Chapter 9: Participating in the Clan Competition

The remaining five top‑grade Yellow‑Tier Gu Yuan Pills, he plans to absorb them all before dawn; by then, even if his cultivation level hasn't changed, his True Qi will be much more abundant.

But when he takes another pill, his level uncontrollably breaks through to Body Refinement Fifth Level.

"Body Refinement Fifth Level! Another breakthrough? Compared with before, this breakthrough is simply too fast!"

Ye Liuyun, after sighing, notices that the True Qi Seeds in his Qi Sea emit an even brighter, dazzling light, because they contain both True Qi and Profound Qi.

He feels that this special True Qi in his body is far stronger than plain True Qi, and it also consumes far less when used.

He doesn't stop, continues taking pills, directly absorbing all the remaining ones. And his Physical Body now contains many more True Qi Seeds.

In fact, only his bloodline can endure this way of taking pills; for others, the spiritual Qi would have burst their bodies long ago!

But he feels nothing at all. It's as if his body naturally has a strong affinity for spiritual Qi, able to absorb any amount.

Ye Liuyun estimates that after taking a few more pills, his Physical Body's True Qi Seeds will be filled, and his cultivation will break through to Body Refinement Sixth Level.

At this moment, dawn is just breaking, and there is still some time.

Ye Liuyun takes out the Metal Puppet again and begins sparring with it.

Now he not only needs to become familiar with his own level, but also understand the characteristics of True Qi, master his fist and foot techniques, feel the defensive power of the Immortal Overlord Body, and skillfully apply Divine Sense.

The Metal Puppet can adjust its combat power according to the real strength of its sparring partner. Currently the puppet's level is Body Refining Eighth Tier Early Stage.

This also lets Ye Liuyun know which caliber of warrior he can fight, and experience the power of Body Refining Eighth Level.

If he further awakens his bloodline power and wields a Great Hammer, he finds he can contend with warriors at the Body Refining Eighth Peak.

However, Ye Liuyun's Divine Sense also detects that the remaining Crystal Stones inside the puppet are scarce!

The puppet is powered by Crystal Stones. Now it uses low‑grade Crystal Stones, one tier higher than Crystal Coins.

A thousand Crystal Coins are needed to exchange for one low‑grade Crystal Stone.

Later, as his level rises, the puppet may require medium‑grade Crystal Stones.

He silently calculates: "It seems that wealth is indispensable for martial cultivation! After the Clan Competition ends, I'll go to Wanbaoge to exchange some Crystal Stones back."

Ye Liuyun and the puppet spar continuously until breakfast, then he stores the puppet into the Storage Ring.

At this point, using the Nine‑Layer Wave Fist, a single punch can unleash the power of six stacked punches.

In terms of footwork, sparring with the puppet has brought great improvement. He is still a bit lacking in grasping and using the wind, but it's enough to give him confidence to enter the Inner Residence!

He finishes his breakfast in a few bites and says to Feng Wanru, "Today's Clan Competition, aren't you going to watch me slaughter everyone?"

He actually wants his aunt to see his current progress.

"Tch! A bunch of little brats fiddling around, what's there to watch? I'm not going!"

Feng Wanru grabs a wine gourd and waves it at him.

"As if you were that impressive!"

Ye Liuyun pouts, helplessly rushing alone to the martial arena.

On the first day of the Clan Competition, there are Outer Residence trials and eliminations, so most of those present are Outer Residence disciples. Very few Inner Residence disciples come to watch.

Entering the arena, his coarse cloth attire makes him stand out unusually.

After his battle with Ye Tao, no one dares to call Ye Liuyun a waste any more. When the Outer Residence disciples see Ye Liuyun approach, they all step aside, and no one says a mocking word.

That's the advantage of having strength!

However, Ye Liuyun still feels a few murderous glances, coming from Ye Xinyu and several Inner Residence disciples beside her.

Ye Xinyu broke through to Body Refinement Fifth Level before turning thirteen, so she entered the Inner Residence early.

This is also Ye Clan's rule: the younger and higher the level, the earlier one may enter the Inner Residence to enjoy better resources.

The Inner Residence of the Ye Clan has fewer than two hundred disciples, over twenty times fewer than the Outer Residence, yet it consumes almost more than half of the clan's cultivation resources. The disparity in treatment is evident.

After entering the Inner Residence, Ye Xinyu advanced two levels within a year and is now at Body Refinement Seventh Level. This is largely due to abundant resources.

Otherwise, moving from Body Refinement Sixth to Seventh usually takes at least a year; it's a transition from mid to late Body Refinement, requiring massive True Qi accumulation.

At this moment, Ye Xinyu, like a lotus emerging from water, is surrounded by several male disciples, her eyes shimmering.

Ye Liuyun glances at her and can't help thinking, "Ye Xinyu is indeed quite beautiful, but compared to my aunt, her temperament falls far short!"

He also knows the few male disciples beside her.

They are Ye Wanjian, ranked third in the Inner Residence, Ye Tianheng, ranked seventh, plus a few other fairly strong and somewhat famous disciples.

Ye Xinyu, now surrounded by several male disciples, coquettishly says to them, "Senior brothers, my whole life's happiness depends on you! I certainly don't want to marry that waste!"

"Don't worry, junior sister Xinyu, we'll use this Clan Competition to completely free you from that waste's entanglement."

"Indeed, a beauty like junior sister can only be matched by senior brother Wanjian! We will never let him step down from the arena."

Ye Wanjian adds, "Junior sister, rest assured, I've already told a few junior brothers; they won't hold back."

He thinks Ye Liuyun can't possibly kill him, so he can only assign other junior brothers to lay heavy blows on Ye Liuyun.

"Looks like Ye Xinyu is going to use someone as a cannon again!"

Ye Liuyun senses the group's hostile glances, and seeing Ye Xinyu's expression, immediately understands her intention.

At this moment, the Outer Residence disciples are already queuing for the cultivation level test. The test is simple: strike the stone that gauges level with a punch, and the emitted True Qi determines the level.

Soon it's Ye Liuyun's turn.

Whether they knew about Ye Liuyun's fight with Ye Tao or not, everyone now wants to see what level this former waste has reached. The arena falls silent.

Even the Clan Chief of the Ye family looks this way.

Ye Liuyun easily throws a punch, and the stone tablet displays Body Refinement Fifth Level.

The Clan Chief, seeing this, sighs in relief, thinking, "This kid! Even without resources he can cultivate to Body Refinement Fifth Level, quite gifted!"

The Outer Residence disciples are all shocked.

"Didn't this waste just break through to Body Refinement Fourth Level? How did he instantly reach Fifth Level?"

"You're courting death! Still call him a waste? Forgot how Ye Tao died?"

"Ouch, he didn't change in an instant…"

The low murmurs of the surrounding disciples didn't escape Ye Liuyun's ears.

The strength of his Soul not only sharpened his eyesight; all of his senses were enhanced. Naturally, his hearing also surpassed that of ordinary people.

After passing the stone tablet test, Ye Liuyun received a badge to participate in the Outer Residence martial contest.

He held the badge, stood back in the ranks with a carefree air, and thought to himself with quiet delight: "This is just the beginning! The shock I'll give you later will be even greater!"

Ye Liuyun now has that confidence. After all, his cultivation speed is too fast!

In truth, it's only been ten days, and he has refined his body from Body Refining First Layer to Body Refinement Fifth Level!

The previous Body Refining Third Level can't be counted, because the true qi was all wasted by a single sword of Ye Xinyu.

The Clan Competition test that had once troubled him for countless days and nights was, at this moment, easily passed by him!

"Hmph! Only Body Refinement Fifth Level, and in my eyes you're still a waste!"

Ye Xinyu saw it, and although they were a bit surprised by his level, they still looked down on him.

Unlike Ye Liuyun's ease, several disciples left the training arena dejected, awaiting the fate of being dispatched to a branch.