Everyone Split Up to Train! Liu Yunche Finally Stopped Holding Back

He Wu pulled a short blade from the heel of his boot, slowly walked over to the demonic beast, crouched down, and began cutting.

The blade scraped across the beast's thick hide, leaving only a shallow mark. After gritting his teeth and hacking at it several times, he gave a low exclamation.

"What a beast. Its hide and flesh are really tough."

"Let me."

At that moment, Liu Yunche walked over. He raised Concealed Edge in his right hand and casually swung it. The two tusks fell to the ground at once.

He Wu's gaze fell upon the saber in his hand, and he said with feeling, "Brother Yunche, that really is enviable."

Shi Qingyue patted the dirt from his body and said carelessly, "If you want one, it wouldn't be difficult with your Household's wealth."

He Wu had merely made an offhand remark, but then changed the subject. "We only need to take the Black-Haired Sharp-Tusk Boar's tusks as proof for the points. The rest of its hide and meat are worth too little."

Seeing the bloodstained gloves on Shi Qingyue's hands, He Wu could not help teasing him.

"Brother Qingyue landed the greatest blow, severely wounding the demonic beast with one punch. Still, that method of yours... truly caught everyone off guard."

"The beast had its back to me. That punch was simply inspired fortune. As long as it works, it's a good move."

Shi Qingyue did not mind in the slightest and spoke openly.

As they spoke, the others recalled the earlier scene. The demonic beast's miserable shrieks still rang in their ears. Few could endure such pain.

"Brother Shi contributed the most, so the tusks should go to him," Li Xuansheng agreed.

It was a minor matter. A pair of tusks was not worth much, and the people present already knew one another, so there was naturally no need to fuss over it.

"Alright, then I won't stand on ceremony." Shi Qingyue accepted the tusks generously and put them into his pack.

After resting briefly and roughly wiping away the blood and dust on their bodies, the group packed up and continued deeper into Azure Radiance Mountain.

The farther they went into the mountain forest, the more towering the ancient trees became. The air grew damper, and the rank stench of demonic beasts thickened. From time to time, beastly roars echoed faintly from the depths of the dense woods.

Along the way, they encountered several demonic beasts at the Skin Tempering level: vicious Fang Leopards with savage fangs, swift Iron-Clawed Mountain Cats, and Spiked Armor Hedgehogs covered in poisonous spines. All were common ferocious creatures of the mountain forest.

After several battles, the five of them worked together with seamless coordination, dividing their roles as they surrounded their prey.

After a few such encounters, He Wu gradually noticed that whenever Shi Qingyue fought a demonic beast, he waited until its back was turned, then seized the opportunity to drive a punch straight into its vital spot. He still favored that tricky move aimed directly at the rear.

Though crude and inelegant, it heavily wounded the beasts in a single strike every time, disrupting their attacks. It never failed and worked remarkably well.

Liu Yunche, meanwhile, remained a man of few words and ruthless action. He was usually quiet, but once he struck, he showed no mercy.

The treasured saber Concealed Edge at his waist flashed with cold light, peerlessly sharp.

Throughout the journey, not a single demonic beast's hide or flesh had withstood the chops, thrusts, and slashes of that low-grade martial treasure. One strike would often break through their defenses, clean and decisive.

After facing life and death together several times, the people who had already known one another completely shed their former politeness and distance.

All the deliberate probing from their time in the city had faded away, and their words and actions became increasingly casual and direct.

Whenever Shi Qingyue used that tricky punch again, Li Xuansheng and He Wu would quietly joke about it from the side. Though Li Xuantong was cool and reserved by nature, even she would occasionally give a helpless little laugh.

With a thunderous crash, a One-Horned Roar about nine feet long and six feet tall collapsed onto the ground. Its massive body sent dust and rotting leaves flying everywhere, and they took a long time to settle.

Ignoring his appearance, He Wu slumped onto a pile of rotting leaves. He raised a hand to wipe the sweat and blood from his face, then looked at the One-Horned Roar's corpse and sighed.

