cultivator. Ye Mo just applied a bit of force and it broke. He fixed her as life left her eyes. Her head fell on the side as a tear dripped from her eye.


    Ye Mo felt no pity, it was the fate of the weak in this land. You could either beg the strong for their goodwill or lie low, bid your time and try your best.


    This girl chose to come here so she should have expected it could end that way.


    Ye Mo rummaged through her clothes and took her pouch then dressed himself. He transfered it''s contents to his before leaving, tossing it back.


    On the road Ye Mo met multiple beings and as usual he left no survivors ransacking what was possible on his way but even then he had only Liu Hualing, Liu Huan and Wei Leng''s pouches tied to a rope relied to his waist.


    Of course Ye Mo thought about putting spatial pouches inside other pouches then put these pouches inside pouches once again to have unlimited carrying abilities but it was simply impossible.


    Theses little dimensional pocket contained spatial inscriptions, if you tried to put one in another, theses small formations would react as a counter force and reject each other. If you tried too hard and the inscriptions broke you would loose your loots forever. In some cases your possesions would randomly appear somewhere else in the world.


    Ye Mo made the experience firsthand. That''s why he only kept those with the best quality he found.


    He had room for around one more pouch before it would become cumbersome for him to move with.


    Ye Mo set out but he didn''t move far when a blockhead suddenly jumped from the top of a tree. He held a huge axe in his hands and chopped down towards Ye Mo.


    He even heard him yell "Die for me!" as he hacked down.

 Weaklings Desperate Attempt

    Unfortunately, although the blockhead''s strike contained great power, it was too slow.


    Ye Mo sidestepped avoiding it.


    BAM!


    In the next moment, the axe descended from the sky. With it''s menacing aura, it struck the ground Ye Mo was at a moment ago.


    Pebbles flew as a huge gash formed on the soil.


    The blockhead wanted to charge once again but he realized his axe was embedded on the ground.


    Ye Mo who was already beside him kicked his knee breaking the articulation. He was falling when Ye Mo followed with an explosive punch in the face as the opponent ended hammered in the earth.


    Half of his face caved in as his eyes bulged out of their sockets.


    The fight ended in an instant.


    "I should find a spot to rest for now, the night is going to fall and there''s still one day left." Ye Mo took what he could and left.


    The sky had a red tint and the moon was slightly visible as the luminosity slowly decreased.


    At night beasts were much more active and the strongest ones made their apparitions, it wasn''t wise for humans to wander at this time.


    Fourth day, Jade forest.


    On a plain in the periphery of the jungle a dozen blood sucking hyenas surrounded Ye Mo.


    They had red patches all over their body and very developed canines.


    One hyena by itself isn''t that strong, more in the low rung of low tier beasts. But a pack of blood sucking hyenas, even a mid tier beast would have to run.


    If they bite you, they could completely swallow the blood of your body in less than a minute. They also had great hearing and smell being skilled in tracking. Their shrill laugh would attract the surrounding blood sucking hyenas and they could chase their prey for miles, rarely giving up.


    An ordinary qi gathering cultivator would be desperate in this situation.


    But Ye Mo was calm. He stood in a battle stance ready to strike anything that would come in his range.


    The hyenas besieging him stood a distance away lowly growling. The surroundings were filled with their kin battered corpses, intimidating the rest of the pack.


    One hyena felt her empty stomach rumbling and pounced on Ye Mo revealing her sharp fangs as she tried to bite him.


    Ye Mo didn''t budge and just swung his arm.


    Bam!


    The fist met the fangs as the hyena teeth broke under it''s strenght. Her jaw was destroyed as it was left whimpering on the ground half dead.


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    Ye Mo sweeped with his leg sending three other ones flying. He punched and kicked in the melee as the hyenas were crushed under his enormous strenght. Some were left agonizing on the ground with broken bones all over their body.


    Their claws were useless, it barely scratched Ye Mo''s skin.


    Their most dangerous weapon was their fangs but Ye Mo stayed in movement as much as possible to not get bitten, sometimes he would even grab the body of their comrades to protect himself.


    He would still get gnawed at occasionally but he reacted fast and got rid of them. The blood loss was minimal and his body could handle it.


    The hyenas numbers kept decreasing as Ye Mo slaughtered his way through the pack. Some blood sucking hyena in the vicinity, hearing their kin cries, would join the fight here and there but the rate at which they died was much higher.


    At some point when the ground was littered with their blood, the few remaining beasts escaped in fear, howling their resentment.


    They chose the wrong prey and lost almost two whole packs. If it was an ordinary cultivator he would have ran out of qi in the middle of the fight and would have been devoured which was exactly what they waited for.


    Qi was the source of power, beside high level ones, a qi gathering cultivator without qi would only be slightly stronger than a mortal. Against a pack of hyenas they would quickly empty their reserves and get overwhelmed.


    But Ye Mo was a body refining cultivator, as long as he doesn''t sustain grave injuries he could keep going for hours.


    Ye Mo was soaking wet as he took a deep breath. That you had the physical capabilities to do it didn''t mean you would without a doubt.


    The pressure it put and the focus required was high and he was mentally exhausted.


    Ye Mo didn''t sustain any serious injuries but from the outside, the bitten marks and the fangs engulfed in his flesh made a gruesome sight.


    Ye Mo was recovering when he realized multiple kids came out of the jungle and rushed at the hyenas corpses. The fastest ones were already starting to dissect them.


    "Sigh, really can''t catch a breath huh!" Since it was the last day of trial, the remaining weaklings holed up somewhere all this time to survive came out as a last attempt to qualify themselves for the second phase. Most of them were the so-called cannon fodder that didn''t have any cultivation.


    For Ye Mo it was a futile attempt as even if they qualified themselves, they wouldn''t have any chance in the tournament but he could understand them. After all if they wanted to become something in their life, it was their last chance.


    Ye Mo''s fight took some time, a couple of them passing by saw the end and took this as an opportunity to obtain a blood core from the hyenas corpses.


    Ye Mo would be too tired to fight anyway and even if he did they could all run in a different direction and only the first one targeted would die.


    One of them in a corner was digging in a hyena''s belly when suddenly he felt something hard.


    He discreetly raised his head and took quick glances all around.


    The others were busily taking care of the hyenas corpses.


    "Good, no one noticed me." Looking back to the hyenas insides he slowly pulled the hard object as he cut the surroundings with his knife.


    When he almost took it out of the corpse, he nearly couldn''t refrain from smiling. A blood red sphere the size of a baby fist was laying on his palm.


    He swiftly enveloped it in a piece of cloth and was going to put it in his pocket when a firm hand grabbed his wrist halfway and squeezed a bit.


    Crack!


    The bones shattered as his arm took the form of Ye Mo''s hand. The boy howled in pain as he released the blood core.


    Ye Mo caught it mid air and put it in one of his pouch.


    "You can leave now." Ye Mo had no interests in theses kids and there would be no benefits killing them either.


    The commotion attracted the attention of the others as they looked at Ye Mo.


    "When did he arrive there? An instant ago he was twenty steps away, unmoving." Most of them wondered when exactly did Ye Mo move but they didn''t have time to think about it as a scene unfolded in front of them.


    "Give it back!" The young boy stood up and continously slashed at Ye Mo with his knife.


    Ye Mo easily dodged every strike.


    "I gave you a chance, it''s more than many dreamt of" Saying so he grabbed the boy''s head and slammed it on the ground. His skull bursted as blood oozed out of Ye Mo''s hand and spread on the grass.


    Ye Mo let him live but since he refused to, he gave him the brutal death he asked so much for.


    "A bo... body refining cultivator." One of the kid said with a trembling voice when everyone jolted.


    "Run!" At once everyone fled away in every directions.


    Ye Mo took a pile of rocks out of his pouch. When fighting with Wei Leng''s band he realized one of his shortcomings. He didn''t have any long range attacking method. If someone with a movement oriented battle skill tried to leave and his own speed wasn''t sufficient, he could only watch him escape helplessly.


    In the past he thought that as long as he was able to protect himself, people escaping was less important but in this trial he understood this could greatly infringe in his benefits.


    He thought about it and picked up multiple rocks from the ground before putting them in his pouch. This kind of attack power wasn''t great but against such weaklings it was enough.


    Ye Mo took one in hand and throwed it with all his strenght. The wind whistled as one kid was hit in the back of the head. He fell on the ground like a puppet with broken strings, never to stand up again.


    The others knew the same fate but a couple of them avoided a hit in the head and were left on the ground with a hole in their body.


    Ye Mo accuracy wasn''t perfect but theses youths made good practice target.


    Ye Mo headed towards the surviving ones and finished them then he searched through each corpse clothes as these kids didn''t have any pouch, before coming back to dissect the rest of the hyenas.


    In total he collected three blood cores, two from the kids and one from the untouched hyenas corpses.


    When Ye Mo was done he leaved, taking one of the hyenas body with him. He still had enough rations in Liu Huan''s pouch but he wanted to see what a blood beast taste like.


    Later that day, he went on a killing spree as he hunted, killed and looted everything in his way. Everyone he encountered met their demises.


    He was still very careful to not face one of theses strong participants like Liu Huan. Actually when he was on the move, as long as he didn''t attack he did his best to be as discreet as possible because even if he didn''t want to face them, if they noticed and decided to engage him he wouldn''t be able to avoid a fight.


    But there weren''t that many people that could threaten Ye Mo''s life in this trial and meeting them in this vast forest would be pretty unlucky.


    This way the day was replaced by the night as the first phase of the tiger martial institute recruitment took an end.

 First Phase End

    In the dark outside the jade forest, multiple figures appeared in front of the woods. They were Wang Fei and the assisting teachers waiting for the surviving participants.


    It was still night and the wind howled as the vegetation bended under it''s strenght.


    "Wang Fei, how many do you think will pass the test?" A female teacher by his side asked him.


    Wang Fei with a light smile casually answered "Less than five hundred for sure."


    In each recruitment competition a huge part of the participants were made of mortals with no cultivation that hoped they would succeed with wits and a bit of luck. The others were the average and strong cultivators who numbered in the hundreds. Only a very small part were composed of genius and expert.


    From this it was evident the end of the first trial would see the number of participants fall drastically every year.


    The Tiger Martial Institute was fair. Everyone under sixteen had the right to participate if they thought they had a chance to succeed. Only results mattered, that''s so if they aren''t afraid to die in the first place.


    "Who do you think will pass this test?"


    "Well, beside the young masters of the four major clans, this Ma Shinfei''s probably gonna qualify himself easily."


    "Yes, i also heard about this Liu Huan kid from a minor clan who''s not too shabby, i expect him to pass as well."


    "There''s also this one..."


    Standing by, the teachers discussed between each other to kill time.


    The sun rised in the horizon brightening the landscape when the first survivor appeared.


    It was a young man in a grey robe with fair skin and a cold aura emanating from his body. A long curved blade rested on his back and he looked like he would slice apart anyone who got too close to him.


    If Shao Yong was here he would recognize him as the young man who slaughtered his team while he was sent gathering wood.


    What stood out the most from him at this instant was that he was overall very clean. Nothing you would expect from someone who got through four hellish days of fighting and hiding.


    "As expected of Shen Xue he''s really the genius of this generation."


    "This young master of the Shen clan didn''t disappoint us. He''s sure to rise in the future."


    Each teacher praised one after another when they saw who was the first to show up. Evidently they had high expectations for him.


    Shen Xue silently walked to Wang Fei and handed a token with the name of a participant on the back.


    "Good, you can wait behind for now while the others come out." Wang Fei didn''t even look at it as he smiled to Shen Xue.


    The young master of the Shen clan didn''t utter one word as he walked on the side and closed his eyes, as silent as ever.


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    As time goes on many more participants left the deadly forest and joined the teachers, a couple alone but most of them in group.


    Some didn''t have any blood core or second token to show to the instructors and hence failed the test.


    This was the harsh reality, they have gone through all this for nothing.


    "Hey look, this is Gao Lixin!" One of the candidate for the second phase of the recruitment called out when he saw the new arrivant.


    A teen with golden like hair cascading on his back left the forest and walked to the teachers. He had crystal clear eyes and weared a white and blue robe.


    Multiple Gao clan members followed from behind. They were relatively unharmed and even the weakest of them passed the test. It was apparent they beneficed from Gao Lixin help.


    His warm temperament and his amicable personality made him very easy to talk to. As such he had many friends and few ennemies.


    "This young master of the Gao clan is really as described." A boy that failed the test declared looking at Gao Lixin''s followers with clenched fists.


    "Indeed, he have the reputation to be very loyal to his clan and i can see it''s true now." A girl added visibly in a good mood.


    "Congratulations young master Gao."


    "Young master Gao i knew this trial would be a piece of cake for you."


    As he was waiting many took the initiative to get close to him. He was praised and well received by everyone and when congratulating, many took the opportunity to try and strike a relationship.


    Having contacts with the young master of the Gao clan was bound to come with many benefits.


    It was without counting his clan members dispersing the crowd in his stead.


    Right after was the turn of a cultivator draped in a dark robe. His pale face and his shoulder long black hair gave him a unique charm to himself. He was holding a slim bloodied sword in his right hand as an air of arrogance stemmed from him.


    He was Li Qiang along with his little brother and his cousin.


    He fixed Shen Xue and Gao Lixin for some time after giving a token before he left snorting and sat in a corner. His little brother and cousin hurriedly followed him and sat as well.


    The participants reaction to his arrival was a stark contrast to Gao Lixin as people shot glances and whispered among each others but no one dared approach him.


    The sun slowly rised and candidates came pouring every minute as time passed. Among them was Yan Mei the young miss of the Yan clan.


    Her team was the biggest witnessed by the teachers since the end of the trial passing the test, it was made up of 11 members.


    When she came into view, she immediately attracted the attention of everyone. The reason wasn''t her talent nor status but her face.


    She was extremely ugly.


    She had drooping eyelids, her teeth were misaligned, her nose was turned up and a big mole rested on the tip.


    The youths looked away as fast as they gazed at her, mumbling to themselves.


    "How can she be this ugly? She must have been a terrible person in another life for the heavens to curse her this way."


    "I heard she''s too proud to use beautifying pills or metamorphosis battle skills, even her father can''t reason her."


    "There''s a rumor that says once when she was shopping outside, a man eating in a restaurant saw her through the window and puked. When she saw this she entered the restaurant, climbed the stairs and decapitated him."


    "Shhh, don''t be too loud it''s said she''s very resentful. If she have a grudge she will kill you even if it takes a hundred year."


    Yan Mei deeply looked at everyone present then harrumphed and joined her yan clan members waiting.


    The first candidates coming out have been waiting for hours now and some were getting impatient. A couple of them walked to the instructors.


    "Teacher, how much longer do we need to stay here before going back?" The leading boy, a member of the Shen clan asked.


    "We will wait a bit longer, when the sun reach it''s peak we will leave for the tiger martial institute." One old man among the teachers uttered with a frown on his face.


    He didn''t like kids complaining. If they weren''t happy they could just leave right away and go back home. They needed the tiger martial institute but the tiger martial institute didn''t need them.


    In the meantime participants kept coming out of the jade forest. Among them was Ma Shinfei, a young boy with a deep black martial suit revealing half of his chest. A thick rod layed on his back and his red hair were very eyecatching.


    He became famous overnight as some years ago, the scarlet flame grandmaster during one of his trip passed by Azure Water city and met Ma Shinfei begging on the street with his big sister. Realizing his potential he took him as a disciple and moved over.


    With his master teachings and the ressources given to him, he experienced a meteoric rise and was now expected to be on par with the four clans young masters.


    Another mysterious blue haired teen in plain clothes left the woods holding a spear in his hand. Under the shade of a tree he inscompiously watched every participants.


    After the time it takes to eat a meal, less and less people came out of the forest but as the sun reached it''s peak and the teachers were packing, a young man in ragged pants and covered in perspiration appeared. Ye Mo''s hairs were fluttering as he panted to catch his breath.


    "You''re lucky boy, a few minutes later and we wouldn''t be here anymore. Come, show me what you got." Wang Fei said turning around to face him.


    Ye Mo handed over a token. The back was inscribed with Shao Yong''s name.


    "Alright, you won''t have the time to rest though, we''re leaving right away. Go join the others." Wang Fei added as he stored the token in a pouch.


    Ye Mo nodded and entered the crowd mixing with the other teens.


    "I almost didn''t make it in time. If it wasn''t for this mid-tier beast getting in my way, i wouldn''t have been this late." Ye Mo thought recalling the scene.


    He wanted to use the remaining time to chase down the last participants and was in the middle of pursuing some when a two-headed rock crocodile surged from a swamp and attacked. If he didn''t use these people as bait to run away he would still be in the jungle fighting.


    "Seems like i have been too greedy." Ye Mo sighed as they departed.


    At the same time, among teachers and participants many were eyeing him as they left towards the city.

 Insignificant Character

    While moving Wang Fei was deep in thought. "This Ye Mo looks plain on the outside but a deep killing intent is concealed in his eyes, how many people did he kill for it to become this way at his age..."


    In the meantime within the mass of survivors, Ma Shinfei''s persistent gaze roamed on Ye Mo''s back.


    "Im not wrong this is the presence i felt back then in the forest. He looks like some commoner but his muscles are tough and his body is full of vitality. He must be cultivating a body refining technique. I wonder what grade it is." Ma Shinfei wondered as he became excited.


    Somewhere else in the crowd, a spear-wielding blue haired teen was in reflection.


    "This boy reeks of blood, he''s definitely not ordinary. This tournament is gonna be interesting." The youth smiled as expectations growed inside him.


    In front of an expert eyes even the smallest subtleties were layed naked.


    The birds chirped and the crickets sang as everyone arrived at Azure Water city. The participants that failed the test left for home or more accurately were chased out.


    Wang Fei opened his mouth as a small cloud came out. It quickly enlarged until it was big enough to take all the candidates for the second phase.


    "Kids, hop in. This is a spiritual tool, we will use this to go to the Tiger Martial institute. Previously it couldn''t hold all of you as you were too numerous so take this as a special treatment for passing the first phase."


    Spiritual tools existed in all kinds of shape and has varying speed but they were extremely expensive and commonly used to travel great distances.


    The youths looked at it with eyes full of awe and bewilderment as they touched it. When they realized it was tangible they all jumped on and left for the institute. The cloud was soft and comfy but when flying it was so fast that some kids almost fell out.


    Event though Wang Fei didn''t make it fly at top speed the weakest of participants gripped the cloud with all their strenght as they desperately held out while the strongest were deeply rooted on the mass of steam enjoying the view of the city from above.


    Ye Mo calmly sat as he closed his eyes, feeling the wind on his face. This kind of sensation and this feeling of freedom was novel to him. "When my cultivation reach a certain stage, i will be able to fly like that by myself all the time and i wouldn''t need such tool." Ye Mo couldn''t wait.


    Unfortunately for him or fortunately for other kids the travel was short as they quickly arrived at destination.


    The cloud landed in front of the gates as everyone jumped off before it shrank back and disappeared inside Wang Fei''s mouth.


    The youths looked at the gigantic Tiger Martial Institute while charming young men, refined ladies and rich-looking horse carriages were coming and going all around them. The institute was in the heart of Azure Water City where only the strongest cultivators and the wealthiest people resided.


    Two guards were posted beside the gates with solemn expression. Wang Fei approached them and showed his token as the guards nodded and opened the gates.


    "Follow me." Wang Fei gestured to the kids then entered the institution with the other teachers.


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    The youths followed behind and walked under the arch of the gate, discovering marvelous pavillons, magnificent palaces and three massive towers. Deeper inside layed an enormous pagoda that could be seen from tens of li away.


    Every participants looked at the scenery with sparks in the eyes. The architecture of each building had it''s own magnificent style and the structures looked more luxurious the further they walked.


    "So that''s where martial artists cultivate..." Only then did Ye Mo realise how awe-inspiring the institutions are. He didn''t look at the palaces or the lotus ponds but at the wealth they represented and how much he would profit from this place.


    There were many cultivators walking by. They looked mighty and affluent while the youngest ones seemed excited and arrogant.


    Passing through some streets and bridges and after many twist and turns they arrived at the Dusk yard.


    Dusk yard was a residential area for guests with castles and palaces more or less expensive.


    The candidates were led to a black castle.


    "This is where you will sleep tonight. The competition will take place tomorrow so rest well in order to be in top form but don''t forget you''re not part of the Tiger Martial institute yet so don''t roam around casually." Wang Fei and the assisting teachers left with theses words.


    The black castle had five floors with corridors containing countless doors on each side. Inside were small, simple rooms with a bed, a desk and no window. Inside the drawer of the desk was paper, ink and a brush.


    Some weren''t fond of sleeping there but they put up with it as it was just one day.


    For Ye Mo instead, it was more than he ever had since his parents died. Their house had been taken from him and sold to a new family while he had been living all this time on the streets. He found his shabby shelter much later in time so having a bed and a roof was new to him.


    Ye Mo closed the door of his room and sat on the bed when he discovered he couldn''t feel the others presence or hear any noise.


    The rooms were isolated from the outside.


    "That''s good news." Ye Mo rummaged through his pouches recounting what he earned. In the middle he suddenly randomly thought of this blond boy that tried to invite him in his team before the first trial.


    "I didn''t see him come back from the Jade Forest... Guess he died." This way Ye Mo erased him from his memories as he returned to viewing his possesions.


    ...


    In the meantime in a courtyard of the Tiger Martial institute.


    Six persons in green martial suits were waiting in a courtyard. The leading one had short white hairs and a scar ran across his left eye. He wore a green traditional robe as he stood by with a serious gaze.


    Soon enough a maid arrived and asked the white-haired man to follow her. His companions weren''t allowed to accompany him. They walked along a hallway when she opened the door and invited him to go in.


    On the other side was Wang Fei sitting behind a desk browsing through some documents.


    He entered the room as the maid closed the door behind him.


    "You wanted to see me?" Wang Fei put down the papers and watched the tall man as he asked.


    "Yes, sir Wang my name is Liu Zhang Yan member of the Liu clan disciplinary hall, i came here to learn what happened to my young master?" Liu Zhang Yan declared in a respectful tone.


    He was the same man searching for Liu Hualing''s traces in the jade forest days ago.


    "What do you mean what happened, Liu Huan didn''t come back from the jade forest so manifestly he died or encountered some difficulties. In any case he failed the test so it doesn''t matter anymore." Wang Fei announced flatly.


    The Tiger Martial institute took care of their members but as long as you weren''t a part of it your well being was your own responsibility. The ones joining the recruitment knew it was dangerous, if something happened to them they didn''t have the right to complain.


    "This is impossible! With his strenght, joining the institution would be a piece of cake without talking of the first trial!" Liu Zhang Yan raised his voice as he lost his composure.


    "That''s not impossible, i admit that your young master had greater strenght among the participants but every year many youths get eliminated in this test and sometimes the strong ones fail while some weak kid succeed. Luck is a part of strenght too and it''s not excluded he met a high or peak tier blood beast."


    "No, i don''t believe it! I want to see the report of the institutor in charge of watching the participants!" Liu Zhang Yan hastily shouted as he lost his manners. This was the heir of his clan they were talking about and their hope to prosper once again. His life and death was a matter that directly led to the survival or demise of their clan. With Liu hualing additional disappearance, this experienced middle-aged man couldn''t keep his calm anymore.


    Theses words just left his mouth that he already regretted it. He looked at Wang Fei and saw his deep gaze lay on him like he was a piece of meat waiting to be cut as the temperature of the room seemed to become frigidly cold. He felt like the air was solidifying around him as a formless pressure appeared on his body.


    "Maybe i should teach you some manners so you remember your place in the future." Wang Fei coldly said as he stood up.


    "This is this servant fault for showing such a shameful behavior. I deeply implore for sir Wang forgiveness." Liu Zhang Yan stopped breathing as he hurriedly kowtowed.


    Wang Fei was silent for a moment.


    "You can leave."


    Liu Zhang Yan felt the pressure disappear as if it never existed. He stood up and bowed to Wang Fei before he departed.


    Wang Fei sneered. There was a teacher specialised in reconaissance that was in charge of watching the participants to make sure nothing wrong happened like a level 2 blood beast suddenly appearing or demonic cultivators showing up, but his report wasn''t something an insignificant character like Liu Zhang Yan could view and even if he could, Wang Fei wouldn''t have allowed such rude man to do it.


    Liu Zhang Yan just exited Wang Fei courtyard with his comrades and was walking on the street when droplets of blood fell on his robe and the floor.


    "Senior Zhan, are you okay ?!" A female member worriedly asked.


    Liu Zhang Yan lightly touched his nose then looked at his hand when he saw his fingers smeared with blood. The middle-aged man took a sharp breath as he looked back towards Wang Fei courtyard before they hurriedly left the Tiger Martial institute.

 Ye Mos Gains

    "In total i gathered 417 gold coins 234 silvers and 96 bronze coins. With that i also have 17 blood cores, 12 from low tier blood beasts while the rest are mid tier. If i add Liu Huan''s sword, Wei Leng''s map and the various bottles of pills then this is quite the wealth." Ye Mo was satisfied from his hunt.


    Ye Mo destroyed all the tokens he had. He got too much and they were of no use to him, by getting rid of them he prevented others from qualifying by chance looting the tokens of his victims corpses this way reducing the number of potential rival.


    He didn''t have enough space to hold them all anyway so he only kept a small part of them and when he passed the test Ye Mo throwed them as well.


    Destroying as much tokens you could was frequent in this kind of trial for the participants. Some solely hunted and killed for this only reason.


    "Now i just need to join the Tiger Martial institute. But theses four young masters are too strong, from what i heard this Shen Xue is at the peak of the 7th rank not far from breaking through the 8th rank qi gathering realm. If i meet any of them, im done for..."


    Ye Mo killed Liu Huan, Ren Xue Tu and many other important teenagers. Even if he tried to hide it he knew there were all kinds of people with all kinds of abilities all around, if their families investigated they would find the truth soon enough.


    At this point they wouldn''t stop at anything to kill him. His only solace would be the Tiger Martial institute. If he was able to enter the top twenty and join them then even the four great clans would find it troublesome to deal with him but if he fail he would only be able to bet his life on leaving the city in one piece and hide far away.


    Ye Mo knew he was at a crossroad, if he succeeded he would experience an explosive growth but if he failed he could only hope to stay alive.


    One step would determine if a bright future awaited him or if he would fall into the abyss forever.


    -


    In a corner of Azure Water city, inside a vast hall.


    A man with long unkempt hair and a sickly pale face was sitting on a big chair, his arms layed on the handles as his head rested on his hand.


    The hall was spacious but empty, beside the chair no other furnitures remained and it was devoid of decorations like they had been removed recently.


    The doors opened abruptly as Liu Zhang Yan entered and saluted, "Respectful greetings to patriarch."


    "At ease. How did it go?"


    "Reporting to partriarch, they said something happened to him but didn''t let me see the report, i think only if the patriarch was going in person would he be able to take a look. I apologize for my incompetence!" Liu Zhang Yan lowered his head and expressed his regret.


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    Bam!


    The Liu clan patriarch slammed his hand on the handle of the chair, breaking it in pieces.


    "Damn bastards! How could i go myself in my state, does my Liu clan declined so much that they can''t even let us see a report right now?! This is my son we''re talking about!" Liu Hao was driven insane. His daughter Liu Hualing disappeared already, most probably dead and now it was his son turn.


    During his rage multiple figures appeared in the hall bowing to Liu Hao.


    "We''re back from the jade forest. We found the young master remains."


    "His... remains?" Liu Hao blancked out, his body immobile.


    The man hesitated before continuing, "Yes, most of his corpse was devoured by beasts but after analysis there''s no doubt, it''s indeed young master Liu Huan."


    "How could it be, joining the Tiger Martial institute was supposed to be effortless with his abilities. Even if he met one of the four clans young master he would still be able to escape alive. Who did this! I want the culprit''s name!" Liu Hao roared madly, his eyes bloodshot. His fists were clenched so hard his nails dugged deeply in his skin releasing blood from his palm to the floor.


    Everyone hurriedly knelt down as Liu Zhang Yan spoke, "I don''t know who the killer is but..."


    "What is it, talk!"


    "During the investigation of the young miss disappearance we found out a kid was in the vicinity at the same time. We wanted to capture him for interrogation but the same day we learned he was participating in the Tiger Martial institute recruitment competition and since young master was registering as well he took this matter in his own hands."


    "I don''t think he is the killer since he''s just a beggar but he might have something to do with this. I recall his name is Ye Mo." Liu Zhang Yan solemnly recounted everything as he carefully watched Liu Hao expression.


    "YE MO! If you''re the murderer of my son, between heaven and earth you won''t have a place to hide!" Liu Hao madly released his qi as his subordinates were sent crashing against the wall of the room. The bodyguards outside the door trembled, and turned a blind eye and deaf ear to the happenings within the hall.


    Suddenly fresh blood spurted from Liu Hao mouth as he fainted. The poison he was doing his best to fight all this time, during his fit of strength gained the advantage and erupted vehemently causing internal damages to his body.


    Under his unstable state of mind Liu Hao wasn''t able to contain the poison anymore and lost consciousness.


    "Patriarch!" The Liu clan members yelled frantically as they rushed to catch their patriarch but before he could fall on the floor an aged hand caught him by the chest.


    "Ancestor, you left your retreat?" The subordinates present were astonished at the sight of this old man.


    Only a couple long white strands of hair remained on his bald head and he was so skinny his robe looked too big for him. His hollow cheeks and protruding eyes gave him a scary look.


    His was Liu Dan, Liu Hao''s father and the previous patriarch of the Liu clan.


    "How could i stay away in this kind of situation. Bring him back to his chamber and call the medicinal hall elder to help him contain the poison. I will be in charge in the meantime." His voice was unpleasant to hear but his tone was firm as he swiftly gave his orders.


    At once two men stepped out, picked up Liu Hao and left the place.


    "As for you lot, go back and bring this kid to me. I want to know what he has to say for himself." Liu Dan told to the remaining members.


    "But... This Ye Mo passed the first test. He''s currently residing in the Tiger Martial institute waiting for the tournament." One man uttered in a low voice, inwardly afraid.


    "Hmph, in this land there''s no coincidences, the kid was in the vicinity during both my grandchild deaths and now you tell me he got through the trial of survival. He definity have something to do with this, no actually he''s probably directly implicated in their demise, but i don''t believe he can pass this tournament. You will wait for him at the entrance, once he leaves capture him, if he resist sever his limbs but bring him back." The more Liu Dan thought about it the more he was persuaded to be right in his conjecture.


    His body was old but his countless experiences of the world developed a shrewd mind. Because of age and an old injury, his original cultivation of the peak foundation establishment realm reverted back to the second layer without any chance of improving further. Since then he gave the seat of patriarch to Liu Hao and retreated behind closed doors.


    "As you wish!" Every members immediately departed.


    Liu Dan walked to a window, his hands folded behind his back as he looked at the scenery.


    "During my retreat i seldom left my dwelling. One of these occasions was the birth of my grandchildrens. No matter who''s the culprit i will pursue you till the end of hell, even if i have to incur the wrath of the Tiger Martial institute on the way."


    Liu Dan muttered under his breath, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes.

 A Devastating Blow

    At daybreak, a ray of sunlight broke the darkness as it shined down onto the earth. The Tiger Martial Institute was like a pot of boiling water, slowly getting roused.


    The bells rang as the disciples woke up.


    Ye Mo just left his room when he witnessed fellow participants lining up in front of an extremely beautiful female teacher.


    Her deep purple hair were flowing down her waist and her long lavender dress wrapped tightly against her skin accentuating the curves of her body. An opening was on the right side of the lower half of her dress revealing a slender snow white leg. Her exquisite face carried a cold expression as she patiented beside the black castle entrance.


    The boys were mesmerized by her sight as they couldn''t take their eyes out of her. The girls instead frowned in front of this situation. Being eclipsed by another woman wasn''t a good feeling.


    When all the youths were gathered, the female teacher spoke out.


    "My name''s Lan Xue. I am the instructor sent to take you to the arena. Now follow me and don''t ask any questions."


    Saying so, Lan Xue turned around and walked out of the black castle.


    Everyone immediately followed and obediently stood behind her. Many were more than happy to stand at the rear peeking at their instructor. The Tiger Martial Institute covered a very large area, Lan Xue led them through many paths before they reached the west of the academy where ten elevated battle stages stood out.


    The battle stages were extremely durable, made of reinforced stone square tiles able to withstand a force of 2000kg.


    Around the battle stages were bleachers filled with thousands of spectators chatting with each other. In the middle of theses bleachers was a platform carrying the dean of the institute Hong Li and the vice dean Han Zhen Jun accompanied by important guests. Among them were elders of the four clans.


    The patriarchs couldn''t leave their clans easily and even if they did it wouldn''t be to watch kids compete against each other thus they would send representatives to stay informed of what happened.


    The contestants following Lan Xue reached the arena and stood on a flat contour in between the stage and audience where they found Wang Fei waiting for them. Her task done, Lan Xue left under the insistent gaze of the boys and disappeared in the crowd.


    "Not only one but the four clans young master are attending this year."


    Seeing this, not only the Tiger Martial Institute students but also the other cultivators were excited, this did not happen in previous years.


    "Ma Shinfei is here as well, i can''t wait for the show to start."


    "Who''s this ugly girl, don''t tell me it''s the rumored Yan clan young miss. She should hide her face if she''s going out in public."


    Discussions were aplenty among people.


    Inside the platform, the four clans elders courteously talked to each other. There were much rivalry between their members all year round but in such events and because it was inside the Tiger Martial institute, they would maintain appearances in public.


    They silently looked at their clan heir at times before retracting their vision.


    In their heart, there was no doubt they would easily join the Institute. What they wondered was how they would fare against the other young masters.


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    "Wang Fei, the time is right, let the competition begin." Hong Li next to the elders sent a transmission to Wang Fei.


    "Indeed"


    Wang Fei announced the rules and the rewards, his voice reverberating in the plaza.


    The rules were basically as such:


    Spiritual weapons higher than mid-tier are prohibited


    The fight ends when one party surrender, no further attacks are allowed


    Although deaths could occur in battles, you''re not allowed to purposefully try to kill your opponent, if you''re judged doing so you will be punished accordingly


    Falling from the stage count as a loss


    No intake of pills before or during the match


    Any violation will result in the immediate disqualification of the individual. Finally an instructor is overwatching the battles and can intervene if necessary.


    The rules were understandable and everyone nodded. The spiritual weapon prohibition was to maintain fairness. There were many types of spiritual weapons with all kinds of abilities graded from low, mid, high to peak tier at best. The better their grades the stronger they were. Now if any clan member came with their family heirloom or some rich kid fought with a top grade spiritual weapon against people that could barely afford an iron sword wouldn''t it be the same as cheating?


    This competition was to test the contestants talent and skills not their wealth so high and peak grade spiritual weapons were forbidden.


    As for the rewards:


    21th to 50th place - 500 gold coins


    11th to 20th place - 1000 gold coins, 1 bottle of mid-tier yellow class spirit qi pill


    6th to 10th place - 1500 gold coins, 1 bottle of spirit qi pill, 1 meridian purifying pill and the right to enter the third stage of the cultivation tower


    2nd to 5th place - 2000 gold coins, 1 bottle of spirit qi pill, 1 meridian purifying pill, the right to enter the third stage of the cultivation tower and the Institute armory


    1st place - 3000 gold coins, 1 bottle of spirit qi pill, 1 meridian purifying pill, the right to enter the third stage of all three towers and the Institute armory once


    Most important of all, on top of the rewards, the top 20 places will enter the Tiger Martial Institute as disciples.


    "Such generous rewards, even if i have to risk my life i must get a part of it." One boy said fired up.


    "The towers of the Tiger Martial Institute contain their martial arts. I heard the third stage hold the high-tier yellow skill martial arts!" One girl said with her eyes glimmering.


    "How could it be so easy to reach the top 10, all i care about is joining the Institute, then i will have other chances to gain such ressources". Someone else added staying level-headed.


    "All the weapons of the Institute are inside the armory. Gaining an entry is the same as having the spiritual treasure of your choice handed to you." Immediately discussions erupted among participants. Some tried to stay calm but everyone was excited. At once the fighting spirit of the contestants was roused up.


    Ye Mo was speechless, he wasn''t aware there would be rewards as well.


    "Looks like i won''t be able to hold back. If i have the chance i must go further even if i reached the top 20 already." On the outside Ye Mo looked indifferent but in his pitch-black eyes burned a bright fire.


    Once Wang Fei finished announcing the rules and rewards, the contestants began to draw lots.


    This year there was a total of more than 400 contestants who were not more than 16 years of age and among them only 3 had zero cultivation counting Ye Mo.


    On the stage, Ye Mo randomly picked the number 74. This meant he would fight the other youth who picked number 74.


    "With the second phase of the competition officially started, will the contestants with lots number 1 to 10 please come on stage."


    The ten stages held fights at the same time.


    Multiple youths arrived on stage, some used the stairs but most directly leapt up. After paying respect to each other they fought.


    Immediately, shouting noises, battle skills, and the sounds of punches and kicks as well as the discussions of the onlookers around the arena fused in a loud banter.


    ...


    In the bat of an eye dozens of matches have concluded. When a battle ended on stage, new contestants were immediately called and another one started.


    From theses fights it was clear to the eyes of the spectators that competitors from the major clans and aristocratic families are more competents. When they fought against common individuals, it majoritarily solded by a victory and when they were matched against each other the battles were much more fierce and pleasing to the eyes.


    But it was surprising to none as they were trained since young in their families martial arts and enjoyed betters ressources. For cultivators ressources came first, then talent and in third efforts. After all no matter how hard working you are, there is only 24 hours to train in a day and no one could change that.


    "Number 48, come on stage." Wang Fei called out.


    Gao Lixin and a plain looking youth left the crowd and came on stage.


    "I will be in your care brother Gao."


    "Haha, go easy on me little brother Shen."


    Both contestants greeted each other before Shen Man kicked off the ground and dashed at Gao Lixin sword in hand.


    Shortening the distance Shen Man followed with an horizontal slash but Gao Lixin was unfazed and with a wave of the hand disarmed his opponent.


    "You have the basics but your cultivation is still lacking." While declaring Gao Lixin threw a palm strike sending his opponent flying out of the stage.


    "Fighting a sword bare-handed, this Gao Lixin sure has balls." The spectators were impressed by this display of power as Shen Man was still a 5th layer Qi Gathering realm.


    The Shen clan members frowned seeing their comrade defeated with such ease. Only Shen Xue had no reaction, still like an ice statue.


    The competition hence resumed.


    "Number 74."


    After some time it was Ye Mo''s turn.


    He and his opponent stood on the stage facing each other.


    "I am Tie Tao of the Tie family." Tie Tao said bowing to Ye Mo. Tie Tao as a minor member of an influent family was raised strictly and good manners were ingrained in his minc in a way he wouldn''t make his family lose face.


    Stomp!


    Ye Mo stepped hard on the stone tiles as he rushed to Tie Tao.


    "You f**cker, how can you sneak attack like that?!" Tie Tao swore loudly, losing all composure. He didn''t expect this unassuming kid to be so shameless attacking before greeting in a formal competition in front of thousands of spectators.


    Ye Mo in a flash was in front of his foe, with the sole of his foot, he kicked his chest hard.


    Tie Tao unable to react was sent flying out of the stage, crashing on the ground below.


    His screams came to a stop as he laid on the ground motionless, his fish-like eyes wide open.


    One fatal kick had sent Tie Tao to the afterlife.

 Top 50

    The spectators were still immersed in the fights and didn''t react right away. Ye Mo was just a nobody with no cultivation and his opponent, a small character of the Tie family with a cultivation of the 3rd layer Qi Gathering Realm.


    For the onlookers, this match didn''t have any appeal and so they focused on the others, but gradually people noticed the incident.


    "Hey, what''s going on over this stage, didn''t the fight just start? Why is no one moving."


    "Look there is someone below the stage, what happened, did he lose already?"


    "He''s not moving anymore, is he dead?"


    Bits by bits, angry shouts erupted in the surroundings.


    "I saw it all, this kid sneak attacked his opponent and killed him!"


    "How shameless at such a young age, this boy is tarnishing the Tiger Martial Institute''s name."


    "This little runt dares act this way in such a competition, his guts knows no bounds. Quickly disqualify him!"


    Ye Mo was standing in the middle of the stage, a cold indifference on his face, as if the public shouts weren''t directed at him.


    It was like he was just an onlooker witnessing the scene from a distant place.


    The instructor overwatching the battles rapidly came over Tie Tao''s body. He squinted his eyes as he examined the corpse.


    The chest caved in and a deep imprint of foot remained on his torso but the instructor realised it wasn''t the kick that killed Tie Tao but the fall. He was projected with such force that upon contact with the hard ground, his spine broke and his organs suffered heavy damages ending his life.


    The middle-aged man turned around and spoke to Ye Mo, "Young man, you have gone too far. Didn''t we tell you killing wasn''t allowed?"


    One of the reason the instructor taking care of the stages was here, was to prevent such incidents from happening. The truth was that he was taken off guard by Ye Mo''s attack and with the match ending in one hit, he didn''t have the time to react at all.


    Now that a death has occured his evaluation would drop and he would only get half the rewards as the hosting instructor. As such he couldn''t help but gain a little sense of loathing towards Ye Mo.


    "Senior must be joking. How could i know my opponent would fall in one hit, i only tried to win, or are you blaming me for doing my best?" Ye Mo replied, apathetic.


    The battle overwatching instructor snorted, "Go back with the others but heed my words. If you kill your opponent with a surprise attack like that once again i will disqualify you, then you will face the consequences."


    Ye Mo left under the public indignant shouts.


    "What, he''s not getting eliminated?!"


    "Since the host checked the body and didn''t do anything it means he didn''t break any rules."


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    "What can he do, it''s not against the rules to sneak attack but who would have thought this kind of people would enter the competition, attacking during his opponent greeting..."


    Ye Mo treated theses words as thin air. Only his objectives and the way to attain them mattered, the weak-willed that only lived through people''s eyes weren''t worth anything.


    The fights resumed and soon the top 50 appeared.


    The four young masters ended all their matches in one hit. Ma Shinfei displayed amazing battle strenght and would have burned his foe to death without the intervention of the instructor.


    Ye Mo who witnessed everything with the waiting contestants closed his eyes. "Fortunately my instincts didn''t betray me. If i engaged him back in the jade forest, i don''t know what would have happened."


    Shen Xue for his first fight severed one of his opponent arm right off the bat. His opponent didn''t even see anything as his arm was already flying as soon as the bells rang. After this display of strenght every youths matched with him gave up before the fight started.


    Ye Mo was now the only contestant without any qi and also one of the youngest among the top 50 with Li Qiang little brother, Li Cheng being 12 as well.


    Ye Mo pretended to struggle in his fights, matching his strenght with his opponent. Many times did he willingly took hit, groaning and falling on the ground even though his body could easily handle it, then he would quickly rise up and attack, finishing his opponent after more than a 100 blows each time.


    His acting skills were top notch and the public that already attributed his first win to the sneak attack quickly lost interest. The remaining ones only looked at his matches to cheer his adversary.


    Beside a few keen eyes barely anyone remarked he entered the top 50.


    Apart theses famous geniuses, there was another contestant who caught everyone''s eyes. It was a boy with long blue hair and a spear that was longer than him hanging diagonally on his back.


    Every time he fought the instructor would stop the battle just before his attack was unleashed, announcing he was victorious. The pleading of the contestants didn''t change anything and the mysterious boy reached the top 50 without showing any skills. This peculiar event caused the indignation of a few spectators but the experts among the public looked at this scene with a strange glint in the eyes.


    For the fourth round Ye Mo was against a girl using the spear as well.


    She didn''t greet Ye Mo and used her best battle skill as soon as the match started. No one bothered with formalities against him since his first fight, everyone attacked directly.


    "Sweeping Mad Thrust!" The girl shouted as the speed of her spear accelerated.


    Instantly a flurry of strike advanced towards Ye Mo.


    Ye Mo tried to dodge but it was so fast the shadows of the spear remained in the air even after she pulled back.


    He was grazed multiple times and blood dripped from his wounds permeating the stage. The spear being a long-range weapon, Ye Mo was efficiently kept at distance and every time he tried to advance he was met with dozens of thrust and repelled back.


    The young girl attacked relentlessly and injuries accumulated on Ye Mo''s body but after a while, the number of hits he received lessened.


    The girl failed to realize, since the start of the match Ye Mo''s eyes has been completely open, focusing on the spear movements without blinking once.


    The match continued and as time passed the spear-tip could barely touch him anymore while Ye Mo crazily avoided everything like a snake slithering between the spear strikes.


    He adapted to his opponent onslaught and could now clearly see the spear movements. Ye Mo writhed, rolled and side-stepped in every directions with inhuman agility.


    At some point he could feel where the spear would come from even before the attack was initiated.


    Minutes passed and the contestant couldn''t land a hit anymore.


    The girl sweated profusely and could feel she reached her limits. Her qi was nearly exhausted and her right arm felt heavy but she wasn''t willing to give up.


    Gathering all her strenght in one last thrust she attacked.


    Wind billowed around the blade but she didn''t fully released her strike when Ye Mo who felt the flow of the battle change used this fraction of second to draws closer and caught the spear halfway in motion.


    With his physical strenght, he easily snatched it from her hands.


    The girl exhausted and bare handed couldn''t defend herself against Ye Mo that smashed the handle of the spear on her face before she had the time to give up.


    Her jaw broke and teeths mixed with blood flew out of her mouth as her body spinned around before plopping on the stone tiles.


    From this battle Ye Mo could infer his opponent was leading a good life. She had a cultivation of the 4th layer and good battle skills but lacked experience. Her tempo never changed throughout the fight and her strikes were predictable.


    "Only training but never fighting, how can you expect to reach your best potential?" She seemingly didn''t participate in many battles while Ye Mo who had his fair share of struggles kept his calm and took his time to analyse her abilities. He clearly saw through her weaknesses which led to his victory.


    Although the wounds and the blood loss looked impressive, they were minor injuries and only his skin was cut.


    The injured participants would be healed between each matches so Ye Mo didn''t need to worry about it.


    "Damn it, this kid did it again!" The spectators that disliked Ye Mo already didn''t miss this chance to criticize him.


    "How could he hit her face like that, does he have no consideration for girls at all?!" A woman in the public had her hands covering her face as she looked at the scene through the gap between her fingers.


    "He better not meet me outside or i will beat him to a pulp."


    "Then you should hope he lose his next match, one more win and he gets in the top 20."


    On a cabin above the rows of spectators, Hong Li stroked his beard as he watched the fight, the corners for his mouth raised upwards.


    "Dean, did you saw something?" Han Zhen Jun who witnessed this change asked Hong Li.


    "It''s nothing... I just feel this kid has some talent, but it''s still too soon to talk about. Let''s keep watching."


    ''What did he notice that i missed?'' Thought Han Zhen Jun as he lowered his head and focused his attention on Ye Mo leaving the stage.


    Quickly two other youths came on stage as the competition continued.

 Li Clan Second Young Master

    The fifth round started as the fights became more and more intense to the delight of the spectators.


    The battles occuring before were actually quite boring and beside a few highlights, there was either a huge gap between both contestants and the matches would end extremely fast or the weaker participants would trade blows for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before one would take the upper hand and defeat his adversary.


    But now only the most skilled youths of the batch remained and being at the doors of the top 20, they fought like mad dogs ready to win at all costs.


    It quickly was Ye Mo''s turn again.


    On the stage a short youth in black clothing and a sword at his waist came up and faced him. It was Li Cheng, Li clan second young master.


    "Now that you''re paired against me, you''re done for. A prick like you that use nasty tricks to defeat his opponents isn''t worthy of the Tiger Martial Institute." Stated Li Cheng.


    "Says the trash who depended on his brother to pass the trial." Ye Mo scoffed at Li Cheng.


    "You!" Li Cheng was infuriated, his face was red and his lips trembled. Yet he wasn''t able to say a single word of rebuttal.


    Because what Ye Mo said was the truth!


    Although he didn''t do it on purpose and was pretty sure he could pass the first phase by himself, he did enjoy the jade forest scenery as his big brother slaughtered everything in their way, handing tokens and blood cores to him and his cousin.


    In his mind Ye Mo was still this beggar that came out of nowhere and tried to be their equal so he wouldn''t dare talk to him this way.


    After all the four clans has been ruling over Azure Water City for a long time. Their dominance was spread in every residents being since they were born. This mind barrier wouldn''t break just because someone took part in the Tiger Martial Institute recruitment competition.


    Moreover as a great clan young master, Li Cheng was very prideful and felt repulsed by Ye Mo''s conduct.


    In the end as he tried to take the psychological advantage, he was the one to be ridiculed instead.


    "We will see if you can keep saying that after the fight." Nonetheless Li Cheng still held complete confidence in his abilities.


    The bells rang as the match began.


    Thump!


    Li Cheng gripped his five fingers around the handle of his sword as he narrowed his eyes. In a single step, he forcefully charged at Ye Mo and directly attacked his chest with a diagonal slash.


    Ye Mo took a step back and avoided the blade which streamed right past him.


    Immediately a vertical slash followed threatening to slice Ye Mo in half.


    Ye Mo sidestepped, evading the strike once again then countered with a straight right.


    Li Cheng cocked his head on the side, easily avoiding the punch but when the fist was beside his face it shifted to a palm that changed direction in a cutting motion, aiming at his face.


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    Stunned, Li Cheng hurriedly distanced himself but it was too late.


    He retreated 3 meters before stopping. He looked at Ye Mo with wide eyes while breathing raggedly as a deep cut was clearly visible on his eyebrow. Blood ran down his face and droplets fell on the stage.


    "huff, huff, huff....."


    ''This guy... He actually tried to take my eye... A fraction of second later and his fingers would have punctured my eyeball. He''s crazy!'' After his shock, fury soon erupted as Li Cheng''s mind was overcome with the destructive disposition to harm his opponent.


    "I will kill you!" Li Cheng raised his sword which began to shine brightly.


    "Cleaving White Crescent!" Li Cheng shouted as he hacked down.


    The light of his sword transformed into a white crescent shaped blade launched at great speed towards Ye Mo.


    "He already mastered the Cleaving White Crescent at 12?" On the platform, the elder of the Yan clan exclaimed surprised.


    "Li Yun, you old fox, you hide it from us." The Gao clan elder added in a chiding tone.


    "It''s just a small trick, nothing worth celebrating." The Li clan elder, Li Yun, said in a light tone but the joyful smile he harbored easily revealed how gratified he truly was.


    "Brother Yun, how can you say that. Although it''s only a mid-tier battle skill, it''s very powerful and the foundation of your Li clan sword arts. It''s not so easy to learn." The Shen clan elder spoke solemnly while dark intentions brewed in his and the other two clan elders mind.


    Li Qiang was enough trouble already, they didn''t need another talented young master to appear in the Li clan.


    On the battle stage, the white crescent traveled the distance between Li Cheng and Ye Mo in an instant leaving a straight line on the stone platform but the latter who stood ready all this time was already rolling before it reached him.


    The crescent blade brushed past him then left the stage and continued flying for eight meters before it dissipated halfway between the arena and the bleachers.


    A deep trail was left on the stone tiles and pieces of rocks were sent flying in the midst of the attack.


    "The power of this battle skill is impressive and the speed is great as well but it''s not unavoidable." Ye Mo was impressed by the strenght of this sword art. He felt his life would be in danger if a hit landed even with the resilience of his body.


    "It seems he needs to do this cutting motion with his sword to release this attack. If i try to evade when it''s already launched i will be sliced before i can leave the range of the white crescent but if i move during the wave of his sword i can avoid the attack before it''s released." Ye Mo was sharp and quickly found a way around it.


    It seemed easy like that but the arms of a man moved faster than the whole body. Putting this plan into action needed great reflexes and nerves of steel. If Ye Mo didn''t grasp the right timing he wouldn''t have the time to shout before being lacerated by the crescent blade.


    Li Cheng that saw Ye Mo dodging his Cleaving White Crescent battle skill quickly launched another one.


    Ye Mo who never took his eyes off Li Cheng quickly darted on his left at the same time. The White Crescent streaked right past him before dissipating further once again.


    Li Cheng attacked furiously, getting more worked up as it continued to miss.


    Ye Mo kept moving and evading nonstop. His movements were erratic and unpredictable leaving Li Cheng, under anger and frustration, unable to land a hit.


    Ye Mo between two dodging maneuver suddenly kicked a rock that was sent flying under Li Cheng onslaught.


    Swoosh.


    Li Cheng heard a light brushing sound as the rock was thrown out in his direction. He parried the rock with his sword, losing his stance in the process.


    At the same time he saw Ye Mo drawing dangerously closer and knew he wouldn''t have the time to release another white crescent anymore.


    It was a sword art used for mid or long range battle and would render him defenceless at this distance. Moreover, his qi decreased a lot under the repetitive use of the skill.


    "Sunlight Feather" Ye Mo arrived in front of Li Cheng and punched hard. His fist got right through his body and protruded from the back.


    But suddenly, Li Cheng''s figure became fuzzy. It waned rapidly, turning in a translucent, distorted mass before disappearing under Ye Mo''s strike.


    Ye Mo realized the trick and through his peripherical vision, saw a shadow moving threatheningly beside him.


    "Soft Breeze Sword Art" Li Cheng, unwilling to waste this opportunity used the fastest sword battle skill he learned.


    The Soft Breeze sword art was a low tier battle skill but if a clean hit landed, it was more than enough to cut a man to pieces.


    Ye Mo swiftly turned around when the blade penetrated his flesh spurting blood on both contestants.


    Li Cheng made an ugly expression. His sword pierced Ye Mo''s left hand and stopped right before his neck.


    Ye Mo rather than retreating pushed his palm along the blade and grabbed the hilt of the sword with his fingers then followed with a roundhouse kick towards Li Cheng waist.


    Seeing the muscular leg coming his way Li Cheng decisively let go of his sword and used the Sunlight Feather movement battle skill to retreat.


    "He''s not as fast as Liu Huan, i can pursue him." Ye Mo noted calmly in his mind.


    Li Cheng was slower than Liu Huan since he was a 5th layer cultivator, one less than the Liu clan heir. But more importantly it was because the low tier Sunlight Feather battle skill left afterimages of the user on it''s way that could be used to confuse the opponent and escape or deal the killing blow, contrary to the Wind Flow battle skill that was solely focused on speed.


    "Jumping like a rabbit, where is the ardor you showed before?" Ye Mo chased after Li Cheng as he taunted.


    They had around the same speed and the afterimages made it harder to pinpoint Li Cheng position but without sword and his qi running out, the issue of the match was already decided.


    "You shouldn''t offend me, you don''t know the strenght of my Li Clan. If you surrender right now i can let you go but if you push the matter i will definitely kill you, your family, your friends and everyone close to you!" Li Cheng threw all appearances to the bin as he viciously threatened Ye Mo.


    He trembled just thinking of his father reaction if he learned that he wasn''t able to get in the Tiger Martial institute this year, losing against a nobody at that.


    The cultivators watching couldn''t help but shake their heads. Everyone knew that upon entering an institute, you became untouchable. Even the four great clans wouldn''t try anything just because their young master lost a fight.


    As for killing his family and friends? Ye Mo could only laugh inside as he kept chasing after Li Cheng.


    After some time, Li Cheng ran out of qi. Ye Mo caught up and punched his belly.


    Li Cheng''s face was almost deformed as saliva escaped his mouth. He tried to surrender but no sound left his mouth as he fell on his knees.


    Ye Mo stood in front of him. Li Cheng raised his head and saw his opponent look at him from that high position.


    Anger, hatred, humiliation, all kinds of novel feelings devoured his mind as he was sent tumbling out of the stage with a kick in the stomach.

 The Standing of a Student

    Outside the stage, Li Cheng fainted on the ground with no more movements from him.


    The hosting instructor, upon seeing such a scene, announced, "The victory goes to Ye Mo."


    Ye Mo was unfazed as he removed the bloody sword that was still embedded in his hand and tossed it.


    "That''s why i don''t like weapons, take them out of their hands and they become little wimps." Ye Mo didn''t understand why cultivators put so much emphasis on weapons.


    For him they were just pieces of metal to help mortals kill each other but cultivators have the potential to destroy mountains and level seas with their fists alone, why would they need it?


    It could be seen in this fight when Li Cheng was stripped of his sword, he could only run and threaten Ye Mo until he exhausted all his qi and got knocked out.


    Liu Huan was more thoughtful as he mastered a hand to hand battle skill even though he was a sword cultivator. Thanks to this he was able to dangerously menace Ye Mo in close combat and almost killed him but without the use of his sword a huge part of his skills were unusable and he still died in the end.


    For Ye Mo, strenght had to come from yourself. Even if he attained his goal and became a peerless cultivator, if most of his fighting abilities were lost because he wasn''t holding a blade then there was no point to it.


    From his perspective, they were handy indeed but unnecessary.


    Maybe he would come to use weapons in the future but they would remain as expendable tools and nothing more.


    While he left, servants from the Li Clan came to retrieve the sword and carry their young master to the healing instructor.


    They sighed in relief as they found out Li Cheng didn''t suffer any grave injuries.


    Obviously Ye Mo restrained his strenght.


    The Li Clan elder and other members were watching and from his point of view, there was no reason making ennemies out of them. They wouldn''t try anything if he just defeated their young master but if he suffered permanent injuries or died then even as a member of an institute, the clan wouldn''t abandon the thought of killing him.


    This way, Ye Mo made it to the top 20 of the competition and officially became a student of the Tiger Martial Institute.


    Various reactions occured among the spectators from the result of this fight.


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    "Cancel the operation and tell our men to go back."


    In the bleachers, a man in his forties spoke to his servant accompanying him. He wore a light white robe and a dignified air emanated from him indicating his background wasn''t ordinary.


    "Yes, master." The thin servant acknowledged the order before scurrying away.


    The man watched Ye Mo receiving treatment for his hand with a complicated expression.


    His name was Tie Shi, the younger brother of the Tie Family head. When Ye Mo killed Tie Tao, he has been enraged, not because of Tie Tao death but the fact that Ye Mo dared viciously kill him even after hearing his name.


    There was a popular idiom saying, you should always ask the master permission before beating the dog.


    No matter how low his standing was, Tie Tao was still a member of the Tie family. Ye Mo disregarding this was the same as trampling on their reputation. To regain face, the only choice would be to deal with him and make an exemple out of Ye Mo.


    Tie Shi reacted immediately and posted experts from his family around the Tiger Martial Institute.


    He didn''t think much of Ye Mo and thought he would get eliminated pretty quickly as well.


    Once the competition ended and he left the institute grounds, the experts had for order to eliminate him and set his body on display in one of the busy street of the city.


    But now that he reached the top 20 and joined a Martial Institution, not only did Tie Shi withdrew his men from their position, even if Ye Mo killed ten Tie Tao, the Tie family wouldn''t lift a finger.


    This was what it meant to become a member of an institution, outsiders were unable to act against you without answering for their actions to the cultivators of your institute and who would dare go against them in this place?


    Even the four clans would rather avoid that given another choice.


    On the platform reserved for vip a discussion started.


    "Haha, brother Yun, it seems like Li Cheng underestimated his opponent." The Gao clan elder said in a mocking tone.


    "He''s still young after all, at least he didn''t suffer huge injuries."


    "He will try again next year so nothing to worry about and Li Qiang made it to the top 20."


    The Yan and Shen Clan elder tried to confort Li Yun but he knew better that behind their fake sympathy, they were probably roaring in laughter.


    "Such a shameful loss." The Li Clan elder nails dug deeply in the wooden rail of the platform. Li Cheng running around and threatening his adversary tarnished the name of the Li Clan. As an elder, he couldn''t tolerate any actions that could harm the clan interests.


    If his opponent became afraid and gave up it could somewhat be accepted but now they became the laughing stock of the four clans for nothing.


    But Li Yun knew his anger would be nothing compared to the one of the patriarch when he will learn of this matter and Li Cheng will be severely punished.


    "I can only hope for Li Qiang to put a good performance and regain some face for us." Li Yun like the other elders was an old sly fox that have been through much. He quickly calmed down and awaited for the next matches.


    Beside them stood Hong Li and Han Zhen Jun indifferent to the elders quarrel.


    "Dean, this kid body refining cultivation technique is very powerful, it''s at least of high tier yellow class." Han Zhen Jun commented.


    "You''re right. I have been in Azure Water City for more than 70 years and i can''t recognize which martial art it is. Assuredly it''s not something he got in a conventional way."


    "Indeed, i can find a few similarities with other body refining arts but it stays vastly different. Im curious to see how far he can go." Both Hong Li and Han Zhen Jun were puzzled about the origin of Ye Mo''s strenght but they kept it in and quietly observed.


    The fights for the top 20 were fierce and a lot of blood was shed. Contestants were beaten to the brink of death before giving up if the instructor didn''t intervene already.


    Only the four clans young masters and Ma Shinfei were unscathed through this savage round. The unknown spear wielder didn''t fight once as his battle was interrupted and he was declared victorious another time.


    The round of matches for the top 10 started. For the twenty remaining participants, the fights would happen one at a time on the central battle stage.


    It was bigger and more elevated than the others, bringing a better view and focus for the spectators.


    Ye Mo who has recovered to peak condition was waiting for his turn but in the meantime he noticed Li Qiang coldly glare at him multiple times since his bout with his brother, like a warning he would come for him soon.


    "Does he want revenge because i defeated Li Cheng? So petty..." Ye Mo wondered if it was a family trait or a common characteristic of high birth cultivators to create grudges this easily.


    "But i already joined the Tiger Martial Institute so he can''t use his clan to deal with me and since he became a student as well he will have to consider the institution regulations, he would be greatly restricted. Hmph, regardless of what he does, i will deal with it as it comes."


    The sun shined brightly spreading it''s warmth on the inhabitants of Azure Water City but only cold darkness reflected in Ye Mo''s eyes.

 Ha Jun

    The spear wielding blue haired boy and Gao Liehu both stepped on the arena as the hosting instructor declared the start of the fight.


    Gao Liehu carried a big dark blue shield that was half his size on his left hand and was specialized in defensive battle skills.


    His protection was unpenetrable throughout the competition and his opponents had no choice but to give up or get exhausted enough for Gao Liehu to ruthlessly pummel them .


    This far he was very successful in his fighting plan yet he felt very nervous about this match as he looked at the cultivator overlooking the battle.


    "If he freely grants this guy a victory against me, i won''t take it low. I will protest until the end even if i have to get beaten up... i won''t allow him to belittle me!" Thought Gao Liehu with fervor and actually, even the onlookers believed the same.


    "He''s just going to give him the win without fighting like the other times, what''s the use?"


    "He should directly give him the number 1 position and end the competition, that would be faster..."


    Some even had the idea he might be the Tiger Martial Institute dean hidden son, but of course no one would dare give this thought a voice.


    The bells rang and immediately the unknown boy got in stance and lightly thrusted with his spear, a weapon made of refined iron.


    Gao Liehu injected qi in his shield and a great blue light barrier appeared in front of him covering his body.


    Earthen Rock Body!


    He simultaneously used a defensive art, at once his skin turned and was completely covered in deep brown rocks.


    The spear wielding boy raised his eyebrows and added a bit more strenght in his thrust.


    Bang!


    Instantly, a loud crash was heard as the blue light of the shield was smashed to bits like broken mirror fragments dancing in the sky before vanishing.


    After going through the barrier, the remaining spear energy collided with the rock skin penetrating Gao Liehu body as numerous small rock fragments flew out.


    "Argh!" intense pain flared up in Gao Liehu''s mind as he lowered his head to look at the injury.


    On his right chest was a hole the size of a duck''s egg and through it you could see the tongue-tied expression of the spectators in the bleachers.


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    Gao Liehu looked haggard as he tried to take a step but he directly collapsed on the stone tiles drenching the stage with blood.


    The hosting teacher announced the youngster victorious as he flew in a hurry towards Gao Liehu.


    "I thought, he, at least, should be able to take one hit, damn it!" The instructor mumbled under his breath before catching Gao Liehu.


    The healing instructor urgently treated him but his wound was too severe and he couldn''t be saved. Gao Liehu succumbed to his injury.


    "What the f*ck!" The spectators stood up from their seat dumbfounded.


    "What happened, is it a joke?"


    "One hit for this much damage, i can''t believe it!"


    Most of them only saw the young boy thrust out with his spear and the next moment, on the other side of the battle stage, Gao Liehu defenses shattered and his chest was perforated.


    "Mister Hong, do you know who''s this kid?" The Gao clan elder asked gloomily. One of the promising new generation Gao clan member just died in front of his eyes. He wasn''t in a good mood.


    "Of course i know, he''s the Jin clan young lord from Crow Black Town, Jin Hao Tian."


    "Crow Black Town from the Floating Carp Region? But it''s thousands of miles away, how could he be here?" The elders were surprised by this piece of news.


    Now they understood why they couldn''t recognize the young man. Crow Black Town was a small city deep inside the Floating Carp Region which was on the west right beside the Cloud Region.


    Although they couldn''t recognize their members they heard of the reputation of the Jin clan. It was a clan that focused in the mastery of the spear. They had many arts pertaining to this domain and created multiple experts.


    Even though Crow Black Town was smaller and less powerful than Azure Water City, the Jin Clan was the sole power dominating the area and as such, all the ressources transiting in the city ended up in their hands. Different to Azure Water City which divided them between the four clans while the scraps were left to the rest.


    Currently, the Jin clan didn''t lose out to the four clans at all.


    "I was being told he left his town alone on the back of a tamed blood beast months ago in the direction of Azure Water City. Apparently he wanted to explore the world a bit and hone his skills while experiencing new things in the way before getting to destination and participating in the competition."


    "Crow Black Town has only one institution and it can''t compare to ours so it''s understanble he would want to come here. Being able to go all the way without his clan protection speaks for himself." Hong Li explained, amused.


    "Crossing a whole region by himself as a young Qi Gathering cultivator, i don''t know if i should call this courage or foolishness." Han Zhen Jun commented on the side. He had a favorable impression of the young man.


    In the meantime, many understood why the hosting instructor interrupted all Jin Hao Tian''s battles since now. That he was in the known of his identity or not wasn''t confirmed but as a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator he could easily sense the cultivation and strenght of Qi Gathering juniors.


    Every time Jin Hao Tian was about to attack, the instructor immediately understood his opponent wouldn''t survive this strike and decisively stopped the fights.


    However, this time he still underestimated Jin Hao Tian causing Gao Liehu''s death. After all, even if you knew someone cultivation and could more or less determine their strenght, it was impossible to understand how much experience they had, which cultivation technique and battle skills they trained in or how talented was someone at first glance.


    All theses characteristics could positively or negatively affect the battle strenght of an individual.


    "Im curious to see how strong this city young masters are compared to me." Jin Hao Tian left the stage, a smile hanging on his face.


    The second fight contained nothing shocking and the onlookers were able to calm down slightly.


    It ended in the victory of a Yan clan member.


    "Ye Mo vs Ha Jun!"


    Eventually it was Ye Mo''s turn once again. His opponent was a rather famous youth.


    He was the disciple of a vagrant cultivator currently settled in a neighboring city and came all the way here to participate in the recruitment competition.


    As for why he was famous, he was no less than one of the few body refining cultivator.


    "A fight between two body refiner haha, it''s gonna be fun."


    "Two of them in the same competition is really uncommon, i wonder who''s gonna win."


    "Ha Jun broke through the third stage of the Iron Skin Body a week ago, the kid stands no chance."


    "He has the strenght to fight one layer higher than himself, there''s no doubt about the victor for me."


    Ha Jun stepped on the arena. His arms and waist were thick and his skin gave off a metallic luster.


    He had black hairs and a growing mustache. Ye Mo looked tiny compared to him.


    His arduous and time consuming cultivation of the Yellow Class mid tier Iron Skin Body was shown on the surface as he was already 15 years old and still at the 5th stage of the Qi Gathering realm.


    Although it could be considered pretty good outside the institute, among the remaining participants, he was one of the worst regarding Qi cultivation.


    However there was no doubt in everyone''s mind that if Ha Jun was opposed to Li Cheng, he would easily crush him.


    Bong!


    The bells echoed out across the arena. It was time for the match to begin!

 No Advantages On The Ground

    As soon as the bells rang Ye Mo darted towards Ha Jun and with a light leap aimed his left fist at him.


    "What are you doing, pointing your fist at me?" Ha Jun didn''t take Ye Mo''s strike seriously. He was already at the third stage of the Iron Skin technique and his body was tough like a monolith.


    Although he knew Ye Mo was a body refiner as well, how far could have gone this young lad in such a difficult and lenghty art?


    Maybe he had a body refining technique of a better rank to compensate the lack of time but with quality came harsher requirements in its cultivation and then he would have even less progress.


    All in all, in close combat, Ha Jun didn''t take Ye Mo for a threat. He calmly raised his hand to catch Ye Mo''s fist and mostly stood on guard against a feint from his opponent.


    But the feint never came and instead the fist connected with the palm as Ha Jun felt great strenght crashing on his hand. His arm was deflected through this powerful strike and Ye Mo''s right fist immediately followed strucking his face.


    Ha Jun took three steps back, holding his face with one hand while instinctively punching in front of him with the other.


    Ye Mo wanted to pursue him and make use of this advantage but seeing the fist coming his way, he unhesitatingly leaped backwards going out of range.


    Ye Mo''s fist was slightly numb and he felt like he had just hit a steel plate.


    "Normal attacks won''t be sufficient against him, i need to go all out." Ye Mo''s eyes shone brightly.


    Ha Jun removed his hand from his face as two trails of blood escaped his nostrils.


    "I will take this fight seriously from now on." Ha Jun looked solemnly at Ye Mo as he swept the blood from his face while no hints of contempt could be felt from him anymore but inside he was ashamed and angry at himself.


    He remembered his master at the gates of the city telling him to never drop his guard yet he was caught careless and this was the result.


    Ye Mo instead was amazed. He had put enough strenght to crush the bones of an ordinary man and put his life in danger yet beside a nosebleed Ha Jun didn''t seem to have suffered more damage. But Ye Mo wasn''t surprised as he knew himself the strenght of a body cultivator.


    If it wasn''t this much Ha Jun wouldn''t have reached the top 20 of the competition.


    Both contestants looked at each other for an instant before charging.


    Tum tum tum.


    Every time Ha Jun''s feets stepped on the ground, it produced a loud and deep sound as the stone tiles cracked under his feet.


    They met at the middle of the stage where they engaged in close combat.


    Ha Jun''s fists and feets were big, his skin was durable and he had a better reach than Ye Mo.


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    Nonetheless Ye Mo showed no emotions as he readily exchanged blows with his opponent.


    The wind was screaming from their attacks and Ye Mo soon took the advantage.


    He quickly realized that Ha Jun''s body refining technique mostly increased his defense and slightly his strenght. His skin was like a sturdy armor protecting him and he was much more resistant than Ye Mo but his strenght, even with his size and the increase of his qi cultivation and body refining technique, wasn''t on par with Ye Mo.


    As for other physical capabilities like speed or agility, there wasn''t even any comparison to make, Ye Mo easily surclassed him in every point.


    Here showed the difference in a simple Yellow Class mid-tier body refining art and a Star Class high-tier one. It must also be taken into account that Ye Mo was barely in the first revolution of the fiend body while Ha Jun already reached the third of the five stages of his Iron Skin body.


    But the reason for his advantage was not only due to his physical attributes but also to his superior close combat skills.


    Ye Mo''s thirst for power bloomed a long time ago. Although his past condition didn''t let him take part in any confrontation he frequently asked himself, what was the best way to fight? What was the most effective fighting style to vanquish the enemy?


    Living in the slums at this time, Ye Mo was a witness of multiple brawls, muggling, murders and gang wars as he roamed the streets looking for a way to fill his stomach.


    Through various observations, conjectures and his own experience he came to a conclusion.


    Your body must become a weapon!


    Feets, knees, fists, elbows and even the head! Everything was used in order to destroy all opposition. Every parts of his body became the embodiment of destruction under Ye Mo''s fine control.


    A flurry of fists shadows constantly harrassed Ha Jun and when he tried to grab Ye Mo''s arms, a serie of kicks repelled him.


    When he wanted to tackle, a flying knee was sent to his chin.


    When he closed the distance to block the strikes, razor-like elbows split the wind, cutting his flesh and pouring blood on the arena.


    When Ha Jun endured all theses to hug Ye Mo immobilizing his body, his head smashed his nose and his teeth tore a piece of his ear only hanging by a thread of skin.


    Ha Jun grunted under the waves of pain he felt from his bitten ear.


    "That''s the first time i see mortal martial arts in such a grand competition."


    "This kid is really a commoner, such a shame he got to join the Tiger Martial Institute."


    "His life will completely change for sure, if he can do all that with brute force alone im curious to see what he will achieve with Qi and battle skills."


    "He already pushed a mortal prowess to the limits but i''m afraid it won''t be enough..."


    The onlookers were divided towards this scene, some praising him while others only felt contempt and disgust towards such inferior fighting way.


    Most of them were cultivators from organisations, sects or rich families.


    They were protected since young and when they came of age they would start cultivating Qi and train in battle skills so they never had to learn the rudiment of ordinary martial arts which was mainly deemed for mortals.


    Ha Jun kept retreating, his sweat poured out like a river and he was pressed hard by Ye Mo until he reached the edge of the stage.


    "Im not done yet!" But in the end Ha Jun was still a Qi cultivator.


    Ha Jun loudly roared as his body expanded visibly and his size grew by a fold. His shirt was torn under the growing mass of muscles. His eyes turned red and the pilosity of his chest, arms and legs increased.


    Great Bull Berserk Incarnation!


    Ha Jun punched towards Ye Mo, his arm thick like the trunk of a tree.


    "Looks like an amplification battle skill." The speed of Ha Jun increased and Ye Mo could feel the enormous wind pressure behind the strike.


    He quickly raised his leg in front of him, the fist connected with the sole of his foot as Ye Mo pushed when he was sent flying.


    He did his best to maintain his balance in midair; he twisted his waist and landed on the ground on his feet more than 20 steps away.


    The moment he landed, he tried to move and felt the articulation of his knee and hip hurting.


    "His strenght increased as well, even when drawing back i was still injured." Ye Mo narrowed his eyes, his gaze deep like an ancient pool.


    He didn''t put the pain of his leg in mind as he rushed at Ha Jun without any fear.


    The muscles of Ha Jun''s body tightened and his brows knitted when he saw Ye Mo come at him once again before both contestants ran against each other.


    Boom boom boom!


    Loud impact sounds echoed throughout the arena as Ye Mo unleashed all his brutality, taking turns attacking and defending.


    However this time it was Ha Jun who gradually supressed Ye Mo. His increased speed enabled him to parry Ye Mo''s strikes with less difficulty and as time passed he slowly adapted to Ye Mo fighting style.


    His strenght was now on par with Ye Mo and his skin defense much better but Ye Mo didn''t restrain himself anymore.


    At times he used fingers to poke at the eyes, sometimes hitting the addam''s apple with the knuckles, kicking the crotch, targeting the opponent''s articulations or hitting the ears with the palm of his hand.


    Each strikes were sent with killing intent and even though Ha Jun had the upper hand he stood mostly on guard, pressured by the potentially fatal injuries he could incur if one of Ye Mo''s blows landed.


    This way the match fell in a stalemate where both contestants neutralized each other for a few breaths when Ha Jun tried to kick Ye Mo.


    Ye Mo squatted down, dodging the attack, then fiercely hugged Ha Jun''s waist using his strenght to push him down causing Ha Jun to fall to the ground. Then he rode on his waist and quickly punched Ha Jun''s head.


    "Against a bigger and stronger opponent, the best way to defeat him is to take the fight to the ground where he can''t use his advantages properly." Ye Mo smiled coldly as blows rained on Ha Jun.


    Without battle skills or trump cards like his opponents but just his body alone, all Ye Mo could use was his knowledge and instincts to triumph over his adversaries!

 A Question Of Time

    Ye Mo fiercely pounded Ha Jun''s head.


    Ha Jun could only raise his arms and protect himself under the waves of fists while he strongly moved his waist to make Ye Mo lose balance and fall on the side.


    Still, Ye Mo was stable and although he would jerk at times he was firmly holding his place.


    However Ha Jun''s defenses were astonishing and as he protected his head like a turtle he took little damages. Ye Mo''s strenght was just insufficient.


    "What is he doing? He''s just tiring himself out."


    "Once he run out of energy, Ha Jun''s gonna dismount him and win this fight."


    "Good riddance. If i knew even stupid nobodies like him could join an Institute i would have registered myself."


    "You dumb brats don''t you see what''s going on right now!" Three youths were talking with each others when an old man that heard their conversation rebutted them harshly.


    "What... What is it?" The young men were about to flare up when they saw the colors of the Tiger Martial Institute on the old man outfit.


    "This Ye Mo''s strategy is not to knock out Ha Jun, he''s obviously just buying time."


    "Time? Why would he do that."


    "Sigh... Kids these days don''t know anything. Then let this wise one instruct you."


    The old man cleared his throat then continued "For such amplification battle skills like Ha Jun''s one, there''s usually two ways for them to be sustained. One is with Qi, with each seconds passing, Qi would be used until it''s completely depleted then the user would revert to his original form.


    The second one has a fixed set of time. The user just need a certain amount of Qi for activation and when the time''s up he would lose the effects of the battle skill."


    "So what you mean is that Ha Jun''s opponent is just waiting that the advantages of the battle skill wears off?" One of the young men said in realization.


    "That''s right, he must have understood it himself at some point. For his age, i must say he''s really a perceptive kid hehe.."


    Unbeknownst to some spectators the battle became a question of time where the first contestant showing a weakness would be the loser.


    Back on the stage Ye Mo didn''t leave Ha Jun''s any room to maneuver as he made one fist after another heavily fall on him.


    "Dammit, i can''t do anything beside defending. My legs are unusable since he''s on top and i can''t pull even half my strenght lying on the ground like that. If i try to grab him i leave my head uncovered and he tries to bite my throat and plunge his fingers in my eyes."


    Ha Jun deeply protected his head with his arms and shots to the body didn''t make him waver at all, even so he felt hard pressed by Ye Mo.


    "I didn''t want to kill you but you don''t leave me any choice!" Ye Mo heard Ha Jun shout when he saw his hand coming towards him with indescribable strenght.


    Wild Fang Implacable Chop!


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    Ha Jun moved his hand with overwhelming might and the wind hurled before the strike as it neared towards Ye Mo.


    "This is not something brute force alone can accomplish, it''s a battle skill!" Ye Mo was a cautious person by nature and at the slightest trace of danger he would retreat and reorganize himself. He quickly dismounted Ha Jun and tried to evade but it was too late.


    Bam!


    Ye Mo was sent rolling multiple meters before he slowed down and stopped.


    He wanted to quickly get up but only one hand supported himself. His left arm wasn''t responding and when he looked at it he saw his bone protruding on his shoulder. It was dislocated.


    His head was dizzy and he vomited some blood but he held on and grabbed his shoulder with his remaining hand.


    Kachak!


    With his enormous strenght he forcefully put back the bone inside the socket. A gut-wrenching pain shot up his shoulder before it quickly faded into a dull ache.


    Ye Mo fell in thought as he made circular movements with his left shoulder "It''s still painful but at least i recovered the mobility of my arm. Body refinement combined with battle skills is incomparably powerful, if i didn''t turn around at the last moment to block with the back of my shoulder i could have died there. No wonder he can fight people a layer higher than himself."


    Ye Mo knew his shortcomings and used this competition to ingrain in his mind every bit of informations he could gather.


    He had a hard time standing. The shock he received on his shoulder traveled through his whole body, shook his brain and inflicted light injuries to his organs.


    "Give up, you can''t beat me. I wanted to keep my battle skills as trump cards against the young masters but now i don''t care anymore. If you give up, you can still bide your time and grow stronger but if you persist in obstructing me you will die." Ha Jun tried to persuade Ye Mo.


    "Haha, panicking already? If you''re scared don''t waste my time and get out of my sight." Ye Mo chuckled his confidence unwavering.


    "You asked for it!" Ha Jun looked grimly at Ye Mo as he spoke in a low muffled voice.


    Immediately he charged at his opponent!


    His speed increased greatly and the battle stage shook under his steps.


    Great Bull Furious Stampede!


    "He''s actually faster than me." Without leaving his sight from his opponent Ye Mo quickly darted on the side avoiding Ha Jun''s battle skill.


    Ha Jun seeing Ye Mo evading, stopped for a fraction of a second then turned on his side and charged at Ye Mo again.


    Ye Mo evaded another time and this situation kept repeating itself again and again but Ha Jun using this battle skill was faster and as such he was getting closer every time until only a few meters separated them.


    "He can only run in a straight line but when i dodge he cancel his battle skill and instantly face me before using it once again. It''s clever but this method should consume a lot of Qi."


    "Since i can''t escape, i should as well face it." Ye Mo suddenly turned around and rushed head-on towards the charging Ha Jun.


    "Look at this kid haha, seems like he turned mad under Ha Jun''s pressure."


    "He''s crazy, the instructor must intervene right now or he''s gonna die!"


    "Watch out guys, a bloody show is coming."


    The audience was stunned but mostly excited by this turn of events.


    Both sides collided; Ha Jun was stopped right on his tracks while Ye Mo was sent flying before falling heavily on the floor.


    Fortunately the arena was very wide and Ye Mo led his opponent to the center before the collision hence he wasn''t directly sent out of the stage.


    He barely had the time to wipe the bloodstains off the corner of his lips that Ha Jun was already speeding towards him.


    Ye Mo''s injuries weren''t light and there wasn''t one inch of his body that wasn''t hurting but he gritted his teeth, stood up and evaded.


    "This kid is really resilient, to think he survived till now."


    "He''s like a cockroach, pestering you and still clinging to life when you crush him."


    "He''s just delaying the inevitable, Ha Jun with his battle skills surpass him easily. He should listen to him and give up, there''s no point going this far when you already joined the Tiger Martial Institute."


    The situation repeated itself until Ye Mo was sent flying once more. His whole body was covered in blood, and his nose was broken rendering his breathing difficult.


    However he stood up and kept going until a dull thud resounded and he fell on the floor yet again.


    "Im almost out of Qi, i can''t keep going this way or i will be the one in trouble. I definitely must finish him with my next move!" Ha Jun thought with determination. The spectators cheered for him but only he knew truly how critical was his situation.


    Ye Mo slowly stood up. He looked like a crooked old man unsteadily walking. Only his gaze had no change, sharp like the edge of a blade.


    He vascillated at first but one step at a time he gradually started trotting, then sprinting!


    Ha Jun chased behind him. Ye Mo wasn''t as fast as before while Ha Jun was still in good shape and quickly caught up.


    "This is the end for you!" Ha Jun roared as he raised his right leg above his head and made it fall towards Ye Mo.


    Crushing Waterfall Kick!


    "This is a high tier Yellow Class battle skill! The kid won''t survive against this even with his strong body." The instructor started circulating his Qi on the side, prepared to save Ye Mo''s life at the last moment.


    The kick was incomparably powerful, exploding even the air around it. As the heel neared towards Ye Mo''s skull, the latter suddenly turned around and spat a clump of blood.


    Ha Jun didn''t expect this from his opponent and received the blood on his face, obscuring his vision. The trajectory of his kick slightly deviated while Ye Mo didn''t stood in place as well.


    Boom!


    The kick fell on the stage destroying the stone tiles under Ha Jun''s foot and shaking the arena.


    Ye Mo was beside Ha Jun, silent like a ghost.


    Swift like an arrow he jabbed!


    Pshhht!


    A deep stream of blood trinkled down Ha Jun''s face.


    Between Ye Mo''s fingers was a bloody eyeball, the optic nerve still attached to it.


    A profound quieteness invaded the arena for an instant before an heart-wrenching scream resounded, jolting the stunned audience awake.

 Clash of Wills

    Ha Jun fell on his knees, covering his hollow orbit with his hands as his shouts of pain echoed in the surroundings.


    Spectators were tongue-tied, one instant ago they were cheering for Ha Jun''s victory as he was about to crush his opponent and the next second he was on the ground screaming his heart out.


    Ha Jun who felt his hands drenched in blood, was in so much pain he had the urge to give up and swallow all the medicinal pills in his possession.


    However every time he was about to shout his surrender aloud, he would remember the smile of his master, waving at him while he left on his cart.


    "I was just an ordinary shepherd but master took me as his disciple, raised me and teached me everything i know about cultivation. Without him i would still be on this plain leading sheeps and cows for a couple bronze coins. How could i bear to disappoint him!"


    Scenes of the past flashed in his mind.


    In a cold winter night, the door of a small house creaked open.


    "Master, you came back!" A young Ha Jun precipitated himself in the arms of an old man.


    "Here little Jun, look at what i got for you." The old man said smilingly as he retrieved something from his pouch.


    The quivering Ha Jun blowed some steam on his hands while looking at the red ginseng laying on his master''s palm with wonder.


    "Quickly eat it, it will warm your stomach and help you in your cultivation of the Iron Skin body."


    "That''s amazing... But master, you''re bleeding?" Ha Jun exlaimed in delight before he remarked a small spot of blood slowly expanding on the side of his master''s white robe.


    "Dont worry, it''s just a small injury. The herb was protected by some beast but you know your master, i quickly got rid of it with one punch hahah." The old man laughed out loud.


    "Master!" Ha Jun looked at him with red eyes before breaking in tears.


    A week ago just before Ha Jun''s departure.


    "Here little Jun, for your travel expenses." The old man handed 15 gold coins to Ha Jun.


    "Master, i can''t accept it. You already have to clear the debt for the space pouch you bought me last time." Ha Jun wanted to refuse and give them back.


    "It''s okay, i can deal with it. Just focus on the competition right now."


    "But master... I..."


    "Take it. You must sleep and eat well to be in top form when you take part in the Tiger Martial Institute recruitment."


    Adrenaline rushed through Ha Jun''s brain as he slowly stood up.


    "Master is aged and only at the seventh layer of the foundation establishment realm. Although he''s pretty powerful at home, in the span of the Mountain Breeze province he''s the most ordinary of cultivators. Even in Azure Water City he would be strong but nowhere near the top of the food chain."


    "But he spared nothing for me, using his limited wealth and his own abilities to get me all the ressources needed to further my cultivation. He even indebted himself multiple times."


    Master count on me...


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    I can''t give up... I won''t give up!


    I will live to master''s expectations!!


    I will WIN!!!


    Ha Jun raised his head and retracted his hands, clenching his fists hard as he looked at Ye Mo with his only eye like he was his worst ennemy.


    Ye Mo tossed the eyeball and stepped on it as he walked towards his opponent with cold indifference.


    Ha Jun twitched but he knew with the abilities of the healing instructor, he could make him grow another one.


    Losing an eye was a traumatising event for youths of this age and Ha Jun couldn''t help but panick at first forgetting this fact, but now he could think clearly.


    Ha Jun swung his fist at Ye Mo with determination.


    Ye Mo lowered his head dodging the punch as he moved to the right, towards Ha Jun''s blind side.


    With such a huge weakness, how could Ye Mo not make use of it.


    Ha Jun lost sight of Ye Mo and quickly turned on his left, attacking with his backfist like a spinning top but he only managed to hit air.


    He looked all around him but couldn''t find Ye Mo when suddenly he heard a swoosh sound from above.


    "He jumped!" Ha Jun thought at that moment.


    He didn''t have the time to react that Ye Mo''s fist already struck his skull.


    His ears were ringing and the dizzyness made him take a step back. However his body defenses were exceptional and it wasn''t enough for him to lose consciousness.


    Ha Jun knew he was in danger and forced himself to look ahead when he saw Ye Mo''s fingers drawing near his remaining eye.


    Immense fear invaded him as he reflexively raised his arms to protect himself but he didn''t feel anything hit them.


    "Shit!" Ha Jun could only realize his mistake when in that split second he felt a strong force ascending between his legs.


    "Ah!" His face became white and a light scream escaped his mouth.


    Ha Jun''s lower body wasn''t destroyed through Ye Mo''s kick thanks to his body strenghtening art but the force of the impact was more than enough to make him cry in anguish.


    Ha Jun''s body was sent in a spasm under the intense pain and his hands subconsciously moved towards his crotch.


    Ye Mo didn''t stop and instantly, his elbow moved in a straight line, crushing Ha Jun''s right eye and slightly sinking in the orbit.


    Ha Jun''s screams immediately accentuated.


    Ye Mo distanced himself and gazed at the instructor but this one shook his head. He wouldn''t end the fight yet.


    Ye Mo looked back and saw Ha Jun struggling to stand up.


    "I won''t give up! I know you''re not in a good state as well and i am objectively stronger than you. Im not fighting alone, my master support me. I can''t lose!" Ha Jun spoke towards Ye Mo''s direction. His two bloody orbits made him look horrifying.


    "So you really want to fight to the death huh... Dumb bastard." Ye Mo sighed.


    He indeed was in a bad condition. His breathing was ragged, he suffered multiple bone fractures and he couldn''t find a spot on his body which wasn''t injured.


    The pain he felt during the set of movements he executed to cripple Ha Jun''s sight wasn''t small.


    But compared to Ha Jun who was pushing his limits, Ye Mo had absolutely no doubt he would remain victorious no matter what.


    Ye Mo was going to rush towards his opponent when suddenly, Ha Jun mass shrunk down and he returned to his previous appearance.


    "It took some time but it finally happened." Ye Mo was relieved.


    When he saw Ha Jun suddenly become stronger under the use of a battle skill, he immediately thought it must have some limitations.


    The main point in his guess was that Ha Jun waited to be in a bad situation to use it. If he had no resctriction, he would use it right away, there''s no reason to wait to be in a disadvantageous position to do it.


    Ye Mo could have been wrong but he decided to gamble. His adversary was very strong and in his current state, he couldn''t assure his victory without taking a risk.


    "There''s a price to pay for any power you gain." Ye Mo coldly walked towards Ha Jun.


    "Damn it! Why at this time..." The little amount of Qi stored in Ha Jun''s dantian was lost during his last bout with Ye Mo.


    His Great Bull Berserk Incarnation couldn''t be sustained anymore and he entered a lethargic state where he could barely move.


    "Don''t think you won yet. Im a body refiner, even without my battle skills, my body defenses are more than enough against you." Ha Jun curled up in a ball on the stage.


    His knees were raised to his belly protecting his lower body and a part of his upper body while his arms covered the rest and his head.


    Ha Jun layed on the ground, the stone tiles protecting his spine and the back of his head.


    "Ha Jun is trying to tire his opponent. Ye Mo doesn''t have any battle skills so he could hit him for hours without getting much results and since he''s already wounded, trying too hard might aggravate his injuries."


    "This is pretty smart. Ha Jun can just wait for Ye Mo to exhaust himself while he regain his Qi then defeat him with his battle skills."


    "Hehehe, in the end the situation inversed itself. Now Ha Jun is the one trying to buy time while Ye Mo must quickly knock him out." Onlookers couldn''t help but smile under this new development.


    Ha Jun heard Ye Mo''s feets stopping right beside his head. Suddenly the feets moved apart as Ye Mo seemed about to hit him.


    "What a fool. My skin is sturdy like an armor protecting myself. You might hurt me but you will never deal enough damage to defeat me." Ha Jun''s lips curled into a smirk.


    Ye Mo raised his right fist high and the chatters of the spectators was covered by the sound of the wind blowing in the arena.


    The next moment, his fist fell like a meteor.


    Boom!


    A thunderous crash was heard as blood spilled on the stage.


    On the middle of the battle stage you could see the figure of Ha Jun.


    Both his arms covering his head were broken. They dented inwards so much his face was crushed under them. His nose was smashed and pieces of teeth tore the inside of his mouth. Below his head were stone tiles filled with inummerable cracks like a broken mirror.


    The entire arena was silent.


    Ye Mo stood calmly beside him. His dark eyes looked straight ahead. He would seem unscathed if it wasn''t for the monstrosity that replaced his right arm.


    The skin was mashed showcasing the bloody flesh hiding beneath, each of his fingers were bending in a different direction, his wrist was twisted in an unnatural way but the most horrifying were the multiple open fractures.


    At different level of his arm were broken bones tearing open the flesh and emerging to the outside.


    The muscles ruptured and blood dripped to his fingers before falling on the stage.


    "I embarked on this path ready to fight gods and devils, killing heros and demons in my pursuit of power, what''s more a mere Ha Jun."


    Ye Mo was under boundless pain from his arm but he looked at the sky.


    The sun shone brightly high up and his mind drifted towards his expectations for the future.


    Because hardships strengthen resolve and who among the participants suffered more than him.


    The overwatching cultivator was shocked for an instant before he seemed to receive a mental transmission and declared loudly, "The victor is Ye Mo!"

 Burial Grounds

    Ye Mo stood on the stage looking at the spectators.


    The healing instructor with his comrade watching over the battles arrived beside him and gazed at Ha Jun before they shook their heads.


    "As expected he''s dead."


    "Look at his face, it would be surprising if he survived."


    "I thought with his body refining art he might cling to life, i guess i was too optimistic."


    Then they turned towards Ye Mo.


    "Come with me, i will heal your arm." The healing instructor indicated to Ye Mo.


    Ye Mo nodded when his vision started to darken. The tension left him and as his muscles relaxed, he collapsed on the stage.


    In the meantime the crowd erupted.


    "What happened, how could he defeat Ha Jun like that..." Some people were still in disbelief, not understanding what occured.


    "The kid is crazy, he destroyed his own arm to kill him!" Some people were looking away, haunted by the vision of Ye Mo injured arm.


    "Such cruelty, to mutilate your own body like that... This kid has no sense of self." Some were shocked by the brutality in which Ye Mo finished his opponent.


    "As expected of an institute recruitment competition, theses guys are ready to die to reach a good spot." A lot of them took pleasure in the show they witnessed and in the state both contestants ended.


    The savagery shown by Ye Mo in this round surprised them.


    In the end Ye Mo sacrificed his own arm to put an end to this fight.


    With his strenght he could break trees with his own hands but if he tried to struck a boulder, not only he wouldn''t make much damage, he would probably hurt himself.


    Without a defensive battle skill to support him, he would make more damages to himself than the target.


    Now if he tried to punch it with all his might, not minding the injuries he would suffer and the state he would end, although he might not shatter it, he would make sustainable damage albeit he would be badly wounded.


    This was such a case. Ye Mo punched with determination and since Ha Jun''s amplification battle skill wore off he was able to break his arms and crush his face. However due to Ha Jun''s Iron Skin art and the stone tiles supporting his body, Ye Mo suffered tremendous injuries reaching his shoulder and invalidating his arm.


    "Hahaha, i was right all along, this kid is an inborn fighter." Hong Li on his platform cracked in laughter.


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    "Dean?" Han Zhen Jun inquired as the VIPs on the platform, perturbed by Hong Li looked at them seemingly puzzled.


    "His natural instincts are well developed and he doesn''t lack the wits to support his powerful body. He''s made to relish in battles. Now there''s only Qi cultivation missing, if his talent is good enough i will take him as my personnal disciple." Hong Li said with shining eyes.


    "But you never took a disciple before, isn''t this decision a bit too precipitated? Most of all, you must have noticed... This kid has traces of demonic nature." Han Zhen Jun spoke lowly.


    "Of course, but this is of no worries. He''s still young and just joined the righteous Tiger Martial Institute. Under our care and my guidance he will turn into a virtuous hero that will bring justice to the persecuted and punishment to our ennemies, raising our institution to new heights... Tell the healer to take good care of his arm and send Wang Fei to test his Qi once he wake up."


    Hong Li looked deeply at Ye Mo, unconscious, being carried away by the healing instructor.


    ...


    At the same time in the eastern district, deep inside the Liu clan properties was a cemetery.


    It would look like an ordinary spacious garden without the numerous tombstones standing on the grass and it could be seen it was taken care of regularly.


    The cemetery was directly connected to the sky as the rays of the ardent sun shone inside.


    Only the patriarch direct lineage and heroes that made great contributions to the clan were allowed to rest in this place


    In the middle of the burial grounds stood Liu Hao half-kneeling in front of two newly erected tombstones.


    His red and watery eyes had a lustrous effect under contact with the light as he looked at the name of his children inscribed on the stones.


    "My childs, i''m sorry, it''s my fault. I was too imprudent, i thought there was no danger, i should have sent one of our best men to accompany you. No, if only i wasn''t poisoned by these despicable scums in the first place none of it would have happened. But fear not as all our ennemies will pay with their life, i will shred them to pieces and paint the walls with their blood as their families shall hold you company in death. Starting by your murderer!" Liu Hao vowed in a deep tone laced with killing intent.


    In front of the solemn silence of the cemetery ancestral door, Liu Dan and his first son Liu Han patiented.


    "How is he?" Liu Dan asked calmly.


    "The medicine hall''s elder was able to help him supress the poison but it''s only a question of time before it erupts again. He has been inside the cemetery for hours now." Liu Han answered inflexibly.


    As the first born he should have been destined to take the place of patriarch but by a twist of fate he turned out to have ordinary aptitudes towards cultivation. Liu Hao that was of 5 years his junior was very talented contrary to him and soon caught up and surpassed his brother.


    As they grew up the gap enlarged and when they reached adulthood no comparison could be made between them anymore.


    When Liu Dan retired, Liu Hao took the place of patriarch with unanimity while Liu Han had to use his connections and blood ties to reach the post of a disciplinary hall elder. Although he was very competent, his cultivation was insufficient as he was only a 2nd layer Foundation Establishment realm cultivator while being a disciplinary hall elder require to have at least reached the 3rd layer. Even then, most of them were actually 4th layer cultivators.


    If it wasn''t because he was the brother and son of the current and past patriarch, he wouldn''t be able to hold this position even if he was performant.


    "What about the kid, why hasn''t he been brought back yet?" Liu Dan said frowning.


    "I don''t know father, he should already have been eliminated from the competition but i didn''t receive any news from our men since they left." Liu Han barely finished his sentence when they saw a man quickly approaching them.


    The man stopped in front of them and bowed nervously before he spoke, "Ancestor, elder, i have bad news... The boy, Ye Mo, he didn''t get eliminated. He reached the 10th position and joined the Tiger Martial Institute." The man didn''t dare meet their gazes as he narrated.


    "What!" Both father and son exclaimed loudly.


    "This is impossible, the kid is just an orphan, he has no cultivation." Liu Han said in doubt.


    "We couldn''t see it with our own eyes but from what the passers-by that left the institution before the end said, the boy cultivate a strong body refining art. With his powerful body he defeated every opponent until he reached his current position."


    "How did this happen, from our investigation there hasn''t been any signs of him cultivating any martial art in recent years. Does he have a secret backer?" Liu Dan asked himself, contemplating multiple possibilities.


    "What do we do now?" Liu Han inquired, frustrated.


    Abruptly the ancestral doors opened as Liu Hao left the cemetery to join his father and elder brother, "Don''t do anything, let our men stand in the institute surroundings. He''s just a brat, once he realize his chance he won''t resist and will leave the institute grounds to brag and enjoy his new statut in the city. Even if he doesn''t, i don''t believe he can stay holed up inside the Tiger Martial Institute indefinitely. When you spot him don''t act and report to us first."


    At once Liu Hao gave his commands with firm determination.


    The man reporting looked at Liu Dan, unsure what to do.


    "I guess that''s the only thing we can do for now." Liu Dan sighed.


    "Yes, my lords!" The man bowed again and exclaimed before he quickly departed.


    "Now that we know he''s actually a powerful body refiner everything makes sense. It''s understandable Liu Hualing and the others would fall at his hands. As for Liu Huan, he was probably tricked and killed by him." Liu Han spoke in realization.


    "Don''t worry, i won''t forget nor forgive. I have other plans to deal with him, this kid won''t escape my claws." Liu Hao said lowly in cold rage.

 New Home

    When Ye Mo opened his eyes he saw a white roof. He was laying on a bed, a blanket covering his body and a small window was just beside him, on the wall of the room.


    The light of the sun illuminated the center of the room through the window.


    Ye Mo rose up and glanced at his right arm. It looked intact, the same aspect as his left one.


    He could think his fight with Ha Jun was a dream if it wasn''t for the itchy feeling he felt when he clenched his fist.


    "I can''t collapse this way again, who knows what else they did with my body when i was unconscious..." Thought Ye Mo frustrated.


    He didn''t trust anyone and leaving himself at others mercy was simply unacceptable.


    He was still in thought when the door suddenly opened.


    "How do you feel?" Wang Fei entered smiling, showing his white teeth. When he smiled his eyes turned into two thin slits and people were unable to know what he was thinking.


    Ye Mo shrugged "Im fine, what happened?"


    "Your right arm was in so bad shape the healing instructor took 3 hours draining his Qi to restore it. He said if it wasn''t a request of the dean he would have made you pay for the pills he consumed during your treatment to maintain his healing ability. Unfortunately you couldn''t take part in the rest of the competition."


    "But since you were able to defeat Ha Jun you''re still ranked at the 10th place which i must say is pretty impressive considering your background and talking about it..." With a wave of the hand Wang Fei transferred in Ye Mo''s pouch 1500 gold coins, a bottle of pills, a small wooden box and an iron black token with "Cultivation Tower" and "3rd" written on the front and back of it.


    "Then what about the rest of the tournament." Ye Mo asked what was on his mind. There were many strong participants and he was curious to find how it unfolded.


    "Well, there were many spectacular fights, like the one opposing Gao Lixin to Li Qiang. Theses two always hated each other since young." Wang Fei fervently explained the largest events of the tournament.


    Both Gao Lixin and Li Qiang fought like madman on the stage, unleashing one battle skill after another. The arena shook perpetually and when no trace of Qi remained in their body anymore they started to beat each other bare handed until they could barely move. In the end, an instructor had to stop the fight as one of them was bound to die if it kept going.


    The fight was counted as a draw, a rare occurance in the history of the Tiger Martial Institute. In general they only accept a victor and a loser even if death must occur but due to their status and special circumstances they took the 5th place even though they wanted to keep fighting.


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    Then there was the fight of Yan Mei against Jin Hao Tian. Apparently it all ended in a flash. As soon as the bells rang they rushed at each other and in an instant Jin Hao Tian had a large cut going through his left shoulder to his right thigh while Yan Mei had a big hole between her right shoulder and her chest.


    They both suffered life-threathening injuries and several healing instructors hurriedly treated them.


    One of them said Yan Mei was lucky, she would have died like Gao Liehu had the hole been a bit more to her left. Both contestants collapsed but since Jin Hao Tian was the last one standing he was counted as the victor.


    The last show was the final between Ma Shinfei and Shen Xue. Both their staff and sword mastery were formidable and the battle stage soon became a land of ice and fire however in the end Shen Xue left victorious albeit suffering from burns while Ma Shinfei was badly wounded and has been carried out by the healer.


    At last, the rankings of the competition showcased by the institute were as such:


    1st: Shen Xue


    2nd: Ma Shinfei


    3rd: Jin Hao Tian


    4th: Yan Mei


    5th: Li Qiang - Gao Lixin


    7th: Shen Ji Yao


    8th: Fan Yuxiang


    9th: Wu Bai


    10th: Ye Mo


    ...


    "You have been sleeping for a day and a night, the others have already invested their living quarters. I will wait at the entrance of the structure, join me when you''re done clearing your mind." Saying so Wang Fei left the room.


    Once he closed the door his face immediately darkened, "I inspected his body when he was asleep but there was no trace of a treasure or an artefact inside, is his strenght really the result of a body refining technique?" Wang Fei pondered as he strolled through the corridor.


    "Well, i can still tell the dean i didn''t find anything suspicious. It would relieve him since he seems to pay some attention to Ye Mo and foster his impression of me, strenghtening my position in the institute." His face soon took his natural smiling aspect as he left the structure.


    Ye Mo shortly joined him as he was led by Wang Fei towards a building.


    "This is the Disciple Hall. Since you became a member of the institute this is where you will receive your items as a disciple." Wang Fei entered the hall followed by Ye Mo.


    Under Wang Fei''s instructions one of the teachers behind the counter handed a spatial pouch, a token and a set of clothes to Ye Mo.


    The pouch was sky blue in color with cloud patterns all around. He was shocked to discover it possesed 13 cubic meters! Prior to this, Liu Huan''s one was the best he had and it contained only 8 cubic meters.


    The token was made of a grey metal, on the back was his name inscribed while on the front was the institute''s name.


    His disciple robe was a dark brown sleeveless martial suit. It was neat and simple.


    Ye Mo put both in his new pouch then left.


    He was led by Wang Fei to the disciples disctrict.


    "This is where disciples live. There''s all kinds of habitations from magnificent courtyards to more modest dwellings. You can choose whichever you want as long as it''s empty." Wang Fei explained lightly.


    Ye Mo strolled a bit until he chose a small stone house mostly because it was relatively isolated from the other residences.


    "This is a surprising and expected choice at the same time. I will give you 2 hours, clean yourself and change your clothes then join me at the center of the institute." Wang Fei left with theses words.


    He seemed to walk leisurely but his speed was as fast as someone sprinting with all his might.


    Ye Mo nodded. The center of the institute was a vast plaza, in the middle was a huge fontain pouring crystal clear water.


    Anyone who''s been in the institute once would pass by and Ye Mo knew it''s location as well.


    He opened the door and entered the stone house. Inside was a stone bed, an oil lamp, a stone table and a stone stool. On a side of the room was a red mat on the floor.


    In reality Ye Mo had enough gold coins currently to buy back the house of his parents. When they were killed, it was taken by the authorities and sold to another family.


    Ye Mo had no way to retrieve it in the past but now he was a member of the Tiger Martial Institute. Even without money, just his position alone would be enough for him to become it''s new owner since the current residents were just mortals.


    However he didn''t do so. Ye Mo wasn''t a sentimentalist, this house was just pieces of wood assembled together and didn''t hold anything valuable or precious to him. Currently he lived in the institute grounds so he had no use for it hence he let it be.


    "He''s probably gonna initiate me in Qi cultivation. I must be the only one in the institute that didn''t start yet." Ye Mo took his disciple suit out of his pouch and changed himself then jumped on the bed when his stomach rumbled in hunger.


    Ye Mo sat up and retrieved some meat from Liu Huan''s pouch. A part were already inside when he took it while another was added from the beasts he killed in the Jade Forest.


    He quickly ate them then after some time left for the plaza.

 Talent

    Arriving at the plaza, Ye Mo placed himself beside the huge fountain. Small fishes of multiple colors swam inside but his knowledge was lacking and he couldn''t recognize them.


    As he observed, a hand suddenly tapped on Ye Mo''s shoulder.


    "Still daydreaming in clear daylight?" Wang Fei stood there appealing Ye Mo to follow him.


    "I couldn''t sense him at all when he was this close? He''s dangerous, i should avoid him as much as i can after we''re done with this." Ye Mo didn''t react and followed Wang Fei but internally he was on guard.


    They walked some time until they reached a small temple. Wang Fei followed by Ye Mo got inside and walked on the wooden floor as only the creaking sound of their footsteps could be heard.


    Wang Fei slide a door and entered a room with Ye Mo. It had no window or any connection to the exterior, only candles on the walls alighted the room.


    "Take this, it''s a basic breathing technique we use to measure the talent of disciples that weren''t tested yet." Wang Fei raised a plank from the floor and retrieved a small, slim book.


    "Before we start you have to understand something fundamental. Qi is the natural energy of heaven and earth. It''s everywhere all around us and from which is born all life. Cultivation is the act of elevating yourself in a greater being capable of unnatural prowess, from lifespan to sheer power."


    "However cultivation goes against heaven''s will since you distance yourself from a creation of the heavens towards a more unique existence unaffected by the natural course of things. As such, the further you go, the more difficult it becomes to advance. We, cultivators have to face all kinds of hurdles to reach our objectives."


    "Now if you''re ready, sit down and use the breathing technique i handed to you to draw the Qi in the surroundings inside your body."


    Ye Mo listened to every words with rapt attention then sat with his legs crossed and opened the book.


    In less than a minute he was done reading. Like Wang Fei said it was the most basic of technique. You just had to breath in a certain rythm and gather the Qi in your meridians.


    At the same time, Ye Mo felt something on his back. When he looked back he found Wang Fei sat behind him and placed his hands on his back.


    "I will assist you and watch the process at the same time, you can start."


    Ye Mo nodded then turned around, breathing according to the manual instructions, sometimes fast and other times slow, at times he would take a deep breath then followed by multiple light breathes.


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    Soon you could see light blue turbid air escaping from his mouth with each exhalation.


    Qi was entering his body and flowing in his meridians.


    "Good, now lead the Qi through all your meridians, making one full circulation as it goes through your whole body."


    Ye Mo tried to control the flow of Qi but quickly realized he could only slightly affect the direction as it made one round circulation from high up in his body to down to up again.


    Once the flow of Qi made one full circulation, reaching it''s starting point, it disappeared. At the same time, 3 inches under Ye Mo''s navel, a wisp of Qi appeared in his dantian. It was light grey in color and looked like smoke, completely different from the Qi of heaven and earth. The wisp of Qi looked faint, almost transparent.


    "I stopped using the breathing technique to focus on the circulation of the Qi i gathered in my body but if i multitasked, breathing and leading the Qi through my meridians at the same time, i would have been able to gather enough Qi to replace the amount that disappeared during the circulation enabling me to keep cultivating until exhaustion." Ye Mo had many insights during his first round at Qi cultivation before he started to pay attention to the wisp of Qi in his dantian.


    He realized it was much easier to move it around compared to the flow of Qi from the surroundings.


    "Only rank 2?!" Ye Mo that heard Wang Fei mumble behind him turned around. His instructor face expressed genuine surprise but Ye Mo didn''t miss the flash of disdain in his eyes.


    Ye Mo didn''t mention it as he asked directly, "What''s rank 2?".


    "This is the rank of your talent in cultivation of course." Wang Fei stated like it was evident.


    "Humans are separated in five levels of talent from one being the lowest to five. You must have understood by now, the wisp of Qi you have in your dantian is much easier to control than the one you absorbed through the exterior. This is because different to the Qi of heaven and earth, this wisp is your own, a creation of your body and its manipulation only depends on your talent and mental fortitude."


    "You see, a rank 3 talent would have been able to create a wisp of Qi in half the time you needed, a rank 4 in a quarter of the time and a rank 5 even less. The speed at which you create these wisp of Qi is primordial, only when your dantian is full of them to the point where you can''t produce one anymore can you attempt the condensation of your Qi and breakthrough the next layer." Wang Fei talked with confidence and composure.


    "But didn''t you say what i used is only a basic breathing technique, wouldn''t people be able to fake their talent by testing themselves with a real cultivation technique." Ye Mo asked as a rough understanding of cultivation took shape in his mind.


    "Hahah, no. Everyone even outside the institute use the same kind of techniques with around the same speed to test themselves. Obviously there has been some foolish people in the past who lied about their talent by using the speed of a real cultivation art for the test but once their peers would start their cultivation journey, these cheaters would lag behind and their real level would be exposed. By then they would mostly leave the city out of shame or get ridiculed for life without talking of the punishment if they are part of a clan or an institute."


    "Also there isn''t only one method to check your talent. In sect and great organisations, they have formations and pentagrams that immediately reveal your potential once you stand upon but it''s out of reach for us. Well, i would like to answer more of your questions but i have a report to make, you generated a wisp of Qi so right now you are a first layer Qi Gathering realm cultivator. Since you became a member of our institute you will have the occasions the learn much more about it but you should first use the tokens you received as rewards." Wang Fei adviced Ye Mo before he left the room, leaving him contemplating the grey wisp of Qi floating in his dantian.


    This was hope towards infinite power!


    Quickly Ye Mo stood up and left the temple. The red tint of the sky indicated the arrival of the night.


    Ye Mo woke up in the afternoon and after following Wang Fei and discovering his talent the sun was already setting. He returned to his stone house and cultivated with the same breathing technique he used previously.


    He managed to produce two more wisps of Qi before going to bed.


    "At this pace i would need thousands of them before i can fill my dantian." Ye Mo calculated as he fell asleep.


    The next day, early in the morning, Ye Mo didn''t go retrieve a cultivation technique nor did he go pick a battle skill like other members in their first day or as Wang Fei suggested but he rushed to a very large square building. Above was a huge golden dome that served as a roof, overall the edifice was very imposing and people would feel like an ant standing beside it.


    It was the library of the Tiger Martial Institute.


    "What i lack the most currently is knowledge, going to choose a martial art in this state... I could make the wrong choices, wasting more time and slowing my cultivation." Ye Mo knew perfectly what he had to do as he planned every steps of his stay in the institute before being a part of it.


    With resolution, Ye Mo walked inside the structure.

 The Library

    Ye Mo stepped inside the library and was immediately amazed. Innumerable bookshelfs stood inside the building as far as his eyes could see.


    They mounted on each others until they reached the roof and several ladders of dozens of meters could be seen here and there in each section.


    Beside the entrance was a counter and behind it was a middle-aged man sitting on a chair reading a book. He looked absorbed by his reading.


    Ye Mo passed by and saluted him but the man only raised his eyes for an instant before returning to his book ignoring him.


    Above his head was an iron plate fixed on the wall with rules inscribed. From what it said, you could read as much as you want inside the library but you could borrow only two books at a time and you had to return them before one week.


    Ye Mo walked beside each section until he reached the one pertaining to talent and entered right away.


    He strolled inside looking at the books title on the shelfs until he picked one intitulated "Basic Introduction to Cultivation Talent".


    Ye Mo sat down on the ground and started reading. After two hours he closed the book and returned it at it''s place. Most of the book explained what Wang Fei told him but he also learned about the rank 0 of talent.


    It was how was called the talent of mortals. Heavens was fair and every human in the world had the talent to cultivate but it didn''t mean they stood on equal footing. It stated if you picked 10 mortals from the street and tested them, 9 of them would have the rank 0.


    With this kind of talent even if you obtained a decent cultivation technique and cultivated your whole life diligently you would only reach the third or fourth layer of the Qi Gathering realm before dying of old age.


    But these kind of people would never be given the chance by anyone in the first place. Their treatment was even worse in big clans and great families sometimes going as far as erasing their existence and keeping their talent a secret as to hold the image of a powerful lineage.


    Of course most mortals would live a simple life, far from cultivation and die without knowing what talent they had, like Ye Mo''s parents.


    Ye Mo quickly picked another book. The more he reads the more he craved to learn, quickly filling the gap with his peers. He stayed at the talent section taking one book after another. At the 8th one, he snapped out of it and left the library.


    Outside, a bright round moon was hanging high in the sky and the colorful lights of some buildings illuminated the Tiger Martial Institute.


    "Time sure flies when reading, it''s like i was cultivating." Unknowingly, Ye Mo has been in the library the whole day and half the night.


    Now that he stopped he felt a void in his stomach and quickly took something from his pouch to eat on the way to his house.


    When he finally reached his small stone house he jumped on his bed and layed down.


    "Wang Fei disdained me for my talent but now that i think about it im pretty lucky to be rank 2 already. Not that it would change much for me." From what he reads there was five ranks of talent plus the rank 0 of mortals.


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    He also learned that the more powerful the cultivation of an individual was, the higher the chances for his descendants to have good talents at cultivation. The bloodline of a cultivator would be reinforced with his cultivation and the same way a strong cultivator would have better chances to give birth to childs with good aptitudes, the blood would be diluted with time and if none of them appear in the family in a long time, the rank of talents would lower with each generation as well.


    That was why clans and families had more cultivators and talented individuals than what could be found on the streets.


    Ye Mo didn''t really feel anything about it. Even if he was a rank 0 talent he wouldn''t give up. In a land where people could fly in the sky like celestial beings and shatter the earth with their fists what was impossible? It was Ye Mo''s own perspective and resolution, as someone who aims for the top, to be unordinary.


    "Mom and dad both had no cultivation. My paternal grandfather died of sickness before i was born so he can''t be a cultivator, as for the others, im not sure but if they were cultivators my parents wouldn''t have met this kind of fate. But im still rank 2, not too shabby, hehe..." After a round of cultivation, Ye Mo fell asleep with a smile on his face.


    ...


    The next day, Ye Mo stood in a small green area behind his house. Flowers and grasses were covered in dew as the sun showed itself on the horizon. Suddenly, wind seemed to envelope his body as it disappeared, replaced by a gust of wind. In an instant it traveled through half a mile before Ye Mo''s body took form again.


    His body kept flashing here and there traveling between trees and grasses before his fleshy body reappeared beside his house.


    "So quick, with this speed Ha jun wouldn''t have been able to touch me of the fight..." Ye Mo contemplated his newfound power as he felt his dantian devoid of any Qi.


    What he displayed was the complete mastery of the Wind Flow battle skill. Now that he became a Qi cultivator Ye Mo could finally use it but he still lacked the Qi to sustain it for a long time.


    When he was done, he left in the direction of the library. This time he chose the blood beast section. There he learned about all kinds of creatures, their habits, their capacities and their weaknesses.


    One of them was the Qi Condensing Carp. They were of all kinds of color and could only live in environments rich in Qi. They are beneficial to a martial artist cultivation when eaten. Ye Mo immediately thought about the carps he saw in the fontain at the center of the Tiger Martial Institute when reading this. They were very hard to find outside and it would be considered someone great luck to obtain one but here they swam leisurely in the plaza at the sight of everyone.


    The other days looked the same, after a small round of cultivation he would go to the library, spending his day inside. From talent section to blood beast section to cultivation section and geography section then pill section, he kept learning at great pace and at the same time he learned, he felt there was much more to discover that weren''t in these books.


    But the fifth day an incident occured...

 Intimidation

    Ye Mo was sitting on the ground, his back leaning against a shelf as he was reading a book about the topography of the land.


    Azure Water City was one of the strongest city of the Cloud region. However, the Cloud region like the Floating Carp region were just one part of the Mountain Breeze province. All theses took place in the Blazing Sun continent, a gigantic piece of land surrounded by water.


    The Sky River Province was situated on the central land, beside the Water Scale Province that was bordering the eastern coast.


    Ye Mo was still reading when two boys passed by then backtracked to look at him.


    "Hey, look at this kid, he''s only a first layer Qi Gathering realm?" One of the boy said lowly without bothering if Ye Mo heard him or not.


    "How could his cultivation be this low? Oh wait he must be one of the newcomers, i heard there was one with no cultivation that reached the top ten with just his body." The one following him heard rumours about the tournament and shared them with his friend.


    "Top ten? i guess the level must have been pretty low this time, even i ranked at the 18th place last year but you tell me this fool that focused only on body cultivation got the rewards from top ten. Hey, it hasn''t been this long since the tournament ended, maybe he hasn''t consumed his rewards yet hehehe..." The boys smiled as they approached Ye Mo with malicious intent.


    "Hello little brother, my name is Fang Jishen and this is my friend Wang Yue."


    Ye Mo raised his head for a second before he stared at the pages again. Now he understood what the man at the counter felt when he saluted him, "just ants". Ye Mo was already irritated by their whispers but now they directly interrupted his reading.


    "How dare you ignore me..." Fang Jishen gritted his teeth but contained himself as he continued "Then i will get straight to the point. The Tiger Martial Institute is a dangerous place, there''s many competition among the disciples here and with your measly cultivation you will quickly become a target. We can protect you in exchange for compensation, 200 golds per month should suffice or you can just directly give me your meridian purifying pill and no one will bother you for a year, what do you say, it''s not a bad offer right?"


    Ye Mo understood they won''t let him read in peace anymore so he closed the book and asked, "what if i refuse?"


    "If you refuse i will personally assure myself to make your stay at the institute hell on earth." Fang Jishen looked at Ye Mo menacingly while Wang Yue giggled beside him.


    Fang Jishen and Wang Yue both passed the recruitment test last year and joined the Tiger Martial Institute at 15. After one year, Fang Jishen broke through the 6th layer while Wang Yue was at the border of breaking through. These results weren''t satisfactory for the teachers and they slowly lagged behind their peers which enrolled at the same time.


    To pass their frustation they harassed the weakest but with time there were less and less of them so they took the habit to brutalise and extort newcomers.


    "Okay, follow me, i left the meridian purifying pill at my house." Ye Mo stood up and walked out of the library.


    "You made the right decision." Fang Jishen nodded as they both followed him calmly but their eyes shined brightly and the corner of their mouths kept trembling. Their greed couldn''t be hidden.


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    They walked until they reached Ye Mo''s stone shelter.


    "You can come in while i take it." Ye Mo said as he opened the door.


    "What a simple little house, it suits you." Spoke Fang Jishen as he saw everything with one step inside. Although the house was pretty far from the others, Wang Yue was mindful of people and closed the door behind him so no one could see the transaction.


    Ye Mo took out the green spatial pouch from Liu Hualing that he left at home and seemed to take something from inside when suddenly wind gathered around his body.


    Fang Jishen that wasn''t on guard just saw him disappear when he felt something hitting the side of his head and himself falling on the ground.


    "Bastard!" Wang Yue bellowed as he punched towards Ye Mo. His fist glowed bright red inside the stone house but Ye Mo caught it with one hand and with the other punched Wang Yue''s stomach.


    Wang Yue''s upper body bented frontwards and his mouth opened wide, sending saliva on the floor.


    Wang Yue lost consciousness when he felt an elbow crushing his back.


    In an instant, both Fang Jishen and Wang Yue were neutralized.


    When Fang Jishen came back to himself he realized he couldn''t use an ounce of Qi. It was like it was unable to circulate anymore.


    "It''s no use, i pressured your meridians when you were asleep, now tell me where do you live?" The books Ye Mo has been reading weren''t for nothing. Fang Jishen won''t be able to use any battle skills for some time. When he saw he was awake Ye Mo grabbed him by the neck and lifted his body.


    Fang Jishen looked at the ground and saw Wang Yue lying near the door on his own blood.


    He tried to scream but he immediately felt the pressure on his neck tighten and no sound came out of his mouth. At the same time Ye Mo''s fingers slipped in the cavity between Fang Jishen''s ribs and ruthlessly pulled away.


    His flesh tore open and blood flew on the ground as one rib was left hanging open on the outside.


    Fang Jishen''s eyes were bulging and intense pain flared from his chest, he tried to pry Ye Mo''s hand away but his grasp was strong like iron and without Qi he was no different than a lamb in front of a tiger.


    "Where do you live?" Ye Mo asked again and Fang Jishen felt the pressure on his neck lower.


