14: Chapter 013 Encounter with the Enemy 14: Chapter 013 Encounter with the Enemy Time flows like water, slowly passing by.
After the year’s end, the small and large villages of Green Sun Town have all started to bustle with activity.
Following the selection competition for marriage prospects, young girls often linger by the entrance of Xiao Ye’s house, scurrying away like startled fawns whenever Xiao Yang or Luo Meilan step through the door.
“Sigh, how many is that this month?” Xiao Yang couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the recurring sight.
“That’s all because my son is too impressive,” Luo Meilan beamed with joy, and then helplessly added, “It’s a pity none of them catches his eye.”
“Foolish!” Xiao Yang scolded, “Women of the household are always short-sighted.
My son will eventually join the Chongyang Sect.
The women he’ll marry will be the Heavenly Pride Girls, incomparable to these local girls.”
Even though she was scolded by Xiao Yang, Luo Meilan wasn’t the least bit annoyed.
Instead, she nodded with a smile, imagining the sort of Heavenly Pride Girl her future daughter-in-law would be.
Inside the Time Tower, Xiao Ye’s hands formed strange hand seals, and his True Qi flowed like a river through his nine meridians.
Compared to when he first started cultivating the Mixed Element Technique, his True Qi was now much more robust.
“Great Collapse Palm!”
Suddenly, Xiao Ye’s eyes snapped open, emitting a captivating brilliance.
At the same time, he rose to his feet and slapped his palms forward.
Three loud booming sounds merged into one, emanating from Xiao Ye’s body, as a mighty force roared out, sweeping forward in an oppressive wave of Qi.
“The power of the Great Collapse Palm is truly extraordinary!” Xiao Ye’s face was full of excitement as he witnessed the scene before him.
The Great Collapse Palm utilized the True Qi in the meridians to stack attacks.
When perfected, one could instantly stack True Qi four times, producing immense attack power.
However, stacking True Qi depended on the martial artist’s reserve of ample True Qi.
Thinking about the introduction of the Great Collapse Palm, Xiao Ye felt that if it were not for his cultivation of the Mixed Element Technique, he would have missed out on such a powerful combat technique.
“Now my cultivation has broken through to the early stage of the Postnatal Third Realm.
Combined with the perfected Great Collapse Palm, no one at the same level is my match!” Xiao Ye’s confidence surged.
The Mixed Element Technique gave him profound True Qi, and the Great Collapse Palm granted him formidable attack power.
Together, Xiao Ye could undoubtedly claim supremacy among his peers.
Inside the Time Tower, he had undergone rigorous training for over three hundred days, with his cultivation progressing by leaps and bounds, nearly perfecting the Great Collapse Palm.
His strength was incomparable to before.
In the outside world, however, only a little over a month had passed.
To jump over several minor realms in one month—if outsiders knew, they would be incredibly astonished because such speed was staggeringly fast!
“Regrettably, I can currently only stack True Qi three times, unable to reach four.” Xiao Ye felt a bit dissatisfied.
There wasn’t much time left before the entrance selection of the Chongyang Sect, and he needed to seize every moment to enhance his strength.
Otherwise, how could he hope to defeat Zhao Qian of the Innate Realm?
“It seems that merely hard training is not enough; I also lack experience.” After some consideration, Xiao Ye decided to go to the Fierce Beast Forest near Green Sun Town to practice his Great Collapse Palm against ferocious beasts.
The ferocious beasts of the True Spirit Continent knew some cultivation methods and were equally strong.
Now, he had sufficient ability to protect himself.
Thinking this, Xiao Ye’s consciousness left the Time Tower and returned to his physical body.
“Are my parents not home?” Xiao Ye wasn’t particularly concerned about this.
After the new year, the villagers of Xiao Family Village were naturally very busy.
Because of him, Xiao Yang had also gained the village’s attention and was frequently occupied with various matters in the village.
“Ye’er!” Xiao Ye stepped out of his house, ready to head to the Fierce Beast Forest, when he saw Xiao Tianxiong approaching from a path within the village.
“Village Chief Grandpa,” Xiao Ye greeted with a smile.
“Hmm.” Xiao Tianxiong responded kindly with a nod, his eyes filled with expectation.
“I heard you’re in seclusion cultivating, what realm have you reached now?”
Xiao Ye looked suspiciously at Xiao Tianxiong, wondering if the old man had been waiting deliberately to inquire about his cultivation progress.
Otherwise, how could it be so coincidental that he ran into him just as he was leaving the house?
In fact, Xiao Ye’s guess was not far off the mark.
Xiao Tianxiong had often visited Xiao Ye’s house to check on Xiao Ye’s cultivation progress, but Xiao Ye was always in closed-door cultivation then.
“Village Chief Grandpa, I’ve just reached the peak of the Postnatal First Realm,” Xiao Ye said, his eyes flickered as he flashed a radiant smile.
Unless necessary, Xiao Ye did not want to reveal his true cultivation level to avoid causing a sensation and unnecessary trouble.
“Oh.” Xiao Tianxiong appeared slightly disappointed.
Although this speed of cultivation was quite impressive, it hadn’t met his expectations.
“Then, continue with your good cultivation,” Xiao Tianxiong advised a few words and then turned to leave.
Seeing Xiao Tianxiong depart, Xiao Ye shook his head helplessly and then exited the village.
After both had left, a burly man dressed in beast skin emerged from a hidden spot; it was none other than Xiao Ba.
