Dragon Blood Saint Emperor

The Earth Palace Gate closed, bringing the trial within to an end. Everyone dispersed.

There wasn’t much time left before the start of the Barbarian God Battle Platform. Everyone returned to make their own preparations and assimilate the benefits they had gained from the trial in the Earth Palace.

"The trial in the Earth Palace is over, and now the Barbarian God Battle Platform is about to begin. That’ll be a whole new kind of struggle."

"Yeah, it’ll be even more brutal than the trial in the Earth Palace. If Loose Cultivators like us want to participate, we won’t even be qualified without overwhelming strength."

"Right now, the major influences are all preparing for the Barbarian God Battle Platform, so they have no time to worry about us Loose Cultivators. This gives us enough time to improve ourselves. It might not be impossible to join the Barbarian God Battle Platform after all."

A group of Loose Cultivators chatted amongst themselves on the road leading away from the Celestial Abyss.

The group consisted of thirteen or fourteen people, all of them at the True Essence Sixth Layer or higher. A few were even at the True Essence Ninth Layer, making them a considerable force.

These people had clearly reaped significant benefits inside the Earth Palace.

One of the young men mused, "The great Hidden Clans and other reclusive powers should be making their appearance soon. I’m afraid the Barbarian God Battle Platform will be even more of a spectacle than the trial in the Earth Palace."

"Speaking of spectacles, I wonder if Ye Wushuang made it out?" a young man at the True Essence Ninth Layer asked, glancing back toward the Celestial Abyss.

Ye Wushuang?

The name instantly made everyone’s eyes flash.

Of course, some were confused. "Qing Yuxiu, what’s going on?" one asked. "Everyone has been talking about Ye Wushuang this entire time."

Qing Yuxiu was the young man at the True Essence Ninth Layer who had first spoken up. He turned his head and replied, "You all entered the Divine Communication Tower early on, so you don’t know what happened afterward."

"What happened?"

Someone immediately asked, "You mean about Ye Wushuang reaching the ninety-ninth floor, right? Is it actually true?"

"It’s as real as it gets."

Qing Yuxiu said, his voice laced with lingering fear, "You have no idea. Although Ye Wushuang is only at the True Essence Sixth Layer, his combat power is simply heaven-defying. One man, one blade, he swept all the way to the top, leaving rivers of blood in his wake. Everyone started calling him the God of Slaughter."

A disciple at the True Essence Seventh Layer chimed in, "That’s right! Even those at the True Essence Ninth Layer were cut down at his feet. The strongest disciples couldn’t do a thing to him. It was terrifying. That guy is an absolute Demon Fiend. I came face-to-face with him once, and I can still remember his savage gaze as if it were yesterday."

"Cut down someone at the True Essence Ninth Layer!"

Hearing their exaggerated words, a young man in a purple shirt scoffed.

His name was Min Juncai, and he was also a Loose Cultivator at the True Essence Ninth Layer.

"Ye Wushuang is only at the True Essence Sixth Layer, a mere piece of trash, yet you all talk about him like he’s some kind of god. It’s pathetic!"

Min Juncai sneered.

Someone retorted, "You don’t believe it, Min Juncai?"

Min Juncai snorted. "Of course I don’t believe it. He’s not one of the strongest disciples, so how could he possibly defy the heavens? If he ever ran into me, I’d obliterate him with ease."

"If you really met him, you wouldn’t be saying that."

A young man sneered. He had personally witnessed Ye Wushuang cut down a True Essence Ninth Layer expert, and not just one. Min Juncai wanting to obliterate Ye Wushuang was just asking for his own humiliation.

"Forget it. Ye Wushuang is already buried in the Earth Palace anyway, so there’s no point talking about it," some of the others, tired of Min Juncai’s arrogant demeanor, said tauntingly.

But Min Juncai couldn’t stand it and flew into a rage. "What do you mean, buried in the Earth Palace? Ye Wushuang is just a coward hiding in his shell! If he dared to appear before me, I’d obliterate him for all of you to see."

"Is that so? Then give it a try!"

