The Serrated Tiger was ferocious and terrifying, its massive body as awe-inspiring as a collapsing mountain.
With a resolute expression, Ye Tian pushed the martial skill in his palm to its absolute limit, triggering a sonic boom.
With a loud "bang," he struck the Serrated Tiger squarely in the belly.
This blow carried boundless power, instantly sending the already injured Serrated Tiger flying backward into the air.
Qi and blood surged through Ye Tian's entire body as he pressed his advantage.
Palm after palm blasted outward, vibrant light surging as he struck the tiger on the head.
With a thunderous crash, the beast struggled violently for a moment before drawing its last breath.
"Time to harvest the condensed demon core!" A smile touched the corner of Ye Tian's lips as he retrieved a dagger from his storage pouch.
"Wait, that's the beast we hunted!"
As the words faded, five young disciples came running from a distance.
Ye Tian snapped his head around and frowned. Judging by their attire, they were disciples of the Yuecheng Sect—outer disciples, no less.
The region they were in was the remote Southern Region of the Tianwu Continent.
The Yuecheng Sect was one of the local powers here.
Running into disciples from other sects while training in such a place was entirely normal.
"Kid, beat it. This is the beast we hunted."
Fan Chen stepped forward, radiating an aggressive aura, and commanded harshly.
"I killed it. What business is it of yours?" Ye Tian decisively stowed the Serrated Tiger into his storage pouch, his gaze turning icy.
"A Body Tempering 6th Layer trash! If we hadn't wounded it first, would you even have had a chance?" Fan Chen's eyes blazed with fury as he strode forward, his longsword flashing with light.
Ye Tian pondered silently, watching the five of them, noting that he was only at the Body Tempering 6th Layer while the other four remained still.
Swish!
Fan Chen leaped forward like a fierce lion, viciously thrusting his longsword. The tip of the blade tore through the air, producing a crisp, ringing sound as it struck straight for Ye Tian's throat.
With a solemn expression, Ye Tian employed the Shadow-Drifting Steps, moving like a phantom to dodge the sword.
Huh?
Fan Chen frowned, confident in his strike, only to be seized by sudden terror the next moment as he felt pressure bearing down from behind.
Like a ghost, Ye Tian appeared directly behind Fan Chen and unleashed a palm strike of peerless might.
Bang!
A sound like a watermelon bursting echoed out as blood splattered everywhere.
Fan Chen's head was blown apart. His Early Martial Disciple cultivation had actually been ambushed and killed by someone at the Body Tempering 6th Layer.
"Attack together! No wonder he could kill the Serrated Tiger." The expressions of the other four Yuecheng Sect disciples shifted drastically.
Aura erupted from their entire bodies as killing intent filled the air. Leaping about like wild monkeys, they launched a coordinated, all-out assault.
Yet Ye Tian remained calm. He picked up Fan Chen's longsword and vanished from the spot like lightning.
Bang, bang, bang!
The ground exploded as their attacks struck empty air. Shocked, they adopted grim expressions as Ye Tian's ghost-like footwork swirled around them.
Clang!
Dazzling sword qi surged outward, its chilling killing intent sweeping forth like a wild beast.
Executing his movement technique, Ye Tian slashed with the longsword, the blade screaming as he aimed for the necks of two of them.
Splash!
Two more headless corpses slowly toppled to the ground. The entire process had unfolded in the blink of an eye.
"Run!" Seeing this, two of them were gripped by instant panic.
Not only was his combat power terrifying, but his footwork was completely beyond their ability to track.
The two turned tail and fled in sheer terror.
With an icy gaze, Ye Tian wielded his longsword like a coiling dragon spanning the skies, instantly appearing right in front of them.
"Spare us! We won't pursue this anymore!" The two Yuecheng Sect disciples abruptly dropped to their knees, cold sweat pouring down as the terror threatened to burst their hearts.
"Do you really think that's possible?" Ye Tian sneered. He was not one to release a tiger back to the mountains.
"Then go to hell!" The eyes of the two Yuecheng Sect disciples flared crimson.