    "What do you want, money? My Fang family is wealthy, please let me go and i won''t say anything about thi..." Fang Jishen didn''t have the time to finish his sentence, in an instant another rib was popped outside.


    Fang Jishen was in so much pain his eyes became red and his body started trembling but only small gasps could be heard from him.


    Fang Jishen felt he had an emotionless devil in front of him.


    "Where do you live?" Ye Mo asked coldly another time.


    "I have a residence... near the small stream... at the north-east of the disciples district. Outside i have a room... at my Fang family... in the south of the city close to the Yan clan." Each sentences was laced with growls of pain and small gasps as he explained to Ye Mo where he resided with difficulty.


    Ye Mo lowered his arm bringing Fang Jishen to his level as he stared at his eyes, radiating deep killing intent "If i ever hear about this affair again, i know where to find you."


    His tone was flat as he said calmly but it increased the terror Fang Jishen felt looking at this young man.


    Fang Jishen subconsciously tried to nod but his head couldn''t move. His eyes were wide open.


    He was scared!


    He felt fear deep in his soul towards Ye Mo.


    His acts weren''t those of a kid.


    He felt like his words were heavens edicts.


    If i speak he will definitely come for me.


    This devil will kill me!


    Suddenly Ye Mo''s hold on Fang Jishen''s neck grew much stronger. Fang Jishen couldn''t breath anymore. His hands clawed at Ye Mo''s forearms and his body flailed around as he really was going to suffocate, all in vain.


    In the end he lost consciousness due to the lack of oxygen, Ye Mo grabbed both Wang Yue and Fang Jishen and tossed them behind his house.


    "It should be enough, he won''t say anything." Ye Mo wasn''t a master of manipulation but he knew well the wicked mind of humans.


    Fighting was forbidden in the Tiger Martial institute. If one broke the rule, depending on the extent of the damages he could be punished before being expelled.


    If they talked, considering their injuries, Ye Mo would be sure to suffer the harshest of punishment but he was sure they wouldn''t do so. First because the institute would perform an investigation before sentencing the students, by this time it would be easily revealed Fang Jishen and Wang Yue were the one to opress Ye Mo initially comdemning them to the same fate.


    But most of all because if they talked and people learned they were defeated by a newcomer that they harassed first not only they would be expelled as well but they would also lose their reputation, their status as students and their prospects at cultivation since their was no better place to do so than the institute.


    It was akin to ruining your own life with a single word.


    Moreover Ye Mo was serious about what he said to Fang Jishen.


    "Theses guys, if they didn''t bother me there wouldn''t be any problem." Ye Mo shook his head. He was already a bit of a maniac with time. Each seconds had to be optimized to the fullest towards his growth, he had no time for this kind of play. He was already delaying his cultivation by going to the library everyday and although everything he was learning would prove worth in the long run, he couldn''t waste an instant.


    Nonetheless for those that block his path or slow him down, he would thoroughly crush them and make things clear from the start.


    After he was done washing the blood, Ye Mo applied some medicinal paste on his right hand and returned to the library. His hand was aching after blocking Wang Yue''s fist.


    Fang Jishen would wake up the next day on the grasses and after hurriedly eating an healing pill he would scurry off to his residence.


    The servants there were scared seeing in which state he was but none said a word afraid to be killed. They knew well what kind of temperament had their master.


    He would learn later that Wang Yue wasn''t dead or crippled but had just gone through the same round of interrogation than him.

 The One That Suits You The Best

    The evening, when the sun was already set and the lanterns lit up the roads.


    In the dean quarters, inside a round room at the top was Hong Li sitting in front of his desk. The light stones fixed on the walls deeply illuminated the place of its lemony luminescence.


    Behind him was a huge square glass on the wall showcasing much of the institution.


    In front of him stood Han Zhen Jun and Wang Fei side by side.


    "Rank 2?! How could it be, are you sure you''re not mistaken?" Hong Li uttered, holding onto a small thread of hope.


    "Please dean, don''t insult me. I watched the process from start to end and saw it with my own eyes, he assuredly have rank 2 talent." Wang Fei answered with a self deprecating smile. How could he be wrong about that.


    "With the capabilities he has shown in the arena, he should have been better than rank 2." Hong Li lowered his head and spoke in disappointment, it wasn''t clear if he was talking to himself or his guests.


    "Not necessarily." Han Zhen Jun added "It''s true that those who showed great abilities in a certain domain when young tend to have good aptitudes once they start cultivating but it''s not always the case. Look at this kid 8 years ago that had amazing comprehension or the one that could speak and walk as a baby, in the end they turned out to be a rank 1 talent and it''s just two among others. It''s not something to be concerned about." Han Zhen Jun explained as he reminisced.


    Fate was cruel as it could give the smart the talent of mortals while the slow-witted would easily rise through cultivation ranks. The weak, all the ressources needed as their birth right while the stronger would get the scraps.


    It could be said heavens loved to play a joke.


    "Moreover, there''s something else, dean." Han Zhen Jun said, "The kid has been here for a week now but didn''t retrieve any martial arts and spends every days in the library while the other youths from his batch all progressed in their cultivation."


    Wang Fei continued, "I told him to go pick a cultivation technique but he didn''t listen to me, till now he''s still a the beginning of the Qi Gathering realm first stage."


    Hong Li massaged his temples for some time before speaking, "Fine, forget about this disciple matter, just leave him alone for now and see how it unfolds."


    "Yes!" Han Zhen Jun and Wang Fei paid respects to Hong Li before leaving the room.


    Hong Li stood up from his chair and looked at the institution through the square glass. The palaces, pavillons, gardens and streams between others made a magnificent view while light escaped from some buildings coloring the landscape but Hong Li saw none of it as he was deep in thought. "Im getting old, i thought he would make a good disciple. If he was rank 4, no just rank 3 and i could have..." a deep sigh escaped from his mouth before he left the room to cultivate.


    The next day.


    At dawn, when the first rays of light cleared the sky of it''s stars, a young man rose up.


    He washed his face with a small basin of water and put the upper part of his disciple martial suit then left his house.


    He walked until he reached the library then bypassed it and kept going. He stopped only when he was in front of a broad hightower.


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    Above the entrance was a sign with "Cultivation" written and two guards in armor stood beside the doors.


    From time to time teenagers would rush towards the guards, showing their token excitedly before hurriedly entering the tower while the adults were more collected.


    "I have been reading in the library every days for one week. I viewed every subjects i had in mind and im not lacking in any point currently. Although i have more to read, it''s not necessary. It''s time for me to cultivate seriously now, it has been long enough." Ye Mo walked towards the entrance and gave his token to the guards.


    "You have 1 hour." The guard said sternly before Ye Mo passed the doors.


    Arriving at the first floor he was faced with countless rows of book racks. Every books were low-tier Yellow Class cultivation techniques. There were many people chatting or hurrying back and forth, overall it was too noisy for Ye Mo so after a short browse he quickly left for the second floor.


    On the second floor there were still people but they were mostly grown person so it was much more quiet. Ye Mo stayed a bit longer taking a look at the introduction of some techniques for his own interest before leaving for the third floor.


    The third floor was smaller than the first two and it was very silent. There were no more than two girls and one lean man inside. The sound of books being picked up or put back and pages being flipped was the only thing you could hear. It wasn''t surprising since the third floor contained all the high-tier Yellow Class cultivation techniques of the Tiger Martial Institute, you couldn''t get inside easily.


    "Wolf Howl cultivation technique."


    "Blue Wave cultivation technique."


    "Crimson Demonic Flame cultivation technique."


    "Ascending Eagle cultivation technique."


    Ye Mo sweeped his view through the manuals, sometimes reading the introduction when the name catched his interest.


    After a few he shook his head, "They are good but it''s not what i need. To pick a martial art what''s the most important is not to take the strongest or the most impressive but the one who suits you the best."


    Ye Mo perused the books for 40 minutes before closing another one. During this time he found some interesting techniques but they didn''t completely satisfy him.


    "There''s still some time..." Ye Mo hoped it wasn''t the extent of the institute cultivation techniques when he found a pitch-black book in a corner.


    "Black Vortex cultivation technique." The title and the writing was white on black.


    As it''s name implied, this art would create a vortex inside the dantian that would draw the Qi of the surroundings towards the cultivator. The speed of the technique was incredible, almost similar to a peak-tier cultivation technique, however it puts the user''s body through a lot of pressure and a very strong body was necessary to cultivate it. Even then, you had to plunge your body in a medicinal bath every month so it could recover enough before you could continue.


    As he read, a smile slowly formed on Ye Mo''s face.


    "The body condition is of no problem, i cultivate a high-tier Star Rank body refining art, if i cant cultivate with this Black Vortex technique then who in this city can? To gather the herbs and make a medicinal bath, it would cost around 50 gold coins each month so 600 gold coins a year. I have the funds but i planned to use the money for something else, i will need to be careful with my spendings."


    Ye Mo started calculating as he knew he found what he searched for.


    What does he need the most? Currently he delayed his cultivation and he needed to shorten the gap with his peers that started cultivating even before entering the institute, moreover his talent was only of rank 2 so a cultivation technique with a very great speed was imperative.


    In the third floor, there were barely any art that could match the Black Vortex in terms of cultivation speed.


    This way, it was the best choice for Ye Mo.


    If you took for example the Blue Wave cultivation technique, it''s speed wasn''t far from the Black Vortex, it also didn''t have any condition or prerequisite like a strong body to cultivate this art so everyone could use it, add to that it gave the user the ability to release and bend water at it''s own will and it was objectively a better technique than the Black Vortex, people that read it would easily fall in charm and pick it.


    But considering Ye Mo''s needs, his strong points and what he was lacking in the most, the Black Vortex technique was the most suited to him and he wouldn''t exchange it for the Blue Wave technique in any case.


    As for the cost of medicinal baths, Ye Mo didn''t care. Gold coins were just expendable goods, as long as it benefited his cultivation he could give millions without bating an eye.


    Ye Mo went down the stairs and reached for the attendant near the entrance. Each building providing services to the students would have one having a specific role depending on the structure.


    "Good morning elder Chen." The elder Chen was a tall old man with long snow white hairs and beard reaching his knees.


    Ye Mo knew his name because he was one of the teachers accompanying Wang Fei during the recruitment trial.


    "Hoho, Ye Mo you''re finally picking a cultivation technique huh, when i saw you the first time i wouldn''t have bet on you but on the arena, you fought like another man and look where you are right now. Come on, show me what you got for yourself." Elder Chen seemed like a chatty grandpa as he tended his hand towards Ye Mo.


    The cultivation techniques of the tower possesed only half the contents and the other half of the pages were blank to prevent disciples from memorizing them.


    Before leaving you had to give the manual to the old man for the other half of the content to appear.


    "Probably a seal they put on the books that can only be opened by him." Ye Mo thought as he gave the manual.


    "Black Vortex cultivation technique?!" Elder Chen looked surprised before he gazed at Ye Mo, "Well, i can understand why you chose it. I won''t bother with the chit-chat like i did with the others but if you think you can use this technique just because you cultivate a measly mid-tier Yellow Class body refining technique then get back up and pick something else." Elder Chen advised Ye Mo before a profound silence invaded the place.


    Ye Mo didn''t budge as they both looked at each other for a moment.


    "I see you made your choice." Elder Chen passed his hand on the cover of the book which shined brightly for a second before it was returned to Ye Mo, "May your choice be guided by wisdom."


    "Thank you elder Chen." Ye Mo saluted the old man and left the tower, the Black Vortex cultivation technique in hand, in direction to the battle skill tower.

 Preparations

    The three towers weren''t far from each others and Ye Mo arrived quickly to the one pertaining to battle skills.


    Every newcomer in the institute had the right to pick one for themselves but they couldn''t go further than the second floor.


    Ye Mo showed his own token at the entrance with his name on it and was allowed inside.


    He directly climbed the stairs and came to the second floor where resided all the mid-tier Yellow Class battle skills.


    It didn''t take long for Ye Mo to get one in hand but he still stayed the whole hour reading others, knowing which battle skill your opponent is using could turn useful in a fight.


    One of them was the Red Diamond Fist, a battle skill that would make the user fist shine brightly in red becoming hard like a diamond and would release a force that would send the opponent flying upon contact.


    "Looks the same as Wang Yue''s strike back then, if he mastered the skill completely he would have broken my hand... It wouldn''t prevent me to deal with him though." Ye Mo placed the book back on the rack.


    When one hour passed, Ye Mo left the tower after the attendant unsealed his battle skill.


    He returned back home and layed both martial arts on his bed.


    One was the Black Vortex cultivation technique while the other was the Stone Breaking Punch battle skill.


    A simple name for a simple battle skill but its power couldn''t be underestimated. Upon completion even the weakest of cultivator could break a boulder with his fist alone.


    Moreover it''s advantage was that it was easy to learn. It didn''t require a strong comprehension and could be mastered with time and repetitions alone. The rate at which you learn battle skills was fundamental for cultivators as it could quickly increase your battle strenght and make the difference between life and death.


    "I already have the Wind Flow for movement. What comes first now is offense. My body is not enough currently and i lack the means to destroy my ennemies. With such a battle skill coupled with my physical strenght i wouldn''t have needed to go through such lenghts to deal with Ha Jun, i could directly penetrate his defenses and end the fight. The Stone Breaking Punch will unable me to quickly grasp another card in my hand." Ye Mo chose his martial arts with something specific in mind. This time he needed to increase his attacking power.


    "Although the power is great it remains just a punch, it''s easy to anticipate and guard against it however i always fought with punches and kicks so far and never had a problem with it and i believe the limits of an art lays in the individual abilities, not in the battle skill in itself. Nonetheless, the most important point about the Stone Breaking Punch is that it lower the difficulty of learning the mid-tier Star Rank Mountain Shattering Fist." Ye Mo''s heart burst forth ambitious and determined feelings.


    The Stone Breaking Punch was a battle skill created by a demonic cult leader in ancient times but his name wasn''t retained by the flow of time. The cult welcomed many members in its good days but a lot of them were muscle heads with very low comprehension and had a hard time learning battle skills.


    As such the strenght of the cult as a whole grew slowly. The cult leader spent years researching and studying battle skills relentlessy. In the end, from the Mountain Shattering Fist he derivated a whole new battle skill, the mid-tier Yellow Class Stone Breaking Punch!


    Unfortunately, good times doesn''t last and not long later the cult was ambushed and destroyed by righteous forces and the battle skill fell in their hand.


    As a creation from the Mountain Shattering Fist, the Stone Breaking Punch contained a part of the essence of the Star Rank battle skill. Their users would feel familiar with the Mountain Shattering Fist and would be able to grasp it more easily than someone who started from nothing.


    It must be known a Star Rank battle skill could take years or decades to train in before it could be mastered.


    Ye Mo''s faith in himself and resolve was displayed through his objectives. Star Rank battle skills were practically non-existent in Azure Water City, peak-tier Yellow Class arts were barely present and in very limited numbers even for institutions.


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    To obtain the possibility to learn a battle skill like the Mountain Shattering Fist, he would need to enter one of the great sects of the central lands, but how many wished to join one? Was it enough to become a member?


    No, it was hard, extremely hard. In institutions, rank 2 talents were in the low average but in sects they were nothing more than trashes.


    For Ye Mo, Azure Water City was too small, it couldn''t contain his ambitions. He wanted to roam the world freely, using the various opportunities offered to him to gain in strenght as this place would be his first step, bound to become a vague memory of his past.


    Instead the Tiger Martial Institute felt like a prison, although he was trapped inside unable to leave at his own will, it also offered a stable and propicious environment for his growth until would come the day for him to go.


    "This one is the priority, in my current state i wouldn''t be able to throw one punch before running out of Qi." Ye Mo picked up the Black Vortex cultivation technique and read the other half before sitting cross legged at the center of the room.


    Inside his dantian, wisps of Qi fluttered gently in this mysterious and unusual space when they started to gather together. The wisps of Qi turned into a small thin cloud that rotated clock-wise, at first slowly but it quickly gained in speed and became faster and faster until at its center, a black hole the shape of a spinning star took form.


    Quickly Ye Mo felt waves of heavenly Qi assaulting every part of his body, passing through the pores of his skin and rushing madly in his meridians.


    He felt like the gravity suddenly multiplied tenfold and something was crushing him from inside.


    Ye Mo gritted his teeth while beads of sweat trickled down his forehead.


    The surrounding Qi was crashing like tidal waves on his body, circulating at fast pace through his meridians.


    He held on for more than an hour but the flow of Qi in his meridians was too massive and he felt they would tear if he kept going.


    The Black Vortex quickly lost shape and the cloud that visibly gained in mass dispersed in multiple wisps of Qi.


    "... It''s better than i thought." Ye Mo took a few hard breathes before calming down but when he looked inside his dantian he was short of breath once again.


    In this hour of cultivation, 23 new wisps of Qi wandered with the others. Two more hours and he would have surpassed his whole week of night cultivation with the breathing technique.


    "Incredible! Just as i expected of the Black Vortex technique." Ye Mo was contented.


    "It''s time to take this one now." Ye Mo retrieved a small wooden box from his pouch and gently opened it.


    Inside layed a fiery red medicinal pellet. It was the well known Meridian Purifying pill, a creation of superior quality that allowed the owner to increase his potential.


    Ye Mo ingested the pill and sat down. It had a sweet taste like candy but it quickly melted in his mouth turning into a hot stream of energy flowing in his body. Everywhere it passed a burning sensation arised and his meridians slowly expanded while the flow of energy slowly reduced in size.


    After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, it disappeared but the transformation rendered to the meridians was tremendous.


    If before they were akin to a small stream now they were a great river swallowing boats and hiding creatures of all kinds in its depths.


    "Let''s see the changes..." Ye Mo closed his eyes and used the basic breathing technique to cultivate. He realized compared to before, he was 40% faster in creating a wisp of Qi, not far from the same level of a rank 3 talent.


    "I can understand why Fang Jishen and his friend wanted this pill so much, something that can modify your meridians and increase your cultivation speed is nothing less than a life-changer. Too bad its effects works only once." Ye Mo thought as he opened his dark eyes.


    After washing himself and dressing up, he decisively left his house, a mysterious glint lingering in his black pupils


    The talent you had was something defined from your birth.


    There weren''t many ways to improve it and the most common one was the Divine Regal Flower, a priceless treasure that was coveted by every cultivators of the world.


    What the heavens created, only the heavens could change. This plant had the power to raise the rank of someone''s talent upon ingestion without any side effects but their creation was the work of nature alone and you could only depend on your luck to find one.


    A simple mortal could stumble upon one without ever hearing of them while the strongest of cultivators could search their whole lives and not even seeing their shadows.


    Even rank 5 talents would desperately try to obtain them at times, after all didn''t they have parents, children, brother and sisters that could benefit from this herb? Also if they had the strenght, using this plant as bargain was enough to exchange with anything.


    Currently only the strongest sects of the continent after thousands of years of accumulation preciously guarded the few they were able to gather in their treasure vault. That was the only place you were sure to find the Divine Regal Flower without exploring the wilds.


    The Meridian Purifying pill took a roundabout approach about this instead as it didn''t directly raised your talent but instead improved your meridians making them wider and sturdier, able to absorb and circulate more Qi at once, increasing your cultivation speed.


    Raising you cultivation talent was something that obsessed cultivators from all times and after millions of years the Meridian Purifying pill was one of the result of this obsession but of course it couldn''t compare to the Divine Regal Flower.


    First it was very hard to make one, it necessited the best alchemists and many ingredients each try for a low percentage of success so only a small number of them were reserved for the best members each years.


    Also the increase in cultivation speed couldn''t compare to the talent raising Divine Regal Flower.


    But the main point was that the Meridian Purifying pill could only be used once before it would lose all effects while the flower could raise your talent each time until you reached the best possible.


    Ye Mo returned home deep in the night when the moon was high in the sky.


    In the meantime inside the Liu Clan Estate, Liu Hao was sitting on a throne in the main hall pondering, his right hand stroking his chin.


    The hall would be in complete darkness if it wasn''t for the moonlight penetrating through the windows on the side but it only accentuated the dismal atmosphere of the place.


    Suddenly the doors were knocked three time before a man entered.


    "Patriarch, you have a visitor." The man bowed down respectfully before notifying Liu Hao.


    "A visitor at this time? Who is it..." Liu Hao asked as he looked at the man, his brows wrinkled.


    "He''s a student of the Tiger Martial Institute, he said it was important."


    "Hmm... Alright let him come." Liu Hao accepted with a wave of the hand.


    The man quickly walked around the hall lighting up the torches before leaving the room. He returned shortly after escorting a young man with auburn hair and a sleeveless martial suit.


    "You''re... the kid from the Fang family?" Liu Hao looked at the young man''s face and tried to recall.


    "Yes, sir. My name''s Fang Jishen." The young man calmly raised his head as he presented himself.

 Seclusion

    "Patriarch has been shutting himself in the dark more often recently, i hope his mental health is ok." The servant gave one last glance to Liu Hao before leaving the hall.


    "Fang Jishen what have you come here for at this hour?" Liu Hao asked doubtful. The Liu clan didn''t have any relations with the Fang family.


    Fang Jishen suddenly coming here in the middle of the night wasn''t any less than strange.


    "This is for you." Fang Jishen approached and handed a letter wrapped by a red ribbon to Liu Hao then moved back.


    "What''s the meaning of this." Liu Hao asked his gaze shifting from the letter to Fang Jishen.


    "Don''t misunderstand sir, im just a messenger. Now that my task is done i won''t bother you any longer." Fang Jishen explained politely. His speech was clear and his manners impecable.


    In front of the Liu clan patriarch, a powerful foundation establishment cultivator, Fang Jishen didn''t dare outstep his boundaries.


    His Fang family was just a small family of cultivators, even against a weakened Liu clan they would barely be able to contend.


    Fang Jishen knew his own strenght, although he would take pleasure bullying the weak, in front of the strong he would be as meek as a kitten.


    He hurriedly left the hall leaving Liu Hao in a state of incomprehension. After an instant he removed the ribbon and swiftly unwrapped the paper.


    As he read the letter his face slowly took a mad rictus.


    "heheHaHaaAAAH!" Liu Hao broke into an incontrolable laugh which quickly turned into a shrill scream resonating in the surroundings.


    "I must calm down before the poison goes out of control again." Liu Hao''s eyes were bloodshot and his hands holding the letter trembled continously when he heard footsteps quickly approaching from outside.


    "Brother what''s going on, did the poison emerge again?" Liu Han abruptly barged in the hall, the servant from before in his toes as he questioned Liu Hao.


    "Look." Liu Hao throwed the letter towards his brother.


    The paper slowly drifted in the air until it was caught by Liu Han who read it.


    "This little bastard, he wants to exchange the Moon Pacifying herb and Soaring Leaf for our legacy battle skill and 2000 gold coins. This kid is out of his mind!" Liu Han flew into a rage.


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    The letter was burned to cinders dancing like petals in the wind and evaporating before it could touch the ground.


    Never before has he been this angered.


    The legacy battle skill was a martial art passed down from generation to generation since the founding of the clan by their ancestor. It was usually the best battle skill of a clan and one of the reason for their strenght.


    Allowing someone unrelated to the clan to learn it was simply heresy.


    As for the gold, 2000 was an astronomical sum for the Liu clan in their current state. Paying would render them bankrupt and they wouldn''t be able to qualify as a clan for much longer.


    "Not only did he kill nephew Huan and Hualing but he also wants to extort us with our own belongings. His guts knows no bounds, he can keep dreaming we will never pay." Liu Han asserted firmly as he left the hall with big steps, still fuming.


    "What''s this punk relationship with Fang Jishen that he would go as far as deliver messages for him, is he secretly backed up by the Fang family?" Liu Hao who regained his calm tried to make sense of what happened but no matter how hard he thought he couldn''t understand why would the Fang Family help Ye Mo and he didn''t like this.


    "He''s more clever than i thought, he has been hiding his game too well. There''s too many things we''re unaware of." Liu Hao massaged his forehead as he felt this matter was more complicated than he thought.


    In the meantime, Fang Jishen was quickly distancing himself from the Liu Clan.


    The few pedestrians still outside at this hour recognized his attire and would quickly make way for him.


    "Ye Mo you scum, what am i your henchman?" Unbeknownst to the Liu Clan, Fang Jishen was furious towards Ye Mo as well.


    During nightfall Fang Jishen was taking a stroll around his residence when Ye Mo suddenly showed up.


    Fang Jishen was so frightened he tryed to jump over the fence and escape but halfway through, his clothes were grabbed by Ye Mo and he was thrown to the floor.


    Ye Mo gave him instructions and handed the letter to him. He left only when Fang Jishen accepted to carry this task.


    "Humph, don''t underestimate me. I heard you''re only a rank 2 talent while im rank 3, if i work hard and try my best you will never catch up to me until i can just crush you with one finger. Just wait till i breakthrough the 7th layer and you''re done for." Fang Jishen gritted his teeth.


    His last attempt to intimidate Ye Mo solded by a tragic outcome and he lacked the courage to face him head on however he refused to become someone''s lackey as well, a newcomer at that.


    In one night, the deep wrath of multiple persons flew towards a juvenile sitting on the red mat of his house.


    "By now Fang Jishen should have delivered the message, the Liu clan must be pretty mad at me." Ye Mo thought with a vague smile on his face.


    He knew they would never agree with such preposterous demands.


    However they couldn''t completely refuse either.


    The Liu clan was in dire straits. With their heir dead and the clans vying their assets they were at the brink of destruction.


    The only thing preventing this right now was Liu Hao. With his 8th layer Foundation Establishment cultivation he was the strongest expert of the clan and their enemies were afraid of his retaliation if he was pushed at death''s door.


    Since he was poisoned they could just patiently wait for him to die as it was only a question of time for the poison to take his life, then they would rush at the Liu clan like starving wolfs, scavenging everything they could and destroying the rest.


    The only way to delay this was the Moon Pacifying Herb, a rare plant that could temporarily neutralize the poison, thus they would definitely compromise.


    Ye Mo''s shameless demands were just a mean for negociation. By asking for the moon at first, they would feel more inclined in giving something precious later.


    "The Liu clan has been around for centuries, although they are declining right now they should have many things useful for me. With how desperate they are to retrieve their goods, i will gain much more than if i just sold Liu Huan''s sword and the Moon Pacifying herb to the institute medicinal stores or some merchant."


    "But this comes later, each year the Tiger Martial Institute would send the disciples who reached the 8th layer of the Qi Gathering realm before being sixteen to the Raging Saber Sect. The last time was a month ago, just before the institute recruitment so i have less than 11 months to reach this level and leave this place."


    Joining an institute.


    Using the ressources and facilities at disposal to cultivate and gain new martial arts until he was strong enough to protect himself.


    Then leaving for a sect with the institute delegation.


    This was Ye Mo''s plan for the near future.


    "Beside the sky blue one i have filled all my pouches to the brim with water and food. I also have plenty of low and mid-tier Spirit Qi pills of the Yellow Class from people i killed and the tournament rewards. I can start my seclusion."


    Thanks to his stay at the library he learned the use of every pills in his possesion.


    Ye Mo closed his eyes and activated the Black Vortex as he began cultivating.

 Stuck

    Ye Mo was sweating a lot, gritting his teeth as the Black Vortex revolved in his dantian.


    He felt like a powerful hand was pressing against his body.


    "It''s fast but not enough!"


    "Time is tight, before joining the institute delegation, i still have to reach the cave from Wei Leng''s map. Many ennemies might want to kill me, the Liu clan being a sure case, i can''t leave the institute without preparations."


    "Institutions protect their members using their strenght and possible retalation as deterrence but they can''t send instructors babysitting each one of them, following the members everywhere they go isn''t possible. If i leave the institute, im on my own."


    "In the end it all comes to strenght!"


    "Strenght is the truth, strenght rule the world!"


    "Words are nothing, violence speaks louder!"


    Ye Mo''s body was in pain but his mind hold firm like a mountain.


    It has been hours since he started using the Black Vortex and he was still cultivating furiously.


    In this silent room, his eerie gaze reflected the demonic resolve to stamp on every obstacles standing on his path.


    After some time Ye Mo picked a round white pill from his pouch and swallowed it.


    This low tier Spirit Qi pill immediately turned into liquid and flowed down his throat like a warm spring.


    The liquid flowed straight towards his dantian. His whole body gave him a refreshing feeling like a cool breeze caressing his body during a hot day.


    The Black Vortex in his dantian revolved even faster than before and new wisps of Qi appeared at an unprecedented rate.


    Currently, Ye Mo cultivation''s speed was faster than a rank 5 talent.


    To influence the progress of your cultivation, first comes ressources, then talent and in third hard work.


    With the combination of his cultivation technique, the meridian purifying pill, and the intake of Spirit Qi pills, Ye Mo made full use of the first aspect and maximised his speed, surpassing the pace of an ordinary cultivator by leaps and bounds.


    This was only possible since he joined the Tiger Martial institute.


    Ye Mo didn''t slack off a single moment and in the blink of an eye, three months passed by.


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    The door of the stone house creaked and slowly, a teen walked out and looked at the scenery after a long time of seclusion.


    Suprisingly, summer came to an end, and the days of autumn arrived.


    The sultry atmosphere was replaced by strong winds and the trees were slowly being stripped of their adornment while leaves of gold and scarlet ride the air like gentle boats.


    "I reached the peak of the 3rd layer, i just need a bit more time to breakthrough the 4th layer of the Qi gathering realm." Thought Ye Mo, standing shirtless in front of his house.


    The upper garment of his martial suit was left hanging on his waist.


    His hair grew much during this time, flowing with the wind like dark tentacles.


    In the meantime he also turned thirteen.


    Ye Mo straightened two fingers and gathering Qi inside, he cleanly cut locks of hair one by one.


    Quickly he regained his black spiky short hair.


    Ye Mo has never been fond of long hair.


    They could be grabbed in a fight giving the opponent the advantage. If they were too long, they could also impede your vision resulting in the same consequences.


    And as a whole they were just a hassle to take care of.


    Of course you could attach them but in a battle, where trees and rocks were pulverized by each attacks, whatever you used to tie them up could easily be torn apart.


    After dressing himself, Ye Mo left towards the cafeteria. This dining establishment held many delicacies that any students could enjoy if they had the money required.


    Ye Mo had some rations left in his pouch but after all this time spent cultivating in his house he wanted to breath some fresh air and stroll around.


    Most of all he wanted to hear news of the city and if anything happened during this period.


    While walking, he heard various discussions from group of students on the road.


    "Shen Xue broke through the 8th layer just one month after the tournament. This guy is a monster."


    "What did you expect of the Shen clan young master, he met the requirements to go to the Raging Saber sect just after joining the institute. We''re not on the same league."


    "I heard after breaking through he directly left to the third floor of the pagoda and crippled Lao Ting then holed himself in the room!"


    "Stop joking, Lao Ting rank in the top 100 students of the institute and has cultivated for years inside, there is no way he would lose to a newcomer no matter how strong he is."


    "I swear! There were many spectators at the time who saw it as well."


    Their voices grew faint as they distanced themselves from Ye Mo.


    He kept going until he reached the cafeteria and entered inside.


    The dining hall was spacious with near a hundred long tables. Two long benches surrounded the sides of the rectangular tables.


    The dishes of the cafeteria were very expensive, all of them costing at least one gold coin. An average family could live well for months with one but here it was barely enough to have the cheapest meals.


    The reason was that theses dishes were made with the meat of ferocious blood beasts and wild herbs that were beneficial to the body.


    Clans and influential families paid a huge price each year to have such meals prepared for the promising younglings as they were very beneficial for their growth.


    For healthy grown men and cultivators however the effects were minimal and for a body refining cultivator, the only reason to eat them would be the taste.


    Ye Mo asked for one randomly to the waitress and handed two gold coins. Near her was a middle-aged man taking the commands of other students.


    He picked a table devoid of people in the middle of the hall and sat down. Soon a plate and a jar of water was placed in front of him.


    On the center was the large roasted leg of a boar surrounded by vegetables.


    The rich fragrance assaulted Ye Mo''s nostrils yet he frowned deeply.


    "My main weapon is the Nine Revolutions Fiend Body, as a high tier Star Rank body refining technique it''s the best advantage i have over my peers and each breakthrough would give me more power than these three months i passed in cultivation."


    "Yet im stuck. I can''t cultivate this martial art inside the institute and even if i left to the city, since i became a student there would be too many eyes on me without talking of those with ill-intent towards me."


    "I can''t ask for the Liu clan to send a couple of their members to me either. If they came to my house to never be seen leaving it would be too suspicious, whether it''s the Liu clan or members of the Tiger Martial institute they would easily find something is wrong. By this time deducing what happened wasn''t difficult."


    Ye Mo suffered for years before he had a chance at cultivation. He wasn''t going to risk everything by being impatient.


    It was easy to move in the dark. Far from others attention you could easily attack or retreat.


    But in the light, with everyone''s eyes set on you, you had to take account of the regulations set in place or your downfall was only a matter of time.


    However Ye Mo didn''t regret joining the institute. It was a part of his plan in his path to cultivation and without Qi and battle skills but just his body alone, he would be too limited.


    Ye Mo quickly devored the meat and was moving to the vegetables.


    Tens of students were eating and talking loudly in separate tables, laughing at times rendering the cafeteria noisy but Ye Mo paid it no mind as he was deep in thoughts.


    "Hey, Ye Mo!" Suddenly he heard someone shout his name.


    Ye Mo frowned, his train of thoughts were broken.

 Life is unfair

    Ye Mo turned his head, looking at the entrance where the voice came from.


    A teen with fire like hairs and a long staff hanging on his back approached.


    His attire was unusual, it looked like the Tiger Martial institute clothes but half of his chest was uncovered, like this part of the suit was removed.


    The boy directly sat next to Ye Mo and put his arm on his shoulders smiling from ear to ear.


    "Such a coincidence, i have been looking for you all this time in vain and just when i thought you were a ghost you appear here of all places." Ma Shinfei laughed loudly, "Wait you''re already at the 3rd layer?"


    Surprise ladened his face as he sensed Ye Mo''s aura.


    It wasn''t uncommon to see a cultivator spending one or two years before reaching the 3rd layer.


    Ye Mo achieving this level in three months, it was understandable for Ma Shinfei to be startled.


    "Why were you searching me?" Ye Mo removed his arm from his shoulders as he asked, emotionless.


    "Going straight to the point huh, i like that. I wanted to fight with you during the tournament but unfortunately you passed out and was disqualified. After that i wished to have a little spar with you but there wouldn''t be any point now, you''re only a rank 2 talent and my strenght more than doubled since then, it wouldn''t be fun anymore." A trace of disappointement was in his tone at the end of his explanation.


    "So it''s a battle maniac..." Ye Mo thought as he finished his plate.


    Ma Shinfei was very honest and although it was their first interaction, he spoke to Ye Mo as if they knew each other for a long time.


    In cultivation, the further you go, the greater was the gap in power between each breakthrough. Although Ye Mo''s speed was impressive and his strenght increased as well, this wouldn''t make any difference for a powerful cultivator closely nearing to the 8th layer like Ma Shinfei.


    "So you heard about it, then what''s your talent?" Ye Mo asked without expecting anything.


    "Well, it''s not really a secret. Im a rank 4 fire talent."


    Ye Mo was taken aback.


    A rank 4 was already unusual but one with an elemental affinity!?


    The world was filled with all kinds of Qi depending on your environment, at the peak of mountains you had wind Qi, near a river or the sea was water Qi, in a cold land filled with frost there is ice Qi and so on.


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    A cultivator with an affinity towards an element would make twice the results with half the efforts cultivating in a place filled with the Qi related.


    For Ma Shinfei who had a fire affinity talent, he would need to cultivate near a volcano or in a desert.


    Noted that such environments could also be created artificially.


    If he used martial arts of this element as well he would have an easier time learning them and their power would increase much.


    A rank 4 talent with an affinity was as rare as a rank 5 talent, maybe even more!


    "I can understand why the flame grandmaster took you as a disciple." Ye Mo sighed


    Ma Shinfei expected an exaggarated reaction or Ye Mo acting more respectful towards him but beside a sigh there was no change in his interlocutor behavior.


    It was something that Ma Shinfei couldn''t help but find refreshing.


    He grinned as he refuted, "Not really, when he found me i had only the typical rank 4 talent im born with, master used a very precious treasure he obtained during his travels in the past for me to gain a fire affinity."


    Ma Shinfei''s eyes brightened, it could be seen he had deep affection and gratitude towards this master of his.


    "There is treasures that can give you a talent affinity? Something i didn''t find in the books..." Ye Mo didn''t react but he kept this information in mind.


    Beside him, Ma Shinfei''s voice came "Where have you been these three months?".


    "Cultivating, you?" Ye Mo returned the question


    "Training, of course. I learned a new technique, with this im sure i will be able to beat this bastard Shen Xue. Just wait till i breakthrough the 8th layer..." Ma Shinfei''s face gave a fierce expression, his voice full of competitiveness and indignant pride.


    Obviously he didn''t take his last defeat well.


    "Talking about him, since you two fought maybe you know what talent he has?" Ye Mo asked casually.


    He could easily gather informations from Ma Shinfei as he didn''t bother to hide anything.


    "This guy, he''s a rank 5 talent..." Ma Shinfei said dispiritedly, gulping in a cup of wine the girl served him


    He already saw Shen Xue as a rival, someone he had to surpass, but for him to have a rank 5 talent, even someone like Ma Shinfei would have to work extra hard to not be left in the dust.


    While they talked a group of young men entered the cafeteria and made their way towards their table.


    "Junior Ma, if you''re done eating let''s go on, Jin Hao Tian is already there hunting blood beasts." The group was composed of five men, all around eigtheen years old and at least of the 7th layer of the Qi Gathering realm.


    Their gazes swept by Ye Mo but with his plain look and his cultivation of the 3rd layer they quickly ignored him and focused on Ma Shinfei.


    In the Tiger Martial institute even newcomers had at least a cultivation of the 4th layer when they arrived so it was easy to understand what they would think of him.


    Only one of them had his gaze lingering on Ye Mo a bit more, thinking "How come this trash chat with Ma Shinfei so casually, are they friends?"


    "My bad, we talked so much i forgot. Im going to the Jade Forest, see you later Ye Mo." Ma Shinfei stood up and walked away, the group of men in his toes.


    "What an easy going man, well i would be as well if i had such a master covering me." Ye Mo left soon after, a playful smile on his face.


    He didn''t go back home but instead left to a martial hall where he rented a courtyard for 50 gold coins.


    This was the training facility of the institute. From gardens to meditation rooms or fights against mechanical puppets, everything was at disposal if you could pay accordingly.


    Ye Mo chose a vast rocky terrain filled with gravels, stones and boulders that he could occupy at will for ten days.


    "Ma Shinfei has a rank 4 fire talent, Shen Xue is rank 5 and the other heirs shouldn''t be ridiculous either. They all have the back up of powerhouses as well." Ye Mo walked inside the courtyard.


    "In front of these guys, the hard work of rank 2 talents means nothing. Without the right ressources, you can''t keep the distance."


    "Life is truly unfair." Ye Mo stopped as he stood in front of a stone more than half his size.


    Clearing his mind of useless thoughts he closed his eyes and moved his feets apart taking position.


    Taking a deep breath he raised his right hand and channeled Qi in his arm, pulling into a bow shape.


    After an instant his eyes opened and his hand flashed like lightning!


    Bam!


    After a loud crash, the stone shook, small fragments flew about as his fist penetrated wrist deep in the stone leaving a spherical dent.


    However although the stone was filled with cracks it didn''t break.


    "This is abnormal. It''s not the biggest or thickest of the bouders present but it was still my first time using the Stone Breaking Punch yet i almost shattered it. It must be due to my physical strenght which added to the battle skill, render my punch even more powerful than usual."


    "I will have to restrain my body cultivation the next times or i won''t be able to ascertain my progress in the Stone Breaking Punch."


    With large strides Ye Mo rushed to another boulder.


    The whole day dull thuds resounded in the courtyard, stones shook and their fragments scattered in the air while as time passed, the sounds grew louder until from outside it looked like a beast was making a carnage.

 Impurities

    The sun was setting when Ye Mo returned to his house.


    Inside the courtyard, only stone fragments and broken boulders remained, like a catastrophe sweeped by and destroyed everything.


    Ye Mo took short pauses in-between to recover his Qi and only stopped when nothing remained for him to train with.


    Workers would come by during the night to clean the place and restore it anew for Ye Mo next visit.


    When he stood in front of his house, Ye Mo went beside the door and lifted a stone covering a stash of letters from the Liu clan.


    During his months of seclusion he heard someone knock at his door multiple times but he paid it no mind as he was immersed in his cultivation.


    It was most probably a guard or a servant from the gate that was tasked to deliver the letters to him but with no response from Ye Mo they were left beside the entrance.


    Outsiders weren''t allowed inside the institute outside of particular events so the Liu clan would have to go through those to communicate with him.


    Ye Mo remarked the letters when he first left in the morning but he decided to not bother with them at the moment.


    Now they had his attention so he went inside the house and unsealed them.


    The first letter was long and the tone was severe as the Liu clan expressedly ordered Ye Mo under veiled menaces to hand over the Moon Pacifying herb, the sword Soaring Leaf and to come personally ask for forgiveness so they would show mercy.


    As for what this mercy implied exactly, it wasn''t mentioned.


    In the next letter, they gave more room to cooperation as they accepted to reward Ye Mo if he handed the herb and the sword but what they proposed was just some gold and low class pills that could be easily obtained anywhere.


    Ye Mo just brushed it off and kept reading.


    With each letter, the atmosphere grew milder and the prices given in exchange increased. At the same time they stated they couldn''t give more than that and either he accepted or there would be no discussions then they would go past their words in the next letter.


    At the last one, sent not long before he left his stone house there was no talks about rewards or what not and they only pried him to answer them, saying they were ready to meet his demands as long as they were reasonable.


    "They should have understood their place by the time. Now there is room for negotiation." Ye Mo could feel they were at a point of rupture.


    The Moon Pacifying herb was so close yet so far.


    At first they acted obstinate and inflexible, unwilling to bargain in any way. They wanted to intimidate Ye Mo, forcing his hand to return their goods.


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    But with time passing and understanding it wouldn''t yield any result they couldn''t help but fall into a passive state.


    Ye Mo didn''t have any personal use for the Moon Pacifying herb but for the Liu clan, it was vital to secure a future and escape doom.


    With this in hand, Ye Mo could easily take the initiative, advancing and backing away at will while the Liu clan could do nothing but try their best to retrieve it.


    With their situation growing dire and their patriarch health deteriorating, the Liu clan would have no choice but to bend the knee in front of him.


    Ye Mo grabbed some paper and ink and quickly wrote something.


    Later, he sat down and used the Black Vortex cultivation technique, spending the whole night in cultivation.


    The Liu clan didn''t delay and the next day they sent another letter as soon as they received Ye Mo''s one, quickly fixing a date and a place as they needed some time to gather everything.


    They grew frantic in the last months due to Ye Mo''s lack of investment and communication in the trade and were afraid he changed his mind and refused to deal with them anymore.


    The next days, Ye Mo put huge emphasis on his training of the Stone Breaking Punch, progressing quickly as he passed most of his time in the rocky courtyard then he would cultivate during the night.


    He sent Fang Jishen to a busy street in the center of the city where the exchange would take place.


    The Liu clan also had to send a junior of the Qi Gathering realm by himself to the location.


    He knew Fang Jishen wouldn''t betray him, if he did so the institute wouldn''t be able to protect him from Ye Mo and the Fang family wouldn''t be able to protect him from the Liu clan.


    He would need to escape the city at this point but alone in the wild, his chances at survival wouldn''t be raised much.


    The Liu clan couldn''t jump on him either since he was a member of the Tiger Martial Institute and the Fang family. As long as they retrieved the sword and the Moon Pacifying herb all was good and they didn''t need to make ennemies out of any of them.


    This way the exchange went smoothly and in less than a week, Ye Mo had a small sphere looking like a ball of compressed water laying on the palm of his hand.


    It was dark blue in color and small bubbles could be seen gurgling inside.


    Encompassing Washing Pill.


    A low-tier Yellow Class pill that could cleanse the body of impurities.


    A huge part of Ye Mo''s cultivation soaring through the first to the third layer of the Qi gathering realm in only three months was due to his repetitive intake of low-tier Spirit Qi pills.


    However, righteous cultivators encouraged a slow and stable cultivation, having a good foundation in each layers before breaking through so this kind of practice wasn''t seen in a good light.


    None of them would recommand it over a cultivator.


    Moreover as you consumed such pills, your body would gain a resistance towards them. The resistance would follow with the amount of pills used until at some point you would barely feel any effect no matter how much you ingurgitated.


    Towards the end of his closed door cultivation, Ye Mo could feel the effect of low-tier Spirit Qi pills grew very faint on him.


    But the last and most important aspect was that this method didn''t come without danger.


    These pills that could increase your cultivation speed all had more or less impurities depending on the skills of the alchemist.


    Even the best of them couldn''t erase the last 1% of impurities but most of them would actually have at least 10 or 20% inside.


    If one pill was swallowed once in a while, the small amount of impurities would be naturally expelled by the body over time but if a lot were taken in a short time, the impurities would accumulate, pollute the body, clog the meridians and cause the cultivator aptitude to decrease until just breaking through a layer would become an insurmontable obstacle.


    After a few months, the impurities would solidify, becoming a part of the body and hence unremovable. This was the end of a cultivator potential and all his propects would be reduced to nothingness.


    All theses were the reasons why very few people dared using such a forceful way to cultivate.


    Of course Ye Mo knew about it as well.


    Nevertheless in this mystical world, every problem had it''s solution and the most common for this one was the Encompassing Washing Pill.


    The level of this pill could be easily recognized from it''s color.


    In the Yellow Class, it started with dark blue for low-tier then light blue in mid-tier, sky blue is high-tier and turquoise for a peak-tier Encompassing Washing Pill.


    A dark blue pill would only wash the impurities of low-tier Spirit Qi Pills, in case he used mid-tier ones he would need a light blue Encompassing Washing Pill.


    Few alchemists knew the recipe to confectionate it and the ingredients wasted in the repetitive failures would discourage most of them so it has always appeared in scarce numbers in the market.


    That''s also why most cultivators would avoid being tainted by impurities in the first place.


    Even as a member of an institute, Ye Mo would need time and pay a heavy price to obtain one ordinarily and that was just for a low-tier one.


    As for a light blue Encompassing Washing Pill, there was none currently that could be bought in Azure Water City.


    Yet thanks to Liu Huan''s sword ''Soaring Leaf'', Ye Mo not only obtained a low-tier but also a mid-tier light blue pill from the Liu clan storage.


    "Originally i should have already been able to tackle the 4th layer of the Qi Gathering realm by now but this last week, the circulation of my Qi turned sluggish and my cultivation slowed down..."


    "I only consumed low-tier Spirit Qi Pills during my seclusion, so this dark blue Encompassing Washing pill should purify my body and set me back to zero." Ye Mo smiled satisfiedly.


    Without any delay, he swallowed the pill and sat down cross-legged.

 Sacrifices

    The Encompassing Washing pill turned into a chilling cold wave of energy that traveled through Ye Mo''s body.


    Skin, bones, flesh, marrow, meridians, it flew everywhere not sparing one inch.


    The part of the body where it passed gave a deep, unpleasant feeling of itchness.


    Ye Mo endured it and as the sensations grew more intense, a black smelly substance oozed from his skin.


    His body was quickly covered in dark sticky fluid till it trickled down to the ground.


    After a moment, the dark mass flew like powder dissipating into thin air however the odor persisted.


    Ye Mo instead felt relaxed and invigorated, like having been massaged for a long time.


    "My Qi flows smoothly and circulate even better than before, i should be able to breakthrough the 4th layer."


    "Since i also obtained the light blue Encompassing Washing pill, i can return in seclusion and cultivate at will with mid-tier Spirit Qi pills, moreover..." Ye Mo retrieved two objects from his pouch.


    One was a martial art manual, the Cyclone Kick, a mid-tier Yellow Class battle skill.


    The other was a small jade bottle containing the Chasm Transcending Profound Pill.


    Ye Mo couldn''t help feeling contented looking at them, particularly the latter.


    He probed the Liu clan''s belongings with incessant demands but he didn''t expect them to retain on a Chasm Transcending Profound pill.


    It was a peak-tier Yellow Class pill that could help the user increase his chances of breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment realm by 20%!


    There was no need to say how amazing it''s effect was, especially for cultivators with low talent.


    As for the battle skill, it enabled a cultivator to unleash kicks at extreme speed, using your legs as weapons to drown your ennemies in waves of strikes!


    It must be known ordinarily, the Moon Pacifying herb and Soaring Leaf together wouldn''t even be enough to obtain a low-tier Encompassing Washing pill by itself.


    But by using the Liu clan''s distress, Ye Mo got his hands in these four altogether.


    From cultivation to battle strenght, they would push his abilities to great lenght!


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    "Chasm Transcending Profound Pill can be put aside for now. The Stone Breaking Punch is powerful but too linear and predictable. With Cyclone Kick i will be able to vary my attacks and lower my opponent''s guard. In addition, once i breakthrough the 4th layer i can go pick another battle skill at the second floor of the tower."


    "But first..."


    Ye Mo reflected on his new possesions before he undressed himself and went in a basin of water prepared beforehand, the putrid odor from the impurities assaulting his nostrils


    .....


    "Here patriach, drink it this instant so you can relieve us of our worry."


    Liu Tianhan, was an old man, his long hairs turned white long ago and his face was full of wrinkles but his eyes were big and round giving him a childish appearance.


    In his youth he was able to rise through the ranks with time, skills and talent until he became the medicinal elder of the Liu clan.


    Now he handed a wooden bowl to Liu Hao, a grey mixture residing inside.


    It was what was left of the Moon Pacifying herb.


    Liu Hao made a complicated expression as he looked at the bowl.


    After a moment, he abruptly raised it and gulped everything in one go.


    The mixture didn''t have any taste but in his heart Liu Hao was bitter to no end.


    The Liu clan sacrificed so much for this herb and it was the cause of his children''s death.


    "We only obtained the Chasm Transcending Pill through a stroke of luck. Since then it has been preciously guarded in our storage for more than a hundred years. We always pushed it''s use back again and again, afraid to waste it, waiting for the right moment to rentabilize to the best."


    "If Liu Huan was still alive, he might have been the one to finally benefit from it but now it''s in the hands of this little demon."


    Liu Hao couldn''t help but think in dismay at all the sacrifices, he felt he aged a lot in the past months, the weight of responsibilities towards the clan crushing his back.


    The sleepless night, the constant worry, the repulsion of the poison, today he truly felt tired.


    "It''s done, i don''t feel the poison agitated anymore, i stopped supresssing it but i wasn''t injured at all." Liu Hao said expressionless.


    By his side stood his brother Liu Han and his father Liu Dan.


    Liu Dan sighed in relief but Liu Han clenched both his fists hard as he looked at the ground.


    "We should have been outside killing this punk right now but not only he''s well and safe, we''re helping him grow stronger instead. When has the Liu clan ever fallen this low!" Liu Han muttered gritting his teeth.


    "We did what was necessary to save Liu Hao, your brother''s well being is in the interest of the whole clan. Consider them small prices." Liu Dan said, composed.


    "Small prices?" Liu Han didn''t believe his ears, "The Chasm Transcending Pill, the dishonor of hanving our battle skills used by an outsider and both Encompassing Washing Pills they are small prices?!" Liu Han roared in anger and frustration.


    "It''s true that it''s concerning, with the dark and light blue Encompassing Washing Pills this lunatic wouldn''t hesitate to cultivate through Spirit Qi pills. The news of his rank 2 talent was auspicious but now he might be able to reach the 8th layer and join a sect, once it happens we won''t be able to deal with him anymore."


    "Even if it doesn''t happen and he stays at the institute he just needs to reach the peak of the Qi Gathering realm and with the Chasm Transcending Pill he will have great chances to enter the Foundation Establishment realm. By then, killing him would be extremely difficult."


    Liu Hao spoke softly, the situation indeed didn''t look optimistic.


    "He will die before any of that happens, don''t worry. Once he''s dead we can just retrieve the Chasm Transcending Pill on his corpse. Our reputation will be saved with his death as well. As for the Encompassing Washing Pills, like i said, they are small prices." Liu Dan''s gaze flashed as he spoke with confidence.


    In his eyes reflected the vicissitude of life.


    Althought his cultivation has been diminished all these years, he retained a mind full of shemes and plots against his ennemies and at this moment they were all directed towards Ye Mo.


    In the afternoon, the wind howled and ominous clouds swallowed the sun covering the earth in their shadows.


    Inside the courtyard, Ye Mo stood in front of a boulder more than twice his size.


    Flexing his muscles, he lowered his center of gravity and with a rotation of the hip, sent his fist smashing on the rock with unprecedented explosivity.


    Boom!


    The boulder broke in multiple pieces that were sent flying against the wall of the courtyard.


    "Indeed, the Stone Breaking Punch can be learned with ease. A few more days and i should be done with it."


    "Fortunately, Cyclone Kick is pretty simple, i won''t need to rent another courtyard to practice."


    Brushing the stone dust off his hand, Ye Mo returned to his house.


    He knew he helped the Liu clan escape a great crisis by handing the Moon Pacifying Herb and that they would never stop trying to kill him however he benefited even more from this situation.


    As long as his strength grew steadily, the rest was secondary.


    How could your cultivation''s journey be without waves or dark clouds? Traveling peacefully until the end of the world was wishful thinking.


    If he was scared of a mere Liu clan, he could as well stop everything and start a farm far from civilization.


    On his path towards supremacy, he had to face obstacles without any fear, overcoming every hardships thrown at him as they would become the foundation of his success.

 Advancement

    Inside the stone house, in the middle of the room stood a huge copper cauldron supported by four curvy legs.


    It was very imposant, being as big as an adult man.


    This cauldron was bought by Ye Mo right before his seclusion of three months along with half a year worth of herbs used in medicinal baths.


    Below the cauldron was coal stones and burnt wood still fuming surrounded by four stone slabs.


    It could be seen a fire was ignited recently.


    The sound of boiling water could be heard from the cauldron and a lot of steam escaped from it.


    Clearly, the temperature wasn''t negligible.


    Inside the cauldron, the water was filled with various herbs and at it''s center was Ye Mo''s head sticking out like a small isle surrounded by the sea.


    After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Ye Mo came out.


    From his feet to his neck, his skin took a rosy, almost red tint.


    To make such an impact on his body, it was evident this medicinal bath wasn''t something ordinary cultivators could endure.


    He picked a towel and dried himself then put black pants and sat down on the red mat, not bothering to cover his upper body.


    He took a deep inspiration and closed his eyes, putting his attention to his dantian.


    Inside this mysterious space, thousands of wisps of Qi wandered aimlessly filling it to the point where no matter how much he cultivated, he couldn''t produce one more.


    It was the sign he reached the peak of the third layer, only at this point could you attempt to breakthrough the next layer.


    Ye Mo willed and suddenly, the wisps of Qi''s movements grew coordinated as they all flew towards the center of the dantian.


    At first their momentum was great but gradually, they slowed down as a mysterious force obstructed their path.


    They looked like someone swimming against the current.


    The heavenly wall made it''s appearance!


    Every living beings in the world were the creation of heavens and cultivation was the act of elevating yourself in a unique existence not bound by any law like insufficient lifespan or limited strenght.


    But how could the heavens tolerate this rebellion against itself, when every creatures are born the way they are meant to be.


    As such, the heavenly wall came as an obstacle to prevent cultivators to progress in their cultivation.


    It would become stronger with each breakthrough and every cultivators would feel this barrier but at varying degrees.


    You need a great control over your Qi to overcome this hardship and attain a new layer of power.


    There were only two ways to ease this burden.


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    One was with talent and the other was through the purification of Qi.


    "With my rank 2 talent, the obstruction of the heavenly wall is already this much just to breakthrough the 4th layer. It''s not enough to stop me currently but it will only grow stronger as i keep advancing in my cultivation." Ye Mo felt really well the injustice of talent.


    If it was a rank 5 talent at his place, he would barely feel the barrier of the heavenly wall and reaching the 4th layer would be much easier.


    Ye Mo kept pushing through with his Qi and many wisps crashed against the heavenly wall, advancing slowly as the mystical force was pushed back.


    At the same time many wisps of Qi started dissipating in this battle of attrition.


    5%, 10%, 15%...


    When 20% of his Qi was lost, the wisps broke through the heavenly wall and attained the center of the dantian.


    They flew like a storm and collided against each other but rather than being destroyed, they were absorbed and fused together.


    The condensation began and the amount of Qi was depleted quickly until at the end only three wisps remained.


    Those wisps were much clearer than the previous grey ones and looked more compact and tangible.


    "I advanced to the 4th layer!" Ye Mo smiled heartily.


    They were the wisps of a 4th layer Qi Gathering realm cultivator. The existence of these wisps of Qi in his dantian were the proof Ye Mo broke through to the next layer.


    These wisps stored twice the amount of Qi of the previous ones and the power they could unleash through battle skills was far greater.


    Gathering Qi in the dantian to the limit then pushing the Qi to the center where it would be compressed and condensed until wisps of Qi of better quality took their place.


    This was the cultivation of Qi Gathering realm cultivators.


    The dantian would grow accustomed to these new wisps of Qi and naturally produce them in Ye Mo''s future cultivation.


    Nonetheless these wisps took much more Qi to be generated than the previous ones so the lenght at which you could fill your dantian also increased as you advanced.


    "For a cultivator, if he''s able to generate at least one wisp of the next layer through the condensation then he would have succesfully broken through but depending on the success you can even refine dozens of them at once."


    "For a wisp of Qi to take form is a long and strenuous process but once it happens, even if it''s used up to unleash a battle skill it can be easily recovered through cultivation."


    The existence of the heavenly wall was the reason many cultivators failed to breakthrough and the wisps of Qi that were lost in the process would need to be created back from nothing, needing the same amount of efforts as the first time to generate them.


    Patience would be required in this situation and a lot of time would be wasted to fill the dantian up again so cultivators would always make ample preparations to be sure to breakthrough in one go.


    "When you reach the peak of the Qi Gathering realm and refined your Qi to the limit, you must turn it into liquid Qi to breakthrough the Foundation Establishment realm. The higher the realm of a cultivator, the more concise his Qi becomes. A portion of liquid Qi is comparable to ten portions of gaseous Qi. After that comes the Inner Core realm with solid Qi." Ye Mo revised his understanding of cultivation as he revolved the Black Vortex cultivation technique.


    He just broke through and had very little Qi currently, Ye Mo continously absorbed the Qi of heaven and earth as new wisps slowly took form in his dantian.


    He stayed in house several days diligently working on his cultivation until he was satisfied by the amount restored.


    When he had sufficient Qi to sustain the expenditure of his battle skills, the door creaked open and Ye Mo squinted his eyes, blinded by the sunshine.


    He didn''t waste time and immediately left for the battle skill tower where he entered with no difficulty after showing his token.


    The emanations of Qi from Ye Mo couldn''t be fake and it was easy for a Foundation Establishment expert to see through his cultivation and his bone structure.


    Ye Mo was below sixteen years old and attained the 4th layer so he had the right to pick another battle skill hence there was no problem.


    Of course Ye Mo could also pick a mid-tier Yellow Class body refining technique instead of a battle skill if he chose to but the only reason he would do that was if he suddenly turned stupid.


    In the second floor of the tower, Ye Mo unhurriedly browsed through the manuals.


    "In two months is the mid-year tournament for Tiger Martial Institute disciples and everyone''s attention would be turned towards the competition. This is the perfect moment to investigate whether this cave of Pure Iridescent Iron is real or not."


    "A battle skill focused on stealth is vital right now, i can''t even leave the institute currently and from moving in the city to venturing in the wilderness, escaping others vigilance is primordial." Ye Mo thought solemnly.


    If there was something he learned while he lived in the slums, it is that discretion, laying low and showing on the outside only what you want them to see is the key towards survival.


    Every great figures that rised above the masses by themselves came to know at some point the importance of a wolf disguising as a sheep.


    After an hour, Ye Mo left the tower with another battle skill in possesion.


    The old instructor gave him a deep look as he departed. Just a few months ago when Ye Mo passed by he was only at his first steps on the infinite path of cultivation and now he already attained the 4th layer.


    For a rank 2 talent, this speed was astonishing, on par with the most talented of students making the old man pay attention to him. At the same time his suspicion was raised and he couldn''t help thinking there was something fishy about it yet he had no way to know how Ye Mo obtained such accomplishments.


    Ye Mo came back home and retrieved his new battle skill from his pouch.


    Shadow Walk - Mid-tier Yellow Class battle skill.


    This was a battle skill divided in three phases of mastery.


    In the first phase, you could completely conceal your aura and hide your presence from other experts.


    In the second phase, your body could blend with the shadows at will and during the night you would move unhindered in the darkness as your speed increase considerably.


    At the third phase you are akin to a ghost, the night or day makes no difference anymore and even someone looking in your direction might not notice you stand there.


    It becomes the perfect art for assasination, from killing to hiding or escaping few skills in the institute can match it.


    However every battle skills were equal and none would be overly advantageous without detriments or limitations while the weakest of them would always have their own use in specific situations.


    In Shadow Walk''s case it was known for being extremely difficult to learn, the proof being it''s division in three phases.


    Reaching the second phase was a feat on its own; as for the third phase, if someone learned it in the past he didn''t reveal it.

 Insignificant Mortal Allures

    Inside his stone house, Ye Mo reflected conscientiously.


    "In these 2 months i can only prepare myself and grow to the best of my ability. Outside, danger lurks at every corner, the 4th layer is just the beginning, i can''t relax."


    "To travel safely in the central lands, the minimum is the Foundation Establishment realm. Im still far from it but im only going to the mountains near Azure Water city and since Wei Leng was hunting there in the past, i shouldn''t face much problems."


    Ye Mo knew the world was far from peaceful. Although he enjoyed a safe environment in the Tiger Martial institute where he could cultivate in peace they were all appearances.


    More than their strenght or their low profile, institutions were affiliated to sects and also used their name as another layer of protection.


    Without this, greedy and ambitious cultivators wouldn''t be able to resist the appeal of their storage or their martial arts and they were bound to fall at some point.


    In the Tiger Martial institute case, they were affiliated to the Raging Saber sect.


    However, even the medium Raging Saber sect had to pay a tribute each year to one of the hegemon of the central lands to prosper.


    It was all a small equilibrium between forces seeking relationships and protection to create this semblance of peace.


    It needed just one link to break for the rest to crumble as well.


    In Azure Water city alone, although on the outside it seemed fine and unassuming travelers would not notice it, underwater it was full of plots, cruelty and war between clans vying for resources.


    "You tell me he attained the 4th layer already?" Hong Li exclaimed in surprise as he looked at elder Chen.


    "Yes i felt it was strange as well when i saw him that''s why i thought i should tell you."


    In the dean quarters, Hong Li pondered for a short time and reached a conclusion.


    "With his rank 2 talent breaking through the 4th layer this fast is very unlikely, he must have used external help."


    "The most plausible are Spirit Qi pills." Hong Li was a powerful Inner Core realm cultivator and the dean for more than twenty years.


    Within a brief moment he was able to dig out the truth.


    The advantages of Spirit Qi pills are clear to all and to push through your cultivation they are the most affordable for a disciple.


    "But to reach this level he must have consumed them massively in a short time, only a fool would do that." Elder Chen said in doubt.


    How could someone be so short-sighted to ruin his future for a momentary surge in his cultivation.


    The impurities of Spirit Qi pills and the danger of cultivating with them was common knowledge for every cultivators.


    Who would still dare swallow them like nothing?


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    "You''re right, moreover i know he never left the institute since he joined us and none of the Encompassing Washing pills have been retrieved from the storage in the meantime."


    "Pursuing a short glory by ruining your prospects are the signs of small men." Hong Li said in disdain.


    Originally he had great expectations for Ye Mo.


    On the arena, he fought like a hellhound and Hong Li was reminded of himself in his youth.


    However the news of his rank 2 talent was a heavy blow and he who already saw himself forging Ye Mo in a valiant hero that would bring honor to his name turned disappointed.


    The higher the aspirations, the harder is the fall.


    Hong Li has been trying to find a good disciple for some time now but in vain. He couldn''t take members of clans or families as they were very loyal to their relatives and wouldn''t completely devote themselves to his teachings.


    Ma Shinfei was also a good match but he was the disciple of the flame grandmaster.


    He wanted someone with good talent and a great battle sense. Someone that wouldn''t accept defeat no matter what and could turn the tides during a fight with both his fists and his brain.


    In the end his hopes were crushed and he could only clench his fists in dismay and consternation.


    "Hmph, he''s just a rank 2 talent afterall, this sort of reaction has been seen many times when youths can''t accept their lack of potential and try by any means to attract our attention. This is the nature of humans to demonstrate their superiority over their peers. Only by proving themselves to others would they feel their life is meaningful."


    "In the end, everyone has clear limits and once he understands the futility of his actions it would be too late."


    Now that Hong Li learned Ye Mo was reckless enough to cultivate through Spirit Qi pills, he completely forsaked him.


    What i thought was a rough gem was finally just a shiny pebble on the riverbank...


    Even if per chance he was able to get his hands on one of the few Encompassing Washing pills transiting in the city, it would only be a dark blue one so he could only use low-tier Spirit Qi pills.


    By now his body should have built up great resistance towards them and by relying on his hard work alone, compared to those who slowly raised their cultivation step by step, he would be no match.


    Hong Li shook his head in pity as he left this matter to one side of his mind.


    ...


    Sitting on his red mat, Ye Mo swallowed a mid-tier Spirit Qi pill as he revolved the Black Vortex cultivation technique.


    "I will cultivate during the day and train with my battle skills at night."


    "My house is isolated from the rest of the disciple district, few members pass by during the day and almost none at night. Coupled with the darkness, i will be able to train my skills without revealing anything."


    Ye Mo wanted to raise his abilities sharply before departing. Although this mission isn''t supposed to be difficult once you fall in danger it''s too late to regret.


    In this world there is no second chances, you can only count on yourself to escape a predicament.


    Ye Mo barely left his seclusion a few days ago that he returned into an intense training regiment.


    The day he would cultivate through the Black Vortex and the assistance of mid-tier Spirit Qi pills and the night he would practice Shadow Walk and Cyclone Kick.


    It was a very dull life and few rare individuals could endure it, especially at this age where they would crave for adventures and making a name for themselves.


    Bearing the solitude, the isolation and the lack of stimulation was extremely difficult particularly when you were the student of an institute. With the status came wealth and power and every once in a while, they would go to the city to make full use of it.


    Bonding with others and romancing beautiful damsels were the way to truly enjoy life for many people.


    However for someone who spent more than half his life all alone, loneliness was already a part of himself.


    Ye Mo witnessed, smuggling, murders and human traffic on a regular basis. Surrrounded by the villainy of humans his heart grew cold long ago.


    What is friendship? Just weaklings banding together to hide their own shortcomings, thinking two hands beat one fist. But in a land where an individual could beat a thousand, only personal strenght mattered.


    What is love? Only cowards who can''t stand solitude. Afraid to end up alone, they would forsake their own objectives for momentary pleasure, losing their rationality and adding another burden to themselves as prolonging their bloodline would become their greatest accomplishment.


    Fame and glory? Merely background noises. Feeling anger or sadness when critiscized and joy or pride when flattered. Only living through others eyes. Those were the most pitiful.


    These are mortal affairs, insignificant, only there to lure the weak willed away from the true path.


    Infinite power, invincibility, this was something worth pursuing!


    Compared to my lofty ambition what is the worth of such allures?


    In front of absolute strenght nothing remains.


    Fighting gods and demons, humans and beasts, overturning heaven and earth, drenching the world in blood!


    No attach, no weaknesses!


    Power above all else!


    A true demon!


    In the dark room, a demonic blaze shone in Ye Mo''s eerie black eyes.


    A month later, Ye Mo stood at the back of his house, in the dead of the night, surrounded by trees.


    The wind blew hard and many leaves continually flew around him before falling on the ground.


    With a movement of his legs, the wind was whipped as after images of his kicks surrounded him.


    At this moment, his feets seemed surreal as they moved at unprecedented speed.


    After an instant he stopped.


    Although brown leaves constantly littered the ground, in a radius of ten feets around him, there was nothing but verdant grass dancing in the wind.


    "The Liu clan martial arts seems to emphasize minimal strenght for maximum speed."


    "With speed come numbers and with numbers come additional damage."


    It was the second one Ye Mo trained in and like Wind Flow, it focused much on speed.


    When the kicks reach you, the leg would have already been retracted and a second wave would follow as fast.


    After two months, in the morning.


    The light rays pierced the sky as the sun could be seen slowly rising on the horizon.


    Ye Mo got up from the red mat as the Black Vortex dissipated in his dantian.


    From his house he could hear quick steps and noisy chatter as he put on his sleeveless brown suit.


    The day for the Tiger Martial institute half-year assessment began!

 I Give Up

    Autumn wind blew in the air and the wild grass was dried yellow.


    At this moment, the Tiger Martial Institute was in turmoil.


    Today was the half-year assesment and everyone could be seen moving in a hurry towards the arena.


    As Ye Mo left his house, he could see the faces of many students moving in packs around him.


    Some were excited, some showed worry, some were in doubt and others expressed calm and serenity that could only stem from pure confidence.


    "I reached the 5th layer of the Qi Gathering realm and i even filled my dantian up to 80%. Too bad i didn''t have enough time to breakthrough the 6th layer, i would feel much more at ease."


    Ye Mo thought to himself as he moved with the rest of the students.


    He wasn''t scared or worrying about anything nor particularly self-assured either but when he plans, he liked that everything went smoothly, and the best way for it to happen is to have the strenght to deal with problems that may arise.


    For two months he cultivated every day only stopping to eat and settle his bowels. Every few days, when his body reached his limits he would rest and fall asleep for some time and restart all over again.


    It was very intense and Ye Mo could hold out only thanks to the medicinal baths and his resilient body.


    When compared to the surrounding students he seemed especially collected, moving at a pace neither too slow nor too fast.


    The constant chatting between the students plunged the institute in an unceasing cacophony.


    However once they reached the arena everyone quieted down.


    On the elevated platform stood Hong Li accompagnied by Han Zhen Jun as usual.


    At the first row of the bleachers sat the instructors while the thousands of students stood on the ground below the battle stages.


    This time it was a private event of the Tiger Martial Institute and only their members participated hence no outsiders were present.


    On the central battle stage, an instructor calmly patiented, his hands folded at his back.


    After a few minutes, when all the students were present he introduced himself.


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    "My name is Han Shan, some of you might already know me, i will be supervising this mid-year examination."


    With a clear voice Han Shan explained how the competition will unfold.


    It was seperated in two parts.


    One for junior students below sixteen and the other for seniors above sixteen.


    The senior students for the majority weren''t able to reach the 8th layer of the Qi Gathering realm before sixteen but decided to stay as members of the institute nonetheless.


    There were also a small part of them who reached the 8th layer and were sent to the Raging Saber Sect but once in place they showcased very poor results and couldn''t adapt to the intense competition, unable to match the other disciples.


    In shame and disappointment, they were sent back to the Tiger Martial Institute.


    In both cases they could stay at the institute but the higher ups didn''t have any expectations for them anymore so beside their cultivation they also had to work and complete missions like standing on guard at the gates or cleaning the training areas after other disciples passage.


    If at some point they were able to breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment realm they would be eligible to become instructors.


    They could either accept the post or leave the institute.


    Now many senior students were above twenty years old, they have been cultivating for years and had much more time to learn martial arts and enjoy the institute ressources, how could they be allowed to fight juniors?


    Institutions were primarily known to enforce fairness.


    Only through fairness could you differentiate the good from the bad, the strong and the weak, the worthy and the waste.


    Hence juniors and seniors would fight separately.


    The juniors would battle from dawn to the afternoon and the seniors from the afternoon up to dusk.


    Apart that, the rules weren''t any different from the last time.


    Junior students drew lots one by one, Ye Mo picked the number 33.


    Soon students rose on the stages and battled each other.


    Ye Mo watched quietly among the crowd, overall the fights were of much better quality compared to the recruitment competition however he couldn''t recognize anyone.


    Fan Yuxiang picked the lot number 14 and fought before Ye Mo. He was the only one he was susceptible to know as they enrolled the same year and he reached the 8th place but Ye Mo was unconscious at that time and didn''t have any impression of him.


    In the end he lost miserably against a girl who enrolled in previous years.


    "Number 33, come onto the stage."


    With the referee''s signal, it was Ye Mo''s turn.


    He leisurely walked the stairs and went on the battle stage.


    On the other side stood a black robed cultivator with a pale face, shoulder lenght black hair and a sword hanging at his waist.


    Around him, an air of arrogance mixed with subtle killing intent could be felt.


    "It''s Li Qiang!"


    "It''s already his turn? Let me see!"


    "I wonder how the Li clan young master will fare this time. Hey, don''t push!"


    "He must have been pretty pissed off to have been eliminated at the 5th place last time, he''s gonna go all out in this tournament."


    Once his name was heard in the arena, many students that were resting and looking somewhere else immediately reacted.


    Some pushed each other, trying to walk to the front and have a good view of the fight while some stood on tiptoes, raising their head to have a look at the scene.


    Obviously they were very excited to see his prowess. Even instructors payed attention, wanting to evaluate his abilities.


    "Who is he facing though?"


    "I don''t know, i never saw this face before."


    "Didn''t the referee say his name is Ye Mo?"


    "Ye Mo... It is the first time i hear it."


    Among the thousands of students, barely anyone knew Ye Mo.


    To start only a small part of them were interested enough to watch the newcomers recruitement tournament, the majority would rather cultivate or deal with other matters. Most of them came only to watch the four young masters and Ma Shinfei.


    His fight with Ha Jun caught people off guard and at start it was discussed sometimes among the students but even that quickly faded.


    Adding the person concerned holed himself at home the whole time and almost never interacted with someone else in six months and inevitably quasi no one remembered him.


    As for Li Qiang, he couldn''t help but smirk as he recognized his opponent.


    "Li Cheng being defeated by you is his own weakness."


    "But that you thought you could shame the Li clan and leave scot free was your own mistake."


    "Today, i will teach you there''s forces you should never offend."


    Li Qiang slowly drew his sword as he stated with malicious intent.


    Li Cheng''s defeat was felt as an humiliation for the Li clan and Li Qiang who witnessed everything was left in anger and frustration which he all reported to Ye Mo.


    Now he finally had the chance to settle the score!


    ????????!


    The bells rang and the fight officially started!


    Ye Mo stood unmoving with a cold expression.


    Li Qiang instead took position as he held his sword above his head.


    Just when he was about to close the distance...


    "I give up."


    At this moment, a soft breeze blew on the Tiger Martial Institute disciples as the arena entered a deep stillness.

 Humans Shackles

    I give up¡­..


    Theses words echoed in the surroundings.


    The crowd was dumbfounded and a deep silence seated in the arena.


    Han Shan beside the battle stage suddenly recovered his spirit and asked, "What did you just say?".


    "I said i admit defeat." Ye Mo repeated emotionless.


    "You do know you will get eliminated from the competition if you surrender right." Han Shan asked, incredulous.


    Ye Mo nodded.


    "Well then... Li Qiang wins."


    After the initial shock, the numerous students present reacted loudly.


    "Hey, how could you give up like that without even trying, if you''re a real man then fight!"


    "Haha, admitting defeat at his first fight before it event started, this guy is born before the concept of shame."


    "If i was his parents, i would kill him then kill myself out of embarassement."


    "You have no guts, even if it''s Li Qiang you should at least exchange a few blows before abandoning!"


    In the bleachers, the instructors turned their gaze away from this upsetting spectacle.


    Was this really a student of our grand Tiger Martial Institute?!


    This was a devastating blow towards one''s reputation.


    In the eyes of the spectators Ye Mo wasn''t seen as a human being anymore.


    Their expressions turned from shock to contempt, disdain and ridicule


    On the platform Han Zhen Jun frowned while Hong Li shook his head in silence.


    Since Ye Mo joined the institute he has been repeatedly disappointed in him and every time he thought it couldn''t go further Ye Mo would manage to surprise him.


    The sunlight shone down on his body, sending a lonely black shadow onto the stage.


    His expression was cold as he quietly walked the stairs but his heart was still like a lake.


    These people were just slaves that followed a strict set of mental rules. Why would he care about their opinion?


    Honor, dignity or integrity, all these chains that blocked their hearing, clouded their vision, in the end they were only deaf, blind puppet manipulated by the righteous path under the guise of so-called ''moral values''.


    Seeing someone unrestrained like Ye Mo, inside they would envy, jealous but they would never accept it. So instead they admonish his conduct, critiscize or mock him.


    Not only these notions made them brainwashed slaves of the righteous path, most of all they were slaves to themselves.


    Loyalty, justice, honesty, all these were shackles humans would willingly bind themselves with.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Restricted in their actions they became leashed to their own sentiments.


    In the end you yourself are your greatest obstacle.


    Others fancied an heroic reputation but what does that have to do with him?


    People yearned for these ideals but Ye Mo sneered at this kind of life.


    These vague concepts were only tools he could use or discard as easily as drinking water.


    However he was still among the righteous path.


    The crowd on his way quickly distanced themselves like they would get infected by his cowardice, opening a path for him.


    Denying their moral values was the same as denying them of course there has to be consequences.


    Through this act he became the black sheep of the pack and would meet with the scorn and the rejection of others.


    Faced with this kind of retribution, ordinary persons would be devastated.


    Spending the rest of their life trying to accomplish heroic deeds to wash their name and erase this dark moment of their past from everyone''s memory.


    However Ye Mo relished in solitude, how could this affect him. Not only would he abhor being friends with these people but in his heart he has always been by himself.


    The path he chose was one of loneliness, he could only walk by himself, there was no place for someone else.


    In the crowd, Ma Shinfei looked at Ye Mo in doubt.


    "I talked with him before, he didn''t look like someone who would fear Li Qiang."


    "Why did he admit defeat?"


    Ye Mo gradually left the arena, the noise from the fights and the cackling of spectators growing faint.


    "Now that i am eliminated, i can leave without attending the rest of the event." Ye Mo immediately went to his house.


    He was a sensible man, he wouldn''t have acted this way without any reason.


    He never planned to participate in this competition in the first place. His goal was the cave of Pure Iridescent Iron from Wei Leng''s map.


    Secondly, he felt the rewards from the assessment were truly lacking especially towards his needs. Beside the gold coins and ordinary pills, the only interesting bit was the entry to the third floor of one of the three tower for the first place.


    But fighting just for this meant passing on the occasion to investigate the cave while people''s attention is diverted. Even if he did so and goes all out for merely one battle skill he had very low chances to obtain the first place.


    It must be known that among the junior students stood Shen Xue. Even before joining the institute, he went undefeated and reached the first place. Now that he digested all his gains, crippled Lao Ting and cultivated inside the pagoda even powerful senior students felt helpless againt him.


    His presence was even considered as a cheat as everyone felt the first place for the junior assessment would go to him without a doubt.


    Thirdly, he would have to reveal his abilities. After the lenght he went through to hide his progress, displaying everything at this time would truly be an irrational move.


    Moreover, Cyclone Kick still had room for improvement and with Shadow Walk in hand, Ye Mo had enough to work with for some time already without adding a high-tier battle skill.


    Eating too fast would only lead to indigestion.


    "The competition will last seven days. The best would be for me to find the cave and retrieve all the iron in this lenght of time."


    Ye Mo put on a broad cloak with a hood bearing a dark earthly tone. The cloak was long reaching his ankles and concealing his body features while when placing the hood on his head, only the lower part of his face was visible.


    When he left through the southern gate, the guards didn''t pay any attention to him.


    If he''s leaving from inside then he''s obviously a member of the Tiger Martial Institute, no intruders would be able to escape the senses of the experts inside.


    Thinking such, the guards would always keep watch over outsiders who tries to enter instead.


    On the roof of buildings near the entrance stood a team of five, three men and two women.


    They all looked in their early twenties beside one man who seemed a bit older.


    He looked over with a portrait on hand depicting a muscular youth with short spiky hair, pitch-black eyes and a cold expression plastered on his face.


    Above the drawing was written the name and the age of the youth.


    Another yawned loudly laying on his back beside him.


    "It''s been 6 months already, we have been posted at this place looking at the faces of everyone going in and out of the institute for nothing."


    "How long do we have to keep going like this, im bored to death here and i haven''t even seen my girl all this time."


    "Shut up Zhan Lie, you have been doing nothing but laying back and complain! She''s not even your girl but just a brothel''s prostitute!"


    The girl at his side erupted furiously. Apparently it wasn''t the first time Liu Zhan Lie has been getting on her nerves grumbling and she had enough.


    They were a team of cultivators sent by the Liu clan to watch over the Tiger Martial Institute gates. By now they had seen the portrait so much his face was etched on their mind and they would dream of it at night.


    "But he has a point." The second girl behind them seemed in thought as she frowned, "During this time we have seen enough students that we could recognize most of them with a glance but there has been no traces of this Ye Mo."


    "I don''t believe such a young kid has been cultivating non-stop the whole time. Could he have died or injured himself?"


    "There''s no need for such questions." The man with the portrait said seriously, still looking at the people wandering below," Our mission is clear. This kid harmed our clan greatly, we must stay here until we spot him or there''s clear news of his death no matter if it last months or years."


    "Other teams have been posted at the other entrances, if he leaves he will definitely be seen and reported back to the clan."


    "Wait boss, there''s someone leaving under a hood i can''t see his face. I can''t sense his Qi either so it''s probably not him..." The third boy looking at people along the man holding the portrait suddenly called out.


    "No exceptions allowed. Zhan Lie since you''re bored get down and go look at his face."


    Liu Zhan Lie sighed before standing up and jumping down as he mumbled disgruntledly.


    He looked around and saw in the crowd of passers-by a cloaked man suddenly turning on his right and going in a narrow path between two buildings.


    Zhan Lie quickly ran behind him but once he entered the path he saw the tip of the cloack turning on the left in the distance.


    "Hey, wait!" Liu Zhan Lie shouted as he hurriedly followed but once he turned left there was only a wall standing a couple meters further and nothing else.


    It was a dead end.


    "Huh? Where did he go?" That''s all Zhan Lie could think of as a hand suddenly perforated his back and left through his chest.


    Ye Mo renewed with this familiar and entrancing feeling as he turned Liu Zhan Lie into a mummified corpse.


    "It has been such a long time since i used the Nine Revolutions Fiend Body technique." Ye Mo clenched his fist as he felt power coursing through his veins, a faint smile on his face.


    After an instant, Ye Mo left while nothing remained in the alley.

 The Rumble in the Jungle

    Ye Mo was pleased.


    Shadow Walk worked as intended. The truth was, during these 2 months most of his time was dedicated to it''s comprehension.


    After all this time of hard work he barely reached the first phase of the battle skill. It was the easiest of the three to learn but Ye Mo was satisfied.


    He knew the Liu clan would certainly wait for him outside.


    With this, his presence was undetectable and even his Qi emanations were hidden, passing for either a powerful expert or a mortal.


    The effect of the first phase was concealment, not invisibility so as long as someone focused his gaze on you, you would be seen.


    But if it''s not the case then approaching someone stealthily would be as easy as breathing.


    That''s what happened to Liu Zhan Lie, once he lost sight of Ye Mo it was already the end for him.


    Turning in the corner Ye Mo just had to jump and hold a cornice, when Liu Zhan Lie passed below he could draw close and deal the death blow efficiently.


    With no aura leakage and silent steps, Liu Zhan Lie didn''t even know who killed him when his heart was crushed and life left his eyes.


    When his teammates started worrying about him Ye Mo was far already.


    Nonetheless, Shadow Walk wasn''t all encompassing. There were all kinds of battle skills for all kinds of situations, if someone used one unabling the user to see through all sorts of cloaking, he would be able to see Ye Mo''s face and cultivation, Shadow Walk or not, hooded or not.


    If a cultivator used an investigative battle skill which detected heat he would easily discover Ye Mo''s position even without sight as well.


    "At best, the first phase can be used as a trump card but it can''t be counted on in a life and death situation."


    This situation also displayed why discretion and acting in secrecy was so important.


    If people knew Ye Mo had Shadow Walk in hand or he revealed his progress in the first phase, the Liu clan assuredly would have sent experts that countered this ability.


    At this point Ye Mo would have no choice but to face the Liu clan ambush head-on or stay inside the institute indefinitely.


    Now he was outside the city already and no one even understood what happenned.


    It was easy to act secretly but hard to move openly!


    The immediate surroundings of Azure Water City were completely barren. There were no trees, flowers or vegetation of any kind, the earth was dry and cracked and only the roads leading to the entrances were even.


    Only after walking for dozens of li would you face wildernesss. This scenery didn''t reflect the wealth of the city, it was just the true nature of the landscape.


    "If what the map show is true, at the south-east there should be many mountains surrounded by a dense jungle. Once at place, if i don''t deviate from the path the fourth mountain i meet should be my destination."


    Ye Mo looked at the map then moved like a furious gale using the Wind Flow battle skill.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Once his Qi was lowered to 30% he would stop and continue steps by steps.


    Dangers lurked everywhere when cultivators journeyed outside. It was vital to always keep a certain amount of Qi in reserve for any unexpected situations that might arise.


    Once their Qi is completely depleted, the strenght of cultivators would hit rock bottom.


    It was different for a body cultivator like Ye Mo but he would still keep a minimum amount of Qi at all time.


    When he reached the jungle, the sun had already completely disappeared into the horizon and the night fell.


    Numerous stars could be vaguely seen in the sky.


    Inwardly, he was surprised.


    Although the jungle wasn''t that far, it still took him half a day to arrive with his speed which means ordinary mortals on a cart would take 2 or 3 days to make it.


    Would Wei Leng go this far for hunting?


    But when he thought about it, it made sense.


    "For mortals, life is very hard. To a hunter, all that matters is the size, the number and the quality of the gains, that''s how they make a living. But if their usual spot isn''t enough to sustain themselves or feed their family anymore it''s not uncommon for them to change place."


    "Traveling two days to hunt might seem a waste but as long as the spot is first-rate and you can catch many more animals than usual then it''s all worth it. Going there once in a while wouldn''t be a problem."


    Ye Mo went in the woods carefully.


    The jungle seemed to continue on and on, touching the shadows of the faraway mountains. Furthermore the depths of the jungle were covered in deep darkness, concealing unknown perils and beasts.


    He could hear screeching noises and the rustling of bushes around him.


    At night, the jungle became more dangerous but Ye Mo kept advancing. He had no choice, time was in essence here.


    The further he went, the quieter the surroundings became to the point he could hear himself breathing.


    Under the cold breeze of the night, steam was released from his mouth with each exhalation.


    After a moment Ye Mo made a step forward when suddenly, the earth was returned and a green giant maw closed itself on him.


    Ye Mo immediately jumped avoiding the needle like teeths by a hair''s breadth as he went in the air but the giant maw left the ground and followed him, the trunk being filled by vine like roots shooting towards him.


    "A flesh devourer sleeping plant!" Ye Mo narrowed his eyes as he recognized the plant he learned about in the library.


    His feets flashed quickly and in an instant dozens of vines were deflected. Taking support from a tree, he shot up again.


    Ye Mo went through the thick foliage of the trees and left the darkness of the jungle to be faced with a sea of stars.


    He could see the jungle extending infinitely and the outline of gigantic mountains in the horizon. The crescent shaped moon offered little luminosity.


    But quickly the sound of snapping branches could be heard as the giant maw soon joined him, it''s mouth opening wide to swallow him.


    Ye Mo flexed the muscles of his arm as he clenched his fist hard.


    One was falling down while the other was ascending.


    When it was close enough, Ye Mo punched out with all his strenght as his fist cleaved down like an axe and connected with the flesh devourer sleeping plant.


    The maw was immediately destroyed and multiple pieces flew down in all directions before the impact traveled all the way down to the trunk which broke down in several parts.


    It fell on the side soaking the earth of sticky green fluid.


    The flesh devourer sleeping plant was a rank 1 mid-tier plant.


    It hides underground at a few centimeters from the surface. At this distance it would feel the slightest of tremor.


    Once a beast passed by, it would immediately sense it and close it''s maw on the prey. If the beast was fast, it would be punctured by the teeths on the edge of the mouth but most of the time they served as bars to prevent them to escape.


    Then it would return in the ground and digest it for 5 to 10 days. They are dangerous if you pass right above them but if you walk around even by just a foot, they wouldn''t attack.


    Ye Mo looked at the corpse for a moment.


    He was very vigilant but was still caught in the trap of the plant.


    At the same time, it''s also because he was this vigilant that he could escape before it closed it''s maw on him.


    Ye Mo picked the pile of rocks he guarded in his pouch. They were the same he used during the recruitment competition of the Tiger Martial Institute. He kept going in a straight line while every few seconds, he would throw a rock in front of him.


    In the surroundings many flesh devourer sleeping plant reacted, swallowing the rock then returning to the earth.


    "Seems like their hunting area." In all, Ye Mo counted 8 of them.


    He was startled once as a rank 1 high tier flesh devourer sleeping plant awakened. It''s humongous maw was twice the size of mid tier ones and broke out many trees as it emerged to swallow this tiny rock before burying itself back underground.


    Fortunately it didn''t attack Ye Mo as he didn''t step on his trap.


    But the further he went, the less frequent they became until he could walk for hundreds of meters without encountering any of them.


    Ye Mo retrieved every rock that weren''t taken by the plants and kept going but at the same time, he couldn''t help but have a strange feeling in his heart about this place.


    "It''s too calm."


    He couldn''t accurately place words on this sensation.


    But he felt there was something unnatural about this jungle.


    He has been walking for a long time but beside the flesh devourer sleeping plants, he only met ordinary animals like snakes, deer or birds.


    Sometimes he would hear the hoots of owls.


    In the sky, the stars shone dimly as the night grew thicker.


    Ye Mo went deeper, bypassed the first mountain and arrived on a hill covered of grass and devoid of trees.


    It gave him a clear view of the top of the trees hiding the path with their leaves all the way to the second mountain which showed it''s peak further away.


    Moving surrounded by trees and separated from the sky could easily be disorienting.


    Ye Mo looked for an instant to make sure he was going the right way then started to go down.


    "Roar!!!" At the next moment, an overwhelming beastly roar filled the jungle.


    In the distance, hundreds of birds flapped their wings hurriedly as they flew away like they were trying to escape a disaster.


    "This..." Ye Mo''s pupils shrank.


    Hundreds of li away, he could see a dark mass surging, towering above the trees of the jungle and marching in his direction.


    Ye Mo''s hairs stood on end and a cold chill invaded him.


    "This is a rank 3 beast!"

 A Spark of Life Amidst Chaos

    Ye Mo''s body trembled.


    "A rank 3 beast has the power to kill Inner Core realm cultivators. This is not something i can go against right now."


    In front of absolute strenght, no tricks, no amount of planning can change anything.


    Facing rank 3 beasts, without talking of him, even if there were a thousand Qi Gathering realm cultivators, it wouldn''t change anything.


    "Go!" Ye Mo turned around and prepared to leave.


    He knew his own limits, being able to ascertain the situation properly and let go when it''s necessary is the number one criteria to roam the world.


    However, to his dismay, he realized he couldn''t take even one step. It was like his nerves lost the connection to his body.


    His Qi froze as well and he couldn''t manipulate it properly.


    All he could feel was an intense bloodlust surrounding him. It was like he was a small bird trapped in the mouth of a crocodile, only able to wait for death as he''s dragged in water depths.


    He looked behind and saw the beast advancing towards him. With each step, dozens of meters would be crossed as it was steadily nearing him.


    "It''s targeting me! If i don''t move now it will kill me." Ye Mo gritted his teeth.


    He struggled but to no avail, he could barely budge.


    "Move."


    Ye Mo sweated profusely and his body shook continually as he slowly raised his arms, the mobility of his fingers returning.


    "Move!"


    With sheer will, he placed his hands on his face as he breathed roughly.


    "Move!!!"


    Through pure survival instinct, Ye Mo ruthlessly clawed at his face. His nails dugged his skin and dark red blood flowed down continuously as his face from under his eyes to the bottom of his chin was ripped apart.


    His flesh was layed naked and in one place you could see a part of the lower bone jaw.


    The pain stimulated him and he finally broke free from his torpor.


    Tap!


    Regaining the control of his body he didn''t waste an instant and tapped on the ground with his foot, darting away surrounded by wind currents.


    His disfigured appearance along with his cold expression made him look extremely tragic.


    Ye Mo was ruthless to his ennemies but even more ruthless to himself!


    Under the pressure of life and death, he took the most direct decision and mangled himself. His face burned him and he was in constant pain but this radical act immediately bore it''s fruits as Ye Mo regained his mobility.


    This was a cruel land full of uncertainty where anyone could meet their demise at any moment. Only by adapting to circumstances could you increase your chances of survival.


    Ye Mo raced with unprecedented speed as the edge of his vision grew blurred. The trees flashed and disappeared in an instant while at the same time the stinging pain of his injuries increased with the pace of his battle skill.


    Bam Bam Bam...


    He could hear the loud steps of the beast pursuing him relentlessly and the ground shaking each time, accentuating the pressure on his shoulders.


    When he shot a glance back he saw an enormous form pressing forward but couldn''t make out the details as the environment was plunged in darkness and the beast stood too far away.


    The trees standing on its way were crushed and fell at the sides in a cloud of smoke and dirt but couldn''t conceal the beast terrifying stature.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    "It is toying with me. A rank 3 beast, even the slowest of them could easily catch up to me but it plays with the food instead, prolonging its pleasure."


    After the initial shock and the paralysis of his body Ye Mo regained his usual disposition as he thought calmly of the situation.


    "I won''t be able to leave the jungle before it catch up to me, even if i could, chances are it will just rush and kill me if i get too close to the border. Shadow Walk is of no use either here, it''s just the first phase of a mid-tier Yellow Class battle skill afterall, although it''s convenient it can''t conceal me from the senses of such a foe."


    He racked his brain thinking of a solution as he considered all his options.


    Beasts were naturally born with a powerful body and would usually require the teamwork of 5 cultivators with skills complementing each other to deal with it safely. However they had one clear weakness that could be used of and that was their lack of wisdom.


    With this, even weaker teams could still use kiting tactics and with good coordination would be able to overcome this danger.


    But the heavens were fair and the same way humans would start frail but gain unbound power through cultivation, the spirit of beasts grew as well with each rank.


    Compared to ordinary blood beasts that mostly reacted by instincts, rank 3 ones could already take the lead of a pack and give simple commands.


    "I heard there is rank 6 beasts with wisdom no less than humans who can easily understand and react to everything we say. There''s even legends about powerful ones that can freely converse with us."


    "Im lucky it''s a solitary beast which doesn''t rule a pack but at the same time it seems like quite the sadistic one. Since i met this rank 3 beast here then maybe. . . There''s no other choices, this is my only chance."


    Ye Mo''s eyes shone with determination. He suddenly made a curve and rather than following his own steps, circled around the first mountain and ran towards the east instead.


    The beast was slowly but surely shortening the distance between them. Originally, they were seperated by dozens of kilometers but now only half remained.


    Now that it was closer Ye Mo could make out an humanoid figure with an imposing aura.


    Still, good things don''t last and soon the beast growled as it started coming faster and faster.


    "Shit! Does it want to finish this already?" Ye Mo felt a pressing urge in his heart.


    He was very fast, crossing great distances in an instant but it was far from enough. At the end of the day Wind Flow was just a low-tier battle skill and couldn''t surpass common sense.


    For Inner Core realm cultivators and rank 3 beasts, it was the same as looking at a toddler making his first steps.


    Moreover, he has been using it extensively by now and only 11% of his Qi remained in his dantian.


    All in all, the end was near.


    12 kilometers, 9 kilometers, 5 kilometers, 2 kilometers!


    The glimmer of expectation in his heart was slowly dying down as he would soon be caught.


    At this instant Ye Mo could see the light appear in the distance.


    But this light grew stronger to the point the forest seemed to be in fire, then it took off and flew high in the sky.


    Among the countless stars, it looked like a miniature sun dispelling the darkness in the surroundings.


    Screeeee!!!


    A powerful bird cry resounded above the forest. Ye Mo felt his entire brain buzzing as the loud cry hurt his eardrums.


    "Another rank 3 beast, as i thought!" Ye Mo was jubilant.


    If there was one rank 3 beast in this place chasing him then there most probably were others somewhere else in the jungle.


    Thinking of this, Ye Mo changed direction and went deeper in the jungle. If he could find another one and led them to fight each other, he could use this chance to escape.


    It was a very risky plan, chances were he wouldn''t find any or would die before it happens but it was his only chance.


    Howl!!!


    The beast howled loudly behind in defiance. The miniature sun illuminated everything below and Ye Mo could finally see what kind of creature chased him all this time as he looked back.


    500 meters back, a great ape was beating its chest loudly. His body was mostly covered in black fur but it couldn''t hide its tough muscles. When standing in its hind legs it was more than 30 meters tall, possesed long arms and a very broad back. As he roared you could see sharp white teeths carved like knifes, the canines being twice the size of the others.


    "Wrathful Black Ape!" Ye Mo recognized the beast immediately.


    Among all the blood beasts, the ape species was recognized as first in terms of raw strenght and had nothing to envy any others in this aspect.


    Ye Mo has read much about them.


    The fire bird swooped down and faced the ape a hundred meters above the jungle. Its whole body was covered in flames. It had small legs indicating it mostly used flight for movement.


    The flames on his head were particularly big and flickered constanly like a towering crown. The beak was very long and straight pointing at the ape as it looked at him furiously.


    This one, Ye Mo didn''t recognize. One week wasn''t enough to learn everything so he mostly focused on the basics, inevitably there would be holes in his knowledge.


    He was standing right between them but they didn''t pay any attention to him, he was just insignificant, how could they distract themselves with this bug when a real threat was in front of them.


    Using this chance Ye Mo activated Shadow Walk.


    Usually these beasts would easily notice him if they really tried even under the effect of the battle skill but now that their attention was entirely directed to their opponent, it was as if they were truly alone.


    They didn''t remark Ye Mo making a beeline getting the further away from them possible.


    After he was far enough to make sure they wouldn''t target him, he canceled Shadow Walk and used his last forces to flee using Wind Flow battle skill as to not be swept in their battle.


    Between life and death, hope and despair, Ye Mo unearthed a part of his potential as he poured every last drop of his Qi in this last run.


    ''How dare he have the gall to intrude my territory!'' The infuriated fire bird raised its head.


    The beak pointed straight towards the sky and right above a smal ball of fire took form.


    At first it was only the size of an adult''s fist but it quickly enlarged until it was comparable to a small hill.


    With a movement of the head, the enormous ball of fire flew towards the ape like a meteor threatening to engulf everything in its path.


    Howl!


    The wrathful black ape jumped high in the sky reaching the level of the ball of fire and smashed it with both his fists together!


    At this moment, time seemed to stop.


    The surrounding sound vanished, and the world was silent.


    Ye Mo who was already pretty far could see the grasses around him rustle in slow-motion.


    A ladybug flying disorderly crashed against the web of a spider.


    A colony of ants returning to their nest in line carrying all kinds of dead insects and small fruits were sent flying by the wind generated from Ye Mo''s speed.


    After that a blinding white light appeared.


    Then...


    BOOM!


    At this instant, every living being in the jungle could sense the ground shaking!


    In an explosion, crushed stones shot out everywhere, the collision created a strong wind pressure that immediately shot out towards all direction.


    Everywhere the wind pressure reached, stones, trees, and plants were all uprooted and moved with it.


    A mushroom cloud floated into the sky before dissipating while smoke and dust whirled around.


    Thankfully the collision happened mid-air as the enormous destructive force instantly formed a six hundred meters huge round crater.


    Small flames burned inside while the surroundings were set ablaze.


    Ye Mo although far was still caught up in the force of the explosion and was sent flying like a shooting star breaking multiple trees before crashing on the mountain''s base several hundred steps away.


    His body slowly detached itself from the mountain''s base and fell on the ground like a leaf as multiple broken rocks dropped down on him.


    Ye Mo slightly opened one of his eyes when a strong nausea hit him and he throwed up a mouthful of blood.


    "I can''t fall unconscious right now or im done for." Intense sleepiness assaulted him as he thought of this.


    His body had innumerable fractures, some organs shattered and the internal bleeding was severe.


    The only way he was still alive was thanks to his resilient body. If he didn''t escape as fast before the explosion he wouldn''t be in one piece anymore.


    Ye Mo forced his eyes to stay open and used his intense will to grab a high tier healing pill from his pouch with a trembling broken hand.


    When the pill mixed with the blood in his mouth went down his throat, he fainted amidst the chaos of a great battle.

 Unveiling the Truth

    Plop plop...


    Small raindrops fell on Ye Mo''s head one after the other at intermittent intervals.


    When he opened his eyes, the centipede wandering on his ruined face quickly scurried away in panic.


    He grunted deeply as he used his hands to support his body with difficulty, the rocks on his back falling on both sides.


    "My injuries are too severe, the healing pill that was usually so effective could only preserve my life while i was unconscious..." Ye Mo could see the blood on his clothes and feel his broken bones with each movements.


    He slowly dragged his wounded body towards a tree, using the trunk as support to seat down leaving a trail of blood mixed with the dry pool he was laying on being washed away by the intensifying rain.


    "I can''t stay here indefinitely, my Qi recovered by half so i must have been out for one day and two nights at least. I have to quickly heal and leave this place."


    Ye Mo popped another healing pill in his mouth and cultivated using the qi absorption of the Nine Revolutions Fiend Body.


    Now that his situation was stabilised the healing pill finally showed a recovery effect, coupled with the qi absorbed in his body, Ye Mo could feel himself slowly recuperate.


    New skin grew out on his face and slowly joined the old creating irregular claw marks all over, although he was still disfigured it was much better than his previous frightening appearance. With time and proper treatment, those scars would disappear as well.


    However the rate of recovery of his body was minor and he would need at least the whole day just to be able to move properly.


    "So it was all a trap... Wei Leng knew there were rank 3 beasts in this jungle and sent me to my death. This story about hunting here or the cave of pure iridescent iron was just bullshit." Ye Mo lamented.


    From Wei Leng''s story, he was a mortal hunting in the jungle when he found the cave, but how could it be possible with rank 3 beasts living in the surroundings when even Ye Mo barely survived?


    It was impossible, just flesh devourer sleeping plant could easily kill a mortal if they attacked.


    Moreover blood beasts were very territorial creatures, once you set a foot on their domain they would immediately attack. That''s what happened to Ye Mo when he was chased by the ape and that''s what happened to the ape when he was confronted by the fire bird.


    "He probably prepared this fake map from the start, in case he was in danger he could use it as a bargaining chip. Not only he would be able to save his life, he would also send his assailant to his death. A flawless plan and i have been played like a fool!" Ye Mo was infuriated.


    When he thought of his current situation, what has transpired became evident. At the time he carefully observed Wei Leng''s expressions, fully listening to his story, waiting for a small loophole to uncover his lies but in the end he didn''t find anything. Now that he realized he has been tricked he was truly enraged!


    But soon he quickly calmed down and returned to his cold disposition. What happened was already fixed in the past there was no use setting his emotions ablaze over it. Better dealing with the situation at hand.


    Ye Mo always had a cold blooded nature but it was even more true since he started cultivating a demonic technique.


    True demonic cultivators always had to cover their tracks and remain hidden, not only were they hunted down by righteous forces, they would also engage in killing among each others for benefits. Being an ennemy of all, you couldn''t survive as an impulsive idiot.


    Big heavy raindrops fell perpetually and the earth quickly turned into mud. Although Ye Mo was sitting under a tree, its foliage couldn''t completely protect him and after some time he was drenched from head to toe.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    But he paid it no mind as he was immersed in his reflexions. From time to time he would swallow another healing pill and continued cultivating.


    As he completely focused on his recovery he also had a lot of time to think.


    He incessantly replayed the story in his head. From the instant he met Wei Leng to the moment he stepped in the jungle until his current position.


    What mistake did i make? What lesson should i learn from this? Did i miss something?


    Ye Mo was indignant.


    He was unwilling!


    If he really was tricked then he won''t allow it to happen again.


    Time passed and scenes flashed in his mind continously, each words spoken resounded in his head.


    Everything turned in his mind again and again.


    And at some point, Ye Mo''s eyes brightened.


    The shadows of doubts were dispelled.


    A flash of understanding!


    At this instant everything became clear.


    "It wasn''t a ploy from Wei Leng. From the start i had a weird feeling because beside the flesh devourer sleeping plants everything i met were ordinary animals and bugs. There were no blood beasts at all. It was because i was in the territory of a rank 3 beasts, from blood beasts to cultivators theses territorial creatures don''t accept anyone in their home. That''s why since i have set a foot in their domain, the ape chased me all the way back to the fire bird terrain."


    "However it still had flesh devourer sleeping plants inside the territory, that''s because as plants they are just seen as a part of the vegetation for the ape and since they live most of the time underground they wouldn''t even be seen in the first place. That''s the same for Wei Leng, as a mortal he was just an ant, insignificant, a part of the nature like the animals living there. Would you go out of your way to kill an ant? There was no reason to do so."


    "But concerning myself, i am a cultivator. I have clear Qi fluctuations that can easily be sensed by rank 3 beasts. In this case, if Wei Leng is an ant, im comparable to a mosquitoe. Although im of no real danger as well i am a bother buzzing around all the time and if i tried, with my battle skills i could still cause him an unpleasant itch. Such an eyesore, it was better to crush immediately once spotted and be done with it."


    "As for flesh devourer sleeping plants, they don''t attack if you don''t walk right above their position, if you know well about these plants then there''s multiple ways to avoid them no matter if you are a mortal or a cultivator. For mortal hunters to come here it means they should roughly know the terrain and their dangers and due to their frail composition they would be much more careful than a cultivator. Not only they would easily know the position of the flesh devorer sleeping plants but there would be no reason to go in their area since the few beasts that pass by would quickly get devored."


    The fact he was in a rank 3 beast territory almost killed him but also saved his life. If there were many blood beasts living in the surroudings he would have been devored while unconscious but here he rest in peace, only bugs approaching him.


    Ye Mo reviewed all the clues he had so far and was sure he touched on the truth.


    Afterall why would Wei Leng create a fake map and trick people in the first place. Those that took part in the Tiger Martial institute recruitment were filled with expectations and were willing to pursue a bright future. They would not think of their death at all.


    Even if they did so, to create such a sheme it would take someone extremely cunning and desperate.


    Does Wei Leng fit this description? Cunning was debatable but desperate? He was part of a good team and had Ren Xue Tu, a powerful 5th layer cultivator from a good family, he had high chances to pass the first phase.


    Once in the tournament the trick with the map held no meaning, he couldn''t just pull it out in front of everyone and ask his opponent to forfeit. Not only the map would be seized but he would still get disqualified.


    Moreover, even if he wasn''t able to join the Tiger Martial institute he had a good cultivation technique that could last him several years


    Ye Mo smirked, "The cave of pure iridescent iron should be real as well then."


    With a peaceful mind he cultivated a day and a night, recuperating to the best of his abilities.


    At the first lights of dawn, Ye Mo rose up.


    The rain has stopped but dark grey clouds lingered sending a morose atmosphere.


    "I am good to go around and use my battle skills but internal injuries remain. I will have to deal with it later or it could impact my cultivation."


    Ye Mo moved towards the site of battle between the two rank 3 beasts.


    When he reached the place, what welcomed him was a scene of devastation. A barren land, the few trees standing were burnt black, no vegetation, broken boulders and small craters littering the ground all around the enormous one created from the explosion back then.


    As he examined the surroundings he found tugs of wet black fur mixed with blood sending a disgusting smell and a curved sharp claw almost half his size.


    He knew the rain did its job as he would certainly have found pools of blood and lingering flames on the area if he came a day earlier.


    "None of them died or there would be clear traces about it but they sustained deep injuries. Ultimately they are rank 3 beasts, rather than giving to their rage fighting to the death they both retreated and went deep in their respective territory showing their superior wisdom over ordinary blood beasts."


    "Yet to retreat they should have been both severely injured, none of them would bother with me at this point even if i intrude their territory. This is the law of the jungle, they have to heal and recover their strenght to be able to defend themselves or they might be killed and have their place taken by another beast."


    Ye Mo concluded in his heart.


    The world was harsh to every living beings, humans and beasts alike.


    He was relieved but at the same time he thought it was a pity. His cultivation of the Nine Revolutions Fiend body has been stagnating for a while now; If he could use it on one of these rank 3 beasts the enormous energy he would garner would immediately make him breakthrough the second revolution.


    The beasts should be in a very bad state, it was a great occasion if only he was stronger.


    "The Nine Revolutions Fiend body is the most effective against humans but it doesn''t matter in this case, there''s such a gap between my current cultivation and these beasts that absorbing their blood would directly propel my body refining technique to a new level!"


    The problem was how achieving such a feat? Ye Mo was only at the 5th layer of the Qi Gathering realm, even if the Wrathful Black Ape or the fire bird were on the brink of death they could still kill him effortlessly.


    Ye Mo started retracing his steps as he kept in thought.


    He could feel there was an opportunity at hand but to grasp it, it was difficult and depended on the person''s resourcefulness.


    "Considering they are severely wounded, it would require at the minimum a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator with good offensive methods to make some damages but i have no ally. What i have instead..."


    The corners of his mouth raised slightly.


    He left the zone of battle and engulfed himself in the woods, his silhouette blending with the shadows as he moved towards Azure Water City with an evil glint in his eyes.

 Hidden Figure in the Crowd

    In Azure Water city, it has been nearly three days since Liu Zhan Lie disappeared.


    It was late afternoon but the temperature was already low and people could be seen moving around in warm clothes announcing the arrival of winter.


    On the roof of a building near one of the gates of the tiger martial institute, Liu Zhan Lie''s original team was joined by another after this incident was notified.


    "Knowing him, he''s probably hiding somewhere enjoying girls and slacking around" The girl he used to quarrel with stated unconcerned.


    She despised Liu Zhan Lie due to his lack of seriousness and worry-free behavior thus she always had a bad relationship with him.


    "Sister Yujia, do you really think its possible? Liu Zhan Lie was born and raised in the Liu clan, he holds our Liu bloodline no matter how low is your esteem of him, he wouldn''t betray us just to play with girls. Moreover he knows well the consequences in doing so and he lacks the means to escape without leaving any traces." Liu Guan Tao rebutted easily, being clear of the possibility of such a thing happening.


    As an experienced leader of the team he knew well the inner workings of the clans. The loyalty of their members wasn''t to be proven anymore.


    The clan was their home, the home of their parents and their grandparents, they take pride in their name and its rise was the source of joy and gratification while its fall would be the cause of intense depression.


    Betrayal of one of their members were very rare occurrences and although Liu Zhan Lie was prompt to complain he would never go as far as abandoning everyone.


    "You''re right brother Tao, obviously something happened to him. It might be the work of the Jian or the Hui clan. These bastards have been harrasing us for some time now. We will relay each other for scouting and investigating Zhan Lie disappearance. I will leave Shanhe with you guys, he''s got a particular battle skill that increase his sight. He can see anything clearly up to three hundred paces. He will be of great help for scouting."


    Liu Hong, the leader of the arriving team said so as a small boy with auburn hair and gentle eyes timidly left his group and joined Liu Guan Tao''s side.


    When Liu Zhan Lie disappearance was notified, the higher-ups of the Liu clan immediately dispatched them to help Liu Guan Tao.


    Since then they have been trying to find what happened but the research progressed slowly. Not only they weren''t clear on the details that caused him to vanish but they couldn''t even pinpoint the exact location where it took place.


    "If it continues like this, we will have to ask the elders to use a blood tracking fly but i can only do it as a last resort. We don''t have many of them left and more importantly, it will be seen as a failure on my part in this case and i will be labeled as incompetent." Liu Hong thought anxious as he left the building to scour the area.


    The Liu clan was a small clan in the city and its ressources were limited, it was especially true at these times where they faced many dangers. To profit from them and increase your cultivation you had to prove your worth and make yourself useful to the clan.


    Liu Hong was directly sent here by the board of elders, he couldn''t bear to return empty-handed.


    The blood tracking fly was a small bug looking like a fly except it had a mouth filled with small sharp fangs and his food was blood. When it swallowed just one drop of yours it could track you down in a radius of ten thousand meters and even if you left further, in case you have been injured and lost some blood in the surroundings it would sense it and go back to the scene to eat everything.


    The Liu clan had a room where they safeguarded a drop of their members blood in case it was needed.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    It was a very efficient method to research someone but blood tracking flies were dangerous and very hard to catch.


    Liu Hong didn''t even know where to start and was like a blind man taking a direction and hoping he would find something.


    Ye Mo''s doing was also suspected in this affair but was quickly dismissed and the main suspects remained the enemy clans.


    There were two reasons for this.


    One they didn''t know Ye Mo learned a concealment battle skill. With shadow walk in hand, he could leave the tiger martial institute without too much trouble.


    Adding it was currently the half-year assessment of the institute so in their mind he was definitely participating. How could anyone pass on the occasion to show their prowess and build a respectable reputation for themselves? With this, they would garner more ressources as well and with a bit of luck they could obtain the backing of an instructor in the future.


    Ye Mo hasn''t been seen once for a whole six months so he wouldn''t leave at this time, he was either fighting or watching the competition unfold.


    Secondly, they didn''t know Ye Mo had the nine revolutions fiend body refining technique and could reduce his victims to nothing.


    Liu Zhan Lie disappearance happened extremely fast and there were no traces left. Such a meticulous and foolproof development was obviously done by experts with clear intentions. Who else could it be beside the other clans?


    It wouldn''t be the first time they scheme against the Liu clan and every method was good to destroy the opposition.


    Although there were two reasons, truthfully it could be reduced to only one.


    Information, or rather the lack of information.


    Ye Mo was wary and lived in secrecy, he only revealed the superficial and concealed the rest deeply. Not much was known about him and when you would learn something, he was hiding much more instead.


    However, clans were in the limelight and lived in Azure water city for a long time. Any minor action would attract others attention and although they had their own foundation and trump cards, a lot was known or could be found easily on the outside.


    "Hello, my name is Liu Yujia, how old are you?"


    "I am Liu Jiali, don''t worry big sister here will protect you!"


    When Liu Hong and the members of his team departed, Liu Shanhe was immediately assaulted from both sides by the girls present.


    Liu Shanhe was easily the youngest here being 11 years old and his cheeks still held some baby fat. The girls couldn''t help but grow fond of him.


    "Its not such a bad thing that this trash Zhan Lie disappeared finally." Seeing this cute little brother joining them, Liu Yujia thought unrestrainedly.


    Liu Guan Tao instead wasn''t happy, because it became evident how serious was the Liu clan''s situation.


    In normal times this kid would have stayed at home studying and developing himself for a few more years before joining a team but in these critical times no one had the choice and even barely qualified youngsters were sent contributing themselves to the clan.


    The Liu clan was hard pressed and the teams sent to watch over for Ye Mo''s potential appearance was already the limits of their capacity.


    It was with a heavy heart that Liu Hao sent Liu Hong and his comrades there and they could only carry this assignment for a limited time.


    The experts of the clan had to defend the territory against their ennemies and none of them could leave their post if it wasn''t an urgency.


    The remaining boy of the group was still scouting diligently when suddenly his eyes expanded fiercely.


    "Here!" He exclaimed loudly as he pointed his finger towards the end of a street dozens of meters further.


    Liu Guan Tao and the others looked ahead and immediately recognized this hooded figure wearing a dark cloak.


    This person could only be seen for a second before he took an intersection behind a building as they lost sight of him.


    Same size, same attire, it couldn''t be a coincidence!


    "We''re capturing him, you go back and alert the elders!" Liu Guan Tao gave his orders.


    The boy spotting nodded and left for the headquarters while the rest went on the chase.


    Liu Guan Tao would have prefered sending Liu Shanhe since he was only a 2nd layer Qi Gathering cultivator while all of them were at the 6th or 7th layer but it just happened his improved sight would help him discern the cloaked man.


    The group went ahead and stopped behind the building.


    "Little Shanhe, do you see him?" Liu Guan Tao asked.


    Liu Shanhe looked around for a few seconds then discerned the cloaked man moving among people in the distance.


    "This way!" he shouted as they started running in the direction indicated, pushing the passersby out of their way.


    A little girl with braided hair joyously played in the middle of the street with a wooden spinning top.


    Her father was just a few steps away buying some fruits from a merchant and didn''t pay attention.


    When Liu Guan Tao''s team passed by, the little girl was taken in Liu Jiali''s run and was sent tumbling away knocking three of her teeths out.


    The father heard her scream and quickly ran out, washing the blood in his crying daughter''s mouth with a handkerchief under panick and repressed rage.


    He was just a mortal, in front of cultivators he couldn''t do anything but bow his head and being more careful.


    They were seen as nothing more than slaves, their life and death held no importance.


    Liu Guan Tao''s team kept chasing but once again, their target vanished among a crowd of people.


    "Shanhe, where is he?" Liu Guan Tao uttered hurriedly.


    "There is too much people around, they block my vision." Liu Shanhe said anxious.


    "I will help out." Liu Guan Tao grabbed him by the back of his shirt and Liu Shanhe was lifted above people''s head.


    With his vision cleared up Liu Shanhe found the hooded figure near the city southern gate engaging himself towards the exterior.


    "Quick, he''s gonna leave the city!" Liu Shanhe yelled out as they picked up the pace.


    Some people purposefully didn''t move out of the way and the group could feel the powerful qi fluctuations emanating from them thus they were sensibly avoided.


    When they arrived at the gate however the hidden person couldn''t be found anywhere. Only clear traces of foots remained on the ground.


    "He''s going towards the mountainous area." Liu Yujia reported looking at the steps orientation.


    "Liu Zhanlie disappeared after i sent him over this person. He undoubtedly has something to do with this, if i capture him and bring him back to the clan, we will be able to get some answers through torture. I will be seen as a hero and the clan will greatly nurture me, at this time breaking through the Foundation Establishment realm and becoming an elder won''t be just a dream!" Liu Guan Tao thought fervently.


    This is with determination that he led the march towards the south.

 Killing From the Shadows

    Rumble rumble...


    The sky was getting darker and lightning filled clouds rumbled periodically, a prelude to the impending storm.


    Four persons stopped in front of the jungle as the youngest was put on the ground.


    Liu Shanhe was 11 years old and didn''t learn a movement oriented battle skill yet so Liu Guan Tao had to carry him all the way.


    At this moment two figures quickly approached the group. One was high in the air jumping back up continuously while the other was on the ground surrounded by wind currents.


    Soon they arrived at Liu Guan Tao''s level.


    "Brother Hong what are you doing here?" Liu Guan Tao asked but he knew the answer already.


    "Brother Tao how could i leave you brave all the dangers by yourself? Once i heard you went ahead to chase after this hooded person i immediately departed with junior Deng to lend a helping hand and left the others to watch out for Ye Mo." Liu Hong explained calmly.


    He seemed perfectly fine while on the contrary Liu Deng was perspiring and took some time to catch his breath.


    Liu Hong used the Skybound Leaping battle skill to catch up with Liu Guan Tao''s team which was of the mid-tier Yellow class while Liu Deng only had the usual Wind Flow battle skill, it was easy to understand who was faster.


    Liu Hong reduced his speed purposefully but Liu Deng still had to go all out to not be left behind.


    "Lending a helping hand? Hmph, you scum just want to reap all the merits for yourself!"


    On the outside, Liu Guan Tao expressed a joyous smile but inside he cursed at this greedy bastard.


    "Let''s hurry and catch this person, the board of elders are already discussing who will go see this through. We should bring him back quickly and not waste their time with an idiot who thinks he can fool the Liu clan."


    Liu Hong said as he engulfed himself in the woods followed by Liu Deng while in his heart he snickered, "How could i leave you get all the benefits when i was the one who was sent to investigate this case?"


    "The elders are reacting quickly already preparing to send a Foundation Establishment realm expert, they really take this matter to heart which means greater rewards if i catch this person first!"


    Liu Guan Tao thought quickly and went forth along his team, regrouping with Liu Hong and Liu Deng.


    During night time the jungle was covered in darkness and the group could barely see the end of their hand.


    Liu Yujia raised her palm and was about to invok a ball of light but she was stopped at the last moment by Liu Guan Tao who muttered, "If you do it here, you will attract blood beasts and we will be in greater danger instead."


    Liu Yujia nodded silently and lowered her hand.


    Ordinarily, this would have been a sensible warning but Liu Guan Tao didn''t know that only ordinary animals lived in this part of the jungle.


    Due to the low visibility and their cautiousness the group advanced slowly and covered little ground as they silently walked for more than an hour.


    Liu Shanhe would look around him nervously and jump out at every little sound. He was too young and lacked experience furthermore his battle skill increased his vision but in this place surrounded by darkness it was completely useless and he felt all the more helpless.


    "Its too dark here, surrounded by the trees how can we orient ourselves without any map and what is this person doing in this jungle in the first place? Honestly i wouldn''t be able to think of a better location if i wanted to hide." Liu Jiali''s rambling resounded in the jungle, making the quietness of the surroundings even more prominent.


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    After an hour walking randomly and sighting nothing, the group grew discouraged and started to ask themselves if they should keep going or turn back.


    Only Liu Hong and Liu Guan Tao were bent on catching this cloaked person, just thinking of the differencial treatment when they would return with the suspect was enough to wash away all their doubts.


    Liu Hong left markings on the ground and the bark of trees on the path as to find their way out if needed.


    At this moment, a shadow surged and a fist was aimed.


    Splash!


    Liu Shanhe felt some droplets splashing on his face.


    "Rain?" He washed it with his hands then looked at his palm but this rain was different, it was dark red in color.


    When he looked at his side, Liu Jiali''s body was reduced to a pulp.


    "Ah!" Liu Shanhe screamed in shock, stumbling back and falling on his butt.


    The shadow left as fast as it came and vanished in the obscurity.


    "We''re under attack!" Liu Guan Tao and Liu Hong heard the splashing sound and both reacted immediately.


    Shouting, one positioned himself on the rear watching out for the slightest of movement while Liu Hong took the front.


