Martial Conquest of the Nine Desolates
Chapter 321 - 319: Strength Skyrockets

Chapter 321: Chapter 319: Strength Skyrockets

Suppressed by Lord Starfall himself?

Xiao Ye’s eyes widened in utter surprise upon hearing Jiu Zhu’s words. Why would Lord Starfall do such a thing? It was as if he wished to see Xiao Ye struggle under the oppression of two great monsters.

Of course, Jiu Zhu could discern Xiao Ye’s confusion. After a moment of silence, he slowly said, "In the eyes of Lord Starfall, you are nothing but a piece of rough jade that lacks sculpting."

"He hopes that through Xiang Nan and Mo Ye’s challenges, your potential can be thoroughly excavated. Indeed, it wasn’t long before your strength skyrocketed to the point where you were able to defeat Guo Tao."

Xiao Ye’s heart trembled at these words: "I see, I never expected Lord Starfall to have such high hopes for me. So, it’s also Lord Starfall’s intention that I should not refuse the challenges from Xiang Nan and Mo Ye during the competition?"

Jiu Zhu shook his head: "Of course not, that was merely my personal suggestion."

"I can only tell you, if you do not reject their challenges, even if you fail, as long as you perform excellently, your future will be boundless."

Xiao Ye held his breath, his heart aflame with excitement, yet even more puzzled by Jiu Zhu’s words. How would a good performance in the competition relate to his future?

Xiao Ye pressed for answers, but Jiu Zhu was unwilling to elaborate further, only mentioning that this matter was related to Lord Starfall’s secret.

"Alright." Xiao Ye nodded helplessly. He had never intended to avoid the challenges from Xiang Nan and Mo Ye in the first place.

Xiao Ye bowed to Jiu Zhu and was ready to return to his palace for arduous cultivation.

After all, his fourth Four Xuan Pill had only just recovered. With such a condition, it would be quite difficult to perform outstandingly in the competition.

Every single minute and second was extremely precious to Xiao Ye from now on.

"Wait a moment." Suddenly, Jiu Zhu took out a porcelain bottle from his space ring and tossed it to Xiao Ye.

"A few days ago when I went to your palace to find you, I picked this up from the ground. Now I am returning it to you," Jiu Zhu said.

Xiao Ye was stunned, catching the porcelain bottle and with full of doubt on his face.

The item was picked up in his palace? He surely didn’t recall having the habit of tossing things around carelessly.

Under Jiu Zhu’s watchful gaze, Xiao Ye uncorked the bottle and was met with a surge of exceedingly pure Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi that burst forth, the hazy intense light pervading the Exchange Hall.

With just a gentle breath, Xiao Ye could feel all four of his Xuandans vibrating, as if they were eager to devour the treasure inside the bottle.

"Three drops of Essence of Primordial Stone!"

Upon clearly seeing the treasure inside the bottle, Xiao Ye gasped in shock.

He had exchanged for four drops of Essence of Primordial Stone before, all of which had been spent. How could these three drops of Essence of Primordial Stone be his?

Xiao Ye looked up at Jiu Zhu, about to speak, but caught a fierce glare from him and an impatient wave of his hand that said, "Get out of here, quick!"

Realization dawned on Xiao Ye. Jiu Zhu had specifically taken out three drops of Essence of Primordial Stone for him, but as he feared being gossiped about, he simply made up an excuse.

With these three drops of Essence of Primordial Stone, quickly enhancing the level of his Water Dark Pill was no longer wishful thinking.

"Thank you, Lord Jiu Zhu!" Xiao Ye said sincerely, bowing deeply to Jiu Zhu, then turned and left with the porcelain bottle in hand.

"Xiao Ye, I hope after the assessment, you can meet Lord Starfall’s expectations in the competition," Jiu Zhu murmured as he looked at Xiao Ye’s departing figure.

...

Xiao Ye returned to his palace and immediately took out the Essence of Primordial Stone, his face flushed with excitement.

"It seems my goal has changed," a wild idea emerged in Xiao Ye’s mind.

Before obtaining the three drops of Essence of Primordial Stone, even with the Time Tower extending the preparation time to 300 days, and the ample supply of Mid-grade Primordial Stones, he could at best advance the Water Dark Pill to the level of Fourth Transition Early Stage Xuanwu.

After all, it wasn’t easy for a Xuanwu Realm martial artist to enhance their cultivation.

Back then, even with all four Xuandans erupting in unison, his strength would still have been hard-pressed to contend with either Xiang Nan or Mo Ye.

"But now it’s different. With three drops of Essence of Primordial Stone, I can save myself a lot of hard work, advancing the level of the Water Dark Pill even more, maybe even defeating Xiang Nan or Mo Ye is not impossible!" The gleam in Xiao Ye’s eyes twinkled.

If anyone were there to hear Xiao Ye’s words, they would surely think him mad.

The three monsters had special physiques, with potential terrifying enough to defeat enemies across realms, and they had profound cultivations. It was extremely difficult for any member of the Genius Camp to withstand even three moves against them, yet Xiao Ye dared to claim he could defeat them?

The thought was insane.

But Xiao Ye knew that this idea could very well become reality, as the Four Profound Treasure Technique he cultivated completely compensated for his lack of a special physique.

"I, Xiao Ye, am going to create a miracle, with an ordinary body, overcoming realms to defeat a Heavenly Son!" Xiao Ye was brimming with immense confidence, starting to consume the Essence of Primordial Stone.

Boom!

A drop of Essence of Primordial Stone entered the body, its radiance burning like the blazing sun, coursing with terrifyingly pure Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi.

Xiao Ye suppressed the other three Xuandans, concentrating all his energy on enhancing his Water Dark Pill.

