Another World Within?

"Sha Fei, why are you packing your luggage? What are you doing?" When Ye Zhen returned to the room and saw Sha Fei silently packing his things without a word, he could not help growing anxious.

Before he could answer Ye Zhen, a trace of bleak misery flashed across Sha Fei's face.

"My chances of breaking through from Blood Refining Second Level to Blood Refining Triple Layer within a day or two were already slim. Now that I've suffered internal injuries, that hope is even more remote. Rather than wait until after the Sect Grand Examination to be thrown out of the sect in disgrace and sent home, I'd rather leave quietly in advance. At least that would look better." Sha Fei said.

With that, Sha Fei pointed at a tube of Blood Origin Soup by the bedside. "I'm leaving. This stuff is useless to me now. Drink my share too. Maybe it'll help you."

"Sha Fei, you..." Ye Zhen could see the regret in Sha Fei's eyes. Everyone knew that once Sha Fei left, he would be completely cut off from the martial path. From then on, he could only live out his life as an ordinary man, muddleheaded and aimless.

"Ye Zhen, don't say any more. This isn't your fault. Even if I hadn't been injured, my chances of breaking through to Blood Refining Triple Layer within a day or two would have been nearly nonexistent. If anyone is to blame, it can only be me."

At that, Sha Fei suddenly raised his fist at Ye Zhen, an irrepressible grin blooming across his face. "Still, before leaving, getting to see those scoundrels Ma Yuanwu and Wu Jian beaten so miserably leaves me with no regrets, even if I wasn't the one who did it!"

"Actually, you might still get the chance to beat Ma Yuanwu and Wu Jian up yourself," Ye Zhen suddenly said, picking up on Sha Fei's words.

"What?" Sha Fei froze, then shook his head with a bitter smile.

Just as Sha Fei was bitterly shaking his head, Ye Zhen handed him his own tube of Blood Origin Soup. "I heard that if Menial Disciples whose cultivation has long been stuck and unable to break through take two tubes of Blood Origin Soup in succession, the boosted medicinal effects might allow them to break through."

"There's such a thing? I've been in the sect longer than you. How come I've never heard of it?" Sha Fei frowned, clearly unconvinced.

"Why worry about that? We have two tubes of Blood Origin Soup right here. We'll know if we try. Here, I'll open them for you." As he spoke, Ye Zhen took the initiative to twist open both bottles of Blood Origin Soup for Sha Fei.

Yet when he casually turned away from Sha Fei's line of sight, the two drops of Marrow Spirit Liquid Ye Zhen had deliberately saved that night mixed into the two tubes of Blood Origin Soup.

"Come on, hurry and try it. Refine these two tubes of Blood Origin Soup, and maybe you'll break through," Ye Zhen urged.

"That can't be possible, can it? I've saved up Blood Origin Soup before. It didn't seem all that miraculous." Unable to withstand Ye Zhen's urging, Sha Fei finally drained the two tubes of Blood Origin Soup Ye Zhen handed him in one gulp.

When Sha Fei sat cross-legged on the bed, Ye Zhen saw the veins on his forehead already bulging. Ye Zhen knew that the surging medicinal power of the Marrow Spirit Liquid had begun to take effect.

"This time, Sha Fei should be able to break through, right?" Ye Zhen murmured softly, his thoughts involuntarily drifting back to his visit to the Cliff Secret Cave that night.

Ever since he had accidentally shattered the Stone Shoot in the Cliff Secret Cave the night before, Ye Zhen's heart had been hanging in midair. He was terrified that the broken Stone Shoot would no longer drip Marrow Spirit Liquid. If that happened, it would be too late for tears.

But to Ye Zhen's delight, at midnight that night, two drops of Marrow Spirit Liquid had still fallen from the broken end of the Stone Shoot, just as they always had. Amid his joy and alarm, Ye Zhen became certain of one thing.

The Marrow Spirit Liquid dripping here definitely was not produced by the Stone Shoot. The thing that produced this Marrow Spirit Liquid surely concealed another world within.

Perhaps by following the broken Stone Shoot, he could find the treasure that produced the Marrow Spirit Liquid. In that instant, Ye Zhen had even wanted to dig into it and get to the bottom of things.

