The Great Serpent?

Ye Qiu was stunned!

Who wouldn't be shaken if a real serpent appeared in their Intent—and one so huge, so savage and terrifying?

A little sweat broke out on his brow.

The Great Serpent sighed. "That's what happened, and that's where things stand... You and I are bound together now."

Ye Qiu fell silent and stepped back. "Why... because of the Dragon Pattern Jade Pendant?"

The Great Serpent was still searching for an excuse. At Ye Qiu's words, he hurriedly nodded. "Yes, yes, exactly."

Ye Qiu had once worn a Dragon Pattern Jade Pendant around his neck. His mother had left it to him.

A few days ago, Lu Li had chased him with a sword, and he had accidentally smashed the pendant.

He had been heartbroken at the time.

After a long pause, he asked, "So you're definitely not leaving now?"

"I'd like to leave," the Great Serpent said, "but I don't dare... Besides, I'm terribly weak right now. If I leave you, I'll die!"

Ye Qiu frowned. "I don't understand."

"You don't need to. Just know that I'm weak and need you to nurture me... In return, I can help you grow strong fast!"

Ye Qiu looked at him and shook his head. "I don't quite believe you!"

Whoosh—

Without wasting another word, the Great Serpent opened his mouth and breathed out a cloud of blood-red mist. It enveloped Ye Qiu.

In an instant, Ye Qiu felt as though his whole body had caught fire.

He felt ready to burst!

No!

He had already burst!

Ye Qiu's Intent exploded, but in the Outer World, his eyes snapped open. His body still felt as though it were burning.

Soon, even his blood was boiling.

Wave after wave of foul-smelling sweat soaked his entire body.

Even his pores seemed to split open, oozing threads of blood.

Alarmed, Ye Qiu sprang up and raced out of the room.

Night had fallen outside.

A crescent moon hung in the sky amid scattered stars.

He ran all the way to the Family's Back Mountain.

Ahead was a Lake.

Ye Qiu dove straight in.

The Lake water was cold, lowering his temperature.

But

A moment later, the Lake water around him began to bubble and boil.

It hurt!

Every part of him hurt!

"What do I do?" Ye Qiu cried inwardly.

"Endure it," the Great Serpent said calmly.

Ye Qiu gritted his teeth. "I'll die!"

"Then die," the Great Serpent said, unconcerned.

Ye Qiu cursed him out, then quickly leaped out of the Lake. After a moment's thought, he headed straight for the Family Cultivation Tower.

The pressure inside the tower was immense. It could spur his body to absorb the energy.

He could already tell that the heat inside him was a surging, violent energy.

The problem was that his body couldn't withstand it.

At the tower, the pressure of the first floor bore down on him, but it did nothing.

Ye Qiu rushed up to the second floor, then the Third Layer... Only when he reached the Sixth Layer did he feel a little better.

That relief lasted just two hours. He pressed on, climbing to the Seventh Layer, then the Eighth Layer.

By dawn the next day, he stood on the Ninth Layer.

The Wen Family Cultivation Tower had ten floors in all.

Only a handful of people could reach the Ninth Layer.

The pressure here was terrifying!

Even so, Ye Qiu spent a full day and night just getting the energy under control.

Not dissipating it—controlling it.

He could absorb it slowly.

At least he had survived!

Ye Qiu struggled to his feet, panting hard. His eyes were streaked with blood.

What torment!

Still,

he could feel that his strength had soared!

Ye Qiu walked up to the strength-testing Stone Stele on the Ninth Layer.

Boom—

He slammed his fist into it.

A heavy crack rang out. The Stone Stele shook violently, and the entire Ninth Layer hummed and trembled with it.

Crack—

Then, under Ye Qiu's stunned gaze, the Stone Stele shattered!

Ye Qiu: "..."

It had shattered?

This was the Ninth Layer. The Stone Stele here could withstand an astonishing amount of force.

And he hadn't even used his cultivation.

Only his Qi and Blood!

The cultivation realms were Houtian, Xiantian, Naling, Mystic Passage...

It was in Houtian that cultivators focused on Qi and Blood.

But even at the Ninth Layer of Houtian, Qi and Blood amounted to only nine thousand jin. The exceptional ones might reach ten or twenty thousand.

And this Stone Stele could withstand far more than that!

Ye Qiu stared in disbelief. After a long while, he started up toward the tenth floor.

The tenth floor was the tower's summit.

Only Clan Leader Wen Zheng, the Great Elder, and the clan's other top experts could make it up here.

The pressure here was terrifying.

But Ye Qiu endured it.

He went to the strength-testing Stone Stele.

The Stone Stele here was taller, larger, and harder, able to withstand far more than the one on the Ninth Layer.

Yet when Ye Qiu struck it, several faint cracks appeared on the Stone Stele's surface.

A blood-red light flashed, revealing a startling number.

Ye Qiu's eyes went round!

He stepped closer and counted carefully.

Then his eyes widened even further!

He could hardly believe it.

Boom—

He raised his fist and struck again, still using nothing but his Qi and Blood.

A blood-red number flashed: eighty-nine thousand jin!

"Holy shit!"

Ye Qiu couldn't hold back the curse.

His Qi and Blood had always been impressive. Years ago, he had broken through a minor limit, and he had kept training ever since. By the time his cultivation reached the Profound Connection First Layer, his Qi and Blood had risen to thirty thousand jin!

That was terrifying!

It could even be called a miracle in Nanshan City!

But...

Eighty-nine thousand jin?

His Qi and Blood alone now amounted to eighty-nine thousand jin!

"This..." His Intent sank, and he entered the mysterious space again, staring at the Great Serpent in disbelief.

The Great Serpent lifted an eyelid. "Nothing to make a fuss over. That was just one insignificant breath of my Dragon Qi."

Ye Qiu stared at him.

No matter how he looked, the Great Serpent was still a serpent,

yet he called himself a dragon!

Dragons stood at the very top of the food chain. They were almost impossible to encounter in the mortal world, and even in the vast Upper Realm, they must have been extraordinary, right?

The Great Serpent spoke. "So, do you believe I can help you grow strong fast now?"

Ye Qiu nodded repeatedly.

That one breath had been overwhelming!

It had sent his Qi and Blood soaring!

It was practically a miracle!

But he wasn't that naive.

He asked, "Apart from using my body to nurture yourself, do you have any other requests?"

"If you can, find me some nourishment," the Great Serpent said. "I really am terribly weak... In fact, the Dragon Qi I gave you earlier damaged my very source."

At that, resentment flickered in the Great Serpent's eyes.

It was bad enough that those people had knocked him down here. They had stripped him of his dragon body too, calling it a trial to help him weather his tribulation.

But the Great Serpent strongly suspected those bastards simply... wanted to eat dragon meat!

And he had nowhere to plead his case!

Ye Qiu knew nothing of his thoughts. "What do you eat?"

"High-grade Demon Beast Spirits would be best," the Great Serpent said.

Ye Qiu nodded. "Don't worry. As long as you aren't plotting anything, I'll do my best to find you nourishment... I, Ye Qiu, keep my word!"

"Hmph. The last one said that too..."

Ye Qiu frowned. "What did you say?"

The Great Serpent said, "I mean, you're a good kid. Be sure to stay true to your original Intent. Whatever you do, don't grow up crooked..."