    Because it was dark, they focused mainly on their hearing, if someone attacked them he was bound to make some noise.


    Liu Hong and Liu Guan Tao were veterans and without panicking they instinctively displayed all their experience.


    Liu Deng between these two leaders quickly calmed down and clapped with both hands as he closed his eyes.


    Yellow Class mid tier battle skill - Chasing Soundwave!


    From his clapped hands a soundwave was created and traveled quickly in the surroundings. Through it, Liu Deng could locate and identify elements of the environment in a radius of 60 meters.


    "Here!" Liu Deng yelled pointing to his left.


    Liu Yujia reacted and with a movement of her wrist she sent a windblade in this direction.


    The windblade slashed four trees in a straight line and stopped at the 5th leaving a cutting mark on the trunk.


    The trees fell down, their shadows dissipated and the sky became visible increasing the luminosity.


    Behind the second log, the group watched a shirtless teen crouched down slowly standing up.


    The sky roared and lightning fell sporadically, illuminating the surroundings and highlighting the youth''s features.


    He had tanned skin from long exposures to the sun and short spiky hair like each strands wanted to pierce the heavens.


    They had seen his face even more than their mother during the last six months and now he was standing right in front of them.


    The only difference was that his face was covered in strange claw scars like old wounds from a beast''s laceration.


    "Ye Mo!" The group was taken aback not only because he was their assailant but also of what it implied.


    All of them knew he had a concealment battle skill since he just used it to kill Liu Jiali and hid back.


    After that it was easy to piece everything together.


    How he left the institute under their guard and killed Liu Zhan Lie or purposefuly attracted them to this place.


    Liu Hong and Liu Guan Tao looked at him with shining eyes.


    Everyone knew how much the patriarch and his entourage wanted this little demon. If catching the culprit behind Liu Zhan Lie''s disappearance would cause a surge in their reputation, seizing Ye Mo would directly incur favors from Liu Hao and his family.


    They would be nurtured greatly and won''t have to go to the frontlines again. They could focus solely on their cultivation and the ressources needed would be layed in front of them at their call.


    Now if they handed both of them in just one person the rewards would simply be astronomical. They would assuredly live a good life and their name will be left in the history of the clan.


    "You thought you could kill us all after leading us to this jungle but you overestimated your abilities. You didn''t expect we would have a battle skill that countered your concealment right?!" Saying so Liu Guan Tao throwed himself at Ye Mo.


    Using the Black Earth Heavy Palm, his palm turned to a dark brown color and a light brown aura circled around it.


    As the palm neared Ye Mo he felt his body being five times heavier obstructing his movements.


    He was unable to dodge and had no defensive battle skill so instead he chose to use offense against offense.


    Forming a fist with his hand Ye Mo whipped the air putting his mastery of the Stone Breaking Punch to use.


    Bam!


    The palm and the fist connected violently and both fighters were sent moving back.


    Ye Mo retreated two steps while Liu Guan Tao retreated seven steps.


    "He''s stronger than me? How could it be, im at the seventh layer while he''s only at the fifth but even the mid-tier Black Earth Heavy Palm is not enough!?" Liu Guan Tao was incredulous.


    From his shadow, Liu Hong left and attacked Ye Mo drawing a saber out of his spatial pouch.


    If Liu Guan Tao could think of benefits, Liu Hong could as well.


    "I won''t let this chance slip by!" Liu Hong came before Ye Mo and slashed with his blade.


    Mid tier Yellow Class - Demon''s Horn saber art!


    Five sharp red blade lights were sent flying at great speed towards Ye Mo.


    They looked like spiraling horns and held much penetrative force.


    "If i meet this attack head-on my body will be pierced." Thinking so Ye Mo used Cyclone Kick.


    He didn''t directly kick them but slightly tapped their sides with his foot deflecting the blade lights in the surroundings. The blade lights went through the trees and wrecked the earth raising a small cloud of dust.


    Followed by Liu Hong''s attack, Liu Yujia jumped from the rear and rushed at Ye Mo.


    "I will avenge sister Jiali!" Her eyes were spitting fire as she looked at her foe while on her arms multiple bone blades protruded out.


    Ye Mo watched coldly.


    When Liu Yujia was close enough she waved her arms trying to cut his body in pieces but Ye Mo was much faster and avoided the strikes then reached out with his hand.


    "Ah!" Liu Yujia suddenly shrieked.


    Ye Mo''s hand firmly grabbed her chest and for a fraction of second she lost focus. She wasn''t a novice thus her reaction was very brief but Ye Mo expected no less and before she collected herself, he sent his fist with the other hand.


    It must be known that even before Liu Yujia dropped her guard, Ye Mo was already punching. At this distance, if she reacted she was done for but if she didn''t she would still be significantly injured.


    Connecting with the middle of the torso, her chest caved in and she was sent flying head first in a nearby tree.


    With only a cultivation of the 6th layer how could she be Ye Mo''s match in close combat as a body cultivator?


    What occured seemed long but from the first kill till now it actually happened in an instant.


    As a young girl, to be unfazed as someone groped your chest it would require a vast amount of experience and being extremely cold blooded or in another case, someone who was used to be touched this way.


    But Liu Yujia was only 21 years old and although she fought many times, she never met this kind of situation.


    She couldn''t predict such a young boy would be vicious enough to grab her private areas during their confrontation.


    However Ye Mo came here with clear intentions and had his own objectives. The way to attain them never mattered.


    In short, he was unscrupulous in his actions.


    "Shameless scum!" Liu Guan Tao howled fiercely seeing such a despicable act as another of his teammate died in this conflict.


    Lightnings fell casting fleeting shadows across the landscape below followed by the resounding growl of thunder. At last the first drops of rain wet the earth quickly escalating into a torrential symphony.


    Ye Mo kept mum as a ghost facing the remaining Liu clan members.

 The Trap

    Liu Hong and Liu Guan Tao stood immobile looking at Ye Mo in hesitation.


    They planned to make quick work out of him but in a short time, two of their members were out already.


    Six months ago he was still a mortal but now he could fight with their group by himself and hold his ground. If they didn''t witness it themselves they wouldn''t believe it.


    In the world of martial arts, strength stood above all else. Without minding Ye Mo''s questionable ways, the two corpses were clear for anyone to spectate.


    The results were explicit and spoke for themselves about his capabilities.


    Tricks and underhanded blows were a kind of strength as well, only a fool would mind using them when his life is at stake.


    The one who fell for them in the first place are the real loser, in a battle of life and death the smallest mistake was unforgivable.


    Liu Deng nervously stood behind them with his palms raised, a few inchs separating them. He was ready to use the Chasing Soundwave at all time.


    By his side, Liu Shanhe observed the scene with terror in his eyes. These big sisters seemed so dependable saying they would protect him and their cultivation were much higher than his but in a breath of time they were already dead.


    He has seen Ye Mo''s cruel surprise attack against Liu Jiali and his despicable move to kill Liu Yujia, in the blink of an eye lives were taken. This day he truly understood how scary were battles between cultivators.


    In his eyes, Ye Mo was no less than a devil sent by the king of hell to take their lives and he prayed in his heart for Liu Hong and Liu Guan Tao to remain victorious.


    But these two instead were reconsidering their next courses of action.


    "Although we''re four remaining in reality only Liu Hong and i are fighting, Liu Deng and Shanhe can''t help us."


    Previously, he and Liu Hong brimmed with confidence moving forward with assured steps but here he became aware of how truly dangerous Ye Mo was.


    The patriach orders were clear to all members, if there''s a chance you must capture him at all costs and bring him back but if he''s gonna escape and you don''t have the choice then outrightly kill him!


    However now they were only two battling and for either options he knew they would need to risk their lives.


    At the same time if Ye Mo was left alone, his threat would only keep growing at an alarmous rate for the Liu clan.


    Hence the stalemate occuring where no one moved but both sides probed each other.


    Suddenly Ye Mo took a step, his body drifting like a falling petal.


    Both leaders were stunned for an instant before they reacted.


    "Want to leave? Not on my watch."


    "He must be tired, don''t let him escape!"


    Liu Hong and Liu Guan Tao instantly ran after, engaging Ye Mo in a relentless chase.


    Liu Deng was penibly following with Liu Shanhe on his back.


    Originally, Liu Hong and Liu Deng were wary of Ye Mo and unwilling to make the first move but now that they saw him running away, all their apprehensions dissipated as they pursued him like ravenous predators, their mind overcome by all kinds of heated emotions.


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    Running away was an admission of weakness. It was evident he didn''t want to confront them.


    "Wether he lacks qi, injured himself someway or just fear to fight us it doesn''t matter, he won''t get away!" Liu Guan Tao assured himself firmly in his mind.


    Liu Hong roared in laughter, "Turns out you expended all your means to deal with these two. Now that you must face us, you are nothing more than a coward!"


    Ye Mo didn''t react to their words sprinting soundlessly.


    Yet contrary to their expectations, he stopped a few hundred meters further in an inconspicuous area.


    The group following him closely stopped as well.


    "Done running, huh!" Immediately Liu Hong seized the opportunity and jumped towards a tree with unconceivable speed.


    Taking support on the tree, Liu Hong lept again jumping all around Ye Mo like his legs became springs.


    It looked like a bullet bouncing on every surfaces, imprisoning Ye Mo at the center.


    The Skybound Leaping battle skill was one of the best among movement types of the Liu clan and used the moment you stepped on the ground to gather energy and drastically increase your speed.


    But like all battle skills it had its strenghts and weaknesses.


    The first default was that it used jumps to travel but you couldn''t change direction while in the air. If an opponent was able to follow your speed he could target you at this time. The advantage of the battle skill was also its weakness and the user would end up in a vulnerable situation.


    The second was that it needed a clear area to be used effectively or you would just crash into every obstacle on your way. In this case not only would you slow down but you might also hurt yourself.


    "As if it could stop me!" Liu Hong roared in his mind.


    He reminisced a few years ago after a decade of dedication to the clan, he used all the merits he painstakingly gathered to exchange for the Skybound Leaping battle skill.


    He was so happy he used every little free time he had to exert himself in this martial art.


    After months of hard work he became very proficient in the battle skill and would use it daily even for the smallest distances he had to travel.


    This skill was the mirror of all his efforts and as his proficiency increased he also understood its disadvantages.


    But Liu Hong refused to be hindered by such inconvenients.


    He picked all kinds of missions venturing in forests, valleys, hills or near mountains battling against beasts and cultivators.


    Sometimes he won smoothly and sometimes he was wounded but he kept going until he developed a new battle style.


    There was no stronger battle skills, the worth you would get from it depended on the cultivator.


    Humans had unbound wisdom, capable of creating new ways to continually develop themselves.


    What Liu Hong showed currently was all the mastery gained over years through exertion and direct practice of the Skybound Leaping battle skill.


    Liu Hong sneered, "No one has ever survived this technique since i started to grasp it."


    The trees, rocks and the earth before Liu Hong looked like they were crashing into him but he would quickly turn around landing on his feet nimbly then he would push with his legs and propel himself again.


    His speed was very fast even for him and he injured himself many times crashing on rocks and trees in the past before he could master these movements.


    "Im oriented towards offense, it would be too difficult for me to capture him currently. I will just kill him instead and bring his head back, it should be good enough for the elders." Liu Hong thought radiating deep killing intent.


    Ye Mo watched solemnly as he could barely follow Liu Hong''s figure with his eyes.


    "Hmm, its gonna be a bit more complicated than i thought."


    Since his eyes couldn''t help him Ye Mo closed them and focused on his other senses.


    He could feel the wind shooting outwards with each jump, the tremors of the ground under his feet every time Liu Hong stepped on it and he could hear the trees tremble when he used them to land and leap up again.


    "Giving up? Then i will deal with you quickly, you won''t feel anything!" Seeing Ye Mo close his eyes, Liu Hong could feel victory so near.


    He jumped on a tree behind Ye Mo then taking assist on the trunk he flew in his direction at full speed, clenching his hands around the handle of his saber.


    Ye Mo''s figure grew bigger and bigger as Liu Hong prepared to draw a line on his neck with his blade.


    However at this moment Ye Mo retrieved something from his pouch and threw it behind him without turning around.


    In the air a black machete was rotating, the same he used to kill the red leopard in the past and was threatening to cut Liu Hong''s flesh.


    Liu Hong blocked the machete with his saber but lost momentum and Ye Mo using Wind Flow moved out of his trajectory.


    But Liu Hong who was originally flying head first towards Ye Mo, saber in hand was now met with the ground!


    "This!" Liu Hong''s pupils shrank, a bad feeling emerging in his heart.


    He quickly rolled down with his body putting his feet at the front right before landing on the earth.


    As he crashed on the ground Liu Hong lost balance, his body bounced and rolled multiple times on the earth but with a small push of his hands he was back on his feet and sustained only light injuries.


    Ye Mo quickly shortened the distance between them and used the Stone Breaking Punch precisely choosing to hit with a right hook.


    Liu Hong with his current position could only endure the attack and used the flat side of the saber to block, supporting the end of the blade with his left hand.


    Immediately a huge force overflowed like a stream and sent him sliding towards Ye Mo''s left side for multiple meters his feet leaving two deep lines on the ground.


    "Well done surviving till now, you can be proud of yourself. But you lost your chance, this time i will definitel...."


    Liu Hong yelled maliciously, gathering qi in his legs he was ready to shoot up the moment he stopped.


    Yet as he moved back, still bearing the brunt of the attack, a maw the size of an elephant left the depths of the ground and swallowed Liu Hong in the middle of his sentence.


    "A high-tier flesh devourer sleeping plant!" Liu Guan Tao exclaimed dumbfounded a distance away.


    When Liu Hong used his Skybound Leaping battle skill to handle Ye Mo, he stood by Liu Deng and Liu Shanhe''s side. If he was too close, rather than helping, he would only hinder Liu Hong''s movements.


    At the start there were movements coming from the inside of the maw and huge bulges would appear here and there but it quickly ceased. In the meantime the flesh devourer sleeping plant gradually returned inside its nest and used its roots to stir the earth, covering itself once again.


    Liu Guan Tao swallowed loudly.


    "This place is a trap, he led us here because he knew there were flesh devourer sleeping plants. He sent Liu Hong in this direction with his strike because he was aware a high tier one was hiding right there!"


    At this moment Liu Guan Tao understood.


    They weren''t the one to prey on Ye Mo all this time but he was the hunter using himself as bait and laying traps, taking them out one by one.


    Still in shock, he suddenly felt a chill as a pair of cold eyes rested on him.


    "Only three remaining."

 Lets Make a Deal

    Lightning flashes brightened the area intermittently followed by the loud roar of thunder while drops of water like silver needles kept falling continually, the rain not showing any signs of weakening.


    Liu Guan Tao locked eyes with Ye Mo.


    The rain soaked ground under their feet turned into a quagmire of mud, squelching beneath their foots with every steps.


    Liu Guan Tao knew that by himself, he had no chance to capture or kill Ye Mo. Moreover he stood in a very dangerous position, the area was filled with flesh devourer sleeping plants and only his opponent knew their location.


    If he fought in this place only death awaited him.


    In this situation Liu Guan Tao could only think of one way out of this predicament.


    "I must escape!"; Gathering wind currents around him, Liu Guan Tao darted off with no hesitation.


    Nothing is too shameless when it is to survive, if you can''t fight it, run.


    From their earlier confrontation, Liu Guan Tao understood he faced a tough opponent. He might have a chance in a fair fight by using his experience and giving his all to defeat him but this wasn''t such a case.


    It was a life and death battle where his enemy prepared well and had the advantage of the environment.


    Having no chance to win yet resolving to fight till the end was a stupid behavior. Liu Guan Tao was past the age of the hot blooded fervor of youths.


    If he returned to the clan he could report everything he learned here and the scheme that was set in place to the elders. This in itself would be a personal victory and Ye Mo''s defeat.


    "Leader wait for us!" Liu Deng yelled anxiously as he pursued him, activating the Wind Flow battle skill.


    "Please, don''t leave me!" Liu Shanhe wailed as he was left behind, he ran to the best of his abilities trying to follow but it was simply impossible.


    Compared to a movement battle skill, the young Shanhe pushing forward through the strenght of his legs alone was as slow as a snail and his comrades figures moved out of his sight in an instant.


    Ye Mo seeing his targets fleeing immediately used Wind Flow and chased after them.


    In the blink of an eye he arrived behind the desperate Liu Shanhe and with a powerful kick, sent him out of his way.


    His body crashed like a thrown fruit against a large rock after flying for 8 meters.


    This action was executed smoothly and Ye Mo barely lost any speed as he kept going after the Liu clan members, steadily shortening the distance.


    Ye Mo was a body refiner using a high-tier Star class art. Just sprinting with all his might like Shanhe has been doing was enough for him to be nearly on par with someone using a low tier battle skill.


    If he coupled it with Wind Flow then he became much faster than any ordinary cultivator; It would require at least a mid tier battle skill to keep him at bay but Liu Deng and Liu Guan Tao were both respectively an investigative and a defensive specialized cultivator.


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    In terms of movement they learned only the traditional Wind Flow battle skill and were far from matching Ye Mo''s speed.


    For cultivators, their biggest problem was time. Cultivation took time but learning battle skills also took time. An ordinary cultivator at their stage would only have 3 or 4 battle skills at best.


    However theses skills wouldn''t be able to cover all 5 aspects of a combat system which were - Offense, Defense, Movement, Investigation and Healing.


    That''s why for clans and sects, teams were created to take on missions with each members specializing in one aspect.


    Defensive cultivators were meant to withstand the strikes for the rest of the team while investigative cultivators had battle skills unabling them to inspect the environment and locate any dangers in the others stead.


    Movement wasn''t their forte hence Ye Mo was catching up.


    This one kept on the move and could quickly see the back of Liu Deng running away.


    Liu Deng jumped in fright as he saw Ye Mo pressing towards him and took turns left and right around the trees to shake him off in vain.


    "Leave me alone!" When Ye Mo was almost at arm''s reach, Liu Deng lost his nerve and suddenly turned around swinging his fist at him.


    Ye Mo easily blocked it with the palm of his hand. The fist didn''t contain any strenght, it was just Liu Deng''s last attempt to make him back off.


    With a cutting motion of the hand Ye Mo broke Liu Deng''s neck, his head tilting to one side, then departed once again towards the last remaining member of their team.


    Although he couldn''t see Liu Guan Tao he knew exactly in which direction he had to go.


    The jungle was too dense and the visibility too low. Entering for the first time without a map, it was too difficult to orient yourselves. That''s why if you wanted to leave this place you could only retrace your steps all the way to the outside.


    Ye Mo has monitored them from the shadows since they entered the woods and knew the path they took.


    Assuredly, after some time, Ye Mo could distinguish Liu Guan Tao''s figure moving not far away.


    As a 7th layer cultivator he was slightly faster than Liu Deng and the latter delayed Ye Mo making sharp turns to escape him, helping Liu Guan Tao widening the gap between them.


    Yet, both Liu clan members used the same Wind Flow battle skill and Ye Mo shortened the distance much faster than Liu Guan Tao expected.


    Liu Guan Tao cursed under his breath seeing his pursuer. He left his comrades back in hope they could buy him some time but he barely crossed half the distance to the end of the jungle when Ye Mo showed up.


    He recognized he wouldn''t be able to outrun him as Ye Mo caught up and they moved together side by side.


    Liu Guan Tao was anxious but didn''t despair, he was a defensive cultivator afterall, he was confident he could endure Ye Mo''s assault and reach the city in one piece. Only the possibility of flesh devorer sleeping plants overrunning the area burdened his mind.


    Without a warning, Ye Mo raised his arm and punched at full strenght towards Liu Guan Tao.


    "Then fight it is!" Liu Guan Tao gritted his teeth.


    Mid-tier Yellow class battle skill - Lion''s Mane!


    Immediately his hair grew wildly and completely covered his body not leaving one inch out and took a spiky design like a durian.


    The hairs didn''t flutter in the wind and the rain had no effect either, suddenly becoming tough like steel.


    Ye Mo seeing this change halted his fist before it was impaled on the spikes but the latters shot out quickly, cutting his arm at various places.


    Some cut were light but others were deep, blood dripping all over.


    Ye Mo took several steps back and gazed at Liu Guan Tao''s spiky shell.


    "He can''t move?" Ye Mo smiled mockingly, taking his time to swallow an healing pill as he saw his foe immobile and the long spikes retracting back.


    There was no hurry, he could just wait for Liu Guan Tao to lose his Qi then kill him. His defense was outstanding, hinting that it was at least a mid-tier battle skill so it shouldn''t take that long for him to run out.


    After a few breaths, Liu Guan Tao suddenly dispelled Lion''s Mane and ran away using Wind Flow trying to take Ye Mo off guard.


    However Ye Mo immediately charged at him with a Stone Breaking Punch.


    Low-tier Yellow class - Immovable Great Wall!


    Liu Guan Tao willed and from the ground, a wall of brown rocks and earth grew out to 2 meters tall and half a meter thick.


    Ye Mo didn''t stop an instant and punched the wall easily shattering it, the remainder of the force hitting Liu Guan Tao harshly.


    His back smashed against a tree which dented backwards while Liu Guan Tao couldn''t catch his breath for a second.


    Ye Mo didn''t give him any time and roared as he throwed another punch.


    "Accursed bastard!" Liu Guan Tao raged meeting the punch head-on sending a Black Earth Heavy Palm.


    Ye Mo barely retreated from the collision but Liu Guan Tao was sent back against the tree.


    The latter tried to flee again using Wind Flow but he was quickly assaulted by Ye Mo''s Cyclone Kick.


    Liu Guan Tao raised another wall in front of him. He expected it to be shattered like the previous time and he would face the weakened strike himself but to his surprise the wall stood in place.


    Bewildered and unnerved, he took slow careful steps back waiting for any movements from the other side of the wall which never came.


    After a few seconds he jumped from branches to branches on a tree to gain some height and looked over but on the other side of the wall and further away there was nothing.


    Right at this time, Ye Mo''s figure emerged midair behind him and punched savagely.


    Liu Guan Tao at the last moment felt something and without thinking twice used Lion''s Mane however it couldn''t take form properly and before the hairs grew enough, he was fiercely hit in the back.


    His body was hurled like a meteor and crashed on the ground raising a cloud of dust.


    Ye Mo went down and calmly walked towards the crash site.


    When Liu Guan Tao raised his wall previously, rather than breaking it, Ye Mo used its cover to activate Shadow Walk.


    He soundlessly backed off for several meters then used the surrounding trees to stay concealed and circled around Liu Guan Tao until he caught his back.


    As the cloud of dust dissipated, Liu Guan Tao could be seen vomiting blood. Taking notice of Ye Mo approaching, he painfully growled, covering himself with Lion''s Mane.


    Ye Mo took support against a rock and calmly waited, unhurried.


    After some time, a voice came from the inside of the spiky shell.


    "Ye Mo, let''s make a deal."

 Spiritual Sense

    Under the protection of his battle skill, Liu Guan Tao coughed violently, dying his black hair with drops of red.


    Although Lion''s Mane reduced the strenght of Ye Mo''s Stone Breaking Punch, his back was awfully painful and his right leg was broken in the fall.


    "He throws himself at me like i killed his mother and doesn''t give me any chance, with this leg i won''t be able to escape anymore."


    "He''s too abnormal, i thought only his battle skills were powerful because he was a student of the Tiger Martial institute but this cunning scum has outstanding instincts and his tactics aren''t those of a boy his age."


    Ye Mo brought the best out of his battle skills in each situations to overcome his opponent, Liu Guan Tao had no choice but to acknowledge his abilities.


    Resigning himself, he called out "Ye Mo, let''s make a deal."


    "What kind of deal could you offer that would interest me?" Ye Mo laughed lightly, saying halfheartedly.


    Liu Guan Tao swallowed a Qi Rejuvenating pill which helped a cultivator recover his qi faster. Although it couldn''t match the depletion brought by the use of a mid-tier battle skill, he will be able to spend more time under Lion''s Mane.


    He also took an healing pill while still knowing it was too low of a quality to heal his injuries before Lion''s Mane wears off.


    After the Qi Rejuvenating pill began to take effect, Liu Guan Tao started:


    "Listen, i will be honest with you. One of our elders is meant to come deal with you, he might already be on his way as we''re talking. A Qi Gathering cultivator can''t do anything against a Foundation Establishment; Once he finds you, he will bring you back and you will meet a gruesome death."


    "What i propose, if you spare me, i will tell him you escaped and give him wrong directions. I can even say we were attacked by some beasts and mention it as the doings of a certain clan. It will give you plenty time to escape in this vast jungle, he might even abandon the search seeing the size of the forest and directly take me back to the clan. What do you think? I can swear an oath if you don''t believe me."


    "You won''t need to take an oath" Ye Mo stood up, his heart peaceful.


    In the meantime, inside the Liu clan''s conferance hall.


    A group of elders silently sat around a wide egg-shaped table, a solemn and serious atmosphere filling the place.


    Their faces were either indifferent, gloomy or serious.


    "Why have we all been gathered here, members from the Xiong clan could come back cause trouble at the restaurant at any moment." One of the elders charged with guarding a property of the Liu clan said in worry.


    Clan head Liu Hao was sitting on the main seat with a severe gaze, "A few hours ago, the person suspected to have killed one of our members has reappeared in the city. Its presumed he''s an agent from a rival clan and isn''t alone in this ploy. Liu Guan Tao''s team have given chase and has been joined by Liu Hong and another member of his group but this is too important a matter to let any mishap occur and i don''t trust they will be successful in their endeavor if the opponent is really backed up by the clans."


    "An elder must go and get answers, bring the suspect back and assure yourself nothing wrong occurs to the juniors. Who volunteers?"


    The elders gazed at each other for a moment. No one spoke.


    This task looked simple but if a clan was really involved then it was more complicated than it seems. Why risk it when they could stay in a familiar environment where they knew what to expect?


    Most elders were shrewd and wouldn''t throw themselves away in the wolf''s den without thinking it through.


    Abruptly, Liu Han stood up, pushing his seat back in a loud screeching noise, "I will go. I can leave this instant and bring him back even if i have to cut his limbs first!"


    "No." Just as Liu Han finished speaking, Liu Dan sitting next to Liu Hao immediately denied. "You are our disciplinary elder and have too important matters to deal with here. You can''t go."


    At his side, Liu Hao nodded.


    At this moment, all kinds of complicated expressions appeared on the elders faces.


    Bringing Liu Han''s role as a disciplinary elder was just an excuse and everyone here knew it.


    The truth was that Liu Han with his limited talent, only reached the second layer of the Foundation Establishment realm having the weakest cultivation among the elders.


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    In addition, Liu Han has always been short-tempered having little patience making him prone to make wrong decisions in the heat of the situation.


    Liu Dan and Liu Hao just prefered to send someone else.


    "I will go." Someone suddenly said.


    Liu Hao and the others turned towards this elder.


    "If its brother Tian He then im assured." Liu Hao smiled.


    Tian He was a tall gaunt man with light brown hair falling over his shoulders and dark blue eyes, so dark they seemed almost black.


    This elder have a special status in the Liu clan as he was one of the three external elder but also one of the most powerful with his cultivation of the 6th layer Foundation Establishment realm.


    Having been in service for more than twenty years, everyone knew his abilities and he was respected for his strenght and his calm demeanor.


    Another important point was that as an external elder, Tian He didn''t have the Liu clan''s bloodline and although he was trusted, the years wouldn''t change this fact. The clan leader and the others had less misgivings in sending an outsider out compared to a true Liu clan member.


    "Then i will depart immediately."


    With this expert willing to go, the matter was settled.


    Tian He left the Liu clan and quickly reached the gate of the city. By this time, the rain had calmed down but the ground was littered with puddles of water and the sky somber.


    With a small impulsion, Tian He shoot off like a hurricane, his speed easily surpassing Liu Hong when he fought Ye Mo.


    His Charging Whirlwind battle skill, with Skybound Leaping was the best among mid-tier movement types in the Liu clan.


    Adding the great increase in the skill effect due to the powerful qi of a Foundation Establishment realm expert and they weren''t in the same league anymore.


    He was so fast it seemed like he wasn''t touching the ground, his body parallel to the earth and his legs surrounded by a whirlwind.


    In less than 2 hours, Tian He reached the mountain filled jungle.


    Among cultivators, the Foundation Establishment realm was often considered like the true base of cultivation, the Qi Gathering realm being the preparation of the body and soul to reach this base.


    Only after reaching the Foundation Establishment realm could you be considered a full-fledged cultivator and this for one reason.


    Once you reach this level, you are able to project your spirit sense outwards.


    The spiritual sense most commonly called spirit sense when projected outwards rendered the cultivator capable of sensing his surroundings clearly in a certain radius around him.


    The spirit sense also carried the intent of the user and with a deep killing intent you could directly slaughter across space killing weak willed beings and low level creatures, leaving Qi Gathering cultivators often defenceless against them.


    Tian He walked inside and focused, spreading his spirit sense in the surroundings. In a radius of 162 meters around him, he could feel each strand of grass, every small insect and the dancing leaves in the wind as if they were right in front of him.


    In an environment like the jungle where the view was poor and the vegetation dense, the spirit sense was an extremely useful arm.


    "Its strange, there''s very few beasts in these woods and they are only ordinary animals. Could it be the work of Liu Guan Tao and Liu Hong''s team?"


    Without lingering too much, Tian He advanced and after leaving the previous range of his spirit sense, he would use it again to perceive any untold danger.


    The spirit sense was taxing to the mind and after using it for a prolonged period, the cultivator would start feeling headaches and might even faint if persisting. It needed a good mental fortitude and couldn''t be maintained at all time so users would only spread it for an instant before taking it back, lessening the symptoms.


    After walking for nearly three hundred meters, Tian He''s eyes suddenly expanded in shock as he used his spirit sense.


    In a corner a few dozen meters away, a severed head was skewered against a sharp branch.


    Big flies buzzed around and some insects wandered on the surface, biting the flesh; Its features were still discernable however and Tian He knew them too well.


    "Liu Guan Tao!"

 Tian Hes Encounter

    Tian He approached the head.


    Liu Guan Tao had a fearful and shocked expression in death, his eyes opened wide and his mouth hanging open.


    A small spider went in and out of it while maggots and larvaes could be seen wriggling in the wound of his neck and his eyes.


    "The head was left there like a trophy or a warning, the killer wanted to catch my attention. It seems he''s trying to lead me somewhere heheh, he doesn''t know who he''s facing!"


    Tian He inspected the scene but didn''t need much attention, near the head were clear footsteps and drops of blood leading to a direction.


    Following the lead, Tian He wasn''t the least bit afraid. From what he knew, the culprit was either a mortal or at best a Qi Gathering realm cultivator else he wouldn''t need to attract Liu Guan Tao and the others here but could easily slaughter them in the city.


    Of course there was the suspicion of accomplices but Tian He didn''t worry.


    He was one of the best among the Liu clan and Liu Hao being so assertive about sending him wasn''t for nothing.


    Among cultivators, individual strenght primed over the rest. Tian He was strong enough to deal with a group of regular Foundation Establishment experts without too much problem or at worst escape.


    Even if he was faced against a small clan patriarch he was confident he would survive.


    As he advanced, he found the remains of another corpse several hundreds of meters further.


    Tian He didn''t know he was looking at what was left of Liu Jiali''s body. Beside blood, bones and pieces of flesh, only her legs retained their shape.


    He didn''t stop for long and continued while on his way he would meet the corpses of each members displayed on his path one by one until he bypassed the first mountain. Some were partially devored by wolf and other animals when he arrived but he could still recognize most of them, only Liu Hong was missing.


    "What, now?" Tian He wondered unsure in what direction he should go.


    He was deep inside the jungle but the traces stopped abruptly after the last corpse. To have a better view of the surroundings, he climbed to the top of the biggest tree of the area and looked around.


    The environment was filled with green, the thick foliage of the trees covering everything beside the grey rocky mountains towering above the jungle.


    Tian He found he made more than a quarter of the way towards the second mountain.


    He was just about to go down when he noticed something in the distance. Gathering qi in his eyes, Tian He''s vision slightly increased as he looked ahead.


    In more than a kilometer, a small shadow could be seen standing at the peak of the tallest pine tree in the area.


    Under the moonlight and before the clear sky, this dark figure stood out like a spying raven.


    After an instant, the shadow jumped down in the opposite of his position and Tian He lost its sight.


    "There''s no doubt, its him!" Going after the culprit, Tian He didn''t bother to move on land and directly stepped on the top of the surrounding trees using Chasing Whirlwind battle skill, crossing the distance in a short time.


    Reaching the tall pine tree, Tian he jumped down towards the zone the shadow has been seen.


    On the ground he used his spirit sense and could see flattened grasses and broken twigs indicating someone''s passage.


    "You can''t escape me." Smiling Tian He sprinted deftly in a straight line.


    As he pursued the trail a high tier flesh devorer sleeping plant emerged from his position but he was too fast and since he was in movement, he went out of range before the maw could swallow him.


    The plant sensing it missed went after Tian He opening its menacing mouth wide.


    "A plant acting like a tiger? Take this!" Turning around the Liu clan elder sent a palm strike.


    Yellow class high-tier - Rock Splitting Palm!


    The flesh devorer sleeping plant received the full force of the palm, its base was uprooted from the earth and the head was sent flying all around in a multitude of pieces.


    Tian He didn''t look at the outcome but returned to his chase at once. He could see the number of traces growing and becoming clearer as he progressed, showing he was getting closer to his target.


    He moved fast and after a short disance, without noticing, Tian He left the jungle and arrived on a small plain.


    It was very strange in this zone full of tall trees and dense bushes for an area devoid of any to appear.


    At the center of this wide patch of grass was a big pile of leaves, large enough to have a house built upon, and on it layed an enormous black ape on his back seemingly sleeping!


    At this moment Tian He''s heart dropped a beat.


    "A wrathful black ape, what... what is a rank 3 beast doing here?" His back was full of cold sweat as he tried to make a silent step back staying as composed as possible but it was too late as the ape opened its black eye and looked at him with hate.


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    The ape had sensed this intruder long ago but now it even dared show itself in front of him, interrupting its rest?


    Utterly unforgivable!


    Standing up, the beast had one eye missing, a long streaked scar running across the right side of his face from the start of the skull to his ear passing through the eyelid.


    His body was full of half-closed wound, some of them still covered in blood like he had been cut by something extremely sharp.


    However the most attention catching was the gruesome burns on the left side of his body. Extending from his neck all the way to the thigh, completely encompassing his arm and half his torso was but a burned ruin of scars. Slick black flesh is pocked with craters and deep cracks that ooze red and wet while a hint of bone shows on his elbow.


    Tian He saw the miserable appearance of the ape and without hesitation turned around and ran away nonetheless.


    Blood beasts like cultivators had clear ranks of power, a rank 3 beast shouldn''t be trifled with no matter its state, especially with just a Foundation Establishment cultivation.


    The wrathful black ape roared loudly in rage and extended his hand in a grabbing motion.


    Tian He ran away at full speed under Chasing Whirlwind but he was still caught by the hand in an instant and lifted midair.


    As the ape tightened its grasp, Tian He could feel his blood rushing up.


    "You mere beast think you can kill me this easily?!" Tian He shouted in defiance as two waves of steam flew out of his nostrils and swelled up like a balloon taking the shape of a pale blue panther at one side and an hawk at the other.


    The hawk flapped its wings vigorously, flying towards the beast as it tried to claw at his remaining eye.


    In the ape''s perspective, the hawk was no different than a fly and he easily smaked it with his free hand.


    "Boom!"


    The hawk was hit by the palm before promptly exploding.


    Hot air blew all over the place and shook the ape violently, reopening his barely cicatrized injuries and spreading blood on the ground.


    While losing balance, its grasp on Tian He loosened giving him an opening as he used a Rock Splitting Palm to definitely break out of the animal clutches.


    The ape had to take a step back to recover its stability but Tian He was already sprinting away with all his might.


    "It barely budged taking a combination of my Steam Beasts Suicidal battle skill with a Rock Splitting Palm and suffered no damages, only opening past wounds. No way im staying in this hellhole fighting this freaking monster!" Tian He''s thoughts raced as he distanced himself from this mortal ennemy.


    The wrathful black ape looked at Tian He''s back deeply, with a bloodshot eye. The hot air from the explosion awakened the burning pain from his recent injuries enraging him.


    The steamed panther lunged forward in an attempt to bite its neck but before it could approach him the ape hit the air in front of him with a speed that didn''t match its powerful stature.


    The remarkable strenght hiding behind this strike created a brutal gale sending the panther crashing on Tian He''s path cutting his escape route before it exploded making him fly back in tattered clothes.


    This simple action revealed all the ape''s cunningness which was unlike any other blood beast.


    When Tian He raised his head, seeing the black ape marching towards him as the earth tremored, he understood only one of them could leave this place alive.


    "What''s this, how did i land in this situation, i was only chasing after some little runt but where did he go? ....No, I can''t distract myself, im at the greatest hurdle of my life, i can only think on how getting myself out of this predicament if i want to survive."


    "Yet, if i do live i will gain unbound wealth and the opportunities to further my cultivation. The Liu clan would become too small for me by this time, i could even claim it for myself if i ever was interested by such a pitiful organization."


    The body of a rank 3 beast was a great treasure and every part of it were valuable. Many struggling cultivators would dream of getting one in their hands.


    Tian He stood up and took a deep breath, calming his heart as his body suddenly started burning in intense dark blue flames with streaks of gold.


    The blazing fire entirely covered his body, scorching the grass near his feets.


    His clothes were completely burnt as he turned intro a humanoid blue-golden flame with two scarlet pupils hiding beneath the surface!


    Peak-tier Yellow class - Human Starfire battle skill.

 Impermanent Fire Against Inexhaustible Strength

    The human shaped fire ice-cold expression looked at the approaching ape, then flew in the air in a straight line with unprecedented speed, appearing in front of the beast in the bat of an eye.


    An eerie blue fire punch was thrown out connecting with its chest.


    Howl!


    The wrathful black ape growled in pain as he retreated three steps, two more than Tian He''s previous battle skill combination with a single punch!


    The ape grunted from the strike then sweeped the ground before him threatening to smash his opponent with his hand.


    Before it could reach him, Tian He jumped high in the air. The enormous strength from the ape''s hand created a huge gash in the earth, sending grass and soil flying.


    Following his sweep, the wrathful black ape formed a fist and punched in Tian He''s direction still in the air as the wind howled.


    Swoosh!


    Sparks of dark blue flames flashed below Tian He''s feets as he narrowly evaded then flew at the beast side and threw a torrent of fire through his flame like hand.


    The wrathful black ape growled wretchedly as nearly a third of his body was on fire. He threw himself on the ground and rolled multiple times before the intense flames receded but the burning pain and the melting flesh of his arm remained.


    On top of a small hill not too far away, a muscular young boy looked at the clash between Tian He and the beast with rapt attention.


    "So this is what a battle at this level of power looks like...." Ye Mo was very interested.


    He felt he could die just going a bit too close to the nest where the bout ensued.


    Tian He''s movements under this amplification battle skill looked like teleportation from his perspective and the limbs of this heavy, monstrous ape seemingly disappear in a flash when it attacks.


    Before going back to the city after slowly recovering from his injuries, Ye Mo went to the location where the ape emerged to pursue him.


    Searching the nest where it was resting he was finally able to pinpoint its location after 2 hours. It wasn''t that far and at least half of the time was due to Ye Mo being extremely careful to not get too close and anger the beast.


    When Liu Guan Tao''s defensive battle skill wore off, he decapitated him and used his demonic art on the body leaving only the head displayed near the entrance of the jungle.


    He dragged the corpses of his other fallen comrades and used them to lead Tian He towards the ape nest with the shortest route.


    He put a good distance between the corpses to lead him the furthest possible while still making sure they weren''t too far from each other so there were no risks Tian He would lose himself or take another path, spoiling his plan.


    Ye Mo knew of the spiritual sense so he couldn''t get too close to him and if he showed himself from the start, Tian He could easily catch him with his speed.


    That''s why he appeared on the pine tree only when they were already close to the nest and chose to use purposefully left traces he made previously to attract him to the wrathful black ape while he went into hiding.


    Actually, even with this much preparation, a proper Foundation Establishment cultivator would still have been able to catch him when he showed up on the tree.


    At this level, Foundation Establishment cultivators from sects and great clans from the central lands know several peak-tier Yellow class techniques and would already have started dabbling in Star rank battle skills and cultivation arts.


    Most of them could catch up to him in a split second and take him into custody, kill him from the distance or restrict his movements with a battle skill.


    This plan could only work because the Liu clan was a small clan from a mid-sized city of the Mountain Breeze province.


    They had many low and mid-tier Yellow class batlle skills but no peak-tier at all and the number of high-tier ones they had could be counted on the fingers of one hand.


    Using a mid or high-tier battle skill as a Foundation Establishment cultivator was the same as a battle hardened warrior going to war with a small pocket knife, it couldn''t exhibit their true strength.


    Ye Mo used this weakness to assure himself of the success of his plan.


    "Now the only thing i can hope for is for Tian He to have enough battle strengh for them to kill each other."


    The ape stood up furious with a gleam of craftiness in his eyes. He used a backhand strike to attack but Tian He avoided once again using the propulsion of his flames to move away.


    However a powerful wind wave was created following the backhand and Tian He''s flying abilities were disrupted.


    Simultaneously, a giant palm covered the sky, enshrouding Tian He in darkness as it slammed his body on the ground in a thunderous sound.


    A cloud of dust was raised and when it settled down, Ye Mo could see the ape''s hand embedded on the ground, the earth filled with innumerable cracks.


    The power was such that even a mountain boulder would be reduced to smithereens much less Tian He.


    Ye Mo was left disappointed and perplexed, "This ape is very smart just Tian He alone wasn''t enough, with their elder death the Liu clan might close this case and forget about this matter fearful to throw themselves in a suicide mission and increase the death count when they are already in a pressing situation."


    "At worst i will have to reveal my identity, giving out my concealment ability, to draw them out. Their hatred for me should be such that they won''t pass the chance to kill me no matter what."


    Giving out these informations was very detrimental for Ye Mo. Letting the Liu clan learn about his doings and Shadow Walk would give a lead which would turn into many as it was bound to propagate among their members until even outsiders could know of this matter if they tried to investigate him.


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    No one but yourself should be trusted with a secret and if it wasn''t the case then it should be considered as public knowledge.


    Ye Mo needed to go to the cave of pure iridescent iron but the ape blocked his way and was too dangerous. Although it was currently injured, what if it healed on the way back? What if it suddenly decided to attack nonetheless? Wild beasts were unpredictable after all.


    That''s why the best scenario for him was to kill the ape.


    Yet, if he was successful in his endeavor, the benefits would outweight the risks by far and would propel his cultivation by leaps and bounds.


    For strength, what couldn''t he sacrifice? If it was necessary, he would even hand over Nine Revolutions Fiend Body without hesitation!


    All these were only tools, what was truly important was the finality, the process didn''t matter.


    As he was contemplating, Ye Mo''s train of thoughts was cut off by the commotion in the distance.


    In the gap between the wrathful black ape fingers, four trails of flames flew off and converged above the hand, forming Tian He''s mass of flame.


    Without waiting, a ball of concentrated dark blue fire took shape on Tian He''s hand and was thrown out, engulfing the ape in flames.


    Roar!!!


    The beast cried out as it was sent frenetically rolling on the ground a second time.


    In the air Tian He''s scarlet pupils looked at the beast imposingly as it put all its efforts trying to extinguish the fire.


    The Human Starfire battle skill was his ace, his very own trump card!


    It was an exceptional amplification technique that would turn the user''s body into a wild dark fire giving him boundless, untamed power once activated but in return would eat at your lifeforce.


    Under this skill, the cultivator was like a shooting star, shining dazzingly for a short time before dying away.


    Tian He wasn''t originally from Azure Water City, but came from a small village in another province. This village couldn''t provide him with the ressources needed to progress in his cultivation so when he was a young peak Qi Gathering realm cultivator, he left and roamed the central lands, going from region to region and taking a step in other provinces.


    He seeked lucky chances and encounters in the wild that would help him grow stronger throughout his journeys which rarely came, instead he fell in dangerous situations and risked his life many times.


    The greatest was precisely chancing upon this Human Starfire battle skill on the corpse of an unfortunate cultivator.


    Nevertheless, the breath of death stimulated him and with sufficient talent he was able to breakthrough the barrier separating the Qi Gathering realm from the Foundation Establishment.


    Still, after decades he grew aged and tired, his old dream of becoming a self made powerful cultivator who would leave the Blazing Sun Continent in awe turned into fading grey smoke as he progressively looked for peace and stability, contented with the post of an external elder.


    He tried several clans in multiple cities before arriving to Azure Water City but they all rejected him, either his cultivation was insufficient or they didn''t want an outsider but in fact many wanted him to let them learn the Human Starfire technique which was out of question.


    Actually, when he came to Azure Water City, the Liu clan was far from his first choice but in the end it was the only one that didn''t require him to hand over his battle skill.


    Human Starfire was his lifework, his best achievement from a life spent outside vying for occasions to develop himself, how could he give it to anyone.


    Moreover, this battle skill gave a seamless pressure to others as he could still use it to get out of dire situations if it was ever required making those having thoughts of harming him reluctant to put them in action.


    However if everyone could use it as well, what advantage would remain for him?


    It was the only thing that kept the other elders and even Liu Hao at bay, the view of a peak tier Yellow class battle skill enough to drive them mad with greed.


    It was simply a life saving skill to use as a last resort when nothing else worked.


    The explosive surge in strength Tian He experienced was exhilarating and made him confident he could fight even a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator right now but at the same time he gradually felt a sense of weakness like he was a frail old man maneuvering an invincible killing machine.


    He knew it was probably due to his lifespan continually reducing at an alarming rate but he had no way to see the changes with his body covered in blue golden flames.


    He seldom used this battle skill in the past and it ended with the ennemy being killed in a flash so the reduction of his lifeforce was negligible. Never before did he deploy its strenght so extensively.


    Tian He was about to attack once again when the ape looked at him under the flames and quickly reacted, ignoring the pain. Spreading his arms wide, he clapped his hands together in one swift movement, blasting the air and sending his opponent uncontrollably flying away.


    When he was able to stop himself and charge back, the ape had just finished putting the flames away.


    His appearance was gruesome but its vitality was extraordinary and although its imposing aura cleary diminished, it was still ready to fight. Unfortunately, the blood loss from the cutting injury the beast originally had was cut short as Tian He''s fire cauterized its wounds.


    The wrathful black ape roared furiously, the cry resounding in the jungle.


    The remaining fur he had on his body was all stiff and upraised showing its murderous mood.


    In the distance, Ye Mo could feel this battle was coming to an end.

 Erupting Dark Fire

    In the nest of the wrathful black ape, the first rays of morning illuminated the gloomy forest as a beast and a human shaped fire faced each other.


    The ape breathed heavily as it glared in rage at Tian He before it jumped.


    The strenght of its legs was vast to the point it flew up and reached more than a hundred meters high with a single leap before it looked down.


    Its large shadow covered the area like an impending doom as it sent a palm strike downwards with all the strenght it could muster.


    Instantly, an incredible wind pressure of multiple tons fell on Tian He and the latter who was levitating in the sky was immediately hammered on the ground.


    The force was such that he couldn''t even lift one finger and the earth all around him sank to several dozen centimeters down creating a round area with a mass of fire immobile at its center.


    The flames were completely pinned to the ground and spread around to the point where they couldn''t be released in any way. If they were natural flames they would have been extinguished in an instant.


    The monstrous ape fell next to Tian He while the pressure was still lasting for a few seconds after his strike but he seemed unconcerned by it as he easily picked him up from the crater.


    Tian He was grabbed and lifted from the ground and as he layed in the ape''s hand, the latter opened its mouth wide.


    The beast had seen how he could survive even after being crushed by his palm but munched by his teeths and swallowed in his stomach there was nowhere to escape.


    It was a very simplistic reasoning from the beast but highly effective as well.


    The fire around Tian He''s head flickered weakly before revealing parts of his face.


    Behind them remained only an hollow shell of the robust middle-aged man Tian He was. His forehead and the outlines of his eyes were full of wrinkles, his skin shriveled and filled with dark aging spots.


    His skull was bald and his eyebrows pale white, he looked frail and emaciated. In this state, even if he returned to Azure Water City, no one would recognize him.


    As he was nearing the ape''s maw, he tilted his head backwards and looked at the sky however he couldn''t see anything, his cloudy white eyes a sign of his blindness.


    "I have fought blood beasts for so long in my youth, who knew i would end up dying to one of them." Tian He thought to himself in sorrow.


    "Now that i think about it, being a clan''s elder was trivial. I seeked peace under their shelter but i still had to fight for them while my cultivation barely increased all this time."


    "Trying to become a hero renowned in the continent was also futile. Why would i need to impress others, do i owe them anything?"


    Tian He lamented. He was at the end of his lifespan, even if he survived he didn''t have much time left.


    Now that he reminisced his life before death''s door, he was full of regrets.


    What if i didn''t give up to join a clan but kept pushing myself instead, would i have broken through my limits?!


    If i persevered in the wild maybe my chance would finally have turned making me able to see the scenery in the eyes of an Inner Core Realm expert and more!


    During his last breathes, Tian He''s view changed and he felt if he could restart from zero, he would do things much differently.


    However once you pass away this is the end, there''s no second chance.


    This was the reality of a violent world, life was fleeting and anyone could die at any moment, leaving their last wishes behind.


    "In any case, if im dying im taking you with me!" Suddenly a burst of hatred emerged in his heart against his killer.


    Tian He''s skin cracked open, revealing bright blue streaks like veins in various parts of his face.


    His eyes became completely dark blue in color, both sending an intense blue light forward like torches.


    BOOM!


    The next instant, Tian He fully ignited his remaining lifeforce and chose to self-explode!


    The eruption of flames engulfed the wrathful black ape which cried loudly in agony but everything was covered by the sound of the explosion.


    The impact wasn''t as wide as the one from the confrontation between the ape and the firebird but much more concentrated creating a pillar of flames rising in the sky.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    From his position, Ye Mo''s hair and pants fluttered wildly from the shockwave as he could feel an extreme wave of heat assaulting him speaking for itself of the force of the explosion at the core area.


    Inside the pillar of flames, an enormous mass of fire flew out and crossed the whole nest before crashing in the jungle several hundreds of meters away.


    Seeing this scene Ye Mo waited for the heatwave to slightly reduce before he went down the hill and immediately set out.


    He treaded carefully in the jungle as he neared the location where the ape crashed down and weighed in his heart, "This moment will decide the success or failure of my plan. If its dead i will be the biggest winner here but if its alive, not only i won''t gain anything, i will be in danger myself."


    The closer he got to the destination the slower he moved.


    After a few minutes Ye Mo was close enough to see the ape in between trees laying face against the ground .


    The beast was covered in mud and soil due to the violence of its fall which helped extinguish most of the flames on its body.


    Currently only a few of them were still burning on his limbs or his back.


    Ye Mo stood in place stealthily observing the wrathful black ape but he only watched a few seconds before its enormous palm twitched and it rose up.


    "Its alive, damn monster is immortal!" Ye Mo immediately turned around and ran away as he thought in shock.


    Yet he didn''t move far when he heard a ''thud'' behind like something heavy falling.


    When he looked back and made sure nothing chased him, he returned near the ape''s position even more cautiously than last time.


    There he saw the ape only made three steps before it collapsed on the ground.


    This time it was laying on the back so Ye Mo could see the severity of its injuries.


    There was no flesh on its flank revealing a charcoal black ribcage, the organs inside weren''t in much better state, either turned into carbonized meat or just missing, probably completely burnt down by the flames.


    The right arm which was holding Tian He ended at the elbow in a mess of destroyed flesh and uneven broken bone, the rest was exterminated by the explosion. It was half as large as the left arm, thinned by the fire as well.


    The worst was its head, a major part of it was only a dark cracked skull with broken teeths and an hollow orbit.


    Ye Mo still patiented for several minutes and when no movements were made from the beast, he walked forward.


    Being reckless was risky but there were no detriments in being careful.


    When he was close enough, he examined the body. No breathing and the heart wasn''t beating, it was definitely dead!


    Ye Mo sighed deeply, relieved.


    He felt these last days he had been treading on thin ice, manipulating the Liu clan from one side and monitoring the wrathful black ape from the other, one wrong step and he could die.


    Now he could finally see the results of his labor.


    But he didn''t ease up yet and placed his hand on the beast''s corpse, activating the Nine Revolutions Fiend Body art.


    The corpse''s mass could be seen gradually shrinking and what remained of its skin, turning into a shriveled grey color.


    While the ape visibly thinned down, something extremely hard fell down from its insides and rolled down.


    Ye Mo''s gaze shone brightly as he picked it up. It was a dark red sphere the size of a grown man''s head.


    The ape''s body was in a gruesome state but the sphere was completely intact showing it couldn''t be damaged through ordinary means.


    "The ape''s blood core, the stronger the beast is the more chances there is for a blood core to have been formed in their body. A rank 3 beast would almost always have one."


    Ye Mo was slightly excited as he stored the sphere in his pouch then resumed his absorption of the corpse''s blood.


    Usually it would take him a breathe of time to reduce a human''s body to nothing but due to the sheer size of the ape, he needed half a minute for the bones to crumble into dust.


    Slowly, a profound stream of energy filled his body with a bloating sensation.


    Ye Mo smiled joyously as he felt he met the conditions to breakthrough the second revolution!

 Humanity Has Never Lacked Geniuses

    Ye Mo left after he was done with the ape as only dead skin and small tugs of fur remained in the place.


    If any other cultivators had seen how the corpse was treated they would probably cry miserably or faint right away.


    "Too bad Tian He exploded, with his cultivation and since he is a human, i would probably have progressed as much in the Nine Revolutions Fiend Body cultivation by absorbing him than i did with the ape."


    "Well, things went well nonetheless, im satisfied as it is."


    Originally, Ye Mo expected the elder coming to use the deep wounds the ape already had and the huge blood loss from the multiple cuts on his body which would increase with their fight for the beast to succumb to its injuries even though the cultivator would probably die first.


    If its body was still in one piece in the end and the wrathful black ape died he could have absorbed both of them getting amazing benefits for himself.


    However he couldn''t predict the one sent would have such a flame technique like the Human Starfire battle skill that would prevent any blood loss.


    As the saying goes, men propose and god dispose.


    Ye Mo could only go with the flow but as long as the ape was killed he was still benefiting greatly.


    With wind flow battle skill he ran accross the jungle quickly distancing himself from the ravaged nest.


    He had to find a good place to breakthrough the second revolution but he could not return to the city as it was too far and he wanted to increase his strength before going back.


    With greater strength comes better safety and a wider range of solutions when facing a problem that''s why the sooner he could breakthrough the better.


    Ye Mo stopped in front of a medium sized mound, in the middle was a small tunnel just enough for a man to crawl inside.


    He went in after he conscientiously put branches and leaves to cover the entrance behind him and proceeded forward for several meters until he reached a den, the ceiling was low, only enough for him to sit at best but it was long enough for Ye Mo to lay down.


    All this was arranged in advance revealing his multiple layers of preparation. Ye Mo was meticulous and although it was done in a hurry, it only served as a place where he could breakthrough safely and in this aspect he didn''t need more comfort.


    The comfort wouldn''t mean anything in front of the pain he prepared himself to receive. This kind of suffering you would go through during each revolution wasn''t something you could get used to no matter how many times you endured it so Ye Mo had to steel his mind and meditate for some time before he layed down on the ground and started spreading all the energy absorbed from the ape''s corpse.


    He knew the pain would paralyze him anyway and even if he wanted to sit, he would end up collapsed on the ground like last time.


    The process began as large red veins appeared all over his body before blood started slowly ooze from his skin.


    He first felt a little hot before an intense burst of pain immediately attacked him.


    This hell restarted all over again as his bones broke and his muscles ripped and healed in a repeated cycle.


    After some time it was the turn of his organs to shatter one by one before they would be reconstructed again.


    Ye Mo looked at the ceiling but the place didn''t have lighting of any kind for him to see anything but darkness moreover his eyes were filled with blood.


    He didn''t know why but going through the Nine Revolutions Fiend Body breakthrough would always send him in a deep contemplative state. Maybe it was to avoid thinking of the pain but it was impossible or perhaps it was to make time pass faster.


    "I obtained the blood core of the wrathful black ape, a genuine rank 3 blood beast. Blood cores are the congregation of the beast cultivation into a tangible object, some says its an organ that they grow when they are strong enough to help them becoming even more powerful or just their own version of the human''s dantian."


    "The blood core would become their source of strength, exhibiting their potential and the foundation to attain new heights growing ever stronger."


    Ye Mo reviewed everything he knew on the subject as he withstanded the pain, suffering in silence.


    The agony was insufferable but he gritted his teeth and forced himself to keep thinking extensively relying on his iron will to remain sane.


    "Towards blood core, they can be employed in many aspects, some can forge them along their spiritual tool to enhance their abilities or use them to create various pills, that''s why they are very much sought for and can be sold for a good price no matter its rank."


    "But i don''t want to use mine in this kind of things, after all there''s another method. The blood core of beasts is full of a baleful, wild qi which is very harmful to humans. In small quantity, assimilating this qi would work as a poison but in huge quantities it would directly lead to their doom."


    "However with the help of an alchemist, this baleful qi can be refined. Few would choose this option in general because it would require the alchemist to use his fire to burn the harmful energy and refine it in a mild qi that could be absorbed but doing so would reduce the qi inside the blood core by a huge margin leaving an unsatisfactory amount for cultivators."


    This kind of action was something even clans and sects mostly refused to indulge themselves in to nurture prospects as it was too wasteful


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Cultivators when they hunted beasts for their blood core would always go for those at their own level at best or it would be too dangerous, almost suicidal. So for a cultivator at the 5th layer of the Qi Gathering realm like Ye Mo, they would only attack mid-tier rank 1 blood beasts at most, but these beasts had low chances of having a blood core and even if one was found, after refining its energy there would be only an inconsequential amount remaining that wouldn''t make the cultivator progress much in his cultivation.


    Taking into account the cost for the alchemist to refine it and then not only the cultivator wasn''t benefiting, he was actually losing ressources in this endeavor. Its still the same for stronger cultivators, even if an Inner Core realm expert would risk his life hunting rank 3 blood beasts and obtain their blood core with more ease, he would need much more energy than a Qi Gathering realm cultivator to progress and the cost to refine a rank 3 blood core grow as well leaving this option detrimental nonetheless.


    "But i am only a Qi Gathering realm cultivator, if i made an alchemist refine this rank 3 blood core for me, the qi remaining inside would be simply enormous for a martial artists such as myself. This kind of refined blood core would assist my cultivation better than any spirit qi pills, capable of surpassing the speed of a rank 5 talent easily."


    "Yet i don''t have an alchemist to help me currently and showing a rank 3 blood core to a stranger with my present self wouldn''t even leave me with an intact corpse. Moreover it would be a big waste to use it at the Qi Gathering realm, with my rank 2 talent and what i have at disposition i should be able to attain the Foundation Establishment realm without too much problem, this matter will have to wait until then."


    Another point was that Ye Mo didn''t know how much exactly would cost the refinement of a rank 3 blood core, all he knew was that it was probably ''too much''.


    Ye Mo''s limbs tore themselves at various angle and his heart pulsated weakly as his mind drifted to different subjects.


    "To reach the peak of cultivation, its truly not easy. How many tried in the span of history, hundreds of billions, no, probably more."


    "Humanity has never lacked geniuses and there has been many legends circulating about them in the Blazing Sun continent. There were some that stood above any others in their time like the Great Beast King. Three million years ago this man pushed body cultivation even beyond what was thought possible at the time and dominated everyone. He could endure any attacks directly with his body and could rip anyone to shreds with his bare hands just like a beast as his name was given to him."


    "One million eight hundred years ago the Smiling Phantom was the greatest assassin in the world. He was untouchable, wandering the earth freely. When he wanted to hide, no one could find him and if you became his target then you were walking your last steps without knowing. He killed the greatest experts and insignificant cultivators alike. During his life hundreds of thousands of deaths all over the lands were accounted to him without ever being able to prove its veracity. Even to this day, stories about the Smiling Phantom coming to takes you are told to children who behave badly."


    "Nine hundred thousand years ago, the Butterfly Witch was the best poison user ever seen, able to plague a whole province in a dark fog slaughtering its inhabitants without any difficulty. She created the Spirit Fairy sect in the southern lands which is still thriving to this day. The members of established organizations who opposed the creation of her sect were all found dead without exception in a span of hours, their corpses, a dark pile of putrid flesh. Fortunately she turned to the righteous faction after founding her sect and didn''t kill without reasons."


    Towards theses experts who left everyone in fear and reverence, Ye Mo could''t help but feel admiration.


    "All those are exceptional individuals that left their mark on the world. However, even they couldn''t reach the strength i seek. To attain it i must separate myself from other living beings, becoming a different entity altogether, completely driven by my goal only. Women shan''t affect me, fortune won''t tempt me, reputation can''t stop me! Humans and beasts, grasses and sand, heaven and earth, everything shall be used to make a step forward. This is the bare minimum for i, a minor character, to even dare dream."


    Ye Mo persevered as he thought clearly, his pained face was pale and his brows frowning deeply, enduring his torment.


    He was young but he knew for long what meaning to give to his life.


    Even if he fail miserably there will be no regrets, as long as he did everything he could, trying his best at all time then what is there to feel sorry about? It just meant he wasn''t fated to accomplish his dream.


    But since he was born in this world wouldn''t it be a waste if he didn''t aim to stand above all existances?


    The moon looked like a silver plate hanging in the sky.


    On the earth the mound suddenly exploded sending its remains flying in the surroundings.


    The figure of a shirtless young man slowly came into being in the cluster of dust and dirt.


    His body was stained with mud when all of a sudden he started spinning at high speed creating a faint gale around him.


    After a short time he stopped, his skin mostly clean, his body brimmed with strength and his pitch black eyes looked ahead.


    The second revolution was completed!

 Scouting

    The jungle was boundless, and Ye Mo moved through it with outstanding speed.


    He was fast enough to be comparable to a mid-tier Yellow class battle skill at present and the most amazing was that more than half was due to his physical abilities rather than wind flow battle skill.


    The sunlight permeated through the huge and tall woods, shining and creating a ground of mottled and fragmentary tree shadows.


    The green grass beside his feet was like a mattress, and the wild flowers bloomed with bright colours.


    His ears picked up the sound of birds chirping, or the buzzing of various insects.


    "I have been away for five days already, i can only forget about the cave of pure iridescent iron for now and find an opportunity to return at a later time." Ye Mo took the decision to cast aside the cave for the time being.


    He struggled so much before he could reach the second mountain and his life was at risk more than once. Who knew what awaited him further?


    Circumstances were stronger than men, if he persisted in trying to reach the cave not only he would not be able to return before the end of the tiger martial institute''s competition but he might not necessarily find it.


    Yet internally he was happy.


    The breakthrough of the Nine Revolutions Fiend Body healed all the internal injuries his body sustained from his confrontation with the wrathful black ape as he has been concerned about losing all the gold coins remaining from the recruitment tournament for a treatment.


    Now not only his injuries were healed but he has never felt better in his life.


    Although the initial goal wasn''t reached, he still benefited greatly from his venture outside.


    However he still canceled the wind flow battle skill and moved by foot instead, deciding to conserve his qi.


    After twenty minutes Ye Mo reached the base of the second mountain.


    Although he didn''t have enough time to reach the cave, extract the iron, and return, he still intended to do some scouting to prepare for the next time he would attempt it and make sure there would not be any bad surprises like previously.


    On Wei Leng''s map, starting at the second mountain appeared all kinds of markings like red crosses, red circles and green highlighted routes.


    Ye Mo spent the day moving around, at first he proceeded in an unmarked area in the map but was attacked several times by various blood beasts like a small group of white eye lycans, a crying desolate bat or three-tailed monkeys.


    Although they were rank 1 beasts they were all very dangerous to a Qi Gathering realm cultivator and Ye Mo chose to escape each time, resorting to shadow walk in many occasions.


    After that he approached one of the red crosses with his stealth abilities.


    There he saw in the distance an armored scorpion, a genuine rank 2 blood beast! Because Ye Mo was pretty far away and hiding behind a tree under shadow walk, the armored scorpion didn''t notice him and gradually moved away.


    When the armored scorpion couldn''t be seen anymore, Ye Mo quickly distanced himself from the red cross and neared one of the red circle.


    Wether it is a rank 2 or 3 beast, for Ye Mo it made no difference. He could either escape or die.


    When he got close he met a rank 1 high tier frenzy charging boar, it was as large as a calf and as Ye Mo saw the beast, it noticed him as well.


    The boar immediately rushed towards him, threathening to impale him with its tusks. Ye Mo grabbed the tusks and firmly pressed the ground with his feets, gradually stopping the boar charge but while they fought two other boars appeared and Ye Mo definity took a run for his life.


    He had to flee for more than an hour to finally lose them.


    Afterwards he got close to the red circle once again but from another direction this time, trying to understand their meaning for himself.


    Under the shadow of the trees, Ye Mo''s gaze moved as he slowly progressed towards the center until he froze.


    Near half a kilometer away, on a hill and its surroundings was a pack of several hundreds frenzy lightning boars from rank 1 mid to peak tier level.


    On its top was a boar more than thrice the size of the others with grey fur and multiple scars on its body eating the corpse of a wild deer by itself.


    The leader of the pack, Rank 2 iron charging boar!


    His purpose completed, Ye Mo immediately left the most silently possible.


    When he was far enough, he breathed out a sigh of relief and went on the green highlighted route instead.


    Marching there was relatively peaceful, beside a few ordinary beasts or insects that would come your way, there was nothing truly threatening to someone well prepared.


    As the sunset neared, Ye Mo resumed his findings.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "The green routes are safe to move on while the red crosses have rank 2 beasts and the red circles are a nest regrouping a pack of blood beasts. Where there''s no markings is full of various rank 1 blood beasts wandering around. This seems feasible."


    If Ye Mo used the the green routes he should be able to reach the third mountain without too much trouble.


    Recalling his goal was the cave on the fourth mountain, he wouldn''t be too far from his destination after that.


    There were also black skulls on the map, Ye Mo chose to not go there as its pretty evident this is an extremely dangerous place. From what he saw, if its not a rank 3 beast then they can only mean one thing.


    "A pack of rank 2 blood beasts!"


    Packs were very menacing, a pack of rank 1 beasts depending on the numbers could kill a rank 2 beast and a pack of rank 2 beasts could still threaten a rank 3 beast.


    Remember that the stronger you grow, the larger is the gap between each realm of cultivation. A pack generally needed the teamwork of dozens of cultivators of a higher level to gradually reduce their size days in and out until their numbers became too small to retain this appellation.


    "This map is well defined and lives up to Azure Water City hunters reputation." Ye Mo smirked.


    The map was from Wei Leng but as mortals, life was very harsh and even more so when an hunter.


    Chasing beasts was dangerous, often leading to death or crippling injuries. Few would be able to die of old age and without the right informations you had more chances to either leave with empty hands or get devored.


    But hunters were a small community and to prevent this they would rather share their informations among each other reducing the death rate and increasing their chances to have some gains, everyone was benefitting.


    This map wasn''t the work of Wei Leng or his father alone but probably also held the insight of all the hunters who used to go in the jungle.


    "This is good enough, i will be able to reach the third mountain the next time i enter the jungle. i will deal with the rest of the journey as it comes. The night is falling, i should go back to the institute before the mid-year examination end."


    Once the examination ends and the rewards were handed out, the tiger martial institute activity would resume and Ye Mo''s disappearance would be noticed at some point.


    At this time, there would be an investigation to find what hapenned if he was missing and even if he returned he would be questioned. The institute nurtured young talents to send to the Raging Saber sect and till then they needed clear informations on their doings.


    First to protect them and make sure they could continue cultivating until they were sent out and the institute could profit from the sect rewards. Secondly to exact revenge on the perpetrators if any harm came to them this way affirming their reputation.


    More so, if an investigation was started the Liu clan who kept a tight watch over them would hear of it and both of their higher ups would learn that Ye Mo knew a concealment battle skill.


    This was something he didn''t want to see happen so he departed at full speed, using wind flow to leave the jungle in the shortest time.


    As he stepped out of the woods, he was met with the dry cracked earth characteristic of Azure Water City surroundings.


    There he dipped himself in his dark brown, hooded robe he took out of his pouch and marched towards the city.


    When he arrived to the gate it was late in the night. The city housed hundreds of millions of inhabitants and even at night people would be seen moving here and there on the streets while all kinds of lights came out of shops and houses.


    Near the entrance of the institute, a Liu clan''s team posted was shocked to see the resurgence of the hooded figure unharmed while there has been no news of their elder since he departed.


    Ye Mo directly went to the guard and showed his token, going inside. He could only imagine the Liu clan board of elders reaction as this would be reported.


    When he reached his little stone house Ye Mo finally relaxed. He first sat on his red mat and cultivated for two hours, increasing the number of wisps of qi in his dantian.


    When the sun showed itself on the horizon he stopped and went on his bed immediately falling asleep.


    Beside the time he fainted, Ye Mo barely rested while he was outside. Being in constant danger he needed the maximum of his abilities to come out unscathed and while his body was in good shape he was mentally too exhausted.


    He slept for the whole day and night, only waking up in the morning.


    Ye Mo opened his eyes and felt refreshed, his spirit having completely recovered.


    When he left his house he discovered there was only one topic in everyone''s mouth, how Shen Xue shockingly revealed his cultivation of the 9th layer of the Qi Gathering realm in the competition and defeated all his opponents, taking the first place.

 The Pagoda

    Shen Xue left eveyone agape once again as he released his 9th layer Qi Gathering realm cultivation. The most shocked was his opponent who was sent flying out of the stage before he could react.


    Till now, he still hasn''t regained consciousness.


    This day was the final among senior students but everyone was only talking about how he obtained the first place, taking Shen Xue as a role model.


    Even instructors held him in high regard.


    "Now that he got the first place, he will be even more unstoppable. This is the reality of a rank 5 talent, as long as they cultivate diligently people are just passengers in their life, bound to be surpassed at some point."


    Ye Mo had to admit Shen Xue forced respect.


    It was one thing to have good talent but to one sidedly take out every opponents you face, most having cultivated in the tiger martial institute for years in the later part of the competition, it required true abilities and a profound battle strength.


    Compared to Ye Mo, they were complete opposites.


    One was the most dazzling junior disciple of the institute making even senior students tremble, the other was the lowest of outcast met with contempt and disdain, something no one wanted to get associated with.


    In contrast to Shen Xue, only Jin Hao Tian, Yan Mei and Ma Shinfei reached the top ten of the competition, Gao Lixin and Li Qiang being stopped at its doors.


    All of them showed a 8th layer Qi Gathering realm cultivation. This aroused the morale of the members of the four clans who were also part of the tiger martial institute.


    Ye Mo was progressing and others naturally were also progressing.


    After taking a meal in the cafeteria, Ye Mo returned to his house. He didn''t plan to watch the competition final, no matter how it unfold, it would never match the intensity of the fight between Tian He and the wrathful black ape and Ye Mo always prefered to focus on himself rather than other people.


    In addition, he had better things to do. His priority right now was to breakthrough the 6th layer of the Qi Gathering realm.


    He didn''t use his light blue Encompassing Washing pill yet and still held several mid-tier Spirit Qi pills.


    Ye Mo put his cultivation on hold to go outside find the cave so he still had wisps of qi filling 80% of his dantian.


    He wasn''t far from breaking through the 6th layer but at the same time he had to hurry before the impurities would solidify.


    Sitting on his red mat in a corner of the room, Ye Mo swallowed a mid-tier spirit qi pill and channeled the black vortex in his dantian, absorbing qi at an amazing rate.


    Two weeks later, Ye Mo''s attention was completely focused on his cultivation.


    The 55% wisps of qi remaining broke through the heavenly barrier and converged at the center of the dantian absorbing each other in a towering spiral.


    The mass of qi lowered at a fast rate and in the end, four new wisps stood out in this vast space floating about.


    Ye Mo broke through the 6th layer!


    Immediately he picked the light blue encompassing washing pill and swallowed it right away.


    "With this, i won''t be able to use spirit qi pills to support my cultivation in the future." He thought as he felt the effect of the encompassing washing pill cleansing his body.


    "Relying on my rank 2 talent alone, attaining the 8th layer in less than 5 months is unlikely. Seems like it''s time for me to go to this place."


    Ye Mo reflected as he had something in mind.


    He spent the next few days gathering qi in his dantian to an adequate amount to sustain a fight. This was a process that every cultivator had to go through after each breakthrough as their qi reserves were set to an all time low.


    This is why they needed a calm and peaceful place where they could breakthough in safety but also to refill their dantian enough to recover their abilities before they left outside where danger loomed.


    If there was a chance they would be disturbed while breaking through or right after, they would postpone their attempt to a later time.


    Ye Mo without spirit qi pills immediately saw the difference in cultivation pace as he was only able to gather less than 20% of qi in 13 days.


    "Cultivating by myself in this room is too detrimental, im just gonna keep lagging behind and wasting even more time. A prolonged battle would be very disadvantageous to me in this state but i will have to adapt to this amount qi."


    Thinking so, Ye Mo opened the door and left his house.


    What welcomed him was a white sea.


    It has been more than a day since it started snowing in Azure Water city, and now that it was gradually getting slower, pieces of snowflakes flew in the air gliding with the wind.


    Many branches were naked with no leaves and streams were frozen except the fountain at the center of the tiger martial institute, which had water flowing smoothly inside and carps swimming unbothered by the weather.


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    Ye Mo passed by and kept walking, venturing deeper in the institute.


    He had a black shirt with long sleeves under his martial suit and his leather shoes left deep footprints on the snow.


    He could still be considered light clothed compared to other students but he discovered he was less affected by the cold than in precedent winters. Most had to do with his progress in body refining, another part was due to the fact he had always been thin and emaciated in the past due to starvation feeling cold even during summer at times but now he was a vigorous youth.


    At some point, he stopped in front of a dark pagoda more than 600 meters tall who''s peak seemed to touch on the clouds while its structure was made of black steel which didn''t reflect any light.


    It was a place decicated to the practice of cultivation. The heart of the pagoda held multiple powerful formations which drew the qi from the surroundings and concentrated it all in the building.


    The qi of heaven and earth inside the pagoda was ten times denser than the outside and was the best cultivation place in Azure Water city along with the one in the sky and the golden martial institute.


    The pagoda was composed of seven floors, each holding less than a hundred rooms which kept decreasing as you went up while the higher you go, the more concentrated the qi became. However among the floors, only the first four were for students while the last three were for instructors and the leaders of the institute.


    With this composition it was evident only a small part of the students would be able to profit from this place.


    "This is the most important place in the tiger martial institute and one of the biggest reason for people to join it. It will be the key for me to reach the 8th layer!" Ye Mo looked at the monument with determination.


    To cultivate in this place, one simple rule stood, the law of the jungle!


    You have to fight and beat everyone who stand on your way until you reach a room before you must pay a fee to profit from it. Once the door close, you''re safe for the time being and can cultivate in peace until the next time.


    Once a room liberate itself, another round of fighting would ensue to decide who would have the right to use it.


    The only interdiction was to kill or cripple others cultivation but in actuality the latter part was rather blurry. In fact, the institute would intervene only if a good prospect like a talented individual or an important member of a clan was crippled but was reluctant to act when it was an average student or someone without any background giving only a light punishment at best.


    It could be seen three months ago when Shen Xue crippled Lao Ting, a senior student and used his room. When he left he was only tasked with paying 2500 gold coins and wasn''t allowed to return to the pagoda for a few days which was basically nothing for him.


    This was the hypocrisy custom of the righteous path. Those favored would always be given preferential treatment while the less promising would be treated as thin air.


    It was different to the demonic faction where only the survival of the fittest ruled. The strong survived while others were stepping stones for them to grow even stronger


    The pagoda was the most attractive but also the most brutal place of the institute. Students had to be prepared before entering inside as many came in to increase their strength but instead left with injuries which weakened them even more.


    The purpose of institutes was to make students grow stronger. The weak were prey to the strong. This was an absolute rule of the world and only in violent situations where young cultivators were confronted with this reality would they be prepared in the face of mortal danger.


    That''s also why the recruitment competition of institutions and even sects was so perilous in its early phase, if students and kids were pampered all the time, when a true threat would come menace their life they wouldn''t even know how to react.


    "Due to its abundance of qi, the pagoda will help me progress even faster than spirit qi pills and in this case there''s no question of impurities."


    Ye Mo always planned to benefit from the pagoda once he reached the 6th layer. It was the perfect level where, when taking into account his body refining technique, he would be able to defend himself and hold his own while still not too late so he could take advantage of it quickly without wasting time bitterly cultivating in his house.


    What he didn''t expect was to have such low reserves of qi when he would step inside.


    "I will have to quickly dispose of opponents and reach a room if i don''t want things to go awry. The more i fight, the less chances i will have to get in."


    Ye Mo calculated with a cold gaze as he entered inside.

 Every Man for Himself

    Ye Mo went inside the pagoda.


    The interior was a wide round hall filled with countless stone doors all around. Against the walls was a circular flight of stairs that rised up like a snake all the way towards the second floor.


    Most of the doors were closed, signifying a student was cultivating inside but some of them remained open.


    A lot of people were gathered in the hall and many of them fought in front of the open stone doors for an opportunity to cultivate inside, their battle skills sending flashing lights and loud noises disorderly while a few of them stood motionless in a corner, waiting for another door to open to try their chance.


    Ye Mo discovered there wasn''t one of them with a weaker cultivation than him gathered here.


    Walking around, he took place near a closed stone door and sat down in meditation.


    There were too many people fighting near the available rooms currently as it looked more like a brawl. Ye mo prefered to wait for another one to open.


    After two hours, a loud rumbling sound was heard as one of the stone door detached itself from the wall and slide on one side, leaving the room open.


    Inside, a youth in clean white robes left with a bright smile on his face, seemingly satisfied. In the past he fought hard, barely getting himself a spot inside a room after a fierce struggle but now he strolled calmly, brimming with confidence, as he left the pagoda.


    When the door opened many students suddenly tensed up, those sitting rising, as they observed each other.


    No one attacked the youth in white robe, being able to enter a room was a testimony of his abilities and now that he had a round of cultivation inside, he would be even stronger than before. Most of all what they wanted was his room, now that he was leaving there was no reason to attack him.


    After a moment of deep tension where students targeting the room sized each other up, suddenly they all rushed towards the room at the same time, attacking everyone on the way, the fight escalating in a slugfest with every man for himself.


    One of them standing in the back suddenly rushed towards the room with great agility, avoiding the fights on his path.


    Obviously he had a good movement battle skill and with his 6th layer of the Qi Gathering realm, he was very fast.


    When he was close to the door, some students saw this scene and shouted in indignation but reacted too late to intervene.


    The student rushing instead had his face lit up in surprise and unexpected success as he neared the cultivation room without any trouble.


    At this moment a presence abruptly appeared at his side and a powerful leg crashed on his waist sending him flying.


    The crack of broken bones resounded as the student was sent straight out of the equation.


    Ye Mo involved himself in this course for the cultivation room!


    He didn''t plan to wait the whole day for a door with less people around to open. Primarily because there would always be many students waiting around every door.


    Now he directly stepped in!


    The kick right now was just pure raw strength and Ye Mo didn''t use an ounce of qi in this attack as one was immediately defeated.


    "This room is mine!" After the danger of the youth rushing up was cast away, another one immediately throwed himself at Ye Mo to prevent him to get any closer to the door.


    Mid-tier Yellow class battle skill - Rock Crushing Fist!


    The opponent''s fist was covered in solid deep brown rocks and enlarged to three times its original size as it neared towards Ye Mo.


    The latter didn''t back down as he threw a stone breaking punch with a face that didn''t betray any emotion.


    As both fists connected, the rocks on his opponent hand shattered, the bones of his arm broke at various points and his shoulder was dislocated as the impact deflected the arm back forcefully.


    The student himself was sent flying across the hall, knocking two other disciples fighting on the way.


    They grunted in pain in an effort to stand back up but the one who bore the brunt of the attack was the most injured, remaining motionless on the ground.


    Quickly two attendants came and carried him out of the pagoda.


    However Ye Mo didn''t have any free time, as soon as he got rid of this student, another appeared behind him brandishing a large dagger enveloped in a sinister qi.


    "I remember you fag, cowering in front of Li Qiang. This pagoda is not a place for people like you!" The youth shouted in contempt as he attacked him.


    At first he wasn''t sure because of the irregular scars crisscrossing his face but now that he was closer he could identify Ye Mo.


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    The dagger was fast and sharp, quickly approaching his back. If he was hit, Ye Mo would be incapacitated for sure.


    Surrounded by wind currents, he took a side step avoiding the blade at the crucial moment.


    His opponent snorted as he slashed horizontally with his dagger.


    Ye Mo broke into a cold smirk and grabbed his wrist, blocking the blade midway.


    Placing one hand on the teen''s shoulder, he pulled the wrist with the other, exerting his strength.


    Riiiip!


    The flesh was torn as the whole arm was ripped out of the student''s body and tossed on the ground.


    "AHHHH!"


    He laid on the ground, screaming in fear and pain. His left arm was like an eagle claw gripping his right shoulder. His right limb spewed bright red blood non stop, quickly dyeing the floor red.


    The commotion gradually attracted the attention of other disciples in the hall. Some heard the cry and looked in their direction while others directly witnessed the scene in shock.


    Such a brutal performance wasn''t seen often.


    There was no doubt in their mind that the student prostrated on the ground will never completely recover from this blow. Even if he was to be treated by the healers of the institute, they could only heal injuries but were incapable of growing a whole limb out of nothing.


    He will have to start back from zero, learning to fight with only his left arm alone but it will never be comparable to having a complete body available.


    Those that wanted to attack Ye Mo stopped right on their tracks in trepidation as they witnessed this gruesome outcome.


    He was ruthless as he defeated three opponents consecutively, displaying his merciless nature as he handicapped the last one for life.


    Of course he didn''t have to go this far to defeat him but this was done purposefully. It would serve as a warning for those who wanted to block his way, that it wasn''t a decision to take lightly.


    Fighting a body cultivator like Ye Mo in close combat without a profound battle strength or deep cultivation was simply a death wish.


    In the crowd, a lot of people recognized him. He abandoned against Li Qiang in the first round of the competition in front of every disciples of the institute, even the dean was present. Only a few instructors had their own duties to deal with and couldn''t witness it personally.


    This act cemented his reputation as a coward and a weakling who could be trifled with. Beside overconfidence, that''s also why Ye Mo''s last opponent dared attacking him at such close range without any worry even though he displayed a body cultivation in the recruitment competition.


    Currently, he was also the closest from the stone door and as he looked at the other contestants, none of them moved.


    "What the hell, if he was this strong all this time then why did he surrend in front of Li Qiang from the start." Someone said in confusion.


    "Maybe he wasn''t and he was so ashamed of himself he cultivated like crazy in the meantime. Im sure i would have beaten him like a dog if i was at the place of this loser." One of them bragged shamelessly, mocking the defeated opponent.


    "Come on guys, are we really gonna let him take this room? Im sure if we all attack together, he will have no chance."


    "Sure, then go on and we will be right behind you."


    As soon as the proposition flew it was immediately discarded by others. The crux of the situation was that they didn''t trust each other.


    The first one to attack would bear all the pressure from Ye Mo being in great danger himself. Even if he came out fine in the end he could still be backstabbed by another student who wanted the room for himself.


    Being on guard against each other they would not be able to display their true battle strength and would impede themselves instead.


    Without true unity, this plan wasn''t practicable.


    In the crowd there were also several 7th layer cultivators however seeing how Ye Mo defeated three opponents in an instant, the last one being a peak 6th layer cultivator, it was clear for them he could easily fight against them as well.


    Ye Mo gazed at the crowd and although some still wanted to fight for the room, eventually no one moved.


    Most of them were intelligent persons after all. It was just a room, there were several others they could fight for and more that would open for the future.


    There wasn''t any need to go this far just for one stone door, as long as they were alive and healthy, there would be more opportunities.


    Finally Ye Mo turned around and walked in the room''s direction.


    Yet right at this moment, clapping sounds could be heard behind him.


    A young man separated himself from the crowd and advanced towards him!

 A Lasting Grudge

    The young man had shoulder brown hairs and light green eyes. He wore a playful smile on his face as he clapped his hands, walking towards Ye Mo nonchalantly.


    He was dressed in a black and green tiger martial suit with long wide sleeves revealing only the tip of his hands.


    "You progressed surprisingly well with your pitiful talent, as if the heavens showered you in ressources. You must be blessed." The young man said sarcastically stopping 5 steps away from Ye Mo.


    Although he seemed lighthearted, he had deep frowning brows and eyes radiating a subtle killing intent showing that beyond the appearances, he held a deep grudge over his interlocutor and took the situation very seriously.


    He spoke ambiguously making the crowd wonder at the meaning of his words but Ye Mo immediately realized his identity.


    "So it''s a Liu clan member." Thinking so, Ye Mo circulated the qi in his body, preparing for combat.


    The young man was manifestly refering to Ye Mo extorting the Liu clan with their own belongings. Beside Liu clan members, only he and Fang Jishen knew of this affair which became a deeply concealed secret that no members were allowed to ever mention. Ye Mo himself had no reason to talk about it and Fang Jishen has rarely been seen outside since he dealt with the trade hence outsiders weren''t in the known.


    The Liu clan has been established in Azure Water City for a long time and the Tiger Martial institute held a recruitment competition every year.


    The Liu clan like many others would always send their best disciples take part in the competition of both the tiger and the sky martial institute each time and although they were subpar in terms of battle strength and cultivation compared to mid and big sized clans, there would always be two or three disciples by generation who were able to join them.


    "Hey, isn''t it Liu Sen?" Someone pointed out, identifying the Liu clan member.


    "It looks like he has some grievances with the newbie."


    "If he really wants this room, with his peak 7th layer cultivation, Ye Mo can only forget about it."


    "Hmph, as if we need him. If Liu Sen didn''t step out, i would have teached this kid a lesson myself!"


    The whispers were like ripples on a calm lake as Ye Mo and Liu Sen faced each other.


    "As long as im here, you can forget about cultivating in this pagoda!" Suddenly, Liu Sen raised his arms.


    Inwardly he thought, "Ancestor charged me with finding Ye Mo and crippling his cultivation no matter what it takes. However i have been looking low and high in the institute for 6 months without so much as a clue of his position. I would have thought him joining the institution was a lie if i didn''t see him during the mid-year examination. Yet he abandoned at the start and left while i still had fights up ahead, not giving me any chance to act."


    "Who knew i would actually meet him in the pagoda where fights and injuries are customary. As long as i can cripple him, whatever the punishment is, it will be bearable. Ye Mo is one of the less promising disciples of the institute so the punishment won''t be harsh, at the same time we would be getting rid of a growing threat and without any cultivation he would be thrown out of the institute leaving the clan all the leisure to deal with him. If it''s necessary i will even kill him right away!"


    From Liu Sen''s wide sleeves, two green vines shot out like nimble green pythons and coiled around Ye Mo''s body.


    The vines instantly made a dozen circles around his arms, tightly binding his hands behind his back.


    The students in the surroundings watched the contest with interest.


    Ye Mo tightly clenched his fists and started putting strength.


    His muscles contracted much, standing up even under his clothes.


    "Hehe, you''re trapped! Don''t bother, even a mid-tier beast can''t escape from my bindings." Liu Sen grinned, his eyes revealing a menacing light.


    Immediately, he shot out towards Ye Mo surrounded by wind currents while brandishing a palm infused with qi and targeting his dantian!


    Ye Mo gritted his teeth, going into a half squatting position as he exerted all his strength.


    On his body, various big veins appeared like his arms and his forehead showing he was truly going all out as the vines were slowly being stretched out.


    When Liu Sen was right in front of Ye Mo, ready to attack, the latter gritting turned into a low growl as his arms suddenly spread apart!


    Snap!


    The vines immediately snapped, their shreds sent flying in the surroundings.


    "Impossible!" Liu Sen blurted out in shock as his desire to put down Ye Mo quickly grew.


    His palm flew forward with destructive intent.


    Ye Mo who just got free from his bindings threw a stone breaking punch right away, challenging the palm.


    Both attacks collided and the shock traveled through their arm as Liu Sen retreated three steps while Ye Mo was sent rolling on the ground for nine steps before he recovered his footing.


    The crux of the outcome was that one was attacking at full force, carried by momentum while the other just exerted all his strength to free himself from the bindings.


    Without a good stance nor catching his breath Ye Mo couldn''t bring forward more than half the power of the stone breaking punch.


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    After the outcome of their first clash, both students rushed towards each other like furious gales and when they met, their feets flashed as they raised their legs.


    Bam!bam!bam!bam!bam!


    In the blink of an eye, an uncountable number of kicks were sent countering each other in a violent deadlock!


    "Wait, aren''t they using the same battle skills?!" Someone in the crowd uterred dubious.


    "How coult it be, a clan would never let an outsider like Ye Mo learn their battle skills!" Another said, assured, hinting he was from a clan himself.


    "Maybe Ye Mo stole them and that''s why Liu Sen has such hatred for him."


    Once this suggestion was mentioned, many opened their eyes in revelation or nodded in silence feeling it''s probably the case.


    In the meantime, the bout between Liu Sen and Ye Mo continued with neither backing away one instant.


    "Im losing too much qi. With my 6th layer cultivation i suffer the most in this situation, if the stalemate continue my defeat is assured!" Ye Mo thought in urgency as he suddenly pushed back Liu Sen with a powerful kick.


    He jumped abruptly and used cyclone kick once again. In the air, he could use both his feets increasing the number of attacks by twice the amount as he quickly overwhelmed his opponent who couldn''t follow the pace anymore.


    Liu Sen was left vulnerable so he decisively raised his arms as vines coiled around them and protected his body from Ye Mo''s onslaught.


    On the exterior of the vines stood many sharp thorns that would cause any hand to hand attacks to injure the enemy and result in a massively growing blood loss.


    However Ye Mo was cultivating a Star class high-tier body refining technique and all these thorns could do to him was prick his skin and cause light injuries at best.


    He kept kicking incessantly, not leaving his foe any opportunity to change the flow of the battle.


    Liu Sen instead smirked, his head curled up behind his arms, "I am a peak 7th layer cultivator while he is only a newly advanced 6th layer, prolonging this fight is to my advantage. I will just let him run out of qi before i switch the tables and dominate him, crippling his cultivation in one go!"


    Ye Mo returned to the ground as he kept kicking. The speed of each leg was too fast and Liu Sen who was protecting himself didn''t have the time to initiate any attack.


    This situation resumed for several seconds and Liu Sen''s arms started feeling heavy but he still held his position firmly when the barrage of hits unexpectedly stopped.


    Even the gusts of winds produced by the movements of Ye Mo''s legs disappeared.


    At this distance, Liu Sen should be able to easily feel any gestures from his enemy even without his eyes but at this moment it was like he was alone in the middle of the crowd fighting with no one.


    "What''s going on?!" Liu Sen was perplexed and opened a small gap between his arms to look ahead but there was no one in front of him.


    At this instant, a fist connected perfectly with his ribs!


    Liu Sen instantly vomited a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying, the blood propelled in an arch in the air before it fell on the ground.


    His flank caved in from the strike while he fell unconscious on the floor.


    "My qi is almost completely depleted, i only have dozens of wisps remaining in my dantian." Ye Mo thought impassive as the surroundings turned into a scene of deep silence.


    Among the crowd, many were flabbergasted!


    Ye Mo profited from Liu Sen''s obstructed vision to suddenly use shadow walk and circle around him, pulling his punch from a hidden angle.


    However the spectators vision was clear and they could only see Ye Mo move around and hit Liu Sen but although his presence dimmed for an instant, they couldn''t link it to a true concealment battle skill which effects would directly manifest on the user.


    They didn''t know this was the first phase of shadow walk and couldn''t understand how his opponent was defeated this easily.


    Many students stood dazed on the spot wondering if it was reality or if Liu Sen was faking it.


    Ye Mo instead turned around and walked towards his room.


    He had the urge to cripple the Liu clan member but he knew he couldn''t handle it.


    Liu Sen looked around 18 years old and was only a 7th layer cultivator making him a senior disciple that wasn''t worth anything in the institute''s view.


    His background was nothing formidable either so if Ye Mo acted, he would probably only receive a light punishment.


    However he knew he wasn''t Shen Xue or any young master.


    Wether he had to pay a fee or was temporarily forbidden to enter the pagoda, none of them were acceptable for him.


    In any case with these injuries, unless he obtains the help of a good healer, they would last him for several months at least.


    "Where do you think you''re going?" As Ye Mo neared the room, a voice resounded in the distance.


    Walking down the set of stairs, a teen with long black hair and a sword at his waist shouted accompagnied by several other members of the Li clan.


    "Li Qiang!" His name immediately appeared in the mind of everyone''s present!

 Does He Dares?!

    Li Qiang went down the stairs accompanied by several Li clan members and reached the first floor.


    When he shouted he was already near the end of the flight of stairs, he saw at first a crowd gathered and a clamor but only when Liu Sen was sent flying and his field of view was cleared did he recognize Ye Mo, preventing him to attain the cultivation room.


    "Hey, isn''t it Li Qiang, what is he doing here?"


    "Didn''t you know, after the competition he was so frustrated to not achieve a place in the top 10 that soon after he went to the pagoda and immediately got to the second floor where he beat down some disciples and cultivated in a room."


    "We clearly don''t have the same priorities, i didn''t even make it in the top 50 when i was a junior student..."


    "Whoa, second floor already for his first time! Then what is he doing here in the first floor, is he done cultivating?"


    "Seems like he''s not letting the newbie leave scot-free hehehe."


    "Look on, a good show is going to start!"


    The students gathered, whispered, taking pleasure in Ye Mo''s impending predicament.


    Li Qiang walked towards the crowd while the students hurriedly separated in two groups creating a passage for him to approach Ye Mo.


    The Li clan members accompanying him left Li Qiang and merged with the crowd which encircled Ye Mo at its center.


    The latter gave brief looks around him before he focused his gaze on the young master strolling forwards until Li Qiang faced him a few steps away with a cold smile and malicious eyes.


    "You thought you were free just because you abandoned? I told you didn''t i, you offended me and my Li clan and you''re not getting away till you receive your punishment, there is no escaping." He said to Ye Mo.


    Li Qiang was prideful and his reasoning was straightforward, what kind of power was the Li clan? It was one of the four great clans of Azure Water city, ruling over the masses.


    Could it be offended easily? Absolutely not!


    There would be repercussions for anyone, particularly for a nobody like Ye Mo who dared ridiculing Li Cheng and making the clan lose face publicly.


    Of course, Li Qiang would go out of his way of his own free will and make an exemple out of him for those who would think lightly of his clan in the future.


    "However, i don''t have for habit to bully the young and weaklings so if you break your legs and repent yourself on your knees, i will let this go. What do you think, it''s not a bad offer considering the repercussions of fighting with me." Li Qiang utterred, naturally.


    "Obviously, this guy is afraid of me seeing how he immediately gave up when we faced each other in the competition" was what was on his mind at this instant.


    This wasn''t a surprising belief as he had the reputation of a cold-hearted cultivator who was merciless to his opponents, coupled with his great battle strength, many even in this hall were indeed afraid of him.


    Ye Mo sneered and used his last ounces of qi to activate wind flow battle skill!


    Swoosh.


    He was a man of few words.


    Li Qiang had already made his mind to make him pay, Ye Mo knew it but would he relent and prostrate himself in this kind of situation?


    This proposition wasn''t even worth considering so with nothing else to say he took action first, seizing the flow of the battle!


    Now surrounded by wind currents he immediately charged!


    Li Qiang smirked as he put his hand on the handle of his sword, "Then, fight it is."


    He prepared himself to cut him down however he was dazed when he realized Ye Mo wasn''t charging at him but dashing... Towards the crowd?


    Li Qiang looked in the direction he was running to and suddenly his pupils contracted.


    "STOP!" He shouted immediately as he drew his sword and used a movement battle skill, darting off with impressive speed.


    He was much faster than Ye Mo and could cross the distance in less than a second yet it was too late.


    Ye Mo''s destination was closer and when Li Qiang understood, he was already right beside it.


    He arrived in front of a girl around fourteen years old.


    She wasn''t a beautiful fairy like instructor Lan Xue but she was well developed for her age and with her long black hairs extending to her waist she was rather good looking.


    Her black eyes were clear like a lake as she looked at Ye Mo incredulous.


    Why did he come here rather than fight with Li Qiang?


    Why did he stop in front of me?


    What are his intentions?


    Several questions that just flew through her head before she was firmly caught by the neck.


    She was a 6th layer cultivator but in front of Ye Mo she didn''t have the time to react at all as she was lifted in the air while he turned back, welcoming Li Qiang''s sword with her body.


    The young master appeared at the same moment, his blade stopping just two inches from her face.


    Her breath was cut short for an instant and her body trembled while beads of cold sweat formed on her forehead.


    "You, do you really want me to kill you!" Li Qiang said seething.


    The girl Ye Mo caught was Li Xiurong, his cousin which passed the first recruitment phase with him along with his little brother, Li Cheng.


    "Try anything and i kill her." Ye Mo warned him with a cold face.


    "You won''t dare. This is against the rules, if you do, being thrown out of the institute would be the least of your worry." Li Qiang was assertive, taking a step forward.


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    If he killed her, not only would Ye Mo be thrown out of the institute, all the people who wanted to see him dead would go after him.


    Without the protection of the Tiger Martial institute''s experts, everything that could holds them back from taking action would vanish and after incuring the wrath of the Li clan, they would be the first to attack.


    "Think it through, do you really believe i wouldn''t dare?" Ye Mo glared at Li Qiang.


    Li Qiang stopped in his track as he thought deeply about everything he witnessed till now.


    "In the recruitment competition, this guy was vicious and immoral, killing his first opponent during formal greetings and provoking the disgust of everyone present. He knew the Tie family would chase him after this but he was impassive, as if what he did was natural. The spectators insults didn''t move him either showing he has a stubborn and unbending will. He takes actions swiftly and doesn''t regret his decisions."


    But what made him undoubtedly waver was an image during the mid-year examination.


    "He abandoned like a coward atfer being matched up against me. Sacrificing his own reputation in front of thousands of member just to avoid it. This is simply an act of self-destruction. This kid can''t be assessed with common sense. Dishonorable and unprincipled, acting without any care in the world, treating others view as thin air."


    "Does he dares kill Xiurong? He definitely dares!"


    Li Qiang glared murderously at Ye Mo.


    If eyes could kill he would be dead a thousand times.


    Yet he didn''t act.


    Xiurong was his cousin, without talking about their blood relationship, she was also an important member of the Li clan.


    Li Qiang was the heir of the Li clan, bearing all kinds of pressure and expectations from his father and the higher-ups, he had to be perfect in every matters he handled.


    How could he bear to disappoint, how could he let Xiurong die right in front of him. He was responsible towards her and all the blame would befall him if anything happened moreover this matter would be raised up during his succession and would become a taint in his heart for the rest of his life.


    He also had a grand reputation in Azure Water city and everyone knew him. Going to attack a junior and ending up having his cousin killed would be a great blow towards it. He wouldn''t be regarded as the equal of the other young masters anymore and not only he but the reputation of the Li clan would also suffer from it.


    In consequence, the other 3 clans would be prioritized in all kinds of deals and trade businesses while the Li clan''s affairs would grow less frequent. It would seem minor on the outside but this small deficit in revenue will grow with time as the Li clan would lag behind.


    The other clans weren''t slacking either and that''s all they needed for the four great clans to gradually turn into the three greats. This kind of change happened more than once in the history of the cloud region and would keep occuring as long as humans sought domination and superiority among each other.


    After Li Cheng disgrace during the recruitment competition, Li Qiang couldn''t allow such a thing to happen.


    Ye Mo retreated slowly towards the stone door.


    At the same time he quickly pulled Li Xiurong towards him and whispered softly in her ear, "Make any sudden movements and im breaking your neck."


    As she heard him, Li Xiurong shivered, many thoughts surging in her mind.


    Since Ye Mo got hold of her, she has been silently circulating her qi, preparing a surprise attack. If she succeeded not only she would escape from his clutches but she could also harm him leaving Li Qiang all the time to deal with him.


    She was unwilling to be a damsel in distress and most of all she couldn''t bear to be a weight for Li Qiang after he helped her several times since they took part in the recruitment together till now.


    However, once Ye Mo uttered these words she was unable to move, her muscles tensed; She was like a stone statue, immobile, in the hands of this demon.


    "Did he sense me? I can''t act, if i try anything he''s really gonna kill me!"


    To end her life, just a small pression from Ye Mo''s hand was enough, both Li Qiang and Li Xiurong knew it.


    As he neared the stone door, multiple students blocked his path behind him.


    "The pagoda is only for those who proved themselves, defeating everyone on their way to cultivate."


    "If you want to go in then fight."


    "You really think you can use these underhanded means to get inside, you''re too arrogant!"


    "Don''t try to get away from this, if you can''t take up the challenge just leave, this pagoda isn''t for weaklings."


    Towards these people, Ye Mo had no consideration.


    He laughed coldly as he tightened his grasp on Li Xiurong''s neck.


    Li Xiurong immediately started suffocating as her legs flailed around in the air. A soft pair of hands subconsciously grasped at Ye Mo''s hand, trying to pry his hand away.


    Her round eyes were wide-opened in panic.


    "You pack of dumbasses, get out of his way this instant!" Li Qiang shouted furious.


    He was already hardly controlling himself, he felt that one more offense and he would start filling the hall with flying limbs.


    The students blocking Ye Mo''s path could sense his murderous mood and were terrorized, quickly moving out of the way.


    Ye Mo kept his gaze on Li Qiang as he retreated with his cousin in hand until, finally, he reached the stone door.

 Retrospection

    When he reached the stone door, Ye Mo remarked there was a small round hole on the wall beside it.


    This hole was the paying fee mechanism of the institute for every cultivation room.


    Beside fighting and overcoming the obstacles to attain the room, there was also a small price to pay to use them which elevated itself at 10 gold coins per day.


    This would be enormous seeing from the outside but instead it was a ridiculous amount considering the benefits of cultivating in the pagoda. Even if the price was raised to 50 gold coins, there would still be many students fighting and paying for the right to enter a room.


    Nevertheless, the institute never increased their price.


    Their objective was to raise young cultivators with great potential.


    As long as you were able to reach a stone door without any of the other constestants capable of stopping you then you proved your own capabilities and that you deserved to cultivate inside, there was no need to rip them off.


    The 10 gold coins was just a small bonus and the institute still made a huge profit over this service.


    In the end, outside of the rewards the sect potentially offered, the institute still needed to be self-sufficient and in this aspect the pagoda was a major part of it''s economy.


    Without hesitation, Ye Mo immediately transfered 300 gold coins from his pouch inside the small hole.


    At that moment the room started vibrating faintly as four small light crystals of different colors embedded in each side of the squarish room illuminated the interior.


    Ye Mo stepped forward and went inside when the stone door rumbled as it started moving behind him.


    Seeing this, Ye Mo''s palm moved in a slicing manner, hitting the side of Li Xiurong''s neck with controlled strength as she fainted on the spot before he tossed her body outside.


    "Die!" When he saw his cousin being released, Li Qiang immediately rushed towards the room, shouting in rage as he brandished his sword.


    However the door was already halfway closed when Li Xiurong was knocked out and still moving quickly.


    Li Qiang could only helplessly watch Ye Mo''s mocking gaze behind the gap before the door closed itself, separating the inside from the exterior.


    Near the same instant, Li Qiang appeared in front of the room, sending his sword slashing against the door as bright sparks flew in the air, yet the door remained intact.


    Obviously, it wasn''t made of any ordinary stone.


    "Damn it!" Li Qiang gritted his teeth in furor as his piercing eyes looked at the door like it tried to get a glimpse inside.


    At first, Li Qiang thought nothing of Ye Mo.


    He was just a nobody with weak battle strength and no cultivation. People like him, he could dispose of them without any difficulty.


    However because of Li Cheng''s own actions, the Li clan was ridiculized. Li Qiang didn''t need to go far to find a scapegoat, his little brother''s opponent being the root of the problem was the perfect target to restore their prestige.


    After the mid-year examination, Li Qiang''s indifference towards Ye Mo turned into scorn and contempt.


    He disdained even wasting his time dealing with him but because of his own personnality and his will to punish anyone offending his clan, he persevered in this matter.


    When he saw him in the pagoda, he just planned to quickly defeat him, maybe sever a leg or dealing deep injuries to discipline him then go on with the rest of the day.


    But now it all changed and his intentions reflected directly in his eyes.


    "This is not the end, i will definitely kill you!" Li Qiang left this sentence lathed with all kinds of negative emotions mixed together.


    He didn''t forget to post 3 members of his clan beside the door to inform him when Ye Mo leaves the room before departing from the pagoda, carrying Li Xiurong on his shoulders.


    Inside the room, Ye Mo laughed.


    This Li Qiang was really a lamentable person. He was bound by relationships; Ye Mo was right in front of him, he could easily attack him, but because of merely one girl he turned into a useless piece of wood looking at him aimlessly.


    If he didn''t have this much guts, how could he impose himself further than this small Azure Water city?


    For any action you undertake it had it''s own consequences. No matter which place, if you wanted to achieve something, you had to pay the price.


    The room was rather empty containing only toilets in a corner while on the side of a wall was a small fountain with clean water.


    When Ye Mo entered, he felt a thick and pure Qi invade the space.


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    The dense Qi surrounded him and seemed almost alive as it tried to penetrate into his body. It was quite an intense experience as he didn''t event start cultivating yet and the Qi of heaven and earth was attempting to invade his body.


    Ye Mo wore a complicated expression as he stood in thought, "Originally, i had 1925 gold coins from the recruitment competition rewards and the people i killed there, but i already bought enough herbs for one year of medicinal baths required when using the Black Vortex cultivation technique and also rented a courtyard for training in the Stone Breaking Punch, losing 650 gold coins."


    "Adding all the small expenses like food or my copper cauldron and i can remove roughly 23 gold coins."


    "With the 300 i just expended, only 952 gold coins remain. It will be tight to further my cultivation with only this much during the last months."


    Ye Mo was concerned about his financial situation.


    Wealth was very important for cultivators.


    Obtaining cultivation techniques and battle skills required money but most battle skills needed time and certain facilities to train in while some cultivation techniques had special requirements making you spend even more.


    To progress faster, you had to use various ressources and cultivate in unique places, those required money as well and it was just the beginning.


    In the life of a cultivator, your spendings would only increase as your strength grow.


    For an average family, one or two gold coins a year was more than enough to live but for a cultivator this was a pitiful amount, barely worth anything.


    "With my current wealth, i can only cultivate for 4 months in the pagoda. At worst i will sell the blood cores i kept for times of needs to make ends meet."


    Casting these thoughts aside, Ye Mo sat cross legged at the center of the room.


    He was finally able to cultivate in the pagoda after many struggles, there wasn''t any time to waste on small thoughts.


    Ye Mo released his Black Vortex in his dantian, sucking the surrounding Qi greedily.


    Immediately, the Qi started entering Ye Mo''s body as if he was a bottomless pit, swallowing all the energy available.


    While he cultivated, he also used this time to indulge in retrospection of recent events.


    "Liu Sen was strong, stronger than Liu Guan Tao, but since i broke through the second revolution of the Fiend body, my physical abilities reached an absurd level."


    "I don''t think i would lose to anyone under the 8th layer of the Qi Gatheting realm. At most, a peak 7th layer could give me some trouble but nothing more."


    The quality of cultivators in a martial institute was much better than outsiders. Most of them stood out already during the recruitment competition and upon joining them, they grew even stronger.


    Liu Sen was only 18 years old but he was stronger than a team leader of the Liu clan in his mid twenties.


    That''s also why Liu Dan could confidently entrust him with the task of crippling Ye Mo beside the fact they are both students of the Tiger Martial institute.


    "Seeing my 6th layer cultivation, he chose to turn our fight into a prolonged battle, unaware that he was also targeting my weakness at the time as i had very low reserves of Qi. I had to end the bout quickly but still needed to control my strength to not accidentally kill him so he made me struggle quite a bit."


    "With enough Qi i would have easily defeated him, he was already showing signs of exhaustion before i knocked him out."


    Ye Mo cultivates a Star class high-tier body refining technique. In the past he could already fight 5th layer cultivators with just his body alone.


    Now that he broke through the second revolution, coupled with his 6th layer cultivation and his battle skills, he is practically invincible at his own level in Azure Water city and could directly fight on equal footing with higher cultivators.


    Next his thoughts drifted towards Li Qiang, "This guy has been pestering me for quite some time already. This is the last straw, if an opportunity present itself in the future, i will just kill him."


    Ye Mo''s dark eyes shone coldly under the light of the crystals.


    His objective was to grow stronger and all his actions were turned towards this goal.


    He was disinclined to lose his energy bonding with people, creating rivalry or exacting revenge.


    For those who didn''t interfere, standing on the side, he wouldn''t even look at them.


    However since Li Qiang was bent on obstructing his path, he would trample on this obstacle and move forward without any hesitation.

 Multitasking

    "I am still too weak. Although i use my body to overwhelm my opponents, when considering only Qi and battle skills, im lacking." Thoughts flashed in Ye Mo''s mind.


    "It is primarily due to my incomplete combat system. I have no battle skills covering the defense, healing or investigative aspect. It might not be necessary for clan members or people fighting in groups but for a lone force like myself, this is fundamental."


    In the wild or during a fight, there''s many situations that requires different methods to overcome. Without a complete combat system, there''s too many weaknesses that can be exploited.


    On a mountain you could get ambushed by a pack of beasts that set out to hunt, at the time you sense them it would already be too late. Without a good investigative battle skill, you can easily fall into danger and lose your life without even mentionning defense or healing.


    "The second problem is that i progressed too fast. Through various means i achieved the 6th layer of the Qi gathering realm in 6 months but with my talent, it would usually take several years."


    "The Wind Flow battle skill that i obtained before cultivating should have been able to last me even longer but at my level it''s already starting to become insufficient. This is only a low-tier battle skill and even coupled with my natural speed, the result is barely acceptable currently."


    "At the same time, i am now fighting powerful Qi Gathering realm cultivators using mid and high-tier Yellow Class battle skills and they will keep becoming stronger."


    "If the level of my battle skills doesn''t grow along my cultivation, i am bound to taste defeat at some point."


    In this world, defeat often came followed by death.


    His cultivation was advancing at a fast pace, his enemies grew stronger as well and his aspirations surpassed everything. If his battle strength wasn''t progressing with the rest and he couldn''t gain better battle skills to match his cultivation, his dream would remain as such.


    "When i reach the 8th layer, i will have the right to pick a high-tier battle skill. Hopefully if i can cultivate in the second floor of the pagoda, i will have shown my value to the higher-ups and will gain another entry to the battle skill tower!"


    For small and mid-sized clans like the Liu clan, low and mid-tier battle skills was all they could learn for most members and they were contented with it. Joining an institute was simply a luxury very few people could enjoy and high or peak-tier battle skills were simply too rare to even think about it.


    However Ye Mo had great ambitions, how could he be satisfied with only this much? Even a peak-tier Yellow class battle skill would only be a temporary measure before he could get his hands on something better and his other martial arts were no different.


    In his dantian, wisps of Qi were formed at an astounding pace.


    Qi was the source of power and battle skills were the way to unleash it.


    With a profound cultivation but low battle skills you couldn''t exhibit your true strength but with powerful battle skills and a weak cultivation you couldn''t bear the price to use them.


    Both came in pair and none of them could be neglected.


    At some point during his cultivation, Ye Mo suddenly stood up and picked tissues out of his pouch that he ripped in four and used to cover the light crystals on the walls.


    The room immediately turned dim and only parts of the wall in the direct surroundings of the light crystals benefited from their brightness.


    When he was done covering all four of them, Ye Mo returned to the center of the room and sat down.


    Because he lacked powerful battle skills, he would use this time to further his comprehension of the only one that still had much room for improvement.


    Using the darkness surrounding him, he was increasing his mastery of Shadow Walk!


    Ye Mo was trying to multitask, cultivating and reaching the second phase of Shadow Walk simultaneously but it was truly hard!


    It was the same as trying to write two different things with both hands at the same time, this required extreme concentration, separating your soul in two.


    He could only hold it for less than a second at first before without realizing it, his mind would focus on either cultivating or Shadow Walk, casting the other aside.


    Ye Mo didn''t get discouraged but immediately tried again instead. He knew it would be hard to split his spirit in two but no human was born perfect, if you wanted to achieve something, you had to put the efforts to it.


    He repeated this process for days and weeks, at first failing and trying again hundreds of times a day but slowly, his tries lessened as he could hold on for several seconds then even a minute!


    He didn''t know when was day and night in the room but after a few hours of attempts, his body would be full of perspiration and his spirit severely exhausted.


    Waves of nausea assaulted him constantly and only after rest and sleep would he recover enough to try again, multitasking to the best of his abilities.


    Nonetheless, splitting your mind in two wasn''t something that could be mastered in the short term and after a month, Ye Mo could only hold it for a few minutes at best.


    He opened his eyes when the light crystals stopped illuminating the room and the dense Qi gradually receded.


    Outside, three Liu clan cultivators were sitting in front of the door waiting.


    "Sigh, it''s been a month since he got in, how much gold coins did he put that he is still not out?"


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    "I have never seen someone staying behind closed doors for so long, has he really been cultivating all this time?"


    "Hmph, you wish! He probably just put all his economies inside to stay the longest possible in the room and escape Li Qiang. He must be cowering in fear as we''re talking right now."


    "No matter what i only want him to leave already, i will go crazy if i have to wait for another month sitting in this place!"


    Each Li clan member expressed their frustration and weariness loudly.


    Because it was Li Qiang''s orders, they had to wait in front of the room for a whole month. All this time wasted could have been used to further their cultivation, train battle skills or just enjoy life.


    Instead they were forced to be here looking at this plain stone door for nothing.


    Of course they couldn''t take it out on their young master so they turned their hostility towards Ye Mo as their dislike quickly developed into hatred.


    At this moment, the door suddenly started rumbling as it slide to one side, gradually revealing the interior.


    "Finally, the dog leaves his nest!"


    "You''re done for!"


    "Don''t forget to warn Li Qiang once he has been apprehended."


    The Li clan members were thrilled as they stood up and circulated their Qi.


    Yet, the door only opened for a quarter that a silhouette flew out of the room in a flash and aimed a fist at the first one on his way.


    The Li clan member targeted was so flustered he hurriedly tried to use a defensive battle skill as scales grew on his skin.


    However the scales barely had the time to take form that Ye Mo''s fist connected with the Li clan member''s body.


    The scales on his body directly broke as he was sent rolling across the hall before he stopped unconscious against another closed room a distance away.


    Although Ye Mo didn''t see Li Qiang post members to monitor him as he was already in the room at that time, he was sure people were waiting for him outside.


    For what reason?


    Because that''s exactly what he would have done at his place.


    Li Qiang already nourished great hatred and made his mind to kill him, but he was the young master of the Li clan and a respected cultivator.


    Had he nothing better to do than wait for Ye Mo for an undetermined time? Even if that was the case he would absolutely never lower himself to such a thing so evidently he would use the various henchmen following him everywhere to carry his will.


    This was the most logical and coherent decision in this situation.


    Ye Mo, thinking so, rose up and when the door was open just enough to let his body slip by, he rushed out and carried a surprise attack on the nearest person standing on his way.


    If there was truly no one waiting for him so be it but if it was the case he would be able to swiftly take care of one of them right from the start!


    Without wasting any time, Ye Mo moved like a gale; He was not rushing towards the outside but rather climbing the stairs, aiming at the second floor as soon as he was done cultivating in the first one!


    "Stop right there!" Another Li clan member that was posted in front of his room quickly used a movement related battle skill, leaving his comrade behind as he went after Ye Mo with outstanding speed.


    He caught up with Ye Mo in no time as he brought the fight on the stairs, indubitably, his movement battle skill was of much better quality than his.


    Ye Mo seeing this turned around and sent a wave of Cyclone Kick.


    The speed of his attacks was so fast the Li clan member had no time to dodge so he created a water barrier in front of him that met the kicks and reduced both their strength and speed greatly.


    Using this chance after he nullified Ye Mo''s counter attack, the Li clan member''s fist turned black like obsidian as he attacked his opponent with all his strength.


    Ye Mo met the fist head on with a Stone Breaking Punch.


    The stalemate lasted for less than a second before the Li clan member shrieked! His arm broke as he was sent tumbling on the stairs, accumulating his injuries until he fell all the way down in his own blood.


    He surpassed his foe in terms of speed and he also had a defensive battle skill but in terms of attacking power, Ye Mo was still clear.


    By himself, this Li clan member had no chance to stop him and the last one remaining who saw the scene unfolding without being able to arrive in time knew it as he dashed with all his strength out of the pagoda to warn the heir of his clan.


    The assignment given by Li Qiang was to warn him once Ye Mo leaves the room but of course it also implied you had to stop him from going anywhere, that''s why he left three 7th layer cultivators behind, but now that it clearly wasn''t feasible, the last member would at least carry the original task.


    When Li Qiang intervened a month ago he only saw Liu Sen flying away and Ye Mo standing there with very weak Qi fluctuations meaning his Qi was nearly exhausted.


    This hint gave Li Qiang the assurance that their fight was a close call and Ye Mo could barely beat a 7th layer cultivator so three of them should be more than enough.


    How could he know the latter only had very low reserves of Qi at that time?


    Ye Mo didn''t stop the Li clan member from warning his young master.


    He and Li Qiang were of no interest to him.


    After one month of cultivation, he reached the peak of the 6th layer and had no shortage of Qi anymore, his dark eyes were now set towards the second floor as he climbed unperturbed.

 The Second Floor

    Ye Mo casually walked the stairs all the way to the second floor.


    The second floor was as large as the first one but it had ten doors less and the students here gave a much fiercer aura.


    He looked around at people fighting and others waiting expectingly in a corner and found out compared to the first floor, there were very few 6th layer cultivators.


    Most experts were at the 7th layer here with several 8th layer Qi Gathering realm cultivators mixed with the crowd.


    "In the first floor, the strongest cultivators were at the 8th layer while here they are at the peak of the 8th layer." From his sighting, Ye Mo could infer the power level of each floor.


    "In the third floor they should be at the 9th layer and the fourth floor must have cultivators of the peak of the Qi Gathering realm!"


    In the first floor, Ye Mo only saw two 8th layer cultivators among the students present and he didn''t have to fight against them to reach his door.


    Theses cultivators were the strongest in the base of the pagoda so you would rarely see or need to fight them because they were all cultivating inside rooms in the first place.


    With their high cultivation they didn''t have much trouble battling and reaching a stone door at this level so the rooms that were closed mostly contained these students, the two that Ye Mo spotted likely had other reasons to wait, probably trying to meet someone.


    In the second floor it was the same. Although the strongest students have a cultivation of the peak 8th layer, most of them were inside a room cultivating so there was no need to fight them.


    The 7th and 8th layer cultivators were the true opponents!


    Near an open room was a group of dozens of students fighting, the sound of punches, kicks and battle skills flying around in a loud banter.


    It was one of the largest group currently battling on the second floor and overall, it was very chaotic.


    Everyone was attacking the nearest student without rhyme nor reason, sometimes switching opponents without realizing.


    Ye Mo used the first phase of Shadow Walk then mixed with the crowd feining attacks at times or taking some in turns as he slowly progressed towards the stone door.


    Because his presence was concealed, barely anyone noticed him in this brawl much less target him. Sometimes, attacks would randomly go in his direction but it wasn''t something he couldn''t block or dodge particularly when he wasn''t the one aimed at in the first place.


    This way, he advanced until he reached the end of the crowd where two 8th layer cultivators faced each other near the room.


    "Now that im here, don''t even think about taking a step inside."


    "This room is mine, i was here first. Leave right away or i won''t have any pity even if i have to break every single bone of your body!"


    "Do you think this is some kind of race where the first here get to use the room? It''s all about strength, if you can''t defeat me you have no right to go in."


    Both cultivators were in a heated argument as they fought for the place behind the stone door.


    One had a bulky body and abnormally large hands and feets as he threw very heavy strikes while the other had a thin stature and was very swift and nimble, evading every blows without batting an eye.


    None of them could defeat the other as one couldn''t touch the thin cultivator while the other couldn''t deal enough damage to the bulky one hence it became a battle to see who would lose all his Qi or abandon first.


    While they battled each other, Ye Mo suddenly arrived by the side of the large cultivator and threw a punch, the Qi in his body circulating quickly.


    These two stood right between him and the stone door, he couldn''t bypass them without being seen so he attacked first!


    The cultivator with large hands and feets didn''t realize Ye Mo was this close when he was hit by a Stone Breaking Punch.


    The large cultivator retreated multiple steps before he fell on his knees, releasing a mouthful of blood on the ground.


    His organs just took a heavy blow and his bones were broken.


    "He must have been cultivating with techniques that modified his body. I didn''t hold back much this time but to think he''s still conscious and supporting himself." Ye Mo observed before activating Wind Flow.


    He quickly followed before the cultivator could recover and kicked him in the face, his nose breaking in two places while his eyes rolled back as he fainted.


    "Thanks for the help, you can go join him now for all i care!" the thin cultivator used this opportunity to attack Ye Mo.


    He moved with impressive speed as he appeared behind him and sent a palm strike.


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    However, sneak-attacks were Ye Mo''s specialty, how could he let himself get a taste of his own medicine when he was already aware of this person''s presence?


    While turning back, he raised his arms and used his forearms to block the palm.


    Taking the full brunt of the attack, Ye Mo retreated two steps before he regained his stability.


    "For an 8th layer cultivator, this attack was only average at best. This guy focused heavily on movements and neglected the rest." Although Ye Mo realized it, this didn''t help him deal with the situation.


    The cultivator''s speed far surpassed him and he had no way to touch him, all he could do was passively endure the opponent''s attacks.


    "Another one with a powerful body, such luck i have today!" The cultivator scowled as he stormed Ye Mo with strikes, both attacking and retreating in turns while the later slowly pulled back.


