Read Overthrowing Fate - Chapter 64: To Test One's Strength online free - Light Novel Full

Chapter 64: To Test One's Strength

During Xu Min's travels, no matter where he had gone, he had always met with both hostility and hospitality. Only in Honghe City, where he had spent years with his master Wang Li, he had never felt any hostility towards him, but he never knew this was due to the protection of his master.

When he left on his journey, he met Cao Cao and his family. They were very kind towards him. Although they did force him to travel with Cao Cao, none of them wanted to take his life. They even allowed him to take the herbs of his liking from their beautiful grounds.

The snakes hospitality counterbalanced with the cultivator in the forest he had the life and death encounter with. This was the first time he had been forced to fight to the death, and it had been an immense tempering of both his mind and body.

Reaching Ri Chu City, he had felt a great hostility from everyone apart from the Yong family who had taken good care of him. he had learned to repay kindness with kindness and enmity with death at Ri Chu.

Further on in the Ruins of the Immortals, he had encountered both kindness and enmity. Now,once more, he had arrived in a large city, and he had been shown great friendship. Nevertheless, when he was shown friendship, he knew to expect hostility. The two never came without each other..

The time had come. He had gone to town on his own to buy some items to prepare for the Immortal Valley's Ranking, but he could not avoid the people who viewed him differently.

"What can I do for you?" he asked casually. The smile on his face made him seem approachable, but his eyes emitted a warning to stay away.. Those who wished to approach had to be willing to suffer death.

"We heard about a new participant in the Immortal Valley Rankings," one of the young men said, stepping forward one step and smiling at Xu Min in a friendly manner.

"We were curious about this new participant, so when we heard that you were in town we rushed over to see with our own eyes what our competition is like. Who would have thought that you would turn into an external expert?" he mockingly laughed.

"Clearly you already knew that," Xu Min retorted casually. He cracked his neck, completely ignoring the people in front of him who were three-star Warriors and their entourage of one and two-star Warriors behind them.

"If you had not known how would you have found me?" he question sarcastically. The question completely stumped the one who had been talking. His face turned slightly malicious as he understood that Xu Min was making fun of him.

"I am here to see just how outstanding you are," he said with a shrill voice. "I heard you could defeat that weakling from the Bu family, but that does not mean anything to me. All of us could have defeated him."

"Well, good for you. If you have nothing more important to say, then stop blocking my way. I need to return to train." Xu Min bluntly stated. The smile on his face had disappeared. He was just annoyed now. The real killing intent was surging throughout his body. He was no longer interested in this conversation and wished to finish it as soon as possible.

"I am here to test you," the young man continued, "but you are a weak external expert. I won't even use my own hands as I fear that you will die, and I don't want to be responsible for your pathetic death As well, that would be bad for me since the Bu family values you so greatly. Song Hu go and play with this young man!" the young man called out. One of the guards behind him stepped forward.

'Cao Cao, you're up!' Xu Min asserted. Xu Min stood as before.His arms were crossed over his chest, and the sword was on his back. He did not move an inch;yet, two seconds after a bloodcurdling scream resounded throughout the market.,The guard known as Song Hu collapsed on the ground. Foaming at the mouth, his eyes stared into oblivion as the pupils shrunk and turned dim.

"Sorry, I could not control my strength. Why did you think to send out such a weak guard?" Xu Min said sarcastically.He kept standing the way in the same position. The action caused everyone present to gulp, and their faces turned white.

All of them saw Xu Min had not moved. He had not even unsheathed his sword. However, he had somehow killed one of the strongest guards within the Lin family.

Because Cao Cao did not cancel his shroud of darkness, no one could see his movements. It had taken him one second to reach the guard, and one second to return to Xu Min's neck.

Xu Min looked at the many people in front of him and sighed. "if you really want to test my strength all of you need to come at me at once. If you truly chose to do this, though, then do not blame me for being ruthless. I will slaughter all who decides to test me." he carelessly explained. .

After the last city fighting a life and death battle, Xu Min was no longer the same simple cultivator he had been before. His body remembered the fight, and it had heightened his senses. His eyes were sharper; his movements were quicker, and his killing intent had risen dramatically. He no longer spared people who were going against him. Anyone who posed a threat would die. Only then could he succeed in moving forward.

"Now now, let us all relax," a second young man pleaded. He looked at the young master Lin who was fuming with anger and clearly considered giving the sign to attack. "We are not here to insult you young man, but please understand the Immortal Valley's Ranking is important for all of us. We need to know what our opponents are like. I am sure we all found your techniques outstanding, so I suggest we end the test here. You thoroughly surprised us."

Taking a step back was currently the most beneficial thing to do. Xu Min had proven his strength,even in a way no one could question. Nonetheless,the Lin family had just lost an important guard, and they were not likely to accept this loss.

"Fine Fine. Who would have expected you were capable of such attacks, so swift we couldn't see anything. How could we question your level of strength?" the Lin young master said through his gritted teeth. Though he was furious, he understood their only had a chance was if all of them charged at Xu Min at once. Hearing the other young masters' comments, it was clear that they had no intention of joining in on such an assault.

"Xu Min!" a voice suddenly cut through the tense air. Shui Wu came rushing from the side. Her usually pale face contained traces of red tint in her cheeks, and her breathing was hurried. It was clear that she had rushed here as quickly as she could.

"Xu Min are you okay?" she asked. She was very worried since she remembered her master's words about Xu Min.. A man who had sworn never to take a disciple had taken this young man as a disciple. The value of this one individual was clear. Even to Bu Huang, Xu Min was as important as his own sons.

After looking Xu Min all over, Shui Wu finally heaved a heavy sigh of relief. There were no signs of him having been injured. Then her eyes fell on the ground and the dead body laying next to her.

Her face instantly turned pale. She felt like hammering her head against a wall. Although she had found Xu Min, it seemed that she was too slow to avoid danger.

"Miss Shui, Seeing you this frantic, who would have thought that this young man meant so much to the Bu family? Is he a long lost son or is there some other reason as to why he is so important?"

The question the person asked was one which everyone was now curious about, but Shui Wu just glared at him silently. "Although it is our fault that Song Hu has died, we cannot take the entire blame. Three young masters intently ganged up one individual, knowing what the consequences might be. l. What righteous young masters they are!" she mocked. Her words struck them all, causing their faces to turn slightly pale.

The fight had caused many citizens to stop and watch. The entire ground outside the shop was filled to the brim. As soon as Shui Wu had finished talking, her words had caused everyone present to start mumbling to one another. Thirty guards and three young masters had indeed ganged up on one individual. However, this young man had not cowered in fear. Instead, he had stood strong, even killing one of the Lin family's guards after he warned them of the consequences of confronting him.

The three young masters' faces increasingly turned sour as they heard from commoners on how shameless they attacked. They had lost face, not only because Xu Min had not shown them any respect, but also because the people surrounding them truly felt that they were cowardly, ganging up on one expert who was even of a lower rank than them.

"This is all a misunderstanding!" The young man explained once more with a smile on his face, "I don't understand why Lin Dong was so eager to test out this young man, but the three of us were having fun in town. Then we saw this new participant, and we were just curious about his strength. We never intended to gang up on him; it was all coincidence," he tried to argue, but the damage had already been done.

"I will take my leave now. I have what I need." the third young master said. He had been quiet this whole time, and of the three, he was the one Xu Min had been observing the most. He was a four-star Warrior whereas the other two were three-star Warriors. He had an oppressive air around him. He was definitely not an easy target.

The second young master also decided it was time to go, seeing the third young master leaving. "It was a pleasure to meet you Xu Min. Shui Wu as always a pleasure to see you, but I think it is the time I take my leave. A misunderstanding has already happened, and I do not wish to make it any worse." he nonchalantly expressed.

Even though these two experts had lost some face, it was nothing compared to Lin Dong. He had both lost a guard and his self-respect. He had claimed he could kill Xu Min by mistake, only then to suffer a loss of his favorite guard.

"Take Song Hu with us," he ordered the group of guards behind him and with a last venomous look at Xu Min he spat out the words, "I will see you at the Immortal Valley Rankings." before he too turned to leave.

Xu Min just stood back; his arms still crossed over his chest.His eyes as alert as ever before.s He stared at all of them until they vanished from his sight.

"Thank you, Shui Wu, for assisting me with these three young masters," he laughed afterwards as his arms went behind his head. He started whistling while walking towards the Bu family mansion once more.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 65: Gate of Revelation

Shui Wu stayed at the shop while Xu Min walked ahead. She was looking over the scene, replaying the events in her head uncertain on what to do. "At least he only killed a guard," she sighed heavily, shaking her head. She knew exactly what happened. Xu Min had been challenged and used his strength to prove that he was not someone to easily bully. Unfortunately, the guard who was supposed to test him had died.

Looking around, Shui Wu saw that many of the people involved in the incident had vanished or gone their own way and no longer showed any interest in these noble people.

Xu Min was not bothered by the expert who had blocked his way earlier. He knew his actions caused enmity between himself and at least one of the families. He would not have been as fierce if it wasn't for the young master who accosted him. However, it was a mere guard. Even if this Jin family were going to become upset over the loss of a guard, they would not dare to go against Xu Min and the Bu family for a minor family guard.

"If you want revenge, come find me in the Immortal Valley," Xu Min muttered to himself while smirking. He was going to battle the high ranked Zhong family leader; how could he be stopped by insignificant geniuses from this place?

Shui Wu was running right behind Xu Min. Upon their return, Xu Min went back to his room to train while Shui Wu rushed to her master's lair, getting ready to tell him about the recent incident.

"You said he killed a guard of the Jin family?" Bu Huang chuckled as he stroked his beard. "To be honest, it was the Jin family's fault. They decided to check his strength. Still, killing him that easily, this Xu Min has quite some secrets. If possible travel with him in the Immortal Valley. I am certain that you will benefit greatly from befriending this person. Though, you most likely have to kill quite a few Jin members in the valley."

Bu Huang apparently did not mind the death of the Jin family. Outwardly all the major families of the city kept a friendly relationship amongst one another; Inwardly, their interrelationships were drastically different. All of them wished for the others to suffer in one way or another so that they could get the upper hand and gain more power for themselves.

"Well, even if the Jin family comes here for the sake of justice then I will deal with them. Humph, it was nothing but a guard that he killed. They need to have a thick face to come ask for justice," he said, his eyes darkened and he expressed disdain.

Nodding her head, Shui Wu had not expected him to say anything else, and instead she bowed deeply and left the private chambers of the Master.

Xu Min barricaded himself within his room where he fully focused on training. He would practice his sword arts, his stances, and his cultivation base.

All of these things took most of the day. The few hours he had to himself outside of training he spent relaxing, ensuring that his body did not become too exhausted.

While Xu Min was busy training inside Bu Huang's mansion, a storm was brewing in the city. The Jin family blamed the Bu family of mindlessly murdering one of their guards while the Bu family accused the Jin family of suddenly attacking their members.

Everyone knew the entirety of the incident; even so, everyone paid attention closely to both sides.

The Jin family finally realized they were being made fun of. Every time they tried to act like the victims, the people in town would laugh at their words. No one would believe their poor acting skills because everyone already knew the truth of the matter.

"We have to give up on this," the patriarch sighed. He looked at his son in front of him, "although this guard was your friend and one of the strongest guards, he was but a guard. Not only that, we were the ones initiating the battle, as well. If we continue to require redemption for the lost guard all they will give us is some gold. But, even if they go that far, we are lucky."

"Every day we try to stand our ground and get our hands on this young master the citizens will laugh at us and see us as hypocrites."

"What you can do is attack him while you are in the Immortal Valley. If he goes only a short distance from his group, execute him. If he is dumb enough not to travel with the other Bu family members, hunt him down and let him know what happens when a person upsets our family. Let him die a painful death."

Nodding his head, the desire to kill flashed in the eyes of the young master Jin. He bowed deeply before turning around to leave.

The days flew by; everyone became busier preparing for the day that they would have to enter the immortal Valley.

During this period, Xu Min visited the city four times. After the first time, no one tried to stop him or test his strength. He had already been recognized as one of the top experts the Bu family.

The time passed quickly, and the time for the competition arrived. Xu Min left his room with the sword on his back and with a small bag tied to his waist. This bag was a gift to him from Bu Huang, and it was a storage treasure. It was similar to the backpack his master Wang Li possessed. It could store an outstanding amount of things. Bu Huang's gift was truly extravagant.

The front of the mansion had various carriages waiting for the ten young experts, going to the Immortal Valley's rankings. Even Bu Huang and a group of the other elders would follow them. This was the most important competition for the last ten years; thus, they wanted to see what was happening in the Immortal Valley.

The Immortal Valley was located in the southwestern part of the Ruins of the Immortals. It was in the middle of a desert. A person had to pass through a teleportation array to get to it. This teleportation array was only active when it was time for the Immortal Valley Rankings. Also, it limited how many people could go through it. This was the reason why each eligible families were only allowed to bring a specific amount of people.

The trip took a long time. Xu Min would spend half of the time together with Bu Huang, conversing about Wang Li or the immortal Valley, waiting for them to reach their destination.

"There is a group called the Guardians. They always protect the Immortal Valley and are the only people capable of entering the valley outside of the Immortal Valley Rankings."

"They can also locate any person within the valley. The ranking will go on for a full year. In that one year, everyone will be staying in ruins, watching the youngsters' progress and battles. Some years not even a third of the participating experts survive; other years more than half survives. Let us hope you will be one of the survivors."

Sighing heavily, Bu Huang looked outside and observed the many carriages behind his, the carriages which contained his family members and disciples. He knew that some of them would die. Even realizing this, he knew he had to let them join.

"Luck can be more important than strength," Bu Huang said asudden as he looked out the carriage. "Some time ago, I also participated in the Immortal Valley Rankings. Back then I was a mediocre fighter within my family. More than half of the participating members could have easily killed me. Some didn't even have to break a sweat to do it."

Bu Huang's eyes misted over while he reminisced about his past.

"When we entered the valley, alliances were severed. Only the strong, it didn't matter from which family, traveled together. The weak people such as me did not have any alliance. No one wished to have us in their groups since we could drag them down."

A look of disdain shown in Bu Huang's eyes, a flash of coldness passed through them.

"I left the others and ran away as soon as I could. I spent one day after another fleeing other practitioners or big demonic beasts. Eventually, I reached the very end of the Immortal Valley. There I found a weird formation on the ground. In the middle of this formation was a scroll. I instantly decided this scroll had to be quite useful, so I took the chance and entered the formation."

"I remembered how the energy entered my body and rebuilt every single cell. The scroll's power increased the width of my meridians and increased the size of my dantian alongside the energy within."

"I was stuck in that formation for three months; my body continuously was being refined. When I emerged from the formation, I was no longer the weak one. My power had soared through the sky. I grasped the scroll and learned a specific ability. This ability allowed me to be the top faction of the City of the Thousand Stars."

"Master, how exactly do the people within the Immortal Valley get ranked?" Xu Min asked curiously. Bu Huang smiled.

"There are two tasks which determine the winners. First, one can be ranked depending on how many treasures a person has gained during their time within the valley. The second way is to kill or rob other cultivators. A total of a hundred thousand people will be participating in the Immortal Valley, so there will be plenty of people to rob. After you rob them, make sure to take a token you were given by the Guardians. These tokens are worth the same as ten normal treasures and one heavenly treasure."

"As far as I know there is even divine treasures within the Immortal Valley, but those you should watch out for." he warned the younger man, "Every treasure is guarded by a beast. If you kill the beasts, you will gain a mortal or heavenly treasure. Their bodies are treasures in themselves. However, fighting against a divine beast, you will die instantly."

"The mortal beasts vary in strength equal from a one-star to a four-star Warrior. Heavenly beasts have the strength of a five- to an eight-star Warrior while divine beasts are nine-star Warriors. Although you have been gifted many treasures and had fortunate encounters, I believe that you will not be able to fight the early heavenly ranked beasts.Remember, the treasure is worth nothing if you are dead. Always value your life more than the treasures you might gain."

There was a seriousness in Bu Huang's eyes, and Xu Min instantly nodded his head. He felt this extreme expert truly cared about him. Even though this concern came from his relationship with Wang Li, Xu Min was still grateful.

"Master Bu, we have arrived at the Gate of Revelation."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 66: Yanluo

The carriages came to a halt. Slowly Bu Huang stood up and exited his carriage, gesturing the others to follow him. Xu Min instantly stood up and respectfully followed behind. As he departed from the carriage, he looked all around him, surveying his new environment. Xu Min's facial expression appeared dumbfounded.

This moment was the first time he had been in an actual ruin. Everywhere around him was desert, and in front of him were the ruins of what seemed to have been a massive temple. Xu Min suppressed his bewilderment as fast as could. He did not want others to know he was unaware of the terrain. He kept looking at the decrepit building. Only the pillars were left standing. Some had sunk deep into the sand while others had fallen together with the roof. There were no doors, but in the middle of what used to be the temple grounds, there was a large circular structure. It was made from a black material and contained silvery inscriptions which kept shining on the surface. This shine of the inscription made the material seem real.

"That is the gate of Revelation," Bu Huang helpfully explained as he saw Xu Min's gaze.

Nodding his head, Xu Min kept observing his surroundings. The other nine participants appeared, moving to stand side by side with Xu Min, all of them walking right behind Bu Huang.

Examining his fellow teammates, Xu Min was surprised to see Shui Wu acting haughty and arrogant just like the first time they had met. Eight competitors, two women, and six young men stood by her side.

These competitors disdainfully looked around at their surroundings. They were confident that they would be able to rank highly in this Immortal Valley Rankings. Xu Min saw at least fifty groups., Some of these other group members possessed an oppressing aura, making even Xu Min slightly hesitant.

'Don't worry!' Cao Cao's confidently said, 'You will reach the third-star rank soon. Once this happens, your strength will skyrocket. Your physical body will be remade and become much stronger; your internal energy will make you able to use the Radiant Jade Shower much better than you have done so far. Even one of the shards will be a lethal weapon to most experts.'

'Also, don't forget that I am with you,' Cao Cao stated smugly.. 'I fear the consequences for whoever dares to cause us trouble when I am by your side.'

'This time Cao Cao, I want to depend on myself as much as I can,' Xu Min apologetically explained, ' if I am in a dangerous position, then you can help me. Other than then, please let me do it by myself. I need to temper myself and improve my power. Otherwise, I will never be able to gain revenge."

Xu Min's thought had made the flame of hatred within him burn increasingly strong. The desire to kill surged in him. His face was cold, and his eyes appeared deep.

Many of the extreme experts of the younger generation all jolted as they looked towards Xu Min; they wanted him dead. All of them were unable to believe that this young man had such a weak cultivation base. If he was capable of hiding his actual strength, then that would be disastrous.

"Whatever," one of the extreme experts muttered to himself while his eyes gleamed at Xu Min, "having strong opponents makes this adventure much more fun. I cannot wait for the rankings begin!"

This expert was not the only person to think like this. Everyone seemed to think the same thing, and all of them looked at Xu Min with apprehension.

Bu Huang and the Bu group were even more shocked than the those around. Xu Min's desire to kill was stronger than a normal person his age. However, Xu Min had gone through far too much. He had killed numerous times. Most importantly, though, he had seen his sister die in front of him, and he had been betrayed by the Overseer whom he considered as his father. His revenge was personal and deep.

Because of this, he was no longer the innocent young man who had been training to become a Zhong, family guard. If someone got in the way of his training or way, he would kill them.

Xu Min withdrew into himself, erasing his killing desire for revenge. However, he had already instilled fear many experts around. These experts were all of the younger generation. They had been trained for the Immortal Valley rankings for years. Their attacks were perfect, their strength overwhelming. Nonetheless, they had only sparred against others. They had never fought to live.

Feeling this killing intent from Xu Min, Bu Huang was pleased. This meant that he had a far bigger chance of survival than many of the other youngsters.

The group of Bu Huang and his elders alongside the group of contestants walked past the ruins towards some stone houses. Reaching these stone houses Bu Huang entered the first empty house, and all the Bu family followers entered with him.

"Everyone, we will be living in this house for the next year." Bu Huang announced. "When it is time for the young experts to enter the gate of revelation, we will stay in the ruins. The guardians will show the many battles within the immortal ruins. Every day they will inform us who has died as well as an average estimation of who is in the top ten."

"My cherished warriors, I need to tell you something important. I know everyone knows the Immortal Valley Ranking is crucial. You all need to do your very best, but it is more important to value your life. Valuing your life is essential. If you wish to rank high or to keep the treasures you encounter, it is vital for you to be alive. Even if you end up with a low ranking, it is far better than the dead who did not rank at all ."

Bu Huang stressed how important it was to stay alive, but when Xu Min looked around at the many contestants, he saw they were not listening wholeheartedly to Bu Huang's speech.

'These people will only be a burden to you,' Cao Cao's voice resounded in Xu Mi's mind. 'They have never seen real fighting before, and they will all end up as cannon fodder. Even though this Bu Huang guy is being kind to warn them, they are not paying any attention.'

The group quickly left the house after having left the elders there. Bu Huang brought the youngsters with him to look at their opponents.

Xu Min had a small smile on his face, but he said nothing. Instead, he was observing the surrounding groups of people. Some were timid and walked around, consistently jolting when they got too close to other people. While others were rough and haughty, looking down on everyone else.

Some experts were capable of being killers. Their eyes were sharp, and their movements were precise and swift. Xu Min was looking at this group instantly decided not to be found by them. They would kill anyone they came across. If they split individually then, Xu Min was not too afraid of them, but a group of ten coldblooded killers was too much for Cao Cao and him.

Suddenly Xu Min's eyes widened. He felt a tinge of fear in his heart when he saw a group of guards wearing red uniforms. In the sky was a massive ship with four wings. It was leaving after depositing these warriors.

These people were no strangers to Xu Min. Although he did not recognize all of them instantly, he remembered the ship and the leader. It was the Snow Mountain faction.

Noticing the sudden change in Xu Min, Bu Huang's gaze followed Hui Yue's direction. He frowned slightly when he saw them.

"You know the warriors from the Snow Mountain of the Dragon Ruins?" he asked curiously. A sour smile emerged on Xu Min's lips, "You can say so," he answered and paused for a moment before he continued speaking, "I killed around hundred of their soldiers." He continued after a short pause, but his words had already caused Bu Huang to instantly stop in his tracks. He stared at Xu Min in disbelief.

Bu Huang was not the only shocked. Everyone behind him, guards, elders and participants alike, were greatly stunned. They knew the Snow Mountain of the Dragon Ruins were not to be insulted; yet, someone in their group had already killed a hundred of their guards. If this was not enmity, then what was?

At the same moment Xu Min was thinking about his slaughter, the leader of the Snow Mountain group coincidentally looked towards him. Their eyes interlocked, and the guard's face turned white as a sheet of paper. In his mind, the memory of Xu Min and his slaughter played in front of his eyes once more. His entire body was trembling.

All the guards seeing the change in their leader tried to find the source of discomfort for him.The contestants followed his gaze, and in front of them was a young man with a small smile on his face. His arms crossed over his chest, and his eyes were as calm, but deadly as the surface of a deep, dark lake.

"It's him!" a guard shakingly exclaimed, "he is the one they called Yanluo!"

Hearing these words, every single contestant also followed his gaze. Their eyes landed upon Xu Min, all of them were aghast. This was the two-star expert capable of producing such fear in the hearts of all the Snow Mountain's guards.

A member of the Snow Mountain, straightened his back and moved towards the Bu family group.

"To think I would run into you here Yanluo!" the man said with laughter in his voice. He was around twenty years of age. His eyes were deep and seemed to contain the entire universe's mysteries. It was clear that he was the extreme expert that the Snow Mountain had sent. He was without a doubt a five-star Warrior, if not higher. This was what true talent looked like.

"This lowly one feels fortunate to meet such a great cultivator as yourself." Hui Yue bowed respectfully. Contrary to what most believed, he was not scared witless because he felt that he could at least make a fight and then escape. If it came down to it, he believed Bu Huang would support him.

"To think someone as weak as yourself was capable of gaining the title Yanluo. It is quite comical!" the older boy continued, "well, it is not possible to battle now outside of the Immortal Valley as the Guardians will disqualify all of us if we do. However, watch your back within the Valley. I am eager to see if you live up to the name you have been granted."

The words were not spoken low. They were so loud that everyone could hear it, causing the majority to be filled with shock. All of them started to discuss what deeds he had done to be given such an outstanding nickname.

"I will wait for you," Xu Min stated. He had a wry smile on his face, "I killed your guards only because they wanted to kill me. If you come for me, do not blame me for being ruthless. Anyone who decides to be in my way, I will personally ensure that they die, so they will never cause me trouble again."

Xu Min spoke these words with full confidence. When this older expert looked into Xu Min's eyes, he realized it was no empty threat. His heart shook, and his mouth went dry, fear arose within himself that he could not understand.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 67: Desert Wolves

Xu Min decided to look at the many factions around him than give Snow Mountain any more attention. A total of one hundred thousand experts were to participate in this Immortal Valley Ranking. Each faction was allowed to bring ten experts with them, and in total ten thousand experts had the permission to partake in the rankings.

The commotion caused by the Snow Mountain combined with their fame, or infamy, had caused many factions to keep an eye on them. Additionally, after their take over a city, many of the prominent families heard rumors about t an expert who had caused them trouble.

Who this expert was, no one had known, not before today, that is. Knowing his nickname was Yanluo, everyone memorized him firmly within their minds. It was clear he was not just anybody since he reduced the Snow Mountain's guards into such a sorry state. It was clear Xu Min had the strength that surpassed the second-star Warrior rank, but no one seemed to be able to determine what his actual strength was. The experts had no idea where to gage him and accepted he was stronger than he looked.

Xu Min paid no attention. Instead, he just sighed deeply. He knew that he was the target of many experts who had heard what Snow Mountain said. Having been gifted the nickname Yanluo, anyone who managed to take him down would be known as the killer of the King of Hell.

Bu Huang, who heard, smiled slightly as he stroked his beard. He was not against Xu Min experiencing dangers. Wang Li clearly sent him out into the world to be tempered. He guessed if he couldn't even manage against a group like this, then he was not worthy of being called Wang Li's disciple.

"Old man Bu, it seems that the expert you have invited to join your family comes with a whole lot of baggage even Snow Mountain wishes to kill him. Going as far as to call him Yanluo, don't you fear that he will die? I mean a disciple as talented as him is quite rare, for sure, but…"

Bu Huang just smiled at the man who had appeared out of nowhere. "Old man Xing, this is none of your concern. Although I will grieve if he dies, he can blame no one but his inability to stay alive," Bu Huang laughed out loud. His words caused many experts close by to frown. It was clear that Bu Huang who was usually protective of his own clan's youngsters showed no signs of wanting to keep Xu Min safe. All he seemed to want was to see how Xu Min would do in the valley.

Xu Min was standing just behind Bu Huang. His face was as neutral as it could be. No emotions shown even when Bu Huang said he was to blame should he die. No expression was revealed in his eyes. He did not doubt that what Bu Huang said was incorrect. If he died, he could only blame himself.

"Hey, brother Xu, what is this all about with you and the Snow Mountain?" Shui Wu quietly asked him. The nine other participants had been very curious, but since Xu Min had been speaking, none of them had dared to interrupt.

"It's nothing really," he said with a smile, "just a misunderstanding between the Snow Mountain and myself. It would be best if you do not seem too close to me. I am fairly certain of protecting my life, but I highly doubt that I can protect anyone else's at the same time," he politely stated. He said this with his best intentions, but the words sounded sour in Shui Wu's ears. She was instantly insulted. Turning her face up towards the sky, she gave a harrumph before she finally turned to walk back to the other guys, leaving Xu Min completely perplexed.

'Ugh, I miss Meilin,' he sighed to himself and Cao Cao. 'I don't understand women at all. But, Meilin, she was so gentle compared to this haughty and rather a cold woman. They are like night and day.' He complained and his memories returned to the many days they had spent side by side in Ri Chu City.

'Get a grip!' Cao Cao warned him. 'Although I also miss Meilin too, especially all the food she brought with her, we cannot afford to become sentimental now. There is already so many who have been looking to kill you. If they group up, then you and I have absolutely no chance.'

Xu Min nodded his head. While Xu Min focused on his affairs, everyone else continued to look at him, some with pity, others with reverence, and much more with the desire for his death. Of all these stares, Xu Min noted down the ones who wished for his demise.He had to ensure that he did not run into those individuals. At least not before, he had gained a high ranked treasure to help him increase his strength some.

Bu Huang went around and greeted various experts, patriarchs and so on. By his side was Xu Min. He kept the same straight expression through the entire ordeal, greeting them and showing respect. Externally, he was with Bu Huang, showing formalities, but internally he was submerged in his emotions. Having to endure every day and not rush back to the Zhong family's mansion to kill the two Zhong men, he needed more strength.

During the entire greeting ceremony, Xu Min had his hands clenched hard. This was the only indication of his true emotions, yet no one noticed it.

As the night descended over the ruins, two black robed cultivators emerged from the darkness. As soon as they had arrived, everyone silenced themselves. The previous chatting and buzzing sound h completely stopped. Everyone held their breath, looking at the experts who had appeared.

"We Guardians welcome you all to the ancient Immortal Valley Rankings. These rankings are as old as the Ruins of the Immortals themselves. They are a sacred event. Only the participants are allowed to enter the Immortal Valley. Even though, you patriarchs and elders can see what happens within, none of you can interfere."

"What happens in the valley stays in the valley. If your disciple gets killed by another person, you are not to take revenge on this person, neither are you to take revenge on the person's family. Should you do this, then the Guardians will gather together and go against you. Be aware that although we Guardians stay hidden, our strength is not to be trifled with!"

The voice boomed throughout the grounds. Everyone listened intently to every single word.

"We are ranking the students as following: the ones who obtain the highest ranked beast core wins. If there are more with the same rank beast core, the one who has the most wins the highest ranking. There are no rules as to how you can get beast cores. You can kill beasts, or you can kill one another, it does not matter. If you get assistance from outside the Valley, then you will instantly die."

The Guardian who was speaking did nothing to hide his killing intent. It was so strong that all the participant's faces grew pale.

Xu Min standing by Bu Huang's side felt nothing as Bu Huang had spread out his arms, his robe covering all the participants behind him and thus they managed to get through the killing intent while suffering only a little bit.

"I have said what I had to say. Everyone is to return to their residence, the nights in these ruins are not for cultivators like us to be out in. Tomorrow morning as the sun rises into the sky will we start sending the participants into the Immortal Valley."

Having finished, the guard and his follower instantly turned around and left. Many of the experts who were left behind looked at each other in confusion. Bu Huang rushed back to the residence they had claimed as their own.

"There are many new factions which have been invited to the Immortal Valley this year," he said. He was moving swiftly, and only the ones from his group could hear what he said since he used a communication ability only a sixth rank Warrior could learn.

"Every family who possessed an invitation to the Immortal Rankings used to be fairly safe. However after the Snow Mountain started taking over major cities, many families have fallen. When they fell, their invitation was taken on by Snow Mountain, and they traded them to their supportive families. These families are new to this entire Ranking. If you can, you should aim to fight those experts. They might feel that they have prepared enough, but they haven't been given an invitation till recently, so they could not have fully prepared. You can get rid of them easily." Bu Huang said as they finally reached their residence and entered inside.

"There is one rule now. Do not leave this house!" he said with a very stern voice, "There are powers out there which I cannot even contest against. To go out is to commit suicide."

Just as Bu Huang had said this, a bloodcurdling scream could be heard, followed by the sound of howling wolves. The sudden noise caused everyone to feel somewhat frightened and jittery. Wolves were not frightening as they were, but this was in the middle of the desert. There was nothing to live off; even so they were clearly there.

"This is one of the many problems you will encounter within the Immortal Valley. Each night there will be spirits who will come and attack you. Making a fire or something similar will allow participants or beasts to easily pinpoint your location."

Bu Huang spent the entire night telling about the dangers and challenges one would find within the Immortal Valley. Many of the other factions were trying to make their participants sleep, but Bu Huang believed that none of them could sleep knowing they were going to enter the Immortal Valley the following day.

Spending all his time explaining what they might experience, he felt better; he felt that he was teaching these sons and daughters of his family a way to survive.

During the night, the wolves could be heard quite a few times. Every time it was followed by a scream and then an eerie silence.

As the sun rose in the sky, the hearts of all participants were blazing. They held their heads high; their eyes shone with excitement, and their bodies trembled just thinking about what was happening.

Bu Huang stood up. Everyone followed behind him moving towards the same location. They went to where all the factions had been greeting each other the day before. A hundred thousand participants waited to go into the Immortal Valley. Their eyes gleaming; their bodies trembling and their hearts beating rapidly.

Together with these many participants were also patriarchs and elders of the families alongside guards. There were people as far as the eye could see.

Bu Huang had left their residence as soon as the sun had risen. Thus, they had managed to get a place quite close to the ruins. Everyone's eyes were looking at the big portal that was swirling in the distance. Everyone focused on the portal, hoping that they could be the first ones to enter.

"Let me explain what we rank people by" a voice sounded, and two Guardians appeared again. Their words caused everyone to be quiet. They looked on the two black-robed men with anticipation.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 68: Entering the Valley

Everyone was silent; no one blinked. Holding their breath, all the people gathered looked at the Guardian, impatient to hear the news about the rankings.

Even the returned experts stared at the Guardian, wide-eyed and fully focused.

"We cannot measure the amount of treasures found since most of them will be used to increase the strength of the participant," The Guardian commented.It was only natural for them to try to increase their power to gain more treasures.

"Consequently, we have decided the ranks will be determined by whoever acquires the most beast cores. The higher ranked beast you kill, the higher you will rank. The participant's emblems depend on the rank of the holder. If you kill a two-star Warrior, you gain a two-star emblem, which is equal to the core of a two-star beast."

"Within the Valley, there are beasts leveled at the ninth rank. As to whether or not you will see them comes down to your luck. We will not save you while you are in the Immortal Valley. Anything that happens, you will face on your own."

Hearing this, some of the participant's eyes were filled with excitement while others had a slight trace of dread.

