Chapter 25

"Yefengyu, Zhang Ziliao!"

The man's expression changed slightly, and he said in a dark tone.

"Brother Li!"

The person who arrived was none other than the group of outer disciples who had fought alongside Li Chen in the valley against the wolf pack that day.

"Hello, seniors!"

Li Chen nodded timidly, looking like a servant who was used to being bullied.

But those who knew him well rolled their eyes, the meaning clear: you're a sly one, why are you putting on an act in front of us?

"What? You want water too? I can give you the other bucket!"

Knowing that the few people were among the best in the outer disciples, the young man was confident in his strength but didn't dare to provoke them all at once.

"We want both buckets of water!"

Liu Ziqing stepped forward. Li Chen had saved his life that day, and although he had been recuperating for nearly a month, he was still a sixth-layer warrior. With his comrades by his side, he naturally had nothing to fear.

"Impossible!"

Under the watchful eyes of the onlookers, Chen Zuyin said coldly.

Behind him, a group of people had gathered, but none had reached the sixth layer; they were all fourth or fifth layers, and not very old, clearly his subordinates.

"Chen Zuyin, don't be so stubborn, just back off!"

Yefengyu was even less polite, shouting coldly.

"You..."

Chen Zuyin's face turned bright red with anger, but he didn't dare to act out. He couldn't understand why the other party would go to such lengths over a bucket of water.

"Alright, a bucket of water, everyone is so tired from practicing martial arts, a shower would be good!"

Li Chen 'panicked' and waved his hands, as if he was afraid that a fight would break out and he would be caught in the middle.

"Who asked you to speak, you dog?"

Suddenly, Chen Zuyin found a target for his anger and slapped Li Chen's face.

Slap!

"Senior, I see you're too hot-tempered, you should use some well water to cool down!"

Li Chen grabbed his wrist and said indifferently.

Although he did this, a fire of anger had already ignited in his heart. Having been a slave in the Li family for over a decade, he had endured countless beatings. Old Li had worked his whole life for the Li family and died a painful death in his old age, which fueled Li Chen's determination never to be a slave again.

"Looking for death... let go!"

Chen Zuyin was slightly surprised and then tried to pull his hand back with a dark expression, but no matter how hard he tried, even using his inner breath, he couldn't break free.

That thin hand was like an iron clamp, firmly gripping his wrist.

Anger and malice rose in his heart, and Chen Zuyin suddenly kicked Li Chen in the stomach.

"Be careful!"

Several cries of alarm were followed by a loud scream.

Chen Zuyin was already clutching his leg and curled up on the ground, with his subordinates rushing to help him.

"Sorry, Senior He needs the water for alchemy!"

Li Chen slowly lowered his knee, as if he hadn't just delivered the blow. He picked up the bucket, nodded to Liu Ziqing and the others, and disappeared into the forest without looking back.

"Who is he?"

"So strong!"

"His clothes look like those of a registered disciple!"

As Li Chen left, the crowd buzzed with discussion and pointed at him.

Liu Ziqing and the others exchanged glances, all seeing the shock in each other's eyes. They knew the other party was strong, but they never imagined he could take down a sixth-layer warrior in one move.

Although Chen Zuyin had been overconfident, it still demonstrated Li Chen's formidable strength, which was already above theirs.

Why would such a talented disciple be willing to serve under someone else?

In the crowd, Li Yuerong looked at Li Chen's retreating back with a complex expression, which eventually turned into a cold glare.

...

"Senior Zhang, please walk slowly!"

At the courtyard entrance, He Kongming, slightly respectfully, saw off a young warrior. He didn't even glance at Li Chen, who had just returned with the water, before turning back into the courtyard.

"Senior Chen, you are well-informed, who is that senior?"

Li Chen lowered his head and walked past the young warrior, quickly coming to the courtyard gate and calling out to Chen Songtai, who was about to leave.

"You don't even know him, you country bumpkin. Let me tell you, that person is the top inner disciple of the South Courtyard, Zhang Chulong, Senior Zhang. I heard he recently obtained a bottle of monkey wine and is preparing to break through to the True Refinement Realm.

At Senior Zhang's age, after breaking through, he will definitely become an elite disciple!"

Chen Songtai looked at him disdainfully, boasting with a self-satisfied expression, as if he had obtained the monkey wine rather than Senior Zhang.

"Monkey wine!"

Li Chen's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and his right hand unconsciously clenched.

When he came over, he had seen clearly that the young man in blue was very similar to the person who had taken his backpack in the small town that day.

Although he had only seen him for a moment, Li Chen's eyesight was excellent, and with what Chen Songtai had said, it was almost certain.

"Tch, I bet you don't even know what monkey wine is!"

Chen Songtai sneered, swaggering back into the house. Before entering, he turned and said coldly, "Senior He said, we leave in three days!"

"In three days? That should be enough!"

Li Chen narrowed his eyes and walked straight to the water tank in the courtyard, filling it up.

At midnight, in the mountain hollow where the water was fetched.

"Next, let's see how much this demon core can help me break through!"

Li Chen looked up at the starry sky, his eyes full of determination. He grabbed the demon core from the box in front of him, swallowed it, and began to circulate the *Rongyang Technique* to absorb and refine it.

"Hmph!"

A muffled groan surprised Li Chen. When the demon core entered his stomach, there was a slight pain, but not the intense pain he had experienced that night. As he refined the demon core, he felt a tingling sensation in his body, which was quite comfortable.

Pop!

As time passed, nearly an hour went by, and the demon core was absorbed more and more. The fine meridians in Li Chen's body began to make sounds, and the milky gray vortex above his head suddenly paused, then sped up several times.

Without stopping, he continued to circulate the technique, absorbing the remaining essence of the demon core. Based on his observations, the demon core was at least from a top-tier first-stage demon beast, containing essence comparable to the inner breath of an eighth or ninth-layer Inner Breath Realm warrior.

Although the Inner Breath Realm warriors at each level had similar inner breath in their meridians, Li Chen was only at the peak of the sixth layer. After a few days of rest, he had already become familiar with it, and the essence of the demon core was enough for him to make a significant breakthrough.

When another half hour passed, the popping sounds became more urgent and then suddenly stopped.

At this moment, Li Chen felt that the demon core was completely gone from his body. He stood up, somewhat excited and puzzled: "That's strange, this demon core should have been enough for me to break through to the eighth layer, why only the peak of the seventh layer?"

Looking at the night sky, Li Chen thought for a long time and finally concluded that his constitution was special, his inner breath gathered slowly, and a lot of the essence was wasted.

Based on his estimation, the effect of the demon core on him was several times stronger than that of the Qi Gathering Pills he had taken. Combining this with the two times he had consumed demon cores, he roughly estimated that the demon core was several times more effective for him than the pills.

"Li Yueqing, Zhang Chulong, you wait and see, sooner or later..."

Suddenly clenching his fist, the bones cracking, Li Chen gritted his teeth, "I have two months left until I turn fifteen. At that time, I will exchange for an identity card and enter the outer disciples. The key now is to seize the time and improve my strength. After settling things with He Kongming, I must return to the Ancient Cypress to practice martial arts!"