    Every time he was close enough for Ye Mo to catch him, he would escape his grasp and pull some distance before returning with another serie of blows.


    Being fast and evasive was the battle style of his foe!


    It went with the principle, "if you can''t touch me, you can''t defeat me."


    Ye Mo kept retreating while his opponent threw himself at him, raising a palm once again.


    At this moment, Ye Mo''s shoulder bumped against another student who was fighting near the door, among the crowd of contestants.


    For an instant, the student paused and looked at him confused but Ye Mo without any hesitation grabbed his leg and raised him upside down, using his body to block the palm strike.


    "Bastard!" The cultivator shouted as he ceased his palm, trying urgently to halt his momentum.


    Since the start, he has been attacking with all his strength, Ye Mo being a body refining cultivator, was not easy to bring down.


    However the student he caught was an ordinary 7th layer cultivator, if he took the palm strike at full force, there was a chance he could die.


    If he broke the rule, he would be subjected to a severe punishment before being expelled. This was something no member of the Tiger Martial Institute would want to face.


    Exerting himself to the best of his abilities, he was able to stop his charge right before Ye Mo, but the latter smiled deviously as he used the student in his hand like a weapon and swiped the space before him.


    His opponent''s movement abilities were formidable as even in this situation he was able to jump back and retreat while just an instant ago he was charging forward quickly.


    If Ye Mo was barehanded, he still wouldn''t have been able to touch him, but with the body of the student in his hand, his reach increased tremendously and the head sweeped the cultivator''s legs midair, making him lose balance and fall on the ground.


    Ye Mo released the student who continued it''s course and went flying until he crashed against several cultivators fighting a few meters away while he used Wind Flow.


    His opponent only had the time to raise his head when a foot suddenly fell on his tibia, crushing the muscles and shattering the bones.


    "AAAAH!!!" The cultivator gave a blood-curdling screech and his face became pale as he looked at his leg.


    Between his knee and the ankle, it was nothing more than a flat mess of flesh.


    Surrounded by wind currents, Ye Mo quickly closed the distance with the stone door and inserted 900 gold coins in the small hole in one go.


    Immediately, the interior lit up while the door rumbled and started to close itself.


    "Wait!"


    "Stop him!"


    "Sneaky bastard!"


    The scene attracted the attention of many students who tried to prevent him from going inside.


    One of them threw three needles from the distance which closed the gap in an instant.


    They were so fast Ye Mo didn''t even have the time to dodge so he raised his hand to block them as the needles penetrated his palm and blood sprayed on the ground.


    Another rushed towards him while opening his mouth, his tongue extending like a whip as it coiled around his wrist.


    With a movement of the arm, Ye Mo pulled the tongue expert towards him then with a kick he was returned crashing on the other side of the floor.


    After this, he slipped in the room through the remaining gap of the closing door and used it to take cover against the multiple attacks that flew in his direction.


    The door didn''t even budge before it completely closed itself, Ye Mo was safe for the next three months.


    Unbeknownst to him, a few minutes later, a team of Li clan members with their young master at their head arrived in the second floor.

 Heirs Altercation

    When they reached the second floor, the Li clan members looked around for a few moments before Li Qiang glared at one in particular.


    "I swear, he was heading towards the second floor. Maybe he did it purposefully and left the pagoda afterwards." The Li clan member said, frigtened.


    He was the one who left and reported the incident of Ye Mo leaving the room not too long ago.


    "Separate in groups of two and ask them if they saw something." Li Qiang instructed, looking at the other students present in the surroundings.


    His followers nodded as they formed four groups and left in different directions. They asked for informations to other cultivators but were careful to not approach those who were in the middle of fighting.


    After a few minutes they all returned, solemn and despondent.


    "Many of them saw him but from what they said, he has already entered a room in the second floor." Someone uttered in a low voice.


    Another nodded as he continued, "Apparently he found a way near a stone door and defeated some 8th layer cultivators, they tried to stop him but couldn''t do anything before he slipped inside."


    As he listened, Li Qiang''s fists clenched tightly until they turned pale from the lack of blood circulation.


    "It''s only been a few minutes since i have been told he left his room, how did he get one in the second floor this fast?"


    "No, the real question is how did he get the strength to obtain one. He only cultivated for one month, his cultivation shouldn''t have increased that much for him to defeat 8th layer cultivators!" Li Qiang raged inside.


    Ye Mo was only an unknown youth that suddenly appeared in the institute recruitment competition. Even by now, he still was only at the 6th layer of the Qi Gathering realm while Li Qiang wasn''t far from the 9th layer.


    Not too long ago he could only barely get a room on the first floor after taking his cousin''s hostage so although he was resolute in killing him, he never took him for a threat even as a joke.


    But now he could go as far as defeat 8th layer cultivators and cultivate in the second floor in the span of one month?


    Li Qiang was headstrong but he was no idiot as he began to reasses his enemy.


    While he still didn''t take Ye Mo for any danger, he was taking this affair seriously now.


    On the stairs leading to the third floor, an ugly girl gracefully walked down by herself.


    She was satisfied after a round of cultivation but when she noticed Li Qiang''s group, she frowned as she turned around and went in their direction.


    Li Qiang was still musing when he noticed her approaching and quickly cut his thoughts short as he watched her come.


    When there was only one step apart from each other, she opened her mouth, "Li Qiang what is this gathering of Li clan members? Stop making them follow you everywhere, they can''t be here if they don''t have the strength to remain by themselves." The girl spoke, clearly annoyed as she looked at his underlings.


    Among them were several 6th and 7th layer cultivators. Many that would come on the second floor with this cultivation would be attacked and injured, leaving the pagoda in a worse state than they came in but because they followed Li Qiang, no one dared approach them.


    This was clearly Li Qiang using his power and authority to protect them when the pagoda was meant to be a place for battles where only the strong should prevail.


    "What does it matter to you Yan Mei? Go on your way already!" Li Qiang said coldly.


    Despite the fact Yan Mei always fared better than him in the competitions of the Tiger Martial Institute, he wasn''t afraid of her. If it was necessary then he would fight her and show everyone who was truly the most powerful!


    This was all the pride and confidence he built upon his abilities as he refused to be inferior to anyone.


    "Im telling you, if you plan to defeat other students to make your people hog all the rooms for themselves like last time when you helped your cousin, i will directly intervene and stop you." The young miss of the Yan clan continued, not minding Li Qiang''s tone.


    A month and a half ago, Li Qiang went on the second floor with his cousin and defeated people in her stead, offering a room for her to cultivate.


    The latter didn''t battle but she still enjoyed the benefits of the pagoda, this was an unfair treatment that left a bitter taste in the heart of everyone present.


    Among envy, the Tiger Martial institute turning a blind eye to the incident only served to increase the resentment students felt, partially towards Li Qiang but mostly against Li Xiurong who was seen as a scrounger that used others strength for her own interest.


    Of course no one dared personally search trouble with her knowing her connections.


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    Yan Mei seemingly heard about it and now that she saw Li Qiang and his band she straightforwardly confronted him on this matter.


    "Hmph, who do you take me for, i know that already. I don''t plan to help them so if you''re done nagging, you can leave." Li Qiang said irritated.


    However Yan Mei stayed on her place looking straight in his eyes. Only when she was assured he wouldn''t favour his people again in the pagoda did she walk away with a sigh.


    If after that she still heard he was beating students to give rooms for his clan members, she will return and their next discussion would be with steel and Qi.


    There were two places in the institute where students could fight, the pagoda and the arena.


    Outside of official competitions, the arena could be used by disciples that wanted to test their abilities to fight each others and could also be used to settle a grudge between them the only condition being that both cultivators are consentent.


    When the hatred and resentment was so big between them that they couldn''t live under the same sky anymore, they could also fight to the death if both were willing but the institute would always try to dissuade them first, this was only happening as a last resort when the grievance was too big between them.


    Students could also bet on the result of their fight and the institute would personally intervene to make sure the loser would meet the end of the deal.


    Even outside of the pagoda, Yan Mei could still publicly challenge Li Qiang to a fight on the arena. With his personality, there was no chance he would refuse.


    It was different to Ye Mo who had no care about fame and reputation, seeing only his benefits in priority.


    That''s also why Li Qiang was so determined to catch him when he was still inside and can''t escape a fight.


    "Annoying woman." Li Qiang snorted.


    He felt she was a big hypocrite, coming to warn him about this when she had the biggest group of clan members passing the first phase of the Tiger Martial institute''s recruitment competition.


    Clearly she didn''t skimp on helping her Yan clan either.


    "Young master, what do we do now?" One Li clan member asked hesitant.


    "Has it been seen how much gold Ye Mo used near the stone door?" Li Qiang asked as he returned to the previous matter.


    "No, it happened too suddenly and people realized too late what hapenned but from the looks of it, it shouldn''t be less than last time." One of his subordinates answered truthfully.


    "Fine, you guys can leave for now, as for i..." Li Qiang looked at the stairs leading to the third floor.


    When his band departed and he was by himself, he resolutely took the flight of stairs and walked up.


    If Ye Mo could cultivate on the second floor, then he would take it up a notch and immediately cultivate on the third floor though it was also because he saw Yan Mei''s descent.


    Obviously she just cultivated there as well.


    In a room of the second floor, Ye Mo marveled at the dense Qi floating inside. Compared to cultivation in his house, this was a difference between heaven and earth.


    He could only imagine the benefits if he cultivated on the top floor of the pagoda, the Qi should be so concentrated it would be palpable.


    However, the fifth to the seventh floor was accessible only to the higher-ups with a cultivation of the Foundation Establishment realm.


    Even in the top floor there was an unspoken rule, the best room was reserved to Hong Li and no one shall use it for himself.


    The pagoda was a place where you had to fight and defeat the contestants wanting your room to get inside, this rule was no different among instructors who had to continually improve themselves to keep using them.


    If someone tried to use his room, Hong Li would indubitably take this as a challenge on himself and attack the cultivator without any delay.


    With his powerful Inner Core realm cultivation no one could defeat him in the institute and the cultivator who took his room would end up in a really tough position, getting ruthlessly beaten up by the dean.


    In the room, Ye Mo removed the needles piercing his palm without any reaction, the three holes releasing a small spurt of blood on the ground.


    With the regenerative abilities of his body, he could already feel the wounds healing and after bandaging his hand, he didn''t bother about it anymore as it gradually stopped bleeding.


    The needles instead were placed in his pouch.


    "With such concentrated Qi, i should be able to tackle the 7th layer of the Qi Gathering realm soon." Ye Mo thought as he picked four pieces of cloth from his spatial pouch.


    Once again he covered the light crystals as he sat in darkness, motionless.


    Practice makes perfect and Ye Mo returned to multitasking, both cultivating and training Shadow Walk at the same time.

 Wealth is Too Important

    The sky was not yet bright, and the sun had yet to rise. In the east, rays of light just began to show themselves, the dark colors in the sky slowly fading away, the smell of the night still remaining in the air.


    In the north-east of the disciple district, the door of a house was suddenly swung open, hitting loudly against the wall on the other side, as Fang Jishen stepped out of his house.


    He wore a wide smile and his face was flushed red, his entire being brimmed with excitement. The air was freezing outside but he didn''t feel the slightest cold rush; his heart was full of surging enthusiasm.


    He left his garden with quick steps and walked swiftly on the streets of the Tiger Martial Institute.


    "For nearly seven months, i cultivated bitterly at home even cutting my sleep short at times. I used all my economies and even indebted myself of 100 gold coins from my family and now finally i''ve successfully attained the 7th layer of the Qi Gathering realm. I am a rank 3 talent and i worked hard all this time, Ye Mo should still be in the low levels of the Qi Gathering realm, he can''t compare to me!"


    Fang Jishen felt joy and pride. Cultivating takes time but after spending his wealth on some ressources to accelerate the process, combined with his rank 3 talent, he was able to breakthough after months of dedication.


    When he thought about it, he couldn''t remember a time when he cultivated this hard in the past.


    "Just you wait Ye Mo, once i find you, i will beat you to the ground until you can''t even look at me in the eyes. This humilliation you made me endure, i will repay it tenfold!"


    The more he thought, the more he grew excited. He could not help but clench his fists, and his pace quickened a little more as he went towards Ye Mo''s house.


    Among all the students of the Tiger Martial institute, he was one of the two that knew of it''s location.


    In the past, he was caught unprepared but this time he would attack first! With his 7th layer cultivation surely Ye Mo won''t stand a chance.


    Although it wasn''t day yet, the students of the institute numbered in thousands and there would always be a few you would come across on the streets at all time.


    This moment didn''t make exception as Fang Jishen passed by several small groups.


    One was seemingly talking about the difficulty of obtaining a high level martial art, another speculated on Shen Xue''s true strength.


    There was also a student supported by his friend, his eyes half-closed and his steps unsteady. Obviously he was heavily drunk and stood in a semi-conscious state, nearly falling multiple times but his friend grabbed him by the waist and passed his arm over his shoulders, making sure he stood away from harm.


    The third one gossiped on Li Qiang''s last actions, "He was so angry after his conversation with Yan Mei that he went up the third floor of the pagoda. It''s been a week now and he''s still cultivating."


    One student jeered as he immediately rebuted, "You''re not very well informed here. He was angry because he couldn''t catch the kid, or else why would he bring his mob of Li clan members, these guys would be useless against Yan Mei."


    "Oh you''re talking about Ye Mo? To think he was able to defeat 8th layer cultivators and obtain a room on the second floor, this guy can''t be underestimated anymore but to say he''s actually a problem for Li Qiang, aren''t you taking it a bit too far?"


    When he heard Ye Mo''s name, Fang Jishen''s steps slowed down and his joyful expression stood rooted on his face in puzzlement.


    He was wondering if he misheard or maybe there was another student called Ye Mo that he wasn''t aware of.


    "Who knows, for him to attain the 6th layer this fast as a rank 2 talent, this is really strange. Now that he''s cultivating in the second floor he will probably reach the 7th layer."


    "Actually, for cultivators with low talent like him, surpassing others speed and progressing this fast is not impossible."


    "True, there are several methods in this world that can achieve such a thing, the easiest and most direct method is the Sparkling Light Grape which upon consumption will nurture new wisps of Qi in your dantian and condense them into the next layer, immediately making you breaking through."


    The group of students kept walking as their discussion evolved into different subjects with all sorts of gossips and opinions.


    Fang Jishen stopped in the middle of the street, his head lowered as his expression turned grave.


    Even his talent match, is it really him?


    Impossible, he was only in the beginning of the Qi Gathering realm, he couldn''t possibly have gone through this much in such a short time?!


    He couldn''t make any sense of the conversation he just heard.


    Months ago, he took part as an envoy in the trade between Ye Mo and the Liu clan however he was never told what it involved as he just gave the package and received one, being both fearful and furious to be part of the exchange, he quickly did his part and returned to his house after that.


    In his mind, Ye Mo should have only obtained a few hundred gold coins and maybe a spiritual tool or a battle skill at best, since he was dealing with a whole clan by himself so of course it would be nothing too exagerated as Fang Jishen didn''t know the history between him and the Liu clan.


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    The Sparkling Light Grape wasn''t even considered, it was far too rare for the Liu clan to even have one and even if they did, they would have used it long ago. In the worst case where they had one and didn''t use it, they would never in a chance give it to Ye Mo.


    After an instant spent in thoughts, Fang Jishen quickly raised his head and ran with all his strength towards Ye Mo''s house, a trace of apprehension quickly developing in his heart.


    Shortly after, he stood in front of his stone dwelling, breathing loudly.


    Fang Jishen knocked three times but there was still no responses inside so he just pushed the door open. Ye Mo didn''t even bother to lock the entrance and soon a room with a bed, a desk and a red mat on the ground welcomed Fang Jishen''s view.


    "There''s no one! This monk that would seldom leave his house isn''t here, so it was true after all, he really is cultivating in the second floor of the pagoda."


    Suddenly, Fang Jishen''s legs lost strength as he fell on his knees.


    He just stood at the door, silly.


    "It can''t be possible! I worked so hard all this time but this scum already almost caught up to me, are the heavens making a joke to me, even i never stepped a foot in the pagoda yet but now he is cultivating in the second floor!" Fang Jishen roared in his heart.


    The truth was so much different from his imagination; It wasn''t just about Ye Mo''s cultivation but also the shocking news of him defeating 8th layer cultivators. The further you went in cultivation, the greater the gap between each breakthrough. Ye Mo being able to defeat students two layers higher than him was simply inconceivable.


    "How did he grow so strong, did the Liu clan really hand over their legacy battle skill, or is body refining that advantageous?"


    Fang Jishen felt despondency, confusion, unwillingness, fear and other complicated feelings.


    All the courage he had gathered quickly deflated like a balloon. It all started like a dream as he rushed towards his house soon after breaking through without properly gathering Qi in his dantian, confident he could win without much trouble even with low reserves of Qi.


    Yet now, it ended like a nightmare and Fang Jishen only wished he would wake up in his bed the next instant.


    Ye Mo''s Black Vortex cultivation technique was far superior in speed to Fang Jishen''s one and taking into account the Meridian Purifying pill, he easily surpassed his pace. Adding to that Ye Mo has been continously consuming Spirit Qi pills for several months and his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds while Fang Jishen only enjoyed ressources here and there but during these seven months, he mostly cultivated by himself, evidently he couldn''t compare.


    He stood half kneeling in front of the entrance with a blank stare for a long time before he slowly dragged his body back.


    As time went by, the sun climbed higher.


    Ye Mo''s performance in the pagoda became one of the after-meal topic for weeks and led to all kinds of reactions in his surroundings, Fang Jishen being just one of them.


    Within a room in the Liu clan estate, Liu Dan looked at a yougster with an ice-cold expression.


    "You have been cultivating for four years in the institute but you get defeated like a toddler by this kid. Is this how you''re gonna thank us after all the ressources we have invested in you?" Liu Dan suddenly scolded mercilessly.


    "This is this junior''s mistake, i couldn''t meet ancestor''s expectations and ask for his forgiveness." Liu Sen said his head lowered.


    His face was very pale and although his bones seemed healed, injuries remained in his body.


    Liu Dan was silent for a moment, making the atmosphere grow tense within the room.


    After some time, he sighed deeply, "What''s done is done, i didn''t expect him to grow so strong this fast either. This threat is becoming bigger by the day, we have to get rid of him."


    "You told me he went cultivating in the room after defeating you?" Liu Dan asked with a glint in his eyes.


    "Yes, from what i heard, after a short scuffle with the Li clan young master, he cultivated for a month in the room."


    "Not too long ago he even went to the second floor and obtained a room, as we''re talking he should still be inside cultivating." Liu Sen reported everything.


    What he said wasn''t anything complicated to learn and even though he was unconscious after fighting with Ye Mo, he easily heard of everything that hapenned later on.


    "Hmm, even the second floor at that, it must have cost a lot of gold coins, his finances should be tight, even you can only cultivate for a few days a month at best with your financial situation." Liu Dan said as something came to his mind


    "When Liu Zhi is done with his cultivation, send him over here. I have an important task he needs to carry." With a wave of the hand, Liu Dan sent Liu Sen away.


    With instructions given, he left with a bow, relieved to have escaped punishment.


    "Right, as long as he wants to cultivate, wealth is too important, no one can ignore it." Liu Dan thought, sitting behind a desk as a smile crept up on his face rendering him even more sinister.

 One Talent to Determine Your Future

    "To think, he attained the 6th layer and even cultivated in the second floor of the pagoda, this is truly difficult to believe." Hong Li exclaimed with raised eyebrows, reading reports on recent events.


    "With his talent, it''s impossible for him to have such achievements in this short of a time and even if he used Spirit Qi pills, at best, he could only reach the 4th layer before his body would be completely polluted."


    While pondering, Hong Li picked up another report detailing Ye Mo''s everyday life in the institute.


    The report was very short, containing only a few sentences, basically, all his time was spent cultivating behind closed doors. Whether it''s in the pagoda or his own house, his days were used in cultivation with certain periods set in training to familiarize with his battle skills.


    "He''s extremely hardworking, almost obsessively, other students of his age would only cultivate a few hours a day at most and use the rest of the time to socialize and indulge in various activities. Even i didn''t work this much in my youth yet it still doesn''t explain how he got these accomplishments. No matter how much he cultivates, he''s only a rank 2 talent and can''t progress this fast by himself."


    The third report Hong Li read was about Ye Mo''s cultivation technique.


    "Hmm, the Black Vortex is among the best high-tier cultivation techniques in terms of speed we have in the institute, paired with his powerful body, it''s clearly a good choice but this is still far from enough to explain his progress. Did he really get his hands on an Encompassing Washing Pill?" Hong Li was in thought.


    On one hand he was amazed by Ye Mo''s performance in the pagoda, defeating cultivators two layers higher than yours was nothing short of astounding. However, contrary to others shock, Hong Li wasn''t really surprised by his victories.


    Since the start, he has never stint on praises about Ye Mo''s combat abilities. In front of a 5th layer body refining cultivator, Ye Mo was able to turn the tides with just his body and mortal martial arts alone, his instincs were superb while he was vicious and merciless. He was simply a born battle-freak.


    Someone like him, if he was well-nurtured and fought for the prestige of the Tiger Martial Institute, he would be a real disaster for their ennemies.


    If not why would the dean, one of the most powerful cultivator of Azure Water city, wish to take him as a disciple? In his life, the number of people he considered taking under his wing could be counted with the fingers of his hands.


    Unfortunately, it was revealed he had only rank 2 talent and wouldn''t go far in cultivation, even to this day, Hong Li felt it was a pity.


    If Ye Mo could have such results with just body refining alone, he could only imagine how his battle strength would grow once he cultivate Qi and get his hands on some battle skills and indeed he wasn''t let down.


    Hong Li was aged and knew well the difference between two layers in the late Qi Gathering realm. Even taking into account body refining, an ordinary cultivator should only be able to fight one layer higher than himself at this point. Ye Mo defeating two 8th layer was a matter of the weak defeating the strong.


    This was a talent for battle!


    Opposite to his battle strength, what he was really suspiscious about was Ye Mo''s fast advancement on his cultivation.


    "The kid definitely has a secret."


    The goal of every martial artist is to advance smoothly through their cultivation and encounter the less difficulties possible during their journey.


    Seeing a rank 2 talent like Ye Mo shatter common knowledge, people would at least be intrigued and at most feel envy and greed burn their heart, trying to unravel this mistery at all costs.


    It was in everyone''s nature to seek the best for themselves, if they couldn''t find a way on their own, they would take it from someone else.


    Hong Li as a cultivator himself was no different but as a person in power for a long time, he had perfect control over his desires and would show nothing on the outside, looking at the big picture first before his own benefits.


    Beside these, on his desk were other reports like Ye Mo''s family background but nothing useful could be learned from them hence being cast aside.


    At this time someone knocked on the door outside the room.


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    "Come in."


    The door opened and Han Zhen Jun presented himself in front of Hong Li, "You called for me?".


    "Yes, i want you to send a small team to investigate Ye Mo and find out how he progressed so fast." Hong Li said with a deep voice.


    "I understand, it will be done. Should i personally involve myself, the investigation would be faster and lead better results this way." Han Zhen Jun suggested, discerning his superior''s train of thoughts.


    He was an Inner Core realm expert himself, no matter how good a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator is at his field of work, it won''t compare with him if he puts his mind to it.


    "No!" Hong Li quickly said, "The year end competition against the Sky and Golden Martial Institute is nearing, i need you there to overview the preparations and make sure everything is perfect."


    Han Zhen Jun paused for a moment before he looked at Hong Li, "You know, if you really want to learn how he did it, we could still coerce him and force him to spit everything. He''s just a junior after all, it wouldn''t be difficult..."


    Hong Li shook his head retorting, "You have been supporting me without fault for quite some time now, however your grasp of the situation is still too small. We are the righteous Tiger Martial Institute, how could we take it out on a student? Where would our reputation go, who would want to join our institute in the future, who would feel safe behind our walls? Only one incident is enough for the others to grow restless, students would leave us while in the future, they would favorise the Sky Martial Institute over ours."


    "Moreover, we are operating under the Raging Saber Sect''s name, damaging our reputation with this kind of act is the same as damaging theirs and we migh lose their support."


    He sighed before adding, "Everyone has their own secrets, i am just slightly interested to see if it could benefits the institute but not to the point where it cloud my judgement, risking everything this easily."


    "Fine, but since you''re asking me i guess you have heard the news of his feats in the pagoda?" Han Zhen Jun looked at Hong Li with a meaningful gaze.


    Hong Li and Han Zhen Jun have been leading the Tiger Martial Institute for twenty years and knew each other well.


    His gaze shone as he immediately understood, "He reached the second floor with a 6th layer cultivation and defeated stronger cultivators thus showing his own abilities. The institute purpose is to raise elite cultivators and send them to the Raging Saber Sect, those who display talent or potential in any field, proving their own worth, are rewarded. Send someone to give him entry to the third floor of the towers."


    Han Zhen Jun nodded then continued, "Should we also prepare gold coins or some ressources to offer as it has been custom to do so in addition to the token."


    "This is not necessary, ultimately he''s only rank 2 and his potential is limited, this won''t change no matter how much he struggle. The institute ressources, it''s better to spend them on true geniuses like Shen Xue or Jin Hao Tian."


    Hong Li stood up with a distant gaze and looked out of the window at the vibrant scenery, "In this world, rank 0 means no talent for cultivation, a complete waste of time. Rank 1 if they cultivate dilligently, can reach the peak of the Qi Gathering realm while a few of them could even breakthrough Foundation Establishment with difficulty. Rank 2 like him, in their lifetime, can only attain the Foundation Establishment realm and in some rare cases, the Inner Core realm."


    "As for rank 3, they can hope for the Inner Core realm but would stop here, only with luck would a small percentage of them reach a higher realm. Rank 4 could go even beyond while for Rank 5, their talent is limitless and only their determination will decide where they stop at, in the case, of course, that they don''t die prematurely."


    "That''s why, no matter how intelligent he is or how good he can fight, investing in Ye Mo is like trying to make a dog fly in the sky, no matter how much you take care of him, it has clear limitations defined from birth and is bound to run on the ground. Let the investigative team do their work and focus your attention on those rank 4 and 5 shining stars, they are the one who will make their name resound under the heavens."


    "Yes dean, your subordinate takes his leave." said Han Zhen Jun as he left the room.

 The Challenge

    In the pagoda, it has been more than a month since Ye Mo entered a room on the second floor.


    At this time, he was cultivating cross-legged, his black shirt quickly grew damp and was removed while on his skin, veins of sweat progressed downwards all over his body. On his face, the sweat would travel towards his nose and chin before forming beads that fell on his legs.


    After a moment, he slowly opened his eyes, breathing deeply, "Multitasking is very exhausting however this is the most efficient way to train and maximise my gains, i just need to become proficient enough for it to become natural." Ye Mo thought when he stood up and reached in his spatial pouch.


    As he pulled up, the opening of the pouch quickly enlarged as a big copper cauldron was placed at the center of the room.


    The cauldron was big enough to contain a person inside and if Ye Mo had another, he would have been unable to place it as the room already felt cramped with one.


    Soon, a fire was lit below while water and various herbs were placed inside. When the water started boiling, Ye Mo extinguished the fire and removed his clothes before bathing inside the cauldron.


    "This time, my finances truly hit rock bottom, i only have 52 gold coins left. The year end competition is arriving quickly and after leaving this room, i will only have a month and a half to prepare myself before it takes place."


    "The best would be for me to cultivate one more month inside the pagoda but with my current wealth, this is out of question. Since it has come to this, i have no other choice." Ye Mo ruminated over this problem for a moment in his bath before his gaze grew firm.


    He was unwilling to dwell on this matter for too long so he decided to sell his blood cores excluding, evidently, the one from the rank 3 Wrathful Black Ape.


    "The rewards for the year-end competition is a peak-tier Yellow Class martial art, i can''t pass on this occasion. Soon after the competition, will be the time for the students under sixteen with a cultivation of the eigth layer or more to go for the Raging Saber Sect, i will have to find the secret cave before that."


    When he left his bath, Ye Mo''s skin was unchanched under the boiling water. Previously it would always take a red tone, suffering from the high temperature, but now it retained it''s auburn aspect demonstrating his body''s increased resistance since he broke through the second revolution of the Fiend Body.


    He didn''t lose a single moment and after he was done with his medicinal bath, he immediately resumed multitasking.


    Quickly, the three months of cultivation passed and the stone door rumbled.


    When they heard the door move, many students outside stood up and observed the scene eagerly.


    Ye Mo''s figure appeared inside and walked out calmly, wearing the Tiger Martial Institute''s uniform.


    After another three months in cultivation, all the scars he wore on his face grew faint then disappeared revealing his plain features.


    In the surroundings were a lot of people fighting but even more were waiting for a door to open and a chance to cultivate inside.


    The first time he came here, many blocked his path, attacking him from all sides but now as he left, no one budged.


    Not only he was much stronger than before, attaining a cultivation of the 7th layer with wisps of Qi completely filling his dantian, but he was also leaving the pagoda. Since he wasn''t obstructing their way, they didn''t have to fight him.


    There were a few that had the idea of causing trouble with him to incur favors towards Li Qiang but his leisurely attitude and his powerful body made them lose confidence.


    They weren''t sure to win before and even less now, in addition, Li Qiang was different from the friendly Gao Lixin, beating Ye Mo didn''t mean he would necessarily receive them warmly.


    Creating enmity just for the sake of enmity was the act of a fool and in the end they didn''t act.


    When he left their sights, the students sized up each other for an instant, restless, before they throwed themselves towards the door like a pack of hungry beasts.


    Ye Mo walked down the stairs and left the building only to find Wang Fei waiting in front of the entrance.


    When he noticed him, Wang Fei walked towards Ye Mo with a smile making the latter understand he was here for him.


    "Hehe, Ye Mo, such a fierce presence you have here, i heard you have been doing well recently?"


    Ye Mo nodded silently.


    This instructor would always hid his intentions behind a fake smile so people couldn''t decipher his thoughts. This kind of people, he would rather keep his distances if he couldn''t defeat them.


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    Wang Fei''s smile stiffened for an instant but he quickly hid it and asked directly, "Your cultivation soared since you joined our grand institute, tell me, how did you attain the 7th layer this fast with only a rank 2 talent?"


    "There''s an old saying, ''A man''s efforts are never betrayed'', with this notion in mind, this junior worked hard all these months, never slacking off a single instant and this is the result." Ye Mo answered, slightly amused.


    "Lies!" Wang Fei shouted in his mind but outside he kept a composed expression as he started emitting a bit of pressure, his presence growing in front of Ye Mo.


    However Ye Mo wasn''t even looking at him but glancing at the surroundings peacefully. When he entered the pagoda, the air was freezing and the land was covered in snow but now the ground was completely cleared, a small breeze caressed his body and the sunshine warmed the earth as spring already replaced winter.


    "Since i started my cultivation, i seldom witnessed the passing of seasons. Cultivating is detaching yourself from the world, rejecting the heavens, focusing only on oneself. By being too involved with the outside world, you can''t truly progress, the clan leaders and persons of importance, they have too much responsibilities, cultivating in closed doors for months like i did would be unconceivable for them."


    For a cultivator, being slowed down by duties or chasing material goods is the same as someone cooking two meals at the same time, you can''t go far by putting only half your efforts in everything you do. Only by being selfish, separating yourself from the rest and only putting your goal in mind do you have the best chances to achieve success.


    As he thought of this a slight smile formed on his juvenile face, while a deep silence seated between the instructor and the student.


    "This Ye Mo is unbothered and it''s not like i can forcefully interrogate him here. Forget it, the private investigation is already in place, i will soon know how he did it." While in thoughts, Wang Fei retracted his pressure and tossed a token.


    "It''s for you, keep working hard." Wang Fei said as he left.


    Ye Mo caught the token which was an entry to the third floor of the tower of his choice but he sneered as he saw Wang Fei walk away.


    "They must really grow impatient, to think they would go as far as pressuring me, rank 2 talents are really seen poorly."


    Nonetheless, Ye Mo was contented. With this token, he will be able to cover another aspect of his combat system.


    As soon as he received the token, he took the direction of the battle skill tower but he didn''t even make it halfway that a young man with long green hairs cascading down his back blocked his path.


    "So you''re this Ye Mo huh, there''s no mistake. I came as soon as you left the pagoda, i have a proposition for you."


    "Shouldn''t you state your identity before anything else?" Ye Mo said as he looked at the man, with a frown.


    "Sure, sure. My name is Liu Zhi from the Liu clan. I have been cultivating for seven years in the Tiger Martial Institute so as your senior, you should greet me cordially the next time we meet."


    "Oh so it''s senior brother, how is your young master doing?" Ye Mo jeered at this senior brother of his.


    "Bastard!" Liu Zhi immediately shouted in rage then took a second to calm himself and continued, "I came here to propose you a fight in the arena. If you win i will sell all my pills and hand over 500 gold coins but if you lose you have to follow me back to my Liu clan, what do you think? I heard you''re in need of money currently, that''s not a bad offer if you want to keep cultivating in the pagoda, right?"


    Ye Mo took some time, seemingly in consideration with deep frowning brows however his decision was near immediately taken and after a moment he said, "Alright, but the fight will take place in one week. This is my sole condition if you want it to happen."


    "Haha, what do you expect to achieve in one week, either fight or don''t, but since you insist fine. See you in a week at the arena." Liu Zhi laughed while leaving the place while inside he was exhulting.


    "Ancestor was right! This idiot only see his own benefits, he even accepted this arrangement just for some gold coins hehehe, this time he''s done for, with my 9th layer cultivation he''s as good as our prisoner. If once he lose, he goes against his own words, the higher-ups will personally send him to my Liu clan." Liu Zhi was thrilled.


    He was already 22 years old and with his cultivation this kid had no chance.


    "Among those he defeated were weaklings and some he took by surprise but here it will be a 1 on 1 in the arena and im a powerful senior disciple, with me it will be different."


    Liu Zhi smiled coldly on his way home.


    He couldn''t wait for the fight to start.

 Body Refining takes Time, Ressources and Fortitude.

    "I''m really lucky, i have been worrying about gold all these months but to think that as soon as i left the pagoda, i was presented with this opportunity, i can''t miss this chance."


    In life, often when people seek something urgently, they would search low and high without being able to find it.


    In contrary they would get their hands on many things in their search they didn''t ask for.


    That''s why acquiring something when you need it the most is called a fortuitous encounter.


    Ye Mo didn''t turn down this occasion because he needs gold coins the most, does this meant he wasn''t aware of the Liu clan''s scheme? Of course not, anyone in his situation would understand they tried to force him in a position where he would be defeated then become a pig sent to the butcher.


    They didn''t try to hide it because they couldn''t, but after getting an understanding of Ye Mo''s character, Liu Dan was persuaded he would accept.


    In this world, nothing was free, risks and rewards often comes together. If he accepted, it''s above all because he believes he has his own chances in this fight.


    If the risk was greater than the rewards and he didn''t think he could win then even if a million gold was offered he would still deny the proposition.


    Life is the most important, without his life how can he carry his dream to fruition.


    "Liu Zhi has been in the institute longer and is much more powerful than Liu Sen, he can''t be taken lightly. However those two are the only Liu clan members they have inside currently, if i win, they won''t be able to plot against me anymore and have no choice but to wait outside for a chance when i leave the institute." Ye Mo thought as he kept going.


    On his way he passed by the body refining and the cultivation tower. There wasn''t much to say on the cultivation tower however the body refining tower that was usually the less visited of the three was crowded this time and Ye Mo could see many students going in and out of the entrance.


    "What is this sudden interest for body refining cultivation techniques? Could it be..." Ye Mo didn''t realize it since he was cultivating in the pagoda but many were surprised by the fact he was able to successively cultivate on the first, then the second floor, defeating 8th layer cultivators on the spot to gain a room.


    In their mind, it was just too sudden.


    For everyone, Ye Mo was just a coward and a loser, not only his talent and cultivation was low, but he didn''t even have the spirit to fight in competitions and try his best. He was seen as one of the worst student in the institute when asked about and many despised him.


    So when he abruptly showed such prowesses, surpassing the abilities of the majority of students, it was evident they would be startled.


    It was like mocking an ant for being small and weak before it suddenly turned into a tiger and ravaged the land, wouldn''t you be shocked?


    Contrary to the dean of the Tiger Martial Institute, what students were the most interested about was Ye Mo''s battle strength, fighting two layers above himself.


    They speculated a lot among themselves and didn''t take long to reach a consensus. The most uncommon trait about Ye Mo was his body refining cultivation, it must be the secret for his strength!


    So over days and weeks, more and more students started picking and dabbling in body refining arts, hopeful that their battle strength would be raised tremendously and they would defeat higher level cultivators in no time.


    All these students, they were half-right and half-wrong.


    It was true that Ye Mo''s body refining cultivation was his greatest advantage currently but they were also wrong thinking they could reach the same effects after training for some time.


    Because body refining took time, ressources and fortitude and Ye Mo could have such achievements this fast only because he cultivated a Star Class demonic art!


    In Azure Water City, there were only Yellow Class martial arts no matter their classification and it was also the case for institutes.


    Over the course of months, many started body refining with enthusiasm and determination but even the most obstinated of them gave up at some point.


    The cultivation of body refining was too brutal and painful, many could not endure it to completion, at the same time, a lot of them needed extremely pricy ressources consumed on a daily basis to be cultivated.


    Wether willingly or forcefully, they had to abandon at some point.


    If at least the body refining technique gave great benefits, making their battle strength increase exponentially, why not, but the results were far from what Ye Mo demonstrated in his fights.


    Nonetheless, after three months, there were still many that didn''t try body refining yet and thought it would be different with themselves hence there were still a lot of people visiting the body refining tower, continuing this tendency.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    However, even more of them cried tears of blood over the token they wasted for a technique they couldn''t even cultivate when they could have acquired a powerful battle skill in it''s place.


    This only testified of the desperation the students felt to increase their strength in the remaining time even by the smallest margin for the oncoming year-end competition, trying all kinds of ways to quickly grow in the last days, verified or not.


    "What did you pick?"


    "I used a token for the third floor to make sure to get something good and obtained the High-tier Frenzy Lightning body refining technique, and you?"


    "Are you crazy, you need to be hit by lightnings repeatedly to cultivate this art, are you trying to kill yourself? As far as i''m concerned i took the Elephant Fortress art."


    "Hmph, and i am the crazy one? You must consume Bone Densifying pills to cultivate this technique, where will you find the money, did you inherit a mountain of gold from your father the city gate guard?"


    Disciples argued and mocked their choices while he passed by.


    "Hehe, they are bound to be disappointed." Ye Mo snickered as he continued.


    Those techniques would only give them benefits similar to Ha Jun and even after training them to completion through years, they would only be on par with the second or third revolution of the Fiend Body at best.


    In just one or two months, the results would be small.


    Every body refining techniques had their own difficulties to train in.


    In Ye Mo''s case, the ressources needed to progress in his art was human lives, for some it would be great as they didn''t need to waste their wealth and could just kill to become stronger, but for others it was the most unnacceptable of method and they wouldn''t train this art no matter what.


    However, the truth was that many would actually betray their moralities when presented with such a clear opportunity to gain power.


    In a few minutes, Ye Mo arrived at the battle skill tower and showed his token before going in and taking the stairs.


    "With this new battle skill, i will be able to cover another aspect of my combat system, investigation wouldn''t be very useful for a one on one fight in the arena so i will rule it out for now, leaving me with either defense or healing."


    Ye Mo pondered as he reached the third floor and quickly made his choice.


    He recalled when he went in search for the secret cave for the first time and how he have been hovering near death after being in the surroundings of the blast between the Wrathful Black Ape and the Firebird.


    He had to continously take pills and cultivate for one day and two nights, almost completely emptying his stock, for him to be able to move again.


    This would have been the perfect situation for an healing technique and he felt it was a pity he didn''t have one at this time so he decided to go this way.


    He browsed through several healing techniques, finding many interesting ones as he ingrained them in mind, his knowledge still growing.


    High-tier Yellow Class Blood Flower Battle Skill: When cut or suffering an injury leaking blood, this technique creates a flower of blood that grows and blooms on the base of the wound before it would wilt and fall down in the span of a few seconds. When it drops, the injury would have been healed completely and nothing will remain on its place.


    High consumption of Qi, most suited for high talent cultivators who can replenish their Qi quickly.


    High-tier Yellow Class Poison Swallowing Battle Skill: When activated, the user can consume and digest any kind of harmful toxins and poison. Can also be used to spit the poison back, becoming both an healing and offensive technique.


    "Hmm, Liu Han would probably have been saved with this battle skill in hand but who knows, if other clans dares poison him, they should have used a very powerful one that can''t be healed by your average technique." Ye Mo''s thoughts drifted as he kept reading about various battle skills.


    Ye Mo began skimming through several manuals as time was limited here.


    "That''s it!" Ye Mo rejoiced, after dozens of minutes, he finally found a desirable healing battle skill.


    After returning to the ground floor and unsealing the manual with the attendant, he placed it in his pouch and hurried back home.


    He was excited and when he finally reached his familiar little stone house, he took it out and placed it on the desk.


    On the cover could be read ''Endless Vitality'' battle skill.


    "After covering another aspect with this new art, my battle strength will at minimum double!" Ye Mo''s eyes shined fervently.


    Every new surge in strength was another small step towards his goal!

 Suffer to Succeed

    Tonight, the moon was bright and stars were few.


    The moon hung high above like a jade plate and the gentle darkness of the night was like a yarn, covering Azure Water city.


    From time to time, owl hoots could be faintly heard from afar.


    Ye Mo securely closed the door and windows. He stood inside his small house, his whole body naked.


    Candles were lit in the room, hanging on the walls, illuminating the place while a glittering dagger laid on his desk.


    Even the floor he was standing on was covered in a thick cloth.


    Ye Mo picked the dagger as his cold expression was reflected on the blade.


    The life of a cultivator was filled with obstacles.


    Those who seek power have to pay a price.


    Only children deceived by romanced stories would think otherwise.


    Thinking of this, Ye Mo slightly moved his hand.


    The dagger opened his palm and blood trickled down his hand before it fell on the ground.


    Ye Mo circulated his Qi and the blood loss slowly reduced, after several minutes, the wound closed up and not even a scar remained as only the red spots on the floor testimonied of what just happened.


    "I have to treasure every minute and every second, to cultivate! Increasing my strength as fast as possible!"


    "I need gold coins, the battle against Liu Zhi is the best way to earn them. But if i lose, this is inevitable death! After that is the year-end competition, who knows what kind of danger i will face then, but i can''t let go of a peak-tier battle skill!"


    Ye Mo''s eyes shined brightly.


    After the small cut healed, he raised the dagger quickly, and with boths hands, stabbed himself in the stomach, the blade piercing the organ.


    The next instant, he removed the dagger from his belly as blood burst out.


    He first felt an intense burst of pain when the blade penetrated his flesh, but it reached it''s peak when it tore the inside as he retracted the dagger.


    Ye Mo gritted his teeth and sucked in a breath through his teeth. He resisted the pain and circulated his Qi once again.


    This time the effects were seen immediately as in a matter of seconds, the opening of his stomach joined each other while blood stopped flowing out of the cut!


    The tissues sectionned were healed as well and quickly enough, the wound closed up.


    Ye Mo was as good as new if it wasn''t for his deep frowning brows as he still felt lingering phantom pain.


    Endless Vitality was a peculiar healing battle skill, the worse were your injuries, the most effective would be the healing.


    For a deep stabbing wound, it healed in a short time however for just a small cut on his palm, it took the time for an incense stick to burn to close up and that''s taking into account his body natural regenerative ability.


    "This skill is the best for me considering it''s characteristics." Ye Mo thought coldly, "My body is very resistant by itself so my opponents often go all out in their attacks to deal a lot of damage, but with this healing battle skill i can easily take care of serious wounds and continue battling."


    "Even if i suffer some minor wounds, they are of no importance, i can deal with them with my cultivation of the Nine Revolutions Fiend body. I only need to be careful to not accumulate too much and lose a massive amount of blood."


    This battle skill, it was the most suitable for extreme cultivators that would often land themselves in dangerous situations like lone cultivators who roams the wilderness or demonic cultivators.


    Ye Mo picking this battle skill, he didn''t only think of the present but also the future when he would travel across the central lands.


    With a swift movement, the dagger was plunged in his shoulder, then with his hand still on the handle, Ye Mo ripped apart his flesh as he moved the blade down all the way to the waist before it was removed.


    This time, the pain made him shudder and he couldn''t help but fall on his knees, the dagger escaping his grasp and falling on the ground as a thick mattress of blood flowed out of his cut.


    He began to feel cold, like all the warmth of his body was leaving him, then quickly, his eyelids grew heavy and intense dizziness assaulted him.


    The metallic odor from the blood was nauseating and Ye Mo used his iron willpower to endure all of it and activate Endless Vitality battle skill.


    As soon as his Qi was poured out, the bleeding stopped while the cut grew smaller until in just a breath of time, he was completely healed.


    However even though he had no injuries anymore, his face was white like a sheet as he just lost so much blood and he could still feel his ruptured muscles and vessels in his body.


    All battle skills were clearly classified in terms of use and none would be overly advantageous without having their pros and cons while even those who seemed the weakest would find their own utility in certain situations.


    There was a need for every cultivators to learn and familiarize themselves with newly acquired battle skill to bring out their best in threatening situations.


    This meant comprehending the extent of their abilities, shortcomings and the various ways to use them.


    Such an understanding took time, generally for this kind of healing techniques, one would intentionally join missions and heal his comrades or enter battle against blood beasts to use it on himself when necessary, slowly gaining insights over the battle skill; However this could take weeks or months to completely grow accustomed to the technique.


    Yet, Ye Mo have only seven days at disposition and this is precisely to go through this process that he gave this condition.


    He couldn''t take the conventional way.


    He still had to find the secret cave of Pure Iridescent Iron and cultivate in the pagoda to breakthrough the 8th layer.


    Time was lacking and to shorten the amount needed to grow experienced with the battle skill, he directly experimented on himself.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    For Ye Mo, time was always the ressource he lacked the most and he couldn''t waste any, concurrently, the pressure of the one week delay would help him grow quickly without looking back.


    It could take more or less time depending on the battle skill and the implication of the cultivator, usually they would stop at the basic aspect of the battle skill.


    However some cultivators that were stuck with a battle skill or very fond of one could go even further and train with them for years to push their limits, increasing their comprehension and finding unique ways to use them like Liu Hong who could negate the weakness of his Skybound Leaping battle skill.


    "Endless Vitality battle skill was named this way by its creator mentionning that this skill made the user an undying machine as long as they had enough Qi to use it."


    "Of course, this is just a load of bullshit and he only bragged about it in an attempt to bolster his achievement or maybe simply his mad disilusion. If i get decapitated or have my heart destroyed i will still die, just targeting my dantian in a strike can end up in a life crippling injury. This is even more dangerous with ordinary cultivators who could get killed just by accumulating minor wounds, Endless Vitality being unable to heal them quickly. Only with my powerful body refining cultivation can i reduce this weakness."


    "Cultivating is painful, body refining is painful, battling is painful, life is painful, accept it or give up! To reach the peak, i have to suffer first!"


    Without hesitation, Ye Mo continued to slash his body, gaining many insights over the battle skill, as blood was sprayed all over the room.


    After some time, his Qi was depleted and his body started to fail him, swaying uncontrollably.


    Taking a basin of water and a towel out of his pouch, he laboriously cleaned the bloodstains all over his body. Because he was naked, they were cleaned easily but after being done, he was already at his limits.


    Ye Mo had no choice but to stop for now and after placing the basin of bloodied water and the towel back in his pouch, he laid on his bed, falling in a deep sleep.


    The next night, he would torment himself again, sometimes inflicting several minor wounds, other times he suffered many serious injuries and in between he would endure both deep and shallow cuts simultaneously, witnessing the healing effects of Endless Vitality battle skill.


    The week passed in a flash for others but for Ye Mo, it was slow and excruciating, yet soon, it was the day arranged for the battle between he and Liu Zhi.


    It was early in the morning when Ye Mo left his house and quietly walked towards the arena. On his way, many students were seen running or walking hurriedly in the same direction, throwing side glances to him or slight smiles before going ahead.


    When he reached his destination, there were a lot of them sitting in the surroundings discussing or waiting for the show to start.


    "Who do you think will win?"


    "Hmm, Ye Mo is powerful but Liu Zhi is a 9th layer cultivator. Moreover he has been here for long and have acquired good battle skills over time, i don''t see him losing."


    "Who knows, Ye Mo has created surprises many times before."


    "Hehe, i place twenty gold coins on Liu Zhi."


    "Fifteen on Ye Mo!"


    Many were discussing in expectations and placing bets on the fighters victory, though those were unofficial and the institute didn''t care about them nor would they intervene.


    Liu Zhi was a slightly famous old senior student who had been in the 9th layer for some time now while Ye Mo has been growing explosively and shocked them many times with his battle strength.


    It was understandable such a fight would appeal many to watch it.


    The Liu clan member was spotted sitting cross-legged, with eyes closed in the middle of the arena, patienting.


    "Im already quite early, did he wait for me here the whole night?" Ye Mo thought as he jumped and directly landed in front of Liu Zhi.


    When he sensed him, the senior student opened his eyes with a smirk, "So you came after all, i was wondering if you would get cold feet but at least you have courage, haha."


    Liu Zhi laughed sarcastically at Ye Mo.


    Beside them appeared Lan Xue, the beautiful female instructor.


    Because it was an official challenge with a bet at the end of the fight, an instructor was sent to act as referee and ensure the smooth running of the event.


    "Will you fight to the death or casual?" She asked unceremoniously.


    "He will make the choice." Liu Zhi said with a movement of the head, pointing at Ye Mo.


    He didn''t mind killing him but even if it was a fight to the death he would still spare him if possible to bring him back to the clan and make him suffer.


    As they both looked at him, Ye Mo smiled, "How will you pay me if you die?"


    "Fine, then killing strikes are not allowed and both contestants can surrender when outmatched." Lan Xue withdrew from the arena with this sentence and watched over them from an elevated platform a few meters away, leaving both contestants alone.


    "You''re really arrogant, but this overconfidence is what will lead to your demise!" Liu Zhi stated, his mouth dropping as his expression turned serious.


    This was the moment he brings justice to his clan, it was the day he would make their most hated enemy pay for all the harm he caused.


    "Ancestor has promised me, if i can hand over Ye Mo and breakthrough the Foundation Establishment realm before i turn 30, he will vouch for me as a candidate to become the next patriarch in the future!" Liu Zhi''s eyes blazed with resolve.


    With Liu Huan dead, there were no heir anymore and the political state of the Liu clan was unstable. In the dark, many competed against each others to become the next in line, even elders and their grandchildren.


    If Liu Zhi really beneficiated from Liu Dan support, becoming the new heir was completely possible.


    Ye Mo looked at his opponent, his eyes deep and emotionless.


    Bong!


    The gong resonated and the atmosphere immediately grew tense.

 Trading Blow for Blow

    "Ye Mo, you killed our young mistress, our young master, and several members of our clan, then you even had the gall to extort us and deeply injured Liu Sen! Today, I will break your dreams before breaking you." Liu Zhi said with a haughty snort as he heard the gong, spectators being too far to hear him.


    Treeman Metamorphosis battle skill!


    Immediately, bark grew on his skin, his height increased and his hair turned into light green leaves.


    His eyes became jade green in colour and his aura changed, becoming one of a fearsome forest guardian more than nine feet tall.


    But Liu Zhi didn''t stop here and followed with another martial art.


    Self Army battle skill!


    Out of his feet, roots wiggled out like tentacles and entangled each other around Liu Zhi, growing briskly until it took the form of treemen, identical to him.


    On Liu Zhi''s side of the arena, more than a dozen treemen appeared with a single battle skill.


    "Liu Zhi''s skills have much synergy together, originally, the Self Army battle skill would only duplicate the user and take his appearance but because he used the Treeman Metamorphosis battle skill first, they all became monsters as well. It''s going to be hard on Ye Mo." Lan Xue analyzed from the distance.


    The treemen slowly marched towards Ye Mo, their presence was imposing and would inspire fear just from sight.


    "Treemen are strong and durable but rather slow, i will test their abilities first." Seeing them approaching, Ye Mo''s gaze shone with a sharp light.


    Even though treemen are powerful, he was not afraid.


    Wind Flow.


    Air currents gathered around his body and as he moved forth, his speed increased drastically.


    A treeman raised his enormous claw and slammed it from above towards Ye Mo, the end looking like sharp tips of broken sticks.


    Ye Mo dodged on the side at the last moment, feeling the wind created by the treeman''s attack hitting the side of his face, as it''s claw whipped the ground, lacerating the blocks of the arena and sending broken fragments flying.


    He couldn''t be said to be very fast but Ye Mo was still better than the treeman who was left unguarded after his strike.


    Stone Breaking Punch.


    Arming his fist, Ye Mo countered with a straight right, fracturing the bark of the beast as it was sent crashing out of the arena.


    "They possess the strength of a mid-tier rank 1 treeman, then..." Ye Mo turned his gaze towards one specific treeman.


    From the beginning he always kept his attention on him even when attacking his ally an instant ago.


    It was the original treeman Liu Zhi transformed into at the start of the fight!


    Ye Mo charged forth, ignoring all other treemen on his way.


    Those he would pass by attacked him but often he would be able to dodge and continue his progression.


    However, the treemen were too numerous and as he charged in the middle of their group without hesitation, they quickly surrounded him.


    At this time, Ye Mo still punched one or two of them, sending those flying out of his way before he continued his rush.


    In a short time, he reached Liu Zhi in his form of treeman, and immediately attacked.


    He leapt up and punched, his fist covered in violent winds as it reached his opponent, shattering the tree in two as both parts rolled to the end of the arena before laying dead.


    Ye Mo looked at the lifeless treeman broken in two, frowning.


    This is it?!


    No, it can''t be this easy.


    Liu Zhi is a 9th layer cultivator and has several high-tier battle skills, he showed nothing yet, this is not the end!


    His thoughts sparked in a flash as his doubt grew when suddenly, a strong wave of wind assaulted Ye Mo''s back.


    "A strike!" In that split second, his hairs stood up and a red alarm rang in his heart as he felt an intense threat loom over him and without a second thought, he jumped forward.


    He could feel a giant claw rip his back open and drawing blood as he landed on the ground, rolling, before he flipped around and faced his opponent.


    "Hehehe, Ye Mo..." The treeman who attacked spoke with a very low voice however it became evident it was Liu Zhi talking, "I bet you thought you had a chance against me, that you would use your body and brute strength to get out of every situation like you always do but let me tell you, you won''t even touch me of the fight! Let''s not waste time and admit defeat now, there''s no hope for you."


    "It appeared, Liu Zhi One Soul Investitude battle skill!" Witnessing this, someone screamed in excitement.


    "Even if Ye Mo charge at him, it is pointless. Liu Zhi can easily take over the body of any of his treemen and change position... There is no flaw in this battle tactic."


    "He''s not a senior disciple for nothing, although i heard he''s a defensive cultivator, the treeman metamorphosis battle skill gives him enough firepower to kill someone like Ye Mo while his defense stays unbreakable."


    The One Soul Investitude battle skill was a technique that gave the user the ability to travel in the body of creatures deeply connected to him and make it his.


    It only worked with beings with the same morphology as you and that were linked to your soul, being of one heart and one mind. The treemen were Liu Zhi''s creation through the Self Army battle skill and possessed his essence and Qi, they were directly connected to him and he could control them by will hence he could use the One Soul Investitude battle skill to take their body and change position.


    From the outside, it would seem like he just possessed the body of a treeman but actually it was quite the reverse, the one he target becomes Liu Zhi while the one he transformed into previously would return to an ordinary treeman.


    This change was instantaneous and couldn''t be felt from the outside. It was a very unorthodox battle skill but Liu Zhi has been a student for years and took time to choose his martial arts carefully. All of them complemented each other and created an unbeatable strategy.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    "He wouldn''t have been able to move that fast nor make that much damage with the abilities of an ordinary treeman, this one is at the level of a high-tier blood beast."


    "His sneak-attack was truly sinister, had my reaction been just a bit late and my spine would be cut open as well, at this point, even if i don''t die, Lan Xue would have stopped the fight and it would be my loss."


    Despite Ye Mo having a calm character, he couldn''t help breaking out in cold sweat right now. If it were not for him learning an healing battle skill, just this wound alone would be enough for him to lose the fight.


    The claw entered deep in his flesh and he could feel the blood flow down on his back without showing any sign of stopping.


    Endless Vitality.


    He willed and in a breath of time, the blood loss ceased and the wound healed, leaving only three long slashing holes giving view to his skin on the back of his tiger martial suit.


    Seeing the cut on his back vanish, lines appeared between Liu Zhi''s jade eyes as he was both surprised and annoyed that Ye Mo actually learned an healing battle skill.


    At this moment, he realized why he asked for a one week delay before the fight took place.


    "But that doesn''t change anything, you will just suffer longer."


    Liu Zhi commanded and the treemen marched towards Ye Mo.


    "Information is also strength. The main problem here is that i know nothing about him while he heard much about me. I will have to learn directly while fighting."


    As he thought, Ye Mo rushed forward once more and attacked!


    Bam!Bam!Bam!


    His hits were like firecrackers resounding loudly on the arena as he directly confronted the treemen.


    His fists were powerful and lasting, straightforwardly maiming the beasts facing him or sending them falling out of the arena.


    Still, treemen most common trait was their durability and some, even after taking the stone breaking punch head on, could resist and attack once again, only falling down after a second or a third strike.


    Because their movements were slow, Ye Mo could engage and avoid their strikes while hitting them successfully.


    However at some point during the fight...


    "A gust of wind!"


    Surrounded by foes, Ye Mo could feel a strike behind him.


    This attack was much faster and powerful than the abilities of mid-tier treemen.


    At this moment, Ye Mo rotated and decisively raised his shoulder, while he punched forward with all his strength.


    Under this direct confrontation, the claw of the treeman penetrated his shoulder in two places and pierced his chest, protruding from the back while the beast took his fist directly on the belly and was sent sliding back before falling on it''s knees, only supporting itself with it''s hands.


    Treemen were tall and their claws were big, with quick sudden movements, generating wind was inevitable.


    However, it was faint and brief, to sense and react to them, it needed acute senses and an extreme concentration.


    The treeman quickly grew small and returned to Liu Zhi''s orginal appearance.


    Immediately, he vomited a mouthful of blood on the white stone tiles and breathed roughly.


    Ye Mo could break treemen with his fists alone and send them flying, if Liu Zhi survived, it''s only because he had the abilities of a high-tier treeman under his metamorphosis battle skill or else he might have been broken in two like others.


    Yet, he still received significant damage.


    "You can''t invest the body of another beast if you''re attacking, in that split second, i can still deal with you." Ye Mo smiled as he commented.


    The injuries he sustained in their confrontation were much more important than Liu Zhi but he was still standing and could even talk.


    Using Endless Vitality, the results were even more noticeable than previously as the three holes on his body started resorbing at a fast rate.


    "What kind of battle skill is this, the effects are truly formidable." Someone exclaimed in curiosity.


    "Wait, isn''t it Endless Vitality?"


    "Really, i went past this one a few times but never picked it because it can''t even heal minor wounds, to think that''s the one he would take."


    "Hmph, of course, for us minor wounds occur much more often than heavy injuries. If an healing battle skill can''t even heal them properly then it''s too much of a flaw, only a maniac like him that delibarately put himself in harm''s way to take down his opponents would choose something like that."


    "His brain must have overheated from the sun, he could have died here."


    "He''s too daring, too daring..."


    On the stage, Ye Mo stood on the spot, wounded and surrounded by ennemies but serene and unwavering.


    To say he wasn''t hurt was the biggest of joke.


    His lung was pierced, his breathing was difficult, his blood flowed uncontrollably and he couldn''t even raise his left arm.


    The pain he was going through was much greater than Liu Zhi, the only difference is that he was enduring it all too well, impassive, as if he wasn''t the one actually going through it.


    "Pain is just pain, as long as i have fists, as long as i have feets, i will punch and kick, fighting until the end, making my place in this world."


    Ye Mo chanted in his heart, giving his body the time to heal.


    "Get him!" Liu Zhi growled, looking at Ye Mo with bloodshot eyes.


    Seeing his teasing smile after being hit like that, he was truly infuriated.


    When he gave his orders, the remaining treemen attacked him like enraged beasts while Liu Zhi concentrated his Qi and used an healing battle skill.


    His right hand shined brightly as he placed it on his stomach.

 Qi Consumption

    Ye Mo was in a complicated position, the injuries he sustained could have killed him without an healing battle skill and although they were healing fast, it still needed a short time for him to completely recover.


    However, this time, the treemen didn''t let him any as they attacked all together, sending palm strikes, stomping with their feets or trying to clutch him down.


    In his weakened state, Ye Mo''s movements weren''t as fast as before and he had to roll or side-step in extremis to avoid the treemen''s strikes, trying his best to gain time and leave the encirclement until he recovers enough then counter attack.


    With only one valid arm, fighting right now against all of them wasn''t a viable solution.


    In the meantime, Liu Zhi was still healing himself, but his healing battle skill didn''t seem as effective as Ye Mo''s one since his wounds were lighter, but still appeared to take more time to treat.


    From that, spectators understood his healing battle skill was only of the mid-tier Yellow class. With his combination of battle skills, Liu Zhi''s defense was excellent and just finding a way to touch him would be nerve-wracking for his opponents.


    Indubitably, suffering from injuries was rare for him and he didn''t take healing as vital nor did he have to use it often.


    Sending all his treemen attacking Ye Mo while he was left behind, it was to make use of the first weakened state but also to buy time for himself and lastly because he was enraged.


    In his struggle, Ye Mo was scratched several times, having small wounds on his legs or his back but they weren''t much for him.


    Bam!


    Yet, after some time, a treeman was sent flying.


    Then another had his torso broken while a third was pushed back several steps before he regained his balance.


    The three deep injuries strewn over Ye Mo''s shoulder and chest disappeared, while his lightheadeadness and unsteady footsteps vanished as he became the one engaging the treemen furiously, breaking them one by one.


    With a cultivation of the peak 7th layer and a body refining cultivation, how could these beasts be his match?


    Liu Zhi saw his enemy progress towards him as all his treemen were destroyed each in less than three strikes and panicked.


    Currently, only four of them remained.


    "This should be enough, i can''t continue healing anymore." Liu Zhi gritted his teeth as he stood up, the radiance in the palm of his hand waning.


    Treeman Metamorphosis.


    Immediately, Liu Zhi returned to his form of treeman right before a punch welcomed his face.


    The tree was hurled back violently, bouncing on the stage multiple times until it slowed down and stopped near the edge.


    Yet, one of those remaining behind Ye Mo chuckled, raising his attention.


    "You think you got me? I just wanted to end it fast so our public don''t waste their time but since you take it this way, fine, let''s see how you do now that i remain hidden."


    Self Army.


    As soon as he said this, fifteen treemen appeared on the arena, facing his opponent.


    Liu Zhi laughed sinisterly, since Ye Mo was waiting for an opportunity to defeat him when he strikes and reveal his position then he decided he wouldn''t risk it anymore and let his treemen deal with him.


    With no way to reach him, Ye Mo can only fight aimlessly.


    No matter how great your strength is, if you can''t hit me, you cannot cause damage.


    The nineteen treemen marched together like a squadron, encircling him.


    Ye Mo used Wind flow and charged in a straight line, his shoulder raised as he collided against one of them.


    The treeman was hit and flew, bringing others with him in his fall until he was stopped by the last ones in his path raising theirs arm and blocking him.


    Ye Mo fought fire with fire as he went in short-range and attacked fiercely.


    Crack! Crack!


    Punches and kicks shattered the treemen''s protections, Ye Mo''s strikes were simple, yet brutal and effective with an imposing aura.


    His movements were inconstant and didn''t follow any pattern, at times he was agile like a snake, others he was acrobatic like a monkey and in-between he would be tough like a bull.


    The treemen growled in pain as their number fell continuously.


    "I see, Ye Mo''s attacks appear to be useless but he''s destroying the treemen single handedly until only Liu Zhi remain."


    "That''s right, when all the treemen are taken care of and Liu Zhi stand by himself, he won''t have anywhere else to hide and Ye Mo will have all the leisure to deal with him."


    "One Soul Investitude battle skill is powerful but also has its flaws, and im not even talking about the Qi consumption. Liu Zhi battle skill combination is ingenious but it only needs one link to fall for the whole strategy to crumble."


    "Ye Mo''s body abilities are absurd, if i was at his place, i would never be able to wreck all these treemen like that."


    Liu Zhi understood this as well as he saw his opponent deal with his army by himself without paying him any heed, only focused on hitting without being hit.


    He gritted his teeth and expanded his Qi greatly, using Self Army twice in a row as thirty treemen appeared on the arena.


    Their huge stature covered most of the battle stage.


    Ye Mo was indifferent, his eyes dark and eerie.


    He clenched his fists and kept attacking on all sides, sending treemen flying, rolling on the ground, shattering from the base or directly bashing the head.


    His fists broke the air, the momentum and fierceness they contained were incomparable, like tides striking the cliff.


    Additionally, the treemen''s movements turned constrained and awkward.


    They were simply too numerous at the time and with their height and big hands attacking the small Ye Mo, they often hindered themselves, walking on each other or hitting an ally while attempting to land a blow on their target.


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    Moreover a huge part of them couldnt even approach Ye Mo, the latter being encircled, only four treemen could attack at the same time while the rest stood at the back waiting for their turn once their comrades were eliminated.


    There were times when Ye Mo was injured but none of them were of the extent of his first collision with Liu Zhi so with just Endless Vitality, they quickly disappeared.


    Minor wounds weren''t even dealt with as they didn''t impede him and blood stopped leaking by itself after some time.


    This way, the treemen number decreased nonstop and after a few minutes, Liu Zhi had to use Self Army again, his face turning a pale white in trepidation.


    However, it was only a temporary measure as the cycle repeated and without any change, defeat seemed inevitable.


    After all, Qi consumption had a great role in a battle between two cultivators.


    Liu Zhi is a 9th layer cultivator so compared to Ye Mo who''s still at the 7th layer, he should have much greater reserves in his dantian and last longer.


    However, since the start of the fight, he has been continually using multiple high-tier battle skills, while Ye Mo only used the mid-tier Stone Breaking Punch and the low-tier Wind Flow.


    Their Qi consumption was small and with just Endless Vitality used shortly here and there, he still had plenty of Qi and his momentum rose perpetually.


    Liu Zhi instead, just to lay out his strategy, had to use three high-tier battle skills in a row and Treeman Metamorphosis alongside Self Army kept drawing his Qi out during the fight as long as they were in use.


    In this aspect, it was clear that Liu Zhi''s Qi consumption was much greater and he was reaching a critical point right now.


    An essential part of this fight was also that Ye Mo was a body refining cultivator and could rely more on his body, being less dependant towards battle skills than an ordinary cultivator.


    If it was someone else at his place, he could only fight the treemen until his Qi is exhausted and lose if he wasn''t already defeated by them or Liu Zhi''s sneak attacks.


    Beside this battle tactic, Liu Zhi also had other martial arts but their level were either too low of they were simply of no use here.


    The core of his battle strength was this combination of battle skill, and since he created it, he has never suffered a loss in a bout before.


    But, when the audience looked at the battle stage, they wondered who was truly the beast.


    Ye Mo became more violent as time passed, being completely immersed in the fight, he attacked again and again, his fists carrying the sound of the wind.


    "This is the results of my hard work, after nearly a year putting my mind, my body and all my efforts, towards this one goal."


    "I killed, i stole, i lied, i fought and i risked my life! These people, how much did they suffer to reach this point, how far are they willing to go for power, they can hurdle me but they won''t stop me."


    "Still, this is only the start!"


    His heartbeat pulsed rapidly and his blood raced.


    Ye Mo grabbed a treeman''s leg and spinned around, knocking the others on the ground as he slowly grew faster until he released his hold.


    The treeman flew at an incredible speed, still spinning on himself uncontrollably in the air before he crashed on the protective barrier covering the bleachers, greatly startling the spectators behind.


    Currently, less than ten treemen remained struggling on the arena.


    "Am i really gonna lose against this kid? Impossible, i won''t believe it!" Liu Zhi raged inside as ominous premonitions flashed in his mind.


    Bam!


    Ye Mo''s fist ruthlessly struck a treeman, his hand penetrating deep in it''s torso.


    Without notice, behind him a treeman attacked, his speed much greater than usual.


    Hand Blade battle skill!


    The sharp claws of the treeman joined together on one of his hand and turned into a great wooden blade as it hacked down towards Ye Mo.


    "Even if i have to kill you and be imprisoned, i don''t care, you''re either leaving this battle stage defeated or dead!" Liu Zhi screamed in his heart.


    Defeat wasn''t an option, Liu Zhi bet it all on this last strike while Ye Mo''s fist was lodged in a treeman!


    Not far, Lan Xue frowned disgruntled and was about to intervene but suddenly her brows raised and she seized her hand, spectating.


    Ye Mo turned around and used the treeman his fist was embedded into as a shield to deflect the blade on the side then attacked almost simultaneously with his other hand, punching with all his might.


    Liu Zhi shrieked loudly, flying backwards before crashing on the stone tiles as he reverted to his true appearance.


    He stayed prostrated on the ground touching his ribs before another cry echoed as waves of pain rushed to his brain.


    In the meantime, the last treemen disappeared with his previous strike, the small amount of Qi he had was exhausted.


    Immediataly, Ye Mo used Wind Flow and rushed towards him.


    "Wait, wait, i can''t fight anymore. Instructor Lan Xue, please help m..."


    Liu Zhi attempted to seek help as he saw Ye Mo approaching but Lan Xue didn''t bat an eye when he was raised from the ground and took a palm strike in the belly.


    The Qi in the palm penetrated his body and targeted Liu Zhi''s dantian which cracked up.


    "You..."


    He attempted to say something but vomited a pool of blood before his eyes rolled back and he fainted.


    His cultivation was crippled and his dantian damaged. He would never be able to walk the path of a cultivator again.


    This was a fate worse than death for many.


    He paid the price fully for his transgression.


    The battle ended abuptly; Only Ye Mo stood standing, the brutality he showed still flashing in the audience''s mind.


    Other than that, it was a scene of silence, no one spoke!

 Surge in Battle Strength!

    Near the entrance of the arena, Ye Mo was approached by Lan Xue as he was leaving.


    "The debt still hold, even if Liu Zhi is crippled we will ensure you receive the five hundred gold coins in the next days. You can go to the disciple hall to retrieve them at the time."


    "Many thanks to instructor for their hard work." Ye Mo bowed then turned around and walked away, now was not the time to loiter around.


    "Wait!" Lan Xue called out, stopping him in his tracks.


    "How did you know Liu Zhi was attacking you, i was about to stop the fight when i saw your expression... You were smiling as he striked down."


    This question was on her mind since the conclusion of their duel and she used the occasion to ask.


    Ye Mo turned his head and looked at her with the side of his eye, "Sneak-attacking me was exactly what i wanted to see him do the whole time, to avoid fighting me head on he resorted to One Soul Investitude battle skill but since i was destroying all his treemen he also needed to keep using Self Army repeatedly."


    "His Qi kept being spent and his treemen being broken, there was no other solution, if he wanted to act, he had to do it quickly. I knew this so at some point, i purposefully offered my back and lowered the strength of my punch, making it lodge itself in one of his creatures. The occasion was too tempting for him and indeed, it paid off."


    Without another word, Ye Mo left as he finished his explanation.


    Others, Lan Xue included, could doubt in this situation because they weren''t aware of Ye Mo''s history with the Liu clan but he was sure, Liu Zhi would rather try to kill him than surrender and lose the fight.


    "So it was his plan all along, this kid fought like he was enraged but he was actually so meticulous." Lan Xue didn''t show anything but she was surprised inwardly.


    She started to understand why the dean would pick an interest over him in the past.


    Ye Mo left hurriedly and returned to his house, closing the door behind him.


    "I have some time before i can retrieve the gold coins, after that, i will cultivate in the pagoda then soon after will be the year end competition between the martial institutes. This is my last chance if i want to find this secret cave, if i fail, i can only forsake it, wasting all my efforts seeking the pure iridescent iron."


    Ye Mo had a use for the pure iridescent iron, if he couldn''t retrieve it then he would have taken unnecessary risks, put himself in danger and waste his time all for nothing.


    Yet, he wasn''t obessessed.


    Between reaching the 8th layer and leaving for a sect or the iron, he knew what was the most important.


    Not everything could go according to your wishes; A wise man knows his own limits.


    Now was the best moment to make another attempt and he was much stronger than before, he also knew clearly the terrain from the beginning of the jungle to the third mountain.


    All these reasons gave Ye Mo the greatest chance of success right now.


    However, if he still fail after this try then he will let go with a peaceful mind and focus on other objectives.


    He did his best all along, there was nothing to mourn over.


    Inside his stone house, Ye Mo made some preparations then cultivated until night before he left silently.


    In the sky, the spring moon was shaped like a bow. Clouds obscured the moonlight, as if coating the crescent moon with a thin sheet of gossamer.


    Ye Mo walked towards the southern gate then when he was near the entrance, he took cover behind a tree next to him and made sure no one was around before he expended his Qi.


    Shadow Walk.


    Immediately, Ye Mo''s body turned into a shapeless dark mass that blended with the shadows and left the institute, unnoticed.


    Thanks to the night, darkness enveloped the earth and although the roads in Azure Water City were lit, he could find shadows and gloomy places to travel through safely until he left the walls of the city.


    Ye Mo became one with shadows and no one remarked him as he crossed the city and arrived outside.


    "Those six months training to attain the second phase of Shadow Walk''s mastery weren''t for nothing, now it truly looks like a movement battle skill. Going as far as multitasking in the pagoda to keep progressing and reach this point was all worth it."


    It is not easy to thoroughly understand and use Shadow Walk and not many could reach the second phase.


    It wasn''t just because the battle skill was too complicated to understand, it remains a mid-tier battle skill and with efforts and dedication, anyone could master the second phase at some point.


    Yet, the time of martial artists was mostly spent in cultivation and only a part of it would be left to train battle skills. Cultivation was the foundation of power and no one would delay their progression just for one mid-tier battle skill.


    Simultaneously, as time pass and their cultivation increase, they would have more chances to obtain new and stronger battle skills.


    Now between training high-tier battle skills or stubbornly focusing on an old mid-tier battle skill their choice was evident!


    It was even worse when obtaining a new battle skill of better quality, sometimes the old one would be completely discarded.


    That''s why students would rarely attain the second phase of Shadow Walk and quasi none for the third phase, the battle skill took too long to train with and as time pass, it would be replaced by another one.


    In their life, martial artists have to cultivate, train battle skills, but also fight to gain experience and glean ressources before cultivating again and training new battle skills, this was a never ending cycle to constantly increase your battle strength.


    However, if Ye Mo picked Shadow Walk, it''s to fully master it or else he wouldn''t waste his token on this.


    While multitasking, Ye Mo could both cultivate and understand the movement art together, putting much time to it''s comprehension.


    It was slow and difficult at first, but over the months he grew more proficient in multitasking and it made him extremely productive.


    Moving south-east, Ye Mo reached the jungle after a few hours.


    He quickly moved through the woods and reached the first mountain, then the second without encountering any danger.


    He knew starting from here, there will be many blood beasts and even hordes so to play safe he first sat against a tree, on one of it''s thick branches and cultivated to restore his Qi.


    After a dozen minute practicing the Black Vortex cultivation technique, he regained the full capacity of his Qi then set on the terrain between the second and the third mountain.


    He still had the map from Wei Leng and at first he walked on the green marked line in direction to the third mountain but after some time he derivated a bit towards the area of frenzy charging boars.


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    He was still far from the core of the zone but in this place he didn''t wait long before encountering one.


    Ye Mo had a whim and wanted to test his abilities against a blood beast. Liu Zhi mostly avoided him during their battle so he wanted to see his progress in a head on confrontation, but that was of course, only if the boar was alone.


    If another beast suddenly came to wreak havoc in the middle of their fight, he would immediately escape without any hesitation.


    Ye Mo fused with the shadows and approached the boar stealthily, he could see its brownish black fur, rough and erect. Its body was tough and firm and the four limbs short, but strong as it seemed to play with something on the soil.


    As he got nearer, Ye Mo could see more clearly and realized a white rabbit, lifeless, was laying on the ground in front of the boar, its stomach opened as it was slowly being devoured.


    Ye Mo didn''t hesitate and canceled Shadow Walk to rush at the boar.


    The beast quickly sensed his odor when he appeared and turned around, raising its tusks menacingly as it groaned out in warning.


    When Ye Mo kept getting nearer, the fur on the boar''s neck rose up and it lowered its head before it charged forward with its four muscular limbs.


    It was just a few steps before him when Ye Mo jumped in the air, much above the beast range of attack as it collided against a tree behind him.


    The tree was only as thick as a human''s waist so after getting knocked by the boar, it tore open and split into two.


    Ye Mo landed on the ground then rushed again, reaching the side of the boar before he used his battle skill to punch, his fist tearing through the air.


    Bam.


    The fist crashed strongly in a straight line and the boar screamed in pain, it''s body wavering shortly.


    If his fist had fallen on a human without any protection, it would have caused devastating damage, ending the life of the cultivator on the spot, but here it wasn''t even enough to break the bones of the boar.


    Just a high-tier beast was so strong, it showed how dangerous was the wilderness in this world!


    The beast quickly turned around and swiped with it''s tusks furiously.


    Ye Mo retreated just on time, avoiding the snow white tusks by a hair''s breadth.


    The boar didn''t delay and charged again with overwhelming killing intent!


    It was truly infuriated and used his anger as a fuel to attack.


    Ye Mo didn''t change his tactic and jumped on the side this time then rolled to break his fall, avoiding the charge, before he ran on the boar and kicked with all his strength.


    He knew boars were ferocious but couldn''t change direction easily when they ran and made use of it. Although they were fast, as long as he could react to it, Ye Mo could dodge the strike.


    The boar howled loudly, his injuries worsening as he got even more angrier, charging Ye Mo a third time.


    With a roar Ye Mo rushed up head on, colliding with the boar as he grasped his tusks before it could perforate his belly.


    He planted his feet in the ground and digged a long line as he was sent retreating for more than twenty steps before he could slowly stop the boar, the earth being returned on their way.


    When he finally stopped, Ye Mo took a horse stance and exerted his muscles greatly, his face puffed red, as he used all his strength to slowly raise the boar in the air.


    Huff!


    His body was trembling and with the remainder of his energy he used the gravity and the weigth of the boar to slam it on the ground.


    Bam!


    It''s four limbs broke under contact with the ground and the beast screamed like a pig as it struggled to stand up, to no avail.


    Kill!


    Ye Mo took huge strides as he arrived before the boar then made strikes rain and blood flow.


    Punches, kicks, elbows, he unleashed all his arsenal until at some point, the beast''s skull turned deformed and the cries came to a stop.


    "Kill or be killed, such is the nature of life, for those who seek dominance, how many corpses are left on their path?" Ye Mo muttered, stepping on the red colored grasses.


    On his way back to the green marked road, he took the time to use endless vitality.


    During his fight he also got injured, his strength was too great and to kill the boar, he attacked like a madman for a prolonged period of time resulting on a few broken bones on his hands and one tendon ruptured.


    It was the same as when he fought against Ha Jun, the defense of his opponent was tough and to shorten the fight, he went over the limits of his body.


    However, because he had an healing battle skill, this issue wasn''t as serious as in the past.


    If he could obtain a good defensive battle skill as well it would be even better.


    Nonetheless he was satisfied with his abilities.


    As he walked back, Ye Mo''s ears suddenly picked the sound of steps and wood cracking.


    Instantly, he turned into a shadow and blended with the darkness below bushes, waiting.


    Quickly a group of seven members passed beside him.


    Four men and three women, all with clothes of the same light green color.


    This uniform, Ye Mo knew it too well.


    "Members of the Liu clan!"


    Beside small differences here and there, it was the same uniform as Liu Zhi or Liu Sen.


    There was no doubt about their identities.


    "Are they here for me, but how did they find me, with the second phase of Shadow Walk they couldn''t have seen me, they shouldn''t even know i left the institute. The only possibility is if i was seen before i used Shadow Walk, so a member of the Tiger Martial Institute that was specifically spying on me reported my departure to the Liu Clan."


    Ye Mo''s thoughts flew all over the place.


    What were the odds the Liu clan would be in the middle of the night, this far in the jungle at the precise day he left?


    Was this a coincidence? Ye Mo didn''t believe in coincidences!


    Even if they truly weren''t here for him, he would still take it this way and pick the worst scenario because it was the best mentality to approach this situation and ensure his safety.


    "If a student from the institute really spied on me and sided with the Liu clan then who could it be? I have people that dislike me but not many true enemies that would go as far to deal with me this way, it''s impossible for Li Qiang to do so, his every moves create a ruckus and attract attention, i would know his intentions before he even try spying on me and with his personality, he would never lower himself to such an act, but would rather kill me with his own hands."


    "Then what remains is..."


    Ye Mo''s eyes shone with brillance as he patiented in the shadows.

 Tracked From All Sides

    The Liu clan''s group walked beside the bushes where Ye Mo was hiding and went away.


    Ye Mo stayed concealed and hoped he could learn something from their conversation but they didn''t say a word and were very alert of their surroundings as they left.


    When they disappeared behind the woods in the distance, Ye Mo moved out and traveled through the jungle.


    He went in many areas between the second and third mountain and found not less than thirteen teams of Liu clan members, similar to the first one scattered in different places.


    They were all composed of at least 6 members, each elite of the Liu clan and high level Qi Gathering realm cultivators.


    Ye Mo had Wei Leng map and knew the dangers of this zone well, but the Liu clan members could only move blindly and assess the environment progressively.


    He saw many groups fighting against beasts or fleeing around, sometimes when the situation was dire, they would send a blazing flare in the sky before quickly being joined by other teams to help them overcome the situation.


    Because they didn''t know the terrain, they unknowingly invaded beasts territory multiple times which resulted in a few deaths and many injured clan members.


    However, the fact that despite the difficulties they encountered, they continued looking around for something convinced Ye Mo even more that they were here for him.


    In the meantime, the first rays of light pierced the horizon, as the darkness lowered and another day started.


    "They deployed so many members although their clan is in crisis, showing this is a mission of great importance and they are willing to take the risks. There''s probably other teams patrolling before the first and second mountain."


    "This affair is too huge to be left behind and there''s many questions unanswered, how did they find my position or how many forces did they send, am i in danger now every time i leave the institute? I need more information."


    Ye Mo canceled Shadow Walk and went in thought.


    If the Liu clan had something to track him down, he had to know what.


    He was unwilling to move around with an impending threat hanging over his head.


    You see, he likes to take the initiative and be in control, why waste your time in constant worry? If there is a solution to the problem then you have to go and find a way now!


    Idling around and waiting for things to get better on their own was wishful thinking.


    At this moment, he heard multiple steps not far, rapidly approaching his location.


    Ye Mo quickly climbed on a tree and used the foliage and his high position as a cover to hide himself.


    A band of Liu clan member arrived just a few seconds later, the leaves and grasses hanging over their hair and clothes revealed they came here precipitously.


    "Look around well, he might be in the surroundings, keep your guard raised and be careful, we could also be in the territory of another of these damn beasts!"


    One of them uttered as they all turned their heads left and right, on edge.


    This group was particularly careful.


    Behind the foliage of the tree more than twenty meters high up, Ye Mo used the small parts where the leaves didn''t connect with each other to have a view on this team.


    Around the finger of the man who talked an instant ago was tied a thin thread, almost invisible to the naked eye.


    On the other end of the thread was a small creature, the size of a thumb flying in front of the group.


    It''s short transparent wings made a buzzing sound as it flapped them around and it constantly opened and closed it''s mouth in a disturbing way, often giving people a sense of disgust.


    In the interior of the mouth was seen a pair of razor like teeths that could easily plunge in skin and tear flesh.


    "Blood Tracking Fly!" Ye Mo was surprised to see the bug.


    The insect was constantly pushing forward but suddenly, it raised its head and moved in the direction of the tree he was laying on but was held down by the thread tying it''s body.


    Ye Mo raised his brows.


    At this moment he understood how they could pinpoint his location in this vast jungle.


    Blood Tracking Fly only needs to swallow a drop of blood to trace it back to it''s owner.


    "To obtain my blood, it''s fairly easy, i fought and was injured several times in the past. They just need to go back to the area where i fought Liu Huan, if they found his remains, and they could freely collect it, im sure they have ways to detect mine from their heir. They also have Liu Sen and Liu Zhi in the institute which could take it from the ground in the pagoda when no one was looking."


    With the blood tracking fly, even if they didn''t see me leave or don''t know in which direction i went, they can just use it and it will fly towards my position. However, it''s effective range is only ten thousand steps, it''s not enough to track me all the way to the jungle, they must have used something else in addition to this insect."


    Ye Mo frowned, he felt this affair was becoming more complicated.


    Still, he was categoric, this bug, he had to get rid of it or he won''t be able to go retrieve the pure iridescent iron. Hell, he would only lead them to a treasure cave before being captured if he went there right now.


    Yet, he couldn''t give up, it was his last chance to find it, if it all ended like that, it would be too disappointing.


    Moreover, even if he just left, this fly could still track him wherever he went as long as he was in it''s range, how could he allow that.


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    Blood tracking flies weren''t easy to capture and the Liu clan had only a few subdued, dealing with one would be a huge blow, he doubt they would dare waste another on himself for the last months he remains in the city.


    While pondering, a figure fell from the sky, passed through the vegetation covering the earth then drifted in the air like a petal before gently landing on the tip of his feet in front of the Liu clan members.


    "Elder!" The group immediately bowed down and saluted the man who just arrived.


    The middle-aged man didn''t respond, but instead lowered his head and seemed to look at the ground absent-mindedly, however his attention wasn''t on his sight.


    Ye Mo''s heart skipped a beat when he saw the person joining the party.


    "Shit!" He hurriedly expanded his Qi and took the form of a shadow who merged with those of the branches shielding the tree from the sunlight.


    Near the same instant, a spiritual sense passed over his position and covered the immediate surroundings without sparing any places.


    After a second without anyone making a sound, the spirit sense was retracted.


    "Did you find anything?" After he inspected the vicinity, the elder raised his head and looked at the Liu clan members gathered as he inquired.


    "No, the blood tracking fly led us here but we didn''t see him yet." The man tied to the flying insect answered respectfully.


    "Hmm, let me use a battle skill to make sure." The elder said as he crouched down and placed his palm on the ground.


    He stayed in this position for a few seconds as the team looked at him in anticipation before he rose up.


    "He''s not here, but there''s a few beasts not too far away, you should be able to deal with them. We can''t let him escape after we wasted the chasing qi smoke to retrace his path back to this jungle."


    Saying so, the elder jumped up and moved out of the area as abruptly as he came.


    When he saw him leave, Ye Mo breathed a sigh of relief internally then took his distance from the group.


    "Shadow Walk''s strongest point is concealment, without the right battle skills, he can''t perceive me even with his spiritual sense. That wouldn''t have been possible with only the first phase of the art, achieving the second phase was one of the main reason i was confident i could reach the fourth mountain safely when i left."


    Ye Mo''s focal point in his choice of martial arts wasn''t just an optimal growth in battle strength but most of all suvivability. Only by being alive can he keep growing stronger and on this side, a battle skill focused on stealth was of utmost importance.


    The elder of the Liu clan couldn''t find him although he used his spiritual sense, that''s because at this moment, he was just a shadow among others in the jungle.


    That''s all the man could see but he has no way to know it''s Ye Mo hiding inside.


    The spiritual sense was handy as it could make you perceive your environments in an instant, like everything was right in front of your eyes, however it has it''s own restrictions.


    The spiritual sense can only see the surface of things but can''t pierce through their true nature.


    It can''t go through the earth, rocks or trees.


    If someone was to hide under a pile of leaves to the point not one ink of his body was revealed outside, then when the spirit sense pass by, it would see a pile of leaves but wouldn''t know there''s actually a person hiding inside.


    If that wasn''t the case then investigative and concealment battle skills wouldn''t exist in this land, everyone would use their spirit sense right after breaking through the Foundation Establishment realm and these arts would lose their purpose.


    Ye Mo stayed in movement at all time so his pursuers wouldn''t catch up, but with the blood tracking fly, they were constantly led towards his position.


    At the same time he discovered two other figures of the Foundation Establishment realm traveling in this part of the jungle and using their spirit sense to scout around.


    "They even sent elders this time, they truly went all out to catch me, going as far as lowering the security of their clan. They probably bet everything on this operation to finally end this conflict with me and move on."


    Ye Mo was in a plight.


    He had to remain in shadow form constantly to move around and stay hidden due to the blood tracking fly and the elders scouting the jungle but at the same time he was also losing Qi every instant he passed in the shadows.


    At some point he would have no choice but to cancel the skill or just find himself with empty reserves and assaulted from all sides.


    That''s why he returned to his human form and decided to hide on a tree previously so he could preserve his Qi and spy on the Liu clan team but with the arrival of the elder, he had no choice but to use shadow walk once again.


    "Wether it''s the elders or the teams, im not strong enough to defeat them." Ye Mo calmly admitted.


    Although the situation was dire, he stood collected.


    He was by himself against groups of high level Qi Gathering realm cultivators and even Foundation Establishment realm experts were present.


    Once a fight start, without talking about win or defeat, a flare will be sent and his opponents would quickly be reinforced by other teams in the surroundings.


    A battle wasn''t even an option.


    "However, it doesn''t mean i can''t deal with you lot!" Ye Mo thought cooly.


    He had one advantage and it was that he knew the terrain while the Liu clan was advancing randomly.


    In his mind, a devious plan quickly took form.

 Fatal Environment

    Psssht!


    A blazing flare ascended in the sky and gleamed like a shining beacon, giving a position to the surroundings.


    "Hold on, reinforcements are coming!


    "Keep the line, don''t show them your back if you want to live!"


    "Use the terrain to slow them down!"


    On a valley, below the flare''s position, a band of cultivators was fighting against a herd of boar. Among the beasts was one peak tier frenzy charging boar accompanied by a dozen high and mid tier boars.


    The cultivators used all kinds of battle skills, rendering the earth damp and difficult to move on, raising firm walls from the ground and in last resort when boars were able to breakthrough, defensive cultivators would move forth and endure the attacks for their companions.


    The strategy was to slow the beasts down and gain time until other teams joined the fight to start the offensive.


    Soon, two other group of Liu clan members amounting to thirteen cultivators together jumped out of the woods and counter attacked.


    "Kill, kill, kill! Kill all theses bastard boars!"


    "Healer, we have a heavily injured person here!"


    The cries of the cultivators and the howls of the beasts resounded in the battlefield.


    Everyone was bathed in blood, but they fought fiercely.


    Liu clan members died here and there but the rate at which the frenzy charging boars were killed was greater!


    At some point during the struggle, another team joined the fight and the tide of the battle definitely shifted for the Liu clan; Boars quickly got slaughtered and soon, they all layed dead on the ground, without a proper corpse.


    The peak-tier boar was the most difficult to bring down, injuring and killing a lot of them before the common strength of the cultivators dealt the death blow.


    "We did it! Who dares attack us now, come all of you damn animals, im not afraid!"


    "As if some mere blood beasts could do anything against my Liu clan, preposterous!"


    "Let''s roast these pigs, they want to eat me? I will devour them instead!"


    Liu clan members cheered, battles against blood beasts were always rude and life threathening, they were happy they survived and their confidence rose up!


    They couldn''t wait to recount their feats once they return to the city.


    Suddenly they felt tremors in the ground and noises growing.


    The vibrations increased rapidly and the sounds became stronger as it seemed to approach the survivors.


    When it was even closer, innumerable shadows appeared in the woods beyond the valley.


    Some trees broke down on their path and a cloud of dust was raised from their quake; It was a stampede!


    More than a hundred frenzy charging boar rushed in the valley, among them nearly a dozen peak tier beast!


    When they noticed this band of humans, their cries resounded as they immediately charged them.


    "No... How can this be..."


    "We''re finished!"


    "Why? There were no beasts in the surroundings when i investigated this place as i came..."


    Some fell on their knees with a soulless gaze, resigned, others cried and rolled on the ground in despair, unable to face the reality in front of their eyes, a few ran away holding on the false hope of their comrades attracting the beasts attention long enough to escape.


    They lost almost half of the cultivators present just fighting against a dozen boar before they could defeat them.


    Most of their Qi was expended and among the two healing members surviving, one had his dantian empty and was cultivating to recover while the other by himself was overwhelmed by the number of injuries to treat.


    With more than a hundred boar charging towards them, the vision alone was enough to break all will to fight.


    Several investigative cultivators were confused about this situation. Where does all these boars come from?


    A moment ago they were joyful and full of fighting spirit and the other one they fell in the abyss.


    Ironwood Sword battle skill.


    When the boars were close enough for their shadows to loom over the Liu clan members and they felt they were doomed, a figure descended sword in hand and hacked down.


    In an instant, six boars were sliced up and fell on the ground while those around them had their skin cut open, hurting them and disrupting their course.


    "Elder!" When they saw the man who appeared, the Liu clan members immediately shouted shocked and overjoyed.


    Their gloomy gaze turned radiant in an instant as they looked at the reliable back of their senior.


    "You won''t pass me!" The elder slashed left and right, everywhere his blade went, boars dropped dead.


    However, the force of a stampede wasn''t easily stopped and the boars in the back pushed the one in the front, quickly overwhelming the elder.


    The latter used a movement battle skill and twirled in the air, moving around the beasts and slashing around, giving it his most as he realeased all his mastery of the sword to bring death upon his enemies.


    Minutes passed as blood and beasts limbs flew, the elder fought fervently, attacking again and again while still moving around to avoid getting hit and stomped down by the boars.


    After some time, the ground was littered with boar corpses, few in one pieces, the herd was eradicated.


    The elder breathed quickly, covered in sweat.


    Although he was a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator and his strength was nothing like these juniors, fighting so many beasts at once was truly strenuous and his body was put under great pressure.


    If he had peak tier or Star class battle skills, he could have gotten rid of the boars much more easily but with only mid and high-tier Yellow class arts, he couldn''t exhibit the true strength of a cultivator of his level so it was much more difficult.


    He could get to the end of it mostly thanks to the amplification of his liquid Qi on his martial arts.


    However, if there was one good side to this situation, it was that when using low level skills as a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator, only a small part of his Qi was lost.


    A portion of liquid Qi is equal to ten portions of gaseous Qi from a peak Qi Gathering realm cultivator. If his body could hold out, the elder would be able to fight this way for hours before his Qi should be depleted.


    "Elder, you did it!" The Liu clan members ran towards their senior, cheerful and relieved.


    "Don''t worry, they are only rank 1 beasts, as long as us elders are around, nothing can happen to you lads." The man turned around with a smile, saying slowly with pride.


    "Elder watch out!" One girl suddenly screamed, while the other that were running towards their savior a second ago froze.


    Near the same instant, a dark sting flew in the sky then struck down, perforating the elder''s back and leaving through his chest.


    He didn''t even understand what happened when, like a puppet, he was raised in the sky by the sting before being cleaved down by an enormous pincer.


    The body of the elder was chopped in two pieces before falling each on one side in a shower of blood.


    "Rank 2, Amored Scorpion!" Someone yelled in terror.


    Before them stood a gigantic black scorpion as if covered by an eerie dark armor, bringing punishment on their poor soul.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Their emotions have been in a rollercoaster as the menaces kept escalating since they arrived in this place and they couldn''t even react properly against this new unforeseen threat.


    They felt they were in a true nightmare and hoped they would wake up near a bonfire with their team around patrolling the area and their elder still in the vicinity, watching for them.


    The one who screamed first, identifying the beast, raised the attention of the scorpion who brought his pincer down, turning the man into meat pulp.


    "Run!" The healer shouted, however, it wasn''t necessary as many already used their movement battle skill and ran for their life.


    At such a critical moment, they could no longer care about the others.


    The armored scorpion was intimidating and hissed fiercely as it went after them.


    It was a rank 2 beast and moved much faster, the Liu clan members fled to the best of their abilities, but it quickly caught up and dismembered them with his pincers or used his tail like a whip, killing them one by one even before they could leave the valley.


    This way, a herd of boar, three teams and one elder of the Liu clan were exterminated.


    "One less, there''s only two now."


    On a tree near the scene, a figure smiled as it observed the scene.


    When the scorpion left, the figure jumped down and drew near, cleaning the battlefield of all the human corpses, before it returned to the shadows.


    Half an hour later in another part of the jungle...


    Sprinting rapidly!


    Ye Mo''s hair was pushed back by the wind and it''s cries covered his ears as he pushed off with his legs, nimbly avoiding all the obstacles on his way.


    His body was covered in a violent gale moving quickly around him, increasing his speed.


    Yet, he was clear of the situation behind him as a pack of white eye lycans angered on purpose was rapidly catching up.


    Particularly their leader, a rank 2 smoke lycan, who avoided all the trees on his way as if he glided on their surfaces, propelling himself even faster as he drew dangerously close to Ye Mo.


    White eye lycans, are blood beasts with the characteristics of wolfs, but as their name implies, their eyes have no pupils and they are blind from birth.


    However, all things are balanced in life and although they can''t see, their smell and hearing is extremely developed, being able to sense someone through great distances.


    It wasn''t all though, since the white eye lycans are mainly known to release a flimsy smoke through their gray fur.


    When it''s just one, it''s of no consequences but white eye lycans hunt in packs and their territory is full of a dense fog, rendering the sight of intruders useless and disorienting while giving the lycans an enormous advantage.


    The rank 2 smoke lycan was twice the size of ordinary white eye lycans and his fur exuded even more smoke, concealing his body when he stands in place.


    Ye Mo saw he was going to get caught as the smoke lycan was right behind him, suddenly, his body turned into black water and disappeared on the ground.


    The smoke lycan halted it''s steps in bewilderment and sniffed the area where his prey vanished but the smell stopped here, it couldn''t track him.


    Ye Mo moved to a fareaway place then reappeared again.


    The smoke lycan and it''s pack immediately caught his scent and turned towards him before engaging in another heated pursuit as it growled furiously.


    Ye Mo smiled internally.


    This situation repeated multiple times until he reached his destination before he merged with the shadows and vanished for good.


    The smoke lycan and the others kept looking around but couldn''t find him, however, they quickly found another target!


    Not far from this place, a team of six Liu clan members fought against needle bees. The needle bees were all fist-sized with yellow and black stripes and they had a long and thin stinger like a needle.


    Howl!


    The white eye lycans entered the battlefield and engaged the group of cultivators, attacking without any restraint.


    "This must be a joke!"


    "Doesn''t all pack of beasts have their own territory, what are these white eye lycans doing in this place?"


    "And right when we''re already fighting those bees, we''re done for!"


    "Hurry, send the distress flare!"


    One Liu clan member injected his Qi on a flare which he shot out from his hand.


    The tip of the flare started burning before it exploded midair, giving a bright red signal observable from a range of 40km.


    "This is pointless." Ye Mo appeared at the peak of a tree not far and observed the scene.


    He has been infiltrating the territory of beasts to draw them out and lead them to the Liu clan members.


    Under his sheme, these teams have been restricted and killed by beasts repeatedly letting him reap the benefits of using their corpses for his own body refining cultivation and making him progress quickly.


    Letting your enemies kill each other while you enjoy the spectacle from the sidelines, this was truly the most favorable of situations.


    Compared to the last time with the boars and the armored scorpion, this time he directly brought out a rank 2 beast.


    The terrain where the white eye lycans rested was immersed in a deep fog and even for him who possessed a stealth battle skill it was very dangerous.


    After all, he still had to cancel shadow walk at some point to appear in front of the beasts and make them chase him, but because the visibility was so bad he could have been ambushed anywhere at this moment without knowing.


    Luckily, it didn''t happen or he would have to escape and try with another pack of beasts.


    In addition, the situation of this team was already investigated by Ye Mo and he knew the other groups of the Liu clan were pretty far from their position so before they arrive, it would be too late.


    As he predicted, the team of Liu clan members was quickly slaughtered, mostly by the smoke lycan.


    After that, the white eye lycans and the needle bees briefly fought but the insects were clearly not on par with the pack of wolf and quickly flew away when some of them were bitten to death.


    Some other teams that were on their way to help them were warned by their investigative member of the death of their allies and the presence of powerful beasts so they turned back, but one team had a less proficient investigator and approached too close.


    The smoke lycan caught their scent and the pack quickly pursued the cultivators, overtaking and killing them in a short time.


    Ye Mo watched everything, amused, still perched in the distance. When the lycans left, he didn''t forget to use the nine revolutions fiend body on the still warm copses of the Liu clan members, killing the few needle bees that lingered around.


    They were only rank 1 mid and high tier of strength so he had no problem getting rid of them.


    Yet, he could absorb the blood of only one team as the second one who was eliminated by the lycans had their corpses brought back to their lair to be devored.


    Rinse and repeat, the day was filled with cries of distress and the howls of blood beasts, under the watchful eye of an onlooker.

 Embodiment of Nature

    "Argh!" An elder fell face first on the soft earth, his belly cut open by the claws of a fierce tiger.


    Its paw stomped down and crushed the head of the cultivator on the ground, tainting the fur with blood and brain matters.


    In the surroundings were the battered corpses of several clan members.


    The blood beast didn''t return to its lair, but started to feast on them, enjoying this sumptuous meal as he started with the elder.


    This showed how confident it was in its strength that it could eat outside without anyone disrupting him.


    Ye Mo watched, deeply concealed in the jungle, a bit disappointed that he won''t be able to absorb the fallen Liu clan members.


    He saw everything unfolding, the elder was only a third or fourth layer Foundation Establishment realm expert and with only high-tier Yellow class skills at best, he was no match for the rank 2 tiger.


    Ye Mo speculated the tiger''s strength was at least high-tier rank 2.


    The Qi Gathering members, of course, were of no utility, only able to pray for a miracle before being slaughtered by the beast.


    Against this rank 2 tiger, even the beasts in the vicinity from which belonged this terrain didn''t dare approach, letting him devour his preys to his heart content until he returns from where he came.


    Ye Mo distanced himself from the scene and climbed on a tree, sitting on a branch with his back against the trunk, more than thirty meters above the ground.


    "To fight beasts of your own level in a duel and surpass them, it''s truly not easy. Without taking body refinement into account, you would need at least Star class skills to fight those akin to this tiger and even then it doesn''t mean you would win, but at least you could defend yourself, as for killing them, it depends on the cultivator''s own abilities."


    Ye Mo thought as he cultivated with closed eyes.


    Between two maneuver to lead Liu clan members to their death, he would take several minutes to cultivate and recover his Qi.


    It wasn''t enough to completely recuperate the wisps of Qi lost but at least it would slow down shadow walk''s expenditure, giving him more time until he could kill all the Liu clan members in this part of the woods.


    It was deep in the afternoon, the jungle was vibrant, you could hear the rustling of leaves, the birds singing and crickets chirping between intermittent growls of beasts.


    The woods were a noisy expression of nature itself and the sun shined brillantly in the sky.


    Multiple hours went by since Ye Mo began his ploy to get rid of the Liu clan''s troops and more than a hundred of them fell from the strikes of beasts, among them two elders.


    He even had the chance to harness the blood of one of them, just thinking about it, he had the urge to go out and steal the tiger''s meal from his mouth but he reined in his desires, he would die before reaching the corpse, doing this would be nothing less than retarded.


    Demonic techniques were powerful and could make you progress fast but it also frequently gave the cultivator an insatiable lust for power, losing their rationality, so Ye Mo made sure to have complete control over his emotions and carefully consider his options before taking a decision.


    During the murder of the Liu clan members, he used his nine revolutions fiend body on the cadavers every time he had the chance.


    Many of them were reduced to dust and his physical abilities increased quickly, though he wasn''t yet at the point where he could breakthrough the third revolution.


    Still, those absorbed weren''t even up to half of the victims, often he couldn''t approach because the beasts stayed there devouring the cultivators or would bring their corpses with them and in some cases where the beasts left without touching anything, the packs from which belonged this terrain would quickly return and Ye Mo didn''t have the time to act.


    As for the corpses of blood beasts killed by the Liu clan members, he didn''t touch them. Not only their body was massive, taking him much more time to absorb, they were only rank 1 beasts and the benefits of cultivating with them was very low.


    In addition he was still hunted by both the Liu clan members, and the beasts that would spot him. He couldn''t stay at one place for too long and had to move here and there to cover his tracks so wasting his energy on animals wasn''t worth the risks.


    "The only team to eliminate now is the one led by the blood tracking fly, however, they are constantly monitored by this middle-aged elder seen previously. He would leave from time to time to inspect some areas then quickly return and check their progress."


    "Since i am constantly entering dangerous zones to lead beasts against their clan members, this team that follow me everywhere should have reached a core area many times but this elder always appear to warn them of the powerful beasts ahead and makes them turn back, waiting for the blood tracking fly to indicate a different direction."


    "More than the cultivators, it seems the elder wants to protect the insect following me, but he doesn''t keep it with him because it''s not efficient enough. The blood tracking fly, when tied by the thread can''t move at full speed and is constantly held down, the elder would be forced to move slowly as well to follow the insect and understand the directions but if it''s released then it could escape. By giving it to a team, they can split up to cover more ground, their research progress faster and he can just return here and there to check on them."


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    After a few minutes, Ye Mo stood up and left the place as he kept pondering.


    He couldn''t go find the secret cave with this blood tracking fly pursuing him, the elder was also too dangerous and had to be eliminated.


    The rest of the Liu clan members was mostly dealt with and only a few isolated teams remained, far from the green highlighted route.


    They would die by themselves at some point encountering a few beasts, the most important was that they were unable to follow him.


    Ye Mo traveled quickly and approached one of the red crosses of the map.


    Here he found an animated, towering tree with twisted roots and branches moving around, on the center of its trunk was the deformed human face of what seemed like an old man screaming.


    "Blighted Treant, the rank 2 personification of the treemen i fought when i faced Liu Zhi!" Ye Mo thought as he walked towards the beast.


    Blighted treant are a sentient embodiment of nature, summoning swarms of insects and venomous vines to ensnare its prey.


    "Some people believe the bark taking the form of a face is the tormented soul of a human the tree absorbed to come to life." Ye Mo laughed quietly as he revealed himself to the beast.


    This absurd story had no sources and was just told among mortals to feel a chill for an instant, the mysteries of souls wasn''t something this kind of creature could pierce and of course Ye Mo didn''t take it to heart one bit.


    The blighted treant noticed Ye Mo and a deep sound echoed from the deformed face before dark purple brambles left the ground, encircling him as it closed on his body.


    Ye Mo was standing on the shadow of a tree at his side and as the brambles were about to pierce his skin, he used shadow walk and disappeared just to emerge a few meters further.


    The blighted treant raised its roots and combined elements of plant-like motion with unnatural, jerking movements as it began to pursue Ye Mo.


    The tree wasn''t as fast as other rank 2 beasts, but it was still much faster than Ye Mo and could advance a dozen meter in the blink of an eye.


    Sometimes, vines would emerge from the ground or the surrounding trees and attempt to immobilize him, but Ye Mo quickly turned in shadow form and escaped.


    He didn''t need to search the position of the team holding the blood tracking fly, he just had to retrace his steps and they would inevitably encounter each other since they were constantly following his traces.


    As he thought, while stealthily distancing himself from the blighted treant, Ye Mo passed by six persons led by a bug running in the opposite direction.


    "Im not sure the blighted treant will be enough, i will think of another way, just in case." Ye Mo wasn''t assured so he started to think of a plan B as many possibilities flashed in his mind.


    In the same time, he left the battlefield and spectated from far away.


    The Liu clan members were rushing behind the bug, the one on the front was concentrating on the indications while the others watched over the surroundings.


    "Run!" Suddenly, one of them shouted loudly as he used a battle skill.


    It was too late though as near the same time, a towering tree with an unsettling appearance quickly approached them, his branches and roots swaying furiously.


    At first, it was only chasing behind one prey, but when it vanished and five appeared instead, the blighted treant seemed even more agitated as it summoned its servants.


    A veil of darkness progressively covered the earth as waves of insects left the tree''s cavities and crawled on the ground, all as venomous as the blighted treant''s vines.


    In the sky, a dark buzzing cloud was formed of flying insects while those on the ground stridulate menacingly, both charging towards the frightened cultivators.


    They tried to run away but there was no way they could outrun this monster.


    When they were about to be swallowed by the dark cloud, a wind blade fell down and separated it in two then crashed on the ground, creating a large gash where the crawling insects fell into.


    From the dark cloud, hundreds of them fell down, mostly in two parts.


    At the same time, a middle aged man landed beside the Liu clan members, "Go now, i will hold him for some time. Don''t forget, the well being of the blood tracking fly is your responsibility, if something happens to it, you will be held accountable by the clan."


    Saying so, the elder activated a defensive and a movement battle skill, a deep light covered his body while he flew in the dark cloud, leaving from the other side as he directly attacked the blighted treant!


    "Elder!" Seeing their senior''s dedication, the disciples felt touched, but they quickly turned around and ran away.


    They had to leave or his sacrifice would be in vain and if not for him, his reminder was enough drive to escape with all their strength. The clan would be as welcoming as this beast filled jungle if they returned without the fly.


    "As i thought, he showed up."


    Ye Mo who was spectating from far away with hands crossed, used shadow walk and left.

 Principles Doesnt Save you

    "We must return to the second mountain and use the distress flare. There, we will be safe, with everyone regrouping and the other elders helping we will be able to defeat the blighted treant and rescue senior Ma. This jungle is too dangerous, even rank 2 beasts appear out of nowhere, we can''t move separately anymore if we want to keep searching for the kid."


    Liu Qiao, the leader of the team tied by the blood tracking fly instructed to his comrades as they ran quickly towards the base of the mountain.


    Among the group, only three of them had a good movement battle skill, but they couldn''t use it and leave the others behind so instead the member in charge of healing used a martial art sending sparks shining upon everyone.


    Immediately, their body turned light like paper and their speed increased by 50%, making them quickly progress through the jungle.


    They were close to their destination when suddenly, the blood tracking fly grew agitated.


    Liu Qiao looked ahead and could see someone''s back in the distance, standing on a tree as he seemed to look at something.


    This person sensed their presence and turned back towards them as their gaze met.


    Liu Qiao''s eyes widened in shock, the person ahead was a young man dressed in a black gown covering his legs.


    Short spiky black hair, tanned skin, muscular...


    "It''s him!" Liu Qiao did not expect to find Ye Mo at this time.


    The murderer of Liu Hualing and Liu Huan, extorting their clan and crippling Liu Zhi.


    This heinous criminal was the prime target they researched, starting surch a large operation and losing many lives just for his capture.


    When he saw them, Ye Mo appeared surprised before calling upon winds and racing away in another direction.


    "Don''t let him escape!" Liu Qiao shouted as he instantly charged ahead, using a battle skill without holding back.


    The blood tracking fly was placed in an inner pocket of his uniform so that it wouldn''t impede his movements as he went after Ye Mo.


    His companions followed him, but three of them were slowly being distanced.


    In this situation, the elder''s warning or the plan he formulated was discarded. Between the blood tracking fly or capturing Ye Mo, it was easy to understand what was the most important for Liu clan members.


    All this affair was started for him in the first place, the lives lost, the ressources expended, the risks taken, everything would be worthwhile if he was arrested.


    "You might not know but Liu Zhi and i were good friends since young, because of you, he still didn''t regain consciousness." Liu Qiao gritted his teeth, his eyes burning with anger.


    The chase continued and the Liu clan members were slowly gaining grounds on Ye Mo. The latter, with his body refining cultivation and wind flow had a speed comparable to a mid-tier Yellow class battle skill, but his pursuers were all 9th layer cultivators using mid-tier movement battle skills, in terms of speed, they surpassed him.


    At some point during the chase, Ye Mo engulfed himself inside thick bushes and vanished. Liu Qiao and his team followed him closely, but after passing through the bushes and reaching a hill, they couldn''t find him anymore, it was like he suddenly disappeared.


    "Where did he go?!"


    "Scout the area!"


    "If you have any investigative battle skill, use them!"


    Liu Qiao and his teammates looked around, agitated. It was the first time Ye Mo was seen since they arrived in this jungle, if he escaped so easily, what excuses could they give to the elders? It would be too humiliating.


    In the meantime, those that have been left behind because they didn''t have a good movement art quickly joined them as they wondered where he went.


    Soon after, the trumpets of rhinos resounded in the area.


    Eight lightning horn rhinos were seen furiously charging towards them in the distance. Among them were three rank 1 peak level beasts.


    "Damn it! We entered in these lightning horn rhinos territory."


    "The eight of them are a bit too much for us, we should leave."


    Liu Qiao furrowed his brows: "Have we been led there on purpose or is it a coincidence, and where did Ye Mo go, does he have a stealth battle skill that the clan isn''t aware of?!"


    He was perplexed, there wasn''t any trace left from his target and he could see from the rhinos speed that they would quickly overtake them even if they tried to run away.


    Battle was inevitable, they lost their purpose coming here and were turned into prey instead, their situation progressed horribly!


    "We have no choice, we must fight so prepare yourself." Liu Qiao told everyone.


    Hearing his words, the others nodded and circulated their Qi, some started raising earthwalls in preparation for the upcoming battle.


    At this time, Liu Qiao''s eyes turned cold as he opened his mouth: "However, you heard the elder, without Ye Mo, the priority is to keep the blood tracking fly safe. I will count on you guys to slow them down."


    Saying so, Liu Qiao used his movement battle skill, turned around and sped off!


    "Wait, leader come back!"


    "We have a chance if we fight together!"


    "You can''t leave us here like that!"


    "Fucking bastard!"


    Liu Qiao''s teammates were astonished before their faces instantly turned deathly pale.


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    They might have a small hope at life if they stood together, but without Liu Qiao, there was no way they could ward off these beasts.


    They shouted desperately, growing frantic, but it was useless. Liu Qiao quickly ran away and couldn''t be seen anymore.


    Bam! Bam! Bam!


    Simultaneously, the lightning horn rhinos arrived before the cultivators and smashed to bits the earthwalls as they continued their charge.


    Their size was two times one of ordinary rhinos and the tip of their biggest horn shined in a light blue color. When they were agitated, blue sparks would oscillate around it.


    Shouts and flashes of lights resounded for a short time, before the calm returned on the hill.


    In the meantime, Liu Qiao ran with all his strength racing across the woods.


    "Fortunately, i was the one to be handed the blooded tracking fly, i am just upholding the elder''s will. Yes, it is their duty to help me protect it even if they have to sacrifice themselves, as long as i bring it back, i would have done my part, the clan won''t say anything."


    Liu Qiao breathed heavily as he moved foward.


    "It would be the best if i could capture Ye Mo, where did this scum go. Well, he can stay here and get devored by beasts for all i care, this jungle is too dangerous and the beasts movements are strange, i will just go and regroup with the others."


    "You''re the one dying."


    He was still thinking out loud when all of a sudden, a voice was heard behind him.


    Concurrently, a black mass emerged from Liu Qiao''s shadow and threw a punch.


    Bam!


    Liu Qiao didn''t have the time to react when a fist connected and the world turned upside down.


    His body was sent crashing on the ground more than fifteen steps away, his eyes open. He was dead on the spot.


    His spine has been shattered by the force of the punch and his back was displayed at an odd angle, almost aligned to the legs.


    "Starting at the second phase, shadow walk becomes extremely effective towards assassination. This guy couldn''t even use a defensive battle skill before i killed him." Ye Mo looked at the body as he reflected.


    Liu Qiao was a 9th layer Qi Gathering cultivator so if he faced him head on, Ye Mo would find it very difficult to deal with him, he could even lose. Yet, when he used shadow walk and took him by surprise, only a punch was needed to end him.


    The body of a cultivator remains fragile at low levels, if you don''t use battle skills to protect yourself, its very easy to get killed.


    Liu Qiao just escaped a great predicament and left the territory of lightning horn rhinos so instinctively, he wouldn''t think another mortal danger would hit him right after. Unavoidably, his body relaxed and his guard lowered and that''s when he was attacked by the concealed Ye Mo.


    The latter approached the corpse and grabbed the head, then he used the nine revolutions fiend body. The mass of the corpse shrunk down continually until all that was left was crumbled skin and bone powder.


    "Hehe, humans have the highest spirituality in the world but i guess they aren''t that different from beasts."


    Ye Mo''s lips curled up as he thought about it.


    He doubted the blighted treant would be able to kill this team if an elder intervened so he took another approach for this problem.


    Since the start, he has been leading beasts towards cultivators of the Liu clan, reducing their numbers without dirtying his hands, but this time they were about to escape and he didn''t have the time to go attract another one so he used himself as bait and with the same strategy, led humans towards beasts.


    Capturing him was too important, the clansmen immediately threw themselves at his pursuit, Ye Mo also did his part, acting startled when seeing them and quickly distancing himself from the team, reinforcing the urge to go after him.


    However, the most important point was that he was only a 7th layer cultivator while Liu Qiao and his team were all 9th layer cultivators. The world was ruled by strength and here the balance of power was clearly in favor of the Liu clan members hence they didn''t hesitate.


    If they knew of his stealth abilities, they might have ignored him but Ye Mo never revealed this battle skill, hence there were no reason to pass this chance.


    "All these tirade about kinship, honor, loyalty and whatnot, in a situation of mortal danger he didn''t hesitate to abandon his own clansmen to save his life. He was right to do so because he would have died with them if he stayed, those principles don''t makes you stronger nor smarter and they don''t save you when in dire predicaments so why take them to heart? People will do what they needs to preserve themselves. Hmm?"


    While in thought, a small bump was raised on Liu Qiao''s clothes.


    Ye Mo watched this bump slowly traveling towards an extremity and escape the darkness when a small bug flapped its wings and rised in the air.


    The blood tracking fly looked at Ye Mo, it was hungry and has been craving for his blood for days.


    It opened its mouth wide and flew in a straight line towards him!


    Slap!


    With a backhand strike, Ye Mo sent the bug hurled on the side like a stone from a slingshot and crashed against a small boulder, thirteen steps further.

 Anyone can die at any moment

    Although the blood tracking fly was sent crashing with enough force to create a dint on the rock, it wasn''t dead, but fell on the ground and feebly moved its legs in the air.


    Despite its small stature, it was still a blood beast and wasn''t as easily killed as the average bug.


    The fly rolled on the ground and stood up slowly but it was still stunned from the strike as it walked disorderly.


    Ye Mo removed his attention from the fly and rummaged in Liu Qiao''s remains, taking the thread from the corpse.


    He rolled the thread around his finger and made a knot, the same way it was when he observed Liu Qiao, then approached the blood tracking fly.


    The latter recovered in the meantime and immediately threw itself at Ye Mo when he got close.


    Ye Mo slapped it down on the ground another time then crouched down and tied the other end of the thread to the fly.


    "Don''t make me regret it." Ye Mo uttered softly as he looked at the bug before he stood up.


    Previously, the plan was to exterminate the elders, the clan members and the blood tracking fly after him to cover his tracks, doing so also implied killing Liu Qiao and his team since he was the one holding the bug.


    However, now they were most probably all dead and only a small number of teams isolated in this part of the forest remained, they were of no danger to him.


    Similarly, the blood tracking fly by itself couldn''t do anything to Ye Mo, blood tracking flies are dangerous because they travel in pack of hundreds or thousands, but one alone ain''t threatening to cultivators.


    This way, Ye Mo decided to take the fly with him. If he was in the midst of a battle and saw a chance he wouldn''t hesitate to immediately kill it and secure his objective but since everything ended already and the fly was alone then he should as well make it his.


    "I could sell the fly to a clan or use its tracking abilities for my own purposes, who knows what the future holds? It''s better to take everything i can now and make use of it later than to regret because i lost an opportunity."


    Ye Mo''s thoughts were mainly turned towards the future rather than the present. To be prepared for any complications that might arise in his journey he would anticipate the issues he could face and think of a counter measure.


    The greatest quality of a strategist was anticipation, having a clear grasp of the situation and predicting the difficulties to come, moving two steps ahead at all time.


    This kind of person, they don''t think ''how do i get out of this predicament'' when they are threatened, but ''how do i not fall in one'' way before.


    Once you are in a hopeless situation, hoping for something to save you at the last moment is futile.


    The blood tracking fly dangled at the end of the thread, unconscious due to Ye Mo''s last slap, but quickly, it woke up and flapped its wings.


    When it understood it was tied once again, and by its prey at that, it flew head first onto Ye Mo''s hand and bit him.


    At first, it had a bit of trouble piercing the skin which was much tougher than a normal human but its sharp teeths which specially served to pass this layer of defense quickly got through after munching for an instant before the fly began to suck the blood out.


    Seeing this, Ye Mo raised his hand in a way the middle finger bent and touched the thumb.


    Suddenly, the middle finger was released from the thumb''s grasp!


    Flick!


    The middle finger accurately struck the fly which was sent hurling back until the thread was completely outstretched before it stopped harshly in the middle of the air.


    The blood tracking fly screeched loudly, enraged, then attacked again, flying towards the hand to suck its blood once more.


    Flick, flick, flick!


    Ye Mo flicked his middle finger repeatedly, hitting the fly again and again. The latter bounced back each time before it was stopped by the thread then it would charge even more furious than before.


    Seconds quickly transformed into minutes as the bug was being hit constantly.


    Ye Mo wasn''t trying to kill it but just to make it lose the will to defy him so he only flicked his finger the whole time. He had a lot of strength so even though it was a blood beast, he could easily crush it if he wasn''t careful.


    At some point the fly gradually stopped attacking and just stayed at distance flapping its wings as it understood from the beating that it couldn''t defeat him and that attacking led to pain.


    Yet, because of the thread, it couldn''t escape either so it just remained there looking at Ye Mo while making strange noises, showing its stubbornness and intense hatred.


    Flick.


    Ye Mo was very patient and didn''t grow frustrated by the situation as he continued flicking his finger, resuming the battering.


    The fly tried to avoid the strikes, but how could it succeed against Ye Mo at this distance? It screeched loudly in pain while getting beaten up again.


    It was like a small speed pear getting hit time and time again before the inertia would send it back towards another strike.


