"Who is he? He's so strong! He actually killed the Black-Furred Lion!"
Lin Xue hadn't noticed her companions fleeing. She was still staring blankly at Ye Xuan.
Her rosy little mouth had already formed an O.
Ye Xuan deftly retrieved the Black-Furred Lion's beast core before walking over to Lin Xue.
He looked at the senior sister before him, who was filthy but quite good-looking.
He broke into a brilliant grin. "Senior sister, are you all right?"
Seeing the smile on Ye Xuan's face, Lin Xue blushed and instantly came back to her senses.
She hurriedly waved her hands, her face red. "I-I'm fine."
After a pause, she asked timidly, "Are you an outer sect disciple too?"
Ye Xuan shook his head. "No, I'm not."
Lin Xue was startled. If he wasn't an outer sect disciple, could he be an inner sect disciple?
Understanding dawned on her.
No wonder. She'd thought as much-if there were such a formidable senior brother in the outer sect, how could she not know about him?
But what Ye Xuan said next struck like a thunderbolt, leaving her utterly dumbfounded.
"I'm the Holy Son. Yes, the Holy Son who'll be formally appointed in just over a month," Ye Xuan said earnestly.
Lin Xue stared at Ye Xuan's earnest expression, her beautiful eyes wide.
After a long moment, she couldn't hold back anymore and burst out laughing.
"Junior brother, you're so funny."
Ye Xuan: "..."
After that little exchange, much of Lin Xue's nervous awkwardness dissipated.
She looked at Ye Xuan and said, "My name is Lin Xue. What's yours?"
Ye Xuan said, "My name is Ye Xuan."
"Junior Brother Ye, you're amazing," Lin Xue said in a clear voice, her pretty face slightly flushed.
Ye Xuan said nothing. He was only thinking, Do I really not look like a Holy Son? Why doesn't she believe me when I tell the truth?
After that, Ye Xuan went from training alone to bringing along a burden.
He had originally planned to escort Lin Xue out, but after thinking it over, he decided against it. It would waste too much time.
Lin Xue didn't dare head back alone, so he could only take her along.
"Junior Brother Ye, have you met our Holy Son? They say that on the day of the sect assessment, he awakened the Chaos Sacred Body and triggered visions in heaven and earth. Even Gods and Devils bowed in worship."
Though Lin Xue was a girl, she was a chatterbox, prattling on and on. "Oh, they say it even stirred quite a few sacred land ancestors back then."
"It's just a shame I wasn't at the sect then. Otherwise, I'd definitely have gone to see our Holy Son, to see just how heroic he looked and admire his peerless splendor."
By the end, Lin Xue's eyes were sparkling, as though she were a young girl in love talking about her sweetheart.
Looking at Lin Xue's sparkling eyes, Ye Xuan felt a little embarrassed himself.
He said very earnestly, "I've met that Holy Son. His bearing is exceptional, his splendor unmatched, peerless in all the world, with no one his equal. Yes, he's very handsome indeed."
Lin Xue: "..."
After that, Ye Xuan's training was no longer dull, but became lively and colorful.
If not for the roars of beasts echoing in his ears from time to time, and the beasts he occasionally encountered,
he would almost have thought he wasn't training, but taking a beauty on an outing.
Lin Xue really was beautiful, though hers was a delicate beauty, like the little sister next door.
Her incessant chatter wasn't annoying; it even felt quite heartwarming.
When they encountered beasts, she screamed in fright, and when Ye Xuan killed them, she jumped up and down in excitement.
In particular, whenever Ye Xuan caught her sneaking glances at him, her face would turn red.
At this, Ye Xuan could only sigh. "Ah, there's nothing I can do about being too handsome! What young girl doesn't dream of love? Who told me to be so handsome I broke through the heavens?"
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Xue Yong and the others had stopped.
"The Black-Furred Lion didn't chase us. Could that junior brother have killed it?"
Xue Yong was still shaken, fear lingering in his eyes even now.
Zhang Tao took several great, gasping breaths, his face equally panicked:
"How is that possible? The Black-Furred Lion was a powerful beast equivalent to the Meridian Opening Ninth Layer. How could that junior brother be that strong?"
There was no helping it. Ye Xuan's face was simply too deceptive.
Even with the bloody air about him, he didn't look like someone capable of killing a Black-Furred Lion.
Most importantly, they had met practically all the senior brothers capable of killing a Black-Furred Lion.
But they had never seen Ye Xuan before.
Thinking of Ye Xuan, then Lin Xue, Xue Yong and the others looked even grimmer.
Never mind Ye Xuan, but Lin Xue was a renowned beauty in the outer sect.
