12.Assassinating Zhang Tie

"The Soul Gathering Crystal is truly amazing," Yang Yiyi said in amazement as she held it in her hand. "Although I didn't break through to the ninth vein this time, with this treasure, I believe I'll be able to do so soon after returning to the sect."

After chatting for a while, Yang Yiyi left the valley with Ye Changkong and they appeared in the sky above the intermediate beast territory half an hour later.

"Please put me down here," Ye Changkong said, looking at the familiar jungle around him. He let go of Yang Yiyi's wrist and dropped straight down.

Although the Soul Gathering Crystal could accelerate his cultivation speed, he practiced the Undead God Emperor Technique, which consumed a massive amount of spiritual energy, and he needed to use half of it to cultivate Qin Yaorao's soul. For Ye Changkong, relying solely on the spiritual energy gained from the Soul Gathering Crystal was far from enough.

For the upcoming outer disciple competition, he had to get into the top ten to qualify for the inner sect. Before the competition started, he had to do everything he could to improve his strength.

"Take care, and I'll see you in the inner sect," Yang Yiyi said before choosing to return to the sect.

Ye Changkong waved goodbye to the girl in the air and turned back into the wilderness. The untamed land was covered in thorns, and snakes, ants and rats were everywhere. Due to the prolonged exposure to the dense foliage of ancient trees, the damp and putrid odor permeated throughout the wilds.

Roar!

Soon after entering the wilds, he heard the roar of a fierce beast from afar.

As he approached, he realized that someone was fighting the beast about three hundred meters away. Among them, one person was jumping and dodging, fighting a wolf-like beast alongside others. The fighting caused debris and leaves to be flung around.

One of the fighters quickly flashed across his line of sight, prompting Ye Changkong to recognize him almost immediately. It was none other than Zhang Tie and his group, who had been pursuing him earlier!

"It's them!" Ye Changkong's eyes flashed with a cold light. He didn't reveal himself immediately but instead carefully sneaked towards them.

Since his breakthrough to the Three Stages of the martial veins, he had managed to withstand a punch from Zhang Tie when he had just entered the Qingfeng Beast Ridge with just one stage of the martial veins. Now that he had encountered them again, he intended to take advantage of the situation.

"Huang Wei is not here!" Ye Changkong exclaimed softly while crouching in a clump of grass and hiding from Zhang Tie and his party, who had already killed the fierce beast.

He was wary of Zhang Tie and Huang Wei teaming up, but if it was only Zhang Tie alone...

He overheard some of their conversation, "The resources in Qingfeng Beast Ridge are so abundant! In less than ten days, we have already obtained things worth a thousand spiritual stones."

"Zhang Tie senior, how much longer do we have to stay here?" asked one of the five outside disciples whose strength was only at the first or second stage of the martial veins.

"We have been here for so long. That kid should be dead by now," replied Zhang Tie as he sat down beside the dead fierce beast. "We'll leave in two days."

He pulled out a water bag and drank greedily from it while waving his finger in a circle above the ring on it. A storage ring then appeared in his hand. This was a valuable item worth a thousand spiritual stones in Qingyun Zong's Wanbao Pavilion, which many outside disciples couldn't afford. Although Zhang Tie was an old disciple ranked among the top hundred outside disciples, owning a storage ring wasn't that uncommon.

Gurgle!

The water in his mouth squirted out as he saw Ye Changkong, who had emerged from the clump of grass. He heard a swishing sound and sensed a strong sense of danger approaching him. A blurry figure appeared, rushing towards him at incredible speed.

Even though he managed to activate the spiritual energy surrounding him to form a defensive barrier before impact, he was still blown away with one punch, spurting blood and hovering mid-air.

"It's... it's that kid!" Zhang Tie exclaimed in shock.

"Zhang Tie, now you know how it feels," Ye Changkong sneered with a chilling intent. "Ten days ago, you forced me into the deepest part of Qingfeng Beast Ridge, and I'm back for my revenge."

With only a few punches, he crushed the hopes of the three other outside disciples who were already charging towards him. These disciples had learned only Yellow-rank techniques, and the spiritual energy formed from those techniques paled in comparison to the spiritual energy forged by the Undead God Emperor Technique that Ye Changkong had cultivated. Even when Ye Changkong threw a punch, they couldn't withstand the power behind it. Now, all three lay on the ground, unable to get up.

"If you're so brave, come fight me fair and square. What's the point of attacking from behind?" Zhang Tie's mouth was stained with blood as he stared at Ye Changkong with deep-seated jealousy and resentment.

The other two outer disciples who ran to help Zhang Tie were shaking in fear.

In just ten days, Ye Changkong's strength had reached a terrifying level.

What had he experienced in the depths of the Clearwind Beast Ridge during those ten days?

"Zhang Tie, you are truly pathetic. Rumor has it that you're one of the top hundred experts among the outer disciples, but you're nothing but a name," Ye Changkong sneered contemptuously. He had also been attacked by Huang Wei on the day he arrived at Clearwind Beast Ridge, despite being only at the first level of Qi Refining back then. However, Zhang Tie was already at the fifth level while Ye Changkong had only reached the third level due to the nourishment of the Ling Pool.

Comparing the two, it was easy to see who was superior.

Zhang Tie was humiliated and his face reddened in anger.

He wished he wasn't in such excruciating pain from having broken ribs, or he would have thrown off the two disciples who were helping him and fought Ye Changkong to death.

"Don't come any closer... killing fellow members is a heinous crime. The Enforcers will not let you get away with this," Zhang Tie warned.

"The Enforcers? Haha." Ye Changkong almost burst out laughing. "This is Clearwind Beast Ridge, not Qingyun Sect. Who knows what happens when people die here? As I recall, wasn't that also what you thought when you chased after me?"

The two outer disciples opened their mouths to retort but found themselves speechless.

This was a cruel world of the survival of the fittest, where Qingyun Sect still had too many restrictions and regulations.

However, in these desolate mountains, whoever had the strongest fists reigned supreme and decided the life and death of others.

Suddenly, they heard a splashing sound. The two disciples were so afraid that they wet their pants and the yellow liquid dripped onto the ground. Ye Changkong wrinkled his nose at the stench and stared in disbelief as the two ran away, leaving Zhang Tie behind.

Moments ago, they had threatened him with the Enforcers, and he thought they had some backbone. But the sight of them abandoning Zhang Tie in his injured state and running away was beyond belief.

Ye Changkong didn't chase after them. He knew how dangerous the depths of Clearwind Beast Ridge were.

The two's cultivation level was not high enough to enter safely, and rushing in recklessly would mean almost certain death.

"Even if you kill me, you won't live for long!" Zhang Tie shouted, losing all sense of reason and laughing maniacally as he cursed Ye Changkong.

Ignoring his words, Ye Changkong attacked him with a fatal punch, causing blood to spurt out and Zhang Tie's body to go limp.

Ye Changkong wiped the blood off his hands with a piece of cloth torn from Zhang Tie's clothes and took his storage ring before disappearing into the wilderness.

The three outer disciples had lost their ability to fight back. They wouldn't last long, as some ferocious beasts could already smell the scent of blood in the air.

They were helpless and would eventually become prey for some wild beasts. (To be continued.)