Mouse Corpses

"The snow's getting heavier and heavier, isn't it?"

The next morning, Yang Chen stood at the door, breathing out clouds of steam. Not only had the heavy snow not stopped, it showed signs of growing even fiercer.

He stamped a foot into the ground. The snow had already piled up a foot deep. For ordinary people, it was no longer suitable to go outside, but martial artists could still move as swiftly as if flying. Within his sight, quite a few disciples were walking barefoot.

He took off his shoes as well and stepped onto the snow barefoot. The snow was freezing, but to a martial artist whose qi and blood blazed like a furnace, it was neither painful nor itchy.

After eating, he stepped onto his newly bought snowboard and headed for the spirit fields.

When he reached the top of the slope, he saw Xu Qingqing flitting over the snow with the lightness of a swallow. Her footprints were shallow wherever she passed, nearly reaching the realm of leaving no trace upon the snow.

However, traveling like this consumed considerable stamina. Even someone at the Qi Martial Ninth Level would find it difficult to race dozens of miles in one breath.

"Morning, Junior Sister Xu."

Yang Chen came to within several yards behind Xu Qingqing. The Sun Moon Sword Sect judged status by cultivation. His strength now surpassed Xu Qingqing's, so the way they addressed each other had naturally changed.

Xu Qingqing, who had been hurrying along, turned around at his voice, her gaze carrying a trace of resentment. She could have traveled by snowboard too, but the snowboards had already sold out.

She had waited outside the dining hall for a while that morning as well, but the disciples who had sold snowboards yesterday were nowhere to be seen. Rumor had it that the shops in Nineteen Peaks Town had warned them off.

Any shop that could open in Nineteen Peaks had, at the very least, the backing of an Inner Sect Uncle-Master. After being warned, those few naturally did not dare sell snowboards again.

"Senior Brother Yang, are you selling that snowboard?"

Xu Qingqing knew Yang Chen would never give her the snowboard for free. Though she did not wish to accept gifts from others either, every time she thought of it, she still felt somewhat resentful.

"Of course. How many spirit crystals are you willing to pay, Junior Sister?"

Yang Chen came alongside Xu Qingqing, his gaze drawn by a patch of snowy white. Xu Qingqing was actually hurrying through the snow barefoot as well. Her toes were fair and slender, her toenails without a trace of impurity, as clean as white jade.

Xu Qingqing noticed his gaze, and a flush of shame and anger appeared on her face. Her eyes sharpened as she gritted her pearly teeth. "Do they look good?"

"They do. Junior Sister's feet—" Yang Chen hurriedly corrected himself. "I mean, that snowboard costs at least five spirit crystals. It's a limited edition. I can't bear to sell it for any less."

"I have something to do, so I'll be going ahead. If you're interested, Junior Sister, come find me at Spirit Field Number Eight later."

After saying that, Yang Chen sped up and left.

Xu Qingqing clenched her pearly teeth, a trace of annoyed anger on her breathtaking face. Before interacting with Yang Chen, she had already formed a basic impression of him. He was probably the sort who never accepted a loss.

Only after getting to know him did she realize that he was not merely someone who never suffered losses. He also had the potential to be a profiteer who plucked every last feather from a passing goose, without the slightest thought of cherishing a delicate beauty.

Yang Chen did not know what Xu Qingqing was thinking. He had already arrived at the spirit fields. After making his rounds, he entered the wooden hut, but the instant he opened the door, the horrifying sight inside gave him a fright.

Bloodstains covered every corner of the hut. Most nauseating of all, dead rat corpses were strewn everywhere! At a glance, there were at least twenty or thirty of them. The scene was exceedingly bizarre.

Yang Chen's expression became incomparably ugly at the sight.

Without question, this was Zhou Han's handiwork again. But this method was so vile and revolting that it made one sick. He had utterly abandoned all bottom lines.

"Zhou Han!!"

Yang Chen growled, his knuckles cracking loudly as he clenched his fists.

