"Is the information accurate?"
Ye Tian's pulse hammered against his throat as he processed the staggering implications.
"Absolutely!" Zhang Bao's conviction rang with desperate honesty. "We observed from safe distance earlier—First Academy students coordinating against a ten-meter spotted snake. Their first attempt failed catastrophically. More reinforcements must be converging on that location now!"
"Which direction?"
"Southeast!" Zhang Bao's trembling finger indicated the path toward destiny.
Whoosh!
Ye Tian exploded into motion, his enhanced speed devouring distance as trees blurred past in emerald streaks. Within heartbeats, he'd vanished completely from the clearing.
Zhang Bao stared at the empty space where his savior had stood, profound melancholy settling over his features.
"I assumed Ye Tian possessed similar strength to mine. How wrong I was." His voice carried bitter admiration mixed with crushing self-awareness. "With abilities like that, his future as a Martial Artist is guaranteed. Elite Martial Artist status might even be achievable."
Envy clawed at his chest like a living thing, but what purpose did jealousy serve? This era worshipped talent above all else. His inferior cultivation grade sentenced him to early Martial Artist realm at absolute peak—assuming he survived long enough to reach even that modest ceiling.
"Let's go. We're heading back."
Zhang Bao's shoulders sagged with defeat.
"Retreat? Give up beast hunting entirely?" Another student's voice cracked with disbelief.
"What's the point?" Zhang Bao's laugh tasted like ash. "Even combined, our strength can't secure beast blood rewards. I should have realized the truth from the beginning—this trial exists for elite students only. The five academies want to accelerate Martial Artist development among their best prospects. Our lives? Expendable cannon fodder. The leadership won't shed tears over dead Martial Apprentices."
Silence confirmed his bitter assessment.
Cruel reality defined this world. To warriors, ordinary people and weak martial artists represented statistical abstractions rather than human lives.
The "trial" masqueraded as equal opportunity, but served exclusively as proving ground for top-tier students.
Seven survivors trudged toward the wilderness perimeter, their dreams buried alongside their fallen teammates.
Ye Tian halted after covering significant ground, tactical considerations overriding pure speed.
His pack bulged with accumulated materials—wolf fangs, snake parts, various trophies that would interfere catastrophically during serious combat. Carrying this burden into life-or-death battle was suicidal stupidity.
Two options presented themselves: return to the valley entrance for point exchange, which consumed precious time, or temporarily hide the materials for later retrieval.
"Cache them here."
His hands tore into forest soil, excavating a crude but adequate burial pit. The materials disappeared beneath earth and camouflaging vegetation within minutes. Ono District's vast expanse made accidental discovery virtually impossible, and regular beasts showed zero interest in processed parts.
Equipment secured, he resumed southeast pursuit.
BOOM!
Distant battle sounds thundered through the forest—impacts so violent they made the ground tremble beneath his feet.
"The pseudo-fierce beast must be under siege again."
Strategic analysis kicked into overdrive. Pseudo-fierce beasts possessed formidable power, but peak Martial Apprentices in coordinated groups could theoretically achieve victory through attrition and superior numbers.
"Survive until I arrive," he whispered to the wind.
Thirty seconds of enhanced-speed travel brought the combat zone into view, but reality shattered his expectations completely.
"What the hell..."
His pupils contracted as impossible truth crystallized.
More than a dozen warriors surrounded an injured spotted snake that dwarfed Zhang Bao's description—not ten meters but a full twelve meters of scaled death.
"Fierce beast level. This spotted snake has achieved genuine fierce beast status, though it's among the weakest of that classification."
Recognition struck like lightning. Fierce beast strength wasn't determined by physical size alone. This particular specimen belonged to a naturally large species but relied on limited attack patterns and possessed inferior raw power compared to typical fierce beasts.
But how had pseudo-fierce beast status evolved into genuine fierce beast classification?
The question haunted every participant, though immediate survival concerns prevented extended contemplation.
"Pseudo-fierce beast: five hundred points. Genuine fierce beast: minimum one thousand points!"
Mathematical ecstasy flooded his nervous system. Beyond point values, this creature's blood contained concentrations that could accelerate multiple students' cultivation dramatically.
This spotted snake represented a walking treasure vault.
Fortunately, recent advancement meant its power levels barely exceeded peak Martial Apprentice capabilities. Against a mature fierce beast, these students would face wholesale slaughter.
Even so, Martial Apprentices steadily sustained injuries and withdrew from combat one by one.
Ye Tian remained concealed, studying tactical patterns and measuring enemy capabilities.
Ten minutes elapsed. Only five combatants remained active—the intermediate cultivation geniuses from First Academy's elite corps. Blood streaked their torn clothing, exhaustion evident in their increasingly sloppy technique.
The fierce beast spotted snake looked worse. Arrow shafts protruded from scales like steel quills, sword wounds gaping along its flanks, and a particularly devastating blade mark split the flesh between its eyes.
Suddenly, silver radiance erupted from the creature's body.
Bloodline stimulation.
The massive tail swept in a devastating arc, launching all five remaining warriors through the air like broken dolls.
The beast fled into dense undergrowth with supernatural speed—velocity matching genuine fierce beast standards that no Martial Apprentice could hope to match.
Pursuit attempts proved futile within seconds.
"Damn! It escaped again! Everyone follow—that thing's critically wounded and can't travel far!"
Mo Shaobei's furious voice echoed through the clearing, but his legs couldn't deliver on the promise.
What none of them noticed was the shadow flowing through treetops overhead, matching the beast's retreat with inhuman grace.
"God's blessing! My speed talent is sufficient to maintain pursuit!"
Pure exhilaration burned through his veins as he tracked the wounded giant through increasingly dense wilderness.
The spotted snake's trail led to a cave entrance carved into granite cliff face. Without hesitation, it dragged its broken body into the subterranean depths.
Ye Tian paused at the threshold, calculating risks.
His speed advantage provided confidence—even ambush situations allowed rapid escape. The potential rewards justified moderate danger.
The cave plunged downward at steep angles, descending far beneath forest floor level. How long he traveled remained unclear, but eventually the passage opened into a natural cavern.
The fierce beast spotted snake lay curled in the chamber's center, breathing labored and irregular. Death was approaching rapidly, but the creature still attempted to crawl deeper into the cave system.
No more delays.
Ye Tian activated his speed talent and drew the fine iron blade, launching himself at the dying giant with killing intent.
Even weakened, the beast was still a fierce beast. But with its massive blood loss and multiple critical injuries, its reactions had slowed to barely superhuman levels.
Steel flashed repeatedly in darkness. His intermediate knife talent guided each strike to vital points—major arteries, nerve clusters, organs. The spotted snake's death throes lasted mere minutes before stillness claimed its enormous form.
"Beast blood collection—priority one!"
His hands moved with surgical precision, opening the creature's chest cavity to access its heart. This beast's recent advancement meant most of its circulatory system still contained inferior beast blood, but the heart held pure fierce beast blood in concentrated form.
The water container at his waist filled steadily with dark crimson liquid that seemed to pulse with internal energy.
"Equivalent to five inferior-grade fierce beast blood vials!"
Victory tasted like liquid lightning in his throat.
This single acquisition would accelerate his cultivation beyond anything ordinary students could achieve through conventional means. First place in the trial was now mathematically guaranteed—no combination of regular kills could compete with this massive point value.
The hunt was over. He had won.
[End of Chapter 10]