The fighting around the volcano only began to die down when night fell.
More than 130 brute experts had died with the water tribe suffering the greatest losses amongst them.
On the empire’s side, more than thirty people had been killed or suffered injuries.
This was the thirteenth day since the Blood Kill Camp students entered Demon Cloud Ridge. Lin Xun had left with his spoils long before the fighting ended.
Meanwhile, news of today’s battle began to spread at an astonishing speed.
……
In a mountain forest.
Bai Lingxi’s figure flew through the darkness. Every brute expert along the way was instantly killed as they were powerless to stop her advance.
Moments later, Bai Lingxi’s suddenly stopped because she had bumped into a Blood Kill Camp student who had participated in the volcano battle.
“Killed five younger generation peak brute experts with a single blade attack?”Bai Lingxi soon heard about Lin Xun’s battle and a genuinely shocked expression surfaced on her face.
“It looks like he has not only advanced to the True Martial ninth layer but also mastered a terrifying new battle art…”
Bai Lingxi quickly figured out Lin Xun’s situation. If he was here to hear this, he would have been astonished by her frightening judgment ability.
When Bai Lingxi continued her journey, she had already decided that if Lin Xun wasn’t eliminated, she would challenge him when they returned to Blood Kill Camp.
She had not forgotten the promise she had made back then.
……
“Besides Bai Lingxi, Li Duxing, and Zhangsun Hen, another interesting fellow has appeared from Blood Kill Camp.” In another area, a faint smile formed on Zhao Yin’s lips, “I hope Lin Xun will be around when the final year-end exam begins!”
……
“Lin Xun was the reason behind the strange movements by the water tribe?” Shi Yu could not help but chuckle bitterly when he heard the news.
A few days ago, he had already sensed that a big storm was coming. To avoid it, he had decided to stay away.
Who could have expected that Lin Xun was the cause of the storm?!
Shi Yu could not help but breathe a sigh of relief when he heard that Lin Xun had managed to survive, but was soon stunned when he heard the details of the battle.
Slaying more than fifty brute experts alone?
A single blade attack instantly killing five peak younger generation experts?
How had this guy’s battle power become so high after half a month!?
Shi Yu was greatly astonished.
After a long silence, Li Qiu softly said a single word, “Amazing.”
“What amazing, he’s freaking abnormal!” Shi Yu sighed. A determined look soon flashed in his eyes, “However, he would be naive to think that he can become the final victor of the bet with just this!”
Li Qiu knew that Shi Yu, Ning Meng, and Lin Xun had made a bet. Shi Yu’s earlier words made Li Qiu realize that Shi Yu was now feeling quite a lot of pressure from Lin Xun’s remarkable performance.
……
“Blast him! That bastard Lin Xun is so lucky to have encountered so many of those brute trash. If it was me, I would definitely have obtained way more army contributions!” Ning Meng felt shocked and envious when he heard the news.
Despite saying this, Ning Meng subconsciously felt a little proud. Lin Xun was his friend! Wasn’t it very normal for such a person to achieve such stellar battle accomplishments?
……
“Is Lin Xun really so strong?”
“How did he do it?”
“If all of this is true, wouldn’t that mean that his battle power can already match the likes of Bai Lingxi, Zhao Yin, Zhangsun Hen, and Li Duxing?”
“Heh, to think that there are people who still dared to snatch Lin Xun’s army contributions. Their greed blinded them!”
“No one can stop his rise any more!”
In various districts of Demon Cloud Ridge, the Blood Kill Camp students could not help but be shaken by the news, causing various thoughts and emotions to rise within them.
……
The empire’s Black Wind Army was stationed in the southern area of Demon Cloud Ridge. Likewise, the brute race’s army was stationed in the north.
Late at night.
There was a brightly lit tent at the center of the camp from which intense arguing was occasionally heard.
It belonged to the water tribe.
Gathered in the tent were the water tribe’s great military leaders.
“Shui Zhi’s death is painful for all of us but the most important thing, for now, is to take back our sacred treasure, the Heavenly Water Sacred Bead!”
In the tent, a ferocious-looking man with hair shaped like a halberd spoke in a heavy voice, suppressing the many bickering voices as numerous eyes converged on his body.
The man was called Shui Xingkong and was a true bigwig with Brute Warrior cultivation. His eyes were dark blue like a deep undersea abyss and surged with an intimidating light.
