The next morning, Ye Tian awoke early, his mind troubled by the matter of the beast's blood. Unable to stay at home, he wandered once again to the waterfall not far from Ye Family Village, the only place where he could find peace to contemplate.
"What should I do? Even if I know the method to become a warrior, without enough soul energy, I can only wait helplessly!"
"Is this some kind of cruel joke, Heaven? You give me hope, only to plunge me into despair!"
...
Strolling through the forest, Ye Tian's thoughts were in disarray. The path to power was right before him, yet he couldn't take a single step forward. The frustration of being so close, yet so far, was driving him mad.
As long as he could gather enough soul energy, he would be able to rise as a warrior again, reclaiming the title of genius and washing away all his past shame.
But—
Suddenly, a violent tremor shook the earth. Ye Tian's instincts kicked in as he quickly composed himself and cautiously moved toward the source of the disturbance.
"What a strong tremor! It's just like when the old white tiger fought the giant serpent. Could it be...?"
Ye Tian's heart raced as he carefully advanced. After traveling about a mile, he discovered that the tremor was coming from the direction of the waterfall.
"Hiss~~~"
Through the gaps in the trees, he witnessed a shocking scene.
At the familiar waterfall, a group of blood-clad warriors was engaged in a fierce battle against a massive azure serpent. Ye Tian instantly recognized this serpent—it was the very one that had killed the old white tiger, a beast of the warrior-level.
And these warriors? They were none other than the Blood Guard who had left Ye Family Village earlier. The spear-wielding leader was locked in combat with the azure serpent, their clash shaking the entire forest.
Ye Tian watched in awe, hiding silently among the trees, barely daring to breathe.
The spear-wielding man was incredibly powerful. With a single thrust, his spear emitted a dazzling flash of light, piercing the azure serpent's body and leaving a deep, bleeding wound.
The serpent's scales were known for their hardness, yet they could not withstand the spear-wielder's sharp attacks. His strength was truly terrifying.
"Amazing! Humans can be this powerful too? Warrior-level strength—" Ye Tian's blood boiled with excitement. The spear-wielder's prowess left him in awe. This was the kind of power a man should possess, the kind of strength that justified one's existence in this world.
"Hiss!"
The serpent roared in fury. Even though it was a warrior-level beast, the spear-wielding man's overwhelming might was too much for it to handle. It had already killed several Blood Guards in its rage.
Blood flowed like a river, and bodies littered the ground.
The brutal battle sent shivers down Ye Tian's spine. He held his breath, praying he wouldn't be noticed.
Time passed slowly...
The azure serpent, already wounded from its fight with the old white tiger, was gradually losing strength under the relentless assault of the spear-wielder. Its downfall seemed inevitable.
"The serpent must have come to check whether the old white tiger was truly dead, but it unwittingly stumbled upon the Blood Guard. Its fate is sealed!"
Ye Tian had seen enough to understand the situation.
"Kill!"
With a cold shout, the spear-wielder found an opening and drove his spear into the serpent's head. The spear's light exploded in a brilliant flash, shattering the serpent's skull with a deafening blast.
The enormous serpent's body crashed to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
"It's dead!" Ye Tian, watching from the shadows, was utterly astonished. Such a mighty serpent had been slain just like that. And the Blood Guard had only lost seven or eight men in the process.
After slaying the serpent, the Blood Guard began to collect its corpse. A warrior-level beast's body was invaluable beyond measure.
Ye Tian's eyes burned with envy. His thoughts raced, "If I had that, I could surely extract enough soul energy." But he didn't dare make a move. Though the Blood Guard wasn't a band of bandits, they were more ruthless than any outlaws.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
Just as Ye Tian was coveting the serpent's corpse, the earth trembled once more, this time even more violently, like the charge of a thousand horses.
"What's happening?" Ye Tian was startled.
The Blood Guard, too, began to panic.
"Not good, it's a beast horde!" The spear-wielding man's eyes flashed with alarm as he shouted to his men, "Run! The beast horde is coming!"
The Blood Guards hesitated for a moment, and in that instant, a wave of ferocious beasts charged out from the nearby forest, rushing toward them with murderous intent. The oppressive aura of the beasts left Ye Tian gasping for breath.
"Run!"
The spear-wielder roared, unleashing a powerful sweeping strike with his spear. Ye Tian saw only a flash of blinding light as the beasts at the front were slaughtered instantly.
The scene was awe-inspiring, filling Ye Tian with excitement.
Yet the beasts seemed endless. Three enormous creatures emerged from the rear, exuding a terrifying presence that made the ground tremble even more.
