Everyone's Expression Changed

Jiang Qingyun fell silent for a moment. "Let's see what happens first, then decide."

Yet his eyes held an unmistakably complicated look. He had harbored a trace of jealousy before, but now it was mixed with several inexplicable strands of worry.

To be able to cultivate such a Secret Technique, Su Ye was indeed no simple man. Judging from its effects alone, this technique should belong to the upper-grade Earth Rank.

Moreover, his cultivation foundation was exceedingly deep. His talent could be considered terrifying as well. What a pity that he was too young and too eager to show off.

"Sigh, I thought our Demon Suppression Division had produced a peerless genius. Who would have thought he had exchanged his life for it?" a middle-aged man shook his head and sighed.

"Exchanged his life for it? Brother Tian, what do you mean?" a young man with a horse face asked in confusion.

The man called Brother Tian gave a bitter laugh. "Xiao Song, you don't understand. The gap between the Aperture Opening Realm and the Core Formation Realm is enormous."

"Take Su Ye for example. Compared with the black-and-red giant palm from earlier, this fist shadow's might is more than ten times stronger—twenty times, even."

"That black-and-red giant palm had clearly touched the threshold of the Core Formation Realm. But judging from the methods Su Ye is using now, I'm afraid his true strength is only in the late Aperture Opening Realm."

"Although it's only a hair's breadth from the Core Formation Realm, that hair's breadth is an uncrossable chasm."

"He forcibly used a Secret Technique comparable to the Core Formation Realm. The price he paid can be imagined."

As soon as he finished speaking, the expressions of the Demon Suppression Division's officers changed drastically, and their attacks unconsciously faltered.

Jiang Hong, who had given away the sect-guarding treasure, wore an ugly expression. He had thought he was making an early investment in a peerless prodigy, but he had not expected to be slapped in the face so soon.

Now, he only wanted to reclaim his treasure as quickly as possible and let the matter end there, lest he make a fool of himself.

If you don't possess true strength, why put on such a show and deceive this old man? Jiang Hong snorted inwardly.

Su Ye paid no attention to the crowd's discussion. His figure moved, and he charged toward the enormous black shadow only dozens of meters away.

The monster before him was a huge Bear Demon. It stood three zhang tall, its entire body covered in hair like steel needles. Its eyes were blood-red, and every step it took made the ground tremble.

The Bear Demon threw back its head and roared. Its two giant palms, each as large as a door panel, slammed down at Su Ye with savage force. The "whine" of ruptured air shook the eardrums. Su Ye did not retreat. He drove his feet into the ground, and his body shot skyward.

He nimbly slipped through the gap between the palms overhead. When he suddenly reached the Bear Demon's face, its blood-red eyes glared fixedly at him, and a thick, rancid stench rushed straight into his face.

In midair, Su Ye abruptly raised both arms. His fists, carrying the force of a thousand troops, slammed into the Bear Demon's head.

Boom!

With a deafening crash, the Bear Demon's head, as large as a carriage, exploded on the spot, spraying red and white everywhere.

Thud!

Killed [Aperture Opening Early Stage—Bear Demon]. Obtained 113 Assistance Points.

The massive corpse crashed heavily into the ground. At the same time, Su Ye planted one foot on the Bear Demon's chest and used the force to lunge out once more.

Boom!

The tremendous muffled sounds of flesh colliding rang out without end. Su Ye endured the swarm of monsters' attacks head-on, growing fiercer the longer he fought, relying on his physical advantage to keep circling and maneuvering.

More than a dozen enormous black shadows trampled forward with heavy footsteps, surrounding him from all directions. The monsters behind them surged forward like a tide, completely trapping Su Ye in their midst.

"Kid, let's see where you can run this time." Yuan Xiao snorted coldly.

"Crush him!"

Taking advantage of its small size, a Rat Demon squeezed through the gaps between the monsters. It opened its mouthful of sharp teeth and viciously bit toward Su Ye's neck.

Su Ye's gaze sharpened. He punched out. Bang! The Rat Demon's body exploded instantly. The earth's trembling grew increasingly violent, and the surrounding monsters drew closer and closer.

A Tiger Demon more than ten meters long threw back its head and roared. Its claws kicked against the ground, sending sand and stones flying as its enormous black shadow pressed down on Su Ye from above.

Killing intent burst from his eyes. After this battle, his strength would undergo another transformation. Su Ye's figure shifted at lightning speed, and then he struck out with one palm. In the boundless night sky, scarlet raindrops suddenly began to fall.

His figure flashed and shifted without pause, weaving through the swarm of monsters. Every time he struck, another monster fell.

Killed [Aperture Opening Middle Stage—Ape Demon]. Obtained 132 Assistance Points.

As the monsters continued to fall, everyone finally caught faint glimpses of Su Ye's tall figure through the gaps in the horde. They were all utterly horrified.

This wasn't right.

Judging from his aura, he was clearly only in the late Aperture Opening Realm.

How could he be this terrifying?

Jiang Qingyun's face revealed astonishment. Then, as realization dawned on him, he cried out.

"He's a body cultivator. He cultivates the True Dragon Treasure Body. Once this technique is cultivated to perfection, the physical body can rival monsters of the same realm."

"Then what is this?" one of the commanders asked.

Jiang Qingyun's expression was extraordinarily complicated, and his voice trembled. "That's right. He has already cultivated it to perfection."

He knew of the True Dragon Treasure Body and had even cultivated it specifically before. This technique was extraordinarily difficult to cultivate—not because the medicinal ingredients were hard to find.

Rather, the body-tempering method was simply too arduous. Talent and perseverance were both indispensable. Only by enduring bitter trials day after day could one achieve anything.

The True Dragon Treasure Body was the foremost among them. Its hardships could be imagined.

"Who would have thought that Officer Su's talent in body tempering would be so high?"

The constantly flickering prompts on the panel made Su Ye's heart burn with excitement. If this happened a few more times, forget the Core Formation Realm—even the True Martial Realm would be within reach.

Killed [Aperture Opening Early Stage—Rat Demon]. Obtained 112 Assistance Points.

Killed [Aperture Opening...

Time passed bit by bit, and more and more monsters fell. The crowd's expressions gradually changed from their initial worry and disappointment to astonishment and praise.

This... he had relied on nothing but his physical body to kill so many Aperture Opening Realm monsters. It was simply inconceivable. Could body tempering be the strongest Dao Path?

Su Ye paid no attention to the crowd's various reactions. The Assistance Points in his hands were the only things that mattered. As the final monster fell—

Su Ye's entire body was covered in blood. He stood like a god of slaughter, and the sight completely shook everyone.

If they could say that he had relied on the power of a Secret Technique before, then this time he had truly endured the siege of more than twenty monsters with his physical body alone. Not only had he survived, he had slaughtered every one of them.

At this moment, everyone was thoroughly convinced. All of them wore expressions of awe. The people from the Divine Blade Sect went even further, throwing away the weapons in their hands one after another. Jiang Hong's face was filled with shame as he spoke.

"We are willing to submit to execution."

"Thud, thud." A string of kneeling sounds rang out. All the Divine Blade Sect disciples obediently knelt down, not daring to harbor the slightest thought of resistance as the people of the Demon Suppression Division bound them hand and foot.

Jiang Qingyun quickly stepped forward. By now, he had long since cast aside the resentment in his heart and secretly admitted that he had been blinded by appearances.

He immediately bowed deeply. "Officer Su deserves the greatest credit for what happened today. Jiang admires you from the bottom of his heart."

"I'm ashamed to say that I had shown you much disrespect behind your back before this."