Chapter 75: Descendant of a Saint
An hour later, all the young martial artists from the nine commanderies west of the ridge had entered a perilous mountain range. Although it was only the outer edge of the Demon Ridge, the roars of barbarian beasts could still be heard at any moment.
The 1,537 young martial artists were like a handful of sand scattered into the sea, and within moments, they had all vanished from sight.
"You're at the Mysterious Extreme Realm, Minor Pole position. You have to hunt forty second-rank lower barbarian beasts to pass the first round of the exam. Aren't you the least bit anxious?" Zhang Ruochen said, his hands clasped behind his back, stepping on fallen leaves as he glanced at Zi Qian walking ahead.
Zi Qian was tall and slender, holding an ancient sword in both arms. Her gaze swept across the towering ancient trees around them. "Hunting forty barbarian beasts? That's way too tiring. Wouldn't it be faster to hunt down those young martial artists from the Four Directions Commandery and snatch their beast eyes?"
Zhang Ruochen gave Zi Qian a deep look. "You have to understand, this mountain range is incredibly vast. The martial artists are scattered in all directions. Finding the martial artists from the Four Directions Commandery is no easy task."
Zi Qian said, "I have my own methods."
Suddenly, Zi Qian's ear twitched slightly.
*Whoosh!*
She transformed into a purple afterimage, darting forward over a hundred feet.
*Clang!*
Her arm flicked, and a flash of sword light shot out, stabbing fiercely into the ground.
From beneath the earth came the agonized cry of a barbarian beast.
A jet of blood spurted up from the ground.
Just as the blood was about to touch her arm, she twisted her five fingers, shifted her stance, and with a fluid, flowing motion, sheathed the sword again.
The entire process happened in the blink of an eye.
Drawing the sword, thrusting, and sheathing it—all in one seamless motion, without any flourish, utterly devoid of hesitation.
Zhang Ruochen narrowed his eyes, staring at Zi Qian. *She's already cultivated her sword intent to the intermediate stage of 'sword following the heart's movement,' and it seems she's not far from the advanced stage of 'sword following the heart.'*
*Bang!*
Zhang Ruochen stomped his foot on the ground, channeling true qi through his sole into the earth. With a loud crash, the soil split open, and the corpse of a basin-sized iron-armored man-eating rat was blasted to the surface.
The iron-armored man-eating rat was a second-rank lower barbarian beast, its body covered in scales, with teeth three inches long and as sharp as blades. Because of its enormous appetite—capable of devouring a living person in one sitting—it was called the man-eating rat.
If an ordinary Mysterious Extreme Realm initial stage martial artist encountered an iron-armored man-eating rat, they would likely have their legs bitten off by a sneak attack from underground before they could even react.
If a martial artist had both legs bitten off, they were essentially dead, with no chance of escape.
Zi Qian's sword had pierced precisely through the iron-armored man-eating rat's carotid artery, hitting the mark with extreme accuracy.
"Miss Zi has incredible hearing. Even an iron-armored man-eating rat over a hundred feet underground can't escape her ears." Zhang Ruochen was genuinely astonished, and he grew inwardly cautious. Zi Qian's origins seemed unusual—she was definitely not an ordinary rogue martial artist.
Without rigorous training, even a Mysterious Extreme Realm Minor Pole martial artist couldn't possess such sharp hearing.
"Everyone has their own secrets; it's nothing special. Ninth Prince, you managed to catch a poison bee needle, so you must have some hidden secrets too, right?" Zi Qian probed subtly, without leaving a trace.
Zhang Ruochen naturally couldn't reveal the secret of his Space Domain. He just smiled faintly and nodded lightly.
*Shing!*
Zi Qian wielded her war sword, swung her arm, and gouged out the two eyeballs of the iron-armored man-eating rat. She used a half-foot-long box to store the two eyeballs.
A Mysterious Extreme Realm Minor Pole martial artist had to hunt forty second-rank lower barbarian beasts to pass the exam.
Since a martial artist couldn't carry away the corpses of forty barbarian beasts, they could only dig out the man-eating rat's eyes as proof of the kill.
Zi Qian also dug out a small, walnut-sized piece of spirit flesh from the iron-armored man-eating rat's body.
That piece of spirit flesh weighed only about an ounce, pure white, crystal clear, with no trace of blood, and instead emitted a faint, pleasant fragrance.
She held the spirit flesh in her palm, glanced at Zhang Ruochen, and said, "My cultivation has already reached the Mysterious Extreme Realm Minor Pole. Eating an extra ounce of spirit flesh won't help me improve much. I'll leave it to you."
With that, she tossed the spirit flesh in her hand to Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen didn't stand on ceremony. He caught the spirit flesh and swallowed it directly.
After consuming the spirit flesh, it was quickly fully digested.
Zhang Ruochen felt his spirit become extremely full and plump, his entire body brimming with strength. The meridians in his body were completely relaxed, and even the flow of true qi had sped up a bit.
Zi Qian walked ahead, speaking as she went, "A martial artist who has just entered the Mysterious Extreme Realm initial stage can probably break through to the Mysterious Extreme Realm middle stage by consuming about a pound of spirit flesh."
"You were the number one on the Yellow List in the Yellow Extreme Realm, so your martial body is definitely far superior to others at the same realm. Breaking through will require more resources. You'll probably need to eat three pounds of spirit flesh to break through to the Mysterious Extreme Realm middle stage."
Zi Qian assumed Zhang Ruochen had just cultivated to the Mysterious Extreme Realm initial stage, but she didn't know he had already reached the peak of the Mysterious Extreme Realm initial stage.