Now she had died in a beast's jaws. What a shame.
Just then, footsteps sounded. They looked up and saw a young man with a longsword on his back.
The young man wore an outer sect disciple's robes, with an effeminate bearing and a cold, stern face.
The moment Zhang Tao and the others saw him, their expressions changed. They all lowered their heads, looking somewhat fearful.
Xue Yong, however, smiled and hurried over. "Brother."
"Mm." The young man nodded, then swept his gaze over Zhang Tao and the others, frowning slightly. "Where's Lin Xue? Why don't I see her?"
The young man's name was Xue Yao. At the Meridian Opening Ninth Layer, he was a prominent figure among the outer sect disciples.
It was said he had torn apart a Meridian Opening Ninth Layer Two-Horned Tiger with his bare hands. He was terrifyingly strong.
At his question, Xue Yong's expression froze, and he stammered, "She... she's dead."
"What?" Xue Yao's expression changed. "She's dead? What happened? How could she have died?"
It was Xue Yao who had invited Lin Xue to join this training trip, but something had come up at the last minute, delaying him until now.
Seeing his brother's expression, Xue Yong felt his scalp prickle.
Knowing his brother's temperament well, Xue Yong knew he was already angry.
He swallowed and said with difficulty, "She was eaten by a Black-Furred Lion."
Then Xue Yong gave a brief account of what had happened.
Of course, he concealed some things, leaving out how he had refused to save her from death.
"Come. Let's go in and look," Xue Yao said coldly after listening, his expression even darker.
Xue Yong and the others didn't dare disobey and could only nod.
Before long, they reached the area where they had encountered Ye Xuan.
When they saw the Black-Furred Lion, beaten to death by a flurry of punches, they were all stunned, their eyes wide and mouths agape.
"H-how is this possible?"
"Who exactly was that kid? How could he have killed the Black-Furred Lion?"
"Then Junior Sister Lin Xue must be all right too."
Xue Yong and the others muttered to themselves, their hearts pounding.
Clearly, they hadn't expected Ye Xuan, whom they had met along the way, to be so powerful.
Xue Yao, however, gave a cold smile. "Come. Let's find them!"
In a dense stretch of forest, Ye Xuan moved swiftly as the wind. He darted and shifted, then smashed a punch into a Two-Horned Tiger's head with a bang.
The Two-Horned Tiger let out a howl. Without the slightest ability to resist, it crashed to the ground, its head smashed to pieces.
Ye Xuan deftly extracted its beast core, while Lin Xue, standing off to the side, exclaimed happily:
"Junior Brother Ye Xuan, you're amazing!"
"This Two-Horned Tiger was equivalent to the Meridian Opening Ninth Layer, yet it couldn't even withstand a single move from you."
She truly was astonished.
Throughout their journey, she had witnessed Ye Xuan's transformation and strength firsthand.
Whether they were beasts at the Eighth Level of Meridian Opening or the Meridian Opening Ninth Layer, none were any match for Ye Xuan.
At first, Ye Xuan had still needed a few moves to deal with beasts at the Meridian Opening Ninth Layer.
But now, a single move was enough against a beast at the Meridian Opening Ninth Layer.
More precisely, a single punch was enough.
It was an outright instakill.
Those beasts at the Meridian Opening Ninth Layer were like clay chickens and pottery dogs before Ye Xuan, unable to withstand a single blow.
Terrifyingly strong!
Ye Xuan chuckled, casually tossed the beast core in his hand toward Lin Xue, and said:
"Piece of cake. By the way, Senior Sister Lin Xue, do you know where there are Essence Condensation Realm beasts? Could you take me there?"
After killing beasts for so long, he felt that Meridian Opening Realm beasts no longer posed any threat to him and were no longer serving any purpose in his training.
He wanted to try hunting Essence Condensation Realm beasts.
"Huh?"
Hearing this, Lin Xue froze. "Junior Brother Ye Xuan, shouldn't we forget it? Essence Condensation Realm beasts are very powerful. They're absolutely not something someone in the Meridian Opening Realm can handle."
They had spent some time together now, and she had come to know Ye Xuan somewhat.
Ye Xuan was quite a decent person. Every time he killed beasts, he would share the beast cores with her.
Although she had initially felt embarrassed to accept them and had tried to decline, she couldn't win against Ye Xuan's insistence and ultimately accepted them.
On top of that, Ye Xuan was handsome, good with words, and strong, so she genuinely didn't want him to take risks.
After all, it would be such a shame if such an outstanding junior brother died.
Ye Xuan smiled. "It's fine. If I feel I'm no match, I'll run for my life. Trust me. Even if I can't win, I'm still capable of getting you away."