The moment Lin Ye charged, the Blood Monkey let out a savage growl.
A thick burst of blood mist sprayed from its mouth.
Its legs kicked off the tree—
and it slammed toward Lin Ye like a living projectile.
But Lin Ye didn't meet it head-on.
His body blurred.
He shifted sideways—deliberately drawing it in.
The Blood Monkey's claws flashed out—
CRACK!
It crushed a tree trunk like rotten wood.
Then it lunged again.
And again.
It attacked relentlessly, feral and violent, tearing through everything in its path.
Lin Ye still didn't counter.
He only dodged.
Step after step.
He waited.
Finally, the Blood Monkey struck with a full-force claw—
and Lin Ye slipped aside at the last instant.
Behind him, a jagged boulder was revealed.
BOOM!
The Blood Monkey's claw smashed deep into the stone.
The force was so terrifying that its arm got stuck for a brief moment.
It yanked—
but couldn't pull free immediately.
That single second…
was all Lin Ye needed.
His sword flashed.
"Blood Slaughter: Nine Strikes!"
A Star-Breaker Grade sword art.
A technique beyond Heaven-rank.
Lin Ye couldn't unleash its full power yet—
but it was more than enough for this.
Nine crimson sword energies erupted like tidal waves.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
They slammed into the Blood Monkey one after another.
The beast's arms were severed, blasted away.
But it didn't explode like the Mad Crocodile had.
Instead, those sword energies carved horrifying wounds across its body—
deep enough to expose bone.
The Blood Monkey crashed backward.
Still alive…
but crippled.
It twitched, unable to move.
Lin Ye stepped forward without hesitation.
One clean slash.
He severed its neck.
Its head rolled across the blood-soaked ground.
A strand of blood essence rose like smoke—
and was drawn into Lin Ye's consciousness, swallowed by the Blood Sea.
Lin Ye calmly bent down and picked up the necklace.
A chain made of bone.
A red gemstone hanging from it.
The scent of blood coming from it was overwhelming.
"So strong…"
Lin Ye didn't recognize the gemstone's origin.
But he could feel his Blood Sea practically screaming for it.
Without hesitation, Lin Ye sent the gemstone into the Blood Sea through his spiritual sense.
The moment it sank into the crimson waters—
the Blood Sea roared violently.
Waves surged.
Then—
several streams of blood energy surged out on their own, flowing straight into Lin Ye's body.
Lin Ye's eyes widened.
"This Blood Sea…"
"It can boost my cultivation like this?!"
The blood energy poured into his dantian.
His Qi Sea trembled—
and then expanded explosively.
It grew four times larger.
Qi Sea Realm — Fourth Layer.
Lin Ye inhaled sharply.
He had discovered another way to cultivate the Nine Revolutions Asura Art.
Not only through steady absorption—
but through feeding the Blood Sea blood-asura treasures, accelerating the process.
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
"With this…"
"Revenge comes even faster."
In the distance, Liu Qingyu stared with her mouth slightly open.
At Lin Ye.
At the Blood Monkey's corpse beneath his feet.
That beast had been terrifying.
Fast.
Strong.
Almost indestructible—ordinary blades couldn't even cut its hide.
Yet Lin Ye stood uninjured.
And he had killed it effortlessly.
For a moment, Liu Qingyu felt like she was dreaming.
Was all of this an illusion?
When did Lin Ye become this strong?
But the heavy stench of blood in the air reminded her—
this was real.
Lin Ye really was this terrifying.
"S-Senior Brother Lin Ye… are you okay?" she asked as she crawled out from the bushes.
His earlier kick had saved her life… but it still hurt.
"I'm fine."
Lin Ye sheathed his cold-iron sword.
This sword was truly special.
It could withstand Star-Breaker techniques and had pierced the skull of a Fifth-Rank beast…
A weapon like that was a treasure on its own.
"Let's go."
That was it.
He killed the Blood Monkey—something no one had ever done before—
and all he said was: Let's go.
Liu Qingyu swallowed hard and hurried after him.
As they passed through the forest ahead, she suddenly froze.
Dozens of corpses.
More than twenty.
Limbs scattered everywhere.
