Chapter 6: The Silent Mountains

Another half month passed in the blink of an eye, and there was less than a week left until the day of the Wooden Man Alley challenge.

During this period, Ye Chen practiced horse stance for an hour every morning and evening, and spent the rest of his time strengthening his physical strength and cultivating martial arts.

Now, he could lift a 600-pound boulder with one arm, and with both arms, he could easily hoist a 2,000-pound rock over his head.

Apart from the physical leap, Ye Chen found that with sufficient strength, his sword techniques were more fluid, and his speed and control had greatly increased. A casual slash could split seven or eight fluttering leaves, pierce through a tree as thick as a waist, and leave a four-inch deep sword mark on a boulder.

"It's time to hone my combat skills," Ye Chen felt he had reached his limit. Continuing to train would not yield much improvement. It would be better to gain combat experience and refine advanced combat techniques to fully leverage his advantages.

However, combat training is not easy. He was still an outer sect disciple and could not leave the mountain to wander the world, let alone engage in life-and-death battles. The inner sect disciples, despite being only one realm higher, would defeat him in a few moves, even if his cultivation was on par with theirs. This was the difference between those who had and had not undergone actual combat.

Fortunately, one does not need to fight humans to achieve combat effectiveness. This world has beast monsters, which can actively or passively cultivate. When the beast qi in their bodies becomes sufficiently concentrated, they will undergo mutations and evolve to higher levels.

Over countless years, the ancients classified beast monsters into levels. Level 1 and 2 beast monsters correspond to Qi Practitioners, Level 3 and 4 to True Qi Practitioners, and Level 5 and 6 to Core Qi Practitioners. Beast monsters above Level 6 are extremely rare and can only be found in deep mountains and old forests.

Fighting beast monsters is no less challenging than fighting humans. On the contrary, beast monsters often have a more formidable presence. A ferocious beast that has killed countless animals and humans can make your scalp tingle with a single glance, and you might only be able to use half of your strength.

Therefore, Ye Chen decided to go to the Silent Mountains to hone his skills, where low-level beast monsters often appear.

Strapping the fine steel sword to his left waist, Ye Chen tidied his clothes and walked out of the courtyard.

On the way down the mountain, he watched the outer and inner sect disciples passing by and sighed. No matter who it was, to live better, one needed silver. The Ye family had millions in assets, and logically, he should not be poor. Unfortunately, that was not the case. For example, the Ye family had over a thousand members, of which six or seven hundred were engaged in business to manage the family's affairs, while the remaining four or five hundred were dedicated to martial arts and did not earn money. To protect the family's assets, one needed powerful martial strength, which required money to support. The annual expenditure was staggering, so even his father, the head of the Ye family, had only a few hundred thousand silver taels in personal assets. As for him, his monthly allowance was 100 silver taels, and if there were other necessary expenses, they could be reimbursed.

What could 100 silver taels a month do? It was just enough for better food and clothing, with no significant difference in other areas. Long-term use of expensive herbs to strengthen the body was not something he could afford; only the core disciples of the family or the sect had the resources for such cultivation.

After descending the mountain and finding the right direction, Ye Chen quickened his pace.

By mid-afternoon, Ye Chen reached the outskirts of the Silent Mountains, where some Level 1 beast monsters began to appear. This dangerous place was not something ordinary Qi Practitioners would dare to enter. Even Ye Chen became cautious, keeping his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to strike at the first sign of danger.

Moving forward, Ye Chen did not encounter any high-level beast monsters. Occasionally, a top-tier Level 2 beast monster, a Red-Forge Bird, appeared, but it was severely injured. If it were not flying in the sky, Ye Chen would not have minded a little sparring.

After walking for a while and slaying a few beast monsters, Ye Chen suddenly stopped and channeled his inner qi to his ears.

"There's the sound of a battle!"

The biggest difference between martial artists and ordinary people is the use of inner qi. While ordinary people have limits to their senses, martial artists can enhance their senses using inner qi. At this moment, Ye Chen could hear significant movements a mile away and identify their source.

