Chapter 10

"Is he really that good-for-nothing who hasn’t improved in eight years?" Some of the cultivators nearby were stunned by the young man’s cold words and couldn’t help but glance at the people beside them. Xiao Yun, who was usually taciturn, was now a completely different person!

"Xiao Yun was a genius, alright." The person beside him rolled his eyes and said, "If it weren’t for his cultivation stagnating for the past eight years, with his previous talent, he would have long been a renowned young genius."

Thinking of the young man’s past talent, the people nearby couldn’t help but sigh.

"Has his talent been restored?"

"Once this young man recovers his former talent, there might be no one who can match him." For a moment, the discussions rose and fell.

"Hmph, what genius? He just used poison." Some people said with disdain, "A person whose cultivation has stagnated for eight years, even if he takes a step forward, so what? Who knows if he will need another eight years to break through again?"

Upon hearing this, the noisy discussions slightly diminished.

If this young man needs several more years to break through again, his future achievements will ultimately be limited.

"I think he must have known that his cultivation was hard to advance, so he learned those unorthodox methods and planned to use poison to harm others." The person continued with a cold snort.

"Probably so." The others hurriedly nodded.

"A bunch of self-righteous scoundrels." Hearing all kinds of discussions, Xiao Yun’s brows first tightly furrowed, then he became calm. It was better to focus on his own cultivation rather than get angry over this. He would wait until he achieved something in the future to surprise everyone.

In this world where martial arts were revered, strength was often the prerequisite for gaining respect.

Holding the package, Xiao Yun took large strides and headed straight for the Xiao family.

Although people nearby were whispering and some were full of disdain for the young man, no one dared to intercept him.

Even Fang Wei, who had reached the eighth level of Body Tempering, was mysteriously poisoned. Who would dare to take the risk?

A few young men from the Fang family quickly found a stretcher and carried Fang Wei away.

Xiao Yun returned to the Xiao family and entered the house to resolve the intense poison.

After continuously using his strength against Fang Wei and others, the residual poison in his body had a tendency to spread, which was quite dangerous. If it were anyone else, they would have been poisoned long ago. However, with his martial soul, Xiao Yun didn’t need to worry too much.

The martial soul revolved, emitting a brilliant green light that enveloped his entire body, extracting the toxins from his meridians and cells and absorbing them into the green branches. As a result, Xiao Yun’s slightly greenish face completely recovered.

Next, he would revolve his martial soul to thoroughly resolve those intense poisons.

Xiao Yun’s martial soul possessed a mysterious power, not only able to absorb cold energy but also intense poisons.

However, the poison that Yan Shifei had suffered from was too powerful, left by a Purple Mist Cloud Beast at the Innate Realm, far surpassing the poisons of ordinary Body Tempering Realm beasts. Therefore, resolving the poison would consume a considerable amount of energy, leaving him exhausted each time.

Upon closer inspection, one could see black lines appearing on the jade-like green branches, which were the intense poisons.

Xiao Yun began to control his martial soul to draw the toxins to the green tender leaves.

These leaves were the essence of the martial soul, capable of resolving toxins.

"Since I can use these toxins to harm others, why not keep some for future use? This way, I will have an additional trump card." As the martial soul slowly resolved the toxins, Xiao Yun had a thought and decided to keep some of the toxins.

During his confrontation with Fang Wei, Xiao Yun had activated his martial soul, forcing some toxins out and injecting them into Fang Wei’s skin, causing him to be poisoned. This was how he managed to defeat Fang Wei, who was at the eighth level of Body Tempering.

Thinking about it now, if he could utilize the advantages of his martial soul, he might even surpass some combat-oriented martial souls.

As soon as the thought arose, Xiao Yun began to act, concentrating some of the toxins on the green leaves without completely resolving them.

Of course, the amount of poison had to be limited. Xiao Yun didn’t dare to keep too much, as it could harm his martial soul and mental state.

"This martial soul can only serve as an auxiliary; one cannot rely on it too much. To become strong, I must reach the Innate Realm as soon as possible." After concentrating the toxins, Xiao Yun’s mind withdrew from the sea of consciousness, and he suddenly stood up, planning to leave.

"The essence here is too thin; I need to go to the Purple Mist Mountains again." After a brief contemplation, Xiao Yun decided to head to the Purple Mist Mountains, where the essence was not only abundant but also rich in fire essence, providing the best nourishment for his martial soul.

As long as the requirements for the martial soul’s advancement were met, he wouldn’t have to work so hard to condense the essence that would be drained.

Taking advantage of the night, Xiao Yun left the Xiao family alone and headed to the nearby Purple Mist Mountains.

The Purple Mist Mountains were rich in essence, but deep within, there were Innate Realm beasts, making it extremely dangerous. Xiao Yun, at the seventh level of Body Tempering, didn’t dare to venture deep, so he stopped at a place with a fire source on the outskirts.

This was a fire spring, about the size of a well, with lava spewing out, emitting a dense fire essence, and red light shining brightly in the darkness of the night.

Xiao Yun sat cross-legged beside the fire spring, with a green branch extending from his palm, piercing into the scorching lava, absorbing the fire essence and channeling it into the branches within his sea of consciousness, converting it into nourishment.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yun practiced the Profound Essence Technique, drawing the essence from heaven and earth into his body, condensing it in his dantian.