"We will begin to send the experts into the Immortal Valley individually. All participants make sure to stand one in a line. Everyone will arrive at various places within the Immortal Valley. Your alliances mean nothing," The Guardian continued. His words caused everyone to feel regretful. Every family wished for their participants to go together. Now, it seemed as though they had no one to rely on. Only true power would prevail.

Looking at Bu Huang, Xu Min saw t he had a frown on his face. "Uncle Huang is it not normal for the participants to be split up after entering the Valley?" he asked subtly. All around him, people were mumbling to one another.

Bu Huang looked surprisedly at Xu Min. He was shocked the younger man had guessed accurately. "That is true," he answered. His voice low as well, not wishing to disturb the silence too much. His words, however, caused all the participants to feel stunned in their hearts. The Immortal Valley Ranking was as old as the history of the Immortal Ruins itself, the fact that it suddenly changed, startled Xu Min.

While Xu Min was shocked, he understood that someone like Bu Huang, who had been here for multiple rankings, was far more surprised than himself.

"Well, we cannot do anything about this," he tried to reassure his participants. He said this low, so it did not disturb the Guardians. "Remember what I said, survival is the most important aspect, high ranking comes second. Do not make fires at night and ensure that you don't team up with people you do not trust, if possible."

It was not just Bu Huang who was warning his members. Everyone, patriarchs, sect leaders, and elders, within the square outside the teleportation ruins, warned their members.

"Stand in line!" The Guardian ordered. He called out many participants who rushed to the front of the line. They were the first to be teleported. Bu Huang, in no rush, waited until the last few spots before he made his members get in line.

At the front of the line, fighting had already broken out between some participants. They used their brute force to gain a higher position in the queue. Xu Min and the ones at the back were quite satisfied with their current location.

"One at a time," the Guardian said. He pretended not to see the fighting going on below.One participant after another stepped forward and moved towards the teleportation array.

The queue got smaller and smaller as one person after another vanished. It had taken roughly three hours before it was time for the Bu family participants to enter the transportation device.Xu Min was filled with anticipation. Where would he arrive? What was this Immortal Valley like? Would he have to kill many participants or would it be enough to just hunt down the beasts? Xu Min did not know, but he could feel excitement deep inside, excitement to finally show off his prowess and to fight beasts and to gain treasures. From what he had understood, the Immortal Valley was one massive treasure trove, but it depended on a person's strength to acquire these treasures.

"Look there! A two-star warrior who wants to join this ranking. Is it not a death wish? Although a two-star emblem is not worth much, with this kid being so brazen, he should be taught a final lesson.!" There was a group of the Bu family who finally saw Xu Min's strength, and all of them started laughing. The Bu family, on the other hand, felt ridiculed and many of them clenched their fists.

A smile was on Xu Min's lips as he lifted a finger and pointed towards the speaker Just moments after, a green light flashed so quickly no one could see what this blurry flash was, and moments after a bloodcurdling scream could be heard as the speaker collapsed on the ground.

Without saying anything, Xu Min turned his back to the ones who had just insulted him. Their faces were pale; their bodies trembled slightly. The sudden attack had not required of Xu Min to take a specific stance nor was it an external technique as there had been no movement.

"You killed our martial brother!" someone suddenly shouted out. He was about to rush forward when a Guardian moved between Xu Min and the attacker.

"Your martial brother is not dead," The Guardian said seriously. This was the first time the Guardian had personally intervened in a fight. Everyone felt the air intensify and become tense.

"If you wish revenge for the petrified member of your clan, make sure that you do so within the Immortal Valley." the Guardian stated again.

Xu Min could not help but feel that this Guardian was treating him special. There was something he could not understand since he had nothing to do with this Immortal Valley before.

"Now, It is your turn," the Guardian said to Xu Min. He moved forward, and suddenly a voice spoke into his ear, "beasts are not allowed to join the Immortal Valley rankings. I will look after Cao Cao for you while you are within. I will deliver him back to you when you survive. If you survive. Should you fail, then I will keep Cao Cao as my beast for the rest of his life."

Hearing those words, Xu Min's eyes widened. He felt greatly shocked; even more so once he felt the comfortable snake t usually around his neck had suddenly vanished. With a firm push, Xu Min vanished into the teleportation array.

The world turned blurry; it was as though every color merged with one another. Soon the light vanished, a completely black hole with a strong suction force drew Xu Min into the middle of it.

He felt as though he had been there for years. However, only a second had gone by.

The darkness soon broke, and color once more descended upon the world in front of Xu Min. Brown and green trees could be seen everywhere. He was standing in a small clearance. Right in front of him was his first obstacle, a Horned Redscaled Lizard.

This lizard was clearly of the three-star rank, closing in on the fourth-star rank. Usually, Xu Min would not have felt worried about something as simple as such a beast. However, his safety net provided by Cao Cao was gone. He needed to deal with everything on his own now.

His sword instantly appeared in his hands. With his eyes focused on the Horned Redscaled Lizard, he instantly got ready to attack.

This lizard was like Xu Min. He was a beast which externally practiced. Absorbing all the Qi from such a beast was only possible if he managed to cut through the tough defense of the red scales, something so strong that every beast would take pride in.

Xu Min looked at the beast. They were both slowly moving in a circle, neither of them willing to be the first to advance.

Xu Min took a deep breath. Although he was alone, he was inside a forest. This environment reminded him of the years where he was living in the forest outside the Zhong family compound. A serenity slowly descended upon his mind. A smirk appeared. He moved the sword slightly and finally pounced at the Horned Redscaled Lizard.

The speed with which Xu Min moved was swift. Although he was not as swift as Cao Cao, he was still outstanding.His speed surprised the Horned Redscaled Lizard. Slithering with its tongue, it retreated a few steps before a determination appeared in its eyes. It too charged forward.

The boy with the large sword in his hands and the lizard with its sharp claws and shining scales met face to face. The sword was blocked by the sharp claws, the two caught in a deadlock before shooting backward. Observing each other, they both knew that it was not going to be easy to deal with each other.

"Fine, if I can't get you in close range, let just see how you will manage this!" Xu Min said with gritted teeth. He took a stance, one shard after another was made from Qi, but each shard looked like jade and was as sharp as knives.

A hissing sound could be heard from the throat of the lizard. Its eyes turned dark, seeing Xu Min taking a stance. The lizard's eyes gained a confused expression. It had already seen t Xu Min was capable of standing against him physically, a fact which bruised his self-confidence. Now, the lizard saw he was capable of doing stances also!.

Realizing he was in a bad situation, the Horned Redscaled Lizard turned to run away. However, the time it took to reach his conclusion allowed for Xu Min to execute his attack. Numerous shards appeared behind Xu Min. Xu Min did not hesitate; there was no time for sympathy in this life and death situation. His arm shot forward, pointing at the Lizard which was fleeing.

"Think you are faster than my shards? Humph, keep dreaming," he said with a serious face. The shards shot forward; the shards embedded themselves within the beast's body, legs, feet, and head. Thousands of shards rained down upon the body of the Horned Redscaled Lizard.

Blood started to flow, the speed of which the beast was escaping turned slow. The beast finally collapsed with a wailing cry.

Xu Min understood the smell of blood alongside the cry would cause other beasts to rush in his direction. In turn, Xu Min quickly cut out the beast core from the beast's forehead before he returned to the clearing in the forest. On a stone was a beautiful red flower which had a medicinal aroma wafting from it. The smell reminded Xu Min about the flowers he had found in the valley where Cao Cao's father and mother resided.

Picking up the flower, he climbed to the tree tops. With steady and familiar steps, he moved farther away from the battle scene, constantly on the lookout for new opponents

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 69: Beast Cores

Xu Min was not from a big family; his education was lacking, and he knew nothing about medicinal herbs. He understood that some alchemists would pay an incredibly high price to get these herbs, and they would then create medicinal pills which would be beneficial for cultivators.

These herbs could also be consumed fresh, without any adverse side-effects.They would have a good effect on the body as well as the inner and outer strength. Unfortunately, some of these plants were poisonous before they were refined. Xu Min knew that he had no knowledge about these plants and without Cao Cao by his side to tell him about the herbs, he dared not consume them.

What he did consume were the beast cores. He had the option of either absorbing them and allowing for his inner energies to rise drastically or keep the cores and use them when it came to the immortal valley ranking.

"Well, the ranking as such means nothing to me," Xu Min sighed as he was seated at the top of a tree. He had been contemplating for long. "I am here for the sake of increasing my strength. The stronger I become the faster I can deal with the Zhong family and return to Meilin's side," he stated. The beast core then appeared in his hand. Sitting down in a lotus position on a thick branch, Xu Min closed his eyes and breathed in and out. He calmed himself as he started to absorb the energy within the core. A golden mist started to leave the core, and Xu Min breathed it in. The moment it entered his body the body slowly started refining it, making it into Qi which slowly entered his dantian.

It took him a couple of hours to absorb the entire energy from within the beast core. As the last few grains of golden light had been ingested, Xu Min opened his eyes and looked at the empty core in his hand. He Decided to keep it so that he could store it within his storage treasure.

Flexing and stretching his body, a great smile appeared on his face. The inner energy was so abundant that Xu Min knew it was almost time for him to break into the third star. His strength had long since reached the bottleneck, but no matter how much he had cultivated he had been stuck there. Absorbing the energy from the beast core, he finally understood that the energy he had absorbed was helping him overcome his plateau. He was still not at the third star, but another beast core or two, and he would break through.

Having noticed how close he was to breaking through, Xu Min instantly strategized a battle plan. He was to hunt more beasts and absorb their beast cores. This way he would be able to quickly reach the third star, at which point his strength would greatly increase. He then would become a much stronger opponent. Once a third-star, he would not have to fear the four-star Warriors and would have ways to deal with the five-star Warriors.

Even though he knew that his strength would increase like this, Xu Min was also aware he was uncertain that he could manage the stronger opponents, especially now that Cao Cao was no longer by his side. He felt slightly intimidated without his dear friend's help. He knew defeating the stronger opponents would make everything harder.

"That damned Guardian! Why'd he have to take Cao Cao away from me?" he cursed as he made his way forward, running from one tree to another. However, his bad mood quickly changed, and a smile appeared on his face as he looked down. An Iron-coated Warpig was in front of him. Although Xu Min knew that these creatures were difficult to defeat due to their strong outer-defense, this beast was equal to a three-star Warrior.

Relying on his strength, Xu Min jumped from his high position up the tree. With the sword in his hand, he landed on the ground and swung the sword. A direct slice to the head, Xu Min decapitated the warpig. The execution was swift and painless; the warpig never noticed what had happened before its death.

Once more, Xu Min was in a hurry. He used his hands and a knife to cut out the beast core before taking to the treetops.

Leaving the battleground once more, Xu Min kept moving forward until he suddenly came to a stop. In front of him was the sounds of laughter and chatting. Staying in his high tree top, he heard the voices come closer and closer. Looking down, he saw a group of experts making their way through the wilderness together.

None of them were worried about beasts overhearing them. If anything they wished for beasts to come, so they could battle them and get more beast cores.

Xu Min did not recognize any of the members, but he still had no intention of showing himself to these people. Xu Min preferred to be on his own; he waited patiently for the group to pass. While waiting, he could not help but listen to what was being said.

"I met the Snow Mountain group before. Although they are strong, they dared not kill me since Snow Mountain is nothing compared to our Dragon Ruins," one of the people boasted, "but they told me they are giving a great reward for whoever kills that young man from the City of Thousand Stars. He was with the Bu family, but he isn't a part of their family."

"Isn't he called Yanluo by those Snow Mountain people? Seems quite troublesome to me," a girl asked. Her question caused some murmurs to be heard, and everyone nodded their heads. It was clear that this Xu Min was truly troublesome.

"Well even if he is hard to kill, so is some of the magical beasts," the first speaker spoke again, "We have been battling hard to kill beasts all this time. He just like one of them, except he will bring in even better rewards! Why fear him? Yes, he killed a lot of experts, but he was lucky. All of us would be able to kill lots of experts as well if we wanted to do so. We are just too clever. None of us would volunteer to become enemies of Snow Mountain."

Xu Min, who was just above them. He was surprised to hear that they were trying to hunt him, but a grim expression appeared on his face. Although Cao Cao was not there, Xu Min was not an easy target. Relying on his sword, he was capable of defeating anyone below the fifth-star warrior. Even if he were to die, he would take quite a few people with him.

Without moving, the group below were not alert enough to notice Xu Min who was sitting as still as a rock, not moving in the slightest. This group would have noticed him had they been using their inner energy to scan the surrounding areas. However, none of them had considered doing this. They felt completely safe since they were in great numbers.

As they had vanished into the distance, Xu Min could not help but snort in contempt of their carelessness. "Well no need to worry about them any longer," he mused to himself as he took the beast core and once more sat down in a lotus position. He started absorbing the energy within.

As more and more energy entering his body, he could feel his plateau slowly dissolving. His internal energy was constantly surging. Suddenly, it was as though a massive black hole appeared within his body. All the energy in the surrounding area was surging towards him, entering his body.

Every little bit of energy which entered his body enhanced the durability of the body making it tougher than before. The muscles swelled under the constant surge of energy. Soon his strength was more than double. Xu Min smirked. His body had finally reached the third-star Warrior rank, but this was not all.

The energy kept pouring into the body. Though it was making the body itself stronger, it also ended up being refining into Qi. Deep within Xu Min's dantian, there was a thousand specks of light that constantly shone. More and more specks had shone before they turned to a clear liquid, sucking up more and more specks. The internal energy within Xu Min's body was changing into a large drop of mercury-like liquid.

This mercury-like liquid kept changing. The liquid constantly hovered in the middle of the dantian and greedily sucked up one speck of light after another. Xu Min felt his internal strength grew tremendously. He was shocked to feel the changes within himself.

Previously, he was quite worried about how he should survive this Immortal Valley Ranking, but now, he was no longer worried. Without being overly confident, he still assumed that with his sword he should be able to defeat the majority of the experts that came his way.

He would still be at a disadvantage against groups of experts, but as long as it was defending himself and allowing for him to escape than he should be fine. Even so, Xu Min could not help but swear at the Guardian who took Cao Cao away from him. He was no longer as safe as he used to be.

Finally, after what seemed to be an entire hour did the rapid absorption of energy stop and Xu Min clenched his hand excitedly. Standing up, he looked around. Without waiting any further, he once more traveled treetop to treetop.

As he moved around, he found a lot of humans aiming towards the area he had just left. Many of them clearly sensed the strong energy fluctuations and went to see their origins. Such fluctuations usually came from treasures or breakthroughs. Everyone close by were willing to risk running into experts in the case they found a real treasure.

Moving away from the location, Xu Min was not interested in battling the oncoming experts. Sometimes he found people battling one another, but he still did not stop; instead, he kept on his way.

The further away he got the quieter the area became. Using his Qi to scan the area, Xu Min found that there were no humans around him. Nevertheless, a cave was located on the outskirts of his range in which a beast equaled to a five-star Warrior resided.

Noticing the location of this beast, Xu Min grew very curious. He was eager to see just how well he would match up against a five-star beast. He was deeply curious about what was hidden within the cave. It must contain some treasures.

Inching closer, Xu Min had his Qi spread wide to make sure no other cultivators had seen this cave and were attempting to attack. A look of ruthlessness shown on Xu Min's face. Even though he was not interested in attacking humans, he was very interested in this five-star beast. He would fight for the right to battle it if he had to.

Fortunately, no one was present within Xu Min's range of the Qi blanket he had spread out. As he inched closer, he noticed that the beast was a Golden-furred Blood Lion. A wry smile appeared on Xu Min's face when he recognized the beast's race. The Golden-furred Blood Lion was renowned for their outstanding offense, and Xu Min while looking at it, could feel his blood boiling. He was very excited about the battle that was going to commence.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 70: Golden-Furred Blood Lion

Xu Min felt apprehensive. He knew that defeating this beast would bring great benefits to him. Even so, he still felt that the risk equaled the gain.

If one of the participants from the rankings arrived, they would likely attack him, and depending on their rank, they would likely succeed.

Xu Min was not even hundred percent sure he could deal with the Golden-furred Blood Lion. However, he was sure that he could at least injure it and wound it enough to grasp the items that were inside the cave behind it.

"Well, here goes nothing," Xu Min finally uttered as he rushed forward in a all or nothing attitude. The sword in his hand was glistening in the sunshine which managed to shine down through the leaves above; his body was taut, and he moved swiftly. He knew that he had to use the element of surprise to battle this beast. If he could injure it even the slightest, then Xu Min would have a much easier time.

The closer Xu Min came, the more rapid his heart was beating. He was excited as he finally reached the clearance in which the cave was located. He found a tree which was close to the beast as possible.

Looking down, he once more contemplated whether or not this was a smart choice, but with a smile, he shook his head. Of course, it was not a smart choice to attack such a strong Golden-Furred Blood Lion, especially not on its own territory. Nonetheless, Xu Min very much wanted the treasures the beast could have accumulated over time.

Once more, he spread his awareness all around. When he was satisfied that the only living creatures within range were demon beasts, all of them were relatively weak, did he attack.

Jumping from the tree, the Golden-Furred Lion's face instantly turned towards the sudden movement. A savage killing intent surged forward, making Xu Min feel like he was constantly being stabbed by icy cold knives.

"Who goes here?" he growled in the human's language. His eyes were shining with anger and bloodthirst. Knowing that this beast knew human tongue, Xu Min was slightly started and cursed his own luck. The beast was clearly stronger and older than he had assumed since it had even had the time to learn another language.

Even so, it was now too late to regret his action, so he moved into the clearing. The beast could see him, and he could see the beast. Both of their eyes met, and sparks flew. Neither wanted to step down and both hungeredfor a bloody fight.

"To think a three-star Warrior could be this dangerous," the Lion mumbled to himself. He dared not take this young man lightly at all. For him to challenge such a strong lion as this one, he was definitely certain about his abilities.

"If I can make him drop his sword, then I will win," The Lion concluded, and his entire focus faced towards Xu Min's sword. The Lion was actually wanting to fight; something had happened a few days prior which made battling troublesome for the beast. Nevertheless, if he was forced to battle, then he would do so. Looking at the sword, the lion was preparing for the battle he might not be able to avoid.

Seeing the reaction of the Golden-Furred Blood Lion, a cold shiver ran down Xu Min's spine as he knew what the beast was thinking. The Lion was correct. Xu Min needed to be extra careful when attacking. He could not afford to drop his sword if he wished to survive.

Xu Min, closing his eyes for a mere second, calmed himself down. Inside his body were a flame of rage and an unyielding killing intent. This desire to kill, Xu Min now drew forward. It was not only the Golden-Furred Blood Lion who contained a killing intent as frosty as the northern glaciers.

A slight hint of surprise could be seen in the eyes of the Lion once he recognized Xu Min's fierce desire to destroy. The pressure emitted from the young three-star Warrior was so intense that the Lion could feel his breathing turn raggedy. When it came to the intensity of the killing intent, neither of them were superior to the other. Rather, both of them had turned out equal.

Noticing that he was not at an advantage, even when he was taking his high rank into consideration, the Lion looked at Xu Min with cold eyes, "Regardless of your intention with entering my clearance, if you get out instantly, I will let you live," The lion growled again. He hoped to intimidate the human in front of him. He was truly not willing to fight, but Xu Min just smiled. He did not even answer the lion in front of him. Instead, he shifted the sword from one hand to another. "Let's go furball," he said mockingly. The Lion which had tried to make Xu Min leave without a fight could not help but feel mocked as though someone had slapped his face with a wet trout.

Rushing forward a loud growl could be heard, a growl that shook the entire area., The ground trembled, and many animals started to escape the surroundings.

Xu Min swore as soon as he heard the loud roar. It was clear that this was now a life and death battle. As well, the loud roar reverberated through the forest and human practitioners from all over would start rushing here. Xu Min did not have a lot of time. He sneered at the Lion in front of him; he slashed with the sword in the hope of making at least a small cut on the lion's body.

The lion, as well as any other demonic beast, were external experts. It was not possible for beasts to do stances, so for Xu Min to access the Qi which flowed inside the beast he needed to cut through the skin of the beast. Unfortunately, the beast was swift, and it managed to escape the first swipe elegantly.

Retreating, the lion observed Xu Min. Having seen the slash he understood that he did have a slight advantage. But right now, the Lion was as eager to end the battle as soon as possible. Although it had retreated, it pounced forward a moment after.

Rushing forward the lion's claws came down from above, the claws causing the wind sounds to split. Xu Min had to react quickly; he lifted his sword and used it to block the claws. A loud gong sounded out as the two collided against each other.

The power behind the attack was outstanding. Xu Min was forced into taking a few steps back. His heart leapt from the strength behind the attack. Had it not been for him advancing to the third-star Warrior rank, he would have been dead already.

"Seems like I have to go all out," Xu Min decided. As he retreated, waves of formidable Qi gushed out from his body, laying itself as a blanket within the entire clearing and every single inch of the clearing was filled with shards. Millions of shards were shining as they all aimed at the Golden-Furred Blood Lion.

The Lion was shocked and filled with despair. The person in front of him turned out to not only be an external but also an internal expert. The attack he just unleashed was so frightening that the lion was stepping back even before Xu Min had unleashed it.

Even Xu Min was shocked! Previously, when he had used the Thousand Radiant Shower, it had rightfully made thousands of Qi shards; however, now it was in some millions.

He discovered from this battle that every single part of his body was filled with Qi. This one attack of his had taken up around seventy percentage of the liquid Qi he had within his body. He could only execute this attack once.

However, the Lion was not aware of this and fear was evident in it's eyes. However, it was too proud to admit its fear. With a growl it pounced at Xu Min, the sharp claws making the winds howl and the growl making the earth tremble. Xu Min Took a few steps backward;with a swipe of his hands, some of the shards started to descend towards the lion, so swift that they turned into a blur.

Suddenly a wounded cry sounded out. Xu Min stopped his attack. The beast was laying on the ground, but with a strong determination did the beast stand up once more. "Stop, take me as your demon beast instead," it said through gritted teeth. Xu Min was surprised that the beast already admitted defeat.

This was a very strong beast within the Immortal Valley. It was famous for its offense, but for one reason it had not been able to go all out against Xu Min. Contemplating for some time, Xu Min nodded his head as he went and shared blood with the beast. A link suddenly appeared between the two of them as they became beast and master.

"Take me to your treasures," Xu Min ordered, and the lion brought Xu Min into the cave where everything vanished into his storage treasure. Looking around, Xu Min spread the remainder of his Qi to see the distance. Unfortunately, at least four humans headed towards their battle place.

"Can you walk?" Xu Min asked the Lion. with a nod, the lion agreed that it could. Although it was capable of walking, the speed was incredibly slow. the two had not gotten far before the first person reached the battle ground.

Knowing that they had already reached the ground where the battle had commenced, Xu Min was worried whether or not they would be able to escape. with a reluctant sigh did he produce a medicinal pill from his storage treasure.

"Eat this," he ordered the lion which quickly swallowed it. Moments after the wounds on the body of the lion started closing. Though the medicine was strong, it was far from strong enough to heal all his wounds; still,it was enough for the two of them to speed up their escape.They managed to get quite far in almost no time.

Following the lion made it easier for them to hide. The Lion knew this area of the Immortal Valley by heart as its territory was located within these areas. After a few hours, they had lost all their followers.

Sitting underneath a large tree, Xu Min looked at the lion in front of him. "What is your name?" he asked first. The Lion looked at Xu Min curiously. "My mother named me Ye Ling." he said. "I am of the Ye family; the strongest Golden-Furred Blood Lion clan within the entire Immortal Valley." he said with pride in his voice.

"You were easy to defeat today, why was this? I fail to believe I have become much stronger than you," Xu Min continued. The lion shook its head in regret. "Two days prior, I had a battle with a Sabertooth Wolf, the king of a neighbouring territory to mine. I managed to obtain victory but only at a great cost. I am still suffering from internal injuries from this battle," the lion said unhappily.

It was not before now that Xu Min understood just how lucky he had been. Had the lion been in its peak condition, it would have been near impossible for Xu Min to survive. He understood this now when he was speaking with the lion. Producing another two medicinal pills, Xu Min handed them over to Ye Ling. "Take these," he said smilingly, "when you use these two pills you should be completely healed," Xu Min was excited. Having a five-star Beast on his side would prove to make everything a lot easier. Especially since there was a bounty on his head. Even more troublesome, many of the participants were traveling in groups.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 71: Ye Ling

At first, Ye Ling was surprised. After consuming the first medicinal pill, he had noticed that the effect was far more potent than what he would have gained from eating a medicinal herb.

Understandably, this was common sense because the pills were created from the refined essence of more than one herb. Nonetheless, for beasts, the pills were out of their reach. Although their intelligence matched humans, beasts were incapable of becoming alchemists.

Seeing Xu Min was not stingy with his pills and gave two more to him, Xu Min's newly acquired lion could not help but feel grateful. Due to his injury, he had been forced to submit to a human; however, at least the human was treating him well.

Accepting the pills, the beast slowly laid down and took one pill at a time in it's mouth. He spent this time to use his energy to absorb every single stream of energy from within the pill.

While Ye Ling was absorbing the medicinal effects of the pills, Xu Min used his Qi to consistently sweep the surroundings to ensure that no human was capable of sneaking in on them.

Xu Min was slightly worried. Though Ye Ling had submitted to him, Xu Min remembered Ye Ling telling him was from the largest family of Golden-Furred Blood Lions. If his family noticed t Ye Ling had becomes a spirit beast, Xu Min knew he would be in a bad spot. It was likely that his family would hunt them down and kill him to release their family member.

Even so, Xu Min was glad to have Ye Ling by his side. This lion reminded him of Cao Cao who would hopefully help him deal with the opponents he would meet.

Suddenly, while being in deep thought, a frown appeared on Xu Min's face. He stood up. His Qi, which had been sweeping the area, finally detected a group of humans.

The group contained six people. Xu Min was incapable of determining who was within this group, but he had understood from the previous conversation that everyone would be against him. It was even possible that the Bu family members would be against him as well.

"Shit," Xu Min swore as he looked at Ye Ling who was laying down and consuming the pills. "Well, I guess I just got to do my best to protect him," Xu Min muttered as his sword appeared out of nowhere.He started swirling it around, warming his muscles up. One against six? The odds were not in his favor, but he still refused to interrupt his new found friend after knowing he was wounded.

Had Ye Ling known that Xu Min was willing to risk himself for him, he would have been dumbfounded. Right now, his entire focus was on healing.

When Xu Min had used his Qi to search the area, he had been noticed by the incoming people; moments after he felt multiple blankets of Qi sweep over him, and he gnashed his teeth. His Qi was still spread out. He noticed that now they were moving even faster than they had before. It was clear that they were aiming for him like a pack of wolves. As to what their aim was, Xu Min would not know before they had arrived.

The time went by slowly; Xu Min kept track of their advance. Even though they had sped up, they could not be so reckless. They were within a dangerous forest and rushing through it would be suicide.

After an hour, he could hear them approaching. The sword in his hand kept swirling, anticipating fierce contact. Ye Ling was still-still laying down; clearly, the injuries he had suffered had been serious. Serious enough for two medical pills to not be able to heal him quickly. Xu Mi finally understood how lucky he had been. If he had fought the healed Ye Ling, he truly would have died.

The sound of steps inched closer and closer. They tensed up Xu Min. His eyes focused in the direction of the incoming sounds. It did not take long before he heard laughter and chatting voices.

Moments after the group appeared in front of Xu Min, they were still laughing and having fun as they saw Xu Min. A bit of a frown finally appeared on their faces.

One of the people was Bu Ten, a member of the Bu family. He was clearly perplexed and upset. Xu Min was here as a part of the Bu family, but no one knew who he was. The Snow Moutain had promised a great reward for anyone who killed him. Uncertain of what to do, Bu Ten took a few steps back, his face turned sour.

Outside the arena...

"Old man Bu, what do you think this son of your family will do?" a man from Snow Mountain suddenly called out. A frown appeared on Bu Huang's face.

Outside the teleportation array were the guards, elders, and patriarchs seated on what seemed to be a large seating area. In front of them were multiple large water screens, and on these screens, one could see what was happening inside the Immortal Valley.

One of these had followed Xu Min since he attacked the Golden-Furred Blood Lion and until now. At first, the Snow Mountain fighters had snickered because they were certain that Xu Min was jumping towards his death. However, upon seeing him tame the beast, their faces froze while displaying ugly expressions. Bu Huang could not help but laugh out loud.

Now that the beast was healing, Xu Min was alone against six experts and one of them was a part of the Bu family. No one knew what would happen--a truce or battle.

Outside the Immortal Valley were other water screens which could display other battles; some showed human against human whereas others showed human against beast, and lastly some revealed fighters just following some groups. Nonetheless, the majority were looking at Xu Min's water screen; they were curious to see what the group would do.

Much of the audience felt jealous of the beast which Hui Yue had tamed, but the higher ranked experts such as Snow Mountain and Bu Huang knew exactly of the dangers with having Ye Ling as a spirit beast.

"Let us just wait and see," Bu Huang finally sighed. He would not blame Bu Ten for attacking Xu Min, nor would he blame Xu Min for attacking Bu Ten. In the end, they were all enemies within the Immortal Valley.

"Bu Ten, this guy is all alone. We are six. If we kill him, we will get quite a lot of treasure from the Snow Mountain experts because he is wanted, and we also might rank up." a woman tried to persuade Bu Ten. She seemed to be around nineteen years old, and her blue eyes were as cold as a winter day. Looking at this woman, Xu Min could not help but smile. Although they were more than him, he was not too afraid of them. As long as he could kill one or two of them, the rest should feel fear and then it would be easier to kill all of them.

"Have you guys ever killed anyone before?" Xu Min suddenly asked with a mocking voice, and the face of the cold woman changed suddenly. Her heart shook as she felt how the temperature dropped. The man in front of them no longer seemed as easy to deal with as he was moments before.

There was still a smile on his face. However, this smile was no longer warm and charming but cold and mocking. His brown eyes which had been gentle and deep were now like two black holes, sucking up their souls and paralyzing them in fear for a moment.

The cold felt as though it penetrated their bodies. It entered all the way to the bones, making them even more apprehensive.

"I have killed before," Xu Min finally said. His voice grew even colder than the voice of the woman, "and I don't mind if I have to kill you as well. Be decisive and come at me. If you have hesitation within your hearts, then you better leave so that you can stay alive."

After having warned the group, Xu Min stomped on the ground and pounced forward. With his sword in hand, he slashed down. The sword's energy then shot towards the group.

They were taken by surprise and their attempts to avoid it were clumsy. One of them fell to the ground; another jumped to the side. One thought he could take the attack head on and found himself wounded while some ran backward.

"Come on now," Xu Min called out, "don't you want to kill me and get the treasure?" he asked mockingly, but the six experts were all quiet.

The one person who thought he could take the attack head on found out he had a deep cut in his stomach. His face was as pale as a dead person; he constantly popped medicinal pills into his mouth, ensuring that he would survive.

Suddenly behind him, Xu Min heard some rumbling. Moments after, a red lion with a golden mane appeared by his side. This beast was no other than Ye Ling, and his eyes swept across the wilderness in front of them.

"Six measly cultivators think that they can cause trouble?" he asked with a growling voice. The words caused the experts' hearts to tremble in fear.

"Don't worry about them," Xu Min explained, "they do not have the courage to attack me. Did you fully heal already?" he asked concerned. The concern was evident in his voice making the heart of the lion warm.

"Yes, thank you, master," the lion replied. He was sincerely grateful that Xu Min had gifted him the medicinal pills.

Together human and beast turned around and got ready to leave. The temperature slowly rose again, and the wilderness felt exactly as it had done before the six of them had attacked Xu Min.

"Screw this!" one of the men called out as he rushed after Xu Min and Ye Ling. With a jump, he tried to kill Xu Min from behind. However, the moment he had jumped, Ye Ling pounced into action.

He easily intervened the oncoming human. With a swipe of his paw, the throat of the human was shredded. The foolish fighter's neck was completely open, and disbelief was in his deaden eyes. A simple paw strike was enough to kill him. He had never thought the beast was that formidable.

The rest of the group stood in the back, watching the horrific scene. Their hearts were in their throats, and their eyes were wide open. Only now did they understand why the Snow Mountain had called Xu Min Yanluo. He was without question the God of Death.

"We must not meet up with him again!" Bu Ten said with a low voice. "Although he is incredibly strong, his biggest asset is his ability to kill mercilessly. Anyone who gets enveloped by this killing intent will become weaker than usually because of the heavy pressure pressing down upon one."

The others nodded their heads and with a last glance at Xu Min and Ye Ling they moved on, wanting to leave the cave as soon as possible.

"Master, will we be fighting a lot of humans?" Ye Ling asked as he and Xu Min left the other way. Xu Min could not help but laugh.

"We will be fighting a lot of experts. Actually, there is a bounty on my head, and they will do all they can to kill me." Xu mIn said this without the slightest bit of fear in his voice. "Let them come. If one comes, I will kill one. If two comes, I will kill two. I will let their blood flow and make a river of it in the middle of this beautiful Immortal Valley. If they think they can kill me, then they should reconsider."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 72: Rivers of Blood

"Phew," Ye Ling slowly exhaled as the two looked around in the clearing. Everywhere they looked broken up corpses were littered on the ground, none of them were complete no longer.

The bodies on the ground was a group of five members. They thought Xu Min was an easy target and as soon as they encountered him, they had instantly engaged in battle. These were amateur fighters because they did not bother at all to stalk him for some time so that they could understand his strengths and weaknesses.

This was not the first time it had happened. During the last half of the month, it had happened to him over and over again. More and more people had attacked him with the intention of killing him and getting the bounty that Snow Mountain had placed on him.

Had these experts known that roughly one group of experts had been wiped out a day they were likely to have reconsidered their strategy. Nonetheless, within the Immortal Valley, it was impossible to communicate with one another unless they ran directly into each other. At that point, the groups would either battle each other or team up to become even stronger.

At the start, a half a month ago, most of the groups had consisted of individuals or couples, but as time went on the groups increased in size, going up to as many as seven in a group.

The larger the groups became, the more dangerous they became, and the harder it was for Xu Min and Ye Ling to defeat them. However, neither lion nor human had any intention of giving up.