Broken weapons soaked in blood.
The ground looked like a slaughterhouse.
These people…
had been killed by the Blood Monkey.
Liu Qingyu's face went pale.
Her legs trembled.
But Lin Ye walked through calmly, like he was strolling through a market.
So composed.
So indifferent.
It took time to reach the exit.
The paths twisted and forked endlessly.
Liu Qingyu even led them the wrong way several times, cheeks burning with embarrassment.
Along the route, Lin Ye gathered herbs.
Dragon Void Cave was rarely disturbed, and countless people died here each year.
That made the spiritual energy dense—
and many medicinal plants grew naturally.
Most were First- and Second-Grade.
Third-Grade herbs were rare.
As night fell, the two found another cave to rest.
They were already in the outer region now, where danger was far less intense.
Liu Qingyu had gotten used to guarding outside.
Without complaint, she took her position at the entrance again.
Inside the cave, Lin Ye cultivated.
The Nine Revolutions Asura Art circulated.
Power rose from the Blood Sea and flowed into him ceaselessly.
By morning, Lin Ye's understanding deepened even further.
At dawn, Lin Ye and Liu Qingyu reached an open clearing.
Ahead was a mountain wall—
and embedded in it, a massive stone gate.
When the time came, elders from outside would push it open from their side.
Each sect had its own exit gate, connected to different routes.
"We have to wait until noon," Liu Qingyu said quietly, staring at the gate.
"This time, Wind-Thunder Mystic Sect sent five hundred inner disciples and more than twenty core disciples inside."
She sighed.
"I wonder how many will walk out alive…"
She looked at Lin Ye.
If she hadn't met him…
her fate would've been grim.
Not only had he saved her life…
he'd also given her a massive opportunity.
"Senior Brother," she said carefully. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone about you."
"I know you're… the kind of person who prefers to stay low-key."
That was her way of being smart.
Lin Ye's reputation in the sect was awful.
But inside Dragon Void Cave, he stopped hiding.
That meant one thing—
he didn't want his true strength known outside.
And she was the only one who had seen it all.
Lin Ye simply nodded.
"Mm."
Then he found an empty spot and started cultivating again.
As time passed, more disciples arrived.
When they saw Lin Ye and Liu Qingyu, they greeted them—
but everyone remained cautious.
Wind-Thunder Mystic Sect wasn't just a sect.
It was a battlefield in its own right.
Schemes and rivalries never ended.
If someone returned with a great treasure, they would keep it hidden.
Because surviving inside Dragon Void Cave…
didn't guarantee surviving outside.
Even close friends wouldn't share everything.
Not anymore.
Lin Ye's core disciple robe stood out sharply among the crowd.
This entire trial had fewer than twenty core disciples.
Wind-Thunder Mystic Sect had nearly a thousand inner disciples…
but fewer than a hundred core disciples total.
Bringing nearly twenty core disciples into one trial was a massive force.
"You heard the news?"
"Earthfire Sect's top two core disciples—Chen Jun and Wang Tie—are dead."
"No way. Seriously?"
"That's karma! Those two killed so many of our people."
"Someone saw their corpses at Mad Crocodile Pool. Earthfire Sect must be losing their minds."
"How could they not…?"
As more people gathered, whispers spread.
When the dust settled—
only eight core disciples returned.
Including Lin Ye.
More than half had died.
Inner disciples fared even worse.
Forty percent didn't return.
Only around three hundred came back alive—many heavily wounded.
Surviving was already an achievement.
Lin Ye calmly scanned the other seven core disciples.
Their cultivation levels were instantly clear to him.
Weak.
All of them.
Then his gaze shifted to the three hundred inner disciples.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
The person who shot those arrows—
the one who killed Xu Ming to silence him—
was absolutely hiding among them.
Lin Ye's lips curved faintly.
"Interesting."
BOOM!
A deep rumble echoed from behind.
The stone gate shook violently.
Then it began to slide open.
"The gate is opening!"
As the outside air rushed in, countless disciples' faces lit up with excitement.
Seven days of life-and-death trial…
Something they would never forget.
But within the moving crowd—
a pair of eyes locked onto Lin Ye.
And didn't look away.