    After some time, the fly submitted looking completely dispirited, it stopped flapping its wings and landed on Ye Mo''s hand but it didn''t attempt to bite him even though it was in direct contact with his skin, going against its natural instincts, it just stood there motionless.


    "This is a good method, i won''t forget it if i need to tame another beast." Ye Mo mumbled, satisfied as he let the fly be.


    He couldn''t make it enter his pouch since the spatial formations inside don''t activate for living beings so it would just die after some time in this small bag due to the lack of space and air.


    He returned to Liu Qiao''s remains and fumbled through his clothes, but didn''t find anything valuable.


    "Of course, they wouldn''t come in such a dangerous mission with their belongings, they must have left everything to the clan." Ye Mo said casually, shaking his head.


    He searched through all the corpses he could when he killed Liu clan members but never found anything useful, even their spatial pouch contained only first necessities and distress flares.


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    After that he returned to the area where Liu Qiao''s teammates fought lightning horn rhinos.


    There, the ground was littered with blood and limbs while only two corpses were complete, both of them having multiple large holes due to perforating wounds.


    But these injuries and the loss of blood didn''t cause their demise.


    They died of cardiac arrest from the electric currents sent in their body by the horn of lightning horn rhinos.


    Ye Mo used the nine revolutions fiend body on both corpses then let the fly swallow the blood on the ground and from the limbs left.


    When it was done, the fly seemed much more vibrant and lively, making rounds on Ye Mo''s hand, but after returning from its meal, it still refused to fly by itself, apparently fearing to be hit by his finger once more.


    At this moment, the bug became unable to track Ye Mo, that is at least, until it drink his blood again.


    After nourishing the fly, he returned to the area where the elder fought against the blighted treant.


    He didn''t need to search much, just a few meters away from the battle site, he found a strange tree. When he got closer, he realized it wasn''t really a tree but what seemed like several wooden spikes sharing the same base that emerged from the ground.


    Their form was crooked, taking many curves left and right before ending in a sharp spear-like tip.


    On the peak of the tree was impaled the body of a man, his flesh was traversed by the spikes on every parts of his corpse, one them even went through his crotch and left through his mouth.


    However, his features couldn''t be made out as a swarm of insects covered every spot of his remains, ravishly devouring his flesh.


    In spite of this fact, Ye Mo could easily infer through the body''s frame and the way he died that it was the elder which rescued Liu Qiao''s team.


    "Such a pitiful end, this world is really cruel, no matter how high a position you hold or the strength you achieved, you can face the death of a dog at any moment. Only when you reach the peak and become unparalleled in the boundless space can you truly be at ease." He thought in his heart.


    This person has been the elder of a clan and had the power to easily kill him if they met, but here he was in this grotesque position, being devoured by bugs even Ye Mo could crush with a wave of his hand.


    Although the prerequisite to travel safely is said to be the Foundation Establishment realm, this is just a vague estimation dependant on circumstances, actually with a bit of luck and well prepared, a powerful, high level Qi Gathering cultivators could still travel some distances while even Inner Core realm experts could fall if they went too deep in the wilderness or unknowingly entered a dangerous zone.


    In these lands, no one had it easy, it''s just so that the weaker you are, the easier it is for you to meet your demise.


    "The stronger you grow, the less things there is that can kill you. I am still too weak, i have to hurry and return to the pagoda so i can attempt to breakthrough the 8th later." Conviction shined in Ye Mo''s eyes.


    He invoked the winds and left the scene running, going through the safe green route of the map until he reached the third mountain.


    At this point, he sat on a rock near the base of the mountain and cultivated to recover all the Qi used up on shadow walk as he eliminated Liu clan members.


    He wanted to be at the maximum of his abilities to traverse the jungle in a straight line and attain the fourth mountain in one fell swoop under his concealment battle skill.


    When his Qi was fully restored and he was about to depart for his destination, he thought of something.


    Once he turns in shadow form, the thread that was coiled around his finger won''t be tied to anything anymore and the fly he put much efforts to tame would be able to escape.


    "No choice then." After pondering for some time, Ye Mo caught the fly and slightly pressed its head making it open its mouth then forcefully plunged it on the back of his hand.


    The teeths pierced the skin and its mouth was soon filled with blood.


    In less than an instant, Ye Mo retracted the fly from his hand and turned in a shadow, quickly moving through the jungle.


    The blood tracking fly quickly swallowed the blood as it flapped its wings in the air, seemingly confused.


    The thread wasn''t relied to Ye Mo and it could move freely.


    It was about to leave when suddenly, it caught the trail of a prey.


    It was only a bug after all, it didn''t think of the blood it just consumed nor the person who left but followed its nature and pursued the trail, expecting its next meal at its end.


    As for Ye Mo, he quickly advanced through the woods and although he met multiple blood beasts, they didn''t notice him at all.


    He rejoiced at the smooth progress and in a short time, he arrived before the fourth mountain.


    It was enormous, reaching the sky and piercing the clouds.


    Soon enough, as he was contemplating the landscape, a buzzing sound was heard and a blood tracking fly tied to a thin thread flew towards him.


    The bug sensed it was near its prey, when it noticed Ye Mo, it didn''t recognize him as anything more than a bag of blood to bite so it opened its mouth wide and attacked.


    Flick!


    Ye Mo grinned while he flicked his finger as the blood tracking fly was pushed back.


    At this moment, the fly looked at Ye Mo immobile for an instant as a bad feeling emerged in its heart.


    The pain from this strike, it was ingrained on its flesh.


    The torture from before, it was him!


    After a moment of hesitation, the bug turned around and flapped its wings hurriedly but Ye Mo moved faster as he grabbed the thread hanging down and tied it to his index.


    "So much trouble just to reach the cave, this time i will definitely retrieve the pure iridescent iron." Ye Mo declared with determination.


    As he walked towards the mountain with the intention to ascend, the lonely figure of a bug flying behind him looked miserable.

 Bottomless Pit

    The mountain stood like a monolith in the middle of the jungle, its shadow looming over Ye Mo.


    This mountain had two facets, on the back where was supposed to be located the secret cave was only stark rocks and steep cliffs devoid of any vegetation until its peak.


    With his abilities Ye Mo could still climb on this side until he reached the secret cave, his strength and endurance was more than enough for this kind of task, however, he chose to take the path that faced him.


    On the other side of the mountain where he stood, it was full of verdant greenery, with trees tenaciously clinging to the inclined earth and plants of various colors swaying with the mountain breeze.


    Ye Mo walked on a sinuous pathway that climbed all the way towards the peak, making turns around the mountain.


    Through this, he could also attain the cave of pure iridescent iron, although the path was much longer, between climbing and running here on the ground, he would arrive at destination at the same time and this way, he wasn''t put in a precarious situation.


    After all, it was the wilderness, what if he was suddenly attacked by some flying blood beast while climbing? Advancing on the earth was much safer.


    Ye Mo advanced and met some animals on his way, sometimes they were ordinary deers or bears and others they were low level blood beasts.


    Standing at rank 1 low and mid tier at most, they didn''t pose any danger to him.


    Even well trained mortals could lay traps and deal with them or escape much less himself.


    Ye Mo kept moving and arrived at the back of the mountain.


    There, the road was narrow and standing at hundreds of meters high, he had to stick his back against the mountain wall and walk sideways to not fall, progressing with a great view of a large part of the jungle as a precipice welcomed him.


    After ascending nearly three quarters of the mountain, Ye Mo arrived beside two boulders separated by a cavern.


    "There is no mistake, i am on the backside of the mountain close to the area marked by the map, it must be this cave Wei Leng talked about." Ye Mo''s heart fluttered slightly, but he contained his enthusiasm.


    Only after retrieving the pure iridescent iron can he claim success.


    Actually, he raised his guard even more as he walked inside.


    The interior grew darker the more he progressed in the cavern, with his sight growing increasingly useless, he focused on his heightened senses to distinct any movement in his surroundings.


    He kept advancing, one step after the other, to the point he couldn''t perceive the bright entrance he came from anymore.


    Only black darkness surrounded him.


    Ye Mo continued forward, slowly edging into the darkness.


    In this space, he couldn''t distinguish the time passing or the distance covered, he just kept moving, driven by his goal.


    At some point, he started to discern some light far ahead.


    The light was faint but it grew clearer as he approached.


    After a few seconds, Ye Mo arrived in a large enclosure.


    "I don''t know how long i have walked, but i should be around the heart of the mountain now." Ye Mo thought taking a look at the area.


    On the walls and the ceiling were many chunks of iron scintillating faintly and lightening the place.


    This iron seemed like an illusion, changing colors depending on the perspective from which you looked at it.


    "Finally, the pure iridescent iron, but..." Ye Mo frowned, "Wei Leng clearly exaggerated the tale to save his life, he told me the cave was full of it while here, only the left wall and the ceiling contains a few chunks or iron fused with the rock of the cave."


    "Well, it''s still enough for what i intend to do." Ye Mo didn''t mind it.


    As long as it could serves his purpose, it wasn''t a big deal.


    To extract the iron from the rocks, there wasn''t a thousand ways, Ye Mo grabbed a pickaxe from his pouch and began carefully beating the rocks connected to the pure iridescent iron on the left wall.


    After a few hits, the rock would break and the extremity of iron fell down before Ye Mo picked it up and stored it in his pouch.


    He did this until he collected all the chunks on the left wall then started attacking the ceiling, jumping up to reach its level then he would deliver one blow before landing down.


    The ceiling contained more pure iridescent iron than the left wall most probably due to the height where it stood making Wei Leng unable to retrieve it.


    As for Ye Mo, he could still jump this high and deliver one hit at a time, slowly collecting the iron that fell down.


    After the time for an incense stick to burn, Ye Mo retrieved all the pure iridescent iron left.


    "With this maybe i have a chance to fare well in the year end competition." Ye Mo thought clenching his fist.


    This competition will see the apparition of not only the genius of the tiger martial institute, but also the sky and golden institute.


    If it was only so, why not, but this competition also didn''t make any distinction between junior and senior disciples.


    For he, who was only a 7th layer cultivator without even a complete battle system, beating them was a matter of the weak defeating the strong.


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    That might not be so bad if he only had to obtain a defensive and investigative battle skill, however, even his other techniques were lagging behind.


    Wind flow was only low-tier and couldn''t support him much in a battle between experts.


    "Even the stone breaking punch becomes less effective as i grow stronger, and cyclone kick has scarcely been useful. The problem lies in the way cyclone kicks are extremely fast but lacks power, if my opponent use a good defensive technique he can protect himself from all the kicks even against me who is a body refining cultivator."


    Ye Mo knew his battle skills weren''t up to his needs but he couldn''t ask for too much. Considering he entered the institute less than a year ago, his growth was still incredible.


    That''s why he needed to compensate for his battle skills with other things to have a chance and reach first place in the competition.


    All this made him desire even more the prize of a peak tier Yellow Class battle skill.


    After his reflection, Ye Mo took a chunk of pure iridescent iron in his hand then walked near the center of the enclosure before he stopped.


    On the ground before him was a hole with unknown depths as he stood at its edge.


    This bottomless pit, he noticed it first when reaching the place, but the pure iridescent iron quickly took all his attention.


    Now that he retrieved all of it already, he could focus on this peculiarity.


    The hole was large enough for two adult men to jump inside together, however the pure iridescent iron was only barely enough to give view to the surroundings much less the depth of this hole and now that they were all taken, the place was plunged in darkness once again.


    The chunk he took in his hand was just enough for him to see the edge of the hole so he wouldn''t fall.


    Ye Mo took a stone from his pouch and threw it in the hole.


    The stone was immediately devored by the darkness while he patiented.


    After half a minute, there was still no sound echoing as the stone seemed to never reach the ground.


    "This hole is so strange, what could there be below?" As soon as this thought emerged, it was impossible to repel it.


    "Wei Leng couldn''t have explored its depths, he would just die from the fall. He probably took a bit of iron and left satisfied, but with my abilities, i should be able to go see what''s inside."


    Since he already completed his objective in coming here, he could as well explore further.


    Ye Mo grabbed the blood tracking fly in the palm of his hand then jumped down.


    Quickly, he reached great speed as he dropped down towards the unknown.


    He kept falling, falling and falling!


    He thought he would reach the end pretty quickly, but seconds passed slowly without any change.


    The abyss seemed interminable.


    He dropped down for so long he started to think he might have been trapped in an endless fall when he suddenly noticed the ground in the distance!


    In this deep darkness, the surface of the walls surrounding the landing site were covered in luminescent stones giving a clear view of what has been nothing but gloomy blackness till now.


    To slow down his fall and come down relatively unscathed, Ye Mo had may ways, but he didn''t chose any as he directly plummeted on the ground like a falling meteor, raising the soil, dust and broken rock framents in the air in a crash!


    When the dust subsided, Ye Mo was found in a pitiful state, his legs completely shattered at various points in a gruesome, bloody sight and even his waist was broken, his left arm that supported his body next during the crash was bended in a way it seemed to give someone directions.


    Enduring the discharge of pain sent to his brain and relying on his willpower to keep conscious, Ye Mo used the Endless Vitality battle skill.


    The injuries he sustained were so serious that the healing battle skill had an immediate effect as the limbs could be seen turning straight again and the wounds on his body closing up.


    The reason he didn''t mitigate the fall was precisely due to Endless Vitality.


    Even if he reduced the speed at which he dropped down, he would still suffer minor wounds, these injuries would become bothersome in the long run, being slow to heal, and he wouldn''t have been in optimal condition to explore the rest of the cave.


    Directly enduring the fall head-on and suffering such cruel injuries to heal quickly with an healing battle skill was the most effective method.


    In a bit more than a minute, Ye Mo stood up in top condition.


    His clothes were drenched in his own blood but no injuries remained on his body.


    Of course, few would come up with this kind of barbaric way to sort out this situation and even if they did, they still needed to be a body refining cultivator to survive the fall then not losing consciousness and dealing with the injuries was again another story.


    Treating one self and other like objects, pursuing maximum efficacy, demonic resolution!


    Ye Mo opened his right hand and the blood tracking fly came out flapping its wings and flying around, it was protected during the crash and came out unharmed.


    The human treaded in the long cave followed by a bug, with the firm intention to see it through, as he felt it was all the more mysterious.

 Giant Gate

    The tunnel Ye Mo landed in stretched far and the walls were covered in shining bluestones, giving view to its passengers.


    These luminescent stones were often collected by people and used as a source of light in houses and buildings.


    Here and there, stone columns rised from the ground or hanged from the ceiling while at some point they connected with each other, forming small pillars ressembling thin, grey tree trunks.


    "With how long i fell, i should be below the mountain. Who dug this underground passage and where does it lead to?"


    Ye Mo was suspicious as he advanced in this odd tunnel.


    From the particularity of the cavern, he understood that, at least starting from the bottomless pit, this place wasn''t natural.


    As for wether a man or a creature did this, he couldn''t be sure.


    He continued walking forward for a long time and at some point, he reached a small pond at the conclusion of the tunnel.


    Just a few meters further, on the other side of the pond stood the wall of the cavern cutting the water down.


    There was noting else, he couldn''t continue on this path.


    "There is no other passageways, why would there be such a prolonged tunnel just to welcome a pond?"


    Ye Mo stooped down and focused on the water, but couldn''t find anything abnormal.


    It was just clear water and he could see his own reflection on the surface.


    Then he looked at his blood tracking fly.


    Blood beasts have greater senses than humans, if there was another creature in the surroundings, it would detect it and react, yet, here the fly wasn''t agitated at all, but only roaming on his hand aimlessly.


    "I guess i have no choice, with everything i went through to reach this place, i don''t want to miss anything." With a sigh, Ye Mo took off his clothes and stored them in his pouch.


    Then he untied the thread from his finger and let the bug move by itself, flying away from him.


    The blood tracking fly couldn''t follow him underwater.


    The water was freezing cold and even Ye Mo shivered as he went inside.


    The pond was small, around 8m2, but it was surprisingly deep, he couldn''t touch or perceive the ground at all so he dived down.


    He rarely had the occasions to swim in his life, but doing so wasn''t anything difficult for him when compared to multitasking.


    In an instant, he understood he had to move his hands and his feets in a rhythmical manner to stay afloat.


    As for underwater, even children unable to swim could move below the surface before rising up when out of breath much less him who directly dived down in a straight line while looking at the surroundings.


    To make sure of his position and the distance covered, he took hold of the wall that blocked his path as he went in deeper.


    After diving for six meters, he found the wall came to an end and there was a passage below to continue on.


    "There really is another way!" Ye Mo smiled as he returned to the surface to recover his breath.


    He lost some time searching for a way previously, but now that he filled his lungs with air, he dived down once again and activated cyclone kick.


    As his Qi was expended, his feets moved so fast that a wave of bubbles was left on his trail.


    Although the pressure of the water didn''t permit him to move his legs as fast as ordinarily, at this moment, he still progressed faster than any mortal could hope for as he engulfed himself in a narrow tunnel below the rock wall.


    The use of a battle skill also depended on the imagination of the cultivator, they didn''t serve only to fight but for all kinds of tasks depending on your abilities to adjust to the surroundings, that''s why adapting to your environment and increasing your understanding of the art was a crucial part of a cultivator.


    Ye Mo''s breathing capacities were also much more developed due to his body refining cultivation and after advancing for more than four minutes, the walls of the tunnel surrounding him were left behind as he returned to the surface on the other side.


    He looked around and found that this place was exactly the same as the one he came from.


    He was in a small pond inside an underground cavern with the same looking wall behind him.


    However, after climbing to the shore he saw that a small pair of stairs were placed further and at its top stood a gigantic white gate, more than twenty meters tall.


    Meanwhile in the headquarters of a certain clan...


    Crack!


    All kinds of furnitures were sent flying from a desk, some of them breaking after they crashed on the ground.


    The guards at the entrance jolted hearing the sounds inside and looked at each other in trepidation, but didn''t dare move a finger.


    "How! Three elders, a hundred elite disciples, all dead! The blood tracking fly, lost! How did this happen!"


    Behind the door, an infuriated Liu Dan stormed the room in fury, howling his disgruntlement in madness.


    Even during the golden age of the Liu clan, they had only a bit more than twenty elders, but currently, with those three losing their life, only eleven remained in the clan.


    "Please father, calm yourself, this is not good for your health." Liu Han was by his side as he tried to soothe him.


    Internally, he was shocked, he has never seen his father losing his composure like that in the past.


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    "We even used the chasing smoke to trace his steps back to this jungle but they aren''t capable to bring one kid here? What kind of dogs did we raise, don''t they have arms and legs like us, do they not have a brain to use! They better tell me they got ambushed by a dragon there or i am telling you, I AM KILLING THE REST OF THEM MY-blurgh!" When Liu Dan''s uncontrollable rage reached its peak, he suddenly vomited blood out of anger.


    "Father!" Liu Han precipitated himself towards him and supported his body as he shouted, "Call the medicine elder, quick!"


    The guards outside hurriedly ran towards the medicine hall when they heard the order.


    While Liu Dan was transported to a bed and the medicine elder was on his way, in a dark basement of the Liu clan, were stored many light green crystals in the shape of a pyramid.


    These pyramidal crystals are called soul crystals and are directly linked to the lifeforce of Liu clan elders and patriarch, among them, three broke in pieces.


    The crystal shattering was an undeniable truth that the person linked to it lost his life.


    With the sight of these broken soul crystals and the reports of the recent events, the Liu clan was clear of the situation in the jungle.


    The teams and other elders patrolling from the border of the jungle to the second mountain grew suspicious when their comrades stopped giving any signs of life and discovered the slaughter soon after Ye Mo left.


    A few minutes after Liu Dan was treated, a council was held in the clan''s hall.


    Liu Hao sat at the main seat while the elders sat in two rows beside him.


    "This time, the clan losses are too great, this is a real disaster that befall all of us. We have no choice, call back everyone, those in the jungle, the ones watching over the institute, the guards defending our shops... Everyone must return." Liu Hao said with a heavy heart.


    Immediately, the hall turned in turmoil.


    "What about the tavern in the fourth block, we''re already harassed by the Hui clan, if we retrieve our guards they will take it from us!"


    "Our restaurant near the center of the city is in the same state, the Mao clan will make it their property if we don''t defend it, we already had to repel their members multiple times."


    "And the chasing smoke, how do we compensate for it? This powder once used with the precise image of a person in mind, will float towards the target''s direction for a certain distance, that''s how we were able to pinpoint the kid''s location as there was nothing beside the jungle where the chasing smoke led us. Yet, the little thief hasn''t been seen at all, this is an expensive treasure used for nothing, we must recover this loss!"


    Elders raised their voices one by one.


    It was supposed to be a simple operation, Ye Mo lowered his guard and went outside, but thanks to their informant, they knew about it.


    They just had to capture him and come back, it was nothing difficult, just one elder alone should have been more than enough, yet they deployed such large troops to make sure there wouldn''t be any mistake.


    However, to think they would face such a high death count while not a trace of him would be found...


    "The situation has changed, we lost too much forces in this seemingly auspicious operation. We are not fighting for ressources, gold coins or some compensation anymore, let theses hyenas take what they want and, with a little bit of luck, devour each other, from now on we''re fighting for survival! Call back everyone to the headquarters." Liu Hao declared then stood up and left.


    The Liu clan had to preserve themselves from multiple rival clans for a long time now, they always were short on manpower.


    Now that three elders and so many disciples died it attained a critical state where they had to forget about the superfluous and all the businesses they took efforts to make flourish and produce income had to be abandoned.


    Liu Hao took the decision to focus on defending the core of the Liu clan with the rest of the members united, if they separated themselves and tried to defend several points at the same time, it was only a question of time before each squad fell prey to their enemies and at this time it would be too late to protect the headquarters with their remaining members.


    On his way out, Liu Han followed him.


    "How is father?" Liu Hao asked casually.


    "It''s nothing serious, he just needs rest. He didn''t sleep much these days, spending all his thoughts on catching the kid, this was the last stroke for him..."


    "With what happened, we can only leave this matter for later and focus on defending ourselves against outside threats." Liu Hao suddenly said, continuing on his way.


    Liu Han stayed behind looking down with a face of frustration mixed with bitterness.


    "I knew i should have went to capture him myself, but these two wouldn''t let me go."


    In his heart, Liu Han disapproved his brother and father''s decisions.


    Yet, he couldn''t do anything. His cultivation was too low and his status didn''t permit him to deny their orders, the world is ruled by strength but his talent wasn''t good enough to achieve success in this aspect.


    In the underground tunnel, Ye Mo had dressed himself and walked in front of the giant gate.


    Haa!


    Raising both hands, he pushed with all his strength, but although his face grew red from exertion, the gate only moved for less than an inch, a low rumble resounding for an instant.


    "With my current strength i can''t push it open, this gate looks like some kind of test to see if you''re worth entering or not. Well, there''s only one last option." Ye Mo''s gaze shone as he clenched his fist.


    Raising his hand, he took an optimal stance to send the most force possible with the stone breaking punch.


    The next instant, his fist flashed as he punched!

 Love Miracle Immortal Pill

    Bam, bam, bam!


    Loud bangs resounded in the underground cavern as the massive gate was slowly being pushed back.


    At the third stone breaking punch, Ye Mo''s wrist broke while the gate was slightly open, however the gap wasn''t large enough yet for him to pass through.


    "What could be behind this door, is it a secret inheritance? The botomless pit, the pond and now this gate, it looks like some tests set up to make sure only a cultivator would be able to attain this place, but it''s far too simple till now to be one."


    Ye Mo sat down and used endless vitality to heal as he wondered.


    In this land, there were thousands of secret inheritances hidden around the world holding the legacy of many past figures.


    When cultivators sense their life is coming to an end, it is common to set up an inheritance for the fated successor to acquire all their belongings and pursue their path.


    These inheritances could be made for varying reasons, some cultivators died with many regrets and wished for the inheritor to fill them, there were those that couldn''t go in peace and wanted for a revenge to be exacted and others just didn''t wish to be forgotten. But no matter the reason, placing your own inheritance was a cultural act established in the heart of every cultivators.


    No being could resist the implacable march of time, it was natural for everyone to wish to leave a trace of their existence in this world.


    Inheritances are very different from one another, but most of them are full of hardships and trials, testing the inheritor''s character and will to make sure he was fitting the predecessor''s view and could carry on his legacy.


    However, till now, it couldn''t be said to have been really difficult for Ye Mo to reach this place hence he wasn''t convinced.


    After a few minutes, Ye Mo''s wrist healed so he stood up and began hammering the gate once again.


    After a few strikes, the gate was pushed back enough for him to press in the opening and barely make it on the other side.


    Behind the giant gate was only a cave with a pedestal placed on the other side of the area with a skeleton laying over it in a sitting position.


    Behind the pedestal was a large stele made of rock with innumerable words carved upon.


    With nothing else worth noting, Ye Mo began reading the text left on the stele.


    After some time, his eyes shone with understanding as a smile crept up his face.


    "I see, it''s not really an inheritance, but the tomb of a past cultivator."


    It turns out the text on the stele gave the identity as well as the biography of this skeleton.


    His name was Ma De Quan and he was a core disciple of the Ethereal Blossom sect in the southern land during his life.


    When he was young, he left his hometown and entered a sect with his childhood friends, a boy, and a girl he was in love with.


    The three did well and rose through the hierarchy through the years, becoming important disciples of the sect, at the same time, Ma De Quan''s love for the girl was reciprocated and they got engaged.


    Yet, during all this time, Ma De Quan has always been distressed by his low talent, his friend which was better off in this aspect always fared slightly better in each mission no matter how hard he worked.


    Over the years, jealousy and bitterness swelled in his heart.


    They grew even more pronunced when he got together with the girl, on one part because he wanted to be worthy of her as she was also a core disciple, on another part because her father refused the engagement and wished for her to marry Ma De Quan''s friend.


    Near this time, he also realized he wouldn''t be able to go beyond the Inner Core realm with his abilities while his friend had greater chances to breakthrough this hurdle.


    At this point started a mad quest to improve his talent, spending years researching ways and neglecting both his cultivation and his future wife.


    The higher-ups grew dissatisfied with him, but he didn''t care, all he wanted was something to deal with this birth affliction, turning it into a blessing instead.


    However, talent was the heavens hand, how could it be altered so easily? After years of efforts spent for this goal, nothing bore fruition.


    Ma De Quan grew desperate over this situation, finding rest only with his wife support.


    However, during a regular mission he had to clear for the sect, luck shined upon his soul as he discovered the true inheritance of a powerful alchemist.


    Ma De Quan didn''t have the abilities and was too old to pick up this profession at this time, but just the researches, recipes and life experiences of the alchemist were extremely valuable and gave him much inspiration to resolve his problem.


    After decades of experimentations, trial and error, he was successful in raising his talent.


    Although he lost his wife around the same time, Ma De Quan only felt happiness thinking he finally changed his fate.


    He didn''t take long to quickly rise in cultivation layers and flaunt his power in the sect, slowly filling the gap between his old friend who largely surpassed him during all this time he spent in research.


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    The higher ups of the Ethereal Blossom sect were quick to grow suspicious as he was progressing faster than he should and his friend and rival soon discovered his talent was upgraded.


    This foe didn''t miss the chance and raised a team of trusted aids to ambush Ma De Quan when he was completing a task for the sect outside and try to make him spit his secret.


    The latter was able to escape, albeit with fatal injuries and fled all the way to this mountain in the the central lands where he dug this underground cavern and died before he could set up a proper inheritance.


    "I see, he got careless and revealed too much, causing his demise. Another lesson to practice caution at all time."


    "Even if it''s just the place of death of this cultivator and not an inheritance, he was still an Inner Core realm expert, the belongings he had with him as he fled here should be quite good."


    Ye Mo thought so as he analyzed Ma De Quan''s mistake, but the skeleton didn''t posess any pouch or ornaments so he just kept reading.


    At the end of the stele it says: Battle skills, cultivation art, the work i exhausted my existence for and many others, i hid them all in this place. If this passenger wish to take them and learn my techniques, show your goodwill and kowtow three times in respect as i shall become half a master for you in this life.


    "Hahaha, kowtow? Master? Even in life you were only so, but actually wishing to make me a disciple while dead. What a load of bullshit."


    Ye Mo couldn''t help but laugh at the audacity of this person, anyone coming here only had the intention to loot the place, the dead shouldn''t have any demand.


    However he still wished to obtain what Ma De Quan left behind.


    He stood in thought for an instant before he walked towards the skeleton.


    When he stood in front of Ma De Quan''s remains, below the pedestal, he lowered his head and looked down at the ground.


    Then suddenly, Ye Mo lifted his foot and stomped down firmly three times at the exact place where his head would hit if he was to kowtow, emitting three loud sounds.


    Rumble!


    The stele behind the skeleton advanced apart the wall then moved to the side, revealing a secret tunnel.


    "As i thought, this is not an inheritance so he didn''t have the time to make anything too elaborated, just reproducing the knocks on the ground with my foot was enough to trigger the mechanism."


    Ye Mo went on the pedestal and kicked Ma De Quan''s corpse out of his way as he engulfed himself in the passage.


    After walking for a while, he arrived at an intersection with two different paths.


    In between there were inscriptions carved on the rock of the wall separating the passages saying, "Peaceful at heart, one road to choose. One chance leads to another misfortune, leaving everything behind."


    "I see, he wants me to choose between one of the two paths, if i take one i won''t be able to retrieve what''s in the other..."


    Ye Mo muttered, understanding the meaning behind the inscriptions.


    Above the passages were two signs hanging, on the left was written "Talent Improvement" while on the right was " The Rest".


    "Ma De Quan was an Inner Core realm cultivator from a powerful sect so he should have possessed Star Class battle skills, cultivation technique and others without talking of the wealth and spiritual tools that he might have left behind in the right path."


    Nonetheless, Ye Mo immediately walked over the left tunnel and went inside.


    Improving your own talent!


    It was tantamount to fighting the heavens, breaking your limits and changing your fate!


    Battle skills, cultivation techniques and all the others they could be found easily, they weren''t lacking at all.


    Ye Mo would have many occasions in the future to gain ever stronger martial arts, just joining a sect was more than enough.


    Gold coins, everyone could gain them with effort and a bit of planning.


    Spiritual tools could still be bought as well.


    But raising your talent, everyone wished to be able to do so, however, no matter where you go in the world or how hard you worked yourself, it wasn''t conceivable without some extremely rare ressources.


    Thus, he was clear of what was the most important, if there really was a method to raise his talent, even by just one rank, then it was a priceless treasure.


    As a rank 2 talent, he would be stupid to miss this chance.


    Most of all, it wasn''t a true inheritance, but this cavern only contained what Ma De Quan had on him as he fled. Who knew what "the rest" means, there could as well be five gold coins, a yellow class battle skill and a spatial pouch waiting at the end of the right path for all he knows.


    Ye Mo continued on his way and reached a second hall.


    At the center of the hall was a small pillar.


    At the tip of the pillar were two small dragon claws holding a scroll.


    There was also a small note on the lid of the scroll.


    Ye Mo approached and picked up the scroll, unrolling it as he read the first inscriptions written in big at its top - Love Miracle Immortal Pill.

 The Dead Dont Have Any Say

    The content of the scroll was long and extensive, describing step by step how to produce the Love Miracle Immortal Pill and all the ingredients needed.


    Thunder Clap Lion''s Fang, Rainbow Gliding Celestial Pheasant''s Feather, Frost Carrying Grass and many others among which, some Ye Mo never even heard of before were listed as ingredients.


    However, the most important of them all and the core of the recipe to produce the Love Miracle Immortal Pill wasn''t any of those, but something much more unconventional.


    It was the heart of a person who feel genuine unconditional love towards you.


    Of course, this love was one between a man and a woman, family bonds weren''t relevant in this matter and the refinement of the pill would fail completely if attempted.


    At the same time, the talent of the person used was crucial, from this depended the success rate of the pill.


    Below rank 3, there was less than 1% chance to produce one.


    "So his wife dying wasn''t an accident or anything natural, Ma De Quan killed her and used her heart to upgrade his own talent." Ye Mo mumbled in realization.


    Men would throw their lives in the pursuit of their own benefits. No matter which world, there would always be many people ready to trample over friendship, love and kinship for their own self-interests.


    "Although he took her heart, he was the one to be truly heartless, but who can blame him; This land follow the principle of the survival of the fittest, you have to take what you need where it stands if you want to live a good life. Now, what do i do with this?" Ye Mo was in a bind.


    To produce the Love Miracle Immortal Pill and raise his talent, he had to take the heart of someone in love with him, but even in the whole Azure Water city, just finding someone who doesn''t harbor negative feelings towards him would be quite complicated.


    "I will just keep it for later, where there''s a way, there''s hope. If i find a chance in the future, i won''t forget this scroll."


    In life, even if you found something useful, rare were the instances where it could be used immediately and instantly benefit from it.


    Ye Mo was accustomed to this and knew patience so he stored the scroll and opened the small note that was left on the lid.


    "My good disciple, you made the right choice, this, is the result of the work i dedicated my life for, all my researches combined with the alchemy of a great expert. If you had chosen the right path, i would truly be disappointed and you would be left with only gold coins and a few Yellow class martial arts i learned back in the day at my hometown, afterall, the martial arts i acquired from the sect were returned after some time so i wasn''t carrying any."


    "You can destroy the pillar, it''s not made of anything too resistant, there''s a pouch inside where i stored most of the ingredients needed for the Love Miracle Immortal Pill. Each step have been simplified to the maximum so you won''t need an alchemist, for proof i am no alchemist myself, but could still do it, as long as you follow the procedure well, the talent of the person from which you took the heart will be the most determinent in the final result, that is, if she or he truly loved you. Use it to upgrade your talent my dear inheritor and in exchange i have only two wishes: First i want you to destroy the Ethereal Blossom sect which treated this benefactor unfairly in his life."


    "Finally, if you are successful in raising your talent, make your master a favor and spread the recipe of the Love Miracle Immortal Pill in every corner of the land, show the world the wisdom of this lord, finally being recognized for my true worth."


    Ye Mo remained silent for some time before he sighed faintly and said, "I see, this guy has a screw loose."


    He wasn''t surprised by what waited for him at the right path. Even in the Tiger Martial Institute, the martial art manuals have to be returned after some time so you have to learn them quickly or at least, memorize the content.


    It was the same for Ye Mo, who, without counting the Liu clan''s battle skills, only had endless vitality remaining as he returned the others already and it was probably the same system for sects, to prevent outsiders from learning their techniques.


    He was just a bit hopeful.


    However, when he thought of Ma De Quan''s last will, Ye Mo smiled coldly.


    The first one didn''t even need to be mentioned, the Ethereal Blossom sect was eradicated by another one while they were weakened due to an internal strife two hundred years ago. Even if it was still around, he wouldn''t bother dealing with them just for some cold pack of bones wishes.


    "Spread the recipe everywhere? You fool, why would i do that? I went through a pretty rough time finding this place, the recipe and everything i put my hands on is mine and only my own to decide what to do with. I, myself, am enough to profit from this."


    Ye Mo never cared about the will of Ma De Quan, the dead don''t have any say in the works of the living.


    Even if he fulfilled his will and spread the recipe after he was successful, all it would do is to plunge the world in chaos.


    Wherever the wind can reach, people would kill each other to raise their talent, the land would be filled with bloodshed, in some extreme cases, powerful figures would slaughter the love of their descendants to forcefully raise their talent, even against their will.


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    No one would trust anyone and people would become paranoid every time they grow close to someone.


    Of course, Ma De Quan wouldn''t care about that since he wasn''t treading on the earth anymore, the world could go up in flames for all he cares as long as his creation was recognized by everyone.


    Was it the reason why Ye Mo wouldn''t do it? Of course not.


    Actually, it was the same as the Nine Revolutions Fiend Body refining technique.


    When Ye Mo obtained the manual, he spent days and weeks memorizing the technique entirely, often reciting each word in his head so the sentences wouldn''t fade from his memory.


    The day before the Tiger Martial institute recruitement competition, he burned the manual to ashes. He couldn''t let it remain back to his old rundown shack and be found by someone nor could he take it with him in the institute full of people and experts monitoring the students, it was asking to be discovered.


    Although he could place it in his pouch, what if the instructors inspected them? Or if someone stole it from him, anyone could gain access to their contents, he couldn''t take the risk so he just burned the manual down.


    Of course, he could still burrow the demonic technique to some hidden place and retrieve it when it was the time to leave the institute but he didn''t need to do so.


    Because now, the Nine Revolutions Fiend Body only lived in his mind, others couldn''t learn the technique and use it to grow stronger.


    It was the same reason why he wouldn''t spread the Love Miracle Immortal Pill recipe, what benefit would he gain from them raising their talent? Absolutely none.


    Only he shall use them and grow, the others, the more they struggle, the better it was for him as he would maintain his advantage and advance in his cultivation!


    Ye Mo kicked the small pillar which was smashed in pieces, sending a red pouch tumbling on the ground a few steps further.


    He picked up the pouch and inpected the space inside, noticing it was nearly the same size as the sky blue one handed to him by the institute.


    Next he checked its content, finding many ingredients inside.


    Among those listed in the recipe, without counting the heart, only the Frost Carrying Grass was missing.


    The Frost Carrying Grass and the Ember Apple were the most rare of them all, the first growing in dangerous areas with very cold weather far in the north while the other needed to absord the fire Qi of hot places for decades or even a hundred year to come to view.


    "With this, another problem is fixed, if i can find a Frost Carrying Grass, all i would lack is the heart of someone who''s deeply in love with me to attempt producing a pill, though, i would still need for her to have a good talent towards cultivation."


    Ye Mo was slightly relieved, just reading about all the ingredients needed gave him a headache, he was already struggling to find the money so he could cultivate in the pagoda, where was he supposed to obtain all this?


    Now he could ease up.


    Finding someone who fell for him was still an issue, but he could leave it for later.


    After he smashed the pillar and took the pouch, Ye Mo planned to backtrack to the intersection and walk the right path, after all, although Ma De Quan told him he could only pick one path, till now, nothing compelled him to do so.


    Even if there wasn''t any grand treasure or Star class battle skills, why would he leave anything behind.


    However right after picking the pouch, the surroundings began to tremble, vibrations spreading in the underground cavern with a force ever growing as rocks fell down and the walls cracked up.


    "This old miser, he prepared for the whole cavern to collapse after what he left in one of the two pathes is picked, i have no choice but to leave. Even Hong Li wouldn''t have the strength to escape if he was buried alive by a mountain."


    With no wish to accompany Ma De Quan''s remains for eternity, Ye Mo dashed straight inside another passage on the other side of the hall after activating Wind Flow, moving upwards in another tunnel while rubbles and fragments of the ceiling fell down even more intensely.


    Moving in zigzag, he avoided the rocks falling on his head as he kept sprinting for a moment until he reached a dense boulder blocking his path.


    Ye Mo didn''t have the time to stop so he directly charged forward and punched with all his strength, destroying the boulder and sending the broken parts flying in the surroundings as he continued on his way.


    In a short time, he reached the end of the tunnel as he could see a wall of water on the way out.


    Without stopping an instant, he jumped straight through the waterfall and landed in a stream on the other side.


    Near the same time, a loud earthquake resounded behind him as the underground cavern completely collapsed, raising a cloud of dust escaping through the left and right of the waterfall and sending stones and rock fragments in the stream with Ye Mo.


    This one swam to the shore and took sharp breathes as he looked at the surroundings.


    He could see he was still in the jungle, but the fourth mountain could be discerned hundreds of paces away from his location.


    "This ''master'' is too unreasonable, what if i wasn''t able to escape?" Ye Mo grumbled as he took off his wet clothes.


    Soon, another attire was adorned, draped over by his customary hooded cloak while he left in direction to the mountain.

 Ironheart Weaponsmiths

    Ye Mo blended with the shadows as he made his way to the fourth mountain.


    When he attained his destination, he climbed all the way to the entrance of the cavern marked by Wei Leng''s map.


    However, just as he was about to step in, a creature left the darkness and opened its maw wide about to devour him.


    Flick!


    The bug was hit harshly on the head as it flew back through the strength of the strike.


    It was the blood tracking fly Ye Mo took from the Liu clan.


    When he released it in the underground cave, it spent its time wandering in the tunnel without any direction nor purpose.


    It traveled this way for some time and covered quite some distance, luckily being close to the botomless pit when the underground passage started collapsing.


    Every living beings had a survival instinct and seeing the surroundings turning into ruins and parts of the ceiling dangerously falling towards itself, the bug quickly flew ahead, moving left and right to avoid the rocks dropping down as it attained the end of the tunnel.


    When it noticed the hole in the ceiling, it flew up in a straight line and escaped from the devastation below, but quickly, a column of smoke and dust rised in the pit and swallowed the blood tracking fly.


    Yet, after some time, the bug emerged once again, leaving the swirling mass behind as it didn''t lose any momentum, furiously moving upwards until it left the botomless pit and found itself in the cave where was previously situated the pure iridescent iron.


    After having escaped from the collapse of the underground passage and ascending all the way to this place, the bug was rather worn out, in addition, it was now surrounded by complete darkness.


    In this situation, the blood tracking fly which wasn''t very smart from the start returned to its previous behaviour, randomly flying left and right and lightly tapping against the walls of the cave at times before going in another direction as it searched for a way out, but even more, for food.


    It moved in this fashion for some time, yet, it made little progress, until at some point, it felt a prey in the distance which grew closer in its direction.


    Finally, it had something to rely on and thinking only about feeding itself, the bug rushed forth quickly, using its sense to find the position of the prey as it left the cave in no time.


    After spending some time in total darkness, the powerful rays of the sun affected the vision of the blood tracking fly, but it didn''t care and could still distinguish the figure of a human as it attacked.


    Yet, good things don''t last as it was repelled in an instant, struck by a middle finger.


    Even without its vision completely recovering, it instantly knew who it was facing when it was hit.


    The blood tracking fly didn''t even try anything while Ye Mo tied a thread around its body.


    At first, it buzzed around happily when it was finally freed from this leash, but then, misfortune fell one after the other, the collapse, lost in a cave being as good as blind and now him again.


    Will this devil never leave me be again?!


    The bug only looked down, such feelings brooding in its heart.


    Ye Mo of course never planned to abandon his blood tracking fly, after the lenght he went through to tame it.


    If it died so be it, he couldn''t pass the chance to explore the tomb just to take care of this bug, but he still returned and looked for the blood beast in case it survived.


    "Now that i have all the iron in hand, it''s time to go back. There is no purpose in staying in this jungle any longer."


    Ye Mo used wind flow and departed, the blood tracking fly clinging to his clothes as they quickly rushed through the woods.


    He passed by the third mountain, then attained the second one where he stopped using his movement battle skill.


    Previously, there were many squads of Liu clan members in this part of the jungle tracking him so he couldn''t just dash in the open without any care or he would get caught.


    To avoid being noticed, he moved silently while using the bushes and trees to cover himself and being sure to be the one to catch sight of his pursuers first if they were near his position.


    However, even after dozens of minutes, he still didn''t perceive even a trace of them as he reached the first mountain without issue.


    "Did they withdraw all their troops from the jungle already? It wasn''t that long since i led blood beasts to kill their members, if that''s the reason they left then they really reacted quickly." Ye Mo guessed as he kept in motion.


    The Liu clan leaving the jungle was good news, he can leave safely and doesn''t have to spend so much time avoiding them.


    Still, Ye Mo didn''t use his movement battle skill and kept moving under the cover of the woods, his pursuers leaving was just a supposition, he couldn''t be sure they really returned to the sect.


    If he was to suddenly lower his guard and run with wind flow battle skill in a straight line just to get caught by an ambush from hidden experts of the Liu clan, that would truly be a stupid death and even in the afterworld his enemies would keep laughing about the gift he made to them.


    Staying in alert, being vigilant at all time, it was the only way for people like him that didn''t count on any one, to survive.


    It was better to be overly cautious and alive than careless and dead.


    Soon Ye Mo reached the first mountain, then the border of the jungle, before he stepped on the parched earth and made his way towards Azure Water City.


    The setting sun was dyed like blood as the clouds on the west resembled burning flames.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.Under the setting sun, Ye Mo passed below the arch of the gate and returned to the city.


    With the hood on his head and the blood tracking fly concealed under his cloack, he traveled on the roads among mortals and cultivators.


    However, he didn''t immediately go back to the Tiger Martial Institute but rather went to the Ironheart Weaponsmiths.


    In Azure Water city, it was one of the three best establishment in terms of crafting and selling spiritual weapons along all kinds of tools.


    Because the price to buy or create one of them is extremely high, only prestigious families and clans or wealthy merchants and cultivators usually resort to their services.


    Ye Mo arrived in front of a luxurious three-story building of glimmering crimson red iron oulined by rows of gold, the appearance of the establishment made one think of a burning flame.


    Above the entrance was a large sign inscribed with ''Ironheart Weaponsmiths''.


    Ye Mo entered in the building and took off his hood as he arrived in a large hall with many weapons hanging on the walls as trophies and several people moving around and sightseeing.


    Further in the hall were rows of counters standing side by side, each with it''s own attendant to take care of the demands of all the customers swiftly.


    Ye Mo approached one randomly, there was a man on the other side of the counter who immediately remarked the new client.


    "Hello, dear customer, how may i help you? In the Ironheart Weaponsmiths we value quality above everything else, wether you need something to help you defeat your opponents or a spiritual tool to travel the land, we have it all. If you have any question regarding one of them, feel free to ask."


    The attendant gave out his usual speech as he pointed to various weapons in the hall to entice Ye Mo.


    However, those being displayed in the surroundings were only low or mid-tier level at best so he just shook his head and asked, "Is your shop able to produce peak-tier spiritual weapons?"


    The attendant stood silent for an instant, momentarily stunned by the question.


    What kind of question is this kid spouting?


    At first he planned to lure Ye Mo into buying some good looking sword, but now it seemed this customer would just be a waste of time.


    "Listen kid, you should forget about peak-tier spiritual weapons. Even in the whole Azure Water city, there''s only a handful of forgemaster who can make one and although our Ironheart Weaponsmiths have two of these experts, they are very busy and would rarely leave their appartments."


    Losing the polite and respectful attitude he showed at first, the waiter openly disapproved of his demand.


    "Any peak-tier spiritual weapon would easily become the heirloom of powerful families, but they are extremely hard to produce and even the four clans would feel a headache over the price to have one. Those weapons hanging on the walls are already more than enough for you, but i doubt you can even afford them. How about you go back for now and bring your parents with you the next time, i will talk to them so we can find the weapon that suits you the best."


    The waiter grew impatient hearing Ye Mo''s question, arrogantly explaining the difficulty of obtaining peak-tier spiritual weapons, taking him for an ignorant kid that didn''t know left from right.


    Thinking of a peak-tier spiritual weapon?!


    Hmph, naive, so very naive.


    However, the latter only paid attention to the answer of his question and ignored the rest.


    "I want to meet your best forgemaster, i have business to talk with him." Ye Mo said lightly, going straight to the point.


    The waiter''s expression turned dark and his tone became severe as he frowned saying lowly, "Dear customer, there''s many people here who needs my services so if you don''t plan to buy anything, leave. If you keep wasting my time, i will call the guards."


    Ye Mo sighed before he raised a hand and moved his cloak to the side from the opening in the center.


    The waiter immediately recognized the Tiger Martial Institute suit he was wearing and became distressed.


    It might not be evident since Ye Mo spent most of his time cultivating behind closed doors, but members of institutions benefit from a high status outside and couldn''t be offended easily.


    Moreover, most of them have a powerful background, being members of clans and prestigious families or disciple of renowned masters, they were treated courteously in most places as long as they didn''t act out of place.


    Instantly, Ye Mo''s position made a 90¡ã shift in the waiter''s mind as he felt regretful and despondent.


    "Forgive my impudence, young lord, i didn''t realize you were a member of the Tiger Martial Institute. I will talk to the forgemaster, but i can''t guarantee he will accept to meet you, as i said, they are very busy and their craftsmanship is in high demand."


    Ye Mo nodded without saying a word.


    The waiter excused himself and left briefly, but in his heart he was swearing, "You jerk, why didn''t you reveal the suit from the start, making me pass for a fool, having to apologize in front of everyone, damn you!"


    Shortly after, he came back disgruntled as he said, "The master accept to see you, please follow me."


    The waiter left the counter with Ye Mo in tow as they went behind the hall and took the stairs.


    "Indeed, without strength there''s no status and without status everyone is free to trample you." Ye Mo reflected coldly following the waiter.


    If it was an average habitant of the city at his place then even if he had the gold, he wouldn''t be able to buy a peak-tier spiritual weapon, being openly chased out by the attendants even before meeting any forgemaster.

 Transaction

    Ye Mo climbed the stairs following the waiter and arrived at the second floor.


    There, he was faced with a long corridor with several lamps hanging on the walls and a red carpet on the floor.


    Many doors on the side led to various rooms, but Ye Mo wasn''t sure what was inside.


    They continued on the corridor for a short time and near the end, they turned to their right and entered one of them.


    The room was large, at least three times larger than his stone house and the interior was well decorated with paintings and tapestries along all kinds of furnitures which embellished the surroundings.


    What was the most eye catching was the middle of the room where a man sat on a sofa in front of a transparent low table made of glass, calmly sipping on a cup of tea as he patiented.


    He had neat, pushed back black hair and a goatee, the side of his hairs however were starting to turn white.


    He looked just like a wealthy lord from a powerful family and gave off a dignified aura.


    When Ye Mo and the waiter entered the room, he placed the cup down and looked at them.


    "Master Hei, this is the person who wanted to talk to you." The waiter stated as he stepped aside, giving full view to Ye Mo.


    The man nodded before the waiter left the room, leaving him alone with Ye Mo.


    The forgemaster raised his hand and without a word, he invited him to sit on the sofa facing him.


    When Ye Mo sat down he opened his mouth, "I heard you had something you wanted to talk with me? I am Hei Qiong one of the two best forgemaster of this establishment, but everyone here call me master Hei."


    Hei Qiong presented himself, inciting Ye Mo to do the same.


    He still didn''t know the identity of this young man.


    "My name is Ye Mo and as you might have heard, I am a student of the Tiger Martial Institute."


    "Would you like some tea, Ye Mo?" Hei Qiong said as he reached for his cup again.


    "Thank you mister Hei, but there is no need, I won''t be here for long." Ye Mo said quickly showing his will to get to the point.


    With the formalities done, the atmosphere of the room immediately turned into one of seriousness.


    Ye Mo? Never heard of this name. Could he be one of those students that didn''t show any potential and progressed slowly in the institute? No, he''s so young but already has a cultivation of the 7th layer Qi Gathering realm, he definitely has talent. Then that means he''s a newcomer that entered the institute recently.


    Hei Qiong observed his interlocutor as he sipped his tea.


    In one glance, he could determine much from him.


    "I was told you can forge peak-tier spiritual weapons. I want you to make one for me." Ye Mo immediately conveyed the reason of his visit.


    "I have produced a few in the past indeed, but even for me, it''s difficult while often much materials are needed to create one and they must all be of first rate quality. This is mainly why it cost so much to forge powerful weapons and I am not sure you have the means to make this kind of request." Hei Qiong showed his disapprobation.


    To produce a peak-tier spiritual weapon, it demanded a lot from both the customer and the forgemaster. Even clans would feel a headache over the sums needed to make them.


    If Ye Mo can''t persuade him, he won''t attempt to forge one.


    "You don''t need to worry about the materials, I will provide them myself for the making of my weapon." Saying so, Ye Mo waved his hand and retrieved a chunk of scintillating iron from his pouch.


    "This is pure iridescent iron!" Hei Qiong was shocked.


    This was a top-notch material for the creation of weapons and spiritual tools, it was very hard to come by.


    However although he was taken aback, Hei Qiong has been in this trade of business for a long time and didn''t reveal his surprise, instead he raised one brow and asked, "So? One chunk is far from enough to make a spiritual weapon, maybe a small blade at most, is that what you want?"


    Ye Mo smiled as he replied, "I have three others the same size as this one in my possession."


    This was a lie he told with a straight face. He collected more iron than that, but what use would there be in telling him so?


    "As for the kind of spiritual weapon I want, here are the plans." Ye Mo placed several documents on the table with sketches of a spiritual weapon from different angles along all kinds of attributes and characteristics listed on the side.


    Since Ye Mo obtained Wei Leng''s map and intended to retrieve the iron, he put much thoughts on how to use it and benefit the most from this. The pure iridescent iron''s principal use was either to make a spiritual weapon or to sell it for someone else to make one.


    When he envisioned what kind of equipment he wanted, he planned all the details and wrote down the most important points during his free time in his stone house for this day.


    "I want you to refer only to these plans during the making of the spiritual weapon. I won''t tolerate any mistake so if you''re not confident, say so now." Ye Mo warned him coldly leaking a bit of killing intent.


    Hei Qiong''s lips trembled for an instant as he understood the meaning behind Ye Mo''s words.


    It was no less than a veiled threat!


    If you waste my precious iron and fail, i will come back in the future and kill you!


    If the forgemaster expended the chunks to no avail then even if Ye Mo was refunded, the gold couldn''t replace the pure iridescent iron.


    There was hardly any supply of it in the market so even if he had the gold he couldn''t recover what he lost.


    He was using his position as a student of an institute to pressure Hei Qiong. If the old man wanted to kill him, with his cultivation, he could do so effortlessly, but it would be akin to putting one''s head in the chopping board since the experts of the institute would come deal with him afterwards.


    On the other hand, Ye Mo had an excellent cultivation for his age so in his eyes, he had good prospects, it was very probable for him to surpass Hei Qiong in the future and be able kill him. There was even a chance for him to join a sect and with the connections he makes in place, he could just send assassins to end his life, at this point there wasn''t even a need to dirty his hands.


    After all, Hei Qiong was a talented forgemaster and spent much of his days making all kinds of weapons and tools for the wealthy of the city so in turn, he had less time to devote to his cultivation so although he was relatively old and could enjoy plenty of ressources, his cultivation stagnated at the 6th layer of the Foundation Establishment realm.


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    With this understanding came also a hint of anger and indignation.


    The nerve of this kid, doubting his abilities!


    He thought this meeting with a young boy would be rather funny, but he was talking like they were two seniors on equal ground, indulging in affairs.


    Actually, Ye Mo even gained the edge in the conversation, he was overbearing in his attitude and knew exactly what he was here for, there was no word for negociation.


    "Please young man, don''t belittle me, I won''t have the impudence to say I am the number one forgemaster in the city, but I am confident enough to tell you no one will claim this title in my presence. I can assure you that I am fully capable of making this kind of weapon, particularly with a material like the pure iridescent iron which will render my task easier. If you won''t believe me, we can sign a contract where our establishment will completely satisfy you one way or another if I am not true to my words."


    "But let''s talk about the contract later, we still need to discuss of the payment, this kind of weapon is much more difficult to make and requires more material than a classic sword. There is also the time I will use on this project which will make me unable to work on something else plus the facilities used and the tax taken by our establishment. In total, the Ironheart Weaponsmiths ask for twenty thousand gold coins to fullfill the transaction."


    "Hahahah." Ye Mo laughed loudly before standing up, "I see that mister Hei didn''t call me to indulge in affairs, but only to joke around. I think I will meet with the forgemasters of the Dragonfire Foundry or the Armament Artisans, maybe they are more inclined to take this seriously."


    Ye Mo turned around and walked towards the door.


    The price given by Hei Qiong was simply a scam, after seeing the pure iridescent iron, he took him for a mine of gold, someone extremely rich so he just gave an exhorbitant price without batting an eye, trying to exploit Ye Mo''s young age and innocence.


    "Wait, young man, I was indeed just joking to lighten the mood, it''s my mistake. Please come back and tell me what price you had in mind exactly." Hei Qiong took an amiable attitude as he pleaded for Ye Mo to return.


    When he heard Ye Mo mentionning to visit their rivals, the Dragonfire Foundry and the Armament Artisans, he immediately reacted and called him back.


    He couldn''t take the risk of losing an opportunity just to give it to their enemies instead. Creating a peak-tier spiritual weapon was extremely difficult, one appearing could change the position of the three establishments in the heart of people and hurt their reputation.


    If one was to be made, it had to be from them.


    Ye Mo silently sat back in front of Hei Qiong and looked at him in the eyes.


    He wasn''t angry that he tried to swindle him, it was just business. People had their own motivation and in this harsh environment, everyone tried to gain the most at the expense of others. It was the nature of trade and affairs to scam or extort among other means for one''s own profits.


    Someone too honest couldn''t make a good merchant.


    However, since Ye Mo knew he would have to go through this from the start, of course he made his own researches, how could he let others take advantage of him this easily?


    Ye Mo smiled, "The price of an average peak-tier spiritual weapon is evaluated around twelve thousand gold coins, I agree that mine is harder to make and requires more iron than usual so let''s say it''s price range between fourteen and fifteen gold coins."


    Of course it was just a general estimation, first there must be excellent materials gathered to forge one, then you must be successful in producing one and after that, if it wasn''t immediately handed to a particular but left on display for the highest bidder to gain the weapon, it could often be sold at twice the original price.


    "However, I am providing the materials myself so I am dividing the price by two and obtain seven thousand gold coins. Now since I am going to retrieve my weapon in one month, it has to be ready before this time so I want you to put full priority over this task, for your trouble I am willing to add five hundred gold coins. We have a total of seven thousand five hundred gold coins, that''s the price I will pay." Ye Mo said confidently.


    "ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Hei Qiong blurted loudly, losing all composure.


    "I am not even making any profit with such a transaction, no. You have to pay at least ten thousand gold coins!"


    Ye Mo shook his head, "Don''t forget I will be participating in the year-end competition. If I do well with the weapon in hand, you will be able to advertise where it comes from and get a huge boost in reputation and your sells will skyrocket, that''s more than enough."


    "That just if! What if you just get eliminated from the start? I want at the bare minimum nine thousand five hundred gold coins!" Hei Qiong grew exasparated as he put all his efforts to raise the price.


    "Because of me, you might become the recognized number one forging establishment in Azure Water city, but here you are fretting over money. That''s just a small price to pay." Ye Mo didn''t relent.


    "Nine thousand gold coins, this is my limit! I won''t go below that so take it or leave it."


    ...


    The two haggled back and forth and finally settled for eight thousand gold coins.


    Hei Qiong breathed heavily, veins popping on his forehead.


    Although Ye Mo provided all the materials, no peak-tier spiritual weapon had ever been forged at such a price in the history of the Ironheart Weaponsmiths, but this kid always brought something else to his advantage and eventually, Hei Qiong exhausted all his justifications to raise it.


    In the end, eight thousand gold coins was the limit both parties were willing to accept.


    "If there is nothing else, let''s sign the contract so you can leave. I shall not send you off." Hei Qiong said massaging his temples.


    He had enough of looking at the face of this greedy little bastard.


    "Actually there is another matter I want to talk to you about." Ye Mo laughed lightly, reaching in his cloak.


    "What is it." Hei Qiong''s attention was raised as he looked at him.


    He was tired from the previous transaction and wanted to quickly send him off but soon, he recovered his focus.


    Ye Mo retracted his hand and on his palm layed a big fly crouching silently with round red eyes and rows of small sharp teeths.


    "This is regarding this blood tracking fly."

 Making a Fortune Overnight

    Hei Qiong made a weird expression as he looked at the blood tracking fly, "You want to sell the bug? Sorry, but our establishment focus on the trade of weapons and spiritual tools so we can''t offer much for your blood beast."


    Ye Mo shook his head, "I don''t want to sell it, but it''s troublesome to carry the fly with me everywhere, I wonder if you have a solution?"


    It could be seen previously in the jungle or inside the tomb, the blood tracking fly couldn''t follow him everywhere and the second phase of shadow walk was not usable or the fly would just leave.


    It was only a short time since he obtained the bug, but there has already been two instances where he had to find a way for it to not fly away, who knew how many more there would be?


    If the blood beast was to escape and fall in the hands of someone else, it would be the worst of outcome, losing all his profits in favor of a stranger and since the blood tracking fly swallowed his blood then this person could follow his position if he wasn''t too far.


    Ye Mo would rather stomp the bug to death than let it happens, but he was relatively safe for now so he prefered to take care of the problem immediately if it was possible.


    Hearing this Hei Qiong''s eyes lit up.


    Maybe he could make up for their precedent transaction and earn quite a bit here.


    "Of course, clans and sects confine them in a room from their headquarters to feed them and release the bugs outside only when they need their tracking abilities to find someone. However, you''re not from any clan so you don''t have this way to prevent it to escape."


    Although Hei Qiong just met Ye Mo, he knew there wasn''t any Ye clan in Azure Water City.


    "I have several methods to deal with this problem, for merely five thousand gold coins I could..."


    "Only the cheapest one."


    The forgemaster just started boisterously recounting his solutions when he was cut short by Ye Mo.


    Hei Qiong paused for a second with a wry smile, internally dejected.


    However he quickly recovered and said, "Well, for three thousand gold I could enclose the blood tracking fly in a fossilized crystal and let it hibernate, this way it won''t be able to move around or attract attention, it will just lay dormant until you break the crystal and awaken the beast."


    "However, this method contains some risks. The fly can''t be fed in the crystal so even in hibernation, it can only survive for two to three years in this state at best before you will be forced to break the crystal if you don''t want it to die of starvation; It will also be very weakened after the hibernation and won''t be able to fly around immediately, it must be nourished first then you have to wait for a few hours and let the beast recover before you can send it track someone without danger."


    Ye Mo thought for an instant before he nodded, "This is good enough."


    Hei Qiong smiled lightly, his mood turning for the better, but it quickly changed after Ye Mo''s next sentence.


    "If I pay a visit to other shops and ask them the price for this fossilized crystal method, will they give me the same as yours?"


    Hei Qiong quickly reassured with confidence and said in a firm tone, "They might tell you the price is of two thousand gold, but it''s because these people have no expertise. Here in the Ironheart Weaponsmiths establishment, all our products is of top quality so the price is slightly raised as well."


    There was no need to lie at this point, this information could easily be discovered by Ye Mo if he asked a bit around so Hei Qiong soothed him instead, talking about the knowledge and skills of their forgemasters being the best and how the fossilized crystal would last much longer if it came from them.


    The truth is that he was just trying to scam Ye Mo once again to rentabilize the low profit transaction he made with him previously.


    "I see, yet, three thousand gold coins is a bit much for me, I think I will still go to another shop and use this method for a thousand gold less, even if it''s slightly less effective. Thank you for the information mister Hei." Ye Mo cupped his fists to Hei Qiong as he was ready to leave.


    "However!" Hearing this, Hei Qiong suddenly raised his voice as if he was interrupted by Ye Mo and continued his sentence, "Because in our establishment, we value relationships with customers as much as profits and to establish a long and trustful association with a bright young man like you, we will reduce our price to two thousand gold coins."


    Hei Qiong''s face was dim like stillwater, forcing the words out of his mouth.


    "Master Hei is truly a man among men, being so generous. This little one is indebted." Ye Mo answered plainly.


    This transaction wasn''t bad, two thousand gold was the normal price and after using his time to enclose the fly in a fossilized crystal, the earning would still easily overcome the losses.


    Yet, after completing a transaction of only eight thousand gold coins to forge a peak-tier spiritual weapon, Hei Qiong was far from satisfied.


    "Little fucker, can''t you take something lying down?" He swore in his heart.


    Hei Qiong tried to extort Ye Mo twice but was unsuccessful each time and had to bootlick him for he to come back after every failure.


    For a senior and an experienced business man facing a teen, this was a huge blow.


    As a forgemaster and an important figure of the Ironheart Weaponsmiths, he had to hog all the transactions he could for the benefits of the establishment.


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    If he let Ye Mo go to other shops in detriment of their own profit, freely giving this opulent customer to their rivals at that, it would cause dissatisfaction among other members of the establishment.


    Hei Qiong''s position was a strength but also a weakness in this situation.


    Above all he was hurt in his pride.


    He was one of the best forgemaster of the city and a prestigious cultivator, he met daily the affluent and powerful, but when has he ever been treated like that?


    This Ye Mo dared threaten him under his own roof, disparage his abilities and payed his services for only eight thousand gold.


    By reason, he knew completing the deal was the right thing to do, but emotionally, he was very upset and frustrated.


    "Then I will come back tomorrow with the gold." Ye Mo suddenly said.


    Hei Qiong snapped out of his sulking hearing this and asked with surprise, "You didn''t bring the gold coins with you?"


    "Of course not, I told you I would be going to other establishments if I wasn''t satisfied by what you proposed. I wouldn''t randomly travel around the city while carrying a small mountain of gold with me."


    "Alright, but be mindful that if you don''t return and pay the price, as stipulated in the contract, we will keep the pure iridescent iron as interests for wasting our time." Hei Qiong warned.


    "I will keep this in mind."


    Ye Mo departed from the building soon after.


    It was the start of a long evening for him as he traveled across the whole city, accumulating his wealth.


    First he went to many alchemical stores and various medical shops, selling all the blood cores he collected during the recruitment competition of the Tiger Martial Institute.


    In total he obtained a bit over a thousand and two hundred gold coins after handing them over.


    Although he had twelve low-tier blood cores, more than twice the number of the rest, it was the five mid-tier ones which gave him the most, being valued at seven hundred sixty two gold coins by the shopkeepers.


    When he was done, he visited several forges and establishments dealing with weapons and such, inquiring about the amount they were ready to give for pure iridescent iron.


    In then end, he sold the iron to the highest bidder, the Dragonfire Foundry.


    However, he didn''t hand over everything, but kept one small part of it with him.


    The pure iridescent iron was valuable not only because it was an excellent material to use in forging, but also because it was rare and couldn''t be obtained easily.


    The more pure iridescent iron was seen and the more it''s price would be reduced.


    It was the same as if someone thought something was extremely rare and precious, then suddenly, he was casually handed a huge amount of it, then obviously its value would drop in his heart.


    That''s why he gave only a small portion of the already little iron that remained in his possession to the Dragonfire Foundry, to reap the most out of it, then he sold the rest to the Armamant Artisans establishment.


    Of course, this affair was done using his identity as a member of the Tiger Martial Institute or else, the pure iridescent iron would immediately be snatched off his hands while only the leniency of his robbers would determine his own fate.


    He also exacted this transaction while hiding his features under his cloack and wearing a cheap porcelain white mask on his face so that the sell couldn''t be traced back to him.


    Particularly the Ironheart Weaponsmiths, if they heard he sold pure iridescent iron right after their agreement where he told them he had only four chunks, they would blame him of being fraudulent and try to extort him for more.


    By selling the remainder of his iron, he obtained a total of five thousand five hundred gold coins and that''s just because he sold only a small amount of it, the biggest part was still given to Hei Qiong so he could forge his spiritual weapon.


    With this, he was able to gather six thousand seven hundred gold coins in just a few hours.


    Finally, to meet the eight thousand gold fixed during his talk with the forgemaster, he sold both Liu Huan and Liu Hualing''s pouches which he kept with him till now.


    Liu Hualing''s pouch wasn''t that good, the space inside was small and the price fetched from the sold was only of four hundred gold coins, however, the one from Liu Huan was much better, giving Ye Mo more than a thousand.


    With this, the original price fixed for the weapon was reached.


    "Now I still need to gather two thousand gold coins for the fossilized crystal." Ye Mo looked at the sunrise on the east.


    "The most important is to obtain the peak-tier spiritual weapon, with this, I will be able to alleviate my lack of battle skills and raise my strength."


    Ye Mo expended all the means he prepared to accumulate wealth for the needs of his cultivation, but he didn''t feel any pity over it.


    He knew the year-end competition would be very dangerous, people prepared for it months before it started and many experts from the three institutes would participate.


    Only by raising his abilities to the maximum in a short time would he have a chance to attain the top.


    Money and fortune come and goes, all but material goods, only strength and cultivation is the root to one''s dominance.

 Borrow

    In a backroom deep inside the Liu clan''s headquarters.


    Liu Hao and Liu Han both opened the door and entered inside, going each to the bedside as they checked on their old man.


    The room was mostly empty, beside the bed in the middle, only a few shelves with some furnitures placed on were present.


    Liu Dan was inclined on his bed, looking even paler than usual, but otherwise there wasn''t much change about him.


    "How do you feel?" Liu Hao asked, concerned.


    "After you fainted, you slept for nearly a day." Liu Han added, anxious.


    "Who do you guys take me for, I just overexerted myself a bit and fell due to exhaustion. I am not that young anymore after all, without sleeping and barely eating at my age, it''s natural something like this would happen."


    "Don''t worry about me, sons, in a few hours I will leave this bed completely recovered, rather, tell me how the situation evolved in my absence."


    Liu Dan quickly changed the subject.


    Theses days, all he thought about was how to deal with this little demon that was haunting his clan.


    Liu Hao quickly summarised how he brought every members back and reinforced the defenses of the clan.


    "I know you really want to catch Ye Mo, at least as much as I do, but I didn''t have much of a choice, we lost too much forces in the jungle." Liu Hao explained himself.


    He knew of the temperament of his father, since he left his retreat, he put all his efforts and worked solely to catch the kid and obtain answers about Liu Huan and Liu Hualing''s death.


    Liu Hao was afraid that, learning everyone was called back while no one found their target, he would flare up and fall ill again.


    Instead, Liu Dan shook his head, reassuring his son, "You made the right decision, we can''t leave our base defenceless. We must not forget these hungry clans are our true enemies, the kid is just a trivial matter, motivated by our own personal grudge, what can he achieve by himself?"


    "What should we do now, are we really going to let Ye Mo go scot-free?" Liu Han asked gritting his teeth, he was unwilling to abandon his hatred after it accumulated through weeks and months, they had to kill him at all costs!


    "The principal now is to grow our forces and hold strong against any attacks. As for Ye Mo, not everything was lost in this expedition, don''t forget we have our own source now. With him, we can monitor the kid and learn all of his doings, we can strike or retreat at the most opportun time, the situation is completely in our control." Liu Dan was confident, as long as their spy in the Tiger Martial Institute remained unsuspected, they would have the edge in this confrontation.


    "That''s right, our members told us they didn''t see him so he might not even be aware he was betrayed and that squads were sent against him. As long as Fang Jishen isn''t revealed, Ye Mo won''t be able to hide anything from us and we don''t lose anything by retrieving the members that were left spotting at the entrance of the institute." Liu Hao added assured.


    The atmosphere of the room eased up as the three continued talking for a bit before each returned to their own occupations.


    In the meantime, on his way towards the Tiger Martial Institute...


    "Fang Jishen is the one who betrayed me." Ye Mo thought calmly as he walked among the pedestrians.


    When he contemplated about it logically, it couldn''t be anyone else but him.


    The Liu clan didn''t know how solitary Ye Mo was so they didn''t think he would find the culprit so easily.


    In their mind, there is thousands of members in the institute so how could he know who sold him.


    However, although Ye Mo remained nearly eleven months there, he spent most of his time cultivating behind closed doors and the rest training his battle skills by himself.


    He seldom interacted with people and the number of time he talked with one could be counted on the fingers of one hand. Among them, only Fang Jishen fitted this role.


    He was the only one who knew a bit of his history with the Liu clan and hated him enough without having the courage to confront him, he''s also not anyone powerful or influent in the institute so he can move around and observe people without attracting attention on himself.


    "But this situation, I can also take advantage of it." Ye Mo chuckled as he passed the gate of the institute after showing his token to the guards.


    He quickly reached the disciple district and kept going north-east.


    Fang Jishen was still sleeping when a servant informed him of a guest waiting for him at the entrance.


    He stood up half-asleep and walked down the stairs while rubbing his eyes before he opened the door on the ground floor.


    When he saw Ye Mo''s face on the other side, he took a second to react before he jerked back violently, falling on his butt in shock.


    "Why are you so surprised to see me? Come, let''s sit, I have something to tell you." Ye Mo said with squinted, suspicious eyes before he went inside, closing the door behind him.


    Fang Jishen was still on the ground, looking at him like he was a phantom while Ye Mo made his way to a study room and sat on the main sit.


    "How is he still alive, did he come to kill me?" Fang Jishen''s heart was filled with fear and trepidation.


    His eyes were wide open and not a trace of drowsiness was left in his body as the shock completely awoke him.


    The night when Ye Mo set out, he was in the vicinity.


    Since his disillusion of last time, Fang Jishen was disconcerted and his aspirations were broken. At this time, he took the habit to pass by the stone house when going out or returning.


    He wanted to see for himself if Ye Mo left the cultivation pagoda and how strong his cultivation progressed, most of all, he wished to find some secret to explain his formidable growth or maybe a weakness to exploit against him.


    He was desperate, he didn''t wish to remain in Ye Mo''s shadow or become some goon to be ordered around, most of all, he was very disheartened after discovering someone with lower talent surpassed him so easily, even after all the efforts he put, thus he started to spy in the surroundings from time to time.


    However, Ye Mo was always secretive, working by himself behind four walls, wether in the pagoda or his house so nothing could be found from the outside.


    That is, until this night when Fang Jishen passed by and noticed him leaving his house from afar.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    He immediately found something was amiss after seeing this person always holed up in some places, leaving his dwelling in the middle of the night.


    He decided to follow him, but remained at a great distance, he was still inwardly afraid of Ye Mo, even if he wouldn''t admit it, he prefered to stand so far there was a chance he would lose him than to stand a bit closer, taking the risk to be noticed and incuring his wrath.


    He used the trees paving the side of the road or the various buildings in the way to take cover and continued to pursue his target.


    Fang Jishen was before a small bridge and could observe Ye Mo being close to the gate of the institute in the distance when the latter started to look around for any witnesses.


    He was so scared to have been found out at this time he threw himself to the ground and used the mound of the bridge to remain hidden.


    When he found the courage after half a minute to raise his head and take a look, Ye Mo had already disappeared.


    However, it was easy to understand where he went from his last position and the direction he moved to - He left the institute!


    "This might be my chance, the Liu clan hate him to the core. If I tell them about this, Ye Mo is as good as dead!" With this understanding, Fang Jishen left in turn and informed Ye Mo''s ennemies of his departure.


    He knew if Ye Mo survived, there were great chances he would find out what he did, but in his perspective, he was just one kid by himself against a whole clan that abhor him.


    They would probably deploy at least one elder and much forces to exterminate him, there was no way he would return from this expedition.


    Now that he was here and seemed completely well, Fang Jishen couldn''t help but be frightened.


    "No wonder the Liu clan deteriorated so much and even Ye Mo could play them, these retarded bastards, incompetent swines, can''t even deal with one guy alone even after I risked myself, shouldn''t have counted on them, now he definitely came to kill me!" Fang Jishen''s mind was in turmoil.


    "No wait, he didn''t mention anything, he might not be aware I betrayed him. I must act natural, let''s pacify him first, understand the situation, then deal with anything as it comes!" That was his thought as he stood up and joined Ye Mo in the study room then sat in front of him.


    Ye Mo leisurely smiled as he said "Fang Jishen, I am short in gold, give me two thousand coins."


    Fang Jishen was stupefied by his demand, what kind of request is this, who would give you this sum without saying anything?


    But in the end, he was relieved that it wasn''t about the Liu clan affair and answered, "I don''t have this much gold, I am short on money too."


    Ye Mo laughed lightly, adding "I know you don''t have the gold, but your Fang family does, take it from them."


    Fang Jishen looked down with a dim gaze as he told him, "Even if I ask they won''t lend me the gold just like that."


    Hmph, what are you taking my family for, some kind of money farm?! If I could receive this amount so easily I wouldn''t need to expand all the monthly allowances I saved up till now just for a small breakthrough in my cultivation!


    Fang Jishen complained in his heart.


    He receives only fifty gold coins each month from his family, sometimes he could take a bit more but this amount would be deducted from his next allowance, he couldn''t push further.


    Without being a genius or highly seen by anyone, but only an ordinary member, you can''t obtain any more and the amount given was strictly regulated by the head of the family.


    "I am not asking your family to give it to me for free, I am just borrowing the gold. I can even sign a receipt for loan under the rules of the Tiger Martial Institute." Ye Mo said with ''sincerity''.


    Fang Jishen pondered, "If he signs the receipt, he will have no choice but to pay up at some point. The longer he takes to do so, the more interests accumulate over his debt and after half a year, if he still can''t pay, his belongings would be sold until he can repay everything and if it''s not enough, he will be forced to work as a servant of my Fang family till he completely cleared his debt. No one would sign without being assured of paying back everything soon after, obvisouly he must have his own ways."


    "Even if you say so, it''s still a bit much..." In the end, Fang Jishen still tried to refuse. He was unwilling to help Ye Mo, actually, he didn''t want him to benefit from his family even if the deal was also advantageous to them or lend a hand in any situation that could profit him.


    "This is a nice necklace you got there." Ye Mo suddenly said pointing at the chain embedded with a blue gem around Fang Jishen''s neck.


    When the latter heard this, his heart skipped a beat.


    This gem was a small reward from the Liu clan for selling Ye Mo, it was engraved with small formations that increased the density of the Qi around the wearer.


    Although it couldn''t be compared to the rooms of the pagoda, one was a drop of water while the other was the sea, but it still gave a small advantage and over time and efforts in your cultivation, the difference would be seen.


    Ye Mo remarked it because he never wore this before.


    "Since there is no disadvantage, I will do it." Fang Jishen quickly returned to the previous subject to avoid suspicion and agreed spontaneously to Ye Mo''s request.


    He knew his family would probably accept as well, if the receipt loan was signed then they didn''t lose anything by momentarily handing the gold and if Ye Mo was just a bit slow to pay back then they would even gain money through this transaction.


    Arriving to this conclusion, he picked up a brush and paper from the drawer.


    Ye Mo wrote the receipt for loan and signed with a drop of blood.


    Fang Jishen placed it in his pouch then both of them made a trip to the Fang family.


    Ye Mo patiented in front of the mansion while Fang Jishen went inside and talked to them.


    It didn''t take long for him to return and transfer two thousand gold coins to Ye Mo''s pouch.


    In less than an hour, he was back to the streets, making his way towards the Ironheart Weaponsmiths establishment.


    "I''ve finally succeeded." Ye Mo satisfiedly nodded his head, feeling the ten thousand gold coins laying in the space of his pouch.


    As for paying his debt, hehe...


    If everything goes as planned, he won''t be in Azure Water City anymore at this time.

 A Fair Exchange

    While Fang Jishen witnessed Ye Mo distancing himself with the gold in hand, he looked at the gem laying on his chest.


    When he received it from the Liu clan, he was very happy, not only was he getting rid of his enemy, but he was also being rewarded for it.


    With this small advantage to support his cultivation, maybe he won''t be deemed as lacking and useless anymore, slowly changing his image in the hearts of the instructors.


    However, after Ye Mo''s return and their exchange, he thought much about what transpired and understood.


    The Liu clan was no less than using the stick and carrot to manipulate him.


    If he obey them and do his job well, he will receive plenty of these little gifts to help surpass his peers and attract the attention of the institute, but if he doesn''t, they will arrange themselves to reveal everything to Ye Mo.


    "A madman like him, if he knew, he might directly bypass the institute''s rules and kill me." Fang Jishen trembled just thinking about it.


    Actually, this would really be the greatest scenario for the Liu clan.


    If they fought each other, of course, no one would bet on Fang Jishen''s victory, but then the institute would expel Ye Mo, in fact, there were great chances for him to have his cultivation crippled before being thrown out as a punishment.


    In this case he would be no more than an offering for the Liu clan to pick up, an ant they could poke with a stick until death.


    They would want nothing more than to see that happen, but the human''s mind was complex and the variables plenty, who knew if this case would truly ensues in this situation.


    It was better to play safe and use Fang Jishen as a pawn for the time being and discard him when he lose his value.


    However, although he now knew about it, he couldn''t do anything to change that.


    This wouldn''t have mattered if Ye Mo died during his journey, both parties could go back to their own life satisfied with the outcome, but since he came back, Fang Jishen had to appease the clan and become their spy if he wanted to keep his part in the ambush hidden.


    Ultimately, as he wanted to escape from Ye Mo''s clutches, the young man just ended in the hands of the Liu clan instead.


    "If that''s the case, I will use them to the utmost myself, making sure I have the greatest gains, seeing only my own interests as a priority. Then when the time come, I shall abandon them and use everything to soar higher, establishing my superiority in the institute." Fang Jishen smiled coldly, affirming his position in his mind.


    In the meantime, Ye Mo quickly arrived in the hall of the Ironheart Weaponsmiths.


    This time, the waiter didn''t waste his time and immediately left his post to guide him to a guest room on the second floor.


    It could be seen he received instructions from Hei Qiong.


    Ye Mo was left waiting in the grand room, sitting on the couch while the forgemaster was called.


    Hei Qiong quickly arrived in the room and perfunctorily saluted Ye Mo before sitting down.


    "I wasn''t sure you would really return the next day, have you gathered the gold yet?" He said getting down to business.


    Ye Mo didn''t speak a word as he transfered the gold to Hei Qiong''s spatial pouch.


    Silence invaded the room as the latter quietly verified the amount was right.


    He was very skillful recounting the sum and after only a short time, he declared "This is truly ten thousand gold coins, with this the payment is completed. You said you will return in one month? Both your spiritual weapon and the hibernating bug will be ready by this time, that, i guarantee."


    Ye Mo nodded and gave the blood tracking fly, still tied to the thread, to Hei Qiong; After all, the fly had to be by his side or else how was he supposed to put it in a fossilized crystal.


    The blood tracking fly tried to bite him when it landed on his arm, but the old cultivator immediately released his spirit sense and unleashed a fierce aura, intimidating the bug who stopped in its tracks.


    In an instant, the fly stood rooted on the spot, not daring to make a single movement in panic and didn''t carry its action to the end.


    When the beast was calmed down, Hei Qiong retracted his spirit sense and returned his attention to Ye Mo as he raised his voice again, "I must say, I am really surprised, this amount of gold is no trivial sum. Several clans and families don''t have this amount to spend and many even if they do, would be unable to use it so decisively. With this sum, you could even fund your own small clan, you know? I am acquainted with many students and people of your age which at your place, would rather buy a mansion and marry several beautiful women, living the life of a king far from the struggles of cultivators than to still fight bitterly for the smallest benefit."


    Stolen story; please report.


    Ye Mo laughed lightly then stood up, "If there''s nothing else, we will see each other in a month."


    This way, the young man left the room, barely saying anything the whole time.


    How could a peasent understand a warrior''s ambition?


    For him, gold was just another form of resources to support his cultivation, a tool which only good use was to make him grow stronger.


    However, for many, wealth was what they fought for, pursuing the illusion of a comfortable life, closed behind four walls where their every wishes would be met.


    Yet, how many of these people can enjoy their time like this to the end? Two powerful cultivators battling in the vicinity was enough for the aftermath of their fight to raze their houses and reap their life like weeds.


    A beast tide invading the city was all it required for them to be the first to die.


    Every lifeforms tried their best to survive in this harsh and violent land, there was no safe place where you could hide, you can only count on your own two fists to get through.


    Even then, throughout humanity, this kind of people who prefered to chase a peaceful residence where they could close their eyes from the exterior and escape reality have always been the most numerous.


    Not everyone had the will to endure a life of hardships to surpass themselves and realize their dreams.


    The truth was that no amount of gold would protect you against the attack of an enraged opponent.


    Ye Mo didn''t linger around and after leaving the building, he quickly returned to the Tiger Martial Institute.


    Without the Liu clan members monitoring the gates, he could now leave and return easily without having to worry about an ambush.


    As for Fang Jishen, he will let him be for now.


    In the institutes, scheming and attempting to assassinate another member was obviously forbidden and one would be severely punished for this, but Ye Mo didn''t even consider telling anyone.


    Without any evidence, but just his belief alone, this would look like nothing more than baseless accusations towards another fellow student, nothing good could result from it.


    Fang Jishen wasn''t much of a threat anyway and now that he retrieved the pure iridescent iron, Ye Mo didn''t need to leave the city anymore so he and the Liu clan won''t be able to do much against him.


    Moreover, he didn''t trust anyone to support him, Ye Mo counted only on himself to deal with any obstacle that would stand on his way.


    Back to the institute, Ye Mo didn''t go home, but went to the disciple hall to retrieve the five hundred gold he won by defeating Liu Zhi.


    Since it was an official challenge with a bet, the tiger martial institute made sure he would receive the end of the deal and maintain their reputation.


    In fact, Liu Zhi didn''t have the five hundred gold coins, after he was crippled, the Liu clan that was pressured from instructors in charge of this affair sold all his belongings.


    Pills, furnitures, a low-tier spiritual tool and even his clothes, yet, even after trading everything he had, they only obtained three hundred gold coins.


    To complete the sum, the Liu clan had to pay the two hundred gold remaining themselves, taking the rest from their reserves. It might not seem like much, but in their current state, separating from a single gold coin was like rubbing salt over fresh wounds and they gritted their teeths over each one of them lost.


    After acquiring the gold, Ye Mo left towards the black pagoda.


    He entered inside and climbed the stairs going to the second floor.


    When he attained his destination, he took another flight of stairs and went to the third floor!


    "Barely over a month remains, I can''t relax." Ye Mo looked around.


    Most students present were 8th layer Qi Gathering cultivators battling while the number of doors decreased again.


    However, Ye Mo was confident that with his peak 7th layer cultivation and his new battle skill, Endless Vitality, he could get a room for himself.


    "You!" At this moment, a Li clan member recognized him and charged ahead sword in hand and immediately attacked.


    When he was close enough he threw a straightforward thrust.


    Ye Mo didn''t move and let the sword pierce his flank. The Li clan member was surprised and befuddled, seeing him take the strike so easily, but Ye Mo moved his hand near the same instant, using two fingers like claws as he perforated the swordsman''s eyes.


    A loud cry resounded as the man fell on the ground, holding his face, while Ye Mo took the sword out of his flesh, breathing heavily as he used Endless Vitality to quickly close the wound.


    A flank for the eyes, a fair exchange of blows.


    The Li clan member desperately used his healing battle skill, but although his wound could heal, it couldn''t restore his ruined eyes and his vision remained engulfed in darkness.

 Investigation Completed

    His wound wasn''t completely healed that Ye Mo already moved forward, approaching an opened door leading to a cultivation room.


    Soon enough, another student attacked, noticing him getting closer.


    Seeing in which state ended Ye Mo''s last opponent, the student immediately used an amplification battle skill, going all out as he engaged him in close-combat.


    His body turned bright red and fumes escaped from his skin and his mouth while his abilities were raised by several fold.


    The man punched, but Ye Mo blocked the fist with his elbow.


    The elbow was one of the hardest part of the human body, being a great weapon in both offense and defense, it effectively protected him from the opponent''s strike as he countered with a stone breaking punch himself.


    The student he faced didn''t stop after his strike and followed with another punch without bothering about protecting himself.


    The punches connected neatly, Ye Mo being struck in the belly while his opponent was hit in the chest.


    Ye Mo took a step back and spat a mouthful of blood on the side, using Endless Vitality as his organs were greatly damaged.


    His opponent instead looked in much better shape.


    Although he was sent retreating several more steps than Ye Mo, he only stood slightly crouching as he placed his hand over his chest, but no injuries were seen on the outside.


    Ye Mo''s eyes flashed as he looked at him, "He used a defensive battle skill."


    The student retracted his hand and from his chest, multiples pieces of skin detached itself and fell on the ground, turning into dull grey-white fragments.


    His opponent was using the high-tier Platinum Body defensive battle skill which would give the user''s skin the aspect and the properties of platine, becoming a barrier that covered the cultivator''s body entirely.


    This was a very good battle skill for martial artists proficient in close-combat


    However, this student didn''t stop there and was combining Platinum Body with an amplification battle skill that turned his skin bright red, completely hiding the activation of the defensive battle skill.


    This was a good strategy as often, people would think they dealt the decisive blow and won just to find out the student was unscathed before being knocked out.


    Sometimes they might even injure themselves hitting the defense of this cultivator.


    Unfortunately, his opponent was Ye Mo and his physical abilities were nothing ordinary.


    Not only his strength was great enough to go through his defense and deal minor injuries, his resilience was high enough for him to strike without suffering any wounds.


    The student thought Ye Mo would be in a really bad state taking his punch head-on, but he became distressed seeing how fast he was recovering from his wound so he quickly charged ahead to prevent him from healing any further and take advantage of his injured state to definitely put him down.


    The man punched while Ye Mo ignored his half-healed wound, catching the fist with his hand. The student didn''t back down and punched again with his free hand which Ye Mo also caught.


    Finally, the student used his knee, but Ye Mo also raised his, blocking the strike as it turned in a short confrontation of brute force.


    In their stalemate, Ye Mo grabbed the wrists of the student and lowered his arms while simultaneously moving his head back, gaining momentum, before violently smashing it in the man''s forehead.


    The student couldn''t block the strike with both his hands grabbed and his knee blocked, after taking the hit, he was released as he wobbled back disoriented.


    Although the surface didn''t take much damage from the headbutt thanks to the Platinum Body battle skill, his whole body received the choc from the strike and his brain was greatly shaken.


    Even Ye Mo himself felt dizzy while a part of his own forehead swelled up, turning red and showing how much strength he used in this attack.


    After taking a couple steps, the student uncontrollably fell on the ground, confused, losing the command of his legs.


    Ye Mo quickly approached and raised the man''s legs before spreading them apart and harshly stomping down, vicously ending his bloodline with this generation.


    He didn''t have the time to rest when a woman stepped up and attacked.


    Spectral Hands battle skill.


    Several light purple hands shot out from her back and grabbed his arms and legs, immobilizing him.


    The hands had a fuzzy aspect and Ye Mo quickly realized after being grabbed that this technique didn''t serve only to tie him down, but it was actually draining his Qi as well.


    While he was held by the spectral hands, the girl sent five throwing knives towards him.


    Ye Mo tried his best to get away, but the hold was firm and he didn''t have enough time.


    One knife pierced his left thigh, another went on his right arm, a third was planted on his right shoulder and the fourth hit his waist.


    The last one was targeting his chest and would have made the biggest damage if Ye Mo didn''t lower his head at the last moment and blocked the blade between his teeth.


    In reality, the woman could have threatened his life if she throwed all the knives towards vital spots like the head, the chest or the neck, but it was without taking into account that killing wasn''t allowed.


    Battles in the pagoda were often a fine control between defeating your opponents and making sure they wouldn''t succumb to their injuries, having complete mastery over your abilities as the strength employed had to be only enough to get rid of them.


    Often in the pagoda, when two students had near equal strength and couldn''t beat the opponent without guaranteeing their life, they would postpone their fight and wait near the door for another person to come and the situation to develop.


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    That''s why even though the girl facing Ye Mo had an opportunity, she couldn''t use her full strength and risk to kill him, however, in battles, restraining yourself and limiting your abilities was also putting yourself at risk.


    Any mistake would come back to bite you at some point, a miscalculation and your enemy will make sure to repay you tenfold.


    Although Ye Mo was hit by four knives, they were only flesh wounds. The natural resistance of his body was astonishing and while the blades went in, they couldn''t go deep enough to harm the bones, at worst they stopped when coming into contact with them.


    It was both good and bad news, because his bones were intact, he could keep moving and fighting without too much trouble, but at the same time, these injuries will take more time to heal with Endless Vitality.


    Exerting all his strength, Ye Mo forced his way out of the spectral hands, tearing them away as he charged at the girl.


    At this point, his wisps of Qi filled only 56% of his dantian, more than 20% was swallowed by the girl''s battle skill alone.


    The girl used another battle skill and eight, three meters long, spider legs emerged from her back as she used them to take off the ground and approach Ye Mo threateningly.


    When they met, he first used the speed of Cyclone kick to ward off the spider legs she used to attack him in addition to her arms and legs, but with this much limbs at disposition for his opponent, it wasn''t enough.


    The spider legs were also thin, sharp and particularly resistant so he couldn''t easily break them even with the Stone Breaking Punch.


    He was quickly getting overwhelmed and accumulating injuries.


    Finally, while both retreating and defending from her strikes, he grabbed one of the spider legs and directly ripped it off from the base of her back.


    It seemed that the spider legs were a limb extension no different than her arms or legs as she wailed loudly in pain, falling on one knee when Ye Mo took it out.


    The spider legs were directly connected to her brain so she had great control over them, this way, she could immediately become proficient with them without having to train the battle skill for too long.


    However, they were also connected to her pain sensors and the blood leaking out from her back was genuine.


    She began using an healing battle skill as she attempted to stand up, but it was too late.


    Showing one moment of weakness, Ye Mo immediately tore another spider leg from her back, making another cry resound which quickly came to a stop when he punched her in the face, breaking her nose and the front row of her teeths.


    The woman lost consciousness on the spot, but Ye Mo wasn''t done as he grabbed one of her arms and pulled out, tearing the flesh and breaking the bone as her limb was separated from the rest of her body.


    This one, she couldn''t grow or retract with her battle skill.


    "This guy is a lunatic!"


    "Why such cruelty, doing these horrible things when you have already won."


    "He''s not letting anyone leave on their own two legs!"


    Many students exclaimed in the surroundings in shock and indignation.


    Yet, it didn''t provoke any reaction on Ye Mo who just looked coldly at his defeated opponent before he crouched down.


    Ye Mo held his strength so he wouldn''t bash the girl''s skull open with his punch yet he still wasn''t assured she would live after everything she went through if she didn''t receive immediate treatment so he placed a hand on his shoulder and expended a bit of his Qi, using Endless Vitality for an instant, just enough to stop the blood loss and make sure she wouldn''t die right away.


    When he was done, he rose up and continued on his way, grabbing and tossing the knives that were embedded on his body one after the other.


    This time, it was deadly silent around him and no one blocked his way as he approached the door.


    The reason why he made such horrible injuries to his opponents, even when they were already defeated, wasn''t because he enjoyed hurting them or he was mad nor anything like that.


    It just served as a deterrence for the other cultivators that might think of stopping him.


    Before attacking they would have the images of his precedent opponents prostrated on the ground half-dead in ther mind, when planning to stand on his path, they would ask themselves if they are ready to lose an arm or a leg.


    He was instilling fear and apprehension in their heart.


    Most of all, this fear of engaging he was spreading, was effective mainly because it was based on his abilities.


    Fighting three opponents in a row and defeating them in a short time showed that he had more than enough strength to gain a room in this floor, even without the deterrence, few would still be willing to attack him, even more now thinking of the consequences.


    Those that thought of taking advantage of his injuries were quickly disappointed seeing the wound he sustained from the punch of his second opponent was already nowhere to be found while he suffered only minor injuries against the third one


    Overall, he seemed fine to go for another round.


    At last, he placed three hundred gold coins and entered the room, the door closing behind him without any further complications, as the students decided to focus on another one.


    ...


    Not far from the pagoda, in the Tiger Martial Institute''s dean pavillon.


    Three instructors stood in front of Hong Li, reclining on his chair behind his desk.


    "Dean, our teams completed their investigation on Ye Mo." One of them informed in a clear voice.

 Not Afraid of Ye Mo Breaking Out of Their Grasp

    Hong Li squinted his eyes and said slowly, "Tell me what you found."


    At a corner stood Han Zhen Jun listening to the conversation attentively.


    One of the instructor began to recount their investigation, "Dean, we have discovered that Ye Mo was the one to kill the young master of the Liu clan during the first phase of our recruitment competition. We have many reasons to think he looted his belongings afterward for his own benefits."


    Who killed who in a recruitment competition wasn''t a complicated information to obtain nor would the participants be held accountable for it.


    It is just that the institutions didn''t care about it.


    There were thousands of participants each year and they all fought fiercely to be recruited, deaths are unavoidable.


    However, because Ye Mo incured suspicion towards his cultivation and was currently being investigated, the fact he killed Liu Huan was quickly uncovered.


    Another instructor continued, "We also have many evidences that goes this way like letters they sent each other later on. The Liu clan have no reason to talk to him, actually there is bigger chances they researched the truth themselves and suspect him of the death of their young master, hating him to the core. To still enter in contact with him, it is very probable they wanted to retrieve something important to them that was in his possession."


    The third investigative instructor who didn''t say a word till now opened his mouth, "Finally, we found many witnesses which under bribes, told us they saw a Liu clan member exchange something with one of our students a few months ago. The different descriptions they gave didn''t match with each other and could fit hundreds of students so we could not discover who was involved, but they all recognized the suit wore by the Liu clan members and the other from the Tiger Martial Institute. Concurrently, Ye Mo started using another Liu clan battle skill not long after, it becomes clear at this point that he was the one to profit from this transaction, he might even have been the student noticed by the passersby."


    The invertigators report came to an end, as they looked at Hong Li in anticipation.


    "I understand. This is easy to realize from now on how he obtained such results, by trading with this small clan, it is likely for him to obtain Encompassing Washing pills of various levels along with their battle skill. The Liu clan was here for some time, surely they had a few in reserve; With these, he could use Spirit Qi pills to cultivate and rise quickly in a few months."


    Hearing the result of the investigation, Hong Li nodded unnoticeably, thinking to himself.


    This was exactly as he speculated previously, he just couldn''t find from which forces he obtained the ressources to cultivate this fast... So it was the Liu clan!


    Quickly, the dean gave his instructions, "You can withdraw for now, keep investigating just in case you discover something else like another person involved in this matter and report back when you find something. If after the end of the yearly competition, you still didn''t find anything new, you can just return."


    "Yes, these subordinates will do as follow." Saying so they took their leave.


    "What do you think?" Hong Li asked with a sideglance to Han Zhen Jun who left the corner to stand at his side.


    "This Ye Mo is too wild, too uncontrollable. He cause a ruckus everywhere he goes and use our protection as a shield to not bear the consequences. I believe he has to be forcefully detained and interrogated, if needs be, he should stay there indefinitely." Han Zhen Jun declared with a slight frown.


    Since Ye Mo''s battles at the arena, he has never been at ease with this youth.


    From the way he fought or his murderous intent, he was too unrestrained and Han Zhen Jun felt he didn''t have his place in the institute.


    Just the way he defeated Ha Jun was unlike anything he saw in the previous competitions or from his days when he had his age.


    It was still under control for now, but Han Zhen Jun believed he could be trouble if he kept growing like that without being disciplined.


    Even considering his time after joining the institute, Ye Mo wasn''t talking to anyone or started any relationships, he completely isolated himself from the rest of the students.


    Others around him, they make friends and sometimes have a lover, they have a family pushing them to do better, being deeply involved in the life of the institute, growing as righteous members, but him, he was like an outsider, an agent lurking in the enemy''s camp, someone that didn''t have his place here.


    This kind of person, even if they are nurtured, how could they be of any use.


    They refuse to be manipulated, in this case they have to be entirely suppressed!


    However, it wasn''t the biggest problem towards Ye Mo in Han Zhen Jun''s mind.


    Since Ye Mo entered the institute, he observed him from time to time and stood informed of his activities, but what bugged him the most was this form of conceitedness he had.


    When Wang Fei came to hand him a token in front of the pagoda previously, he also used this occasion to ask him how he progressed this fast.


    Other students at his place, they might be scared or annoyed, but would still respond honestly.


    Actually, many would come themselves to the instructors first to talk about their cultivation.


    Yet, Ye Mo lied to him, more than that he completely ignored the instructor and this one adding some pressure didn''t change anything.


    Yes, not only was he fearless, but he also fundamentally didn''t feel any respect towards his instructors.


    If Ye Mo did so due to impulsiveness, fear or an agitated state of mind, it wouldn''t be such an issue, and he could accept it.


    However, it wasn''t the case.


    Ye Mo was calm during the whole exchange, peacefully looking at the scenery, he occulted his teacher''s presence without a care in the world.


    Such a youngster, how could he fit in the righteous path?


    It was just this point alone that made Han Zhen Jun feel uncomfortable with him in his institute, but the worst case was during the mid-year competition.


    When came the time for him to prove himself, in front of the dean, himself, the instructors and all the members of their establishment, what did he do?


    He gave up.


    He refused to fight.


    In simple terms, he doesn''t have any reverence for the institute.


    He doesn''t seek the the acknowledgement of his instructors.


    He is unwilling to fight for the glory of the institute.


    He is unbothered towards his and others reputation.


    He is not respecful.


    All these reasons made Ye Mo''s presence untolerable for Han Zhen Jun.


    A dog that doesn''t obey must be put down.


    Even if he was sent to a sect, if he behaved badly there and offended someone important, while Ye Mo would be punished, the institute would also share the responsibility of his actions and they would be blamed for doing only half their job while fully enjoying the rewards they receive.


    "This kind of person, once they appear they have to be detained, they must be detained! He must be disciplined thoroughly and inculcated the precepts of righteousness even if it takes years, either he''s brainwashed or executed. If not then at the very least, he should be chased out, if we let him be and he ends up as a demonic cultivator, it would be a catastrophe towards the reputation of the Tiger Martial Institute."


    Han Zhen Jun had an unpleasant expression thinking of this, making up his mind.


    Yet, at this time, Hong Li laughed unceremoniously.


    "Haha, Zhen Jun why are you overthinking like that, is an Inner Core realm expert like you scared of this child?"


    Hong Li couldn''t help but laugh seeing the vice dean in such deep thought over this trivial matter.


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    Han Zhen Jun didn''t answer directly, but recounted the details of a specific creature, "The Nightshade Brood is a violent bird type of blood beast that doesn''t build any nest, instead it toss down one egg from the nest of another bird when the mother isn''t present and puts his at its place. When the mother returns, it will take care of the eggs without being aware of the foreign presence among them. At the time of birth, the Nightshade Brood hatchling can sense when a creature is near and purposefully delay it until when the mother leaves the nest to search for food, then it will leave the shell and, being much bigger and dangerous than most birds, devour all the chicks wether they are in the egg or came out already. Once the mother returns, it will be horrified by the massacre and think this creature appeared when it left and attacked her hatchlings without realizing it was here way before. The newborn Nightshade Brood will grow quickly with the nutriments from the bird hatchlings and be able to fly, attacking and devouring the mother as well."


    Saying so, Han Zhen Jun''s story came to an end. He looked at the dean with a meaningful gaze.


    Hong Li immediately understood, saying, "You''re using the Nightshade brood''s birth as an analogy. Ye Mo is the Nishtshade Brood hatchling while the nest and the other birds are the institute and its members."


    He sighed before continuing, "You have always been a very capable member of the institute, but you tend to be driven by your own emotions sometimes and lack tolerance."


    "I know that you are afraid he could go out of control and tarnish our reputation, but you also have to see things in his point of view. He has great battle aptitudes and an excellent intellect, he could have been a superb cultivator on the same scale as Ma Shin Fei or Jin Hao Tian, yet, he ended up with merely rank 2 talent. We were disappointed and forsake him, but the one to suffer the most from this situation was actually Ye Mo."


    "Being suddenly ridiculed and seen as worthless by other students while given the cold shoulder by the instructors, it''s no wonder he would turn to be rash and discontented with the institute. These cases have been seen many times in the hundreds of years of history of the Tiger Martial Institute, this is nothing new. By injuring his peers in the pagoda or ignoring Wang Fei, he''s actually showing his displeasure towards us and venting his anger. If a fly spit on a mammoth, will the mammoth care about it? He is furious internally and that is understandable, just let him be, emotions are not meant to be bottled out, when he''s done and realize it is useless, he will calm down. It can be seen how affected he was looking at his first week among us, brooding endlessly at home or in the library, avoiding other students and delaying his cultivation."


    Han Zhen Jun was worried, "But dean, Ye Mo was already extremely violent before he joined us or heard of his talent, look at the recruitment competition..."


    Hong Li stopped Han Zhen Jun''s words, holding out his hand, indicating him to listen.


    "Back then, no one lacked killing intent, everyone tried their best to join us, Ma Shin Fei almost burned someone to crisps while Shen Xue and Yan Mei were slicing limbs left and right and would make other contestants head fly without an instructor''s intervention. They were as brutal, if not more, than Ye Mo. They all fought and proved they had the right to be members of our institute. Yet, why is it that you only hold this child accountable for his actions when he was just trying his utmost like everyone, is it because he isn''t part of a clan and has no background, or maybe his past in the slums?"


    Han Zhen Jun''s heart missed a beat, he quickly bowed down, "I wouldn''t dare, I wouldn''t dare. If I lose my sense of impartialness, then I am not fit to be the vice dean."


    Hong Li nodded as his expression softened, "What is the goal of our Tiger Martial Institute? It is to nurture talented youths to send to the sect, we''re like minors excavating all kinds of minerals, the most precious of them being sent to the forgers to shape in an illustrious sword. No matter where they come from or how they look like, as long as they are useful, we don''t have the right to toss them just because we don''t like their forms."


    "The most important point is that Ye Mo never broke any rules, showing his attitude to be associated with us. One might believe or suspect, but as long as he follow the rules and regulations, he has nothing to reproach himself. Detaining him in these conditions would rather worsen the situation, a student suddenly disappearing and being imprisoned for no reason? This would cause dissatisfaction among students and outsiders while voices of complaint would be heard at every corners. If it could happen to him then why not to them? Who would feel safe? Chasing him out wouldn''t be that different, rumours go fast in this city, we would lose our image of fairness and impartiality, our reputation would be deeply damaged, there is only demerits in doing so."


    Han Zhen Jun suddenly remembered, "Didn''t Ye Mo cripple Liu Zhi''s cultivation during their match even though this and killing wasn''t allowed?"


    Hong Li shook his head, "The fight was under Lan Xue''s presence, why do you think so? Do you believe any of them could go against her will under her watch? If Ye Mo was able to cripple Liu Zhi it is because she allowed it so in this case more than Ye Mo, it''s her that should be punished."


    "Then why..." Han Zhen Jun asked, confused and unaware of the details.


    Hong Li snorted, showing the grace and callousness of a person in power, "Simply because Liu Zhi was the first to break the rules, attempting to kill Ye Mo. She didn''t intervene at this time either, but you tell me that not only she should have prevented him to cripple Liu Zhi, but punish him as well? Isn''t that profundly unfair, without even taking into account our own opinion, what would all our members spectating the fight think? Liu Zhi''s fate was just the repercussions of his own actions and Lan Xue took full responsibility for not intervening, going to the Jade Forest''s border to kill rank 2 blood beasts."


    "Dean, your meaning is?" Han Zhen Jun raised his eyebrows.


    "What I am saying is that you think too highly of Ye Mo. He has some cleverness, but he''s just a thirteen years old newcomer, and tends to be impulsive or childish, you can tell from him trying to hide his deals with the Liu clan and the Encompassing Washing pills. How could those be hidden from us? He is not mature yet, and is still innocent, don''t think of him as a scary being."


    "If he didn''t show any displeasure, growing silently while hiding his progress, avoiding battles and creating enmity with his fellow students to focus only on his cultivation, that would truly be deep scheming. He could lay low and accumulate strength in the dark for a few years then at the most opportun time, he could reveal his explosive strength and catch everyone off guard, taking a good place in the ranking of the year-end competition then join the Raging Saber sect. Instead he fought and revealed bits here and there, causing everyone to be aware of his abilities and only making us grow suspicious early on, investigating him. At most, he has some small intelligence, but lacks true wisdom and knowledge."


    Hong Li admonished his second in command with a distant gaze, looking out of the window at the radiant Tiger Martial Institute, "Your grasp of the situation was too small, he''s only a rank 2 talent so if he''s lucky, even after tens of years, he had still be a low level Foundation Establishment realm cultivator. You don''t need to be so calculative with a junior from a younger generation."


    "I overreacted, but with your guidance, I can''t be misled." Hearing Hong Li''s final sentence, Han Zhen Jun realized at once.

 Rise of a Prodigy

    In the third floor of the pagoda, Ye Mo sat cross-legged in the center of the room with eyes closed and a black vortex in his dantian voraciously sucking the Qi in the surroundings.


    "Is the investigation done, or is it still in progress?" Ye Mo wondered as he suddenly opened his eyes.


    They were dark and remote while his heart was calm, a bout of peacefulness.


    Ever since he took the moon pacifying herb and even more after killing Liu Huan that day and retrieving his sword, he considered his next actions.


    He was clear that to grow quickly, without base nor support, he would have to use them to obtain resources from the Liu clan.


    However, things became complicated when his rank 2 talent was revealed.


    Progressing too quickly in a short time with a low talent is suspicious and was bound to attract the attention of the institute.


    He knew there were great chances they would investigate him and in this case, they won''t have any trouble discovering his deals with the Liu clan.


    He couldn''t tie all the loose ends with third parties involved so it would be known at some point, he had no doubt about it.


    Yet, Ye Mo didn''t care if such things were revealed after some time, what he truly wanted to avoid at all costs was the discovery of the Nine Revolutions Fiend Body, all the people he murdered and his scuffles with the Liu clan and the Wrathful Black Ape in the jungle.


    His real motive was to keep his true nature concealed!


    If he was branded as a cultivator from the demonic faction, he would immediately be captured and executed by the instructors of the institute.


    Even if a miracle occured and he escaped, he would be chased out by the forces of the righteous path wherever he went.


    Nonetheless, he still needed to cultivate quickly and reach the 8th layer in a year before leaving the city even if it incurred an investigation.


    There were only so much resources, he could enjoy in an institute, the true places to cultivate and grow in a sheltered environment were sects.


    To reach the top and obtain the strength he seek, how many tried so in the span of millions or billions of years? Yet, no one could really grow safe from everything.


    The lifespan of living beings was limited so to accomplish his dream before fatality could strike, he couldn''t waste a single second, he had to bring the best out of every moment.


    Growing lax and slacking off was the way to end in your death bed in a flash without anything to look back for in your life.


    That''s why, after his talent was tested, Ye Mo started plotting.


    He first spent the next week either isolated in his home or at an unfrequented place like the library, giving others the sentiment that he suffered a huge blow from this revelation and grew dispirited, to the point he wouldn''t even cultivate.


    Next, when asked, he refused to divulge the existence of the Encompassing Washing pills or the trade with the Liu clan as a whole, even though the investigators were certain to find the truth after some time, displaying his immaturity and fear, "showing weakness" to the institute higher-ups.


    When Wang Fei came to hand him a token and pressured him for informations, it definitely confirmed to Ye Mo that an investigation started about him or was ongoing.


    In-between, he also severely beat up fellow students in the pagoda and refused to fight in the mid-year examination, expressing his wildness and displeasure to the institute which allowed him to lead other''s thought by the nose, letting them have the misconception of a displeased and naughty child who didn''t come to terms with his aptitude.


    A good way to manipulate people is not to try and convince them, but to instill doubts and hints to their thoughts, leading them to a certain direction, letting them find "the truth". At this point, their opinion would be formed and very hard to change without clear evidences.


    "Hong Li''s real interests are Shen Xue and other young cultivators with a lot of potential, in his mind I am only a minor character. With the secret of my quick growth cleared up he will uphold the reputation of the institute and won''t bother to supress me or dig much further in my activities. With his nature, he does have this tolerance."


    Ye Mo closed his eyes and shifted his thoughts towards his battles to obtain a place in this room.


    "These students were weaker than Liu Zhi but fighting the three of them in a row is far more difficult. I had to take risks to quickly defeat them, not only to prevent others to join the fight and overwhelm me, but also to show that with my abilities, they shouldn''t think of stopping me. These risks cost me several deep injuries, I know for sure that I wouldn''t have been able to attain this place without Endless Vitality battle skill."


    In a duel on the arena with one against another, you could completely focus on the opponent facing you, but in a configuration like the pagoda, there were much more considerations to take into account so you couldn''t give your full attention to the fight only.


    After his usual reflections, Ye Mo stood up and covered the light crystals on the walls, plunging the room in darkness, before he returned at its center and began multitasking.


    He was slowly increasing his mastery of Shadow Walk while cultivating, although he knew he wouldn''t be able to grasp the third phase before the year-end competition, it wasn''t a reason to stop learning the battle skill.


    Quickly, a month passed and the stone door slid open as Ye Mo exited the cultivation room.


    He was satisfied by the results, he was able to breakthrough the 8th layer of the Qi Gathering realm and fill almost half his dantian with wisps, thanks to the concentrated Qi of the third floor.


    While striding across the floor to leave, he saw a girl about to take the flight of stairs to go down when she looked at her side and their gaze met.


    It was Yan Mei, the young mistress of the Yan clan.


    She looked at him insistently while Ye Mo made his way towards the same stairs, expressionless, intending to leave.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report itWhen he was just a few steps away from her, she squinted her eyes, uttering lowly, "You have some nerves to still come here even though Li Qiang search low and high for an occasion to kill you. You are lucky he returned to his Li clan for a few days."


    It seems she was able to recognize him even though Ye Mo and her never interacted before.


    "He can search all he want, I don''t care." Ye Mo was impassive, saying as he stopped beside her.


    Yan Mei paused for an instant, as if in thought, before she spoke again, "I can understand, to think you attained the 8th layer this fast and can already cultivate in the third floor, it''s evident your self-confidence would surge as well, but don''t be fooled, Li Qiang is already at the 9th layer of the Qi Gathering realm."


    "You must realize that wether it''s Li Qiang, me or any of the four young masters, our battle strength is much above our own level and we can defeat cultivators of the same layer without much trouble. Even if you reached the 9th layer, you would still have greater chances of being killed facing him."


    Hearing this, Ye Mo smiled.


    He had already sensed Yan Mei''s cultivation when approaching and wasn''t surprised Li Qiang reached the same level as well.


    "Why are you telling me that, are you worried about me?"


    By this point, they took the stairs and walked down side by side, they were originally going in the same direction so might as well move and talk at the same time.


    Yan Mei raised her shoulders, saying with a flat voice, "It''s just rare for someone to directly stand up against this pretentious prick and even more to still be alive and well till now. I do hope you keep breathing and frustrate him to no end."


    "Such solicitude truly warms my heart."


    The two quickly reached the second floor then kept going down.


    Many were interrogated by Ye Mo walking and talking side by side with Yan Mei even though both of them were usually cold and lonesome, the latter talking only to her Yan clan members, but in the pagoda, they quickly shifted their attention to the battles ensuing and the students attacking each other.


    "Were you cultivating in the third floor as well?" Ye Mo suddenly asked because he saw her leave from the same floor previously.


    Yan Mei glanced at him before saying nonchalantly, "A month ago, after breaking through the 9th layer, I went to the fourth floor to test myself, but after defeating two persons, it became a bit too much for me so I retreated."


    "So even you struggled in the fourth floor, the people there must be extremely strong."


    If even Yan Mei couldn''t cultivate there, then with his current strength, he shouldn''t set a foot in this place for now.


    However, she shook her head hearing his reply, "It''s not that they are too strong, but I would have killed someone if I stayed there any longer. The students in the fourth floor are the absolute best of the institute, I have to take it seriously or I am certain to be injured, but my battle style tends a lot towards offense so if I go all out someone will inadvertently die."


    "I returned to the fourth floor five days ago after gaining much better control over my abilities and obtained a room, we met when time was up and I was leaving."


    "Among us, Shen Xue was the first to be able to cultivate in the fourth floor or else how could he breakthrough the Foundation Establishment Realm so fast. Competing with him is really infuriating, at this rate, we won''t be the four young masters anymore, but the tiger and his three puppies!"


    Yan Mei started venting at the end, unaware that she dropped a shocking information to Ye Mo.


    "He already attained the Foundation Establishment Realm?" He asked slightly astounded.


    "Of course, he did so a month ago, where were you all this time? It caused a ruckus in the whole Azure water city as he became the youngest Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator around and everyone are still talking about it to this day, the dean even allowed the Shen clan patriarch in the institute and celebrated with him when news got out."


    Yan Mei didn''t know that, contrary to other young students, Ye Mo always stays behind closed doors for long periods of time, completely immersed in his cultivation. Enduring the loneliness and the lack of stimulation to concentrate only on his growth is one of the reason he had such accomplishments, this way he also missed the news of Shen Xue''s breakthrough.


    He grew silent, as he thought about it.


    This cultivation pace didn''t match up.


    Although Shen Xue has rank 5 talent and cultivates extremely fast, he was fourteen years old during the recruitment competition of the institute, but still at the peak of the 7th layer of the Qi Gathering Realm while he should have been cultivating for several years already.


    To go from the 1st to the 7th layer in five or six years then suddenly from the 7th to the Foundation Establishment realm in less than a year, the speed during the last year was simply absurd, many times higher than what he showed in the past.


    The further you go in cultivation, the harder it becomes to advance.


    The difficulty to breakthrough the Foundation Establishment realm alone is much bigger than passing the nine layers of the Qi Gathering realm together. Many remains patient for years, accumulating resources and being in the most favorable conditions before attempting to attain the next realm.


    Some might think Shen Xue grew faster thanks to the facilities of the institute, however, even before joining them, he was still the young master of the Shen clan, one of the four greatest in the city, and was greatly nurtured by his father in this aspect; The difference wouldn''t be so large just because he joined the Tiger Martial Institute.


    Such a sudden, explosive growth was rather strange.


    Thinking this far, Ye Mo directly shared his suspicions with Yan Mei as they left the pagoda together through the main entrance.


    "Well, it''s true that you were just a mortal not too long ago so you''re not aware of what occured among our clans in the past, this is not strange for you to have such thoughts. Then let me tell you a bit more about Shen Xue."

 Strengthened Resolve Through Difficulties

    The sky was blue and clear, looking pure as if it had been washed clean. The sun was shining golden.


    Puffs of white clouds floated away, and a group of colourful pheasant parrots chirped as they flew beneath the blue sky, forming an arrow formation under the clouds as they soared.


    This variant of colourful parrots would only appear in large groups during springtime. Their bodies were littered with feathers the colour of the rainbow, their bodies the size of an eagle. The birds had parrot beaks, while their tails were that of a pheasant''s long brown tail with dark bars.


    "Do you know at which time cultivators start absorbing and refining Qi in their dantian?" Before talking about Shen Xue, the young mistress of the Yan clan asked a question.


    Ye Mo quickly recounted everything he knew on the subject, having learnt it all by heart, "Of course, this is basic knowledge. The dantian is like other organs of the human body, when we are too young and our body is still growing, it remains in an unstable state. Only at eight or nine years old does it stabilize so you can start circulating Qi and storing wisps inside which is the moment when most cultivators starts their journey and test their talent."


    "Attempting to cultivate when too young can lead to a damaged dantian, crippling your cultivation and even dying in some cases. That''s why people would begin cultivating Qi at eight years old or more, doing so too late would waste time and give your peers a headstart so only those who didn''t have the choice or the means to cultivate before would start when they are older. Even mortals know that."


    Yan Mei nodded hearing Ye Mo''s reply, it was indeed so.


    "In this aspect, Shen Xue is not any different from the rest." She said as she began narrating his past.


    Shen Xue had his talent tested by the elders of his clan when he was 8 years old. When his rank 5 talent was revealed, it caused an uproar in the city, the Shen clan was overjoyed by their young master''s aptitude, but it wasn''t great news for everyone.


    Rank 5 talent, it''s not like there hasn''t been any appearing in Azure Water City before, one would still surface once in a while.


    But nurturing was a process, even with rank 5 talent, when they are revealed, they are still juniors who just stepped on the path of cultivation, as fragile as anyone.


    In this process, calamities and human-disasters were a common thing.


    Without the time to reach maturity, they can lose their life easily.


    Hearing about the Shen clan young master''s situation, their rivals and other clans felt the rise of an impending threat who was capable of changing the power dynamic of the four great clans in the future, thus they set multiple plans in motion.


    Not long later, a powerful assassin infiltrated the Shen clan''s headquarters and killed several servants before reaching Shen Xue''s room.


    His mother, the patriarch''s main wife lost her life to protect him and buy enough time for the experts of the clan to arrive and put down the assassin. Unfortunately, the latter was too strong to be apprehended safely and died in the fight that ensued without giving any hints on the perpetrator of this operation.


    Shen Xue who witnessed the whole scene with his own eyes was severely marked by this experience, barely smiling and never laughing. He became a joyless young boy who found little interests in anything and indulged in activities dispassionately.


    After some time, his personal servant, a thin and gentle middle-aged woman, proposed him a stroll outside in an attempt to lift his spirit.


    She tended to him since his birth and was like a second mother to Shen Xue, he had no reason to doubt her.


    Until she brought him near a stream outside the city and held his head underwater, nearly drowning him.


    Without the invigilator cultivators of the clan charged to closely survey him since the last assassination attempt, intervening in time to save him, he wouldn''t have survived.


    The servant was captured without any trouble, however, she swallowed some poison and died on the way back to the clan.


    It was later uncovered she was a spy sent from another clan, but with the culprit dead, nothing else could be found.


    A few weeks later, when Shen Xue and other members of his clan were on their way to visit an inn, one of the asset property of the Shen clan, an elder of the Yan clan suddenly rushed out from a house beside them and attacked.


    His cultivation was deep and his strikes powerful, Shen Xue almost died from the shockwaves of the fight alone as elders of his clan stopped the assailant before he could reach him.


    In the end, the Yan clan elder tried to escape, but was beheaded by the Shen clan patriarch himself upon his arrival.


    Following this incident, the Shen clan demanded retribution to the Yan clan, threatening of an all-out war against them.


    With reason and logic siding with them, the public opinion supported the Shen clan and the Yan clan''s reputation suffered much from this event.


    However, the Yan clan claimed that the elder was a traitor who acted on his own will and was disowned by the clan post-mortem.


    The same day, the Yan clan executed all family members of the elder and anyone having blood ties with him before offering their heads to the Shen clan, completely cutting off their relation with the elder and casting away any implication in the incident.


    With their reputation salvaged, the Yan clan then sent several gifts to the Shen clan during the next days, finally appeasing the tension between them.


    If the Shen clan still attacked after all this, it would have seemed as cruel and overbearing, the other clans would certainly side with the Yan clan to stop the Shen clan''s tyranny.


    Shen Xue''s early life as a cultivator was filled with narrowly eluded assassination attempts which deeply affected him.


    He never left his Shen clan''s headquarters again, heck, he barely left his chambers at all, often retreating into silence, solitude, and a brooding passivity.


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    He turned solemn and gloomy, an overall silent person who never started a conversation and answered questions as curtly as possible.


    During three years since he stepped on the path of a cultivator he didn''t cultivate even once and barely made any progress in this aspect much to the distress of the patriarch and the elders who regularly pleaded him to cultivate and learn martial arts, to no avail.


    A rank 5 talent that doesn''t cultivate, what kind of waste was that?!


    The little friends he had in the past all grew stronger, made new experiences and went on with life, distancing themselves from him over time while he remained alone in his room, brooding endlessly to the point he would forget to eat at times.