While they had cleared out the people who had come for them this time, Xu Min picked up all the treasures, demon cores and participant emblems he could find. By now, he had over a hundred cores and emblems, so many in fact, that he was quite certain his rank in the rankings had to be quite good even without having battled any major beasts.

After having the luck of teaming up with Ye Ling, Xu Min gave up on his idea of battling beasts. He quickly understood that they were far more difficult to handle than he had at first imagined, and he did not have to look for trouble; rather, trouble constantly came to find him.

"It is a good thing that the Guardians do not allow for revenge when we exit the valley," Xu Min said to himself as he shuddered. Although the Guardians had made it clear that no one was allowed to gain revenge, Xu Min was going to be incredibly unpopular. As long as he was unpopular, there were many ways for him to die. Musing for some time, Xu Min came to the conclusion that as soon as the rankings were over, he would have to leave the Immortal Ruins as soon as possible. The longer he stayed, the more likely he was to lose his valuable life.

"This is a travesty! How can one person be permitted to hunt down people like this?! He is not even attempting to catch beasts and gain treasures like everyone else.He is deliberately stealing his items from other participants!" someone yelled as they all looked at the large water screens in the air.

"Yes, he should be disqualified!" another yelled out. Soon a lot of people were yelling about how this display of cruelty should be stopped.

"You are all sore losers!" A voice boomed through the ground. Everyone turned quiet. "This young man is only killing those who come to him with the intention of killing him and gaining the bounty on his head! Is it his fault that they are too weak to handle him? Should he just let them kill him without fighting back? You are all hypocrites. He should not kill but be killed instead? Would you say the same was it your participating member?"

The booming voice belonged to Bu Huang. Everyone who had called out about unfairness and disqualification all quieted down within moments. Their faces were red from shame and anger, but they dared not say any more because everything Bu Huang had said was true.

"This is the Immortal Valley Ranking, and we are all participating under the rules of the Guardians. Should they feel, he is being unjust then let them punish him. No matter if it is now or if it is later, none of you are allowed to take revenge upon this young man!" Bu Huang continued. The sour expressions turned, even more, sour as they all knew he was correct again. If they were known to take revenge, they would definitely be looked down upon by the entire Immortal Ruins or even hunted down by the Guardians.

No one knew exactly how strong the Guardians were, but there had been stories about families who had not followed the rules. These unfortunate families had completely vanished from the world. No fights had occurred, no battles had taken place, but there were never seen again. No one wished for this to happen to their own family; thus they had no choice but to grit their teeth and curse Xu Min within their hearts.

Within the Immortal Valley, Xu Min was fully unaware of the fact that people outside were able to see his actions. When he fought, the majority of the kills were caused by Ye Ling who was the strongest of the two of them. Ye Ling did not mind. As a matter of fact, he was quite curious about Xu Min who treated him like a good friend rather than a beast.

Xu Min had even gone so far as to share some of the treasures with him and allowed him to keep all the treasures he had gathered before. The Lion which at first had felt dejected from being forced to become someone's spirit beast was now quite entertained by his novel situation. Moving together with Xu Min was interesting, he battled as much as he dreamed about.

Xu Min treated the beast as he would a fellow cultivator was because he had been so used to looking at Cao Cao as a younger brother. Even now, he missed the green snake greatly and to make himself feel better he somehow treated the lion as he would the small green snake.

Looking at his clothes, Xu Min sighed. This group had not been the largest group they had battled, but it had without a doubt been the bloodiest battle he had experienced. The battle was even bloodier than the battle against the guards of the Snow Mountain. These experts had been strong, and their attacks had been swift. Xu Min had dealt with three of them who were internal experts. His body had almost exploded because of the energy he and his sword had absorbed. He had used this energy to make a shockwave which burst from his body. The shockwave was so strong that it reduced the three internal experts who were all higher ranked than him to broken-up corpses.

The energy was raw, so it was more effective in killing the fighters, but as well the raw energy is more sporadic resulting in more bloodshed. To create all of their energy into one massive shockwave was enough to reduce anyone to dust. Had Xu Min been greedy and kept the energy within his body, he would have exploded.

The other two from the group were external experts and Ye Long dealt with them. For the lion, dealing with them was simply a cat mouse game to him.

Ye Ling was shocked when he had seen and felt the pressure from the energy shockwave Xu Min had released. He even felt slightly threatened by it. He could not understand how a three-star Warrior could have such a dangerous attack.

"Let us move further towards the east," Xu Min said.Ye Ling nodded his head in agreement. He did not care where they went. All he wanted was to experience the blood-curdling battles and travel with his newfound friend.

"Wait!" Xu Min called out at that same moment he narrowed his eyes. "A large group is coming this way, and the group is not simple. There is a guy from Snow Mountain within it and some experts of various strength. I think that some of them are weaker than me, but the majority should be stronger."

Contemplating, Xu Min roamed through his storage treasure before he found two handfuls of something that looked like frosty grass. Even though it had been plucked long ago, it still looked like fresh frosty grass just picked that moment.

"Eat some of this," Xu Min said as he gave a handful to Ye Ling. Xu Min ate the other handful himself. Suddenly the aura around his body seemed to vanish. Their aura was completely gone, and if one was not looking at Xu Min and Ye Ling, they would believe they had completely disappeared.

The grass they had just eaten was an allusive spirit grass; it was something they had taken from a group of people who had attacked them some days prior. "Luckily they had not released their aura to scour the area," Xu Min said smilingly. He would have been surprised if they had done so. The group was large, and no beast would attack them unless it had been insulted or angered. Their group was simply too frightening, so there was no reason for them to be on guard.

"We are going to stalk them. When we have the chance, we will pluck one at a time from their group. They will have guards up at night, and they will have people who will need to leave the group from time to time. When they do we will catch them," a red hint was evident within Xu Min's eyes. He would usually not hunt down other groups; however, it was a different case concerning the Snow Mountain fighters. Xu Min had a different intention towards them. He and that family had enmity between one another. There was even a bounty on his head. It was only natural that he was going to get his vengeance.

Hearing Xu Min's words, Ye Ling was shocked. Although he was cold and ruthless when it came to killing the people who wanted to kill him, he had not actively wanted to attack groups if they did not cause him trouble. Now he was going straight for a group, and even a large group of experts.

The lion was excited. Feeling the killing intent in Xu Min's body and the idea of having to hunt down one person after another, and sowing fear in the hearts of their prey, appealed to Ye Ling very much.

Smiling at one another, the two inched closer and closer to the large group. Although the aura and their presence were hidden, the two dared not speak with one another too much as they advanced in the jungle like forest. Soon they were within hearing range of the group; they slowly adjusted their speed to match with the group in front of them. Xu Min was shocked to see that they were walking around together, chatting loudly and laughing.

"Master Shen Yu, I am sure that you will kill that Xu Min soon. He is very lucky that we have not found him yet. As soon as we find such a weakling like him, he will die right away!" someone said cockily and loudly. The voice filled clearly showed the person was a sycophant. This comment caused Ye Ling and Xu Min to look at one another; a wry smile was evident on both of their faces and a cold killing intent had started to appear around the two of them. It was about time to play a game of cat and mouse.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 73: Guerilla Warfare

Hearing these words, both Xu Min and Ye Ling could not help but smile. If the group would have used their energy to look around them, then they would have been able to locate Xu Min long ago. However, he had found them first, and since he found them, he ate the frosty grass to hide his aura and presence. Xu Min and Ye Ling were only visible if anyone looked straight at them. No one would be able to recognize them otherwise.

Suddenly, Xu Min noticed one person leaving the group. "Haha, don't worry about me, I just need to visit the privy. No need to wait. I'll catch up with you guys soon," This person called out. The moment he left the group, Xu Min vanished from the treetop where he had been observing the group of people.

Soon after he reemerged, a faint scent of blood wafted in the air, but it was so indistinct that no one noticed it. Though if they had been focused on it, they might have caught some change in the air.

The group kept moving forward with Xu Min and Ye Ling following behind in the treetops, one tree at a time.

"Young Master Shen Yu, we have a problem. Junior brother Wang Gu went to the privy around an hour ago, but he has not returned yet. You know junior brother Wang Gu is loyal to you, so he would not escape our group of people. I fear misfortune has befallen him." A young man said with a low voice, trying not to sound too loud to not worry the others. However, most experts heard what he had said..

Even Xu Min heard the words. A smile appeared on his face as he saw three experts leave the group, clearly going to find this Wang Gu.

Once more Xu Min vanished from the treetop and reappeared on the ground right behind the three.

Previously, he had managed to kill instantly Wang Gu who was not on high alert, but these three were different. They knew something had happened, but even so they could not feel Xu Min inching closer and closer.

His sword was drawn and after a short moment did he manage to be so close to them that he jumped forward. His sword swiped through the air and instantly beheaded the first person. The other fighters noticed too slowly what had happened and by the time they turned around another person had been stabbed through the stomach. His voice sounding out in a loud scream which pierced the silent forest.

Cursing, Xu Min swiftly turned to the last person. His sword came down, splitting his entire body into two before he jumped to the tree tops and returned to Ye Ling.

"I heard one of them scream," the lion said with a low voice, "the people in the group below heard it too," the lion continued, "the entire group has run back to the location of your fight. I think they'll soon know that you are after them," Ye Ling continued.Xu Min nodded his head. The screaming young man who had been stabbed in the stomach was beyond saving, but it was clear that he would tell what he knew to the young master Shen.

"Let us go have a look," Xu Min said with a low voice. The two of them silently returned to the battleground.

On the ground, two corpses lay, one beheaded and the other sliced in half. In the middle was a young man on the soft grass; above him was another young man. The one on the ground was the one who had been stabbed in the stomach. The man who was bending above him was the young master Shen Yu.

"What happened?" the irate voice of Shen Yu roared out. "Ambush," the man on the ground said, his voice faint and weak. This one word clearly took all his energy to say.

"It was a young man... He was swift like a shadow... Death!" When the man said death, his voice trembled with fear. His eyes widened as he remembered the few moments before. This young man was truly dangerous. He killed two men in just two breaths of air. He did not allow any time to return the attacks or defend.

While thinking about this, the eyes of the young man turned distant. His body limp,the last breath of air escaped him.

Shen Yu was furious; his entire body trembled, and his eyes turned red. "So someone thinks he can hunt us down?!" His outburst caused everyone else to be scared, but Shen Yu was too furious to be scared of what had happened.

His Qi swept across the entire region of the forest. Although he found many experts, none of them were close enough to have been the cause of the fight. Gritting his teeth, he looked around him but saw no one.

"I fear they have taken illusive spirit grass, but don't worry. The reason the murderer could easily deal with these three was because they were nothing more than two-star Warriors. In an ambush, all the three-star or four-star Warriors in our group would be capable of killing them this swiftly, especially since it is an external expert. Sneaking in on them while using illusive spirit grass, so they do not sense him and the chopping them down, really is not that amazing,"

Hearing Shen Yu's words, everyone heaved a heavy sigh of relief. What he had said was correct. But even so, they kept looking left and right, up and down, in their attempt to see the hidden danger which had killed four of their men.

Fortunately, Xu Min and Ye Ling were so far up in the treetops that the many leaves were covering them. Also, none of these experts would have considered traveling through the tops of the trees; thus they never expected others would do so. The fighting had happened on the ground. More than anything, these experts expected the murderer to be on the ground.

"In the future, no one is to move alone. All two-star warriors are to move with a three-star or four-star warrior. Even though this is troublesome, it is the only way for us to survive."

Although Shen Yu actually only cared about his own rank in this Immortal Ranking, he needed the support of his followers to gather enough materials and demon cores to rank highly. These people had already dedicated their emblems to Shen Yu when the ranking was to end. Although a high rank was beneficial, having the Snow Mountain owing them a favor, or at least looking at their family as their supporters, was even more important for small families.

The Snow Mountain was currently expanding. If they were to expand to other cities, these families would be allowed to stay within the cities as they allied with the Snow Mountain.

Shen Yu was a dangerous person, but he was only a four-star warrior. When Xu Min was a two-star Warrior, he had to be careful around four-star warriors. However, he had reached the third-star level and his body had been tempered by the essence of the heavens and the earth.

He had become incredibly strong. His body many times stronger than it had been before and his inner energy pool had more than tripled of what it was before. Defeating a four-star Warrior was no longer a problem, but there was a limit to how many experts he could take on at once. He did know withYe Ling on his side, they could attack the group and finish them off. Yet Xu Min was here to increase his own personal strength.Thus he prefered waiting and killing them a ew at a time.

"Let us bury our friends," Shen Yu said with a sigh. Although he really did not feel like wasting any more time here, since these three were nothing more than two-star Warriors, they still had been his followers. To show all the rest that he cared deeply about them all, Shen Yu was willing to waste just a bit more time for a decent burial.

"Although the murderer rushed with the killings, he managed to take their emblems with him," Shen Yu cursed to himself. Had he at least gotten the three emblems, he would not feel as though he had wasted as much time. Yet now he gained nothing but still paid the time for having to bury his followers?

"If just a beast had come and dragged them with it," he continued to curse inwardly while keeping his cool on the outside seemingly very upset about the loss of his followers.

Xu Min had to fight to keep holding his laughter in. Clearly, Ye Ling had the same issue. Both understood clearly what Shen Yu was thinking, but they also understood why he was doing what he did.

"We need to be more careful in the future," Ye Ling growled with a low voice so that no one could hear them. "even though they are going to move in a group, you should be able to kill them in couples," Ye Ling continued, and Xu Min nodded his head. He had to be more careful but it was still not impossible for him to deal with this group of experts collectively.

The group stayed at the same location for a good four hours burying the three experts and looking around them. They were constantly on high alert, expecting to see a monster anywhere they looked.

As the burial had finished, they all rested a short amount of time. Shen Yu then once more called out for the group to start moving. All of them did what they had been told to do, following right behind him. Some of the experts were external experts and had their weapons in hand; others were internal experts and were constantly letting their Qi flow through their bodies, ready to activate it should they find traces of this unknown person who was causing their members to die.

Shen Yu was walking in the very front. His mood was foul, but even so, he just now used his Qi to scan the surroundings, not allowing for even the slightest person or creature to inch towards them without him knowing. Of course,Xu Min and Ye Ling were the exceptions because they had consumed illusionary spirit grass.

"What are we going to do now?" Ye Ling asked with a low voice. Xu Min looked at the group, contemplating if he should just rush down and attack them all together with Ye Ling. Even if he did so, the two of them would gain heavy injuries. He was not willing to get injured just yet; the truly dangerous people were still out there.

"Let us wait and see. I fail to believe that they won't leave in small groups when they need to go to the privy or just need a short break on their own. If they do, then we can always decide if it is worth killing them or if we should leave." Xu Min determined. Ye Ling could not help but snort, "as if you would leave. You are like a demonic beast, not only are you enjoying hunting them down, you will never let go of your target. If they are in your way, and they try to bring trouble, then you'll get rid of them. It feels familiar to me." Ye Ling said smugly and Xu Min was surprised that the lion was correct.

He had sworn that he would kill anyone who came between him and his revenge. Those who wished to bring him trouble would definitely die, come one and he would kill one, come two and he would kill two. The more that came the more he would kill.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 74: Shen Yu's Anger

"This guy, Shen Yu, is quite protective of his followers." Xu Min said with a sigh to Ye Ling as the two of them looked down on the group below. They were consuming illusion spirit grass to keep their auras hidden while they followed the group for a few days. Though despite trailing them for so long, there had been no opportunity for them to attack. She Yu made sure that no one traveled alone. Even groups of two or three would be ok, but, unfortunately, they always moved in groups of at least ten. Even if Xu Min and Ye Ling were to attack together, the two of them would still need at least a few minutes to kill everyone.

"Oh look." Ye Ling said looking down, catching Xu Min's attention. Looking down, the young man saw that a group of four experts had split off and were moving on their own. This caused a smile to appear on his face. This was their first real chance since they had started trailing them days ago.

"Want to join me?" Xu Min asked with a smile on his face. The lion by his side bared his fangs in a silent smile of his own. Together the two slowly made their way down the trees while following behind the small group.

The group kept moving into the forest where they finally stopped. The four of them were chatting with one another, "I am so annoyed having to constantly be amongst these weaker cultivators, protecting them. I know that the young master will get his hands on their emblems later, but still protecting them is annoying." One of the experts complained. The others nodded their heads in response.

"Should we leave the group?" Someone asked the person who had spoken first, and the only response was a slap which resounded in the silent forest. "Are you a complete idiot?" The young man furiously asked as he looked at the person who was now on the ground. "Snow Mountain is clearly out to expand their territory, and although so far they had been satisfied with just controlling the Dragon Mountains, they are planning on taking over the entire Thousand War Valley."

"Since they are going to take over the valley, they will also be taking over our cities. Although this is an Immortal Valley Ranking, it means nothing compared to becoming allied with the Snow Mountain."

"No! We cannot leave and lose this chance. Although Shen Yu is just a five-star expert, he is not to be underestimated. He is very strong and backed by his grandfather who is an Elder of Snow Mountain. Becoming allied with Shen Yu is our most important task!"

Having been thoroughly scolded, the young expert turned silent. Secretly he was not willing to spend a full year following Shen Yu and fighting beasts by his side, but in the end, he had to forfeit the ranking by giving his very own emblem to Shen Yu. He had always been told just how important this ranking was, but now he was not allowed to give it his all for his family's honor. How could he not feel annoyed?

"Well, young Master Shen shows great care and consideration for us. After losing a few of his allies, he did not allow others to be in a small group. The only reason we were allowed is because our overall strength is sufficient. Four four-star warriors are very tough to kill. Even if the expert is a five-star expert, he will not be able to deal with us so quickly that the main group cannot back us up."

Right after he had spoken, two shadows appeared. They descended swiftly on the experts. The four warriors were shocked, but they quickly adapted. One person dodged, while the other quickly pulled out a flute, blowing into it.

Because he had focused on his flute, he did not dodge fast enough. The result was Ye Ling's paws shredded the chest of the unfortunate young man. They split his entire body into two, only connected by a few, thin strands of flesh.

The one who dodged looked with cold eyes at the shadows which appeared where he had stood just moments before. Looking at this shadow which slowly straightened, his heart started beating rapidly.

Currently, it was a two against three situations, but both knew that since the flute had been blown, reinforcements would appear soon.

"I will deal with this guy; you take the other two." Ye Ling growled as he focused on the man who had previously dodged Xu Min. Without discussing, Xu Min turned his back on the lion and faced the two experts who were looking at him with fear while visibly shaking. These two had clearly never been apart of a life and death battle before, and although they were four-star Warriors, they were not mentally strong enough for this fight. They both hesitated when looking at Xu Min in front of them.

Seeing this, Xu Min's killing aura strengthened enveloping the two youngsters making them shiver even more uncontrollably. Seeing their shock, he attacked. His speed could rival that of the five-star Golden-furred Blood Lion by his side, and these poor four-star experts, who lacked any mental fortitude whatsoever, were reduced to fearful, trembling experts.

Two slashes and the experts were dead, both beheaded. While they did not have the experience in killing, Xu Min had already killed many times before. Now, he finally had the chance to get rid of some of these experts he had been stalking for quite a while.

Having killed the two experts, Xu Min turned around to look at Ye Ling. Both he and the expert were fighting it out, and while Ye Ling had the advantage, his opponent was in no way easy to handle. Watching the fight progress, Xu Min waved his hand and swept up the three storage treasures and their emblems before getting ready to leave the clearing. "Ye Ling, retreat." He called out. Although the lion was in no mood to stop fighting, he too understood that their time was limited.

With an unhappy growl, he turned and together the two ran out of the clearing before they once more took to the treetops. After a bit, the two returned to the area where the battle had just occurred. Eating another handful of illusion spirit grass ensured that they could never be found by those below them.

Just as Xu Min and Ye Ling reached the clearing, the group led by Shen Yu also arrived. Looking around, his face turned dark; his eyes lit with anger as he looked at the three corpses within the group. Despite his group had been big, he had already lost many followers. Even though he did not mind losing his two-star followers, four-star ones were something completely different. Losing three just like this caused his heart to ache.

Going to each of the corpses his face turned, even more, sour as he realized that although the enemy was in a hurry, he still had the time to steal their emblems. He had lost three four-star Warrior emblems; emblems which were equal to four-star demon cores, something not easy to obtain.

"We cannot split up into groups anymore to search this area." He said through gritted teeth. "Although I wish for us to find the killer and tear him to shreds, it is highly unlikely we will run into him. Seeing as this b*stard could deal with four four-star Warriors at once, splitting up is just asking to be killed."

Everyone had been fired up to find the enemy but hearing Shen Yu's words, they all understood what he said was correct. It was not the time for them to divide their strength.

"I will no longer allow anyone to leave the group. Someone makes latrines nearby because leaving the group means death. As long as our stalker has enough Illusion Spirit Grass, we will be without a way to retaliate." Shen Yu continued, and his words caused everyone to nod their heads.

"Seems like we won't be so lucky in the future." Ye Ling sighed, but Xu Min just smiled. "I never expected it to work for long anyway." He grinned sinisterly. "I am sure that what I do next will make them even more uncomfortable." He continued and explained the plan to Ye Ling who listened intently, and a toothy grin quickly appeared as he nodded his head. "Yes, that would definitely be a great idea." He agreed while nodding his head impressed. "I bet we will get ahold of quite a few experts in the night this way." He grinned and the two slowly settled in the treetop, resting for a moment before it was time for them to proceed with the next part of the plan.

"What did you say? A three-star Warrior?" Shen Yu's eyes were filled with disbelief as he questioned the sole survivor of the fight.

"I would not dare lie Master Shen. There was a three-star warrior together with a fifth-star Golden-Furred Blood Lion. The lion was the one who killed Guo Yan as he was alerting you while the human killed both Guo Shin and Guo Long. This person's aura was terrifying, and even I was affected by it. His swordarts were also quite formidable. I never even saw his sword move. All that appeared was a flash, and the two had been decapitated. They were killed even swifter than if they had been executed." He praised with a sour heart. "After seeing this young man, and his features, I believe this person to be the young man Xu Min, your target." He continued, hesitating slightly, not sure if he was in a position to say so, but after a brief moment he decided to speak his mind.

"You think it's Xu Min?" Shen Yu asked while rubbing his chin for some time, thinking quietly. "It would make sense if it was Xu Min..." He thought out loud with a nod of his head. "Xu Min is stronger than the average expert. He used to be a two-star warrior so reaching the third star is definitely not impossible for him. His strength should be quite outstanding, but to subdue a Golden-furred Blood Lion of the fifth-star, now that is quite an astonishing feat."

Shen Yu was speaking more to himself than anyone else, and the survivor was fully aware of this. Because of this, he stayed kneeled down in front of Shen Yu. He said nothing, just knelt there, awaiting his next order.

"Well if it really is Xu Min then he has done us a great favor." Shen Yu finally decided. "We want to kill him but finding him within the valley is truly problematic. If he has found us and thinks he can kill us, then he is very naive indeed. Having superior numbers is not our only advantage. Does he really think nothing of a person like me? A person who has an elder of the Snow Mountain as my grandfather?"

Thinking about this, Shen Yu started laughing out loud. "Well, this little game of chase will become far more interesting from now on." He said with determination in his eyes as he looked into the distance. Not far from there, Xu Min and Ye Ling were quietly waiting for night to descend. Neither of them knew what had been said within Shen Yu's tent, but had they known it wouldn't have mattered anyways. Their targets had been selected. They would kill or die trying.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 75: Bloody Night

Night descended upon the two groups, and slowly tents were erected by the bigger group, the food was started to get cooked on a large bonfire. Chatter resounded through the silent forest and although many strong beasts were present close by, none of them wished to attack such a large group. Even the strongest six-star beast in the area knew that if they attacked such a large group, even if he managed to get rid of them all, then he would suffer quite some wounds.

this knowledge was known to the group and thus they were not too much on guard, the guards were busy chatting with their friends, and their friends were busy boasting about their power.

It was known to the group that the man stalking them was Xu Min and most of the fear many had felt had vanished. Xu Min was only a three-star Warrior and a warrior who just broke into the third star nonetheless. He was not truly a danger for them.

The fact that he had a powerful beast with him, although they knew about it, they could not help but wonder just how strong this beast could be. Beasts were usually stronger than experts of the same rank, and for Xu Min to tame this beast, it could only be a two or three-star beast at most. Although the survivor had sworn that the beast was much stronger, no one actually believed this. It made no sense that a three-star Warrior could tame such a beast.

The chatting went on for a long time, the half of the night was spent chatting and laughing, boasting about their powers and their abilities and people wishing for Xu Min to launch an attack so that they could prove their worth.

During all of this, Shen Yu said nothing. He was seated in a chair in front of the bonfire, and a smile was playing on his lips. He would converse with a few of the followers from time to time, but mostly he was just silent as he looked at the group around him.

"It seems that everyone is in high spirits," he mumbled to himself, surprised that no one was worried any longer. "Although he is only a three-star warrior he did manage to get the title Yanluo. He better not disappoints me. I doubt he will have the guts to attack us when we are all together so let us put up a trap for him tomorrow. If he enjoys attacking our small groups, then let us make a group that leaves the main group and use them as bait. I fail to believe that he will not make a move."

While speaking with himself, Shen Yu quickly planned what he was supposed to do the following day. Now that he was convinced that their stalker was Xu Min, he would do anything in his power to kill him. He could easily understand just how much fame he would gain in the snow mountain if he could prove that he was the one who had gotten rid of Xu Min, the young man who had left a stain on their name.

"Get some rest; we will be starting the hunt!" Shen Yu finally called out. He was not the least bit worried about Xu Min hearing him as he did not doubt his ability to hunt down and execute this young man. Giving him a warning was due to his pride simply not believing that he could fail.

While the words were called out, a smile was on Xu Min's face as he looked down upon the group below with a ruthless gleam in his eyes. He was seated on a large tree branch and looking straight down onto the many experts below, and observing how the majority of them were going to sleep, some were standing as guards, but the majority of the guards had gathered in one area where they were chatting with one another. Only two guards were standing on the eastern side of the camp and seeing this, Xu Min and Ye Ling together slipped down from the tree and snuck close to the experts.

"I'll leave the one on the left to you," Xu Min said with a very low voice and the lion nodded its head as it snuck closer. Its body was pressed against the ground, its ears constantly wavered in the air to catch any sound. The nostrils were vibrating as every scent entered the nose and the eyes were gleaming red in the night.

While the lion was sneaking forward, Xu Min was also advancing towards the second guard, but while the lion was advancing on the ground, Xu Min was advancing in the treetops and got ready to descend on the opponent in front of him.

A flash appeared in the black night, and a muffled boom sounded out. However, the sound and the flash were both so weak that no one noticed ad the guards were slowly being dragged into the darkness of the trees outside the camp. Only a faint trail of blood left behind told about their fate.

It was now possible to sneak into the camp itself and both man and lion split up; one moved south the other north. Both lion and human snuck into one tent after another. While one part of the camp was dying in their sleep, the another part was still busy with chatting experts and light from the bonfire.

One hour went by; another hour went by and by the time Ye Ling and Xu Min met up again, both of them had the stench of blood attached to their bodies. Looking at one another a toothy grin was shared before they both retreated into the forest, looking for a lake where they could get rid of the stench that followed in their wake.

As they moved through the forest, Ye Ling handed over a total of eight emblems he had managed to snatch from the people he had killed and Xu Min kept them together with the other ones he had gotten from his own killings that night. The majority of the emblems were four-star Warriors, but some of them belonged to three-star Warriors. Having all these emblems, Xu Min was quite excited.

By now a quarter of the year they were to spend within the valley had passed by, but Xu Min had already managed to get around hundred emblems stored in his storage stone. On top of that, he had a few beast cores as well, but it was clear that the majority of his rank was given on the back of the emblems.

Finding a pond did not take long, and both lion and man jumped into the cold, dark water and washed before they returned to the group they were stalking.

At the very start the group had consisted of almost thirty individuals, but by now more than half of them had been victim to Xu Min's schemes. Tonight alone a total of thirteen experts had lost their lives. None of them had had the ability to fight back, none of them had noticed the silent killers that had appeared. The Illusion Spirit Grass was truly more terrifying than what they had first assumed.

The night came to an end and slowly the day arrived. The moment Shen Yu awoke he felt that something was amiss. Standing up, he soon realized that the problem was a stench that had spread through his entire group, a stench of blood which was impossible to miss.

Dressing quickly, he left his tent and looked around only to find that at least half of his men had not left their tents. He then rushed into these tents in question. He found one dead person after another. As he saw this, his heart froze in fear and a vein started popping in his forehead in anger.

"Guards!" he called out with a voice filled with anger and the ones who had been on guard that night rushed to his side.

"What have you been doing last night?" he requested to know. Trying his hardest his voice was somewhat level, but a burning anger was smoldering within his eyes and his heart was filled with an unwillingness to accept what had happened.

"Why has none of you noticed that half of our camp had been butchered while we were sleeping?!" he called out angrily, and the guards suddenly turned pale. They had not noticed the scent of blood, as they had been too busy entertaining themselves, but now that their heads sobered up, they understood that they were, in fact, to blame for what had happened this night.

They instantly felt fear. It was not unlikely that they too had to give up their lives for their big mistake, but Shen Yu, who now had a large headache, could not afford to lose any more men, and thus he did nothing but shake his head.

"Fine. I never expected you to have the guts to directly attack my camp," he mumbled to himself as he gnawed on his finger, "if you can do this, then you have no limits to what you will do to get rid of us," he continued to mumble. He wondered if there was a way to get rid of Xu Min with the few men he had left.

In a tree upstairs and looking down, Xu Min knew that now the group only had around ten members left. Ten members sounded like a lot, but he had previously taken care of such sized groups.

"If you take care of all the small guys, I can deal with the one they call Shen Yu," Xu Min mused out loud to Ye Ling and the lion nodded his head, "I can easily deal with the others. The highest rank is a four-star Warrior, and since you gave me the medicinal pills, my body has been increasingly strong. Even that Shen Yu is no threat to me."

"That might be so," Xu Min said with a shrug, "but even so, he is mine. His family and I have quite a large enmity between us; it is only fair that I send him to see the true ruler of hell. I cannot wait to see how furious his family will get when that happens. Still, everything that happens in the valley stays in the valley. No one is allowed to come find me for revenge." Xu Min was quite smug as he thought about this fact. Being able to let go of his anger was truly a great feeling, and killing people who wished to kill him helped him becoming stronger time and time again.

"So we are going to have a full on battle with the group below?" Ye Ling asked to ensure that he had understood the thoughts of Xu Min correctly and the young man nodded his head with a smile on his face.

"We will be attacking them soon, but we need to find the right place first. I want to decide where we go and when we are there we will stop using our illusion spirit grass. I am sure they cannot wait but to attack us. Being in disarray will be of great assistance to us," he continued, and Ye Ling understood what he meant as he smiled and nodded his head.

"Well then, let us find the right place," he said, and the two slowly left the treetops looking for the group which they had been stalking for so long already. Moving through the forest they looked for somewhere where they had enough space to fight.

After searching for the majority of the day they reached the outskirts of the forest and in front of them as a large and beautiful Savannah. In this Savannah were a few beasts, but all of them rushed away the moment they noticed the five-star Golden-furred Blood Lion.

"This is the place," Xu Min said excitedly as he looked around, "this is the place for our final battle against Shen Yu and his followers!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 76: Cleansing Midnight Mushroom

Having found the perfect location, Xu Min and Ye Ling started to go through every inch of the place. There were a few beasts left behind, but most of them were killed swiftly by Xu Min and his lion.

Keeping their beast cores, Xu Min smiled as he scanned the area with his Qi. He noticed that they had traveled quicker than he had expected. He also noticed that Shen Yu's group which previously had moved slowly but confidently were now spreading out their Qi to cover large pieces of land to scan it for living creatures making their movements slower.

"If we want them to notice us, then we need to hurry up," Ye Ling sneered. Xu Min nodded his head. Xu Min found two mushroom-like plants. He handed one to Ye Ling and ate the other. The aura, scent and presence of both man and beast returned.

"We are lucky that there are no other groups close by," Xu Min sighed as he sat down and waited for the Shen Ye's group to notice them.

It did not take long before a Qi aura reached Xu Min and his lion. They were scanned by Shen Ye's Qi, which instantly vanishing moments after encountering them.

"Master Shen!" someone called at the group of experts, "I found Xu Min and his beast. They are in the savannah just outside of this forest. I think they knew they were running out of Illusion Spirit Grass and started rushing away from us. They were probably hoping that we would not notice them. They are retreating even now as we speak!"

The speaker was filled with excitement. His eyes gleamed as he thought about the ability to be capable of defeating the infamous Xu Min. Having seen his comrades die, he was blinded by anger and also greed. They could all guess that Xu Min had killed many experts while being in the Immortal Valley. and they all wanted these emblems.

Shen Yu's face turned curious when he heard the words spoken by the expert in front of him, but he was not instantly ordering everyone to change their location.

"Why are you hesitating Shen Yu?" A friend by his side asked. This person was not like the others but Shen Yu's genuine friend. He often listened to him, and the two together ledthis diminishing group of experts.

"So far all of his planned have worked out," Shen Yu said slowly as he scratched his chin. "Although he no longer has the illusion spirit grass to hide his aura, who is to say he did not remove it on purpose? Our group has gotten lowered by a lot already, how can we possibly just rush into something which is likely to be an ambush?" Shen Yu asked curiously.

"We got more people than him, but somehow he has managed to tame a fifth-rank Golden-furred Blood Lion, according to that one guy who survived the attack. If he was truly correct, then we are in big trouble. While the beast keeps me busy, Xu Min will have enough time to attack every one of my followers."

"He is only a three-star Warrior," the friend laughed, "even if he can kill a few experts, he will soon be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of experts we have. We can easily kill him."

Hearing these words, Shen Yu shook his head once more, "no we cannot. You know he got the nickname when he was only a level two-star Warrior. He battled a lot of men at once, but even so, he was able to defeat everyone that came into his reach."

"I don't fear that we won't be able to kill him," Shen Yu continued, "but I am not willing to pay the price we need to pay for such a victory. At least another half of my group will vanish, and so far I have not gotten enough beast cores to be able to rank highly." Shen Yu grumbled, but his friend just laughed.

