"Hiss!"
The captains gasped in unison upon hearing this.
Ye Tian's eyes flickered for a moment, yet he displayed no trace of fear; instead, confidence radiated from him. Over the past six months, he had made remarkable progress and was on the verge of advancing to Martial Master Level Nine. With his mastery of blade intent, he would be formidable enough to contend with even the strongest at Martial Master Level Ten.
"Commander, given the actions of the lord of Black Blood City, does our lord have no response?" Duan Wenbo inquired with a furrowed brow.
"I've heard that my father intends to personally mentor Ye Tian for three months before allowing him to proceed alone to the Meteor Mountain Range for the assessment of the Divine Star Sect!" Xue Yun said nonchalantly, a hint of envy flashing in his gaze as he looked at Ye Tian; even he had only received occasional guidance from Xue Yuhou.
The other captains gazed at Ye Tian with expressions of envy.
"You lucky lad, our lord seldom emerges from seclusion to provide guidance!" Zhao Dapeng exclaimed with a sense of wonder.
The other captains nodded in agreement, their faces brimming with admiration. The lord was a master of the Martial Spirit realm, and receiving his instruction would undoubtedly accelerate one's cultivation immensely.
Ye Tian, filled with excitement, felt somewhat unclear about the Martial Spirit realm. If he could gain insights from the lord, his path to ascension would surely be smoother.
"Alright, you've just returned; go rest for now. Tomorrow, I will take you to meet the lord!" Liu Bao waved his hand, tossing the Star Command to Ye Tian.
Ye Tian accepted the Star Command with joy, bowed respectfully, and then turned to leave.
...
"Finally, I can enter those martial arts sects. I wonder what they will be like?"
Back in his room, Ye Tian clenched his fist, excitement radiating from him. Now, his cultivation ranked among the pinnacle in Blood Jade City, with only two or three individuals surpassing him. Remaining here was clearly unnecessary.
Even without the Star Command, he would have left Blood Jade City to seek out stronger cities.
The path of cultivation is boundless; he had only just begun. Only through relentless competition could he achieve improvement, and Blood Jade City had become unsuitable for his ambitions.
Suppressing his eagerness, Ye Tian carefully stored the Star Command and retrieved an ancient book from his possession, gazing at it with fervor—**"Blood Demon Transformation."**
"The internal cultivation method of Blood Demon Transformation is of the Earth Grade, and even within the Divine Star Sect, it is likely among the top-tier techniques..." Ye Tian's eyes gleamed with intensity, his excitement palpable. The higher the grade of an internal cultivation method, the faster one could cultivate, and with his Green Martial Soul, his cultivation speed would surely be astonishing.
Without further thought, he pondered briefly before starting to read attentively, memorizing the key principles, and slowly closing his eyes to begin his practice.
Each warrior could only cultivate one internal method; thus, while practicing Blood Demon Transformation, Ye Tian chose to abandon the Black Demon Battle Body.
As he circulated the technique and refined his true essence, Ye Tian turned his gaze inward and noticed the dense true essence gradually releasing a faint blood aura. He understood this to signify his true essence's transformation into Blood Demon True Essence.
While Blood Demon True Essence lacked the body-refining properties of the Black Demon Battle Body, its offensive power was significantly stronger. The same amount of true essence possessed far greater attack power as Blood Demon True Essence compared to Black Demon True Essence.
Moreover, Ye Tian unexpectedly discovered that the Blood Demon True Essence carried an aura of slaughter that resonated with the killing intent he had comprehended. This meant that should he wield the killing intent while channeling Blood Demon True Essence, the power would undoubtedly be amplified.
This serendipitous revelation filled Ye Tian with immense joy; the killing intent had always been his strongest trump card, and enhancing its power significantly bolstered his overall strength.
With a surge of exhilaration, Ye Tian continued to fully channel Blood Demon Transformation, progressively refining the true essence within him.
After three complete circulations, a faint blood-colored radiance began to emanate from his body, enveloping him entirely.
Within Ye Tian, a surge of robust blood-red true essence coursed through his ten primary meridians, flowing throughout his entire being.
A boiling blood energy gradually erupted from him.
This formidable aura was far more potent than that which he possessed prior to cultivating Blood Demon Transformation.
"Martial Master Level Nine!" Ye Tian slowly opened his eyes, a glimmer of excitement and exhilaration reflected within. It was no wonder that those warriors were so desperate to seize internal cultivation methods; the effects of high-level techniques were extraordinarily powerful.
What Ye Tian did not realize was that his rapid breakthrough was influenced by many factors, not solely due to Blood Demon Transformation—his Green Martial Soul's amplification was on par with it.
At that moment, however, Ye Tian was engrossed in the joy of his breakthrough and did not ponder further.
After calming his excitement, he resumed his study of Blood Demon Transformation. This time, he refrained from continuing his cultivation; after all, having just broken through, further practice would yield little benefit.
He began to explore the other contents of Blood Demon Transformation, particularly the Earth Grade sword technique, which ignited a fiery passion within him.
