Chapter 571 544: Entering the Sword Monarch Ruins

Sensing the murderous intent from the young experts, a flicker of a smile crossed Daoist Master Peng's eyes.

Daoist Master Peng had a practiced eye; of course he could tell Zhaang Ye's true age. He had asked about it deliberately, hoping to incite jealousy in the other young experts.

The tree that stands tallest is the first to be blown down. Zhaang Ye had ranked third on the First-Grade Young Master List at such a tender age, a feat guaranteed to draw the envy of his peers—and even incite some of them to murder.

Clearly, Daoist Master Peng had achieved his goal. Even though Zhaang Ye had overstated his age, he had still provoked the jealousy of more than a dozen young experts. Behemoths of immense power like Ba Xiongfei, Beibing Feng, Yue Changsheng, and Jade Fox were now all murderously intent on him.

Daoist Master Peng thought with satisfaction, 'The Green Cloud Sect is simply too powerful. If this Zhaang Ye is allowed to mature, he'll likely become another Grandmaster, perhaps even a Great Grandmaster. The Mad Beast Sect is already weak; if the Green Cloud Sect gains another Grandmaster, our lives will become even more difficult. Therefore, it would be best if this Zhaang Ye simply disappeared from the world.'

'Damn that old fox!' Zhaang Ye quickly saw through Daoist Master Peng's intentions and cursed him inwardly.

Master Qianjian of the Green Cloud Sect was the most formidable fighter among the five Grandmasters. But he was obsessed with cultivation and oblivious to Daoist Master Peng's schemes. He frowned and said, "Old Peng, what was the point of asking Zhaang Ye's age?"

Daoist Master Peng coughed dryly and chuckled. "Just curious. Well, I shall continue with my commentary."

Next, Daoist Master Peng offered a few more words of praise for Zhaang Ye before concluding that his chances of entering the Grandmaster Realm were at least twenty percent. This statement instantly drew more jealous stares; even the eyes of Qi Qingle, Pingcang Mountain, and Taishu Gang flashed with envy.

After Daoist Master Peng finished, the other Grandmasters continued their critiques. When it was Ba Xiongfei's turn, the commentary fell to Daoist Master Peng once more. As Ba Xiongfei was the Mad Beast Sect's most outstanding prodigy, Daoist Master Peng was naturally happy to offer him guidance.

He sized up Ba Xiongfei for a long moment before speaking slowly. "Ba Xiongfei, you have consumed many Celestial and Earthly Treasures and soaked your body in the blood of Barbaric Beasts. Your physical fortitude has already reached the limits of the human body. To grow stronger still, your best option is to find an Ancient Barbaric Beast and soak yourself in its blood."

"Additionally, if you can obtain one or two forms of Ancient Power, you can use them to temper your body little by little and break past its current limits."

Ba Xiongfei nodded repeatedly, silently pondering how he might find an Ancient Barbaric Beast and a source of Ancient Power.

An hour later, the commentaries finally concluded, and with them, the young master evaluation assembly. The young experts who had earned a place on the lists waited with excitement to enter the Sword Monarch Ruins.

The young experts who hadn't made it onto the lists had also gained a great deal. Over the past two days, they had witnessed over a hundred spectacular battles and listened to the Grandmasters' critiques, which was a bountiful harvest in itself. If they returned home and properly contemplated what they'd learned, they would very likely achieve a breakthrough.

A quarter of an hour later, most of the young experts had departed the Sunset Secret Realm, leaving only the fifty-four who were ranked on the young master lists.

Daoist Master Shuiyue stepped forward and spoke slowly. "Very well, the young master evaluation assembly has now concluded. The five of us will now join forces to blast open a passage and send you into the Sword Monarch Ruins. Before you enter, I will explain a few things about the ruins."

"Tens of thousands of years ago, in our Purple Spirit Domain, there lived a peerless expert known as the Sword Monarch. The Sword Monarch was a master of the blade, and his comprehension of the Sword Dao reached an unbelievable level. The Sword Monarch Ruins are what became of his body and his Little World after he fell."

"Within these ruins, you will find powerful Ancient Blade Gang and powerful Ancient Fist Gang, and Exotic Beasts are everywhere. The dangers are great, but so are the opportunities. The Heaven and Earth Essence Qi inside the Sword Monarch Ruins is exceptionally dense; you can rapidly advance your Cultivation just by meditating. Furthermore, the ruins contain various Realms left behind by the Sword Monarch, all manner of Ancient Combat Skills and Cultivation Techniques, and many precious Spirit Elixirs. It is even rumored that the Sword Monarch's personal legacy can be found within the ruins—it all depends on whether you have the fortune to find it."

"Finally, there are several Teleportation Arrays within the Sword Monarch Ruins. When your time is up, these arrays will teleport you to a random location in the Purple Spirit Domain. Now, Master Qianjian will distribute the Jade Talismans."

As Daoist Master Shuiyue finished speaking, Master Qianjian raised his arm.

SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH!

One by one, white Jade Talismans flew from Master Qianjian's hand and into the grasp of each young expert. Master Qianjian said, "The Sword Monarch Ruins is a world unto itself, and it possesses a force that repels foreign lifeforms. These Jade Talismans were jointly crafted by ten Grandmasters to help you resist that force."