"Do you care if these people die, or are you just interested in their emblems?" he asked for clarification. Shen Yu sent him a telling glance. He clearly did not care about their lives.

"If that is the case, then go and hunt down this Xu Min. Even if your experts die, you will be the survivor who can take all the emblems. You will even be able to take all the emblems that this Xu Min has gotten up until now. With his many kills, he ought to be loaded with emblems."

"Once you have killed him, though you've lost the majority of your force, you can just start again and gain more followers once more. You are a direct descendant of the Snow Mountain of the Dragon Ruins. There are so many people who are willing to find you."

The more his friend spoke, the more Shen Yu was tempted to do as he was being told. The many emblems he had lost so far was truly a pain to him, getting them all back alongside more emblems was something he definitely wanted.

"Not to mention, he has already tamed a five-star Golden-Furred Blood Lion. All you need to do is take over his contract. Then you will be even more dangerous than you already are. If he could tame it, then you can definitely help as well," he said with a smile on his face and laughter in his voice. This friend truly wanted to kill Xu Min. Not because of the emblems or anything like this, he had already promised his emblem to his good friend Shen Yu. No, he wanted to defeat Xu Min who had gotten such an amazing title and hopefully prove his strength so that he could join the Snow Mountain.

Although the people who were within the valley were incapable of hearing the words spoken between the two, everyone outside of the valley observing the battles had heard every single word. Many faces turned sour as they understood that their family members were nothing but cannon fodder for Shen Yu. Still, dying for the sake of Snow Mountain was an honor. Thus, these families owed Snow Mountain a favor. No one said anything out loud; even though, they were deeply dissatisfied with seeing the geniuses of their family dying one after another.

These people outside of the valley were also fully aware that Xu Min and Ye Ling had both eaten a Cleansing Midnight Mushroom.This mushroom removed any negative or positive effect on the consumer, in this case, the illusion spirit grass.

While many other battles were being shown at the same time, this one battle that was about to occur grasped the attention of most of the experts. Most experts had understood the enmity between Xu Min and Snow Mountain. Many as well had also done what they could to examine the background of Xu Min, but all were shocked. They noticed he was here on behalf of the Bu family, but he was actually not a true member of their family. He had appeared in the ruins just recently. The first place he appeared was when he battled the Snow Mountain. Before that, no one had been able to see where he came from.

With Xu Min's talent, he should have been the pride of many families. His age was definitely amongst the youngest in the Immortal Valley Rankings. Although he was simply a third-star Warrior, the raw strength he showed was simply outstanding.

Many of the major families considered recruiting him. However, little did they know that Xu Min was only here for the sake of increasing his strength. As soon as he turned into a level eight warrior, he would be returning to the place he used to call home to gain vengeance.

"They still haven't moved towards us," Xu Min said with a sigh as his aura swept towards the major group. "Think they knew it was an ambush?"

"It does not matter if they know," Ye Ling said with a carefree voice. "They might be hesitating, but you killed so many of their followers now; they probably have so much enmity towards you. Eventually, their greed and hate will win over their rational way of thinking. As long as we wait here in the Savannah, they'll come to us sooner or later."

Nodding his head, Xu Min agreed with Ye Ling, but he also sighed. The longer it took for the larger group to reach them, the higher the possibility there was of running into other groups of experts. If more joined in, then he would be in trouble. Even now, battling the group was going to be troublesome. However, he also knew that there was no way they could successfully attack at night again. The members would not leave the main group any longer. Their only option was to fight them face on and hope for the best.

"It's a shame Cao Cao isn't here by my side," Xu Min sighed. Ye Ling snorted, "A snake is very good, but don't forget that I am by your side. I am at least as strong as this snake-friend of yours if not stronger!"

The words spoken by the haughty lion made Xu Min laugh. It was true that he was no longer alone, and for today's battle he was very grateful for this.

"Had you not been weakened, then I would have been dead already," Xu Min mused out loud. The lion just snickered. It was happy Xu Min knew about his own ability.

"So I am going to leave this Shen Yu to you," the Lion said, "while you play with him, I'll deal with everyone else. Don't get killed, if you get killed they will definitely kill me or try and tame me; I doubt they are as polite as you."

Although Ye Ling very rarely expressed any compliments, he did so this time.Xu Min could hear the genuine worry in his voice. "Don't worry," he promised, "I might get wounded, but I should be able to deal with someone as simple as Shen Yu. If I cannot even deal with Shen Yu, then I am simply too weak to stay within this Valley. Death is the only answer for those who do not have the ability to save themselves."

"Humph," Ye Ling said no more, but his eyes turned gentler. "Oh, now they are on the move!" Xu Min called out. Just as he did, Ye Ling came to his side. Xu Min held the sword in his hands with a tight grip.

Both human and Lion had their Qi spread out to see where the enemies arrived from.Even though no one seemed to advance from the back and the sides, both of them kept looking at all directions. After having been using illusion spirit grass for as long as they had, they knew that others could use the same trick and catch them in a pincer attack. This was something they could not afford to let happen.

"Using the Qi to examine the group, it seemed as though there were no members coming towards the left, but they might have some abilities which can trick us," Xu Min said. His body was trembling with excitement, his eyes shining. The flame within his body was burning brighter than any time before. He was so eager to battle that his killing intent oozed out of him. Xu Min had never been this eager to start a battle before; his eagerness divided with Ye Ling who felt his own killing intent surge. His urge to battle and fighting spirit rose.

"Let us see just how powerful this group of experts is," Xu Min said. Tightening his grip on the sword hilt, his face beaming with a smile that promised pain and suffering to anyone who dared stand in his way. A low grumbling could be heard from Ye Ling as his hair started rising on his body. He too was ready to battle.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 77: The Final Collision

Outside , all the onlookers held their breath. No one had expected that Xu Min, who was alone, would be willing to wage war on such a large faction as the Snow Mountain.

Every single faction within the Ruins of the Immortal Valley was watching the large scale battle that was about to begin. The smaller factions secretly wished for Snow Mountain to lose as they had been subdued for a long time; none of them dared to go against the larger factions.

The larger factions were also watching with great curiosity. Some watched for the sake of seeing if they should try and recruit the young man. Whereas, others watched because they wished for Snow Mountain to lose their brightest fighters. The fewer survived, the easier it would be to deal with the faction in the future.

The silence was broken from time to time when people spoke to one another, discussing whom they expected to win and who to lose. A few friends even made bets as to who would win. Even Bu Huang decided to join in the betting, but while most betted on Shen Yu to win, Bu Huang put all his money on Xu Min, a grin appeared on his face.

"Let's just see how good you are, being that old man's disciple," he grinned as he leaned back in his seat and eyes glued to the screen displaying Xu Min and Ye Ling waiting for the large group to arrive.

Inside the Valley, Xu Min waiting patiently. Without even knowing, a smile had crept onto his lips, yet anyone who saw this smile felt a cold chill run down their spines.

"They are about to break out from the forest," Xu Min commented. His Qi still covered the entire area and noticed every movement made by the group.

"I will take care of all the small men; you have fun with Shen Yu. He is likely to have some tricks up his sleeve, but I know so do you," Ye Ling snickered. Xu Min nodded his head. When it came to treasures, he did not have a lot, but when it came to secrets he was a master.

Not only did he have his sword which would make it possible for him to gain an upper hand on an internal expert like Shen Yu but he was also an internal expert rather than just an external one.. Although he only had two stances, the Radiant Jade Shower and the Shattering Hand, his control over the two stances was completely perfect.

As the tension started rising, Xu Min's eyes strained to their limits. They looked at the group which slowly emerged from the treeline, all of them one in line.

"Counting them, they are all present," Ye Ling growled with a low voice and Xu Min nodded his head. Looking at these experts they were clearly eager to start the battle.

Even though the experts were eager to battle wiht their faces displaying their eagerness, none of them rushed forward. Instead they followed Shen Yu's orders and kept back. Gripping their weapons, they let their Qi roil around their bodies, so it could burst forth in various stances. The atmosphere was tense, and everyone's bodies were taut.

Xu Min was the same. A gleam had appeared in his eyes, and his heart was beating rapidly. His entire body was like a bowstring, ready to be released upon the advancing enemies, but not letting go before they came into range.

It felt as though everything was in slow motion. The advancing group took forever before they finally reached the man and lion. As soon as they did, chaos emerged.

"You will die below my blade!" Someone called out and rushed towards Xu Min. Before he had the chance to reach him, the lion pounced at the person. The lion's claws were no longer withdrawn, instead they slashed at every person that came into it's range. Ye Ling held nothing back. His Qi flowed from his body which increased his claws size and made energy shockwaves whenever he swiped with his paws. This sent out five shots of light as sharp as swords which raked through the air, cutting deep into the bodies of the experts who tried to advance.

"Don't just run at him like an idiot!" Shen Yu called out. Everyone retreated as soon as his words were said, "This beast is a five star Golden-Furred Blood Lion, not something you can deal with on your own. All of you surround it and start attacking it. You do not need to defeat it. All you need to do is to make it waste its energy and keep it locked down. I will come and deal with it when I finish dealing with this Xu Min. Luo Wei you take control of the lion group!"

Shen Yu easily called out the orders. He nodded to his friend, the friend who had convinced him of attacking Xu Min. Now this friend, Luo Wei, was in the position of leading the assault on the lion, and his facefilled with excitement again.

He quickly barked some orders. Though they were many, Xu Min was not too worried about Ye Ling. Ye Ling might be at a disadvantage because of the sheer number of experts around him, but they just wished to keep him locked down not kill him. Ye Ling's job was the exact same. He was to keep all of them busy so that they could not join Shen Yu against Xu Min.

"So now it's just you and me," Shen Yu said as a wisp of Qi arrived on his forefinger.With a flicker of his hand, this small wisp turned into a bullet which headed straight for Xu Min's head. Without really caring, Xu Min lifted his sword and a loud hong sound resounded out, shockwaves appeared in the air and a stunned expression appeared on Shen Yu's face.

"To think you could block my Bullet of Light. Seems like this sword of yours is not as simple as it looks." Greed appeared in Shen Yu's eyes, and he licked his lips. His gaze did not leave the sword in front of him.

"That might be so," Xu Min said with a shrug of his shoulders. His hands still firmly gripped the hilt of the sword. He was also secretly astonished about how strong this small bullet of Qi had been.

Shaking his head, Xu Min shook the worry away from him as he looked at the many experts surrounding Ye Ling. A tinge of worry appeared in his heart, but he quickly killed it. He did not have the time to worry about the lion if he wished to win the battle against this Shen Yu. If he truly wished to defeat them, he needed to first get rid of Shen Yu.

Stomping on the ground, Xu Min shot forward as an arrow that had just been released. His speed was so swift that it was impossible to see him clearly. The strength in his legs was so forceful that the place he had stomped had sunk twenty centimeters into the ground.

The sheer power behind this attack was enough to shock Shen Yu greatly. He hurriedly retreated a few steps back so that he could easily dodge it.

Seeing his target dodging his attack, Xu Min took his sword and buried it into the ground, making it possible for him to stop his advance and with a new stomp. He once more rushed towards Shen Yu who could not help but swear as he constantly retreated.

Every time he dodged Xu Min, the young man would use his sword to stop his advance and then afterwards rush after the expert in front of him once more.

Shen Yu was not too worried about Xu Min, but he had understood that this sword within his hands was a true treasure. He could not allow for this sword to wound him, leaving him with no other option than to run.

Unfortunately, running also meant that he could not stand still and take a stance. Battling with this kind of berserking external expert was something that Shen Yu had never experienced before. He was getting a serious headache having to try and come up with a way to battle him.

"How can he have me under his control?!" Shen Yu was starting to get angry, "Who even gave him such an outstanding weapon that even I am threatened by it? Can his background be much more formidable than mine?"

Shen Yu was truly shocked, but he also knew that now was not the time to worry about something such as the background on a rogue cultivator. This was a battle to the death; even if Shen Yu tried to stop the battle, Xu Min would not trust him. He would kill him at the first possible chance.

"Since it is like this, it is time for me to get serious," the young man said. While still dodging Xu MIn, he took his hand into the robe and pulled out a small blank slate. On top of this slate was three runes inscribed. The moment Shen Yu poured Qi into this slate the three runes started to light up.

"I did not think I had to do this, but let us see how you will deal with me now!" Shen Yu called out. The three runes shone with a different light. One was golden and laid a large protective barrier around the young expert. Another was blue and underneath his feet a cloud appeared, making it possible for Shen Yu to soar into the sky above, and the final rune shone with red light, mixing with Shen Yu's Qi.

The moment the red energy entered Shen Yu's body, it seemed as though his body increased in size. His muscles swelled, his eyes turned red, and his skin tanned. It was not long before a disruption appeared in the surroundings. It was clear that all of this energy was entering Shen Yu's body, constantly increasing his strength and shocking Xu Min even more. It was clear that he had entered a berserk mode.

Although he had reached the rank of a six-star Warrior during his berserking, he stayed on top of the soaring cloud, and took a stance. The red Qi billowed around him and Xu Min finally understood that this was something he needed to avoid.

Dodging to one side, Xu Min managed to avoid the first attack which was a large sword created from red Qi which rained down upon him. Moving around, Xu Min managed to continuously avoid the attacks. However as the time went by, the attacks were quicker and quicker. It was as though Shen Yu were going more and more berserk. Finally Xu Min could no longer hold out. He was hit by a sword, slicing down his body and leaving a large wound.

Using Qi to protect himself was no option right now. Rather, he led the Qi towards his wound and closed it while still avoiding the attacks.

"I need to get closer. As they say, to gain some, I need to risk some," Xu Min mumbled to himself. He tightened the grip on the sword hilt and slashed at the red Qi sword which was coming his way.

When coming into contact with the red Qi sword, Xu Min could not help but scream out as he felt violent energy entering his body. The body was filled with this violent red Qi. Even though it was possible to refine it, the process was incredibly painful. Nevertheless now he had devoured the energy, he had no other option than to fight through it at the same time as he was fighting Shen Yu.

Seeing that his Qi was being devoured, Shen Yu instantly stopped pouring Qi into the red Qi sword. He looked at Xu Min with hostile eyes. "It won't end this easily," he sneered with a cold look in his eyes.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 78: Violent Qi

The Qi Shen Yu was pouring into the red Qi Sword was filled with a violent energy. Although Shen Yu could control it, Xu Min was not used to this volatile energy. His body felt as though it would explode from the inside as he devoured more and more of the Qi.

With all his power Xu Min managed to cut the energy from being absorbed. Taking the sword with him, he separated himself from the red Qi Sword in Shen Yu's hands. As he escaped, he was still overwhelmed by the energy within his body. Shen Yu did not allow him to catch his breath as he rushed forward, the red Qi Sword in his hands, he continuously slashed at the retreating Xu Min.

While Xu Min was busy with his battle against Shen Yu, Ye Ling was busy battling the many other experts. Although he was at a disadvantage, he was much stronger than the others. He was capable of rushing forward and managed to suppress every other expert, even the good friend of Shen Yu.

Xu Min did not have time to look at Ye Ling. All he could focus on was the expert in front of him, the expert who was managing to attack him with a ferocity the young man had never experienced before.

Gritting his teeth, Xu Min constantly rotated the Qi within his body around through his meridians, ensuring that the volatile energy slowly was refined while he continually dodged the red Qi Sword. Unfortunately, it was not possible for him to fully avoid it. Soon blood started to flow from his body as one cut after another appeared.

"So you can bleed without devouring the energy," Shen Yu said with an ice-cold voice as he continued to attack with the red Qi Sword. His eyes turned red from the energy he was releasing. He resembled a devil, overcome by bloodlust.

"I guess the devouring ability is from your sword then. Just die so that I can get that sword! Such a treasure should not be in the hands of a commoner like you!" Shen Yu spat out every single word filled with enmity.Xu Min, who had been oppressed up until now, finally felt that the volatile energy in his body was ready and refined. The energy was far more potent than what he was used to. How Shen Yu's Qi had become such an aggressive energy, Xu Min had no idea.

"So what if you are stronger than me?" Xu Min snorted as the wounds on his body slowly healed. The extra Qi he had absorbed closed all his wounds. Xu Min raised the sword in his hands as he rushed forward towards Shen Yu once more, slashing at the expert in front of him.

Xu Min did nothing else then move the sword. Nonetheless, as soon as the two swords collided the volatile energy once more entered Xu Min's body. This time, though, he was prepared for it. He instantly rotated the Qi around his body. As the two were standing in a standstill, attacking one another, Xu Min suddenly retreated once more. This time, he did not stop his sword from devouring the Qi. While he greedily absorbed all this red Qi, he swiftly rotated it through his body to refine it.

The pain was so intense that Xu Min wished he could pass out, but he knew once he did, he would never wake up again. He paid all his attention to the person in front of him because his life depended on it.

Taking a stance, thousands of jade-like shards appeared behind him. Moments after, they started to rain down upon the young Shen Yu. The attack did not stop there but continued as Xu Min followed suit slashing and stabbing at Shen Yu. Sometimes successfully wounding the older expert, other times missing him just by a hair's breath.

The fight had suddenly reversed from Shen Yu's offense and Xu Min's defense to Xu Min suppressing Shen Yu. The devouring sword was absorbing energy as swiftly as it could. Even though, Shen Yu had a lot more Qi than Xu Min had, he had to be careful with using all of this energy as the devour made him feel feeble. He was incapable of stopping this devouring force.

"Let us see how you will manage this then!" Shen Yu cursed and poured every strand of energy into Xu Min's sword, forcing Xu Min to absorb more and more energy than he had ever done before. He was now capable of refining this energy, but he could feel his entire body being on fire. The heat and volatile energy started to make his meridians burst, even so, Xu Min did not give up.

All the energy that was within his body made him burst from the inside out. However, Xu Min decided to pour this energy into his sword. Suddenly a humming sound appeared, the sword in his hands started shining with a golden light. The Qi which exited Xu Min's body turned golden and with this sword filled with energy, Xu Min once more launched an offense so overpowering that Shen Yu could do nothing more than grit his teeth to withstand the constant attacks raining down upon him. His energy was constantly being absorbed. Looking at Xu Min, Shen Yu knew he only had to hang on for a short while.

A stream of blood started streaming out from Xu Min's mouth, but Xu Min kept on attacking as though nothing was wrong. The attacks that rained down upon Shen Yu became more and more fierce. The young man was drenched in blood from deep stabs to some shallow cuts. He did not have enough Qi to close them, and, although Xu Min was bleeding, it was hard to say which one of the two was the most wounded.

Xu Min continued his advance. Soon a drop of blood fell from his eye, a stream of blood following behind. It appeared as if he was crying, tears of blood fell from his eyes, showing just how serious stage he was in.

Screaming, Shen Yu stepped forward, the red Qi Sword in his hand, now much dimmer and smaller than it had been before, got ready to attack Xu Min. Their swords clashed time and time again. Every time they connected with one another Xu Min would absorb more and more of the Qi which was rapidly depleting from Shen Yu.

"I cannot lose to someone as weak as you!" Shen Yu screamed out. With everything he had the Qi erupted from his body, creating a shockwave which billowed outwards and managed to cause Xu Min to back away five steps when he was hit. The second eye started dropping tears of blood. Even though blood was falling in a steady stream from his eyes and his mouth, Xu Min was not willing to give up and with the rest of his energy did he jump forward. Both his hands holding the sword, with his last energy poured into the golden sword, he slashed down and hit the young man in front of him.

The sword was blocked by Shen Yu. There was so much power within the golden sword, both the energy it had absorbed and the energy that Xu Min had poured into it. The red sword could no longer stand it, and it collapsed, turning into Qi which was rapidly absorbed by the golden sword in Xu Min's hands. Before it continued, it's downward slash.

The sounds of bones breaking could be heard as the sword embedded itself in the shoulder of Shen Yu. The force behind the sword was simply too much. It kept going downwards until it split Shen Yu's body in two.

On Shen Ye's face was an expression of both shock and unwillingness. It was clear that he did not believe that Xu Min would kill him. As the facts appeared, he still refused to acknowledge it; his face was filled with disbelief as the final breath of life left him.

Looking at the dead expert, a smile appeared on Xu Min's face. Suddenly everything turned black as he too collapsed on the ground.

While Xu Min had been busy fighting Shen Yu, Ye Ling had been focused on the other experts. All the weaker ones had been killed off easily, but Ye Ling was still battling Shen Yu's best friend, someone who actually made Ye Ling use all his abilities. Although he was strong, he had used an immense amount of energy fighting one against many. However, the moment he saw Xu Min collapse, a roar escaped his throat as it echoed through the entire area. His body grew, and the rest of his energy was utilized to shred the person in front of him into tiny pieces before Ye Ling rushed to Xu Min's side. Worry filled the lion's eyes as he turned Xu Min to lay on his back.

Seeing the traces of blood on Xu Min's face, the traces below his eyes and from his lip clearly told a tale of someone fighting far above his ability, but the blood had already stopped flowing.

In his hand was the golden sword and the golden hue around it constantly fluctuated. Ye Ling poured a bit of his own Qi into Xu Min's body to see the state of his body. He was shocked when he saw that every single meridian within had been shattered. He was even more shocked when he felt that the energy that entered Xu Min's body from the sword slowly mended every single wound on his body. The meridians that were being rebuilt were many times stronger than they had been before. Ye Ling noticed that the Qi roaming around within these new meridians was golden in color.

Ye Ling had never before heard of someone having golden Qi; even less about someone who managed to survive after having all their meridians broken.

While Ye Ling sat down by Xu Min's side and patiently awaited his new companion to wake up, outside the Immortal Valley, an uproar had appeared.

The men from the Snow Mountain were filled with anger and hostility as they wished to take their anger out on the faction that had come with Bu Huang. However, they had quickly been stopped by the Guardians.With one threat by these guardians, the Snow Mountain instantly calmed down. Their faces were filled with sour expressions as they kept observing the one screen which kept following Xu Min. Most of the audience was watching this screen to see whether or not it was possible for Xu Min to wake up after such a close battle.

It took three days for Xu Min's body to be fully healed and as he was healed, he woke up from his coma. Ye Ling was still by his side. The many corpses still littered the ground; the lion had done absolutely nothing to remove them, only guarding Xu Min all this time.

As Xu Min awoke, he felt a comfortable feeling all throughout his body. It was as though he had just awoken from a long sleep. He was stunned to find that the Qi within his body was many times purer than it had been before; it was also much more abundant and richer.

He felt that his strength had been raised by leaps and bounds.As he stood up, he punched the ground with some Qi embedded within his arm. He looked at the ground his eyes widened. A large cavity had been created by Xu Min with a single punch; it was clear that he had at least doubled his strength.

"Amazing!" he said stunned before he went to every corpse and took their items alongside their emblems. By now he had a lot of emblems and beast cores alongside many things and treasures. The battle against Shen Yu's men had caused him to gain a lot of things.

"So now you managed to do what we had planned, what do we do now?" Ye Ling asked curiously. Xu Min pondered for a moment before he smiled, "We will keep moving forward. Who knows what we will find. There is still quite some time left before the Immortal Valley Rankings ends!" Xu Min was excited. Together he and Ye Ling left the battlefield and started moving towards the forest once more.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 79: Bounty

Although Xu Min had managed to get his hands on quite a few emblems and treasures, none of these were from the Immortal Valley itself. All of it had been delivered to him by the many people who had tried to kill him. Xu Min could not help but to chuckle slightly at this.

One could consider his luck to have been the worst. Had it not been for the sake of him having run into a demonic beast as strong as Ye Ling, his luck would truly have been the worst.

His luck, although, when it came to finding treasures and demonic beasts was rather bad, Xu Min still managed to be one of the higher ranked members within the Immortal Valley purely because of all the people who had given up their lives to Xu Min and Ye Ling. Together with their lives came all the treasures and beasts they had managed to kill alongside their emblems.

Others were also on the killing spree, killing human participants instead of beasts, but no one was as lucky as Xu Min when it came to encountering people. This was due to many factors, but mainly his low rank. Looking at Xu Min, it was possible for everyone to underestimate him. They saw him as if he was an easy target. They would only be defeated by him afterward.

This was not the only reason, though. Almost anyone within the Immortal Valley knew about the enmity between Xu Min and the Snow Mountain. Though no one was permitted to seek vengeance outside the Immortal Valley, they could carry favor with each other and have the large sect such as Snow Mountain owe their families was something everyone wanted.

"Around hundred kilometers in front of us something strange has happened," Ye Ling commented as the two were moving through the forest. The further they went the more people they found. However, these people, recognizing Xu Min, did not attack him. Instead, they kept moving forward. This indifference made Xu Min curious previously but even more so now that he heard that something was happening a hundred kilometers from them.

"Do you think they are amassing a large army to go against us?" Xu Min frowned. Although the outside world had been able to see and followed the many fights within the Immortal Valley, other participants only knew which people had died and which were ranked highly. Xu Min was ranked high, but he was not in top three. Thus no one knew how many points he had.

" It is likely that they are going against you. I highly doubt it, though" Ye Ling said with a dry voice, "I don't think that they are that interested in killing you. They will lose a lot from grouping up like this. Let us go and see what is happening. ." Ye Ling continued, and Xu Min shrugged. They had nothing else to other t do so going to this place was as good as anything else.

"If I knew some way to hide my appearance, that would be for the best," Xu Min mumbled. He found some bamboo shoots which he created a bamboo hat from. It was a large hat which covered his features. From his storage bag, he found a large cloak which he draped over his body, making it hard to guess his features.

"This should work. No need to hide you, no one knows about the fact that I found a companion within this Immortal Valley," Xu Min said casually. Nonetheless, his casual words made Ye Ling proud. Most humans would have said something along the lines of having tamed a beast or gotten a contract beast. However, Xu Min referred to him as his companion, something which made him feel very happy. He even considered leaving the Immortal Valley together with this human when the Immortal Valley Ranking ended. If this was possible, no one knew what the Guardians would do; they had already taken one beast from Xu Min; he would not be surprised if they took another. Not even if they were considered his friends or family, he could do nothing against the guardians.

Neither Xu Min nor Ye Ling was speaking, both were on high alert as they looked at the surroundings. Many glanced at Xu Min, but no one moved towards him nor the lion. Many glanced a few extra times at the beast, fear shining in their eyes. Ye Ling had no intention of hiding his aura and the sheer power he controlled.

Xu Min, on the other hand, had reigned in his cultivation so that no one could see his strength. Even someone stronger than him would find it difficult to see through the cultivation level in him. This was also one of the reasons that people did not even go towards him.

Traveling a hundred kilometers was not a challenging thing. An hour afterward they reached the outskirts of an area filled with people. As they reached this area, Xu Min, and Ye Ling were both greatly surprised.

What they were looking at was not a garrison or people gathering in an army; rather, it was a large marketplace. Many of the participants of the Immortal Valley had gathered at a large lake in the middle of the forest. All around the lake were people. Some were walking around others were seated down and selling items they had either brought with them or gathered in the forest.

Most people sold medicinal pills and protective treasures. Though these items were needed by many of the participants, the participants also realized that if they wanted a chance to rank higher in the rankings they needed to get their hands on some beast cores or emblems.

Entering this lake area, Xu Min looked around him. He was quite surprised to see how many people had gathered here. He was even more surprised to see some people were selling for the sake of getting a higher ranking, there were also others who had decided to buy these items.

It was clear that the group of experts was split into two groups. The first group was the people who decided that survival was of the utmost importance. These were the experts who were buying items from the many sellers. The other group was those who valued high ranking, and these were the ones who sold items for the sake of jumping at least a few ranks to hopefully gain some fame for their family or some recognition from the Guardians and their faction.

Xu Min did not care too much about the rankings. He had joined the Immortal Valley Rankings for the sake of increasing his strength. The stronger he became, the more likely he was to defeat the Zhong family. Strength was all that mattered to him. He had joined this Immortal Valley Rankings for this reason alone., However, now that he had joined and reached a high ranking, he could not help but feel that he should strive for a great position as possible.

Moving through the lake district, Xu Min looked at everything that was happening around him. He looked at the many things for sale but even, so there wasn't anything that caught his interest. He was not in need of protective treasures nor was he in need of medicinal pills as he still had the ones from Ri Chu City alongside the ones he had been gifted in the Tournament.

He had been looked after by a master alchemist; this alchemist had created some miracle medicines for Xu Min. He had already used some of them, but he had not used all of them. Having these pills in his possession made it so that he was not willing to purchase other pills either. Nonetheless, when he reached halfway around the lake, he did find something which piqued his interest.

"This stance," Xu Min said as he leaned forward and looked at a jade slip that was up for sale. "How much do you want for this stance?"

Looking at him, the seller was surprised. He had placed out everything he had which included some martial arts stances he had acquired from his teacher. However, no one seemed to be interested in these things since they could not prolong one's life. The stance was from his faction of the Sunset Valley's highest ranked sect the Sect of the Thousand Suns. The stance was one of the hardest to practice, but it was also outstanding in attack power. It was called Stance of the Setting Sun. It created the sun from Qi, the sun which would roast the opponent and if enough Qi was poured into it it could explode itself.

This attack was outstanding, but if one were to explode it, it was likely that they would also wound themselves in the process. It was a desperate attack but having one was not a bad thing.

Looking at Xu Min, this seller could not make out his appearance at all. When he looked at the lion by his side, he felt cold sweat pouring from his skin. It was clearly a very strong beast!

"Oh, uh, good sir, this is a very important stance from my sect. Selling it would obviously require a high price. Either four three-ranked beast cores or one four-ranked beast core!"

This man thought that this was a very high price. A four-ranked beast core was equal to killing a four ranked Warrior, not something that one could easily do. Getting one of these, it was clear that he would be able to rise in the rankings quite a bit.

Three three-ranked beast cores were of less value than one four-ranked beast core. Nevertheless, the expert did not expect that Xu Min had a four-ranked beast core, thus he came up with this alternative trade.

To Xu Min, this price was incredibly low. At the rank he was at, three ranked beast cores were worth nothing to him. He picked up four which he quickly tossed to the seller before he took the jade slip and turned away to leave. Four three ranked beast cores were just a little less than one four ranked beast core, but it was a price this seller was satisfied with.

Leaving the stall, Xu Min wished to leave the entire lake district and find somewhere where he could focus on learning this newly acquired stance, but just as he was about to leave he ran into a group from Snow Mountain.

This group was clearly in a foul mood. As he was about to sneak around them, he suddenly felt curious about what they were about to do. Clearly, they had something important to tell everyone who was present.

Thinking like this, Xu Min gestured for Ye Ling to have the two of them follow the crowd and soon all of them were standing in front of the Snow Mountain, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"Everyone here we have an important announcement to share with you all," the expert started as he looked at everyone around them. Many of them were looking different, hiding their true appearances, so Xu Min did not stand out as he was hiding in the crowd.

"The expert Xu Min, a two star ranked Warrior, has caused chaos and wantonly murdered his way through the Immortal Valley Rankings. Anyone he has found on his way has fallen to his devious tricks, has been slain and their emblems were stolen. We have just been informed that this Xu Min has killed a group of experts led by our junior apprentice Shen Yu. He has stolen all their emblems. We wish to make an alliance with everyone here at the Lakeside district. Anyone who kills Xu Min will not only get to keep all the emblems and treasures on him which is enough for him to have reached the top five, but we will also give four five-ranked emblems in trade for his life. The Bounty will only be paid out to someone who will deliver his head to us here within the Immortal Valley. We will have an expert staying here in the Lakeside district ready to take the head and give the reward!"

Hearing these words, murmurs broke out; everyone started chatting with one another. No matter how strong they were, all of them were filled with excitement. The bounty was simply too outstanding!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 80: Blood Pagoda

Even Xu Min was stunned. Because there was such a high reward for capturing him, everyone would now be after him. He could not help but smile at this. Though it meant he would be in constant danger, he also knew that risk and reward were two sides of a coin. He slowly slipped out from within the crowd and left the Lakeside district. Retreating into the forest, he reflected on how he was going to deal with all those people coming for him.

"How do they know that it was you who killed their Shen Yu?" Ye Ling asked.

Xu Min grinned in reply, "Easy, who else within the entire Immortal Valley would kill him if not me? Even if it was someone else, I would still be given the blame due to the enmity between myself and their sect. Saying that I wantonly kill people is a little over the top too. However, I know why they said that. They need to paint me as villainous. However, I don't kill anyone other than the ones who attack me. It is only right I return their hostility. If they want to kill me, it is obvious I would kill them. They can blame their deaths on their greed!"

Xu Min did not feel guilty at all for killing as many as he did. Had he not killed them then, they would have killed him, so he felt that his actions were justified.

Now the hunt was going to be immensely intensified; more people, especially stronger people, would be coming for him. Even the top experts within the Immortal Valley would be moved by the bounty of two five-ranked cores. These five-ranked cores were so potent that they could propel someone directly into the top ten. Maybe they could even change the ranking of the top three.

Had it not been Xu Min himself being the target, then he too would have joined the hunt to attain such a reward.

"Robbing the Snow Mountain is not bad," Ye Ling said by Xu Min's side as he looked back towards the Lakeside district. Xu Min chuckled. Robbing them was indeed not bad, but did they have the ability to do so?

"If we want to do this, we have to do it before more experts reach the Lakeside district. If those extremely strong experts appear, then we really have no option other than to give up," Ye Ling said. Xu Min nodded in agreement. Looking in the direction of the Lakeside district, Xu Min's heart was suddenly filled with mixed emotions.

"We cannot go to the middle of the Lakeside district and start battling it out just like that," he sighed. "There are many experts there. Even if we are strong, we cannot fight a whole army. Not just this, but we also just heard how all of them are on high alert from hearing about the bounty placed on my head. They will fight even more fervently than usual. I think we should wait for them to leave the city. As soon as they leave, we will deal with those groups one at a time. Taking on everyone all at once might be too much even for me," Xu Min laughed at himself. He was after all only a three-star warrior.

"Okay," Ye Ling said, a little disappointed. He understood that managing to defeat Shen Yu and his men did not mean that they could take on a city full of experts. There were bound to be so many people that they would lose eventually. Xu Min and Ye Ling would be ground down and would run out of energy in a battle of attrition.

