Old Acquaintance Qin Yu

A figure surfaced in the green-robed man's memory, instantly overlapping with the filthy Corpse Incinerator Li Ye standing before him.

Was it him?

The green-robed man's throat tightened, his eyes reddening. He almost doubted what he was seeing: "Holy—"

Li Ye shook his head imperceptibly.

Seeing this, the green-robed man immediately stopped the words about to leave his mouth.

"Leave it to me."

Li Ye stepped forward and said.

Before long, Li Ye and the green-robed man arrived at Courtyard No. 3 and closed the door.

The green-robed man could no longer contain the emotions within him: "...Eldest Senior Brother!"

He called out, his voice trembling.

Li Ye smiled: "Long time no see, Junior Brother Qin Yu."

"Is this a gift for me?"

Li Ye pointed at the corpse in the green-robed man's hands.

The identity ranks of the Divine Concealment Sect, from low to high, were: Menial Disciple, Outer Disciple, Inner Disciple, Elite Disciple, True Disciple!

And finally, the Holy Son!

The Holy Son stood above all disciples, noble in status, the future heir to the Sect Master, the Eldest Senior Brother of the entire sect—his position unshakable and transcendent.

Qin Yu was the fourth among the Eight Great True Disciples of the Divine Concealment Sect, eccentric in nature and twisted in thought, often brawling with the other seven due to his unsociable ways.

Yet he alone got along with Li Ye, the Holy Son.

The Corpse Refining Courtyard, which others avoided, he came and went as he pleased, bound by no taboos.

Hearing Li Ye's teasing, Qin Yu couldn't help but feel his nose sting. He wanted to cry.

How had the Holy Son Eldest Senior Brother become a Corpse Incinerator?

"Aren't you supposed to be in the Outer Courtyard?"

Qin Yu asked in a low voice.

Everyone knew about Li Ye's situation, and Qin Yu was powerless to change it.

But he never imagined that after one trip away, the Holy Son Eldest Senior Brother had been demoted again to the Corpse Refining Courtyard.

Wasn't this a death sentence for him?

Qin Yu gritted his teeth: "I'll go speak to the Sect Master."

In his heart, whether the Holy Son Eldest Senior Brother was still the Holy Son, whether he was the radiant number one prodigy of the Southern Region, whether his cultivation was heaven-defying—he was still the Holy Son Eldest Senior Brother.

Li Ye shook his head, stopping Qin Yu's impulsive action with a look.

The latter fell silent, his heart growing even more bitter.

The Holy Son's body had problems, but it wasn't visible. Everyone thought it was just an excuse for his own downfall.

Because of Li Ye's days of heavy drinking and neglect of cultivation, the Elder Courtyard grew dissatisfied and petitioned the Sect Master. The Sect Master observed in secret and found the situation to be true.

Thus, Li Ye was demoted repeatedly, wallowing in self-abandonment, his cultivation declining day by day.

In the end, the Sect Master was utterly disappointed and sent him to the Menial Courtyard.

But Qin Yu believed that what the Holy Son Eldest Senior Brother said was true.

"I'm fine here."

Li Ye smiled.

Tears glistened in Qin Yu's eyes.

The once-radiant Holy Son Eldest Senior Brother had fallen to become the lowest of Corpse Incinerators—it left a bitter taste in his heart.

But since Li Ye insisted, Qin Yu couldn't say much more.

"The new Holy Son is... Junior Disciple."

He felt he had to mention it.

Li Ye was taken aback.

Junior Disciple was the youngest of the Eight Great True Disciples, usually keeping to himself and rarely interacting with fellow disciples.

Even with Li Ye and the others, he had little contact.

Half a year ago, Junior Disciple was already a master at the Fifth Layer of Object Manipulation—indeed, the best candidate to succeed the Holy Son's position.

"Good for him! Who's this?"

Li Ye looked at the corpse in Qin Yu's hands.

"Night Roaming God."

"I chased him for a long time before I killed him. If not for the Soaring Dragon Movement Technique you taught me, even a hundred masters might not have been able to corner this guy."

