Chapter 35: Seventeen Demon Beast Heads!

As Xiao Bei ran back to the battlefield, he immediately saw an old man floating about two meters above the ground. This old man was dressed in a refined white robe, not particularly robust but not thin either. When Xiao Bei arrived, the old man didn't even glance at him, still facing away and staring at a plant.

The plant, which had originally been lush and green, was now completely yellow and wilted, looking utterly lifeless.

"Are you not afraid that powerful demon beasts will kill you? Are you not afraid that I will kill you?" As Xiao Bei took a few more steps forward, the old man landed on the ground, turned around, and said to him.

The old man's face was pale but composed, and his features vaguely resembled those of Xiao Zhan.

Could it be that this old man is the legendary ancestor who protected the Xiao family, Xiao Zhan's father, and my nominal grandfather?

In other words, my nominal great-grandfather?

The one who is about 110 years old?

Although he had many questions, Xiao Bei still answered, "I am a descendant of the Xiao family. I sensed the presence of demon beasts here, so I came. I don't think you would kill a junior like me for no reason. As for these demon beasts, they have no strength left to fight. What do I have to fear?"

When he said this, Xiao Bei was not thinking about the difference in strength but the fact that he was indeed much younger than the old man. Moreover, since he was the same person as the previous Xiao Bei, he could be considered half a member of the Xiao family. And the old man, strictly speaking, was also a blood relative.

"Are you not afraid to come here with such weak demon beasts? You are only a Ninth Rank Martial Artist... Hmm?" The old man suddenly paused, as if he had seen something unbelievable. "You say you are a descendant of the Xiao family? How old are you?"

His eyes had a compelling look, and Xiao Bei smiled slightly. "My name is Xiao Bei, and I am seventeen years old."

As he said this, Xiao Bei approached the nearly dying python demon beast and chopped its head off with a swift motion.

"Swish!"

The python's blood spurted out.

Xiao Bei instinctively tried to block the blood with his arm.

"Ha ha... The blood of a demon beast that has reached the Imperial Rank is also toxic. With your cultivation not yet reaching the Innate Realm, you won't be able to withstand it."

The old man smiled and immediately helped, his martial aura bursting forth and directing the blood away.

"Thank you."

Xiao Bei retracted his fist and replied to the old man. Then, he tore a thick vine from a tree and tied up the massive head of the python demon beast, which was over a meter thick.

After doing this, Xiao Bei was about to leave.

"Wait."

The old man suddenly called out, "Xiao Bei, I will inform Xiao Qi and the others about this. You have not violated any rules. And..." Looking at Xiao Bei, the old man suddenly smiled bitterly and waved his hand. "You may go."

"Okay."

Xiao Bei nodded and turned to leave.

Watching Xiao Bei's departing figure, just as it was about to disappear from sight, the old man seemed to make a decision. He condensed his voice and transmitted a message to Xiao Bei, "Xiao Bei, actually, I am your great-grandfather, Xiao Ting. When I was your age, I was only a Sixth Rank Martial Artist. I am very pleased to see the Xiao family has you. I will also hand over the heads of the other two demon beasts to Xiao Qi. Don't be stubborn about your relationship with Xiao Yuan. Consider this as something I do for you."

Seeing Xiao Bei pause for a moment before continuing and disappearing, Xiao Ting suddenly laughed, one hand behind his back and the other twirling his not-so-long white beard.

"This young man has had extraordinary encounters and will surely become a great cultivator. He is calm and rational, neither arrogant nor humble. Excellent! Excellent! If all the descendants of the Xiao family were like this, we would have nothing to worry about... It seems I need to guide him a bit..."

...

Xiao Bei killed a total of sixteen demon beasts in the forest. Including the python demon beast's head, he had seventeen demon beast heads. Of course, the other sixteen demon beasts were not very strong, all around the Eighth Rank.

Xiao Bei knew that just these sixteen demon beast heads were not enough to win, so to ensure his qualification for the final top ten arena match and win back Jiang Yuan, he took the risk to meet Xiao Ting and cut off the python demon beast's head.

This head gave Xiao Bei confidence that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, no one would surpass his demon beast hunting results. Unless, of course, someone cheated.

But Xiao Bei also knew that even if others cheated, it would be highly unlikely for them to obtain a head of a python demon beast of this level. In the Xiao family, there were probably only a few people as strong as Xiao Ting.

Therefore, he was almost certain to win the demon beast hunting competition and qualify for the final top ten arena match.

...

"Swish, swish, swish..."

Behind Xiao Bei, the seventeen demon beast heads dragged on the ground, making a loud noise. The seventeen heads, lined up in a row, stretched about seven to eight meters. Among them, the massive head of the python demon beast, over a meter thick, was particularly terrifying.

The thick, withered vines tied around the heads, with their yellowish color, made the remaining crimson blood on the heads look even more gruesome.

The sun had not yet set, and at this time, it was like the morning sunrise, emitting a bright red glow.

At this moment, Xiao Bei returned to the camp where Xiao Qi and the others were stationed, looking like this.

By now, some people had already returned, either from small teams or groups.

Xiao Bei had just arrived at the tent camp when he encountered a team of five Xiao family descendants.

He knew all the members of this team. The leader was a pale, thin young man he had seen when entering the inner chamber of the library. The others were Xiao Yun, Xiao Bing, and two others who often followed the brothers. One was a thin, dark-skinned man with shifty eyes, named Xiao Ling, and the other was a robust, older man from a different branch of the Xiao family, a relative of Xiao Bei's nominal grandfather Xiao Zhan's deceased brother, named Xiao Peng.

These people could be considered Xiao Bei's rivals.

Behind them, Xiao Peng was pulling their day's work, seven demon beast heads, lined up and stretching about three meters long.