The Ironhide Rhino's beast core throbbed violently in my palm, its searing heat burning into my flesh like a living thing.
From the depths of the thick gray fog, the chilling presence suddenly receded—As if it had never been there.
But I knew better.Whoever was controlling the beast… was still watching me.
Clap. Clap. Clap.Slow, deliberate applause broke the deathly silence.
Yun Qing walked toward me through the battlefield slick with blood and mud.His snow-white Daoist robe remained immaculate, an ethereal figure utterly out of place in this savage scene.
"To tear apart a third-tier beast with mere mortal flesh…"His gaze landed on my grotesquely twisted right arm."Even if you used a few tricks… this is enough to be remembered in the outer sect's history."
I forced myself to stand straight despite the searing pain.The beast core's scorching energy surged through my meridians and into my right arm.Cracked bones began to knit back together with faint crackling sounds.
"Just… a stroke of luck," I muttered.
Yun Qing raised a brow and stepped closer.Suddenly, he placed his palm on my shoulder.
A wave of spiritual power—gentle, yet impossible to resist—swept through my body.
My muscles tensed.Within my sea of consciousness, the golden sigil flared with brilliance,ready to strike at the first sign of danger.
But the energy only circled through my torn meridians once, then quietly retreated.
"Twenty-seven torn meridians. A shattered ulna. Internal bleeding…"His smile deepened, half mockery, half curiosity."And you're still standing? That's no mere luck."
A cold sweat broke out on my back.This old fox was probing me.
Without another word, Yun Qing tossed me a small jade bottle.
"Grade-three Bone Mending Pill. Take it, then report to the Deacon Hall for your new disciple supplies."
Just as he turned to leave, his voice dropped to a whisper, low and razor-sharp:
"Be wary of Zhou Li... of the Punishment Hall."
My pupils shrank.The Punishment Hall?!No wonder that old bastard dared to tamper with the entrance test...
"Next candidate, step forward!" a distant voice called.
Yun Qing's silhouette drifted away like mist,as if the warning he'd left behind had never existed
The Deacon Hall was far darker than I expected.
Cold, green-black stone walls loomed on either side, lined with grotesque instruments of torture—spiked wheels, bone saws, soul hooks.In one corner, a few mutilated corpses lay slumped in pools of dried blood—disciples who had failed their entrance trials, and paid the price.
The air reeked of blood and some bitter, pungent herb I couldn't name.
"Name," the pockmarked disciple behind the counter asked without looking up.
"Lin Ye."
Snap.His writing brush snapped in half.
He jerked his head up.A flicker of fear flashed in his eyes.
"Y-You're the one who..."
I slammed my bloodstained token onto the counter.
Its reverse side bore two engraved characters—"Exceptionally Chosen".Under the flickering oil lamp, the words gleamed a dark, ominous red.
The disciple swallowed hard and scrambled to fetch a cloth-wrapped bundle.
"Here! Basic supplies—three low-grade spirit stones per month, your quarters are in Block C, Room Seven…"
"Where's Elder Zhou Li?"
"P-Punishment Hall's main chamber…" he stammered.
I grabbed the bundle and turned without another word.
Behind me, hushed voices broke out:
"That's him… the one who tore apart the berserk Ironhide Rhino—barehanded!"
"Didn't he cripple Elder Zhou's brother?!"
Block C was barely better than a pigsty.
Thatched huts with slanted roofs lined a filthy slope, sludge running in stagnant streams between them.My assigned room—"Number Seven"—had a rotting wooden door barely hanging on its hinges.Inside was a single moldy straw mat, and a plain gray disciple robe folded on top.
From the bundle, I found:
A copy of Skycloud Qi Refining Manual
Ten talisman slips
A crude wooden training sword
Three dim, low-grade spirit stones
When I weighed the stones in my palm, I felt it—a faint pulse from the sigil in my consciousness.
It was... hungry.It could absorb spirit energy from these stones.
The door creaked open behind me.
Five bulky disciples in gray robes filed in, blocking the entrance like a pack of wolves.The last one to enter had a brutal scar running down his face.A bronze token hung from his waist—Outer Sect Enforcer.
"Fresh meat, huh?" the scar-faced one sneered."Did no one teach you the rules?"
He kicked over my bundle.
"In Block C, it's two spirit stones per month. Protection fee."
I stood slowly.Pain still throbbed in my right arm, but the sigil swept over them—
Four were weaklings—Qi Refining Level 1 or 2.Only the leader had a stable vortex of spiritual power. Maybe Level 3.
"Zhou Li sent you?" I asked calmly.
The scarred man's expression twisted.
"Looking to die, brat?!"
His iron ruler whistled through the air, aiming straight for my skull.The others lunged in, fists crackling with force.
Boom.
Golden light erupted in my sea of consciousness.
