Houtian Fifth Stage, Fourth Update

At that instant, the Five-Colored Great Serpent's tail swept across, stirring up a fierce gale as it lashed toward Ye Xiwen in the blink of an eye. Its tail was as hard as metal and stone, and the force behind its horizontal strike was no weaker than Two Tigers Strength.

Although serpent-type demon beasts were not known for their strength, the tail strike of a Five-Colored Great Serpent at the Houtian Fourth Stage Early Phase absolutely exceeded a thousand jin. If one were struck solidly, even their bones would be shattered.

"Bang!" Ye Xiwen met it with both palms, and the collision rang out with the clang of metal striking iron.

Ye Xiwen immediately roared and firmly seized the incoming tail. The veins on his arms bulged as he gathered all his strength and swung the Five-Colored Great Serpent into the air.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!" The Five-Colored Great Serpent, weighing over a hundred jin, was viciously swung through the air by Ye Xiwen, producing sharp whistles as it tore through the wind.

"Boom!" With a tremendous crash, Ye Xiwen slammed the Five-Colored Great Serpent directly against the cliff face.

With that powerful swing, the Five-Colored Great Serpent was smashed deeply into the cliff. Blood seeped from its thick, long body, showing just how devastating the blow had been. It struggled to escape, but how could Ye Xiwen let it have its way? He immediately swung it up again.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Before long, Ye Xiwen had smashed the Five-Colored Great Serpent to death.

Ye Xiwen did not even stop to rest. After digging out the Five-Colored Great Serpent's Demon Core, he immediately dug up the Earth Core Fruit.

Ye Xiwen quickly left the area. The scent of blood would soon attract other demon beasts from the mountain, and that would bring another round of trouble. Though this was the outer region of the mountain range and there were no overly powerful demon beasts, it was still troublesome. And if some powerful demon beast that refused to play by the rules happened to emerge, he would not even have a place to cry.

There were far too many demon beasts on this mountain, so he could not let down his guard. The reason the Yi Yuan Sect had been established on such a mountain was to intimidate the many demon beasts within it and prevent them from descending the mountain to harm the people.

Ye Xiwen soon returned to the Yi Yuan Sect. It was much the same as when he had left several days ago, with no notable changes. He went straight to the Yi Yuan Sect's Hall of Merit, which was specifically responsible for exchanging items contributed by sect disciples for sect points.

Ye Xiwen strode inside and approached the steward in charge of exchanging points. These stewards were influential figures within the academy. Though they were not elders, they held real authority. Their strength might not have been especially high, but ordinary disciples could not afford to offend them.

This young steward was named Wang Shi. He had once been a disciple of the Yi Yuan Sect himself, but he was harsh by nature and enjoyed currying favor with powerful people. Ordinary disciples generally disliked him.

Wang Shi said arrogantly, "You're here to exchange for points too?"

"No." Ye Xiwen shook his head and took out the Demon Cores of the Arrow Pig Beast and the Five-Colored Great Serpent. "I want to exchange these two Demon Cores for spirit stones."

Wang Shi casually accepted the two Demon Cores, then said, "A Houtian Fifth Stage Demon Core can be exchanged for twenty Low-Grade Spirit Stones. The two of them can be exchanged for forty Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

"Mm." Ye Xiwen agreed. The quality of Demon Cores varied, and if he sold them privately, he might get one or two more spirit stones. But that was nowhere near as convenient as exchanging them directly at the Hall of Merit.

After receiving the spirit stones, Ye Xiwen turned and left. With forty Low-Grade Spirit Stones and the Earth Core Fruit, he could fully deduce Thunderclap Nine Hands to the ninth strike. At that point, this Martial Skill would be complete.

Ye Xiwen left the Hall of Merit and returned to his small courtyard. Time was growing more and more pressing; he had to raise his strength as quickly as possible.

Ye Xiwen sat cross-legged on his bed, took out the Earth Core Fruit, and swallowed it. Once it entered his stomach, it swiftly transformed into a stream of heat that flowed into his body.

A stream of heat rose from his dantian, and the true qi throughout his body immediately began circulating wildly. Ye Xiwen's face gradually turned red.

As the true qi within Ye Xiwen's body circulated madly, his formerly stable realm began to loosen again and again.

Ye Xiwen mobilized all the true qi in his body to refine this energy. With every portion he refined, the true qi in his body grew stronger. Under his guidance, even more energy began tempering his body.

Countless streams of energy tore apart and reassembled every cell in Ye Xiwen's body, then tore them apart again after reassembly. His face wore an expression tangled between agony and pleasure. Whenever countless cells were ripped apart, it felt as though the entire world was collapsing. Crackling sounds rang from his body like strings of firecrackers exploding—his physical body was undergoing transformation.

Ye Xiwen immediately got off the bed and entered the small courtyard. With a loud roar, he began practicing the forms of Thunderclap Hand. In his mind, a figure rapidly demonstrated the essence of Thunderclap Hand, while the spiritual qi within the forty spirit stones exchanged for the two Demon Cores surged forth and poured into Ye Xiwen's body.

"Rumble!" Ye Xiwen's small courtyard filled with thunderous roars. Crackling sounds also rang from his body as the strength within him increased at a rapid pace.

Two Tigers Strength!

Two and a Half Tigers Strength!

Three Tigers Strength!

Four Tigers Strength!

Five Tigers Strength!

"Boom!" The torrent of energy broke through Ye Xiwen's Houtian Fourth Stage Peak realm!

Houtian Fifth Stage!

Yet this ascent had not ended. Instead, it continued rising at high speed. Ye Xiwen's true qi, having just reached the Houtian Fifth Stage, continued climbing at an astonishing pace until it reached the Houtian Fifth Stage Middle Phase. This feeling of rapid breakthrough intoxicated Ye Xiwen. Just as he was about to charge with all his might toward the Houtian Fifth Stage Late Phase, he suddenly felt the seemingly endless flow of energy vanish.

Five Tigers Strength!

With a massive explosive sound, countless bursts of force within Ye Xiwen's body twisted into a single strand, facing the three existing strands of force from afar. This showed that Ye Xiwen had condensed another One Tiger Strength, reaching Five Tigers Strength—comparable to a Houtian Sixth Stage expert.

"Rumble!" Amid one tremendous thunderclap after another, Ye Xiwen practiced Thunderclap Hand once more. After producing the seventh sound, he pressed forward in one unbroken effort. His mind became utterly clear, leaving only the figure in the special space within his mind continuously demonstrating the essence of Thunderclap Hand.

"Bang!" The eighth thunderclap finally erupted from thin air. This marked that Ye Xiwen had finally deduced most of the essence of Thunderclap Hand.

The power of Thunderclap Hand after reaching the eighth sound instantly rose to another level, becoming comparable to certain mid-grade cultivation methods.

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