You Think You're Worthy?

On the way back to Hundred Pine Peak, Ye Zhen clutched the two bottles of pills he had exchanged for as if they were treasures, afraid that his rapid running might fling them away.

Seven hundred taels of silver—enough for a family of three to live comfortably for seven or eight years—had only bought seventy contribution points.

In the end, he had received three Blood Origin Pills that greatly replenished blood qi, along with two Pulse Unblocking Pills for treating injuries.

Martial training truly was an extravagantly costly pursuit. The saying "poor scholars, rich warriors" was worth its weight in gold, every word of it.

Ye Zhen now somewhat understood why the Qi Yun Sect had set such strict rules for becoming an Outer Disciple.

Cultivation resources were limited. To avoid wasting them and make them yield the greatest possible effect, the sect could only sift through candidates layer by layer, selecting those with the most potential to enjoy superior cultivation resources.

Ye Zhen had actually wanted to use his contribution points to exchange for a more advanced cultivation method or martial skill, but the Sect Deacon had given him only three words in reply—he was not qualified!

At the Qi Yun Sect, Menial Disciples could only use contribution points to exchange for low-grade pills and miscellaneous goods. They did not even have identity tokens, so contribution points exchanged with silver had to be spent all at once.

When he returned to Hundred Pine Peak, it was still early. Most of the disciples were still on the mountain. Only a few Menial Disciples, like Ma Yuanwu, whose cultivation ranked near the top, had just returned.

When those people saw Ye Zhen, their expressions were rather astonished.

Ye Zhen did not waste words with them. He went straight back into his room and hurried to cultivate. He wanted to see just how powerful these Blood Origin Pills, supplied exclusively to Outer Disciples, truly were.

A Blood Origin Pill with a faintly fishy fragrance entered his stomach. Ye Zhen immediately circulated the Blood Qi Art, closed his eyes, and began cultivating as he experienced its effects.

More than half an hour later, Ye Zhen slowly opened his eyes, a trace of amazement in his gaze.

The cultivation resources available to Outer Disciples were enough to make Ye Zhen deeply envious. Just one Blood Origin Pill every five days was already astonishing.

At least ten times stronger!

The Blood Origin Pill was more than ten times as effective as Blood Origin Soup.

Moreover, the power it contained was purer and easier to absorb and refine.

Not only that, Ye Zhen discovered that the Blood Origin Pill was actually comparable in effect to the Marrow Spirit Liquid he had taken. The medicinal effect of one drop of Marrow Spirit Liquid was equivalent to one Blood Origin Pill, but there were still differences between them.

The Blood Origin Pill was pure, containing dense medicinal blood qi that directly strengthened Ye Zhen's blood qi and raised his cultivation.

The Marrow Spirit Liquid, however, was comprehensive in its effects. Like an all-purpose restorative, it strengthened Ye Zhen's blood qi while nourishing his entire body—his eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and five viscera and six bowels.

Ye Zhen had taken Marrow Spirit Liquid for over twenty consecutive days, and the results were obvious. Not only had his eyesight and hearing greatly improved, but his mind had become clear as well. Many things he had once failed to understand now suddenly opened before him.

The most obvious effect was his rapid progress in the Bear King Mountain Shoulder Fist. Whenever he threw a punch, there was faintly the form of a bear and the roar of a grizzly, its power extraordinary.

Without hesitation, Ye Zhen swallowed the second Blood Origin Pill and continued strengthening his blood qi.

"Ye Zhen, Ye Zhen! Good news, good news!"

Sha Fei's delighted cry interrupted Ye Zhen's cultivation. When Ye Zhen opened his eyes, he saw Sha Fei rush into the room like a whirlwind, his face brimming with joy.

"Ye Zhen, did you know? That bastard Wu Jian got beaten up! Beaten terribly! You have to go see what he looks like. Who knows how many bones were broken all over his body? Especially his right leg—you could even see the white bone fragments!"