If techniques like the Celestial Hand—an initial Mystic Grade martial skill—could wield such formidable power, then a technique elevated by an entire tier would surely be astonishing.
With eager anticipation, Ye Tian began to scrutinize the sword technique.
**"Blood Realm Slash, an initial Mystic Grade martial technique, can only be wielded using Blood Demon True Essence. Required cultivation level: Martial Lord realm... What?!"** Upon finishing the introductory segment, Ye Tian felt a chill wash over him; this sword technique required the Martial Lord realm for practice, rendering it unattainable for the time being.
However, he had anticipated this, quickly regaining his composure. After all, even the Celestial Hand had cultivation restrictions, so it was only natural for an Earth Grade martial technique to have higher requirements. Initially, he had thought he would need to reach the Martial Spirit realm, but he hadn't expected the threshold to be set so high, requiring the Martial Lord realm.
Yet from this, Ye Tian could sense the formidable nature of this martial skill, filling him with excitement while igniting an urgent desire to enhance his cultivation.
Subsequently, Ye Tian began to study the techniques recorded by Blood Demon Blade Sovereign, and he found himself captivated, losing track of time.
"Hiss... Amazing! I had no idea a blade could be used in such a manner..." Ye Tian's eyes sparkled with wonder as the techniques recorded by Blood Demon Blade Sovereign seemed to unveil a new path before him.
Unknowingly, an entire night passed, with Ye Tian still diligently examining Blood Demon Transformation, completely oblivious to the fact that he was scheduled to meet with the lord today for guidance.
It wasn't until the sharp voice of Liu Hongwu called out that Ye Tian was finally roused from his engrossed state.
"Huh? Has time flown by so quickly? It's already dawn!" Glancing out at the sun, Ye Tian was taken aback; while engrossed in Blood Demon Transformation, he had completely lost track of time, as if only an instant had passed.
"Ye Tian, are you still in bed? My father has been waiting for you for ages! Are you trying to sabotage your position in the Blood Guard by leaving him hanging?" Liu Hongwu's voice rang out from outside the door.
Ye Tian smiled wryly, suddenly remembering that he was supposed to accompany Liu Bao to see the lord. He looked outside, noting that it was nearly noon, and feared Liu Bao and the lord might be growing anxious.
Quickly washing up, Ye Tian opened the door to find Liu Hongwu glaring at him with fury, her beautiful eyes fixed on him.
Ye Tian felt a bit awkward under her intense gaze and hastily said, "The time is getting late; we should hurry to meet your father!"
"You actually remember that we need to see my father—" Liu Hongwu shouted in response.
It was nothing short of a lioness's roar!
Ye Tian felt abashed, scratching his head in embarrassment.
At the entrance of the Blood Robe Guard's camp, Ye Tian spotted Liu Bao, who had been waiting there for some time, and hurriedly approached to pay his respects.
"You rascal, do you dare to keep me waiting for so long? Are you itching for a reprimand?" Liu Bao exclaimed with a laugh as he saw Ye Tian approach, though his smile quickly froze.
"Martial Master Level Nine!"
Liu Bao's eyes widened as he stared intently at Ye Tian.
Ye Tian smiled and nodded, saying, "I just made the breakthrough, so it took me a bit longer."
"Well worth the delay! You've truly made me proud, rising to Martial Master Level Nine in the blink of an eye. Tsk tsk, at this rate, you might soon surpass me," Liu Bao chuckled with excitement.
Ye Tian humbly smiled in response.
Beside them, Liu Hongwu's eyes widened in shock. Martial Master Level Nine? This fellow has advanced so rapidly?
From her initial disdain upon meeting Ye Tian to her subsequent astonishment and resignation, Liu Hongwu no longer compared herself to him, realizing that measuring her talent against his was a fool's errand.
Liu Bao appeared exceptionally elated, even more than Ye Tian himself. He remarked, "With such a level of cultivation, coupled with the guidance of the city lord, I am confident you will be accepted into the God Star Sect. Remember, under the city lord's tutelage, don't even think about slacking off."
"Yes!" Ye Tian promptly nodded.
"Alright, let's go!" Liu Bao glanced at Ye Tian with satisfaction, well aware of the latter's diligence and unconcerned about any tendencies to relax.
The journey was quiet as Ye Tian followed Liu Bao toward the city lord's residence.
After about half a tea's worth of time, Ye Tian finally beheld the magnificent and expansive city lord's manor. They traversed a long corridor, and amidst the rocky landscape of the back mountain, they encountered the city lord, Xue Yuhai.
"You've finally arrived!" As always, Xue Yuhai's gaze was profoundly penetrating, sweeping over Ye Tian as if assessing him to his very core.
Ye Tian managed a sheepish smile, scratching his head, uncertain of how to respond.
However, Liu Bao interjected with a chuckle, "City Lord, this lad was delayed for a moment due to just achieving Martial Master Level Nine."
"Is that so? Not bad!"
Xue Yuhai nodded lightly, his own cultivation level already revealing Ye Tian's advancement to him.