Vultures circled in the searing air currents.

On the summit, Zhou Qiwang’s eyes were wide with disbelief. This was the guy ranked one hundred and eighty in the newcomer trials? What a scam. Zhou Tiegan and Zhou Tierè wore similarly stunned expressions; they had never imagined such an outcome, having been certain of their demise.

They had followed because, firstly, they owed a debt of gratitude to the Patriarch Zhou Qiwang, and secondly, because they had watched Zhou Qingken grow up. When Zhou Tiegan was struck down by the Daoist from the Blood Sword Sect before he could even form his sword formation, he thought, It’s over; we’re dying here. Yet, they were saved by the young man in green robes accompanying them. They had heard this youth was only ranked 180th in the newcomer trials and assumed he lacked real strength. Who could have guessed his power was so immense, single-handedly eliminating the ferocious Blood Sword Sect Daoist?

The Yangwu Sword moved, already sheathed.

This battle was over, fought without reservation and utilizing his full power. Against someone at the fourth level of the Body Tempering stage, holding back was impossible; had the Blood Sword Sect Daoist managed to spit his vital essence onto his sword, boosting his combat strength, the one dead would have been himself.

Ah, it had been many years since he last killed someone. This time, the opponent was dispatched cleanly and swiftly.

Lu Yuan’s philosophy on killing aligned perfectly with that of immortal sects like Mount Hua: never kill the innocent indiscriminately; if killing can be avoided, avoid it. Naturally, he would never seek to kill a fellow sect member. But when truly faced with someone from the Blood Sword Sect—that notorious heretical path—who sacrifices humans to refine the Blood Cloud Spirit Beast? Why not kill him?

With a flicker of his hand, the Yangwu Sword traced a beautiful flourish in the void before returning to its sheath.

Lu Yuan had expected to collect spoils of war. After all, the ropes binding Miss Zhou would be cut by her father. But since her father, Zhou Qiwang, was severely depleted of magical power, Lu Yuan decided to help. Lu Yuan acted decisively, his sword drawing a flash of light toward Miss Zhou’s body.

This sight terrified Zhou Qiwang. He had intended for Lu Yuan to use his magical power by hand to snap the ropes. The rope binding Zhou Qingnuan was a magical cord requiring significant spiritual energy to break. Zhou Qiwang could have done it, but his injuries were too severe, leaving his power insufficient. He never expected Lu Yuan to simply slash with his sword.

The sword light, like silk, severed the magical cord, yet the clothes adjacent to the rope remained utterly intact.

What exquisite swordsmanship!

Lu Yuan also felt a strange sensation. It couldn't be helped; his sword was an extension of his body. Having struck several times near Miss Zhou’s skin to cut the ropes, he felt something unusual. This was typical of a nineteen-year-old youth lacking in composure.

Never mind. Better not dwell on such trivial matters.

The spoils were more important. He approached Zhou Qiwang, beginning to search for the loot. Searching for spoils was perfectly normal. Since Lu Yuan fought this battle entirely, Zhou Qiwang and the others dared not seek to share in the gains. The spoils naturally belonged solely to Lu Yuan.

After rummaging for a short while, the first item he retrieved was a Spirit Sealing Tablet.

He had anticipated this before the fight began; there had to be a Spirit Sealing Tablet, or where would the Blood Cloud Spirit Beast be kept? Every Spirit Sealing Tablet is connected to its owner, but if the owner dies, others can re-establish a new bond through blood refinement. Lu Yuan hesitated not at all and began the process: "With my blood, I refine the Spirit Sealing Tablet..."

"All laws return to one, the Spirit Seal returns to confinement, Spirit Sealing Tablet, enter..."

Tsk, tsk... Upon entering the tablet, he couldn't help but marvel.

Inside this Spirit Sealing Tablet were nothing but blood-colored cloud beasts, and quite a number of them: four Blood Cloud Wolves and five Blood Cloud Hounds.

The Blood Cloud Wolves looked ferocious, with sharp teeth and vicious jaws. The Blood Cloud Hounds also had eyes glowing crimson, radiating palpable killing intent.

This!

This Daoist from the Blood Sword Sect possessed such richness within his Spirit Sealing Tablet; it was no less than his own holdings. He himself acquired a large Cloud Beast, a Cloud Tiger, as a reward from the Five Peaks Grand Competition. Yet this Blood Sword Sect Daoist had such substantial rewards—it was truly... But then, thinking it over, it was normal. This Daoist was at the fourth level of the Body Tempering stage, not some minor figure.

For such an individual practicing Cloud-type cultivation techniques, possessing Cloud-type spirit beasts was perfectly ordinary. Furthermore, due to the Blood Sword Sect’s unique cultivation method, the Blood Spirit Sacrificial Art, they could use a cultivator’s blood to upgrade spirit beasts from minor to medium size. Although this advancement was incredibly arduous, it explained why a Body Tempering Fourth Level cultivator possessed such assets; it was not unexpected.

In the end, killing him proved profitable for Lu Yuan. Lu Yuan was well aware that he practiced the Cloud Dragon Heart Sutra, which, like the Blood Sword Sect’s Blood Cloud Heart Sutra, was a Cloud-type technique. However, the Blood Cloud Heart Sutra absorbed extremely evil, polluted Cloud elemental yuanqi. The blood-colored cloud beasts refined through their spirit beast sacrifice technique also provided tainted magic power, unsuitable for his Cloud Dragon Heart Sutra. If he directly absorbed the yuanqi supplied by the blood-colored beasts, he would surely suffer a Qi deviation and fall into madness.

