「Two months later...」

"Heaven-Breaking Kill!"

A furious shout echoed through the mountain forest. Immediately after, Shen Haoran’s figure fell like a shooting star, crashing heavily onto a Tier Three Spirit Beast, an Iron-Armed Ape!

"BOOM!" With a loud bang, the Iron-Armed Ape collapsed under Shen Haoran’s all-out strike, kicking up a cloud of dust. Next to it, two of its companions were already beaten to the ground, their breathing shallow and faint. It looked like they wouldn’t last much longer...

"Haa... Haa..." After the Iron-Armed Ape fell, Shen Haoran, panting heavily, flopped onto the ground and began recovering his depleted Spiritual Power!

"Simply incredible!" Ji Lingxuan said in astonishment, watching Shen Haoran meditate beside the corpses of the three Tier Three Spirit Beasts to recover his Spiritual Power. Two months ago, when she had learned about the cultivation plan Elder Yan had designed for Shen Haoran, she had thought it was nearly impossible! For a Tier Six Spirit User to kill five Tier Three Spirit Beasts—each equivalent in strength to a human at the Spirit Pupil Tier—every single day sounded like a tall tale.

For the first half-month of his cultivation, things were just as Ji Lingxuan had expected. Shen Haoran couldn’t complete the task at all; even risking his life every day, he could only manage to kill two Tier Three Spirit Beasts! But after half a month, Shen Haoran broke through to become a Tier Seven Spirit User. With his power greatly increased, the number of Tier Three Spirit Beasts he killed daily rose to three!

Moreover, as time went on, the life-and-death battles continuously enhanced Shen Haoran’s strength. After a month, killing five Tier Three Spirit Beasts a day was no longer a problem. Sometimes he could even kill six or seven in a single day! Not long ago, Shen Haoran broke through to become a Tier Eight Spirit User in the middle of a fight! After that, he became even more frenzied, taking on two Tier Three Spirit Beasts at once!

And so it was today; he was fighting two Tier Three Spirit Beasts alone, but then something unexpected happened—a third one appeared out of nowhere! Ji Lingxuan had wanted to help, but Elder Yan stopped her. In the end, relying on his own strength, Shen Haoran had actually managed to kill all three Spirit Beasts!

In truth, what shocked Ji Lingxuan even more than his cultivation speed was his insane attitude toward it! When he cultivated, he was completely reckless, throwing his life on the line! Thankfully, Elder Yan was there to create a systematic cultivation plan for him and refine elixirs to heal his injuries. Otherwise, with an attitude like that, Shen Haoran would have died countless times by now!

"Hooo..." As Ji Lingxuan’s thoughts wandered, Shen Haoran let out a long breath and opened his eyes.

Ever since the Spirit Pill in his body had been replaced by that Ancient Divine Relic, his body’s recovery ability had become absurdly powerful! Spiritual Power that would normally take a full hour to restore now came back completely in less than half an hour!

"Haha, Ling Xuan, that Wind Step scroll you gave me is amazing! If it weren’t for that, I would have been in big trouble today." Shen Haoran walked over to Elder Yan and Ji Lingxuan, laughing heartily.

It turned out that what Ji Lingxuan had left for Shen Haoran wasn’t an Attack Martial Skill, but a Body Technique Martial Skill! Shen Haoran had also cultivated it to the Minor Achievement stage within these two months. Having previously trained with the giant black ruler on his back, his speed was already far beyond that of his peers. Now, with the addition of the Profound Tier Middle Level Wind Step, his speed was ridiculously fast. Just now, he had relied on this speed to wear down and kill those three Tier Three Spirit Beasts!

"That’s also because Brother Haoran’s combat awareness is so advanced. Otherwise, how could you kill three Tier Three Spirit Beasts while being out-tiered?" Ji Lingxuan said with a smile. After spending the past two months together, their relationship had undergone a subtle change.

"Hehe!" Complimented by Ji Lingxuan, Shen Haoran scratched his head in embarrassment.

"Alright, you brat, stop grinning like an idiot. You don’t have much time left. There are only three months until the Nine Nether Reincarnation Seal on this little girl collapses. We have to reach Celestial Martial City before then!" Elder Yan said sternly.

"Right! But before that, there’s something else I need to do! Hmph, Xue Qinghe, just you wait for me!" Shen Haoran said coldly.

...

「Yunluo Town」

After a brief rest in the mountain forest, Shen Haoran rushed to Yunluo Town without stopping. Realizing that the Martial Artists in town would all recognize him, he had no choice but to don a large black robe to walk the streets.