Suddenly, Ye Ling's eyes lit up. He looked at Xu Min with a curious look, something which also made the latter very curious. Just what could this lion have thought of? And was it something of use to them?

"There is this one place within the Immortal Valley. It is known as a sacred location, and I have only been there once," Ye Ling began hesitantly. Nonetheless, the more he spoke, the more confident he became. "The only time I was there was because of pure curiosity. I had to experience it at least one time. Although I was not allowed to enter, I could feel the dense energy from inside. If we were to cultivate there, or go through one or two of the trials, we should be able to gain some new strength." Ye Ling explained very eagerly.

"This place is usually not allowed to be entered by just anyone. I don't even know if humans can enter, but it is worth a try. If you manage to pass the first trial, your body will be rebuilt, created from the energy within heaven and earth alone. This should be enough to push you to the four star ranking. If you reach the fourth star, then we should be able to take on the entire Lakeside district!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Min was stunned. A place like this really exists? He was amazed and also slightly intimidated, but he knew that great dangers brought great advantages. He was indeed in need of a way to gain strength fairly soon, thus he decided to follow Ye Ling. Nodding his head, the face of the lion flushed with excitement; the two of them ran into the forest, deeper and deeper.

Had it not been for Ye Ling's protection and keen sight, they would never have reached the location safely. They traveled for a full two days before they reached a small cave.The closer and closer Xu Min came to it, the denser the energy within the air became. It was clear that this place was special and mystical.

"Enter the cave." Ye Ling urged Xu Min. With a nod of his head, Xu Min did just that. Entering the cave, he found it as though he had walked through a curtain. On the opposite side, he entered a large cave. Within this cave, in the middle, was a large pagoda.

This pagoda was built fully from black stones. The dense energy within this area was so heavy that Xu Min's body greedily absorbed it, depositing the energy inside every part of his body. Some of it was deposited within the muscles and bones, some went to the dantian and some rushed through the meridians. Soon, his entire body was filled with energy and Xu Min felt a high from the sudden spike in energy. Behind him, his sword was also greedily absorbing energy. It consumed so much energy that the sword itself had turned white.

Taking one step at a time, Xu Min slowly moved closer and closer to the pagoda, eventually standing right in front of it. Looking at this pagoda, he found a doorway that seemed to be made from some sort of black wood. This wood was a type of wood that Xu Min had never seen before. When he placed his hand upon the door, he felt how it started sucking up his energy, in which the door slowly opened up for him. The more energy that was poured into the door, the quicker it opened, but Xu Min dared not use too much of his energy. Although it quickly returned to him, he had the feeling that this pagoda was nowhere near as simple as it looked. There had to be something within, something meant to test him.

The moment Xu Min entered, he found himself standing on a large platform; around him was bubbling magma. Although he had just entered through the door, there was no way for him to retreat any longer. The door was completely sealed behind him.

"Welcome, mortal, to the Ring of Blood. This is a trial created since many years past. The Ring of Blood is a way to temper yourself. The more stages you manage to defeat, the stronger the rewards you will be gifted." A voice boomed out from the beyond. Xu Min looked around, but nothing was evident within.

"Here in the Ring of Blood, you shall die if you fail. You can only leave after having cleared one step of the trial. After accepting a trial, there is only death or victory."

"Should you die within the Ring of Blood, then you will forever be kept here in the Blood Pagoda. Your spirit will join the many other spirits in the Ring of Blood."

"You are only a three-star warrior, so your first opponent will be equal to your level of strength. Prove your talent and rise. However, if you succumb to the trial, death will be your only fate!"

Having finished speaking, the voice faded away, and a red shadow flickered onto the platform. A red, Golden-Furred Blood Lion appeared in front of him. This lion was far smaller than Ye Ling; its mane was less golden, and it was clearly only a juvenile. Xu Min felt no guilt in attacking it, since he knew that it was a previous contestant who had failed the trial. Furthermore, he was not in the mood to risk his life; with a swipe of his sword, the lion was simply sliced into half. Killing it took far less time than what Xu Min had expected. As soon as the spirit died, the red shadow did not vanish and instead entered Xu Min's body.

He could feel the foreign energy entering his body. It felt as though the beast that he had slain had become increasingly strong as it attacked his soul instead. Fortunately, Xu Min was no ordinary person. His soul defense was outstanding. With sheer willpower, he overpowered the lion in a turn of the tables; the energy that was fuming within his veins slowly relaxed as it merged with his body.

Cracking sounds could be heard as every single bone and cell in his body began merging with the shadow. His bones started breaking only to be mended again. His hair shot into the air and even grew in length.

His body became many times stronger than it had been before and his skin was now as tough as black iron. His bones were likewise as impenetrable as jade. Feeling this new strength, Xu Min was surprised to find that his body had indeed broken through to the fourth star of the Warrior rank, something that had happened so swiftly that even Xu Min was astonished.

Although Ye Ling had told him that it was likely for him to become a four-star Warrior after passing through the first trial, Xu Min had not believed it, especially not since the fight had been as easy as it was. Now, as Xu Min felt the benefits he had gained, his heart screamed out in joy.

"You have reached a higher rank. Your next opponent will be a fourth-star ranked beast," the voice commented casually. Without Xu Min saying whether or not he wished to continue on to the second round, another shadow appeared in front of him. It was yet another Golden-Furred Blood Lion. This time, it was closer in appearance to Ye Ling. Xu Min was more focused this time.

Although there was only one rank in difference between the two ranks, Xu Min did not wish to take any chances. With vigilant eyes, he focused on the beast in front of him.

"What happened to Xu Min?" Someone asked curiously, as they all looked at the many water screens displaying all that was happening within the Immortal Valley. So far, at least one of these screens had always followed Xu Min. Just like other screens had always followed the other participants in the top five. However, now, the one that was supposed to follow Xu Min had turned black. Nothing could be seen on the screen, and the Guardians were doing nothing to fix this problem. Seeing how casually the Guardians acted, everyone was at a loss as to what had happened.

Inside the Guardian's residence, a water screen displayed Xu Min's battles in the Blood Pagoda. However, none of the Guardians would allow for this to be shown on the central stage.

"Do you think he will be able to make it to the King tier? Perhaps higher?" One of the guardians asked curiously while stroking a small, green snake on his neck. The snake, however, just harrumphed before it snorted, "He is my human, so of course he will become a King, if not higher. He will be the very highest rank you can get!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 81: Ring of Blood

"What's up with this? I thought I had the choice of not participating after winning the first battle," Xu Min mumbled to himself. He was sure the voice had said it was his own choice whether or not he would want to keep going, but now he had been forced into the second battle.

"Meager human, what do you know?" The voice boomed out once again. "Although you can choose to stop after the first battle, you just became stronger. Consequently, this is also considered your first trial. Every time you reach a new rank, you have to fight someone at your level before you can leave. Unless you have already defeated someone of the same strength."

"You already reached the fourth rank, thus you have to fight a four-star beast to leave. Only when you have defeated a four-star beast are you allowed to leave. Should you fight until you reach the rank of a five-star Warrior, then you have to defeat another five-star beast before you can leave. These are the rules you must abide by."

"Nonetheless, reaching the rank of a five-star Warrior would require you to at least reach the King tier. For a simple human, this cannot be easily managed." The voice snorted. Xu Min was left with more questions than answers. Was it possible to reach the rank of a five-star Warrior from this pagoda alone? Xu Min was astonished. It seemed that Ye Ling had brought him to a truly treasured location within the Immortal Valley.

Thinking for some time, Xu Min was sincerely excited, but worry suddenly gripped him. "I have limited time within this Immortal Valley. When my time is up, I will then be teleported out of here. Is it even possible to reach the King tier before I need to leave?" he asked the formless voice and received a snort in response.

"Of course you have time. The time within this Blood Pagoda flows differently from that of the outside. While you may have been in here for a full year, you will only be gone for a week in the outside world. Do not let these facts confuse you when it comes to the Blood Pagoda's isolated world. You will not understand it unless you join the Guardians of the Immortal Valley later on."

Xu Min was instantly excited again. A full year was only one week? That meant he would have plenty of time to finish this Ring of Blood. Looking at the sword in his hands, he had full faith in himself in regards to fighting at least four-star and five-star beasts. Some six-star beasts were passable hurdles to him, while others would prove to be troublesome. For now, though, he was certain that he would be able to increase his strength tremendously.

Xu Min focused fully on the four-star beast after finally finishing speaking with the formless voice. He gripped tightly around the sword hilt in his hands.

Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes for a brief moment, Xu Min calmed himself. Although he was excited about the endless possibilities within this Ring of Blood, he could not take any of his opponents lightly. If he was too busy with his future fights, rather than the ones in front of him, he would very likely fall before reaching his goal.

Looking at the beast in front of him, Xu Min cleared his mind. He slashed down towards the beast in front of him. However, this Golden-Furred Blood Lion was much swifter than the one before it and, in an instant, dodged the slash, retreating several steps.

He was surprised at first, but then it dawned upon him. The beasts he was fighting were the ones who were considered talents in the Golden-Furred Blood Lion family clan. For it to have died in this Blood Pagoda, it was clear it had not died on the level that Xu Min was currently battling.

Not only was it capable of dodging Xu Min's attacks, but it was also alert since its eyes were glued to his every move.

Xu Min focused fully on the Golden-Furred Blood Lion in front of him, neither even wondering why the difficulty had suddenly risen nor spending any time cursing the disembodied voice. Instead, his full focus was on this beast, each moment spent carefully considering his options.

His speed was not on par with the lion's, but his advantage lay in the abundance of energy in his cultivation base. He knew he had more internal energy than this beast in front of him. Although he knew this, he was also fully aware that if he were the only one launching attacks, he would be the only one using up his internal energy. Upon using all of his internal energy, he would become a much easier target for the already dead, but still very conscious, beast in front of him.

"Come on then," Xu Min said as he, too, observed the lion. He decided to no longer attack it and rather waited to see what sort of move it would make. It could not avoid him forever.

Just as Xu Min took a defensive stance, the lion pounced forward, its sharp claws coming straight down at his chest with frightening speed. Xu Min had been prepared and raised his sword just in time to block this powerful attack, but it made him stumble backwards three steps before he finally managed to balance himself and stand his ground.

The lion was not willing to let him relax. As soon as it had attacked, it used the momentum from its first attack to launch a series of attacks. However, this time, the attack was slightly weaker, and Xu Min protected himself perfectly well. He stood his ground, ready to launch an attack.

Xu Min gritted his teeth and poured his internal energy into his sword. The Qi around his body started rising in heat as his determination spiked.

The elements within the Blood Pagoda were filled with the essence of the heavens and the earth. Feeling these energies enter his body, he once more entered a state where his entire body was one with the world around him. He had become one with the sword in his hand, one with the world, and one with the Qi that flowed through his meridians.

The energy in his body had become increasingly agitated and volatile under this process. Soon, it started to turn red, signaling that his body was about to be set aflame. Then actual flames burst forth from his body, inadvertently increasing both his perception and his strength.

He could easily dodge any attack that the lion threw his way with the smallest movement necessary. Having become one with the world surrounding him, it was as though the lion was moving in slow motion. Its every movement was so easy for him to predict that avoiding it required absolutely next to no energy. Looking at these flames, he remembered them from once before when he had been back at the Yong family compound. He had become one with the world then. Even so, it seemed as though the energy was slightly different. It was now much more potent.

The sword in his hand hummed. The flames on his body also covered the sword, and, at having entered this state, Xu Min chopped the sword downwards with all he had.

The sword drew an arc as natural as the flow of water in a gentle stream, as nimbly and as elegantly as the winter snowflake, and as aloofly as the tall, unyielding mountain.

This attack seemed as simple as any other attack he had ever performed, but it contained some beauty and profoundness that not many would be able to understand.

The lion was a rare talent from the Golden-Furred Blood Lion's family. However, it was still only a four-star ranked magical beast. How could it possibly understand the profound mysteries behind the sword stroke that Xu Min unleashed?

Although it wished to avoid it, it could not. It was as though the world around it had locked the lion in on the impending attack. It was impossible to move and, with fear in its eyes, it could feel how the sword slowly sunk into its body before its soul itself dispersed. Finally able to leave this god forsaken Blood Pagoda, it could once more enter the circle of reincarnation.

Although the battle had finished, Xu Min was standing in the middle of the platform. His eyes were closed, and the flames flaring up from his body seemed to have no ceiling to their intensity.

It was clear that the young man was gaining some insight into the aspect of becoming one with the world, but even so, there were rules within the Blood Pagoda. The formless voice once more spoke out to Xu Min.

"You have defeated the trial that has forcefully been placed upon you. Do you wish to continue onwards or leave this Blood Pagoda? If you wish to continue onwards, you have a moment to regain your energy."

The previous haughtiness in the voice had vanished. Instead, it was rather somber now. Xu Min paid no mind to the change in tone and nodded his head without opening his eyes.

"I wish to challenge the next step of the trial now!"

Xu Min was aware that he was in a stage of enlightenment, but he had also noticed that he had gained an understanding and insight during the battle. This insight came to him far swifter than when he was standing alone, trying to comprehend the mysteries of this strange domain.

Saying no more, two shadows appeared on the dueling platform and quickly took the shape of two Golden-Furred Blood Lions. They were both of the fourth rank, but they seemed lacking comparing to the one before.

Still, they were not to be looked down upon. Although they might be weaker, individually, they were now two beasts that could team up against Xu Min. Nonetheless, he was not worried at all.

His eyes were still closed as he felt in the air around him how the beasts were edging closer and closer. One was walking slowly, while the other was pouncing rapidly. One seemed to be on guard, almost timid, while the other was aggressive and eager to start the battle.

Having his eyes closed did not deter his ability to dodge. He did not need to see—all he needed was to dodge through feeling alone.

He gathered all the energy within his meridians. This time, he sent it all into the sword, causing the blade to turn completely white. Flames flickered off its edge and he severely injured the aggressive of the two with another one of his bizarre strokes of the sword, causing it to instantly retreat, whimpering as it tried to lick its wounds. A large gash had appeared on its chest, and death would have been a certainty it could not escape had it been a living creature of flesh and blood... However, for a soul, having the incarnation of its body almost split in two, it seemed, was not enough to 'kill' it.

The already timid lion seemed to become even more cautious than before. It paced around at the back of the ring of blood, baring its teeth but not taking the initiative to attack.

Xu Min finally opened his eyes, a flame burning within their depths. A smile spread on his lips as the dense energy of Heaven and Earth seemed to revolve around only him. The dense energy entered his body as though he had become a massive black hole that sucked up all the energy within the vicinity.

Xu Min swung his sword as he moved forward. It seemed as though he moved slowly, but every step he took covered a third of the platform. Reaching the wounded soul, it took but one attack for him to sever its head and allow it to return to the circle of reincarnation before he turned his sights on the remaining Blood Lion.

This was the most cautious one of their kind he had ever seen. He could not help but wonder how this lion had managed to lose its life within the Blood Pagoda, considering its cautious nature. He knew, however, that he would never get an answer. All he could do was focus on defeating this spirit and finishing the challenge he had been given. It took him only one attack, as the lion was too fearful to even fight back. This was of Xu Min's benefit right now. He understood that the next trial would be even tougher, having yet to experience truly facing two of the lions at once due to the cowardly from prior. Still, a smile was on his face as he sat down on the stone floor and started meditating. The benefits he had gained from this Blood Pagoda were already outstanding.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 82 - History

Awakening from his meditation, Xu Min once more managed to reach his optimal state. He stood up, rustled his body slightly, and started looking at the empty platform in front of him.

"I accept the next trial!" He called out. Although he had not heard the formless voice for some time, he was well aware that it was still present despite the lack of his response.

The moment he had spoken, three shadows appeared in front of him. This time two Golden-Furred Blood Lions just like before appeared alongside some creature that seemed strangely human. His ears were pointed and his eyes large. His features were extraordinarily attractive, and his physique was slim but filled with energy. A tattoo was painted on his body, swirling from one arm to the neck and all the way up the back of his head; it ended right above his left eye. He wore simple dark green clothes. His hand was a bow with the associated arrows bundled together in a pouch by his side.

Looking at this humanoid specimen, Xu Min was suddenly reminded of an old story his sister had told him many years before. The story was about how this world was once inhabited by not only humans but also demons, elves, and fairies. Once upon a time, these four races, similar to one another, lived side by side, and each race had their territory. However, the elves, fairies, and demons had problems reproducing, and their races were just barely able to sustain themselves. While, on the other hand, the humans constantly expanded. Soon the humans' territory was not large enough to hold all the them, and they started overtaking other territories.

The first territory they took over belonged to the fairies. These fairies were against wars, but they all stood united when they were placed under pressure. Their power, which the humans had looked down upon, was not to be underestimated. These fairies all had an affinity with nature, and their power proved to be outstanding when the battle between the humans and fairies escalated.

The fairies allied themselves with the Elves. However, because of the hatred between Elves and Demons, the demons chose to support the humans.

The battle was long and bloody, but eventually, the humans and demons prevailed. In the end though, the humans turned on the demons and conquered the entire world.

This was a fairy tale all children were told by their mothers or fathers when they were small. It was a fairy tale everyone knew about but no one believed in; yet today, Xu Min was standing in front of the very first elf he had ever seen. Looking at this pointy-eared creature, it was clear that it could be nothing else.

The Golden-Furred Blood Lions stayed put behind this young elf. Both of them stood as though they were his guards, ensuring that anyone who came close would have to deal with the both of them. Whereas, the elf with his bow and arrow clearly was capable of dealing with anyone at a distance.

Xu Min was currently quite a distance away. Though the elf could shoot his arrows whenever he wanted to he had not.

"Give up," a pleasant voice suddenly drifted out from the elf that was standing at the opposite side of the platform. "Although I wish it was possible for me to return to the cycle of reincarnation, I have no other option than to use my full strength. I might seem to be only a four-star Warrior, my true strength is not far behind someone at the five-star ranking. Even though this place ranks us according to our original ranks, everyone who enters is a peerless genius. Your strength needs to be outstanding to reach even the King rank."

Hearing the words the elf said, Xu Min smirked. "You are not the only peerless genius around," he replied, feeling slightly silly about calling himself a genius. However, he also knew that now that he had reached the fourth star of a Warrior he would be able to put up quite a fight for anyone ranked at the fifth star. At worst, he and this elf should be about at the the same strength.

"It seems you have no intention of backing off," the elf said. His voice turned cold, and raised his bow. However, he did not pick up any of his arrows. Instead, he created one from Qi and shot it at Xu Min at high speed.

Had the elf used real arrows then Xu Min might have been worried. However, in his hands was a sword which devoured energy. The moment he raised it, it absorbed all the energy from the arrow while he was rushing he rushed forward to meet with the enemy.

This group was like the previous one. One of the members of the group was outstanding while the others were mediocre. Although the two Golden-Furred Blood Lions ranked a four level, they were after all only normal Golden-Furred Blood Lions. As Xu Min opened his mind and became one with the world around him, flames soared from his body. He could easily avoid the attacks of the lions in this state.

Seeing the flames spewing forth from Xu Min, the elf's face expressed surprise. He quickly suppressed his surprise with a serious look.. He did not use any more arrows or his bow, but with a flicker of a hand, a long sword appeared in his hands—a sword just slightly smaller than the one in Xu Min's hands.

"Well done!" he yelled out as he retreated slightly, "I seriously underestimated you, but you forced me to take out my bone piercer! I will now prove to you just how amazing, we, elves are at fighting with swords!"

Seeing the elf retreat, Xu Min did not chase after him. Instead, he focused on the two lions before him. Although it was possible for him to avoid them easily, they were making him use some of his energy. Since the elf was not easy to deal with, he decided to instantly get rid of these two lions.

Xu Min swiftly slashed down his sword, eliminating the two lions instantly.. Their souls once more entered the circle of reincarnation, but their energy entered Xu Min's body, making him feel as though he was about to burst. His strength was increasing by the minute, and his eyes were sparkling with excitement. Before defeating these two lions, fighting the elf might have been difficult, but now he did not fear him at all.

Although those two Golden-Furred Blood Lions were not outstanding compared to many of the other opponents Xu Min had faced so far, they were in no way weak. Nonetheless, compared to the elf and Xu Min, they strength was quite insignificant. . They had likely failed their very first trial in their lifetime.

Seeing Xu Min's flames grow in both intensity and size, the elf was perfectly well aware of what was happening. This understanding caused his eyes to turn dark. He was not in a great mood any longer; he felt uncertain as to whether or not he would be able to win.

This Blood Pagoda was filled to the brim with souls. It had existed for eons already, and more than ten experts would enter every single year. Of these experts, only half would survive. This may seem like a bad survival rate, but those who did survive would become so strong that it was almost impossible to beat them. Was it not for this outcome, then the Golden-Furred Blood Lion family would long ago have stopped using this Blood Pagoda. However, without the experts that had survived it, they would not be able to be the strongest beasts within the Immortal Valley.

A bang sounded out as the two swords collided. Sparks flew everywhere as their swords collided together, and then something strange happened.

The sword in Xu Min's hands started humming again. This only occurred only when it was excited or filled to the brim with energy. Yet right now, it had not been able to absorb much energy, so the only other explanation was that it was excited.

Having collided with the other sword and started humming, the sword suddenly started devouring everything around it. Soon the sword in the elf's hands started to vanish. The elf's face turned pale.

"You... You have a sword that can devour soul energy?" he asked in horror. Xu Min looked at him with a surprised look, "I don't know," he said honestly, "so far all that it has devoured is internal energies, but even I don't know the limits of my sword. My teacher, who gifted this sword to me, never told me anything about it."

"I concede," the elf rapidly cried. However, the sword in Xu Min's hands kept absorbing the soul energy from the sword in the elf's hand, and soon the hand of the elf turned translucent as well.

"It seems that my fate is to be devoured by you," the elf said with a wry smile on his face, "I guess this is not much worse than being within this Blood Pagoda. By the time you die, my soul will be released. I will then enter the circle of reincarnation once more if I am lucky. God only knows how long I will have to stay within this god forsaken pagoda to be defeated again."

Without fighting back, the devouring of the soul energy increased in pace. Xu Min sat down on the ground to absorb this new influx of energy pulsing through his veins.

The energy he was absorbing was strange and different from anything he had ever experienced before. Flashes of memories of a previous life appeared in his mind together with one martial art ability after another. Everything that belonged to the elf soon belonged to Xu Min. He even found that the bow and the sword which the elf had used during the battle were weapons created from pure energy. These weapons were now in his hands.

Soon the elf had turned completely translucent. With a smile on his face, he vanished into the sword. Xu Min had gained everything that belonged to this soul. Not only did he have the many attacks that this elf possessed in his lifetime, he even had all of his knowledge and every memory from his life.

The fight had ended, while Xu Min still sat on the ground. He had not used a lot of his energy in this battle; instead, he had managed to get through it by relying solely on the sword in his hands. Now he had gained newfound strength, knowledge, and abilities. Although he had not gained the internal energy of the elf, he soon found that these memories were worth far more than mere energy.

Standing up and placing the sword on his back, Xu Min flicked out with his hand. The bow suddenly appeared in his palm. It felt so natural as it laid there. With a wisp of Qi which took the shape of an arrow Xu Min shot at the distance and found that his aim was as great as the elf's. He owed this elf a lot.

"I am ready for the next trial," Xu Min called out, but once more the formless voice no longer spoke. Instead, six shadows appeared in front of him. Six Golden-Furred Blood Lions arrived at the platform, all of them throwing themselves at Xu Min with frenzied expressions on their faces and slight fear in their eyes.

Fighting against six beasts was in no way a simple fight. However, Xu Min was not worried. Lifting the bow in his hands and summoning one arrow after another, he allowed for these arrows to rain down upon the beasts in front of him. Some hit eyes; others hit throats. Some arrows hit stomachs, other arrows hit backs. Every single one of the arrows hit their target, but these were not simple beasts.a The arrows hit critical spots, but five of the lions still advanced forward with the blood gushing down from their bodies.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 83: Swordlight

A paw came swiping down which forced Xu Min to retreat further back while another beast came jumping at him from the back. Holding the sword in his hands, Xu Min was not in a position to wait. He jumped forward, but just at that moment, he felt a beast land on his back as teeth and claws sunk into his body. Fortunately, he managed to throw off the beast with a burst of his internal energy.

While one beast attacked, the others were not idly looking on; instead, they tried to get behind Xu Min to attack his back as well. Xu Min had switched out the bow in his hand for his large sword. Apparently, these beasts were not dumb. Upon seeing this massive sword, they understood that attacking from the front was most likely going to get them killed.

Blood was streaming down Xu Min's back.Even so, he did not feel hopeless as he constantly turned around trying to face the beasts.

Taking one step forward, Xu Min caught his breath before he lifted the sword in his hands and roared loudly. Jumping forward at his highest speed, he slashed down his sword.

Although his sword was capable of absorbing the energy of beasts and humans, beasts were considered external practitioners. They were incapable of using stances. Thus all their internal energy roamed within their bodies. Xu Min needed to cut through them to absorb their energy.

His attack was lightning swift. Although the beasts were fast, they were no match for Xu Min's speed. He managed to successfully deliver a killing blow to the smallest of the beasts before he once more jumped forward to avoid leaving his back vulnerable to the other beasts who were pouncing at him.

Sighing, Xu Min was unsure of what to do. No matter where he moved, the remaining four beasts were capable of attacking him. The fight would only get worse as time went on. He had to constantly clad his entire body in Qi to protect it from the hard claws and teeth that grabbed onto him time and time again.

Xu Min stumbled forward as he sensed two beasts jumping at him. A small grunt escaped his lips as he once more steadied himself by taking one step in front of him. Once more, the Qi within his body erupted and burst forward like an energy ripple, forcing the beasts to withdraw as they were hit. He turned around and noticed the red eyes of the beasts pool up with bloodlust; their entire beings were clearly ready to rip Xu Min to pieces. Nevertheless, Xu Min was not willing to let them.

Xu Min swung his sword around, making a pattern in front of him that looked like the number eight. As his sword moved through the air, it started humming. The blade that was originally covered in blood from a beast he cleaved in half started to shine brilliantly.

"I am not going to be beaten by something as annoying as you guys!" Xu Min growled. Jumping towards the beasts, he completely disregarded his own safety. He opened his mind, allowing himself to become one with the world once more. He could feel every single movement made by these beasts, now avoiding them was easy. He started pouring the Qi within his body into his sword. With a swipe, a sword light appeared and shot into the head of one of the beasts, causing its head to explode as it slumped to the ground.

Xu Min no longer held back. Although he could become one with the world around him, he did not wish to fully rely on this ability. He understood that these trials within the Blood Pagoda truly required him to use his every ability in every situation.

Only now did Xu Min understand his true mishap with this battle. Starting battling with the bow had put him at a disadvantage. Although he had managed to understand and learn the abilities of the elf he had absorbed, he was not used to fighting with the elf's abilities. If he had started with his sword in his hands, he would have finished the fight already.

"No use in regretting now," he mumbled to himself. He once more swung out his sword. This time he managed to decapitate one of the beasts. His sword was constantly gaining momentum as he kept swinging it in a specific pattern. He would faint weaknesses when he advanced and wait for the beasts to attack. Then he would dodge and use this opening to behead the beasts.

Another beast soon succumbed, and after Xu Min switched to his sword and used his ability to become one with the world. The battle became one-sided once more, and when the final beast was killed, Xu Min instantly sat on the ground.

He did not enter cultivation but instead started to think about the mistakes he had committed in the previous fight while also urging his internal energy to heal his wounds.

"Although I managed to learn every ability from the elf and can use them as were they my own, my body is not used to using these attacks; my attack patterns are not used to fighting like this. By trying to force a style I am not used to, I put myself in an unfavorable position, a position where I even got injured." Xu Min mumbled to himself.

"Although I can make use of these memories and the abilities they grant me, I need time to work on them. I should not have been in such a rush. I should slowly and fully understand and perfect these attacks. It is not often I have as good a possibility as I do now, being in the Blood Pagoda and all, so I should really use the time wisely."

"The elf gave me all his memories, and amongst these memories were not only the ability to use bow and arrows but also external martial arts. I have never heard about sword attacks like these before. I only heard about stances, so to be able to practice these, my ability should rise dramatically."

Nodding his head, Xu Min felt excitement deep within. He had to calm himself before he managed to sit down and enter a meditative trance, allowing for his internal energy to once more reach the peak condition and his wounds to heal.

He was seated down with his legs crossed with his sword lying on his lap. A few hours went by before he finally opened his eyes once more and stood up. The previously serious wounds on his back had almost vanished, and the internal energy he had used in the battle had all been restored.

Xu Min flicked his hand, and a bow appeared in his grasp. With another flick of his hand, Qi left his body and took the shape of an arrow, after which Xu Min started training his archery. He would keep shooting at specific targets. Though his aim was accurate at the start, he soon found that it was not easy for him to get used to the bow and arrows.

The bow needed a firm but gentle hand, and it was completely different from his usual experiments with the sword. Nonetheless, soon he became more and more proficient in using the bow. His hands became swifter and swifter in their ability to shoot out one arrow after another.

Although he was becoming much better at using bow and arrow, Xu Min was not satisfied until he felt that the bow had become an extension of his hand. He ended up spending a full three days before he was satisfied.

In these three days, he had not rested unless he had used up all the energy in his body to create Qi arrows and could only continue his training by taking a moment to recuperate.

After finally feeling perfectly in tune with the bow, Xu Min stood up once more and looked at the sword in his hand. This sword had been with him for a long time, and he was thankful that it had been by his side through all this time. It had saved his life more than once.

This sword had many secrets that Xu Min could not know. Even so, he felt that it had become a companion of his, and he felt invincible when he wielded it.

Lifting the sword above his head, Xu Min closed his eyes and allowed for his own Qi to enter the sword. Following the memories from the elf, he used the Qi to create one sword light after another, which shot out from the sword and entered the walls, the ground, and the barrier around the platform Xu Min was standing on. It was clear that these points of impact had been demolished.

However, as soon as they had been broken, they strangely enough repaired themselves as soon as the chips had been broken off the wall and the floor. Seconds after, it seemed as though none of the destruction had ever taken place.

"Humph, a mortal like you managed to break the ground in this Blood Pagoda?" The formless voice once more appeared. This time sounding slightly startled; nonetheless, Xu Min knew that his performance was not something outstanding. It was just that the voice had severely underestimated him for being a human cultivator.

"I never expected to break the floor, senior," Xu Min said humbly and honestly. His response caused the formless voice to let go of another snort, but he said nothing more. The Blood Pagoda once more descended into silence. Xu Min then focused on the new martial arts attacks that he had learned from the elf.

The first attack was the sword light attack he had just used. What it did was infuse the Qi from his body into the sword and then launch an attack. The Qi would connect both sword and energy and make a beam of light as sharp as his sword at point-blank range that could be used to attack from a distance. The speed with which the sword light shot out was outstandingly swift, and one needed to be very fast to avoid it. Looking at this sword light, Xu Min guessed that at least a five or six-star Warrior would have no way of avoiding it completely when it was launched.

Xu Min worked on this attack for a full week before he could control the sword light a hundred percent. The more he trained, the more his Qi took on a sword-like quality. Soon he could even dispatch a sword light without the needing to combine it with his sword.

Having perfected this attack, he once more sat down on the ground and started meditating and reconnecting with the memories of the elf he had absorbed. The elf's memories were filled with many beautiful scenes. The world they had lived in had been so beautiful and fertile; forests were all over, and within these dense forests cities were built into mountainsides, in the depths of valleys, and even a few were situated underground.

Although Xu Min was amazed by these beautiful scenes and his heart felt a strange tranquility while thinking about it, he forced himself to continue through the memories until he reached the memories concerning the elf's martial arts. He had to ensure that he became strong enough to manage the next many experts he was to meet within this Blood Pagoda. If he could reach the five-star Warrior rank, then he would become a lot closer to his goal of revenge, enabling him to protect himself in the remainder of the Immortal Valley Ranking.

Examining the martial art memories, Xu Min found another martial art skill named the 'Crescent Moon Cut.' This was a skill that could only be used at night. It borrowed the power of the moon to generate energy that could enter the sword and enhance its power significantly. Coupled with this Crescent Moon Cut was the Rising Sun Slash, an attack which was very similar and borrowed power from the sun. However, these two attacks both required either the sun or the moon, and currently, Xu Min was within the Blood Pagoda, so he could not use either of them. Instead, he kept scouring through the memories until he finally found something useful.

"This is good," his entire face lit up in excitement, "exactly what I needed; this Devouring World goes perfectly with my sword!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 84: Devouring World

Xu Min was excited. Although he already possessed a lot of attacks, this one was especially amazing. If it were coupled with the devouring ability of his sword, then he would be capable of absorbing much more than just the energy of another person. Even their life force and their soul would become easy prey to Xu Min.

Xu Min sat down and started thinking about this new attack, Devouring World. What it did was to make the Qi of one's body spin so fast that it would create a whirlwind. This whirlwind was so strong that experts at the same level as Xu Min would be incapable of resisting it. Even if they tried, they would slowly be drawn towards the person in the middle, the person who had started it.

This whirlwind would not only draw in humans, but it would also draw in all the energy of the heavens and the earth around him, making it rush to his body and get absorbed at a rapid speed. This was the true meaning of the words Devouring World.

The attack was made to control opponents, making them unable to control their own bodies and at the same time making them incapable of casting attacks while the person who launched the attack could restore their own energy. For Xu Min, the purpose of the attack was different. He needed to be able to make the opponents come towards him so that he could attack them. Forcing internal experts to come to his side was the same as instantly defeating them. An internal expert needed the distance to cast their attacks while remaining safe.

Xu Min was in no rush for the next trial to begin. Instead, he started practicing the attack Devouring World. It was not difficult for him to perfect since the attack was very similar to the devouring sword in his hand.

Quickly, a week had gone by. Although Xu Min's overall strength had not increased, his combat ability was far more frightening than it had been before.

Standing up and stretching his body, Xu Min had a small smile on his lips as he said with a distinct, clear voice, "Start the next trial!"