In the darkness of the night, the stars twinkled, and the young man diligently practiced...

In the blink of an eye, a day had passed, and the fire essence of the fire spring had been completely drained.

Xiao Yun internally observed his sea of consciousness, where his martial soul had grown thicker. The red tender leaf glowed like red mist, containing several times more fire essence than before. The intense heat it emitted could cause a significant impact.

Xiao Yun wasn’t satisfied with this and continued to search for another fire source nearby to absorb the fire essence.

Gradually, the essence in Xiao Yun’s dantian became more concentrated, and he had a vague feeling of impending breakthrough.

"Just a little more, and I can break through to the eighth level of Body Tempering." Xiao Yun was somewhat excited. Reaching the eighth level of Body Tempering would bring him closer to the Innate Realm, making him a standout among the younger generation.

The next day, as the sun rose, Xiao Yun continued to accumulate essence in his body, preparing to break through to the eighth level of Body Tempering.

By this time, it had been two days since Xiao Yun injured Fang Wei.

As the sun rose, the gate of the Xiao family had just opened when a group of people stormed in with a fierce demeanor.

These were people from the Fang family.

After some negotiations, the Fang family was invited into the living room of the Xiao family.

"These are people from the Fang family!"

"What are they here for?"

"I heard that Young Master Yun injured Fang Wei, and now the Fang family is here to demand an explanation."

"What! Xiao Yun injured Fang Wei? How is that possible? Wasn’t Xiao Yun that good-for-nothing who stagnated at the sixth level of Body Tempering for eight years?" The arrival of the Fang family caused a stir in the Xiao family, and the details of the incident became known to everyone.

"This is what you don’t know. Young Master Yun broke through to the seventh level of Body Tempering a few days ago and injured Xiao Li." A member of the Xiao family said.

"Oh, is that so?" Hearing this, everyone became interested and asked, "Does this mean Young Master Yun’s talent has returned?"

"I don’t know, but it’s said that he used intense poison to injure Young Master Fang Wei from the Fang family." The person said.

"Using poison?" Hearing this, everyone frowned and sighed, "I didn’t expect Young Master Yun to fall so low as to learn these unorthodox methods. It’s probably because he saw no future in martial arts that he took this path."

"Pity." Many members of the Xiao family shook their heads, believing that Xiao Yun was willingly falling into decline.

At this moment, in the living room of the Xiao family, some of the elders were alarmed and seated themselves.

On the left were the people from the Fang family, a total of seven, all with a fierce demeanor, ready to demand an explanation.

Upon closer inspection, among the Fang family, a young man with a blackened face sat in a large armchair.

It was more like he was leaning, as he had completely lost consciousness, seemingly in a coma.

This young man was naturally Fang Wei.

"Where is Xiao Yun?" Among the Fang family, a man in his fifties with a sinister look on his face asked.

"Hehe, we have already sent someone to find him. He should be here soon." An elder from the Xiao family on the right side laughed awkwardly.

"What do you plan to do about Xiao Yun injuring my son?" A middle-aged man in a brocade robe from the Fang family asked.

This man was named Fang Xun, the father of Fang Wei.

"This is... naturally..." An elder from the Xiao family laughed awkwardly, about to say that they would leave it to the Fang family to decide.

"However, the matter is not yet clear, and we should wait for Yun to arrive before making a decision." However, a middle-aged man with a slightly heroic air, sitting at the right head of the table, spoke coldly, showing no intention of compromising.

This man was named Xiao Hai, the second son of the Xiao family’s patriarch and Xiao Yun’s second uncle.

"Does this mean you are not planning to hand over that good-for-nothing Xiao Yun?" A young man from the Fang family raised his eyebrows, his eyes sharp and his aura intimidating. "If so, you should be prepared to face the wrath of the Fang family. My brother cannot be injured like this without retribution."

Upon hearing this, the elders of the Xiao family frowned.

This young man was named Fang Hao, the current genius of the Fang family, who had already reached the ninth level of Body Tempering at the age of sixteen.

Most importantly, he had awakened the Ice Martial Soul of the Fang family, with a promising future.

The current generation of the Xiao family only had Xiao Yun awaken a martial soul, but his martial soul was known to be a waste.

If Fang Hao grew up, how could the Xiao family compete with the Fang family?

Therefore, when Fang Hao spoke, all the elders of the Xiao family felt a heavy atmosphere, and the tension was palpable.

"Hehe, Young Master Fang, don’t be in a hurry. Let’s wait for Xiao Yun to arrive before discussing the matter." In the living room, Xiao Hong, the head of the table, laughed awkwardly.

"Alright, I’ll wait, but I hope this matter doesn’t harm the Xiao family." Fang Hao spoke, though young, with an air of authority, not taking the elders seriously, and his words carried a hint of threat.

Fang Hao, who had awakened a martial soul, was destined to surpass his peers and become a powerful figure in the future, ready to venture into the vast world of martial arts. The small world of Purple Mist County was not enough for him, so he naturally didn’t take these people seriously.

In Fang Hao’s eyes, the others were mere ants.