Chapter 10

"I heard it." "Then why did you strike?" Although no one had died, according to the academy's rules, students generally did not act so ruthlessly against one another. Since the opening of the Hidden Dragon Competition, this was the first time such an incident had occurred over the course of three full days. "This was a life-and-death duel agreed upon by mutual oath. Why should I have stopped?" A life-and-death duel? Teng Long looked at Xing Yingxue. Seeing her nod, he finally understood why this student had dared to act so arrogantly and ignore his direct command. Since the life-and-death pact had been signed, Tang Hao escaping with his life was already something to be thankful for. Once such an oath was signed, not even the headmaster would intervene. "What is your name? Which class are you from?" "Su Chen, from Class 22." Teng Long felt a surge of astonishment. When had the lowest-tier primary class ever produced such a monstrous talent capable of defeating Tang Hao, the very top prodigy of the primary classes? Without wasting another word, Teng Long picked up the unconscious Tang Hao and vanished from their sight like a cheetah in an instant. Standing there foolishly and staring at the young man, Xing Yingxue was still in a daze. She truly had not expected Su Chen's strength to be so tyrannical that he could heavily injure Tang Hao. "Are you injured?" "I'm fine." Helping Xing Yingxue sit down on the ground, Su Chen said, "You should have left with Teacher Teng Long just now." Su Chen knew very well that a student like Xing Yingxue participating in the Hidden Dragon Competition was merely making up the numbers to gain some experience. Harbouring any ambitions of competing for the Hidden Dragon Roll was sheer wishful thinking. Leave aside Xing Yingxue; even Tang Hao was at best a sparring partner. The Hidden Dragon Roll was a contest exclusively for the intermediate classes and had virtually nothing to do with the primary classes. Xing Yingxue said with a helpless sigh, "Junior Su, it's my fault you've been implicated. The Tang Clan wields immense power in the Eastern Wasteland. Even with the deterrence of the Eastern Wasteland Academy, once you leave the academy, I'm afraid..." She left the sentence unfinished, but the implication was crystal clear and unmistakable to anyone. Su Chen, however, remained completely unfazed. One Su Clan, plus an additional Tang Clan—it all amounted to the same thing. "Are you from the Xing Clan?" Su Chen had overheard their previous conversation. He was not entirely unfamiliar with the Xing Clan; after all, like the Tang Clan and the Su Clan, the Xing Clan was one of the top factions in the Eastern Wasteland, renowned particularly for their Golden Finch Blood Wheel. Nodding, Xing Yingxue's face filled with sorrow as she said, "I am indeed from the Xing Clan, but I am an abandoned outcast of the family. As you must have heard just now, the pride of our Xing Clan in the Eastern Wasteland is the Golden Finch Blood Wheel, yet the blood wheel I awakened is merely a Partridge Blood Wheel. It is an utter disgrace to the family." Golden Finch Blood Wheel? Partridge Blood Wheel? Su Chen understood Xing Yingxue's feelings. In this world where martial prowess reigned supreme, strength represented everything, and even family ties could shatter like paper. He was living proof of that. Under the intimidation of the Su Clan, his cousins and eldest uncle had sought his death, and even his grandfather, who had once doted on him, had cast him out of the family. To a martial artist, the blood wheel was the foundation of their being; to a supreme faction, it was a matter of face and prestige. As one of the top factions in the Eastern Wasteland, the dignified Xing Clan possessed the universally envied Golden Finch Blood Wheel. For a Partridge Blood Wheel to suddenly emerge within their ranks was simply unacceptable. Moreover, Su Chen could easily guess that Xing Yingxue's status within the Xing Clan was by no means ordinary. "Junior Su, may I ask a favor of you?" "Go ahead." "I wish to follow you and gain some experience these next few days." At Level 2 Foundation Establishment Realm, her cultivation was indeed far too low within the Eastern Wasteland Academy; otherwise, she wouldn't have been at the bottom, relegated to the worst primary class. For Su Chen, it made no difference. What he needed to do now was hunt for spiritual herbs while simultaneously fighting for points to secure a place on the Hidden Dragon Roll. There was certainly no hope for the Hundred Battles Roll, but as for the Hidden Dragon Roll, while the other students of the primary class could never achieve it, he was determined to claim a spot. "Very well." Hearing this, Xing Yingxue expressed her gratitude with repeated bows. "Let's rest for two hours first. We'll leave once your injuries have healed." "Alright." Xing Yingxue's injuries were not severe—she had merely been caught in the shockwaves of the life-and-death duel. Two hours of recovery should be more than enough. Watching the young man sitting not far away with his legs crossed in meditation, Xing Yingxue felt a natural flush rise to her cheeks. Two hours later. Xing Yingxue's injuries had mostly recovered, and without further delay, the two of them chose to set off. The reason Su Chen had stepped in to help Xing Yingxue, aside from the fact that they belonged to the same class, was also out of a sense of shared sympathy. They were companions in misfortune, both being outcasts abandoned by their respective families. Roar! A terrifying roar shook the empty air as hundreds of Armored Rhinoceroses surrounded the two of them, their