Today, however, the streets of Yunluo Town were decorated with lanterns and colorful banners, and many Martial Artists dressed in the attire of the Blood Skull Mercenary Corps were loitering about.

’What’s going on?’ Shen Haoran wondered. He then asked an old man beside him, "Sir, the town is so lively today. Is something special happening?"

The old man glanced at the black-robed Shen Haoran and said, "Young man, you must be from out of town. Today is the wedding day of Xue Qinghe, the leader of the Blood Skull Mercenary Corps. To show off his influence, he had his mercenary corps members decorate the entire town like this."

"A wedding?" Shen Haoran was taken aback. ’Didn’t I disfigure Xue Qinghe’s face? What kind of woman would fall for him?’

"Sigh, young man, you don’t know. Xue Qinghe is a cruel and tyrannical man. Who knows which family’s daughter he kidnapped and is now forcing to marry him. What a sin!" the old man said, shaking his head and sighing.

"Ohh," Shen Haoran sighed. ’It would be stranger if Xue Qinghe *didn’t* do something like this. But a wedding is perfect. Let him atone for his sins to me on this very day!’ With this thought, Shen Haoran bid the old man farewell, and his figure vanished from the street as he secretly snuck toward the Blood Skull Base.

Meanwhile, at the Blood Skull Base, red carpets were laid out everywhere, and red lanterns hung from the eaves, filling the air with a festive atmosphere.

In front of the base’s main hall, Xue Qinghe was dressed in a red robe. The injured half of his face was covered by a mask, but his expression was full of smiles as he accepted congratulations from the arriving guests:

"Leader Xue, congratulations, congratulations!"

"Haha, the joy is mutual! Please, come inside! Someone, serve our guests the best wine and food!" Xue Qinghe called out with a grin.

The guests offering their congratulations came in a continuous stream, most of them leaders of minor powers in the area. Soon, the entire hall was filled.

After everyone was seated, Xue Qinghe walked to the head seat. Looking at all those present, he cupped his fist and said, "Today is my great and joyous day. I thank you all for coming to celebrate! Come, let me toast you all!"

"Hear, hear! We’ll toast Leader Xue as well! May Leader Xue and his wife be blessed with a hundred years of happiness and have a son soon!" the crowd shouted in unison.

"Haha, excellent!"

After downing a cup of wine, someone said, "Leader Xue, we’ve heard that your wife is as beautiful as a celestial fairy. Why not bring her out so we can all admire her beauty?"

"Yes, yes! We want to toast your wife too!"

Seeing the boisterous crowd, Xue Qinghe laughed. He then turned to Xiang Tian beside him and said, "Xiang Tian, go and bring the madam out!"

"Yes, sir!" Xiang Tian replied with a nod.

Just as Xiang Tian was about to leave the hall, a member of the Blood Skull Corps ran over in a panic and knelt before Xue Qinghe.

"What’s the meaning of this? Panicking like this is a disgrace!" Xue Qinghe said with a frown, looking at the member.

"T-t-terrible news! The Leader’s wife... she’s gone!" the member stammered, on the verge of tears.

"What?!" Upon hearing this, a tyrannical rage swirled in Xue Qinghe’s heart. Everyone else in the hall was stunned into silence by the news.

"She’s a living person, how could she just disappear? What the hell are you all good for?" Xue Qinghe said coldly.

"This lowly one doesn’t know. I was passing by the Leader’s wife’s room just now and found all the guards collapsed on the ground. The door to her room was wide open. I went in to check and discovered that she was gone!" the member said cautiously, feeling Xue Qinghe’s murderous intent.

"Hmph, a bunch of goddamn wastes! You can’t even watch over a single person!" Xue Qinghe roared in fury.

"What are you still standing there for? Go find her! If you can’t find her, bring me your heads!" An oppressive aura erupted from Xue Qinghe’s body, and everyone in the hall held their breath, not daring to make a sound.

Just as Xue Qinghe was raging, a voice sounded from outside the hall. "Leader Xue, why so angry? It’s bad for your health!" As the voice faded, a figure completely wrapped in a black robe appeared in everyone’s line of sight.

"Who are you?" When the black-robed person appeared, Xue Qinghe realized he couldn’t see through the other’s cultivation!

"Me? I’m someone you’ve been thinking about day and night!" With that, the black-robed person removed their hood, revealing a young and handsome face.

"It’s you! Leng Feng! You’re not dead?!" Xue Qinghe cried out in shock upon seeing the face.