Invincible Soul Emperor

Chapter 40: Chapter 40 The Trial Race Begins

Ye Qingchen was startled at first, his brows furrowing slightly. Soon, however, he seemed to understand something, and a smile spread across his face.

”I understand. Thank you for the reminder. I will take good care of Xiao Xiao!”

At this moment, Du Pengcheng stood up from the VIP seats.

”Each contestant will wear a bracelet. When you kill a Monster Beast, the bracelet will collect the corresponding points. This trial lasts for thirty days. During this period, the more Monster Beasts you kill and the stronger they are, the more points you will accumulate, and the higher your rank will be! The top eighteen participants can join our Six Great Sects! Everyone else will be eliminated!”

Upon hearing this, all the young contestants exclaimed in shock. With thousands participating, only the top eighteen would have a chance to enter the Six Great Sects. It was like a thousand soldiers trying to cross a single-log bridge—the difficulty was extraordinary.

After confirming all the contestants had put on their bracelets, Du Pengcheng waved his hand grandly.

”I declare the Qingyun Mountain Range Youth Trial officially open!”

As his voice fell, thousands of contestants rushed frantically into the Qingyun Mountain Range. They all feared being left behind, knowing that every second gained was another chance over their rivals.

The mortality rate for each Qingyun Mountain Range Youth Trial exceeded sixty percent. It was an exceptionally cruel test. But for the chance to join the Six Great Sects and the lure of immense Cultivation Resources, these young people flocked to it like moths to a flame, utterly fearless.

Although the crowd of thousands was large, they were quickly swallowed by the dense forest and rock formations after scattering into the Qingyun Mountain Range, leaving no trace behind.

Watching Ye Qingchen’s disappearing back, a cold glint flashed in Li Zhe’s eyes before vanishing.

Ye Qingchen entered the Qingyun Mountain Range with Xiao Xiao but did not rush to find Monster Beasts, and they soon fell behind the pack.

”Young Master, you don’t need to worry about me. I’ll just hide out near the entrance of the Qingyun Mountain Range. If there’s any danger, I’ll run right back!” Xiao Xiao urged, not wanting to be a burden.

She had no interest in the Six Great Sects. If the rules didn’t prohibit quitting mid-trial, she would have already gone back.

”Absolutely not! Do you think it’s safe to stay here? You must follow me closely!” Ye Qingchen’s tone left no room for refusal.

”Alright then,” Xiao Xiao stuck out her tongue reluctantly. ”When the fighting starts, I’ll assist you from the side!”

Ye Qingchen shook his head. ”You don’t need to lift a finger. Just stick close to me and don’t fall behind!”

Ye Qingchen kept Qin Yue’s reminder etched in his mind.

The two continued onward into the Qingyun Mountain Range. This was just the outermost perimeter, generally home to the weakest Tier 1 Monster Beasts, equivalent to the Cultivation of a Martial Apprentice. They posed no threat to Ye Qingchen.

He advanced, crushing everything in his path. In just half a day, he had slain over a dozen Tier 1 Monster Beasts, and the number on his bracelet read twenty. Clearly, even among Tier 1 Monster Beasts, differing combat strengths yielded different point values.

Of course, although Xiao Xiao did not participate in the combat, Ye Qingchen had her deliver the final blow to a few weakened Monster Beasts that had no fight left in them.

Despite being at the fifth level of the Martial Apprentice realm, her hand, holding the blade, couldn’t help but tremble, her small face deathly pale. Lacking any battle experience, she discovered that killing a Monster Beast was a completely different feeling from slaughtering the chickens she was used to.

Nervousness, blood, fear, cruelty—all sorts of emotions flooded her heart. Even with the Monster Beasts already helpless on the ground, she still managed to stab the wrong spots. What should have been a single, fatal blow turned into torment, with the creature enduring a dozen or more stabs before finally, miserably, expiring. It couldn’t even die a quick death!

