The Ink-Colored Qilin, Xiao Wuji

The newcomer was middle-aged, dressed in black, with an imposing bearing, a square face, and thick eyebrows. One glance at him gave the impression of heroic spirit soaring into the heavens.

"Who are you?"

Su Hao's mind was on high alert. The essence within his body was being rapidly refined. He had swallowed all the Blood Essence Pills, and under the stimulation of the demonic beasts, his potential had erupted. He was now on the verge of a breakthrough.

"Me? Hahaha, a man who goes where fate leads." The newcomer laughed loudly. He fixed his gaze on Su Hao and looked him over several times. Suddenly, his brows furrowed, and he abruptly raised a hand, grabbing toward Su Hao's chest.

Not good, he wants to dig out my heart!

Su Hao was greatly alarmed. Under the pressure, the essence refined even faster. With a thunderous boom, a terrifying aura rippled outward. Beneath this immense threat, his cultivation broke through!

At that moment, he reached the fourth level of Qi Condensation!

At the same time, borrowing the powerful aura that erupted from his breakthrough, Su Hao fiercely struggled and shot backward.

But the newcomer was even faster. His hand formed a claw and grabbed down again. Before Su Hao could even react, he was already beneath that man's claw.

An icy current enveloped his entire body.

Su Hao had only one thought: It's over!

"Hey! You brazen madman, release my human pet at once, or this Divine Phoenix will eat you immediately!" the bald chicken shouted. It had also been badly startled. It had a contract with Su Hao—and it was a one-sided binding contract. If Su Hao died, it would suffer severe consequences as well. Even if it survived, it would lose a layer of skin.

The newcomer did not so much as glance sideways at the bald chicken, completely ignoring it. His hand continued forward and landed on Su Hao's chest, but it did not harm him. After merely sensing him for a moment, he withdrew his hand and said, "Not bad, very good aptitude. Your temperament is mature, your talent is exceptional—you're promising material. And your constitution actually possesses the potential of an alchemist. I never expected that while wandering about, I, Xiao Wuji, would encounter such excellent material."

The middle-aged man looked Su Hao up and down, his eyes glowing green like some lecherous wolf that had stumbled upon a naked young beauty. The stare made Su Hao's scalp prickle, and certain parts of him went cold.

"What exactly do you want?" Su Hao's expression was cold, but inwardly, he was extremely wary. This man's cultivation was unfathomably profound. Even though Su Hao had broken through, even if he reversed the Demonic Art, he would find it difficult to contend against him.

The feeling was just like when he faced Granny Yin—utterly powerless to fight back.

Xiao Wuji smiled. "I appreciate you. So, are you interested in coming with me?"

Su Hao immediately shook his head, backing away with the bald chicken. "I appreciate Senior's kind intentions. If fate wills it, we shall meet again."

With that, he departed like the wind.

"What a fine little fellow. Since I've taken a liking to him, I must take him away. Still, I need to visit that disciple selection site first. Perhaps I'll find another good seed there. The East Gate of Spirit Creek Sect is truly short on promising material."

Xiao Wuji watched the direction in which Su Hao vanished, a smile of determination on his face. Once a seed had caught the eye of him, the Ink Ghost Qilin Xiao Wuji, no one could dream of stealing it away.

Su Hao hurried on, leaving the mountain range and returning directly to Great Flame City.

"A complete stranger, asking me to go with him at the drop of a hat. Do I even know who you are or what you do? Why should I go with you?" Su Hao muttered incessantly as he grabbed the bald chicken and tossed it into his storage bag.

Though the space inside his storage bag was not large, it was around three square meters—more than enough to hold the bald chicken.

"Hey! I am a mighty Divine Phoenix, yet you stuffed me into a bag? Let me out right now!" The bald chicken flew into a rage, deeply dissatisfied with its lodging.

Su Hao ignored it and strode back to the family estate. He would set out tomorrow for Skywater City to take part in the Immortal Sect disciple selection.

With his aptitude, he had no doubt that he would be able to join an Immortal Sect. He was only considering whether a second-tier Immortal Sect might come to recruit disciples. If possible, it would be best to enter a major sect.

Compared to a first-tier Immortal Sect, a second-tier Immortal Sect was vastly more powerful, and its resources were naturally far more abundant.

"Still, I must keep some cards up my sleeve. I can't reveal all my aptitude. If I happen to encounter someone with ill intentions, wouldn't I just be inviting trouble?" Su Hao muttered. Within the Devil Master's inheritance were many things he could not yet use with his current cultivation, but simply concealing some of his aptitude was still possible.

When he returned to the courtyard where the clan chief lived, Lin Yaoyao came up to greet him. "Brother Hao, I took and refined all the pills you gave me. My cultivation has already broken through—I've reached the fourth level of Qi Condensation!"

"Not bad." Su Hao smiled. "Come, let me test your strength."

"This..." Lin Yaoyao hesitated. "I'm afraid I might hurt you."

"Don't worry. Come at me with all your strength. Don't deliberately hold back."

"Alright!" Lin Yaoyao clenched his teeth and threw a fist fiercely at Su Hao. His fist was dark and as large as a sandbag. That punch carried four thousand jin of force, blasting the air apart.

Su Hao nodded in satisfaction. Lin Yaoyao had only just broken through, yet he already possessed such cultivation. That was truly not simple.

He immediately raised his own fist and met it lightly.

Boom!

The two fists separated the moment they collided, and Lin Yaoyao was forced several steps back.

His face was filled with shock. "Brother Hao, you broke through too? You've reached the fifth level of Qi Condensation?"

Su Hao neither confirmed nor denied it. Smiling, he said, "I'm taking part in the Immortal Sect disciple selection this time, and you'll come with me as well. With your aptitude and cultivation, you also have a chance to get in. Only by entering an Immortal Sect can you have better prospects."

"Enter an Immortal Sect?" Lin Yaoyao's face was full of longing.

Naturally, he knew about Immortal Sects. Countless children of great families dreamed of entering one.

Back when he was a slave, he had not even dared to dream of such a thing. Yet now, following Su Hao, he had been given such an opportunity.

He immediately clasped his fists and said, "Brother Hao, this life of mine belongs to you!"

Su Hao patted him on the shoulder and added, "Come with me. I'll teach you a cultivation technique suited to you. Train diligently, and your future achievements will not be small."

By the time Su Hao returned to the family estate, the First Elder and the others had already arrived in Skywater City.

Inside a luxurious restaurant in Skywater City.

The group ordered a table full of sumptuous dishes.

"Father, rest assured. That trash Su Hao—no matter who he may be connected to, I have a way to take his life!" At the dining table, a man dressed in a crimson robe smiled faintly as he looked at the First Elder. "And when he comes for the test, I guarantee that not a single Immortal Sect will want him."

"I happened to discover a sixth-grade spirit herb and offered it to Elder Zhang of the Blazing Fire Sect, who is presiding over this disciple selection. I became his registered disciple. Asking him not to recruit Su Hao will be easy."

"Besides, only first-tier immortal sects will appear for this disciple selection. If my master speaks up, the elders of those sects will surely show him some respect. Su Hao will not enter an immortal sect."

"As for the Luo Family, though they are powerful, they would not dare go too far against the elders of an immortal sect. There is no need to fear them."

"Stop him from entering an immortal sect, then kill him—I have absolute confidence! After all, I have already broken through to the fourth level of Qi Condensation!"

The one speaking was Xiao Wuyong, the eldest son of the Great Elder.

The Great Elder immediately smiled. "Good. You actually became an elder's disciple—now I can rest easy. That piece of trash must die!"