Master's "Gift"? Isn't This Just Pushing Me Into the Fire?

Master's "Grace"? Wasn't This Just Shoving Me into a Fire Pit? No sooner had True Person Corpse Heart's words fallen than Zhao Hao felt an indescribable will descend from the main seat.

The voice was clearly not loud, yet it was like countless cold steel needles stabbing fiercely into the depths of Zhao Hao's soul, making his thoughts freeze in an instant.

"Old Ninth."

True Person Corpse Heart's dried-corpse-like face turned toward him, and in his hollow eye sockets, two clusters of ghostfire flickered dimly.

"You have been in the sect for two months and have gone straight from a mortal to the fourth level of Qi Refining. Your talent is indeed not bad."

His voice carried no emotion at all, yet it made everyone in the hall's gaze weld itself onto Zhao Hao once more—cold, appraising, undisguised.

"But cultivation piled up by pills is, in the end, a pavilion in the air. A true cultivator is carved out through blood and fire."

His tone shifted.

"This time, Eldest Senior Brother Guo Fan will lead the main force and meet the enemy head-on. You will follow by his side. Use the blood of those hypocrites from the Heavenly Sword Sect to tamp down that flimsy cultivation of yours for This Seat!"

At these words, Third Senior Brother Shi Lei and the others all showed surprise.

Letting a newly admitted fourth-level Qi Refining disciple follow Eldest Senior Brother onto the front battlefield?

Although Eldest Senior Brother had already reached the realm of Foundation Establishment Late Stage, was he really not afraid that if Eldest Senior Brother failed to look after him for even a moment, he would accidentally become cannon fodder?

Zhao Hao's heart abruptly clenched.

Putting him right under the nose of the strongest Eldest Senior Brother meant his every move would have nowhere to hide!

However, the split second of astonishment on his face was instantly replaced by a kind of delighted surprise at being "looked after."

Thud!

Zhao Hao's knees smashed hard onto the ground, his body trembling violently from "excitement," his voice incomparably fervent.

"Thank you, Master, for your cultivation! This disciple will surely not disappoint your great expectations. I will fight bravely on the battlefield and raise the divine might of our Corpse Refining Lineage!"

Before his words had even fallen, his forehead smashed hard against the solid black-stone floor.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

Three muffled, heavy booms echoed through the deathly silent great hall.

When Zhao Hao lifted his head, his forehead was already red and swollen, yet his face still wore that delighted joy of being looked after by a powerful backer.

This bit of acting with his life on the line—no matter who saw it, they would only think he was a reckless youngster whose head had been turned by "favor" and who was eager to prove himself.

Out of the corner of his eye, Zhao Hao caught sight of Elder Jia Ren at the side; on his stiff face, a muscle twitched unnaturally.

"Mm."

True Person Corpse Heart let out a nasal sound of unclear meaning, paid him no further attention, and continued assigning the subsequent tasks.

Only Eldest Senior Brother Guo Fan's brows furrowed slightly.

After the meeting ended, Zhao Hao followed at the back of the crowd, lowered his head, and walked out of Ten Thousand Corpse Hall, his entire body still maintaining that fervent state, as if he were still immersed in immense joy.

But beneath his lowered eyelids was an ice-sealed deathly stillness.

Three days!

He had only three days!

Three days later, he would be forced onto the battlefield and placed under the eye of a Foundation Establishment Late Stage expert!

Zhao Hao did not return to his cave abode. Instead, using "sharpening the spear before battle and cultivating spells" as his reason, he went straight to the Scripture Repository.

The inside of the Scripture Repository was as sinister as ever.

The black-robed elder in charge of guarding it sat behind the counter like a statue that had not changed for ten thousand years.

"Elder, this disciple wishes to make copies of some spells to study, to contribute my strength to the sect's war!" Zhao Hao put on the appearance of being hot-blooded and carried away, placing a pile of jade slips on the counter.

The black-robed elder lifted his eyelids, swept his gaze over the mountain-like pile of jade slips, and tapped his withered fingers lightly on the counter.

He looked at Zhao Hao as if looking at a fool who did not know the height of heaven or the depth of earth.