The Ironhide Rhino's "Ironhide Armor" activated, sheathing my skin in a metallic glow.
I didn't dodge.I moved forward.
My left hand clawed toward the enforcer's chest—at the same moment, his iron ruler slammed down on my head.
Clang!The impact rang like metal striking metal.He staggered back, his wrist trembling from the shock.
Before the fear could register in his eyes, my fingers had pierced his chest.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Three ribs snapped as I tore through his torso with raw, monstrous strength.
"Aaaaah—!"
His scream echoed through the hillside as he flew backward, slamming into the dirt wall, collapsing half of it in a cloud of dust.
The other four struck my body—but it was like punching a steel anvil.One by one, their fingers snapped with sickening crunches.
"Freak! Monster!" they cried, stumbling back.
I grabbed the fallen iron ruler and locked eyes on their retreating legs.
In that instant, the sigil locked onto a new pattern:
Target Detected: Outer Sect DiscipleTechnique: Flowing Cloud Steps (Incomplete)Analyzing...Replication complete – 100%
My legs felt suddenly weightless.
I surged forward.The iron ruler blurred into motion, cracking four kneecaps with ruthless precision.
Screams filled the air.I stepped onto the enforcer's throat.
"Tell Zhou Li—"
"ROARRRR!!"
A monstrous howl exploded from the mountain's base.The ground beneath our feet trembled.
A blood-red pillar of light pierced the clouds,and in the distance, disciples screamed and scattered like frightened birds.
The enforcer coughed blood and laughed through shattered teeth.
"Too late… the Bloodfiend Cavern... has awakened early."
My heart skipped a beat.
Bloodfiend Cavern?!The forbidden zone we were all warned never to approach?
Suddenly, the sigil trembled violently—It wanted something from within. Desperately.
I knocked the enforcer unconscious with a kick, snatched my bundle, and bolted toward the pillar of blood.
All around me, disciples fled in chaos.
"The seal's broken!""Bloodfiend beasts are loose!""Get the elders, now!"
Halfway up the mountain, a vortex of blood—ten meters wide—swirled slowly in the air.Its center pulsed like a bleeding wound.
Around it, seven or eight desiccated corpses lay in unnatural positions, their skin covered in twisted, crimson markings.Dozens of creatures hunted among the ruins—beasts like panthers, but with scaled hides and bone spikes for tails.Wherever they passed, flesh was shredded, limbs torn.
[Rare Target Detected: Bloodfiend Beast]Innate Ability: Bloodbone Tempering (Special)Threat Level: ExtremeRecommendation: Immediate Evacuation
Evacuate?
I licked my lips.If it made the sigil this excited, how could I possibly walk away?
One Bloodfiend Beast lunged toward me, claws slicing through the air.I twisted aside, and smashed the iron ruler into its side.
Clang!
Sparks exploded.The weapon shattered in my hand from the sheer force of impact.
The recoil numbed my entire arm.
Its scales are tougher than the Ironhide Rhino's...
Enraged, the beast let out a roar, spewing a mist of foul, blood-reeking vapor.
I held my breath and rolled aside.
The grass where I'd just stood shriveled instantly, turning black as charcoal.
Then—
The sigil moved.On its own.
Within my body, the strength of the Ironhide Rhino's Titan Stomp began to fuse with the newly replicated Flowing Cloud Steps.Muscles swelled.Veins glowed red across my legs, pulsing like magma.
Identical to the beasts.
Fusion Complete: Bloodfiend Rush (Temporary)
Power exploded beneath my feet.
I vanished into a blur.
A phantom trail followed me as I streaked past the beast—Right fist coiled with Ironhide defense and Titan burst strength—And slammed into the back of the creature's skull.
Splat!
Fist through bone.Blood gushed in thick jets.
The Bloodfiend Beast fell to the ground, howling, twitching.
I didn't hesitate.My fingers clawed into the wound.
Commencing Extraction...Acquired: Bloodbone Tempering (Incomplete)Warning! Physical durability insufficient. Forced fusion may cause death.
Crack... crick... crick...My skeleton groaned under the strain,as if molten needles were being hammered into every joint.
I collapsed to one knee, growling like a cornered beast.Veins bulged beneath my skin, glowing deep red.
And then—something terrifying happened.
The remaining Bloodfiend Beasts—who had been tearing through other disciples—stopped.
All of them turned toward me, their lava-colored eyes filled not with rage—but fear.
BOOM.
From deep within the vortex, a thunderous sound echoed.
The ground trembled.All the beasts dropped to the ground, bowing low—like subjects welcoming their king.
Then...from the center of the vortex, a single claw emerged.
Massive. Armored in dark-gold bone plates.
It pierced through the swirling blood light—The Bloodfiend Sovereign had awakened.