"The time has come, the Fish-Dragon Nine Transformations will soon begin. Those who wish to challenge, come quickly to receive your Talisman Token and enter in order!"
The moment the guardian elder of the Fish-Dragon Path raised his voice, Zhou Zhiyuan grinned at Ye Zhen, "Ye Zhen, the Fish-Dragon Nine Transformations are starting, why aren’t you going up?"
"Don’t worry, no need to rush me!" While walking, Ye Zhen winked at Jin Tai, "Old Jin, aren’t you opening the betting pool, have you gone dumb?"
Jin Tai was a bit stunned, whispering, "Old Ye, can you really do it? The Heavenly List..."
"I don’t know either, this is my first time challenging the Fish-Dragon Nine Transformations. But as I said before, I’ll give it my all!"
"First time challenging the Fish-Dragon Nine Transformations?"
Jin Tai’s mouth fell open with shock, his face immediately filled with a bitter smile and resignation.
Challenging the Fish-Dragon Nine Transformations requires skill too. Each checkpoint’s Phantom Demon has its own characteristics and techniques to deal with them. Even the genius Ren Xihua had to accumulate experience in challenging the checkpoints several times before he finally broke through to the sixth one.
"Hahahahaha..."
"I’ve seen idiots before, but I’ve never seen one as idiotic as you," Zhou Zhiyuan laughed loudly upon hearing this.
Ye Zhen remained unmoved, waiting for Zhou Zhiyuan to finish laughing before saying, "Zhou Zhiyuan, do you dare to make a bet with me?" Ye Zhen had made up his mind to go big if he was going to play.
The greater the pressure, the stronger the motivation.
If he succeeded, he could trick Zhou Zhiyuan even more viciously.
"Hmph, what’s there not to dare? Tell me, how do you want to bet?"
"We bet our entire fortunes. If I make it onto the Heavenly List, all your wealth goes to me, and if I can’t, all my wealth goes to you, do you dare?" Ye Zhen looked at Zhou Zhiyuan with eyes as wide as a bull’s.
"Hmph, why wouldn’t I dare? Let’s bet! Hey, when someone’s giving away silver, why would I complain about there being too much?" Zhou Zhiyuan’s eyes flickered, then he added, "However, how do I know how much your fortune is, and if it matches mine? If you only have tens of thousands, or even just a few thousand taels, wouldn’t I be at a huge loss?"
Ye Zhen laughed. He’d been planning on just this, but didn’t expect Zhou Zhiyuan to deliver himself to the doorstep.
"Joke’s on you, I’m actually worried your fortune is less than mine and I’ll be at a loss!"
"What a joke! As if you, with your fortune, could have more than me..."
Smack!
A thick stack of silver notes was slapped in front of Jin Tai by Ye Zhen. "120,000 taels of silver, I’m betting this much!"
Zhou Zhiyuan’s eyes bulged, and he immediately stuttered, "120,000 taels..."
As an Inner Sect Disciple, Zhou Zhiyuan had wasted several lots of 120,000 taels of silver. But precisely because of that, he had invested any assets he had into his cultivation, leaving him with only about 60,000 to 70,000 taels in cash.
He couldn’t have imagined that Ye Zhen, who had just recently become an Inner Sect Disciple from being an Outer Disciple, would possess such substantial wealth.
"What, can’t come up with that much?"
The 120,000 taels of silver in Ye Zhen’s hands came from family, accrued from Guoo Shanfeng, and also from killing Quasi True Inheritor Jin Tai from the Lishui Sect. Actually, Ye Zhen had wanted to spend it to convert it into Cultivation, but he just didn’t have the time.
"Just wait!"
Zhou Zhiyuan’s complexion wasn’t good as he fumbled around and managed to scrape together a little over 70,000 taels of silver. He then borrowed from some familiar Inner Sect Disciples, and finally, after much difficulty, brought together 120,000 taels of silver. Just then, Ye Zhen slapped down a storage bracelet with a smack!
"One cubic meter storage bracelet!"
After killing Jin Tai, Ye Zhen had taken his storage bracelet, ending up with an extra one.
"A one cubic meter genuine storage bracelet, valued at 100,000 taels of silver, exchanged for 10,000 Contribution Points within the Sect!"
As soon as Ye Zhen had slapped it down, Jin Tai loudly announced its value, causing Zhou Zhiyuan’s face to turn black instantly. He had invested every bit of his silver into buying cultivation resources, so he had no surplus to spend on a luxury like a storage bracelet.
"Can’t come up with it? An established Inner Sect Disciple like you can’t even scrape together that much wealth?"
