Chapter 7: Fifth Level of the Profound Practitioner Realm

After Yang Ye finished speaking, the young man’s brow furrowed slightly.

"This kid is truly bold. Not only is he acting alone, but he’s actually absorbing bloodline essence?"

He turned to look at Yang Ye and continued, "In the eyes of you humans, doesn't this method of absorbing bloodline essence count as evil cultivation?"

Yang Ye closed the ancient book in his hands and said indifferently, "If he were killing people to absorb their blood, that would be evil cultivation. As for killing demonic beasts, I should think not!"

He also looked at the young man and chuckled, "What, are your demonic beasts allowed to kill humans and devour flesh and blood, but we humans are not allowed to kill your kind to absorb bloodline essence?"

"Or is it... that you’re reluctant to part with your little disciples and descendants?"

The young man let out a cold snort. "Hmph! They are merely small snakes below the fifth level of the Profound Practitioner Realm. Let’s see how many he can kill!"

...

Elsewhere, Ye Xiao had just successfully slain a black python at the fourth level of the Profound Practitioner Realm and absorbed its bloodline essence. The profound energy within his body surged violently!

"I’ve broken through already?"

Feeling the profound energy within him, which was significantly stronger than before, Ye Xiao realized he had indeed broken through to the fourth level of the Profound Practitioner Realm!

"This Blood Scripture is truly overbearing! In just two hours, it has allowed me to advance a minor realm! If I keep hunting for two more days..."

A look of excitement spread across Ye Xiao’s face.

The faster his strength increased, the greater the hope of saving his sister! The greater the chance of revenge!

After all, that young master of the Xu family, Xu Beichen, was a disciple of the Profound Yellow Sect!

After a brief rest of about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Ye Xiao hoisted his broken sword once more and headed deeper into the forest.

The area he had been in was mostly occupied by beasts below the fifth level of the Profound Practitioner Realm. Now that his cultivation had improved, the bloodline essence these beasts provided was negligible.

To continue increasing his strength, he had no choice but to venture deeper!

In any case, with the agreement set by the Yin-Yang Academy, he wasn't worried at all.

Ye Xiao walked and killed; he had lost count of how many Profound Practitioner Realm beasts he had already slain.

He had to admit his luck was quite good. Along the way, apart from encountering one Red-練 Snake at the ninth level of the Profound Practitioner Realm, all the others were around the sixth level.

Fighting across two minor realms, and equipped with a divine weapon like the broken sword, was not a problem for the current Ye Xiao.

It wasn't until night fell that Ye Xiao ceased his slaughter.

He scanned his surroundings and noticed a flickering firelight not far ahead.

In this place, whoever had a fire must be one of the trial participants; no one else would dare light a fire here.

Following the direction of the light, Ye Xiao walked quickly and found a group of people. At a rough glance, there were nearly ten of them.

"Who goes there!"

Ye Xiao had barely approached when someone in the crowd spotted him.

After a low shout, the group stood up, weapons in hand, looking toward Ye Xiao with caution.

"Eh? Is it you?"

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out. Ye Xiao looked over and realized it was the man from outside the Dark Flood Dragon Forest.

"I didn't expect you to have actually walked all the way here alone!"

The man was somewhat surprised and impressed. He had assumed Ye Xiao would have died in some corner, but he never expected to run into him here.

"Yes, what a coincidence! May I rest here for a while?"

Ye Xiao sheathed his broken sword on his back, a faint smile on his face.

The man nodded with a smile. "Sit down, everyone. This friend is also here for the Yin-Yang Academy trial, just like us."

As he spoke, he stepped forward, pulled Ye Xiao over to sit by the campfire, and handed him some dry rations.

After a moment of hesitation, Ye Xiao took the food and began to eat in small bites.

Having fought all day, he was ravenous. Since he hadn't known about the trial beforehand, he hadn't prepared any food.

"By the way, I am Feng Buxing. May I ask how to address you, brother?"

The man asked with a smile while eating his own rations.

"Ye Xiao."

"So it’s Brother Ye!" Feng Buxing handed him a flask of wine and said, "When I saw you during the day, you were only at the third level of the Profound Practitioner Realm. I didn't expect you to be at the fifth level already! Truly impressive!"

Indeed, after a day of slaughter, Ye Xiao had broken through two minor realms!

He was now at the fifth level of the Profound Practitioner Realm!

"To be honest, when I saw you preparing to enter the Dark Flood Dragon Forest alone, I thought you were just arrogant. It seems my judgment was shallow!"

Ye Xiao waved his hand, declining the wine Feng Buxing offered, and said, "It’s fine, I’m just used to being alone. By the way, have you all finished your tasks?"

The Yin-Yang Academy trial wasn't just about crossing the Dark Flood Dragon Forest; one had to bring back twenty snake eyes of the same cultivation level.

Otherwise, some people might have just sprinted straight through the forest.

"Sigh, it’s shameful to admit, but we are still a bit short."

Feng Buxing sighed. For some reason, despite a whole day of effort, they hadn't completed the task. It had never been this difficult in previous years.

Perhaps it was because there were too many people, or perhaps the snake-type beasts were inherently cunning.

Ye Xiao fell silent. After a moment of contemplation, he reached into his robe, produced a cloth bag, and handed it to Feng Buxing.

"You let me stay the night and gave me food. I don't like to owe favors. You can have the beast eyes inside."

Feng Buxing took the heavy bag with some confusion. When he opened it, his eyes widened instantly!

"Wait, Brother Ye, did you raid their nest? Why are there so many!"

His exclamation startled the others. Several people gathered around, and upon seeing the contents of the bag, they all looked at Ye Xiao with strange expressions.

"Are there many? It’s alright, just fifty or so," Ye Xiao said, chewing his dry rations, his words slightly muffled.

"Fifty or so? And you say 'just'?"

Feng Buxing was rendered speechless by Ye Xiao’s nonchalant attitude!

There were nearly ten of them working together, and in a full day, they hadn't even killed seventy snake beasts, yet Ye Xiao alone had killed over fifty!

"Just take them. I see that most of you are also in the Profound Practitioner Realm; you should need them. As for me, I’ll kill more tomorrow."

At this point, Ye Xiao seemed to recall something.

"By the way, how long does this trial last?"

"Three days. Why do you ask?" Feng Buxing inquired, puzzled.

Ye Xiao didn't speak, merely nodding to himself.

With two days remaining, he should be able to advance at least another two or three realms. Although still somewhat slow, it was decent.

The main issue was that the bloodline essence of the Profound Practitioner Realm snakes was too weak.

After finishing his meal, Ye Xiao leaned against a tree trunk and closed his eyes to meditate. The campsite fell silent, save for the crackling of the wood in the fire.

Perhaps due to the trial, no beasts attacked them during the night, allowing them to rest peacefully until dawn.

The next morning, Ye Xiao awoke early. Seeing that Feng Buxing and the others were still resting, he left quietly without disturbing them.

This time, he adjusted his direction, heading toward the true heart of the Dark Flood Dragon Forest.

Sure enough!

As he changed course, the beasts he encountered became more numerous and far more powerful!

He even encountered a python at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm!

Fortunately, due to the rules of the trial, the python, which was as thick as a grown man's waist, merely glanced at Ye Xiao coldly before moving on.

"That pressure! As expected of a Foundation Establishment Realm beast!"

Just as he let out a sigh of relief, a voice boomed out!

"Kid! Hand over the beast eyes you have!"