Four days flew by in a flash.
A portion of the servant disciples accumulated enough points to become official disciples, successfully changing their fate.
But many more servant disciples perished among fierce beasts and poisonous plants, dying quietly without a trace.
The disciples' trials were cruel!
「On the last day of the disciples' trials, in the morning.」
"HIYAH!"
Inside the cave, Hong Yuan bellowed as he swung a fierce and powerful blade down from above.
ROAR!!!
As the blade swung, it was as if multiple tigers were roaring, causing the cave to shake and intimidating hundreds of beasts.
After four days and nights of hard practice, Hong Yuan had brought his Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword to an extremely profound level of mastery.
However, it was a pity he still couldn't advance the Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword from the Proficient Realm to the Master Realm.
[Cultivation Technique: Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword (Proficient 122/2,000) → (Proficient 1,372/2,000)]
Time waits for no one, he thought. If only I had two more days, I could definitely push the Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword into the Master Realm. Once I reach the Master Realm, I will definitely be the best among this batch of servant disciples!
Hong Yuan sighed softly, sheathed his Miao Blade, and began to descend the mountain.
Today is the last day of the disciples' trials, and I can no longer play it safe. If I were to be expelled from the Sect, that would be troublesome. After all, I'm not yet a true Martial Artist. My human Aperture hasn't opened, and there isn't a trace of Bronze True Essence in my body.
Dawn had just broken, and mist and clouds drifted about.
Atop the cliff, Hong Yuan stood on the grassland, Miao Blade in hand. His eyes blazing, he surveyed his surroundings in search of prey.
It didn't take long for Hong Yuan to spot his desired prey: a rank one medicinal herb, the Fluorescent Star Flower. However, a black leopard was lying beside it.
The Fluorescent Star Flower is worth 200 points. Adding a large, ferocious beast like a leopard, their combined points would be enough for me to become an official disciple, Hong Yuan thought.
To the other servant disciples, this black leopard was an unbeatable opponent. To Hong Yuan, however, it was merely an appetizer, at most a bit of trouble.
Hong Yuan started moving, sneaking into the dim forest, intending to repeat his old trick and ambush the leopard.
Perhaps due to its predatory instincts, this leopard was far more sensitive to its surroundings than the large black bear had been. Not long after Hong Yuan crept into the dim forest, the leopard detected his presence.
"ROAR!"
The leopard sprang to its feet and roared angrily. Its roar was like rolling thunder, sending birds in the forest frantically scattering in fear.
Tsk... I'll need to learn some breath-concealing techniques and a movement technique in the future, Hong Yuan chuckled to himself.
He immediately broke into a run, raising his Miao Blade high, and charged toward the leopard with fierce momentum.
For a moment, the leopard was overwhelmed by Hong Yuan's imposing aura, as it sensed the essence of a tiger about him. But in an instant, it realized the ordinary human before it was nothing special.
THUD!
The leopard's right front paw slammed onto the ground, propelling it forward in a flash, its head aiming to collide heavily with Hong Yuan's stomach.
"A direct confrontation? Hmph!" Hong Yuan snorted coldly. His arms suddenly swelled, tearing his sleeves, and he swung the heavy blade down.
[Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword]
White Tiger Jumping Over the Ravine!
The Miao Blade seemed to emit multiple tiger roars as it cleanly and efficiently halted the leopard's charge, rendering the beast immobile.
THUMP.
The leopard suddenly went limp and sprawled on the grass, its eyes slowly losing their vitality.
Dead? Hong Yuan thought. Not taking any chances, he immediately delivered several more cuts, decapitating the leopard and piercing its heart completely before he stopped.
Suddenly, Hong Yuan's ears twitched; he heard the sound of birds taking flight in the distance.
Someone's coming?!
Hong Yuan, Miao Blade in hand, quickly took the most valuable parts of the leopard's body and the Star Luster Grass, then concealed himself.
A short while after he finished, Yue Yun arrived alone.
Yue Yun? What a coincidence! Excitement flashed across Hong Yuan's face, and he grew eager.
「In the forest.」
Upon seeing the black leopard lying dead on the path, Yue Yun quickened his pace, rushing directly to where the Star Luster Grass had been.
When he saw that the Star Luster Grass was gone, he slapped his chest, looking utterly heartbroken.
Tsk tsk, so Yue Yun came for the Star Luster Grass. But alone? Does he have the strength to deal with a black leopard? Hong Yuan mused, a flicker of amusement mixed with new suspicion.