A figure in white suddenly stepped out from the crowd and stood before Min Juncai.

"You think you’re Ye Wushuang? Get lost. You’re not even worthy of me making a move," Min Juncai snarled, his anger uncontrollable as he stared at the figure before him.

Ye Wushuang?

Like a Demon Sound, the name made everyone turn their heads. When they saw the figure in white, their pupils constricted. ’That silhouette... it looks just like him!’

’Could it be Ye Wushuang?’

Startled, the crowd hurriedly tried to get a look at the white-robed figure’s face.

But soon, they were disappointed.

The face was completely unfamiliar; it wasn’t Ye Wushuang. They had seen his face before and would have recognized him in an instant.

’Who is this person? Why haven’t we seen him before?’

The crowd was baffled, all asking each other, "When did this guy sneak into our group?"

Hearing Min Juncai’s rebuke, the white-robed figure didn’t move, simply watching him with a mocking smile. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Good. Very good."

Seeing that the white-robed figure remained unmoved, Min Juncai laughed in fury. "State your name. I’d like to see just what gives you the right to stand in my way."

"Ye Wushuang!" the white-robed figure slowly spat out two words.

"Hahaha, Ye Wushuang!"

Hearing the white-robed figure’s answer, the crowd burst into laughter.

Leaving aside the fact that Ye Wushuang was already buried in the Earth Palace, even if he did appear here, did this person think they wouldn’t recognize him on sight?

"Kid, are you just looking for trouble?"

Min Juncai’s anger flared. Believing the white-robed figure was deliberately mocking him, a murderous glint flashed in his eyes.

But just as the crowd was laughing, the white-robed figure’s face began to change.

Before their very eyes, the unfamiliar face gradually became a familiar one.

"Ye... Ye Wushuang!"

The smiles on everyone’s faces froze. Their pupils contracted as they stared at the white-robed figure.

It was Ye Wushuang.

This was a face they knew all too well: the God of Slaughter, Ye Wushuang.

’Fall back!’

The group’s first, subconscious reaction was to retreat.

Ye Wushuang’s sudden appearance had caught them all by surprise. They were completely bewildered. ’When did he get out of the Earth Palace?’

What they didn’t know was that in the final moments before the Earth Palace Gate sealed shut, Ye Wushuang had also left, almost entirely unnoticed.

"So you’re Ye Wushuang."

Min Juncai heard the murmurs from the crowd and sized up the figure in white.

"As you wished. I’m standing right here, am I not?"

Ye Wushuang gave a mocking smile, but inwardly, he was quite pleased with the Illusion Technique he had just started cultivating.

It was the Superior Illusion Technique he had obtained from Beizhe Xinghui, which he had started cultivating while in seclusion on the ninety-ninth floor.

’Though I’ve only reached Minor Achievement, simple disguises are already effortless, and the effect seems to be quite good.’

"Ye Wushuang!"

At once, Min Juncai’s eyes narrowed, and he instinctively took a step back.

The crowd watching from the side found this amusing.

Just moments ago, Min Juncai had boasted that if Ye Wushuang stood before him, he would surely obliterate him, yet now he had retreated a step in fear.

Seeing the mocking gazes from the crowd, Min Juncai’s expression turned incredibly sour, but he did not make a move.

The aura Ye Wushuang was currently emitting was at least at the True Essence Ninth Layer, the same level as him.

’If we really fight,’ he thought, ’the odds are fifty-fifty at best. We’d both be badly injured, and a third party would just swoop in to reap the benefits.’

"Trash!"

Seeing that Min Juncai wasn’t making a move, Ye Wushuang sarcastically spat out a single word, throwing the insult back at him before turning to leave.

Min Juncai didn’t even have the courage for a fight. Ye Wushuang had lost interest.

But, just as Ye Wushuang turned, a vicious glint flashed in Min Juncai’s eyes. "Turning your back to an enemy? You’re a fool! What God of Slaughter? You’re just trash!"

With a mocking smile, Min Juncai’s palm became wreathed in terrifying True Essence as he launched an abrupt, killing strike at Ye Wushuang.