After the assessments concluded, before the crowd could even recover from speculating about who the "ruthless one" was, news that Ye Wushuang had disrespected an elder and was sentenced to the Fierce Demon Cave quickly spread among the disciples.
When they learned that Ye Wushuang had slapped Steward Chen just to get into the Fierce Demon Cave—a place everyone else avoided like the plague—they were all stunned and utterly speechless.
'Has Ye Wushuang gone mad?'
This was the unanimous thought on everyone's mind.
After all, even masters at the Body Tempering Tenth Layer didn't dare enter the terrifying Fierce Demon Cave. Yet here was Ye Wushuang, trying everything he could to get in. If that wasn't foolish, what was?
Still, they couldn't help but admire Ye Wushuang's audacity. To dare slap Steward Chen right to his face—now that was vicious.
"I heard he slapped half of Steward Chen's face until it swelled up. That Ye Wushuang is a real piece of work. Why didn't I ever notice that before?" a Disciple at the Body Tempering Six Layer who knew Ye Wushuang muttered, completely astonished.
"You're telling me!" Another disciple nearby, who seemed to know something, lowered his voice. "I saw it with my own eyes. There was a massive, five-fingered blood-red handprint on half of Steward Chen's face. I heard he's been applying Fourth-Grade Spiritual Medicine for a long time, and it still hasn't faded."
"Damn! Is Ye Wushuang really that ferocious? He could give that mysterious 'ruthless one' a run for his money!"
The Body Tempering Six Layer disciple was utterly astounded.
"Hehe, with Steward Chen's vindictive nature, Ye Wushuang is probably done for."
As the two of them muttered to each other, gloating over his misfortune, they failed to notice Chen Kun walking up beside them, his expression as dark as a thundercloud.
Chen Kun was about to step forward and teach the two a lesson, but the stinging pain from his cheek made him clutch his face and sneak away instead.
'A Steward at the Qi Vortex Realm getting slapped by a disciple... If word got out, I'd be a laughingstock!'
Meanwhile, in a small wooden house at the foot of the mountain, Ye Wushuang took out the Scroll he had received from the assessment.
This Scroll recorded a Fourth-Grade Combat Skill with immense offensive power, which was exactly what Ye Wushuang desperately needed at this moment.
This Fourth-Grade Combat Skill was called the Eight Kills of Battle. It was created by simulating the fighting style of a Violent Ape. It consisted of eight "kills," each one stronger than the last. When all eight were stacked, they could multiply one's Combat Power by eightfold, granting the user the power of a Violent Ape.
Moreover, to Ye Wushuang's delight, this Combat Skill possessed both the agility and the tyrannical power of the Violent Ape.
'A good Combat Skill. It's perfect for me!'
After carefully reading through the Cultivation Method for the Eight Kills of Battle, Ye Wushuang was secretly delighted and could no longer hold back his excitement.
Recalling the training method for the Eight Kills of Battle in his mind, Ye Wushuang's figure began to flicker about the small courtyard as he practiced. Upon closer inspection, one would find his movements were about seventy percent similar to a Violent Ape's attacks.
Of course, it was only seventy percent similar. The creator of the Eight Kills of Battle hadn't been limited by the Violent Ape's movements, but had instead made slight modifications.
The "Battle" part referred to the Violent Ape's attack style, while the "Kill" part encompassed the principles of striking a human body's major vital points. A single "Kill" could be a direct, fatal blow.
Therefore, the Eight Kills of Battle was truly an art of slaughter!
HAH!
Practicing again and again, Ye Wushuang's qi and blood surged. His arms gradually swelled, bulging with green veins, appearing incredibly powerful. Within his wide, sweeping movements were hidden many profound attacking principles.
ROAR!
As he threw a punch, the faint roar of a Violent Ape could be heard. The first kill was mastered!
Again!
Again!
First Kill!
Second Kill!
Third Kill!
Ye Wushuang became completely immersed in the Eight Kills of Battle, practicing with great satisfaction. For one hour, then two, he threw punch after punch, only stopping after unleashing four in a row.
With each successive punch, his arm and fist swelled larger, and his fist was wreathed in four streams of blood-red qi, imbuing it with extreme destructive power.
This was the murderous qi-blood energy condensed from practicing the Eight Kills of Battle!
Furthermore, even Ye Wushuang himself failed to notice the faint image of a colossal Violent Ape appearing behind him, looking incredibly cold and domineering.
He had mastered the Fourth Kill of Battle!
But Ye Wushuang wasn't satisfied with this progress. He continued to practice late into the night. Long after everyone else had gone to sleep, a series of shouts could still be heard rising and falling from the small courtyard at the foot of the mountain.
'Persevere!'
'Persevere!'
Ye Wushuang constantly reminded and encouraged himself. For the past three years, he had made no progress while others had been constantly breaking through, surpassing him by far.
To close that gap, he had to put in a hundred, even a thousand times more effort in his cultivation to catch up to them.
BUZZ!
ROAR!
Amidst the crackling sound of sonic booms, the roar of a Violent Ape would occasionally echo through the night sky.
This commotion continued until dawn the next day.
The Fifth Kill of Battle!
This was the result of a single night of cultivation; he had finally succeeded in mastering the Fifth Kill.
The later stages of the Eight Kills of Battle were increasingly strenuous to practice. Ye Wushuang felt that just training like this would yield no further results. From now on, he could only break through by tempering himself in constant combat.