Yue Yun wasn't very strong; coming to this area alone was practically suicidal. Therefore, he must have some kind of support to dare enter this dim forest. Lacking clear information, I must suppress the urge to kill Yue Yun and quietly follow him instead. I don't want to capsize in a gutter. As a venomous snake, I have plenty of patience!
「An hour later.」
Hong Yuan finally understood why Yue Yun had dared to enter this forest.
The fellow could actually command bees, making them his fighting force!
In front of Yue Yun were two large, venomous bees wielding double stingers. It was because of these two that Yue Yun could command the other bees.
A Southern Barbarian Worm Master? This is Yong State; how could Southern Barbarian Poison Worms be here? Hong Yuan was puzzled but patiently continued to watch.
Yue Yun was very cautious, always keeping one of the large venomous bees by his side, no matter the circumstances.
Under his methodical command, the otherwise weak bees displayed their might, taking down many large, fierce beasts that used to bully them. The spoils in Yue Yun's basket grew increasingly numerous.
Damn, if Yue Yun actually makes it back, with these points, he might really leapfrog the rank of official disciple and directly become a Cultivation Disciple! Hong Yuan was startled. He hadn't expected Yue Yun to be so capable; his overall strength was not inferior to Chen Dongsheng's at all. Why would Yue Yun acknowledge Chen Dongsheng as his boss if he has such strength? He's clearly no worse than Chen Dongsheng, Hong Yuan wondered.
Suddenly, a shiver ran down Hong Yuan's spine.
In an instant, Hong Yuan slowly put down the miscellaneous items he carried. His left hand clutched a small pouch, his right gripped his Miao Blade.
He began to prepare to assassinate Yue Yun.
I've seen through Yue Yun's trump card. Letting him live any longer makes me uneasy. He reminds me of that great demonic cultivator, the one who used Worms and stopped at nothing to climb to the top.
He waited...
Finally, his opportunity arrived.
When the two large venomous bees were changing guard, and the more energetic one flew off to hunt a Wolf King, a fierce light flashed in Hong Yuan's eyes as he sprinted towards Yue Yun.
Hong Yuan knew he couldn't hide his movements from the large venomous bee, so he immediately shouted, "Yue Yun!"
As Yue Yun turned, Hong Yuan had already thrown a handful of powder.
Lime powder!
The large venomous bee darted forward but failed to block the powder attack for Yue Yun. The lime powder stung Yue Yun's eyes, causing them to burn and tear up.
[Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword]
BOOM!
Hong Yuan swung his blade at Yue Yun, and the large venomous bee immediately darted to block it.
"Hong Yuan, you're not dead?!" Yue Yun shouted in shock, forcing open his red, tear-filled eyes.
While trying to stall for time with words, he secretly whistled, signaling the other large venomous bee to bring the rest of the bees back.
But Hong Yuan, without a word, delivered another slash that split the large venomous bee in half.
"Impossible!!!" Yue Yun's expression changed drastically, his face a mask of utter disbelief.
His cultivated large venomous bees had killed countless servant disciples. Among them were even talented individuals who had almost reached the Proficient Realm with the Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword!
Still silent, the grim-faced Hong Yuan swung the Miao Blade fiercely at Yue Yun's head.
CLANG!!!
Yue Yun hurriedly drew his blade to parry.
But after just one exchange, Yue Yun's blade was knocked from his grasp, and he stumbled to one knee.
"No, you can't kill me!" Yue Yun sobbed, his face a mask of pitiful misery.
Hong Yuan's expression remained unchanged as he turned the blade's edge.
SCHLICK!
Yue Yun's head split open like a watermelon, cleaved in two.
Yue Yun was dead!
The other large venomous bee, which had just rushed over, went berserk, its eyes crimson as it pounced at Hong Yuan.
THWACK!
Another strike, and the large venomous bee was cut in two. The remaining bees stopped mid-flight, circling aimlessly.
Hong Yuan cast a cold glance at them, and the bees, terrified, buzzed away.
"Phew..."
I killed someone. But in my heart—it feels so damn good!
After killing Yue Yun, Hong Yuan felt an unprecedented sense of exhilaration.
It was like drinking a chilled watermelon cola on a scorching summer day. In a word: exhilarating!
RUSTLE, RUSTLE...
Hong Yuan began to search the corpse, looting Yue Yun's belongings.
In a short while, besides a pile of valuable items and spoils, Hong Yuan found a piece of black fabric in his hand: "Second Order Worm Recipe—Rapid Bee Worm."
Worms are the true essence of Heaven and Earth; Man is the spirit of all things...
Suddenly, Hong Yuan fell into a long silence.
His surname was Hong, not Fang. Nor was he from the Guyue Clan.