First Transition Xuanwu Middle Stage...

First Transition Xuanwu Late Stage...

Early Stage of Second Transition Xuanwu...

After the Water Dark Pill devoured the energy of the Essence of Primordial Stone, it soared upwards like a rocket, until all three drops of Essence had been completely consumed. His Water Dark Pill had reached the Fourth Transition Xuanwu Middle Stage.

Moreover, with the help of the Time Tower, only three days had passed in the outside world, a speed so astounding it was truly shocking.

The reason, firstly, is because Xiao Ye unlocked the Third Layer of the Time Tower, absorbing Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi at a rate comparable to a thirty orifice genius; secondly, the Essence of Primordial Stone, being the quintessence of Mid-grade Primordial Stones, is very easy to absorb.

Subsequently, Xiao Ye took out Mid-grade Primordial Stones for cultivation, and his speed significantly slowed down.

"The higher the level of Xuan Pill, the harder it is to improve, and I’ve also run out of Essence of Primordial Stone," Xiao Ye felt regret in his heart, then cast aside distractions and continued his cultivation practice.

Time flew by, and the last seven days had passed, the day of assessment had finally arrived.

On the morning of this day, members of the Genius Camp left their own palaces and hurried to the Central Square of the Genius Camp. Today’s assessment and challenge match would be held here.

Some faces brimmed with confidence, others fretted with worry, anxious about whether they would manage to remain in the Genius Camp.

Before long, the Central Square of the Genius Camp was full of camp members, divided into three small teams. Compared to the others, the Dragon Hunting Team was brimming with vitality.

In the previous mission of bandit suppression, they had earned a large number of Contribution Points and exchanged for many treasures at the Exchange Hall, thus they had made great progress in their cultivation and didn’t worry about being eliminated in the assessment.

Besides the members of the Genius Camp, two men were present in the Central Square. Apart from Jiu Zhu, who carried a Longsword, there was a middle-aged man with snow-white skin and an upright figure.

"Didn’t expect Lord Fu to come as well," the camp members set their sights on the fair-skinned man, their eyes blazing with fervor.

"It’s said that Lord Fu has a good relationship with people like Xiang Nan. He must have heard that Xiang Nan and the others are participating in the assessment, so he must have rushed over personally," someone said.

The Lord Fu they were talking about was Fu Xuedao. Just like Jiu Zhu, he is a Void Martial Realm powerhouse, following Lord Starfall, with formidable strength.

Suddenly, the crowd in the Central Square became restless, gazes turned towards the distance, their expressions filled with solemnity.

There, two young men with contrasting auras walked side by side - one with sharp cold eyes, the other unpredictable and charming, their presence like two great mountains pressing heavily on everyone’s hearts, leaving them breathless.

Xiang Nan and Mo Ye, two of the three great monsters of the Genius Camp, indeed came for the assessment.

As soon as they appeared, Guo Tao and Ding Yi were exhilarated.

"Lord Fu, Lord Jiu Zhu!" Xiang Nan and Mo Ye, viewed by the members of the Genius Camp as having the status of the Heavenly Sons, came directly to Jiu Zhu and Fu Xuedao without giving the ordinary members any regard, bowing their heads slightly in greeting.

As Sons of Heaven, they needed not to give grand formalities even in the presence of Void Martial Realm powerhouses.

"Not bad, I hope to see the grace of a Heavenly Son this time," Fu Xuedao, white and beardless, nodded with a smile to the two.

"Of course," Xiang Nan had a cold gaze and did not speak, but Mo Ye started to laugh, a cold light swirling in the depths of his eyes.

Fu Xuedao smiled faintly, then looked to Jiu Zhu beside him and said, "Jiu Zhu, that youngster you have high hopes for, he hasn’t arrived yet. Could it be that he decided out of sight is out of mind, upon hearing that the two great monsters are participating in the assessment?"

"If so, that would really be disappointing."

Jiu Zhu frowned slightly. Although Fu Xuedao followed Lord Starfall just as he did, the two had not been on good terms. It was obvious that this time the other was using Xiao Ye as sarcasm against him.

"Don’t worry, Xiao Ye isn’t that kind of person," Jiu Zhu said indifferently.

Kuang Dao, who was in the crowd, grew anxious as he listened to Jiu Zhu and Fu Xuedao’s charged conversation: "Why hasn’t Xiao Ye appeared yet? Could he have forgotten that today is the day of the assessment?"

Even the two great monsters had already shown up, with only Xiao Ye missing.

At this moment, not far from the Central Square in a palace, Xiao Ye’s body shuddered and he abruptly opened his eyes, as if a peerless Ferocious Beast had awakened, with a terrifying aura raging to the skies.

"Finally, the Water Dark Pill has broken through to the Sixth Transition Early Stage Xuanwu!" Xiao Ye rose to his feet, his eyes deep and clear, his black hair flailing wildly, a surge of Heaven-defying War Intent flooding from him.

He had not appeared in the Central Square on time because he was at a critical breakthrough moment, which he had now successfully achieved.

Now, with the level of his Water Dark Pill also elevated, he felt a powerful confidence throughout his being.

Even Xiao Ye was unclear as to what extent his strength would reach with the four Xuan Pills fully unleashed; his power had already surpassed his own expectations.

The awakening of the four Xuan Pills was not a mere increase in strength; his Domineering Dragon Suppressing Sky Fist would also see another tremendous surge in power.

"A Heavenly Son is the king within the same realm, possessing tremendous potential to battle across higher levels. Today, I, Xiao Ye, will have a good look to see who is stronger!"

Muttering to himself, Xiao Ye then took a step forward and his figure had already vanished from the palace, his speed astoundingly fast.