Chapter 53 - Third Trial Rewards

Yaan had no chance to wonder why his emotional state had suddenly been affected by Ghu Lin’s words, as he was swept up with the Ghu Clan's momentum, charging forth without a second thought. Ghu Lin was to his right and Ghu Nadda to his left, this trio was a terrifying line up that no other small group could hope to match in the 3rd trial!

Whoosh…CHI CHI CHI!

Before Yaan even knew what he was doing, his blade had already sliced through the necks of three pitiful Qi masters. Those three didn’t even have time to react. After hearing Ghu Lin’s shocking roar from behind, they turned back, only to be faced with the terror inducing blade that spelled their deaths. As the three heads dropped to the ground, three red vortexes appeared in front of Yaan instantly, dropping out three items.

Swip!

Yaan speechlessly turned to the side and stared at Ghu Lin, who swiped his hand out and grabbed the three items without so much as looking his way.

“We will collect the items, you just focus on killing!” Ghu Lin shouted out, not a trace of shame to be found in his tone.

Yaan felt bitter…so this was his plan. Ghu Lin tempted him into this melee with the promise of rewards and the unspoken threat that there would be trouble if he were to refuse, giving Yaan little choice but to agree. And now, it was difficult to know whether he intended to share anything with Yaan or not. He was sure that Ghu Lin would not hand over half of what they earned, and yet, Yaan couldn’t back down here. Doing so would be like abandoning the Ghu Clan mid-battle, his safety would be in jeopardy. Even if the Ghu Clan didn’t directly attack him, they might very well leave him to fend off the now enraged others!

With no other choice but to move forwards, Yaan grit his teeth and turned away from the devious young looking man. The look in his eyes darkened by a barely noticeable amount.

Swoosh, Chi!

Before Ghu Lin could even react, Yaan’s hand stabbed into the red vortex which materialised following his slaying of yet another pitiful True Yuan Qi realm pawn. As Ghu Lin frowned slightly, Yaan shouted out:

“I can help you guys collect the items, you just focus on protecting me!”

As Yaan turned around Ghu Lin’s logic, the handsome young clansman’s gaze flashed, but he remained silent and continued to fend off the multiple attacks directed towards the group. Yaan didn’t even bother looking at him, as he knew that he would be unable to see through this person’s thoughts.

“Everyone, the vile Ghu Clan is intending to kill us all just for the rewards!” The 5th Layer Qi Temple realm middle aged man yelled out loud. He now clearly led the other side, flying in the air a hundred feet away from Yaan and his group, staring at Ghu Lin coldly. He ignored the others, singling out Ghu Lin as the greatest threat to their safety, since it was clear that he was the leader of the Ghu Clan’s exploration party this time.

With this person’s words, those who were not already aware of the Ghu Clan’s movement immediately noticed their shocking actions. If before, the battle between the Ghu Clan side and the rest was a savage battle, then now, it was an all out chaotic frenzy of blood and war cries!

This was Yaan’s first experience with a battle on this scale, causing him to be caught slightly off guard at the momentum of the other side. His opposition gathered together under the commands of that 5th Layer Qi Temple realm man and surged forth towards the Ghu Clan in a tsunami of bodies.

Whoosh!

Yaan’s eyes widened in alarm as a flash of white light blocked his vision for a brief moment. Before the flash appeared, he noticed a grey object shooting towards him, so he ducked down to evade hastily. However, he wasn’t fast enough.

Clang!

The blade slammed into his shoulder, but it was blocked entirely by the golden armour below. The armour completely blocked that strike, and when Yaan opened and quickly rubbed his eyes, he found the person controlling the flying shuriken right away.

A woman wearing a full black ninja outfit staggered backwards by a single step, her eyes widening in shock as the connection between herself and her weapon trembled. She was stunned to see that Yaan found her immediately. She realised that his battle experience must be very impressive, if he was able to locate her based on her stumbling alone!

Whoosh!

Yaan saw the woman as a great threat. The majority of those to enter the inheritance were at the True Yuan Qi realm, though many of those Qi masters were killed off in the 2nd trial. Now, around 10-20% of those present were at the Qi Temple realm, and this ninja had the aura of a 3rd Layer Qi Temple realm Qi master! On top of that, her battle power was very impressive for her stage, making Yaan choose her as his next target. He felt like now was the best opportunity he would get, since she was injured from the backlash! If he didn’t take this chance, she would be able to quickly recover from her injuries with a recovery pill!

Swoosh…

Like a leaf in the wind, Yaan’s body slipped past multiple Qi masters, instantly accelerating towards the stunned woman. Flashes of blue water seemed to cut out to the side whilst his body drifted by. Not only was he making his way towards the ninja, but throats were slit and heads rolled to the ground as he left a trail of bloody death in his wake!

Nadda, who saw Yaan’s movements, sucked in a shocked breath.

‘He improved again! This, this level of combining sword arts, it’s-’

CLANG!

