49: Chapter 49 Fierce Battle in the Valley
"System, open panel."
Feeling the power within his body grow significantly stronger once again, Han Ming couldn't wait to open the panel.
[Host: Han Ming]
[Qi-Blood Value: 95,178 points]
[Realm: 9-Star Martial Master]
[Physique: SS-Rank Profound Ice Spirit Body]
[Cultivation Technique: Ten Thousand Dao Scripture (Immortal Rank)]
[Martial Skill: Wind Shadow Step (Major Achievement), Mountain Crushing Palm (Major Achievement), Wind-Thunder Palm (Major Achievement), Qi Concealment Art (Major Achievement)]
[Current Apprentice Slots: 2/3 (One apprentice slot is gained for every Breakthrough in a major Realm)]
[Bound Apprentices: Lin Fan (5-Star Martial Master), Li Xuewei (Five-star Martial Artist, Mystic Ice Spirit Body)]
Looking at the SS-Rank Physique added to his panel, Han Ming revealed a satisfied smile.
This was an SS-Rank Physique!
With this Physique, even without the System, his talent would be top-tier.
His cultivation speed was more than ten times faster than before.
"It is getting late, and there is nothing here. It is perfect to rest here for the night."
On the other side, after sensing the changes in her body, Li Xuewei looked up at the sky and muttered to herself.
Having made her decision, Li Xuewei found a relatively flat stone, sat cross-legged, and began to Cultivate.
Seeing Li Xuewei begin to Cultivate, Han Ming did not leave either; he also began to Cultivate in the nearby woods.
According to the development in the original story, he knew that this Martial Exam would not be peaceful.
Many of the invigilators in the Secret Realm were people from the Blood Demon Alliance. On the third day, they would destroy the monitoring nodes in the Secret Realm, causing the candidates' positioning bracelets to fail.
The Secret Realm would become their hunting ground.
"Should I take this opportunity to kill Zhang Beiwang of the Zhang family?"
Han Ming, who knew the Blood Demon Alliance's plan, thought to himself.
Although he was not a match for the Zhang family right now, he didn't mind collecting some interest first.
Zhang Beiwang was the strongest Genius in the history of the Zhang family. If he were killed, the Zhang family would surely be heartbroken!
Having figured this out, Han Ming stopped thinking about it and began to Cultivate with peace of mind.
Soon it was the next day. Han Ming woke up from his cultivation. Although he hadn't taken any Medicinal Pill, his Qi-Blood Value had increased by more than five hundred points.
Of course, this was partly due to the contributions from Li Xuewei and Lin Fan, but this was already quite good. At this rate, he would be able to reach a Breakthrough to Great Martial Master in less than ten days.
If he took a Medicinal Pill, it would be even faster, perhaps less than five days.
The SS-Rank Mystic Ice Spirit Body was truly terrifying!
After daybreak, Li Xuewei did not delay and hurriedly left the cold pool to hunt exotic beasts.
She had previously only been a Five-Star Martial Apprentice and only dared to hunt first-order, three-star exotic beasts. A day had passed, and she only had forty-something points.
"Xuewei, you are here!"
Seeing Li Xuewei preparing to leave, Han Ming pretended that he had just arrived and walked out, calling out.
"Han Ming?"
Seeing that it was Han Ming, a look of joy appeared on Li Xuewei's face. She trotted over, her little face flushed with excitement.
"How are you doing? How many points do you have now?"
"Hmm, not bad, over eight hundred and seventy points. How about you?"
Han Ming nodded, stated his own score, and asked in return.
"Wow, you are so amazing! I... I only have forty-something points!"
Hearing that Han Ming had over eight hundred points, Li Xuewei was excited, but then immediately thought of her own score of forty-something and felt a bit embarrassed.
"Han Ming, look, I am already a Five-star Martial Artist."
Thinking of her current strength, she happily spun around in front of Han Ming and released her aura, saying.
"Wow, you are even more amazing than me! Even I, your Master, have been surpassed by you. How did you do it?"
Han Ming pretended that he had just found out, revealing a shocked expression as he spoke.
Li Xuewei was very satisfied with her performance and recounted the process of how she broke through to a Five-star Martial Artist.
"Hmm, you must have awakened some kind of Physique. You must never tell anyone about it, you know?"
"Furthermore, there are already people from the Blood Demon Alliance disguised among the invigilators who have entered the Secret Realm. Their goal is to hunt the geniuses in the Martial Exam. You must be careful yourself."
Han Ming warned Li Xuewei with a solemn expression.
His main reason for coming out to meet Li Xuewei was to tell her about the Blood Demon's plan.
Although she was fine in the original story, since he had transmigrated, her strength was several minor Realms higher than in the original story.
Who knew if any accidents would happen?
"What? People from the Blood Demon Alliance have already mixed in? How do you know?"
