"In total, I gathered 417 gold coins, 234 silver, and 96 bronze coins. In addition, I also obtained 17 blood cores, 12 from low-tier blood beasts, while the rest are mid-tier. Most of these blood cores were taken from participants I eliminated. If I add Liu Huan's sword, Wei Leng's map, and the various bottles of pills, then this is quite the wealth." Ye Mo was satisfied with his hunt.
He also destroyed all the tokens he had. He got too much from killing the other candidates and they were of no use to him, he only needed one to pass the first phase. By getting rid of them, he prevented others from qualifying by chance looting the tokens of his victims' corpses, this way reducing the number of potential rivals.
He didn't have enough space to hold them all anyway, so he only kept a small part of them and when he passed the test, Ye Mo got rid of the rest.
Destroying as many tokens as you could was frequent in this kind of trial for the participants. Some only hunted and killed for this sole reason.
"Now I just need to join the Tiger Martial Institute. But these four young masters are too strong, from what I heard, this Shen Xue is at the peak of the 7th layer, not far from breaking through the 8th layer of the Qi Gathering Realm. If I meet any of them, I'm done for..."
Ye Mo killed Liu Huan, Ren Xue Tu, and many other important teenagers. Even if he tried to hide it, he knew there were all kinds of people with all kinds of abilities all around that could uncover something from the slightest of traces, if their families investigated, they would find the truth soon enough.
At this point, they wouldn't stop at anything to kill him. His only solace would be the Tiger Martial Institute. If he were able to enter the top twenty and join them, then even the four great clans would find it troublesome to deal with him, but if he fail, he would only be able to bet his life on leaving the city in one piece and hide far away.
Ye Mo knew he was at a crossroad, if he succeeded he would experience an explosive growth but if he failed he could only hope to stay alive.
One step would determine if a bright future awaited him or if he would fall into the abyss forever.
...
In a corner of Azure Water city, inside a vast hall.
A man with long, unkempt hair and a sickly pale face was sitting on a big chair, his arms lay on the handles as his head rested on his hand.
The hall was spacious but empty, beside the chair no other furnitures remained and it was devoid of decorations like they had been removed recently.
The doors opened abruptly as Liu Zhang Yan entered and saluted, "Respectful greetings to the patriarch."
"At ease. How did it go?"
"Reporting to the patriarch, they said something happened to him, but didn't let me see the report, I think only if the patriarch was going in person would he be able to take a look. I apologize for my incompetence!" Liu Zhang Yan lowered his head and expressed his regret.
Bam!
The Liu clan patriarch slammed his hand on the handle of the chair, breaking it in pieces.
"Damn bastards! How could I go myself in my state, does my Liu clan declined so much that they can't even let us see a report right now?! This is my son we're talking about!" Liu Hao was driven insane. His daughter Liu Hualing disappeared already, most probably dead, and now it was his son's turn.
During his rage, multiple figures appeared in the hall, bowing to Liu Hao.
"We're back from the Jade Forest. We found the young master's remains."
"His... remains?" Liu Hao blanked out, his body immobile.
The man hesitated before continuing, "Yes, most of his corpse was devoured by beasts but after analysis, there's no doubt, it's indeed young master Liu Huan."
"How could it be, joining the Tiger Martial Institute was supposed to be effortless with his abilities. Even if he met one of the four clans' young masters, he would still be able to escape alive. Who did this! I want the culprit's name!" Liu Hao roared madly, his eyes bloodshot.
His fists were clenched so hard his nails dug deeply into his skin, releasing blood from his palms to the floor.
Everyone hurriedly knelt down as Liu Zhang Yan spoke, "I don't know who the killer is, but..."
"What is it, talk!"
"During the investigation of the young miss's disappearance, we found out a kid was in the vicinity at the same time. We wanted to capture him for interrogation, but the same day we learned he was participating in the Tiger Martial Institute's recruitment competition. Since the young master was registering as well he took this matter into his own hands."
"I don't think he is the killer since he's just a beggar, but he might have something to do with this. I recall his name is Ye Mo." Liu Zhang Yan solemnly recounted everything as he carefully watched Liu Hao's expression.
To be honest, Liu Zhang Yan didn't believe Ye Mo had much to do with this affair, he was only a young orphan without any abilities, starving on the streets of the city. However, the patriarch was enraged right now, he absolutely had to give him an answer and a target to focus all his fury on or everyone here would suffer.
"YE MO! If you're the murderer of my son, between heaven and earth you won't have a place to hide!" Liu Hao madly released his qi as his subordinates were sent crashing against the hall's walls. The bodyguards outside the door trembled and turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to the disturbance within the hall.
Suddenly, fresh blood spurted out from Liu Hao's mouth as he fainted. The poison he was doing his best to fight all this time gained the advantage during his fit of strength and erupted vehemently, causing internal damage to his body.
Under his unstable state of mind, Liu Hao wasn't able to contain the poison anymore and lost consciousness.
"Patriarch!" The Liu clan members yelled frantically as they rushed to catch their patriarch, but an aged hand caught him by the chest before the latter could fall on the floor.
"Ancestor, you left your retreat?" The subordinates present were astonished at the sight of this old man.
Only a couple of long, white strands of hair remained on his bald head, and he was so skinny his robe looked too big for him. His hollow cheeks and protruding eyes gave him a scary look.
His name was Liu Dan, Liu Hao's father and the previous patriarch of the Liu clan.
"How could I stay away in this kind of situation. Bring him back to his chamber and call the medicinal hall elder to help him contain the poison. I will be in charge in the meantime." His voice was unpleasant to hear, but his tone was firm as he swiftly gave his orders.
At once, two men stepped out and picked up Liu Hao, then left the place.
"As for you lot, go back and bring this kid to me. I want to know what he has to say for himself." Liu Dan told the remaining members.
"But... This Ye Mo passed the first test. He's currently residing in the Tiger Martial Institute and will be participating in the tournament tomorrow." One man uttered in a low voice, inwardly afraid.
"Hmph, in this land there's no coincidences, the kid was in the vicinity during both my grandchild deaths, and now you tell me he got through the trial of survival. He definitely has something to do with this, no, actually, he's probably directly implicated in their demise, but I don't believe he can pass this tournament. You will wait for him at the entrances of the Tiger Martial Institute, once he leaves, capture him, and if he resists, sever his limbs, but bring him back." The more Liu Dan thought about it, the more he was persuaded to be right in his conjecture.
His body was old, but his countless experiences of the world developed a shrewd mind. Because of age and an old injury, his original cultivation of the peak Foundation Establishment Realm reverted back to the second layer without any chance of improving further. Since then, he gave the seat of patriarch to Liu Hao and retreated behind closed doors.
"As you wish!" Every member immediately departed.
Liu Dan walked to a window, his hands folded behind his back as he looked at the scenery.
"During my retreat, I seldom left my dwelling. One of these occasions was the birth of my grandchildren. No matter who the culprit is, I will pursue you till the end of hell, even if I have to incur the wrath of the Tiger Martial Institute on the way."
Liu Dan muttered under his breath, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes.