Ye Qiu made straight for the Cultivation Tower. To be honest, he considered himself pretty thick-skinned.
Back on South Mountain, he had teased plenty of girls. He had even gotten a little handsy now and then.
Hadn't he won every one of them over?
Even when one of them teased him back, he could take it in stride and laugh it off.
But when it came to Lu Li, for some reason... he just couldn't get a handle on her.
He figured it was because he was weak.
He couldn't beat Lu Li!
He didn't have the nerve!
Otherwise, he'd crush her with one hand!
"Brother Ye, what's wrong?" Wu Xiaokai was heading out of the tower district when he ran into Ye Qiu.
Ye Qiu's face was grim and his eyes cold, as though he'd run into trouble.
Ye Qiu waved a hand. "Got teased!"
With that, he strode off.
Wu Xiaokai: "???"
Ye Qiu plunged into the Cultivation Tower. This time, he went to the Trial Tower, where Combat Puppets awaited.
The first floor, the second, the third... a day later, Ye Qiu had fought his way to the seventh floor and was going head-to-head with a massive black puppet wielding a greatsword.
Boom, boom, boom—
The battle raged with earth-shaking force. Ye Qiu had energy to spare, and his fighting grew fiercer by the moment.
An hour later, he slammed down a fist, and the enormous puppet, whose strength rivaled a Half-step Gathering Law cultivator's, exploded!
Ye Qiu stopped, caught his breath, and climbed to the eighth floor.
There, he fought again.
This time, he was on the receiving end of a beating.
The puppet here was already close to Law Gathering.
Its combat power was terrifying!
Ye Qiu was driven back again and again. Blood sprayed from his fists and spilled from his mouth, but he still charged forward like a madman.
He wanted to grow strong. He wanted to grow incredibly strong!
Boom, boom, boom—
Punch after punch, he forgot everything else and lost himself in the fight.
Brother Snake had said that if Ye Qiu couldn't find another way, he should fight like mad and feel his way forward through battle.
It might provoke him into touching the Gate of Intent!
Artistic Conception!
He had to comprehend Artistic Conception!
His fists flew faster and struck harder, until every punch rang out like deafening thunder.
At the same time, the energy around him thickened rapidly, growing dense to a terrifying degree.
Under that terrible pressure, the force behind Ye Qiu's punches seemed to undergo a transformation.
All at once, he felt something.
Boom—
He drove down a fist. Before, the puppet had crushed him with ease, but now his punch actually seemed to match it.
That feeling!
That feeling...
Boom—
Without hesitation, he charged again, clinging to that feeling, searching for its essence and feeding it until it burned like a raging fire!
The puppet was retreating!
Boom—
As it fell back, Ye Qiu gave off a distinctive presence. He almost seemed to glow.
"Brother Snake, is this Intent?"
The Great Serpent answered emphatically, "Yes!"
There was surprise in his voice!
Ye Qiu had really found his way to it.
So quickly?
Terrifying!
But Ye Qiu didn't stop. He surged forward again, keeping that energy from dissipating and refusing to let go of the feeling.
One punch, two punches, three punches... a hundred punches!
Boom—
When the hundredth punch landed, the enormous puppet before him exploded on the spot!
Ye Qiu stepped back, steadied his breathing, and closed his eyes.
At that moment, he stood like a boulder.
His aura faded.
His breathing vanished.
Yet his body seemed to give off a hazy light. Look closely, though, and there was no light at all.
It was profoundly mysterious.
And now Ye Qiu sensed it too: something about him had changed. He understood everything about his own body more clearly.
He could control his breathing and the flow of his blood with precision... and call on his strength at will.
This was... Spirituality!
Swish—
His eyes snapped open, sharp and fierce. Ye Qiu clenched his fist, and in an instant, strength from his entire body surged into it.
In a heartbeat, he could summon every ounce of strength he had.
Thought became force!
Boom—
He threw a punch. His fist stirred no wind, but as the blow landed, the air burst apart, all its force concentrated at a single point.
Swish—
He took a step, his body moving like a swimming dragon. His speed had increased tremendously.
Just as he'd thought!
This is Intent. It gives rise to Spirituality, letting me control my body as effortlessly as a fish swims through water, down to the finest detail!
I feel terrifyingly strong now!
He clenched his fist, then smiled. Right now, he was confident he could crush an ordinary Law Gathering cultivator with a single punch!
He asked inwardly, Brother Snake, how would I fare against Lu Li now?
The Great Serpent said, "You could go and try."
This kid's progress really is fast. Ridiculously fast. And comprehending Artistic Conception will bring about a tremendous transformation!
His combat power will soar!
Ye Qiu left the Cultivation Tower. He had barely stepped outside when Wu Xiaokai hurried over, shouting, "Brother Ye, something's happened!"
In high spirits, Ye Qiu waved a hand. "Calm down."
Wu Xiaokai said, "Your wife is dueling someone!"
Ye Qiu glanced at him. Wu Xiaokai went on, "These past few days, she's left those Ye Family direct descendants reeling. Some died in their sleep, some died on the road home, and some... didn't leave a single bone behind..."
Ye Qiu blinked.
Wu Xiaokai said, "She's at the Martial Arena right now, fighting a Core Disciple—Zhao Yan!"
Zhao Yan was a Young Master of the Royal Family's Zhao Family. Among the Academy's Ten Core, he ranked eighth!
He seemed to be Wu Lan's fiancé...
And Lu Li, though she was the youngest disciple, was probably the weakest of the Academy's Core Disciples.
Ye Qiu thought for a moment. "Let's go take a look."
The two moved swiftly and soon reached the huge Martial Arena to the southwest. A crowd had already gathered there.
A clash between Core Disciples was a rare sight!
Especially one fought with real blades!
After all, kings did not meet kings!
When kings did meet, blood splashed across the walls!
Core Disciples were the kings of the Academy!
If they truly fought, it would be no small matter. Both could easily fall!
Yet the countless spectators were strangely quiet!
Every one of them stared ahead in shock!
Ye Qiu and Wu Xiaokai looked too. Wu Xiaokai's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped.
Even Ye Qiu couldn't help being startled!
Boom—
Lu Li raised her sword. A vast, dazzling Sword Light came crashing down as though it meant to cleave Mount Hua in two.
The air shuddered and a terrifying roar swept across the arena. Beneath the Sword Light, the impressive-looking man was sent flying.
A spray of bright blood followed, streaking across the sky.
Boom—
The man flew back dozens of meters. When he hit the ground, it burst open into a terrifyingly deep pit.
No.
That wasn't ordinary ground.
That was the rock-hard Martial Arena!
The Martial Arena had been paved with a special kind of stone. There was only one word for it: hard!
But now it had been blasted wide open, and the man lay buried in the pit.
"Holy shit!"
The silence held for a long moment. Then Wu Xiaokai shouted, and the crowd ahead erupted into noise.
"Senior Sister Ye is way too fierce!"
"One strike! Just one strike... and Senior Brother Zhao Yan lost!"
"The eighth-ranked Core Disciple couldn't withstand a single blow... we still underestimated how terrifying Senior Sister Ye is!"
Rumor had it that Lu Li was the weakest of the Ten Core.
After all, she was young and hadn't been at the Academy long.
But no one had ever imagined she wasn't weak at all. Apparently, she just hadn't wanted to show too much!
Ye Qiu stood stunned for a long while before asking inwardly, Brother Snake, what are my odds?
The Great Serpent was silent for a long time. Then he said, "Three to seven!"
Ye Qiu's eyes lit up. At that moment, the Great Serpent added, "Give her three seconds, and you'll hit the floor seven times!"
Ye Qiu: "???"
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