Ye Chen looked at Hua Qianxue and did not beat her up as Luo Qingyi had suggested.
He couldn't win!
"Miss Hua, for the journey ahead, I'll have to trouble you," said Ye Chen.
He could have gone to Unparalleled County by himself to take the Cangxing Martial Arts Academy's examination, but Ye Chen knew full well that the journey would be fraught with danger.
Gu Yue, that old dog from the Celestial Sword Sect, had offered his head in exchange for an Inner Sect Disciple spot. Ten days had passed, and this news must surely have stirred many to action; who knows, some may already be nearing Qingyun City!
Therefore, Ye Chen understood the reason Yang Tianji had Hua Qianxue take him to Unparalleled County—she was to protect him.
Relying on a woman for protection wasn't exactly honorable.
But it was better than losing his life!
Even though Hua Qianxue seemed proud and indeed talked like someone who deserved a beating, as Luo Qingyi had said, she actually had a kind heart.
Hua Qianxue snorted coldly and said, "Since you know you're trouble, just listen to me along the way and stop acting on your own, understand?"
Ye Chen didn't bother to respond. He turned around and said to Ye Zhenming, "Third Uncle, I'll leave things here to you."
Ye Zhenming nodded and said, "Chen'Er, go without worry. I'll manage everything here. When you reach Unparalleled County, you must train diligently, seize the opportunity, and don't act recklessly. Take care of yourself!"
Saying this, Ye Zhenming stepped forward and gave Ye Chen a manly hug.
A moment later, Ye Chen picked up his sword and left with Hua Qianxue.
In his mind, the conversation he once had with his father Ye Zhennan resurfaced.
"Chen'Er, the sky over Unparalleled County is vast, and the sky over the Great Zhou Dynasty is even vaster. As you walk step by step out of Qingyun City, you'll discover how amazing this world is."
Ye Chen's eyes couldn't help but become slightly moist as he thought to himself, "Father, I'm going to see a greater and higher sky. One day, I will shine brightly in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and even beyond it.
I want revenge, and I want to become strong.
So strong that no one can threaten everything I care about!
Watch over me from the heavens, Father, Chen'Er will definitely accomplish it!"
......
Evening.
Ye Chen and Hua Qianxue arrived at the foot of a mountain and rested briefly.
Hua Qianxue took out a jade bottle and tossed it to Ye Chen, saying, "There are nine pills inside. Take one in the morning and one at night, and your injuries should fully heal before reaching Unparalleled County."
Ye Chen opened the jade bottle, immediately poured out a blue pill into his palm, its fragrance permeating the air.
Slightly tilting his head, he swallowed the pill.
Once the pill entered his stomach, it transformed into a cool sensation that surged through Ye Chen's limbs and organs.
In truth, his body had always generated a continuous warm flow, autonomously healing his wounds. Although still weak, he had regained some combat capability.
After consuming a pill, Ye Chen clearly felt the pace of his recovery quicken.
Ye Chen took out the silver notes from his pocket.
Approximately sixty thousand taels!
These silver notes were the entirety of the Ye Family's treasury.
Of course, there were other valuables in the treasury, but Ye Zhenming couldn't sell them off in such a short time, so he had packed all the silver notes for Ye Chen to take.
Ye Chen handed the silver notes to Hua Qianxue, "I know the pills must be expensive. See if this is enough."
Hua Qianxue looked at Ye Chen with an expression as if he were an idiot and said coldly, "I'm going away for a bit; stay here and don't wander. If anything happens, don't blame me."
After saying this, Hua Qianxue flew off.
Everyone has their urgent needs.
Even Hua Qianxue, who appeared ethereal and untouchable, had to eat, drink, and relieve herself.
She had been holding it in along the way.
Now she couldn't endure it any longer!
Once Hua Qianxue flew away, Ye Chen hurriedly sent a voice transmission to Elder Qingyi, "Elder Qingyi, these pills seem quite effective. Can I take a few more at once?"
"You can."
Ye Chen was overjoyed.
"If you're not afraid of bursting, swallow as many as you like."
Ye Chen: "..."
Couldn't it be said all at once?
"Taking about three at a time, your body should be able to handle it."
"Alright!"
With that, Ye Chen poured out two more pills from the jade bottle and popped them into his mouth.
Together with the one he had just taken, the energy from the three pills began to surge and swirl within him!
If previously, the energy of one pill was like a small stream,
then now, the energy of three pills was like a small river!
Ye Chen immediately felt a swelling pain all over his body, though not too severe. Yet he dared not be careless and promptly sat cross-legged, employing the first layer of the Nine Heavens Sword Manual to refine the pill's energy!
Not long after,
Ye Chen's eyebrows twitched slightly.
He sensed a murderous intent approaching him.
Since practicing the Thirteen Death Swords and comprehending the Sword Intent of Slaughter, his sensitivity to murderous intent had become very acute.
"Whoosh!"
A sharp, piercing sound broke through the air.
An arrow shot out from the darkness.
The surface of the arrow was enveloped in not insignificant yuan power, while the arrowhead seemed to spiral with it.
The arrow was about to hit Ye Chen.
Ye Chen suddenly opened his eyes, pressed his right hand against the ground, and sprang up.
"Boom!"
The arrow struck the ground where he had been sitting, blasting a large hole in the earth and stone.
"Oh, not bad, your reaction speed is quite fast."
