Chapter 58: Camp Rules

Seeing the true Qi in his energy sea compressed into that bright qi cluster, Ye Liuyun felt extraordinary delight.

"So this is the so‑called True Essence? My True Essence is far larger than others'!"

His Divine Sense, when it perceived others' True Essence, found it only a tenth of his own size.

Ye Liuyun immediately employed the secret technique of Great Derivation Divine Technique to conceal his energy sea, lest others detect it.

Next, he saw the ground covered with Crystal Stone powder and couldn't help but feel a pang of pain!

Two hundred thousand medium‑grade Crystal Stones! Gone just like that!

After the pang subsided from the Crystal Stones he had consumed, he resumed cultivation, beginning to stabilize his realm.

After a while of cultivation, he discovered that his True Essence could grow larger and brighter as he cultivated.

It seems that within the True Essence Realm, the main task of cultivation is to keep enlarging and brightening the True Essence.

The larger it is, the more True Essence it contains; the brighter it is, the stronger its power!

So he took no rest, cultivating continuously for a whole day until nightfall, then went to the courtyard to roast something to eat and dined together with Lei Ming.

What Ye Liuyun didn't know was that the moment he broke through, all the spiritual energy within a ten‑li radius was drawn toward him.

His breakthrough's disturbance shook everyone in that area! Fortunately, Lu Wei had assigned people to guard him, otherwise his cultivation would truly have been interrupted!

Even now, the people in the nearby Side Courtyards cannot cultivate; the spiritual energy has been siphoned away by him!

Those people tried to confront him, but were stopped by the staff of the Heavenly Luck Royal Mansion.

The residents here are mostly contestants who came from elsewhere. Upon hearing that Ye Liuyun had broken through, they each fell silent and quietly moved away.

After finishing his meal, Ye Liuyun tested the power of the True Essence Realm.

The feeling was truly exhilarating. The texture of this True Essence is far stronger than true Qi. If true Qi were a single tree, the current True Essence is a whole forest.

True Yuan Fifth Tier—he now felt he might actually be able to fight at that level!

Of course, he wasn't cocky enough to challenge a True Yuan Fifth Tier Martial Cultivator. As long as they don't provoke him, it's fine.

In the contest, his ability to instantly kill that True Yuan Fifth Tier master relied entirely on the spatial ability of the Wukong Stone, not really on his own.

Even his blade intent was strong, yet at that moment he still couldn't slay a True Yuan Fifth Tier Martial Cultivator.

Realizing his shortcomings, he honestly returned to continue cultivating.

The higher his realm, the stronger his opponents. To stand in an invincible position, he must keep cultivating.

The remaining two days he spent enhancing his bloodline, cultivating his Soul, and refining his True Essence.

As for techniques, he saved them for honing in battle!

As for Lingkong Art, after witnessing its power he realized he was still far from mastering it. It has now become a mandatory technique for him, but since he can hold the Wukong Stone while walking, he isn't in a hurry to advance.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed. Ye Liuyun was led to a small hill to meet Lu Wei, Yu Wenlong, and Lin Feng.

Lu Wei first introduced Lin Feng to him, then gave each of Yu Wenlong and Lin Feng a Token.

Yu Wenlong and Lin Feng both looked at Ye Liuyun curiously, thinking, "Why wasn't he given one?"

Lu Wei laughed, "I gave Ye Liuyun his Token long ago! Yet he still insists on proving himself with his own strength."

At that moment, Ye Liuyun also took out a Token and hung it on his waist.

Yu Wenlong, seeing this, said helplessly, "So you already had a Token! Going to the contest like this is a case of the pig wearing the tiger's skin!"

Ye Liuyun and Lin Feng both laughed, and the atmosphere among the three became considerably more harmonious.

"Alright, you go up the mountain yourselves. My task ends here, so I won't escort you further! Once you're up there, someone will brief you," Lu Wei told them.

The three said farewell to Lu Wei and walked up the mountain together.

At the summit they saw a row of stone Side Courtyards, many more thatched huts, and numerous youths practicing fists. Upon seeing them arrive, the youths stopped to size them up.

"Look, the new disciples this year—one of them is a True Origin Double!"

"All three are in the True Essence Realm! This batch of disciples is truly strong!"

Ye Liuyun and his companions also surveyed the surroundings.

"Is this the Golden Armor Guard preparatory camp?" Lin Feng asked curiously, "We haven't taken the wrong place, have we?"

Ye Liuyun and Yu Wenlong were also curious; the environment here was hardly different from the wilderness!

At that moment, a bald middle‑aged man approached, shouting loudly, "New arrivals? I'm the Administrator here; follow me."

Speaking so, he led them into a Grand Hall. The furnishings inside were very simple.

"I'm Han Shan! I rank sixth among the Hall Guards. Many only know the name Golden Armor Guard, but don't realize it's also tiered."

"The highest‑rank Hall Guards number only twenty and answer directly to the Prince. The other Golden Armor Guards total over twenty‑thousand, divided into three grades: first grade highest, third grade lowest. You'll encounter these gradually later."

"The Tokens you now hold are ordinary third‑grade Golden Armor Guard Tokens. In fact, anyone who survives can at least become a regular third‑grade Golden Armor Guard in the preparatory camp."

"Regarding the rules here, first you must not kill your own people, second you may not leave at will; any departure requires prior leave from me. Other than that there are no rules."

"Everything must be fought for by yourselves! After you adapt for a while, you'll understand this sentence."

"Remember, everything must be fought for by yourselves!"

As he said, Han Shan also winked at them.

This instantly gave the three of them a feeling of being duped!

Afterwards, Han Shan, without further discussion, drove them out directly.

"Is this really a preparatory camp? Then where do we live! They haven't even told us the lodging!" Lin Feng exclaimed.

"We should just go ask ourselves," Ye Liuyun suggested.

So the three went together to ask some senior disciples.

Later, they finally understood what Han Shan's final words meant.

These thatched huts were built by the disciples themselves, while the stone Side Courtyards require challenging the owners; only after winning can one reside there.

Those living in stone houses enjoy good food and drink, have maidservants, and receive supplies such as pills and Crystal Stones.

In this preparatory camp, that's practically a heavenly life.

And for everyone else, they have to rely on themselves and fend for themselves!

In other words, if they want to enjoy good cultivation conditions, they must be able to defeat the owner who lives in the Stone House.

"What realm is the Stone House owner in?" Ye Liuyun asked.

"The tenth Stone House, Pang Sihai, is at True Origin Double; the ninth's realm is higher; similarly, the owner of the first Stone House, Shi Tianjing, has already reached True Yuan Fifth Tier!"

Ye Liuyun and the others weren't in a hurry to challenge, and they wandered around the camp.

Soon, dinnertime arrived, and when they saw the dinner, Lin Feng immediately went to challenge the Stone House owner!

The dinner was barely edible for a person; it was just leftovers from others, already sour, and just looking at it made one want to vomit.

Ye Liuyun couldn't tolerate this food either! Lei Ming kept nodding, agreeing with Ye Liuyun's decision to challenge.

And those senior disciples, as if they already knew they would challenge, had been waiting early beside the Side Courtyard of the tenth Stone House to watch the spectacle!

When Ye Liuyun and the others arrived at the Side Courtyard, they saw the owner Pang Sihai eating dinner in the yard; although it's not a delicacy, there was still wine and meat!

Compared with them, it truly was a heaven versus a hell.