THWACK!
Hong Yuan's tail violently lashed the stone slab. He used the rebound force to stretch his body from its curled position and swim out of the cave.
His gloomy snake eyes ceaselessly scanned the surroundings, only to find that all the aquatic animals like fish, shrimp, and crabs had tacitly distanced themselves from his territory, swimming far away.
"HISS..." Hong Yuan flicked out his forked tongue, a faint light undulating in his eyes.
Before long, he began to move forward slowly. As he picked up speed, the water began to flow in reverse.
From the perspective of other aquatic animals, the massive, terrifyingly strong black Mysterious Water Snake had begun to hunt again.
The whole pond was in chaos, a complete mess. Fish, shrimp, crabs, turtles, and other animals scrambled to flee, heading toward the deeper, more dangerous waters of the large pond. Amphibians like newts and rain frogs also hastened to sprint towards the surface, desperate to reach the shore.
Yesterday's scene, where Hong Yuan killed all he encountered regardless of who or what they were, had been too horrifying and bloody. They had initially thought that Hong Yuan would eat his fill and retreat to his cave, emerging later to look for food, just as he had always done. But to their surprise, Hong Yuan had changed his usual habits!
"My little darlings, don't run away~" Hong Yuan sneered.
His primary targets were the fish that were one to two meters long—those were the real prizes. As for the small fish and shrimp, they were, at most, just snacks for him, not even within his consideration. Unless these small creatures happened to be directly in his hunting path, he wouldn't bother to devour them.
Since he urgently needed to enhance his Talent, he had to be selective about his prey and not be swayed solely by taste.
"THWACK!"
Hong Yuan suddenly swung his tail, charging toward a two-meter-long silver fish. The distance between them quickly closed.
"WAH WAH!!!" The silver fish suddenly let out a wail like a human infant, forced to turn and face Hong Yuan. The sword-like spike on its head began to glow with a dark light, clearly indicating its extreme sharpness.
"Oh? You're a Demon Beast!?" Hong Yuan grinned wider, excitement flashing in his eyes. His swimming form became even swifter.
Water Flow Tail!
A black light condensed on Hong Yuan's tail, making it seem as if coated with a layer of black iron, rendering it rigid and powerful.
The snake and the fish fiercely clashed.
BOOM!
Turbulent undercurrents swirled violently, prompting the small fish and shrimp to speed up their escape.
With a single whip of his tail, Hong Yuan instantly incapacitated the silver fish. Its body was torn apart, organs scattering, and dark red blood drifted everywhere.
"Tsk tsk, turns out it was all for show," Hong Yuan flicked his tongue and shook his head slightly.
In a flash, he opened his maw wide, swallowing the mangled silver fish in a single gulp.
GURGLE GURGLE...
Hong Yuan's bloated belly rumbled with the sounds of digestion and quickly deflated; the silver fish was rapidly digested.
He checked his panel and was elated, now even more motivated to chase and kill the other surviving large fish.
[Life Span: 16/85 → 16/88]
[Talent: 6 → 7]
Throughout the entire night, apart from the deep waters of the large pond, which made his heart palpitate and he thus avoided exploring, he scoured all other areas!
His Life Span and Talent had both greatly increased. He felt like he had become a little genius!
[Life Span: 16/88 → 16/131]
[Talent: 7 → 11]
「Lunch Break.」
As usual, Hong Yuan arrived expressionless at the backyard for menial disciples, practicing the Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword alone in a secluded corner.
His heart was actually filled with joy at this moment, but due to his personal disposition, it was difficult for others to notice his emotional fluctuations.
Unsmiling, introverted, not good at getting close to people—these were the impressions many menial disciples had of Hong Yuan.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH WHOOSH!
"White Tiger Jumping Over the Ravine..."
"One Howl Invokes the Wind..."
"Pouncing and striking with ease..."
Hong Yuan swung his wooden sword methodically, stirring up a light breeze in the practice area.
[Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword +7]
[Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword +7]
As his proficiency improved, the way he channeled power through each joint in his hands became more precise and fluid.
Throughout the entire lunch break, Hong Yuan's sense of happiness steadily increased. Especially when his proficiency in the Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword broke through to the Entry Level, he nearly jumped for joy.
Fast! So fast! Too fast! His progress in Martial Arts was like a jammed bicycle suddenly transforming into a supercar, VROOSHING forward, and its speed only increased!
Stay calm, stay calm. The journey of a hundred miles is only half done at ninety. If Yue Yun finds out my Martial Arts Talent isn't a complete waste, that guy will definitely get Chen Dongsheng to deal with me. After all, compared to apologizing, it's far easier for him to eliminate a potential threat, ensuring I never have the chance to rise again.
Hong Yuan exhaled a breath of turbid air, suppressing the excitement in his heart. Following his usual routine, he once again left the practice field early.
[Cultivation Technique: Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword (Entry Level 253/500) → (Entry Level 11/1,000)]
With his Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword Cultivation Technique at the Entry Level, Hong Yuan was now qualified to compete for a position as a formal disciple.
There were only five days left until the disciple trial. If Hong Yuan could cultivate the Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword to the Proficient Realm, he was bound to secure one of the three disciple training spots!
In this world, Cultivation Techniques had realms such as Entry Level, Proficient, Mastery, Minor Accomplishment, Major Accomplishment, and Transcendence. Most low-level Martial Artists had mastered techniques only to the Minor Accomplishment Stage.
Time passed, day by day, and Hong Yuan continued to make steady progress.
「Four days left until the disciple trial.」
Through a frenzy of hunting, the level of his Mysterious Water Snake Avatar leaped to the middle rank of Tier One. It also acquired a new Talent, [Black Mist], which could conjure a dense black fog to conceal its presence.
In addition, both his [Life Span] and [Talent] were improved to varying degrees.
[Life Span: 16/131 → 16/138]
[Talent: 11 → 14]
「Three days left until the disciple trial.」
Hong Yuan found that although his [Life Span] and [Talent] were still increasing, the pace was slowing down, even though he was eating more food.
Ordinary large fish and shrimp are no longer very effective!
[Life Span: 16/138 → 16/142]
[Talent: 14 → 15]
「Two days left until the disciple trial.」
Yue Yun, relying on his Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword which had reached Entry Level, came alone to take Hong Yuan's wood-chopping chore. He then ordered Hong Yuan to be his assistant during the disciple trial, helping him collect herbs for points. Yue Yun promised that if Hong Yuan contributed enough, he would ensure Hong Yuan could continue to stay at Phoenix Creek Sect.
Heh, those words might fool someone naive, but I'm from the information age; I've seen and heard far more than Yue Yun could ever imagine. I certainly don't believe him. I also see right through his intention to continue exploiting me, wanting me to die quietly. After all, a menial disciple who hasn't even reached Entry Level in the Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword participating in the disciple trial would, nine times out of ten, end up in the bellies of the various fierce beasts in the Phoenix Creek Mountain Range.
Hong Yuan forcibly endured it, but his killing intent towards Yue Yun grew even more intense.
Yue Yun, you really think I'm a pushover you can manipulate as you please, don't you?
「One day left until the disciple trial.」
Hong Yuan officially advanced his Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword from Entry Level to the Proficient Realm; when he unleashed his moves, they now faintly echoed with a tiger's roar.
His panel attributes were as follows:
[Name: Hong Yuan]
[Life Span: 16/150]
[Talent: 15]
[Cultivation Technique: Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword (Proficient 112/2,000)]
[Skill: Culinary Arts Tier Two (121/2,000)]
[Avatar: Mysterious Water Snake]
[Level: Tier One, Middle Rank]
[Talents: Water Gun, Water Fluctuation, Acute Poison, Water Flow Tail, Black Mist]