Late at night, at the Clan Elder's compound of the Lian Clan.
"Bang!"
The compound's gate was pushed open, and a young man with a face as beautiful as jade walked out.
"Chengyu, why have you come out?"
The old patriarch saw the young man and rose to his feet. Lian Chengyu had said before that he would remain in seclusion until the start of the Tai'a Divine Kingdom's warrior selection.
Yet less than a month had passed, and Lian Chengyu had already emerged from seclusion.
"I ran into some problems during cultivation..."
Lian Chengyu's complexion was not very good. His original plan had been to spend more than two months accumulating enough foundation, then consume the Savage Bone Essence and break through the Purple Blood Realm in one fell swoop!
That way, his foundation would be solid enough and his accumulation sufficient. Once he broke through to the Purple Blood Realm, he could reach the peak of the early stage, stand head and shoulders above his early-stage peers, and even gain immense benefits for breaking through to higher realms in the future!
The Tai'a Divine Kingdom's selection placed great importance on the foundation and accumulated reserves of the warriors being assessed. If Lian Chengyu could accomplish all this, he might earn the favor of the Tai'a Divine Kingdom's officials during the selection and achieve an impressive result.
However, things had not gone according to plan. Even after he had hollowed out Lian Clan Medicine Mountain and consumed so many fine medicines, Lian Chengyu's cultivation had progressed slowly!
Lian Chengyu believed that he had encountered a bottleneck.
In fact, one's state of mind was also very important when cultivating martial arts in seclusion. With a good mindset, strong confidence, and ample perseverance, breaking through would be as easy as splitting bamboo.
But if one believed that something had gone wrong with one's cultivation and that one had encountered a bottleneck, one's sharpness would inevitably fade, making twice the effort for half the result.
This psychological effect was not very significant to begin with. However, Lian Chengyu had already been facing a shortage of resources in his cultivation. Now, adding insult to injury, it caused his cultivation to progress more and more slowly. In the end, he chose to emerge from seclusion ahead of schedule.
He would change his state of mind, rest for a while, then take the Savage Bone Essence and enter seclusion again, breaking through the Purple Blood Realm in one breath.
That was Lian Chengyu's plan, and the idea did have some merit. Sometimes, when single-minded cultivation failed to bring a breakthrough, stopping for a while might instead lead to some wondrous insights, making it entirely possible to break through the bottleneck without even realizing it.
"How is the Savage Bone being refined?"
Lian Chengyu asked the question he cared about most. This piece of Savage Bone could be said to determine his life and death!
"Mm, it has gone fairly smoothly, but... a few days ago, those commoners refining the Savage Bone had already been poisoned. I originally planned to make them endure for a few more days, but seeing that they were on the verge of collapse, I had no choice but to give them Blood Dissolving Pills. They have recovered now, so it won't affect the refinement of the Savage Bone."
After hearing this, Lian Chengyu furrowed his brows. "That bunch of good-for-nothings really are useless. It's only been a few days, and they already can't withstand the toxicity of the Cold Python Savage Bones! Once they take these Blood Dissolving Pills, they will overdraw their vitality. Given this situation, they won't survive until the Savage Bone is fully refined. They'll die before then!"
Lian Chengyu's words were cold and heartless. Even the old patriarch felt they had gone too far. He said, "Chengyu... your demands are too high. These people usually can't eat their fill or keep warm; how could they possibly withstand the Cold Python's toxicity? They can be considered to have sacrificed themselves for the Lian Clan. Once you rise to prominence in the future, you should take care of their families too."
"I know." Lian Chengyu answered without expression. "I'm only worried about the refinement of the Savage Bone. I'm afraid it won't be completed on time. If these people die too soon, it will inevitably affect the process. Great-Grandfather, issue an order and recruit more people from the clan. With more people, the Cold Python's toxicity will be distributed among them, and they will last longer. Blood Dissolving Pills may not be considered expensive medicine in a major clan, but we've almost spent all the money in our hands. Even with Blood Dissolving Pills, we must save wherever possible."
Lian Chengyu spoke lightly. After hearing this, the old patriarch sighed. He knew that every additional person recruited meant another life being thrown away.
The pitiful commoners were even scrambling to come refine the Savage Bone because they were given cured meat.
"For the sake of the Lian Clan, we have no choice..." The old patriarch shook his head. "What a pity. If there were non-toxic Savage Bones, we wouldn't have to see so many people die during the refinement."
"Non-toxic Savage Bones?" Lian Chengyu let out a mocking laugh. "With our clan's wealth, and that incomplete Secret Manual I obtained, how could we possibly exchange for non-toxic Savage Bones?"
"Besides, these Cold Python Savage Bones aren't actually poisonous. They merely contain a chill that is difficult to dispel. Once it enters the human body, it can freeze the five viscera and slowly drain a person of their vitality. If there were a Savage Heaven Master, the chill of the Cold Python Savage Bones could be easily dissolved. But which Savage Heaven Master would act to detoxify such low-grade Savage Bones? It is even less likely that one would come to our Lian Clan!"
"That is why the young masters of those major clans are unwilling to use this kind of Savage Bone. Cold Python Savage Bones are the cheapest kind among Savage Bones, and that is why they have fallen to me! It's just like how the leftover bones from a rich family's table are fed to dogs. To those great clans, I am nothing more than a wild dog eating the food they throw away!"
Lian Chengyu spoke the final sentence with self-mockery. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and he clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging into the flesh of his palms.
He hated it!
The young masters and young ladies of the great clans could pick and choose even their Savage Bones. They would not use ones with side effects, nor ones with poor results!
But what about him? Even obtaining a single piece of Cold Python Savage Bones discarded by others had required him to move heaven and earth and exhaust his entire fortune!
Pouring all his hopes into a piece of Savage Bone with severe side effects, staking everything on it, and swallowing it at the risk of his life—just thinking about it was tragic!
"Chengyu, you've suffered over the years. But you also know that the outstanding talents of those great clans are ultimately only a minority. And even within great clans, there are many disciples with poor natural endowments who can't obtain much Savage Beast Meat..."
The old patriarch felt somewhat ashamed. He knew that Lian Chengyu's talent was excellent, but the Lian Clan was too poor to support him. Although Lian Chengyu had never spoken of it, the old patriarch knew that he had always harbored resentment toward the Lian Clan.
Lian Chengyu found the old patriarch's words difficult to take in. He said, "Great-Grandfather, you don't need to comfort me. Heaven and earth are not benevolent; they treat all things like straw dogs. Since this world is unfair, I will use my own strength to win fairness! Sooner or later, I will control my own fate, and I will control the fate of others as well! In the future, I will trample all those great clans' disciples beneath my feet!!"
"I understand." The old patriarch sighed. "Tomorrow, I will issue an announcement and send more people to refine the Savage Bone. As for how many will die, we can't worry about that now. The more people who join, the more of the chill they can absorb for you... When you consume the Savage Bone, the danger will be minimized."
The old patriarch knew that, to Lian Chengyu, finding some commoners to die for him would not stir the slightest bit of pity.
Lian Chengyu hated Heaven's unfairness and believed himself to be supremely unfortunate. How could he spare any thought for other people's misfortune?
In Lian Chengyu's eyes, those commoners were merely ants. In fact, he even viewed himself as nothing more than a slightly larger ant.
The law of the jungle had already sunk deep into Lian Chengyu's heart. Only by devouring ants smaller than himself could he continue to grow, until he became an unparalleled powerhouse capable of controlling his own fate and the fates of others.
Before you continue