    This lasted for three years where he didn''t make any improvement.


    That is, until he was 11 years old when he suddenly left his dull inactivity and exited his quarters.


    Without asking anyone, he began picking cultivation techniques and battle skills in the Shen clan secret bookcase, training himself very dutifully.


    He was like a changed man, his soulless eyes recovered their brightness, a chilling cold light that pushed everyone away.


    Not only he was extremely hardworking in his cultivation, he also learned battle skills at a fast pace. At the same time, he quickly began to challenge and fight young prospects from middle-sized clans, defeating them one by one as his strength grew unceasingly.


    The leaders of middle-sized clans, under the invitation of the Shen clan, didn''t dare refuse Shen Xue''s challenges either.


    His father and the higher-ups of the Shen clan, were extremely joyous towards this change and supported him thoroughly.


    He also personally fought and executed many prisoners and criminals of the clan after releasing them from their bind and would go in the Jade Forest once in a while to train himself against powerful blood beasts, obviously, under the surveillance of several elders tasked to protect him.


    "Everytime he made an appearance, his strength would have grown exponentially compared to the last time and he quickly became renowned after defeating the heirs of many clans in the city. In only three years, he caught up and even surpassed I, Li Qiang and Gao Lixin." Yan Mei said, her tone shifting, growing upset as she thought about it.


    Ye Mo listened attentively, his eyes shining in understanding, "So that''s how it is. I thought he cultivated since he was eight years old and only grew explosively this last year, but I was still underestimating his aptitude. In truth, he started cultivating when he was 11 and in only three years, he reached the peak of the 7th layer of the Qi Gathering Realm, I heard he even delayed his breakthough to the 8th layer for the recruitment competition of the institute. With the full support of the Tiger Martial Institute and attaining first place in every single competition he progressed even faster and now attained the Foundation Establishment ream. He didn''t grow explosively this last year in the institute, he has always been this fast."


    If he reached the peak of the 7th layer in three years then it was much more comprehensible for him to attain the Foundation Establishment Realm in another year enjoying the resources of both the Shen Clan and the institute.


    With his rank 5 talent, the heavenly wall preventing breakthroughs is too weak to pose a problem so he doesn''t need to wait like other cultivators, but can immediately tackle the Foundation Establishment realm once he attains the peak of the Qi Gathering Realm.


    Yan Mei sighed deeply, solemn, "This is why I have to become stronger, the most powerful possible, if not for me, for my clan. If one day, he acquires enough strength and seeks revenge against us, I have to be able to stop him and protect everyone!"


    Ye Mo kept silent, looking at her struggling expression, "She''s talking about their elder attacking Shen Xue in the past? As expected, they were behind it, when the assassination failed they used him and his family as sacrificial pawn to avoid the Shen clan''s retaliation. It''s not surprising, no one in their place would hesitate if they had the chance to nip in the bud a future threat, the other clans surely tried to eliminate him as well. Then offering the family of one elder who isn''t present anymore to prevent the death of thousands in an open war? It''s not even a choice, but an evidence."


    "If you understand, then you should avoid crossing his path at all costs during the year-end competition if you want to live." Yan Mei parted with these words, leaving towards the disciples residential area.


    Ye Mo wasn''t heading this way so he came to a halt at some point near the end of her recollection and didn''t follow her when she left.


    "Shen Xue, like many, went through his own share of struggle. Every great figures who left their names in history passed by their own difficulties at some point before becoming the person they are. Life is not a tranquil sea with a clear sky and a gentle breeze, storms and sea monsters are part of it as well, all of them have to be experienced to truly grow as an individual and realize what needs to be done."


    How can you surpass yourself without ever facing any difficulties? How can you overcome hardships when you have never suffered?


    You can''t achieve anything by living a life filled with only joy, pleasure and enjoyment or we wouldn''t be stepping on earth, but living in a fairy tale.


    To rise up, one must fall first; The pains and struggles of the past are the foundation that will push one higher in the future.


    Hardships and sufferings are the flames and hammer that mould our soul in an ancestral sword that will cut through any obstacle, paving our own path relentlessly!


    "I attained the 8th layer of the Qi Gathering Realm, meeting the conditions to visit the third floor of the battle skill tower. Only seven days remains before the year-end competition, it''s time to pick another martial art."


    Ye Mo walked on the street, moving towards the three towers, his eyes glimmering in brillance.

 Night Blue Wrist Guards

    Ye Mo walked shortly and arrived at the battle skill tower.


    He achieved his aim and attained the 8th layer of the Qi Gathering Realm, now even if he didn''t take part in the coming competition, he would still be able to join the Raging Saber Sect.


    Yet, as your cultivation grows, your battle skills must follow as well and Ye Mo intended to fight for the first place in this competiton, ultimately putting his hands on a peak-tier Yellow Class battle skill.


    His battle strength still had to rise quickly to have a chance in this endeavor.


    The students lined up properly, faces flushed with excitement as they were about to pick a new battle skill.


    After being permitted access to the tower, Ye Mo immediately climbed to the third floor.


    The last time, he hesitated between an healing and a defensive battle skill before finally picking Endless Vitality so now he set his eyes on defense.


    "Weaving Grass Cage Battle Skill."


    "Qi Shield Battle Skill."


    "Conquering Sand Armor Battle Skill."


    "Hovering Water Spheres Battle Skill."


    Ye Mo passed after rows of bookshelves, paying attention to the Battle Skills covering the defensive aspect of cultivators.


    Some of them were large and thick and even their introductory segment could take a dozen minute to read while others were slim and the entirety of the Battle Skill stood only in a few page.


    "I need a flexible Battle Skill that can be used to support my strength and sublimate my attack while still having a good defense." Ye Mo mumbled in his heart as he continued walking.


    He strolled in circle in the third floor, taking note of the time passing as he examined many martial art manuals at the research of the desired one.


    Minutes passed quickly and soon it was almost time to leave, only five minutes remaining before the one hour stay expired.


    At this time, Ye Mo came to a stop and rather than being disappointed, he laughed in relief, the tiny flicker of expectation in his heart dying down, "This is only a martial institute after all, not a sect. The first floor contains thousands of battle skills, but in the third floor, they are lowered to a few hundred already and their quality is not the best. Obtaining such a defensive art is rather impossible."


    Martial Institutions were the best place to cultivate and possessed the most resources to nurture disciples, but it was only in comparison to the rest of the forces of Azure Water City.


    Each sects were a force renowned in tens of thousands of li and most of them had the resources of a whole province at their disposition while their martial arts easily exceeded those of martial institutes by a hundred fold.


    The latter wasn''t even qualified to be one of their small branch.


    Ye Mo inspected many battle skills, but he didn''t find one that met his demands. He could only pick a new battle skill under strict conditions so when he has the chance, it was with a precise idea of what he wanted.


    His requirements this time were too high for the Tiger Martial Institute so without any choice, he quickly backtracked and picked the Buddha Golden Bell defensive battle skill.


    Among all the battle skills Ye Mo has read, this one was easily number one in terms of defense.


    However it had one huge weakness, Buddha Golden Bell couldn''t be used while in movement.


    Once activated, if the user wasn''t immobile then the defense of this battle skill would quickly vanish as if all your Qi was depleted and you would need to spend another portion for the effects of this defensive technique to return at condition that you wouldn''t make any movement this time.


    Without talking about the obvious issues that such a weakness entailed, it was particularly dangerous for inexperienced cultivators who could make a movement during a decisive moment and while expecting to be protected by the skill, they would instead bear the full force of their opponent''s attack with their body, often resulting in their death.


    Due to the particularity of the battle skill, there weren''t really various ways to depend on it as a cultivator and was used solely as a defensive maneuver.


    To Ye Mo who couldn''t find a martial art he yearned for, he gave up on many requirements and completely focused on the defense of the battle skill.


    At least, this aspect of his combat system would be covered now.


    Finally, he returned to the ground floor for the attendant to unseal the book before he left the tower.


    After obtaining his new battle skill, Ye Mo had one last matter to deal with before returning to his stone house.


    He finished reading the other end of the Buddha Golden Bell battle skill on his way before stepping out of the institute and walking in the streets of the city, heading towards the Ironheart Weaponsmiths building.


    The roads were bustling with people clamoring as they went on their way, among them were many new faces of stranger that stopped by for this particular date of the year.


    "Will Shen Xue participate in the competition now that he is a Foundation Establishment cultivator? That would be bullying the weak, he would win 100% against Qi Gathering Realm students."


    "Not necessarily, don''t forget there is this genius from the Golden Martial Institute. I can''t wait for it to start, the final victor will surely be one of these two."


    "I heard Jin Hao Tian isn''t engaged yet, it would be so great if we could marry and he could take me back to his clan as their young mistress."


    "Apparently, Zhang Xuanhan attempted to breakthrough the Foundation Establishment Realm as well not too long ago but failed the condensation, fortunately, he quickly recovered his peak Qi Gathering Realm cultivation thanks to the Sky Martial Institute''s dean supporting him."


    "Lucky boy is the dean''s grandson, he can enjoy all the resources he wants; My nephew failed two years ago and till this day, he still didn''t fully recover his strength. Those silver spooned kids really have a knack for getting in my nerves."


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    The roads felt cramped with the waves of people moving left and right, countless of them enthusiastically talking of the coming year-end competition confronting the three institutes and the most well-known juniors recent news while a few girls indulged in their own fantasies.


    Ye Mo made his way through the waves of passersby and attained the Ironheart Weaponsmiths entry hall after some time.


    He looked at the attendants behind the counters, but couldn''t find the man from last time so he just approached one held by a young woman and announced himself.


    "My name''s Ye Mo, I have come to retrieve my spiritual weapon."


    "Ye Mo?" The woman looked through the pages of a notebook for a few seconds before her eyes widened.


    "Yes, yes, please come with me sir, master Hei will arrive shortly." The woman turned even more courteous and subservient as she led him towards a room on the second floor.


    He barely sat down when she returned with a cup of tea and biscuits as he patiented, apparently, Hei Qiong gave words about him since he was treated as an important customer.


    Ye Mo didn''t even touch anything served to him that the forgemaster already arrived in a hurry, quickly entering the room and closing the door behind him.


    "8th layer already?" Hei Qiong paused for an instant and commented as he examined Ye Mo before smiling lightly, "Not bad, at least you won''t ridicule yourself during the competition."


    He sat down before retrieving something from the inner pockets of his robe and placed it down on the table in front of Ye Mo.


    It was a small emerald green crystal half the size of a hand''s palm.


    Ye Mo seized it in his hands and looked more closely, inside the crystal, he could perceive the vague dark shape of a bug, laying dormant.


    "With this fossilized crystal, the Blood Tracking Fly will be hibernating for two or three years so you won''t need to feed or watch over it in the meantime or till you need it''s abilities and break the crystal beforehand." Hei Qiong informed him, completing his lesser task first.


    Ye Mo nodded silently in approbation before he placed the fossilized crystal in Wei Leng''s spatial pouch that was tied to his belt along the sky blue one.


    He sold the pouches of the Liu clan patriarch''s offspring, but kept this one in case he lacked enough space with only the pouch given by the Tiger Martial Institute.


    Because the Blood Tracking Fly was not dead but only slumbering, it couldn''t go in the spatial space, instead it layed in the natural expanse of the pouch without triggering the formations.


    "At last, here is what you have been waiting for." Hei Qiong placed his hand in his spatial pouch and brought out a small box of red wood the size of a small treasure chest.


    The box was placed on the table separating them and after opening the lids, Hei Qiong raised the top.


    On the soft cushion placed at the bottom of the box layed two night blue, almost black, iron wrist guards.


    On their side was a thin blade curved upward like the arched fin of a shark.


    This pair of wrist guard was the peak-tier spiritual weapon Ye Mo had envisioned.


    "I followed your instructions and heavily emphasized on their durability during the confection, raising it to the limit. Let me show you." Hei Qiong left the wrist guards on the table as he returned the box to his pouch while picking a sword out of it.


    This sword was a mid-tier spiritual weapon he casually forged in the past.


    Without hesitation, he cleaved down with the sword towards the wrist guards while using a battle skill.


    The wind screamed, flying violently in the surroundings while the walls trembled from the might of the strike.


    The intense pressure pushed against Ye Mo which used a battle skill in turn to protect himself.


    Light shone on his body and quickly turned into a huge golden bell that completely enveloped him.


    This wasn''t the mastered battle skill, but just Ye Mo''s shallow comprehension of this defensive art after his read not too long ago.


    The defense was far from the maximum ability of the battle skill and he was still a novice in it''s use, being the first time he tried it, nonetheless, it was enough to protect him from the energy generated by Hei Qiong''s attack.


    As the sword went down and clashed against the peak-tier spiritual weapon, the first immediately broke in two, the tip of the blade flying in the opposite direction in a flash before lodging itself on a wall near a shelf.


    The wrist guards instead suffered no damages, not even a dent could be seen on its smooth surface.


    "I doubt even Inner Core Realm experts could break them, not to flatter myself, but this is really some fine work I did here." Hei Qiong said looking at Ye Mo, yet, his eyes flashed with imperceptible disappointment.


    To test the wristguards durability, he retrieved a sword and struck down without a warning, using his own cultivation and battle skill to back his attack.


    With Ye Mo being beside him, he should have been sent crashing against the wall just from the waves of Qi emanating from his strike.


    Hei Qiong''s aim was to slightly injure him and embarass Ye Mo, causing him to lose face, reminding him of his strength and status and forcing respect and humility out of this junior while feining ignorance on the outside.


    He still felt bitter about Ye Mo''s overbearing behavior and this transaction he was in no position to refuse thus, he planned to make him suffer a bit to humble him, however, now the young cultivator seemed unscathed and the repercussions of the strike had no effect on him.


    "You did good, indeed, but we will see their true abilities during the year-end competition." Ye Mo commented as he wore the wrist guards, the spiritual weapon perfectly closing on the shape of his arms.


    Ye Mo wasn''t using an axe or a mace, nor was he a swordsman or a spear wielder, but used his fists and his own body along his instincts to prevail.


    In this case, this kind of spiritual weapon suited him much more.

 Combat Chamber

    Ye Mo didn''t linger around after retrieving both the fossilized crystal and the iron wrist guards, concluding their deal, he went on his way.


    Hei Qiong didn''t forget to encourage him to take a good place in the future competition before he left. If Ye Mo fare well in there, they can put all his performances on the credit of his peak-tier spiritual weapon and advertise their craftsmanship, greatly increasing the popularity of the Ironheart Weaponsmiths.


    Ye Mo walked on the streets with his pair of wrist guard enclosing more than half his forearms.


    He considered buying an attire with long, loose sleeves to hide them, but determined it wasn''t necessary.


    Many cultivators in Azure Water city possess at least one spiritual weapon so moving around with one didn''t attract any attention. Moreover, the majority of them were blades, hammers, shields and such but here they were just wrist guards, it was a very uncommon spiritual weapon to confection and a lot of people seeing them wouldn''t even think of one, but only ordinary equipment that was part of Ye Mo attire.


    As for those who knew him like students in the institute, even if they noticed Ye Mo suddenly wearing those wrist guards, they would only think of them as a low or mid-tier spiritual weapon at best, nothing more.


    He was just a dirt-poor student with no connections to anyone, where would he get a peak-tier spiritual weapon that even clans as a whole would hardly possess?


    Accepting Liu Zhi''s challenge symbolized how tight his finances are.


    While returning to the Tiger Martial Institute, Ye Mo came across several cultivators fighting in the middle of the street.


    They weren''t very powerful, only at the middle of the Qi Gathering Realm, but there were six of them attacking each other without any regard to their surroundings.


    "Many travelers and visitors from small neighboring cities came by to keep watch over the final competition between the three institutions. With more people gathered in the same place, conflicts may arise, this is inevitable." Ye Mo observed the scene casually.


    It was a land of martial arts where strength reigned supreme, when quarrel or disension appeared between individuals, it would commonly be resolved with fists and swords.


    Mortals ran to safety while cultivators remained around spectating their battle.


    Quickly, several guards arrived and suppressed the cultivators fighting. The city was divided between the four great clans, the south where the situation enfolded was the domain of the Yan clan so these guards will bring the offenders to their base for them to be either detained and punished or pay a certain sum to be released.


    The guards were actually no more than the Yan clan members in charge of maintaining the peace in their territory,


    Of course, if those fighting were members of an institute or the other great clans, they wouldn''t suffer the same treatment, but rather contained before underlying negotiations and benefits would enfold between the experts backing the individual and the Yan clan, then he would be handed over.


    As long as no one important was killed or crippled, there wasn''t any need to make the criminal suffer and have their connections bear a grudge towards them, they would instead use the situation to greatly profit from them before allowing the criminal to leave.


    After the offenders were brought away by the guards and the situation subsided, Ye Mo returned on his way to the institute, but this time he noticed a group of five Sky Martial Institute members boisterously walking across the road and taking much of the space.


    He could recognize them with their white and blue robes which wore the members of their institute.


    Ye Mo himself was dressed in the dark brown suit of the Tiger Martial Institute and could be easily recognized as one of their member as well.


    "It would be a hassle if they see me and become violent just because we are not from the same institution, I better avoid them."


    It wasn''t rare for students of institutions to come across each other outside and ''exchange pointers'' for the sake of humiliating the rival and prove their institute and its members were superior.


    In fact, these exchanges were nothing more than brawls where the defeated would end up being carried home unconscious with multiple fractures.


    Ye Mo knew this group posed no threat to him, but what would he gain from beating them up? He quickled meddled with the crowd of pedestrians and took another path, leaving unnoticed.


    After avoiding them, he attained the Tiger Martial Institute in a short time and was allowed inside once he showed his token, directly returning to his house.


    The interior was dusty, going to retrieve the pure iridescent iron then dealing with the Ironheart Weaponsmiths establishment before cultivating in the pagoda for one month, the stone house was left unattended the whole time and now looked abandoned and dirty.


    It was no different than when he cultivated two months in the pagoda the last time and returned here, since Ye Mo didn''t have a servant to take care of the house when he''s away nor did he wish for one anyway, the house would slowly deteriorate over time if he didn''t return once in a while.


    Opening the windows, he spent dozens of minutes cleaning the house and dusting off the blanket before he set out again, this time to the martial hall where he rented a combat chamber for 50 gold coins.


    The combat chamber was a vast private room secluded from the outside, where you could fight against a mechanical puppet and train your battle skills unbothered.


    With a roof, no windows and only one entrance, Ye Mo could practice to his heart content far from prying eyes.


    As he entered the combat chamber, he found a steely gray knight''s armor standing by itself in the center of the room.


    Two intense red lights flickered behind the half-moon eye holes of the helm, but if one was to look inside the armor, they would find nothing but an eerie, empty space.


    This armor was the mechanical puppet prepared by the institute as a combatant practitioner to accompany the students in their attempt to increase their battle strength and also Ye Mo''s partner for his training sessions.


    When Ye Mo entered the grand circle drawn on the ground in which the armor stood, it stepped forward and quickly attacked him, punching with its gauntlet.


    On the side of the combat chamber was placed a rack with all kinds of weapons, sabers, swords, axes and even a whip.


    Students could toss those weapons towards the mechanical puppet who will naturally grab and use them in their fight, turning this into a sword battle or a fight with daggers depending on what the cultivator wished to experience for his training.


    However, it wasn''t necessary for Ye Mo currently who only needed something that would attack him and offer a bit of resistance, that it used weapons or not didn''t matter to him for now, thus the armor used its fist.


    The mechanical puppet, which had a strength that immediately adapted to his opponent''s cultivation level, was stopped by a golden light in the form of a bell covering Ye Mo''s whole body.


    The light of the Buddha Golden Bell flashed faintly for an instant when the punch connected as the armored puppet was completely blocked off, the gauntlet unable to advance one inch closer to the target.


    The punch was far from being enough to break the barrier of the battle skill.


    The armor then lifted its right leg high as it kicked towards Ye Mo, threatening to lodge his head off.


    The latter smirked as he canceled his defensive battle skill and raised his left hand, meeting the kick with his wrist guard, easily blocking the strike before forming a fist himself that he threw using only his physical strength.


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    Bang!


    The mechanical puppet received the punch directly on the chest as it was sent sliding back to the other side of the circle, a large spherical impression visible on its breastplate.


    "You better not let me down, I will work you to the fullest in this remaining week."


    Ye Mo walked forward with a grin.


    In these seven days, he intended to thoroughly refine his skills, increasing his understanding of the Buddha Golden Bell battle skill and implementing the use of his spiritual weapon in his battle style.


    Day one.


    Shing! Shing! Shing!


    The mechanical puppet released a flurry of strikes using his limbs to the limit, yet, Ye Mo parried all of them with his wrist guards, sparks sent flying in the rythm of their dance as not a scrath was left on the spiritual weapon.


    Finally, Ye Mo countered with a Cyclone Kick as the armor retreated several steps.


    During each exchange, Ye Mo refused to use anything more than his spiritual weapon to block the puppet onslaught before he would make it back off and restart all over.


    However, the shape of the armor clearly degraded over their multiple battles, the surface of the gauntlets and sabatons were jagged and chipped from their impacts against the wrist guards while several parts of the armor were marred with indentations and scrathes due to Ye Mo''s strikes, some places simply broken to the point you could see its interior devoid of any body to guide its movements.


    Day three.


    Ye Mo moved all around the circle like a gymnast, the mechanical puppet in tow with a spear in hand as he avoided its attacks.


    The spear tip made it''s way towards his back like a slithering snake when suddenly, Ye Mo ceased all movements, still in a running stance like time stopped, but only for him.


    Ding.


    At this time, the Buddha Golden Bell was summoned and gave a light sound as the spear attempted to penetrate its defense, to no avail.


    The next instant, the light of the battle skill disappeared as Ye Mo quickly sprinted away once again, leaving the mechanical puppet behind.


    If he was a bit too late in this situation, the spear would have seriously injured him, he was putting his flesh and blood on the line to ingrain in his muscle memory the use of the Buddha Golden Bell, staying perfectly immobile once it was activated.


    Only this way could he use all his potential to grow the fastest, at worst, he could still count on Endless Vitality as long as he didn''t suffer a fatal strike.


    The spear was harder to move around and more difficult to handle than a sword or a saber, but it had a much longer range and superior penetrative force, it was more appropriate to train and test the Buddha Golden Bell battle skill so Ye Mo handed one to the puppet.


    Day five.


    Ye Mo deflected two spinning stars with his wrist guards then attacked, the explosive force of the Stone Breaking Punch crashing on the steeled armor.


    Clang! Clang! Clang!


    After days of unceasing battle, it was eventually too much for the mechanical puppet which splintered in multiple parts, a leg warmer flew on the side while the helm rolled on the ground, leaving the fighting circle, all in a loud racket reminding several pans crashing down.


    All seemed to end as the cracked armor stood in a dozen of broken parts separated by multiple meters, but at this moment, electricity seemed to spark between each part, apparently connected, as they all moved towards each other before floating in the air and returning to their respective places.


    The mechanical puppet stood facing Ye Mo once again, the damaged parts of its armor visibly repaired until it was as good as new.


    Ye Mo wasn''t surprised, it was the third time he witnessed this phenomenon in the course of his training. The armor of the puppet was laced with a reconstructive formation, no matter how much it was damaged, as long as the mechanical puppet body was only broken, but not disintegrated, it would restore itself.


    In the Tiger martial Institute, there was also a wooden puppet with a regenerative formation. It was obviously frailer than the armored one, but even if it was destroyed to the point only a small part of it remained, it would sprout back like a growing tree from this tiny piece of wood and return in its original state in an instant.


    The last day.


    The weapon rack was half empty at this time.


    The armor threw several flying knives towards Ye Mo which he effortlessly deflected with his wrist guards.


    The puppet then jumped high in the air, using an halberd like a poleaxe that he raised up before cleaving down in a powerful attack.


    Seeing this, Ye Mo looked at the blade approaching without a blink as a bright light covered his body.


    Yet again, the halberd stopped right before Ye Mo, unable to penetrate the light from the Buddha Golden Bell battle skill that grew much more vivid in the timespan.


    The mechanical puppet, now being close to his opponent, kept pressing down with the halberd on one hand while taking hold of the saber laying horizontally on its lower back, then slashed at Ye Mo.


    The latter seeing this, smiled lightly, moving his arms which had for consequence to immediately cancel his defensive battle skill as he blocked both the falling halberd and the slashing saber with his wrist guards.


    The knight''s armor at this point, used its foot to flip up one of the knife that fell on the ground in front of Ye Mo and kicked it against him, using its foot to support the blade.


    However, Ye Mo was aware of the knives on the ground and already anticipated this action as he turned around and gave a powerful back kick before the blade could reach him, sending the mechanical puppet falling on the ground several steps further.


    The puppet quickly rose up and charged at Ye Mo once again, but the latter leaped lightly backwards, leaving the combat circle.


    The puppet suddenly stopped all movements before slowly going back to the center of the circle while the depression on his armor caused by Ye Mo''s kick quickly faded away.


    "I progressed extremely fast in just a week, with my battle strength now, at least, I am sure I can cultivate in the fourth floor of the pagoda. Too bad there is no time anymore."


    With a new high-tier battle skill and a peak-tier spiritual weapon acquired in such a short time, all Ye Mo had to do was train with them and increase his mastery for his strength to surge.


    These days, he left his stone house abandoned once again, barely sleeping two or three hours a night on the floor of the combat chamber, while the rest of the day was studded with incessant battles, when he had no Qi he still used his body alone to sustain himself and parried all strikes with his spiritual weapon in a form of practice.


    A small part of his time was also used to cultivate and increase the amount of wisps of Qi in his dantian, even to the smallest margin.


    This week was rough and intense, but nothing can be gained without putting the equal amount of efforts. Now that both his defensive battle skill and his spiritual weapon have been merged with his combat system, he was more than four times stronger than the previous week.


    "I won''t need to run even if I meet Yan Mei or Jin Hao Tian. As for wether I can obtain the first place, that is too early to be determined."


    Ye Mo thought but he was confident, most of all, he still had one card he didn''t reveal. The rest was part of luck, he couldn''t control it.

 Peculiar Recruitment Method

    As spring nears its end, the days grew longer and warmer, casting a golden hue over the landscape. Trees now fully adorned with lush, green leaves, sway gently in the mild breeze. Wildflowers carpet the meadows in a riot of colors, their vibrant petals attracting busy bees and fluttering butterflies. The air is filled with the heady scent of blooming lilacs and honeysuckle, mingling with the earthy aroma of fresh grass and damp soil.


    In the fields, farmers prepare for the upcoming harvest, covered in dirt and lines of sweat trickling down, the result of their efforts to live another day.


    The year-end competition.


    Rallying stone plateau, Three Martial Institute Gathering.


    Hundreds and thousands of cultivators gathered here, forming a grand scale.


    The rallying stone plateau was a seemingly big boulder that was neatly cut at the base by an expert in ancient times, probably assessing his abilities, giving it this appearance of a large stone platform.


    It has been in this state for at least hundreds of thousands of years so no one knew when it happened, but throughout history, it was used multiple times as a gathering for clans and wealthy families of Azure Water city to form alliances but also by the martial institutes to join each other when a grand event they had in common would be held.


    The rallying stone plateau was situated near the Jade Forest, along a large plain where stood the members of the institutes.


    On the rallying stone plateau, many furnitures were assembled like chairs, tables and jugs of wine where the three institute higher-ups sat and drank, closely discussing.


    Below the stone plateau, the three institute students had their respective standings, forming three large groups.


    Their attire revealed from which institute they belonged and their Qi fluctuations gave away their cultivation level.


    Ye Mo was among them, within the group of the Tiger Martial Institute.


    He secretly observed the situation.


    Most students below the stone plateau were at least 7th layer Qi Gathering Realm cultivators with many stronger and a few of them being at the 6th layer. Below the 6th layer, they weren''t even allowed to take part in the competition, yet, the majority of them who attained this level still refused to join it fearing they didn''t have the abilities to survive much less gaining a good spot.


    Only the most reckless 6th layer cultivators accepted to take part in the competition.


    Ye Mo was observing, the other students were also watching. Countless gazes intersected with hatred, curiosity and alertness.


    In Azure Water City, there was a saying: Tiger Martial Institute for battle strength, Sky Martial Institute for cultivation and Golden Martial Institute for resources.


    Indeed, the Sky Martial Institute students had always been known for having a slightly superior cultivation compared to the students of the Tiger Martial Institute of the same age and talent.


    On the other side, the Tiger Martial Institute students when fighting against cultivators of the same level, often held the advantage and would win most of the fights.


    As for the Golden Martial Institute, it was the most peculiar of the three.


    The other two institutes would hold a recruitment competition and accepted only the cream of the crop of the younger generation, but the Golden Martial Institute would accept anyone, as long as an exhorbitant entry fee was paid first.


    Because of this method, they were the wealthiest of the three institutes with a lot of funds and a steady supply of gold at disposition, but the quality of their students was also very unequal.


    Many extremely rich merchant cultivators and aristocratic families sent their daughters and sons there for them to enjoy the best resources, but without overcoming any challenge nor proving themselves they actually turned into playboy that didn''t put any effort in their cultivation, going outside to have some fun and relying on their connections and influence to assert their authority for a time, overall progressing very slowly if not stagnating at the same level.


    If you also took into account rich parents who sent their offspring to the Golden Martial Institute because they were reluctant to put them at risk in the recruitment competition of the other two, those who took part in the said competition, failed, and as result joined the Golden Martial Institute as a third choice and lastly the youths with trash talents and weak abilities who had no choice but to enroll there because it was the only place that would accept them as long as their family could pay then it was no surprise the Golden Martial Institute had a whole batch of very weak students.


    Nonetheless, in spite of this unorthodox recruitment method, the Golden Martial Institute also nurtured several formidable cultivators at the opposite of these young heirs.


    The most well known example was Qiong Lieyu who was like Ye Mo, a boy without any support nor family to depend on.


    When he was still a baby, his father left to the west of the central lands and began a new life, eventually starting another family.


    His mother worked very hard to fend for her and her son by herself until she died, exhausted, when Qiong Lieyu was five years old.


    The latter used the last coins remaining after her death to buy a brush and waxy paste, getting by as a shoeshiner for a meager amount of copper coins each week.


    In good times, he could afford himself a loaf of bread and a glass of water a day, but when his waxy paste was exhausted or his brush grew too deteriorated, he had to starve himself to the verge of death to buy a new one, often blacking out in the middle of the street.


    When he was seven years old, a steward came to meet him. His father apparently became an important member of a clan these last years, but was now dying and in his last days, he remembered this son he abandoned so he sent his trusted aide to deliver all the wealth he accumulated to him.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.His father didn''t need to bring this gold with him in death and the wife he married in the west was already a member of the clan before they met and didn''t lack money either.


    This way, Qiong Lieyu suddenly came in the possession of a spatial pouch containing the massive sum of 16000 gold coins.


    However, Qiong Lieyu was not stupid and didn''t reveal anything, enduring his miserable life as a shoeshiner for another year, until he was eight years old and apt to cultivate.


    Only at this time did he pay for the entrance fee of the Golden Martial Institute and became a cultivator.


    If he did so when his dantian was too fragile and he couldn''t cultivate yet, the Golden Martial Institute wouldn''t accept him and his secret would have been revealed, it would be surprising at this point that no one comes to kill him and steal his pouch.


    In the institute, he took his cultivation very seriously, always diligent and rigorous in his training, with plenty of resources at disposition, his ascension was a matter of time.


    Wether wealthy or poor, strong or weak, affluent or insignificant, all were defeated as he quickly became the number one student of the institute. In time, the dean himself could see his potential and nurtured him, answering his needs towards cultivation while even senior students grew helpless against him.


    Now he was two months away from being sixteen years old, but already attained the Foundation Establishment Realm just a few days after Shen Xue, these two held the most presence in this competition among the new generation of students.


    "Look, that long hair guy is Zhang Xuanhan, the Sky Martial Institute dean''s grandson. Although he failed his breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Realm, he''s still a peak Qi Gathering Realm cultivator and their strongest student." Some pointed out.


    "Do you see that sickly yellow skinned man? This is Zhao Da Xiong from the Golden Martial Institute, an 8th layer cultivator. He is very licentious and debauched towards girls, if you are catched, he will do you until you can''t even stand up. With his Violet Stimulant Fumes battle skill, any woman will be at his mercy so you better avoid him at all costs." A few girls glanced at one scrawny man with an evil grin in the crowd, visibly disgusted.


    "Yan Mei! Hmph, this bitch took my eye three years ago. During the competition, I must get revenge!" Someone snorted in their heart.


    "Hey, that little girl with a pink wand must be Shen Huanxin of the Sky Martial Institute, don''t be fooled by her appearance, she''s actually a senior disciple nearing thirty, the moment you lower your guard is when she will strike."


    The three institutes animosity and rivalry had long been deep-seated.


    Rallying stone plateau''s discussion noises became louder as it turned into an uproar. Many senior students were pointing around, introducing the strong people from the other two institutes to their juniors, reminding them to be careful of them.


    "It was a student of the Sky Martial Institute who won the competition last year, despite that, this is our Tiger Martial Institute who is the favorite this time. That is because we have have the four young masters in addition to Ma Shinfei and Jin Hao Tian who participate now, each of them stand among the strongest students in the city." Ye Mo contemplated.


    The Tiger Martial Institute obtained good results in the past competitions, with the addition of these youths, they had a force to be feared by other students.


    Ye Mo''s gaze flew across the people as he stood in the crowd, observing the entire situation.


    The Tiger Martial Institute had many experts, the Sky and Golden Martial Institute also had their own oustanding students.


    Together with the different deans and instructors on the platform, the rallying stone plateau can be said to be filled with elites.


    However, till now, Shen Xue and Qiong Lieyu couldn''t be spotted among the students.


    Gradually, the discussions focused towards them.


    "Where are they, do they not participate in the competition? That would be great."


    "Don''t say that, who would profit the most with them out, it''s the Sky Martial Institute of course!"


    "Hmph, even if Zhang Xuanhan gets number one because they are not here, it wouldn''t even be considered half a win. Actually, using their absence to take the top spot would be more pitiful than fighting them and being defeated, he will never be on par with these two."


    Who was the most advantaged with Shen Xue and Qiong Lieyu missing, obviously it would be the Sky Martial Institute which was the only one without a Foundation Establishment Realm student and Zhang Xuanhan who might become the most powerful of them at this moment.


    Zhang Xuanhan clenched his fists tightly as he listened to the discussions, a deep ardor of obstination and defiance in his heart.


    Under such discussions, the cloth of a spatious tent placed on the center of the rallying stone plateau was flapped open as the three deans walked out, coming to the edge as they stared down at the thousands of students.


    When they made their appearances, two figures moved in a flash, jumping from the rallying stone plateau and landing below among the crowd of students.


    Once they stood on the ground beside them, everyone could recognize these two, they were Shen Xue and Qiong Lieyu!


    "It turns out they were sitting above waiting for the competition to start all this time." Many immediately realized.


    This had great significance, it meant that in the heart of the higher-ups, these two were already not considered students anymore, but their equal on par with any instructors. As such they could approach and talk with them, waiting on the rallying stone plateau with all the Foundation Realm cultivators while the students remained standing on the ground as they patiented.


    Hong Li held the railings, sweeping a glance at the crowd before saying, "Then without any further ado, this year-end competition shall begin this instant."


    The rallying stone plateau surroundings gradually quietened down.

 Counting Only On Oneself, Plans Of Cooperations Are Thwarted

    "Before I present you the specifics of this examination, let me clarify one thing. As you may all probably know, Shen Xue and Qiong Lieyu both attained the Foundation Establishment Realm, this exceptional situation took us by surprise, particularly since it happened not long before our grand competition. Under such circumstances, the three of us contemplated wether they should be allowed to participate, however, we eventually concluded that it would be unfair for their own aptitude and efforts to exclude them from the chance to fight and gain a peak-tier battle skill, hard work should always be rewarded, not punished." Hong Li exclaimed.


    For a student like Shen Xue to breakthrough the Foundation Establishment Realm before he turns 16 and all this in his first year among the Tiger Martial Institute, this was an unprecedented situation, it''s no wonder the deans couldn''t predict such an outcome. As for Qiong Lieyu, although he has been a member of the Golden Martial Institute for several years and always displayed prodigious performances, it was still expected for him to cultivate for a few more months before he could reach the next realm.


    "With the pleas of both interested parties along our own views on this matter, we finally conducted a vote which solded by 2 against 1 in favor of their participation in this year-end competition." As Hong Li said so, the Golden Martial Institute''s dean smiled lightly while the Sky Martial Institute''s dean snorted on the side.


    It could be seen all this happened without considering the latter''s opinion. He wanted to remove them from the competition in favor to his Sky Martial Institute who didn''t have a Foundation Establishment student, but how could they not see through his intentions, his attempt was quickly dismissed through the vote.


    Usually, 8th layer Qi Gathering Realm students would be sent to a sect during the start of summer and the senior students who attained the Foundation Establishment Realm would leave the institute or become an instructor soon after so there couldn''t be one participating in the students competition, but Qiong Lieyu couldn''t be enrolled in the past as he broke through the 8th layer only shortly after last year''s batch of student was sent out while Shen Xue''s situation was even more abnormal.


    None of them could become an instructor or get kicked out of the institute since they are supposed to join the sect they are affiliated to, with their aptitudes, no doubt they would have great results anywhere they go and the organization who raised them would be rewarded handsomely hence this situation where they were still ''half-students'' and allowed to participate in the competition.


    "Now fret not as we are aware of the great difference in power between each realm, leaving these two in a pack of Qi Gathering Realm students would be too disadvantageous for you all, as such, they have been bound with an additional rule. They can only use 50% of their Qi in this competition, anymore and it will considered as their loss and result in their immediate disqualification."


    Hearing this, many sighed in relief.


    "The liquid Qi of a Foundation Establishment cultivator is of much better quality than our gaseous Qi, even if they can use only half of it, it''s still much more than the full capacity of a peak Qi Gathering cultivator reserves. However, Shen Xue and Qiong Lieyu just recently reached this realm and even if they regularly gathered Qi in their dantian for this last month, they should have filled it to only 30% or 40% at best. Now being allowed to use no more than half of this amount, that''s indeed a good handicap..." Ye Mo thought quickly.


    If the deans said so then it means they had their own way to inspect the Qi of their dantian and how much was used during the event. With this rule restraining them, they won''t be able to fight all the time, but take pauses in between, slowing their progression in the competition.


    Around the rallying stone plateau, although the students seemed to be casually standing, they had subtly split in multiple groups.


    Most of them were formed between students of the same institute, the only exception being members of one clan who didn''t enroll in the same place but still conserved a good relationship as they knew each other for long.


    The greatest pack in the crowd was gathered around Gao Lixin. Dozens of people wanted to attach themselves to him, but the members of his clan formed a circle around him and used their body as a defensive wall, preventing anyone to approach him as he remained behind with a helpless smile.


    Of course, there was also those that stood by themselves, among them was Ye Mo.


    It might not be evident for members of other institutes and people of the exterior, but students of the Tiger Martial Institute knew of his strength and the abilities he displayed were no secret for them. Getting close to stronger people was human''s nature and although he was ruthless in the pagoda and cold to other in general, he was still approached by a number of youngsters.


    Yet, they were all rejected by Ye Mo. To him, only useful pawns could be allowed by his side, these youngsters had too little value to be accepted.


    Ultimately, the deans gave long speeches in turn, mentioning the rewards, presenting the competition in detail and how it would unfold.


    In fact, this competition held many similarities with the Tiger Martial Institute''s first phase of this year recruitment.


    The competition would take place in the Jade Forest once again, with this natural environment and its many blood beasts, it was a good field for examination. Several instructors of the three institutes commonly joined hands to get rid of the new rank 2 blood beasts that took the place of the ones previously slaughtered in the outer edge of the forest so the students didn''t have to fear anything in this aspect.


    The competition will last seven days and the goal of every student was to kill rank 1 blood beasts and accumulate points.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.A low-tier blood beast is worth 10 points.


    A mid-tier blood beast is worth 50 points.


    A high-tier blood beast is worth 100 points.


    Finally, peak-tier blood beasts are worth 500 points.


    Next, the students were each handed an iron token glowing in a faint white light.


    These tokens were all registered with 200 points and this amount would increase with each blood beast eliminated.


    The most important point of this matter was that you could also defeat your opponents and transfer the points they accumulated in your token.


    Hearing this last part, many students distanced themselves from the group they happily formed an instant ago, looking at each other warily.


    Such a vicious rule, how could they trust each other knowing they can attack and steal the points of the contestants.


    Most teams disbanded without a word and only parties composed of members of the same clan or factions hovering around the young masters stood in place.


    "They could have given us a base point of 0, but instead the tokens have been set with 200 from the start, just enough to give the participants the urge to attack each other. This way, they will have a reason to steal other points even at the beginning of the competition without the need to wait a day or two for people to accumulate them. Truly shrewd, exactly what you would expect from an institute." Ye Mo could understand the higher-ups aim in doing this.


    This was a competition of personal abilities, there was no place for hand to hand cooperation. The best triumph while the loser is forgotten, only your own strength and intelligence should influence your final ranking.


    Lastly, you can break the token when you wish to abandon, resulting in your elimination as you would be transported out of the Jade Forest.


    "Don''t forget, if you must fight, try to do so against members of opposite institutes, you are all numerous enough to attain a good place without hindering each other. Now go on and enter the Jade Forest, this competition shall officially start the instant you invade these woods. If you''re still in my sight after five minutes, you will be disqualified." Hong Li declared.


    In the distance could be seen a range of trees and green bushes covering the edge of the forest and concealing myriads of creatures behind it.


    The students immediately rushed inside in waves, but Ye Mo and a few others instead remained in place for an instant.


    They were too many so if they decided to all rush together, they would end up assailed from all sides in a crowd of thousands of participants inside the forest.


    The students disappeared one by one behind the vegetation of the Jade Forest, after three minutes, Ye Mo went inside as well.


    However, even after the precaution he took, he was still attacked the moment he passed the trees as three yellow light rings of Qi flew above his head then went down in flash, binding him and making Ye Mo fall on the ground in the middle of his run.


    "Hehe, I knew some smart ass would stay behind and enter by themselves right after if I wait a bit. Your points are mine, I will just take your eyes to make sure you don''t bother me for the rest of the competition so don''t resent me."


    A lanky man with the robe of the Sky Martial Institute jumped down from a tree in the vicinity and approached Ye Mo with a large smile.


    "If you could think about it, don''t you think others could too?" At this moment, a voice suddenly resounded as a man in the attire of the Golden Martial Institute suddenly broke the earth open and revealed himself, clasping his hands.


    Earth Prison.


    The ground quickly surged up under the manipulation of his battle skill and swallowed the Sky Martial Institute''s student, leaving only his head outside.


    "I will deal with the kid first before I come back to you, if you lose conciousness now, you won''t be able to maintain the bindings of your battle skills." The man in golden attire said before walking towards Ye Mo, still tied on the ground by the rings.


    When the man stood just beside Ye Mo and raised his hand to take hold of his token on his waist, the latter smiled coldly.


    Suddenly exerting his strength, he broke free of the rings which dissipated in the air before grabbing the man''s wrist.


    The Golden Martial Institute''s student was taken by surprise and didn''t have the time to react when Ye Mo caught him, as he was about to be punched, he tried to use a defensive battle skill, but it was too late.


    Ye Mo''s fist tore through his face, sending blood and flesh spilling in the surroundings as the neck of the man broke under the force of the strike, leaving the head dangling against the upper part of his back.


    "Trying to restrain me with a mid-tier Yellow class battle skill is not so easy." Ye Mo said as he released the wrist of his victim which fell on the ground before he took hold of his token and transferred 200 points on his.


    "My Guardian Rings, how could they break so easily, you are a body cultivator?" The Sky Martial Institute''s student, still imprisoned in a dome of earth enveloping his body, asked flabbergasted.


    When Ye Mo was done and walked towards him, he realized his situation and grew distressed as he spoke quickly, "Wait, you don''t need to kill me, I will give you my points, you just have to free me from this battle skill so I can reach my token."


    There were many different battle skills, this man''s Guardian Rings had to be maintened through his will and continually pouring out Qi so it wouldn''t dissipate, but the Earth Prison only had to be used once then even if the cultivator died the earth wouldn''t suddenly return underground, it kept imprisoning the Sky Martial Institute''s student.


    Ye Mo shook his head in silence as he kicked the head of the cultivator, sending half of it flying in the distance while the tongue and the interior of the mouth was left in open view in a bloody mess along the lower part of his face.


    Ye Mo then broke the earth enclosing the body and retrieved the token, transferring an additional 200 points.

 Banners Rankings

    "Die!" A stout student of the Golden Martial Institute howled ferociously as he cleaved down with a greatsword.


    Ye Mo didn''t move, observing the blade nearing his face.


    Wind bursted forth as the sword grew closer, pushing his hair back.


    When the blade was so close that one had to be cross-eyed to look at it, a bright golden light emerged from Ye Mo''s body, taking the form of a bell covering him while immediately blocking the strike, stopping any further advancement of the sword in an instant.


    "Impossible, how could my Arcing Slash get blocked so easily?" The man was befuddled, but didn''t have the time to think about it.


    After blocking the sword, the light from the Buddha Golden Bell battle skill dissipated while Ye Mo suddenly raised his leg and kicked him dozens of times in a flash, sending the man rolling in the ground with blood escaping from his mouth.


    Ye Mo''s opponent couldn''t even see his feets moving as he was hit several times without understanding what was happening.


    He was struck so much in this short time that his organs were crushed by Cyclone Kick and blood rose up in his body. Using his last forces, he attempted to swallow an healing pill and scavenge his life, but Ye Mo quickly caught up and stomped his head under his foot, spreading its content on the earth before he squatted down and took hold of the man''s token.


    "Only 200 points... I am unlucky, I was his first opponent." Ye Mo thought, discontented.


    If the deceased student could hear him, he would bawl his heart out at how he was the unlucky one to face him first thing in the competition.


    Ye Mo at this point, just reached 900 points.


    He already had 600 points after killing the two contestants who attacked him when he entered the Jade Forest and on his way, he also eliminated two mid-tier blood beast before encountering this student from the Golden Martial Institute.


    When he saw Ye Mo, he immediately attacked him yet the situation didn''t develop as he hoped.


    "I should go deeper in the outer edge of the Jade Forest, that''s where most of the contestants went. Wether this is blood beasts or students, I will have greater chances to meet them there and gain more points."


    The students all rushed in a straight line towards the forest depths, the deeper he would go, the more of them he would face.


    Picking up his pace, Ye Mo engulfed himself further in the woods.


    In the meantime, far inside the Jade Forest, a deep explosion rumbled as trees fell in the surroundings.


    A cloud of smoke rose in the site concealing the culprits of this phenomenon.


    After a short time, the smoke slowly subsided revealing first a young man with shoulder-lenght black hair holding a sword in his hand looking towards the center of the blast.


    Soon another youth appeared as the remnants of the smoke drifted away with the wind currents.


    He wore a long pure white robe and possessed clear gentle eyes that could soothe anyone looking at him. His long golden hair draped on his back combined harmoniously with the bright golden light exuded from his body.


    Although the surroundings were a scene of devastation, he stood in the middle without a single injury and his robe was intact.


    The most eye-catching was this golden light taking the form of a huge bell enveloping his body and protecting him from the exterior.


    Yes, it was the Buddha Golden Bell battle skill.


    Putting aside its obvious weakness, this battle skill offered the best defense among high-tier Yellow Class arts in the Tiger Martial Institute to the point few techniques of the same level would be able to break it.


    It wasn''t surprising for another student than Ye Mo to pick it as well.


    "Still alive huh, but for how long?" Li Qiang snorted coldly seeing his opponent unscathed.


    Gao Lixin''s expression was serene, staring at him too.


    "Let''s stop here, there would be no point in continuing this little scuffle at this time."


    These two were actually battling each other in the beginning of the competition.


    At first, Gao Lixin was accompanied by 8 members of his clan as they intended to use their collective strength to defeat everything that stands on their way and gather many points, however when they encountered Li Qiang, the Gao clan young master made them leave and wait for him nine hundred steps away from this position.


    Against an opponent like Li Qiang, he couldn''t distract himself and protect them so if they were caught up in their battle, he wouldn''t be able to ensure their well being.


    Actually, it was possible for Li Qiang to purposefuly attack them first and use them to find a flaw in Gao Lixin''s defense. Even a momentary lapse was often enough to let him emerge victorious.


    On the other hand, Li Qiang engaged in this competition by himself. He planned to go all out this time and strive for the first place, with Li clan members by his side, he would need to accompany and defend them all the time, being more of an hindrance than support for him.


    For this reason, he particularly forbade his cousin to take part in the competition even though she attained the 7th layer. He would never be at ease with her presence in this forest and would absolutely stick with her until the end of the competition to ensure nothing happens to her. How could he fight for the top spot in these conditions? That''s why even if she held it against him in the future, he didn''t relent as she wasn''t allowed to take part in the competition this time.


    She was young and could still participate next year when she was stronger and had greater chances to win while the average level of contestants would also drop, but this year was too dangerous and it was Li Qiang''s only chance before he would leave to enroll in a sect so he couldn''t make any mistake.


    "Why, are you scared?" Li Qiang tried to taunt his lifelong rival and find a weakness in his reaction yet he was bound to be disappointed.


    Gao Lixin didn''t show a shred of fear as he persisted, "You know well what will be the result of this confrontation, the competition will last a week, if you still wish to fight after that, let''s meet here the last day and finish it all."


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Li Qiang frowned as he looked in thought.


    When they were young and fought, sometimes he would win and other times it was Gao Lixin''s victory, but as they grew, they also developed their own specialty.


    Gao Lixin was a master of defense and palm strikes while Li Qiang used his speed and sword mastery to cut everything in his path.


    One could efficiently protect himself, but was unable to catch the other while Li Qiang could avoid most strikes and deal powerful attacks yet couldn''t break his opponent''s shell.


    Unpenetrable defense vs unstoppable offense.


    Both had equal strength and canceled each other, their fights mostly resulting in a draw lately.


    They also are both experts and regulated their Qi consumption during their battle to sustain their expenditure, their fight ending a few times with both of them possessing a dantian devoid of a single wisp of Qi.


    However, they were currently in the middle of a major competition with many experts wandering in the forest at the search of a prey, in these circumstances how could they allow themselves to empty their reserves and let a third party benefit from it.


    If they lost all their Qi, they would be only slightly superior than a mortal, anyone passing by could bully them and take their points at will.


    Li Qiang and Gao Lixin were no idiots, how could they allow themselves to land in such a pitiful situation.


    Thinking this far, Li Qiang finally agreed, conscious that Gao Lixin wouldn''t run away, "Fine, let''s kill the most participants and take their points during this time then the last day, we shall have our final battle. The winner takes it all and will obtain the first place."


    Gao Lixin''s expression stiffened as he said coldly, "I am not killing anyone, only taking their points. You should be careful all these grudges you create don''t come back to repay you in the future."


    Gao Lixin has always refused to kill anyone as long as it wasn''t necessary. In his perspective, the best way to protect oneself and his clan is to not give anyone a reason to hurt him in the first place.


    A cycle of hate was easy to take form, but by showing leniency and treating people amicably along his amiable disposition, he forged himself a solid reputation as a benevolent young master and most people were inclined to willingly side with him rather than bow their head face to face while plotting and harboring dark feelings in secret.


    "You''re pathetic, let''s see how much points you can gather with such a weak mindset and these little chickens you carry with you everywhere." Li Qiang said in a voice filled with disdain as he departed.


    Gao Lixin didn''t take it to heart as he soon left to reunite with his comrades.


    Far from everyone''s prying eyes, a secret arrangement was made between the two young masters.


    On the rallying stone plateau, the instructors ate and drank sitting around wooden square tables as they discussed about the competition.


    It looked like a small party among friends enjoying each other company and letting off some steam from their daily obligations.


    In fact, most of them were shooting gazes at a large red banner that was erected beside the tent on the center of the rallying stone plateau.


    On this banner was written names and numbers; it was ever-changing.


    This banner held the rankings and points accumulated by every participants of the competition.


    Low-tier Yellow Class Painting Ink battle skill, under the manipulation of an instructor, can freely convert the contents of the writing on the banner.


    With the information of any student''s token at disposition, he could give everyone present access to the progression of the competition on live.


    The three deans stood in front, observing the changes with attention.


    Such a banner was also placed beside the entrance of each institute, giving the inhabitants of Azure Water City and the travelers passing by, the ability to directly follow the competition as well.


    "As expected, #1 is Shen Xue, closely followed by Qiong Lieyu." Some stared at the rankings without any surprise


    "Ma Shinfei and Jin Hao Tian are respectively #6 and #7, I heard they are teaming up so they will be tough to defeat together, but at the same time, they have to share the points so it''s not surprising that they are not in the top five." A cultivator said.


    "This good for nothing of a son is only ranked #1827, he better be placed under #1500 before the end of the competition or I am disinheriting him." One father angrily scolded.


    This time, someone suddenly said, "Look, Zhang Xuanhan just surpassed Yan Mei and took the #3 place!"


    On the banner''s ranking, Zhang Xuanhan''s name slowly crept upward, replacing Yan Mei who was pushed down one place.


    This change immediately attracted the attention of the spectators, people with ties to the Sky Martial Institute raising a thumbs up and praising Zhang Xuanhan nonstop.


    "Well done, Lord Zhang Xuanhan, I believe in you!"


    "Lord Zhang Xuanhan, don''t stop here, I am certain you can surpass even Shen Xue and Qiong Lieyu."


    On the banner, many names also suddenly disappeared from the rankings, their fate clear to all.


    With blood beasts and other participants, deaths were plenty in this kind of competition.


    Once from time to time, one spectator would fall on his knees in tears, realizing the loss of a loved one, but it couldn''t replace the atmosphere of indifference given by the rest of the crowd.


    Soon, the first day of the competition came to an end as the moon replaced the sun and lanterns lit up the streets.


    "Here comes the night." Ye Mo smiled lightly in the depths of the Jade Forest outer edge.


    Looking around, he could see nothing beyond his hand''s reach, as the forest was plunged in the realm of darkness.

 The Night is my Ally

    As night fell, the dark night covered the ground in an inky black.


    The darkness on this night was extremely dense. There were no stars in the sky, and the moon couldn''t be seen. It was an endless black, just like if a beast had swallowed all of the light.


    Yet, Ye Mo grinned.


    His deep black eyes, matching the gloomy night sky, were filled with extremely callous killing intent.


    The moment he has been waiting for!


    Wandering at night was particularly dangerous, blood beasts become much more active at this time and concealed in the shadows you wouldn''t notice some of them when they attack you.


    With the clear lack of vision, most cultivators in this situation would actually make a camp or hide and rest until dawn before returning to their activities and obtaining points, without a good investigative battle skill, this environment was simply too disadvantageous.


    However, for Ye Mo, it was actually the best moment to go on a hunt and gather many points for one reason.


    Shadow Walk.


    This battle skill, in the second phase, allowed him to blend in the shadows and travel among the darkness, turning the night into an advantage rather than a drawback.


    The movement battle skill specialty was concealment and assassination, in these conditions, Ye Mo was actually at his strongest in this environment, these circumstances really favored killing and increasing his score in the competition.


    He would be like a fish fighting a rabbit in the sea or an eagle battling a mouse in the sky, in your natural environment, your opponent can''t even hit back, this is no less than bullying the weak.


    Currently, he only had 1430 points, beside encountering two other students, one of them being from the Tiger Martial Institute, the rest of his points were obtained by eliminating blood beasts.


    His progression could be considered above average at best for now, which compelled him to quickly reduce the gap with the best participants during the night.


    Ye Mo fully mobilized his Qi as his figure warped before mixing with the shadows on the ground, like a mass of dark liquid that fell down. Without wasting a moment, he furtively moved among the earth, the trees, the rocks and any sufaces covered in darkness by this bleak forest, looking for a prey.


    Further into the forest, a student from the Sky Martial Institute sat on a log, looking at the fire he just lit and the meat from Deafening Red-Eyed Crows pierced by sharp sticks and burning right above.


    "Only 1170 points, I am far from the top 100... It can''t be helped, fighting a peak-tier blood beast is too difficult by myself, I have more chances to end up in its stomach. Tomorrow, I will have to target other students if I want to have a chance and finish in a good place."


    "Mom and dad will be proud of me, I won''t disappoint them!"


    The student mumbled with determination.


    Although the brightness of the fire could attract blood beasts, he didn''t care, in contrary he would be more than happy to see them deliver points to him of their own volition.


    He also welcomed other participants, as long as they weren''t the top students of each institute, he was positive in his ability to face them.


    The only slight apprehension he had was against rank 1 peak-tier blood beasts, but even then, he possessed a good movement battle skill and was confident he could escape from them.


    Behind him, his shadow danced beside the fire, flickering constantly.


    Suddenly, a person emerged from this shadow and stood behind him.


    Without a single word, the silent person lightly swiped with the side of his hand, hitting the neck of the cultivator.


    The movement seemed casual, but contained tremendous force.


    In an instant, the student of the Sky Martial Institute was hit and his neck bended in an odd way, the neck bones protruding on the other side as his head rested sideway against his left shoulder.


    He was still making plans to gather a lot of points tomorrow when he suddenly met his demise without even understanding what happened.


    Heavens are cold and cruel, cultivators of this land battled mercilessly and by manipulating Qi, they possessed myriads of abilities, many would worry about the future and considering their next steps without realizing their time has come.


    Before reaching the peak, you can never be truly safe no matter how much precautions you take, sometimes charging ahead fearlessly and giving your best was more beneficial than taking a reserved stance and overthinking everything.


    As long as the benefits overweighted the risks, it was worth making a move, even if you fail there is nothing to lament about.


    Ye Mo picked the token of the student, pleasantly surprised by the amount of points, before transferring them to his.


    At the end of the first day, the survivors already accumulated quite much. As time pass, taking points from other students will become even more beneficial until hunting blood beasts will barely have any value anymore, students would only bother attacking each other.


    Ye Mo picked a deafening red-eyed crow skewer that he devoured in a few mouthful while walking away, then he tossed the stick behind him and merged with the shadows once again.


    Evidently, he didn''t use the Nine Revolutions Fiend Body on anyone, similar to the Tiger Martial Institute recruitment competition, he was convinced the students were observed or that what happened here would be noted down for the higher-ups.


    Not far from this place, a student of the Tiger Martial Institute wandered disoriented.


    The night quickly descended and caught him off guard, he didn''t know his position or in what direction he was going, ultimately looking for a good place to hide and survive the night.


    Internally, he regretted not picking an investigative battle skill to scan his surroundings, trying to increase his battle strength at all costs instead which laid him in his current predicament.


    At this moment, an ominous shadow loomed over him, quickly turning into a youth with spiky black hair who raised his fist and bashed his skull in, dyeing the grasses red.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Wherever he went, Ye Mo killed students indiscriminately, without minding from which institute they belonged.


    Once he found one, he would quickly eliminate another contestant, but not only as he also targeted high and peak-tier blood beasts.


    In another part of the forest, a peak-tier Innate Fusion Black Bear proceeded leisurely, sometimes lowering his head to sniff the ground in an attempt to find the smell of a prey, then continuing on his way when he didn''t sense anything.


    It was enormous, with thick deep black fur and an enormous body.


    When it stood on its hind legs, it was over 20 feet tall, a towering height that added to its intimidating aura, spreading fear to its ennemies.


    Yet, even the superior senses of the blood beast failed to notice the cultivator stealthily approaching until it mixed with the darkness below the bear''s position.


    In a flash, Ye Mo rose from the shadows with exceptional momentum, the fingers of his hand tightly knit together, using his arm like a spear as he directly penetrated the bear''s torso and pierced its heart before it could react.


    The bear, as a peak-tier blood beast, displayed incredible vitality as even with a ruined heart, it still retaliated, using its paw to strike the assailant.


    Ye Mo quickly raised his arm and used his wrist guard to protect himself, but the force behind the bear''s reprisal was so high he was still sent flying across the scene, crashing against a tree behind him before dropping down on the ground.


    The bear looked at the crash site with intense hatred, but also reluctance and discomfort.


    It slowly made one step forward then a second before quickly vascillating and falling down on the side, the remaining life in his eyes dissipating.


    On the ground beside the tree, Ye Mo stood up, spitting a clunk of blood on the ground while patting his clothes and operating Endless Vitality battle skill, his eyes locked on the 500 additional points on his token.


    In just two hours, he gained more than three times the points he accumulated in the day.


    He didn''t know it, but at this time, his name was quickly rising in the rankings of the competition, though it wasn''t well placed enough to attract anyone''s attention.


    Beside a few relatively famous juniors, only the top 100 truly interested the spectators.


    Ye Mo didn''t lose time and after a few minutes, he looked one last time at the bear''s corpse then fused with the shadows and returned to his hunt, completely healed.


    He recalled when he enrolled in the Tiger Martial Institute, just a mid-tier blood beast could pose him some problems and he was chased by a two-headed crocrodile until he reunited with the instructors.


    Now, after a year, not even peak-tier blood beasts could stop him.


    Although he took the bear by surprise and dealt a mortal blow from the start, he was confident he would still defeat it in a fair fight, it would just take more time and efforts which wasn''t profitable.


    In the following hours, killing ensued across the forest as powerful blood beasts, together with several students were eliminated by a hidden assassin.


    With each kill, he also took hold of their spatial pouch, but nothing interesting could ever be found.


    In such an unforgiving competition, no one was careless enough to move around with their valuables, morover, most participants were members of clans or family of cultivators and could safeguard their belongings at home, protected by their relatives.


    Every time Ye Mo looked in a spatial pouch, he would only find minor pills that accelerated the healing process or the recovery of Qi, things that any student could easily obtain, beside them it contained mostly food, clothes or first aid necessities, but nothing that caught his eyes.


    After another victim killed under the concealment of Shadow Walk, Ye Mo roamed the Jade Forest at the research of another student when he noticed someone walking on a clear plain in open view.


    It was too dark to make out the details however, Ye Mo didn''t hesitate at this moment and quickly approached.


    Drawing closer, Ye Mo noticed the man displayed a long bow placed on his back, but without a quiver nor any arrows.


    His black hair were drawn back and tied up behind his head, swaying with the wind.


    Ye Mo approached from his blind spot, certain he couldn''t turn around in time to see him, he attacked!


    His figure surged up from the darkness on the ground when he pounced on the cultivator without making a sound.


    He was so close from the man that he could directly grab his head and crush it in his hand, but when he moved for the kill, an unforeseen change caught him off guard.


    A big slit appeared and parted open on the neck of the cultivator, revealing a grotesquely big eye the size of a ricebowl, looking straight at him.


    "I have been discovered!" Ye Mo understood there was no time and although he was surprised by the situation, he quickly accelerated his movement, his hand advancing even faster towards the head of the archer.


    Yet, at this moment, the unknow participant turned around lightning-fast, taking hold of his bow while using its limb in opposition to block Ye Mo''s hand.


    What seemed like a simple recurved wooden bow should have shattered confronting Ye Mo''s strike, however, it remained steadfast in contact with the palm, efficiently blocking it.


    Obviously, this outwardly plain bow was far from ordinary.


    "Hehehe, another fellow participant, have you been using this battle skill to ambush people the whole time? You must have collected a lot of points with this method, well, you''re out of luck going against me." The cultivator smiled brilliantly as he looked at Ye Mo while removing his upper garments.


    "I am not interested." Ye Mo said plainly watching the student as he channeled his Qi internally in anticipation of the impending battle.


    "Please, don''t misunderstand me." The young cultivator commented with a wry smile when all over his body, innumerable eyes of various size opened on his skin.


    Some were big, some were small, a few were slanted while others were round, but all of them had a deep yellow-orange tint with the pupil being a small black slit.

 Ye Mo vs Bing Jia (1)

    "Your battle skill gives you the ability to conceal yourself in darkness and land surprise attacks, it''s very advantageous in this gloomy night. You probably thought in this environment, you could kill anyone in one blow without them noticing anything and steal their points. Unfortunately, the same way you become stronger with the absence of light, I myself am in my element during the night." The mysterious cultivator gazed at Ye Mo, the eyes on his body staring straight at him, giving a very oppressive feeling.


    Thousand-Eyed Spider mid-tier Yellow class battle skill.


    This technique allowed the cultivator to grow eyes on his skin, as long as there was enough surface on his body, he could produce one, enabling him to have a complete vision of his surroundings at all time, possessing virtually no blind spot.


    However, the eyes produced by the Thousand-Eyed Spider battle skill were ordinary eyes with a human aspect and couldn''t see in the darkness, far from the current appearance the bowman displayed.


    Piercing Night Cat Vision, mid-tier Yellow Class battle skill!


    This battle skill could turn the eyes of the cultivator into those of a cat, giving him a view as clear as day even in the deepest of darkness.


    When Piercing Night Cat Vision was used along Thousand-Eyed Spider battle skill, the effect of the first would provide all the eyes that grew on the participant''s body the ability to see in the night, giving them their current yellow-orange appearance with a thin slit in the center.


    With these two battle skills combined, the night and the day made no difference for the participant facing Ye Mo and no matter how somber and starless the sky was, he could see his surroundings with stunning clarity.


    As soon as Ye Mo left the shadows to attack him, this student immediately noticed him and reacted accordingly.


    "If it was anyone else, your ambush would have probably succeeded, unfortunately, you went against me. If I was walking alone in clear sight, it''s not only because I had nothing to fear, but mostly to draw other participants in attacking me." The bowman said lightly, smiling at Ye Mo like a hunter explaining why his trap worked on his prey.


    Using both the Thousand-Eyed Spider battle skill and the Piercing Night Cat Vision battle skill was a very clever combination, these skills complemented each other well and showed how thoughtful this cultivator was in choosing his techniques.


    Even then, this situation was not unexpected for Ye Mo. He never thought of himself as someone special or remarkable, if he can think of something, others can as well, if he can do something, they can do it too; if he kills people then they can also attempt to kill him. Being too self-centered and belittling others is a straight path towards defeat, and in his situation, it meant death.


    "People fight against each other, and people fight against the heavens. In this gamble, our basic stake is our lives! If I am killed, then I just lost the bet." Ye Mo thought understanding this principle deeply.


    At the second phase, Shadow Walk was the most efficient during night, only in the final phase could he turn in a shadow without a need for darkness. In these circumstances, Ye Mo also considered some students having an advantage in the night, the same way he anticipated a few participants to have a surge in their battle strength during the day.


    Encountering another student having an upper hand in this environment was within his calculations.


    Everyone had various battle skills with their own specifics and a few being stronger or weaker depending on the situation or the environment. Foreseeing them is the first step to protect oneself.


    Now, the battle strength of this participant still had to be determined.


    Ye Mo charged at the cultivator, surrounded by wind currents, his speed increasing sharply.


    When he was close to his opponent, the latter leaped backwards, using a movement battle skill.


    Sky Ascension high-tier Yellow class battle skill.


    In an instant, he was over 8 meters high in the air, spinning on himself, his legs raised towards the sky and his head pointing at the ground as he distanced himself from Ye Mo.


    While in the air, the student pulled the string of his bow, generating three light blue arrows of Qi on its limb which he fired at Ye Mo while still spinning showing great proficiency.


    Ye Mo swiftly stopped in his track seeing his opponent distancing him with ease and braced himself to endure the Qi arrows.


    They moved so fast, tearing the air on their way, that he had no way to dodge them and he could feel the pressure they emitted even before they reached him.


    A golden hue quickly covered Ye Mo''s body, the Buddha Golden Bell being invoked, before the arrows crashed on him violently, their remaining energy smashing the soil and overturning the grasses.


    A massive surge of grey smoke billowed around Ye Mo''s position.


    After several breathes of time, the smoke slowly subsided, revealing a great golden bell enclosing a youth inside.


    However, for the first time, the bell had numerous cracks filling its protective barrier, displaying the enormous power between each arrow before dissipating under Ye Mo''s will.


    In the meantime, the bowman already dropped down, far from his original position.


    "A tough nut to crack..." The student commented from afar, seeing his opponent unscathed.


    Ye Mo was similarly surprised, from the movement battle skill to the Qi arrows and the ease with which he fired them, he realized he was facing an expert.


    "What''s your name, with your strength, I am surprised to be unable to recall your identity?" He asked, slightly curious as he approached step by step.


    The bowman seemed in his early twenties so manifestly, he should be a senior student.


    "If you have never heard of me then you probably haven''t been a student for long. You can call me Bing Jia, I am a member of the Sky Martial Institute."


    "I was their best student a few years ago, but when Zhang Xuanhan brokethrough the 9th layer, he challenged me for this position. This guy is doted on much by the dean, having free access to every battle skills and cultivation techniques while enjoying all the ressources the institute can offer, obviously, he''s not easy to deal with. Defeating him could also offend his grandpa and many instructors, I didn''t wish to go through the trouble so I feigned my loss and layed low since then, my name gradually disappearing from everyone''s mouth." Bing Jia recounted nonchalantly, reminiscing as he made his way towards Ye Mo.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    "What about you? You''re not bad, if you give me your points, I won''t kill you." Bing Jia suddenly said with a clear gaze focusing on the youth drawing closer.


    "I am Ye Mo, not much else to say about me." Without any warning, Ye Mo rushed towards Bing Jia as soon as he gave his name, using Wind Flow battle skill.


    Bing Jia fired three arrows consecutively which made their way towards Ye Mo in a straight line.


    The latter didn''t use any battle skill this time, raising his peak-tier spiritual weapon, he directly blocked the arrows with his pair of wrist guard.


    The first, the second, then the third.


    Each arrow he blocked rattled his bones and the force behind them sent him back several meters, ultimately losing all the advance he gained while they talked.


    "These ain''t strikes you can just ward off, but it''s possible for me to defeat him!" Ye Mo thought, fighting and analyzing at the same time.


    If it was any other person with the wrist guards trying to block these arrows, their legs would break under the pressure or they would directly shoot off, accompanying the arrow across the forest until they crash against a tree or a boulder.


    If Ye Mo could do it, it was all thanks to the Nine Revolutions Fiend Body. His body refining cultivation gave him a physical strength and resilience far beyond any other student and he could probably fight a lot of them with just his body alone, the fact the Qi arrows could still push him back this much when he blocked was actually evidence of the force they carried.


    As for the wrist guards, there was nothing to worry about, the arrows couldn''t damage them at all.


    "A body cultivator!" Bing Jia exclaimed in surprise.


    When Ye Mo tried to block the arrows with just his wrist guards, he was both beffudled and on the verge of laughter, expecting to see him end up in pieces, but witnessing him block not one but all three of them while only being pushed back a bit, he immediately understood.


    His gaze turned serious as he raised his bow once again.


    Ye Mo instead charged once again.


    As a body refining cultivator, his dominance was established in close range confrontations, facing a bowman, it was obvious he should bring this fight to close combat.


    However, Bing Jia himself knew his advantage layed in long range battles and didn''t let Ye Mo approach at all, firing arrow after arrow.


    Ye Mo blocked them all, sliding across the earth as he was sent backwards each time, yet he didn''t give up and kept moving towards his opponent relentlessly.


    During their fight, Bing Jia also conserved the Thousand-Eyed Spider and Piercing Night Cat Vision battle skills active, wary of Ye Mo''s shadow form.


    These battle skills were his insurance to prevent Ye Mo from ambushing him like previously.


    Ye Mo knew one of his greatest weakness layed in his movement battle skill.


    Wind Flow was only low-tier and couldn''t support him anymore, even with his increase in mobility due to his body refining cultivation, he could only match a mid-tier battle skill in speed at best, it was far from enough against all these students and their high-tier battle skills.


    He couldn''t avoid the arrows nor close the gap with his opponent''s Sky Ascension battle skill, so instead, he chose another strategy.


    Qi consumption.


    He even stopped using Wind Flow in his charges and reduced his Qi consumption to zero, blocking the arrows with his wrist guards and pushing forward with the raw strength of his legs.


    Bing Jia instead, continually used Qi arrows since they started fighting which brought huge consumption to his reserves, he also used his movement battle skill and most of all, the Thousand-Eyed Spider and Piercing Night Cat Vision battle skills were active at all time, quickly dwindling his reserves of Qi.


    It must be understood that even before Ye Mo met him, Bing Jia was already using these two battle skills for some time to have a clear sight of his surroundings and prevent ambushes on himself.


    Nonetheless, Ye Mo didn''t use Shadow Walk again, Bing Jia''s arrows were too fast and the instant he would turn in shadow form, a volley would crash on his last position and wreck the earth. If the surface where Ye Mo''s shadow hid was pulverized, he would be forced to return to his human form, losing his Qi for nothing.


    Even if he could hid and reach Bing Jia, the moment he would leave the darkness to attack, the student of the Sky Martial Institute would easily notice him and leap away with his movement battle skill.


    Moreover, Shadow Walk''s main trait was concealment, in terms of speed, it was just slightly higher than Wind Flow, the latter being one of the best in the low-tier rank.


    There was no reason to use Shadow Walk for the time being so Ye Mo left it as a form of threat to force Bing Jia in using his battle skills in prevention.


    Seeing Ye Mo blocking his arrows and coming about unharmed, Bing Jia began giving them a curved trajectory to strike his opponent at different angles at the same time.


    Ye Mo struggled much more, but held on.


    Previously, he would use his spiritual weapon in a cross guard to block the arrows properly, now he used each wrist guard independantly, blocking multiple arrows at the same time, the pressure increased considerably this way and he could feel some tear from muscles here and there in his body.


    Without any choice, Ye Mo began using Endless Vitality to heal himself from time to time, but his Qi reserves which were barely used in this fight, could easily endure the expenditure.


    Bing Jia however, had his wisps of Qi continuously dissipate at a fast rate and the amount of Qi he possessed shortened every second, passing below 30%.


    As the fight progressed, the bowman gradually grew restless.

 Ye Mo vs Bing Jia (2)

    "Who''s this kid? How can he hold so long taking my arrows, even if he is a body refining cultivator, he should have been broken apart a long time ago, I have never seen such heightened physical abilities." Bing Jia watched Ye Mo from afar blocking his arrows with his wrist guards, a mix of impatience and bewilderment in his eyes.


    His Qi reserves were falling dangerously low, yet he didn''t make any progress in piercing his opponent''s iron defense.


    Since his match against Zhang Xuanhan, Bing Jia didn''t make any waves and lived reclused in his dwelling, removing himself from public attention while focusing on training his battle skills and increasing his own strength.


    Beside major news that traveled across the city like the four young masters joining the Tiger Martial Institute, the reveal of Jin Hao Tian''s identity, or the breakthrough of Shen Xue and Qiong Lieyu to the Foundation Establishment Realm, he barely heard anything from the outside world.


    Naturally, he never heard about Ye Mo even after this one gave him his name, so the abilities he displayed were ever more of a surprise to Bing Jia.


    At this point, only two options layed in front of him, retreat or putting every last bit of Qi he had in himself to bring an end to this.


    Manifestly, Ye Mo didn''t have a powerful movement battle skill or he wouldn''t bother to block the arrows, but would directly avoid them or at least he wouldn''t have so much difficulty breaking the distance with Bing Jia.


    If the latter used the Sky Ascension battle skill to quickly scurry away while he still had enough Qi, Ye Mo wouldn''t be able to catch up with him.


    However, at the second this option crossed his mind, Bing Jia immediately discarded it.


    From what he could see, Ye Mo was much younger than him and wasn''t an important member of the Tiger Martial Institute, how could he run away from this youth.


    Losing against Zhang Xuanhan was one thing, but he couldn''t run in front such a young outsider.


    No matter what, Bing Jia still had his own pride.


    "How could I have the face to show myself in front of others after I ran away from this kid. If I can''t even defeat him, then without talking of Shen Xue and Qiong Lieyu, Ma Shinfei or Yan Mei are out of the question for me. I could as well break my token and give up the competition this instant."


    Thinking about it, Bing Jia''s heart raged and his Qi churned in his dantian.


    His main objective in this contest was to defeat the strongest and most famous participants while ultimately achieving a better place than Zhang Xuanhan in the rankings, returning to the limelight at once.


    At this point, even if he doesn''t directly defeat him, everyone would be forced to recognize him as the strongest student of the Sky Martial Institute and since he didn''t directly hinder Zhang Xuanhan, the dean and the instructors would find nothing to complain about, they might rather praise and reward him for upstanding the reputation of the institute by himself!


    The glory that would accompany him would be greater than it had ever been in the past and those who forgot his existence would realize he''s still the greatest Qi Refining cultivator of the city.


    Bing Jia''s gaze turned resolute and inflexible, he decisively chose the second option.


    After firing a few more arrows to keep Ye Mo at bay, he raised his bow to the sky and moved his hands at an unconceivable speed, shooting countless arrows straight in the air.


    After blocking the initial Qi arrows the senior student fired, Ye Mo rushed at him using this novel moment of respite in what has been nothing but a battering till now, to attack Bing Jia while he was still launching arrows above his head.


    In only three breaths of time, over a hundred Qi arrows were shot in the sky.


    This action alone consumed 18% of his Qi which attained a critically low level.


    The next three moves would decide the victor of this fight.


    Ye Mo reached Bing Jia at this moment and kicked, but the latter who just finished firing arrows, used his movement battle skill and launched himself in the air, a split-second away from being crushed by the young body refiner''s leg.


    He landed on the ground, afar, and when Ye Mo began charging at him once again, Bing Jia raised one finger, pointing at the sky with a knowing smile.


    Seeing his opponent''s motion, Ye Mo looked up and saw untold minute lights in the sky. These lights seemed to hover in the firmament like stars, but after an instant, Ye Mo realized the stars gradually grew in size.


    They were arrows falling down at extreme speed towards him!


    Starfall - Yellow class peak-tier battle skill!


    As soon as he noticed it, the Qi arrows were already before him, crashing in a large area all over the plain.


    In Ye Mo''s surroundings, not one patch of grass was spared as the arrows violently fell down like a brutal rain made from heavens wrath as a tribulation to punish these foolish mortals.


    They fell successively, hitting the ground over and over.


    The earth was smashed to smithereens in the zone the arrows fell, rocks were crushed and a large cloud of dust rose over the plain.


    "With this, he''s done for. It was close, I only have enough Qi for one more use of Sky Ascension or to maintain Thousand-Eyed Spider and Piercing Night Cat Vision two more minutes. I should take his token and go into hiding for the rest of the night to recover my Qi." Bing Jia breathed a sigh of relief, immediately planning his next actions.


    He truly didn''t believe he would struggle this much in the first night.


    This would serve him as a warning for the rest of the competition, this land is full of hidden talents, one can''t lower his guard a single second.


    Bing Jia walked forward, nearing the core of the crash site.


    He didn''t expect to find Ye Mo''s remains in one piece, but his token should still be around.


    Suddenly, a dark mass took form behind him, shaping itself into Ye Mo''s figure as it punched.


    Stone Breaking Punch!


    Bing Jia''s heart throbbed at this instant, a mixture of fright, incomprehension and disbelief.


    He felt death looming over his soul, Ye Mo''s fist nearing his back, and on pure reflex, he used Sky Ascension and jumped, narrowly avoiding the strike.


    Bing Jia''s Thousand-Eyed Spider and Piercing Night Cat Vision''s battle skill were still active, but at this moment, he had relaxed.


    He didn''t think a single instant Ye Mo could have survived nor attack him and was completely caught by surprise by this sudden assault, his reaction visibly delayed.


    "How is he still alive, is he a celestial cultivator putting an act? Or a blood beast in disguise? No, there should be nothing more than rank 1 blood beasts in this part of the forest, they don''t have the ability nor the intelligence to do that." Bing Jia''s astonishment, in the spur of the moment, made him draw absurd assumptions.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Starfall was a peak-tier battle skill, to survive it, usually, it would require the ennemy to have a technique of the same level or a greater cultivation.


    Ye Mo didn''t display any of those, Bing Jia thought in a flash but couldn''t understand how he could endure his trump card and still have the strength to put up a fight at that.


    As Ye Mo completely left the shadows, his condition was closer to the realm of death than the living.


    His once proud and battle-hardened body was now a canvas of suffering, marred by deep, jagged wounds that crisscrossed his flesh like a grotesque web. Blood seeped from countless gashes, staining his torn robes a dark, ominous red.


    The unabating force of the battle skill had pierced his flesh, exposing a part of his ribcage on one side.


    Yet, the most severe injuries were still on his legs, riddled with gruesome, crater-like wounds where the arrows had struck. These gaping holes varied in size, some no larger than a thumbprint, while others were wide enough to fit a fist.


    The bone of the left leg shattered under the merciless fury of the Qi arrows, hanging limp and barely responsive at the side.


    His vision blurred, eyes clouded with exhaustion and agony, yet he held on, his gaze fixed on his foe, driven by willpower and a deep seated killing intent.


    When the arrows rained down towards him, he first used Buddha Golden Bell battle skill to defend himself, but after 4 arrows, the golden bell broke down and Ye Mo was left with no other choice than use his wrist guards to block them.


    He raised his spiritual weapon in a cross-guard above his head to protect his vital organs like his brain or his heart to be pierced, but the rest of his body still had to bear the brunt of the battle skill.


    Arrows fell incessantly and to avoid being crushed by the sheer force of impact, Ye Mo spread his legs and took a horse stance, remaining deeply rooted on the ground. In this situation, his legs unavoidably took more space and were the less protected by the wrist guards, it was no wonder they were those who took the most damage.


    If he could hold on, it was only because Starfall was a battle skill with a wide area of effect and although many arrows fell over the plain, in reality, less than twelve truly targeted Ye Mo or else there was no way he could survive this ordeal.


    While the Sky Martial Institute''s student was still in the air, Ye Mo retrieved a rock from his pouch and threw it, with all the force he could muster in his current condition, towards him.


    When Bing Jia saw the projectile, he triggered the special ability of the Sky Ascension battle skill as he pushed on the air with his foot and, as if taking support on something, hopped in another direction and evaded the rock.


    Sky Ascension battle skill could allow the user to propel himself in the air, but also enabled a single aerial maneuver without the need to touch the ground before landing back down.


    Because Bing Jia didn''t need to use it until now, it was the first time he displayed the aerial maneuver in this fight.


    With this last use of Sky Ascension, Bing Jia''s Qi reserves were completely emptied and his dantian was a desolate void.


    The eyes on the surface of his body quickly disappeared as well, turning back into fair white skin.


    "I have no Qi anymore, should I flee? But I can''t use any battle skill anymore, if he apply one to increase his speed, he can easily catch up to me."


    Bing Jia thought of many options in distress, but when he finally gave one good look at Ye Mo in the distance, he quickly eased up at this dismal view, a wide grin creeping up on his face.


    "Flee? Hehehe, why so, this guy is on the verge of death, a gust of wind could make him trip and end his life. As I thought, taking on my Starfall battle skill head-on is suicidal, in this case, your points are mine."


    Ye Mo started running awkwardly towards his ennemy, although he was surrounded by wind currents, they weren''t as stable as usual, his figure swaying left and right behind them.


    Each step he took, blood spurted out of the wounds on his legs.


    Seeing him still take support on his broken left leg to push forward with his right would cause anyone to grimace of discomfort and uneasiness.


    The arrows raining down, Ye Mo''s sneak-attack and Bing Jia''s aerial maneuver took time to describe, but it actually all happened in an instant, and although Ye Mo was also using Endless Vitality after surviving from Starfall battle skill, in this crucial moment, it couldn''t shatter common sense and no matter how grave his injuries were, it had no time to heal him enough in this final confrontation to make a difference.


    Bing Jia pressed a certain place on his bow and beside the handle, two rows of razor like steel blades rose on the limb, one on the left and one on the right.


    Buzz buzz buzz!


    The bow''s two rows of razor blades started to move violently, emitting a wild sound, causing others heart to shiver upon hearing.


    "Don''t underestimate me!" Bing Jia lunged at Ye Mo with a hint of madness in his eyes.


    Ye Mo was still moving towards him to the best of his abilities, his black eyes were deep and silent, his emotions concealed, he approached like a cold-blooded killer.


    One had exhausted all his Qi, but conserved a healthy body.


    The other still had a sufficient amount of Qi, but his body suffered disastrous damages and was on the verge of collapse.


    At the point of meeting, Ye Mo suddenly poured his Qi in his peak-tier spiritual weapon.


    The small curved blade on the side of his wrist guards glowed in a pale blue light and using them as the base, two light blue blades of Qi grew over a meter long on the side of his forearms.


    These two blades of Qi looked like half a moon crescent each, first growing opposite to Ye Mo''s body before bending upward, the tip pointing at the sky.


    "Huh?" In this split-second, Bing Jia could barely process what happened, an ominous feeling creeping at his soul.


    Ye Mo lightly leaped forward with his right leg and rotated his body in the air like a spinning top with knife like edges launched at high speed.


    The saw-teeths like blades on the bow, meeting the Qi blades, were sliced like gutter in an instant before Ye Mo passed by Bing Jia and landed on the ground behind him, falling on his knees, his remaining forces abandoning him.


    On the other side, Bing Jia looked at the horizon, his gaze fixed and his eyes wide open in shock, his body immobile.


    All he saw was a flash of light.


    After an instant, a fine red line was drawn on his neck, and with the wind blowing in the plain, his head tilted on one side and fell down, soon followed by his body.


    Ye Mo had unleashed his trump card!

 Who Killed Him?

    Ye Mo crawled on the ground like a starving man, taking hold of Bing Jia''s token before quicky turning towards the woods at the edge of the plain and moving away.


    He didn''t even look at the amount of points he obtained, attempting to leave this place in precipitation.


    He tried to stand, but he quickly fell back down, his legs unbable to support his body any longer.


    Previously, with the adrenaline reaching a peak and pouring every last forces he had on this final strike, Ye Mo was barely able to approach his opponent on his own two legs.


    Now that the fight ended and the tension wore off, he couldn''t even stand up anymore.


    "I must quickly leave the plain and hide somewhere, this guy battle skill was like fireworks in the deepest of darkness. The other contestants in the vicinity will be drawn to this place like insects faced with a source of light, if I can''t escape before they arrive, I am done for!" Ye Mo thought in distress, frantically crawling on the grasses, leaving a trail of blood on his way, yet he progressed slowly.


    Although he defeated Bing Jia and transferred his points, his situation was still far from optimistic. It wasn''t a tournament where participants would fight one on one, in this forest, everyone lurked around and devoured each other without any mercy at the slightest reveal of weaknesses.


    In his state, anyone passing by would make quick work out of Ye Mo, confrontation was out of question, he must escape!


    No matter how strong he willed for or how much pain he could endure, at this moment, his legs were no more than useless, burdening pieces of flesh attached to his body, utterly unresponsive.


    Without any choice, Ye Mo put into action the only thing he could think of and suddenly planted his hands on the ground while contracting his arm muscles, raising his lower body upwards.


    Over his whole body, his arms were among the parts who suffered the less from Starfall battle skill, being directly in contact with the wrist guards and could still exert strength or move according to his wishes.


    With his body upside down, Ye Mo moved in equilibrium along the plain, progressing much faster than when he was crawling, comparable to someone trotting with his legs.


    Sometimes, he even pushed the ground with his hands, lightly leaping forward, suddenly accelerating for an instant before returning on land.


    If someone was to observe this scene from afar, they would find it very comical, like a circus monkey making a show for the spectators.


    With his body in this position, Ye Mo just had to straighten his neck to have a view behind him. He could see Bing Jia''s bow a short distance away from his headless body.


    Among spiritual weapons, there were those who had no abilities but greatly increased attributes like being extremely tough or possessing uncomparable sharpness, however, there were still a lot of them who could trigger some effects when you pour Qi inside, like Ye Mo''s Qi blades.


    He speculated that Bing Jia''s bow was at least a high, most probably a peak-tier spiritual weapon, and that its ability was to create these arrows when you infuse Qi into the weapon.


    This bow was a treasure that could be turned into vast riches, it would be enough to negate the Liu clan''s financial difficulties and get them out of poverty.


    Yet, after a glimpse, Ye Mo crooked his neck to stare at the path ahead and didn''t look back.


    Time was of essence here, at any moment, another student could appear and attack him. Every second was of importance, he couldn''t retrace his steps and risk it all just to take the bow.


    Even the divine hammer of a deity was useless to a corpse.


    "My life is the most important, as long as I live, there will be other chances." Ye Mo didn''t hesitate a single instant and distanced himself further, nearing the woods.


    No matter the amount of riches, it can always be gained back later on, but life, once its lost this is the end of the path.


    Even if he decided to take the bow from the start before running away, he would still waste time moving to its position and taking hold of it, a time that he didn''t have.


    Every second spent on this plain was a second that brought him closer to death.


    While he moved using his hands to support his body, the blood that coursed out of his wounds flowed down continuously. the massive stream quickly reached his head, impeded his respiration and blocked his vision.


    In these circumstances, if he kept going, he would run straight into every obstacle in his way.


    Before his vision was obstructed, he saw the towering trees and the profound darkness of the forest right ahead of himself and with a last jump, at the strength of his arms, he blindly engulfed himself in the woods, falling down and rolling multiple times before coming to a stop.


    Ye Mo, prostrated on the ground, wiped the blood out of his face as he took a look at himself, noticing the flow of blood escaping his wounds had clearly reduced.


    Endless Vitality didn''t let him down.


    New flesh was growing over his stark naked ribs and several injuries were closing down. The one with the less noticeable difference was the gaping hole on his left leg, releasing a steady stream of blood, yet, it was the one that recovered the most.


    Because the leg was fractured, Endless Vitality focused mainly on the bone so the flesh wound healed slowly, but now the bone was almost restored and Ye Mo gradually recovered sensations in his legs.


    "When they are healed enough for me to stand up again, I will be able to use my movement battle skills to get out of here." Ye Mo thought, slightly eager, returning to crawling on the ground.


    He knew he was still far from safe, although he left the open view of the plain, he was still in the vicinity of the battle site. At any moment, he could come face to face with another student going the other way, attracted by the visual appeal of Starfall battle skill.


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    Ye Mo moved silently among the bushes, barely perceptible, trying to make the less noises possible and directing all his attention to his hearing to detect anyone approaching as he remains hidden.


    He progressed unhurriedly, like a worm on the ground, he felt he could stand up by now and the blood loss had ceased yet he remained crawling, his injuries were not healed completely and he wasn''t in the best conditions to sustain another fight, he prefered remaining as inconspicuous as he could for now.


    After a moment, he heard some noise and as he turned to look under the cover of the vegetation, he saw the figure of a student landing on the ground not far from him.


    It was too dark to make out any more than the shape of his build and from it, one could conclude it was a boy.


    The student walked slowly, wary of his surroundings.


    He was attracted by the lights he saw in the sky from afar and sought to find an opportunity in the plain, but he was aware many others would be drawn to this place so the further he walked, the slower he advanced and the more careful he became.


    Internally, he circulated his Qi over his body, ready to enter battle at any instant.


    Ye Mo, concealed in a corner, only hoped this student didn''t have an investigative battle skill or that at least, he wouldn''t use it at this moment.


    He stopped all movements and breathed slowly, becoming one with nature, no different than a rock, trying to avoid being noticed while waiting for the boy to go away.


    After what seemed like an eternity, the student finally disappeared in the darkness further away then followed by another long delay to make sure he truly left, Ye Mo finally continued on his way.


    A short time later, he rose up and fused with the dim environment, leaving the vicinity of the plain once and for all.


    On the plain, several shadows repeatedly jumped, dashed, or zigzagged, approaching from all directions before stopping around Bing Jia''s corpse and his bow while many others snooped around at the edge of the plain, spectating the development of the situation.


    After a short respite, numerous flashes of light suddenly pervaded the area as several battle skills were unleashed, the plain turning into another battlefield.


    Among the shadows, one of them was particularly dominant, effectively protecting himself before counter attacking.


    As he unfurled a powerful palm strike that sent his opponent flying, it shot a peek at the corpse not far from its position.


    "This head on the ground, isn''t it Bing Jia? He was the best expert of the Sky Martial Institute a few years ago, who did that to him..."


    His flesh already lost all its warmth while his neck was linked to a pool of blood.


    Gao Lixin was dumbfounded, seeing the remains of this once acclaimed student. After all, he was well aware of Bing Jia''s abilities, this guy was not inferior to him in any way.


    Even though no one talked much about him recently, many still had in mind his battle strength and the young masters, constantly seeking to improve themselves, were among them.


    With time, it was common for cultivators to grow stronger and Gao Lixin knew that in his reclusion, Bing Jia''s battle strength must have increased much.


    "People who can defeat him are few and to kill him, even less. The wound is neat, like some kind of sword beheaded him, could it be Yan Mei or Li Qiang?"


    "No, both Bing Jia and these two are aware of each other''s strength and wouldn''t fight to the death, if it was nearing the end of the competition, maybe, but the first night? Even Li Qiang wouldn''t be so stupid to assault him if he wasn''t offended."


    "Then it must be... Shen Xue! Yes, he wield a sword as well and with his strength and his personality, slaughtering everything on his way indiscriminately, he''s the only one who could have done that."


    In an instant, Gao Lixin analyzed the scene and "deduced" what happened in this plain.


    Shen Xue''s figure in his mind grew even more fearsome and bloodthirsty.


    However, returning to his current situation, it didn''t look good.


    Although he started off domineering and assertive, the other participants were not stupid and quickly began to band together to target him.


    Faced with a greater threat, weaker parties would momentarily ally to overcome this predicament, this was often seen in the animal kingdom or among humans.


    Gao Lixin was gradually forced in a passive stance before sent retreating in the distance until he left the area, however the contestants didn''t have the strength to kill him so they didn''t chase anymore and remained on the plain, fighting for the loot on Bing Jia''s corpse.


    Amidst these participants, two figures noticed a trail of blood on the ground and followed it, surreptitiously returning in the woods while others kept fighting each other.


    However, in the dead of the night and with such a large area of dense vegetation, it was nearly impossible to pick up someone''s passage and even after using their investigative battle skills, they couldn''t find anything.


    Ye Mo had already escaped.


    Far away from this place, this one sat on the branch of a tree with closed eyes and revolved his Black Vortex cultivation technique, replenishing his wisps of Qi quickly.


    On his body, no remnants of the struggle against Bing Jia could be found anymore.


    After the time to drink a cup of tea, Ye Mo descended on the ground and returned to his killing spree, assassinating students left and right in the forest.


    After a few deployment of Shadow Walk, he would always take the time to recover his Qi for a short time before setting off again.


    That''s why when he fought against Bing Jia, even though he had already killed multiple cultivators using his battle skill, he still had all his Qi at disposition as he recovered it completely prior to the attack.


    Soon, the sun rose up and the second day of the competition began, leaving behind this grim night accompanied with the demise of many participants.

 Damsel in Distress

    Ye Mo walked in the forest, looking over his token. He currently possessed 9670 points and on the banner, his name was inscribed at the 311th place.


    When he killed Bing Jia, unaware at the moment, he gained a whooping 4000 points and his score went from over 3000 to 7230 points while his name gained more than 600 places in the rankings.


    After eliminating a few more participants before the end of the night, he settled with his current score and place.


    Among those he targeted, there were some with several hundred points, two with over a thousand, but also a few who had less than two hundred.


    Obviously they were robbed of their score, but their opponents spared their life while they didn''t surrender either so they were still in the competition, until Ye Mo struck...


    "If I had an investigative battle skill, I wouldn''t need to run randomly in the jungle this long to find other participants, I could immediately locate all the students in the vicinity and eliminate them in a short time. My points would have increased much more quickly, this is the greatest optimization." Ye Mo thought, imagining the situation.


    It would have been the best circumstances to use in support with Shadow Walk.


    However, he didn''t regret picking any of his battle skills.


    Without Buddha Golden Bell or Endless Vitality, he would have died against Bing Jia, and he didn''t count all the other times it helped him.


    The most important is still to protect oneself over the rest, without these techniques, he wouldn''t even have the confidence to face any of the top students of each institute.


    At this moment, it was noon.


    Ye Mo took a nap in the morning to recuperate, using bushes and leaves-covered branches to conceal his body, he only rose up a few minutes ago.


    With their cultivation, sleep wasn''t repleceable yet for students and it would take a toll on their body and mind over time.


    Ye Mo was better off in this aspect, his body refining cultivation helping him staying energetic for a longer period of time, but after a few days without sleeping, even he would feel tired.


    It was better to take your time and rest when you have the opportunity than pushing yourself too hard for several days and taking a loss because you were not in your best condition at a crucial moment.


    Now his mind felt light and his thoughts sparked swiftly while his body had completely recovered, he felt he could face anyone without being on the receiving end.


    He progressed nonchalantly in the woods.


    The Jade Forest was enormous to the point it spanned over several regions of the Mountain Breeze Province, the Cloud Region being just one of them.


    The outer edge where the competition took place was hundreds of miles deep alone and unimaginably large, if you tried to run in circle around the Jade Forest, you wouldn''t see half of it even after a year.


    As for the inner area, thats where much stronger blood beasts resided and even Foundation Establishment and Inner Core realm cultivators would avoid it.


    After that was still the central area of the Jade Forest where no one ventured at all.


    Ye Mo wasn''t in a hurry, in the day, the progression of his score wasn''t that great and he could only depend on his luck to encounter other students or powerful rank 1 blood beast.


    The good thing was that many students possessed an investigative battle skill and when they weren''t too far, they would find him and take the initiative to attack.


    As he walked, Ye Mo suddenly heard muffled sounds in the distance.


    He immediately stopped in his tracks to focus on it. Without the noise of his steps on dead leaves and small sticks, he could hear the sounds much better, it was similar to hard breathings mixed with low grunts.


    "Someone injured?" Ye Mo thought at first, turning on his right and advancing towards the source of the disturbance.


    Nearing the noise, he saw from afar, a girl facing a tree, supporting herself with her hands on the bark of the trunk. She was half-naked, her clothes ripped apart.


    Behind her was a butt-naked man, his pants falling down his ankles, moving his hips back and forth rhythmically.


    Ye Mo recognized the male, it was Zhao Da Xiong from the Golden Martial Institute.


    "Oh, it seems we have a guest." Zhao Da Xiong remarked, smiling mischievously as he gazed at the approaching Ye Mo while he stepped back and pulled up his pants.


    It seemed like he was only enjoying himself, but he also used Silent Sentry, an investigative battle skill that significantly enhanced hearing.


    The truth is that Zhao Da Xiong was aware of Ye Mo''s presence even before the latter was close enough to hear them, yet, he didn''t bother to move.


    When Zhao Da Xiong stepped aside, Ye Mo quickly noticed something was off with the girl.


    She could barely stand up on her own and her face was flushed red as a cherry, it looked like she was suffering from a fever.


    However, cultivators rarely fall ill, and mundane sickness are easily eradicated.


    It was far more severe than what just exhaustion from their previous activity would cause.


    Also, from the remainder of her clothes and torn pieces on the ground, she was a student of the Tiger Martial Institute.


    "Please... Help me." She said weakly glancing at Ye Mo, noticing he was a fellow comrade while she slowly slide down and fell on her knees.


    She was still breathing roughly and seemed to recover very slowly even though all actions had stopped already.


    "Hey, hey, help you? What are you saying now, when you seemed to have so much fun a moment ago."


    Zhao Da Xiong grabbed her hair as he jeered at her, before he pushed her to the ground.


    The girl approached on all four at Ye Mo, visibly weakened, "He... He did something to my body with his smoke. It''s like I was burning from inside, my head is dizzy and my limbs feels weak."


    Ye Mo had no wish to involve himself in their conflict.


    True to himself, he shared his will with very few words, being as straightforward as possible, "Your tokens."


    Ye Mo looked at Zhao Da Xiong, but his words were also directed at the girl.


    "Here, you can take my points." Surprisingly, Zhao Da Xiong didn''t bicker at all and directly handed over two tokens, his and the one from the girl.


    Even more confounding, he didn''t steal the girl''s points, her token possessed 460 points, actually, he didn''t obtain any points at all since the start of the competition, his token remaining at a fixed 200 points.


    However, Ye Mo couldn''t care less about Zhao Da Xiong''s motivations.


    He just obtained their points and it was very simple, it happened in an instant and he didn''t need to fight at all, preserving his strength. His objective in approaching them was met and he was still healthy and could go search and steal the points of other participants, everything was good so he had no reason to linger anymore than needed.


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    Others interests were of no concern to him.


    "Wait, you can take my points, but you must seek justice for me. If you''re not confident in facing him, at least break his token and he will immediately be disqualified and transported out of the Jade Forest." Sensing Ye Mo''s unwillingness, on the verge of departing, the girl pleaded loudly in her favor.


    "We''re both fellow student of the Tiger Martial Institute, you have to help me. This guy is from the Golden Martial Institute, he is an enemy, a heinous dog in heat who will keep harming women if he remains here, quickly eliminate him!"


    Zhao Da Xiong listened to everything silently with a smile on his face, completely unperturbed.


    Ye Mo looked at the girl for an instant before gazing at him, playing with both their tokens in his hand.


    At this moment, Zhao Da Xiong spread his voice, "My friend I have a suggestion for you. We should collaborate."


    Ye Mo raised his eyebrows, not expecting this.


    Everyone in this competition was ready to fight, kill and betray each other for points, many teams disbanded early on in anticipation to this global distrust so why asking for cooperation now?


    He could sense the Golden Martial Institute''s student had something in mind.


    Slightly curious, Ye Mo tossed a token back to the girl and said a single word, "Go."


    He didn''t wish for her to hear the rest of their conversation or learn wether he accepted the proposition or not.


    "Wait, you really plan to listen to him? There is no use, you really think you can let this bastard cover your back, you will just end up dead, your corpse never to be found. Please, you have to avenge me, if you want a partner, I will team up with you once he is dealt with, at least there will be much more trust between us than with someone from another institute."


    The girl desperately tried to convince Ye Mo, yet he was impassive, ignoring her demands as he gazed straight at her eyes.


    She could feel the annoyance in Ye Mo''s stare and she understood none of what she said had any effect on him nor would he change decision.


    A cold glint flashed in her eyes for an instant before she slowly stood up, covering her private parts with her hands as she passed by Ye Mo and walked away.


    During their talk, she recovered a bit of her disposition, Zhao Da Xiong''s battle skill hold on her dwindling with time.


    "If you''re not gonna help me, then die!" The girl feigned leaving, but when she was behind Ye Mo, she suddenly turned around and attacked, her fingernails a shade of dark green, poisonous green fog was exuded from them.


    As she striked, her nails elongated to half a palm long, then fifty centimers, they were dangerously approaching Ye Mo''s back, about to pierce his heart.


    Nonetheless, the latter turned lightning-quick, as if he had eyes behind him and could perceive her sneak-attack, he placed his right arm in front of him, the wrist guard meeting the nails.


    Without any resistance, the nails broke in pieces against the iron, falling on the ground.


    The girl was shocked to see her attack failed, just a slight graze of her nails would be enough to kill a high-tier blood beast in a few seconds, yet Ye Mo reacted too fast, like he knew in advance she would act.


    After this failure, she tried to escape using her movement battle skill, but she only thought about it that Ye Mo was already covered in circling wind currents, aiming his fist at her.


    The female cultivator could not react quickly enough to so many changes at once. She was hit by the Stone Breaking Punch and screamed in agony.


    Her slim body flew away like a broken bag; She was swept high into the sky, and then plopped down again.


    She landed on the ground, her eyes wide open. She was dead on the spot.


    Humans mind worked in mysterious ways.


    Zhao Da Xiong stood right beside the girl, but even after he took advantage of her, she didn''t dare oppose him by herself, afraid to fall prey to his battle skills another time.


    Yet, after Ye Mo refused to avenge her, neither charmed nor willing to play the hero, she felt betrayed and he immediately became her number one mortal enemy even above Zhao Da Xiong.


    Isn''t he from the same Tiger Martial Institute I am part of? Aren''t we both righteous cultivators? Isn''t he a man? In this case he should act like one and be brave and fearless, confronting Zhao Da Xiong after witnessing such an odious crime, not cower in fear or being hesitant.


    Even someone completely unrelated, seeing this scene, would take my side and help me deal with him, but not only this guy doesn''t plan to do anything, he''s even willing to cooperate with Zhao Da Xiong, stealing my points in the process before chasing me out.


    If he doesn''t plan to assist me, then I should as well kill him and take his points, at least gaining something out of this sickening situation I endured.


    With such thoughts, she played along outside while circulating her Qi internally, planning to strike in the most opportun time.


    However, at the moment Ye Mo ordered her to leave, he noticed the deep well of hatred in her eyes as she looked at him before she stood up.


    It was but a fleeting moment, however, it was more than enough for Ye Mo to raise his guard at this point persuaded that, wether in the next second or the next year, this girl nursed a grievance and would try to settle the score with him.


    In spite of the fact she attempted to take him by surprise, attacking from a blind spot, Ye Mo was ready to welcome any strike and timed his counter perfectly, eliminating this threat in the blink of an eye.


    As the saying goes, forewarned is forearmed.


    "If I knew it would end this way, I would have just crushed her token and sent her out. Mercy really is useless in this world." Ye Mo looked at the corpse in the distance, criticizing her actions.


    Everyone came in this place willingly, aware of the fate they could encounter. What she went through was simply due to her lack of strength, being defeated, you are at the victor''s mercy.


    Counting on another''s rescue is but a pipe dream, yet she blamed Ye Mo for his lack of involvement, pushing her luck when he was lenient, she could only take responsibility for her own actions.


    Observing everything unfolding up to the girl demise, Zhao Da Xiong''s smile deepened in the back.

 Uncanny Association

    Of course, Ye Mo didn''t forget about the Love Miracle Immortal Pill, but he couldn''t use the girl''s heart as a refinement ingredient.


    First, even if he helped her, it didn''t mean she would love him, particularly with the experience she just went through, it was unlikely for her to wallow in a relationship with a man any time soon.


    Moreover, doing this would mean he had to tag with her during the competition. His goal in this place was to gain a peak-tier battle skill, moving with her the whole time would seriously impede him at some point and negatively affect his score while she would see all his abilities as well.


    For someone as secretive as Ye Mo, it was problematic.


    Last of all, she was a member of an institute, if she disappeared in the future because Ye Mo attempted the refinement of the pill, the higher-ups would notice sooner or later. At this point, with the bond he created with the girl, it would be easy to retrace everything back to him and discover his evil deed.


    In truth, if Ye Mo was to charm someone and refine the Love Miracle Immortal Pill, he knew it couldn''t be in Azure Water City.


    Too many people who knows him, too many eyes, too many restrictions, danger was everpresent in this environment for demonic cultivators. The more humans gathered, the more cautious you have to be, people are not idiots, once they notice something amiss, they would dig deeper until they find the truth.


    The most important trait is that Ye Mo had no time, he would leave the city in just a few days and might never return.


    What connection could bloom in such a short period?


    "This punch he used, it must be a high-tier battle skill, and what is this pair of wrist guard, a mid or high-tier spiritual weapon?" Zhao Da Xiong evaluated Ye Mo''s strength, replaying the way he killed the girl in his mind.


    He was pleasantly surprised by what he saw, at least, this kid had some use.


    The Stone Breaking Punch was so powerful he mistook it to a high-tier battle skill, unaware this was due to Ye Mo''s body refining cultivation.


    "It''s a pity she died, but I guess you had no choice. Now we can speak our minds in peace." Zhao Da Xiong approached Ye Mo without showing any hostility.


    "What was this collaboration you mentionned previously, be short and concise, it better be worth my time." Ye Mo warned, giving him the side-eye.


    "I think we should cooperate, we will be stronger together. You have seen my token right, I am not accumulating any points, actually I don''t care about them so all those we gain by our mutual work, I will let you have them. How does that sound?"


    "Why are you participating in this competition if you don''t care about your place nor the rewards?" Ye Mo was perplexed.


    Many died daily in this forest, who in their right mind would come here if they didn''t have anything to gain?


    "Hmph, I can''t worry about these, even if I worked myself to the bone, I probably wouldn''t even make it to the top 100, what''s the point in trying for nothing. I just want to have fun and introduce myself to the female participants, you see, my Violet Stimulant Fumes battle skill works like a powerful aphrodisiac with women, once they are affected, they can''t even unleash half of their strength. After I beat them a bit, I have all the leisure to initiate them to the carnal pleasures, hehe." Zhao Da Xiong laughed sinisterly.


    "Where could I freely take so many girls without any repercussions than in such circumstances? But you see, Violet Stimulant Fumes has no effect against men, at best, it can only be used as a smokescreen to escape, which I experimented a few times already, that''s why I need you. With your help, I am sure we can defeat most of the guys around while I have my ways with the girls present, you get all the points while I satisfy my urges, isn''t that the perfect plan?"


    He was jubilating as he gave his intention to Ye Mo, already excited thinking of his next victims.


    The women hit by Violet Stimulant Fumes battle skill were extremely weakened and could only have the help of a man to be relieved of the heat or wait in suffering a moderate period of time for the symptoms to fade away. However, in this forest where roamed hungry blood beasts and bloodthirsty participants, choosing the second option was particularly dangerous and left your fate up to luck.


    This battle skill was very effective against women, but harmless to men. Zhao Da Xiong was only at the 8th layer of the Qi Refining Realm and Violet Stimulant Fumes was the main card of his battle system, without its help, his battle strength was weak, below the average cultivator of this level.


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    In short he was strong against women, but weak against men.


    To counter this, Zhao Da Xiong learned several other battle skills to protect himself and escape, but to defeat men by himself, it was too difficult.


    In a do or die situation against a powerful one, he would be helpless. That''s where Ye Mo entered the fray, a strong fighter like him with battle strength above his cultivation, if he could work in tandem with someone like this, it would definitely cover that weakness of his.


    "Are you not afraid all the women of the city will join hands and go on a crusade against you?"


    Zhao Da Xiong had a bad reputation, everyone knew of his lustful nature and the repeated assaults he commited against women.


    Humans aren''t those to passively suffer wind and tide.


    If pushed too far, it wouldn''t be surprising that many females would start plotting his downfall, institute''s student or not.


    Zhao Da Xiong snorted loudly, "Of course not, why would they? Not only I don''t kill them, I won''t even steal their points and they get to experience a very good time in my company. At my place, anyone would execute them the first chance they have after defeating their opponent, but I don''t even break their tokens so they can keep participating in the competition, so in reality, I must be the most charitable person of Azure Water City."


    "The setting is important here, we are in an important competition where everyone kill each other for points, in this situation everyone is a potential foe, the victor can do whatever he see fit with the loser. After defeating a mortal enemy, whatever you do is up to you, who would blame you for this? They might resent me, but they wouldn''t go as far as joining hands to kill me, after all, it''s not like I was walking on the streets forcing myself on every good looking girls I see, I am risking my life in this forest as well."


    No matter his frivolous personality, Zhao Da Xiong was actually more down to earth than he seemed to be.


    If he joined these kind of competitions even though he doesn''t hope to have a hand at the rewards, it''s precisely because it was particularly ideal to let go of his obscene impulses, he wouldn''t dare act this way outside these events.


    Since he was young, his mind has always been filled with indecent thoughts and when his sexual impulses bloomed, he found it hard to contain them.


    When he discovered the Violet Stimulant Fumes battle skill in the Golden Martial Institute collection, he immediately yearned for it even though he knew it was of no use in a fight against men.


    Among all the female participants of the competition, there was only one he didn''t wish to indulge with in an intimate relationship.


    The young mistress of the Yan clan.


    She displayed great prowesses and is hailed as the strongest woman participating, to the extent Zhao Da Xiong wasn''t certain he could win even if she was impacted by Violet Stimulant Fumes battle skill.


    However, it wasn''t what preoccupied him in this case, but her face. Just thinking about her was enough for him to lose any will to partake in such activities, no girls ever had such a strong impact on him, to the point it would kill his libido.


    All he could hope for was to not cross paths with her.


    Ye Mo was indifferent to his interlocutor''s nature as he thought about the proposition for some time, his eyes wandering on the scenery.


    "Do you have an investigative battle skill?" He suddenly asked turning towards Zhao Da Xiong.


    This one nodded affirmatively, beaming a smile.


    "Then let''s go, we stayed at this place more than needed".


    "I knew you were a smart man the second I saw you!" Zhao Da Xiong raised his right hand, trying to seal the deal.


    Ye Mo just brushed past him without looking at it as he inquired, "Did you sense someone else in the surroundings?"


    "No, I used it not too long ago, but you were the only one around." Zhao Da Xiong shook his head, following behind him.


    Ye Mo used Wind Flow to move faster at the research of participants to steal their points.


    Zhao Da Xiong had no trouble following him, his movement battle skill was of much better quality and he could speak and use his investigative battle skill at the same time.


    With this one, Ye Mo and his partner could immediately detect anyone in a perimeter of 400 paces as long as the person didn''t use a particular battle skill like Shadow Walk or Silent Steps to hide his presence.


    Ye Mo progressed much faster this way, without the need to search the area extensively to make sure he didn''t miss anyone, he traveled a great distance easily.


    Quickly, a student was found by the pair of wicked cultivators.

 The Basis of Collaboration

    Bam!


    A student was solidly hit on the chest by Ye Mo''s fist, vomiting blood before dropping dead on the ground.


    The one taking his life picked the token hanging on his waist and transferred his points.


    Zhao Da Xiong snickered as he approached Ye Mo, "Looks more like you''re the only one benefiting from our cooperation."


    It was the fifth student they encountered and killed and also the fifth man. The female participants amounted to less than a quarter of the students, it wasn''t strange to encounter mostly men in the forest.


    Yet, with each one they met, Zhao Da Xiong''s frustration grew a bit more, how was he supposed to share all his passion for women if there wasn''t any.


    The condition to help Ye Mo was to get all the girls while he obtain the students points, if he couldn''t find one then he was just a free worker following him everywhere.


    "Cooperation? You only sit there on the back watching me do all the work, I could as well be by myself, there wouldn''t be much of a difference." Ye Mo snorted, displeased.


    Since they set out together, in every fight they engaged, Zhao Da Xiong would step back and watch from afar or hide in a corner to not be targeted, leaving everything to Ye Mo.


    The student of the Golden Martial Institute barely did anything the whole time, he could just lay back and wait for it to end with Ye Mo''s victory then he would come out and complain about the opponent being a male.


    "You can''t say that, without my investigative battle skill, you wouldn''t even know where to go to find them. Moreover, I already told you my battle strength is weak against men, I can help you a bit in times of need, but against these small fry, you can manage on your own. Involving myself is not necessary." Zhao Da Xiong, argued.


    It''s true that his investigative battle skill was profitable and they could discover and defeat students quickly with its help, however, Zhao Da Xiong didn''t consume that much Qi using it once in a while and with Ye Mo fighting every battles by himself, taking all the risks, the first contribution couldn''t be said to be much.


    Most of all, these "times of need" he talked about would never come because Ye Mo didn''t trust him and if he fought against a powerful foe, he wouldn''t leave his life and the victory or defeat of the battle in his hands.


    At worst, he would just escape or forcefully drag Zhao Da Xiong in the fight with him.


    In the end Ye Mo didn''t pay any attention to his words as he was already walking away at the search of another participant.


    His points increased quickly as he defeated one student after another, the sky slowly got dark after one day of hunt and battles.


    They found only one girl in this time, Zhao Da Xiong didn''t miss the opportunity to play with her while Ye Mo went inspecting the surroundings, but seeing him taking his time and trying to do it multiple times after he returned, Ye Mo cut his fun short and forcefully brought him away.


    At first, Zhao Da Xiong resisted fiercely, feeling it was his right to enjoy this girl as much as he likes, but seeing Ye Mo''s grim look and the air shifting, he quickly calmed down and decided against antagonizing him.


    They have been together for half a day now and Zhao Da Xiong saw him fight and kill other participants several times, each time, his battle strength surpassing the previous impression he formed about him.


    Zhao Da Xiong was secretly in awe in front of this spectacle, but also felt deep uneasiness and apprehension.


    Cooperation was always created on the basis of equal strength or status, for mutual benefits. A general wouldn''t ally with a peasent and a king wouldn''t cooperate with a servant.


    Without this foundation, the weight of the collaboration would quickly balance in favor of the bigger party, leaving the other one as a helpless free laborer.


    This is under this standard that Zhao Da Xiong asked Ye Mo to join him, as they were both at the 8th layer of the Qi Gathering realm or else why wouldn''t he directly seek the help of a powerful 9th layer participant.


    With the same cultivation, there shouldn''t be that big of a gap in their battle strength and they could work together to overcome the obstacles of the competition, however, it became clear that Ye Mo''s abilities were strong enough for him to even surpass most 9th layer cultivators while Zhao Da Xiong was below the average student of the 8th layer when facing men.


    With such a big difference, this partnership could very well turn into a leader and lackey relationship.


    Ye Mo returned alone to the girl, Zhao Da Xiong patienting a bit further, and eliminated her so there would not be any witnesses to his association with him.


    People learning afterwards that he collaborated with a student of another institute, particularly this degenerate, could be detrimental to him.


    Overall, he wished to leave as few traces as possible of his activities in the Jade Forest.


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    Seeing the luminosity decrease and the sun setting in the west, Zhao Da Xiong advised, "We did well and you obtained a lot of points, we should call it a day and find a place to pass the night. There is still a lot of time before the end of the competition, we will go after students tomorrow."


    Ye mo shook his head, immediately discarding his opinion, "We will keep going throughout the night and rest only at the first signs of dawn."


    This sentence sealed the conversation as he engulfed himself in bushes without waiting for any refusal.


    Zhao Da Xiong followed forth, secretly frowning as he looked at his back.


    He has been rejected far too bluntly and Ye Mo didn''t even take into account anything he might say, taking the decision of their next actions by himself.


    "It''s okay, my investigative battle skill is far too valuable for him, I am too important for he to try anything against me, I will use it as a leverage to pull my weight in conversations next time. This is still only the second night, there is several days left, I should use them to think of a way to get rid of him or escape before the end of the competition, lest he do it with me at the last moment."


    Zhao Da Xiong plotted behind the scene, he knew Ye Mo was merciless towards his opponents and to accept his proposition and allow him to rape women, he was also unscrupulous. It was clear to him that at the time he lose his value, Ye Mo could very well turn against him, especially near the end of the competition.


    Yet, he was confident in his ability to protect himself and escape, his battle skills when not fighting women, were all oriented towards this aspect or he wouldn''t have been able to survive the first day so easily.


    "As long as I plan everything first, he won''t see anything coming, I will just use him to get as much girl as I want in the meantime."


    The forest grew darker and while they traveled through the woods, Zhao Da Xiong heard someone not far from them and notified Ye Mo.


    However, contrary to the day, Ye Mo didn''t allow him to follow and told him to stay put and wait for his return.


    "In this darkness, I can''t assure your protection, there''s too many variables and cultivators might escape your senses and lurk in the surroundings, just hide here and wait for me, if I am not returned in a hour, do whatever you want."


    Without wasting an instant, Ye Mo left towards the student, leaving Zhao Da Xiong behind.


    The latter didn''t believe his words and took this as a pretext for him to not follow so although he stayed put, he kept using Silent Sentry to monitor the situation from the distance.


    He could sense the cultivator walking cautiously and Ye Mo slowly approaching, but suddenly, Ye Mo''s soundsteps and breathing vanished!


    He completely left Zhao Da Xiong''s detection like he disappeared all of a sudden.


    It didn''t last though as shortly after, he could hear him again, but this time right beside the student''s postition, Ye Mo made a grand movement that pushed the wind, creating whistling gales while the target screamed and all kinds of sounds intermingled, but in a split-second, it came to an end.


    He could hear something dropping on the ground, but was unable to detect the participant''s breathing anymore. He also discerned Ye Mo''s footsteps approaching to his position instead.


    "Hehe, this guy is full of surprises, yes, keep fighting and show me everything you got. The better I know you, the best I can plan for the time I make a fool out of you." Zhao Da Xiong smiled maliciously.


    He knew Ye Mo hadn''t revealed everything yet, the more he discover and the less surprises he would have when he betray him. Though, he was still wondering how exactly Ye Mo escaped his hearing.


    This one arrived at this moment with his hand covered in blood and the same droplets on his face.


    "Was it a girl?" Zhao Da Xiong asked.


    Ye Mo shook his head before they moved away.


    Was it the truth and did he believe him? In any case, Zhao Da Xiong didn''t ask any more questions, as soon as they found another student, this schema restarted and Ye Mo escaped his senses before eliminating the participant in an instant, much to his partner''s confusion.


    When came the first rays of the sun, Ye Mo already possessed over fifteen thousand points and stood at the 269th place, many names withdrawing from the leaderboard.


    The two companions were lying down at the foot of a tree, one sound asleep, but Ye Mo still awake, stood guard as he listened to the chants of the cicada and looked over the small bits of the sky the vegetation accepted to reveal.


    In his mind, many thoughts churned, but he was silent on the outside.


    The fact that Zhao Da Xiong didn''t insist to follow him and use his battle skill on any potential girl he might have detected during the night alerted him.


    He was aware this one was up to something, but he didn''t speak about it, nothing was out of his previsions till now.


    "It will be time to get rid of him soon." Ye Mo glanced at him for an instant.


    The darkness of his eyes shrouded the evil intentions he harbored.

 Through Experience Comes Competence

    Ye Mo and Zhao Da Xiong monotonically wandered in the forest in the afternoon.


    After every little downtime, Ye Mo''s place would fall back in the rankings and this time didn''t miss. When he woke up, he stood at the 281th position, losing twelve place in a row.


    Although he couldn''t see the leaderboard, Ye Mo knew it couldn''t be any other than this way so he set out again at the search of other participants, accompanied by the student of the Golden Martial Institute.


    The sun was high in the sky, casting a harsh glare over the Jade Forest, but this one was shielded by a dense vegetation, a large natural barrier protecting the fauna and flora from excessive heat and light, the land covered in tree shadows.


    In the third day, the rhythm of battles didn''t lower for our two friends.


    After some time, Ye Mo faced another opponent, his face a mix of fear and determination.


    The student used a battle skill to punch, but with a well-placed spinning back fist, Ye Mo mixed both attack and defense in his offense, evading the strike while turning around and striking right back at the opponent with one movement, sending him sprawling into the dirt.


    After taking such a hit from a body refining cultivator like Ye Mo, the student was in no state to defend himself anymore and the first quickly finished him off, took the token, then tossed it back before leaving for another battle as soon as this one ended.


