Langya Pavilion: I'm here to kill Ye Qing!

Inside the Yin Clan Territory.

After Ye Qing had left, a member of the Yin Clan rushed over, their face filled with pleasant surprise.

They reported loudly to Yin An and Yin Muyu:

"Good news! Great news!"

"We just checked the treasury and found that... everything in the treasury is there, not a single item is missing! It's all back!"

"And..."

The clansman became so excited at this point that they were almost incoherent:

"There are even some precious treasures and Medicinal Pills that didn't belong to us originally!"

"We can save even more Good Spirits in the future!"

"What?!"

Yin Muyu and Yin An were shaken to their cores upon hearing this.

They understood in an instant who had done this.

Who else could it be but their benefactor, Ye Qing?

"Benefactor..."

Yin An's eyes reddened as he clenched his fists tightly.

Yin Muyu also took a deep breath, her beautiful eyes filled with gratitude and admiration.

Afterward, the siblings bowed deeply and respectfully in the direction Ye Qing had departed, performing a formal salute.

"Yin An and Yin Muyu respectfully see off our benefactor!"

...Ye Qing, for his part, had left the Yin Clan.

He chose a direction at random and walked unhurriedly across the land of the Nether Abyss.

Any Evil Nethers he encountered along the way were conveniently slain with a single sword strike.

As the number of Evil Nethers he killed grew larger,

Ye Qing noticed that the numbers representing points on the Holy Academy trial token hanging from his waist were constantly rising.

It was worth mentioning that,

after a rough calculation, Ye Qing suddenly realized that his point total didn't seem to add up.

There were significantly more points than he should have received from actually slaying Evil Nethers.

It wasn't until he consulted Cang Yuanzi

that Ye Qing finally understood.

It turned out these extra points were plundered from the trial points of Qin Mingyue, Chun Ziliu, and the others after he killed them!

"There is a hidden rule in the trial regulations,"

Cang Yuanzi explained:

"While conflict between trial participants is not forbidden, random slaughter is not encouraged either."

"However, if one can defeat or kill another participant, they can plunder up to forty percent of the opponent's points!"

"Of course, you can only plunder points from the same person once."

"Besides killing, if an opponent surrenders and is willing to hand over their points voluntarily, the trial token will automatically transfer the opponent's points over."

Ye Qing nodded upon hearing this.

"I see."

The Holy Academy mentor who presided over the trial had not explicitly stated these rules before it began.

It seemed this was part of the trial's 'hidden content'.

One could well imagine.

If someone figured out this rule,

then when the three-month trial period drew to a close,

in order to compete for the 'point rankings' and a spot in the Holy Academy,

the competition and slaughter between trial participants

would surely become exceptionally brutal!

...Meanwhile.

In a dark valley within the Nether Abyss.

A feminine-looking youth dressed in purple robes had just completed a great battle, slaying an Evil Nether at the third layer of Soul Transformation on the spot.

He glanced at the ticking points on the trial token in his hand and smiled slightly.

His expression carried an air of composure and confidence.

This person was none other than the number one Prodigy of the Myriad Spirits Langya Clan, one of the three Supreme Aristocratic Families of the Central Region—Langya Xuan!

"I wonder if that kid named Ye Qing has already been killed by someone else?"

Langya Xuan toyed with the trial token in his hand, thinking of the qingyun token as he talked to himself.

He sneered:

"To hold the qingyun token yet not know his place, even having the audacity to participate in the Holy Academy trial."

"This is like a child carrying gold through a busy market; it's simply seeking death!"

"If that Ye Qing is dead, then whose hands will the qingyun token... fall into now?"

"Qin Mingyue? Or Chun Ziliu?"

Reflecting on it, a playful curl appeared at the corner of Langya Xuan's mouth.

"Let me take a look, and I shall know!"

As those words fell,

Langya Xuan's expression turned solemn.

He reached out and made a grasping motion toward the recently deceased corpse of the Evil Nether.

Several fragmented orbs of white spiritual light were drawn into his hand.

Then, his hands flew through a series of seals as he muttered incantations.

"Boundless Heaven and Earth, Myriad Spirits as One! Manifest the Laws of the Universe, Langya Spirit Eyes, Open!"

Buzz!

As the technique was completed, a crack seemed to split open at the center of Langya Xuan's brow.

A vertical golden pupil snapped open!

Dazzling golden divine light shone from within it, exuding a noble, mysterious, and ancient aura.

This was the secret technique of the Myriad Spirits Langya Clan—the Langya Spirit Eyes!

As long as one spent a certain amount of time beforehand secretly planting a spiritual curse on a person of interest,

then by using this Daoist Magic,

one could use a spiritual medium to glimpse fragments of the most vivid memories from the recent experiences of the cursed person!