cold gazes locked firmly on their prey. Releasing his blood wheel, Su Chen gripped a phantom sword projection and shielded Xing Yingxue behind him. Executing the Nine Tribulations Sword Art, he unleashed fierce and tyrannical sword Qi that swept out in all directions, clearing the surrounding area. Facing the encirclement of hundreds of Armored Rhinoceroses simultaneously, Su Chen not only felt no trace of fear, but instead appeared rather excited, slaughtering and devouring them at the same time. As long as he absorbed enough power, combined with the synergy of the Chaotic Devouring Art and the Chaotic Body, he believed he would soon break through his personal limit and smoothly advance to the Level 9 Foundation Establishment Realm. Tens of minutes later. Su Chen and Xing Yingxue sat cross-legged simultaneously. He instructed, "Gather your mind and calm your spirit, guard your origin, and do not resist my incoming energy. You only need to devour it." Su Chen's intention was very simple: to use his own body as a medium to absorb the power of the Armored Rhinoceroses, refine it through the Chaotic Devouring Art, and then channel it into Xing Yingxue's body. He was confident this would cause no backlash whatsoever. A deep wave of gratitude washed over her. Even her family had chosen to abandon her, and within the academy, she had been relegated to the worst primary class. Yet now, Su Chen was willing to help her. She looked at him with a hazy, affectionate gaze. Su Chen's figure grew increasingly prominent in Xing Yingxue's heart. "Stop letting your mind wander and focus on your cultivation." As Su Chen tightly gripped her hand, Xing Yingxue felt her heart flutter in agitation, constantly telling herself not to let her thoughts run wild at a time like this. Above her head, a blood wheel gradually coalesced, within which hovered the phantom of a small bird—it was precisely the Partridge Blood Wheel Xing Yingxue had awakened. With Su Chen's full assistance, Xing Yingxue's cultivation broke through to the Level 3 Foundation Establishment Realm. "Eh?" "Junior Su, what is it?" Clutching Xing Yingxue's hand tightly, Su Chen stared at the blood wheel hovering above her head and said in surprise, "There is something fishy about your blood wheel. If you trust me, let me help you." "Junior Su, please." Of course she trusted him. At this point, Xing Yingxue wouldn't even trust anyone in her own family, yet she placed her complete trust in the young man before her. The Chaotic Body within him manifested, and the sword blood wheel condensing above his head directly overshadowed the gloomy devouring blood wheel as Su Chen began operating the Chaotic Devouring Art. Waves of devouring aura continuously poured into Xing Yingxue's body, enveloping her blood wheel. Beads of sweat covered her pain-contorted face as Xing Yingxue gritted her teeth and endured. Rays of devouring energy relentlessly consumed Xing Yingxue's Partridge Blood Wheel. If she hadn't chosen to trust Su Chen, she truly would have thought he was trying to harm her. "Senior Sister Xing, hold on." "Mm." The pain grew increasingly intense. Her entire body felt as though it were being devoured by ten thousand ants, gnawing away at her flesh and bones, making the agony unbearable. Half an hour later. Just as Xing Yingxue was reaching her limit and about to give out, the blood wheel condensing above her head suddenly cracked. A brand-new phantom emerged from within the shattered Partridge. The pure white cloud finch was marked with countless black patterns. Its cold eyes contained an intensely fierce brilliance, and it raised its head to emit a long, piercing cry. "A mutated blood wheel, Sky-Veiling Cloud Finch." Su Chen knew very well what a mutated blood wheel implied. The sword blood wheel he had re-condensed was also a mutated blood wheel—such blood wheels were extremely special and immensely powerful. Earlier, when he was assisting Xing Yingxue with her cultivation, he had sensed that her blood wheel was somewhat unusual, as if something were sealed inside the Partridge Blood Wheel. Now it appeared that the mutated blood wheel had simply not truly awakened yet, and his actions had merely sparked that mutation into life. Originally, he had intended to consume the power of hundreds of Armored Rhinoceroses to break through to the Level 9 Foundation Establishment Realm. However. Seeing that Xing Yingxue had awakened a mutated blood wheel, she urgently needed an influx of power to reap the maximum benefit. Su Chen was not a stingy person; he immediately chose to forgo his own absorption and instead threw his full support behind helping Xing Yingxue devour this surge of energy. Streams of refined energy were continuously channeled into Xing Yingxue's body. One hour later. The pain throughout her body vanished in an instant, her previous injuries were completely healed, and the Sky-Veiling Cloud Finch blood wheel hovering above her head radiated immense power. Slowly opening her eyes, she felt the surging power within her. Having leaped three full ranks, she couldn't help but feel overwhelmingly excited. With Su Chen's help this time, she had jumped a total of four ranks, leaping straight from the Level 2 Foundation Establishment Realm to the Level 6 Foundation Establishment Realm. "Junior Su, thank you." "Think nothing of it."Su Chen was happy for Xing Yingxue. Because of her useless Blood Wheel, she had long been neglected by the Xing Clan. Now that she had reawakened a mutated Blood Wheel—and a top-tier one at that, the Heaven-Veiling Lark—he believed her status within the clan would undergo a complete, earth-shaking transformation.