    His mind was still like a lake as he eliminated participants one after another, emphasizing minimum efforts for maximum results as he focused on the task at hand.


    To not overexert himself and increase his proficiency, he seeked to erase any superfluous movements he could make in his confrontations with students and beasts alike, deepening his fighting style, every little action taken having meaning behind them.


    A sword cut through the air flashing right beside his face, a few black strands of hair glidind in the air.


    Cyclone Kick was quickly used in opposition, the opponent used a defensive battle skill to protect himself, but it wasn''t enough as he was hit by kicks till blood burst out of his mouth and he fell down barely hanging on his life.


    Ye Mo stomped on the hand that scurried towards the pouch to take hold of an healing pill and killed the student then left again.


    With every fight, he gauged his strength, the one from his opponent, what mistakes he made, what could be done better, what sealed the victory, why his opposant lost, all in a fervent desire to continually improve himself in every aspect, no matter how small this improvement could be.


    A girl hidden in the bushes attacked, unaware that her position was known to her targets. Initially, she wanted to eliminate Ye Mo first, seemingly the strongest of the two, but when she recognized Zhao Da Xiong, she decisively changed her course of action, aiming her first strike at him.


    Zhao Da Xiong smiled lecherously as a small translucent ribbon of Qi, glowing of multiple interchanging colors, appeared floating beside him, then coiled around his neck.


    It seemed soft and supple at first, but when the blade of the dagger in the girl''s hand tried to penetrate, the ribbon quickly compressed and hardened, the blade coming to a still after only two inches in.


    Quickly enough, Zhao Da Xiong raised his hand and blue-purple smoke hissed out from under his fingernails, swirled around and covered the surroundings in a thick violet mist.


    As she inhaled the mist, the girl''s body reacted almost immediately, a feverish warmth spread from her core, flooding her veins with molten heat. Her breathing quickened, each shallow inhale bringing with it a sharp sense of need that she couldn''t shake. Her skin tingled as if charged by electricity.


    Her pulse raced, pounding loudly in her ears as a flush of red crept up her neck to her face. It felt like a fire burned just beneath her skin while her limbs felt weak, trembling as if they would no longer bear the weight of her body.


    With her unsuccessful assassination attempt and realizing she fell prey to Zhao Da Xiong''s battle skill, the girl tried to escape using her movement battle skill and quickly left the zone plunged in Violet Stimulant Fumes.


    In her state, she could barely move at half her usual speed, but she barely got away from the mist when she felt a strong force pull her up and slam her body on the ground.


    The girl choked, unable to breath anymore, her eyes, wide-open, moved to the side and saw Ye Mo squatting down and taking hold of her token.


    He has been waiting outside the mist in ambush, when he saw the girl leave, he immediately neutralized her and obtained her points.


    1120 was added to his score.


    "Haha, Ye Mo my friend, I really am making you work too hard. Why don''t you go find a place to rest in peace while I take care of her, I should be back in no time." Zhao Da Xiong soon left the mist as well and said, raising his hand in promise with a playful smile.


    Ye Mo didn''t wish to witness the scene that would unfold and left without a word. If Zhao Da Xiong took too much time, he would return and drag him away.


    While he moved further in the forest, he heard the girl on the ground breathe loudly, hurriedly filling her lungs with oxygen before coughing several times, only to see Zhao Da Xiong approach her with squinted lustful eyes.


    Later in the forest, Ye Mo was locked in battle with a stout and heavily built student of the Tiger Martial Institute.


    He used a spiritual weapon in the form of a mace to fight and was particularly skillful with it, especially combining his attacks with his battle skills. His strikes which were already powerful from the start, suddenly became twice faster at times or twice heavier alternatively, confounding his enemies and crushing their flesh even under the protection of defensive battle skills.


    But to his surprise, not only Ye Mo could block his mace with his wrist guards without suffering of any recoil, but he also fiercely retaliated!


    The two exchanged several moves when Ye Mo grew more and more tyrannical as the fight progressed, the student quickly turning passive.


    No matter how fast or how much heavier his strikes became, Ye Mo parried them all without so much as flinching and when he fought back, his fists felt like a thousand pound rock boulder crashed on him repeatedly.


    "No matter how strong his strikes grow, they are nothing compared to the power Bing Jia''s arrows carried and however much their speed increase, they can''t rival how fast the darts traveled, crossing half a hundred meter in an instant before hitting me."


    Ye Mo blocked the mace repeatedly without flinching, but when his fists reached the cultivator, he staggered several steps back each time before bracing himself for the next attack, holding his mace in opposition to protect himself.


    Quickly, a barrage of punches rained down on the Tiger Martial Institute''s student, sending him in harrowing inactivity, pulling all his being into defense while cold sweat ran down his back as several strikes nearly hit him.


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    "Damn it, god damn it! Where does he find all this strength, we had such a body refiner back in the institute?" The student thought anxious.


    "Body refiner?" Suddenly, his eyes shrunk to pin-size as a long forgotten memory resurfaced.


    Back in the third floor of the pagoda, when he just left his room after a good sessions of cultivation, he saw a man on his knees, holding his face while wailing loudly.


    When he approached this student, he was startled, noticing he lost both eyes, replaced by two bloody cavities.


    Not far from him, a man was prostated on the ground, silently holding his crotch with both hands and an expression of extreme pain.


    Still further, a girl layed unconscious with several deep circular wounds on her back and a missing arm, the flesh being an horrible mess with a broken bone sticking out of it.


    "What the hell happened here, did someone go berserk and tried to kill them?" The mace wielding student looked at them in stupor.


    Multiple students were gathered around the wounded, exclaiming, "This Ye Mo is really not to be trifled with, I still get chills thinking back to his fights."


    "He''s too brutal, even the girl was not spared. Good thing he''s not seen much, I don''t want to be anywhere near him."


    "He just entered the room so you will be okay for some time. Body refining really has its strong points, maybe I should give it another try in the future..."


    "Don''t even think about it, he''s the only one to be so successful with body refining, you will only waste your time and money over nothing."


    The stout student was shocked, although he was a long-established senior student, he rarely witnessed such barbarism in the pagoda before. What kind of demon was this Ye Mo?


    He quickly left the third floor without turning back as several attendents arrived to take care of the wounded.


    "It''s him!" He realized at this moment as he was continuously being pushed back.


    "He''s too powerful, better luck next time." The student at this moment decided to escape, he turned back and ran away with all his strength using a movement battle skill.


    Not far from them, Zhao Da Xiong looked at this situation and chose to finally give a helping hand to Ye Mo and show his importance.


    Employing a metamorphosis battle skill, his arms turned into two disgusting tentacles that wriggled in the air and plunged them in the ground.


    When they left the earth beside the escaping student, they were as thick as a human being and twice as tall.


    They viciously lashed out at him, whipping and slowing him down for an instant, giving Ye Mo the opportunity to punch his head and kill him.


    This was the only offensive battle skill Zhao Da Xiong possessed and used it to beat up girls when they resisted him or still had the strength to fight after being affected by Violet Stimulant Fumes.


    "Hehe, fortunately, I was here to help you. No need to thank me, you''re my precious partner after all, it''s normal between us, big brother here won''t let you suffer a loss." Zhao Da Xiong approached, boasting and proud of himself.


    Ye Mo silently took the student''s points, leaving him bragging on the side.


    He didn''t expect him to help, but even if it wasn''t the case, he wouldn''t let the Tiger Martial Institute''s student escape.


    He realized his movement battle skill was only comparable to mid-tier in terms of speed. If he followed him, Ye Mo wouldn''t be distanced.


    At this point it would all come to the first depleting his reserves of Qi, however, Ye Mo cultivated the Nine Revolutions Fiend Body art and one of the greatest advantage of body refiners was the low consumption of Qi, he had great chances to be successful in his chase and deal with him.


    "Hey, Ye Mo, I thought of something, you are, what, fifteen or sixteen years old? It should be itchy in your pants at that age, how about I share the girls with you after I am done with them, I am sure you want to do it as well, you can treat this as your brother making you a favor." Zhao Da Xiong said enthusiastically.


    Ye Mo listened and shook his head, rejecting outright, "No, it''s already difficult enough to search and defeat other students, I don''t even know my position in the rankings, I could be still be far from the top places so if it''s not about gaining points, I am not interested. I have no time to waste in such things."


    This was the difference between Ye Mo and a lustful dog like Zhao Da Xiong.


    Zhao Da Xiong cultivated for the sake of girls while Ye Mo used girls for the sake of cultivation.


    Women, if they couldn''t help him produce the Love Miracle Immortal Pill, then the only purpose they served was to hand over their points so he could obtain the peak-tier Yellow Class battle skill and greatly increase his strength.


    Men, beasts, plants, gold, in his perspective they were all cultivation tools. It is all for his cultivation needs. However, Zhao Da Xiong treated girls and the momentary pleasure he would gain spending a passionate time with them as his life goal, thus he cultivate in order to fuck more girls.


    Seeing Ye Mo''s rejection, Zhao Da Xiong didn''t push it, he only proposed casually.


    "Once again I distinguished myself, showing my utility to Ye Mo. He will need me till the end of the competition to find students and gain enough points so he won''t do anything till the last day. I have until this time to eliminate him, I can''t take his token and crush it, he''s too careful and never lower his guard, I shall find a powerful student to fight him, so strong that even Ye Mo would struggle against him, then I will backstab him in the middle of the battle, giving his opponent the opportunity to kill him."


    "Hehe, since I helped him kill Ye Mo and obtain his token, the student won''t do anything to me, he might even be grateful and since I don''t carry any point, he won''t have any reason to attack me, this is the best plan!"


    Zhao Da Xiong was impassive in front of Ye Mo, but in his mind, devious schemes were established to get rid of him.


    The two kept tracking students as Ye Mo fought against them, all these battles turning into a deep well of experience.


    On this side, he easily surpassed many of his peers, often fighting a dozen time a day before killing during the night as well.


    In this competition, life and death was omnipresent, when two students met, only one would leave the place. In theses circumstances, most of them only fought twice or thrice a day at best, mostly hiding and recovering in usual times.


    Only the top participants with complete confidence in their abilities would run around hunting students like him, fighting this much.


    His fighting style was constantly refined in this environment and where others fought with rigid, practiced techniques, he adapted on the fly, weaving through various forms and styles with an ease born from constant battles and formidable instincts, evolving continuously.


    The day was soon replaced by the night and after recovering their Qi, the pair set out once more.

 For The First Place, Only One Way.

    There wasn''t much to say of this night.


    During the day, few participants could match Ye Mo in battle and in the night, with the element of surprise in the form of Shadow Walk, those he met were all eliminated in an instant.


    Zhao Da Xiong wasn''t allowed to follow him as usual, only indicating where was situated the target before hiding.


    Due to Ye Mo''s cautiousness, Zhao Da Xiong wasn''t able to discover how he escaped his hearing during the night at all.


    Before long, the eastern sky grew lighter.


    "Look at what I got here."


    As a new day started, Zhao Da Xiong who was waiting in place, saw Ye Mo pushing bushes aside while returning from his hunt with a body on his shoulders.


    It was a woman from the Sky Martial Institute in her early twenties, with long brown hair and small red lips, noticeably unconscious.


    Ye Mo knocked her down and took her points, but didn''t kill her.


    Zhao Da Xiong immediately grew excited.


    "You helped me well these last two days so I brought her here for you." Ye Mo approached Zhao Da Xiong before suddenly throwing the girl towards him, shouting, "Catch!"


    This one hurriedly stepped forward with an expression of desire and caught the girl in his arms.


    At this moment Ye Mo''s lips curved upwards, a pale blue blade emerging from his wrist guard and with a wave of his hand, both Zhao Da Xiong and the woman were skewered on the Qi blade like a thread of meat just as the latter seized her.


    When the woman''s body was tossed, it stood between our protagonists, covering the view of each other and with everything happening in an instant, Zhao Da Xiong didn''t even realize a blade of Qi pierced his chest.


    When he tried to say something, blood rushed up his mouth with a gurgling sound and escaped in the form of droplets. Only then did he look down and noticed something perforated his body.


    "What the... What is this? Why?" Zhao Da Xiong spoke with difficulty, completely stunned and confused.


    He couldn''t understand, why kill him now? It has been only two days since they started collaborating and barely three nights passed since the start of the competition, they didn''t go through half of it yet.


    In his view, killing him now was nonsensical, Ye Mo needs him and his investigative battle skill to locate surrounding students, he should have been waiting for the end of the competition to reap the most benefits out of him before trying something.


    How is he supposed to reach the first place without his help?


    He was completely caught by surprise with this sudden assassination attempt.


    Another point was that Zhao Da Xiong never witnessed Ye Mo using his Qi blades, he couldn''t predict to be attacked this way.


    The woman who was sacrificed along Zhao Da Xiong immediately woke up when Ye Mo''s blade penetrated her and violently coughed out blood, she was even more muddled than Zhao Da Xiong and seeing his ill-favored face, she grimaced and tried to leave his grasp only to find she was resting on a blade while her forces gradually left her.


    Zhao Da Xiong looked over her shoulder at Ye Mo with hatred, "You need me to catch students, why kill me now? You will never rack enough points to obtain the battle skill without me."


    Ye Mo smiled lightly, "Why, why, always asking questions. In the first place, at the moment I accepted your offer, I planned to exploit you for only two or three days at best before getting rid of you. Give your greetings to king yama and ask him anything you want."


    Saying so, Ye Mo retracted his Qi from the spiritual weapon, the blade of Qi quickly dissipating as Zhao Da Xiong and the girl both fell on the ground, unable to support themselves anymore.


    Ye Mo stayed still and watched until all life left them before he went away, leaving the corpses hugging themselves in a pool of blood.


    "Dying doing what he enjoyed the most in life, what is there to be uncontented for?"


    Usually, when he left Zhao Da Xiong behind and traveled by himself in the night to attack students, he would quickly kill them no matter their genders and wouldn''t bother to bring women back alive for him to enjoy.


    If he did this time, it was because he was sure Zhao Da Xiong couldn''t control his emotions faced with a pretty woman, and would assuredly lower his guard, it was the best moment to attack.


    As the girl said when Ye Mo first met Zhao Da Xiong, there couldn''t be any trust between them and they worked purely for mutual benefits.


    In these conditions, betrayal was bound to happen at some point.


    If eating each other was inevitable, Ye Mo had to strike first. He liked to take control and for everything to go according to his will, he wouldn''t let Zhao Da Xiong serenely plot against him without having self-assurance.


    Only after thinking through all this did Ye Mo accept Zhao Da Xiong''s proposition.


    They had seen too much from each other and even if Zhao Da Xiong didn''t act, Ye Mo wouldn''t relent.


    Fearing this outcome, the first began scheming against Ye Mo, but he was still caught off-guard by how quickly the latter decided to execute him.


    Ye Mo took Zhao Da Xiong''s points. It was free 200 points, no matter how small the amount was, there was no reason to let them rot with his corpse.


    What was the most determinent in this incident was that Zhao Da Xiong was persuaded that Ye Mo would need him until the end of the competition, hence, he couldn''t kill him before they reached it, however Ye Mo of course thought about it and if he decided to get rid of him nonetheless, it meant he came to the conclusion he wasn''t necessary anymore.


    "The more time pass, the fewer the students there is in this forest, the same as blood beasts. Even with an investigative battle skill, we meet much less participants than before and the interval keeps growing between each encounter. Towards the later phase of the competition, we will be mostly dependant on luck to come into contact with someone else."


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    Investigative battle skills were very effective to scan the surroundings and avoid being taken by surprise by a nearing assailant, however, their range was still limited. Ye Mo and Zhao Da Xiong used it as a radar to hunt other participants instead, but if no one was present inside, it didn''t make any difference.


    Deaths grew day by day and the violence escalated as the students neared the conclusion of the competition, franctic to increase their score.


    Sometimes, Ye Mo and Zhao Da Xiong could go for two hours without encountering a single student, and this lapse would only increase with time, investigative battle skill or not.


    "If it was all there is to it, that wouldn''t be so bad, but..." Ye Mo thoughtful looked over his token.


    He obtained over twenty two thousand points since the start of the competition, an impressive amount, and on the banner outside the forest, his name was ranked at the 241th place.


    Yet, he knew that this much was far from enough to attain first place, without talking about others, the four young masters alone were sure to have at least this much.


    Ma Shinfei and Jin Hao Tian were not any weaker than him and even when you forget the fearsome Foundation Establishment cultivators exceptionally participating, there were still Zhang Xuanhan the number one student of the Sky Martial Institute present.


    All of them had a complete combat system and were bound to fight at least as much as him, gaining much more points.


    Even if he was to use Zhao Da Xiong''s battle skill a whole week to hunt and kill students in the forest to take their points, he understood he would never reach the first place this way.


    That''s why Ye Mo was persuaded, if he wanted to attain the top spot and obtain a peak-tier Yellow Class art, he had to defeat a well ranked participant and steal all his points. However, it was easier said than done, those well placed were all very powerful and in this vast forest, even with an investigative battle skill, you could only rely on your good fortune, or misfortune, to meet one of them.


    "All in all, Zhao Da Xiong''s presence wouldn''t change the finality of this issue, moreover, most participants possess an investigative battle skill and when they pass in the surroundings, they would find and attack me of their own initiative so losing him is not much of an issue, I only need to make sure to never be caught unprepared."


    "The only one I fought who was very powerful and with a lot of points was Bing Jia, such a shame we met during the first night, if I encountered and killed him today who knows by how much my score would have increased, thirty or fourty thousands?" Ye Mo recalled in disappointment.


    He nearly died this night, but obtained over four thousand points, more than his score at the time by a thousand.


    Back then, it was a huge mark however, only a few days later it became a pitiful amount.


    "Even if I meet a well placed participant, it would be best to happen in the last days, so that his score doesn''t become redundant until the end, that is, if I can defeat him." Ye Mo thought in humility.


    He didn''t take his opponents for granted, he believed he had as much chances to win and take their points than to be killed and become the one stolen.


    However, nothing comes easy in life and no spoon will feed you by itself, when you want something, you have to brave the risk and proactively seek it.


    Later that day, Ye Mo was encircled by over a thirty mid-tier Stonefang Wolves. These blood beasts possessed tough bodies and fangs and claws hard as rocks.


    They growled at Ye Mo for a moment without attacking as a few latecomers caught up with the rest of the pack.


    Ye Mo stood in the center, unmoving like a statue, gazing at them like he would look at the ceiling of his house, plain and unexpressive.


    Suddenly, when they attained a number of fourty, the most restless and impatient Stonefang Wolves pounced at him.


    Ye Mo waved his fists and feets, kicking and punching, sending them wailing in pain and blood on the ground in the surroundings.


    Seeing this, the whole pack attacked at once, all rushing at him in a frenzy.


    Ye Mo, still impassive, used Buddha Golden Bell battle skill as a bright dome of light covered his body.


    The beasts clawed, bit, teared and climbed on the bell, yet, none of it had any effect as the barrier stood unchanged.


    There were so much Stonefang Wolves around him that Ye Mo wasn''t even visible anymore, all that could be seen from outside was a small mound of enraged wolves in the center surrounded by their companions.


    After some time, Ye Mo poured his Qi in his wrist guards as two blades of Qi grew out of the curved base.


    Ye Mo twirled around, his arms swung wildly as numerous blue flashes of light hit at all sides in extreme speed when the Buddha Golden Bell disappeared.


    Heads, waists, tails and paws flew around in a bloody tapestry as a dozen of wolves were cut down in an instant.


    Kill!


    After all the blood beasts in his range were eradicated, Ye Mo retracted his blades and stepped forward, grabbing the tails of two Stonefang Wolves before thrashing them around, using them as battle axes to hit and crush their kins under their body.


    With the reach and the size of his ''weapons'', no wolves could approach without being battered and when he fought and killed long enough for the bodies of the wolves he held to turn into a bloody flat piece of meat, Ye Mo released them and caught two other wolves by the tail to continue his onslaught.


    Sometimes the tail would rip off their body under the violence of his strikes so he would catch two other and continue rampaging among the ranks of the beasts.


    In a short time, the high-tier Stonefang Wolf leading the pack was killed while the seven remaining survivors fled in horror, leaving the slowest one being pursued and eliminated by Ye Mo.


    To make the distinction between human and beast at this instant wasn''t easy.

 Fire and Spear in Disagreement

    It was late afternoon as Ye Mo sprinted in the woods.


    He advanced through the vastness of the Jade Forest while his score increased regularly from the blood beasts and the rare students he met on his way.


    It certainly didn''t progress as fast as when he was accompanied by Zhao Da Xiong, but it was still correct in his view and better than nothing.


    At some point, the vegetation on his side rustled while plants and leaves were stepped on.


    Ye Mo stopped on his tracks and stood on guard observing the place where it came from.


    "Haha, I didn''t expect it would be you, so you''re still alive as I thought!" Soon two students stepped out and approached him.


    They were familiar faces to Ye Mo, it was Ma Shinfei and Jin Hao Tian, the geniuses from the Tiger Martial Institute.


    "You guys, where are you heading to?" Ye Mo asked them not the least bit bothered or afraid.


    The first was very talkative and exuberant as he joined Ye Mo cheerfuly while Jin Hao Tian, although smiling and seemingly joyous, was much more calm and collected than his teammate.


    "We were going westward to find more beasts and students when brother Jin noticed someone close by with his investigative battle skill, who thought it would be you. Talking about it, you seem really serene, aren''t you afraid we would kill you and take your points?" Ma Shinfei asked in a pleased but somewhat incredulous manner.


    All the students they met since the competition began ran away with all their forces at the sight of them and those from the Tiger Martial Institute were no exceptions. Ye Mo really stood out at this moment being indifferent in front of them.


    "Well, I am not really worried about that. What truly preoccupy me is my score, do you guys know where the strongest students went?" Ye Mo tried to gain something out of this encounter as he questioned, always having his primary objective in mind.


    He wasn''t scared they would attack him, he had observed and talked with Ma Shinfei in the past and had an understanding of him. Although he could kill without a second thought, he was a honest boy, neither particularly murderous nor the kind who would suddenly lung at him without warning.


    Concerning Jin Hao Tian, he knew nothing of him beside his background, but since he and Ma Shinfei striked a friendship and formed a team together, one wouldn''t act without the assentement of the other.


    The forest was covered with the shades of green trees so at worst, Ye Mo could still use Shadow Walk to escape and if even that wasn''t enough then wether he ran away or not didn''t matter.


    Hearing the question, Jin Hao Tian answered truthfully, "You''re in luck, if you asked to someone else, they probably would be unable to respond, but it just happen that I and brother Ma were at the lead of the students charging in the forest the first day. Aware of our own strength, we rushed fearlessly and struck down a dozen students that targeted us before going deep in the woods, not far from us were Shen Xue and Qiong Lieyu that we saw moving northwest followed by Zhang Xuanhan."


    "We are going in this direction precisely to challenge them to a fight, the winner takes the points and gains the first place. As for Yan Mei, Li Qiang and Gao Lixin, they went northeast instead, but that''s only what we saw at the start of the competition, it''s been several days so some of them could have moved to a different area now, we can''t be sure."


    Ye Mo was delighted hearing this but didn''t show it as he inquired again, "You guys must have a lot of points if you believe you will immediately reach first place after defeating one of them."


    "Hehe, I haven''t been idle all this time and gathered respectively thirty eight thousands for myself while brother Jin has thirty five thousands. He''s still trying to find some blood beast to supass my score." Ma Shinfei mocked playfully.


    Jin Hao Tian''s lips twitched and he frowned deeply, clearly upset, but he didn''t say anything.


    Ye Mo finally clasped both his hands forward in a slight bow, expressing his gratitude, "Many thanks to the both of you for the informations, I shan''t take any more of your time and resume my quest to increase my score."


    He was just about to leave when Ma Shinfei placed his hand on his shoulder to retain him in place, "What are you saying brother Ye, both of us met in this endless forest, this is a fateful encounter. We should fight to our heart content and see for ourselves who''s the strongest! It has always been a small wish of mine to have a go against you, surely you won''t turn me down. You don''t need to hold back, give it your all and show me what your guts are made of, I will make sure to not kill you so you don''t have to worry about anything, if you fare good enough, I will let you join us." Ma Shinfei blurted out excitedly, taking the thick black stick that layed on his back in his hands and taking a ready stance.


    His battle desire surged greatly in his heart as his trilled eyes locked on Ye Mo.


    There were many tales about ancient body refining cultivators who could fight dragons with their fists and could jump in the sky, breaching the heavens, with their feets. No one denigrated their prowesses, yet, few would pick such lenghty and long-termed techniques, less wouldn''t give up and only a small number would become famous through them.


    Faced with a succesful body refining cultivator like Ye Mo who was more known for his physical abilities than his Qi cultivation, Ma Shinfei really wished to experience for himself what it was like to battle a beast in human skin. After all, there was no one else than him in Azure Water City who was known for sticking with body refining cultivation and achieved great strength through it.


    "Wait!" Jin Hao Tian abruptly intervened, "Who says it should be you to fight him? I also want to see what he''s capable of against my spear. You already fought the last student we encountered, this is my turn."


    "What, I asked first!"


    "I don''t care, I should fight him."


    "No, you don''t. Let''s decide who will do it!"


    The two bickered back and forth at who would face Ye Mo before they suddenly outstretched their hands and started heatedly playing rock, paper, scissors in front of him, screaming and jumping up and down of nervousity as they made the same shape repeatedly.


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    They seemed entranced and deeply agitated playing their game like little kids as they deeply wished to be the one fighting.


    Ye Mo was surprised and wondering how to escape this situation for a moment before he said, "Wait for me a second." then leapt up and climbed to the peak of the tallest tree in their surroundings.


    This alarmed the two teens who stopped their play to look at him going up, but realizing he couldn''t outrun them if they wished to chase him, they didn''t get flustered anymore and observed.


    At the top of the tree, Ye Mo looked around and could see no end to the Jade Forest, but he noticed a twenty meters high precipice westward that stood out in the distance.


    Climbing down until he landed in front of the pair, Ye Mo told them, "I am busy right now and need to gain more points, I can''t just stay here to fight with you when it''s only the fourth day. How about that, there is a precipice straight west, you can''t miss it if you go in that direction, let''s do our stuff in the remaining time then meet each other at this place during the last day of the competition and have a go at it with easy mind."


    "Hmm..." Ma Shinfei grumbled and looked down undecisive for some time before reluctantly agreeing.


    He was already fired up at this point and really wanted a bout with Ye Mo, being more prone to action, he had difficulties being patient, but he wasn''t a tyrant and decided he could wait two days rather than force Ye Mo to fight.


    An important point in this conversation was that Ma Shinfei didn''t doubt Ye Mo a single instant, wether it was blind naivety or extreme confidence, if the latter told him he would meet them at the precipice in three days, then it could only be so for him.


    Only Jin Hao Tian whispered to Ye Mo when passing beside him, "A man''s words cannot be taken back."


    Then, the two talented youngsters and the body refining cultivator went on their separate ways, both leaving west while the other went east.


    If Ye Mo chose to go east rather than west, it is because he didn''t believe he would have much chances against Shen Xue or Qiong Lieyu, even Zhang Xuanhan would be very difficult to defeat, these guys were the best young cultivators of the city and the top students of their respective institute. He believed it was much more appropriate for him to battle someone like Li Qiang or Gao Lixin than to face these fellows.


    "This is setting up well, even if I don''t find any top ranked student to defeat after the sixth day, I can return to the precipice and fight with Jin Hao Tian and Ma Shinfei who will be waiting for me. With these guys characters, they will fight me one by one while life and death won''t be involved, if I defeat both of them, I can still hope to attain the first place and if I don''t then it''s just a lack of abilities on my part. It would be a shame after all the efforts I have put in, but I can only give up on the peak-tier battle skill by then, at least I will keep my life and the limitless possibilities of the future. This is a failsafe plan in case everything else goes wrong."


    Ye Mo pondered, feeling rather lucky he came across these two, if it was someone like Shen Xue, then battle would have been inevitable.


    Now, he still needed to find strong participants so he spent a portion of his Qi and used Wind Flow to cover a greater distance faster.


    While he moved at great speed, night eventually fell, blood beasts roared and roamed when students rest and hide.


    Wether man or beast, Ye Mo slaughtered everything he encountered, stopping only to recover his Qi before setting out again.


    Quickly, the moon''s shift was completed and it was the turn of the sun to take its place, giving light to plants and heat to all creatures inhabiting the land.


    It was already the fifth day of the competition.


    After a two hours nap, Ye Mo rose up in the morning and went on east continously.


    With his speed, several miles could be crossed in a few minutes and by now, the place where he encountered Ma Shinfei and Jin Hao Tian couldn''t be seen even if one mounted the biggest tree.


    Watch him as he fight against a rank 1 peak-tier Thunderous Baboon with coarse grey fur and sharp fangs jutting out of his mouth. Early in their battle, Ye Mo took the advantage in physical abilities and quickly supressed the beast.


    The monkey, feeling it wouldn''t be able to turn the tables with its strength and that he fell in an increasingly dangerous position, opened its mouth wide and let out a loud cry like thunder rumbled and lightnings fell at their position.


    Many birds that flew a bit too low in the sky suddenly plummeted down and crashed dead against the earth.


    Ye Mo recoiled stunned by the cry, two trails of blood running down his ears as he lost his audition, a ceaseless tinnitus buzzing in his head.


    "His cry is dangerous, I better finish this fight quickly!" Ye Mo stepped forward, ignoring his pain as he rushed at the monkey.


    The Thunderous Baboon, seeing him return, leaped around in fury, letting a second scream escape his mouth.


    Ye Mo grimaced and gnashed his teeth in deep pain, the leaking blood of his ears increasing, but he stood in track and advanced nonetheless, a Qi blade surging from his wrist guards as he hacked at the monkey.


    This one tried to place his arm forward in protection, but it was quickly sent flying as it met the blade before another followed and decapitated the beast.


    Ye Mo didn''t give any attention to the 500 points added to his score as he used Endless Vitality to heal his ears.


    He slowly recovered his audition and as his hearing increased, he gradually made out a rasping sound behind him.


    He turned around and saw not far from him, a cultivator in black robes approaching with lips curled up in a pleased and satisfied smile, the blade of his sword held down as he dragged it against the rocks and the earth on the ground while he walked towards Ye Mo making this harsh, grating noise.


    With his long black hair, his snow-white skin and the air of hostility that surrounded him, anyone could make out the young master of the Li clan.

 Ye Mo vs Li Qiang (Two chapters in one)

    Li Qiang smiled widely, showing his pearly white teeth as he concealed unknown hatred and fury. His sword dragged upon the hard earth and his was mind full of murderous thoughts, he looked extremely menacing at this moment.


    "You don''t know how much I desired to meet you in this unforgiving forest." He said, "I heard body refining cultivators have remarkable vitality, able to keep on living with all their limbs cut off, you should have kowtowed to me and accepted your punishment back then rather than provoking me, I told you you can''t escape this, no matter how much you run my sword will always be behind you, slowly catching up. Now, don''t hope you will have an easy death, I will slice your body a thousand times, gouge your eyes and sever your tongue, only when I have thoroughly vented my frustration will I rip your chest open and take your heart out with my own hands!"


    Hearing Li Qiang''s words, Ye Mo broke into a cold smirk, saying lowly, "I also wished I would run across you."


    Now, Li Qiang was too far to hear what Ye Mo uttered, he only saw him run towards him like an enraged bull, leaving deep footprints on the ground.


    Li Qiang was very happy to see this, raising his sword, "At least you''re not as cowardly as before, running straight to your death."


    He used a movement battle skill and rushed at Ye Mo, in an instant, he was right before him, swinging his blade ferociously.


    Clang! Clang! Clang!


    The sound of steel striking iron resounded in the area as the both of them entangled in a violent struggle.


    Li Qiang moved his sword at an inconceivable speed and Ye Mo parried it with his wrist guards like an unmoving mountain.


    The latter could follow the movements of the blade with his eyes, but barely react, raising his spiritual weapon in defense and only slightly moving his wrist guards up and down or to his side to deviate the sword, he couldn''t fight back at all.


    It was much too fast, although he could see the swings, he didn''t have the time to make grand movements, much less counter-attack lest he was cutdown halfway.


    High-tier Yellow Class - Silver Streak Blade Technique.


    Li Qiang took it up a notch as he poured his Qi and used a sword battle skill.


    Immediately, his blade accelerated exponentially turning into a silver flash of light.


    Ye Mo blocked one blow towards his chest when nearly at the same time, one came closing on his legs. Lowering his wrist guards, he deflected it while arching his back, bending backwards as a third strike flashed right before his eyes in the snap of a finger, illuminating his expressionless face as it passed over before a fourth blow came.


    Ye Mo only had the time to raise his wrist guards to guard himself when the blade crashed over, in his awkward position and under the force of the strike, he was sent rolling on the ground.


    He quickly took a foothold and turned around during his rolls, facing Li Qiang once again as he supported himself on one knee.


    The young master raised his head, looking at him haughtily as he declared full of pride, "You and I are too different, it''s not I or your fault, it was defined from birth. I am the heir of the Li clan, when I was six I picked swordplay, at eight I was tested to have rank 4 talent, reaching the age of ten, none of my peers were my match in the clan, before I was twelve, I mastered advanced techniques that even some adults had a hard time to learn."


    "I will become the next leader of the Li clan, under my reign, it will rise to new heights. I will eradicate our enemies and lord over Azure Water City, wether Shen, Yan or Gao no one will retain their place. In due time we will spread our might outside and take over the region, no, the whole province will be covered with my banner."


    "A grand future has always been promised to me, however, you''re just a beggar that mistakenly entered our world, thinking it was his great fortune. Luck and pride rising over your head, you offended your master. Heavens has sent me to teach you your place, and this lesson will prove you fatal."


    Li Qiang gave voice to his wild ambitions as he put Ye Mo in the skin of a slave.


    In their bout, Li Qiang was the superior one, when he revealed a part of his strength, Ye Mo was unable to hold out. After this declaration, anyone else would be demoralized and disheartened but Ye Mo''s expression was unchanging as he clenched both fists and rushed ahead once more.


    "Unappreciative bastard!" Li Qiang snorted and went forward sword in hand, quickly reaching Ye Mo.


    When they were about to collide, Ye Mo quickly punched, taking the initiative. Li Qiang couldn''t be allowed to pick up his momentum.


    This one ducked to the side and narrowly avoided his fist when another came his way. The young master swayed back to dodge it and was about to wave his sword at Ye Mo when the latter suddenly opened his fist, a handful of concealed dirt thrown straight into his eyes.


    Li Qiang didn''t fully regain his stance yet, when the gritty dust exploded in his face, blinding him momentarily.


    The dirt immediately stung his eyes like tiny shards of glass. His vision blurred instantly, a burning sensation flooding his senses and he instinctively recoiled, blinking furiously to clear the grit from his eyes.


    Panic immediately gripped him as he realized his situation and he wanted to blindly retreat with his movement battle skill, but he barely had the time to think about it that Ye Mo had already fully used this split-second of disorientation to seize his chance, driving a powerful Stone Breaking Punch in Li Qiang''s midsection, sending him skiding across the ground for a dozen steps.


    This dirt Ye Mo threw was cunningly picked up in his hand during Li Qiang''s speech as he was in a kneeling position near the ground. Li Qiang was so engrossed that he didn''t pay attention, but even if he did, how could he notice such a thing or expect this vicious and shameless stratagem to outplay him.


    Now Ye Mo looked coldly at his arm.


    It was full of cuts with blood dripping down. When he punched Li Qiang, several invisible blades lashed out at his arm as soon as he made contact with him, opening these multiple wounds.


    This was the Blade Aura battle skill, a Yellow Class high-tier martial art of the Li clan. Once activated, it would slice and hack at the opponent as soon as he touch the user and it would keep going till the target take his distance.


    For Ye Mo, he only suffered a few cuts on the arm since the contact was very short as he sent Li Qiang retreating with his punch, but a few seconds more and his whole body would be covered in wounds, half a minute and anyone would be cut down to pieces.


    Even towards defense, the Li clan young master remained mostly offensive.


    This one fell down in a kowtowing position, vomiting a pool of blood.


    Beside Blade Aura that he kept operating since the beginning of the battle, he used another defensive battle skill in reflex right before being hit or else this punch alone would have been enough to kill him and send his corpse flying in the air.


    He popped a peak-tier healing pill in his mouth and instantly felt himself recovering as he swallowed, but seeing Ye Mo approaching, he didn''t take the time to heal anymore and rose up.


    "Wretched fiend, how dare you injure me!?" Li Qiang gnashed his teeth in rage, his blood boiling and his expression turning fierce.


    He raised his sword above his head while it shined brillantly.


    "Li Cheng''s battle skill?" Ye Mo slowed down as he observed, he still remembered the Cleaving White Crescent technique Li Qiang''s little brother used against him and this one looked the same.


    With a hacking motion, Li Qiang released three white lightblade towards him, one slightly to his right, the other slightly to his left, and the last straight at him in a single swing. The three of them were twice thicker than the white crescent released by Li Cheng in the past.


    Sunlight shone behind Ye Mo casting his shadow on the ground, he wasn''t the same as when he faced Li Qiang''s brother on the arena, with his second revolution of the fiend body, his 8th layer cultivation and his mastery of Wind Flow, he could avoid one even after it was released.


    However, now there were three going at him at the same time and he couldn''t dodge all of them so he placed himself sideways and raised his wrist guards, blocking the only lightblade that directly traveled towards him and breaking it in particles of white light as it crashed against the peak-tier spiritual weapon.


    The other two flew past him and cut everything in their path before dissipating in the distance.


    Sending three lightblades in a single swing, this was the level higher to the Li clan Cleaving White Crescent sword technique, the high-tier Yellow Class Triple Glow battle skill.


    Li Qiang swung his sword several times, sending more than a dozen lightblade at Ye Mo.


    The lightblades he released were different from the white crescent Li Cheng used, those ones were more curved, while its flying in the air, it travelled in an arc, like a boomerang, making it harder for enemies to predict.


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    Ye Mo rolled, jumped, sommersaulted and crawled, dodging those he could while using his wrist guards to block the remaining one going at him. The lightblades had impressive cutting abilities, but were not as forceful as Bing Jia''s arrows, Ye Mo didn''t suffer from any recoil as he defended from them.


    The trees in the surroundings were slashed and fell down one after another by the lightblades and Ye Mo had to avoid both of them sometimes. These trees could fall on him without causing much damage, but if he layed below, the lightblades would slice both of them apart without any problem so they had to be dodged so he could keep his mobility.


    Every lightblades were sent with incredible precision, no matter how far they went or how off-target they seemed, they would always return right on point.


    There were many words that could be used to describe Li Qiang, prideful, arrogant, cold, but the most appropriate was stubborn.


    He was stubborn in his grudges, quick to take offense and slow to forgive, he was stubborn in preserving the nobility of his clan, protecting its benefits and reputation with determination, but he was also stubborn with his training.


    Out of the four young masters, he was probably the one working the hardest to master his techniques, often laying down covered in sweat and unable to move a finger after each session.


    The amount of Qi spent and pills used to recover it was enormous as he pushed himself to his limits, being a big financial hole that the Li clan easily and delightedly filled for him.


    The arched lightblades that went away and returned with such accuracy wasn''t proper to the Triple Glow battle skill, most of the Li clan members that learned it would be unable to display more than three lightblades moving in a straight line towards the target.


    At most, it would deviate a bit before going back on track, but it would never be as exaggerated as what was shown currently.


    Training so hard to put everyone beneath his foot and prove nobody was his equal, this was Li Qiang.


    Ye Mo lept between several tree trunks laying on the ground, rotating his body as he evaded two lightblades and blocked one in mid-air before one was sent towards the sky.


    The curved lightblade seemed completely missed, yet it arched so much that its trajectory turned down and it flew in the direction of the ground, but it kept moving in a full round circle and finally went towards Ye Mo''s back.


    Ye Mo, who noticed the lightblade fired a moment ago, turned around to block it after evading a few more.


    But at this moment, a bright flash of sunlight entered his iris.


    His back was originally facing the sun, and now that he had turned around and many trees that covered the area fell down, the eye-piercing sunlight temporarily made his eyes hurt, and his vision went blank.


    His senses tingled as he felt unprecedented danger, nonetheless, Ye Mo wasn''t alarmed but smiled brightly instead, exclaiming, "How clever!"


    Li Qiang trained a lot for sure but his experience wasn''t small either, setting up the environment and using the sunlight to blind him, such ingenuity made Ye Mo praise sincerely, this was a good lesson for him.


    This reflection went in a flash before he willed and the projection of a golden bell protected him, deflecting the lightblade.


    At the view of this, Li Qiang''s lips twitched with disappointment, annoyance, and anger.


    "Am I really fated to kill every user of this Buddha Golden Bell battle skill." He thought sarcastically, before he used a movement battle skill to dash towards a standing tree, step on it and jump high in the air.


    "Peak-tier Yellow class, Godly Sparkle battle skill." Li Qiang waved his sword down and launched an attack from midair, a ray of light falling to the ground.


    Ye Mo was unworried as he looked at this scene and raised his wrist guards.


    The ray of light seemed inconsistent and easy to block, like a drop of morning dew that fell down, but when it reached Ye Mo, the earth rumbled and a cloud of dust rose in the area.


    "I know the Buddha Golden Bell battle skill well, it could never resist against this sword art, this should do the trick." Li Qiang said satisfied as he landed down and observed the scene.


    From the movement of the blade to the ray of light falling like a drop of shining water, this was a sword battle skill that necessited to be used while in the air to be released properly.


    Suddenly, a stone pierced the rising dust and flew towards him.


    Li Qiang, surprised but ready, effortlessly parried it with his sword when he saw a black machete going straight at him.


    He barely blocked it with the blade that three thin needles lodged themselves in his shoulder.


    In the meantime, the dust subsided and Ye Mo could be seen walking towards him unscathed.


    Li Qiang stared wide-eyed at him then his shoulder, in understanding, "He concealed the needles in the shadow of the machete, the latter and the stone were just decoys."


    The needles were thin like a strand of hair and translucent like an ice shard, it was barely noticeable laying on the palm of your hand so when it traveled in the shadow of the machete, it was as good as invisible. Li Qiang had no way to react to it.


    These needles were recovered by Ye Mo when a student used them against him on the second floor of the pagoda. Since he had the amability to hand them over, Ye Mo didn''t bother to return them.


    "Not bad, but you should have aimed for the head or the heart, these lousy needles can''t do anything to me now, you missed your chance." Li Qiang smiled fiercely as he took the needles out of his shoulder and broke them in the palm of his hand.


    He felt a chill imagining what could have happened an instant ago, but now that the danger passed and the needles were dealt with, his confidence swelled up ever higher as he was guaranteed to win.


    Ye Mo clasped his hands behind his back and watched quietly.


    Li Qiang took a step forward planning to strike again when he suddenly fell on one knee, droplets of black blood falling from his nostrils.


    In alarm, he looked at his shoulder from which oozed black blood out of three tiny holes. The flesh surrounding the wound was purulent and dark lines could be seen on the surrounding skin, spreading towards his neck and his chest.


    "Hmph, poison, I should have expected it from a scheming little prick like you. I will have to disappoint you though as I learned a mid-tier poison-averting battle skill." Li Qiang breathed a sigh of relief as he channeled his Qi to drive the poison away.


    Although Li Qiang was extremely offense oriented in his fighting style and prefered waving his blade and train his swordplay, he still took the decision to learn a poison-averting battle skill to be safe in the past which showed he also thought of different situations and took his precautions towards them, rather than mindlessly pursuing the way of the sword and forgetting the rest.


    He really thanked himself for his awareness at this moment, but after some time, he realized in horror that not only the poison wasn''t driven away, it was only slightly slowed down no matter how hard he operated his battle skill or how much Qi was used.


    At this time, Ye Mo grinned, coldly remarking, "These needles were dipped in the poison of a rank 2 Blighted Treant, this beast could easily kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator in a short time, indicating it was most probably a high or peak-tier blood beast. If you don''t have at least a high-tier Yellow Class poison-averting battle skill, then I am afraid your time has come."


    Originally, the needles were plunged in a paralysing poison since the pagoda forbade killing. Ye Mo was thus unable to make a single movement for half an hour, but since he already entered a room at this time, it didn''t bother him at all and he spent this time cultivating. Later when he found the chance in the jungle, he used the poisonous vines of the blighted treant that chased him to soak the tip of the needles in, before going to the pure iridescent iron cave.


    Li Qiang fell on the ground in pain and dizziness, howling in denial, "No, it can''t be, I am the young master of the Li clan. I will lead my people forward to trample this region and govern the land, my name shall resound throughout the heavens, I can''t die here, this is not my fate."


    "This is not my fate, this is not my fate, someone help me..."


    Soon, Li Qiang lost his voice and from screaming and crying loudly, he gradually mumbled and ceased all movements.


    Ye Mo laughed clearly as he approached, "Even in your wildest dreams, all you can aspire to achieve is governing a small region or province. How could a mere frog like you stop me?"


    Although Li Qiang despised him, Ye Mo had no less contempt towards the ridicule desires of the swordsman.


    Quickly, the poison reached Li Qiang''s brain and his heart stopped beating, his sword escaped his hand as he lost his life.

 Brewing Turmoil

    Ye Mo approached Li Qiang''s corpse and looked at the broken needles on the ground.


    "I prepared those in secret for the time I would face a powerful opponent. They couldn''t be used against the likes of Shen Xue, Qiong Lieyu or Gao Lixin as they are either all-rounded or defense oriented in their battle style so they probably possess a good poison-averting battle skill. Someone like Li Qiang or Jin Hao Tian was perfect, now they can''t be used anymore."


    Although it worked as intended and aligned with his goal, Ye Mo couldn''t help but feel regrettable over losing the needles.


    During the first night, he and Bing Jia placed their life on the line fighting like enraged beasts for a long time, Ye Mo barely won thanks to the hidden Qi blades, leaving the scene with a broken body. However, this time, after a bit of tactic, he was able to strike Li Qiang with concealed poisoned needles, immediately ending the fight after it started.


    His opponent was the heir of the Li clan and one of the strongest Qi Gathering cultivator of the city, no one in the competition would feel assured against him, but now he layed lifeless on the ground so abruptly after the fight began while Ye Mo instead, beside a few cuts on his arm, was unscathed.


    The needles worked so well that even he felt a loss looking at their fragmented bits glistening under the sun rays.


    If he didn''t use them against Bing Jia, it''s because at first he wasn''t aware of his identity when he attacked him and even though the other party told him later on he was one of the strongest student of the Sky Martial Institute, Ye Mo still had to fight and find wether it was the case or not rather than taking him to the word.


    He could hold his ground and defend himself without too much trouble against Bing Jia and only when this one used the peak-tier Starfall battle skill was Ye Mo truly in danger, but at this point, they already reached the climax of the battle and it''s issue was settled with the next few moves.


    Using the needles when Bing Jia spent all his cards and was almost devoid of Qi would simply be a waste by then, Ye Mo sensibly preserved them for another occasion.


    Moreover, it was only the first night at this time so at most, he would only gain a few thousand points even if he killed him, spending his trump card for such a low prize would be like throwing it away.


    He also didn''t wish to use them against Ma Shinfei, actually, he is the only person Ye Mo would rather avoid killing if given the chance. The flame grandmaster that taught him was very mysterious and his cultivation was hidden behind a veil, although it was evident he was at least a powerful Inner Core realm expert since he fought and held off the Gao clan patriarch the day he arrived in the city, incuring his wrath was much too dangerous and uncertain for Ye Mo to risk it.


    "When I think about it, Li Qiang probably didn''t show everything he was capable of, he died quickly after being surprised by the needles. His last battle skill was the most powerful, it destroyed my golden bell in an instant, if it was anyone but me, he wouldn''t have left in one piece."


    Ye Mo thought back to the highest point of his bout with Li Qiang. At this time, the swordsman jumped and used the Godly Sparkle battle skill, although it looked like a bright drop of water, it was no less than a peak-tier sword technique, when it reached the light of the Buddha Golden Bell battle skill, the barrier immediately shattered.


    If Ye Mo could endure the attack unharmed compared to Bing Jia''s Starfall battle skill which left him seriously wounded, it is because the Godly Sparkle battle skill focused on one point of destruction where it lacerated everything on its path whereas Starfall would spread Qi arrows in a large area before falling down.


    Towards Starfall battle skill, he could raise his wrist guards and protect his vital spots, but the rest of his body had no choice but to directly withstand the several arrows that fell on his position sustaining deep injuries, however, when facing the Godly Sparkle battle skill, he straightforwardly raised his peak-tier spiritual weapon against the light drop, no matter how much power held this sword technique, it was unable to even scrath the iron on Ye Mo''s forearms.


    Of course, just the impact of the strike alone would be enough to crush someone down, but this pressure was only a fraction of the battle skill''s true power, Ye Mo was more than fitted to endure it.


    The earth cracked, the trees were cut and dust rised, yet he remained upright like a rock withstanding the waves.


    Li Qiang was familiar with the Buddha Golden Bell battle skill and this is with experience that he used the Godly Sparkle martial art to overcome it, this factor turned into even greater astonishment when he was attacked and witnessed Ye Mo leaving the cloud of dirt intact.


    How could he realize the wrist guards were an uncomparably resistant peak-tier spiritual weapon, where could he learn the depths of abilities a body refined by a high-tier Star Class martial art could yield?


    This was Ye Mo''s greatest strength in this competition, he might be slow, his battle skills predictable or his attacks of low level, but his best advantage over his peers was his unshakeable resilience.


    Between Buddha Golden Bell battle skill, his spiritual weapon and his powerful body, he was like an unpenetrable fortress inexorably moving forward. Even if one could wound him after going through all that, there was still Endless Vitality to heal him, the greater the injury, the faster the recovery, bringing despair to his opponents.


    "Li Qiang believed breaking my defensive battle skill was enough to deal with me, but it was only the first layer of protection, there are still more to pass before one can envisage killing me."


    During the five days Ye Mo have spent in the Jade Forest, the students that weren''t immediately killed with a few strikes all underwent the dilemma he represent, many racked their brains in distress, but were unable to find a way to deal enough damage to him before hopelessly falling under his fists.


    Bing Jia and Li Qiang both went through this as well, the first finding no other solution but using Starfall battle skill, while the latter only started realizing how tough he was when he died poisoned.


    "With few choices, I always prioritised survivability, I achieved minor success in this aspect, but when it comes to killing top students, I have to put all my mind and think everything through to get rid of them. Obviously, not losing and actually eliminating your opponent is completely different, the efforts necessary for the second one are much greater, then if I had to capture someone alive, it would be even more difficult. Hopefully, I will gain the peak-tier battle skill and increase my strength quickly."


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    No one knew his strenghts and his shortcomings better than himself, being clear of your limits and knowing when advancing or backing down is a fundamental aspect towards survival.


    Quickly, he released the Qi blades of his wrist guards and cut out the cords attached to Li Qiang''s token in one swing before he picked a stick and pushed it away from his remains. Again with the stick, he flipped it open then sighed in relief seeing the white token was not contaminated by the black blood.


    If it was the case, he would have to wrap it in tissues and search for a stream to clean it before being able to touch the token and increase his score, it would waste a lot of time to do so then return here, fortunately, the poisoned blood only fell on Li Qiang''s chest and the ground.


    Ye Mo didn''t even have a low-tier poison-averting battle skill, if he was just slightly contaminated, it would be a certain death. Dying from your own weapon, how laughable would that be?


    He picked up the token and transferred all the points Li Qiang accumulated without any emotions.


    His score suddenly increased by more than forty five thousand and his place in the leaderboard was sure to rise as quickly.


    Yet, his mind was away, reflecting over his situation.


    "With Li Qiang meeting his death from my hands, his clan is bound to make a move. If the father is like his sons, then he won''t even wait for the end of the competition to come here and cause a ruckus, I must prepare myself."


    "In this situation, the Tiger Martial Institute is forced to protect me, as one of their student and without breaking any rules, they must ensure my safety against the Li clan no matter what. If they let anything happen to me, not only they will lose their reputation, displaying a weak side as they were unable to keep their member away from harm, they would also be seen as an organisation that can be bossed around by the clans, losing all their prestige. This is something none will want to see in the institute."


    For organizations of the righteous path, reputation was always the most important, even before the lives of their own members. This is taking it into account that Ye Mo planned his every actions, he knew the Tiger Martial Institute''s higher-ups couldn''t back down.


    Ye Mo didn''t even consider the clans and institutions wouldn''t know what happened, such a thing couldn''t be hidden or the institute''s arrangements would really be disappointing.


    He wasn''t afraid either, if he killed Li Qiang, of course, he was willing to face the Li clan''s relentless pursuit.


    "Li Qiang was strong and held a special status, his death will attract a lot of attention. The more I stay in this city, the more I risk getting exposed and killed, but I should be safe until the end of the competition. I really wish to see how Hong Li will fend off the Li clan patriarch." Ye Mo smiled coldly.


    Nonetheless he wasn''t naive, he knew that if the institute could find a pretext to hand him over and avoid a conflict with the Li clan, they wouldn''t hesitate. He was just an insignificant piece of the board in their view, it was on him to be irreproachable and not give them a reason to act against him.


    "The world is hard to predict, but it is precisely this that makes it interesting." Ye Mo turned around and walked away, leaving Li Qiang''s body behind.


    Soon, blood beasts will swarm to devour him, dying from the poison in turn.


    During this time, in a room near the entrance of the Tiger Martial Institute, an instructor loudly fell down from his chair.


    He was deeply pale with fright while two other instructors in the room beside him looked at him questionningly, yet the first one ignored them.


    After some time, he climbed back on his chair and looked at a pure white disk placed on a desk in front of him.


    On the disk appeared the name and the score of all participants still competing in the Jade Forest.


    "Impossible..." The instructor mumbled as he looked dumbly at the disk.


    These instructors were the people in charge of relying informations and updating the leaderboard on the banner outside. The disk was laced with small formations that were linked and working in tandem with the formations on the token of the participants, with this, the instructors directly had access to the score of the tokens and the identity of their wearer without any delay.


    When there were changes in the rankings, one of them would go outside and use the painting ink battle skill to modify the content of the banner.


    "What is wrong with you, stop this disturbance at once!" The instructor with the highest cultivation among the three, and who instructed the other two when necessary, was quite upset with the sudden behavior of his comrade.


    "Look... It disappeared..." The one acting oddly said with a trembling voice, pointing at the disk in front of him.


    The senior instructor, rather than standing up to go take a look, remained in place and stared at his own disk.


    In a short time, his eyes were wide open in shock and his jaw dropped frozen.


    On the disk, Li Qiang''s name that stood at the 8th place was nowhere to be found no matter how much they searched back in the rankings.


    Noticing the commotion, the last instructor looked at his disk as well before his lips parted in disbelief, staring blankly.


    "Could it be there is a dysfunction with his token?" The first one noticing the change in the leaderboard suddenly asked, uncertain.


    "There is no way, the tokens have been covered in small formations by a master. It can detect the life force of the surrounding blood beasts and give points when they are killed depending on the quality of the life force varying between the ranks of the blood beasts. However, it can also identify the life force of the token holder, we have used them several times spanning in years and there has never been a problem, if the name disappeared from the rankings, it means the wearer died." The senior instructor was categorical, yet he was reluctant to accept this truth as well.


    In the meantime, beside the entrance of the Golden Martial Institute, one of their instructor modified the leaderboard, giving a fright to one Li clan member present.


    This modification quickly raised an uproar among the crowd looking at the banner, but the Li clan member only gave a second look before swiftly scurrying away.


    In a short time, he arrived in the Li clan headquarters, asking to see the patriarch urgently.


    With him, there were several other members of all ranks, yet all of them wore the same panicked expression, asking the same thing. Even a female elder was present, requesting an audience.


    Hierarchy obliged, she was the first accepted in the hall where sieged Li Cheng and Li Qiang''s father.

 Happy or Hateful, Each To Their Own Objectives

    In the center of the Li clan headquarters, two huge stone doors were pushed open as the female elder entered the hall.


    The interior was wide enough to welcome several hundred members while the roof was supported by multiple pillars.


    In each corner of the hall was a Foundation Establishment cultivator standing guard.


    In the middle was a table surrounded by a dozen chair, but only a middle-aged man sat by himself on the main seat at this moment, painting conscientiously.


    This person''s traits were very similar to Li Qiang and Li Cheng, but he was taller, though rather thin.


    The female elder stopped on the other side of the table and bowed in respect, "Patriarch."


    Li Zhen didn''t even look at her as he gave all his attention to his current activity, moving his hand freely while he said, "You know I don''t like being disturbed when painting."


    She bowed a second time then said in a heavy tone, "I have an important matter I must report."


    The patriarch slightly hummed his acquiescence still focused on his drawing.


    "Young master Qiang''s name has disappeared from the leaderboard!"


    The brush came to a halt on the canvas, which portrayed bamboos standing straight against the wind on a rainy mountain. A large blot of ink began to bleed outwards, completely destroying the atmosphere of the entire painting.


    It was quiet for a moment before Li Zhen finally raised his head and looked at her, "You know, painting and swordsmanship ain''t very different, it both requires diligent practice, adroitness and precision. What you want to express with blood and sword on the flesh of your opponent, this time you do it with a brush and ink on paper."


    At this time, Li Zhen pushed his seat back and stood up.


    "However, there is a time for everything. Bring me my sword and assemble everyone!" He gave his directives to the guard in the hall who quickly moved on, executing his orders.


    The elder nodded and left the hall with determination.


    During this time, beside each banner in the city, commonfolks and passengers alike talked back and forth in an animated discussion over the change in the rankings.


    Some whispered among each other, but they were muffled by the loud remarks of many others.


    "Li Qiang can''t be seen anymore in the leaderboard, did Gao Lixin finally come to get rid of him?"


    "It can''t be, they have always been evenly matched. Even If Gao Lixin eventually surpassed him, the difference would never be huge enough to be able to kill Li Qiang."


    "Who could have eliminated him then, Zhang Xuanhan or Jin Hao Tian don''t have the strength to do so, maybe Shen Xue? No, the young masters have always avoided each other during such competitions and when they met, they wouldn''t engage in a fight with murderous intentions without personal grievances between each other..."


    Thoughts flew back and forth openly in the plaza as many still couldn''t believe Li Qiang would lose his life in this year-end competition, but those who had no connections with the Li clan didn''t really care about his death and were more interested in discussing who killed him.


    In truth, rivals or enemies of the Li clan, and even more people from mortals to cultivators, were delighted by the news.


    Li Qiang hasn''t been a saint in life and many people hated him, holding personal grudges of the past hidden deep in their heart against him till today.


    As spectators thought aloud of what could have happened, someone suddenly said, "Isn''t it obvious who killed him? Look at the leaderboard."


    Those that didn''t look properly the first time or were so shocked they forgot everything, gave a second glance at the rankings on the banner.


    In the first place was still Shen Xue, stably rooted at the top spot since the debut of the competition.


    At the second place was Qiong Lieyu, closely following him.


    Yet, it was at this moment that people realized Zhang Xuanhan and Yan Mei who were fighting for the podium all this time were currently relegated to the 4th and 5th place respectively.


    At the third place was written in clear strokes the name of Ye Mo.


    "Who the hell is this Ye Mo?"


    "I never heard of him."


    "From which institute is he?"


    The crowd was completely bewildered by this name, they couldn''t recall anyone like that.


    Before, Li Qiang stood at the 8th place with forty five thousand points while Ye Mo moved back and forth between the 200 and 300 place with twenty eight thousand points. After he killed him and add up both scores, he immediately reached the 3rd place.


    Originally, although both Yan Mei and Zhang Xuanhan tried to close the gap with Shen Xue and Qiong Lieyu, there was a margin as deep as the sea between them and while Ye Mo attained the podium, he was still nearly ten thousand points short from the second place holder.


    Yet, he easily overtook both the Sky Martial Institute best student and the Yan clan young miss by twelve thousand points.


    He was comfortably seated at his place currently and it would be difficult to change this in the remaining time.


    At this moment, someone suddenly shouted, "I know him, he''s the boy without any cultivation that entered the Tiger Martial Institute last year!"


    With this mention, someone remembered, "Oh yes, I recall there was a body refining kid during the tournament."


    "There were two actually, but he killed the second one."


    Many searched at the back of their mind and gradually made noises of realization recollecting such a scene.


    When Ye Mo participated in the recruitement competition and joined the Tiger Martial Institute, his brutality and the way he defeated Ha Jun made quite a sensation among the spectators who talked about it for some days after this.


    However, he was still just a kid that didn''t even start gathering Qi and with a talent so lackluster that it didn''t make any noise outside combined with the fact he went into seclusion soon after entering the institute, everyone quickly forgot about him.


    During this time, talented youths like Shen Xue or Ma Shinfei kept progressing and people talked about their new feats often, after a few months, no one could remember Ye Mo.


    Yet, there was one kind of person in the city that not only didn''t forget about Ye Mo, but actually looked up to him.


    It was young mortals that wished to become cultivators.


    As you know, many mortals join the institutions recruitement competition even though they have high chances of losing their life and almost none to succeed in joining them.


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    Without cultivation, they are seen as nothing more than cattle that cultivators could use or dispose of as they please without incuring any repercussions.


    Their life standard are very low and survival is difficult, their only way to escape this fate is by training their Qi and become a cultivator, but who will lend them a cultivation technique and battle skills.


    Any martial art is fiercely guarded by every organization and to obtain one, you need to become one of their member, but to join them you must already be a cultivator hence this cycle where techniques were tightly guarded by those in power and never spread out to mortals.


    You could also use an absurd sum of gold to obtain low level and trash martial arts in the black market or from lone cultivators, but where would mortals find these thousands of gold when most of them have difficulty feeding themselves?


    Even for cultivators, it was an amount of gold countless would never see.


    At last you could just pray some great master would notice and take you as a disciple like it happened to Ma Shinfei, but without excellent innate talent, you could keep fantasize about it forever.


    Many young mortals that dream of becoming grand heroes wielding great powers in the Floating Cloud Region joined the institutions competition each year with the wish to turn their life for the better, yet, after decades none was able to get in and most of them were killed.


    Time after time, their aspirations slowly dwindled with each try.


    That''s why Ye Mo, who as a mortal with no background or wealth of any kind, could defeat these powerful cultivators to join the Tiger Martial Institute wasn''t forgotten by them.


    They could represent themselves in him.


    After all these years of failure and death, one unrelated mortal was able to join them and gather his qi.


    He ignited their dying desire.


    He was giving them hope.


    Hope to achieve the same and become a lord that no one would dare offend anymore.


    The banners were hanged on the road outside of the institute so anyone was free to pass by and get a look, mortals included as long as they didn''t fear to be targeted by some ill-intentioned cultivator.


    When one saw his name, he smiled brightly and immediately shouted Ye Mo''s prowess.


    "This nobody could never have defeated Li Qiang, it''s probably a blood beast that killed him and he just took the token on his corpse, or they must have ganged up at twenty against him and he was the one to take the points."


    Even though they could remember him now, none in the crowd believed he could actually kill Li Qiang by himself.


    It must be pointed out that although a few had seen Ye Mo fight in the tournament or heard about him, many never went there as a spectator and still had no clue who he was.


    In a study, inside the Ironheart Weaponsmiths building.


    Hei Qiong layed on an armchair, reading written demands from customers, on his thighs was an open book about craftsmanship he seemingly interrupted to consult these documents.


    Abruptly, the door of the study was flung open as an attendant burst inside, blurting out, "Master Hei, Ye Mo made it to the top 3!"


    Hei Qiong who was about to berate him for coming without knocking nor announcing himself was stunned by the news, looking at the attendant dumbly while processing the information for an instant.


    After a moment, he suddenly threw his head back as he laughed loudly, "We have struck it rich haha, Ye Mo, I didn''t expect this from you!"


    The attendant smiled widely as well, asking "Should we advertise it immediately?"


    "No, wait for the competition to end first and see how everything goes; it will be even more of a shocker later."


    They were obvisouly talking about promoting their establishment and the forgemasters by putting the credit of Ye Mo''s accomplishments under the spiritual weapon they forged for him.


    The attendant acknowledged Hei Qiong''s decision and left the study, leaving him alone staring at nothing with bright eyes, thinking about his transaction with Ye Mo.


    "This investment really paid off in the end..."


    It would be a lie to say Hei Qiong expected anything from Ye Mo''s participation in the competition, when they met, he was just a 7th layer Qi Gathering cultivator that would face peak-tier blood beasts and 9th layer experts.


    If he could just achieve a top 500, it would be great already, he didn''t even dare dream of a top 200.


    However, to be ranked at the third place? Hei Qiong was still shocked by it and a wave of delight spread throughout his being.


    Even if Ye Mo died right now it was ok for Hei Qiong, his deal with him would still be considered a major success and the advertisement would return them immense profits in the future.


    The mood in the study was a stark contrast to the ambience in the Rallying Stone Plateau, instructors of the Tiger Martial Institute staring grimly at the banner.


    Although they were shocked by Li Qiang''s death, it wasn''t what caused this depressive atmosphere, but because they knew what was to come.


    "Who''s this Ye Mo? You really hid this student well, to think he would be able to kill Li Qiang." The dean of the Sky Martial Institute asked Hong Li with a mocking smile, taking pleasure in this situation.


    "He''s no one important, and wether he killed Li Qiang is still to be determined." Hong Li said before distancing himself from the two deans and stopping at the edge of the plateau, looking towards the city.


    He had no time to waste with these scavengers, he knew the members of the Golden and Sky Martial Institute enjoyed his predicament.


    Soon, Hong Li remarked something and turned towards his own instructors among which stood Han Zhen Jun and shouted thunderously, "Don''t panic and get ready!"


    Every members of the Tiger Martial Institute wore somber and serious expressions as they looked ahead.


    In the distance, a black army slowly approached.


    More than a hundred expert of the Foundation Establishment Realm, with several elders of the Inner Core Realm advanced ominously, all wearing long dark robes with many blades placed at their waist or on their back.


    Although they could easily fit in a spatial pouch, members of the Li clan enjoyed displaying their sword to the outside as a warning.


    At the lead was a man with an odachi drawn out, the blade nearly his own size, shining coldly from afar.


    Li Zhen and his battle troops arrived to the Rallying Stone Plateau.

 Rippling Sky

    The plain stretched wide under a dim, gray sky.


    Despite the overcast gloom, hints of green were vibrant along the ground, with wildflowers scattered here and there, their colors muted under the dull light. The air was thick and still, carrying a faint warmth that promised the heat of summer days soon to come, yet it felt weighed down, sluggish under the lingering grayness.


    Tall grasses sway lightly and small insects flitted low to the ground, but even their buzzing seemed dampened by the heavy clouds above. The trees on the edges of the plain were full and lush with new leaves, their green darker and deeper now, almost mature but shrouded in shadow.


    The Li clan patriarch and his troops advanced resolutely until they stood before the Rallying Stone Plateau.


    Hong Li jumped down and faced them by himself, reassuring and inspiring his own members as he went ahead.


    "Li Zhen, it has been quite a long time. I suppose this is not a visit of courtesy given all these people you brought with you." He said acting oblivious.


    He knew there wasn''t much hope, but he still wanted to try and avoid a conflict if it was possible.


    "You know very well why I am here, step aside." Li Zhen said coldly without delay.


    He didn''t show any respect at this time as he told him off rudely, unwilling to spend his energy on small talk.


    When he stopped moving at the arrival of Hong Li, every member behind him ceased their walk at the same time, like a well organized infantry.


    "Let''s say I let you pass, what do you plan to do?" Hong Li asked with crossed arms.


    He was completely unafraid towards these experts of the Li Clan standing before him with unnerving battle spirit.


    With only one call from their patriarch, they would all lunge forward, drawing their sword.


    "I will find my son, no matter in what situation he is in, I will discover the truth behind this affair and finally I will have a little talk with this Ye Mo."


    Hong Li snorted coldly hearing this, "Cease your caprices, you''re not gonna disturb the competition or touch a single hair of one of my students. I know your feelings, I didn''t expect Li Qiang would meet misfortune either, I myself am downcast towards this news, but we will investigate ourselves when all is done and come back to you later."


    "In short, you''re not gonna move out of the way..." Li Qiang''s glare intensified as he looked at Hong Li.


    The latter understood there was no way out so without saying anything he let his arms fall to his sides as both Inner Core Realm cultivators eyes locked, their gaze as sharp as a blade.


    The air between them grew dense, as if charged with an unseen force ready to explode.


    Neither moved, yet the ground beneath their feet seemed to tremble, reacting to the raw intent that flooded the space. The air felt sharper, colder, the weight of their hostility pressing down on everything around them, as though even a slight shift could ignite the impending storm.


    On the Rallying Stone Plateau, the deans of the Golden and Sky Martial Institute observed with smiles on their faces, greatly entertained.


    A conflict between those two powerhouses was much more enjoyable than any institute year-end competition.


    Suddenly, the Tiger Martial Institute''s leader and the Li clan patriarch jumped to more than sixty meters in the air.


    A deep, ink-like liquid grew on Hong Li''s arms turning them a heavy black, like some kind of alloy covered his limbs while Li Zhen waved his sword.


    Boom Boom Boom!


    In a split-second, their figures flashed and shockwaves resounded in the sky as the two exchanged blows.


    Li Zhen ruthlessly struck with his sword, but Hong Li directly blocked with his arms, the blade unable to cut them down.


    Each strike seemed like thunder rumbled in the surroundings, the trees swayed and grasses were uprooted from the ground.


    Many spectators couldn''t even perceive their movements, they only saw the impact of the strikes spreading outwards and the loud noise it made every time.


    As soon the duel started, all the Li clan members present raised their sword in the air and used a battle skill.


    From their blade, a hundred ray of light, more or less thick depending on their cultivation, shot off and connected together in a single point above them before it spread out in a transparent light dome that surrounded them , acting as a barrier that protected the weakest cultivators from the collateral damage of this battle.


    On the Rallying Stone Plateau, many instructors were losing their footing confronted by the pressure of such a lay down of power, a few used their defensive battle skills while others just went and placed themselves behind their dean where they immediately felt the residual force of the strikes lessen on their being.


    Among the members of the Tiger Martial Institute, Han Zhen Jun went forward and spread his palm, creating a large forcefield in front of him that shielded the instructors surrounding him.


    In only an instant, several moves were exchanged between Hong Li and Li Zhen before the latter was sent crashing on the ground behind his troops, his body skidding across the terrain for a short time before he sunk his sword in the ground and forcefully stopped himself, drawing a hundred feet long line on the soil.


    His body carved a deep furrow in the earth, leaving a path of uprooted soil, scattered rocks, and torn grass. The ground was churned and compacted, with clods of earth thrown aside from the impact and momentum.


    When Hong Li landed down, half of the upper part of his tunic was ripped in pieces and he looked at a very small wound on his chest, a cut unperceivable by the watchers in the distance, before it disappeared as his body recovered in an instant.


    Immediately after he reached the ground, five elders of the Inner Core Realm from the Li clan surrounded him, their sword pointing at his neck, his head, his heart and other vital areas, only a few inches from piercing the skin.


    "Bastards!" When Han Zhen Jun saw the Li clan elders coerce the dean, he immediately jumped down followed by an instructor that was hidden among the crowd. This instructor suddenly burst forth with Inner Core Realm cultivation as he and the vice dean placed themselves next to the elders, their hands shining brillantly as a battle skill was on the verge of being used ready to eliminate them.


    Although Han Zhen Jun and the instructor were alone targeting the five elders, their cultivation was higher than the Li clan members so even if they fought, they wouldn''t necessarily be at a disadvantage.


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    As the dust subsided, all the bruises Li Zhen suffered had healed already and beside dirt and a slightly torned robe, his appearance didn''t suffer much.


    Hong Li didn''t even bat an eye or looked at the elders of the Li clan as he fixedly stared at their patriarch in the distance, "Think well before involving everyone, once you go down this road, there is no going back."


    His muscles were bulging, his grey mane fluttered wildly, his expression hardened and his green eyes that were usually flat and unreadable slowly narrowed into something fierce and violent.


    He was extremely intimidating for any member of the Li clan as he warned Li Zhen, his patience running out.


    If it escalated in a large-scale battle then death would ensue and with the first one, many others would inevitably follow. It would soon turn into iredeemable conflict and hatred between the institute and the clan with only the destruction of one of them to settle it.


    Although members of institutes have always been slightly stronger and possessing more battle skills than clans, the other compensated the lack of quality with numbers, having always been more numerous.


    While there were more than 200 instructors present on the Rallying Stone Plateau, in reality only 68 were part of the Tiger Martial Institute against this hundred Li clan members.


    This was the bulk of the Li clan forces that could be assembled immediately, but there also were many Inner Core and Foundation Establishment experts that were left in their base to prevent any attack while a few were in the middle of missions at the time and couldn''t return.


    The Sky and Golden Martial Institute''s deans wouldn''t care about what happened to Hong Li either, it would only make one less rival in the city at best or nothing changed at worst.


    If both organizations really declared war against each other, the outcome would be difficult to predict.


    This was a scenario neither Hong Li nor Li Zhen wanted to see unfold.


    Previously, they jumped up and fought in the air precisely to keep it between each other without drawing in their members, but also to protect them from harm.


    Even this way, many still needed assistance or used defensive battle skills to endure the pressure of their battle.


    More important was that their fight was just a little spar to test each other''s strength, they didn''t battle with the intent to kill. Through this, it became clear Hong Li was stronger as he quickly sent his opponent off with multiple wounds, while he was nearly untouched.


    This didn''t come as a surprise to anyone since the dean of the Tiger Martial Institute was among the absolute best experts of the city, and only the other deans or the flame grandmaster could pretend being able to defeat him.


    The most notable point was that contrary to their appearance, Hong Li was the youngest of the three deans and also had his cultivation short of one layer compared to them, but could still give them a fight on equal footing.


    The reason is that Hong Li isn''t originally from Azure Water City, but was a member of a sect when young and learned a few martial arts that can''t be found here. He left it for unknown reasons in the past to arrive in the city when the ancient dean noticed first his abilities and potential.


    It wasn''t for no reason that he was offered the post of vice dean then dean when the previous one went away.


    Compared to the deans, patriarchs of the four major clans were somewhat lacking.


    However, even knowing all this, Li Zhen couldn''t back down. It is his son we''re talking about, even if his clan had to go up in the flames of war and risk destruction against the Tiger Martial Institute, he couldn''t stand back and do nothing when his heir just met misfortune wether officially or by personal feelings.


    This was the righteous faction, many risked their lives for reputation, died for honor and sacrificed themselves for their family, from Li Zhen''s own sentiments to the clan''s benefits as a whole, Li Qiang''s death would be an unacceptable loss.


    He was just about to order all members to attack and for his elders to execute Hong Li, when the dean of the Golden Martial Institute said, "Enough of this farce, let me tell you Li Zhen, even if you somehow pass through Hong Li, you''re not setting a foot in this forest till the competition end.


    This is an event held by our three institutes respectively, who do you think you are to act so arrogantly in front of the three of us."


    Li Zhen planned to go in the Jade Forest during their institute year-end competition to hunt some student without asking for anyone''s opinion nor permission, it was an obvious lack of regard and consideration towards them. If it wasn''t for his son''s name disappearing, hinting at his death, and the obvious state of turmoil he would be in, the deans would easily have been offended by this conduct.


    The dean of the Golden Martial Institute dismissed him so harshly that the dean of the Sky Martial Institute, knowing Li Zhen''s character, tried to soothe him instead as to not worsen the situation and give him a way out, "Li Zhen, you have to understand we can''t let you disturb the competition right now, but feel free to keep us company as we wait for the final results. I am sure Hong Li will be able to give you an explanation towards Li Qiang or you can just go investigate yourself later."


    Li Zhen stared at them belligerently for a moment before he finally sighed and placed his sword in his spatial pouch. He was prompt to extreme emotions like his sons, but he grew as a measured man who could control himself to make the right decisions.


    It was one thing to fight against a single institute and even then the chances to be victorious were slim, but three? He could as well directly cut his throat and throw his life away along his clan members.


    He gave a few orders and his Li clan members quickly set up a camp beside the Rallying Stone Plateau, awaiting the end of the competition.


    In the meantime, darkness grew as the sun set in the Jade Forest, Ye Mo still searching for other strong participants.


    "I have so much points, yet, I am still not assured of the first place with Shen Xue and Qiong Lieyu participating. With just twenty or thirty thousand more, I am sure I would obtain the top spot without a doubt."


    Ye Mo ran through the woods, with all kinds of thoughts and schemes in his mind to attain his objective.

 It Had To Be Him

    As the night fell and Hong Li was assured that Li Zhen wouldn''t pass through the deans in his absence, he quickly made his way back to the Tiger Martial Institute.


    With his abilities, it took no time before he reached the room where the instructors watched over their white disk.


    They felt a gust of wind pushing against their back so they turned their heads and looked only to notice their dean standing behind them, the door of the room open.


    He moved so fast a small gale was sent forward as he came to an halt.


    The three instructors immediately stood up and bowed down before Hong Li.


    "Have you watched it?" He asked.


    "Not yet, we were waiting for you as we knew this matter was too important for the dean to overlook it." The instructors'' gaze shone, they instantly knew what Hong Li was referring to.


    They turned around and one of them placed his hand before the disk, tapping on Ye Mo''s name with his fingers.


    Then, with his palm pressing against the disk, he poured out his Qi in the artefact.


    Hong Li approached as the two other instructors immediately made a place for him.


    Light shot out from the disk and formed a small screen in the air, it was completely black and there was nothing else to look at.


    Hong Li frowned as he stared at the screen before he looked at the eldest instructor.


    "Is it because this is night currently?" The one with his palm on the disk, wondered aloud, stressed to displease the dean.


    The eldest that was looked at quickly denied, "Even during the night, you would usually see some moonlight or the shadows of the trees, it wouldn''t be completely black like that."


    While they were in doubt, Hong Li remarked, understanding the situation, "He is hiding his token in his clothes."


    His and the instructors purpose this night was to understand what happened to Li Qiang and how he died.


    The tokens handed over to the students by the institute didn''t serve only to record their points, they were also a spying device that could be used to watch them fight and observe their abilities.


    With the white disk connected to the tokens of the participants, you had to expend some Qi to look at the current situation of the chosen student, but you could also rewind it to watch what already took course in the previous days.


    However, there was a problem this time as they attempted to observe Ye Mo for the first time and discover everything about his encounter with Li Qiang.


    After entering the forest, Ye Mo untied his token from his waist and placed it inside his garment.


    Usually, these tokens are worn tied at the waist, they are precisely designed this way, with a small hole at the top to pass a cord through. The institutes also prohibited the students from placing them inside their spatial pouches, announcing they couldn''t sense the surrounding life forces confined in this separate space.


    While it wasn''t incorrect, the biggest reason was for the higher-ups to be able to watch everything when necessary as the screen from the white disk was operated from the point of view of the token.


    It just happened that Ye Mo, by personal preferences, but also because he had some doubts about it, was among the minority who didn''t hold their token to their waist, but tugged it in their clothes.


    Since he has always been seen as unpromising and unimportant, no one has bothered observing him before, the only ones that were watched from time to time were important members and those that were placed in the top 100 at least.


    Now that he reached the third place in one big leap and that Li Qiang''s name disappeared at the same time, creating a big commotion in the city, of course they wished to see all of his movements in the forest.


    Yet, because his token was hidden behind layers of fabric, nothing could be seen on the screen.


    It must also be known that the tokens and the white disk were designed so the institutes could only spy on their own members. In accordance to a prior agreement between the three deans, the corresponding formations to perform the screen were added only for their own members by the formation master.


    Members of the Tiger Martial Institute couldn''t watch the participants of the Sky and Golden Institute and this was the same for them.


    Hong Li looked in thought for an instant before he informed his instructors, "Li Qiang''s name disappeared from the leaderboard so we can''t watch anything from his point of view either, there is no choice, we will wait for the end of the competition then retrieve his token and use it to witness how he could lose his life against Ye Mo."


    When this was said, he left the room as fast as he came, creating another gust of wind that sent the instructors'' robes swaying.


    In less than the time to drink a cup of tea, he was back to the Rallying Stone Plateau.


    Similar to Hong Li, this night was uneventful for Ye Mo.


    A few blood beasts were encountered, even less humans.


    Although he hunted using Shadow Walk, he couldn''t increase his score much. Wether it was the amount he just gained or Yan Mei and Zhang Xuanhan''s efforts, it was actually all inconsequential.


    They didn''t know it, but Ye Mo was rooted at the third place, a big gap separating him from both those that were ahead of him and those ranked behind.


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    If there wasn''t a big battle to change the dynamic of the rankings, two days wasn''t enough to go further in the leaderboard.


    The sixth day quickly arose while Ye Mo remained in the eastern part of the forest searching for students.


    He came across Li Qiang not long after coming around and Jin Hao Tian told him that Gao Lixin and Yan Mei were in the area as well, there was no reason to move for the time being.


    If he was lucky, he could face them.


    "The best would be to encounter Gao Lixin. There was a certain enmity Li Qiang had against me, our confrontation couldn''t end in any other way than death. But if what is said about Gao Lixin is true, we could spare amicably and maybe he would hand over his token once he''s defeated without the need to kill him, one major clan going after my ass is enough, if possible, I would rather avoid having another one. There is no grudge between us and he probably won''t hold one just because I won, what is sure is that things would be much more complicated against Yan Mei."


    Ye Mo harbored no illusions towards an encounter with Yan Mei, she would fight fiercely for her token until the end if she wasn''t the one to kill him during their bout.


    He kept moving throughout the woods thinking of all kinds of possibilities, yet, he was bound to be disappointed as luck wasn''t on his side and he didn''t encounter any powerful student of the day.


    He met some, but they only possessed a few thousand points and the rest of his confrontations were against blood beasts.


    His score increased slowly and his day wasn''t very fruitful.


    In no time, another cycle of the moon and the sun took course before it was already the last day of the competition.


    Ye Mo kept searching around for a few hours until he accepted his fate, he wouldn''t come across anyone here.


    "This is the last day, I can''t waste time lingering here anymore, I can only go west to face Jin Hao Tian and Ma Shinfei, they should already be waiting for me right now. With my current points, I only need to win against one of them to be confident in gaining the first place, it won''t be easy, but I don''t have any other choice."


    Taking his decision, Ye Mo backtracked and ran at full speed westward, expecting to find the two geniuses of the Tiger Martial Institute at the designated location.


    In the afternoon he finally reached the precipice they talked about, but as he looked at it from a distance, he decided to not join them immediately.


    "This competition hasn''t reached its conclusion yet, we have until the first rays of light to pierce the night sky for it to officially end. Ma Shinfei and Jin Hao Tian are very strong, they should be left as a last resort, I will go around and scout a bit, hopefully finding some students with enough points to spare me the fight with these two. As long as I don''t come across Shen Xue or Qiong Lieyu, it should be fine."


    Ye Mo left the area without a sound, he didn''t explore this part of the forest so far, with a bit of luck he might come across participants with a good amount of points.


    In the case he wouldn''t meet anyone, he could still return in the evening to face Ma Shinfei and Jin Hao Tian.


    They yearned so much to battle Ye Mo that they surely would wait for him all day, expecting him to show himself at any moment. Even before he killed Li Qiang, Ye Mo had a huge amount of points so even in this aspect, it assured a good leap in the leaderboard as long as you were confident in your victory, it was much more profitable to wait for him and gain them rather than walk around randomly trying to encounter some students.


    It was the seventh day of the competition after all, the death count was so high at this point that you would rarely meet anyone, even with an investigative battle skill.


    Ye Mo scoured the woods in the vicinity until he found a glade not far from the precipice. When he went on to have a good look of the zone, he noticed someone standing in the middle of the clearing in the distance.


    When he approached and fixed his gaze to have a better view, he saw a man in a long grey robe. His skin was unblemished, his eyes a pure blue looked like two pieces of blue crystal, cold and emotionless. His silver white hair reached the lower part of his back.


    At this moment, he also realized that the ground in the surroundings of this man was littered with several dozen of corpses, all students from the institutes.


    There were those that were full of wounds with a vacant look, as if they didn''t realize they have been killed. There were also many that were completely frozen like ice statues.


    All these were accompanied by lone limbs or pieces of flesh and organs strewn around in what seemed like a grisly massacre.


    Strangely, the blade of the sword he was holding in his hand wasn''t stained by a single drop of blood.


    When Ye Mo understood what he was looking at, the swordsman turned his head and stared at him as well before he stepped over the bodies and walked in his direction.


    Ye Mo looked down with a wry smile as he felt the spiritual sense pass over him, "It had to be Shen Xue..."

 Hopeless Confrontation

    "Are these bodies all the victims he made during the day, or maybe they were a group that banded together, considering Shen Xue as either the biggest threat or point bearer in the competition, they tried to take him down and this was the result." All kinds of suppositions sprang up in Ye Mo''s mind faced with such a scene, but he quickly abandoned them to focus on Shen Xue slowly approaching.


    There was still quite a distance between them when all of a sudden, Ye Mo felt a kind of heavy oppression like the air thickened around him and just drawing a breath was difficult.


    It seemed like the temperature lowered and he was suddenly facing a monster about to swallow him whole.


    Yet, the corners of his lips rose as his eyes flashed with discernement.


    Shen Xue didn''t bother with any pleasantries, at this moment, he could be seen casually raising his sword.


    From the tip of the blade, a swirling cyclone of frost wind emerged and circled around. The hovering, chilling vortex was so cold that the air froze on its sides, turning into shimmering shards of broken glass accompanying the frost wind.


    With just a thought it surged forward, cutting through the air with an eerie howl. The path it carved seemed to draw the warmth from the surroundings, chilling the air with a sharp, biting cold.


    In an instant, it was before Ye Mo.


    This one took a step back, taking a firm foothold on the ground, then moved his hips, turned his waist, his shoulder rotating forward and his center of gravity lowered as he threw his fist.


    Stone Breaking Punch!


    With perfect form, the fist crashed directly on the center of the cyclone creating an explosive reaction as cold air was sent rippling outward in all directions.


    The cyclone enveloped Ye Mo''s fist, then his wrist while the ice shards that flew around cut his arm.


    He gritted his teeth as he fully exerted his strength, pushing with all his might. He resisted bitterly in what seemed like a long time while in truth it only lasted a second where ice, wind and fist were entangled, before the chilling air finally dispersed.


    Ye Mo breathed loudly, thorougly worn out.


    He was so absorbed in the clash that only when he broke through Shen Xue''s technique did he realize he was pushed back several meters, a small pile of earth gathered behind his feets.


    When he looked at his hand, he could see it was flushed an angry, raw red. Sharp needling pain radiated from the biting cold he felt, and on his arm were lodged many small ice shards that cut his skin.


    On the other side, Shen Xue''s eyebrows slightly rose as he looked at the result of the clash on his otherwise impassive face.


    "This guy, he tried to torment me with his spiritual sense then kill me when my guard is lowered." Ye Mo thought as he picked up and tossed aside the shards on his arm.


    He was clear about what happened, as soon as Shen Xue noticed him with his spiritual sense, he used it to muddle his mind and immediately went for the kill.


    Spiritual sense could take life with just a thought when the gap in cultivation was big or the willpower of the opponent was weak.


    However, all the students remaining here were at least of the 8th layer of the Qi Gathering realm, but many were actually 9th or peak 9th layer cultivators. Although the qualitative change was great between a Foundation Establishment expert and these students, in terms of cultivation it was just one or two breakthrough apart, the difference wasn''t that big for the spiritual sense to harm so easily.


    Nonetheless, even if the spiritual sense couldn''t kill in these conditions, it was still enough to affect their minds and make them freeze for an instant. For an elite like Shen Xue that could easily bring death without using it, the combination of his spiritual sense and his strike during the small lapse in his opponent''s defense was a sure-kill method.


    However, Ye Mo didn''t even flinch under Shen Xue''s spirit sense.


    If the gap in cultivation wasn''t that big, then the most determinent factor was the willpower and in this aspect, the result spoke for itself.


    "Compared to my confrontation with the Wrathful Black Ape, this kind of intimidation can''t even be taken as a joke. His strength instead, is the real thing, I gave everything I could and more in this Stone Breaking Punch but it was barely enough to block this casual wave of his." Ye Mo contemplated.


    He knew Shen Xue was very powerful, he didn''t wish to fight him. Alas, good fortune wasn''t on his side and by a twist of fate, he met face to face with the worst scenario he could envisage.


    Shen Xue didn''t give him any time as he raised his sword once more and converged his Qi on his blade.


    His stance shifted as his body coiled like a spring under immense pressure, his blade arching back behind him.


    Pale tendrils of frosty vapor drifted upwards, curling like ghostly smoke against the frigid sword.


    For a small instant all fell silent.


    Then like the crack of a thunderclap, Shen Xue swung the sword in a wide arc, a large blade of energy traveling horizontally as it reached Ye Mo in an instant.


    This one only saw a flash of light before he reflexively used Buddha Golden Bell''s battle skill in this split-second.


    Near the same time, Shen Xue''s battle skill crashed against the barrier, destroying the bell of light with no difficulty.


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    Ye Mo brought his arms forth to block the blade with his wrist guards crossed before him.


    He barely raised them that he was taken away by the energy blade, traveling across the clearing for several hundred meters before the ground trembled and a loud rumbling resounded far off.


    Near the crash site, smoke unfurled while dirt and grasses gradually fell down the air.


    Quickly, the smoke dissipated and behind it was revealed a small crater devoid of any vegetation. At its center laid Ye Mo on his back, looking upward absent-mindedly.


    The upper part of his martial suit was torn to shreds revealing a body covered in wounds and bruises, the taste of blood filling his mouth while one of his shoe was lost in the collision. Without looking, Ye Mo placed his hand on the pocket of his pants and felt the token before the hand heavily fell back down, visibly out of forces.


    After a short time, Ye Mo suddenly laughed weakly without moving.


    "Hehehe, as expected of the most talented youth of Azure Water City, there is nothing common about his strength."


    He remained unmoving, looking at the sky.


    While he stared at the clouds drifting and the flock of birds flying as if guided by a single mind, he grew serene.


    Since young, looking at the sky always appeased him.


    On earth, cultivators killed for ressources, blood beasts ate each other and the world was plunged in battles, machinations and chaos.


    Yet, no matter what your problems were, the sky was always the same, distant and peaceful, stretching limitlessly, a familiar sight to accompagny you everywhere. Akin to a vast entity that observed everything happening on the surface, mocking these ants for their pitiful struggle, utterly insignificant in the face of this infinite veil.


    Before the sky, everything is trivial.


    Then when he looked down, he was once again faced with this bloodthirsty prodigy coming to take his head. Although he was far enough to only see a small figure walking in the distance, the aura of inflexible coldness that emanated from him was very palpable.


    "Is it even possible to replace the sky, one can only wonder and try his hardest." Ye Mo slowly rose up, many of his inner injuries already healed by Endless Vitality, the minor wounds on the exterior only persisting.


    He tossed his remaining shoe to balance his support and not be hindered by a destabilised foothold.


    Ye Mo was unwilling to spend his energy on a hopeless endeavor like defeating Shen Xue, it was too soon, the other party had much more time to cultivate while he only started less than a year ago. Shen Xue was stronger, faster, trained much longer and wether in terms of battle skills or cultivation, he largely surpassed him, but this one didn''t leave him a choice. He knew that if he tried to escape, the swordsman could easily catch up to him.


    "If I could breakthrough the third revolution of the fiend body, maybe I could do something, but there is no point thinking of this now."


    No matter how much you prepare yourself, the basis of any plan is always your own strength, against absolute power, scheming is useless.


    Place someone in a cage with an enraged gorilla and even if he''s the smartest man there is, he''s still gonna get beaten to death.


    When Shen Xue saw Ye Mo standing up, his eyebrows locked tightly together.


    It was already the second strike and this unassuming guy was still alive, when was the last time it happened?


    In this competition, he killed dozens and hundreds of participants and the rare few who would survive his first strike after being under the influence of his spiritual sense would definitely end up dead with the second one.


    It was a peak-tier sword battle skill of his Shen clan he unleashed, with just the speed and the width of the arc, no one could avoid it and with the power of the technique combined with his Foundation Establishment cultivation, who could endure it beside another expert of the same level?


    It must be reminded that Shen Xue could only use half of his Qi in this competition, a peak-tier battle skill was quite taxing to his reserves so when he performed one, he didn''t accept any other result than the death of his opponent.


    Yet, this person he had no memories of could survive with his 8th layer cultivation, utterly senseless.


    He was really disconcerted and unnerved for a second, but he quickly lowered his brows as his eyes narrowed slightly.


    Before, he only brutishly executed his techniques without using any tactics nor anything, he didn''t need to for his opponents to drop dead, but now he became serious.


    Without much options, Ye Mo took a posture, crouching down as he clenched his fist tightly, concentrating his Qi. His upper body twisted to one side with the punching arm drawn back and the opposite shoulder slightly forward.


    He seemed about to release a formidable move.


    Shen Xue kept walking forward, neither worried nor afraid, as he raised his sword and prepared himself to receive the strike.


    Ye Mo''s eyes were like dark abysses, no emotions could be seen through them.


    When enough Qi was expended, he took one resolute step forward then turned around and with wind currents enveloping his body, he ran away.


    Shen Xue: ....

 Storm Blade

    The grasses on the ground were blurred as Ye Mo swiftly rushed across the clearing, moving southward.


    Shen Xue stood immobile for a second looking at Ye Mo''s back, unable to understand what his opponent was trying to do.


    Without waiting any further, Shen Xue engaged in cold pursuit. His body exuded a chilling white mist around him and as he went after Ye Mo, it clung at his figure leaving a trail in the air behind him when he lunged forward, making him look like a vengeful ghost.


    In an instant, he crossed the distance between himself and Ye Mo then went ahead and blocked his path, standing before him.


    Ye Mo at this moment was impassive as he took a step and branched off to the left, leaving Shen Xue behind.


    He knew that no matter how much heart he put in his run, he couldn''t surpass Shen Xue''s speed and this one would easily catch up, but he only feigned moving south so when the Shen clan young master cut him off he unhesitatingly changed direction.


    His real target was east!


    Shen Xue who had enough of this buffoonery harrumphed as he instantly gave chase again.


    How can this guy even think he could escape in front of him?


    In a blink, he was already behind Ye Mo as he brandished his sword shining brightly and struck down.


    At the crucial moment, Ye Mo turned around and raised his peak-tier wrist guards in protection.


    Bang!


    With an explosive sound, he was sent flying in the air like a living projectile, hurtling uncontrollably across the battlefield.


    In the zone of impact, the soil was frozen solid by the blast of Shen Xue''s attack.


    Ye Mo maintained his balance in the air, then spun rapidly like a cart wheel, accelerating as he dropped down at high speed.


    Towards the end of his fall, he was spinning so fast that the collision with the ground was greatly lessened with his body curled and his limbs tucked as he was immediately propelled forward.


    He continued rolling on the earth several times, gathering momentum, before he planted one foot on the ground and in one smooth motion, stood up and began sprinting away.


    He didn''t stop moving a single instant in all this sequence as he used Shen Xue''s strike as a fuel to considerably increase the distance between each other and engulf himself in the woods.


    Previously, after Ye Mo took on Shen Xue''s second strike, he was sent traversing a good part of the glade until crashing down and now after enduring another blow and landing down, he was already at its edge. With a few rolls before running away, he quickly left the clearing.


    Shen Xue witnessing the scene, understood what happened as his own strength was used by Ye Mo to pull up some distance.


    Yet, it made no difference to him, as such a distance could be cleared in a flash.


    No sooner said than done, Shen Xue appeared beside the tree Ye Mo just passed by, but as he looked around, he couldn''t find him anywhere.


    It was like his prey suddenly vanished after passing behind this tree trunk.


    Shen Xue using his spiritual sense changed nothing as he couldn''t locate his presence.


    The silent young master slowly felt a sense of urgency growing, never before had he let someone he set his mind to kill escape, this day couldn''t be an exception.


    He was about to use an investigative battle skill when all of a sudden, he noticed Ye Mo nimbly leaping on tree branches in the distance.


    Shen Xue immediately thought it was odd, how could Ye Mo avoid his vision and spiritual sense just to reappear at this time.


    However, he quickly cast these thoughts aside, once again chasing after him.


    "Wanna kill me, not so easy."


    Wether prey or predator, Ye Mo was ready to accept it all.


    This young master was really implacable, he didn''t know his identity nor did they exchange any words before, yet as soon as they met, he set himself in a personal mission to reap Ye Mo''s life. If he acted this way towards every person he encountered in this forest, with his means, it is no wonder he killed so many people.


    Ye Mo sometimes ran, sometimes jumped, others he would grab branches and swing himself, avoiding the obstacles on his way as he streamed forward like he grew in this environment for a long time.


    Then he passed beside a tree and disappeared as he activated his stealth completely.


    Shen Xue arrived at his position just a split-second later, but lost all trace of him.


    Shortly, Ye Mo resurfaced in the distance sprinting away once more.


    Now the swordsman was sure, "This guy possess a concealment battle skill, but it seems to have some kind of limitations making him unable to maintain it for a long time."


    Shen Xue thought, otherwise why would his target keep reappearing like that every time?


    It didn''t matter to him though as wether in terms of speed or Qi consumption, he was much better than any Qi Gathering cultivator so he could chase him until he deplete all his reserves or catch him at a moment where he couldn''t escape from his sight.


    Ye Mo on his part just kept running away, using Shadow Walk when Shen Xue was about to catch up then canceling the battle skill when he distanced himself enough.


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    The reason he didn''t use Shadow Walk to simply move far away and escape was that he was wary of Shen Xue''s investigation battle skill. No technique was absolute and even in shadow form, there were many martial arts that could enable someone to locate him, if Shen Xue''s battle skill was one of them then the swordsman would directly rush at him and end his life.


    By reappearing shortly later, he didn''t give him the occasion to use it, but let Shen Xue chase after him instead.


    Moreover, he had something else in mind.


    Ye Mo''s eyes shone with craftiness as he pulled himself away from the young master.


    After such a scene was repeated a few times, Shen Xue suddenly stopped chasing and looked ahead vacantly.


    "Why do I even bother... It will cost some Qi, but I will replenish it after he''s killed." He said softly in a whisper.


    With a sudden movement, Shen Xue rotated his body before his hands swung out as he wielded his sword. Twenty rays of blade lights shot out from his sword, rotating in constant motions, drawing air drafts to form a six meter sword storm in a breath of time.


    Howl!


    The wind seemed to conceal a beast howling, causing listeners to quiver.


    The tornado-like winds were white in color, whipping out and mincing everything in its path.


    With a second rotation, another cyclone was formed and sent forward, zigzagging on their way as they lacerated everything ahead.


    Swish swish swish.


    Remote grasses were sent flying in the air and drawn to the cyclones before being cut into tiny pieces.


    Soon after, these pieces were further cut into smaller pieces, reducing everything to nothingness.


    Bushes were uprooted while trees were turned into wood dust.


    Storm Blade, a peak-tier Yellow class battle skill that Hong Li allowed Shen Xue to pick after he attained the Foundation Establishment realm.


    Ye Mo stared coldly at the rays of ice blades reducing the forest into a flat land as it progressively neared him.


    "If it reaches me, it will destroy the vegetation. Without any shadows to hide in, I will be forced out of concealment and reduced to minced meat by the cyclones, even if I am able to avoid them, a few tornados similar to this one will clear the surroundings of any obstruction to hide in, so he can kill me easily afterward. Fortunately, I am almost there."


    Ye Mo thought as he left his concealment and ran to the side attempting to leave the course of the storm blades.


    However, because they moved side by side and veered left and right, it was very difficult to anticipate in which direction they would go.


    While he tried to escape, one cyclone still went in his general direction and approached dangerously.


    Ye Mo grabbed a vine and swung himself further, avoiding the sides of the cyclone an instant before it reached his previous position. He was still in the air holding the vine when the tree it was tied to was swallowed by the ice blades and the vine was cut, sending Ye Mo crashing against branches and trees foliage before falling down and rolling on the ground until he hit the base of a trunk and came to a stop.


    Without any second thought or examining the state of his body, he rose up and immediately started running again.


    Quickly enough, he jumped out of the woods, before sprinting swiftly, seeing a precipice dozens of meters further.


    In no time, the underbrush rustled faintly as a tall young man stepped out of the thickets in turn, surrounded by white mist.


    He walked with detached countenance, a sharp distinction to his target speeding like a prisoner on the run, reflection to the first''s confidence.


    Instantly, Shen Xue rushed forward in a flash, ready to deal the killing blow.


    Ye Mo smiled mockingly as he looked up.


    "SHEN XUE!" A figure suddenly jumped from the sixty feet high cliff bellowing loudly as he fell down straight towards the Shen clan young master.


    In his fall, his hands enlarged to the size of battering rams, his fingers turned into jagged claws gleaming like shards of obsidian. The skin of his arms turned into volcanic rocks divided by red lines of molten lava dripping down from the cavities.


    Ma Shinfei heavily fell on Shen Xue, striking down with his enormous claws, while the young master quickly stopped in his tracks to raise his sword and block the strike.


    The battlefield shimmered with distortion, frost creeping over burning ground, steam hissing where the two forces collided and neutralized each other.


    The air seemed to warp, a dizzying blend of scorching heat and biting cold that struck in alternating waves.


    "Humans, animals, cultivators, beasts, they are not so different. Humans and beasts alike are driven by desires and instincts that often shape their actions. In essence, both humans and beasts are governed by their ambitions, their hunger, their needs¡ªwhether for dominance, survival, or revenge, as long as one is understood and their goals align, they can be manipulated the same."


    Ye Mo gave an appreciative glance back at the two locked down against each other, thinking of his encounter with the Wrathful Black Ape and the Firebird and his confrontation with the Liu clan members in the jungle, before he resumed his run and left the area.

 Clashing Roars and Lingering Eyes

    Seeing Ye Mo leave, Shen Xue grunted, surging with exceptional strength and swung his blade, repelling Ma Shinfei all the way back to the precipice.


    Ma Shinfei twisted his body in the air, then tapped on the rock cliff with his feets, projecting himself down to the ground in front of Shen Xue.


    He frowned as he looked at the palm of his enormous hand to see a small cut Shen Xue made while pushing him back, the latter directly penetrated through the volcanic rocks to deal this wound.


    Through the rocks was a thin line of lava, but this cut was covered with a small layer of ice which contantly enlarged, threatening to entirely envelop his hand at a time and eventually turn Ma Shinfei into an ice statue.


    This one immediately reacted and ripped a chunk off the palm of his hand then healed himself in a short time, new rocks growing at the base of his wound.


    The chunk that fell on the ground quickly turned into a block of ice.


    This was due to Shen Xue''s sword, a peak-tier spiritual weapon.


    When he attained the first place in the recruitment competition of the Tiger Martial Institute, Shen Xue was allowed entry in the armory as one of his rewards among many others. When he observed the various spiritual weapons inside and found the sword, he was instantly attracted to it and after it was picked up he didn''t linger much longer.


    The blade of this weapon has a special attribute as it would turn your enemies into ice if it penetrated their flesh, hence the corpses Ye Mo found in the clearing. Only a small wound was needed for the ice to grow over their whole body.


    If you didn''t have any countermeasures then without reacting fast, it was certain death with merely one cut.


    While Ma Shinfei dealt with the wound and healed himself, Jin Hao Tian stabbed his iron spear into the cliff and slide down along it, landing not too far away.


    "You want some help?" The Jin clan young master asked casually.


    "Don''t intervene, this is my fight!" Ma Shinfei quickly dismissed him, full of pride and planning to wash away his previous loss against Shen Xue by himself.


    Shen Xue wanted to rapidly go after Ye Mo, it''s not that he was obsessed with him, but no one before had taken him on and left to tell the tale without Shen Xue letting them go of his own volition.


    It wasn''t that no person ever survived an encounter with him, there were times in the past where he would meet Li Qiang or Yan Mei in the forest, but either they decided to distance themselves and avoid fighting each other or he would exchange a few moves with them before willingly letting them go.


    Shen Xue was different from Ye Mo, even he wasn''t confident he could face their clan''s retribution if he killed one of the young masters so although he might defeat them, he wouldn''t dare go further.


    Ma Shinfei or Jin Hao Tian, he could fight the both of them at anytime, but no one should escape from him, either they are killed or allowed to live, having full control over the life and death of his opponents, there can''t be any exception.


    However, Ma Shinfei didn''t share the same thoughts on this as his hands reverted back to their original form before he grabbed the black stick laying on his back and made a few spins around with it then rushed at Shen Xue, preventing him to chase after Ye Mo.


    Ma Shinfei''s stick was fierce and overwhelming giving enormous pressure to the receiver while Shen Xue''s blade was sharp and fast releasing a pervading coldness that could freeze everything.


    Clang clang clang!


    The air rippled around them as they fought violently, striking and blocking with incredible speed.


    Both end of the stick were covered in crimson flames while Shen Xue''s blade released cold vapor, when they crashed against each other, the plants were pushed back and the sound resounded loudly in the area.


    Five Stick Killing Strokes!


    Wind Cutting Wave!


    After exchanging more than a dozen moves, Shen Xue and Ma Shinfei manifested a powerful battle skill at the same time.


    Ma Shinfei sent his stick forward five times so fast its shadow overlapped, each strike stronger than the precedent, the last one breaching the limits of a Qi Gathering cultivator''s abilities.


    Shen Xue''s blade shone a pale blue, the sword launched like lightning as it met with the stick shadows.


    Boom!


    At the collision, a great blast occured followed by a choking haze of dust and smoke engulfing the surroundings.


    However, the haze was quickly pierced by Ma Shinfei''s figure cutting the air covered in following trails of fumes hugging his badly damaged garments.


    He seemed unconcious as he flew through the air with eyes closed and unmoving, but right before crashing, he opened his eyes and lightly struck the ground with his stick, propeling himself higher and regaining his balance in the subsequent fall then firmly planted his stick in the earth, standing atop.


    From this position he had a clear view of the surroundings and could see the smoke dispersing and Shen Xue''s figure appearing unharmed.


    "Are you sure you don''t need any help?" Jin Hao Tian reiterated his proposition as he remained near the base of the cliff since the start, itchy to stretch his limbs against this young genius himself.


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    As a bystander, he watched everything unfold and could see Shen Xue didn''t usurp his reputation, it was very unlikely for Ma Shinfei to win by himself if nothing changed.


    "Shut up, I said I can deal with him!" Ma Shinfei immediately shouted.


    Both of them were full of competitiveness and shared a passion for combats, testing themselves against strong opponents. After they joined the Tiger Martial Institute, they quickly became good friend, having this attraction for the thrill and adrenaline felt during a difficult fight, improving themselves in the midst of battles and blood.


    Ma Shinfei was still in this strange position, standing on top of his stick, the edge of his feets suspended above the void, yet, he seemed accustomed to this stance.


    He raised one hand and pushed forward in the air, sending a torrent of flames towards Shen Xue.


    The latter was indifferent as he pointed his sword ahead, a wall of ice erupting from the ground in front of him, growing three meters tall and one meter thick.


    The wave of fire entered in contact with the ice wall when a violent hiss was heard as steam billowed outward in thick, swirling clouds.


    The fog quickly covered Shen Xue when this one raised his sword in the air, his eyes shining in a mild blue light, the mist suddenly being attracted and concentrating above his head as twenty icicles were formed around him.


    Icicle Rain High-tier Yellow Class battle skill.


    Shen Xue next silently pointed his sword at Ma Shinfei and the icicles shot out.


    Pow pow pow.


    Ma Shinfei jumped down his stick, taking hold of it in his descent then used both his hands to twirl it in front of him. With the tips ablaze and the stick rotating so fast, it looked like a big fire wheel shielding him.


    The icicles charging at him were easily deflected by the whirling fire stick.


    Shen Xue made no reaction as he kept pointing his sword at Ma Shinfei, icicles continually forming and being launched at him like an unceasing wave.


    In total, more than two hundred icicles were shot, tearing through the air with a sound that chilled people''s hearts.


    Ma Shinfei kept rotating his stick, tightly protecting himself until the mist was exhausted and no icicle were formed anymore.


    From afar he seemed fine, but if someone was beside him, they would hear Ma Shinfei''s panting sounds and see his arms shivering.


    He completely exhausted his stamina.


    By the end of the icicle rain, the rotation of his stick had already lowered significantly, and one of the last icicles was able to pass his defense to lodge itself in his foot. A few moments later and Ma Shinfei would have crumbled.


    In truth, the heart of this exchange revealed in-depth knowledge and mastery of the Icicle Rain battle skill from Shen Xue. Usually, to use this skill, Shen Xue would consume his Qi to release pale threads of cold mist from his body or his sword which he would turn into dozens of icicles at best before the consumption became too big for the result to be worth it.


    However, here he made an ice wall to counter the surge of flames and created this vast amount of vapor that he directly freezed and used as a source to turn into hundreds of icicles, reducing his Qi consumption to zero while greatly empowering the Icicle Rain battle skill


    In his situation, this was a comprehensive understanding of his battle skill and an expert management of his Qi, easily turning the tables with merely one ice wall and barely any loss.


    Ma Shinfei made his Qi flow freely inside his body, its temperature increasing rapidly.


    His face was grim as he looked at his foe, slowly realizing the difficulty of the task. He believed that with enough training and his newly acquired techniques, he could directly battle across realms and defeat Shen Xue even if he became a Foundation Establishment cultivator.


    Now he understood that even if he gave it his all, hope was dim. Despite everything, Ma Shinfei''s battle spirit wasn''t reduced one bit.


    The icicle piercing his foot released vapor and quickly melted down until nothing remained of it before he started healing himself.


    In the meantime, a youth left the woods and reached the plain facing the precipice, looking at the two Tiger Martial Institute'' students locked in battle.


    "I knew it, those waves of Qi and such a commotion spreading from one fight, it had to be Shen Xue, and it seems he is in good company." The youth smirked looking at the silver-haired swordsman.


    He was tall and robust, wearing the golden robe of the Golden Martial Institute with black hair of average-length and two pangs falling down his forehead and covering the side of his deep green eyes.


    His figure brimmed of assurance, and he had a certain charm to himself, giving others the sensation of a calm and reassuring presence.


    He was Qiong Lieyu, the number one student of the Golden Martial Institute.


    It was only a question of time for a duel of this magnitude to attract others.


    Without any hesitation, Qiong Lieyu pressed forward and entered the fray of battle.

 Nine Circlet Qi Condensing Pill

    Ma Shinfei rushed at Shen Xue once more, stick and sword flying around, but after a moment, Ma Shinfei was kicked in the gut and pushed back.


    "Let me assist you." Suddenly, Qiong Lieyu arrived beside Shen Xue, a nine-ringed saber in his hand as he slashed out.


    Ruling Saber first form - Sky Falling Saber Dominance


    With one attack of his weapon, saber shadows blazed, carrying a whelming killing aura that swept out in Shen Xue''s direction like tidal waves.


    "Scumbag, don''t butt in my fight!" Ma Shinfei shouted furious but helpless as he watched Qiong Lieyu attack.


    Shen Xue was calm as he raised his sword and used a defensive battle skill to protect himself, yet the saber shadows were too numerous, so he mostly focused in preserving his vital spots.


    Most of the saber shadows were deflected, but a few were able to cut his arms or graze his shoulder.


    It was the first time since the start of the competition that Shen Xue has been wounded.


    They were only minor injuries, but it was enough for Ma Shinfei to humanize what seemed like a flawless and unmovable wall till now, taking all his strikes lightly, balanced in every aspect, never showing a single weakness.


    As for Qiong Lieyu, although it didn''t seem like much, it was only the first step towards his plan to defeat Shen Xue. One small step forward would lead to many others and minor injuries will develop in major injuries while defects should turn into defeat.


    "Shen Xue is my biggest rival in this competition, no one should have been able to come close to our scores, as long as he is eliminated, my victory is assured." Qiong Lieyu thought fervently.


    However at this time, an unexpected scene occured before their eyes.


    Shen Xue stared at Qiong Lieyu, motionless, his skin lightly cut at several places, but at the moment where blood was about to flow down the wounds, the blood quickly froze up, covering the cuts in a small layer of ice.


    "What is this?" Qiong Lieyu exclaimed in a frown while Ma Shinfei was at a loss for words, but not far from them, Jin Hao Tian sighed in understanding.


    "So he did cultivate a body refining technique."


    Indeed, Shen Xue became a body refining cultivator not long after joining the Tiger Martial Institute.


    Remember, when he obtained the first place in the recruitment competition, he obtained various rewards, the visit in the institute armory was one of them, but he also gained entry to the third floor of all three towers to retrieve a martial art for each one of them.


    Usually, cultivators don''t bother with body refining to focus on the condensation of their Qi and Shen Xue was no different, but with a free access to a body refining technique, what reason did he have to refuse, increasing his strength could only be helpful.


    He was greatly nurtured both by the Shen clan and the Tiger Martial Institute and was very gifted in every way, neither lacking resources nor talent, if even he couldn''t cultivate a high-tier Yellow Class body refining technique then who could?


    That''s how he came to allot a part of his time to the cultivation of the Ice Bone Frost Blood body refining technique.


    This technique, beside increasing physical performances, gave the body uncomparably sturdy bones like compressed ice and the blood, once injured, would freeze upon the base of the wound, preventing any blood loss and accelerating the recuperation to a certain degree.


    Jin Hao Tian who was close by spectated everything and had his doubts from the start.


    It was often said that when you''re not in the middle of an activity, but just watching as an onlooker, it was much easier to analyze everything and think of the best action to take.


    Jin Hao Tian didn''t take part in the battle, but could understand every intricacies between each one''s actions.


    At the beginning, when he stood at the top of the precipice, he saw Shen Xue repel Ma Shinfei back to the rock cliff with only one swing of his sword.


    Ma Shinfei fell down with great momentum and used a powerful battle skill to turn his hands into volcanic claws, his strike was exceptionally heavy as he attacked Shen Xue. Even if this one was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, without using a battle skill, he would have a hard time enduring the assault alone much less pushing him back this easily.


    Nonetheless, Shen Xue didn''t use a single ounce of Qi as he forcibly forced back Ma Shinfei with one swing.


    Since then, Jin Hao Tian had his suspicions about Shen Xue''s physical abilities which were just now confirmed.


    Of course, the Ice Bone Frost Blood body refining technique was only a high-tier Yellow Class martial art, if you only considered physical abilities, then Ye Mo would snap him like a twig and it was still taking into account that this one was only at the second revolution of the Nine Revolutions Fiend Body while Shen Xue was much more advanced in his cultivation of the Ice Bone Frost Blood technique.


    "Hmph, it doesn''t matter even if I can''t kill him, the most important is that he has been fighting for quite some time and used multiple battle skills while I just arrived and my reserves are full. I only need to keep him here fighting and he should be transported back to the Stone Plateau in no time going past half his amount of Qi." Qiong Lieyu was still very confident.


    This is with these thoughts in mind that he initially joined the battle. Winning or losing a fight, this was pointless, the real victor will be the one gaining the first place in the competition.


    "I am not done yet!" Qiong Lieyu was still establishing a good battle plan for himself when Ma Shinfei charged at Shen Xue without a second thought, stick in hand.


    "This fool will help me." Qiong Lieyu smiled as he stepped back and launched saber rays from the distance when Ma Shinfei was pushed back or seemed at a disadvantage.


    "Bastard, I will kill you!" Ma Shinfei threatened Qiong Lieyu seeing that he kept attacking Shen Xue during their fight, but the heart of his preoccupations was still the Shen clan young master at this time.


    Against another Foundation Establishment cultivator like Qiong Lieyu, the pressure was completely different and Shen Xue couldn''t be as laid back anymore, while fighting Ma Shinfei, he had to use his own defensive battle skill and raise his sword to block the saber lights.


    The first form of the Ruling Saber battle skill was always used at an opportun time, preventing him to deal a decisive blow to Ma Shinfei or to distance himself.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    The Ruling Saber battle skill was a martial art that was separated into six distinct forms, each with their own specifity.


    Learning the six forms was akin to possessing six different techniques in one.


    Qiong Lieyu spent several years to completely master the Ruling Saber battle skill placing much time and efforts in its comprehension which in return, gave him less opportunities to acquire different techniques. Compared to other top students of the three institutes, he learned much less battle skills, but the gradual improvements he made in the Ruling Saber art alone made him rise to the number one student of the Golden Martial Institute.


    The first form of the Ruling Saber was the most fitting at long range and wasted less Qi than the other forms, but was also the less powerful, though it was still mightier than average battle skills of this level.


    The three of them were locked in battle for some time while the bored Jin clan young master decided to respect Ma Shinfei''s will, resisting the urge to go in.


    They spent much time together and he knew how seriously Ma Shinfei took the matter of defeating Shen Xue with his own strength. This implied a duel where he wasn''t helped in any way.


    "Good, keep using your battle skills, you will go past half your Qi soon enough." Qiong Lieyu, laughed coldly witnessing Shen Xue repeatedly using a defensive battle skill to endure the saber rays.


    At some point, Shen Xue grew irritated and changed his mind.


    He pushed Ma Shinfei back once again with a palm strike then took a stance for an instant before he waved his blade, lauching a wide arc of sword energy at Qiong Lieyu.


    This one smiled as he raised his nine ringed saber at his shoulder and willed his Qi.


    "Ruling Saber third form, Sea Stirring Saber."


    The saber shone brightly as it fell on the energy blade, the collision kicking up a tempest of dust, debris, and raw energy that shook the earth.


    Ma Shinfei, not far, coughed blood after the last palm strike he received as he planted his stick on the ground to resist the shockwave rippling outward from driving him away.


    Much to his reluctance, he had to admit without Qiong Lieyu''s repeated interventions, Shen Xue would have beaten him up and steal his points already, which only increased his anger, a rage that was directed towards himself.


    When they fought in the past, it was rather close between them, but although he worked hard all this time, such a big gap was created.


    Ma Shinfei didn''t accept or more accurately wasn''t satisfied by the fact holding his own this long against a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator like Shen Xue was already prodigious. If they were on the same realm of cultivation, this fight would have been completely different.


    The eruption of smoke and residual Qi lingered in the air when Shen Xue charged in with his movement battle skill and immediately reached Qiong Lieyu on the other side, hacking with his sword that the other parried with his saber.


    "Something is not right, from my calculations, he should already have been sent away by now, how could he still have not gone past half of his Qi after releasing so much high and peak-tier battle skills?"


    Qiong Lieyu wavered with uncertainty and suspicion at this moment.


    They had been fighting for quite some time already, and from the Qi waves and the commotion he felt before reaching this place, Shen Xue unleashed powerful moves long before he arrived.


    He knew for sure that, at his place, he would not have been able to endure the expenditure before being sent away possessing less than 40% of liquid Qi in his dantian, yet, even if Shen Xue had a bit more than this, he should have been eliminated by this time.


    At this moment, the ordinarily untalkative Shen Xue opened his mouth and spoke in a detached voice, "Do you think I didn''t understand your aim all this time? Unfortunately, you are destined to be disappointed, when I broke through the Foundation Establishment Realm, I used a Nine Circlet Qi Condensing Pill offered by the dean and obtained more than 300 drops of liquid Qi in one go. Currently, near 60% of my dantian is filled and I can use almost 30% of it so you will have to do more than that if you want me to reach my limits."


    Terrific!


    Shen Xue brokethrough only two months ago, but he was already closer to the second layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm than the first layer thanks to this inestimable pill generously given by Hong Li to nurture him.


    The Nine Circlet Qi Condensing Pill''s function was to significantly increase the success of the Qi condensation during a breakthrough but more importantly, to use its enveloping energy to generate an absurd amount of Qi through the condensation.


    Ordinary cultivators, when they are succesful in reaching a new level of power, often are only able to condense their Qi to one digit of the next layer amounting to less than 1% of their potential, then they would have to cultivate like everyone else to fill the rest of the space in their dantian with more Qi over a relatively long period.


    By using the Nine Circlet Qi Condensing Pill, Shen Xue could condense a whole 300 drops of Qi, filling nearly 10% of his dantian at the moment he took a step in the Foundation Establishment Realm.


    Without talking about the leap towards the next layer, this was a completely different scope compared to cultivators who doesn''t use one, usually, after one breakthrough, they are forced into solitary cultivation for some time to fill their dantian with a certain amount of Qi so they can sustain a fight at a moment of crisis, but Shen Xue with his 300 drops could fight immediately after breaking through without the need to cultivate at all as the liquid Qi of a Foundation Establishment cultivator contain ten times the essence of the gaseous Qi from Qi Gathering cultivators.


    The Nine Circlet Qi Condensing Pill was as difficult and beneficial towards cultivation than a Meridian Purifying Pill but more rare and valuable than this one for one simple reason.


    The Meridian Purifying Pill could be used only once to enhance the meridians before it would lose any effect on the person while the Nine Circlet Qi Condensing Pill can be used every time you attempt a breakthrough with the same results.


    Hong Li probably used the last one stored in the Tiger Martial Institute as the Nine Circlet Qi Condensing Pill doesn''t circulate in Azure Water City, showing how supportive he was of Shen Xue, the Tiger Martial Institute fully nurturing him without looking at the expenses


    Qiong Lieyu trembled at the news.

 Dragon Saber

    Alchemy is one of the oldest profession existing in the world and an art that have been perduring for innumerable years.


    The Nine Circlet Qi Condensing Pill and the Meridian Purifying Pill were methods that have been explored and refined through countless experiments across the ages to support one''s cultivation, yet, the success rate remained exceedingly low and the ressources necessary for each attempt made this profession a bottomless money pit.


    Still, it was also the source of great riches for the most skilled alchemists and despite everything, no cultivator could do without them and their pills as the benefits were evident for all to see, Shen Xue being a prime example.


    He didn''t hesitate to use the resources at his disposition and profited greatly from them.


    While Qiong Lieyu and Shen Xue were locked in battle, another student left the woods and approached the precipice.


    "Isn''t that Qiong Lieyu and Shen Xue..." The student wearing the blue robes of the Sky Martial Institute squinted his eyes as he observed the cultivators present in the area.


    He opened his eyes wide in realization before an opportunistic smile crept on his face, "Such luck! The tumult they are causing have been ongoing for quite some time and the ground is damaged in several places, they must have been fighting rather intensely and exhausted a lot of Qi."


