"A big shot? If there was a big shot backing him, how could the Ye Family of Qingyun City have fallen to such a tragic state?" the young man said.

The middle-aged man replied, "He managed to make it all the way to Cangxing Martial Arts Academy, and then the outer courtyard instructor, Lin Ying, directly arranged accommodations for him. These two things are too suspicious. According to information coming from Qingyun City, on the day he killed Huang Tianxiong, an elderly person and a young girl of considerable strength appeared, but it's still uncertain who exactly they are."

There's some distance between Qingyun City and Unparalleled County.

It takes time for news to travel from that side to Unparalleled County, and the messages that do come are ambiguous. To confirm details here in Unparalleled County, people have to be sent to Qingyun City, and after the investigation, they'd need to report back.

This back-and-forth takes a long time, so the understanding of Ye Chen here in Unparalleled County remains at the stage of Ye Chen killing Huang Tianxiong.

"Father, you are the vice dean, just call Lin Ying over and ask him. Since Lin Ying gives Ye Chen special treatment, he ought to know something of the truth."

"Lin Ying is someone trusted by the dean. He won't be honest with me. No need to rush; Xu Ming's student Bai Sen has already set up a life-and-death battle with Ye Chen. By then, those backing Ye Chen will most likely reveal themselves."

......

Time passes day by day.

It's been three days since Ye Chen and Bai Sen had a fight.

In these three days, indeed no one dared to trouble Ye Chen.

In these three days, Ye Chen's injuries have fully recovered, and he feels as if there's an endless supply of energy within his body.

After his injuries healed, the mysterious heat flow within him has lessened considerably.

Ye Chen felt as if he indeed had a constitution prone to abuse.

When injured seriously, the uniqueness of his physique becomes clear. When uninjured, he feels quite ordinary.

But it's better than nothing.

This heat flow has been subtly improving his physical body, which is a good thing.

Re-entering the Sword Tomb.

In the Sword Tomb, only over a hundred tombstones remain.

These past few days, he's obtained many swordsmanship inheritances, but Ye Chen has not practiced them, because none surpassed the Dark Rank Lower-Grade Wind and Cloud Sword; practicing them serves no purpose. What's most important now is to quickly establish a foundation, open the second layer of the Sword Tomb, acquire the cultivation technique of the second layer of the Nine Heavens Sword Manual, and then strive to break through to the True Essence Realm.

As for Luo Qingyi, she hasn't been around these days. Ye Chen suspects she went to other layers of the Sword Tomb.

Without delay, Ye Chen directly urged the sword essence out of his body, enveloping more than twenty tombstones.

One by one, the residual souls of Celestial Demons lunged out, and while enduring the intense pain of Sword Qi piercing into his body, Ye Chen took action, dealing with these residual souls.

Half a day's time passed.

When the last tombstone was refined by Ye Chen, a trace of excitement appeared on his face!

He finally succeeded!

Now, the ten whirlpools in his Dantian already have a somewhat liquefied feeling when they rotate.

Qi liquefaction represents the hallmark of the True Essence Realm, signifying that Ye Chen's foundation has been laid incomparably solid.

As long as he gets the subsequent cultivation techniques of the Nine Heavens Sword Manual, he can break through immediately!

In addition, he finally obtained a suitable swordsmanship for cultivation.

Luo Qingyi had previously mentioned that the strongest inheritance in this first layer of the Sword Tomb is a Dark Rank mid-grade sword technique.

It wasn't until Ye Chen refined the last tombstone that he acquired this inheritance.

This sword technique is called the Thunderbolt Sword.

In Ye Chen's mind, an image is performing the Thunderbolt Sword, each move exuding a grand and majestic aura.

Moreover, the light on this figure's body flows in a very intricate way, each move of the Thunderbolt Sword results in a different flow of power, which is exceedingly profound.

Now is not the time to practice the Thunderbolt Sword; rather, it's to find a way to call Luo Qingyi out and ask her how to open the second layer of the Sword Tomb.

But before Ye Chen could call for someone.

A flash of blue light, and Luo Qingyi appeared in front of him.

In Luo Qingyi's eyes, there was a look of astonishment.

So quickly, all the tombstones on the first layer have been refined?

It seemed she only stayed in the upper layers of the Sword Tomb for three or four days...