"Not good! Those are warrior-level beasts!" The spear-wielder's face turned pale. Without a second thought, he abandoned the Blood Guards, fleeing alone into the forest.
By this time, Ye Tian had already dug a hole and buried himself in the ground near a tree, hoping to avoid being trampled by the beasts.
What happened next, Ye Tian could no longer see. He only heard the violent shaking of the earth, which continued for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, silence fell over the land.
Cautiously, Ye Tian dug himself out of the ground and carefully surveyed the surroundings.
There were no beasts in sight, and the dark sky was now heavy with dusk.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Ye Tian's eyes narrowed, a look of excitement spreading across his face.
In the nearby chaotic clearing, the bodies of a dozen powerful ferocious beasts lay scattered on the ground, devoid of any signs of life. Among them, one was strikingly familiar—it was the blue giant python of the martial master level.
Beside the giant python, lay the corpses of over twenty blood-clad warriors; some had fallen to the python's lethal strikes, while others had succumbed to the trampling of the beast horde.
Ye Tian was indifferent to the manner of their demise; his eyes burned with fervor as he fixated on the python's corpse, his breath quickening.
"Ha ha ha... Truly, heaven does not completely shut the door on humanity; this has come with no effort at all!" Ye Tian exclaimed excitedly, his body surging forth as if propelled by wings, racing toward the giant python's remains, tears of joy spilling from his eyes.
"This time, the soul essence will be sufficient; I can finally become a warrior!"
Ye Tian's heart surged with exhilaration. The heavens had bestowed upon him this incredible opportunity, seemingly by fate's design, ensuring his path to becoming a warrior.
"As night falls, I wonder if any ferocious beasts have been drawn here. I should quickly gather the python's blood!" Observing the dimming sky, Ye Tian swiftly regained his composure and retrieved a large blood pouch and a crimson dagger from the corpses of the blood-clad warriors.
"The equipment is remarkably complete; no wonder they are blood-clad warriors!" Ye Tian thought joyfully, seizing the blood dagger to begin draining the giant python. The python's scales were exceptionally hard; with one strike, he felt the reverberation through his hands.
"Damn this beast, so tough even in death!" Ye Tian grunted, summoning all his strength to deliver a fierce blow, finally managing to slice a small opening in the python's weakest neck, from which blood gushed forth.
Upon seeing this, Ye Tian hastily positioned the blood pouch to collect the blood.
Swish, swish...
The enormous python's body contained a copious amount of blood. After searching for three more large blood pouches, he finally managed to collect all of it.
"I refuse to believe this won't be enough!"
Gazing at the four large blood pouches before him, Ye Tian felt an overwhelming thrill. Noticing the sky darkening further, he began to conceal the ferocious beast corpses on the ground and dug a hole to bury the bodies of the blood-clad warriors before sprinting back to Ye Family Village with the four pouches.
All the while, Ye Tian was filled with excitement, urgency propelling him forward as he dashed straight to Ye Family Village, then raced home like a gust of wind to extract the soul essence.
Before commencing the extraction, Ye Tian had already procured a large basin from his mother; it was their family's bathing tub, quite spacious.
Then, he began the extraction process, feeling an intense urgency that made him forgo dinner.
At last, the giant python's blood did not disappoint him; from one large pouch, he extracted an abundance of soul essence—enough to fill a third of the basin.
After extracting from another large pouch, the soul essence in the basin reached two-thirds full.
"That should be sufficient!" Ye Tian thought, elated at the sight of so much soul essence in the basin, yet he remained cautious, extracting one more pouch to set aside as a reserve.
"It can begin!"
Having extracted from three large pouches, it was already midnight. Ye Tian noticed that his parents were sound asleep; he locked his door, shed his clothes, and leaped into the basin, lying down flat.
Hiss...
As he lay down, an icy sensation spread throughout his body, making Ye Tian involuntarily shiver.
Soon, however, a warm sensation enveloped him, bringing an immense sense of comfort. After a long day's labor, this feeling quickly lulled him into a deep sleep.
Once Ye Tian had drifted off, the soul essence in the basin began to bubble and churn, akin to boiling water, continuously releasing bubbles.
As time passed, the soul essence slowly diminished, seemingly being absorbed by Ye Tian's body.
Unbeknownst to him, the essence infiltrated his being through his skin, gradually enveloping his meridians and bones.
The soul essence thoroughly enveloped Ye Tian, casting a dim, nebulous black light around him, rendering his form eerie in the dimly lit room.
The next day dawned unexpectedly; the morning sunlight streamed through the window like a cascade of golden sand, landing upon Ye Tian's bare body.
His body quivered immediately, his tightly shut eyes trembled twice, then suddenly flew open, a flash of black light flickering within his gaze.