    "While they are absorbed in their battle, I will deal a decisive blow and deeply injure both of them when they still aren''t aware of my presence. If it doesn''t work, at worst, I will stall for time and let them getting expulsed from the forest after exhausting half their Qi."


    This person formulating his next actions was Zhang Xuanhan, the grandson of the Sky Martial Institute''s dean and their best student.


    While he approached the source of the battle, he only preoccupied himself with dealing with Qiong Lieyu and Shen Xue, everything else was pushed aside.


    "Hmph, I will show all of you ignorant scums who belittled me, that I am a genius that can fight across realms, beating even the best cultivators of this generation. Rank 5 talent, Foundation Establishment cultivators, bring it all, they are nothing in front of me, you will all soon realize the Sky Martial Institute is the best institution of the city and I, as their strongest disciple, have no equal!"


    The resentment that dwelled in his heart ran rampant in his mind while he neared the battlefield.


    Both Foundation Establishment cultivators were so engrossed in their bout that they couldn''t find an instant to look around or scan the surroundings.


    When Zhang Xuanhan was close enough to see every details of the confrontation and was about to jump in the melee, a spear suddenly fell down from the sky and crashed right in front of him, drawing a line on the ground before his feet until it came to a stop a dozen steps further.


    Zhang Xuanhan looked on his right and saw Jin Hao Tian drawing closer.


    "Hehe, finally something to do." Jin Hao Tian smiled excitedly, walking towards his spear and picking it up.


    "Don''t bother with these guys, let''s fight each other instead!" Without any further discussion, Jin Hao Tian blocked Zhang Xuanhan''s path and thrust his spear forward with battle intent.


    "Fucker!" Zhang Xuanhan swore loudly, exploding in towering fury, a water shield enveloping his body and slowing down the spear until it came to a still before it could hit him.


    Zhang Xuanhan couldn''t understand, there was no enmity between he and Jin Hao tian, why was he blocking his way at this time?


    Beside having the audacity to attack him, he was making him miss a great opportunity here and the more their fight would drag on, the less he would control the situation and have a chance to eliminate his prime competitors, Shen Xue and Qiong Lieyu.


    Greatly enraged and fretful by this sudden change of circumstances, Zhang Xuanhan threw himself at Jin Hao Tian with a palm strike, trying to get rid of him as fast as possible.


    While they fought, Qiong Lieyu used the second form of the Ruling Saber battle skill and pushed Shen Xue back.


    "Don''t you know, we''re not all born gifted like you and with my Rank 3 talent, I had to take huge risks and place my future on the balance, all this just to defeat you. If there is one person I can''t lose against in this competition, this is you!" Qiong Lieyu admitted calmly.


    He was merely a rank 3 talent, many knew it already.


    He joined the Golden Martial Institute at 8 years old, yet he only reached the 8th layer less than a year ago while he was still fourteen.


    Without testing him, it was clear that this speed was too slow to be a rank 4 talent or more.


    In comparison, Zhang Xuanhan was one year younger than him and started cultivating at nine since his grandfather was afraid he could damage his dantian, yet he broke through the 8th layer earlier than Qiong Lieyu.


    Although he could overcome layers to defeat opponents with a higher cultivation than himself thanks to the Ruling Saber battle skill, Qiong Lieyu didn''t have the chance to leave for a sect till now.


    While he confessed to Shen Xue, a scene that took place six months ago emerged from his memories.


    In the Golden Martial Institute, Qiong Lieyu bowed down to the dean in his office.


    "This disciple has been successful in mastering the final form of the Ruling Saber battle skill." When he said so, the head of a big lion appeared from his pouch and fell on the ground.


    The dean of the Golden Martial Institute, his back facing Qiong Lieyu, turned his head and took a glance before he looked back down once more, seemingly in thought.


    "This is good, but I am afraid it is not enough. This Shen Xue kid is very talented, I am not just talking about his cultivation, I have seen him fight a couple of times, his senses are polished and his skills are on par with instructors. If nothing change, then the first place of our annual competition with the Tiger and Sky Martial Institute will assuredly be his." He said, his heart uneasy.


    The annual competition wasn''t just testing students and attributing rewards according to their performances, its results also determined the ranking of the three institute and the quality of their students.


    The one holding the best places would influence families and clans to send their youths to join it the next year, but most importantly it might incline the sect affiliated to send more resources afterwards.


    More than the students, this competition has an impact on the institute as a whole, hence the Golden Martial Institute''s dean concerned mood.


    Qiong Lieyu''s eyes flashed as he claimed, "I might have a way to beat Shen Xue and obtain the first place for our institute."


    At this mention, the dean sharply turned around and looked at Qiong Lieyu, showing a stern expression, "A way you say, let''s hear it."


    "Qiong Lieyu explained, "You know my abilities, at the same cultivation level, wether Shen Xue or someone else, I don''t fear anyone. The problem is that I might no be fast enough in cultivation and Shen Xue should quickly surpass me, with his talent, who knows what cultivation he will show during the competition."


    "That''s why there is only one way, if you can fully support my cultivation with high-tier Spirit Qi Pills, and grant me a sky blue Encompassing Washing Pill, I will assuredly not be outpaced by Shen Xue. I could even reach the Foundation Establishment Realm in the remaining time with your assistance, in this case you will need to plead in my favor with the other deans and allow me to participate in the competition, lord dean is the most elderly of the three, surely your words will reach them, in exchange, I will get the first place for you."


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    There was a short silence in the office while the dean thought about it before he spoke, "Hmm, to not only allow you to cultivate with Spirit Qi pills, but also to incur in your favor, you''re asking for a bit much aren''t you. This is not like it''s unthinkable, but as the dean I need to be impartial so I can only accept under one condition."


    Qiong Lieyu immediately asked, "Which one?"


    "The high-tier Encompassing Washing pill is a rare resource, who knows when the next one will appear in the city, that''s why I can only give it to you after you do surpass Shen Xue in the leaderboard. Obtain better results than him in the competition and it is yours."


    Qiong Lieyu''s situation was different to Shen Xue.


    He didn''t hail from a powerful clan nor did he have envious talent.


    This situation determined both his and the dean''s take in this arrangement.


    The dean had no qualms putting him at risk and potentially waste his prospects even if he was their top student because with no support and average talent, he wasn''t seen as someone that could go far in cultivation and he might not be satisfactory for the sect.


    At the same time, no one would come ask him for explanations if his potential was wasted with impurities.


    That''s why he gave this condition, it was a drive to push Qiong Lieyu to absolutely surpass Shen Xue in the competition, which meant for both of them, gaining the first place as the young master was the favorite by far.


    "If he fail, the Encompassing Washing Pill won''t be handed to him and the impurities will solidy in his body, at this moment, someone will simply replace him to represent us among this generation. On the other hand, it would truly be a pity to waste the Spirit Qi Pills and help him breakthrough for nothing in return." The dean thought in cold indifference.


    In the righteous path, great talent with a good upstanding was very important, Qiong Lieyu who lacked both of them wasn''t seen as indispensable like Shen Xue nor was he doted on like Zhang Xuanhan.


    On earth, if you are strong, you have nothing to worry about.


    If you are weak, you can count on your talent for the strong to gather around and help you grow.


    If you are both weak and untalented, then you are on your own braving the winds and cold for a glimmer of hope.


    In his case, Qiong Lieyu was aware that with his talent, it would be much more difficult to progress as he climbs higher in the endless path of cultivation. Nothing was given to him for free, he had to fight bitterly in the institute and prove himself to the higher-ups to obtain the resources needed to advance.


    Seeing the dean''s plight, he saw an opportunity to squander more resources for himself and benefit from the situation, quickly enhancing his cultivation which worried him the most these years.


    For this reason, he didn''t mind polluting his body with the impurities of Spirit Qi pills or accepting the dean''s condition, because he was sure, as long as he broke through the Foundation Establishment Realm, with his mastery of the Ruling Saber, no one should be his match.


    He quickly agreed to this proposition and obviously, this arrangement was kept a secret by the two parties. If it was to be known that the dean freely handed a high-tier Encompassing Washing Pill and other assets just for someone to defeat Shen Xue and that Qiong Lieyu promoted his cultivation with a massive intake of Spirit Qi Pills, both their reputation would suffer.


    As long as they didn''t admit anything, others could doubt witnessing Qiong Lieyu''s sudden explosive growth, but they wouldn''t dare point it out without proof or it would be nothing less than slander with dire consequences.


    "You had your own opportunities, I also have my own secrets. With a good reason backing me, I am not allowed to lose this fight!" Qiong Lieyu uttered, his eyes resolute.


    His hair rose in the air, dancing as if unaffected by the gravity, his eyes quickly turned a bright golden and many vivid lines of lights ran through his body.


    Under the effects of this amplification battle skill, Qiong Lieyu''s abilities increased manifold as he jumped in the air.


    "It''s been six months already, I have no choice, my impurities could solidify any day now. If I don''t surpass Shen Xue in the banners and quickly consume the sky blue Encompassing Washing Pill, I am doomed to remain in the early Foundation Establishment Realm my whole life!"


    Qiong Lieyu raised his saber with determination, a massive amount of Qi gathering around the blade.


    Shen Xue raised his head and looked at the commotion with a cold face, whispering, "Ice Tomb."


    Suddenly, cold pale mist escaped from his nose, mouth and ears, gathering around him and freezing the ground at his feet.


    The mist that was exhaled quickly pressed itself back against Shen Xue''s body, frost and ice quickly growing on his skin.


    In an instant, Shen Xue''s whole body was encased in a block of ice like the blood tracking fly in its fossilized crystal.


    However, the cold mist wasn''t completely exhausted yet, and continued to enlarge and thicken the ice around Shen Xue''s body with every passing second.


    His eyes were closed and he seemed asleep, imprisoned in the ice.


    "Take this, Ruling Saber final form, Dragon Saber!" Qiong Lieyu bellowed savagely as he struck down with his saber towards the ice tomb.


    The Shadow of a golden dragon appeared from the tip of the saber, roaring in the sky as it lunged down in the earth.


    Boom!


    The whole valley trembled, and the ground was fractured.


    Zhang Xuanhan and Jin Hao Tian had no choice but to stop fighting to resist the shockwave pushing them outwards.


    Ma Shinfei held his stick planted on the ground, but was still sliding back bit by bit.


    A layer of soil was sent flying along rocks and grasses.


    When the pressure slightly subsided, a huge column of smoke rose from the center of the impact.


    In this column, Shen Xue stood up, his surroundings filled with broken ice fragments, the remains of the Ice Tomb battle skill.


    His body was covered in frost, concealing the countless injuries he suffered, his white robe was torn to shreds and his ordinarily silky silver hair were straight like icicles, frozen as well.


    Pieces of flesh were missing in certain areas, replaced by a layer of frost that displayed protruding pristine bones.


    He has never been in such a bad state since he started cultivating.


    If it wasn''t for his body refining technique, even the Ice Tomb wouldn''t prevent him from losing an arm or simply his life.


    His ears were buzzing and his sight hazy, with the surrounding smoke, he couldn''t orient himself properly.


    He was slowly healing himself using the concealement from the dust cloud to recuperate in peace when at this moment, a fist pierced the fog, the wave from the movement dissipating the smoke and revealing his assailant.


    Shen Xue felt a chill, he was very vulnerable right now and didn''t expect Qiong Lieyu to instantly attack after releasing such a formidable move, most of all, he didn''t feel any movement around him before this.


    He turned around and raised his sword to block the strike when he saw a muscular youth with short spiky hair and gloomy emotionless eyes. His attire was very damaged as well, making him as good as topless, however he was also barefooted.


    An ambitious beggar attacked!

 Leaderboards Update

    The sword was placed in the course of the fist''s path as it neared closer to Shen Xue''s chest, yet at the last moment, the fist suddenly veered down and opened into a claw.


    Ye Mo took hold of the token tied on Shen Xue''s waist and snatched it in a flash.


    It only took a thought from him to transfer the points to his token, reaching a colossal one hundred sixty one thousand points.


    Shen Xue looked down with bulging eyes, realizing this was Ye Mo''s intention from the start. When he raised his head, this one was already sprinting away, the token devoid of points still in his hand.


    For cultivators, a few meters was nothing and Ye Mo covered them in an instant, breaking through the wall of smoke and distancing himself from the precipice.


    Qiong Lieyu who just landed down after launching his greatest attack was not in a much better state than Shen Xue.


    He breathed raggedly as if he just escaped drowning, he was in a very weakened state after his amplification battle skill wore off.


    His amplification battle skill along his strongest move, the final form of the Ruling Saber made for an exceptional attack that had the power to easily kill even second or third layer Foundation Establishment cultivators.


    There had to be some drawbacks and as expected like many amplification battle skill, Qiong Lieyu was drained of his vigor looking at the result of his strike on the environment with tired eyes.


    Unfortunately, Shen Xue was no ordinary cultivator either and using the Ice Tomb battle skill, he was able to retain his life also due to the Ice Bone Frost Blood body refining technique.


    Ice Tomb was a peak-tier Yellow Class battle skill he took when he was allowed in the last floor of the battle skill tower by Hong Li after he defeated senior students and cultivated in the fourth floor of the pagoda.


    If the Buddha Golden Bell battle skill distinguished itself for its formidable defensive capacities among high-tier battle skills, Ice Tomb was renowned as the greatest shied above any defensive art of the peak-tier level in the city, a battle skill that could hardly be broken by anyone matching your strength.


    Even if the opponent could make a dent in the ice with his battle skills, ice would quickly grow back over it to form the same round sphere once again so if you couldn''t break it in one powerful strike, hitting it would only serve to waste your Qi.


    The final form of Ruling Saber with its deadly qualities, still wouldn''t have been able breach it if it wasn''t for the amplificition increasing the power of the battle skill.


    Of course, Ice Tomb wasn''t perfect and when it is used, the cultivator could only lay frozen inside the ice boulder and wait for it break on its own after some time to be freed when the opponent wasn''t able to destroy it. Whatever happened in the exterior, you couldn''t see nor do anything about it till the ice released you.


    While he observed the dust cloud for any signs of Shen Xue, Qiong Lieyu noticed a bronze-skinned shirtless youth escaping its borders and running away, a token in hands.


    "Who is this guy, I watched over the surroundings since I used the final form yet, I haven''t seen anyone approach the epicenter of the blast, where does he come from?" Qiong Lieyu was quite puzzled by this scene, asking himself many questions.


    Shen Xue tightened his jaw in anger and anxiousness as he pursued Ye Mo, escaping the column of smoke in turn with much greater speed.


    He grew very close to the target when Ye Mo suddenly tossed the token he held on the side and kept on his way.


    Witnessing this scene, Shen Xue stopped in his tracks in hesitation.


    If he went to pick his token, he would lose Ye Mo and won''t recover the points he stole. His week of efforts and ruthless killing would be wasted and his final position miserable, it was already the final day, there was no way he could salvage himself at this point no matter how much he would try.


    If he went after Ye Mo instead, someone could go pick his token on the ground and break it, in this case there was no need to even think about Ye Mo, his points or anything else, he would immediately be eliminated and sent to the Rallying Stone Plateau.


    He stood there in uncertainty, his gaze shifting between Ye Mo''s back and his token for an instant.


    Ma Shinfei stared at Ye Mo appearing out of nowhere and disappearing as fast as he came, tongue-tied.


    In the meantime, Jin Hao Tian and Zhang Xuanhan already resumed fighting, the first engaging while the second helplessly went with the flow.


    Qiong Lieyu who watched the scene unfold was shocked to see Shen Xue survived his attack when an understanding suddenly struck him, "This is his token!"


    Battling the exhaustion, Qiong Lieyu rushed at the token laying on the ground like an hawk poucing on a duck.


    Although he saw Ye Mo holding the token previously, hinting he probably stole all the points it contained already, Qiong Lieyu didn''t care.


    His objective wasn''t the points, but to eliminate Shen Xue, his biggest enemy, this dark-skinned youth was not important.


    Qiong Lieyu worked tirelessly and gathered an enormous amount of points, in his perspective, it was very likely he was already sitted in the top position. Maybe Shen Xue was slightly ahead previously, but even if it was the case, with his points stolen, Ye Mo would be the one to take his place.


    Towards this person, Qiong Lieyu had no thought. He never saw nor heard about him and he was merely an 8th layer Qi Gathering Realm weakling, he shouldn''t have obtained that much points in this week, but probably hide himself most of the time to survive the wild competition. After he was done with Shen Xue, Qiong Lieyu could quickly surpass his score in the remaining day and take the first place or increase the gap if he already reached it.


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Seeing Qiong Lieyu promptly approaching his token soaked Shen Xue in a sense of urgency and with one last murderous glare at Ye Mo, he urged himself to recover it.


    Despite Qiong Lieyu being further, he had a headstart over Shen Xue and this one wouldn''t have the time pick up his token before the first would reach it so he decisively targeted Qiong Lieyu instead, attacking his back with his sword.


    Qiong Lieyu had no choice but to pause right beside the token and turn around to parry the blow.


    "I am disappointed, how could you lose your token against this guy?" Saber and sword were entangled as Qiong Lieyu mocked openly.


    Shen Xue didn''t say anything as he stepped toward his token and tried to crouch down in an attempt to grab it when this time it was Qiong Lieyu''s turn to hack down, preventing him to take it.


    Whenever one tried to take the token, the other would strike forcing the first to defend himself as they locked each other in battle.


    The two were soon joined by Ma Shinfei who had the time to recuperate enough during their previous clash. This one had no desire towards the token on the ground, but only wished to defeat these Foundation Establishment cultivators.


    Shen Xue and Qiong Lieyu were in such a bad state that Ma Shinfei could keep the rythm and wasn''t pushed back as easily as before.


    Ye Mo instead already reached the woods and vanished in the shadows, distancing himself from this chaotic battlefield.


    "There is no point to fight and kill compulsively, only by gaining the first place will I benefit the most. Now my objective has been reached."


    When Ye Mo led Shen Xue towards the precipice where Ma Shinfei and Jin Hao Tian remained, he knew Ma Shinfei wouldn''t resist the urge to attack Shen Xue, allowing him to escape.


    However, Ye Mo didn''t go far and lingered in the vicinity, on the lookout for a chance to take advantage of the situation. Without Ma Shinfei and Jin Hao Tian to fight with him, Ye Mo had no more solution to quickly increase his score and be assured of the number one position, he was unwilling to leave yet, and prefered watching over instead.


    Initially, he hoped Ma Shinfei and Jin Hao Tian would fight together to give themselves a chance against Shen Xue, he was dissatisfied seeing the first struggling by himself while the spear wielder stood on the side as a spectator.


    Ma Shinfei couldn''t handle Shen Xue on his own and at the second when this one''s defeat would seem inevitable, Ye Mo would have raced away without turning around in case Shen Xue still decided to go after him.


    He was happy to see Qiong Lieyu suddenly arrived and fought against Shen Xue.


    At this point, there was still the question of how he could profit from the situation.


    There were three problems in his mind, to begin with, Shen Xue and Qiong Lieyu were too strong. If he attacked like that, they could easily dispose of him and continue their bout.


    Secondly, the sun beamed over the precipice and its surroundings, there was no vegetation or darkness that could stem from it which he could use to approach them stealthily. If he simply went there by foot, he would be noticed even before being close enough to attack and dealt with accordingly.


    Lastly, even if he could find a moment to creep up when their vigilance was low and they wouldn''t remark him, there was still Jin Hao Tian nearby who had a clear view of the surroundings and could intervene in case someone exterior tried to interfere.


    The most important was to find a way to approach sneakily, strike in a flash, then escape.


    Jin Hao Tian''s problem was resolved when he attacked Zhang Xuanhan who had the same idea as Ye Mo, but the crucial moment was when Qiong Lieyu used his strongest attack.


    The force of his move was so powerful that the earth buckled and heaved as massive chunks of soil and rock were torn free, hurtling skyward amidst a whirlwind of shattered grass and debris.


    For a short moment, these covered the area with many dots and patches of shadows which Ye Mo used to travel under Shadow Walk until he reached the blast point where stood Shen Xue.


    This one''s injuries were very severe and was still considering the extent of his wounds so he didn''t think he would be immediately assaulted after enduring such a blow.


    He was so surprised and vulnerable when Ye Mo attacked that he only thought of protecting himself, reacting in self-preservation and allowing Ye Mo to easily pick his token.


    "I have enough points to be assured of the first place, now I only need to hide and wait for the competition to end then claim my rewards, I will also have to deal with the Li clan''s whinings. In any case, if I don''t attain attain the top spot with my current score, I am ready to believe fire is wet and water burns like oil." Ye Mo declared sarcastically as he ascended a hill, traveling towards the border of the forest where he knew there wasn''t much students and none powerful.


    In the city, it was a scene of deathly silence, the passerbys looking at the banners flabbergasted by the leaderboard''s new update.


    Ye Mo at the first place, had close to double the score of Qiong Lieyu at the second place, Shen Xue instead was nowhere to be seen, concealed in the flood of names at the lower end of the banner.

 Primary Nature Dispelled

    The onlookers gazing at the banner the past days thought they already witnessed the greatest surprise of the competition when Ye Mo suddenly rose to the third place and Li Qiang vanished, but now they couldn''t be any more shocked.


    "This can''t be, even Shen Xue fell to this guy? I can''t believe it!"


    "Something is fishy about this, there is no way the little runt could achieve first place otherwise."


    "Shen Xue would not fall against any one, even Qiong Lieyu would be hard-pressed against him, some instructors must be in cahoots with Ye Mo."


    "There might be a hidden expert supporting him in the dark who helped the kid supress his opponents, that''s the only way."


    Many thoughts out loud, incredulous, but the crowd was mostly speechless in front of this display.


    Suddenly, cheers erupted in the surroundings, "He really did it... Way to go Ye Mo!"


    "Even Shen Xue was demoted, we mortals can''t be underestimated once we start cultivating."


    "One day, I will also become a cultivator and achieve no less!"


    Several mortals praised loudly, filled with aspirations, hope, longing, excitement and all kinds of intense emotions mixed together.


    They felt prideful and vindicative, using Ye Mo to prove themselves that contrary to what cultivators made them believe, mortals like them aren''t worthless and can also become successful with the right resources. This was accompanied by a bittersweet yearning to be at his place along a tint of jealousy.


    It was a different proximity they had for Ye Mo compared to Qiong Lieyu, who, although doesn''t hail from any clan or big family, inherited a colossal sum of gold from his father and enrolled in the Golden Martial Institute immediately after coming to age.


    He spent less than three years in the streets, before that he had his mother and after that he became a cultivator. Ye Mo instead went through the major part of his life coping in the slums and trying to survive, they felt only he could understand them and shared similar life experiences despite the fact most mortals in truth never had it as rough as him.


    One of the cultivators present was already in a bad mood and when he heard the shouts, his face darkened. He took a sword out of his spatial pouch and turned around lightning fast, piercing the skull of the mortal behind him with the blade penetrating right between his eyes.


    The tip of the blade came out from the back of his head, the person murdered still had a rictus on his face, but his eyes were vacant and morbidly fixing the sword before he slumped down like a puppet that lost its strings.


    The cultivators didn''t react at all to this common scene, but the multiple mortals present instantly shut their mouths tightly in dread and walked away soundlessly, leaving only people of power spectating the banner for a time.


    "These dogs shouldn''t forget their place, next time I am taking down all of them myself." Another cultivator exclaimed sharply before they all returned their attention to the leaderboard.


    In the cultivation world, mortals were only slaves, no more than sheeps while cultivators were their master. No one cared if one, two or a dozen were killed, at most you would only pay a small compensation to the owner if they were servants from a family of cultivators but not much.


    It was already good that their presence was tolerated around the banner by the cultivators, but now these slaves dare shout and give preposterous opinions about their masters, unforgivable!


    Ye Mo was oblivious to the agitation in the city as he sat between two big rocks, hiding near the border of the Jade Forest, the last trees standing before one would leave the woods being in his view.


    "The encounter with Shen Xue back then was pretty dangerous, clearly, only Qiong Lieyu could have given him a fight among the students." Ye Mo thought, recalling the injuries on Shen Xue''s body when he ambushed him.


    At this moment, even he might have a shot to kill him, but he seized his hand and didn''t consider it an instant.


    Ye Mo wasn''t a muddled bloodthirsty killer, when he acted, it was always with a certain goal in mind and this time wasn''t different. Killing was just a tool to achieve his aim, the most important has always been to support his cultivation and increase his strength and taking the first place of this competition was a way for him to do it so gaining Shen Xue''s token and stealing the points was what truly mattered, taking his life or anyone else was of no importance as long as they didn''t stand on his path.


    Quickly, night fell then was soon cleared up by a golden ball scintillating in the horizon.


    At dawn, Ye Mo prepared to set out, but he wasn''t in a hurry and patiented a bit, watching the earliest participants leaving the forest first before he returned to the Rallying Stone Plateau himself.


    It wasn''t a long way from the Jade Forest to the Rallying Stone Plateau and in no time it stood in his sight.


    He could see there were a lot of people from the city that gathered around to look at the final students who came out of this competition in one piece and hear the deans announcement.


    Ye Mo also discerned the Li clan''s camp near the Rallying Stone Plateau, a knowing smile on his face.


    Without further ado, Ye Mo walked forward, nearing the gathered students that arrived before him.


    On the Rallying Stone Plateau stood the instructors, vice-deans and deans of the three institute. At the base on its right side was erected the Li clan''s camp with several black tents and Li clan members talking and hurtling back and forth. The students stopped on the remaining area around the boulder, encircling it. Surrounding them were hundreds and thousands of inhabitants that came to cheer for the students, both cultivators and mortals made the way here.


    When Ye Mo reached a side where stood the students, an instructor from the Tiger Martial Institute remarked him and precipitously jumped down then grabbed his shoulder and went back up with him.


    Although Ye Mo didn''t particularly try to be unconspicuous, no one among the onlookers paid attention to him, but when the instructor grabbed him, a few persons noticed the disruption and instantly recognized him.


    "It''s him, this is Ye Mo!" A mortal was the first to realize his identity and called out.


    Many of them looked at him with wide, unblinking eyes, their gaze full of admiration.


    "Now that I look at him, his face does seem familiar." One cultivator that assisted at the Tiger Martial Institute''s tournament squinted his eyes as he focused his gaze on Ye Mo.


    "He definitely cheated, he is dead for sure!"


    "Calm down, if there truly is something wrong with his performance there is no way the instructors won''t find out, at this point they will deal with him. I am rather more interested in how Li Zhen will react."


    When Ye Mo landed on the Rallying Stone Plateau, he noticed Shen Xue was already here waiting by himself a distance from the instructors.


    He was clean and fully recovered, wearing a new spotless white robe on himself.


    When Ye Mo escaped with his points, Shen Xue had nothing more to lose and unlike Qiong Lieyu, the swordsman didn''t show the extent of his power yet. Completely unrestrained, Shen Xue fought with all his strength, deeply injuring both Qiong Lieyu and Ma Shinfei before being sent away from the Jade Forest after exhausting more than half his Qi.


    Following his elimination, several other students arrived at the precipice.


    Considering his objective complete, Qiong Lieyu quickly fled the scene, refusing to fight injured and with nearly half his Qi spent.


    Zhang Xuanhan, Jin Hao Tian and Ma Shinfei, surrounded, momentarily joined hands to push back the assailants but outnumbered and wounded against powerful students, they finally separated and ran away, each to one direction as to confuse the enemies.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Shen Xue''s eyes fiercely locked on Ye Mo, but the latter ignored him.


    Although Shen Xue wished to, he didn''t budge from his place, knowing it wasn''t the time to be anywhere near Ye Mo.


    As soon as he and the instructor landed on the Rallying Stone Plateau, a shadow flashed from the Li camp and went over the platform with surreal speed.


    The most courageous instructors of the Tiger Martial Institute tried to stop it, but it quickly moved past them and stopped right before Ye Mo.


    The dark figure of the Li clan patriarch loomed ominously over him.


    He was tall, nearly twice Ye Mo''s size and the long sword he held in hand was longer than the latter''s body. Li Zhen was lowering his head to look at him, his long black hair falling down and concealing his expression from anyone but Ye Mo.


    This one raised his head and directly looked at him, the patriarch''s gaze was sharp and cutting, promising unforgiving retribution yet, there was also a sense of detachment and apathy in his eyes, as if what he was looking at wasn''t a human being, but a corpse already.


    "So you are the one who killed my son?" Li Zhen dragged his words, emphasizing each one.


    Any youth at his place would have been scared shitless faced with this scene, unable to look or utter a word, however, Ye Mo didn''t show a shred of fear as he answered curtly, "If your son is Li Qiang, then that would be me."


    "That is very courageous of you to admit it so openly, well then, farewell." Li Zhen raised his sword above Ye Mo''s head.


    He was about to cleave down when Han Zhen Jun interrupted him, separating the two as he placed himself between them, "What do you think you are doing, you believe you can come, kill our students, and go back as you please? Cease this nonsense at once!"


    Li Zhen''s expression stiffened, "You heard him, he killed Li Qiang, now move away."


    He was about to strike again when Han Zhen Jun retorted, "So what if he killed him? Should we execute all the students that murdered someone in the forest, shall I bring every mother and father that lost a child in a competition to come enact revenge upon the killer? I am afraid not many junior will live past this day in the city. Enough of this, there is a risk of death in any competition, Li Qiang came in knowing this fact, since Ye Mo didn''t commit any fault, return to your camp for now."


    Li Zhen lowered his sword and looked at Han Zhen Jun saying, "But he did commit a fault, after all, didn''t Hong Li told them to avoid killing members of their own institute, yet this bastard went straight for my son''s throath. He has no consideration for the institute or the life of their members, in this case, I will do you a favor and get rid of this pest for you."


    To this, Han Zhen Jun had nothing to say, actually, he was rather reluctant to defend Ye Mo and wouldn''t have stepped forward if it wasn''t a personal request from Hong Li, but he knew he couldn''t let Li Zhen do as he please in front of all these people and tarnish the Tiger Martial Institute''s reputation.


    Ye Mo still unworried, replied," Actually, Li Qiang was the one to attack me. He held a grudge against me for a long time, everyone in the institute know it, when he found me, he had no hesitation. if I didn''t defend myself with all my strength, I would be the one to die there."


    Li Zhen looked around and saw many students and instructors nodding as they recalled incidents in the pagoda, feeling that what he said made sense.


    The spectators listened intently, gloating and whispering among themselves.


    Ignoring Ye Mo, the patriarch continued accusing him, "Moreover, he definitely broke the rules. You know Li Qiang''s abilities as good as me, this kid with his puny cultivation would have never been able to take his life without cheating, he must have consumed some forbidden pill to quickly increase his power for a moment. In any case, he must be killed."


    At this mention, Han Zhen Jun once again couldn''t replicate, but Ye Mo didn''t need it, "It is true that Li Qiang was very strong, it was very dangerous back then to the point I was forced to use my poisoned needles. If I didn''t, who knows how the fight would have ended."


    Ye Mo admitted plainly, there was nothing to hide, might as well say the things as they were.


    Li Zhen snickered, "Your words have no value, since you can''t prove anything, off you go now."


    The Li clan patriarch raised his sword once more when Hong Li appeared beside them, walking with hands behind his back," I can vouch for him, it happened as he said. If you don''t trust me, you can come view the fight in the tent anytime you want."


    It wasn''t for no reason he asked his second in command to protect Ye Mo rather than doing it himself, at the second when the sky cleared up east, Hong Li rushed in the Jade Forest and retrieved Li Qiang''s token before he returned to watch what happened to him. He just finished watching when he came out to stop Li Zhen.


    Ye Mo laughed coldly in his heart, it was exactly what he wanted.


    He was just a rank 2 talent so if there really was something that could be said against him, Hong Li and Han Zhen Jun wouldn''t have any remorse handing him over, but without any justification they had to defend him fiercely against Li Zhen.


    How many competition they held since the Tiger Martial Institute was built, how much students fought and lost their lives participating? Numerous parents lost their child during such events, but even if they were were overcome by grief, never would they dare complain or be so bold as to come attempting to execute a student themselves.


    The rules and the risks were clear to all, once you make a decision you can''t take it back. If everyone acted like Li Zhen then martial institutions wouldn''t exist because the streets would be filled with angry parents chasing and beheading kids because they killed someone in a contest.


    Ye Mo looked at the pedestrians below, his heart clear, "Everyone follows their own convictions, pursuing one''s desires and acting in your best interest is natural. The Tiger Martial Institute can''t let the Li clan eliminate me because if they were allowed to do so once, everyone would act the same way from this moment on. In addition, I just won the first place in their year-end competition, what look would it give to the institute if they let their student get executed immediately after returning triumphantly from their greatest trial. Last of all, they just lost Li Qiang, one of their top junior member, how could they accept to give me up at the same time rather than taking advantage of me instead to take Li Qiang''s place and go to the sect. There was only benefits in protecting me, slighting Li Zhen''s pride in exchange was no problem at all."


    "Actually, the Li clan has great influence, if they want to kill me, it is still possible, but they need a reasonable and righteous reason to do so, or they would break the rules and regulations in place. They are in a different position than the Liu clan who wouldn''t hesitate slaughtering me the first chance they get. In reality, Li Zhen is afraid. He doesn''t fear to break the rules, he is afraid others would follow in his footsteps. In a junior''s scuffle, if the elders interfere, it would aggravate the situation. If it involved the higher ups, it''d pose a threat to the entire Azure Water City. Li Zhen''s fear lies here. What if in future conflicts, others lay their hands on his second son Li Cheng? With his heir dead, all that remained to him and the Li clan was this last successor Li Cheng, so what would happen if he died? This kind of fear, maybe he doesn''t realize it himself. He is only subconsciously protecting the rules."


    Ye Mo''s eyes were clear as he grasped the primary nature of this matter from start to end.


    "Obviously, they won''t stop attempting to eliminate me, they simply can''t do it openly."

 All to be Number One

    "There is no need, if you came here to say so in front of everyone then I will believe in your sincerity." Li Zhen denied Hong Li''s proposition to watch his son''s last battle.


    Although those were his words, once this matter is settled, he plan to observe every single detail of Li Qiang''s fight against Ye Mo with rapt attention.


    However, he needed to maintain appearances in public. He went on the Rallying Stone Plateau like a tiger, ready to devour Ye Mo with astonishing bloodlust, he couldn''t simply leave to view a fight in the tent for a few minutes then return and continue haggling with this kid and his representatives, his aura would deflate like a balloon and he will lose all his momentum, showing a lack of confidence.


    Hong Li wouldn''t come out and openly back up Ye Mo if it was discovered this one lied all this time.


    At this moment, Ye Mo took out something from his spatial pouch and another from under his belt.


    In his hands layed Li Qiang''s pouch and sword that he raised towards the Li clan patriarch.


    "Although I am in no age to be a father, I can emphasize with the loss of family members hence I recovered his belongings for you." Ye Mo said looking sincere.


    Li Zhen had a complicated expression as he took the objects in his hands.


    Of course this action from Ye Mo wasn''t without meaning.


    In the city, the Li clan had the reputation of a proud, but fierce and unforgiving clan, quick to take offense and slow to forgive.


    In Ye Mo''s case instead, most onlookers here didn''t know him so by showing himself as amicable and compassionate while facing the cold and domineering patriarch, he could easily win the favors of the public.


    In a martial art world where fists talked the most and killing was an achievement, it was rare to see this kind of display from a cultivator.


    Many among the spectators saw him in a new light and even those dissatisfied by the final ranking of the competition immediately found him more bearable to the eyes.


    Li Zhen who was a powerful cultivator that operated the Li clan for many years was experienced in many ways and quickly realized the machination.


    He first attacked a junior without any good reason then lost the justifications he prepared, yet this junior not only didn''t take offense, but also offered him his son''s possessions, if he still attacked after this, he would seem too petty and unreasonable and no matter which way it would go, his clan''s honor would suffer regardless.


    The Li clan, like any organization couldn''t live on thin air and needed a stable source of income to subsist. The Li clan had many businesses like taverns, inns and even a tea workshop to amass their wealth, if he was greatly feared and disliked by the majority of people, who would dare go in these Li clan properties in the future? At the slightest mishap from a customer, the patriarch or an elder might come and take their heads without any explanation nor consession, like they tried to with Ye Mo, right? If customers and money came to miss, cultivation resources would also dwindle and without these resources, the Li clan would lose strength and simply crumble targeted by a rival clan.


    Without mentioning that the Li clan was vast and held countless members, feeding them all also had a cost.


    Hong Li watched Ye Mo''s deed and couldn''t help but show an appreciative glance, "Ye Mo has great political skills, with his wits he could have become a grand cultivator and found his own clan, sigh, if only he wasn''t a rank 2 talent."


    Although he wouldn''t let Li Zhen do as he wish with his Tiger Martial Institute''s students, he would rather avoid fighting him and enter in conflict with his Li clan so he was very supportive of Ye Mo''s demeanor.


    He and Han Zhen Jun who were among those who knew Ye Mo were also surprised this usually dispassionate and unruly kid could act so calm and friendly at this instant.


    Ye Mo was different from other cultivators present here.


    People in this place were raised in the righteous path, suffering from its influence and indoctrination since birth. Righteous organizations glorifies sacrificing personal interests for the collective, portraying obedience as a moral virtue. Members naturally internalize guilt and shame for even contemplating selfishness or rebellion. At the same time, respect of authority and the collective over the individual is instilled in the heart of every children, taking their elders words to heart and lectures as irrefutable.


    Because sects and clans condition members to see their hardships and sacrifices as noble, even if they suffer exploitation, this creates a self-reinforcing cycle where members justify their own oppression to avoid confronting the unpleasant truth.


    All to create pawn pieces that could be controlled and willingly exploited by the organization.


    It could be witnessed with Bing Jia''s story, he was the top student of the Sky Martial Institute in the past and when he was challenged by Zhang Xuanhan, he undeniably had the strength to fight him. If he went all-out and won, he could have maintained his title and the ressources necessary to further his cultivation, he might even have broken through the Foundation Establishment Realm by this time; yet there wasn''t even a need for the dean to say a word for Bing Jia to step down and take this loss silently, afraid of offending the higher-ups and being ostracized from the institute.


    He held this position so dearly but still sacrificed it for the greater good of the institute, what else couldn''t he do to integrate himself?


    Of course, wether in the demonic or righteous path there are always exceptions that differed from the teachings taught to them.


    Since he started cultivating seriously, Shen Xue has been cold and uncooperative towards even his own clan members, acting on his own and training by himself. This behavior from a clan member would have been shunned and punished, yet he was always sensible enough to never implicate his clan in his activies, like when he avoided killing other young masters during competitions so with his rank 5 talent and quick growth, no one dared say anything.


    The righteous path influence spread wide and even before you become part of any organization, this kind of control would already be established by the parents who were themselves influenced when young, encouraging to chase after family love, friendship, romance, unity and loyalty to fill their spirit, indulging in being in a group while afraid of being alone.


    This kind of conditioning was very subtle, most people would never realize it.


    Only with the years of experience and making your way to a position of power could you see the intricacies of the righteous path control and exploit it yourself.


    However, Ye Mo lost his parents when he was very young and grew up in the slums as an insignificant mortal. The old man that helped him had his hands full trying to make them pass the day and quickly followed his parents in the grave, leaving Ye Mo by himself to survive.


    Such a person, he was a mistake. He should never have been able to become a cultivator, he was destined to live and die in the malnourished districts of the city.


    Without parents nor being part of an organization and lacking any kind of exterior connection, he has never been subjected to the righteous path brainwashing.


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    His beliefs were conclusions born through years of experiences and contemplation in a cold and unforgiving environment. His dream was the result of his own thoughts and desires. No ideas or life view was burrowed in his head by anyone.


    This upbringing gave him a sky-far-different perspective compared to others and often helped him grasp the core of political matters when youths his age would only scratch the surface.


    When juniors take leader figures as benevolent moral paragons, Ye Mo saw them as a bunch of powerful, greedy individuals with different circumstances and objectives who tried to profit the most from each situation.


    "Mortals, Qi Gathering or Inner Core cultivators, they are all the same. It is just that those at the bottom of the food chain are exploited by those placed higher and the same ones bribe, fight and bootlick to climb the ladder. The higher you go, the more benefits you gain, but even those at the top of the food chain can''t escape the weight of responsibilities managing the organization, in return advancing slowly. Only when being detached and solitary can you truly be free."


    Ye Mo wasn''t denigrating the higher-ups mentality, in their position, he would also fully exploit the system and use juniors under the guise of guidance to gather benefits for himself.


    It is precisely because he wasn''t part of any organization nor did he idolize these leader figures that he could put himself at their place and understand their intentions well. At this point, it wasn''t difficult to find ways to oppose them.


    Right now he was quasi-completely sure Li Zhen won''t attempt to kill him publicly anymore. Even if Hong Li and Han Zhen Jun would protect him, cultivators of the Inner Core Realm could kill people like him with the bat of an eye and just standing too close of their fight as a Qi Gathering cultivator was very dangerous.


    It was for the best if the confrontation could be avoided for now.


    Li Zhen understood the situation didn''t bode well and blamed Ye Mo, "If you could take these, why didn''t you bring back his body, am I supposed to burrow a spatial pouch in his place?"


    Ye Mo smoothly explained, "I don''t possess any poison-averting battle skill, I wouldn''t last long in contact with his body, moreover how would I survive the remaining days of the competition with a corpse on my shoulders much less reach the first place? It simply was impossible for me."


    Knowing that this conflict could not be resolved, Li Zhen gritted his teeth, gazed at Hong Li, looked down then finally sighed and extended his hand, "It seems in my grief, I treated you unfairly young man, let''s leave this matter in the past."


    Ye Mo looked at the opened palm with calm, if he had the choice, he would rather avoid shaking it, but everyone in the righteous path had to follow the rules and regulations, to maintain his act and keep his public image, he raised his and clasped the patriarch''s hand.


    Instantly, he felt a spiritual wave wash over him and his mind crumble.


    Ye Mo fell on one knee as blood spurted from his nose and mouth.


    "Scumbag!" Hong Li roared in his mind as he immediately expanded his spiritual sense, protecting Ye Mo while warding off Li Zhen''s one.


    Li Zhen scoffed as he turned around and left crisply, he knew Hong Li would defend Ye Mo, he didn''t plan to kill him with his spirit sense, but only to teach him a lesson.


    The spectators were bewildered seeing Ye Mo suddenly fall down and Li Zhen leaving, the spiritual sense was invisible to the naked eye so no one could notice what just took course. Obviously, many thought of the spiritual sense among the onlookers and were convinced but it was all suppositions, without proof or confirmation, no one would dare say anything.


    While Liu Zhen walked away, Ye Mo wiped the corner of his mouth, laughing coldly as he mumbled lowly, "I can understand why one could be affected this much by Li Qiang''s death, he was the most valiant of us all, even in death he continues killing blood beasts with his body."


    No one could hear him beside Hong Li and Han Zhen Jun who were just beside him and evidently, Li Zhen.


    "Sssh!"


    "Be quiet!"


    Hong Li and Han Zhen Jun immediately erupted, alarmed by this sudden but familiar change of behavior, however it was too late.


    Li Zhen stopped for an instant, behind his sleeves, his fists were clenched hard until his knuckles turned white before he finally released them and went on his way, jumping down the platform and reuniting with his Li clan members.


    Those didn''t ask him anything, just from his expression they knew what the future held.


    "He is furious."


    "This kid is dead for sure."


    "It might have been better for him to let the patriarch eliminate him today, now it is far too late, he won''t have a good end at all."


    While whispers flew in the camp, Ye Mo stood up wiping out the blood on his face, the Endless Vitality battle skill operating unnoticeably in his body.


    "This hurdle is finally settled, but although Li Zhen had to renounce in an open execution, he would never give up eliminating me since the moment I killed Li Qiang. Death await at every corner of this city, but it is still according to my predictions. Now I only have to wait for this day..." Ye Mo thought, his gaze shining obscurely


    During this time, Qiong Lieyu finally left the Jade Forest and reached the Rallying Stone Plateau as the Li clan members broke camp and left, leaving one elder to watch Li Qiang''s fight and bring the recording to the patriarch.


    "I did it, I am number one, the Encompassing Washing Pill is mine."


    He clutched his belly as he walked, several inner injuries Shen Xue inflicted made him wince in pain at every step yet, he only felt joy and satisfaction as he joined the other students.


    "Because the Ruling Saber technique took so long to learn, I lack many useful battle skills, but I still obtained the first place of this competition! Now I will be able to choose a peak-tier Yellow class healing battle skill and recover from these wounds in no time, everything is going perfectly!"


    Pride and confidence brimmed from Qiong Lieyu as he directly endured the pain and jumped before landing on the Rallying Stone Plateau among the instructors.


    He noticed Shen Xue and glared at him intently, but this one didn''t even glance at Qiong Lieyu as he observed Ye Mo being checked up by instructors.


    Qiong Lieyu''s lips curled up into a mocking smile, "Hehe, I didn''t think you would be such a petty loser, just because you lost against me while I took the first place, you can''t even bear to look at me? Then watch as I sweep this competition clean of all its prizes, there is no use being jealous, you better get used to defeat facing me because it will only keep happening from now on!"


    Qiong Lieyu walked forward and approached the central tent, aiming to take pleasure spotting his name at the top of the leaderboard.


    "I may be only rank 3, but my determination is unrivaled and my battle strenght supreme, who can match me among my peers? Hahaha!"


    On his way, many instructors shot strange gazes at him, but he ignored them as he attained the tent and stood before the banner.


    He raised his head to look at the rankings and immediately froze, staring with bulging eyes.


    "What... what the fuck..."

 Extravagant Rewards

    Beside the Sky Martial Institute''s entrance stood an immobile middle-aged cultivator in lavish clothing dumbly looking ahead.


    "Hey, isn''t that mister Hei, what are you doing here, are you also interested in the martial institutions'' competition ranking?" A short and stout man approached when he noticed him and asked.


    The cultivator looking was Hei Qiong, the forgemaster of the Ironheart Weaponsmiths establishment.


    He has been actively forging a spiritual weapon for the past two days and was reaching the final steps, but drained by the efforts necessary he needed some fresh air and took a break.


    When Hei Qiong forges spiritual tools or weapons, he isolate himself from the outside so when he passed by the banner in front of the Sky Martial Institute, he couldn''t help asking himself if he fell asleep in his forge or if it was reality.


    "Are my eyes playing tricks on me or is Ye Mo really at the first place with over one hundred fifty thousands points?" Hei Qiong thought in wonder.


    Seeing that Hei Qiong wasn''t responsive at all to his salutation, the stout man followed his line of sight and glanced at the leaderboard, "Yeah, I was suprised too. I don''t know who this Ye Mo is or how he could achieve this place, but he will surely be famous from now on and with the competition''s rewards, he might be able to meet the expectations of the Raging Saber Sect and become a definite external disciple."


    Hei Qiong didn''t say anything as he kept staring at the banner obsessively.


    The short man was starting to worry for him, "Are you okay, do you need to sit down?"


    "Am I okay? You must be kidding, I have never felt better in my life haha, stay in tune, you will hear of my Ironheart Weaponsmiths establishment soon enough." Hei Qiong answered excitedly before he rushed back to the smithy like a gale, the news having the effect of a good night''s sleep, invigorating him.


    Back on the Rallying Stone Plateau, Hei Qiong was haggard swaying left and right as he walked unaware of his destination.


    "This is impossible, who is this Ye Mo, how can he have this much points. Wait, is he the kid who stole Shen Xue''s token back then? Even so there wouldn''t be such a big gap between our points it must be a mistake, yes, it should be a dysfunction from the tokens, or he must have used some foul methods to deceive everyone. I will report him right now!"


    Qiong Lieyu gritted his teeth as he ran forward enduring the pain. He noticed his dean in the distance and quickly reached him, yelling with conviction.


    "Sir, there has been a big mistake! Ye Mo is only an 8th layer Qi Gathering cultivator, he can''t possibly have this much points, I could kill him with one strike of my saber, you must quickly bring justice and eliminate him from the competition, if it''s from you, everyone will come back to reason and realize the deception."


    The dean reacted coldly to these accusations, "Do you mean that we are all fools who couldn''t realize any fraud, or maybe you are so smart compared to everyone that none but you would detect it? Maybe these tokens we have been using for years without any defect suddenly went crazy and attributed thousands of points solely to this kid, without any of our monitoring instructor discerning anything? If you are done wasting my time, find a seat and wait in silence, I don''t want to hear you again today."


    Qiong Lieyu immediately followed-up, "But dean, I am the winner..."


    "Shut up! Don''t make a scene here, I am disappointed enough already. We will have a long talk after we return to the institute." Without giving him another glance, the dean turned around and walked away.


    Qiong Lieyu slowly lowered his head, looking at his own lonely shadow. The excitement in his heart turned into emotions of confusion, resentment, unwillingness, puzzlement, fear and other complicated feelings.


    "I can''t accept it! I was so hardworking, but this guy just stole a token and left without a fight, if he was renowned and powerful I could accept it, but he is only a petty 8th layer Qi Gathering nobody. How is this fair? Why? why?"


    In another tent, Ye Mo felt his head heavy and his mind sluggish as he slowly recovered, probably sequels from Li Zhen''s attack.


    Time passed as students left the forest and reached this place one after another, among them was Yan Mei. She was overjoyed to learn she achieved her objective and attained the third place then completely stunned to learn that Shen Xue was eliminated from the competition.


    She was much more composed than the prideful Li Qiang who wouldn''t accept anything but being number one, her target was the podium, however she didn''t have much hope to defeat Shen Xue or Qiong Lieyu and was satisfied with the third position she targeted. Next, her clan members informed her that Ye Mo won the competition, which made her blank out, putting her in a position where she didn''t know if they were joking or being serious. Finally she learned that he killed Li Qiang and was so shocked she asked for confirmation from many students.


    When she finally heard of the circumstances of the fight, she sighed, "To think he would die here, I would never have expected it. I thought we would all take the lead of our clans, fight each other while our children grows and compete against each other like we did, but this is his own fault, how could he get caught off guard by poisoned needles, hmph, he bragged so much but it was all empty talk."


    Yan Mei said coldly, but there was a trace of melancholy in her voice.


    In the past, she greatly hated Li Qiang and had the intention to kill him many times, but now that he truly died, she took a step back on their situation while all her childhood memories with him and Gao Lixin resurfaced and she believed he didn''t deserve such an awful end.


    Another person that arrived was Jin Hao Tian who was able to narrowly surpass Ma Shinfei''s score, after they separated, along Gao Lixin, finally placing himself at the ninth place.


    Gao Lixin came soon after, annoyed but also dubious. He waited for Li Qiang the whole last day of the competition at the rendez-vous place, but he never came. They agreed to fight it out between each other after Li Qiang insisted so much, the winner adding both scores to reach the first place, yet he didn''t even show his face, making him lose so much time and points that he was barely at the tenth place. Gao Lixin was both vexed and finding it strange as it was completely out of character for Li Qiang to avoid a fight, making the first wonder if something happened to him.


    Gao Lixin was as usual very well surrounded and at the moment when he reached the Rallying Stone Plateau, he was drowned by a sea of information from the students rushing to his group and welcoming him back. However, when he heard Li Qiang was killed he immediately froze up in disbelief.


    "That can''t be true... are you sure it was him?" Gao Lixin was unable to process the news immediately.


    You see, as the heirs of the great clans, the four young masters knew each other even before they became cultivators. It was a time when they could still talk to each other without any kind of animosity or competition interfering between them.


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    They had many memories together, few were good, but they competed against each other for a long time, vying for superiority. Ultimately, they believed if one of them had to die, it would be at the hands of the other.


    After a long time, Gao Lixin raised his head to the sky, reflecting, "So this is how you ended, alone and in torment... Humans by themselves are small and feeble, they can''t accomplish anything. Only when standing together can we surmount difficulties and have the strength to move forward, finding meaning in our lives, Li Qiang, I won''t forget you."


    Many things could be said of Gao Lixin and Li Qiang''s relationship, they were rivals, stark opposite, but also complemented each other.


    No matter what Li Qiang put him through or how much they fought, Gao Lixin in his heart never really came to detest him. Now that he wasn''t here any more, he actually found himself nostalgic.


    Both he and Yan Mei, knowing the Li clan well, were also surprised that Ye Mo still had a head on his shoulders.


    Others made their appearances like Zhang Xuanhan who was furious to be fourth, glaring at Jin Hao Tian intensely.


    Ma Shinfei came as well with a self-deprecating smile, finding he didn''t even make it to the top ten, sitting at the eleventh position. After he was injured by Shen Xue, he spent his day running away from his pursuers and healing himself, since he wasn''t in the top ten from the start as he originally took turn with Jin Hao Tian to fight their targets, he didn''t make it.


    He joined his friend as they slapped hands together, his depressed mood greatly alleviated by the hot-talks in the surroundings, "He killed this arrogant dude in black robes? Hahaha, you never get bored with this guy, he always have a surprise for you, well done Ye Mo!"


    Ma Shinfei raised his thumb up in an approving gesture.


    The flow of participants gradually slowed down and after a few hours, only one every few minutes would arrive to spectate the final results.


    The deans decided it was time to conclude this competition, below the platform, less than half the students who entered the Jade Forest were present, an implacable, but expected result.


    The ten best participants were invited on the platform to be seen by everyone while Shen Xue who was eliminated was kindly sent below for the time being.


    Many found it painfully humiliating for him to be the only Foundation Establishment cultivator to wait on ground with all the Qi Gathering students, among the crowd he was painfully apparent.


    The Tiger Martial Institute was evidently the greatest winner of the competition with the most students in the top ten and two in the podium.


    Ye Mo as the champion was asked to step forward and be the most visible among all the students as he received his rewards.


    The year-end competition was collectively held by the three institutes and each of them had to offer something to the champion of the year. However, the reward of obtaining a peak-tier Yellow Class martial art was already fixed and the three deans agreed that this would be offered by the institute whom belonged the champion.


    This way the institute that came out on top this year would incur no loss, gifting a martial art was no big deal for any of them, it was just a copy that would be returned by the student quickly enough.


    Hong Li approached first and handed an iron black token to Ye Mo with "4th" written on the back, but nothing on the front hinting this token could be used to access the last floor of any tower.


    Hong Li was at a loss for words standing in front of this unpredictable youth, all the speeches he had prepared were lost by the current of circumstances.


    After a few breathes, he stretched his arm and patted Ye Mo''s shoulder.


    "Work hard." Hong Li finally said, giving Ye Mo a deep look.


    He was not entirely at fault though. After all, this situation was completely out of everyone''s expectations.


    One must know that Hong Li has been the dean for two decades now and is extremely experienced. Even before that he was still a member of the Tiger Martial Institute assisting the previous person in charge and has seen many champion taking the first place of the competition in the past, but all of them were either rank 3 talents or 9th layer Qi Gathering cultivators at the minimum.


    A rank 2 talent, 8th layer Qi Gathering cultivator taking the top spot was unprecedented. Not to mention that in this batch, there were peers with Foundation Establishment cultivation and rank 5 talent.


    Next, the Golden Martial Institute''s dean handed over a spatial ring.


    This ring was similar in use to the spatial pouches, but much more advanced. It was a refined product created by rare experts, holding many and more complex space formations than those inscribed in spatial pouches.


    If first-rate pouches could contain a dozen cubic meters of space, a spatial ring easily possessed hundreds of them.


    Simply put it was akin to a portable warehouse you could bring with you everywhere.


    In Azure Water City, only the deans possessed spatial rings and those were obtained solely through their connection with the sects, the only places in the central lands where they could be commonly found.


    To manufacture them, it recquired an extremely well-versed expert in spatial formations, however the few formation masters present in the city didn''t have the ability to make one, instead sects held much more power and resources than the city, powerful adepts and specialist in all kind of fields were drawn to them and proposed their services.


    Only there could elders and disciples alike have access to these artefacts depending on their performances or wealth.


    The most important difference between spatial rings and pouches, beside the size of the space inside or the fact rings were much easier to carry, it was that spatial rings were tied with a drop of blood to the bearer.


    Only the owner tied to the ring could have access to the space inside compared to spatial pouches that could be snatched and immediately plundered of its contents without any form of protection. The connection between the ring and its owner would be lost only when the last would pass away.


    "The Golden Martial Institute is undoubtedly the wealthiest of the three by far, such an extravagant gift they prepared for the champion."


    One student stated, his eyes burning with envy.


    The dean of the Sky Martial Institute gave five Qi Condensing Carps, the same Ye Mo had observed in the fountain at the center of the Tiger Martial Institute. They weren''t as valuable as the Spatial ring, but the carps were very beneficial towards one cultivation and Ye Mo gladly accepted them.


    The quality between the rewards of the institutes recruitment competition and the year-end competition clearly were incomparable.


    Yet, it wasn''t the end.


    The deans each willed from their rings and in their hands appeared three small white stones weakly scintillating in a pure white light.


    At this sight, no one could keep their calm and many gulped down heavily, moved by the rewards. Even Han Zhen Jun was filled with desire at the sight of these stones.


    "Essence Stones!"

 A Clear Plan for Years

    "This is the first time I see essence stones."


    "From their looks, they seems to be of low grade, but they are still incredibly valuable."


    "Damn it, this guy is so lucky to receive them, with his rank 2 talent it''s not worth for him to obtain those."


    From the students to bystanders that came to take a look, everyone went on with their own comments and observations, greatly surprised and envious.


    Essence stones are the solid materialization of the heavenly Qi flowing through the world, usable on oneself, and very important in a cultivator''s growth.


    Once someone becomes a cultivator, he will be able to extract the heavenly Qi straight from the essence stones and refine it inside his dantian, forming new wisps of Qi. With sufficient essence stones, the rate of cultivation will increase greatly; this can make up for the disadvantages of those with lower talent ranks while greatly bolstering those who already had a natural advantage.


    "I pushed greatly for this reward to be set, pressuring the other deans. I intended for all the prizes to land in Shen Xue''s hands, to think all of it would go to Ye Mo, that''s a shame...." Hong Li thought with pity as they handed over the essence stones.


    After insisting much, Hong Li was able to persuade the Golden Martial Institute''s dean to give essence stones as prizes for the winner, but the latter giving way wasn''t without motives, this one secretly believed Qiong Lieyu would claim the rewards for himself, his institute benefiting instead of the others.


    At this point, two out of three agreed already and the miserable Sky Martial Institute''s dean opinion was ignored once again as he was given no choice but to follow their lead.


    Not only was Zhang Xuanhan the weakest of the three top students, he wasn''t even in the podium, being surpassed by Yan Mei. This humiliation was embarassing enough and as if the Sky Martial Institute coming last this year didn''t pain him already, now he also had to offer such precious resources to an outsider, there was reasons to be indignant.


    Beside the nurturing effect of essence stones, they also had monetary attributes as well as usable properties. If bronze, silver and gold was the standard currency used by mortals and cultivators alike, essence stones were comparable to diamonds that were only found and used in eminent domains with powerful and influential cultivators.


    For example, the three great sects that ruled the central lands solely used essence stones to measure the value of all commodities while they completely gave up on gold coins. Someone that show themselves there trying to exchange something with coins would only be the source of ridicule.


    As it has monetary attributes as well as usable properties, their purchasing power was astonishing and no cultivator ever had enough of them so they couldn''t be priced with the regular coin system.


    Essence stones were only formed in mines and underground caves with a considerably concentrated amount of heavenly Qi, often directly connected to an earth vein.


    The rare that were discovered were all seized by the greatest power in the area and depending on the quality of the mine, some influential organization could even travel a great distance and relocate themselves near the cave while compensating the original owners under both threath and compromise to chase them away.


    In Azure Water City, there was no essence mine and less than half a hundred essense stones while most of them came from the three martial institutions that possessed connections with sects so many inhabitants never even saw one before. It could be imagined how valuable these essence stones were for them.


    Finally, Ye Mo was given 5000 gold coins along with a dozen peak-tier healing and Qi rejuvenating pills to complete his prizes.


    The other participants placed below him were given similar rewards, but of lesser quality.


    Qiong Lieyu was offered 3000 gold coins, 3 Qi Condensing Carps, an entry to the third floor of the Golden Martial Institute''s towers, an access to their armory and five healing and Qi rejuvenating pills.


    The recompenses given lessened gradually as the deans went lower in the leaderboard. Participants were rewarded up to the top 100, however, although students ranked with two digits still benefited greatly, it looked lackluster compared to the goods offered to the best participants.


    Eventually, the prize distribution ceremony came to an end with one final speech from the deans encouraging students to do their best and surpass themselves next year.


    When Ye Mo jumped down the platform, Shen Xue approached him.


    Shen Xue was placid, his voice cold as he looked in Ye Mo''s eyes, "You did well back then, the scene could have been replayed a hundred times and I still wouldn''t have believed some little cultivator that barely escaped with his life would dare return throw themselves at me, much less in the middle of a battle where even Ma Shinfei could hardly approach without being injured. I was too conceited, it was a good lesson."


    Facing the fearsome Shen Xue, Ye Mo easily maintained a languid expression.


    "I hope you survive and grow stronger, cling to life like a rat and improve yourself to the best of your abilities. As long as you become powerful enough, we shall meet again and at this time, I will definitely kill you."


    Everything being said, Shen Xue turned around and left.


    In the crowd, this incident immediately attracted people''s attention. Not only was Shen Xue approaching someone, but he even talked.


    Beside his family, few people ever heard what his voice sounded like. The surroundings immediately quietened down trying to catch a glimpse of it and understand what he was saying, but when the ambient chatters and noise lowered enough for his words to be heard, Shen Xue had already said what he wanted and walked away.


    Ye Mo snickered, "Missing the rewards for once won''t hurt you. If we meet again, this time I won''t need to run away."


    Shen Xue was stronger than Ye Mo, it was a fact, he accepted and understood it.


    However, Ye Mo''s pursuit was to step on a realm no one has reached before, standing above everything. In his journey, Hong Li, Li Zhen and anyone else must be surpassed without mentioning a kid like Shen Xue.


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    Ye Mo might be only rank 2 however, it was only hist first year as a cultivator and he had several means to raise his abilities and close the gap. Moreover, he had already meticulously planned every step of his cultivation journey for the coming years.


    The difficulty with rank 5 talents like Shen Xue is that once they start cultivating, they will quickly surpass their peers, earning resources for themselves. With these resources, they will grow even faster and their advantage will snowball, winning most competitions and gleaning even more profits until no one can face them anymore while they take the top spot in every event held by the organization.


    "This time he was eliminated, a never before seen occurence that everyone will profit from, using the benefits they obtained to quickly grow stronger and catch up to him while he will be stuck with nothing but his own talent. I, won''t waste the rewards I have earned either and will quickly raise my battle strength once we return." Ye Mo thought inwardly.


    Several students tried to strike a conversation or ask what Shen Xue told him, but Ye Mo ignored them, immersed in his own reflections.


    After several were rejected, the others understood their place and kept their distance.


    Eventually it was time to go back. When they reached the city, the crowd separated in three, each group returning to their respective institute while the outsiders dispersed.


    Once they were in the institute''s grounds, Ye Mo rushed to the battle skill tower. Many students followed behind him for various reasons, but they were blocked at its steps without any entry to the tower. The few who were able to get in couldn''t proceed to the fourth floor like him either.


    Most of them then decided to wait for him in front of his house.


    It is easy to move in the dark, but hard to be secretive in the light. When Ye Mo took first place and stepped on the stage, his bold reputation spread like wildfire and the location of his home was leaked in an instant.


    When they were close to it, they noticed a good number of students were already present, among them was even Gao Lixin who wished to hear Ye Mo''s own narration of his encounter with Li Qiang, Ma Shinfei who as always desired to fight him and Yan Mei that was curious to know how he obtained so much points to earn the first place.


    A lot of the surrounding students simply wanted to strike a relationship with him. Now that Ye Mo was this year''s champion and his name traveled in every corner of the city, entering his social network was very beneficial.


    In a short time, a large host was assembled around his house.


    "I will finally be able to learn an investigative battle skill and complete my combat system. This one will be very important for the future." Ye Mo thought enthusiatic in the battle skill tower.


    When he obtained the access to the fourth floor of the three towers, he contemplated for an instant picking a peak-tier cultivation technique, but quickly discarded it.


    The Black Vortex cultivation technique was already among the best in terms of speed in the third floor and suited him well. Replacing it with a peak-tier cultivation technique wouldn''t make that big of a difference, most of all, he needed battle skills too much currently to waste this opportunity for a cultivation technique.


    When he walked in the last floor of the battle skill tower, he noticed how small it was. The size of a large room, no bigger than his little stone house.


    Small lamps on the sides illuminated the place, but there was no furniture inside beside a wide table placed at the center.


    On the table layed ten battle skill manuals.


    Ye Mo quickly glanced at them before he raised his head and laughed coldly.


    "Not only there is only ten battle skills available, they also don''t contain any investigative battle skills."


    Ye Mo wasn''t that surprised to see there were only ten battle skills in the last floor, peak-tier Yellow Class martial arts are very rare in Azure Water City, even the four major clans only possessed around three of them and what made them what they are today was the fact one was a cultivation technique, making only two peak-tier battle skills.


    It could be seen how superior were martial institutions in terms of assets, displaying ten of them only in the battle skill tower.


    Yet, it didn''t carry a single investigative battle skill, displaying only offensive, defensive and healing battle skills.


    Others students at his place would salivate just being in the presence of these precious manuals, but Ye Mo who always planned everything carefully couldn''t help being disappointed when he couldn''t find the only kind of battle skill he sought.


    "I didn''t have high hopes in the first place. Although the Tiger Martial Institute has some fortune, it is still an institution and is in competition with two others, it can''t compare to a sect or the northern empire beyond the great mountain range. However, to think they wouldn''t have even one investigative battle skill, I guess I can only forget about it for the time being and fall back on something else."


    Ye Mo didn''t linger in his disappointment and quickly switched objectives.


    He browsed through each manual attentively then decisively picked one and left the room.


    "Radiant Finger Strike." On the ground floor, elder Chen read the name of the battle skill aloud before unsealing the manual.


    In the past, long-range battles has always been one of Ye Mo''s weaknesses. In those situations, he would use rocks or other things to throw at his opponents while trying to close the distance, but these could only serve as a distraction at best, it couldn''t deal much damage to cultivators of this level.


    People would quickly realize he is a body refining cultivator and use this knowledge to keep him at bay, putting him in a disadvantage during fights.


    Since Ye Mo couldn''t gain the only type of battle skill he lacked to scan his surroundings, then he would use this opportunity to cover another weakness of his with the Radiant Finger Strike battle skill.


    As soon as he left the battle skill tower, he didn''t return back to his house but made a small detour to the library before heading straight to the martial hall and renting another combat chamber for a week.

 A Flash of Light

    "I have only one week before we depart to the Raging Saber Sect. I wish I had the time to cultivate in the fourth floor of the pagoda, but I''m afraid it won''t even be enough to grow accustomed to the Radiant Finger Strike battle skill." Ye Mo thought as he entered the combat chamber.


    This one was smaller than the precedent and rather than the armored puppet, it was a wooden puppet that stood in the center of the circle.


    The puppet resembled a male wooden mannequin, but with curved roots growing at the top of its head from which grew green leaves. He looked mostly human at the exception of his jade green eyes devoid of pupils and the fact it had no toes as it didn''t need them to walk or run, the extremity of his leg only taking the vague shape of a foot.


    Its appearance was similar to the treemen Liu Zhi employed but much smaller, the size of a regular human being, and less frightening.


    Ye Mo didn''t train immediately but sat down and slide the spatial ring out of his finger. It was a silver ring with strange markings and a scarlet gem embedded at its top.


    When he looked at it, he thought of something.


    "Ma De Quan was an important disciple of the Ethereal Blossom Sect, he should have had a spatial ring as well, yet when I reached the underground cave, his corpse didn''t carry anything. Well, there could be many reasons for this, Ma De Quan did write his friend wanted to discover his secret, he probably took his ring during their fight hoping to find a clue, aware that Ma De Quan would die soon and won''t reveal anything."


    Ye Mo casually pondered before he cleared his mind of useless thoughts and bit his thumb causing a drop of blood to quickly fall down the spatial ring. When the blood entered in contact with the ring, the gem gave off a faint glow for an instant as he immediately felt a connection with an immense space was established.


    Standing up, Ye Mo placed the ring back on his finger and moved all his belongings from the sky-blue pouch and Ma De Quan''s ingredients from the red pouch in the ring''s space. Although everything he possessed was sent in the ring, the place it took was ridiculous compared to the space the ring contained, if it was possible, Ye Mo could easily fit the whole combat chamber inside.


    However, despite the fact the use of his spatial pouches became obsolete in the presence of this ring, he didn''t throw them. They were still a qualitative product of their kind and could be sold for a good price or exchanged in the future.


    With this matter settled, Ye Mo took out the manual of his new battle skill and read its contents for a while.


    When he was finished, he raised his hand and propped a finger up, pointing straight at the puppet.


    "Make your Qi flow in wave towards the arm, then when this wave reaches your hand, another must follow in your arm. Direct the first wave to your finger while the second flows in your hand and a third circulates in your arm. Follow in suit until all three waves of Qi merge at the fingertip, creating an excedent amount of energy. This abundant energy is useless merely resting in your finger and will gradually strain your meridians, finally explosively release the excedent at your target."


    Ye Mo recited the instructions from the manual in his head while he made the waves of Qi follow each other in his arm.


    The manual recounted how the Qi should react, the shape it has to take, in which meridian it must circulate and the mistakes to avoid.


    There was a precise timing to follow for the Qi waves to travel at each part of his arm before they merge together, if the waves reached each section of his arm too soon, the later ones would dissipate before merging. If they arrived too late, the initial wave in his finger would fade.


    If the waves of Qi met before they reached the finger due to a bad manipulation, the release of the Radiant Finger Strike would fail, but the Qi used would still be spent regardless of the outcome.


    It might seem simple but it required a precise control of Qi to be executed without fault and you could imagine how much more difficult it would be to pull in the urge of a dangerous battle from which the release would depend life and death.


    There were two battle skills that Ye Mo found desirable in the last floor of the tower. One was the Radiant Finger Strike, the other was the Obsidian Resin Manifestation.


    The second was a defensive battle skill that enabled the user to display a deep black liquid on the surface of his body. The liquid could freely be manipulated and was used as protection. The broader the surface of the body it covered and the lower would be its resistance while if it remained in small parts, it was tougher than steel. When it was concentrated in a very small point, it was nearly indestructible, far surpassing the abilities of Yellow Class battle skills.


    This was an ideal technique for close-combat cultivators as the fluid was versatile and could follow the fighter''s movements allowing him to express all his savagery while being fully protected.


    "This was the kind of battle skill I seeked when I went to the third floor to pick a defensive technique, but I couldn''t find anything I wished for at this time, finally taking the Buddha Golden Bell battle skill out of choices. Now that I went for something completely unrelated, I actually discovered such a good art, too bad I couldn''t choose it anymore..." Ye Mo thought in pity.


    The last battle skill he picked was a defensive one, he couldn''t return and choose the same type once again, it wouldn''t be optimal and he would simply waste this opportunity even if it was a good martial art.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    His movement battle skill was trash, his only offensive battle skills were becoming insufficient, he had no investigative technique nor long-range methods, if he still chose to pick a defensive art, one of the only part he has covered, that would truly be stupid. Although Buddha Golden Bell wasn''t his first choice, it was still a good battle skill with formidable defensive properties.


    If he was present during Hong Li and Li Zhen''s battle, Ye Mo would also have realized the Obsidian Resin Manifestation battle skill was the martial art the dean used to drive off the Li clan patriarch.


    Focusing on his Qi, Ye Mo gathered the three waves at the tip of his finger which glowed brightly for an instant before a ray of light burst forth.


    The ray vanished as soon as it appeared, but in this split second, the wooden puppet fell back on the ground.


    Although this phenomenon was his own doing, it was so fast Ye Mo could only see a flash of light.


    When the wooden puppet stood back up, a hole the size of a baby''s fist had appeared on its hip, exposing the floor behind it.


    The same instant, roots grew out of the extremity of the hole and joined each other, the wound being resorbed in no time.


    This regenerative ability was the reason Ye Mo chose the wooden puppet this time. The armored puppet once broken would take some time to gather his body back in one piece and even more to heal the steel plates.


    It wasn''t bothersome before since he was mainly training to defend himself with the Golden Buddha Bell battle skill and his iron wrist guards. In addition, the armored puppet has greater resistance than the wooden one and could spar with Ye Mo for hours before being too damaged to continue.


    However, now he was learning to use a peak-tier offensive battle skill, its destructive power was far greater than anything he could display before and the armored puppet would be broken in only one strike without any difference.


    The wooden one instead could immediately stand back and completely heal in a second, even if its head was crushed or only its hand remained, it would be able to fully regenerate itself in a breath of time, ensuring Ye Mo could train as much as he wants.


    However, this one wasn''t paying attention to the wooden puppet recuperation at this moment, looking down with a frown.


    "It was only one use of the Radiant Finger Strike yet it depleted close to 40% of my Qi. My dantian is almost entirely empty, the consumption is far too great, this is not good, I can''t release it more than once currently before I need to spend all my time recovering my Qi. I need to quickly increase my cultivation first before I can train with this battle skill."


    Ye Mo''s reserves were almost completely emptied with this move, it must be known he had less than half his dantian filled with wisps of Qi at this time. He had no choice but to sit cross-legged and start revolving the black vortex to replenish his Qi.


    The higher the level of the battle skill and the greater was its ability, but also the amount of Qi necessary.


    You cannot skip steps the same way an infant can''t wield a greatsword. Cultivation and battle skills had to progress alongside each other, you could give a low-tier Star Class battle skill to a Qi Gathering cultivator, but he wouldn''t be able to use it without paying an immense cost while a low-tier Yellow Class battle skill would have no meaning in the hands of an Inner Core cultivator, having the effect of a fly''s fart to his enemies.


    After an hour, Ye Mo was able to restore his reserves, at this time, he pulled out a Qi Condensing Carp and devoured it.


    The texture was soft and chewy, but it quickly turned into a mass of heavenly Qi that traveled down his throat and circulated to his meridians, it made several circulations before it was refined in a multitude of wisps of Qi.


    With just one carp, he increased the wisps of Qi in his dantian by 9%, if one had a great number of them, quickly rising through cultivation layers was possible.


    In cultivation speed, first come resources, second is talent and last come hard work. No matter the talent rank of the cultivator, it couldn''t surpass this rate of Qi refinement.


    "I should be able to fill more than 90% of my diantian by swallowing all of them." Ye Mo determined as he kept cultivating.


    One might wonder why he wasn''t using the last floor of the cultivating pagoda to fill his dantian in less time, simply because his cultivation increased much faster by swallowing Qi Condensing Carps and even if he did so in one of the pagoda''s room, he wouldn''t be able to absord the ambiant Qi at the same time since his meridians would already be full circulating and refining the Qi from the carps so going in the pagoda would basically be throwing gold in the institute''s pockets without receiving anything.


    Ye Mo ate four of them in half a day and filled 84% of his dantian with Qi. He kept one for the future, now wasn''t the time to cultivate, he rented a combat chamber for 50 gold coins and was here to train with his new battle skill.


    Even if he ate the last, he wouldn''t be able to breakthrough to the 9th layer or raise the number of try for the Radiant Finger Strike so it wasn''t necessary immediately.


    "I can use it twice now, the number will increase once I reach the next layer but right now I can''t do much about it."


    Ye Mo raised his finger and aimed at the wooden puppet once again.

 Night Slaughter

    In the dean''s office, Hong Li sat behind his desk faced with the three investigative instructors.


    "Have you discovered anything?"


    "We found some miscellaneous details about his life, but nothing important or of any use yet, we have a lead about a mysterious student from our institute who sold many valuable items to several establishments before the competition, amassing a great amount of gold. We were about to dig in this part when you called us back, if you give us a bit more time, we might obtain-"


    "I already gave you plenty of time." Hong Li interrupted. "I told you if you didn''t find anything by the end of the competition you could conclude this investigation, there is no need to waste any more resources on this affair. Now, go back to your respective posts and await my next calls."


    The three instructors immediately complied then left the room, not daring to push this matter any further.


    Hong Li was left by himself, pondering.


    "This is strange, in the images of Li Qiang''s fight, Ye Mo seem to block with his wrist guards but the scene is immediately engulfed in dust and we can''t see much more till Li Qiang gets hit by the needles. He has never been seen wearing those iron bands before, where does they come from?


    If they could block Li Qiang''s peak-tier battle skill then they might be a high-tier spiritual weapon, but Ye Mo seldom left the institute this past year so I don''t know where he would find the chance to get one."


    "These three mentionned a student amassing funds in the market, but there is little chance it was Ye Mo, he''s just an orphan and doesn''t possess any assets so where would he get anything valuable to sell, even if it was him, we''re not talking about buying candies at a confectionery here, a spiritual weapon of this level amount to thousands of golds, even I can''t buy one so casually much less a kid like him. Well, none of that matter anymore, he will leave for the Raging Saber sect in a few days, it will be their problem from then on."


    At this thought, Hong Li''s brows eased greatly and his shoulders fell down.


    Ye Mo had caused too much trouble and surprises while many questions still remained for Hong Li to feel anything but relief at his departure.


    While the dean was freed of worries, in the combat chamber, Ye Mo exchanged blows head-on with the wooden puppet.


    Suddenly, the puppet sweeped down with its leg, trying to make him fall.


    Ye Mo grabbed the puppet''s head and jumped, supporting himself with one hand as he avoided its leg, then while still in the air, he pointed at his opponent with his other hand.


    However, a second passed yet nothing happened.


    Ye Mo''s eyes narrowed slightly before the puppet kicked at him.


    Ye Mo blocked with his wrist guards and landed beside it then jumped backward with ease, his body arching through the air before his hands met the ground. With a powerful push from his arms, he launched himself upward again, flipping smoothly in repeated motions until he left the circle range and the puppet stopped chasing him.


    With this moment of respite, Ye Mo contemplated his situation.


    "I failed the release of the Radiant Finger Strike. For it to land without mistake, there is two methods I need to practice in this week, the first is improving my aim by launching the skill from a distance. This gives me enough time to properly manipulate my Qi and strike, but requires great precision with the light ray. At any rate, if you are bad with your aim then there is still the second method, using the Radiant Finger Strike in close combat."


    "This comes with risks since my opponent won''t let me do as I wish, I will have few opportunities to unleash the Radiant Finger Strike at this range and they will all come with a precise timing, if I am too slow or fail the manipulation at this moment, I am almost guaranteed to get hit by something the next instant. I can''t allow myself to miss in this situation so I have to ingrain in my brain the process to release the ray through continuous repetitions. But foremost, I need to recover my Qi."


    Ye Mo sat down and swallowed one of the top-tier Qi rejuvenating pills he acquired after the year-end competition.


    The failure that just occured was his second use of the Radiant Finger Strike so right now, his Qi was nearly completely exhausted.


    It was already the second pill he used today, at this rate, all the Qi rejuvenating pills he has will be consumed before the end of his training as his energy was restored at a fast rate.


    Outside, the city was in a festive atmosphere. After the competition a lot of people chatted about the biggest surprises that occured over a drink, others celebrated the place they reached with their family and friends and many rather took these days to rest plenty after such an intense week.


    There were also those who brooded over a bad performance or grieved about someone''s death, but those remained at home and wouldn''t be seen in the streets of the city.


    Ye Mo instead spent his time in fervent practice to increase his mastery of the Radiant Finger Strike and improve himself.


    In a corner of the room was set a mattress with a blanket that he placed when he arrived. Ye Mo planned to sleep in the combat chamber for as long as he was allowed inside and spend all his time training with dedication. He wasn''t someone who required much comfort to live to begin with, Ye Mo could even sleep in contact with the floor if necessary so staying on this mattress wasn''t inconvenient at all.


    Seven days passed in a flash.


    In this time, the Ironheart Weaponsmiths Establishment fully advertised Ye Mo''s spiritual weapon as their creation and credited themselves for his success.


    Actually, they didn''t simply reveal his iron wrist guards, but they entirely attributed all of his accomplishments to the Ironheart Weaponsmiths formidable craftsmanship, wether it was his strength during the competition, killing Li Qiang, attaining first place or his unordinary battle abilities, even unrelated aspects like his cultivation, they were all due to the weapon they made for him and if anyone desired to meet the same prowesses, they had to get one themselves at their establishment.


    Ye Mo was very secretive and people knew little to nothing about him. All this time, they have been searching a reason for this nameless individual to achieve the title of champion this year so everyone was quick to swallow the Ironheart Weaponsmiths words and finally find what they sought in their puzzlement.


    This announcement made waves in the city and the Ironheart Weaponsmiths sells increased sharply while their popularity reached a new height. From the credulous, to the weak or even the skeptical everyone wished to buy a weapon at their establishment and see their might rise immediately, only the poor and those who fully trusted their strength didn''t care about acquiring one, but even they still dismissed Ye Mo''s success as mere reliance to his wrist guards.


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    This way, Hong Li had a few of his questions answered which led to other interrogations while the Ironheart Weaponsmiths Establishment grew quickly, overshadowing the Dragonfire Foundry and the Armament Artisans.


    Around Ye Mo''s house, numerous students were still waiting outside.


    Many of the original crowd left but most of them were replaced by new arrivants, yet all of them patiented beside the house for several hours.


    They were akin to addict gamblers in the fever of a game. Even if one lost once, twice or ten times, he would always think it was just bad luck and must have gotten rid of it with this last fail, if he stops now all he did was lose his money but if he try once more, this time he will surely win the jackpot.


    These students were the same, they have been waiting for so long and suffering this much in the cold that now they believed Ye Mo might show up at any moment. If they left at this time they would have been waiting for nothing, wasting their time instead, but if they stay a bit more they will finally achieve their purpose.


    The more they waited, the more they were reluctant to leave while the thought Ye Mo will appear soon grew, hence there were still students standing near his house after a week, wishing to become his friend and learn how he was able to obtain his weapon from the Ironheart Weaponsmiths Establishment.


    When night came, dark clouds covered the sky and the first droplets fell down, giving all of them the determination to finally stand up and walk away.


    Not far from this place, Fang Jishen went to sleep, lulled by the sound of the rain hitting against his window outside.


    Still, his sleep, like his days were far from peaceful.


    The Liu clan had asked him to take part in the year-end competition to track Ye Mo''s every movements and report back to them, however, Fang Jishen feared greatly for his life in this environment and went against the Liu clan''s wish, deciding to not register himself.


    Nonetheless, he was still afraid they might reveal his betrayal to Ye Mo, to avoid this he sent them several false reports recounting how he was fighting in the Jade Forest, but unfortunately lost his trace at some point. He secretly hoped the Liu clan wouldn''t go through the trouble to read every single name inscribed on the banner to find his and that Ye Mo would die in the competition as well so he could be freed from all his worries.


    Since Ye Mo took first place in the competition instead and returned, Fang Jishen has lived in fear, ignoring the Liu clan''s letters while never stepping a foot out of his house of the week and sending his servants in courses at his place to meet his needs.


    "Ye Mo will leave soon to join a sect, I just need to hold till then, everything will turn well once he goes away, I won''t need to fear his wrath anymore nor the Liu clan will be able to threaten me." Fang Jishen repeated himself everyday.


    His clothes were soaked in sweat and he moved his head left and right in his sleep with a pained expression, he seemed to have a very bad dream.


    Suddenly, he opened his eyes, but far from relieved, he has never been as frigtened before in his life.


    An obscure shadow stood at the foot of his bed.


    There was someone before him!


    He couldn''t see who it was in the darkness, but he could clearly tell it was looking straight at him without moving.


    For how long has it been here?


    What was its purpose?


    Which person hide behind it?


    Fang Jishen''s breath was cut short and his heart skipped a beat in front of this terrific vision.


    He thought he didn''t wake up from his nightmare yet, but he could feel it was indeed reality.


    After an instant spent in deep fright and consternation, Fang Jishen took a deep breath and was about to scream at the top of his lungs when the figure at the foot of his bed abruptly moved and put its hand against his face as it grabbed his head and raised him out of his bed.


    Fang Jishen was maintained in the air, unable to shout or call anyone while his feet were seen flailing around in an attempt to free himself, but the strength of the assailant was too great.


    His left eye was situated between the figure''s forefinger and thumb so he still had a vision on the situation, but couldn''t do anything.


    At this moment, a streak of lightning flashed outside for a split-second, illuminating the room.


    As they stood before the window, half of the shadow''s face was revealed before the room returned to darkness but even if only a quarter was seen, Fang Jishen would have recognized it in an instant with his black hair raised to the sky and his eyes shining in a cold light.


    Ye Mo!


    Fang Jishen stopped struggling, he knew he couldn''t do anything. The person before him killed Li Qiang and took the first place in the competition, surpassing Shen Xue and Qiong Lieyu, what was he to do by himself? He didn''t even think of using battle skills, aware he could be killed in a blink before he channeled his Qi.


    He wanted to explain himself, but he couldn''t even talk.


    "You didn''t believe I really wouldn''t know, right? Everyone''s acts and choices carry consequences, it''s time for you to experience them." An emotionless voice drifted across the room.


    Immediately, the Nine Revolutions Fiend Body was used and Fang Jishen''s blood was absorbed. In a breath of time, all that remained of him was a patch of skin over a feeble skeleton, a few bones falling down by themselves and turning into dust upon the ground.


    Ye Mo snatched the chain tied to a blue gem that Fang Jishen carried around his neck then released his remains.


    He dusted it off when a woman carrying a small lantern in her hand entered the room to check on her master.


    When she saw Ye Mo beside the bed, the lantern fell from her hand and she was about to yell, but Ye Mo already moved and appeared beside her, an arched blade grew from his wrist guard and with one movement of his arm, he decapitated her.


    Ye Mo quickly absorbed her blood as well before he did a tour of the whole residence, entering each room and slaughtering the servants along any person that lived with Fang Jishen.


    "It has been a long time." Ye Mo thought in indifference.


    Although he killed a dozen of people, not a trace a blood could be found in the surroundings.

 Sailing the Sky

    Ye Mo swept the whole residence clean of his victims'' remains, crushing the bones on the ground and putting the dust in his spatial ring. As of now, it looked like a vast abandoned house.


    "Deep down, Fang Jishen knew I was aware he sold me, he just didn''t want to face this truth. That''s why even before the competition, he began isolating himself home, rarely moving out and avoiding me at all costs. Only he knew from how unsocial I am that it would be easy for me to deduce who was the culprit behind the Liu clan''s ambush and indeed, after giving it some thoughts in the jungle while leading blood beasts towards their members, I quickly realized it could only be him. He held on the glimmer of hope that I might have not realized it, secretly aware that reality isn''t that beautiful."


    "Everyone''s actions leads to others considerations, Fang Jishen gambled I would never return and lost, from this moment on, I made my mind. The only question was when to deal with him and in answer to that, I found the best moment was the night before students are sent in their peaceful trip to the Raging Saber Sect. Everyone will have their attention on this event for a few days and won''t notice his disappearance. Fang Jishen believed I wouldn''t be bold enough to simply intrude his house and take his life while he wasn''t aware I possessed the Shadow Walk battle skill to avoid prying eyes."


    "Thanks to the Nine Revolutions Fiend Body refining technique, not a single trace of the slaughter that took place here is left and since Fang Jishen has been holed up in his residence all these days, no one will find it strange he''s not seen anymore for some time. Fang Jishen thought rather than his Fang family, the Tiger Martial Institute was the best place to remain in safety, but this instead works in my favor. Outsiders are not allowed in the institute''s ground outside of certain periods so his family won''t be able to check on him, there is thousands of students, it will probably be weeks before anyone find something strange and alert the higher-ups, by this point they still need to find what happened and the most likely culprit. If they ever identify me as the killer, it would be when I''m already very far from Azure Water City and whatever action they wish to take against me will be insignificant."


    In a few weeks, the scenery in sight would be completely different. By then, Ye Mo won''t fear any reprisal from the institute.


    When forging you can be burned and when killing, you can expect to be the one losing your life. If someone tried to assassinate him then of course, Ye Mo would retaliate. As long as it didn''t require too much efforts or yielded clear benefits, Ye Mo wouldn''t hesitate to act. Someone who hated him enough to attempt at his life had to be eliminated, getting rid of enemies was never disadvantageous.


    After quite some time, he finally made his first steps towards the third revolution of his body refining technique.


    "No one should freely plot my fall, life is the most important, if one tries to take mine, there has to be consequences. For the likes of Li Zhen or Liu Hao I can''t do much, but Fang Jishen should have known his limits. In addition, I''m not leaving empty-handed here."


    Ye Mo''s eerie eyes rested on the pendant he took from Fang Jishen.


    It looked like a small blood core, but rather than blood red, it had a deep blue color. There was a small suction force emanating from the gem that attracted the surrounding Qi, increasing its density around the wearer.


    Ye Mo returned it to his spatial ring and before leaving, he rummaged a bit in the residence. It didn''t take long for him to find a stash of letters in a drawer of Fang Jishen''s desk.


    These letters carried the Liu clan''s seal, but didn''t seem to have been opened at all. It could be seen Fang Jishen was unwilling to entertain ties with them any longer as he refused to even read them.


    "Useless trash, wether you read them or not, those are evidences that should have been burned." Ye Mo thought discontented, placing the letters in his ring as well.


    After some time, if investigators had come here to search the truth, they could effortlessly find this stash of letters. With those evidences they would discover Fang Jishen''s connection with the Liu clan and at this point it would have been a breeze to link everything back to Ye Mo.


    Although it would still be a long time for suspicions to arose and investigators to come here, if Ye Mo could make their job more difficult, why hold back?


    He kept searching everywhere for anything valuable or that could reveal himself while being careful to not move anything away. The dirt-poor member of the Fang family didn''t possess much in his pouch, only low tier pills, some utensils and a book for children recounting fairy tales along three gold coins. The servants didn''t have any pouches, they were only mortals for most of them with a few in the low layers of the Qi Gathering realm.


    Ye Mo went around the house several times, going through any suspicious places until he was sure there was nothing else before he opened the back door and left.


    Outside, it was still raining heavily and the garden was covered in mud.


    Ye Mo bent down and took a scoop in his hands before smearing the mud all over his body till he looked like a clayman.


    "This should suffice to cover myself if they use a scent tracking technique to get back to the killer, the rain will wash any lingering exterior traces. To uncover my identity, well, it will depend on how much efforts the institute is willing to put, after all, Fang Jishen was only an unimportant student. There is merely an empty house left now so if they want to sweep the matter under the rug they can just say he disappeared on his own and not bother with it, but if they announce it as a murder then to save face, the institute will have to go to the end of this matter and protect their honor."


    "No matter how they choose to handle the situation, it won''t change anything for me once I leave."


    Ye Mo wasn''t reckless and have been planning this for a long time, he wouldn''t personally act if he wasn''t certain no repercussion he couldn''t handle would stem from this massacre.


    He was filthy and the smell of earth filled his nostrils, but he didn''t care.


    In life, there were only advantages and disadvantages, benefits and losses, strength and weakness. Useless emotions didn''t have their place here, all that mattered were the results, even if he had to eat bugs, crawl on the ground or go through the pain of a thousand deaths as long as it was helpful, he would do it without complaint.


    The dark clouds drifted gloomily in the sky, spewing lightning snakes on earth that illuminated the land, like a last act of defiance before the scorching heat of summer would pervade the air.


    In the garden, the flash of light revealed the well built body of a teenager standing silently under the rain only to be consumed by darkness once again.


    Another flash of light quickly followed, but this time, no one stood in the garden, as if the lingering figure was but a fading mirage.


    Using Shadow Walk, Ye Mo quickly reached his stone house. When he saw no one was present in the surroundings, he left the shadows and entered inside.


    He cleaned and changed himself before he sat on his bed and retrieved the pendant from his spatial ring.


    After he put the pendant around his neck Ye Mo began revolving the Black Vortex cultivation technique in his dantian as he observed his rate of refinement.


    He could feel the quantity of Qi around him slightly increased and the amount he could draw in his meridians grew.


    In a short time, he stopped his cultivation as he noted, "Ordinarily, I''m but a mere rank 2 talent, still with the help of the meridian purifying pill my cultivation became much faster and now coupled with the help of this gem, my speed doubled and the rate at which I fill my dantian is currently no different than a rank 3 talent."


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "Though it''s only useful to generate new wisps of Qi, when breaking through, I am on my own battling against the heavenly wall of a rank 2 talent, these resources can''t help me in this aspect."


    When he was done, Ye Mo returned the gem to the space in his ring. He wasn''t stupid enough to incur suspicions by wandering in broad daylight around the institute with this pendant suddenly hanging around his neck.


    "It has been a week already, Hei Qiong must have rentabilized our deal to the fullest. It was part of the trade after all, I am sure he must have his hands full making weapons after revealing my wrist guards to justify my performances. This isn''t detrimental to me at all, if others can underestimate my abilities by giving all the credit to my weapon, I will gladly welcome this change. This way, people should stop their research on me and will put my achievements on my wrist guards. I never planned to keep them hidden anyway, I only wished for them to stay concealed until the end of the competition so I could take my opponents by surprise, now I don''t need to fight anymore so I couldn''t care less wether they are known or not."


    If Bing Jia, Li Qiang or Shen Xue had prior knowledge of his wrist guards, the situation could have been completely different. Revealing nothing and appearing unimportant before suddenly bursting with enormous strength to crush your enemies in a short time, this was one of Ye Mo''s favorite methods.


    What was the point of a chivalrous duel or a spectacular fight, this world obeyed the law of the survival of the fittest. Kill of be killed, fight or die! A battle was all about who survive in the end, as long as you eliminate your opponent, no matter the methods employed, you are the strongest.


    This was a principle everyone followed, some persons like Li Zhen wanted to kill him, it wasn''t because he used underhanded means to murder Li Qiang, but because it was his son and the heir of his clan. If it was anyone else, even some low ranked members of his clan, Li Zhen wouldn''t give a shit.


    "There is a couple of hours remaining before daybreak, I should sleep a bit, the next few days will be intense."


    Ye Mo''s heart flickered in expectations as he thought of the future.


    It was still dark when he rose up and went to the plaza center. It wasn''t that he was impatient to the point he couldn''t wait anymore, but he didn''t wish to meet students on his way wasting his time.


    The rain had subsided, but dark clouds lingered in the sky.


    Fortunately, when he reached his destination, there were already four instructors posted at each corner preventing members that wouldn''t depart to approach the students that were chosen.


    However, it was so early yet there already were students waiting eagerly in the area. Ye Mo walked under their curious gazes and sat beside the fountain in meditation.


    The sun slowly rose while the number of students gathered increased gradually, from less than ten to a dozen then half a hundred.


    At this moment, Han Zhen Jun made his apparition, "We have been notified yesterday that the Raging Saber Sect envoys have been delayed in their trip and have an important affair to deal with. They have sent a servant with their spiritual tool to pick you all up, after a few days of travel, you will reunite with them in the neighboring Willowshade town before continuing on your way to the sect."


    After this announcement, many wondered what could have delayed the envoys, but no one was alarmed. Those members of the Raging Saber sect were too strong and influential for anything to happen to them.


    The students who noticed Ye Mo on the ground shot strange gazes at him as they whispered between each other, but Ye Mo made abstraction of the ambiant noise and focused on himself.


    In his mind, fighting scenes flashed while moves were unleashed. Countless opponents emerged from the darkness, each unleashing a flurry of strikes¡ªpunches, kicks, elbows, and feints. His thoughts raced, his body tensed as he visualized every counter, every dodge, every perfectly timed strike. A fist came for his ribs¡ªhe twisted and parried. A sweeping kick aimed to shatter his balance¡ªhe leaped, pivoting to return a counterblow. Again and again, he refined his responses as he drilled in his brain the adapted reactions to any situation.


    Ye Mo dwelled for hours in this mental stretch, even if he could do nothing but wait, he still sought to improve himself.


    Obviously, this kind of exercice couldn''t replace real combat experience, but it was still a good way to anticipate actions you might face in the future and react accordingly, the most important point was to be honest with yourself and not imagine reactions you wouldn''t be able to pull in real life practice.


    This was similar to chess players practicing against themselves, they would pull a move then think of the counter of this move before they plan a strategy to oppose this counter, rinse and repeat until the game came to an end.


    In his mind¡¯s arena, Ye Mo threw a punch¡ªthen immediately envisioned the best way to block or evade it. That counter became the next attack, forcing him to devise a new response. Step by step, strike by strike, he dissected every possibility, layering reactions upon reactions like an endless, shifting game of strategy. Just as a master chess player anticipates moves far ahead, he sharpened his instincts, ensuring that when real combat came, his body would already know the answer before the question was even asked.


    The human mind had no limits, no matter how low the means or negligible the improvements, there was always a way to perfectionate yourself.


    His meditation was soon broken as he felt an arm laying over his shoulder, a flippant and lively voice resounding beside him.


    "Sly bastard, where have you been hiding this past week. It''s been a year but we still didn''t fight because you keep avoiding me, you will make it up to me right? By the way I heard about your iron wrist guards, are they really as durable as the Ironheart Weaponsmiths claim them to be, let me see if they can handle a strike of my stick, I will give you a bit of my sugar mint cakes if I can''t damage them."


    "Hey, have you picked your peak-tier battle skill already, show it to me, I''m sure I can take it head-on, I have been hit by the tail of a rock python in the past but I only suffered a broken arm. What, you don''t believe me, when fire surround me, there is nothing I am afraid of, this is what it means to be a cultivator haha!"


    "By the way, I didn''t expect you to steal Shen Xue''s token, you really surprised me there, people tend to avoid him in general. You showing up at this moment, was it because you wanted to climb the precipice and fight us as agreed? But why have you come this late when you knew we were fighting him already, Hao Tian and I have been waiting for you the whole day, thinking about it makes me want to fight even more now."


    Ye Mo frowned deeply as Ma Shinfei prattled unceasingly by his side. Wether he listened or not didn''t seem to bother this blabbermouth.


    "Don''t you see you are disturbing everyone? We are all joining the Raging Saber Sect, you will have all the time to fight him once we''re settled."


    Fortunately, Jin Hao Tian came to his rescue and brought back Ma Shinfei who finally calmed down after hearing his friend''s remark.


    Shen Xue, Yan Mei and all the other elite juniors of the institute gathered in the plaza, hung in suspense.


    Quickly, a big shadow approached the city from the sky while pedestrians pointed in the air in amazement.


    When it stood above the Tiger Martial Institute, many people could recognize its form.


    It was no less than an enormous flying boat, floating in the air the same way it would glide on waves.


    It loomed like a fortress in the sky, its hull as large as a city gate and its sails spread like the wings of a heavenly beast.


    The boat slowly went down until it gently landed in a corner of the plaza, casting its shadow over the surrounding buildings.

 A Bad Presentiment

    While the boat settled on the ground, Hong Li approached it along Wang Fei, Lan Xue and several other instructors to welcome the member of the Raging Saber Sect.


    A figure quickly jumped off the deck and landed beside the spiritual tool. It was a young man, no older than the junior students present here, with a wide saber strapped on his back.


    It was a symbol of pride in the Raging Saber Sect, every member wielding this weapon displayed it on the outside as a token of their identity rather than leaving it in their pouches or rings like it would usually be done by other cultivators.


    Hong Li and the others stepped forward and cupped their fists in salutation, "Greetings to the Raging Saber Sect representative, I am Hong Li, the dean of the institute and this is my second-in-command Han Zhen Jun along my best instructors."


    In the cultivation world, it was customary for the young to salute the old first or the weak to greet the strong in this order. Hong Li was both older and stronger, yet saluted this youth first, he was doing a great favor to this sect member and giving him face.


    With a steady stance, the young man swiftly returned their greetings, "This little one greets you all members of the Tiger Martial Institute, I am Tong Jian, an outer disciple of the Raging Saber Sect. I have been tasked by my seniors to lead the students back to Willowshade Town where they remain before we escort you all back to the sect."


    Although Tong Jian had a greater status as a member of the Raging Saber Sect, in front of all these seniors of the Foundation Establishment and Inner Core realm, he didn''t dare be unpolite and quickly paid respect.


    Hong Li nodded unnoticeably hearing the sect disciple''s presentation. Tong Jian''s peak Qi Gathering cultivation was very obvious to him so he couldn''t be an inner disciple of the sect.


    In martial institutions, a peak Qi Gathering cultivators would usually be the best of their students, but in a sect, it was merely an outer disciple.


    After he saluted them, Tong Jian quickly browsed the crowd with a glance. When he noticed Yan Mei, he grimaced in disgust and quickly shifted his attention to other students until he saw Shen Xue.


    "Foundation Establishment cultivation at fifteen?! How can it be, we are the same age, yet I am still stuck in the Qi Gathering realm even though I am a sect disciple, but this guy could step in the next realm as merely an institute''s student! I see, he must be the rank 5 talent I have heard about and probably their best student, I should quickly try to attain the next realm once we get back so he doesn''t get cocky with me."


    "He must have easily won this city year-end competition with his cultivation, but he couldn''t be more wrong if he thinks he will have it this easy in the sect, there are many other geniuses who don''t have anything to envy him back there. Anyway, this is an opportunity for me, I should try to befriend him during the trip."


    With Qi gathering in his eyes, Tong Jian could easily perceive the students'' bone structure and determine their age. He internally expressed envy and jealousy towards Shen Xue, but wasn''t surprised when he realized his talent, instead planning to take advantage of the situation.


    However, another youth quickly caught his attention.


    There was a kid sitting near the fountain in meditation with eyes closed, even as the boat landed and this sect member stepped out, he didn''t budge at all.


    "Qi Gathering realm 8th layer at 13! You must be kidding me, I was only at the 7th layer at his age, what are these students given to eat? Is he another rank 5 talent, at least he shouldn''t be less than rank 4, the Tiger Martial Institute has a really good batch this year, the higher-ups will be happy."


    Tong Jian was amazed inside, but Ye Mo didn''t seem to care about anything happening around him, still immersed in his own world.


    Only when Han Zhen Jun''s voice resounded in the plaza asking the students to board the boat did he open his eyes and followed his peers.


    Hong Li peered at them with an appraising gaze as they went on the deck, "Shen Xue should have no difficulties acclimating with the Raging Saber Sect competitive environment, he will assuredly become an important disciple in the future."


    "Ma Shinfei must have received his master''s best martial arts to study as a parting gift before he leaves, his strength is sure to rise sharply as well. Ye Mo.... Although he is lacking in terms of talent and cultivation compared to others, he is intelligent and possess impressive battle capabilities, he might be able to manage in there for a few years before his limitations slow him down."


    "After they accept such a group, we might even receive another pile of essence stones as gift from the Raging Saber Sect."


    Hong Li commented on each student passing in his mind, internally satisfied with the quality of this year''s juniors.


    While everyone went on the ship, two instructors from the institute were also sent to accompany them and ensure they reach their destination safely.


    Tong Jian stepped on the door first, quickly followed by the students. When Ye Mo boarded the boat, he put a bit more force in his leg and stomped down with his foot, but the wood didn''t even crack, there was only a dull thud coming from the floor beneath his shoes, as if he was stepping on a silicone floor mat.


    "Rubber wood?" A material immediately came to his mind.


    Rubber wood is much more durable and flexible than ordinary wood and has the properties to absorb impacts. Rubber trees are difficult to fell and usually requires a powerful cultivator with a very sharp weapon using repeated swift movements to damage them until they are cut down, it was a rare product to construct houses, buildings and spiritual tools like this one who could carry many people.


    However, rubber wood was a premium material that wasn''t easy to acquire, not only it took centuries for rubber trees to reach maturity, with fully grown trees yielding the highest quality, but all the rubber tree troves were owned by powerful sects and top-tier clans, strictly monopolizing their production.


    Tong Jian led the students down a flight of stairs and reached a corridor, "We''re here! This section of the ship is the quarters where you guys will rest, there is more than a thousand rooms available so you can all choose one for yourself, but don''t fight. If I have to intervene, not only it will piss me off, but you will pay for any damage you do on the ship."


    "If you keep going down you will reach a lounge where you can have fun and talk with each other, it is adjoined with the cafeteria you can walk in if you are hungry. Now, two rules: don''t go on the decks when we take off unless you wish to go flying on the skies."


    "The second and most important, the deepest part of the ship is a private area where are stored the essence stones required to alimentate the spiritual tool so it can maintain itself in the air. You are not allowed to approach it, there is a formation placed to warn me of any approaching intruder, if I find one of you snooping around it, he can forget about joining the sect and will immediately be expelled from the ship before making the trip back to Azure Water City by himself."


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    There were many spiritual tools that were designed to be supplemented with essence stones. Those spiritual tools consumed too much Qi so depending on the user reserves wasn''t reliable, most would not be able to use it throughout a long journey without taking pauses in between and even if they could, depleting your Qi this way was dangerous, the outside wasn''t peaceful, being attacked when you have wasted your reserves on your spiritual tool would spell death on yourself.


    That''s why some of them used the Qi from essence stones to travel the lands. It was the case with this ship, but it was also true for the cloud spiritual tool Wang Fei displayed after the first phase of the institute''s recruitment competition.


    Back then, he didn''t use it for the outward trip and on the way back, he only carried the candidates when they already reached the city.


    It wasn''t without reason, this cloud was lended to Wang Fei by the Tiger Martial Institute and consumed essence stones to fly, but those were extremely valuable resources in the city, since there was no essence mines in the surroundings, the martial institutions relied solely on the good will of the sect they were affiliated with to receive some essence stones and refill the stock that naturally dwindled with time.


    Once the Qi from an essence stone was exhausted, there was no way to replace it beside hoping for the sect''s next rewards to contain a few.


    How could any member from the institute accept to waste such a precious resource only to carry the candidates around, that''s why Wang Fei only showed the cloud when they reached the city, although it was big and there was still a certain distance to travel on foot, it was just a breeze for this spiritual tool. Once it took up, they arrived in a flash to the institute''s gates and it flew for such a short time that it barely could waste any Qi from the essence stone.


    Obviously, there were also spiritual tools that didn''t need to consume essence stones and could be manipulated by the cultivator alone, but those were usually much smaller than the ship or the cloud and could carry one or few people at best.


    "We should reach Willowshade town in about three days and the Raging Saber Sect in an additional five days so make yourself comfortable." Tong Jian gave these words as he returned to his own cabin.


    The students were excited and immediately went to visit the lounge and every part of the interior of the ship they could access while minding the rules mentionned by Tong Jian.


    In any case, there were so much rooms they didn''t need to rush to choose one, they would always find an empty cabin if they searched a bit.


    Ye Mo took a random room and went inside, separating himself from the mass.


    It was rather small; There was a bed on the side while the remaining space was only large enough to contain the door.


    This reminded him of the rooms in the dusk yard, but even those were still bigger.


    "At least, there is a window here." Ye Mo thought as he suddenly felt weightless.


    The window was only the size of a soccer ball and when he approached it, he could see the Tiger Martial Institute growing distant, then the whole city turning into a small point far away.


    Ye Mo hopped on the bed and retrieved the pendant from his ring before he hung it around his neck.


    Then he took his last Qi Condensing Carp in his hand, "I should try to attain the peak of the 8th layer before nightfall."


    Without wasting an instant, he swallowed the carp and began cultivating.


    Soon, a day and a night passed without any disturbance as we find the ship still flying over the Jade Forest in direction to the Willowshade town.


    The sky stretched vast and brillant under the sun''s golden radiance, lingering moisture shimmered in the air, casting a faint mist over the distant horizon.


    Gliding effortlessly through the open sky, the vessel basked in the renewed warmth, its sails billowing gently with the soft, high-altitude winds.


    It was afternoon when the spiritual tool suddenly slowed down until it came to a stop in the air, detecting an obstacle ahead.


    Tong Jian, the instructors and many students gradually came on the deck investigating the incident.


    "Look here, there is someone!" A student yelled, pointing in the air.


    When they walked in front of the boat, they noticed a man with long flowing black hair standing on a long sword in the sky before the Raging Saber Sect''s spiritual tool.


    This person, everyone but Tong Jian recognized him.


    "Li Zhen what are you doing here, don''t you know this is the ship sent by the Raging Saber Sect? Move out of the way if you know what is good for you!" One of the instructors warned him.


    However, the Li clan patriarch ignored his words as he looked at the students on the deck one by one and mumbled, "He''s not among them, he must have stayed inside."


    While he blocked their way, from the forest below, two men awkwardly riding a small shuttle took off and flew up in the air until they arrived at Li Zhen''s side, watching over the floating boat.


    The shuttle was a sleek construct, no longer than a forearm, shaped like a smooth, elongated oval with a slightly tapered front. Its surface gleamed with an emerald green luster and as it flew in the sky, steam shoot off several small vents along its surface, leaving small trails in the air where it passed.


    On the shuttle stood both Liu Hao, the Liu clan patriarch and Tie Jinghong, the half-brother of the Tie family leader.


    With a buzzing sound, a creature flew up and joined the rest of the band.


    It was a low-tier rank 2 Thunderwing Beetle, a massive, jet-black insect with an imposing presence, its carapace gleaming with a faint metallic sheen. Its body was broad and segmented, with thick, ridged elytra covering its folded wings.


    Its head was small compared to its bulky frame, with two curved, serrated mandibles and a pair of long, segmented antennae that extended outward like delicate, twitching filaments while six sturdy legs extended from its armored torso, each ending in hooked, claw-like feet that seem built for gripping onto surfaces.


    On its back sat a brawny old man with a long white beard, but no hair at the top of his head.


    Wearing a classic-style red on black martial arts robe, it was Ha Jun''s old master, Lan Biao!


    Everyone had a bad presentiment watching these experts you would usually rarely see, gathering together in front of them.


    "You know why I am here, hand over Ye Mo and we will leave it at that without anyone being hurt." Li Zhen announced coldly.

 Long-Lasting Plot

    The crowd felt pressured under the presence of these powerful cultivators, the instructors themselves only possessed mid Foundation Establishment cultivation.


    Even with the opposite party Foundation Establishment masters alone they would scarcely have any chance to win and when taking Li Zhen into account they had no chance at all, the Li clan patriarch could dispose of both of them easily.


    Suddenly, one of the instructors had an idea and said, "You should think twice before assaulting us, the Raging Saber Sect envoys are resting in their cabin, if you leave now, we can forget this matter, but once they show up it will be too late for all of you. Their abilities, you should be clear about it."


    The instructor ingeniously bluffed, aware that there were no envoys in the ship. However, Li Zhen and his allies can''t know that, the Raging Saber Sect members warned the Tiger Martial Institute higher-ups no more than two days ago and only the selected students have been informed this morning right before they left so beside the dean and the instructors, all those in the know were present on this ship right now.


    Li Zhen looked at the instructors for an instant, somewhat pensive.


    However, the edge of his lips quickly formed a smile as he laughed loudly, "Hahahah, I wonder how those envoys can be resting in their cabin when I still received reports a few minutes ago about them savoring the best food in the greatest establishment while enjoying the most beautiful girls of Willowshade town. My elders are probably still offering gifts and entertaining them as we talk so I know they are powerful, but if they can really cross thousands of li in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, I am resigned to forfeit my life to their divine might."


    The instructors trembled, shellshocked, "You''re the one who delayed them, causing us to travel to Willowshade town!"


    By this time, everyone started to realize how resolute Li Zhen and his allies were. This wasn''t some impulsive or desperate attack to claim revenge, it was a well thought plan that was established ahead of time to coerce them in the sky far from everything.


    In truth, this plan wasn''t initiated days or weeks, but months ago and the one who planned all of it was Liu Dan, the Liu clan ancestor.


    After Liu Zhi lost and was crippled by Ye Mo, Liu Dan was at his wits end. He had no more ways to reach Ye Mo as long as he remained in the Tiger Martial Institute and he knew the more time pass and the more difficult it would be to kill him, but was he willing to let go of his hatred? Of course not, that''s why he pondered extensively and came to the conclusion that the only way they could capture him was if he reached the 8th layer, at the time when he would leave for the Raging Saber Sect.


    It was the only moment when he would be both far from the city and the Tiger Martial Institute''s protection and far from the sect, it was their last chance if they wanted to act before losing any possibility to deal with him again.


    Naturally, they later were able to ambush Ye Mo in the jungle, but this was a fortunate opportunity that eventually turned into a disaster. The Liu clan didn''t predict this event or that Fang Jishen would suddenly give them such crucial informations, they only seized the occasion that presented itself to them.


    In Azure Water City, the Liu clan was probably those who knew Ye Mo the best and Liu Dan believed at the rate the first was cultivating, he had great chances to reach the 8th layer of the Qi Gathering Realm before the end of the year, as surprising as it was considering his talent.


    Nonetheless, to storm the Raging Saber Sect'' spiritual tool and eliminate Ye Mo, many insurmontable difficulties stood in their way.


    The most important of them were the envoys, any of them were generally stronger than Hong Li and the other deans and they would usually be sent in a team of two or three to escort the students back to the sect.


    Beside them, the Tiger Martial Institute would often send instructors along the students to be safe and make sure no mishap occured.


    Without mentionning the envoys, just the instructors were a big enough problem for the Liu clan, after all, they couldn''t send the whole clan to attack or their base would be looted then razed down by their enemies in their absence. Since it was a secret operation, only one or two expert at best could leave while the rest maintened the defense and feigned a routine.


    Everything changed during the year-end competition.


    Ye Mo not only showcased his 8th layer cultivation, but also surpassed all the top students'' score and became the champion of the year-end competition. Now beside revenge, he was simply too much of a threat and his strength kept growing fast, he had to be eliminated no matter what!


    In this event though came a happy incident, Ye Mo offended the Li clan and the latter wished to kill him as well. Liu Hao immediately went to their headquarters to propose an alliance.


    The Li clan was one of the four major clans with Inner Core realm elders along vast wealth, with their assistance the problems would be greatly alleviated and indeed they were of a great help to distract the envoys. Li Zhen himself came to the same conclusion as Liu dan and already planned to attack the Raging Saber Sect''s ship before Liu Hao came to him.


    Since they had the same plan and bore a deep hatred against Ye Mo, Li Zhen accepted the alliance and set several elders along gold, artefact and resources to gift the envoys and make them remain in Willowshade town for a few more days, leaving the students to make the way there themselves.


    The envoys obviously had no qualms forgetting their duty to enjoy themselves for a few days while being offered all kinds of resources.


    Next, Liu Hao left Azure Water City to talk with Lan Biao while he asked the Li clan to recruit the Tie Family as both had an history with Ye Mo. As they say, the more the merrier, bringing additional experts to the party would assure the success of this operation.


    The visit of the Li clan put the Tie family in a difficult position. Back during the second phase of the Tiger Martial Institute''s recruitment competition, Ye Mo killed Tie Tao, an unimportant member of their family. At this time, Ye Mo was just an orphan and used a surprise attack to kill their member, to regain face they had to give an exemplary punishment to this insignificant youth, but after he joined the Tiger Martial Institute, Ye Mo''s identity was completely different and the Tie family sensibly gave up on their grudge.


    Even till this day, they had no wish to go against the Tiger Martial Institute or involve themselves in such turmoil, they didn''t have the ability to bear offending these forces.


    If it was the Liu clan who came to ask for an alliance, the Tie family would outrightly reject them, but Liu Hao thought of this possibility, this is why he sent the Li clan instead.


    The Li clan was very powerful and resided in the north of the city where was also established the Tie family. The Li clan could easily make life difficult for them and if the Tie family wasn''t willing to become enemy with the Tiger Martial Institute, they didn''t wish to offend the Li clan either.


    That''s how after many debates among the highest members, they decided to send a scapegoat to sacrifice if things turned wrong, hence satisfying the Li clan, but also sending this member to the chopping block without suffering of any consequences if the Tiger Martial Institute came knocking at their door. It couldn''t be a minor member of the family or the Li clan would see it as disrespect and feel insulted, but it couldn''t be someone too important either or the loss would be too big for the Tie family in case he had to be sacrificed.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Finally, the Tie family leader placed his sight on Tie Jinghong, his brother from another mother. Although Jinghong had good aptitudes and was able to reach the 5th later of the Foundation Establishment realm, cultivation was his only talent.


    Indeed Tie Jinghong was a simple-minded fool, slow to grasp complexities yet obliviously cheerful, wandering through life with the innocence of a child despite his years.


    Many members of the Tie family even believed he was mentally retarded. Since infancy, he always exhibited poor decorum, bursting into laughter for no reason or crying loudly at the slightest frustration. He was slow in understanding and learned to read and write properly several years late compared to his peers.


    Even now, his dull eyes lacked the sharpness of someone in his position and he spoke in an unfiltered, carefree manner, his words lacking the depth and cunning expected from someone his age.


    To make matters worst, these last years, Tie Jinghong got infatuated with a mortal woman and nagged his older brother all the time to be allowed to marry her. However, Tie Jinghong was in his forties, but never married before so if he did with this street urchin, she would become his main wife. Although the requirements for a concubine were lax, it was strictly forbidden to marry a peasent as your first wife, such a relationship was badly seen in the cultivation world and the Tie family would be ridiculed for it and lose prestige.


    For all these reasons, the Tie family leader chose to send Jinghong to assist the Li and Liu clan. His battle strategies were mediocre and he had no political skills, although he possessed good cultivation, he brought more headaches to the family than he supported them. Such a useless member, if he had to be sacrificed, it was still acceptable.


    "Brother finally entrusted me with an important task, if I do well, he promised me I could marry Huai''er I can''t wait to go back, she will look good in a dress." In this serious situation, Tie Jinghong couldn''t help but think of various personal matters, unaware that this girl had already secretly been disposed of by the Tie family.


    Tie Jinghong and Liu Hao had difficulties keeping their equilibrium on the shuttle, this spiritual tool was too small for both of them to stand on properly.


    Li Zhen''s sword instead was long and could easily fit the three of them, yet this one already announced he would behead anyone who dared step on it. Although they made an alliance, Li Zhen saw all of them as mere lackeys, they weren''t on equal standing with him at all.


    Even if he was by himself, he still would have went on with this plan without the need for these guys, but since they wanted to follow him, he let them do. This way, Tie Jinghong and Liu Hao had no choice but to share the little surface on the Liu clan''s small shuttle.


    One might ask why they didn''t sit on Lan Biao''s thunderwing beetle blood beast, but this tamed insect didn''t accept anyone on its back beside the old man.


    Lan Biao looked on the deck with overwhelming bloodlust, "I have raised Ha Jun since he was a kid, I taught him, I gifted precious resources to him, I expended my wealth for him. He was able to make good progress in my Iron Skin body refining technique and reached the third stage, after joining the Tiger Martial Institute he would have improved even faster and could reach the last stage in one or two years. At this point, I could have used him as a material to refine a spiritual weapon, yet he died during the recruitment competition."


    "Years of planning, years of funds, years of performing in front of him, years of devotion going to the drain, all for nothing! Everything due to this little son of a bitch, Ye Mo, I want to flail you, to kill you, to burn you alive. I will eat your flesh and use your bones as chopsticks, your skin will decorate my house and your eyes will become candies for my dear beetle! You''re lucky you have no family for me to play with!" Lan Biao drowned in the burning flames of hatred.


    He wasn''t from a clan or a sect, but a lone cultivator. Without relying on the foundation of these forces, resources are scarce and to produce a spiritual weapon, Lan Biao took Ha Jun and groomed him for years, sharing the meager amount he could get his hands on for him.


    His killing intent reached new heights when he found out this disciple was killed without even joining the Tiger Martial Institute. You could imagine how fast he accepted when Liu Hao asked him to join them to capture Ye Mo.


    "What do you take our institute for!" One of the two instructors under their pressure finally couldn''t take it anymore and threw himself at them.


    Liu Hao quickly reacted as he sent the shuttle flying forward and threw a palm strike. Tie Jinghong, still daydreaming, was surprised when the shuttle moved and lost balance, but grabbed edge of the spiritual tool before he could completely fall down, the rest of his body hanging below as he was dragged by the shuttle''s movements.


    Liu Hao and the instructor''s palm met as they seemed equal in strength. Although Liu Hao''s cultivation was higher, the instructor''s battle skill was of peak-tier Yellow class, hence the stalemate.


    After an instant, they separated when Lan Biao surged from behind Liu Hao. He jumped from the thunderwing beetle''s back and arrived above the instructor when he used the Crushing Waterfall Kick battle skill.


    The instructor raised his arms and used a defensive battle skill to protect himself, but although he was able to endure the kick without too much damage, they were at this moment in the air between the ship and Li Zhen.


    The force of the kick sent the instructor crashing down in the forest below, his fate unknown.


    Lan Biao''s blood beast caught him mid-air and landed on the deck of the ship.


    The students were pale with fright after seeing how fast one of the instructors was dealt with.


    "To hell with this, I am not dying here for some kid." The last instructor thought as he attacked Lan Biao.


    At this moment, Li Zhen appeared between them and kicked the instructor who was sent flying against the bridge wing where he fell down and puked blood before losing consciousness.


    Li Zhen immediately realized the ploy. He barely put any force in his kick yet, the instructor not only didn''t use any defensive battle skill, he also exagerrated the outcome, jumping by himself against the wall of the bridge wing and feigning passing out.


    The instructor was basically telling him "Do whatever you want, I won''t get in your way. When you''re done with your affairs you can leave, once I return, I will just say I fought my hardest but was unable to do anything by myself."


    Li Zhen smiled as a tacit understanding soundlessly formed between them.


    By this time, Liu Hao and Tie Jinghong landed on the ship as well, the latter falling down on his face as he breathed in relief, feeling the floor below his feets.


    "Tie Jinghong, Lan Biao, you two will watch over the students, Liu Hao and I will go inside to get the kid." Li Zhen announced.


    "No!" Lan Biao immediately rejected, "I will go find him as well, the brat killed my disciple, I want to see him with my own eyes this instant. You two might kill him before he is even dragged out of his cabin."


    "Tie Jinghong can''t remain alone to stand guard against all these students, can your blood beast take the job? Otherwise you''re staying with him."


    Lan Biao nodded at the question before he turned towards the thunderwing beetle and ordered "Stay here, if anyone moves, you can eat him."


    The insect seemed to understand the assignement as it moved its mandibles happily.


    Li Zhen, Liu Hao and Lan Biao thus opened a door and walked down a flight of stairs as they spread their spiritual sense while Tie Jinghong remained behind with the beetle.