However, if he could find Pure Heavenly Water, he could use it to purify the Blood Cloud Celestial Beasts, turning them into normal spirit beasts.

Once purified, he could increase his spirit beasts, allowing his magical power throughput to become significantly faster—perhaps even double its current rate. After all, the yuanqi inhaled by four Cloud Wolves would be no less than that inhaled by one Cloud Tiger. As for the Cloud Hounds, though minor spirit beasts, they were among the largest in that class; the energy throughput of one Cloud Hound equaled that of two Cloud Cats. Lu Yuan withdrew his consciousness from the Spirit Sealing Tablet and carefully tucked away the crimson tablet. This was also a treasure; once he found the Pure Heavenly Water, he stood to gain enormously. The Cloud spirit beasts acquired from killing the Blood Sword Sect Daoist equaled the sum of all his previous gains, illustrating the immense benefit of slaying a Body Tempering Fourth Level expert—though the generosity of the rewards was also due to the opponent being from the Blood Sword Sect.

He continued searching for the next item. While the Blood Swords of the Blood Sword Sect possessed decent power, they were practically worthless. Blood Swords were peculiar items: only usable by their owner, ineffective in the hands of others, and requiring constant blood sacrifice from the Blood Sword Sect member to maintain their potency. Even for members of the same sect, exchanging swords resulted in a loss of power. Therefore, this Blood Sword held little utility and could be sold off for a low price of twenty or thirty Spirit Stones.

Lu Yuan continued searching and found two books. One was titled Blood Sword Sword Technique, detailing the sect’s sword arts. This one he decided to keep for reference. The other was Spirit Beast Blood Sacrifice Art, the evil method of enhancing blood-type spirit beasts using the blood of humans or even cultivators. Lu Yuan held it in his hand and, almost without hesitation, burned it. Why keep such a wicked tome lying around?

The Blood Sword Sword Technique could be kept because it was fundamentally a sword technique; whether used righteously or wickedly depended on the practitioner.

But the Spirit Beast Blood Sacrifice Art relied entirely on the blood of others for its evil method. It could never be used righteously, so it had to be destroyed, leaving none behind.

It was a pity he didn't obtain the Blood Sword Sect's high-level Heart Sutra, the Great Blood Cloud Art. If he had, it would have been beneficial. It could complement his Cloud Dragon Heart Sutra; same-system techniques could be cross-referenced, perhaps leading to further enlightenment. But nothing is perfect. No Great Blood Cloud Art, so be it.

Oh, and there were Spirit Stones here too—over three hundred low-grade Spirit Stones, bringing a pleasant surprise to Lu Yuan. He had just been thinking that with his increased number of spirit beasts, his own cultivation needed Spirit Stones, and the Cloud Beasts required them too. If he hadn't found some more, his stones would soon be depleted. Despite currently having over two hundred stones, so many Cloud Beasts meant they wouldn't last long. Now, with another three hundred low-grade Spirit Stones acquired, this was excellent, truly excellent.

Rummaging through the final items, he found a last book. This one wasn't a cultivation manual but recorded various issues the Blood Sword Sect Daoist encountered during his practice—such as how to cultivate better at certain stages or how to execute specific sword moves. Flipping through it casually, Lu Yuan learned that the Blood Sword Sect had recently planned to ally with the Seven Killing Star Constellation Sea in the distant southern ocean. The Seven Killing Star Constellation Sea was one of the ten major medium-sized immortal sects, geographically close to the South Sea Immortal Sect, and was also a heretical path sect. This Blood Sword Sect Daoist had been sent by his sect on a mission to visit the Seven Killing Star Constellation Sea. After returning from this visit, he passed through Bai Kuang Province, engaged in slaughter and pillage to temper his Blood Cloud Spirit Beasts, and ended up meeting his fate at Lu Yuan’s hands.

This time, he had truly earned a major windfall.

Whether it was the Spirit Stones, the spirit beasts in the Spirit Sealing Tablet, or even the decent Blood Sword Sword Technique—it wasn't bad. Lu Yuan mused to himself. Of course, such rich spoils were yielded because the opponent was strong. A cultivator at the Body Tempering Fourth Level would be foolish not to carry valuables.

"They certainly won't be coming back..." Near the outskirts of the Zhou family residence, a group of people were talking.

"Indeed, seeking out someone at the Body Tempering stage is just courting death."

"That Daoist was from the Blood Sword Sect. But their demise is better for us now; if the other members of the Blood Sword Sect arrive, we’re all doomed." "The Blood Sword Ancestor is a notorious fiend in the Great Jin Dynasty." "That young man in green is also incredibly reckless; for a junior to actively go forward, he must have been killed by the Blood Sword Sect Daoist." Human hearts are fascinating. They hadn't joined the fight, and to demonstrate their foresight, and perhaps to feign loyalty to the Zhou family without risking their lives, they now hoped Zhou Qiwang's party had perished at the hands of the Blood Sword Sect Daoist. This outcome would validate their cautious wisdom. They stood near the Zhou residence, conversing amongst themselves, and the more they talked, the more correct they felt their decisions had been.

As they spoke animatedly, Zhou Qiwang, Zhou Tiegan, Zhou Tierè, the unknown youth in green, and the girl in yellow robes walked over from not far away.

They actually returned!

Chins dropped to the floor!

Those who had been debating so passionately, certain of their own superior judgment moments before, were now struck speechless.

How could this be?