King Ye's Mansion

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Ye Qiu swung his blade faster and faster, each stroke heavier than the last. The great bell on the Sixth Layer rang out with one thunderous boom after another.

Lost in it, Ye Qiu knew he had found the right method—the direction of that breath of energy.

At last, he put down the blade and began practicing his Fist Technique. His punches made the great bell boom as well.

Every punch was fiercely domineering!

Of course, he was still far from the figure in the vision in his mind. The gap lay not only in understanding, but in cultivation.

After all, that figure could shatter a towering mountain with a single punch or slash, and even crack the void.

"Qi and Blood is incredible!" Only at dawn did Ye Qiu lower his fists, utterly spent.

Just then, footsteps sounded. Someone was coming down from the Gravity Tower's Seventh Layer.

Ye Qiu looked over as the person approached.

It was a tall young man, a full head and a half taller than Ye Qiu, with dark skin.

He had large eyes, a high nose, and sharply defined features. His long black hair curled naturally. He looked full of explosive strength, with a wild air and an inexplicable appeal.

He smiled. "Hello. I'm Wu Xiaokai, sixteen years old. I'm a new student who arrived three months ago."

Ye Qiu studied the big fellow, then smiled. "Are you a Special Recruit?"

The Nanzhou Academy was only holding its main recruitment drive now. Anyone who had arrived three months early had to be a Special Recruit.

The Academy had a few special recruitment places each year, and those chosen were terrifying monsters, every one of them.

Not a single one was ordinary.

The big fellow nodded. "My teacher spotted me while I was hunting demon beasts in the mountains and brought me to the Academy."

Ye Qiu nodded. The big fellow went on, "I'm a Body Cultivator like you. My Qi and Blood has reached 130,000."

Ye Qiu: "..."

He looked the big fellow up and down. Wu Xiaokai was tall, but younger than him, and his Qi and Blood had reached 130,000?

Ye Qiu's own Qi and Blood had only just passed 100,000.

This kid was something else!

No wonder he had been specially recruited!

Ye Qiu praised him sincerely.

But Wu Xiaokai waved it off. "I started Body Refinement when I was three. I bathed in Demon Blood, endured wind and sun, and went through more torment than I can count. That's how I got this far."

"But you're all clean and fair, with skin soft enough to bruise, yet your Qi and Blood is this strong. You're the truly impressive one!"

Ye Qiu smiled. "I'm all right."

The big fellow asked, "What's your name?"

"Ye Qiu. I'm seventeen."

The big fellow smiled. "We're both Body Cultivators, so let's trade pointers sometime. There are only a handful of us at Nanshan Academy."

"Sounds good," Ye Qiu said.

They left the Gravity Tower together. Once outside, Wu Xiaokai said goodbye and headed off in the opposite direction.

Ye Qiu headed toward Green Moon Mountain. As he reached its foot, several people ahead turned to look straight at him.

Ye Qiu glanced at them, then continued on without expression. A man in white stepped out from among them.

He looked amiable as he smiled. "Little brother Ye Qiu."

Ye Qiu stared at him. "Do I know you?"

"Ye Yi," the man said.

Ye Qiu's eyes flickered. He did know this man. They had got along fairly well as children.

"What do you want?"

"The clan head sent me to ask you to come back," Ye Yi said with a smile.

Ye Qiu waved a hand. "I've already made myself clear."

With that, he walked straight toward Mountain Peak.

"But I promised him I'd bring you back," Ye Yi said.

Without turning around, Ye Qiu said, "That's your problem."

Ye Yi's face darkened slightly.

Ye Qiu had already climbed Mountain Peak and vanished from sight. Ye Yi's gaze turned cold.

On Mountain Peak, Ye Qiu went straight into the Thatched House, fell onto the bed, and slept.

He did not wake until noon. He drank some water and ate a little. Nan Qingyue had gone off somewhere and had yet to return.

He continued studying his Fist Technique and Blade Technique.

An hour later, he descended from Mountain Peak and headed for the Tower District again.

"Little brother Ye Qiu." The voice sounded again outside the Tower District. It was Ye Yi.

"I really don't want anything more to do with the Ye Clan," Ye Qiu said. "So please stop coming."

"There are still some matters you need to return to the Lineage to settle," Ye Yi said. "The clan head and the Matriarch both miss you."

Ye Qiu smiled, his expression mocking. Miss me?

Ye Jiangshan?

The Matriarch?

That woman?

Hah!

He meant to refuse outright, but when he opened his mouth, different words came out. "Tell him to wait!"

With that, he entered the Gravity Tower.

Ye Yi glanced at the Gravity Tower. A man came up behind him. "Brother Yi, why waste words on him? If he won't obey, just crush him!"

"The matter isn't settled yet," Ye Yi said. "And Instructor Nan has stood up for him... Better not to fight if we can avoid it."

The man snorted. "Does he really think the Ye Clan is afraid of Nan Qingyue?"

Ye Yi glanced at him. "You're not afraid? Then go fight her."

The man fell silent at once.

The Ye Clan might not be afraid, but they were!

If Nan Qingyue really attacked them, the Lineage certainly would not go to war over them.

After all, openly breaking with Nan Qingyue would cost the Ye Clan dearly!

Ye Yi took one last look at the Gravity Tower, then turned and left.

Clang!

On the Gravity Tower's Sixth Layer, Ye Qiu threw punch after punch. The bell rang louder and louder, its body trembling.

This time, he trained there for a full day and night. Then he brought his fist down, and the great bell exploded with a thunderous boom.

He had smashed the great bell!

Ye Qiu drew back his fist and smiled.

His Qi and Blood and cultivation had improved considerably inside the Gravity Tower, too.

That breath of energy had grown stronger!

He went up to the Seventh Layer, where a crushing pressure bore down on him once more.

But the greater the pressure, the greater the stimulus.

It was a pity Brother Snake was so weak right now. If he could give Ye Qiu another breath of energy, Ye Qiu was sure he would grow stronger quickly.

He had to find a chance to get Brother Snake more Demon Beast Spirits.

He and the Great Serpent were only working together. Brother Snake might leave at any time.

So while he still could, Ye Qiu had to find a way to coax more things out of him.

Brother Snake really did have some good stuff!

According to Brother Snake, he knew Alchemy and Artifact Refining too... If Ye Qiu learned those skills, he would never have to worry about making a living.

Alchemists and Artifact Refiners were rare, especially Alchemists, whose status carried tremendous weight.

Even at Nanzhou Academy, an Alchemist's standing was no small thing!

The Seventh Layer.

Ye Qiu stayed there for three days and nights, eating and drinking inside the tower, because the Ye Clan kept coming to look for him.

He was fed up.

So he simply stopped going out.

On the fourth day, Ye Qiu brought his blade down, and the great bell on the Seventh Layer shattered beneath it.

He had broken through his limit!

He smiled and stepped onto the Eighth Layer. The moment he arrived, his legs nearly gave way.

The pressure here was terrifying!

Ye Qiu held out for an hour, but he could bear no more and left.

Outside, it was early morning.

The rosy dawn shone brightly, and a light breeze brushed past.

Ye Qiu thought for a moment, then left the Academy and followed the route he remembered.

Before long, he reached the north of the city, where an enormous estate stood.

The estate covered a vast area. Its walls rose high and imposing, and its gates radiated wealth.

A sandalwood-colored plaque hung above the main entrance. Three golden characters gleamed upon it.

Just looking at them, Ye Qiu felt an immense pressure.

The three characters read: King Ye's Mansion!