Following the sound, Ye Chen quietly approached.

Ahead was a dense forest, where shadows and roars could be faintly seen and heard, creating a heart-stopping scene.

When he was thirty steps away from the battle site, Ye Chen leaped onto a large tree, getting a clear view from above.

In the forest, there was a chaotic clearing about fifteen feet in diameter. Four or five young men, armed with weapons, were surrounding and attacking a large beast monster. The beast, about ten feet long, resembled a fierce tiger with black, shiny fur, a long blood-red tongue dripping with purple liquid, a mouth full of saw-like teeth, and three-foot-long, sharp, curved claws.

It was a top-tier Level 2 beast monster, the Sawtooth Poison Beast, with the strength equivalent to a tenth-layer Qi Practitioner. Its body carried a potent poison that caused skin to rot upon contact, requiring specific antidotes to treat. Otherwise, even a True Qi Practitioner would find it difficult to save the victim, making it a formidable opponent.

After observing for a while, Ye Chen noticed the golden ring emblem on their sleeves, which brought to mind the name of a minor sect.

The Golden Light Sect, a sect near the Flowing Cloud Sect, was led by Li Yu, a mid-stage Core Qi Practitioner, who was skilled in the deadly golden ring, a unique weapon. Li Yu was once an outer sect disciple of the Flowing Cloud Sect but later ventured into the world alone. It was said that he had traveled to other countries beyond the Tianfeng Kingdom and returned to establish the Golden Light Sect, which had five hundred disciples.

The five people surrounding the Sawtooth Poison Beast were not particularly strong, but they worked together with great默契, indicating they had been training together for a long time and had extensive experience in cooperation.

Several sword lights attacked the Sawtooth Poison Beast, wielded by a red-clothed girl with a slender sword, whose cultivation was roughly at the fifth layer of the Qi Practitioner stage. Beside her were two twin brothers wielding knives, who were tall and robust, often roaring to suppress the beast and using their physical strength to prevent it from advancing.

Although these three were putting in a lot of effort, they were not the main force. The real main force was the other two.

One of them was a muscular young man in black, wielding a large weapon, the Azure Dragon Halberd, which was about two meters long and looked heavy and substantial. Whenever the Sawtooth Poison Beast threatened the others, he would push it back and take the opportunity to leave a bloody gash on its body.

The one who caught Ye Chen's attention the most was the blue-clothed youth, who was about seventeen or eighteen years old and had a flute tucked into his waist. Despite not using a weapon, he had the strongest offensive power. A casual palm strike would create a fierce black palm wind, forcing the Sawtooth Poison Beast to retreat repeatedly.

If Ye Chen's guess was correct, the blue-clothed youth was clearly a ninth-layer Qi Practitioner, capable of mixing his inner qi with his palm wind to injure from a distance. Of course, the power was much weaker than when true qi was released, otherwise, the Sawtooth Poison Beast would have been killed long ago.

Beast monsters are always incredibly strong, but they will eventually tire.

At this moment, the Sawtooth Poison Beast, covered in wounds, was already exhausted. Its efforts to spray poison smoke were thwarted by the blue-clothed youth's black palm wind, and it turned to flee.

"Where do you think you're going!" The blue-clothed youth's eyes flashed like lightning, and he followed his palm, striking the Sawtooth Poison Beast's side.

Roar!

The Sawtooth Poison Beast let out a mournful cry as its massive body flew out like a broken sack, its internal organs shattered.

"Senior Brother Liu is so amazing," the red-clothed girl sheathed her sword, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and turned to look at the blue-clothed youth with admiration.

The blue-clothed youth said gently, "What's so amazing about me? In a few years, you'll catch up."

The black-clothed youth holding the Azure Dragon Halberd spoke, "I'm at the peak of the seventh layer of the Qi Practitioner stage. In a few months, I'll catch up to you."

"True," the blue-clothed youth replied nonchalantly.

The red-clothed girl pouted, seemingly disliking the black-clothed youth's arrogant attitude.

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