After all, the Heaven-Veiling Lark was a Blood Wheel that ranked even higher than the Golden Lark.

Noticing that Su Chen was still holding her hand, Xing Yingxue’s face flushed red again, looking just like a ripe apple.

"Xing Yingxue? You really are shameless, actually engaging in illicit affairs here. All the effort Senior Tang Hao put into pursuing you—you truly don't know the meaning of shame."

The students in the Eastern Wilderness Forest were unaware that Tang Hao’s Blood Wheel had been crippled.

A man and a woman walked over. Seeing the young man and Xing Yingxue holding hands, they immediately stepped in to "uphold justice." After all, everyone in the primary class knew that Tang Hao, from Class 1, had been pursuing Xing Yingxue, only to be repeatedly rejected.

"Mo Lin, stop spouting nonsense."

Mo Lin and Mu Shuangshuang were both from Class 1 and were essentially Tang Hao’s lackeys. They knew that Tang Hao’s status was set in stone; they wouldn't stay at Eastern Wilderness Academy forever, and once they left, they would need Tang Hao’s support. Joining the Tang Clan would be of immense benefit to their growth and development.

"Nonsense? Am I spouting nonsense? Look at you two! If we had arrived even a moment later, would you have started going at it right here in the wild? How could Big Brother Tang Hao ever like a bitch like you?"

Mu Shuangshuang added with a face full of disgust, "It’s honestly sickening. Xing Yingxue, today we’re going to teach you a lesson on behalf of Senior Tang Hao. We’ll make you realize the price of betraying him."

With a calm face that showed no hint of anger, Su Chen pulled Xing Yingxue up and smiled. "You don't need to be angry. Just think of them as dogs. If a dog bites you, surely you aren't going to bite it back?"

*Pfft!*

Xing Yingxue never expected Junior Su to say such a thing, and she couldn't help but burst into laughter.

***

"How dare you!"

Mo Lin and Mu Shuangshuang were both furious. They came from Class 1 and were both Level 8 Foundation Establishment Realm experts. They believed that, aside from the other students in Class 1, no one in any of the other primary classes could be their match. Being humiliated so arrogantly was a direct provocation.

"I’ll handle you for Senior Tang Hao today."

"What a fine lapdog."

"You're courting death."

With a single step forward, Mo Lin lunged at Su Chen, his palm strike carrying a cold, murderous intent. He wanted to show this boy the consequences of provoking him.

However, Su Chen did not release his Blood Wheel. Instead, he began forming seals with both hands, channeling the God-Devil Death Seal. He had successfully derived the first God-Devil Death Seal, and this was his first time using it. He was eager to see the terrifying power contained within this seal, which he had comprehended from the Primordial God-Devil Art.

A surge of death energy instantly condensed into a seal between his hands. Just as Mo Lin closed to within a meter, Su Chen struck.

Both were at the Level 8 Foundation Establishment Realm, but at the moment of impact, Mo Lin felt an overpowering force break through his attack like a tsunami crashing into a stream. He didn't even have the chance to release his Blood Wheel before he was struck.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood as his body flew backward, slamming into a large tree. The tree snapped at the impact, and Mo Lin was covered in blood. If not for the academy’s strict rules against killing, he would have been a dead man.

"You dare!"

*Slap!*

Mu Shuangshuang was completely stunned. Before she could even react to the afterimage before her, Su Chen was already raining slaps left and right. He showed no mercy, delivering over a hundred slaps in an instant.

