System Possession, One Sword Shocks the Gods

18: Early signs of successThe smell of blood in the valley had not yet dissipated, leaving behind a deathly silence.

Su Wanqing, Wang Meng, and Li Hao looked at Ye Chen, who stood with his sword, his aura as deep and steady as a mountain. The shock in their hearts was difficult to calm for a long time. An instant kill of an Origin Opening Realm! Could this really be achieved by someone at the Eighth Level of Body Tempering Realm?

Ye Chen, however, did not immerse himself in the power of that sword strike just now. He rubbed the black token in his hand, which was carved with a hideous wolf’s head. It was cold to the touch, and its material was neither metal nor wood. On the back, there was a blurry mark that seemed to be the outline of a tower.

“This mark...” Ye Chen’s gaze narrowed slightly. This tower outline seemed like something he had seen somewhere in Qingyun City. That’s it, the watchtower of the City Lord’s Mansion!

Lin Batian! As expected, he was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes!

He put the token away and found a small Storage Pouch on the One-Eyed Strongman. He probed it with his Divine Sense; inside, besides some scattered Spirit Stones and Medicinal Pills, there wasn’t much of value. However, a thin, yellowed booklet caught his attention—the Blood Burning Art.

Flipping through it briefly, it was an evil Cultivation Technique that increased strength in a short time by burning one’s own essence blood. The power was decent, but the consequences were endless. The spiritual power it produced was mixed and violent, matching the residual aura on those wounds.

“It seems these Bandit Cultivators are just pawns raised by Lin Batian to handle the ’dirty work,’” Ye Chen understood in his heart. Using Black Wind Stockade to kidnap and kill academy Disciples who might pose a threat to him or Ye Chenfeng allowed him to eliminate dissidents and plunder resources, killing two birds with one stone.

“Senior Brother Ye, what should we do now?” Su Wanqing stepped forward, her tone filled with awe. Wang Meng and Li Hao also looked at him, clearly treating him as their backbone.

Ye Chen put away the Storage Pouch, his gaze sweeping over the corpses of his fellow Disciples on the ground, his eyes cold: “This place is not safe to stay. The fleeing bandits will soon draw more people. We will simply collect the remains of our fellow Disciples and then immediately return to the academy to report this matter.”

“Report it?” Wang Meng was a bit hesitant. “We don’t have enough evidence. With only a token and a manual, Lin Batian can completely shift the blame.”

“There’s no need to directly accuse Lin Batian,” Ye Chen said indifferently. “We only need to truthfully report that the Black Wind Stockade bandits brutally murdered academy Disciples and that we seized their manual and token. The academy’s higher-ups aren’t fools; they’ll have their own judgment. The important thing is to bring this matter into the open, so Lin Batian will have misgivings and won’t dare to be so unscrupulous again.”

Su Wanqing’s beautiful eyes lit up: “Senior Brother is right! As long as the academy starts paying attention to Black Wind Stockade, Lin Batian will surely be wary of acting rashly!”

The four moved quickly, carefully collecting the remains of the victims and placing them into Storage Pouches (the standard-issue Storage Pouches from the academy had a function for temporarily preserving bodies). Then, Ye Chen burned the Blood Burning Art booklet to ashes; such a thing was harmful to keep.

Having handled everything, the four immediately returned along their original path, even more alert than when they had come.

The journey passed in silence, and they successfully returned to Tianfeng Academy.

In the Mission Hall, when Ye Chen presented the fact that the Black Wind Stockade bandits had killed several academy Disciples along with the black token, the duty Deacon’s expression immediately became incredibly serious. Especially when he felt the faint, cold aura on the token and saw the blurry tower mark on the back, a sharp glint flashed deep in his eyes.

“This matter is of great importance; you have done well,” the Deacon said in a deep voice. “The mission rewards will be issued to you according to the highest standard. I will report this to the Law Enforcement Hall immediately. For now, do not speak of this to the outside world.”

“Yes,” Ye Chen and the other three replied.

Upon leaving the Mission Hall, fifteen hundred points had been added to Ye Chen’s identity jade token! This was the maximum reward for the Black Wind Stockade investigation mission. Su Wanqing and the other two also received a good amount of points, and they were even more grateful to Ye Chen.

“Senior Brother Ye, thank you so much this time!” Su Wanqing thanked him sincerely.

“It was my duty,” Ye Chen’s tone remained flat. “You should also go back and rest well. Try not to take any missions on the outskirts of the mountains for a while.”