The moment he uttered his decision, a blurry figure appeared in front of him. This blurry figure soon took the shape of a beautiful woman with transparent wings on her back. She was a peerless beauty with an alluring body. Her body was only hidden behind a small dress which was tightly wrapping around her waist and butt, making even the usually casual Xu Min look on with astonishment.

"What are you looking at, you filthy human?" A haughty voice exclaimed. The beautiful woman in front of him turned out to be incredibly arrogant and not very friendly at all.

"It's not my fault you are wearing clothes like that," Xu Min said, frowning, "even if I don't want to look, how can I avoid it?"

"You little!" The fairy called out in anger. Her hands instantly created wind blades made from her understanding of the nature elements alongside her internal Qi. The wind blades were incredibly swift and sharp, and if they touched him, Xu Min would be cut in half. However, he was casually looking at the advancing blades before he avoided them with the least movements necessary.

"You dare avoid my attack?!" the fairy was angry. She stomped the ground hard. Her petite and beautiful face was flushed red from anger; her hands kept summoning one wind blade after another as she moved forward towards Xu Min.

"No one in thousands of years has avoided my attack. Nonetheless, you will die by my hand!" the fairy kept yelling. Even so, the only attack she used was the wind blades. Though they were dangerous, as long as Xu Min could avoid them, he was in no danger.

"Grandma, tell me, are the Wind Blades all you know how to do?" he asked with another frown on his face. He felt that by attacking this beautiful woman, he was taking advantage of her if she truly knew no other attacks. On the other hand, though, he had no intention of allowing the woman to defeat him as that meant death.

"Who is your grandma?!" The woman said, feeling insulted. However, it was already impossible for her to become angrier than she already was, thus Xu Min did not mind riling her up.

"I will start attacking," Xu Min warned. Moments after, he unleashed his newly perfected ability the Devouring World, making it impossible for the fairy to stand still and throw her wind blades at Xu Min; instead, she was constantly propelled towards the younger man who was waiting for her, sword in hand.

"Don't hate me for this," Xu Min said with a wry smile on his face. His sword slashed downwards, but just as he was about to cut the woman, she too managed to avoid the slash.

"Don't be too excited yet, brat," the fairy laughed as she used all of her power to retreat while under the effect of Devouring World. It was impossible for her to cast her abilities as she could not stand still, but she could use it to avoid the attacks Xu Min threw at her by using her internal energy.

"I fail to believe a kid like you who has to hold up both this suction force while fighting me will be able to sustain it for long!" She said. Looking at this beautiful fairy, it was clear that she was no longer filled with anger but instead excitement.

"Brat, I have not fought seriously for thousands of years! Who knows why only weak lions have entered here. However, now that you are here, it is about time for me to be entertained!" the fairy said. Suddenly, her wings flapped on her back, and she ascended into the air.

The suction force was not much weaker in the air than it was on the ground, but the wings on the back of this fairy were incredibly strong. She finally managed to steady herself, generating more wind blades to shoot at Xu Min.

Seeing that his Devouring World had absolutely no effect, Xu Min did not keep it up. Instead, he smiled as he retreated to the corner of the platform. With a flicker of his hand, a bow appeared in his palm.

This bow was the one he had used before, but there was a great change in how he used the bow now compared to how he did it before. Although he was somewhat proficient at using it previously, he had been unable to proficiently draw out the bow's fullest potential. Nonetheless, he had taken a few days this time to familiarize himself with the bow, evidently becoming much better at using it.

Condensing his Qi into a Qi arrow, he notched it onto the bowstring before shooting it at the fairy, who looked at him with shock in her eyes.

"You, you, you, you..." she stuttered, "You are a human! How can you use an elf's Spirit Bow?!" She was outraged. This was an ability only elves could do similar to the fairies' ability to combine the natural elements with internal energy. To see a human who was suddenly using this ability, how could she not be shocked?

"It's nothing," Xu Min said with a small laughter, "I was just lucky enough to encounter an elf who taught it to me."

"No elf can teach it to a human!" The fairy continued. She landed on the ground and once more stomped her feet in anger. "I cannot fight elves because they were the ones who came to our rescue in the great war against humanity and demons. Tell me, you little brat, are you an elf or a human? Are you perhaps a mixture of the two?"

Looking at this fairy, Xu Min was surprised. He had not expected that this haughty and beautiful woman would say such a thing. He understood that if he lied now and said that he was an elf, she would forfeit the match. This thought only crossed his mind for a moment before he shook his head, "I really am a human," he said honestly. "I am a human who happens to have had some good luck. Please don't look at me as the race of your saviors but as one of the creatures that caused you trouble. I wish to fight grandma at her best."

This time, the fairy was not insulted about hearing the word grandma. Instead, she laughed. "Silly human, you were honest when you could have passed the trial. Fine, I will show you the might of a fairy! Be ready to experience the pain of nature!"

As she spoke, a wind started appearing behind her, making her beautiful long hair flutter. The wind kept picking up in strength before it became more and more threatening. "You asked me if I can only do Wind Blades," the fairy suddenly commented, "and the truth is that I can do more than wind blades. I have only one other attack, and this attack will require all of my energy."

"If you can survive this attack, then you will be able to win this trial. If you win this trial, you will become much stronger. My soul looks forward to seeing whether or not you are the one who will let me enter the cycle of reincarnation or if you will become my new younger brother here in the Blood Pagoda!"

Xu Min understood now that it was serious. With vigilance, he looked at the strong wind which was right in front of him. Soon, the wind took the shape of a large and astonishing wind blade. Xu Min could not help but smirk; the grandma fairy had said that she only knew two attacks, but was this not also a wind blade? Just an oversized one at that.

Seeing Xu Min's expression, the fairy's face turned slightly sour. She did not focus on Xu Min any longer; instead, her entire being focused on the massive wind blade.

This blade was as wide as the entire platform. It was clear that the moment it was unleashed, the attack would sweep down and wound anyone in its path.

"I put all my faith in my sword," Xu Min mumbled to himself as he held his sword in both hands. His legs slightly spread apart, and his eyes serious. This was a question about whether or not he would survive. Even though he placed all his hopes on his sword, he could not help but feel that it was risky. Still, he had no other option. As the wind blade was released, he raised the sword, took a deep breath, and got ready to absorb the elemental Qi released by the fairy.

The sword started humming. The Qi released through the air was absorbed cleanly. Suddenly, the sword and the wind blade collided and a massive boom sounded out, the entire room trembling. Xu Min felt blood rising in his throat, but he forced it down again before he grit his teeth and put all of his weight behind the sword, facing the onslaught of energy barreling against him. He felt as though his entire body was being pounded. At the same time, he also felt the strength of the energy entering his body through the sword. It was clearly a different kind of energy than the one he was used to absorbing. Even so, his body did not resist it as it swallowed it all whole.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 85: Body Transformation

His arms convulsed, and his body was pushed backwards. The white sword in his hands hummed louder and louder as all the wind energy was being absorbed into it. The energy flowed into the body of the young man. His body felt as if it was being shattered; the energy was so violent that Xu Min was wracked with severe pain in his entire being. Even so, he gritted his teeth and kept his wits about him. All the energy that entered his body poured out into the sword so that he could stand a chance against the wind blade currently crushing down upon him.

The wind blade was becoming less and less powerful as its energies were absorbed by Xu Min's blade.

Xu Min was no longer pushed backward as more and more energy was being absorbed. His face turned a more natural color. He was able to swallow the blood that had risen to his throat earlier.

Looking at the young man almost vomiting blood, one could see that the initial clash had been the hardest. Nonetheless, by the time it took an incense stick to burn down, Xu Min had managed to become capable of completely turning the situation around. Although he was still pressured by this massive wind blade, it was no longer a significant threat to him.

Standing behind the wind blade was the fairy. Her face was pale as she had used all of her energy reserves to create this blade. Shock shown in her eyes as she saw how the massive wind blade she had created with all of her efforts had shrunk in size and was continuing to shrink with each passing moment. The young man who had been close to being crushed was looking even more powerful now than he had been before. His entire body burst with energy, and the sword in his hand shone white from all the Qi that had been poured into it.

"Impossible!" The fairy called out. Her eyes were bulging. Her previously pretty face had contorted hideously as disbelief washed over her. How could a mere human withstand her attack? How could such a weak being look more invigorated after the attack than he did before?

Her eyes trailed toward the sword in Xu Min's hands. A grimace appeared on her face. "Is that a heavenly weapon?" She murmured to herself, "if not for this sword, how would it be possible for him to withstand me?"

Although the fairy was shocked, she could do nothing. She was but a soul, a fragment left behind within this Blood Pagoda. Even if she truly found an incredible treasure, she could no longer use it. Coveting the possessions of others was not something she could afford to do any longer.

"I lost," she mumbled to herself, filled with disbelief. Everyone who lost in the Blood Pagoda would have their souls released and return to the cycle of reincarnation. This was something they all dreamed about. However, they also knew that they could not lose on purpose or act weak. If they did, their souls would be shattered.

Standing there, the fairy was filled with mixed emotions. She was relieved that her living hell within the blood pagoda was coming to an end; her eyes simply could not believe that this was true, but, at the same time, she was filled with unwillingness. She could not accept that she had lost, even more in such an outstanding way. She had not lost to the young man; she had lost to his sword!

"Having found a treasure is also a kind of strength," Xu Min said while shrugging his shoulders. He could understand the fairy. However, for him, this was not just a sword; this sword had become a part of who he was. Without his sword, he would no longer be whole.

Any expert who used a weapon would always be at a disadvantage. Xu Min was no exception. That the fairy felt that it was unfair, Xu Min could do nothing about the feelings of unfairness the fairy felt.

The fairy knew that he was correct, and she fell to her knees. "End me," she said with faint excitement in her voice. This moment was the end of her old life, the end to her eternal suffering. It was about time for her to finally move on and become someone else.

Xu Min understood this as well and moved towards her without a shred of hesitation. He lifted his sword, and allowed for it to fall, landing on her slim and frail neck cleaving it off.

The moment her neck and head was severed from one another, her body dissolved spontaneously into a red mist which slowly entered Xu Min's body. He had previously absorbed the energy of some Golden-Furred Blood Lions, but now he was absorbing the energy of the fairy that was ranked equal to a five-star Warrior. This energy was simply outstanding; it was so empowering and overwhelming that Xu Min collapsed on the ground when it entered his body. His entire body was convulsing and spasming as it filled every cell with the essence of the heavens and the earth.

Xu Min slowly rose to his knees with strong determination and sat down in meditation. This act would make it easier to refine the essence which had entered his body. It was as if a flood had come crashing through his meridians, bringing with it a surge of power.

While Xu Min was meditating, not only was the energy he had gained from ending the fairy's life floating around, the energy he had absorbed through the sword was undergoing refinement. The wind energy slowly became tame and joined in with his other energies, making it impossible to tell which energy was which.

Xu Min was cultivating for an astonishing eleven hours before he managed to have all the energy under his control. When he opened his mouth, he coughed out a black clot. Xu Min slowly opened his eyes; his entire face filled with excitement.

The black clot he had just spat out was the collective impurities in his meridians that had been purified and forcibly expunged from his body.

This black clot indicated that Xu Min had reached the fifth-star level. He was already a five-star Warrior! The speed at which he was progressing was simply impossible to comprehend for average people. When he had just entered the Immortal Valley, he was nothing but a three-star Warrior. Now, less than a year later, he had already reached the five-star level.

His strength was already amazing by the time he had reached the third-star rank. Now that he was a five-star Warrior, his strength was phenomenal. If he had the sword by his side alongside Ye Ling and Cao Cao, it was possible for him to get revenge against the Zhong family. Even so, Xu Min was not willing to immediately risk his life when he already advanced as swiftly as he did. He still had to return to Meilin when he was done. He would bide his time some more.

Thinking about Meilin, Xu Min's heart surged with warmth; a gentle smile appeared on t his lips. While he was lost in the thoughts of his long-lost love, the voice of the Blood Pagoda interrupted his thoughts.

"Congratulations on reaching the King rank!" The voice boomed through the entire room. Suddenly a set of stairs appeared in front of Xu Min, stairs that had not been there before but clearly led to a new level of the pagoda.

"If you choose to enter the next level, you will be given a reward for reaching the King rank. Not only this, but you will also be able to contend against the next tier of challengers. Just because you have the strength to kill others does not mean that you are strong. Kid, do you dare enter the Saint level of the Blood Pagoda?"

The voice might have seemed overbearing and haughty, but there was a subtle truth in what it had said. If the King-ranked trials were as dangerous as what he had already gone through, it was clear that this Saint level trials were a whole different league, which made him consider the matter seriously.

A smile spread on Xu Min's lips; he resolutely moved towards the stairs, grabbed onto the railing, and slowly moved towards the second floor. As to how many floors there were in total, Xu Min did not know, but knowing that he had reached the second floor, he was filled with pride. He was excited to reach the rank of a five-star Warrior.

"I told you he would become a King-ranked contender!" a smug voice sounded within the room of the guardians. Although time flowed differently within the Blood Pagoda, it was possible for the guardians to see everything which happened within. All of them were speechless. Xu Min had indeed defeated the King-ranked difficulties!

"He absorbed the soul of an elf!" one of the guardians said hesitantly, "his memories and his abilities. Even his appearance has changed slightly. He is no longer a simple human. He is also partly an elf; one could even go as far as to say that he is a half-elf," The guardian's words were spoken while everyone was completely quiet. No one dared to comment on what he had said. Everyone turned to look at a guardian who was sitting on a big chair in front of the water screen while also examining the events that had transpired.

After a bit of awkward silence, someone else said with a tentative voice, "he is a great talent, and he does have something to do with the elves. He is not a complete outsider."

Soon after, another Guardian spoke up, and it did not take long before a buzz was ongoing within the chamber. This was the chamber where everyone was discussing whether or not Xu Min was now a human or half an elf.

"Silence," the man seated in the high chair suddenly said. His voice was not very loud, but it was loud enough to silence everyone who heard him. No one dared to continue speaking.

"As to whether or not we will recruit him depends on a great many things," the man continued, "Firstly, he needs to survive this Immortal Valley Rankings. After the rankings finish, I will make my final decision."

Having come to this decision, no one questioned the words of the man. Instead, they all at once focused on the screen and observed attentively Xu Min moving towards the next floor. All of their eyes were filled with excitement to see exactly what could be on this second floor. None of them had ever seen it before.

Inside the Blood Pagoda, Xu Min moved towards the second floor. His every step was cautious, and his senses were fully alert. He clearly assumed that anything could happen. He could not help but be prepared for the worst.

As he reached the second floor, he found that there were torches lit with flickering flames all around the walls. He had arrived on a platform similar to the one he had just left, except this one was smaller than the previous platform. Right in front of him were three items hovering in the air.

"These three items are the three rewards you can acquire from finishing the three floors of the Blood Pagoda," the voice suddenly boomed out as Xu Min looked at the items. "The first item, the one you have already gained access to, is a medicinal pill created by the Alchemist God. It was hard to obtain, so treat it with great care! As for the second and third items, I will explain to you when you gain the rights to possess them."

"Now, go forth towards this pill and take it. It is a Pill of Bodily Transformation. As the name implies, it will awaken your body and detoxify it, allowing for you to cleanse your meridians, your veins, and even the cells in your body. This pill will heighten all parts of your body as if you were a healthy newborn baby. You will become reborn with a body so perfect that cultivating will be much simpler in the future."

Just hearing about this pill was enough to make Xu Min stare with eyes wide open in shock!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 86: Returning

"The creator of this pill is truly worth his salt as the Alchemist God," Xu Min mused. He reached out his hand and took the pill into his palm. The pill had a faint chill to it as it touched his skin; the more he looked at it, the more mysterious Xu Min felt that it was.

There was no scent of medicinal properties wafting off this pill, which shocked Xu Min significantly. As to why this was, Xu Min was easily able to guess. "So a pill where none of the medicinal properties are being wasted is truly magnificent," he lamented as he looked at the pill in his hand. Nodding his head, he sat down on the cold floor and popped the pill into his mouth.

Xu Min had guessed the next trial would not begin before he requested it. As time in here flowed differently to that of the outside, it made this Blood Pagoda the most beneficial place to cultivate, which he was going to use to the fullest.

As soon as the pill landed in his mouth, the seemingly odorless pill turned into streams of energy that entered his entire body, seeping into and reconstructing every cell.

Xu Min felt as though he was on fire. The pain was unbelievably severe as he felt his bones disintegrate and slowly reforming. The cells were shattered and rebuilt. Xu Min started bleeding. Blood seeped out through his skin. The blood fell like tears from his eyes, dripping from his ears and nose, and soon sliding down the corners of his lips.

His face turned pale having never experienced such incomparably excruciating pain before. A scream escaped his lips, and his eyes rolled back to the top of his head. Soon, he collapsed on the ground, his consciousness turning black as he could no longer withstand the pain.

The last thought Xu Min had before the darkness consumed him was how he wished he could die. The pain was many times worse than what he had thought humanly possible to endure. Fortunately, he lost consciousness soon after and was incapable of killing himself.

The Blood Pagoda fell as silent as a graveyard while Xu Min's body was lying on the platform. The blood seeped from his pores dying the floor red and making the entire room contain a metallic scent befitting of the name Blood Pagoda.

Xu Min did not know how long time had passed. It could have been minutes, it could have been days, but when he awoke once more, the pain had subsided. In the pain's place, he instead felt an extreme comfort.

His body was messy; grime and dried blood stuck to his skin. A grimace appeared on his face as he felt his hair had gone stiff from the blood that had seeped out from his skull.

"I guess all the blood in my body was renewed as well. I feel no after effects of blood loss. However, by looking at the amount of blood I've lost, I should have died already." Xu Min nevertheless had a smile on his face. He felt refreshed; his body was light as a feather, and he felt how the Qi in his body was flowing through the meridians much more freely than ever before. He no longer needed to wait for the Qi to activate. The moment he thought about it, it had already activated.

Xu Min moved his hand and lifting his sword., He started moving in strange patterns. He was shocked to notice that he could feel the flow of the wind when he moved. The wind energy he had absorbed from the fairy was enough to make it so that he too could feel the wind. This ability to sense the wind would help his fighting ability as well as allow him to move swifter. While it was impossible for him to use the wind the way the fairy had done, he had understood the concept of the wind and was able to use it to his own benefit. This understanding increased his speed to unprecedented heights, in turn, making his attacks much swifter.

This was a pleasant surprise to Xu Min. He moved even swifter, twisted and turned, slashed and stabbed. He was moving so quickly that only a blur was visible atop the platform in the Blood Pagoda. When he finally stopped, sweat soaked his body, but his eyes were lit with excitement and a great smile played on his lips despite being short of breath.

Without delay, he sat down on the ground and started meditating. He was meditating with the insight he had attained. The sudden understanding of the wind and the power of his entire recreated body.

He was in meditation for a full ten hours before he finally opened his eyes again. Looking at himself, he could only wrinkle his nose. He wished to wash and to change his clothes, but this was not an option right now. Thus he looked into the air, "I am ready for the next trial," he called out. Without delay a screen of light surrounded him, making him sleepy. Although he was a cultivator, this kind of sleepiness was impossible to withstand. At first, he sat down in meditation in an attempt to suppress it, but it became more and more overpowering until he eventually could fight it no longer. His head dropped to the side, a low snoring sound escaping his lips.

"Do you think he will awaken and finish the Emperor Tier Trial?" A guardian asked curiously as he was standing in front of the water screen. It was not only him, but everyone present was feeling the same kind of uncertainty.

"The kid is rash to go through this trial! He should know his limits and give up before it becomes too hard. Although danger and opportunity walk hand in hand, it is a great risk to undertake this trial. Strength alone is not enough; one needs an unwavering determination. I know that in the past other experts have gone through this trial before, but I have never seen anyone succeed in it. Although I wish for us to recruit him, I fear it is too late," a Guardian lamented. His words caused many of the other guardians to nod their heads. Suddenly a clear voice sounded throughout the room, "You are all idiots!"

"Xu Min is not as dumb as you guys. So what if you have never seen anyone go through this trial, does that mean that it is impossible?!"

"Xu Min is smart and determined. He is strong and handsome. It is only natural that he, as my master, will pass this trial. Don't you all try to jinx him!"

The speaker was obviously Cao Cao, and his small cheeks were all puffed at the guardian's insult. His eyes brimmed with anger.

He was already upset with the fact that his human had taken in a lion. He felt slighted as though he had been replaced, so he had not said much previously when the Guardians had been insulting Xu Min. However, now they were talking about Xu Min's death! There was no way Cao Cao could idly sit back and say nothing. Xu Min was his friend! He had treated him so well and had always given him lots of food and played with him. Although Xu Min had been forced by Cao Cao's family to take him along, he had never seemed as though he had been unhappy with this. Instead, he had treated Cao Cao as an equal.

"Xu Min is different" he finally said with a sigh, "although you guys are not capable of doing something, does not mean that he cannot do it either."

The many Guardians looked at one another. Their eyes were filled with mixed emotions. Some of them felt sorry for Cao Cao as they simply did not believe that Xu Min could manage to overcome the second floor of the Blood Pagoda. Others looked astonished at hearing Cao Cao's words and felt that perhaps this Xu Min was capable of creating a miracle. However, some others were uncertain as to what to think; instead, they glanced at the head elder, who was sitting on the throne at the end of the room, his eyes closed and arms crossed in front of him.

Everyone here treated Cao Cao as an honored guest. All of them knew who he was, and they knew of his background. Some hoped that Xu Min died so that Cao Cao and Xu Min's contract could be terminated. Others hoped that he would succeed, so then they could recruit him and get both him and the snake on their side.

"We do not know this young man's nature." The elder finally started speaking; his voice was calm as though he was talking to students instead of equals. The moment his voice rang out, everyone quieted down and looked at him. Their eyes were filled with worship and reverence for this older man.

"This young man might be able to survive, or he might not. We cannot know. This young man might be recruited by us, yet he might not. We do not know. Does he have aspirations in life? Does he have goals he needs to complete? Is there someone waiting for him somewhere? We are unaware of all these things, and we are too polite to ask young Cao Cao about it."

"What happens will happen. If he dies, he will die. If he survives, we will try to recruit him, but we know nothing of what will happen in the future. Keep watching the screen and observe. Even if he is not able to survive, even if we cannot recruit him, we can still learn from him."

"He has already finished the King tier trial. Thus we have learned about his fighting methods. Seeing such outstanding performance, don't tell me you have not gained enlightenment." The elder's voice suddenly became severe as he spoke, "seeing this battle in the Blood Pagoda, it is clear that he is a great asset to us."

"Elder!" someone called out in shock. Everyone looked at him with astonishment. To interrupt while the Elder was speaking was not accepted. It was a great insult to everyone who was listening, but seeing the man's shocked face, they all looked at what he was pointing at.

There, amongst the many other water screens, was a picture of Xu Min leaving the Blood Pagoda. His face had a secretive smile upon it as he reunited with Ye Ling.

While looking at that, they all moved their heads back to the Blood Pagoda screen. Xu Min was still present on this screen; he was sleeping while seated down.

"How is this possible?!" someone asked in shock, but the Elder just chuckled.

"The flow of time is different within the Blood Pagoda and the rest of the world. Although we watch what is happening within, he has already finished the trials. As to how high a rank he has achieved, we can only find out if we keep observing the screen." A smile was on his lips; Cao Cao looked relieved albeit a little smug as well.

"I told you all that my human is not as simple as you might expect!" he exclaimed happily. His statement caused mixed emotions all over. Some were excited, and some were dejected, but no one dared to speak.

Outside the room in which the Guardians were hiding everyone was shocked to see Xu Min once more returned to the screen after his long absence. To see him return, everyone had an unexplainable fear in their heart.

It was impossible to see his rank through the water screen, but they could all feel that he had undergone a transformation. He was no longer the same person he had been before he vanished from the screens. Even the Snow Mountain felt a shiver run down their spines with fear as they saw Xu Min's calm eyes and playful smile.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 87: Xu Wu

Xu Min opened his eyes. He was filled with disbelief. What he was looking at was a sight he could never forget. Right above him was a shabby ceiling which he could instantly remember. It was a ceiling that he had seen for many years of his life. He turned to his side with a trembling body; he saw t his beloved sister, resting in sweet, deep sleep. The sun was about to rise in the sky, and it was already painted purple. The moment he opened his eyes a tranquility flooded over him.

It was all just a dream! Xu Min thought to himself, relieved. Big sis is still alive! What is there to fear?

Deep within, he knew that this was a lie. However, seeing the most important person in his life still alive was enough for him to be elated. Jumping up from the bed, he went to the smoldering fireplace, which he knew his sister had woken up multiple times during the night to keep alive. He threw some branches into it before he found a few cups of rice and started making congee.

It did not take long before the scent of food was filling the entire shed. This aroma spurred his sister awake; her eyes bewildered, and her hair messy as she looked on in surprise. Her younger brother was not sound asleep as he would usually be by now. Instead, he was standing at the fireplace cooking congee, a job which usually belonged to her.

"Little Min, why are you awake this early today?" she asked as she rubbed her eyes and slowly folded the wrinkles on her clothes. It was in the middle of winter. They needed to sleep in their clothes if they wished not to freeze to death. They only had two sets of clothes, but to Xu Min, his sister who was standing right in front of him was the most beautiful woman in the entire world. She was kind and loving; she made Xu Min experience the feeling of having a family again.

"I couldn't sleep," Xu Min said. He shrugged his shoulders and enjoyed every moment with his sister. His wounded heart slowly was being healed, and his consciousness more and more was forgetting the truth about what had happened before. The longer he was in this world, the more real it seemed and the happier he became.

"The sun is up. It's time for you to go to the training, and I need to go to work," the older sister tenderly said as she caressed Xu Min's hair. "Mhm, I'll make sure to become a guard so that I can take care of us," Xu Min said. He had swallowed the last bit of congee before he rushed out the door towards the training grounds.

"Little Min!" a voice called out. Xu Min surprised, turned around only to see the Young Master rushing towards him with a smile on his face and his hand waving to him. Xu Min was shocked seeing this Young Master act so friendly towards him.

He was at a complete loss for words. When the Young Master reached him, he slung his arm around Xu Min's shoulder and started laughing, "Even the genius Little Min is a little late today!" He said with a hearty laughter, "it does not happen often, but it does at times. I am quite amazed by you!"

"Good morning, Young Master," Xu Min said tentatively. He was not sure how to act, but his words made the young master seem somewhat apprehensive, "I told you to use my name so many times, but you always refuse! Aren't we good brothers? You are my best friend! One day, you will be the overseer of all the Zhong family compound and travel with me when we leave this small valley to do business! If you are not my brother, then what are you?!"

The emotional outburst shocked Xu Min even more than when he had seen his sister come back to life. Although that was a shock, it was something he had wished for every single day of his life. However, seeing the Young Master treating him like a brother was something he had never experienced before. He never thought this was possible!

Although things were different, the feeling of comfort spread through Xu Min's entire body. He laughed and joked with the Young Master as the two of them rushed to the training grounds together.

Every one of the younger generation of the Zhong family or other noteworthy families within the city were incredibly polite to both Xu Min and the Young Master. They treated the two as one. The ones who usually bullied him and beat him up were now polite and gentle towards him. Xu Min was on cloud nine. This was the childhood he had always wanted.

"Showing up late! Three laps around the training ground with weights!" A voice suddenly boomed through the childish chatter. Every child heaved a heavy sigh since they forgot they were late. Now Overseer Tian had reminded them about it, and they knew that they had no other option than to comply.

Picking up the weights, the children were all chatting together as they started running around the training ground. This was by no means a hard feat; Xu Min had done the same thing thousands of times on his own. In this alternative reality, his body was as sturdy as it had been when he was young.

If things are this good, I cannot help but wonder why my sister and I still live within that shabby shed. We are well-liked and have friends. I cannot imagine my sister not being liked by someone, so why such a bad place?

The moment Xu Min thought this, the Young Master moved up by his side. His breathing was a little more ragged than Xu Min's but not by a lot. He looked at him with really friendly eyes, eyes which seemed never to have held any malice.

"How can you be this fierce in the mornings?" he complained under his breath as they ran, "I get to sleep under soft pillows and blankets while you live in your run-down shed. Even then, still I cannot keep up with you. Imagine if you accepted my offer to move to a better location! If you did, you would be even more monstrous and leave us all in the dust!"

Xu Min instantly got an answer to his questions. Deep inside, his soul shuddered. Although he was enjoying this world, it was simply far too different. The young master was a menacing and calculating young man who was overwhelmed by jealousy. He would do anything to become the strongest rather than someone who easily succumbed to others.

While this world was enjoyable and comfortable, small changes like these made it hard for Xu Min to fully devote himself to the fantasy world. This person who tried to become his friend had once killed his dear sister! Was this a feud easily forgotten?

Seeing the mixed expressions in Xu Min's eyes, the Young Master smiled meekly, "Don't worry," he said, "I won't force you to leave that shed. You can keep living there for as long as you wish."

It was clear that he had misunderstood these emotions, but Xu Min did not mind. He would do his best to stay within this world since it meant that he could once more be together with his sister. To do this, it also included becoming a friend of the Young Master.

"Even if this is all entirely fake, I am happy," Xu Min thought to himself. Suddenly a calm enveloped his entire body. A smile appeared on his face. He looked at the Young Master, "Are you sure that you want to help a mere slave like me?" He asked, testing this Young Master in front of him. However, the words clearly hurt the young boy; his face turned indignant. Quickly Xu Min laughed and said, "Sorry, I could not resist. Fine. Since you want to help me as much as you do, I will not be impolite and keep rejecting it. Please prepare a better place for my sister and me. I will make sure always to be behind your back and protect you from the dangers of this world! We will walk the earth as brothers!"

Every word was spoken while the two were running around the training ground. Both Xu Min and the Young Master were young children. However, Xu Min had already given up his previous life in his mind. He was willing to live in this dream world of the Blood Pagoda for the rest of his life. To spend time with his sister, he was willing to become the bodyguard of his mortal enemy.

The words caused genuine happiness to appear on the face of the Young Master. He almost started jumping in excitement.

"To see such excitement just running laps! It seems you have a lot of energy today, so run another two laps!" A voice came booming down. Overseer Tian had been observing them. He was an overwhelming expert; his senses were sharpened, so, of course, he had heard the words exchanged between these two children. A smile appeared on his face as he administered the extra two laps.

"Good for you, kid. Finally, you accept help," he mumbled to himself, clearly happy with Xu Min's decision.

The Young Master was not just worded. As soon as the training had finished, he went directly to his father, taking Xu Min in tow.

"Father!" He called out. His voice was unable to hide the excitement within. The moment Xu Min was face to face with his most hated enemy, Lord Zhong, he was at a loss for what to do. This person was, much like the Young Master, incredibly friendly and caring towards him. Xu Min had no other option than to swallow his hate and desire to kill.

"My dear son," Lord Zhong was surprised to see his son appear with Xu Min in tow, "what can I do for you? Did I raise you to become so rash?"

"Father, Xu Min has accepted my brotherhood. I wish to bestow upon him a better house than the shed he and his sister are living in right now." The Young Master was not masking his words and said everything straightforwardly. At first, Xu Min was worried. Who would want their noble sons to become sworn brothers with a slave? The moment the words left the Young Master's mouth, Lord Zhong's face turned excited; he was clearly pleased.

"To have such a talented martial brother, who would not be excited!" Lord Zhong exclaimed. His words were countering Xu Min's doubt once more.

"Well, this surely calls for a celebration! My son has found himself a martial brother; I need to give you a gift as well!"

Calling out loudly, the Zhong Family Leader summoned a few servants and issued a few orders.

"Let Xu Min and his sister move into the Magnolia Garden. Let his sister Xu Wu and Xu Min be given freedom. Xu Min will in the future become the most trusted aide of my son, so how can he possibly be a slave any further?"

The order was passed down. The present that Lord Zhong gave him was a small piece of land so that he would have his income in the future alongside two sets of clothes, one set for him and one set for his sister.

The two of them moved into the Magnolia Garden, a small place within the Zhong family compound close to the Jadefire Mansion, belonging to the Young Master.

The Magnolia Garden was not a large building, but it was luxurious. Compared to the shed Xu Min and Xu Wu came from, it was as different as the heavens and earth.

Sighing and closing his eyes for a moment, Xu Min saw the pictures of Cao Cao, Ye Ling, and Meilin flash before eyes. Pain enveloped his heart. He was torn. When he opened his eyes, he saw his older sister standing in front of him, and it was once more impossible for him to leave this tempting, surreal world.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 88: Magnolia Garden

It did not take long to get used to living in Magnolia Garden. Xu Min had gotten used to a much higher standard of living after leaving the Zhong family compound in his previous life. He had also become a leading figure.

The Zhong family leader's gift of land to Xu Min had a total of three thousand peasants and farmers living on it. They all paid a percentage of their yearly income in tax, which would become Xu Min's salary. Of this salary, the young man chose to pay a part to the Zhong family in exchange for protection of the Zhong family compound.

Xu Min suddenly had enough money to buy food to ensure Xu Wu could eat any delicacy that she liked. He hired servants to take care of all the everyday chores at home. This way Xu Wu no longer had to work. However, becoming quickly bored doing nothing, she shooed the hired servants away to deal with their home herself. After giving up on embroidery and sewing clothes, she started also looking after the house and the garden.

Previously, when Xu Wu had been a slave, many of the male slaves had tried to gain her favor. However, now that she was free and was the older sister of Xu Min, the martial brother of the Young Master, many commoners and even some nobles started to pursue her. This courting was something she was anything but used to. It confused her so much that she hidden herself up in the Magnolia Garden. She only left when her previous master, the Zhong family mistress, called for her so that they could have a cup of tea and a game of chess.

Life passed by in a blur. Xu Min grew up and became more and more outstanding. Because his talents were on full display, he advanced rapidly in the ranks.

While the Young Master had been capable of following Xu Min when they were young, he could no longer do so as they grew older. The gap in their strength grew larger and larger. However, the stronger Xu Min became, the happier the entire Zhong family was. Every time he reached another star, he would be gifted with a higher rank in the Guard or a larger area of real estate to add to his land with more farmers and peasants. Even a few small villages had been added to his list of subjects.

