Chapter 2

On his way back to the peak where he lived, Bai Song Peak, Ye Zhen carried a bundle and hurried along the mountain path, panting heavily.

From time to time, some other miscellaneous disciples, who had also returned from visiting their families and were dressed in gray, would overtake Ye Zhen, running swiftly without breaking a sweat.

Their faces remained calm, and they didn't even turn red or breathe heavily, which made Ye Zhen envious and his heart burn with zeal.

These miscellaneous disciples, who ran swiftly on the mountain path with long breaths and a speed slightly faster than Ye Zhen, had cultivation levels no less than the second stage of Blood Cultivation, the Qi Absorption Realm.

In the martial arts tradition of the True Profound Continent, it was believed that bloodline was the foundation of human existence.

A person can live without bones, without flesh, muscles, or skin, but cannot live without blood.

Bloodline is the foundation of human existence, and the beginning of martial arts also starts with blood cultivation.

Martial artists' blood cultivation is divided into five stages: the first stage is to strengthen blood, the second stage is to absorb qi and prolong breath, the third stage is to condense blood qi into a pearl, the fourth stage is to refine blood essence to temper the body, and the fifth stage is to condense essence and gather primordial energy.

Currently, Ye Zhen's cultivation is at the stage of strengthening blood.

If he could break through to the second stage of absorbing qi and prolonging breath, his breath would be long, and his blood qi would be continuous, allowing him to run swiftly between the peaks of Qiyun Sect without breaking a sweat.

In that case, Ye Zhen wouldn't need to run for more than two hours from his residence on Bai Song Peak to the sect's gate.

Seeing his fellow disciples overtake him one by one, Ye Zhen felt envious and secretly had a bit of anticipation.

If his little secret continued, he might break through to the second stage of blood cultivation in no time.

This was also the reason why Ye Zhen insisted on staying in Qiyun Sect.

Thinking of his little secret, Ye Zhen's pace quickened. His little secret had been ongoing for some time, and it might be time for a harvest in the next few days.

Ye Zhen ran all the way, crossing eleven peaks. When he saw a mountain shrouded in dark shadows, with old pines towering up to tens of meters or even nearly a hundred meters, he breathed a sigh of relief. He had arrived; this was Bai Song Peak.

Bai Song Peak got its name from this, and as a miscellaneous disciple, Ye Zhen's daily chores were to cut down the unique iron-branch old pines on Bai Song Peak.

When Ye Zhen stepped onto Bai Song Peak, he didn't follow the mountain path back to his residence but instead took a side path and entered the pine forest.

He found a secluded spot, dug a deep hole, and buried the two hundred taels of silver his parents had given him, then covered it up again.

After everything was properly arranged and marked, Ye Zhen left and retraced his steps, carrying a bundle with only the clothes and food his mother had brought, heading towards his residence on the mountain slope.

When Ye Zhen returned to his residence on the mountain slope, it was already dusk. The three hundred miscellaneous disciples living on Bai Song Peak were now at leisure, gathering in groups in the courtyard to chat.

In the center of the courtyard, a young man with a broad back and a bear-like build was lounging in a rocking chair, swaying leisurely. Ye Zhen recognized him; this miscellaneous disciple was the eldest disciple of Bai Song Peak, Ma Yuanwu.

At that moment, Ma Yuanwu was surrounded by five or six miscellaneous disciples. Two of them, who were slightly thinner, were kneeling on one side, massaging Ma Yuanwu's shoulders and legs.

In fact, in Qiyun Sect, there was no ranking among miscellaneous disciples, let alone outer disciples. There was no such thing as an eldest disciple.

The one who excelled was considered the leader.

Among the miscellaneous disciples of a peak, the one with the strongest cultivation would be privately called the eldest disciple by the other miscellaneous disciples of the same peak.

However, the strongest among the miscellaneous disciples of a peak had an official title—seed candidate!

Among the hundreds of miscellaneous peaks of Qiyun Sect, the miscellaneous disciples of each peak who had the highest potential to advance to outer disciples were called seed candidates.

To put it more simply, the seed disciples of each peak were the dominant figures, even the overseers of the miscellaneous peaks had to be cautious around them.

"Ye Zhen has returned from visiting his family!"

No one knew who shouted, but the nearly three hundred miscellaneous disciples in the courtyard of Bai Song Peak immediately focused their attention on Ye Zhen, who had just stepped through the gate.

To be precise, their attention was on the bundle Ye Zhen was carrying.

Especially the few miscellaneous disciples around Ma Yuanwu, who were staring at Ye Zhen's bundle like hungry wolves.

