Exhilarating

The duties Qi Yun Sect's Menial Disciples had to complete each day were extremely demanding, consuming much of their time and squeezing out their cultivation hours.

At Hundred Pine Peak, where Ye Zhen was assigned, the Menial Disciples' daily duty was to fell fifty Iron Branch Pines as thick as a bowl, then haul them down to the foot of the mountain.

Iron Branch Pine was exceptionally hard. Sometimes, a single chop of a woodcutter's blade would even throw up sparks.

When Ye Zhen had first arrived, completing a single day's duties had taken him as much as seven hours.

Even Ma Yuanwu, Hundred Pine Peak's strongest current member and its seed candidate, needed more than three hours at his fastest to finish his duties.

Normally, after completing their morning lessons, the Menial Disciples would rest for a while before heading up the mountain to chop trees. But today, after breakfast, every one of them hurried up the mountain.

Everyone hoped that this pressure would bring a breakthrough, allowing them to become Outer Disciples as soon as possible.

Compared to the status of an Outer Disciple, a Menial Disciple's position was like heaven and earth apart.

Ye Zhen was no exception. After breakfast, he carried his woodcutter's blade and headed up the mountain early.

Along the way, Ye Zhen pondered the matter of the Fish Dragon Path and the seed candidates.

It was Qi Yun Sect's shortcut for becoming an Outer Disciple early. Once one became an Outer Disciple, one would receive several times the cultivation resources of a Menial Disciple and could even choose one's own martial skills and cultivation methods.

But to compete on the Fish Dragon Path, one first had to become a peak's seed candidate. In other words, if Ye Zhen wanted to take part in the Fish Dragon Path, he first had to defeat Hundred Pine Peak's seed candidate, Ma Yuanwu.

Ye Zhen dreamed of beating Ma Yuanwu until his head was bloody. That day, Ma Yuanwu had trampled all over the things Ye Zhen's mother had sent him. Whenever Ye Zhen recalled that scene, he wanted nothing more than to kill Ma Yuanwu.

But strength—everything depended on strength.

Rumor had it that Ma Yuanwu had reached the Peak Blood Refining Third Level not long ago. He needed only that final kick at the threshold to break through to the Blood Refining Fourth Level and become an Outer Disciple.

However, that final kick was not so easy to make. It could take one month, two months, or even half a year.

Ye Zhen was currently at the Late Blood Refining Second Level. Yet because his blood and qi were extraordinarily condensed, he possessed a tremendous force of four thousand jin. That strength could rival a martial artist at the Late Blood Refining Third Level.

But compared to Ma Yuanwu at the Peak Blood Refining Third Level, there was still quite a gap.

"Break through. Within these three days, I must cultivate bitterly and strive for a breakthrough!"

Only after breaking through would he have a chance to defeat Ma Yuanwu and wash away his former humiliation. Ye Zhen secretly made up his mind.

Chop! Chop! Chop!

Pouring all his strength into it, Ye Zhen struck more than a dozen times in succession. A bowl-thick Iron Branch Pine slowly toppled to the ground.

With a casual swing, he chopped away the excess branches. Then Ye Zhen raised his woodcutter's blade toward another Iron Branch Pine.

For the entire morning, Ye Zhen sweated like rain and did not dare slacken in the slightest, hoping to finish his duties sooner and gain more time to cultivate.

Just as Ye Zhen had completed more than half his duties, the sound of pine needles snapping suddenly came from behind him.

"Ho, Junior Disciple Brother Ye. More than thirty trees already? Not bad speed. Looks like your cultivation has improved." An irritating voice rang out behind Ye Zhen.

"Wu Jian?" When Ye Zhen turned and saw who it was, a trace of hatred flashed through his eyes.

Wu Jian's cultivation was among the best at Hundred Pine Peak. Relying on Ma Yuanwu's influence, he had bullied them often enough. Forcing Ye Zhen and the others to wash clothes, scrub stinking socks, and carry foot-washing water—there had been far too many such incidents.

"What are you here for?" Ye Zhen wiped away his sweat and stared coldly at Wu Jian.

"Nothing much. I sparred with Senior Disciple Brother Ma for too long this morning, and I'm afraid I won't finish today's duties. So I came to borrow a few Iron Branch Pines from Junior Disciple Brother Ye."

As Wu Jian spoke, he chuckled and walked toward the neatly stacked Iron Branch Pines Ye Zhen had cut and piled to one side.

"Ha, Junior Disciple Brother Ye, I won't take too many. I'll gladly accept these thirty Iron Branch Pines." As he spoke, Wu Jian bent down to gather the Iron Branch Pines Ye Zhen had cut. As for Ye Zhen's opinion—sorry, he had never cared about that.