Mu Shuangshuang’s once delicate face swelled into a pig’s head, and seeing stars, she was kicked aside, landing next to Mo Lin.

Xing Yingxue felt no surprise. In her eyes, if Junior Su could defeat even Tang Hao, these other students were nothing.

Su Chen walked up to them and sneered. "What do you want to do?"

"You… this is the Eastern Wilderness Forest. The academy has strict rules against killing."

In the face of life and death, so-called dignity was nothing but dog shit. They were terrified that this man might go insane and kill them both.

"Points."

No matter how unwilling they were, under the threat of superior strength, they could only grudgingly take out their identity jade plaques and transfer their points to Su Chen.

"Pathetic."

Leaving those two words behind, Su Chen quickly departed with Xing Yingxue.

***

Following the location given to him by Ye Fei, after several hours of frantic travel, they finally reached a giant peak. Surrounded by towering trees, the peak stood in a basin-like formation.

"This is the place."

"Senior Sister Xing, why don't you wait here for me?"

Su Chen knew that a powerful spirit beast was bound to be guarding the peak, and it wouldn't be easy to seize the spiritual herbs. Although Xing Yingxue had awakened a mutated Blood Wheel, she was only at the Level 6 Foundation Establishment Realm. If they encountered a powerful beast, he wouldn't be able to protect her.

Xing Yingxue wanted to follow him, but she understood Su Chen’s meaning. If she went along and they encountered danger, she wouldn't be able to help—she would only be a burden.

"Junior Su, be careful."

"Don't worry."

Without further ado, Su Chen dashed toward the giant peak.

The Purple Fox’s condition had stabilized slightly, but to recover fully, he needed to find the right spiritual herbs as soon as possible.

Inside the giant peak, gale-force winds whipped up dust. *Can spiritual herbs really grow in a place like this?*

Su Chen formed a sword-light barrier around his body and pushed forward. Soon, he saw a different sight: a lush, verdant forest brimming with massive spiritual energy.

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

Following the sound of the disturbance, he saw two youths working together to surround a blood-red tiger.

"A Void Pill Realm beast, a Blood Demon Tiger."

Su Chen could sense that both students were at the Level 9 Void Pill Realm. Even working together, it wasn't going to be easy for them to kill this tiger. It seemed the beast was at least at the Level 9 Void Pill Realm, if not at the peak. They appeared to have the upper hand, but the final outcome was still unknown.

Not far from the battle between the humans and the beast was a patch of blood-red lingzhi mushrooms, with vines coiled like dragons—it looked incredibly eerie.

"Blood-Coil Lingzhi."

Su Chen’s eyes turned green with greed. He had once read books in the Su Clan’s Martial Pavilion specifically detailing various spirit beasts and herbs. The Blood-Coil Lingzhi was legendary for its miraculous effects on the soul and could be used to refine Blood-Coil Pills.

Without the slightest hesitation, he moved. He had risked his life to come here for spiritual herbs; if he didn't snatch them now, he would be an idiot.

"Kid, don't you dare!"

"Kid, stay away from the Blood-Coil Lingzhi!"

Xiao Ming and Shi Chen were being held back by the Blood Demon Tiger. The beast was at the peak of the Void Pill Realm, and they had only dared to attack because they caught it while it was already wounded. If they stopped attacking now, the tiger would counterattack and kill them—they would end up losing everything.

They were furious to find someone playing the "mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind" trick.

Ignoring them entirely, Su Chen reached the Blood-Coil Lingzhi. Looking at the hundred or so stalks, his greed intensified. *I’ve hit the jackpot.*

Without any courtesy, he began harvesting. He plucked every single stalk and tucked them into his space ring. In just two minutes, the entire patch had been wiped clean, not a single one remained.

"Kid, you are courting death!"

Xiao Ming roared in fury. They were from the intermediate Class 1 and were both Level 9 Void Pill Realm experts. They had worked so hard to suppress the tiger, hoping to trade the herbs for enough points to get what they wanted back at the academy. And now?

The "oriole" turned out to be a mere Foundation Establishment Realm student from a primary class!

A primary class student daring to steal from intermediate class students? If this got back to the academy, it would be the joke of the century.

Xiao Ming and Shi Chen redoubled their frantic assault on the tiger. Despite its injuries, the Blood Demon Tiger was still holding its own against the two of them.

"A nice place, this."

Su Chen noticed that the soil where the Blood-Coil Lingzhi grew was infused with immense spiritual energy. It was indeed a perfect spot for cultivation.