"Remember, for those on the First-Grade Young Master List, the talisman is effective for three months. For those on the Second-Grade List, two months. For those on the Third-Grade Young Master List, one month. Once your time is up, the Jade Talisman will automatically fly away. You must leave the ruins immediately, or you will die. There is no question of that."

"In short, I will leave you with one piece of advice: know your limits. Otherwise, you will very likely perish inside. Now, the time is near. Prepare yourselves!"

The five Grandmasters nodded in unison and thrust their palms toward the empty space before them. Five world-shaking torrents of power blasted directly into the Black Death Sea.

RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

The power of the five Grandmasters poured out in a ceaseless stream, and the sea for thousands of miles around began to boil. A dozen breaths later, a tremendous roar echoed from the seabed, and a long, thin black line appeared before them. The line grew larger and larger, finally transforming into a black passageway hundreds of miles long, leading to an unknown destination.

The faces of the five Grandmasters turned slightly pale, a sign of their immense exertion. Seeing the black passageway, Master Qianjian bellowed, "Quickly! Enter the passage now!"

SWISH!

The moment Master Qianjian's voice fell, Zhaang Ye transformed into a gust of wind and shot into the passageway. Seeing him go in, the four young behemoths—Ba Xiongfei, Beibing Feng, Yue Changsheng, and Jade Fox—had a slight change in expression before they too entered the black passage in unison, chasing after him.

The four young behemoths—Ba Xiongfei, Beibing Feng, Yue Changsheng, and Jade Fox—reacted quickly, but one person was a step faster. That person was Shui Daimai.

When Shui Daimai saw Zhaang Ye enter the black passageway, she stuck to him like a shadow, following closely behind. To cultivate her Cultivation Technique to the stage of Great Success, she needed to comprehend the Water Realm. Zhaang Ye had already comprehended the Water Realm and possessed formidable combat strength, making him an ideal opponent. She had no intention of letting him get away.

SWISH!

Zhaang Ye flew at full speed. To avoid being ambushed by Ba Xiongfei and the others, he had entered the passageway at the first possible moment. He was moving incredibly fast, but after flying for only a few dozen miles, he immediately sensed someone closing in from behind at high speed.

'Shui Daimai!'

Zhaang Ye recognized his pursuer in an instant, and a chill ran through him. Shui Daimai's Cultivation was exceptionally high and her combat strength was off the charts. Zhaang Ye had no desire to fight this woman.

SWISH!

Seeing Shui Daimai catching up, Zhaang Ye pushed his speed even higher. He was already circulating all of his Celestial River Righteous Qi, channeling every last shred of his power into flight!

There was no Ancient Suppression inside the black passageway, so Zhaang Ye's flight speed was unhindered. Combined with the fact that his Cultivation had reached the True Dao Fourth Layer and his Wind Realm had attained Minor Achievement, his speed surged again and again, until he was faster than a beam of light. Though Shui Daimai was powerful and her Cultivation profound, she was unable to catch him and could only watch helplessly as he vanished.

"That brat is fast!" Shui Daimai punched the air in frustration.

BOOM!

The hundreds of miles of the passageway passed in the blink of an eye at Zhaang Ye's full speed. With a flash of light, he found himself in an incredibly bizarre world.

It was a world woven from black, white, and green. Collapsed mountains and fractured rivers littered the landscape. A vast, desolate expanse stretched between heaven and earth, where enormous green trees stood like giants, their branches propping up the sky. Between these massive trees, giant skeletons of beasts could be seen. The tallest of them was ten thousand feet high; standing beneath them, Zhaang Ye was as insignificant as a speck of dust.

'What a bizarre world!' Zhaang Ye had no time to survey his surroundings. After a brief cry of amazement, he increased his speed once more and vanished into the depths of the ruins in the blink of an eye.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Just as Zhaang Ye's figure vanished, Shui Daimai appeared in the Sword Monarch Ruins, then quickly disappeared into the distance herself. After she was gone, Ba Xiongfei, Beibing Feng, Yue Changsheng, and Jade Fox also arrived.

The four young behemoths scanned their surroundings. Ba Xiongfei spoke slowly, "Gentlemen, we cannot allow Zhaang Ye to live. If he's allowed to mature, the entire Purple Spirit Domain will be his, and we will never be able to hold our heads high again."

Beibing Feng frowned. "Ba Xiongfei, what are you getting at?"

Ba Xiongfei said coldly, "We kill him. We join forces and annihilate Zhaang Ye!"

Yue Changsheng nodded. "He must be killed! A man with such shallow Cultivation like Zhaang Ye already dares to toy with us. If someone like him is allowed to become a real power, we're done for!"

The three young behemoths all nodded slightly.

Ba Xiongfei produced three Jade Tokens. "These can be used for communication," he said. "If you find any trace of Zhaang Ye, crush your token. Then we'll converge and annihilate him!"

After a moment's hesitation, Beibing Feng and Yue Changsheng each took a Jade Token, then executed their respective Body Techniques and vanished into the distance.

Ba Xiongfei said grimly, "We aren't the only ones who want Zhaang Ye dead. We can contact others and get more people involved in hunting him down."

Jade Fox nodded slightly. "If Senior Brother wants him dead, I will do everything I can to help. Let's go. We'll explore the ruins."

The two executed their Body Techniques and disappeared together into the depths of the ruins.

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Hehe, today's third chapter is finally done. Thank you all for your monthly tickets, subscriptions, gifts, and reviews. Please vote with your Recommendation Tickets!!!

--(To be continued.