Before this, the two could only be said to have a conflict; it had not yet become a life-and-death grudge. But now, the nature of things had changed. There was no longer any room for reconciliation between them.

With a dark expression, he cleared away the rat corpses one by one, then spent a great deal of time washing the hut with clean water.

Two hours passed before he finally sat down with a cold face.

He did not choose to make a fuss before Lin Chuan, because he had no irrefutable proof. Even if he did, the punishment Zhou Han received would be neither painful nor itchy.

Since Zhou Han wanted to make trouble, then they would see who came out on top. From this moment on, it was a fight to the death!

Yang Chen changed his cultivation plan. He had originally intended to cultivate while comprehending sword techniques, but now he decided to devote all his time to charging toward the Blood Martial Realm.

He assumed a cultivation posture and began his first cultivation session of the day.

After finishing, he swallowed a Qi Strength Pill and absorbed its medicinal power. Once he had completely absorbed it, he began cultivating once more.

Repeating this cycle, his punching force continuously grew stronger, while the qi in his body approached completion at an even faster pace.

A day soon passed. After Yang Chen returned to the residential area, he began cultivating diligently again, even cutting into his sleeping time so that he could break through to the Blood Martial Realm sooner.

Another day arrived. Xu Qingqing bought the snowboard from him outside the dining hall, and he directly exchanged those spirit crystals for Spirit Calming Incense and Muscle Relaxing and Vitality Pills.

Another month-end assessment arrived. Yang Chen's ranking advanced again, reaching eleventh on the Rankings Board! He had made great progress this month, but those in the top ten were no less impressive, so he had only risen two places.

He received another fifteen spirit crystals and a Low-grade Sword Technique called the Jiang Slaying Sword Technique. After returning to his residence, he immediately contacted Wang Feng and exchanged all his spirit crystals for resources.

Days passed one after another. Another ten days went by, and the qi within Yang Chen's body finally reached completion!

When qi was full, it overflowed!

The excess qi gradually merged into his blood. When the first wisp of qi entered his blood, all the remaining qi in his body rushed toward it like moths flying into a flame, fighting to be first.

In just one day, the qi in Yang Chen's body vanished without a trace. Yet his strength did not disappear; instead, it increased. He could clearly feel that his heartbeat had become more powerful.

If his body were compared to a container and qi and blood to a solution, then the power of his qi and blood within that container had now barely reached 0.7. Once it reached 1, that would be the day he officially broke through to the Blood Martial Realm.

"Soon!"

Yang Chen's eyes gleamed. He would definitely break through to the Blood Martial Realm within this month. Once he succeeded, he would truly possess resources comparable to Huang Tianyu and the others—perhaps even surpass them.

Ten spirit crystals a day were enough to let him grow rapidly after reaching the Blood Martial Realm.

Four days later, the cultivation Rankings Board changed once again. Zhang Zhixian, ranked first, broke through to the Blood Martial Second Level!

Three days later, a disciple who had originally been ranked sixth took the lead in breaking through to the Blood Martial Realm, rising to fourth place.

Five days later, the fifth-ranked disciple broke through to the Blood Martial Realm! At the same time, Gu You, who ranked second, broke through to the Blood Martial Second Level.

This month became increasingly extraordinary. Just one day later, the current sixth-ranked disciple also achieved a breakthrough.

At this point, six people on the cultivation Rankings Board had broken through to the Blood Martial Realm, and the top two had already reached the Blood Martial Second Level!

Four more days later, Huang Tianyu broke through to the Blood Martial Second Level.

Close behind, the current seventh-ranked disciple also broke through to the Blood Martial Realm a day later.

Just as countless people wondered when the eighth-ranked person would break through, Yang Chen walked across the snow and finally arrived beneath the cultivation Rankings Board.

He raised his eyes toward the cultivation Rankings Board, his expression neither joyful nor sorrowful.

Then he stepped forward, arrived before the Testing Stele, gathered his strength, and threw a fierce punch!