Passing through the tall shrubs in the valley, Ye Chen spotted Qing’er at a glance. Fate truly worked in wondrous ways!
“Brother!” Seeing Ye Chen, Qing’er was overwhelmed with joy. She ran over and grabbed his arm. Just moments ago, she had been worried she wouldn’t be able to find him and thought these three days in the Doomsday Mountains would be incredibly boring.
“Come on, let’s check out the valley up ahead!” Ye Chen held Qing’er’s small hand and walked toward a valley several kilometers away.
The 4th-rank mystic beast aura he had sensed earlier came from that valley.
A 4th-rank mystic beast’s strength was equivalent to a human cultivator at the 10th stage Earth Martial Realm. This level was above both Ye Chen and Qing’er, but since both of them were skilled at fighting beyond their cultivation level, a 4th-rank beast would be easy to handle.
Soon, the two of them reached the valley. Upon closer look, they saw a massive silver wild bull, over 6 meters tall and weighing more than 5,000 kilograms. Its body was covered in thick silver scales that shimmered dazzlingly under the sunlight.
At that moment, the Silver Wild Bull was locked in a fierce fight with a black-clad man. The bull had several sword wounds across its body, but none were fatal. In contrast, the muscular man had been gored in the chest by the bull’s horns, leaving a large, bloody wound. Blood gushed out continuously, and it was clear he wouldn’t last much longer.
“Brother, that man in black is bleeding a lot… he looks so pitiful. Should we help him?” Qing’er looked at Ye Chen anxiously.
Ye Chen couldn’t help but think of how, in her past life before the Dark Turmoil, Qing’er had also been kind-hearted. But after uniting the myriad races and elevating humanity, she had somehow changed, becoming cold and ruthless…
Ye Chen spoke earnestly, “Qing’er, remember this. If you want to go far in this world, the worst thing you can do is meddle in everything—unless you’re sure the person you’re helping is a good person.”
This was a lesson Ye Chen had learned in blood during his past life.
Qing’er nodded thoughtfully.
But then, Ye Chen suddenly leapt into the air. With a swift slash from the spirit sword he had taken from Lin Qiang, a sharp and destructive beam of sword light cut the Silver Wild Bull clean in half.
“Brother, why?” Qing’er’s little face was filled with confusion. Ye Chen had just said not to meddle in others’ business.
“Because,” Ye Chen looked toward the black-clad man who was pale from blood loss, his voice filled with deep confidence, “I’m certain he’s a good person.”
Just now, from the nine blades strapped to the man’s back and the unique dragon carvings on their hilts, Ye Chen had confirmed that this man was none other than the future legendary One-Armed Blade Saint—Li Liushui.
He still remembered how, when the Dark Turmoil descended in his past life, Li Liushui emerged with his nine blades and fought for humanity for decades. In a battle where the enemy vastly outnumbered them, Li Liushui, gravely wounded and unable to even lift his blade, stood propped on it until he bled out completely—without ever taking a single step back.
Of course he was a good person.
“What a sword!” The black-clad man was stunned. Ye Chen looked even younger than him, yet he had casually sliced the massive Silver Wild Bull in two.
Enduring the pain, he staggered toward Ye Chen and knelt gratefully, “I am Li Liushui from the Great Chu Empire. Thank you, Young Master, for saving my life. May I ask for your name?”
As expected, it really was Li Liushui!
Ye Chen hadn’t expected that the future famous Blade Saint of the Profound Sky Continent would actually come from the Great Chu Empire, located near the Sword Empire.
Ye Chen was familiar with the Great Chu Empire. In the annual secret realm trials, its performance was always stable—just like the Sword Empire.
The Sword Empire consistently ranked fourth. The Great Chu Empire consistently held third.
“Sword Empire, Ye Chen!” Ye Chen helped Li Liushui up. At this time, Li Liushui still had both arms and looked like a slightly inexperienced youth.
“So that’s why your sword was so powerful. You must be the recently famous Young Master Ye Chen!” Li Liushui exclaimed.
Not long ago, Ye Chen had awakened emperor-grade bloodline and completely defeated Lin Tian. News of this spread widely in the Sword Empire and reached the other three empires as well.
While speaking, Li Liushui took out a freshly picked small herb that shimmered with a strange silver light. “Young Master Ye, this is Silver Vein Grass, a Grade-4 herb. It was the item guarded by that Silver Wild Bull. Please accept it.”
In his eyes, since the bull was slain by Ye Chen, the herb should naturally belong to him—even though Li Liushui actually needed it.
Ye Chen waved it off, “That bull was just something I casually killed. It’s nothing worth mentioning. As for the Silver Vein Grass, though it’s Grade-4, it’s quite niche. I don’t need it.”
Seeing Li Liushui still trying to insist, Ye Chen cut him off directly, “It’s settled. Also, you’re about to bleed out.”
Li Liushui was overwhelmed with gratitude. While tending to his wounds, he pounded his chest and declared, “Young Master Ye, I’ll never forget your life-saving grace. If there’s ever anything you need me for—blade mountain or sea of fire, I’ll go without hesitation!”
Had it been anyone else, Ye Chen might have brushed that off. But Li Liushui was known in his past life for keeping his word no matter the cost.
One casual strike earned him a great favor from Li Liushui. That alone made it worthwhile.
“Young Master Ye, since you don’t want the Silver Vein Grass, I won’t insist. But the beast core of this Silver Wild Bull—you must take it.” After stopping his bleeding, Li Liushui retrieved the beast core and handed it over.
The secret realm trial was, in essence, about hunting mystic beasts and collecting beast cores.
A 1st-rank mystic beast’s core was worth 1 point.
A 2nd-rank beast’s core was worth 10 points.
And so on.
A 4th-rank beast’s core was worth 1,000 points.
More points not only boosted the empire’s overall ranking but also brought personal rewards.
“And these are specialties of the Great Chu Empire. Please, you must accept them!” Li Liushui then opened his spatial ring and stuffed several jars and containers into Ye Chen’s hands.
Unable to refuse his sincerity, Ye Chen accepted them.
As a gesture in return, Ye Chen opened his own spatial ring and gifted Li Liushui a Vajra Strength Pill—and two hats.
“This pill shines with golden light. Clearly, it’s high-grade. But these two ordinary-looking hats… what are they for?” Li Liushui wondered. Before he could ask, Ye Chen had already vanished with Qing’er in a blur.
The two of them had a clear destination—a valley several hundred kilometers away.
There, Ye Chen sensed the aura of the second spiritual mark. Either Jian Ling’er or Lin Tian had been randomly teleported there.
Although hundreds of kilometers wasn’t close, Ye Chen and Qing’er used the 《Shadowless》 technique to travel at high speed. In less than half an hour, they arrived.
“It’s Lin Tian!” Ye Chen and Qing’er moved stealthily into the valley with 《Shadowless》 and immediately saw Lin Tian.