Trial

With the Sharingan's ability to see through things, Ye Qiu was like a fish in water within this forest. It gave him enormous advantages in avoiding danger and detecting Spirit Beasts.

Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track moved beneath his feet, leaving behind layers of phantoms as his speed surged. Even in this complex terrain, he maintained a remarkably fast pace.

By Ye Qiu's estimate, there were around twenty Violent Apes in the valley. The leading Ape King stood roughly two and a half meters tall and had a cultivation of around four to five hundred years.

The rest were Spirit Beasts of two to three hundred years, along with some juveniles and cubs.

Against Spirit Beasts living in groups like these, with the bundle of explosives on his back, even if he could not win, escaping unscathed would not be a problem.

Standing above the valley, his black robe billowing, Ye Qiu took a deep breath. He stopped hesitating and leaped straight down.

The fierce wind howled past, lifting the hood of his black robe and revealing Ye Qiu's face, tense, excited, and cold!

The falling rocks kicked loose by Ye Qiu's steps on the valley wall alerted the Violent Apes. One immediately spotted Ye Qiu, who was still falling!

A trace of humanlike expression appeared on its rough black face as it cried out, sounding somewhere between weeping and howling.

The apes charged in a pack toward where Ye Qiu would land, kicking up dust that filled the sky!

Using the shrubs growing along the rock wall, Ye Qiu landed safely. His legs bent slightly to cushion the impact while his hands pressed down through the air!

Swish! Two sharp daggers appeared in his hands.

Ye Qiu's vision suddenly darkened as a shadow fell over him. A two-meter-tall Violent Ape, one that had just reached the standard of a Hundred-Year Spirit Beast, was already standing beside him.

Its fan-sized palm slapped directly toward him.

Ye Qiu's pupils merely trembled, and the Violent Ape froze in place. He rolled away, then casually slashed the dagger in his hand across its leg joint.

Ssh! A fierce flurry of moves, yet the damage was less than five.

"It really is thick-skinned and tough!" Ye Qiu sighed as he watched the faint blossom of blood. The physical qualities of Spirit Beasts truly were beyond ordinary people.

Ignoring the Violent Ape he had thrown behind him, Ye Qiu kept his objective clear and charged into the oncoming ape pack.

Under the Sharingan's observation, their movements became slow, their openings everywhere.

Continuously evading the palms swung at him, Ye Qiu was not foolish enough to confront them head-on. He used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to weave and dodge, drawing closer to the Ape King at the other end of the valley.

As he gradually pushed into their midst, Ye Qiu unknowingly found himself surrounded.

Wind pressure came from behind him as a three-hundred-year Violent Ape unleashed a cannon punch aimed straight at the center of Ye Qiu's back.

Ye Qiu leaned back and sprang upward from where he stood, evading the attack as he pulled out the Sleeve Arrow he had cobbled together in midair.

Whoosh! Pfft~

A small arrow sank into its eye, bursting the eyeball.

"Roar~!" It wailed as blood streamed down its face. It continuously pounded its chest, its black fur standing on end as it clearly entered a berserk state where it could no longer distinguish friend from foe.

Several weaker companions were swept flying by it, and the previously united ape pack immediately fell into chaos.

"Roar!" The Ape King's roar echoed through the entire valley. It took command, and the injured Violent Ape did not rampage for long before collapsing to the ground. Light swirled around it as a yellow Spirit Ring slowly emerged.

Its death only further aroused the Violent Apes' ferocity!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several Violent Apes leaped around Ye Qiu, surrounding him and attacking at once.

His red-glowing eyes fixed on the Violent Apes before him, directly dragging them into an Illusion Technique. Their targets changed from Ye Qiu to the Violent Apes behind them.

He leaped high, stepped on one ape's shoulder, and had just jumped out of the encirclement.

"!"

Ye Qiu's gaze sharpened. The Ape King, which had just been within his sight, had actually vanished.

At that moment, Ye Qiu's feet had just left the Violent Ape's shoulder, leaving him suspended in midair...

On the ground, Ye Qiu's shadow was suddenly covered by another dark shadow. He turned around, and there it was—in the air, the Ape King was charging in to kill him.

Sharingan Illusion Technique! Mysterious Jade Hand!

Bang!

He turned and punched. The two collided, Ye Qiu's fist striking the Ape King squarely on the forehead before he was sent flying backward.

Bang! The Ape King crashed viciously into the ground, its head buzzing!

Ye Qiu also slammed into the ground, rolling several times before stopping. He clutched his shoulder. "That was close! Hah."

If he had not used the Sharingan to make its attack deviate from its original trajectory, he probably would not have been able to get back up! Even so, his shoulder had been grazed.

"Roar!" It let out a great cry. Seeing this, the other Violent Apes were terrified and hurriedly fled into the distance. Their king had entered a berserk state!

Its eyes were blood-red and filled with violent intent as it crouched low and rapidly charged at Ye Qiu.

Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!

Against something without reason, a kiting strategy was fairly effective.

During the battle, Ye Qiu discovered that maintaining the Sharingan consumed very little Soul Power. Instead, it was his Spiritual Power that was struggling to keep up.

It was time to end this quickly!

The Ape King's berserk state gradually faded over time, and its speed had already dropped. The brief increase in strength would leave it in a relatively fatigued state.

Ye Qiu became a sneaky rat, circling behind it with swift footwork;

Tomoe darted through his eyes, while the Violent Apes stood foolishly nearby;

He found the fatal point from behind, and the dagger in his hand shot forward;

Ultimate physical technique secret art, dead center on the target's petals!

"Aoargh~" Blood sprayed wildly from behind, and the Ape King let out a miserable howl.

One hand kept pounding its chest while the other covered its rear.

It crawled on the ground, its fangs trembling as it stared fixedly at Ye Qiu.

"Although this Thousand Years of Death move is a little immoral, the effect is surprisingly good! Cough, cough." Ye Qiu muttered to himself.

"Roar~" The Ape King's eyes nearly split apart as it tried to charge at him again, but every movement made its wound hurt even more.

"Sharingan! Illusion Technique!"

Bang! Its fists smashed down toward Ye Qiu, raising a cloud of dust that obscured the battlefield.

The surrounding Violent Apes watched from the side.

As the smoke cleared, Ye Qiu was already caught in its hand and held high overhead.

"Ooh~ roar~" They had won! The apes cried out excitedly and ran over, surrounding their king as they cheered to their hearts' content.

"Heh heh." Looking at the creatures gathering around him, Ye Qiu found their smell truly unbearable. With a thought, the Ape King holding him up gave a soft cry and drove them away.

Looking closely, three Tomoe could be seen in its eyes. It had clearly already been controlled by Ye Qiu.

"Looks like controlling even a five-hundred-year Spirit Beast is fairly easy. That means during my later Soul Hunting, I can find some Spirit Beasts to serve as 'tool beasts' and help me out."

Sitting atop the Ape King's head with his feet on its shoulders, Ye Qiu stroked his eyes. He was quite satisfied with his Martial Soul's abilities.

Driving the Ape King to carry him out of the valley, Ye Qiu left. Before departing, he had already set it so that the Violent Apes would regain consciousness within half an hour.

Ye Qiu did not retrieve the dagger lodged in it. He considered it a memento for the ape—mainly because he himself found the thought rather unsettling.

After leaving the valley, Ye Qiu began searching for his next target.

These Spirit Beasts were still a little too low in age.

His target was a Thousand-Year Spirit Beast!

Facing Tang San, who possessed Twin Martial Souls, and Tang Hao, Ye Qiu could only ensure an absolute advantage by surpassing the limits in everything!