Starting with SSS-rank talent, I contracted the Forbidden Ferocity.

The bottom of the Thunder Valley is quieter than the entrance.

The thunderclouds hung low.

Grayish-white lightning surged in the clouds, yet lingered, reluctant to strike.

The ground was covered with crystal-clear marks left by lightning strikes, like a shattered mirror lake.

When Shen Ye reached the bottom of the valley, he saw two people.

One is Bloodless Faceless.

He stood beside a blood-red array plate, his face still pale, clearly not yet recovered from his serious injuries.

The other one was a young man in gray.

He was not yet twenty years old, carrying an ancient sword on his back, sitting in the center of the thunder scar.

He had no beasts with him.

But his aura was far more dangerous than that of a white blade or an iron mastiff.

The system panel appears.

Meng Qianqiu

[Ninth on the List of Kings]

[Realm Level: Mid-Fourth Tier]

[Talent: SS-level martial arts talent, Thousand Autumns Sword Bone]

【Beast Taming: None】

[Risk Rating: Extremely High]

No beasts to control.

Pure martial artist.

Shen Ye's eyes narrowed slightly.

In this world of high-level martial arts and beast taming, being able to reach ninth place on the King Ranking without relying on beast taming already speaks volumes.

When Xue Wumian saw Shen Ye, his expression darkened.

"Red lines, white blades, and iron mastiffs couldn't stop you?"

Shen Ye said, "The people you hired aren't very capable."

Bloodless face twitched at the corner of his eye.

Those three are no pushovers.

In any trial, it would be enough to hunt down a city's most talented individuals.

But Shen Ye seemed to be referring to three stumbling blocks.

Meng Qianqiu slowly opened her eyes and looked at Shen Ye.

"You're Shen Ye?"

Shen Ye said, "Are you going to stop me?"

Meng Qianqiu stood up.

"I won't stop you."

Xue Wumian's expression changed slightly.

"Meng Qianqiu, you accepted the gifts!"

Meng Qianqiu said calmly:

"I'm charging for the essence of the tribulation lightning."

"I didn't say I would kill for you."

Bloodface roared, "You want to go back on your word?"

Meng Qianqiu turned her head and glanced at him.

"You can deduct money."

Blood stagnates without a surface.

Shen Ye looked at Meng Qianqiu.

"I want the essence of tribulation lightning."

Meng Qianqiu nodded.

"I want one too."

Shen Ye said, "Then we still have to fight."

Meng Qianqiu drew his sword.

The sword was ancient and dull, yet the moment it was drawn, the thunder throughout the entire Thunder Valley subsided by a fraction.

"The King-Conferring Trial is something you earn through fighting."

A cold glint flashed in Xue Wumian's eyes.

beat.

It would be best to fight to the point of mutual destruction.

At that time, he would take both the source of the tribulation lightning and Shen Ye's life.

Meng Qianqiu didn't waste any words.

He took a step forward.

Although they were dozens of meters apart, they were in front of Shen Ye in an instant.

The ancient sword made a horizontal slash.

No sword energy leaked out.

All the power was concentrated on the tip of the sword.

Shen Ye conjured a black-gold short sword from the Myriad Beasts Sword Pattern and blocked horizontally.

clang!

A crisp sound.

Shen Ye staggered back seven steps, his arm going numb.

Meng Qianqiu stood still, her expression calm.

"Your level of understanding is too low."

Shen Ye looked up.

"Again."

Night feathers soared into the sky, and ghostly fire covered the valley floor.

Zhu Jiu emerged from the shadow of Lei Hen, and the Nine Netherworld Candle Dragon Breath sprayed towards Meng Qianqiu's feet.

Long Yuan roared as if laughing, and charged forward.

Meng Qianqiu slashed down with his sword.

The ghost fire was cut open.

The second sword strike.

The Nine Netherworld Candle Dragon's Breath was severed.

The third sword strike.

Longyuan's Battle Breaking Fist was blocked head-on.

He didn't tame any beasts, yet he single-handedly blocked Shen Ye's combined attack of three beasts.

Shen Ye's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Strong.

Very strong.

Unlike Qin Wuji and Li Xuance, who were geniuses of their generation.

Meng Qianqiu's strength was forged through battle.

The sword is not flashy.

But every sword strike was aimed directly at victory or defeat.

Shen Ye switched to the Myriad Beasts Divine Rune.

Dragon Abyss Form.

The power of the Fighting Dragon Ape Body was added to himself.

He moved close to Meng Qianqiu, their fists and swords clashing.

Ten moves.

Twenty moves.

Thirty moves.

Shen Ye now has seven sword wounds on his body.

Meng Qianqiu's sleeve was also burned off by the ghost fire.

Bloodfaceless watched from a distance, his face growing increasingly grim.

Shen Ye was more difficult to kill than he had imagined.

At the peak of the third tier, he was able to fight Meng Qianqiu to this extent.

Meng Qianqiu suddenly spoke:

"You're suppressing your cultivation level."

Shen Ye threw a punch.

Meng Qianqiu blocked with his sword.

Shen Ye said, "Mm."

A flicker of emotion crossed Meng Qianqiu's eyes.

"Why not break through to the fourth rank?"

Shen Ye said, "Let's wait for an opportunity."

Meng Qianqiu said, "Not now?"

Shen Ye looked up at the tribulation lightning above his head.

The gray-white lightning had condensed to its maximum.

The source of the tribulation lightning is about to fall.

"Soon."

Meng Qianqiu understood.

"You want to use the tribulation lightning to break through your cultivation level."

Shen Ye did not deny it.

Meng Qianqiu suddenly laughed.

"How dare you!"

"Then I'll lend you a hand."

He gripped the sword with both hands, and a phantom image of a crystal-clear, jade-like sword bone appeared behind him.

Qianqiu Sword Bone.

A sword strike was unleashed.

It seemed as if only this one sword remained in the entire valley.

Shen Ye's pupils contracted slightly.

This sword strike can severely injure a fourth-tier opponent.

He didn't hide.

The myriad beast divine patterns are unified into three layers.

The powers of Ye Yu, Zhu Jiu, and Long Yuan simultaneously merged into the Myriad Beasts Sword Pattern.

Shen Ye met the attack with a sword.

boom!

The black and gold sword pattern cracked.

Shen Ye was sent flying backward, crashing into a patch of lightning crystals and shattering it.

Blood stained his chest.

Ye Yu, Zhu Jiu, and Long Yuan were all hit by the backlash, causing their auras to become disordered.

Meng Qianqiu did not pursue.

He looked at Shen Ye.

"Still not broken?"

Shen Ye pushed himself up from the ground.

look up.

In the sky, the first gray-white lightning bolt finally struck.

The target is not Thunder Valley.

It's Shen Ye.

A system notification sounded.

[The descent of the source of tribulation lightning has been detected.]

[Should I use this breakthrough opportunity to break through to the fourth rank using the tribulation lightning?]

Shen Ye wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Yes."