Ye Qingchen knew this was cruel to Xiao Xiao, but he had no choice. Firstly, now that Xiao Xiao had stepped onto the martial path, she had to experience the brutality of combat, where it was often a matter of life and death. Secondly, if Xiao Xiao had zero points, it would raise suspicions among the leaders of the Six Great Sects, making it easier for her true nature to be exposed.

Moreover, Ye Qingchen suspected that their bracelets had sensing devices. If Xiao Xiao used her Martial Soul Force in battle, her Vermilion Bird Holy Soul would be detected immediately.

For Ye Qingchen himself, the Six Great Sects might be the best choice. But for a peerless genius like Xiao Xiao, staying in the Six Great Sects, staying in the Northern Desolate Country, was a complete waste of her talent. Therefore, Ye Qingchen planned to ask Qin Yue to send Xiao Xiao to a more suitable place once the trial was over.

Seeing the number on Xiao Xiao’s bracelet change to ten, Ye Qingchen nodded in satisfaction. ”You don’t have to deliver the finishing blows anymore. You can just stay back and relax now!”

”Young Master, you don’t have to spare my feelings. I can still continue!” Xiao Xiao’s pretty face was full of defiance, but her trembling arm and quavering voice betrayed her fear.

Ye Qingchen smiled and rubbed Xiao Xiao’s head. Her performance was actually quite good. He remembered that his own first time drawing blood had been even more pathetic than hers.

* * *

The trial within the Qingyun Mountain Range continued. The dignitaries in the VIP seats on the high platform near the entrance were not idle either, and they began to discuss the trial with great interest.

”Gentlemen, who do you think is most likely to win this trial? Has your Qingyun Town produced any promising talents in recent years?” Du Pengcheng asked, his curiosity piqued.

Huang Dayear was the first to speak up. ”Speaking of promising talents, our Huang Family’s Huang Xiaoshuai is undeniably the top candidate! At just twenty-four years old, he’s already a fourth-level Martial Artist. First place in this trial is his for the taking!”

”Huang Xiaoshuai? Good, let me see!” Du Pengcheng opened a ranking chart that displayed the real-time scores and ranks of the contestants. At the very top, Huang Xiaoshuai’s name was prominently displayed with a score of ninety-seven.

”Tsk tsk, quite impressive indeed!” Du Pengcheng nodded, satisfied.

Tier 1 Monster Beasts were typically worth one or two points. To have accumulated so many points in just half a day, Huang Xiaoshuai must have killed at least several dozen beasts.

Not to be outdone, Li Zhe chimed in, ”Huang Xiaoshuai is already twenty-four and only at the fourth level of a Martial Artist. My family’s Li Mingjun is just twenty-three and has reached the same level. His talent is clearly superior, and his performance in this trial will surely be dazzling!”

”Oh? A twenty-three-year-old fourth-level Martial Artist? With proper nurturing, it’s not impossible for him to enter the inner sect of my Qingyun Sect!” Du Pengcheng’s eyes lit up. He scanned the ranking chart for Li Mingjun’s name, but after searching for a while, he couldn’t find it within the top two hundred.

”Patriarch Li, this Li Mingjun of yours seems to be underperforming, ranked far beyond two-hundredth place!” After finally finding Li Mingjun’s name ranked somewhere past five hundred, with a meager score of twenty-three, Du Pengcheng shook his head.

Beside them, Huang Dayear couldn’t help but gloat, ”With a performance like that, you dare compare him to our Huang Xiaoshuai? What a joke!”

”Only twenty-three points? What is that boy doing?!” Seeing Li Mingjun’s score, Li Zhe was instantly furious. His eyes shifted as an idea struck him, and his pupils contracted.

Instead of hunting Monster Beasts, could that kid have gone after Ye Qingchen?

「Meanwhile」

Deep within the Qingyun Mountain Range, Ye Qingchen led Xiao Xiao along a rugged mountain path. After a while, he stopped and called out, his voice clear and resonant, ”You’ve been following us all this way. Aren’t you tired?”