"You brat, what did you do?" Luo Qingyi stared at Ye Chen and asked.

Ye Chen chuckled and said, "A few days ago, I got into a fight with a so-called genius at the True Essence Realm Ninth Layer and got quite severely injured. My physique's power then erupted, and while healing my injuries, my Dantian also became larger and more stable, so the speed of refining the tombstones increased."

"You really went and got yourself tortured?" Luo Qingyi said with annoyance, "I've discussed with some old fellows and reached a consensus. Although your physique has a significant effect after being injured, you mustn't let yourself get injured on purpose.

Because your physique hasn't truly been activated yet, if the hidden powers are excessively consumed due to healing, it might even deplete your essence. By then, no matter how formidable your physique is, it couldn't be activated."

Ye Chen grinned awkwardly.

Actually...he was contemplating injuring himself severely for no reason...

Anyway, as long as he got stronger, what's a little insanity?

Now it seems, this path won't work.

Luo Qingyi saw through Ye Chen's thoughts and felt somewhat helpless. This guy was truly insane. If she didn't remind him, he really might slash and stab himself with his sword...that scenario, Luo Qingyi dared not imagine!

"Elder Qingyi, can the second layer of the Sword Tomb be opened now? I feel my foundation is solid enough; no other method can further enhance it!" Ye Chen said somewhat anxiously.

To advance further, would reach the True Essence Realm!

Half a month ago, in Qingyun City, True Essence Realm seemed so unattainably high.

It was only half a month ago that he started killing True Essence Realm experts.

Now, he finds that the True Essence Realm is quite weak, with countless True Essence Realms even participating in the Cangxing Martial Arts Academy assessment.

If he reached the True Essence Realm, even if it's just the True Essence Realm First Layer, killing a True Essence Realm Ninth Layer genius like Bai Sen wouldn't be an issue!

Luo Qingyi nodded and said, "Follow me."

Ye Chen followed Luo Qingyi, heading in one direction. While walking, he noticed his surroundings beginning to turn pitch black.

There was nothing.

Even beneath him turned into a void.

Perhaps a long time passed, or maybe just a moment, by then, Ye Chen even lost the concept of time.

Luo Qingyi finally stopped, pointed at a tombstone in front of them, and said, "Refine this tombstone, and you will acquire the cultivation technique of the Ninth Heaven Sword Manual's second layer. Then you should immediately exit the Sword Tomb. There's a restless creature above, and I'll inform you once I've dealt with it."

Ye Chen looked towards the tombstone Luo Qingyi was pointing at.

This tombstone was the same shape as those he'd refined before, like a black sword, yet slightly different. The surface of this tombstone had additional special markings.

Each marking seemed to be alive, and under Ye Chen's gaze, it appeared to be...moving!

Ye Chen looked at Luo Qingyi and asked, "Elder Qingyi, besides suppressing the residual souls of Celestial Demons, what is that restless creature on the second layer?"

Luo Qingyi said, "Two legs."

Ye Chen looked puzzled...

Two legs?

What kind of deal is this?

"Could it be the legs of a Celestial Demon?"

"The Celestial Demon's soul was sealed within the Sword Tomb, but their body was reclaimed by the Demon Race. The two legs of the second layer of the Sword Tomb possess the fastest speed in this world, and were specifically cut down and sealed in the Sword Tomb by the Nine Heavens Sword God."

Ye Chen chuckled.

Luo Qingyi continued, "In the peak period of the Nine Heavens Sword God, only those two legs in this world could evade his sword, which is why the Nine Heavens Sword God found them intriguing and cut them down."

"This..."

"Seems cruel?"

Ye Chen shook his head and said, "Very bold. That's the mark of the strong—what they fancy, they obtain."

Luo Qingyi didn't expect Ye Chen to think this way and felt a mix of amusement and exasperation, saying, "These two legs are not a good thing, which is why they were cut down and sealed here. Of course, the Nine Heavens Sword God hopes that whoever inherits the Sword Tomb can obtain such speed—do you understand?"

Ye Chen nodded and then asked, "If these two legs can evade the Nine Heavens Sword God's sword, why were they cut down?"

"Can they evade one sword? Can they evade thousands upon thousands?"

Ye Chen asked no more, walked up to the tombstone, sat down cross-legged, activated his cultivation technique, and began refining!

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