"Hey, what a big bundle! Your parents must have brought you a lot of good things, right? Wu Jian, bring it over for me to see." Ma Yuanwu, lying in the rocking chair, squinted his eyes and lightly shouted.

"Yes, eldest disciple!"

Wu Jian, standing behind Ma Yuanwu, responded happily and immediately walked over, coldly shouting at Ye Zhen, "Hand it over!"

Ye Zhen's teeth clenched together, and he tightly gripped the bundle in his hands.

Even though Ye Zhen had anticipated this scene on his way back to the mountain, hiding the most valuable silver on the mountain, the overwhelming sense of humiliation hit him hard when it actually happened.

"Hand it over, what are you staring at? A waste of space who's about to be kicked out of the sect, daring to stare at me? If you stare again, I'll gouge out your eyes!"

Wu Jian, growing impatient, cursed and snatched the tightly held bundle from Ye Zhen, pushing him hard and walking away.

"Eldest disciple, Ye Zhen's bundle!"

Wu Jian, who was quite arrogant in front of Ye Zhen, instantly lost his arrogance in front of the seed candidate of Bai Song Peak, Ma Yuanwu.

"Hmm?"

Ma Yuanwu sat up, opened Ye Zhen's bundle, and searched through it eagerly.

Every June, when the families of the miscellaneous disciples came to visit, was the most comfortable time for the seed candidates of each peak.

Whatever the families of the miscellaneous disciples brought, regardless of its value, had to pass through their hands, and all the good things would belong to them.

Why?

Strength!

Their overwhelming strength.

Unhappy?

Come and fight!

As for Qiyun Sect, they wouldn't bother with such trivial matters among the miscellaneous disciples.

Qiyun Sect claimed to have ten thousand miscellaneous disciples, and fights and injuries among them were countless every day. There was no energy to manage such things.

Ma Yuanwu, who was initially delighted to search through Ye Zhen's bundle, gradually became displeased.

After searching through everything, he found only a few clothes and some food, not a single tael of silver.

Narrowing his eyes, Ma Yuanwu's triangular eyes glared at Ye Zhen, "Ye Zhen, your family isn't too poor, right? Your parents only see you once a year, and they only bring you a few old clothes and some stinky meat? Where's the silver?"

Old clothes?

Stinky meat?

These words made Ye Zhen's fists clench, the veins on his hands bulging.

If it weren't for his remaining rationality, and the constant reminder of the bruised and broken bodies of his fellow disciples nearby, Ye Zhen would have almost rushed forward to fight.

Those things were all made by his mother with care.

"Disappointing!

The things brought by a waste of space are also a waste of space!"

Not finding anything that could help with cultivation, Ma Yuanwu, looking displeased, threw Ye Zhen's shoes, socks, and clothes to the surrounding miscellaneous disciples as if in retaliation.

"These old clothes are for you."

Ma Yuanwu's companions, Wu Jian and a few other miscellaneous disciples, immediately cheered.

As he spoke, Ma Yuanwu took a big bite of the cured meat made by Ye Zhen's mother, "Hmm, this stinky meat tastes pretty good. Hmm, you should try it too."

In an instant, the roasted chicken and cured meat in Ye Zhen's bundle were all taken by Ma Yuanwu.

Pfft!

A piece of roasted chicken leg, torn by a few bites, was thrown by Ma Yuanwu, hitting Ye Zhen's chest.

"Hmm, since it's from your family, you should try it too. Don't think I, Ma Yuanwu, am keeping it all for myself."

Seeing the chicken leg covered in mud at his feet and the clothes torn because they didn't fit, Ye Zhen's forehead veins began to throb, and his chest heaved violently.

A surge of anger, a feeling of uncontrollable and indescribable rage, rushed to Ye Zhen's head.

In that moment of blood rushing to his head, Ye Zhen wanted to rush forward and fight Ma Yuanwu to the death!

Just as Ye Zhen was on the verge of exploding, Sha Fei, who was nearby, suddenly pounced over, grabbing Ye Zhen and pulling him into the room.

"Ye Zhen, have you eaten? I've already brought your dinner and blood essence soup for you."

In Qiyun Sect, two miscellaneous disciples shared a room. Sha Fei was Ye Zhen's roommate and a good friend among the miscellaneous disciples.

Sha Fei had entered the sect a year earlier than Ye Zhen and took good care of him. Thanks to Sha Fei's guidance, Ye Zhen had avoided many setbacks.

"Hmph! You're smart!"

Seeing Ye Zhen being dragged into the room by Sha Fei, Ma Yuanwu spat out a piece of chicken bone, "Waste!"