This life was a lot more casual than what Xu Min was used to. He spent all of his days training, chatting with the Young Master, and playing with his sister. Though life was simple, a part of him felt as though something was missing. Deep within his heart was a small voice telling him that things were not as great as they seemed.

Pushing away this emotion, Xu Min went through his days at a leisurely pace. His speed at progressing was far slower than it had been in his life outside the Blood Pagoda. Still, that speed was enough to consider him a frightening talent. In fact, within the Zhong family compound, no one was even half as terrifying as him.

Years went by in peace as Xu Min kept training himself. Until, finally, it was time for the Young Master to experience the world. Xu Min, as his martial brother, naturally decided to go with this young master to the outside world and experience hardships of life-and-death struggles. Deep inside, though, he carried the faint hope of reuniting with Yong Meilin.

Their first destination was Honghe City. Xu Min found Wang Li, the teacher in his previous life, as soon as they entered. Although they had never spoken much to each other, he had been the one to mold Xu Min into the expert he became outside the Blood Pagoda. He was the one who gifted Xu Min his devouring sword.

In this dreamworld of the Blood Pagoda, Xu Min became friendly with Wang Li once more. As they became familiar, Xu Min managed to somehow get his hands on Wang Li's sword. Although he could not help but wonder why he has suddenly gifted this important and fantastic item with only a shallow friendship, he never questioned it.

After Honghe City, the two friends moved towards Ri Chu City where Xu Min went to the Yong family compound. Both of them entered the Hall of Champions to battle. They also sold the items they had managed to find along the way in the auction house.

Although Xu Min had been tempted to go and meet up with Cao Cao, he had chosen not to do so. If the two of them went to that sacred valley in the magical forest, it was highly likely that neither of them would survive the attacks of Cao Cao's father.

The first auction Xu Min and the Young Master witnessed was controlled by Yong Meilin. Although this was an older version of the woman he knew, Xu Min could recognize her from anywhere.

The moment their eyes met, a spark appeared between them. Everyone noticed it. Some were dismayed, others happy. The Young Master was elated when he found out that Xu Min had fallen for a woman. As well, this woman was an earthshaking beauty.

"I will wait for you to finish your training," Yong Meilin said to Xu Min as he and the young master left Ri Chu City. This Meilin had none of the real woman's haughtiness and arrogance nor did she have any of her stubbornness. Her whole personality had mellowed. Her eyes were filled with a gentle, loving light, causing Xu Min to frown. This person was not the woman he had loved.

Still, on they went. Xu Min and the Young Master went as far as the Immortal Ruins. Everywhere they went, Xu Min met the friends of his previous life with the exception of Cao Cao and Ye Ling. However, the more friends he met, the more out of place everything seemed.

This world was perfect. Everyone treated Xu Min as though he was a god. He never truly experienced any life-and-death combat. He battled a few bandits here and there, but everywhere he went, everyone was treating him like a returned hero.

Soon Young Master and he had been gone for close to five years. As they returned, they brought with them riches; both, as well, had found a woman they loved. Although this Meilin was different, she was still Meilin. Xu Min forced himself to look at her to always remind himself of what price he had paid to be able to be with his sister for a second lifetime. He had given up not only his friends but also his loved ones. This was a sacrifice he would never allow himself to forget.

Returning to the Zhong family compound with their newfound wealth and treasures, they were treated like royalty. A large banquet was held. The party lasted a full month with beasts being slaughtered every day to feed the many guests. During this time, the wealth of the Zhong family compound had not diminished. Instead, it had increased thanks to the money that the Young Master had brought home with him.

Xu Min was also rich. He was by now a five-star Warrior who had anything he could ever dream of. Nevertheless, the more he gained, the less he felt comfortable.

He had expected when he returned home to his older sister things would change for the better. He would once more become happy with his decision, but he did not.

Anywhere he went he was followed by women of all kinds. Some were noble women who wished to marry him to become one of his concubines; others were slaves who hoped for a better future.

Meilin and Xu Min got married, but Xu Min was never happy. Xu Wu had gotten married while Xu Min was away. She had fallen in love with a rich merchant within the small city. They had a child. Xu Wu seemed happy, but while looking at her, she also seemed empty. It was as though it was a shell with Xu Wu's appearance, which in fact had not changed much from the time they were children up until now. Her personality was not as Xu Min remembered it.

Realizing that things were not as he expected, Xu Min closed his eyes. Once more, the real Meilin appeared in front of him. Cao Cao and Ye Ling were also there, so was his Master.

"I made my decision, but it seems that what is lost is lost," Xu Min mumbled to himself, "No matter how much I wish for her to return to me, I cannot make her return. What returns is but my memory. Even the memories I have are incomplete. She is no longer a whole person, but an empty shell, existing solely for the purpose of making me feel better."

"I need to stop feeling sorry for myself. Yes, I did lose someone whom I truly loved, but in return, I was gifted many things. A woman to love, a caring master and two very good brothers. I have friends, and I experienced a vibrant and exciting life."

"Revenge is important to me. I need my revenge, but this should no longer be the only reason for me to live. I should understand that by now I have other reasons to be alive, other people whom I care for. Is it truly fair to let Meilin wait a whole lifetime so that I can live a fake life within this Blood Pagoda?"

"Is it fair that Ye Ling waits for me outside of this Pagoda until he grows old?"

"Should I let Cao Cao become the contracted beast of these Guardians which I know nothing about just because I want to stay in this dream world?"

"No!" Xu Min felt his fighting spirit rise. He felt his blood boil and felt more alive than he had been for a very long time. "This world makes my mortal enemies into friends! It destroys the memories of the loved ones I hold dear! I would rather keep traversing the world without Xu Wu than to keep living in this world where she is present, yet not!"

The more Xu Min spoke, the more he felt a puzzle within him was being solved. The more he realized that this fake world could never replace his real memories. He felt lighter. Suddenly the entire world turned blurry. The light was everywhere, and the world slowly disappeared beneath Xu Min.

"No!" he called out as he tried to look at his sister one last time, but it was already too late. There was no longer anything to see; the world had turned white. Xu Min called out, and at the same moment, he returned to the Blood Pagoda, tears running down his cheeks.

Xu Min was disgusted with himself. The past could not be changed, and the fact that he was willing to accept an illusion world was simply unacceptable. It made him into someone he was not; his eyes were blazing with anger as he once more straightened his back.

"Zhong family, I will make you pay for this!" he hissed through gritted teeth. His hatred for the Zhong family had not diminished in the duration of this fake world; on the contrary, it had increased. Had it not been for them, he would have never have felt the way he was right now!

"Well done in succeeding the Saint tier trial." the formless voice spoke once more. This was the first time it congratulated him.

"To continue to the last floor, you need a strength higher than your own," the voice continued. "Those who clear the Saint tier are allowed to enter this Blood Pagoda once more at a later date. You will need to be a seven-star Warrior to enter the final level, but now it is time for you to get your reward for finishing the second floor. You have done well, much better than what I would expect for a human to do. Although you were almost swallowed by the Dream of the Heart, you managed to get through it."

"Come with me. This is your reward. You will have to leave the Blood Pagoda now until the day where you become strong enough to return."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 89: Going Back

Once the voice said 'this is your reward,' a small item appeared out of nowhere. This object seemed harmless.

Looking at this piece, Xu Min could not help but feel rather disappointed. It was the size of his fist. The object was made from a stone-like material with a smooth surface. It looked like fist-sized polished stone.

"What does it do?" Xu Min could not help but ask. However, the voice did not respond back. No matter how long he waited within the Blood Pagoda, there was simply no more words from the formless voice.

Xu Min gritted his teeth and picked up the round stone placed before him. He pocketed it casually. Though deep down, he knew this object was not as simple as it seemed on the surface. The first reward was an excellent and earth-shattering pill, which had changed his entire body and energy. That gift's task was the easiest of the two task's difficulty; it did not make sense that the harder trials possessed treasures less astonishing. Xu Min promised himself to take note of this item and examine it when he had the time. Being in the Immortal Valley was not the most suitable place to start various examinations of his questionable treasure right then and there.

Xu Min stayed in the Blood Pagoda for an extra three days to cultivate and steady his cultivation level. He sighed deeply, stood up, and went down to the first floor of the Blood Pagoda.

The moment he reached the first floor, he spotted a large tear in the middle of the platform where he had fought multiple battles. He found that he could see Ye Ling on the other side. Without worrying too much or waiting any longer, Xu Min rushed towards this tear. He jumped through, only to find himself suddenly standing right next to Ye Ling once more.

Xu Min had completely lost track of how much time he had spent within the Blood Pagoda. He glanced around at the forest. He suddenly felt as though all the time spent within that grim and dark place had been a dream. Were it not for the powerful surges of energy roaming through his body, he would not have believed that it was real.

"You are a five-star Warrior already?!" Ye Ling exclaimed the moment he saw Xu Min. Although they were at the same level, Ye Ling understood Xu Min had had more than one fortuitous encounter within this Blood Pagoda. His battle strength was likely to have increased even more than his rank.

Ye Ling suddenly felt that he had missed a great opportunity. He had been within the Blood Pagoda once before. However, he had given up after overcoming two battles. Still, he was excited for Xu Min. Xu Min was after all his new master and to have a strong master was a great benefit.

"So before you entered the Blood Pagoda, you said that you did not have enough strength to battle the entire lake area marketplace and steal the rewards from the Snow Mountain people." Ye Ling said with a cheeky grin on his face, and Xu Min could not help but laugh as well.

It was indeed true that when he entered the Blood Pagoda, even with Ye Ling on his side, Xu Min did not feel confident in challenging the Snow Mountain people, but now it was different. He had broken through two ranks, and he was also much better at fighting. His Qi had attained the quality of a sword and assimilated the element of wind, enhancing the damage done by this Qi and reducing the amount of Qi needed to execute certain attacks.

"I am going to give up on stances," Xu Min sighed to Ye Ling, "Although I have been able to do a few stances at the same time when I fight with my external strength, I am going to focus fully on my sword arts." Ye Ling was at first surprised. The stances had provided much-needed relief in many situations before. To hear that Xu Min was not going to use them any more showed he had gained something that could enhance his swords arts to a greater degree.

There was an air of confidence around Xu Min. He had a comfortable smile on his lips, and he rolled his shoulders, "I need to buy some things," Xu Min said, "Let us go to the lakeside marketplace."

The sentence was simple, but Ye Ling understood the meaning. He felt his heart speed up with excitement. His eyes gleamed, and his teeth displayed a toothy grin. "No reason to linger around here any longer then," he said. Together, human and beast started making their way towards the lakeside marketplace.

The Blood Pagoda was located rather far into the Immortal Valley, and one would never find it were they not familiar with the area. Consequently, Xu Min and Ye Ling met no humans on the majority of their return trip. They met a few beasts here and there, but these beasts quickly dashed away when they felt the aura of either one.

"We are getting closer to the areas where the participants of the Immortal Valley will start appearing," Ye Ling commented while they went through a small and unnoticeable crevice in a steep mountain side.

Xu Min nodded his head and gestured for Ye Ling not to say anything. The sounds of humans appeared in front of them. It was clearly humans who were fighting some demonic beast.

Sneaking forward, Xu Min looked at how the battle was unfolding. His eyes focused as he looked at the ones participating in the battle. One of the fighters were Shui Wu. He recognized her instantly. He also saw that amongst her group were two other members of Bu Huang's faction. However, the rest was a mixture of random experts from various families and sects, the majority of which were supportive of Snow Mountain. Xu Min knew that helping them by joining the battle would be the same as helping them kill him afterward.

"Ye Ling, restrain your aura like me. We are going to seem like we are three- or four-star Warriors. If they are to attack us, just kill them ruthlessly." Xu Min gave the order easily before he joined in the battle. He owed Bu Huang and Shui Wu quite a bit. This is why he decided to assist her now that she was in trouble.

The beast they were fighting was a Silver scaled Ice-Lizard. It was a five-star Warrior ranked beast. Although the human cultivators were an astonishing ten people, all on the third or fourth star Warrior rank, they were all being pushed back. Some even received serious injuries.

Seeing that someone was rushing to their aid made everyone excited. Nevertheless, once seeing who it was, they became tentative. This man was a young boy of the three-star Warrior level. Did he think that he was capable of doing any difference in this battle?

No one wished to owe this man anything as they already knew of the feud between Snow Mountain and Xu Min, yet no one said anything. If they were lucky, Xu Min would die. When he died, they could use his head to trade for some resources from the Snow Mountain. If he did not die, it meant he had been assisting them in getting rid of this beast. Since they never asked for his help, they would refuse to owe him anything.

Xu Min was fully aware of what these people thought of him and his help, but he snorted in contempt at them. He was here to show his gratitude to Bu Huang and no one else.

Xu Min jumped into the battle and instantly blocked an attack from the lizard that was aimed at Shui Wu. Although he had suppressed his aura, so he seemed as though he was a three-star Warrior, his strength was still that of a five-star Warrior. As soon as he withdrew his sword from its sheath, a powerful energy ripple appeared, forcing the silver-scaled Ice-Lizard to retreat; the previously fearless eyes turned fearful, and it retreated some more, shivering as it felt Xu Min's power, which far overwhelmed it.

The other experts were shocked. All of them stood there gaping at Xu Min as if he was some monster. He unsheathed his sword, blocked one attack. The beast noticed such fluid motion with an energy ripple emerging from Xu Min's attack that even the beast was fearful of him.

They had all looked down upon him before, but now they quickly changed their minds. They felt that there was something hidden within him. Maybe some hidden strength Xu Min had not shown anyone else before.

"Perhaps he had experienced a lucky encounter during the Immortal Valley Rankings," someone guessed. This assumption caused the majority of the people to nod their heads. That was the most plausible explanation.

"I bet he has eaten some amazing treasure, which is why Snow Mountain is so adamant on getting him. They are going to make medicinal pills from his blood and use it to cultivate!" another theorized. The words caused Xu Min to feel a shiver run down his spine. Not even Snow Mountain was that ferocious, he thought to himself.

Xu Min did not follow up with any attack; he simply turned to look at the cultivators with a mocking look in his eyes, "Miss Shui, are you okay?" He asked. His words were not too friendly, nor were they hostile. Truthfully, although he asked the question, it sounded as though he did not care about the answer.

Shui Wu, hearing the tone with which Xu Min spoke understood why he had spoken like this. Xu Min was a hunted person. Anyone he showed interest in was likely to be used as bait to capture him. Therefore, he decided that there was no relationship between the two, except the fact that they were officially from the same faction.

Everyone present was uncertain of whether or not their relationship were friendly, but no one wished to insult Shui Wu who was a great talent and incredibly beautiful. Everyone decided to let go of the notion of using her as bait to make Xu Min turn himself in.

"What about the lizard?" Shui Wu asked with a sigh. Her tone incredibly polite and following all rules, but also containing some arrogance. "We have been fighting this silver-scaled Ice-lizard for a long time, but now that you arrived, who is going to get the core?"

Xu Min grinned. With a snap of his fingers, a light flashed followed by a bloodcurdling scream. After which the stench of blood filled the air, causing everyone to go pale in the face.

Behind Xu Min, where the lizard had been backing away, now stood a Golden-Furred Blood Lion, a large one with blazing eyes. Although it was only a four-star Warrior level, it was far more intimidating than the lizard. The bloodlines of the Golden-Furred Blood Lions were frightening, their fighting abilities even more so. Xu Min had truly been lucky to find Ye Ling wounded back then. Xu Min's lion had gained even more strength after eating the medicinal pills Xu Min had offered him.

"Ye Ling, we're keeping the core," Xu Min said casually. The lion nodded its head, dug into the corpse of the lizard, and picked up the beast core before it moved towards Xu Min's side and dropped the core into Xu Min's hand.

Looking at the many questioning faces, Xu Min laughed in his heart. He owed these people nothing. Thus he had no intention of telling them anything either.

Shui Wu, on the other hand, was incredibly curious and could not refrain from asking, "this beast is...?"

Looking at her, Xu Min was not sure if he should answer or not. After a short while, he decided it was better to answer. He looked at her with a gentle smile on his face, "This is Ye Ling, my new companion. We found each other during this Immortal Valley Rankings and decided to do some traveling together."

This statement was a polite way of saying that he had tamed a Golden-Furred Blood Lion!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 90: Weakness

An uproar exploded amongst the people present, for who did not know about the Golden-Furred Blood Lions? They were terrifying creatures. This one especially since he was so high-ranked a beast. How could someone as weak as Xu Min successfully tame this lion? None of them knew. However, many of them started guessing that perhaps this Xu Min came from a super-sect and had been gifted thousands of items that had helped him.

It only made sense that he had many treasures on his body. Otherwise, why would the Snow Mountain want him so badly? Furthermore, why was it that they were satisfied with only his dead body? Had he perhaps eaten a treasure that made them want to use his body for medicine? The guesses were many, but none of them knew the truth, just as none of them knew how powerful Xu Min truly was.

"Brother Xu Min," someone suddenly said. He was the oldest and most experienced in the group. He was also the only one who had not participated in the discussions before, the discussions about how he was as strong as he was and why the Snow Mountain wanted to procure his body. He was one of the individuals Xu Min knew to watch out for. Although he was only a four-star Warrior and below Xu Min in rank, there was something about him which made Xu Min alert.

It was clear that it was not only Xu Min who was alert, but Ye Ling was sticking close to Xu Min as well. While he was not too threatened by this young man, he also knew that the young man was hiding his real strength. As to what this young man's true cultivation level was, Xu Min could only guess.

Fortunately, this also went the other way. Although this young man was capable of sensing that Xu Min was hiding his strength, he could not fully determine just how strong Xu Min was, and the same went for Ye Ling. He had a disadvantage because his opponents were two against one and their individual strength was likely to be similar to his own if not greater.

"You are?" Xu Min asked tentatively. The young man bowed slightly as he introduced himself, "I am Ji Tian," he said with a small smile on his lips, "I am from the Ji family of the Descending Dragon Mountain," he continued his introduction.

"Our family is not as prominent as the Snow Mountain, but we have had good relationships with them since many years back. Tell me, what did you do to insult them so much that they spare no effort to kill you?"

This Ji Tian was curious. He had not taken Xu Min seriously before, as the man was only a weak two-star Warrior, but the expert who had appeared in front of him was nothing like the person he had been described as. Had it been his Ji family who had noticed him, then they would have done all they could to recruit him – not try to kill him.

"I killed their guards," Xu Min said as he shrugged his shoulders, "I might have killed quite a few of their guards actually, but they were the ones who started it. If they had not tried to kill me, I would have left them alone."

Xu Min felt enmity towards the Snow Mountain faction. Now he no longer felt that there was a way of reconciliation between the two sides. For him, he was willing to kill anyone who stepped in his path.

Even though he was alert around this Ji Tian, he did not fear him. If push came to shove, he would prove just how serious he was about anyone supporting the Snow Mountain.

Wrinkling his brows, Ji Tian could easily guess what Xu Min was thinking. He took a step back and raised his arms. "Don't worry, I will gain nothing from killing you," he said with his smile on his face, "but do understand. Although I will not act against you, I will not act against the Snow Mountain either. I cannot be an enemy, but neither can I be an ally."

Xu Min did not care about allies. He already felt he had enough help with Ye Ling by his side; he was rather uncaring for what Ji Tian said.

"I came to help because I owe Lord Bu Huang for allowing me to enter this Immortal Valley Ranking. Miss Shui Wu is part of his faction. Thus it was only natural that I came to support you," he said as he stood to leave. "I have no more reason to stay here. Good luck in the future."

Xu Min turned around and started leaving. He did not notice that Ji Tian's eyes flashed coldly and that a sinister smile crept onto his lips. Suddenly he reached out his arm and captured Shui Wu within a steel-like grasp. He pointed a sword at her throat.

"Xu Min!" He called out with a loud yell. Xu Min stopped, turned around, and narrowed his eyes as he saw the scene in front of him.

"You should not have told me your weakness. You owe the Bu Huang house a lot, and you cannot afford to let this woman be injured! Now come here and let me take you prisoner. If you let me do so without a struggle, I promise to let her go."

Hearing this Shui Wu paled, but she also started cursing. None of them had expected what happened next, so she could not avoid or prepare for this situation. Xu Min and Ye Ling had looked at one another before they both started laughing out loud. Their laughter was so sudden and shocking that no one actually understood what was happening.

"Did you know that the first day I met Shui Wu she was incredibly arrogant, as if I was nothing? She insulted me and did not give me face. Now tell me, what do I owe her? Yes, I owe Lord Bu Huang, and yes I need to help him when I can, but I am not a part of his faction, nor am I willing to risk my life for the sake of his faction."

"You are bound right now," Xu Min continued. "As long as you hold her in your arms, you will be able to stay alive. Nevertheless, the moment you let her go, Ye Ling and I will attack you. The moment you kill her, Ye Ling and I will attack you."

"Now decide, do you want to have only me as your enemy, or do you wish to make the Bu Huang faction into your enemy as well?"

Suddenly, Ji Tian understood just how pointless his action had been. For a moment, he had thought he held Xu Min's weakness in his hand. He had been blinded by the treasure promised by the Snow Mountain, yet now he understood just how naive he truly was.

"You say that the Bu Huang family might not become my enemy, but considering that I already took Miss Shui Wu hostage, I fear that they do not see it the same way as you do. I fear they already see me as an enemy."

Xu Min pondered for a bit before he carelessly shrugged his shoulders. He smiled at Ji Tian, "I don't know, and to be frank, I don't care," he said while he grinned, "now decide. Do you want to kill Shui Wu or let her live? To me, either works."

Ji Tian became more and more panicked as he thought about it. Xu Min just crossed his arms and started tapping his fingers, waiting for the decision to be made. He was rushing Ji Tian in his silent way.

"Come on!" he called out, "I don't have all day. This is the Immortal Valley Rankings, and I need to deal with the Snow Mountain. Make your decision, or I'll make it for you." He sneered. His words caused everyone present to step back a few steps.

"He is seriously going up against the Snow Mountain?" someone whispered to a friend. Soon everyone was discussing this news amongst themselves. It was clear that these experts had no chance of defeating Xu Min since their leader Ji Tian was this cautious. Thus they all just stood aside, enjoying the show.

Ji Tian cursed at himself over and over again. Why did he have to act on impulse like this? It was not his usual way of behaving. Today, however, he had been tempted by the treasures of the Snow Mountain. He had been tempted by all the materials and resources that they promised. Although the Ji family was big and he was one of their geniuses, it was hard to get his hands on that many resources all by himself. Thus, his usually rational thought had been shadowed by greed. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to kick himself. Who was stupid enough to show his weakness in the Immortal Valley Rankings?

"Time's up," Xu Min said. Without restraining his aura anymore, energy burst out from his body. The attack, devouring world, erupted, causing Ji Tian to lose control of his body. Shui Wu was wrested from Ji Tian's grasp; the two began revolving around Xu Min akin to limp ragdolls, incapable of controlling their movements.

Xu Min did not need to unsheathe his sword. Instead, he made a flick with his hand. The spirit bow of the elf appeared in his hand, and an arrow of Qi took shape moments after in his other hand. After taking aim, this Qi arrow shot through the air and buried itself in Ji Tian's neck.

Blood started flowing. Both Xu Min and Ji Tian were shocked. Xu Min had never expected that someone like Ji Tian would die so easily. He would not even be able to put up a fight against the attacks that he controlled, but he was not the only one. Although Ji Tian had felt worried and threatened by Xu Min, he had never expected that their fight would end that quickly – that he would lose that badly.

Outside the Immortal Valley, the many observers all had grim expressions on their faces. No one could blame Xu Min for killing Ji Tian. As a matter of fact, many families felt that it was only proper that he got killed after taking a woman hostage.

However, none of the people outside the Valley knew what had been said between Xu Min and Ji Tian. Thus the latter seemed like the villain. Even the Ji Family who were present were not making a big fuss about the fact that one of their geniuses had died. Though it was clear they were furious, they dared not voice this anger. They knew that if they did, they would be ridiculed by the other families.

It was not only the Ji family with ugly expressions on their faces; the people of Snow Mountain were equally hideous. They knew Ji Tian's strength. He was a genius. He was one of the few experts who had reached the rank of a five-star Warrior. This was a caliber of strength only a few youths from within their own Snow Mountain had attained. To know that even this expert had died at Xu Min's hands forewarned them. They had made a major mistake in making an enemy of Xu Min.

The name Yanluo surely fits this young man perfectly. He was like a death god sweeping by; anywhere he went, death would follow. Sometimes he would kill a few people; at other times, he would kill anyone in sight. Anyone who stepped in front of him with the intention of insulting him or stood in his path to his advancements towards his goals would be killed. Now Snow Mountain started to fear him truly.

"Don't worry too much," an elder suddenly mumbled. His words did not allude to anything specific, but it was clear that he had something special in mind. "Although this Xu Min had been hiding his strength, he is not the only one. Think about the little monster from our clan. He is as talented as this Xu Min, but he is older. With the advantage of having spent more time cultivating, I believe that our monster can handle this unimportant little fly."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 91: Brother

As the battle ended, everyone went silent. Xu Min had saved Shui Wu and killed Ji Tian before the other fighter even had the chance to show off his abilities. He had died in seconds. He did not even offer one attack!

Xu Min was as shocked as the others. He felt as though he had been struck by lightning. However, this quickly changed as he felt a hard hand hit his cheek squarely on the face, making his lip crack and blood flow.

Everyone gasped. Shui Wu, who had just been saved, had been filled with resentment towards Xu Min after he had shown his indifference in whether or not she lived and died. Consequently, to let go of the anger that was burning inside her, she had no other option than only to slap him as hard as she could.

Closing her eyes, Shui Wu was sure that she had just signed her death certificate, but Xu Min just chuckled.

"You know, your name is the same as my late sister's," Xu Min said with a chuckle as he gently touched his cheek. His cheek had a large red mark of a hand imprinted upon it. "What should I have told him? That I didn't want him to kill you?" He continued to ask. His mood was not bad; he completely understood why Shui Wu had done as she did. Nonetheless, he still wanted to defend himself.

"Had I acted differently, then you would already have been dead, but you're alive now." Xu Min argued; Shui Wu had no way of disagreeing with him.

Shaking his head, Xu Min turned to leave. Ye Ling was still by his side but paid no attention to either Shui Wu or the others. He just left them behind.

Shui Wu glanced one more time at the many people she had been accompanying. Without a second thought, she decided to follow after Xu Min.

"What are you doing?" Xu Min asked, shocked when he saw her following him, but she said nothing in return. Instead, she just stopped right behind him. Her face was determined, and her teeth clenched tight. It was clear she had nothing to say, but she was not going to change her decision either.

Feeling exhausted, Xu Min knew that he had no other option than to allow this woman to follow him. She obviously had no malicious intention towards him. He could not very well just kill her. Furthermore, leaving her alone would also bring her trouble now that he had saved her once already. However, bringing her with him would put her in danger time and time again. There was still some time left in the Immortal Valley Ranking, and it was only natural that the stronger experts would come and try to kill Xu Min. His head was worth a lot. The rewards offered by the Snow Mountain was enough to make anyone eager to kill him so that they could gain the cores and step into the top rankings quicker than normal.

Xu Min was obviously aware of this. Had it been someone else than himself, then he too would have joined the hunt. The promised rewards were outstanding, but since Xu Min could not go hand in his head, he had other plans in mind.

"Say, Ye Ling, do you remember how, before we went to the Blood Pagoda, we were discussing what to do with that Lakeside Marketplace?" Xu Min asked smilingly. His words caused the Golden-Furred Blood Lion to ponder for a moment before a smile slipped onto its face.

"Are you saying we are going to do that?" he asked curiously. Xu Min nodded his head. A killing intent billowed outwards from the two warriors. Shui Wu was caught unguarded; she felt her entire body grow cold. She started having trouble breathing as she unconsciously stumbled backward and even fell hard on her behind.

Hearing the soft bumping sound, Xu Min turned to look behind him. Almost instantly, the killing intent vanished. "Sorry," he said with a sheepish grin on his face. "I understand you want to be safe, but being with me will place you in danger," he commented. "I am going to do something incredibly dangerous.So dangerous in fact even I don't know if I will survive it. I can't have you hanging around as well. I'll just have to worry about you too."

Xu Min was honest about it. Shui Wu could hear from his voice that it was not something that could be argued about. The only thing she could do was accept that the two of them could not travel together anymore and turned to leave with a sigh.

She did not go back the way they had come, but she turned to move another way, towards a new and unknown future and towards treasures that could belong to her. If Xu Min did not want her there, then she would not impose herself on him either.

Seeing the woman leave, Xu Min suddenly felt much more comfortable. He heaved a heavy sigh of relief before he straightened his back and placed all his attention on Ye Ling.

"You were a bit rough with her weren't you?" the lion asked curiously as he looked at the departing figure in the forest. Xu Min shrugged his shoulders, "I had to be," he said as he too turned to look at Shui Wu. There was no hostility in his eyes, but he sighed slightly.

"If she joined us and took part in the mess we are about to create, then Snow Mountain would have a reason to go against Bu Huang and his family. If that happens, they will be eradicated most likely. Everyone knows that I am but a guest of the Bu family. They cannot be blamed for my actions, but if their students start cooperating with me, it will end up badly."

Xu Min had already thought it through. For the sake of keeping Bu Huang out of danger, he decided to shoo Shui Wu away.

"Then why did you act up like this?" Ye Ling asked. "We already planned to go to the Lakeside Marketplace to get our hands on the rewards. Why did you have to make it sound as if you just came up with the idea only now when she was present?"

Xu Min smiled as he moved towards the location of the Lakeside Marketplace, "She will spread the word. She is most likely insulted by the fact that I troubled her. Thus she will spread the fact that I am moving towards the marketplace. Anyone of some rank and with enough ability will rush towards the marketplace. Then we can deal with them one after another. Having everyone gathered in one place makes it much more fun, don't you think?"

Hearing Xu Min's words, Ye Ling was stunned. "But you can't fight everyone at once!" He said, shocked. Xu Min started laughing out loud, "Do you think everyone hates me?" He asked curiously.

Thinking about the question, Ye Ling was devoid of an answer. Didn't everyone they had met so far hate him to the core?

"The ones we have met have been searching for us or been blinded by greed," Xu Min explained while noticing the strange expression on Ye Ling's face. "If everyone shared the opinion of Snow Mountain, would they not already be the hegemons of the entire Immortal Ruins?"

"Clearly, a faction as powerful as Snow Mountain has enemies, and these enemies will also react to the news of how I am on the move for Snow Mountain. Some will try to reel me in. While others just want to add fuel to the enmity between our two sides and have more people die at our hands."

"I don't care why they come, but I will have them join me in my attempt to destroy the Snow Mountain within this Immortal Valley Ranking. If I can get a relationship with some of these high-ranked sects or families, I might be able to stay alive for long enough to leave these Immortal Ruins afterward."

Xu Min was laughing. However, his words were quite somber. As soon as the Immortal Valley Rankings ended, it was more than likely that the Snow Mountain would do anything in their power to get their hands on Xu Min in order to make him suffer for all eternity.

"Don't worry," he grinned as he saw the worried expression on Ye Ling's face, "I won't die that easily. We'll sneak away from the Immortal Ruins when we leave this ranking thing. Or would you rather have your freedom returned and stay within these borders of the Immortal Valley, the place you have lived your whole life?"

Ye Ling was silent for a long time before he looked at Xu Min with big eyes, "you are saying that I can leave this forest and experience the world outside?" He was not able to fully understand what Xu Min was saying. "I won't be left behind in here?"

Xu Min started laughing again and patted his friend's head, "you are my good friend. We have already been together for this long, and you even took me to the Blood Pagoda. How can I just leave you behind?"

Becoming serious, Xu Min looked into the distance, "well, if we survive this whole ordeal, then I will take you with me if you want to accompany me."

Ye Ling nodded his head. He was from the Ye family. Although the Ye family was very influential in the Immortal Valley, every lion would have to leave this family at some point and depend on their personal strength to live. He had nothing more left in the Immortal Valley to hold him back; he never found a mate, and he was now finally together with someone who treated him like a brother. Ye Ling felt comfortable around Xu Min, but most importantly, he felt accepted!

"Let us go and show them what we brothers can do when we go all out!" Ye Ling growled. His eyes turned blood red and dangerous. His imposing aura was stirring, "If anyone wants to kill you, they will have to step over my dead body first!"

Hearing this, Xu Min felt warm in his heart, but he also felt his killing intent. He, who had lost everything once before, had learned how to value what he had. Those whom he held dear were people whom he would never allow to be hurt. Cao Cao was one of these dear ones; Meilin was another; and now Ye Ling had become the newest addition to Xu Min's dear ones, someone he would not hesitate to give his life for.

"None of us will die," he said decisively, "we will get ready to kill anyone standing in our way; we will make sure that no one dares ever to look down on us again. Although I just reached the five-star Warrior rank, I am not as easy to bully as people might think. I learned a lot of things within the Blood Pagoda, and these new techniques will be displayed in all their splendor. In this battle, I don't think we will be able to hide anything. Therefore, I will go all out from the start."

"Anyone who tries to attack me will get killed. Anyone who gets in our way will get butchered. They will team up and think they can defeat us, but we too will team up and prove just how strong we are!"

Hearing Xu Min's certainty, Ye Ling was filled with excitement. This human was correct; they would not die. They would kill the enemies and shock the world. They would steal treasures and rank the highest in the Immortal Valley Rankings. Ye Ling was not certain as to what the winner of this ranking would get, but the glory and honor were enough for him. For him to stand by Xu Min's side and prove that they were no pushovers was all he could ask for. Even strong families like the Snow Mountain were nothing compared to them! He sighed in praise as he thought of all these glorified thoughts. Xu Min, who was standing on the side and looking at him, was grinning at the aloof expression on his friend's face.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 92: Ouyang Xiu

Donning a black cloak and a bamboo hat, Xu Min started moving towards the dense population that was gathered around the lakeside marketplace. Although he looked odd, he was not the only one who was dressed like this; and actually, quite a few people had masked their appearance. Some used bamboo hats while others had cloaks that hid their faces.

Looking around, Xu Min was surprised to see posters with a hand-drawn portrait of himself. This portrait resembled him very accurately; beneath it was written his name, Xu Min.