After parting with Su Wanqing’s group, Ye Chen returned to his D-rank Courtyard.

Closing the courtyard gate, he did not immediately begin to Cultivate, but instead reviewed today’s events.

“Lin Batian must still have informants inside the academy. I killed his subordinates today and reported the Black Wind Stockade matter; he definitely won’t let it go,” Ye Chen’s eyes were sharp. “Next, it will either be a more covert assassination or he’ll use someone else’s hand to deal with me within the academy’s rules.”

The potential he had shown now must have already caught some people’s attention. If Lin Batian wanted to use assassination methods as unscrupulously as before, the difficulty would be much higher. The most likely scenario was using Disciples within the academy to ’legitimately’ eliminate him during sparring, missions, or even Secret Realm explorations.

“Strength! I must Breakthrough to the Origin Opening Realm as soon as possible!” Ye Chen felt a sense of urgency. Only by stepping into the Origin Opening Realm, where spiritual power undergoes a qualitative change, could he begin to master Sword Qi, perform more powerful sword techniques, and truly have the power to protect himself.

He checked his identity jade token; adding the remaining hundred points from before, he now had a total of sixteen hundred points.

“Enough to exchange for some resources and push for the Ninth Level of Body Tempering Realm!”

Without hesitation, he went to the Pill Pavilion again and spent a thousand points to exchange for ten higher-quality ’Yuan Condensing Pills,’ which were significantly effective for pushing toward the Peak of Body Tempering. He also spent five hundred points to exchange for one hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

With resources in hand, Ye Chen once again entered a state of secluded cultivation.

Inside the quiet room, he held a Spirit Stone and swallowed a Yuan Condensing Pill, fully operating the Basic Qi Guiding Art. A massive amount of Spiritual Qi was drawn in, surging into his body like a tide, being refined into pure spiritual power that constantly bombarded the barrier of the eighth level of Body Tempering.

Days passed one by one.

Five days later, the ten Yuan Condensing Pills were completely consumed.

Ten days later, the one hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones had all turned to powder.

On the fifteenth day, inside the quiet room, Spiritual Qi surged around Ye Chen, forming a small vortex visible to the naked eye. The damaged Hand Shaoyang Meridian inside his body let out an overwhelmed hum, but it still toughly endured the scouring of the surging spiritual power.

“Boom!”

As if a dam had burst, an aura several times stronger than before suddenly erupted from Ye Chen’s body! The Spiritual Qi vortex in the quiet room was instantly dispersed!

Ninth Level of Body Tempering Realm!

A natural success!

Ye Chen opened his eyes, a divine light shining in them. His bones crackled throughout his body, filled with explosive power. He felt that his total spiritual power and its level of purity had increased several times over compared to the eighth level! His Divine Sense range had also expanded quite a bit.

“Finally... the Peak of Body Tempering!” He clenched his fist, feeling the power flowing through his body.

However, when he tried to draw more spiritual power to strike at the barrier of the Origin Opening Realm, he felt an invisible, tough membrane firmly blocking the way. No matter how he struck, it remained motionless.

“As expected, the Origin Opening Realm is not that easy to break through.” Ye Chen was not discouraged. From Body Tempering to Origin Opening is a preliminary leap in the level of life; it requires an opportunity and, even more so, accumulation. Many Cultivators are stuck at this step for their entire lives.

His current accumulation was still far from enough.

“I need stronger pressure, or... a higher-level Cultivation Technique?” he mused. Although the Basic Qi Guiding Art had been improved by the System, its grade was ultimately limited. The quality of spiritual power it produced was likely not enough to easily tear through the Origin Opening barrier.

Perhaps it was time to visit the Scripture Pavilion.

Just as he was thinking about his next plan, there was movement outside the courtyard gate again. This time, it wasn’t a provocation, but a formal summons.

“Is Junior Brother Ye Chen present? The Deacon of the Instruction Hall has ordered you to proceed to the Martial Arts Arena immediately!”

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow. The Deacon of the Instruction Hall was looking for him? And at the Martial Arts Arena?

He faintly felt that trouble did not seem to have stayed away because of his seclusion; instead, it had come knocking in a more ’official’ way.

Without hesitation, he straightened his clothes, carried the qingfeng sword on his back, and pushed the door open.

If it’s a blessing, it’s not a disaster; if it’s a disaster, it can’t be avoided. Just as well, he also wanted to test exactly what level his strength at the Ninth Level of Body Tempering Realm had reached!

What would be waiting for him at the Martial Arts Arena?