Qin Yu responded.

The Soaring Dragon Movement Technique was one of the most notoriously difficult movement techniques to cultivate in the Divine Concealment Sect. It required bearing heavy weights while training under lightning in thunderstorm weather, or in environments like waterfalls and ocean waves.

Without immense perseverance, it simply couldn't be mastered.

Under the guidance and urging of the former Holy Son, Li Ye, Qin Yu had struggled for over two years before barely succeeding.

Night Roaming God?

Li Ye's eyes lit up. He eagerly took the body, turned, and entered the Corpse Incineration Room.

"Wait for me."

He said to Qin Yu.

Qin Yu was confused.

Only when the furnace smoke began to rise from the Corpse Incineration Room moments later did he realize—the Holy Son Eldest Senior Brother was going to burn the corpse.

The man who had once shone so brilliantly was now performing this lowly, unlucky task with such practiced ease.

Qin Yu instinctively moved to follow him inside, but Li Ye's voice rang out from the room:

"Don't come in!"

"You foolish kid, how could you understand the benefits of being a Corpse Incinerator?"

"What does losing the Holy Son status matter? What does being lowly matter? When I become invincible under heaven and attain Eternal Life, who before me won't be lowly then?"

Li Ye thought to himself.

The Night Roaming God was of average height but very sturdy. The muscles in his legs were like cast Refined Iron, their lines exquisite—he had practically perfected his leg techniques.

"Truly gifted!"

Li Ye muttered inwardly.

The Night Roaming God's cause of death was a sword piercing straight through his head, delivered by Qin Yu. His eyes were wide open, faint Sha Qi surging within—he was on the verge of Corpse Transformation.

"Brother, rest in peace!"

After making simple preparations for the deceased, Li Ye pushed him into the Corpse Incineration Furnace.

The corpse gradually merged with the flames.

Then the Life Imprint began to decompose, blooming into a series of life Images.

The Night Roaming God was born in a remote mountain village. As a child, he accidentally fell off a cliff and, by luck, survived.

But he was trapped at the bottom of the cliff, unable to climb back up.

A few days later, the Night Roaming God encountered a skeleton reduced to white bones. Fortunately, he found two manuals—Gale Leg and Dragon Transformation Palm—in the tattered clothes of the deceased.

From then on, the Night Roaming God trained in these two manuals obsessively, his cultivation improving day by day. Years later, he finally returned home...

But he discovered that his parents, little sister, and others had long since died in a great famine.

Only a few wealthy landlords in the village had fled with their families, leaving not a single grain of food behind for the villagers.

And so, a new figure appeared in the martial world—the Night Roaming God, who specialized in robbing wealthy and powerful families. Many great clans were ruined because of him.

Li Ye now existed at the bottom of the world, interacting only with those at the bottom.

So most of what he witnessed were people with bitter fates.

One Image caught Li Ye's attention.

It was the Night Roaming God's treasure location.

Several remote estates, filled with dazzling treasures and all kinds of rare curios, were hidden in secret rooms, wells, ponds, and other unexpected places within each estate.

I'm rich!

Li Ye exclaimed inwardly.

Unfortunately, the Images only showed the estates and the appearance of a few nearby streets, with no indication of which city or which street they were on. Finding them would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Li Ye sighed.

If he wanted the Night Roaming God's treasure, it seemed he could only rely on luck in the future.

"Even among the wealthy, there are good people. Brother, you couldn't tell right from wrong and killed indiscriminately. Being killed by Qin Yu was your own fault."

Li Ye made his judgment.

He felt the Night Roaming God wasn't inherently bad—it was just that, having left his family as a child, no one had guided or taught him.

That led him down such an extreme path.

This guy's death wasn't unjust.

Chi!

A puff of white mist shot out from the Corpse Incineration Furnace, instantly drilling into Li Ye's body. Then the power of the white mist gathered into his legs.

The next moment, the large tendons in Li Ye's legs surfaced clearly like coiling dragons, his muscles bulging, his leg bones cracking and popping, thick and powerful, stomping the floor beneath him until it let out groaning, unbearable creaks, with signs of splitting.