"Are you still up for betting, or not? If not, just stop wasting my time!"
Ye Zhen’s relentless mocking forced Zhou Zhi’an to swallow his pride and borrow money from his fellow sect members once more. This time, he went through a lot of charm and talk, making a promise to return thirteen parts of every ten borrowed, only then did he manage to borrow another 120,000 taels of silver!
"Satisfied now?"
Zhou Zhi’an slammed down 240,000 taels worth of silver notes in front of Jin Tai.
"Not bad!"
Ye Zhen nodded his head, "I won’t bet my Sky Crystal Sword. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to borrow enough silver even if you sold your ass!"
Zhou Zhi’an’s face went dark, nearly fainting from the anger Ye Zhen caused him. But what Ye Zhen said wasn’t wrong; if Ye Zhen were to bet a Low Grade Artifact, Zhou Zhi’an wouldn’t be able to take on such a bet, dead or alive.
"Old Jin, take good care of it!"
"Zhou Zhi’an, you just wait to sell your ass to pay your debts!"
Ye Zhen roared at Zhou Zhi’an and, amidst laughter from many Disciples, strode boldly toward the guardian elder of the Fish-Dragon Nine Transformations. Perhaps because of the prior commotion, today, nobody was rushing to be the first to challenge. Instead, they all let Ye Zhen go first.
Jin Tai also took this opportunity to start his betting pool.
"Activate your True Essence Power and channel it into this Jade Talisman."
The Guardian Elder handed Ye Zhen a Jade Talisman, "This Jade Talisman serves as your Amulet. The Phantom Demons within it are formed from Spiritual Power but their attacks are real. If you receive a fatal attack during the challenge, this Jade Talisman will instantly teleport you out; of course, that would also mark the end of your challenge.
At the same time, this Jade Talisman will record your score from the challenge and display it here." The Guardian Elder pointed to a Spirit Light Wall on the stone wall of the Fish-Dragon Path.
Swish!
The instant True Essence Power surged in, the Jade Talisman shattered, and a hazy aura of Spiritual Power enveloped Ye Zhen’s entire body, as if a protective membrane was cast all around him.
"Go ahead and pass through the Dragon Fish Path. There you’ll see the gate to the Fish-Dragon First Transformation," the elder said.
Ye Zhen nodded, his figure flickered, and he rushed into the Fish-Dragon Path.
Nearly a year later, Ye Zhen was challenging the Fish-Dragon Path again, but the speed at which he was doing so was vastly different.
Swish!
His figure flashed like an Illusion, bypassing the traps that had just activated. In a blink, Ye Zhen was at the gate to the Fish-Dragon First Transformation.
Ye Zhen slowly pushed open the great door, and before him still lay a corridor as wide as ten meters and several kilometers long, just like the Fish-Dragon Path, but there was no movement at all.
Bang!
The instant Ye Zhen took a step forward, the door behind him closed by itself without any wind, and thick Spiritual Power surged into the corridor of the Fish-Dragon First Transformation.
The incoming Spiritual Power, under the restraint of some mysterious rule, transformed lightning-fast into one Demon Wolf after another—all Lower Human-Level Yin Wind Wolves!
At a glance, there were at least nearly a hundred Yin Wind Wolves formed from the Spiritual Power.
Howl!
Amidst the hissing, the Yin Wind Wolves with their glowing red eyes immediately fixed their gaze on Ye Zhen!
Ye Zhen’s figure moved instantaneously!
Outside the cave.
"What do you think, how long will Ye Zhen need to get through the first variation of the Fish-Dragon Nine Transformations?"
"With Ye Zhen’s True Essence Third Realm Cultivation, it should take at least a Hundred Breaths, right?"
"A Hundred Breaths, impossible! Even Ren Xihua took eighty Breaths the first time he broke through. I reckon Ye Zhen will need at least one hundred and fifty Breaths..."
Whoosh!
While everyone was discussing, the Spirit Light Wall above the entrance of the Fish-Dragon Path suddenly flickered, displaying a number—one thousand five hundred!
The hundreds of Disciples who were busily discussing were immediately dumbstruck!
Even the expression on the face of the Guardian Elder guarding the passage revealed a trace of surprise, "This fast?"
"My god, fifteen hundred points, one thousand points for killing all one hundred Demon Wolves in the first barrier, plus a five hundred point bonus for completing the challenge—perfect clearance!"
"Perfect clearance is nothing special, the key is the time taken, was it even ten Breaths? I reckon it was less than ten Breaths?"
"Three months ago, when Ren Xihua tried again, it seemed like he also took about fifteen Breaths for the first barrier, right?"