“Everyone should know that a dozen years ago, we sent spies to the Ziyao Empire’s Forbidden City and spent a tremendous amount of money and resources to try and take back the Heavenly Water Sacred Bead. It was only recently that we succeeded.”
Shui Xingkong’s expression was stoic as he continued, “To transport this treasure to the tribe, we selected several unimportant people to undertake the task of bringing it back through Demon Cloud Ridge. This was to avoid the attention of the Ziyao Empire’s experts. Who could have imagined that it would ultimately end in failure?!”
A trace of anger flowed out in his voice, causing many water brute experts to shiver.
“However, all is not lost yet. According to the information I received, the bigwigs of the empire have yet to discover the Heavenly Water Sacred Bead is gone. This is our chance.”
Shui Xingkong took a deep breath as his eyes shone intimidatingly, “Moreover, it is our last chance!”
A water brute expert asked, “Head, we understand what you’re saying. What do you plan on doing?”
The other water brute experts voiced their agreement.
“Dispatch our elite Brute Soldiers to capture Lin Xun!” Each word overflowed with killing intent, causing the atmosphere in the tent to freeze.
Brute Soldiers were equivalent to human Spirit Dipper stage existences!
Many water brute experts could not help but stir upon hearing this.
A water brute expert worriedly muttered, “Head, for the past hundred years, there’s been an unspoken agreement with the empire and us to not allow any existences which surpass the Brute Slave level or True Martial stage to enter the Demon Cloud Ridge battleground. If we do this, there will likely be a strong response from the empire.”
Another water brute expert expressed his disdain, “Humph! What stupid agreement? Nothing matters as long as we take back the Heavenly Water Sacred Bead. Since when has our brute race ever cared about what the Ziyao Empire thinks?”
“This problem isn’t something we can ignore but we have more important priorities for now. We might have to make an exception this time.” Shui Xingkong spoke to silence the arguing, “Our goal is to capture Lin Xun and take back the Heavenly Water Sacred Bead. Hence, the Brute Soldiers dispatched will not participate in the battles of Demon Cloud Ridge. In this way, we should be able to minimize the consequences.”
After some thought, the water brute experts silently acknowledged the arrangement.
On that same night, four veteran water Brute Soldiers left the camp and stealthily infiltrated Demon Cloud Ridge.
An operation targeting Lin Xun had quietly begun.
……
Lin Xun was quietly seated and focused on tempering his cultivation.
After leaving the volcano, he had found a hidden mountain cave and had not left it for several days.
Through some lucky circumstances at the bottom of the volcano, Lin Xun had obtained help from the Heavenly Water Sacred Bead and advanced to the True Martial ninth layer, the Aeth Transformation stage.
However, the Heavenly Water Sacred Bead in his mind-sea had fallen silent after his cultivation breakthrough and no longer released any of its power.
Although he did not know why this had happened, Lin Xun was no longer capable of enduring the lava in the volcano without the bead’s help. As such, he was forced to leave before he could properly solidify his cultivation.
He had engaged in a crazy battle almost immediately after leaving and only recently managed to find the time to stabilize his new cultivation.
Crash~~
Aeth power circulated in his body, releasing a rumbling noise similar to crashing waves.
At closer inspection, his aeth power resembled the purest green jade and gave off a dazzling shine.
From its aura, a person would realize that if Lin Xun continued to cultivate, his aeth power would soon ascend to a whole new level.
This was known as the Aeth Transformation stage, the final layer of the True Martial stage. Upon reaching this stage, all of the cultivator’s power would reach a state of perfection.
Only a practitioner with such cultivation foundations would possess the possibility of attacking the Spirit Dipper stage!
The Spirit Dipper stage was the second of the five greater cultivation stages. There was a certain saying in this world that only those who stepped into the Spirit Dipper stage could be considered true cultivators.
After reaching this stage, not only would a cultivator’s power evolve, but they would also ascend to become a higher form of existence. Their lifespan would increase, they would no longer need to worry about the heat and cold, and they no longer required food to sustain themselves.
This was a true cultivator!
The True Martial nine layers merely built the foundations to step onto this path. Only by establishing proper foundations would a cultivator have hopes of reaching greater heights in the dao.
In simple terms, the True Martial stage was the foundation and the Spirit Dipper stage was the starting point!
Lin Xun had recently advanced to the True Martial ninth layer and was still far from attacking the Spirit Dipper stage. What he needed to do now was to stabilize his cultivation and familiarize himself with his new power as soon as possible.
Only then would he be able to bring out his greatest power in battle!