A strand of information appeared in Li Ye's mind: Swift Wind Leg, you possess speed like the wind and explosive power like flames.

"Swift Wind Leg!"

Li Ye scolded lightly.

Whoosh!

The skill activated, and Li Ye's feet seemed to conjure wind. His body swayed, and in an instant, he trailed a blur of afterimages from one end of the Corpse Incineration Room to the other.

A distance of several meters felt like Instantaneous Movement.

Have I obtained the power of the Night Roaming God? Li Ye rejoiced.

He tried a whip kick next.

Boom!

The result was a howling gale, his kick blasting the air with repeated explosions.

"This!"

Li Ye's mouth fell open in shock.

This penetrating force could shatter a boulder weighing a thousand jin.

The Swift Wind Leg's ability further amplified the power Li Ye already possessed.

After a moment, Li Ye calmed his surging emotions, opened the door, and walked out, saying to Qin Yu in the courtyard:

"From now on, there is no more Holy Son Eldest Senior Brother."

"Only... the Corpse Incinerator, Li Ye."

Qin Yu's heart twisted in pain: "Eldest Senior Brother..."

Li Ye cut him off: "My path of immortality is severed. You and I are already people of two different worlds."

"Fourth Junior Brother, if you want what's best for me, pretend you never came today, and don't come again."

"Forget me, and tell no one!"

The Holy Son Eldest Senior Brother having lost all his cultivation was a fact.

All he could do was respect his choice.

Qin Yu left with a heavy heart.

Waking up in the afternoon, Li Ye ate beef and green onion stuffed buns again.

Three whole buns, fresh and juicy, very delicious.

He understood that this should be a reward for his work yesterday.

Aside from his daily duties, Li Ye kept cultivating the Nine Heavens Crimson Thunder Art every day.

On one hand, he gained power from practicing the technique; on the other, he absorbed the refined essence of cultivation from the corpses.

In the blink of an eye, many days passed, and Li Ye's progress was rapid.

That evening, Wu Qing and the other leaders of the Black-Clad Academicians gathered together, the atmosphere extremely heavy.

Wu Qing's face was grim as he said, "How did the rebel Lieutenant General's corpse end up sent here?"

The Esteemed Deacon, clad in a yellow robe, explained, "King Liang has been colluding with Nanjin to raise an army for over half a year now, his reputation and might vast."

"A few days ago, the rebel army charged again. A squad of elite masters circled behind our forces, attempting to burn our food and grass, but failed and were killed one after another. Only this Lieutenant General managed to flee to the vicinity of the Divine Concealment Sect, where he met his end today."

The Esteemed Deacon informed them that this situation was both an accident and within expectations.

It might happen again in the future, and he told everyone to prepare themselves mentally.

The people's faces showed expressions of sudden realization—so that was it.

Then, their hearts sank.

Because this rebel Lieutenant General had fled for so many days before being killed, it meant his strength was not weak and his obsession deep.

The possibility of Corpse Transformation was very high.

And once a person from the battlefield undergoes Corpse Transformation, they are terrifying beyond measure compared to ordinary people.

It seemed another Corpse Incinerator would be lost.

"Draw lots."

The Esteemed Deacon said, Yun Dan Feng Qing.

Then someone brought up a teacup, and the leaders of the Black-Clad Academicians in charge of each courtyard stepped forward one by one, using two fingers to pinch out the folded slips of paper.

They unfolded them.

Everyone looked towards Wu Qing.

The corners of the latter's mouth twitched violently.

Courtyard No. 3:

Li Ye finished washing up, opened the front door, and was just about to stretch when he froze.

Roast Chicken?

He didn't dare take it lightly and quickly carried the roast chicken inside.

With practiced ease, he pulled a slip of paper from the chicken's belly.

He learned the pre-death information of the corpse that was about to be delivered.

A soldier—no, a general who had rebelled.

If this one underwent Corpse Transformation, how terrifying would its strength be?

Li Ye felt a slight unease in his heart, yet also a hint of anticipation...