Both Qin Mingyue and Chun Ziliu had been marked with this technique by Langya Xuan.

Furthermore, this technique was extremely well-hidden and generally should not be detected.

Clearly,

if Qin Mingyue and Chun Ziliu had truly encountered Ye Qing or even obtained the qingyun token,

then that experience would certainly become their most vivid memory!

And subsequently, it would be revealed before Langya Xuan's eyes!

"First, let's look at Qin Mingyue..."

With a thought from Langya Xuan, the light within the Spirit Pupil shifted as he began to consume the spiritual medium to search for images regarding Qin Mingyue.

However, in the next moment,

Langya Xuan's brow furrowed.

"What's going on?"

"Why is the image black?"

"And there's only one image, which is even constantly dissipating?"

Could it be that the technique he planted was discovered by Qin Mingyue?

Langya Xuan's expression darkened slightly as he increased his output of Dharmic power to look closer.

"Let me look carefully..."

"Hmm? Ye Qing's figure really did appear in the image..."

"Wait! This is..."

Langya Xuan's pupils shrank violently, and a look of shock appeared on his face!

In the image,

Qin Mingyue was seen rushing toward Ye Qing with a face full of confidence.

However, in the next instant, Ye Qing simply delivered a casual slap.

Qin Mingyue was instantly reduced to a pulp!

"Qin Mingyue... was killed by Ye Qing?!"

Langya Xuan was horrified!

No wonder the image was black, and no wonder it was constantly dissipating!

It turned out the cursed Qin Mingyue was completely dead!

He had vanished entirely from this world!

Only that tiny bit of residual spirit remained, and after playing this final image,

it fully dissipated into nothingness.

"This... how is this possible?"

Langya Xuan swallowed hard.

He was in a state of daze.

Qin Mingyue was dead, so... what about Chun Ziliu?

Langya Xuan hurriedly performed the technique again, consuming more spiritual medium to check the images regarding Chun Ziliu.

The result... he discovered with horror

that the image was also pitch black!

And in that image about to dissipate,

Chun Ziliu was holding a Talisman Artifact, erupting with a terrifying aura.

Yet he was directly cleaved in two by a casual sword strike from Ye Qing!

"Chun Ziliu... was also slain by Ye Qing?!"

At this moment, Langya Xuan was completely frozen in place.

How could this be?

Qin Mingyue and Chun Ziliu were actually both dead???

This was completely different from the scenario he had anticipated!

Langya Xuan's face was so dark it looked as if it could drip water.

Whoosh!

The vertical golden Spirit Pupil at his brow slowly closed.

But those two heart-stopping black images from before seemed deeply etched into his mind.

Qin Mingyue, dead!

Chun Ziliu, dead!

These two top-tier prodigies who shared his reputation couldn't even manage an effective counterattack.

They were casually slaughtered like pigs or dogs by that kid named Ye Qing!

"Phew..."

Langya Xuan let out a long breath of turbid air, trying to calm the stormy waves surging within him.

He had to admit he had misjudged him.

And it was a severe misjudgment!

That Ye Qing was by no means some nameless nobody, nor was he some lucky fellow who just happened to obtain the qingyun token by chance.

To be able to instantly kill two top prodigies, such combat power was... "A monster!"

"A monster among monsters, an unparalleled Prodigy!"

Langya Xuan searched for words in his mind for a long time before finally giving an evaluation.

He felt that:

"This person's talent and strength are likely far above us top prodigies, perhaps... he should be called an Unparalleled Sun!"

Such a person, such a person!

Should he still fight for the qingyun token?

Langya Xuan's expression shifted repeatedly; he knew very well that if he wanted to continue vying for the qingyun token, he had to be fully prepared.

He couldn't just throw his life away like Qin Mingyue and Chun Ziliu.

"An Unparalleled Sun, is it..."

Langya Xuan lowered his head in thought for a moment, then suddenly looked up.

A cold smile curled on his lips.

"He is indeed very strong, so strong it makes me feel a bit suffocated."

"But... it's not like the qingyun token is truly impossible to contest!"

Light flickered in Langya Xuan's eyes.

He estimated that Ye Qing likely possessed terrifying combat power above the Spirit Transformation Eighth Layer, perhaps even at the Ninth Layer of Soul Transformation Stage!

And this person was only at the Nascent Soul stage!

How appalling was that?

But—

"Strong as he is, I've discovered he has a fatal weakness! And that is his humble background!"

"With neither a deep background nor the support of a massive force, being all alone in this Nether Abyss is his greatest flaw right now!"

"If handled correctly, this person might just be killable!"

