Chapter 97: The Blue-Haired Woman!

"Tsk tsk, that was truly a ruthless destruction of beauty!" Nezha remarked with a clicking of his tongue as he watched Yang Ye twist the head off the black-armored female general.

"Woo-hoo!" Zhou Hun and the others cheered upon seeing Yang Ye’s victory.

Yang Ye held the severed head, its blue hair cascading downwards, high in the air.

...

In a grand hall emanating an aura of ancient times, a blue-haired woman sat cross-legged with her eyes closed, draped in loose black robes. Her appearance was identical to that of the black-armored general.

Suddenly, the blue-haired woman opened her eyes. Within those depths, as profound as the sea, flickered a trace of anger.

"Someone, summon my younger brother!" she said softly, her crimson lips barely parting.

"As you command!" A graceful woman in white appeared, bowing low before vanishing.

About a quarter of an hour later, a young man with blue hair and handsome features, though carrying an air of flippancy, sauntered into the hall.

"Sister, how have you been lately?" he asked with a smile upon entering.

The woman replied coolly, "Little brother, I need you to do something for me."

"Sister, please speak," the young man replied with a grin.

"Participate in this Earth Star assessment," she said.

The young man laughed. "Sister, that assessment has nothing to do with our family. Why bother getting involved in that?"

The blue-haired woman waved her hand, and an image materialized in the air. It depicted Yang Ye killing her avatar and holding the head aloft as a display of defiance.

Seeing this, the young man chuckled, "I suppose I should congratulate you on the return of that sliver of your consciousness. Now, your cultivation realm can finally advance. The penalty for failing the last assessment should be cleared, right?"

"To be humiliated like this—if it were you, could you endure it?" the woman asked. "The humans on Earth Star are nothing but ants, yet they dared to desecrate me. I must have them utterly destroyed!"

Seeing her fury, the young man smiled, "Sister, why go to such lengths? It was only a body manifested by a rune array..."

"Are you going to do it or not?" she interrupted coldly.

The young man quickly laughed. "Alright, alright! I’ll do it, won't I? But I am at the Star Lord realm; I’m afraid those in charge of the assessment won't allow it."

"That is your problem to solve," she replied.

The young man smiled slightly. "The condition is... wait! Sister, let me see that again!"

The corners of the woman’s mouth curled in contempt, clearly seeing through her brother’s intent. She waved her hand, and the scene of Yang Ye holding the head appeared once more. This time, however, the young man’s attention was fixed on Long Xiaoqing in the background.

"Too beautiful! I never expected such a stunning woman to exist among a lower race! Sister, just wait for my good news!" With that, he turned and sauntered away.

"Hmph!" The woman let out a cold snort once he had left. In the shadows of the hall, a beautiful young woman who had been waiting there felt a wave of relief. She knew that just moments ago, her master’s brother had nearly made her the price of his agreement.

...

Minutes after the black-armored general was decapitated, her body melted into the air and vanished. The surrounding space began to distort. When it returned to normal, Yang Ye found himself back on the first floor of the stone tower.

The blue ring of light in the center of the room had disappeared. Furthermore, the floor was no longer dim; a stone staircase leading to the second level had emerged.

The ancient, weary voice resonated once more: "Congratulations! You have successfully passed the first stage. This is your reward."

As the voice faded, a palm-sized, pale yellow slip, seemingly made of jade, appeared where the blue ring had been.

Yang Ye stepped forward and picked up the jade slip. Zhou Hun’s group and the others waiting at the entrance crowded around. Many other cultivators outside also rushed into the tower, all peering curiously at the slip in Yang Ye’s hand. They had long been speculating what the reward for clearing the stage would be—a technique? A weapon? Or perhaps some medicinal pills?

Nezha glanced at the curious crowd and spoke up, "This is a device for recording vast amounts of information. You could call it a jade talisman. They are generally used to record cultivation techniques or insights."

"Clear out! What are you looking at?"

"Move, move!"

"Get out! If you have the skill, go clear the stage yourselves!"

Once Nezha finished speaking, Zhou Hun and his men began driving the onlookers out. Yang Ye did not stop them. Many of those driven out like flies were furious but dared not speak, quietly retreating. Once the area was cleared, Zhou Hun posted guards at the door.

"Master, using this is simple..." Nezha explained the method to Yang Ye.

Yang Ye nodded and injected a trace of energy into the talisman. It glowed with a faint yellow light. Focusing his mind, he sent a thread of consciousness into it. In an instant, an image of a man in black wielding a war saber appeared before his eyes.

It was a saber technique. It looked quite fierce.

After absorbing the insight, Yang Ye shook his head and tossed the jade slip to Zhou Hun. "It’s a saber technique. You can take it and practice."

Yang Ye was unimpressed. He could tell that compared to the Spiral Force taught to him by Butler Mu, this technique was several levels inferior. In fact, he had already mastered it after just one viewing.

With that, Yang Ye put his arm around Long Xiaoqing and walked out of the stone gate.

"Brother Yang, what was the reward?" Felix asked with a curious smile as soon as they emerged.

Yang Ye laughed. "Just a saber technique. If you want to practice it, go talk to Zhou Hun. If you pay a price, he’ll surely agree."

Felix was thrilled. "This... this is wonderful!"

The others were equally delighted to hear this. Yang Ye shook his head, feeling a sense of helplessness. As Nezha had said, the cultivators on Earth were truly weak. He remained unsatisfied with the reward.