A slightly surprised voice sounded, and a young woman in a long dress emerged.
In the woman's hand, she held an oversized bow, and an elder followed behind her.
Ye Chen landed on the ground, staring at the two of them.
The woman was not very old, in her twenties, but her aura was strong. In the True Essence Realm, she wasn't as powerful as Huang Tianxiong but was stronger than Huang Tianba, likely in the True Essence Realm Second Layer.
As for the elder, his aura was much stronger than Huang Tianxiong's. Ye Chen couldn't judge his strength.
"Ye Chen, I've spent several days on the road for your head. Considering my hard work, do you want to cut off your own head and present it to me?" the woman said with a smile, not taking Ye Chen seriously at all.
Ye Chen tightened his grip on his sword, mobilizing the Sword Qi within his body, ready to act.
In this situation, he couldn't afford to be careless.
He knew his own condition. Compared to when he killed Huang Tianxiong, he was in a much worse state!
Moreover, there was an even stronger elder than Huang Tianxiong.
"Xiaomeng, stop playing. Once I take his head, I'll immediately take you to the Celestial Sword Sect. Otherwise, the longer we delay, the more people will arrive, and then it will be hard to take his head even if we cut it off," the elder said.
The woman replied, "Grandfather, such a worthless person doesn't need you to exert any effort. I'll kill him myself."
Saying this, the woman planted the large bow into the ground and sneered at Ye Chen. "To be honest, normally someone like you isn't even worth a glance from me.
You should be grateful to Elder Gu of the Celestial Sword Sect. If not for him, how could you be worthy of dying by my hand?"
Grateful to that old dog Gu Yue?
Ye Chen cursed angrily, "If you want to lick that old dog, that's your business. As for me, I only kill dogs!"
"Courting death!"
The woman's expression changed, and she shouted violently, her figure suddenly rushing towards Ye Chen, a palm striking out with a fierce gale roaring from her palm.
The ground, vegetation bowed low, dust and rocks flew!
Ye Chen stood his ground, a brilliant light flashing in his eyes.
Calm!
Though facing a crisis, he remained very composed, watching the woman's every move, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
In the blink of an eye, the woman arrived right in front of Ye Chen.
The wind from her palm whistled fiercely, blowing Ye Chen's clothes and hair wildly backward!
The time had come!
Ye Chen shouted fiercely, thrusting his sword!
In an instant, his Sword Qi erupted to the extreme, icy killing intent swept, and the vision of a Corpse Mountain and Blood Sea emerged!
The woman's face instantly showed horror.
Having come from elsewhere, she had no knowledge of Ye Chen's battle with Huang Tianxiong and no defense against Ye Chen's murderous Sword Intent.
Under the influence of the murderous Sword Intent, the woman's mental state instantly collapsed.
"Swish!"
In the dim night, Ye Chen's sword turned into a scarlet light, slicing past the woman's throat!
The vision of the Corpse Mountain and Blood Sea vanished, yet beneath Ye Chen's feet lay real blood and a rapidly cooling corpse.
The woman's grandfather, the elder standing to the side, first froze, then erupted in furious shouting.
"Ye Chen, how dare you kill my precious granddaughter, ah ah ah, I will tear you to pieces!"
A terrifying storm of power erupted from his body.
Ye Chen glanced at the sword tip still dripping with blood, then looked at the elder, sneering, "You came to kill me, why wouldn't I dare to kill you? It's simply ridiculous, saying such things, I think at your age, you've lived like a dog!"
The elder's hair and beard stood on end.
"What a sharp-tongued brat, facing death yet still dare to talk back. Let me twist off your head myself and see if your mouth is still as hard!"
"I think you're the old dog who can't really be hard anymore. Not only is my mouth hard, but my bones are too! Every inch of me is harder than you!" Ye Chen said unceremoniously.
"Bastard, I'll chop you into pieces!"
Driven to madness by Ye Chen's taunts, the elder lost his sanity, his figure leaping forward, attacking Ye Chen.
"Die!"
Just then, a cold voice rang out.
A Sword Qi enveloped in roaring flames descended from the sky, lighting up the darkness.
The flaming Sword Qi, swift and unmatched, instantly struck the elder.
"Boom!"
The elder's body was split into two, exploding!
The fiery Sword Qi split the elder's body, then struck the ground, creating a long, charred crack.
Hua Qianxue flew to Ye Chen's side, glanced at him, and said in a low voice, "Without me coming back, you dared to provoke an old man with a Sea of Qi Realm cultivation, tired of living?"
Ye Chen looked shocked.
This old man was in the Sea of Qi Realm?
To know, Qingyun City didn't even have a single practitioner in the Sea of Qi Realm.
Hua Qianxue, so strong?!
Even before arriving, just a single flaming Sword Qi treated a Sea of Qi master like firewood!
In the daytime, he had heard Third Uncle Ye Zhenming say that Hua Qianxue's single Sword Qi had severely wounded Zhang Feng.
But Ye Chen knew Zhang Feng was only in the True Essence Realm Fifth Layer.
In retrospect, Hua Qianxue had not gone all out at the time.
Though surprised, Ye Chen said, "Whatever their cultivation, they came to kill me, should I have asked them to give me a moment to catch my breath?"
Hua Qianxue thought for a moment, feeling the argument made a lot of sense, yet found herself unable to refute it!