Whoosh!

Ye Zhen's woodcutter's blade flew over from afar, grazing past Wu Jian's nose. Wu Jian cried out in fright and sprang upright.

"Wu Jian, if you want to borrow Iron Branch Pines, shouldn't you at least ask whether I agree?" Ye Zhen walked toward Wu Jian, his face filled with fury. "And besides, even if you want to borrow them, shouldn't you first return the two hundred and seven Iron Branch Pines you previously borrowed from me?"

Relying on his strength, Wu Jian had often bullied Ye Zhen. Whenever laziness struck and he did not want to do his duties, he would simply come over and seize Ye Zhen's work.

Hearing Ye Zhen's words, an utterly absurd expression suddenly surged onto Wu Jian's face. "Ye Zhen, did I hear that right? Since when did I need your permission to use the Iron Branch Pines of trash like you? Looks like your scars have healed and you've forgotten the pain. Your skin is itching again!"

As he spoke, Wu Jian cracked his knuckles and charged at Ye Zhen in great strides.

Ten steps.

Five steps.

The instant he closed in, Wu Jian suddenly let out a fierce shout. With a Bear King Emerges from Cave, carrying a howling wind, he smashed his fist toward Ye Zhen.

"Ye Zhen, today I'll teach trash like you another lesson!"

It would have been one thing if Wu Jian had not brought up the past. But at the mention of it, Ye Zhen recalled all the bullying he had suffered, and his eyes immediately turned red.

With a roar, the sound of bones cracking erupted. Ye Zhen threw out a punch as well.

Bear King Emerges from Cave!

Hard against hard, tooth for tooth!

Seeing Ye Zhen use the same Bear King Emerges from Cave against him, Wu Jian sneered. "Courting death!" His iron fist suddenly accelerated.

Bang!

The two iron fists collided fiercely. The sneer on Wu Jian's lips instantly froze, then twisted into a look of horrified agony.

Crack!

Wu Jian's forearm bent at an unnatural angle.

It had broken!

"Ah! My hand!"

Wu Jian was terrified out of his wits!

As Wu Jian screamed in agony, Ye Zhen did not stop. He caught up in great strides and threw another punch at Wu Jian.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

With one arm broken, Wu Jian panicked. Like a human-shaped sandbag, he was struck again and again by Ye Zhen.

Lazy Bear Stretches Waist!

Bear King Emerges from Cave!

Old Bear Tears Rabbit!

The three moves and nine forms of the Bear King Mountain Shoulder Fist unfolded over Wu Jian's body again and again. All the resentment and humiliation Ye Zhen had suffered from Wu Jian over the past year came flooding back in this moment.

The sounds of breaking bones rang out from time to time. Wu Jian could only desperately protect his vital points, trembling with fear and utterly unable to fight back.

"Bear King Shoulders the Mountain!" Ye Zhen roared. The final form of the Bear King Mountain Shoulder Fist carried a piercing golden wind as it smashed toward Wu Jian's chest.

At the sight of that move, Wu Jian's soul fled his body. If that punch struck his chest, he would undoubtedly die!

"Spare me!" Wu Jian shrieked miserably.

That cry jolted Ye Zhen awake from the exhilaration of the fight. Seeing Wu Jian's incomparably terrified expression, Ye Zhen suddenly understood something.

His fist shifted. The incomparably fierce iron fist abruptly changed direction and smashed brutally into Wu Jian's thigh.

Ye Zhen had killed chickens, wolves, and many wild beasts, but he had never killed a person. Besides, he only wanted revenge; he had never intended to kill Wu Jian.

Moreover, within Qi Yun Sect, it was permitted for Menial Disciples to injure each other in sparring. But killing someone was a serious matter.

Crack!

Wu Jian's thigh bone was shattered directly by Ye Zhen's punch. White shards of bone pierced through the flesh of his thigh.

Before Wu Jian could even process his shock, he let out a miserable scream, rolled his eyes back, and fainted on the spot.

Even in his dreams, he would never have imagined that Ye Zhen, whom he had once bullied as he pleased, had become so formidable.

"Exhilarating!"

Looking at Wu Jian, who had fainted from the pain, Ye Zhen felt incomparably satisfied. All the humiliation he had suffered at Wu Jian's hands over the past year had been vented in this moment.

Not only that, but Ye Zhen also felt that after this real battle, his Bear King Mountain Shoulder Fist had improved again. Several transformations he had not fully understood before suddenly became clear.