I Just Wanted to Live, but I Somehow Became Better Than the Main Character
Chapter 24: Which Powerhouse Hasn’t Stained Their Hands With Blood?

The secret realm was open for two days, and one had already passed. By all logic, Ye Yong had done everything he needed to do- so why was he still here? Because he wanted to observe Ye Gou and the others and see how they were doing.

After all, Ye Gou and his group had avoided the death event that originally came from targeting Long Tian. If this were a video game, it would have bugged out- at best, they’d get stuck; at worst, the game would crash or the save file would corrupt. In reality, would this cause some kind of change? Ye Yong was curious.

Any changes they experienced could serve as a reference for Ye Yong in his future plans to help the Ye Family survive through the extermination event and until the middle part of the novel.

While walking toward the outer region of the secret realm, Ye Yong encountered several groups of cultivators. They were all at the first layer of the Crystallization Realm, obviously having suppressed their cultivation before entering and only breaking through once inside- clearly prodigies stronger than the average cultivator. Otherwise, it would’ve been impossible to reach this depth in just one day.

After all, not everyone was like cheat-code Ye Yong or the male lead Long Tian, with beast-avoiding incense to use. Once discovered by a spirit beast, most would be forced into a battle- and spirit beasts at this depth were all at the middle stages of the Crystallization Realm.

Though spirit beasts at the middle stages of the Crystallization Realm were powerful, cultivators had the advantage of numbers, and along with spiritual tools and preparation, killing one might be difficult, but driving them off wasn’t.

Almost every group Ye Yong met would greet him and ask about the situation ahead.

Even though he was alone, no one questioned his strength or power.

Ye Yong simply told them not to approach the lake if they saw one- there was a Crystallization Realm late stage spirit beast there, extremely violent and dangerous. He didn’t say anything else.

Even so, the cultivators were grateful. Ye Yong owed them nothing, and warning them of a danger zone was more than generous.

Some arrogant geniuses who had originally disliked Ye Yong now had no choice but to admire him. If they were in his place, they definitely wouldn’t have said anything.

Sure enough, just as the rumors said, Ye Yong was truly a noble gentleman with a generous heart.

What they didn’t know was that the so-called noble gentleman had been the one who woke up the beast in the lake- and nearly enraged it into storming out and going on a killing spree.

That turtle had simply been napping, planning to eat the spiritual herbs growing on the island when it woke up. Every century, powerful human cultivators would come and plant them, and the barrier would disappear.

But this time, it hadn’t woken naturally- it had been disturbed. And what was worse? A stinking, weak human had not only taken all the spiritual herbs from the island but even tossed rocks into the lake to wake it up, then waved the herbs in front of its face in mockery.

The spirit turtle was absolutely livid- but that human, who seemed to have no cultivation, was freakishly fast. It chased him around the lake a few times but could only bite the air. The turtle realized it had been toyed with, but although it was furious, the fact was, it couldn’t catch him.

It returned to the lake and decided not to sleep anymore. From now on, aside from the powerful cultivators who came to plant herbs, it would kill any human who approached the lake.

After a while, another weak human with the same nasty stench appeared. The turtle launched a surprise attack- only to miss again. It was about ready to explode. Why were all weak humans so fast now? Did I become slower or what?

Unwilling to chase empty air and be made a fool of again, the turtle submerged to await another chance. The human, wisely, didn’t come close again.

…

Within the White Sugar Mud secret realm, flight tools, sound transmission stones, and image mirrors were all restricted.

Image mirrors were similar to surveillance cameras, sending visuals back to others. The reason for banning them was that the higher-ups in the Heavenly Luo Sect didn’t want the Nascent Soul Realm managers to see what treasures each disciple obtained. If a disciple lacked powerful backing, they could be threatened to hand over their gains.

Such things did happen in some sects, though the Heavenly Luo Sect was generally fair.

But this setup had its downside- it gave petty-minded young masters like Bai Gui the opportunity to try and kill fellow disciples.

Of course, most of the time, the upper echelon turned a blind eye. Even blood-related siblings might turn against each other for trivial reasons, let alone strangers in the same sect.

A cultivator’s growth was never smooth. Without ever having enemies, how could they sharpen themselves? Killing and being killed- it was all part of the tempering process. As long as they weren’t caught and didn’t go too far, so what if they killed a fellow disciple?

Which powerhouse hadn’t stained their hands with blood?

Whether you were an average cultivator, a genius, or a genius genius- only those who survived to the end were true powerhouses.

…

No communication, no flight- it was difficult to find anyone in such a large secret realm. But Ye Yong had a map. He knew where Ye Gou and his group started, could judge their overall strength, estimate their travel speed, and consider the strength of local beasts. Using that, he could roughly narrow down their location.

After walking for half an hour, a decent-looking female cultivator suddenly appeared before him. Her clothes were torn, revealing glimpses of skin- her slim figure faintly visible. When she saw Ye Yong, she lit up like she’d found her savior.

“Young Master Ye!”

Ye Yong didn’t recognize her. He sized her up- Foundation Establishment Realm 5th layer. Judging by her damaged clothes, she looked like she had been attacked.

“Please help my friends!” the woman cried, dropping to her knees and clutching Ye Yong’s leg.

“Let’s talk calmly.” Ye Yong helped her up. Through tears, she explained that she and her friends had been attacked by a spirit beast, and her companions were still fighting. She’d come to find help.

Ye Yong looked at her. Her eyes held a subtle charm, and with tears flowing down her cheeks, she did inspire pity. He glanced at her white skin revealed by the damaged clothes and gave a nod. “Alright, lead the way.”

They reached a certain location. Just as she was chatting with Ye Yong, she suddenly leaped aside, and formation patterns lit up all around him.

All of them were level 4 formations: there was one that suppressed sword intent, one that suppressed spiritual power, one that blocked teleportation. Even a Golden Core Realm cultivator would be rendered nearly powerless in here and practically become a mortal, let alone a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator.

But Ye Yong wasn’t shocked. He silently bought a [Mid-level Formations Explained] and stood there calmly, waiting for the people who set up the trap to show themselves.

“I told you no man can resist my charm.” The female cultivator winked playfully at Ye Yong. “We’re on opposite sides, so don’t blame me, Young Master Ye. But if you choose the right side, I can be yours, and you can do whatever you want.”

Ye Yong opened his folding fan and smiled faintly, waving the fan.

Besides the original female cultivator, three Crystalization Realm layer 1 cultivators and 10 Foundation Establishment cultivators stepped out from hiding. There were 14 people in total.

Ye Yong guessed that no one in his own sect would dare lay a hand on him. These people were either spies from another sect or infiltrators from the demonic sects. As for why he’d knowingly walked into a trap- it was because he wanted to see what they wanted to do.

As a man at the 19th layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm and had treasures that could one-shot Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, Ye Yong had nothing to fear in this secret realm.