After straightening out his thoughts, the wariness in Langya Xuan's eyes gradually faded.

In fact, his chest was now somewhat boiling with excitement!

He admitted Ye Qing was strong; if he entered the Holy Academy in the future, he might truly soar and become a leading figure of an era.

But precisely because of that... "If I can strangle him here in this Nether Abyss before he truly grows up..."

"Stepping over the bones of an Unparalleled Sun, that feeling..."

The moment Langya Xuan thought of that image, the blood throughout his body couldn't help but surge.

An indescribable sense of relief and pleasure welled up in his heart!

This would be an absolute feat!

Perhaps one that could never be replicated in a lifetime!

As for how to strangle Ye Qing?

Langya Xuan already had a plan in mind; he had his own detailed strategy.

First, it was simple.

Confronting him head-on and having a face-to-face conflict—neither Qin Mingyue nor Chun Ziliu were his match. He naturally wouldn't be so stupid as to rush in and seek death himself.

"Since a duel won't work, then I must... use momentum to crush him!"

"Although I can't beat you, Ye Qing, the Myriad Spirits Langya Clan stands behind me!"

Langya Xuan sneered in his heart.

During the trial, it was naturally difficult for families to intervene.

But he, Langya Xuan, as the number one Prodigy of a Supreme Aristocratic Family, naturally possessed powerful charisma.

This was his momentum!

"As long as I keep gathering this momentum, calling upon all the prodigies participating in the trial to use our collective strength and overwhelming majesty to finish him in one stroke..."

"I don't believe that you, Ye Qing, can truly be Heaven-Defying!"

In his view, no matter how strong Ye Qing was, he was ultimately just one person.

And among those participating in the Holy Academy's entry trial, who wasn't a local Genius? Who didn't have a few trump cards?

If he could get these people to wear down Ye Qing's strength,

even if it meant filling the gap with lives!

It wouldn't matter how many people died, as long as he could wait until Ye Qing was exhausted and then use his own precious treasures and secret techniques to launch a thunderous strike... as long as Ye Qing wasn't a Void Realm Great Cultivator! Of course, no matter how strong Ye Qing was, he couldn't possibly be a Void Realm Great Cultivator!

At that time, he would surely be able to kill him!

And so, the plan was set!

Thinking of this, Langya Xuan no longer hesitated.

He immediately took action.

First, he transmitted his will through the 'Langya Spirit Eyes' curse he had previously planted on his followers.

If this spiritual curse was meant to be sufficiently hidden, it could only glimpse images.

But it could actually serve as a medium for one-way communication.

Since it was placed on his followers, it didn't need to be that hidden.

So it was perfect for conveying Langya Xuan's will!

"All of you, hear my command!"

Langya Xuan's voice echoed in the minds of his followers scattered across the Nether Abyss.

"Effective immediately, find and contact every trial participant you can find!"

"Tell them to hunt down and kill Ye Qing!"

"I, Langya Xuan, hereby swear on my Family's honor: anyone willing to participate in the hunt for Ye Qing will not only gain the friendship of the Langya Clan upon success but will also receive extremely generous rewards!"

"Furthermore, the Primeval Qin Clan and the Divine Mountain Chun Clan will also surely offer great thanks!"

When this order was issued, the Langya Clan's followers across the Nether Abyss were all stunned.

At the same time, they secretly speculated.

Could it be that this Ye Qing was very good at hiding and hadn't been found yet, so the prodigies of the three Supreme Aristocratic Families had reached a consensus?

Were they preparing to join forces to find Ye Qing first and eliminate him?

Of course, they didn't dare ask more and accepted the orders one after another.

Subsequently, these followers began to lobby throughout the Nether Abyss.

Relying on Langya Xuan's promises and the reputation of the three great families, they soon recruited a large number of tempted trial participants.

In the eyes of these prodigies,

Ye Qing?

He was just a lucky kid from a common background who happened to get the qingyun token!

In terms of cultivation, he wasn't even as high as many of them!

As long as they had strength in numbers, they could drown him with their spit alone!

The most crucial part was that the profit was incredibly high while the risk... in their eyes, was extremely low!

After all, with so many people attacking together, could they really be afraid of not being able to beat one person?

And so,

a massive Alliance for the crusade against Ye Qing quickly took shape.

And the number of people gathered grew more and more, from dozens to over a hundred, even approaching several hundred!

And then, as expected, there was strength in numbers.

Soon, news arrived.

"Report! Someone has discovered traces of Ye Qing in a crimson mountain range to the southwest!"

"Unfortunately, by the time I rushed over, he was already gone..."

The person's tone carried a hint of regret.

In his view, he had missed a great opportunity to kill Ye Qing and claim a major achievement!