Zhang Ruochen estimated that, even at his current realm, he would need to eat at least five pounds of spirit flesh to possibly break through to the Mysterious Extreme Realm middle stage.
His martial body was even more powerful than Zi Qian imagined.
Suddenly, Zi Qian stopped, crouched down slightly, and extended two slender jade fingers to pick up a broken leaf. She brought it to her nose and sniffed lightly, a look of joy appearing on her face. "It's the scent of a martial artist from the Four Directions Commandery. He passed by here about fifteen minutes ago. This leaf was crushed by his foot."
Zhang Ruochen asked, "Have you studied tracking secret arts?"
"I've learned a bit," Zi Qian said.
Zhang Ruochen pressed further, "How do you know it's the scent of a martial artist from the Four Directions Commandery?"
Zi Qian said, "Last night, while you were training in the martial grounds, I infiltrated the martial artists of the Four Directions Commandery and recorded the scents of all 667 of them."
"All 667 scents, and you can distinguish every single one? Even a Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artist wouldn't have that ability," Zhang Ruochen said.
Zi Qian said, "You don't believe me?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Unless you're a descendant of a saint, with the bloodline of a saint flowing in your veins, and you've undergone rigorous training from a young age, only then could you possess such powerful hearing and sense of smell."
Zi Qian said, "You've hit the mark. One of my ancestors was once a saint. Unfortunately, after the ancestor died, the family quickly declined. Now, the entire family is just me."
Zi Qian spoke half-truthfully.
"I see." Zhang Ruochen nodded lightly.
If Zi Qian really was a descendant of a saint, it was indeed possible for her to cultivate a special constitution and possess abilities beyond ordinary people. That would be nothing strange.
Zi Qian and Zhang Ruochen quickened their pace, chasing forward to catch up with that martial artist from the Four Directions Commandery.
Zi Qian was at the Mysterious Extreme Realm Minor Pole, so her speed was naturally very fast, reaching 36 meters per second.
What she didn't expect was that Ning Xiaochuan's speed wasn't much slower than hers, reaching about 34 meters per second, keeping close behind her.
*Impressive. With only Mysterious Extreme Realm initial stage cultivation, his speed is already this fast. If he reaches the Mysterious Extreme Realm Minor Pole, he'll definitely be faster than me,* Zi Qian thought to herself.
An ordinary Mysterious Extreme Realm Minor Pole martial artist's speed was roughly 36 meters per second. But Zi Qian was much faster than an average Mysterious Extreme Realm martial artist; she was just holding back in front of Zhang Ruochen, not using her full speed.
Soon, they caught up with that young martial artist.
That young martial artist was in the middle of fighting a second-rank lower barbarian beast.
Zhang Ruochen stopped and looked into the distance. "He's definitely from the Four Directions Commandery. His cultivation should have reached the Mysterious Extreme Realm late stage—he's definitely a strong one."
Zhang Ruochen had some impression of that young martial artist; he was one of the young experts among the martial artists of the Four Directions Commandery.
Zi Qian's five senses were indeed very powerful, far surpassing ordinary people.
Zhang Ruochen could only match her by using his Martial Soul's power and deploying his Space Domain.
The battle ended quickly. That young martial artist from the Four Directions Commandery used a single slash to sever the neck of the second-rank lower barbarian beast, the Silver Dragon Lion, and dug out its two eyeballs.
That young martial artist from the Four Directions Commandery held the two eyeballs, a look of joy on his face, muttering to himself, "Collected two more eyes. Including this Silver Dragon Lion, I've already killed three second-rank lower barbarian beasts."
Suddenly, he seemed to sense something, quickly stowed away the barbarian beast eyeballs, raised his war blade—a third-rank True Martial Treasure-level weapon—and said in a deep voice, "Who's there? Get out here now!"
Zhang Ruochen stepped out.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen, that martial artist from the Four Directions Commandery showed a look of wild joy and laughed, "The Ninth Prince of Yunwu Commandery? Haha! This is great! I didn't expect my luck to be this good."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Seeing me, are you that happy?"
"Ninth Prince, you probably don't know yet! Prince Huo Xing has put out a price: kill you and bring him your head, and you can exchange it for a fifth-rank True Martial Treasure. Do you realize how valuable your head is now? Do you understand why I'm so excited?" that martial artist from the Four Directions Commandery said with a laugh.
Zhang Ruochen frowned slightly. "Are you so confident you can kill me?"
That martial artist from the Four Directions Commandery laughed even louder. "You defeated Shen Mengxi in one move, but I can kill Shen Mengxi in one move. You should know, I'm a Mysterious Extreme Realm late stage martial artist."
Zhang Ruochen said, "In that case, let's fight."
"You're not running? Since you're so confident, let me show you just how big the gap is between the Mysterious Extreme Realm initial stage and the Mysterious Extreme Realm late stage."
That martial artist from the Four Directions Commandery infused true qi into the war blade in his hand, instantly activating the five inscriptions within the blade. A layer of fiery red flame emanated from the blade's surface.
He swung the war blade, and a wave of heat surged from the blade's edge, sweeping up the fallen leaves on the ground.
*Sizzle!*
Those fallen leaves spontaneously ignited, floating in the air like a rain of fire.
The flaming leaves gathered together, forming a fire dragon that surged toward Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen kept one hand behind his back, while the palm of his other hand condensed thick true qi. He struck out with a palm, sending an invisible wave of air.
"Barbarian Elephant Returns to the Field!"
The third palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm.
Under the influence of the palm force, the fallen leaves on the ground also rose into the air, swirling in the wind. Hundreds and thousands of leaves converged into the shape of a five-meter-tall barbarian elephant, charging forward toward the opponent.