But when Zhao Hao took out exactly one hundred and twenty low-grade spirit stones, no more and no less, and showed the status of "lineage master's personal disciple" on his token, the elder finally gave a neither-light-nor-heavy snort.

When he tossed the engraved jade slips to Zhao Hao, his knife-like gaze scraped over Zhao Hao.

Zhao Hao did not dare linger. Taking the jade slips, he hurried away, heading straight for his own cave abode on Ten Thousand Corpse Mountain.

Rumble!

The stone door closed, and the restrictions were fully activated.

All the fervent expressions on Zhao Hao's face instantly faded, leaving only iron-like solemnity.

He immediately sat cross-legged and summoned the system panel.

[Spells: Mystic Corpse Spirit Control Art (Beginner 0/100)]

He focused his mind on the twenty-five spell jade slips he had just copied, madly memorizing and comprehending them.

Only after four hours had passed, when all the spells had been initially comprehended and recorded by the system, did the sacrificial strengthening begin!

Time passed little by little.

As the final strengthening succeeded.

[Ding! Enhancement successful! Mystic Corpse Spirit Control Art proficiency raised to (Perfection)!]

Boom—!

A torrent of information so vast it was almost unimaginable instantly surged into his mind!

It was not a gentle infusion, but a tearing pull of two utterly different sensations!

Zhao Hao let out a muffled groan. He only felt as if his soul had been ripped open alive with a gaping wound, and then some cold, enormous foreign object, filled with the aura of death, was forcibly stuffed inside!

As for the memories of those twenty-five spells, they were uprooted and turned into nourishment, vanishing completely from his mind.

Immediately after, a massive amount of corpse-refining and corpse-controlling experience and techniques turned into red-hot branding irons, stamping themselves fiercely onto his soul!

Secret arts for refining first-tier, second-tier, third-tier, and even fourth-tier refined corpses!

Exquisite techniques for simultaneously controlling over a hundred refined corpses to form battle formations!

There were even vicious methods for using corpse qi, yin qi, and death qi to temper oneself, as well as to breed corpse poison!

At this moment, he seemed to have become an old devil who had immersed himself in this path for several hundred years!

Zhao Hao endured the severe pain coming from his soul, and only after spending an entire night did he barely finish digesting this knowledge.

Three days later, early morning.

At the foot of Ten Thousand Corpse Mountain, a massive flying boat refined from unknown spirit wood, combined with countless precious artifact-refining materials and nameless white bones, hovered quietly in midair.

Zhao Hao changed into a black fitted outfit of the Corpse Refining Lineage and silently boarded the Bone Boat.

With one glance, he saw the few people standing at the prow.

The young man at their head was tall, with an ordinary face. Merely standing there, he made all the participating disciples around him as silent as cicadas in winter, even unconsciously lightening their breathing.

It was none other than Eldest Senior Brother, Guo Fan!

Beside him stood Third Senior Brother Shi Lei and several other senior brothers and sisters of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Every one of them gave off an icy aura that kept strangers away.

Guo Fan only swept Zhao Hao with a faint glance, then moved his gaze away, as if he were nothing more than an insignificant piece of luggage.

Zhao Hao's heart sank slightly. Sensibly, he found the most cornered spot and stood there, eyes to nose, nose to heart, lowering his presence to the minimum.

Very soon, all participating disciples had boarded.

Guo Fan said not a single useless word. The flying boat let out a dull rumble, turned into a streak of black light, and shot into the sky.

The flying boat's speed was extremely fast, and the atmosphere on board was oppressive to the extreme.

Over these three days, Zhao Hao had not left the corner by even a single step. He had kept his eyes closed the entire time, "cultivating," playing the image of a timid and cautious newcomer to the very end.

Just as the flying boat was about to enter the hundred-li range of the Soul-Severing Plain frontline camp—

Bzzzz!!!

A sharp howl that could pierce metal and split stone erupted without the slightest warning!

That sound seemed capable of piercing a person's eardrums and reaching straight into the soul!

All the disciples on the flying boat raised their heads in horror.

They saw an incomparably fierce cyan sword light, like divine punishment descending from beyond the ninth heaven, tearing through the sea of clouds, dragging a long tail of flame, carrying a momentum that could sever and annihilate everything...

It came cleaving down ferociously toward the prow of the flying boat, right over their heads!