Before Nadda could finish this thought, he was attacked by a pair of Qi Temple realm men, drawing his attention away. After easily blocking them, he paused. Nadda vaguely saw the shadow of Ghu Lin flashing past him towards Yaan.

Thud thud…

Nadda’s two opponents dropped to the floor, screaming in agony as blood flowed out from their four limbs. In less than half a second, both men had been paralysed, turned into cripples who could no longer walk, let alone fight! The young ghoul stared blankly, a shiver running down his spine…he didn’t see how Ghu Lin attacked them at all!

‘His battle power is far more impressive than the rumours suggest!’ Nadda swallowed slightly, a cautious light appearing in his eyes. When Ghu Nadda realised that all of Ghu Lin’s enemies were being dealt with in such a way, crippled but not killed, silently and unknowingly, he swallowed slightly, stunned and frankly a bit afraid.

When Nadda caught up to Ghu Lin, who had reached Yaan seconds earlier, he understood why Ghu Lin was so adamant about allowing Yaan to kill.

Whoosh!

Multiple vortexes appeared as Yaan killed two True Yuan Qi realm pawns on his own, before stabbing down and massacring a row of paralysed individuals, lined up along the floor. Nadda watched with an awkward expression as both Ghu Lin and Yaan maintained calm demeanours, but were clearly using their full speed to grab the rewards before the other got to them. Upon seeing the rewards though, Nadda also had the urge to grasp them…

Rank 3 body tempering pills that he had never seen before, Rank 4 vital recovery pills, weapons which seemed to just be ordinary mortal weapons at a glance, but were actually shockingly heavy and made from black steel when examining them closely…

All of these things were so valuable, so expensive, yet another such reward appeared from each and every vortex that Yaan made appear! Compared to the Rank 2 common body tempering pills and Rank 3 vital recovery pills that appeared when Qi masters gained the kill, Yaan’s rewards were simply an order of magnitude more valuable!

And those were only the rewards gained from killing True Yuan Qi realm Qi masters! When Yaan killed Qi Temple realm Qi masters, the prizes were even more shocking.

Right at the moment that Ghu Lin arrived with Nadda close behind, Yaan finally reached the ninja. The ninja knew that she needed to recover, so she tried to run, using countless other lives as her shield. However, she didn’t expect that multiple Ghu Clansmen would have snuck behind her, attacking and forcing her to stop running so that she could dodge.

Then, at the worst possible moment, Yaan took this opportunity and attack!

She thought she was safe, after all there were still a dozen people between Yaan and herself. Those people were terrified, they tried to move out of the way, but Yaan almost ignored them. His Agile Sword Arts were simply perfect for weaving through tight crowds like this, whilst the sharp blade of wind slit major arteries alongside each step he took. Upon arriving besides the ninja, she lashed out, throwing out three talismans which exploded in Yaan’s face.

She underestimated Yaan’s body. A Qi master would be forced to block such an attack, but Yaan braved it head on, forcing himself through the explosive flames and ignoring the jarring shockwaves. He struck out with the Flowing River Blade Art, creating a blade of water which not only cut through the air, but pierced through the ninja’s forehead also. A wave of blades seemed to spread out to the sides after Yaan stabbed her, injuring another two weaker Qi masters whom were nearby

And the reward for slaying a 3rd Layer Qi Temple realm Qi master?

Whoosh!

Yaan grabbed it before Ghu Lin had the chance. Ghu Lin made a miscalculation this time, opting to take the rewards from the many Qi masters killed along Yaan’s path towards the ninja, rather than stealing from the ninja herself. Because of this, Yaan obtained a shockingly valuable pill that he completely didn’t expect to procure so soon…

“Rank 4 boundary ascension pill!” Ghu Lin exclaimed, a hint of greed flashing in his eyes, before he hid this expression from the world. It didn’t matter that he personally had no use for this pill, because this pill was extremely valuable regardless!

Whether it was a Qi master trying to help their 3-Star spirit beast evolve into a 4-Star spirit beast, or a Peak 3-Star demonic body cultivator trying to ascend to the 4-Star realm, there was certainly a market for this pill in the Ghu Province. Even if he couldn’t find a buyer in North Ghu City, something this valuable would attract people from the Southern Province to travel up to the North in order to purchase it!

However, Yaan immediately pocketed it. By the time Yaan glanced at Ghu Lin, his expression had retuned to normal, as if he didn’t even care about some Rank 4 boundary ascension pill. However, Ghu Lin’s gaze did flash as he noticed something…Yaan had certainly taken far too many medicines and resources to be storing them within his robe at this point. It looked like he was dropping them into his pocket, but how could that be? He was either using a spatial ring, meaning he still possessed Yuan Qi, or he…

He had another world treasure!

Yet still, even with this thought, Ghu Lin showed nothing on his face. He truly was impossible to read, even in a hectic situation like this. It was for this reason that Yaan was wary of this person, always maintaining his guard.