"It is said that the One-Horned Roar possesses a trace of ancient ferocious beast bloodline. Now that I've seen it, even an immature young beast has truly frightening strength."

Li Xuansheng slowly stepped forward and lightly touched the lustrous horn atop the demonic beast's head with his fingertips as he softly agreed.

"It truly is a young beast. Its horn has not fully hardened yet. If it had been an adult, the few of us would likely have needed several times the effort."

Shi Qingyue shook the blood from his hands and looked out at the endless dense forest around them. He spoke slowly, his tone carrying the clarity gained through experience.

"After traveling all this way, we have more or less figured out the demonic beasts in this area. Most are in the Skin Tempering Realm, while a few have only just entered the Flesh Tempering Realm. Their cultivation is just right for honing our skills."

Li Xuantong lightly raised an eyebrow. Her cool voice rang out calmly. "Brother Shi, do you have another plan?"

Before Shi Qingyue could answer, He Wu understood and replied with a smile. "My guess is that Brother Qingyue wants us to split up and train separately?"

Shi Qingyue laughed heartily and nodded frankly. "He Wu knows me best."

"I have no objections." He Wu was the first to agree, his tone casual. "Training alone is much freer. If I run into any troublesome problems, I'll come find you all for help."

Li Xuansheng nodded warmly, his usually gentle expression full of agreement.

"Training alone will also let us calmly sort through what we have gained from these battles. I agree."

Li Xuantong had always been cool and independent, disliking the constraints of traveling with others. She immediately gave a slight nod in agreement.

Everyone then turned their gazes toward the silent Liu Yunche.

He had been leaning against a tree from beginning to end. Hearing their discussion, he lifted his eyes to meet their gazes and nodded lightly.

"That works. We'll train separately. If anything happens, use signal flares to contact one another, and we can look out for each other."

Seeing that no one objected, they briefly agreed on their search areas and warned one another not to venture too deeply into the forest's beast-infested heartland. Then they said no more.

He Wu, Li Xuansheng, and Li Xuantong each cupped their fists to the others before rising first. They chose different directions, and their figures quickly vanished into the dense forest.

Only Shi Qingyue and Liu Yunche remained. Shi Qingyue looked at Liu Yunche and spoke earnestly.

"Yunche, the two of us could travel together and watch each other's backs. You don't have to insist on acting alone."

Liu Yunche gently shook his head. His gaze was firm as he politely declined the goodwill.

"Qingyue, a martial artist must sooner or later face deadly dangers alone. This is a good chance to gain some experience. I know my limits, so you needn't worry."

Shi Qingyue knew that Liu Yunche had a steady temperament and was by no means reckless, so he did not try to persuade him further. He said brightly.

"Then be careful in all things. Don't force yourself if trouble comes!"

With that, he chose a mountain path to one side and strode away.

Only after Shi Qingyue's figure had completely disappeared into the woods did Liu Yunche slowly let out a breath. The aura he had deliberately kept restrained around himself relaxed slightly.

While traveling with the others before, he had held back with every move, deliberately controlling the strength behind every slash.

He had killed demonic beasts only with the ordinary standards of an Iron Skin Realm martial artist, never revealing his full strength.

Now that he was alone, with no eyes upon him, he could finally let loose and test the true extent of his cultivation.

He raised his eyes toward the sun gradually dipping westward. Sunlight filtered through gaps in the branches and leaves, casting mottled shadows across the ground. With a turn of thought, he made up his mind not to hurry into hunting demonic beasts.

During wilderness training, night was the most dangerous time, when demonic beasts appeared more frequently.

His most urgent task was to find a concealed and secure place that was easy to defend and hard to attack, settle his sleeping quarters for the night, and only then make further plans.

With his mind made up, Liu Yunche wasted no more time. He sprang into motion and slowly headed deeper into the forest, toward an area of slightly higher ground lined with rocky cliffs.