Qin Shu gradually eased the flow of blood essence within his body. As it gathered in his palm, he suddenly stood up, launching a set of Space-Breaking Fist that sent ripples through the surrounding air. His proficiency in the technique also increased rapidly.
Once the surge of blood essence had settled down, Qin Shu ingested another pill.
He repeated these actions multiple times—unblocking his blood essence, performing the Space-Breaking Fist, and taking a Qi Refinement Pill.
Qin Shu only halted when he comprehended the bottleneck of Level 4 Qi Refinement and approached the threshold of Level 5.
"I have four left." Qin Shu emptied his storage bag of Qi Refinement Pills and stuffed them all into his mouth.
He was determined to become stronger and break free from any constraints.
Upon ingesting the last Qi Refinement Pill, Qin Shu felt a sudden rush of energy that pushed his blood essence to their limits. His meridians surged wildly, and there were even signs of them breaking.
"Breakthrough!" Qin Shu activated his Life-Preserving Technique to control and absorb the power.
The night passed swiftly, and the sun rose once more.
In the forest, a hungry wild wolf searched for prey. It spotted a person sitting cross-legged nearby, seemingly in a state of cultivation or rest.
The wolf silently approached from behind and prepared to bite, a bite that would severely injure even an ordinary Qi Refinement cultivator.
Crack! The sound of bones breaking echoed. Surprisingly, it wasn't the person but the wolf that suffered.
At that moment, Qin Shu grabbed the wolf's neck and forcefully flung it away. The wolf flew through the air, crashing through several trees as thick as an adult's waist before coming to a stop.
"Is this Level 6 Qi Refinement?" Qin Shu clenched his fists, feeling the power surging within him. His joy knew no bounds.
With a casual punch, he shattered a tree next to him, cracking it and sending leaves scattering.
"Now, I need to continue hunting demon beasts. Four days remain. If I can't become an inner sect disciple, I can only rely on luck."
Qin Shu moved forward with determination, disappearing from the spot.
Meanwhile, not far from Black Peak Mountain, a black savage bear roared and charged toward three individuals standing nearby.
Those three were Xuanyuan Quanlong, Zi Yue, and Qing Yuan, who appeared wounded and fatigued.
Xuanyuan Quanlong wore a helpless expression. They had just finished dealing with a pack of Wind Wolves, but during their rest, a wild bear suddenly emerged from the forest, killing two disciples accompanying them.
"Sigh, I miscalculated."
As the massive bear drew near, Xuanyuan Quanlong was too exhausted to resist. Zi Yue and Qing Yuan had also pushed themselves to their limits while using the Origin Pattern Art, and they could exit the assessment at any time.
Suddenly, a black greatsword descended from above, slicing the bear in half. A man landed gracefully, standing on the two halves of the bear.
"Thank you, Brother Shi!" Xuanyuan Quanlong exclaimed in shock. He recognized this newcomer as Shi Qianfeng, who had kept to himself in the background. Shi Qianfeng was covered in blood, but his aura remained unyielding.
"As expected of a madman from the Beifeng Empire," Xuanyuan Quanlong muttered to himself. He knew that individuals from the Beifeng Empire shared a common trait—they didn't waste words, and their attacks were lethal.
"You must be Xuanyuan Quanlong?" Shi Qianfeng inquired as he gazed at them.
"Yes, that's me. I'm surprised you recognize me. What an honor!" Xuanyuan Quanlong replied hastily.
"Yeah, that's right."
"You guys, hand over your Beast Cores," Shi Qianfeng said coldly as he nodded slightly, then raised his black greatsword in his hand, pointing the blade at Xuanyuan Quanlong.
In an instant, the atmosphere around them dropped to freezing point.
"Well, Brother Shi, you still enjoy making jokes." Xuanyuan Quanlong's mouth twitched, trying to ease the tension.
"No, I'm not joking." Shi Qianfeng shook his head, keeping his sword pointed at Xuanyuan Quanlong, showing no intention of lowering it.
"Brother Shi, you should know that there are at least three of us here, and you are alone. Even if you can defeat me, you can't defeat the two of them in a short time. Therefore, peace breeds wealth. Don't snatch this beast core."
"Who said he was alone?"
As a commotion sounded, a few figures rushed out of the forest. Some of them were holding longswords, and one of them was followed by three Golden Armor Soldiers. Their auras were close to Level 6 Qi Refinement.
"Li Wen, Li Wu!"
Xuanyuan Quanlong's face darkened. Amongst them, Li Wen and Li Wu stood at the front. They had bribed the other disciples.
"Brother Xuanyuan, don't struggle anymore. Hand over the Beast Core obediently. Perhaps we might consider letting you go? Haha."
Li Wen and Li Wu also laughed out loud. They were not worried about offending the prince of the Great Martial Dynasty or the descendants of the dynasty. In the Blackheaven Sect, strength and strategy were the most important. If they lost, they had to admit it.
"The beast core is here. Let us go."
Xuanyuan Quanlong slowly retreated to Zi Yue and Qing Yuan's side. After seeing Zi Yue shake her head weakly, he had no choice but to take down the bag containing the beast core and raise it as a gesture.
"Kill him."
Li Wen patted Li Wu's shoulder. The latter was like a ferocious tiger that had descended from the mountain. He picked up his axe and slashed at Xuanyuan Quanlong.
"You…"
Xuanyuan Quanlong was shocked and raised his sword to resist.
However, his already weak body could not circulate much blood essence. After the two weapons clashed, Xuanyuan Quanlong was shaken off his weapon. He took large steps back, and traces of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.
If this continued, he would definitely fall out of the assessment.
"After I kill you, I can still get us Beast Cores. Moreover, these two ladies look quite good. Why don't they follow us? They might be able to obtain the qualifications to enter the inner sect."
Upon seeing this, Li Wen revealed a sinister smile.
Zi Yue's face revealed disgust as she heard this. Qing Yuan threw out the Origin Pattern talisman paper, which turned into a short sword and stabbed Li Wen. However, it was easily blocked by the Golden Armor Soldier beside him.
"Don't be so irritable. It hurts your skin."
Qing Yuan was also a little flustered at this moment. She leaned against Ziyue and asked softly, "Sister Zi Yue, what should we do?"
"Even if we withdraw from this test, we should still do our best. Perhaps one of us might have a chance to escape."
Zi Yue looked at Li Wen and the others and said softly.
Qing Yuan and Xuanyuan Quanlong looked at each other, and their eyes immediately became determined. Then, they mobilized all the blood essence in their bodies, planning to make the final blow.
"You're overestimating yourself."
Li Wen's gaze turned cold. As an Origin Pattern Master, he naturally knew that the other parties were condensing their blood essence and putting up a meaningless resistance.
Shi Qianfeng raised his greatsword and charged at Xuanyuan Quanlong expressionlessly. Li Wu roared and charged at Qingyuan. The other outer disciples attacked as well.
Just as Shi Qianfeng's greatsword was about to land on Xuanyuan Quanlong, a huge rock fell from the sky. Shi Qianfeng, Li Wu, and the others sensed the huge rock and immediately retreated.
The huge rock smashed into the middle of the crowd with a bang, separating them. A figure descended from the sky and stood steadily on the huge rock.
Everyone stopped attacking one after another, their faces filled with surprise. To be able to lift such a huge rock, the strength of the person surpassed most of them. He was not an ordinary person.
"How can I miss out on such a lively event?"
A familiar voice came from the huge rock. The dust scattered, and Qin Shu, who was on the huge rock, looked at the gloomy Li Wen and smiled.