“Only the peak of the Postnatal First Realm?
Xiao Ye, your end is certain,” Xiao Ba sneered.
Green Sun Town was not large, and Xiao Ye quickly arrived at the western edge of the town, where the entrance to the Fierce Beast Forest was located.
Without any hesitation, Xiao Ye walked directly into the Fierce Beast Forest.
At this moment, two sneaky figures trailed Xiao Ye all the way here.
“Heh, we brothers have waited an entire month, and finally, this kid leaves the village,” one of them said.
“Yeah, sending the two of us to kill this kid by the second-in-command, isn’t it a bit of overkill?
We just got the news from Xiao Ba that this kid has only reached the peak of the Postnatal First Realm in cultivation.”
The two of them, one at the Mid Stage of the Postnatal Third Realm and the other at the Peak of the Postnatal Third Realm, dealing with a kid in the Postnatal First Realm was a piece of cake.
“Stop talking nonsense.
Let’s kill this kid and return to report.”
Their voices gradually quieted down, and then they both vanished into the Fierce Beast Forest.
Xiao Ye walked cautiously through the dense forest, having already ventured ten miles deep into the Fierce Beast Forest.
On his way, he did encounter a few ferocious beasts with strength around the First Level and Second Level of the Postnatal Realm, which Xiao Ye dispatched with a singular move; these beasts were not his targets.
“Only by encountering ferocious beasts of comparable strength to mine can I effectively train,” Xiao Ye murmured to himself, fully aware of this fact.
As he carefully wandered through the dense forest, suddenly, a wolf’s howl not far away shook the leaves violently.
It’s a Silver Wolf!” A smile appeared on Xiao Ye’s face as, at about ten steps to his left, a large wolf with silver fur emerged, its deep gaze fixed on Xiao Ye.
The Silver Wolf possessed the Peak strength of the Postnatal Third Realm.
The Xiao Family Village’s Beast Hunting Team had hunted several of them before, so he recognized it instantly.
The Silver Wolf launched the first attack on Xiao Ye.
With a push from its limbs against the ground, it pounced over, its sharp claws tearing through the air and producing a piercing sound.
“Bring it on!” Xiao Ye swung both palms, layering his True Qi thrice, executing the Great Collapse Palm smoothly and powerfully, the force of the palm winds pressing forward.
At their first contact, both bodies shook and recoiled, surprisingly evenly matched.
“With the near-Perfect Great Collapse Palm, my strength can indeed compare with that of the Silver Wolf at the Peak of the Postnatal Third Realm,” Xiao Ye thought excitedly, and then his figure burst forward as palm winds after palm winds shrouded the Silver Wolf.
Dodging aroused the Silver Wolf’s ferocity, as it engaged in a fierce battle with Xiao Ye, causing noises that shook the heavens.
At this moment, five miles from Xiao Ye’s location, two figures were approaching in this direction.
“Damn it, this kid can really run.
Once he entered the Fierce Beast Forest, he disappeared without a trace.” The two cursed while searching around.
The Fierce Beast Forest stretched for hundreds of miles, vast in area.
Even with their strength, they did not dare to wander recklessly for fear of encountering more powerful ferocious beasts.
About a half-hour later, a mournful wolf’s howl reached their ears, tensing their bodies as they listened intently.
“Did that kid run into a Silver Wolf?” The two were stunned, then took pleasure in the misfortune, “Looks like we don’t need to lift a finger; this kid is dead for sure.”
The Silver Wolf has the Peak strength of the Postnatal Third Realm, something they were reluctant to encounter.
In their view, with Xiao Ye’s cultivation at the Peak of the Postnatal First Realm, meeting the Silver Wolf meant certain death besides being tragically killed.
“Let’s go check it out.” The two headed in the direction of the noise.
Looking at the Silver Wolf lying in a pool of blood, Xiao Ye’s face was full of excitement.
“My Great Collapse Palm is finally cultivated to perfection!”
After battling with the Silver Wolf for half an hour, he had finally made the last step: layering his True Qi four times inside his body, significantly enhancing the power of the Great Collapse Palm, killing the Silver Wolf with just a few palms.
This was after all, a Silver Wolf at the Peak of the Postnatal Third Realm.
“Since I’ve come this far, let’s see if there are any other suitable ferocious beasts for my training.” After gathering his spoils, Xiao Ye prepared to venture deeper.
At that moment, the forest shook as two figures, one plump and one lean, leapt out.
“Ha ha, wonder if that kid died a gruesome death?”
“Definitely gruesome; I’m guessing he’s been turned into a bloody mess by now.”
The two chuckled as they walked.
However, when they saw the Silver Wolf lying in a pool of blood, they were stunned.
How could the Silver Wolf, with the Peak strength of the Postnatal Third Realm, be dead?
Their eyes then moved and landed on a young man dressed in rough hemp clothes standing coolly beside the Silver Wolf’s corpse.
“How could this little one still be alive!” The two men’s eyes bulged with disbelief.
Then, a thought sprang into their minds: “Surely it was another martial artist who killed the Silver Wolf, and this kid just happened to pass by.”
Yes, that had to be it!
The two exchanged glances, seeing the answer in each other’s eyes.
“It’s good that this kid is still alive; let me enjoy the feeling of torturing a genius to death.” The fat man’s face twisted into a cruel smile.
“Alright, then I’ll leave him to you.
Finish off this kid quickly.” The thin man crossed his arms and stepped aside.