As he cheered, Sha Fei swung his fists through the air as though venting his anger. "You didn't see it—four people carried him down the mountain, and his screams all the way were like a pig being slaughtered. So satisfying, too satisfying.

"Too bad we still don't know who did it. If I find out who it was, I'll definitely treat that person to a drink..."

"Watch out!"

Before Sha Fei could finish dancing about, Ye Zhen's expression abruptly changed. He yanked Sha Fei backward.

Bang!

In that instant, the door to Ye Zhen and Sha Fei's residence shattered into countless pieces. A Stone Lock weighing a full thousand jin spun through the air as it smashed into the room.

As he pulled Sha Fei back, Ye Zhen leaped up sharply and sent the thousand-jin Stone Lock flying with a single kick.

"Ye Zhen, you son of a bitch, get the hell out here!" At the same moment, Ma Yuanwu's furious curse rang across all of Hundred Pine Peak.

"Ma Yuanwu?" Sha Fei, still shaken, froze for a moment and looked at Ye Zhen in confusion.

Ye Zhen's face darkened as he strode toward the door.

The scene outside was exactly as Ye Zhen had expected. Wu Jian, with a broken arm, shattered leg, and who knew how many broken bones throughout his body, was crying his grievances to Ma Yuanwu. The moment he saw Ye Zhen emerge, his wailing became three times more miserable.

"It was him, Senior Disciple Brother, it was that dog Ye—" Wu Jian had just begun to curse Ye Zhen when Ye Zhen glared fiercely, scaring the rest of the words back down his throat.

"It was Ye Zhen who ambushed me. Not only did he severely injure me like this, he also stole the five-hundred-tael Silver Note from my robes. Senior Disciple Brother, you must seek justice for me!" Wu Jian wailed.

Hearing Wu Jian's accusations, Sha Fei, who had just come outside, went blank with shock. His eyes bulged as he looked at the fearless Ye Zhen, then at the badly injured Wu Jian, as though he were dreaming.

The Menial Disciples watching from the sidelines were even more dumbfounded.

Wu Jian had been among the top five on Hundred Pine Peak, yet he had now been beaten into severe injury by Ye Zhen, who had always been called trash.

The moment Ma Yuanwu heard the words "five-hundred-tael Silver Note," his eyes immediately lit up.

"Ye Zhen, you are fellow disciples of the same sect. How could you strike Wu Jian with such a vicious hand—"

"Fellow disciples? Pah!" Before Ma Yuanwu could finish, Ye Zhen spat. "Ma Yuanwu, you still have the nerve to say the words 'fellow disciples'? You think you're worthy?"

Having his sore spot exposed and being cursed before so many people made Ma Yuanwu's face swell hot with embarrassment.

"Hmph, no matter what, as the Senior Disciple Brother of Hundred Pine Peak, I am definitely handling this matter today! Ye Zhen, if I don't show you some power, you truly won't know who the Senior Disciple Brother of Hundred Pine Peak is.

"Take this!"

With a furious shout and the roar of his fist, Ma Yuanwu unleashed Bear King Emerges from Cave, smashing toward Ye Zhen's face.

As the punch flew out, the blood qi around Ma Yuanwu's body gave off hissing sounds, instantly condensing into a massive bead of blood. Like a serpent or python, it raced and rolled beneath Ma Yuanwu's skin, causing his fist to swell by half a fist's size as the force of his punch surged.

Blood Qi Condensation Pearl—this was the distinctive mark of Blood Refining Triple Layer cultivation. That blood pearl, half the size of a fist, represented Ma Yuanwu gathering all the power of his Peak Blood Refining Third Level cultivation into one point.

"Watch out!" Sha Fei cried out.

Ye Zhen's expression abruptly became incomparably grave. His body swayed slightly, and amid a continuous series of popping bone explosions, he met the attack with Lazy Bear Stretches Waist.

Roar!