"Ye Zhen, don't take it personally. Just endure it. If you fight with them and get your legs broken, you're finished! Don't you remember Cheng A Dog, who was crippled by them half a year ago?"

After pulling Ye Zhen into the room and closing the door, Sha Fei began to advise him.

After a long time, Ye Zhen's heaving chest gradually calmed down, and he forced a smile that was more painful than crying, "Thank you, it's a pity I couldn't bring you anything."

"We're brothers, what are you thanking me for!"

"Don't be angry. Focus on your cultivation. In the future, when you become strong, beat Ma Yuanwu until he cries for his mother and father, and get back all the humiliation you've suffered." Sha Fei tried to encourage Ye Zhen, though he knew that, given their situation, they might never have that chance.

In less than a year, or perhaps even half a year, Ma Yuanwu would advance to an outer disciple. Outer disciples had more cultivation resources and faster cultivation speeds, and Ma Yuanwu would likely always be ahead of them.

Hearing Sha Fei's words, Ye Zhen instantly regained his spirit, suppressing his anger and turning it into motivation for cultivation.

"Alright, I'll focus on my cultivation. I'll get back all the humiliation I've suffered from Ma Yuanwu in the future!" Ye Zhen said resolutely.

When the moon rose in the east, the previously noisy Bai Song Peak immediately became abnormally quiet.

Everyone, including Ye Zhen, voluntarily returned to their rooms, sat cross-legged on their beds, and it was time for the evening practice.

They drank the blood essence soup issued by the sect, and then practiced the Blood Qi Decisive, which was very common in Qiyun Sect but quite precious in the secular world, as part of their daily evening practice.

The cultivation of Qiyun Sect's miscellaneous disciples was divided into morning and evening practices. The morning practice focused on boxing and strength, while the evening practice focused on the Blood Qi Decisive to strengthen blood and qi and enhance strength.

The blood essence soup, once consumed, turned into a rolling heat in the stomach. As the Blood Qi Decisive was practiced, the heat from the soup spread throughout Ye Zhen's body, following the circulation of blood and qi.

As the heat dissipated, Ye Zhen's blood and qi grew stronger and more abundant.

After fifteen minutes, the medicinal power of the blood essence soup was fully absorbed, and Ye Zhen opened his eyes with a sense of disappointment.

This portion of blood essence soup, both in quantity and quality, was too little. The two-hour evening practice could only be supported for fifteen minutes.

If the blood essence soup had enough medicinal power to last for two hours, Ye Zhen estimated that his cultivation would have long broken through to the Qi Absorption Realm, reaching the second stage of blood cultivation.

There was a pill in the sect called the Blood Essence Pill, which was the type of pill his father, Ye Tiancheng, had asked him to buy. It was said that its medicinal power was dozens of times stronger than a portion of blood essence soup, specifically for outer disciples with excellent bloodline talents.

Unfortunately, Ye Zhen and the other miscellaneous disciples could only consume the blood essence soup made from the by-products of the Blood Essence Pill.

Closing his eyes again, Ye Zhen continued to practice the Blood Qi Decisive with determination.

Without the support of blood essence soup, the speed of strengthening blood and qi became extremely slow.

Ye Zhen estimated that the effect of two hours of hard practice would be less than the effect of practicing for fifteen minutes after consuming blood essence soup.

However, the path of martial arts lies in persistence, and Ye Zhen was very clear about this!

After two and a half hours, when Ye Zhen felt that his blood and qi were becoming unstable, he stopped practicing. This was why the sect stipulated that the evening practice should last for two hours.

Opening his eyes, Ye Zhen saw that his roommate, Sha Fei, had already finished practicing and was sound asleep.

The miscellaneous disciples, who worked hard during the day, would fall into a deep sleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow, even a thunderstorm wouldn't wake them.

Ye Zhen, however, did not go to sleep immediately. Instead, he quietly put on his clothes, gently closed the door, and slipped out of the room. Amidst the snoring, Ye Zhen stealthily headed towards a small hill on Bai Song Peak.

It took him about half an hour to reach this small hill, which he had visited almost every night for nearly half a month.

As soon as he stepped onto the small hill, Ye Zhen immediately regulated his breathing, perked up his ears, and listened to the sounds of the mountain.

At first, all he heard were the sounds of the pine waves and the chirping of insects, but as he calmed down, the chirping of small animals immediately reached his ears.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak..."

The squeaking of a mouse reached Ye Zhen's ears, but to him, it had a different meaning.

The seemingly random squeaking of the mouse, which others would not understand, was clear to Ye Zhen. "Seventeenth Brother, hurry, it's almost time, let's go."

This was Ye Zhen's secret.

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