Sudden killing intent erupted as they lunged fiercely at Ye Tian.
Like rabid wolves, they launched a desperate, fatal strike in their final moments.
Ye Tian let out a cold snort as a mighty, surging aura erupted from within him.
It was a powerful, fierce assault as tyrannical as a true dragon about to awaken.
The sword qi on his right-hand blade flickered brightly, engulfing them completely.
Splash!
The two Yuecheng Sect disciples vomited blood, their bodies riddled with holes like sieves. With glazed eyes, they slowly collapsed to the ground.
Habitually, Ye Tian stripped off their storage pouches and checked inside. He harvested a total of seven spirit stones.
"I'll find a place to refine these and recover my cultivation," Ye Tian muttered with satisfaction before vanishing from the spot.
He arrived at a deep, relatively secluded pit among giant boulders and decisively extracted the demon core of the Serrated Tiger.
This was the concentrated energy it had absorbed from the spiritual qi of heaven and earth.
In an instant, a cluster of pale purple light materialized in his palm, wisps of energy overflowing as if about to dissipate into the heavens and earth.
Without a second thought, Ye Tian swallowed it whole. It was a brilliantly radiant stream of energy.
The demon core instantly transformed into springs of clear water rushing through his limbs and bones, surging like rolling waves.
"Break for me!"
Ye Tian circulated the Lunhui Scripture, drawing in wisps of spiritual qi from all directions around him.
With an appetite as voracious as a whale drinking the sea, it seemed as though he intended to suck the spiritual qi completely dry. A thunderous explosion sounded in his dantian—Body Tempering 7th Layer.
Without pausing, he quickly retrieved seven spirit stones and placed them beside him.
He began absorbing them completely. At this moment, his body radiated dazzling light, and his aura was formidable!
The energy of the spirit stones was sucked dry at an astonishing speed.
If anyone else were to witness him absorbing energy at such a pace, they would undoubtedly be utterly astonished.
Such a momentum, like swallowing rivers and mountains, was deeply shocking.
"Hoo!"
"Body Tempering 8th Layer, though it seems my physique will require even more energy for future breakthroughs."
"For now, I've merely recovered my previous realm," Ye Tian murmured. At this moment, his whole body felt filled with an inexhaustible reservoir of strength.
Ding!
[System]: Detecting that the host is a lecher, shall we perform a heroic rescue of a damsel in distress?
The familiar voice rang out in his mind once again!
Ye Tian clicked his tongue. What kind of way was that for the system to talk? He really wanted to stab it to death.
"What is the reward?" Ye Tian asked.
Ding!
[System]: One teleportation talisman, capable of transporting the user a thousand meters away!
Ye Tian curled his lip in scorn. That was just something for running for his life. Still, he did need that sort of thing right now, so he accepted the quest.
All was silent as the silver moon hung in the sky! Cool moonlight spilled down, wisps of clouds drifted, demonic beasts breathed in and out, fireflies flickered, the cold wind rustled, and the shadows of great trees loomed vaguely.
Ye Tian rose to his feet. Like a nocturnal cat, he traversed the myriad mountain ravines with a gaze both resolute and calm, leaving behind only the cawing of black crows.
In a valley ahead, he finally spotted a group of people surrounding a young woman.
"Isn't that Chen Zilan of the Star Moon Sect, along with that scoundrel Li Cheng?" A look of surprise crossed Ye Tian's face as he gazed into the distance at that graceful figure.
The Star Moon Sect was naturally another sect within the Southern Region. He had encountered them when training alongside Chu Mengyao previously.
Back then, Chen Zilan was only at the Martial Disciple 7th Layer, but now she had already reached the 9th Layer.
She currently appeared injured, and naturally was no match for Li Cheng, who had stepped half a foot into the realm of a Martial Master. Streams of brilliant light clashed fiercely across the area.
"Hehehe, out in the desolate wilderness on a dark and windy night, a beauty like this is just meant to warm a senior brother's bed," said one Early Martial Disciple from the Luoyun Gate with a greedy look in his eyes.