“Step!”
Li Qingyang and Xiao Zuiji arrived at the Life and Death Secret Realm along with the others.
Because they had selected Hell Mode, the environment was extremely dark and oppressive. Even the wind that blew seemed like the wailing of ghosts and howling of wolves.
“Time to eat!”
“Swish! Swish!”
Everyone sat down and took out Liu Wanshi’s fried rice, devouring it in large mouthfuls.
If challenging Hell Mode could be compared to raiding a dungeon, then what they were doing now was the equivalent of buffing up before the fight.
Of course, what food each class ate was carefully considered.
For example, the main tank of the raid team, Xiao Zuiji, was eating chicken stewed with mushrooms—Liu Wanshi’s latest creation. Its effect was to increase defensive power.
Ye Xingchen was eating spicy fish head.
His only task was to unleash crazy damage output when the raid began.
“Come here.”
After finishing their meal, Ye Xingchen looked toward Song Dehen and said, “Let’s merge.”
The food only slightly boosted their stats. What truly gave them the confidence to challenge a high-grade Life and Death Secret Realm in Hell Mode was the assistance of the Soul Control Clan.
“Oh.”
Song Dehen responded, then transformed into golden light and merged with him.
At the same time, the other Soul Control Clan members who had entered also merged with Li Qingyang and the others, significantly improving all aspects of their abilities.
“Swish!”
Xiao Zuiji activated his character special effects. His entire body became encased in armor as he held the Flowing Light Shield horizontally in front of him. “I’m going in!”
“Go!”
“Step, step, step!”
Xiao Zuiji charged forward. The moment he left the safe zone, enormous demonic beasts with hideous faces condensed in the dark void ahead. Just from their aura alone, they were at least at the upper-tier Truth Seeking Realm!
As everyone knows, dungeons are composed of bosses and trash mobs.
The demonic beasts that had just appeared were merely trash mobs at best.
“Swish!”
Xiao Zuiji rushed forward with quick steps. His right arm suddenly swung out, and the Flowing Light Shield shot forth, first striking one demonic beast, then bouncing toward another. He quickly pulled the aggro of dozens of beasts.
“Roar!”
“Roar!”
The beasts roared angrily and came crashing toward him.
“Bang!”
Xiao Zuiji caught the rebounding Flowing Light Shield and held it horizontally in front of him. Light instantly enveloped his entire body, transforming into an even more massive shield.
“Boom, boom, boom!”
“Boom, boom, boom!”
Dozens of demonic beasts crashed into him with their bodies in a frenzy. Although their strength was extremely powerful, they couldn’t budge him even slightly.
During this time, Li Qingyang, Ye Xingchen, and the others didn’t make a move, because they were waiting for Xiao Zuiji to stabilize the aggro to avoid pulling threat if they burst too early.
“Just about there!”
After just a few seconds, Li Qingyang said, “Attack!”
Swish!
Swish!
Ye Xingchen, whose hair had turned completely golden, rushed forward first. He had already formed the hand seals for the Heaven Crossing Palm Strike.
As the raid team’s main damage dealer, what he needed to do now was eliminate all the trash mobs while Xiao Zuiji tanked the monsters.
This required excellent coordination between the tank and damage dealer.
However, the two of them—one offense, one defense—had long since developed absolute synergy, so naturally there wouldn’t be any problems.
“Heaven Crossing Palm Strike!”
Just then, before Ye Xingchen even arrived, two palm strikes had already landed first. Though not numerous, with the buffs and Golden Soul enhancement, their power far exceeded anything before!
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
In an instant, the two palm strikes heavily pressed down on the demonic beasts gathered together.
If they had HP bars, they would have immediately lost more than half their health. If damage numbers were displayed, the entire screen would be filled with floating Arabic numerals.
“Amazing!” Su Xiaomo said.
“Roar!”
“Roar!”
The demonic beasts that had suffered heavy attacks bypassed Xiao Zuiji and charged toward Ye Xingchen.
When damage output is too fierce, it’s easiest to pull aggro.
“Junior Brother!”
“Be careful!”
Ye Xingchen ignored Li Qingyang’s warning and stood proudly in place, the corner of his mouth curling up in disdain. “A bunch of trash.”
Enhanced by the Golden Soul, he felt incredibly powerful. Just a few more palm strikes and these demonic beasts would be…
“Whoosh!”
Suddenly, the golden power within his body receded like the tide.