"He’s so fast, how did Ye Zhen do it? That’s pretty incredible, isn’t it?"
Hearing the discussions, Zhou Zhi’an bit his lip lightly, slightly losing his composure.
Within the first barrier of the Fish-Dragon Transformation.
Facing the near hundred Demon Wolves pouncing at him, Ye Zhen executed a Chasing Star Direct Step, crossing a distance of a hundred meters in an instant. The moment he stepped out, each of his index fingers emitted a True Essence Sword Finger, six feet in length!
Swoosh!
The two streams of True Essence Sword Fingers, like a cutting machine, turned where Ye Zhen passed into the most primal form of Spiritual Power that dissipated.
At the entrance of the Fish-Dragon Second Transformation, the moment Ye Zhen stepped in, dozens of Mid Human-Level Phantom Demon Fiery Tigers made entirely of Spiritual Power lunged at him.
This time, Ye Zhen copied the same movements, unleashing his Chasing Star Direct Step again. The Mid Human-Level Phantom Demon Fiery Tigers were directly sliced by Ye Zhen’s True Essence Sword Fingers.
However, this barrier took Ye Zhen a Hundred Breaths to complete, which he felt was quite slow.
Little did he know that the Inner and Outer Disciples outside the Fish-Dragon Path, seeing the score refreshed within a Hundred Breaths, were almost shocked out of their wits.
"The second barrier, a Hundred Breaths, perfect clearance!"
"Lordy, I remember when Ren Xihua was at the peak of the True Essence Fifth Realm, he was no faster than this, right?"
"Ye Zhen, this guy, is just too terrifying!"
"Maybe, just maybe, Ye Zhen could really make it onto the Heavenly List using the points from the Fish-Dragon Path?"
At these words, Zhou Zhi’an’s face immediately darkened, "Impossible! Ye Zhen has the True Essence Sword Finger, so the first two barriers will definitely be very easy! But each of the subsequent barriers gets harder and harder!"
Zhou Zhi’an was right!
As Ye Zhen entered the third barrier, he began to feel the pressure.
He could no longer kill the High Human-Level Demon Beasts, the Golden Body Bull Demons, on a large scale like before. Each Golden Body Bull Demon formed of Spiritual Power required Ye Zhen’s full effort to defeat.
With a flash of his Chasing Star Step, a Thunder Leopard Collapsing Fist struck the belly of a Golden Body Bull Demon, dispersing it instantly.
Often, Ye Zhen had to deal with three or four Golden Body Bull Demons at once. Yet, the execution of his Chasing Star Step became smoother and more adept with each step, coordinating with the release of a Thunder Leopard Collapsing Fist!
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
After half a quarter-hour, Ye Zhen had slaughtered a hundred Golden Body Demon Oxen.
Outside the Fish-Dragon Path, the eyes of several hundred Inner and Outer Disciples were fixed on the Spirit Light Wall. As the numbers on it ceased to increase, Jin Tai was the first to cheer.
"Ten thousand points, already ten thousand points! The third barrier of the Fish-Dragon Path also cleared perfectly! Only twelve thousand more points and Old Ye will surpass the twenty-two thousand points of Wud Ze from the Heavenly List and successfully enter it!"
"With such speed, clearing the first three barriers without even using fifteen minutes, it’s very possible!"
At these words, Zhou Zhiyuan, whose face looked rather unpleasant, suddenly roared, "Jin Tai, are you out of your mind? The fourth barrier has the Peak Human-Level Demon Beasts!
Peak Human-Level Demon Beasts, even a True Essence Fifth Realm existence wouldn’t find them easy to deal with!
Even if Ye Zhen somehow manages to scrape by the fourth barrier, there’s the fifth barrier with Low-Grade Earth Level Demon Beasts!
Do you know what a Low-Grade Earth Level Demon Beast is?
The Spirit Summoning Realm, those are beings that only Inner Gate Disciples who have reached the Spirit Summoning Realm can handle! Even I can only manage to kill three or four with all my effort, Ye Zhen, how many can you kill?"
A roar from Zhou Zhiyuan immediately dimmed the joy on the faces of Jin Tai and the few other Disciples supporting Ye Zhen, casting a shadow of concern over them—Zhou Zhi’an was not exaggerating in the slightest.
Seeing this, Zhou Zhi’an’s complexion, which had been unsettled by Ye Zhen’s rapid clearance speed, immediately brightened.
"With Ye Zhen’s Cultivation, dreaming of making it to the fifth barrier!"
PS: Another long Chapter of three thousand words, my friends, where are your recommendation tickets?

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