Heisuo believed that entrusting the task of dealing with Ling Xiao to Jin Ming was foolproof.
After much thought, he couldn’t imagine any surprises. Perhaps the kid had a thing for Dai Yuling, got carried away in a fit of passion, and recklessly issued the death challenge.
It wasn’t uncommon for young people to make such mistakes.
Heisuo let out a cold smirk. Impulsiveness is a devil, and now it was too late for regrets.
He had already stationed men to guard the paths down the mountain. If Ling Xiao tried to escape under the cover of darkness, Heisuo would know immediately.
Inside the sect, he couldn’t act directly, but outside, he could handle things personally, with greater certainty.
…
One day might seem short to others.
For Ling Xiao, it was enough to accomplish plenty.
During this time, his cultivation continued to rise, reaching the level of a 10% Half-Step Master.
This progress came effortlessly. With the Mortal Body Shaping Pill still not fully digested in his system, his cultivation would improve at a remarkable rate even if he spent his days sleeping.
He didn’t even pause the tasks assigned by Yuan Zun.
There was no need to stop.
With his current strength, killing those four shouldn’t be a problem.
Perhaps Jin Ming might pose some trouble, but the other three were hardly worth his attention.
Additionally, he seized the opportunity to have his martial soul clone craft thirty-six Tiangang Flying Swords.
The name sounded impressive, but they were merely high-quality flying swords.
To gather the materials, he sold ten top-grade True Essence Pills, finally completing the set of thirty-six Tiangang Flying Swords.
With that, his Qingfeng Sword was honourably retired.
Once the thirty-six Tiangang Flying Swords were complete, they became his most devastating martial technique.
Not only sudden, but terrifying.
This was naturally to be kept as his trump card.
Beyond that, his Heavenly Dragon True Essence grew purer, allowing the true essence he cultivated to directly convert into Heavenly Dragon True Essence.
This meant he didn’t need to rush into cultivating a Gold-Grade Inner Skill.
His current Heavenly Dragon True Essence was equivalent in strength to that of a Gold-Grade Rare Inner Skill.
In other words, his Heavenly Dragon True Essence was typically two levels stronger than the original true essence he cultivated.
This level of true essence was more than enough to handle outer sect disciples.
Not to mention, he still had untapped Ferocious Beast True Essence and Thunderbolt True Essence in his body, both from Mortal Realm powerhouses.
If classified by inner skill grades, they’d be equivalent to the true essence produced by a Gold-Grade Superior Inner Skill.
His arsenal of trump cards was far from limited.
In terms of martial souls, he held an absolute advantage. If he weren’t wary of drawing too much attention, he could now wield three martial souls simultaneously.
His martial souls had also improved, though the progress was subtle.
It seemed that once a martial soul became complete, its growth slowed significantly.
Different warriors had different methods to address this.
Ling Xiao believed the best approach for him was to seize and devour his opponents’ martial souls, which would yield the fastest improvement.
Dawn broke.
It was the day of the death challenge.
Ling Xiao recalled his two clones and stepped out of his cave abode.
Outside, Yang Danlin, Lan Yuer, and even Dai Yuling, despite her injuries, were waiting.
Zhao Zhi and Zhao Ci were there too, though their mindsets differed.
Zhao Zhi saw Ling Xiao as someone worth befriending deeply.
Zhao Ci’s presence stemmed purely from pity.
Besides them, many outer sect elites had gathered nearby.
All were among the top thirty disciples.
Their duties were light, so watching the spectacle at the Tower of Desperation was no issue.
“Oh, he’s here, he’s here. I thought the kid got scared and fled the sect already.”
“Coming out doesn’t change anything. He’s just heading to his death. Let’s go to the Tower of Desperation. These fights today will be worth watching.”
With a flash of movement, the crowd turned into blurs, heading toward the Tower of Desperation.
The area around the tower was already packed.
Most were outer sect disciples, though a few inner sect disciples had come to join the excitement.
These inner sect disciples were relatively weak, below Mortal Realm Third Layer, so they paid close attention to the outer sect’s quasi-inner disciples, who could soon become their rivals.
“Why hasn’t he shown up? Did Ling Xiao run away?”
“Heh, I bet he fled. Four death challenges in one day, against Half-Step Masters? Even a Mortal Realm First Layer warrior wouldn’t dare.”
“Right, the kid probably got hot-headed and made that decision, then regretted it.”
“Ling Xiao’s here!”
As they speculated, Ling Xiao arrived gracefully.
Following him were Yang Danlin, Lan Yuer, Dai Yuling, Zhao Zhi, Zhao Ci, and a few close outer sect disciples.
“Why’s Hall Master Yang here?”
“And Senior Sister Lan!”
“Don’t you know? Ling Xiao might be groomed as Hall Master Yang’s successor.”
“There’s also a rumour that Senior Sister Lan has a thing for him.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Senior Sister Lan is aloof. She doesn’t even care for the inner sect’s top-ranked senior brother. Why would she like that kid?”
Despite their words, Ling Xiao and Lan Yuer’s interactions did seem ambiguous, their relationship appearing unusually close.
Ling Xiao scanned the crowd around the Tower of Desperation.
There were over a thousand people, including nine out of ten outer sect disciples.
Did these people have nothing better to do?
He didn’t realise that this death challenge was so shocking that the outer sect had given all disciples a day off. Unless they were in secluded cultivation, everyone had come to watch, explaining the massive turnout.
“Ling Xiao, good thing you showed up. I was worried you’d bail, and then who’d I take my revenge on?”
Yang Cheng had arrived before dawn, too eager to personally kill Ling Xiao.
Ling Xiao gave him a fleeting glance before shifting his gaze to Jin Ming, Tuoba Shan, and Gongyang Nu.
In terms of aura, Jin Ming clearly outshone the other outer sect disciples.
His presence was practically that of a Mortal Realm powerhouse.
“Did you hear? Half a month ago, Jin Ming defeated a Mortal Realm First Layer warrior. His defensive technique is terrifying.”
“Of course I heard. An inner sect elder wanted to fast-track him to the inner sect, but he’s not in a rush. No idea what he’s planning.”
“You idiot. The top three in the outer sect get resources that rival those of low-tier inner sect disciples. That’s the perk—better to be a chicken’s head than a phoenix’s tail.”
Jin Ming’s strength had grown even more since half a month ago.
Ling Xiao felt his blood surging with excitement.
Only a battle against a worthy opponent could thrill him like this.
As for the other three, he didn’t even consider them a threat.
