The fierce beast spotted snake's most valuable asset was its heart blood—now secured in his container. Snake hide commanded thousands of yuan on the market, but solo extraction would require hours of meticulous skinning work that he simply didn't possess.
Mo Shaobei's pursuit team would discover this location soon enough. Time constraints demanded immediate departure.
"Wait..."
Movement caught his peripheral vision. The dying beast had been crawling desperately toward the cave's deeper recesses, as if drawn by some instinctive need.
"What was it seeking? Healing resources? Hidden treasures?"
Curiosity overrode caution as he followed the creature's intended path.
"What in the world...?"
His pulse accelerated as impossible sights crystallized in the darkness.
A massive stalactite hung from the cavern ceiling like a frozen waterfall, pale liquid seeping from its tip into a natural stone basin below. The accumulated fluid glowed with soft white radiance—clearly supernatural in origin.
"Thousand-year stone milk? Century-aged stalactite essence?"
Fragments from his previous life's fantasy novels flooded back. Such treasures appeared regularly in cultivation stories, legendary materials that accelerated training beyond normal limits.
Whether his speculation was accurate or not, this substance was obviously precious.
"No time for hesitation."
His final water container emptied in seconds, precious liquid sacrificed for even more precious opportunity. The glowing essence transferred carefully into the metal vessel—roughly half a flask worth after the spotted snake's obvious consumption.
Examining the stalactite's drip rate, mathematical projections formed automatically.
"One drop per day maximum. I can't wait decades for accumulation, and I won't let other students benefit from my discovery."
Ruthless pragmatism demanded decisive action.
Steel rang against stone as his blade severed the entire stalactite formation. The ancient mineral structure crashed to the cavern floor, shattering into useless fragments. Careful debris arrangement disguised the site's original configuration.
"Natural treasures require specific geological conditions. More valuable resources might exist deeper in the rock layers, but these walls are beyond my current strength to penetrate."
Future exploration would have to suffice. Current priorities demanded immediate extraction.
After eliminating evidence of his presence and harvesting the beast's eyes—proof worth exactly one thousand points—he departed the death chamber.
Less than ten minutes after his exit, distant voices echoed through stone passages.
Mo Shaobei's expedition had arrived, following blood trails with grim determination.
"The fierce beast is dead!"
Shock and fury exploded through multiple voices simultaneously.
"Someone claimed the eyes! That's one thousand points stolen from us!" Mo Shaobei's rage reverberated off cavern walls.
"The heart blood is gone too! Only ordinary beast blood remains!"
Bitter realization struck the assembled students like physical blows. Hours of combat, multiple injuries, several deaths—all for nothing. Some anonymous competitor had claimed the ultimate prizes.
"This corpse is worthless to us."
Mo Shaobei's group departed in disgust, leaving the massive carcass for scavenging students who valued any resource over empty-handed failure.
Ono District contained numerous cave systems, and Ye Tian quickly located a suitable hideout. A brief skirmish eliminated the resident beast pack, establishing his temporary fortress.
One thousand points guaranteed first place victory regardless of other competitors' achievements. The remaining day and a half could be spent productively rather than hunting additional prey.
Time for intensive cultivation.
"How much strength enhancement will this beast blood provide?"
Anticipation burned in his chest as he uncorked the precious liquid.
The first sip tasted like liquid fire mixed with metallic earth—concentrated power that seared his throat and ignited every nerve ending.
BOOM!
Energy exploded through his circulatory system as he initiated the Body Forging Method. Beast blood converted to pure enhancement fuel, synchronizing with the eighteen classical movements to accelerate physical transformation beyond natural limits.
Completion of the full sequence left him gasping with exhilaration rather than exhaustion.
"Nearly quadruple cultivation speed!"
Pure mathematics calculated the staggering implications. If inferior-grade beast blood provided such dramatic acceleration, what would intermediate or advanced grades accomplish?
"No wonder talentless individuals achieve Martial Artist status in their twenties or thirties, even reaching Elite Martial Artist levels. They're supplementing genetic limitations with concentrated resources!"
The revelation recontextualized everything he'd observed about this world's power structure. Wealth could partially compensate for inferior talent through systematic beast blood consumption.
Second sip. Second cultivation cycle.
His intermediate cultivation talent maximized absorption efficiency far beyond ordinary students. Elementary-grade talents might achieve doubled training speed at best—his genetic superiority multiplied every advantage.
Hours dissolved like morning mist as repetitive cycles built strength layer by layer.
Then he noticed something extraordinary.
"Ten complete sessions finished, but I'm not exhausted..."
Experimental testing confirmed the impossible—his body remained capable of additional training without damage or strain.
"The energy limitation!"
Understanding struck like revelation itself. Normal humans could only perform Body Forging Method ten times daily because excessive practice depleted vital energy reserves, potentially causing permanent damage through overexertion.
But beast blood replaced that energy entirely.
"Twenty sessions... maybe thirty! The blood provides external fuel rather than consuming internal reserves!"
This secret was probably common knowledge among established warriors, but they guarded such information jealously. Beast blood was expensive, limited, and primarily reserved for personal advancement. Revealing multiplication techniques would create desperate competition among countless Martial Apprentices.
Even wealthy families couldn't supply unlimited beast blood to junior members—the economics simply didn't balance.
"This quantity should sustain intensive training for two full days. By trial's end, four hundred pounds of strength might be achievable!"
His fists clenched with predatory satisfaction.
Continue cultivation!
While Ye Tian transformed himself in hidden sanctuary, chaos consumed the wider trial zone.
Desperate students robbed each other for crucial ranking points, though lethal violence remained forbidden under threat of severe punishment. Hidden observers undoubtedly monitored activities through unknown methods.
Still, weaker participants suffered systematic predation as stronger competitors seized hard-earned materials.
The trial's three-day limit approached inexorably.
Survivors began emerging from wilderness depths, ready to exchange blood and pain for whatever rewards their efforts had secured.
[End of Chapter 11]