Supreme of the Heavenly Realm

His gaze fell upon the skinny man, and Ye Xuan squinted his eyes, observing him. The person had a short stature with a pair of triangular eyes, giving off a sinister vibe.

"I didn't expect someone so young to have good reflexes, I must have misjudged."

The skinny man grinned, his shady demeanor intensifying rather than diminishing.

"I don't know you at all, and the first time we meet, you try to kill me. I assume it's for these two Red Refining Fruits?" Ye Xuan picked up the two fruits in his hand, his expression slightly tense.

"Smart."

The moment he saw the two Red Refining Fruits, a trace of eagerness also flashed in the eyes of the skinny man. Although the Red Refining Fruits were not extremely rare treasures, they were still fairly uncommon herbs, each worth tens of thousands of gold, and hard to find on the market.

"Since you know, there's no need for further words. Hand over these two Red Refining Fruits, and I might consider sparing your life."

Seeing the fervent look in the other's eyes, Ye Xuan instead flipped his palm, tucked the fruits away, and spread his hands, "Sorry, I have no plans to give them to you."

"Then you are seeking death."

The skinny man's face instantly turned grim, and a surge of killing intent emerged.

"Just you?"

Ye Xuan slightly raised his eyes, speaking indifferently.

"Ha ha, I, Chen Tai, have roamed the martial world for many years, and this is the first time a wet-behind-the-ears kid has looked down on me. Fine, then let me show you what I'm capable of!"

A fierce look flashed in Chen Tai's eyes. Immediately, he moved his hands, and between his ten fingers, eight star-shaped darts appeared, which he launched in an expansive arc that shot viciously towards Ye Xuan.

Clang!

Seeing this, Ye Xuan's expression remained unchanged; instead of retreating, he advanced, his long sword drawn from behind, swinging continuously. "Clang," "clang," "clang," the sounds echoed consecutively, sparks flying everywhere as the darts were struck and embedded into the nearby trees.

Seeing Ye Xuan instead draw closer, Chen Tai was overjoyed as he had been worried about the distance not being enough, but unexpectedly, the opponent delivered himself to his doorstep.

"Darts conquer the world!"

As Chen Tai's shout fell, he suddenly erupted, shooting countless darts from his body, like celestial flowers scattered, impossible to defend against.

Confident in his move, Chen Tai had once used it to instantly kill two Sixth Grade Martial Apprentices, and even a Seventh Grade Martial Apprentice would surely be severely injured under such a dense attack.

However, facing the sky full of darts, Ye Xuan's attention was highly focused, and although his speed had slowed considerably, his treasured sword also slowed correspondingly. However, the frequency of his swings increased, "clang, clang, clang," continuous sparks burst out, and one dart after another was blocked and scattered.

In an instant, Ye Xuan had broken through the barrage of darts, overcoming the heavy obstructions, and arrived in front of Chen Tai.

"How is this possible?"

Seeing Ye Xuan rapidly closing the distance to him, Chen Tai's face turned pale with shock. Although his darts were not always on target, their speed was astonishing. With such a quantity, none could harm Ye Xuan even slightly.

But at this moment, there was no time for him to ponder further as the long sword above Ye Xuan's head had already slashed down, forcing him to retreat rapidly.

"Heavenly Dominator Fist!"

Throwing the long sword in his hand, a fierce gleam shone in Ye Xuan's eyes as his palm morphed into a fist. Suddenly, a mighty overbearing aura surged around Ye Xuan, and the punch, as powerful as thirty rampaging steeds, fiercely landed on Chen Tai.

Crack!

This punch directly broke Chen Tai's ribs, sending him flying, while a jet of blood spurted out like a pillar.

After sending Chen Tai flying with one punch, Ye Xuan immediately followed up with another thunderous punch, showing no mercy.

Seeing this, Chen Tai's expression drastically changed. He quickly pulled a small round shield from his pack behind him. With a "thump" that shook the eardrums, the shield was smashed into a dent, and Chen Tai's figure was once again sent flying backwards.

This time, however, he agilely crawled into the bushes behind him and disappeared from sight.

"You little vermin, remember this!"

As Chen Tai escaped into the bushes, an extremely resentful voice also came out, but Ye Xuan had already split the bushes with his sword; however, when he sought to find Chen Tai's traces, the latter had already vanished without a trace.

"Ran away?"

Ye Xuan frowned, it was only a few blinks of an eye, and Chen Tai had escaped without a trace. It seemed this fellow must have been mixing in the surroundings of Panlong Mountain for years, otherwise, he wouldn't be so familiar with the environment.

"Leaving a tail behind, I wonder if it will cause any trouble."

Chen Tai himself was not a concern, but Ye Xuan worried about whether he might have accomplices. If he had anticipated this earlier, he would have exerted his full strength to ensure not even the roots were spared, as the consequences could be unpredictable.