But after struggling with himself for quite a while, Ye Zhen still restrained that impulsive thought.

Perhaps the Marrow Spirit Liquid truly had been born from the spiritual essence of heaven and earth. If he dug, perhaps there would be nothing left. Besides, even if he really unearthed some treasure, Ye Zhen felt that with his current cultivation, finding such a treasure would not necessarily be a good thing.

For now, enjoying two drops of Marrow Spirit Liquid every day was the most practical thing.

Perhaps after Ye Zhen's cultivation rose further in the future, he would properly investigate the matter.

Late that night, Sha Fei's voice rang out in wild ecstasy, tinged with astonishment and even a hint of tears.

"I broke through! I really broke through, Ye Zhen! I really broke through!"

Seeing Sha Fei, covered all over in black grimy sludge, pounce toward him, Ye Zhen did not hesitate before kicking him flying. After swallowing two drops of Marrow Spirit Liquid, it would have been strange if he had not broken through.

"I'm not interested in men, much less a 'stinky man'..." Ye Zhen laughed as he cursed.

"Eh? How did I get so dirty?" But the wild joy of breaking through quickly swept that question away, and Sha Fei dashed toward the mountain pond.

Watching Sha Fei's retreating figure, Ye Zhen smiled.

Sha Fei was a brother he had made. Those two drops of Marrow Spirit Liquid had been well spent!

As Ye Zhen's cultivation soared from Blood Refining First Level a month ago to Blood Refining Triple Layer now, the annual Sect Grand Examination that had loomed over him like a great mountain and filled him with worry a month ago passed smoothly before he knew it, amid the astonishment of his fellow disciples.

Ye Zhen's sights were now set on the Fish Dragon Path that would soon open.

The treatment of Outer Disciples and Inner Disciples was as different as heaven and earth. Ye Zhen did not know about anything else, but the effects of Blood Origin Pills and Blood Origin Soup alone were worlds apart.

Moreover, once one became an Outer Disciple, one could freely choose to study the sect's treasured cultivation arts and martial skills. The cultivation arts and martial skills one chose oneself were vastly different in effect and progress from the Blood Qi Art and Bear King Mountain Shoulder Fist that Menial Disciples all cultivated together.

It was said that one day of cultivating an art chosen by an Outer Disciple was equivalent to three or four days of a Menial Disciple's bitter cultivation of the Blood Qi Art.

Therefore, becoming an Outer Disciple one day sooner meant gaining an advantage in cultivation one day sooner, bringing immeasurable benefits to Ye Zhen's future path as a martial artist. This was especially true for disciples like Ye Zhen, whose bloodline grade was low. Time was always what they lacked most.

Early in the morning on the first day of the eighth month, Steward Zhao, the menial steward of Hundred Pine Peak, personally escorted Ye Zhen to East Arrival Peak, where the Qi Yun Sect's Fish Dragon Path was located.

East Arrival Peak covered an extremely vast area. The Qi Yun Sect claimed to have one hundred thousand menial workers and three thousand Outer Disciples. The hundred thousand Menial Disciples lived scattered across the various Menial Peaks, while the three thousand Outer Disciples—or rather, nearly all of the Qi Yun Sect's Outer Disciples—cultivated on East Arrival Peak.

Along the way, disciples from the various Menial Peaks arrived at East Arrival Peak in an unbroken stream. According to Steward Zhao, these people were the seed candidates from the Qi Yun Sect's more than three hundred Menial Peaks.

"Ye Zhen, I've explained all the matters requiring attention within the Fish Dragon Path clearly to you! Remember, do not vie for superiority. As long as you honestly make it through the Fish Dragon Path, you can become an Outer Disciple."

After a pause, Steward Zhao added, "Whether the Hundred Pine Menial Peak under this old man's management can rise by half a grade or even a full grade this year will depend entirely on you. If you successfully pass through the Fish Dragon Path, this old man will have another fine gift for you."

"A fine gift?"

Ye Zhen smiled faintly and nodded. "I understand. Many thanks, Steward Zhao!"