A group of young experts was walking around with a copy of this portrait. They were looking at every person they came across, clearly trying to single out Xu Min. It appeared many still believed Xu Min was as weak as he had been at the start of the Immortal Valley Rankings. Thus they imagined that he would be easy to overcome, easy to kill and get the treasures from.

More people, especially those who had managed to reach a higher cultivation, were aware that Xu Min was not such an easy target. If he was truly easy to deal with, then the Snow Mountain would already have done so. Nevertheless, from his long absence and other facts made it seem as though Xu Min was dead. So far, no matter how many people Snow Mountain came across, they were not Xu Min. ,

No one fully knew what Xu Min's power was like. Only a select few could claim to know. However, this group of people also claimed that he had tamed a Golden-Furred Blood Lion, and he was able to kill Ji Tian as simply as one would kill a fly. No one wished to believe either of these rumors. Nonetheless, when a cloaked person with a Golden-Furred Blood Lion appeared in the crowded areas of the Immortal Valley, many still chose to stay clear of him.

"Are you Xu Min?!" Someone suddenly yelled out. Without hesitation, a group of around twenty cultivators surrounded Xu Min and Ye Ling. Their weapons were drawn, and their attitude was hostile. Looking at the Xu Min in front of them, they could not help but laugh silently. The strongest was a four-star Warrior, while the majority were three-star Warriors.

Xu Min was not hiding his aura anymore, but due to it being as high as it was, the four-star and three-star Warriors could not possibly grasp his true strength. All they could guess was that it was a little higher than theirs. However, they had numbers on their side, how could they possibly lose?

"Why do you suspect I am Xu Min?" Xu Min asked curiously. He looked at the leader of the group, but the person just snorted and spat on the ground. "Everyone knows that Xu Min tamed a Golden-Furred Blood Lion, and, well, as you can see, there are no other of those beasts present. So obviously you are Xu Min. Now come with me, and I will spare your life,"

The arrogance in his voice made Xu Min burst into laughter. This act caused many of the experts surrounding him to be stunned but also agitated. Did someone dare laugh at them? Especially when they were in such dire straits?

The sudden commotion had caused many people to appear around the area, but none of them interfered. Some looked at Xu Min with pity, while others looked at the four-star Warrior with pity. Others were just curious, and some had greed in their eyes.

"Okay. So, what if I am Xu Min?" he asked as he removed the bamboo hat on his head. A loud gasp could be heard from everyone present. "I am Xu Min, and I dare anyone here to come and take my head. If you try, do not blame me for being ruthless. Anyone who tries to take my head can kindly leave their head behind."

Xu Min's words were domineering and challenging. Many experts were instantly grasping their weapons and getting ready to attack. However, all those who were interested in attacking Xu Min were four-star Warriors and below. The five-star Warriors and above hesitated. Some hesitated because they could feel an utmost danger being emitted from the young man and his beast's bodies; others because they felt that they were supportive of this young man and his crusade against the Snow Mountain.

"You are too arrogant!" The four-star Warrior had not noticed that many of the high-ranked experts stayed behind. He charged forward, yet a shadow appeared behind him and, with a swipe of the claw, before he could even reach Xu Min, Ye Ling ended the his life. He had not used internal energy; he had only exerted a tiny fraction of his strength and had appeared behind this expert moments after, but he was gone again before they could react only to reappear behind another expert.

Although Ye Ling was fast, he had only managed to kill five of the experts by the time they reached Xu Min. However, before any of the warriors could touch him, a whirlwind started spinning around him. The whirlwind tossed every one of them into the air and whirled around Xu Min until it vanished. When it dispersed, they all heavily fell to the ground, sustaining some injuries in their fall.

"Oh, you guys are truly fragile," Xu Min said, but another wave of experts had rushed forward. This time, the strange whirlwind did not appear, but Xu Min did nothing to defend himself either.

A loud boom sounded out as the many weapons collided with Xu Min's body, and everyone who had participated in the clash cheered in joy only to be completely stumped moments after.

Many weapons had landed directly on Xu Min's body, but out of the seven weapons, only one had managed to break through his skin. Even though the cut was so shallow, it hardly bled.

"That itches," Xu Min said. With a stomp on the ground, a strong shockwave erupted from his body, sending the seven experts tumbling back. All of them landed in the group that was now rushing forward.

"Boring!" Xu Min called out, "this is too boring. All of you attack together and use your strongest attacks, or you will just die one after another!"

It was not until now that these experts turned around to look at the ground behind them. They noticed that many of the experts had died, their bodies strewn across the floor. All of them had terrible endings in which they had been swiped to death by strong claws.

Only now did the participating survivors understand just how stupid they had been. The majority stopped their advance and pulled out their storage treasures, "Here!" They called out as they threw it to Xu Min, "We regret our naive decision. Take our things, and we promise never to cross blades with you again. Please forgive us!"

The ones speaking were mainly the twenty experts who had surrounded him at the start. Xu Min just shrugged his shoulders. Killing these people or not killing them did not matter to him as they could never pose a threat to him. Consequently, he accepted their things and allowed for them to leave.

Complete silence descended upon the area. No one dared to say anything as Xu Min slowly went by each and every corpse and picked up their storage items and their Immortal Valley Ranking emblems. Without any hurry, he placed them all within his robe before he beamed a smile at the surrounding people.

"Sorry for the mess," he said happily, "I didn't intend to cause such drama, but some people just never learn."

The way Xu Min spoke clearly made the skulls of many grow numb. Only a few people laughed and clapped their hands as they approached him.

Among these few people were five groups. The first group obviously had malicious intents towards him. Although a smile was on their faces, their smiles did not reach their eyes and it was slightly stiff. Their clapping was more sarcastic than anything else.

This group, Xu Min completely ignored as he glanced at the other groups. The second group he looked at was a lot more friendly. Smiles were playing on their lips as they laughed together. Their eyes shone with excitement. Xu Min instantly understood that these people were not ordinary.

The rest of the groups were all a mixture of sarcastic people who wanted to test his strength or learn some of his weaknesses. They were people who wished to get closer to him just to kill him. Xu Min had already revealed himself. This show of strength was something he had not planned on doing this early, but his display earlier was enough to force the many factions out into the open. This made him feel that the change in plans was worth it.

"Brother Xu," the second group was led by a young man who had an imposing aura. He was clearly at the five-star Warrior rank much like Xu Min, but unlike the young Xu Min, this man was quite a few years older than him.

Looking at this older man, Xu Min acquired a good impression. He clasped his hands and slightly bowed. Xu Min did not know the name of this person. Thus he was incapable of knowing what to call him.

"I am Ouyang Xiu. From the Ouyang family of the Broken Peaks of Sword Mountain." He carried with him a noble air; Xu Min instantly understood that this Ouyang family was not as simple as it might seem. Still, he was new to the Immortal Ruins, and he had no clue just how powerful these families were.

Seeing the carefree expression on Xu Min's face, Ouyang Xiu was at first rather shocked, but then he laughed to himself.

"Why don't you introduce yourself?" He asked. Xu Min shrugged his shoulders and replied casually, "I am Xu Min. I am not part of any family, nor do I come from some sect. I grew up in Honghe City where my teacher took care of me. After leaving Honghe City, I have been traveling around while seeing the world and experiencing its dangers."

The introduction was brief. Xu Min was well aware that none of these people knew what Honghe City was, but even so, he decided to mention the name. This Ouyang Xiu had been polite towards him; it was only fair that Xu Min treated him with the same sort of respect.

Hearing Xu Min's introduction of himself, everyone felt shocked to their core. He was not a part of a sect or family, yet he had still managed to gain such outstanding strength. Just what kind of monster had taught this kid how to cultivate?

Although some felt fear upon thinking like this, Ouyang Xiu felt excited. If Xu Min was not part of a family or sect already, it meant that it was possible to get him to join their family, as such an addition would surely benefit them tremendously, but he had to go around and do it the right way. He did not wish to scare Xu Min away.

"Why don't you come with us to the Lakeside Marketplace?" he offered, "I am in a mood to drink some fine wine and have a great time. Don't you worry about those Snow Mountain people, as long as you are by my side, no one will try to assassinate you." he assured Xu Min. Whereas, Xu Min, who was wanting to build a relationship with a hegemon of the Immortal Ruins, just smiled and agreed happily. This proposal was of great benefit to him as well as Ouyang Xiu.

While Xu Min left with this group of people, the ones left behind were standing still for quite some time. They were uncertain of what to do. Some considered if they had made the wrong move in trying to hunt down Xu Min, while others were scheming on how to bring him down. The group of people who had been trying to approach Xu Min with ill intent pondered for some time on what course of action to take. They decided to look for the Snow Mountain warriors before they rushed recklessly towards the Lakeside Marketplace. They had a lot of information to deliver

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 93: Young Master

The rumor of Xu Min's achievements spread faster than he walked. Everyone was looking at him with astonishment. Moreover, some looks contained fear while others were mixed with curiosity.

People also stared at Ye Ling, who was by Xu Min's side. Even Ouyang Xiu, who was from a renowned family, was not getting even half the attention that Xu Min was getting.

Surprisingly, Ouyang Xiu was not jealous of this lack of attention; he was also very interested in this young man. During their casual conversation, he realized that Xu Min truly knew nothing about the Immortal Ruins. His lack of knowledge shocked Ouyang Xiu.

"So tell me, why did you come to the Immortal Ruins in the first place?" Ouyang Xiu asked curiously. If he had not come for the sake of the Immortal Valley Rankings, what was his point in being here?

Xu Min just shrugged his shoulders, "I heard about this place and thought it'd be interesting to come visit. Who knew I'd stumble across such an amazing thing like the Immortal Valley Rankings."

Ouyang Xiu was stunned. You stumbled across such a thing? Even if people were to know about this competition, to participate would not be easy. What exactly had Xu Min promised Bu Huang in return for his admission?

Ouyang Xiu was burning with curiosity, but he also knew that it was incredibly rude to ask such a question. Thus he stayed quiet, smiled, and casually conversed with Xu Min about anything from the most recent gossip spreading in the Immortal Ruin to the Immortal Valley Rankings.

Xu Min did not speak much, but he nodded his head and listened to Ouyang Xiu. Although he was not speaking much, Xu Min felt grateful for all the information he gleaned. This strange and unknown Immortal Ruins became much clearer to him.

"The Immortal Ruins used to be the location of the elves many thousands of years ago," Ouyang Xiu explained. "Back when the elves lived here, they had a large and developed civilization. All the ruins were parts of their cities. When they lost, this entire area was left in ruins. The humans who were the victors took over because we needed space. Slowly, everything was remade."

"There is only one faction which remains from the time of the Great War, and that family is the Guardians of the Immortal Valley. Every other family is at least a few thousand years younger. This is also why we all listen to what the Guardians have to say and follow their rules. They are the largest faction within the Immortal Ruins, and they are also the ones with the deepest history. They never take in anyone from the outside. No matter how astonishing they are. In the same vein, they never participate in any worldly struggles. No one wishes to go against them."

"After the Guardians are the four great families and sects. The Snow Mountain is one of them; my Ouyang family is another. These four great families usually don't enter each other's territories, but recently Snow Mountain has been very aggressive. As of now, they have gone for the smaller cities; therefore, we are not too interested. However, if they enter our territories, a great war will erupt. No one wants this to occur."

Just as they entered the Lakeside Marketplace, Xu Min noticed a large group of experts rushing towards them. The leader of this group was clearly led by the Snow Mountain. Xu Min recognized them from the time he was here previously; it was clearly the one who had yelled about Xu Min being a coldblooded killer.

"Ouyang Xiu! Don't get mixed up in our family's affair. Just because you show yourself does not mean that we will give you face! He has killed so many people, and this is the Immortal Valley! You know what happens within the Immortal Valley cannot be pursued by the sects outside of the Valley. If I were to kill you now, no one would be able to blame me!"

Hearing this words, Ouyang Xiu did not shy away. Instead, he chuckled. "And how do you plan on killing me? If you possessed the young master here, things would be different. However, he is not here to threaten me, so why should I feel fear? I happen to have a lot in common with brother Xu, and I enjoy chatting with him. If you wish to stop our friendship from growing, I will patiently await your attack at any time!"

"Don't get too arrogant, Ouyang!" A voice suddenly rang out. The expression on Ouyang Xiu's face turned slightly sour. Xu Min was not dumb. He instantly guessed that this young master that Ouyang Xiu had mentioned previously had made an appearance.

"Hand over Xu Min to me or don't blame me for being ruthless!" This voice was filled with boundless arrogance and a hint of hate. Xu Min slowly turned towards the voice which had spoken. He noticed the young man he had seen at the very start of the Immortal Valley Rankings. The young man who had introduced himself to Xu Min and said that he would kill him later on.

I might have been afraid of you back then, Xu Min thought to himself, but now things are different!

A smile appeared on Xu Min's face, but Ouyang Xiu felt slightly uncomfortable. Should he keep supporting Xu Min, whom he had just met, and risk his life, or should he back away and thereby lose his chance in reeling in Xu Min? The choice was difficult.

"Brother Ouyang, please step back," Xu Min suddenly said, cutting in through his complicated train of thoughts and taking him by surprise.

"I am not a part of the Immortal Ruins, and I have no grievances with your family. To have you suffer because of me is not something I want to see. Also, someone like him does not have the qualifications to kill me."

The last sentence spoken shocked the entire area. Ouyang Xiu's jaw dropped at the amount of surprise he felt. The young master of Snow Mountain turned completely red from anger. His eyes blazed with killing intent, and his hand already gripped his weapon so hard that it would have shattered had it not been a magical treasure.

"I cannot kill you?" The young master spat out the words, "well you sure are confident in yourself. Let us see where this confidence comes from. Everyone attack, I will gift the bounty to whoever kills him!"

Xu Min had expected this. Out of nowhere, the elf spirit bow appeared in his hand. Qi arrows appeared one after another and were shot out with lightning speed. Every single arrow pierced the advancing cultivators right between their eyes, creating a small bloody hole, resulting in their deaths. Within the brief exchange of blows, Xu Min had shot out a total of twenty-three arrows, and all twenty-three arrows had pierced the head of an advancing cultivator.

Silence descended upon the area. It was not only Snow Mountain experts who had attacked. Some of the audience had been tempted by the bounty and had joined in on the attack as well, but the entire first wave had been killed in less time than it takes an incense stick to burn.

No one spoke, but the more time that went by, the more experts were observing the battle that was happening right in front of them. Right now, the battle was at a standstill; no one sought to move closer. As long as Xu Min held his strange bow in his hands, no one was willing to advance.

Even the young master of the Snow Mountain family was stunned speechless; his head was numb, and his back was soaked in cold sweat. Who would have thought that this young man who seemed to be quite a few years younger than him was so frightening?

Ouyang Xiu also felt slightly annoyed with his decision to not assist Xu Min. After seeing his first display of power, he fully understood that this man was not weak; it was highly likely that he had other secrets up his sleeve. Xu Min's arrogant words seemed to be correct. This was something which Ouyang Xiu had never believed possible before.

"Ye Ling, deal with the ones around this young master. I'll take care of the Young Master himself," Xu Min asserted as he looked at the individuals from Snow Mountain in front of him. They were the only enemies left. Although the bounty was tempting, none among audience wished to throw their lives away. Instead, they decided just to stay back and witness who the winner would be.

These experts were all the geniuses of their families. Although at times they could be incredibly arrogant when it came to their strength, they were still intelligent. Seeing Xu Min's sudden display of powers made all of them begin to wonder just what kind of power he contained. Who had taught him to cultivate, and who was it that had gifted him all these different treasures? Perhaps it was a large sect or a very powerful roaming expert?

Only Ouyang knew that Xu Min did not come from a massive sect, and this knowledge made him even more worried. He had been told that Xu Min was the only disciple of his master. If this master was as strong as Ouyang expected, he feared that this expert would turn the Immortal Ruins upside down if his student were to die here.

Xu Min, the one everyone had started gossiping about, knew nothing of his master's true strength, nor did he originate from a large sect. Nevertheless, he knew that the treasure he had been given by his master was so outstanding that he could become much stronger than his peers. However, there was no time to think because now it was time for him to start moving.

Xu Min unsheathed his sword from the back. The moment it landed in his hand, he inserted his Qi into it. A humming sound appeared and filled the entire area; the sword was vibrating in Xu Min's arms; and Xu Min himself was filled with killing intent.

He had joined this Immortal Valley Ranking to train. Everywhere he went, the Snow Mountain people had been in his way. Although all these life-and-death battles had tempered him, he was filled with annoyance towards them as well. Now they had even gone as far as to put a bounty on his head. He was going to claim this bounty and eradicate the Snow Mountain forces within the Immortal Valley!

Seeing how Xu Min's eyes turned cold and a killing intent billowed outwards from his body, everyone took a few steps backward. His killing intent was so imposing that it felt as though thousands of knives were being pierced through one's skin wherever it touched. Even the young master of the Snow Mountain was not exempted. He too felt this killing intent, his rage subsided, and his face paled.

There was a big difference between Xu Min and these other experts of the Immortal Ruins. Many of these experts had never killed before and had never experienced true life-and-death battles. Whenever they went out to train, there would be experts of their families watching over them. Just in case they encountered true danger, they would be saved.

Xu Min was not the same. The only safety net he had had with him was Cao Cao. Although the two of them fought together, they had experienced countless challenging situations where they had been forced to break through their limits.

Killing this many people and fighting life-and-death battles as often as he had done, Xu Min's killing intent was truly ferocious, whereas his opponents were incapable of utilizing their power to the fullest. They had been suppressed by the fear that was creeping up on them.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 94: Demise

Xu Min's eyes were as cold as ice while he looked at the young master of the Snow Mountain family. By his side was Ye Ling whose eyes were just as cold. Xu Min took the sword in his hand and pointed it at the man in front of him.

"Come on!" he called out, making it clear who his target was. Even the usually confident Young Master felt his heart shiver when he felt Xu Min's aura gradually becoming more and more imposing. Qi billowed from his body to create a clear barrier around his body. While the sword in his hands absorbed so much Qi, its humming became louder and louder.

Gritting his teeth, the young master started cursing himself and his family for having made such a powerful enemy. If Xu Min remained just a two-star Warrior as he seemed at the start, then there would be no reason for his family to be forced into such dire straits. However, now that they knew he was a five-star Warrior they felt as though they had kicked a hornet's nest.

Xu Min saw this young master was not advancing. All he did was grip his weapon tighter, and he could not help but snort. It was about time to start the battle!

The first time the young master had met Xu Min his strength had been low. So low, in fact, that he could kill him with a flicker of his hand, but today the powerful energy which exploded from Xu Min's body caught him by surprise. It had even surpassed his energy levels!

As a result, this young master could not help but be inwardly startled. The imposing power surged as Xu Min stomped on the ground and shot forward like an arrow released from the bow. The sword was in his hands; the entire air was crackling with energy as he shot past. A majestic power surged from his body as though he had an unending amount of Qi.

The young master was shocked, but he had been trained well. As he saw Xu Min move towards him, his reactions were swift. A loud bang sounded out as wild, and violent Qi exploded from Xu Min's body causing even the leaves on the ground to explode into dust. Every spectator was pushed backward by the violent force caused by the collision.

The young master's body was jolted backward by this berserk force of Xu Min. After a good ten steps, he finally came to a halt. A small streak of blood was trickling down the corner of his lips.

Xu Min was also forced a step back from the collision. Nevertheless, he had the upper hand, and only one step was taken backwards. From the outcome, everyone could see who had the upper hand in this exchange, but some started to argue whether or not Xu Min had the energy to continue such attacks. It had to drain his Qi pool immensely.

Everyone's eyes swiftly looked towards the extremely miserable young master, and they felt startled in their hearts. It was simply unexpected that one of the top geniuses of the younger generations had been forced into such a state after only one exchange from a fairly unknown figure.

Moving forward, the young master's face was grim. His hands gripped harder on the handle of his weapon. He casually wiped the blood away from the corner of his lips. Although it seemed as though he was not too injured, only he knew exactly just how terrible the situation was for him. He had already become severely wounded, and he only had enough energy to make one all out attack.

"Let's quickly settle this!" he roared into the sky. Qi appeared all over him. Xu Min grinned. This man was clearly an external expert like himself. Thus he used the energy to enhance his strength and the strength of his weapon.

Xu Min was both an internal and external expert, but he had no time to focus on the internal aspects. All he knew was the Shattering Palm stance and the Radiant Jade Shower. He could consider the spirit bow a way to use internal energy as well as his Devouring World. However, these were not true stances. They were just ways to use the Qi and fell in a third category between internal and external practice.

Suddenly Xu Min smiled and closed his eyes for the moment. He felt the entire world merge with him. Slowly a small red hue appeared around his body before the sword lit aflame. Not only this but the wind around him started to pick up. The light breeze turned into a storm, yet Xu Min stood in the middle of it, and nothing happened to him. It was as though the storm was incapable of touching him.

Seeing how the sword had become lit aflame and the wind was picking up, all the experts were getting worried. It was clear Xu Min made the storm, but how? They had never before heard of an expert who could affect the weather nor had they heard about a sword that turned red like a flame.

Although Xu Min had flames flaring from his sword, his eyes were as cold as before. He sent a beam of swordlight towards the young master, instantly slicing off one of his legs.

"Aaaah!" the scream resounded in the wind and was carried far. The blood started gushing out, and everyone could smell the stench.

Xu Min lifted his head and shot another swordlight at the young master's last leg. This was removed just as swiftly as the first. His opponent instantly crashed into the ground because he could not stand any longer.

These beams of swordlight were incredibly sharp and swift. Even when the young man did his very best to protect himself, he failed. He could not help but scream out in miserable pain.

"We will kill you!" he yelled with a hate filled voice that was on the verge of insanity. "If you kill me, we will never let you off the hook. You will die a painful death; we will make you wish you were..."

No more words were spoken as one more swordlight shone. The head of the young master rolled away from his body and moved no more.

"As if you would ever let me go," Xu Min sneered at the corpse. He had released the wind energy that his Qi had absorbed while fighting the fairy in the Blood Pagoda. It was as though he had connected with the wind. When he entered the stage of being one with the world, the wind came to his beck and call.

Xu Min was aware of how strong the young master had been and to defeat him he needed his strength at its peak. Consequently, to reach the peak, he released all his Qi and became one with the world. He relied on the fire energy and used the wind to make a favorable environment.

"I still need to improve on my usage of wind Qi and the Wind," he mumbled to himself, but for now he was satisfied with his performance.

Although Xu Min had used almost all of the cards available to him, he did not mind. He had proven that his strength was simply outstanding. He smiled happily as he went towards the other Snow Mountain people.

"Give me the bounty you placed on my head," he said casually. He took all items on the young master and placed them within his robe. The members of Snow Mountain dared not delay. Although Ye Ling was supposed to deal with them, the fight between him and the young master had been so swift that no one else had the time to attack. Therefore, they were still all alive.

No one dared to waste any time. They rushed to hand over the materials that they would have traded for Xu Min's head. The young man took them unceremoniously. He placed them all within his storage treasure and packed it away within the robe. By now he was the highest ranked expert in the entire Immortal Valley Ranking, and no one dared to rob him.

Had he fought a serious fight against the young master, a fight where he had to put his life with on the line then, of course, many warriors would be like wolves, waiting to throw themselves at him when he was trying to heal himself. However, this was not the case. Although Xu Min had used most of his trump cards, no one knew that. Everyone feared that there was still more powerful attacks he possessed.

Xu Min was aware of this, but he felt rather carefree at the moment. No one was willing to attack him unless they had a major force; Xu Min was certain that no one was able to make such a force or faction out of nowhere.

Chuckling Xu Min did not care about the rest of the Snow Mountains, experts, none of them could pose any threat to him. He turned his back to them as he walked back to where Ouyang Xiu was standing.

Although Ouyang Xiu had expected Xu Min had hidden strengths, he never expected it to be that outstanding. He was deeply shocked and shaken. Still, he quickly collected himself. He broke into laughter as he slapped Xu Min on the shoulder.

"Brother Xu is not simple as he appeared! I feel fortunate to have become your friend rather than an enemy!" Ouyang Xiu exclaimed, and he meant these words with all his heart.

Even if it was impossible for the Ouyang family to recruit Xu Min, it was a good idea to be friends with him. He was a young man, a very young man, and still, he had such outstanding strength! The future aspirations for this expert were unlimited.

Ouyang Xiu was excited. To have noticed Xu Min was a great benefit for him. Even if he could not win the highest ranking in the Immortal Valley rankings then so be it. He felt that friendship with Xu Min was much more important.

Outside the Immortal Valley Ranking, everyone was silent as they looked at the Snow Mountain people. Some had pity in their eyes, others satisfaction at Snow Mountain's genius demise schadenfreude. The allies of Snow Mountains' eyes were filled with hate as they looked at Xu Min while their enemies were gloating and were incapable of hiding their smiles.

This young master who just died by Xu Min was the absolute strongest person in the younger generation of Snow Mountain. To have lost him was the same as losing a future asset and their respectability. They needed experts like him to lead their sect to higher grounds, but now it seemed as though their hope of becoming a stronger would have to wait until another peerless genius appeared in their family.

This was obviously of great excitement to the other families and sects, but it also sealed Xu Min's fate. Snow Mountain would do anything to kill Xu Min. Even if the rule of the Guardians was to ensure that no one took revenge for what happened in the Immortal Valley Ranking, who was to enforce such rule? If Snow Mountain assassinated Xu Min, who could blame them?

Everyone was aware of this but to be honest; no one truly cared about it. Xu Min was indeed a genius unlike any they had seen before, but he was not a part of their sects and families. Even though they wished to befriend him, it meant nothing to them if he died. He had already been incredibly useful to them for killing some of Snow Mountain's main fighters.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 95: Solar Crow and Lunar Rabbit

"Brother Xu, why don't you come with me to my family's encampment. We will ensure that no one will be able to touch you," Ouyang Xiu promised while disregarding the risk involved. Now that the young master of Snow Mountain was dead, many of those who previously allied themselves with Snow Mountain were now trying to distance themselves.

Looking at Ouyang Xiu, these families could easily see that he was building a relationship together with this dynamic enigma that had appeared within their Immortal Valley Ranking. He was seemingly weak at first, but when he exploded with all of his power, his might was simply extraordinary.

The fire that he had displayed stunned everyone. They had never before seen anyone of the fifth-rank display such flames before. They did not know that Xu Min had mastered becoming one with the world.

"Do you think he is a six-star Warrior? Or can he use the Worldly Flame from being one with the world." Someone questioned. Xu Min, who stood a bit behind, was suddenly enlightened.

Before, he had thought that the flames that appeared came from the sword – that the sword in his hands was simply an otherworldly treasure. However, now he understood why the flames had appeared at the same time he had first become one with the world and every time afterward.

Ouyang Xiu also understood that this was the Worldly Flame, but he was unaware of whether or not Xu Min was truly a six-star Warrior. To be a six-star Warrior at this age was simply unheard of.

Xu Min knew that some of these young masters had reached the fifth-rank only because they had trained five years longer than he had. Moreover, they were given limitless resources from their families and sects. Their talents were also likely to be similar to Xu Min's.

Xu Min had grown up in a world where he had never been gifted resources to increase his cultivation as a child. His master, who gave him his sword, had never imparted resources to him as an example. The first time he came into contact with medicinal pills was when he was in Ri Chu City.

This lack of resources was the reason for Xu Min not to have reached a higher rank earlier, but he had finally caught up to his peers because of the Blood Pagoda, maybe even slightly above them.

When it came to comprehending the world around them and the energies within them, Xu Min was more skilled than his peers. Because he was an exception, he had been able to comprehend becoming one with the world.

Xu Min was fully engrossed in his thoughts as he automatically moved after Ouyang Xiu. This new friend of his did not interrupt him; instead, he just silently led them to a corner of the lakeside marketplace.

At this corner was a group of experts. Most of them were a few years older than Xu Min. There were both women and men. Some were peerless beauties, while others were built like giants with muscles swelling all over their bodies.

When Xu Min and Ouyang Xiu entered this encampment, everyone looked towards the two who came walking in leisurely.

Xu Min had managed to rouse himself from his thoughts and was looking curiously at the people around him; at the same time, they were looking curiously at him.

Even though the fight between Xu Min and the young master had just transpired, these experts already knew of the result. They were all aware that Xu Min had won; now he was there as a guest of their own young master.

No one said anything; the atmosphere was quite tense. Xu Min felt a little embarrassed being stared at by so many people, but he was also uncertain on how to deal with it, so he just stood there at Ouyang Xiu's side and said nothing.

None of these people had dared talk before they were allowed to do so. Therefore, all they just looked at Xu Min with curiosity.

Sighing, Ouyang Xiu instantly guessed the emotions of everyone present. With a clasp of his hands, everyone turned their attention towards him.

"This is brother Xu," he introduced Xu Min quickly, "I am sure you have all heard about his feats of strength and the assistance he has given us. Snow Mountain will stay as one of the hegemons of the Immortal Ruins for some years. When their older generation dies, they will have no one to take over. At that time we will be able to succeed in reducing the overlords by one."

Everyone cheered excitedly as they heard these words. It was indeed true that although it did not matter right now for Snow Mountain, it would mean a lot for them when it came to their next generation. They would be at a disadvantage. Even if they found another peerless genius in their next generation, then they had wasted all the resources to produce a genius who had fallen way before his time.

"Treat brother Xu the way you treat me; he is my brother; he is stronger than any of us here, and he deserves your respect!"

Xu Min was rather shocked to hear those words being spoken so directly. Although he was strong, he was also aware of his powers. He knew that if the entire Ouyang camp were to gang up on him, he would likely lose. Even if he used all his energy and Ye Ling by his side, they would both die.

Ouyang was also aware of this, but he would gain nothing from killing Xu Min. Although he would rank as number one in the Immortal Valley Ranking, he felt that becoming a friend with Xu Min was worth more. With the astonishing and frightening talent he had shown so far, one day he was bound to become a true immortal. By then their relationship would be able to help the Ouyang family become the number one family in the entire Immortal Ruins.

"He's so young," someone muttered, while others agreed, "they say he is stronger than us, but he looks so weak. Could it be that he is not an external expert but an internal one? We did not see his battles ourselves, so I guess that it makes sense that it has been exaggerated."

"Why is Brother Xiu so kind towards this foreigner? If we group up, we could kill him instantly and steal his items."

There were many people talking together. Although they were filled with excitement for the fact that Xu Min had defeated the young master of the Snow Mountain, they were not happy with the fact that Ouyang Xiu had said that he was the strongest amongst them. Did that not also include their young master? This they could not accept. Many were filled with an urge to challenge him to a sparring match.

They felt like challenging him to a match, but no one did so. They understood that he was currently a guest in their camp, and they were to treat him with respect. Otherwise, it was likely that their young master would get mad at them.

"We have a spare tent you can borrow," Ouyang Xiu said politely. He led Xu Min to a big tent that was placed right next to the biggest tent in the camp, "You just battled the young master of the Snow Mountain," Ouyang said with a smile. "You must be exhausted. Go rest up, and then we will have a banquet tonight! I am sure that many of my brothers and sisters have plenty of questions for you and would like to know more about your cultivation. It is simply hard to fathom that you are capable of reaching such a high rank at such a young age. Your master must be quite outstanding."

Xu Min just smiled and shook his head, "I was just lucky," he said in a low voice. "The battle could have been my loss had I not gone all out."

Although Xu Min spoke like this, Ouyang Xiu did not believe him. Ouyang questioned him no further. Instead, he smiled knowingly and shook his head. "In any case, please rest a little and restore your energy so that you are ready for the banquet tonight."

Xu Min thanked him before he turned and entered the tent. As he sat down on the ground, he took out a lot of storage treasures and started placing items all over the ground.

One item after another appeared. Xu Min started to pile it in stacks. All the beast cores went into one stack, and the scrolls with abilities went to another. Magical treasures went to a third stack. Food and drink went to a stack of their own. Clothes were placed at a side together with medicinal pills and herbs. Gold was placed directly into an empty storage treasure, and miscellaneous items were at the last pile.

It took Xu Min a full two hours to sort every single item into their respective pile. As he finished, Xu Min understood that he had truly struck it rich!

The gold alone was enough to fill up an entire storage treasure. It was not only gold but also precious metals and gems. These treasures were enough to pay for a life of luxury. Xu Min felt happy. Now he was not impoverished and could give Meilin anything she wanted.

The next, most interesting thing that he had was the beast cores. Beast cores contained the energy of a beast, and they could be used to increase one's cultivation rank. They were weaker than medicinal pills, but they were also easier to procure. Beast cores could also be used as a currency for cultivators. Xu Min currently had almost a thousand beast cores of various ranks. Killing cultivators had increased his wealth tremendously.

Although Xu Min felt excited about the sudden rise in wealth, he also understood that this was only money. He could easily earn it other ways, but there was something he knew he could not easily get his hands on.

Xu Min was not from a large sect or family, so finding abilities and stances was almost impossible for him. After killing all these experts, he had managed to find quite a few stances of various rank and external abilities.

Currently, his internal strength was not very strong. He controlled the spirit bow and the Qi arrows. He understood he could control the wind in the air around him, but as to how he could utilize this, he still did not know. It was something he needed to meditate upon and gain enlightenment in. Right now, in the middle of this violent ranking tournament, Xu Min did not have the time to fully devote himself to cultivate.

Therefore, Xu Min's eyes landed on the stack of abilities and stances. He genuinely wished to increase his internal strength. Before anything else, he started reading through one scroll after another.

"Berserking, an ability used for external cultivators to allow for their Qi to burn at a rapid speed but increases the strength of the cultivator with a whole star. Overdrafts energy and causes one to be feeble for a few days afterward." Xu Min was astonished as he saw this ability. Although the price was great and the consequences of using it were quite severe, if he were up against an overwhelmingly strong foe, then Berserking would be quite a useful ability.

Putting it aside, Xu Min turned to look at the other abilities and stances. A smile appeared on his face as he picked up a stance called Claws of the Solar Crow and Lunar Rabbit.

This stance he had acquired from killing the young master of Snow Mountain. He had never been given the time to display the might of this ability. He needed to be a six-star Warrior before it was possible to begin even training in it.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter