Sect Dynamics

The corpse of the bronze wolf was something Ye Qiang had secretly collected while the scarred-faced young man was transforming into a demon. He had planned to keep it for later use.

After retrieving it, Ye Qiang casually traced his red sword across the wolf's body, and within moments, a grey wolf-hide beast coat appeared on his bare body. It wasn't particularly comfortable or flattering, but for the sake of avoiding gossip within the sect, he had to make do with it for now.

Looking back at the center of the Black Mountain Range one last time, Ye Qiang prepared to head back to his sect.

It had been an eventful day, to say the least.

Looking back on it, Ye Qiang couldn't help but find it all a bit amusing. It all started with Li Zhi and a group of his fellow disciples coming to teach him a lesson early in the morning. Fortunately, luck was on his side, and he happened to run into Senior Sister Jin Wenwen, which prevented him from falling into Li Zhi's hands.

Next, at the edge of the Black Mountain Range, he encountered Li Zhi and the others again. They had planned to gang up on Ye Jiancheng, but in the end, they were the ones who were scared off by Ye Jiancheng's sudden appearance.

Then came the encounter in the heart of the Black Mountain Range, where Ye Qiang hunted down the Savage Wolf King. While Li Zhi and the others fought desperately with the Savage Wolf King, Ye Qiang swooped down from the sky, successfully killing the Wolf King and obtaining its Beast Heart—a powerful relic capable of summoning countless beasts.

To avoid being overwhelmed by the swarm of beasts drawn to the Beast Heart, Ye Qiang retreated into a cave, only to find himself face-to-face with people from the Wuji Sword Sect, who captured him and planned to bring him back to their sect.

Fortunately, Ye Qiang used all his wits to escape from the three Wuji Sword Sect disciples. After surviving an attack from a group of demon beasts, he obtained the inheritance of the Fire Martial Sword God, receiving the Fire Martial Sword and a spatial ring full of precious pills.

During his retreat, he encountered the three disciples from Wuji Sword Sect again. To his surprise, even Li Zhi, who hated him so much, had been captured by these three.

Had Ye Qiang not killed the tall and ruthless Gao Feng, Li Zhi and his comrades might have already been handed over to the Wuji Sword Sect.

Then came an unexpected scene—Li Zhi, desperate to save his comrades, actually kneeled before Gao Feng. Ye Qiang couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for Li Zhi in that moment.

For a long time, Ye Qiang had viewed Li Zhi as a narrow-minded bully who abused his power. But now, despite all of Li Zhi's evildoing, it was clear that he still valued loyalty and friendship deeply.

As for the scarred-faced young man, his bond with Gao Feng was like that of brothers. After Gao Feng's death, the young man's emotional stability shattered. Consumed by rage and the influence of the inner demons, he ended up turning into a monster, losing his humanity in the process.

And then there was Meng'er. The death of Gao Feng had completely changed her. In Ye Qiang's eyes, all the hatred she now carried was directed both at him and at herself. The pure, kind, and gentle girl had transformed into a cold and vengeful person.

But could Ye Qiang blame himself? If he had the chance to do it all over again, he would have made the same choices. He had no regrets.

After adjusting his mood and tidying up his blue curls and the freshly made beast-hide coat, Ye Qiang stepped out of the now sorrowful Black Mountain Range, heading back to his sect, the Blood Sword Sect, without a second glance.

"That was close, I almost got torn apart by that terrifying Earth Demon!" one of the exhausted Blood Sword Sect disciples muttered.

"Yeah, we were lucky that a few idiots from the Wuji Sword Sect were there to hold it off," another replied.

"Today's been pretty unlucky. We didn't even encounter the Savage Wolf King but got ambushed by a horde of demon beasts. Just when we were about to leave, we ran into those Wuji Sword Sect bastards. We didn't bother them, but they were so arrogant, threatening to capture us alive."

"Don't you know? The Wuji Sword Sect has already issued a bounty on Blood Sword Sect disciples. A head from our outer disciples can be exchanged for pills, and if they capture one of us, the reward is even more substantial."

"I heard the same. If they capture five outer disciples from the Blood Sword Sect, they can earn a medium-grade Earth weapon."

"We've risked our lives deep in the Black Mountain Range to kill the Savage Wolf King and get its Beast Heart to complete the Ten-Star Parchment task for our sect, which will earn us a medium-grade Earth weapon. And these guys only need to capture five of us to get the same thing. It's unbelievable! Why hasn't our sect made such a bounty public?"

"We need to report this to the elders right away, especially about the Earth Demon that appeared in the heart of the Black Mountain Range."

"Yes, let's head straight to the council hall and report this to the Outer Sect Grand Elder!"

Ye Qiang couldn't help but chuckle as he watched the group of exhausted, disheveled Blood Sword Sect disciples walk past him, covered in dirt, as they discussed their own near-death experiences in the Black Mountain Range. If only they knew that it was him who had killed the Savage Wolf King, and that the Beast Heart they sought had already been burned to ash by the Fire Martial Sword predecessor's avatar. They'd be so jealous!

Watching these young disciples hurry toward the grand gates of the Blood Sword Sect, Ye Qiang also made his way inside shortly after.

Back in his cave, Ye Qiang took out a large number of round spiritual energy crystals from his spatial ring. He arranged the translucent crystals around him, forming a circle. The crystals emitted a faint glow, like candles burning in the dark, providing a warm and comforting atmosphere.

With these spiritual energy crystals, Ye Qiang was confident that he could raise his cultivation to the Silver Stage before the sect's war broke out.

Once he reached the Silver Stage, he would be able to activate the spiritual energy shield and begin cultivating his sword techniques. His strength would undergo a massive transformation. With the pills in his spatial ring that enhanced his stats, he would be able to come and go freely in the upcoming sect war. The thought of it filled him with excitement.

Ye Qiang closed his eyes, sitting cross-legged as he absorbed the spiritual energy around him. Each breath, each expression, was filled with countless streams of energy that he pulled into his body, saturating every muscle, every cell, and the blood flowing through his veins. The spiritual energy flowed like a tide, converging within him.

As his cells, muscles, and blood vessels became filled with spiritual energy, his energy core would soon burst forth, releasing a powerful aura that would spread through his entire body, strengthening every part of him. The energy core's storage capacity expanded, and after a burst of intense energy, it meant that Ye Qiang would soon breakthrough to a higher stage.

In the serene silence of the cave, Ye Qiang absorbed the spiritual energy, but the process felt slow. Though it was comfortable, he couldn't help but feel the pace was frustratingly slow.

Finally, he decided to use his own method to speed things up.

He started doing sit-ups, push-ups, and squats. While this method drained his physical energy, it helped to enhance his muscles, getting his blood circulating faster and pushing every cell into a state of hunger for spiritual energy. By actively absorbing the energy, Ye Qiang was able to take in more than if he relied solely on traditional meditation. Every blink allowed him to absorb three times the amount of spiritual energy compared to the passive method, and this helped to nourish his muscles, cells, and blood, making it far more efficient.

While training, Ye Qiang couldn't help but reflect on the situation in the world of Qiankun Continent.

The Blood Sword Sect, where Ye Qiang came from, was located in the eastern region of the Qiankun Continent, south of the Tianhe River, near Willow Leaf City, surrounded by several large mountain ranges to the east.

The sects opposed to the Blood Sword Sect—the Asura Sword Sect, Wuji Sword Sect, and Fumo Sword Sect—were situated to the west of Willow Leaf City. These three sects had been allies for centuries due to geographical reasons.

In the past, when these sects were still weak and vulnerable, they had been frequently bullied by the disciples of the Blood Sword Sect. But one day, the three sects united and challenged the Blood Sword Sect. After their leaders defeated the Blood Sword Sect's leader, they grew in strength. Yet, despite their victories, they still couldn't stand alone against the Blood Sword Sect. For a long time, the three sects remained under the Blood Sword Sect's oppression.

After countless sect wars, the current leader of the Asura Sword Sect, Chang Shengtian, defeated the Blood Sword Sect's current leader, Shangguan Hong, and took control of the western mountainous regions, with their influence reaching the once-stronghold of the Blood Sword Sect—Willow Leaf City.

Meanwhile, the Wuji Sword Sect took advantage of the Blood Sword Sect's leader being in seclusion and seized several mountain ranges to the west of the Black Mountain Range, tilting the power balance.

The upcoming sect war would determine the fate of all sects in the eastern region, south of the Tianhe River. The conflict between the Asura Sword Sect and the Blood Sword Sect would lead to either the destruction of one sect or the rise of the other as the most powerful sect in the region—an unparalleled honor.

Everything had escalated so quickly, and Ye Qiang didn't feel fully prepared. While he hated war, as a member of the Blood Sword Sect, seeing his sect weaken over time made him unwilling to accept the idea of his sect being destroyed.

Unconsciously, Ye Qiang had already begun to consider this place as his home. If he were to leave now, though the Qiankun Continent was vast, he wouldn't know where to go.