But since the man had already fled, Ye Xuan was not just going to wallow in frustration, he just needed to be more cautious from now on. With his current strength, no one in the Martial Apprentice Realm could match him.

Thinking of this, Ye Xuan sheathed his sword and then swiftly turned into the woods. Now that he had obtained the Red Refining Fruit, it would be much easier to find the other herbs needed to suppress the Xuanyin Body. Now, his main mission was to find the Meridian Clearing Grass.

Before the family competition, he had to break through the final meridian and reach the Martial Master Realm; otherwise, facing Ye Ba, a Second Grade Martial Master, he would undoubtedly be defeated.

Pressure breeds progress, and time was not on Ye Xuan's side. If he couldn't even surpass Ye Ba, how could he speak of regaining his power and returning to the Heavenly Realm?

Such thoughts seemed like a mere joke.

...

Time swiftly passed in the vast Panlong Mountain Range, and a month had quickly gone by.

At this moment, within the dense forest, Ye Xuan stood atop a large tree, looking down at the forest from a high vantage point, traces of blood visible on his body, giving off a faint smell of blood.

The bloodstains were, of course, not his own but belonged to some Demon Beasts he had killed over the month. Despite his increase in cultivation during these escapades, the blockage in his final meridian prevented him from breaking through and reaching the Martial Master level.

During this time, he had also completely mastered the Heavenly Dominator Fist. He had even comprehended the previously elusive fourth technique. However, the absence of the Meridian Clearing Grass was undeniably disappointing.

"Great haste makes great waste, and one must guard against arrogance and rashness. It seems I had even forgotten these basic principles lately."

As time ticked away, Ye Xuan inevitably grew anxious. He vented this anxiety by continuously hunting Demon Beasts, and many had perished by his hand over these days.

He sighed, calming his mind a bit, and continued on his way, but only a few hundred steps later, he suddenly stopped, pouring True Qi into his ears.

"Is that the sound of fighting?"

With his hearing enhanced by True Qi, Ye Xuan looked toward the left and immediately leapt like an arrow onto a large tree. Within a few swift movements, several figures appeared in his sight.

In a clearing of about seventy to eighty feet in diameter, four young Martial Artists were attacking a giant Demon Beast, which resembled a Demon Wolf. However, it was three to four times the size of a normal wolf-like Demon Beast, silvery-white with sharp Claw Lights, and its limbs seemed incredibly agile.

A First Stage peak Demon Beast, a giant sonic wolf!

A normal sonic wolf's strength was roughly equivalent to a human Third or Fourth Grade Martial Apprentice, but this giant sonic wolf possessed the formidable combat power surpassing a Seventh Grade Martial Apprentice.

However, the four young Martial Artists surrounding the giant sonic wolf were no ordinary fighters. Despite appearing somewhat lacking in actual combat experience, their strength and Martial Arts were quite commendable. Together, they had the giant sonic wolf covered in wounds, weary to the bone.

Boom!

With a fierce swipe, the wolf knocked an approaching figure flying, broke through an opening, and quickly fled.

"Trying to escape?"

Seeing the giant sonic wolf attempting to flee, one of the youths in white robes, eyes flashing like lightning, waved his hand. A surge of crimson True Qi shot out, striking the giant sonic wolf fiercely and blasting a large hole in its body.

With a miserable howl, the giant sonic wolf collapsed to the ground, dead on the spot.

"True Qi released outward?"

Ye Xuan, who had been observing the fight, was slightly startled. He hadn't expected this young man in white robes to be a First Grade Martial Master. Although it was just the basic skill of releasing True Qi outward, its power was not to be underestimated.

The strength of a Martial Master lay precisely in the ability to wield True Qi for distant attacks, harming the enemy unseen.

"To kill the giant sonic wolf with a single move, Brother Jing Tian is indeed formidable." Another tall young man among the three smiled and saluted with his hands.

"I'm only a bit higher in realm than you. You will reach this level eventually," the youth in the white robe waved his hand, though a hint of pride was still evident on his face. However, suddenly his eardrums bulged, and then he turned toward where Ye Xuan was hiding and shouted sternly, "Who is hiding over there? Come out!"

Hearing this, the other three also changed their expressions and looked in the same direction, becoming alert.

"There's no need to be nervous. I was just passing by."

With a "swoosh," a figure rushed out—it was Ye Xuan. He hadn't expected the young man in white robes to have such keen perceptions to detect his presence.

"Just passing by, what a coincidence! You weren't planning on ambushing us, were you?"

Jing Tian sneered coldly, and as he spoke, the others also changed their expressions slightly, looking at Ye Xuan with more caution.

"You jest, sir. I'm alone and merely at the Martial Apprentice Realm. What capability could I possibly have to ambush four warriors of your caliber?" Ye Xuan spoke calmly, but internally he had already raised his True Qi, ready to act if these four insisted on attacking. If necessary, he could still make a forceful escape.