Li Xuewei's face turned pale upon hearing this. The Blood Demon Alliance was the public enemy of the Great Xia Alliance, killing without blinking an eye. Countless geniuses had died at their hands.
It had reached the point where people turned pale at the mention of them, and their name could stop a child from crying.
"Don't worry about how I know; just be careful."
Han Ming couldn't exactly say he had transmigrated into a book, could he? And that he knew some of the plot.
"Then should we tell the teachers the news?"
Seeing Han Ming say this, Li Xuewei tactfully did not pursue the question, but still said worriedly.
"Tell which teacher now? How do you know if they might be an undercover agent for the Blood Demon Alliance? We would die even faster. It's safer to just be careful ourselves."
There was one more thing Han Ming didn't say: if he told a teacher, and the teacher asked him how he knew, what would he say?
Perhaps they would even suspect him of being involved with the Blood Demon Alliance. Han Ming didn't want to cause trouble for himself.
"Hmm, that makes sense. Then what should we do?"
Li Xuewei nodded thoughtfully upon hearing this and looked at Han Ming, asking.
"You can continue to hunt exotic beasts, but try not to get into the top twenty in the rankings, otherwise you might very likely become a target for the Blood Demon Alliance."
"Or, try to push your ranking up before today, and then end the Martial Exam early. Once you are out of the Secret Realm, you will be safe. The people from the Blood Demon Alliance are very likely to make their move on the third day."
Han Ming considered it for a moment and said.
Both methods had risks, but relatively speaking, the first method was safer.
Who knew if the instructor who came to take him out of the Secret Realm after ending the Martial Exam early was a person from the Blood Demon Alliance?
That would be walking straight into the line of fire.
"If you find that your positioning bracelet isn't working, move your location as quickly as possible, find a hidden place to hide, and wait for the Alliance's rescue."
Seeing that Li Xuewei chose the first method, Han Ming urged her.
"Hmm, I know. Are you not staying with me?"
Li Xuewei nodded, then looked at Han Ming and asked in confusion.
"No, I have other things to do. Just make sure you stay safe."
Han Ming shook his head and said.
"Hmm, then you be careful too."
Li Xuewei did not ask what Han Ming had to do, but hearing that Han Ming would not be with her, she felt a slight disappointment in her heart.
After parting with Li Xuewei, Han Ming's figure quickly disappeared into the bamboo forest, speeding towards the direction where he had met Su Wanning yesterday.
He also wanted to tell Su Wanning about the Blood Demon Alliance and let her be careful. After all, they were classmates, and he had even taken a Profound Rank Martial Skill from her.
Soon, Han Ming arrived at the place where Su Wanning and the Bloodthirsty Mantis had fought yesterday, but he could no longer see Su Wanning's figure.
He searched the vicinity again, and seeing that he still couldn't see Su Wanning, Han Ming picked a random direction and left the place.
He needed to find the whereabouts of Zhang Beiwang of the Zhang family. When the Blood Demon Alliance caused trouble, he would take the opportunity to kill him and collect some interest from the Zhang family first.
Another half a day passed. Not only had Han Ming not found Zhang Beiwang, but he hadn't even seen a trace of Su Wanning or Lin Fan.
He did see many students teaming up to hunt exotic beasts, but he dared not openly inquire about Zhang Beiwang's whereabouts.
Otherwise, if Zhang Beiwang died, the Zhang family would definitely track him down.
Just as Han Ming was passing through a valley, he heard a powerful wave of combat emanate from below.
Listening to the commotion, it was at least a battle at the Martial Artist level.
Driven by curiosity, Han Ming rushed towards the direction of the battle.
Passing through the valley, seeing the scene of the battle clearly, he was slightly stunned.
He saw three figures fiercely clashing in the center of the valley.
No, to be precise, it was two exotic beasts besieging a woman.
Those two exotic beasts were as large as oxen, their bodies covered in dark red scales, with two curved sharp horns on their heads, shimmering with sparks of fire.
They were actually two second-order, three-star exotic beasts, Dual-Horned Fire Rhinos.
This kind of exotic beast had thick skin and flesh, infinite strength, and they acted together, coordinating perfectly. Ordinary Five-star Martial Artists wouldn't dare to confront them head-on.
And the woman being besieged made Han Ming's eyes light up.
She was wearing a cyan combat suit, her long hair tied into a high ponytail, her face exquisite, and her figure tall. A long sword in her hand danced tightly, impenetrable, the sword light like a streak of silk, blocking all the attacks of the two Fire Rhinos.
With the aura of a Two-Star Martial Artist, her swordsmanship was sharp, her footwork exquisite, and she was actually not at a disadvantage fighting one against two.
Han Ming could see clearly from above the valley that this woman's strength was far from as simple as a Two-Star Martial Artist. Every sword strike of hers was perfectly timed; it looked precarious, but in reality, she was handling it with ease.
"Interesting."
Han Ming muttered.