As dawn broke, the disciples of the Outer Sect began another busy day.
Just as Ye Wushuang was arduously practicing the Eight Kills of Battle, two people arrived outside his courtyard.
One was a middle-aged man in a blue robe with a sharp aura. The other was a young girl in a purple dress, pretty and cute, but with a timid look on her face, as if she were about to confront some fearsome Primordial Chaos beast.
Both of them watched Ye Wushuang practicing his punches in the courtyard. The middle-aged man's eyes lit up, but he didn't enter to disturb him, simply watching quietly for a while.
Suddenly, before the girl beside him could even react, the middle-aged man's eyes narrowed. He nimbly leaped over the fence into the courtyard, raised his palm, and unleashed a terrifying might as he struck out at Ye Wushuang.
Immersed in the Eight Kills of Battle, Ye Wushuang suddenly sensed a threat from behind. He immediately spun around and met the attack with a punch.
BAM!
The fierce and powerful fist collided with the palm. In the instant of impact, a soft explosive sound rang out, and the resulting shockwave threw the surrounding air into chaos.
Ye Wushuang suddenly felt an immense, surging energy pour out from the middle-aged man's palm, crashing into his body like a tidal wave.
'What terrifying power!'
Ye Wushuang was startled. The immensity of this power was beyond his imagination!
However, he didn't pause for a second. The Eight Kills of Battle wasn't just powerful; it was also extremely agile. Using the momentum from that immense force, Ye Wushuang dodged back several steps before leaping forward again like a Violent Ape.
Eight Kills of Battle!
Before the middle-aged man could press his attack, Ye Wushuang let out a cold shout. With the phantom of a Violent Ape clinging to his back, he took the initiative and charged forward.
First Kill, Second Kill, Third Kill...!
In just a few bounds, leaving flickering afterimages in his wake, he consecutively unleashed all five kills. A flurry of fist-shadows flashed through the air, bombarding the middle-aged man.
BOOM!
The middle-aged man's aura surged once more. His palm, now wreathed in blue True Qi, collided with Ye Wushuang's fist.
RUMBLE!
The second clash of fist and palm resulted in a stalemate.
In that moment, a look of profound shock appeared on the middle-aged man's face. The power he was using was True Qi, something that even those in the Body Tempering Realm struggled to master!
This True Qi was countless times more powerful than the Physical Strength of the Body Tempering Realm. Generally, only those at the Transforming Truth Realm of the Body Tempering Tenth Layer were qualified to even come into contact with it. Once mastered, one's strength entered an entirely new level.
He, a master of the Qi Vortex Realm, was using True Qi, yet he had been blocked by a mere Body Tempering Six Layer brat. How could he not be astonished?
But Ye Wushuang was unaware of all this.
His only thought right now was to repel this person who posed a threat to him.
"Get back!"
Ye Wushuang roared again, his hair flying wildly. His arm and fist swelled to the thickness of an ape's limb as he unleashed a ferocious forward smash.
With a loud BOOM!
The middle-aged man was sent stumbling back more than ten steps, leaving two deep footprints in the ground.
'How is this possible?'
The man's surprise was now mixed with utter shock. Ye Wushuang had actually forced him, a Qi Vortex Realm master, to retreat.
Ye Wushuang retracted his savage aura and stared intently at his own fist, a look of joy bursting forth in his eyes. He was completely taken aback that the Fifth Kill of the Eight Kills of Battle alone possessed such explosive power.
"Good kid!"
The middle-aged man came to his senses and suppressed his inner shock. He let out a laugh and walked toward Ye Wushuang. "That was a Combat Skill you were using just now, wasn't it?"
"Mm."
Ye Wushuang looked up, sizing up the middle-aged man as he nodded.
Then he turned to the young girl who was now walking in from outside the courtyard and was slightly taken aback. 'Isn't this the same timid girl from the main hall, the one who got scared and hid just from me looking at her?'
'It seems this girl is still afraid of me, even now?'
'But why?'
Ye Wushuang was completely baffled.
"I knew it!" the middle-aged man said with a smile. "You must have been practicing this Combat Skill for quite some time!"
"What makes you say that?"
Ye Wushuang asked, his gaze shifting back from the girl.
The middle-aged man smiled and explained, "That kind of explosive power isn't something you can develop in a day or two. You must have put in some serious effort. Truly commendable."
'Not a day or two?'
Ye Wushuang paused. 'Didn't I spend just one day and one night on it?'
"Am I wrong?"
The middle-aged man chuckled and joked, "Don't tell me you mastered it in a single day."
"If I said I did, would you believe me?" Ye Wushuang replied with a faint smile, offering no further explanation.
"You're a funny kid!" The middle-aged man burst out laughing, clearly not believing him. 'Mastering a Combat Skill in a single day to a level that puts even me to shame? Could such a Demon Fiend really exist?'
"He... he probably did only practice for one day!"
Just as the middle-aged man's laughter faded, a timid voice spoke up.
The owner of the voice was none other than Yangg Qing'er.
Yangg Qing'er couldn't bring herself to smile. She was all too familiar with the Combat Skill Ye Wushuang was practicing—it was the very same Fourth-Grade Combat Skill, the Eight Kills of Battle, that Senior Sister Dii Qingxue had offered as a reward for the assessment.
She had previously heard Dii Qingxue mention that this Combat Skill was extremely difficult for ordinary disciples to cultivate.
Yet she had never imagined that Ye Wushuang would successfully master it—and in a single day.