Song Dehen burst out from Ye Xingchen’s body and, with his long legs, frantically retreated backward.
Having lost the soul power enhancement, Night Emperor’s hair and eyebrows not only returned to their original state, but he himself froze in place.
He had actually run away!
“Roar!”
Dozens of low-health demonic beasts charged at him, like towering waves engulfing a small boat tossed by wind and rain.
At this critical moment, Ye Xingchen uttered one phrase: “Holy crap…”
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
Dozens of different powers pressed down on him. Night Emperor’s body instantly shattered into nothingness, and he was sent out of the Life and Death Secret Realm. Song Dehen, having merged with him and attracted all the aggro, was also sent out shortly after.
“Whoosh! Whoosh!”
Before long, Li Qingyang, Xiao Zuiji, and the others were also eliminated. The whole family lay neatly on the ground, completely wiped out.
Thus, the core disciples’ raid attempt failed.
The culprit responsible for the total party wipe was naturally Song Dehen.
…
The next day.
Ye Xingchen came to the study and said, “This disciple requests a soul change!”
That guy named Song Dehen is such a coward. Merging with him again would disgrace my Night Emperor reputation!
Jun Changxiao said, “Song Dehen just joined the sect and hasn’t experienced many of the facilities. His retreat in Hell Mode is completely normal. As his partner, you should help him overcome his fear.”
“I…”
“Keep it up, you can do it.”
“…”
Ye Xingchen was crushed.
The Sect Master had no intention of changing his soul and instead wanted him to help train Song Dehen!
Fine! Fine!
This emperor will definitely train him into an iron-blooded man!
…
Training Room.
Song Dehen cautiously stepped one foot inside first, then very carefully walked in.
Following behind him, Ye Xingchen saw how cowardly he was and nearly couldn’t resist kicking him in the rear.
“Senior Brother.”
Song Dehen said weakly, “Why did you bring me here?”
“Physical training.” Ye Xingchen walked to the Sculpting Room and said, “Get in.”
“…”
Don’t let Song Dehen’s cowardice fool you—he was extremely vigilant. He immediately clutched his stomach and said, “Oh no… I can’t… my stomach hurts, I need to use the bathroom…”
“Swish!”
Afraid he would run away, Ye Xingchen grabbed him by the collar and stuffed him inside.
“Bang!”
The door closed and the timer was set.
Initially, Night Emperor had set it for ten hours, but feeling the difficulty wasn’t high enough, he returned to the training room to reset it.
“Creak.”
Before long, the training room door on the left opened.
He Wudi came out from inside. Hearing screams coming from nearby, he instinctively turned his head. When he witnessed the training time was set for eighty-four hours, his eyes widened. “That intense?”
“Ahhh!”
“Ahhh!”
Screams echoed in the training room.
…
That night.
He Wudi sat alone on a mountain peak.
Since entering the Eternal Realm, this inner disciple had very little screen time because his mind was entirely focused on cultivation.
For the Eternal Sect, a first-tier plane simply meant a better cultivation environment. But for him, the significance was immense—his attributes barely met the requirements to cultivate some advanced martial techniques.
“I’ve comprehended thirty percent of the Nine Dragon Splitting Palm.”
“I’ve comprehended twenty percent of Heaven and Earth Transformation into Nothingness.”
“Using these two martial techniques to deal with half-step Heavenly Secret Realm cultivators should be no problem. If I can achieve complete mastery, who in the upper universe could be my enemy?”
He Wudi lay on the stone, gazing at the starry firmament, silently muttering, “The Sect Master is a person with ambition and will surely embark on the path to immortality. When that time comes, I can also return home.”
Everyone in the sect knew Ye Xingchen’s story.
His own story remained unknown to all.
Of course, unlike Ye Xingchen’s arrogance, He Wudi had been very low-key since joining the sect—so low-key he seemed almost nonexistent.
Even when Young Master Yuan decreed that disciples could challenge the elders, Su Xiaomo, Li Fei, and the others didn’t immediately think of him.
This was precisely what He Wudi pursued.
Because he didn’t like being high-profile and flamboyant. He preferred to lay low and survive in this cruel world.
If not for the Seven-Colored Radiant Light Breaking incident in the past, this guy would probably have continued laying low—not seeking merit and achievement, only seeking to survive until he reached a level comparable to the Seven Profound Holy Venerable.
—