As this power merged with him, he could clearly feel both his physical strength and the potency of his Magic Techniques reach a new tier.
He had his reasons for expending so much energy to seize the mountaintop as quickly as possible.
Although this projected Spirit Realm was vast, the number of Demon Beasts was ultimately finite. It was like a giant hourglass; as time went on, the resources would only grow scarcer.
Once everyone had killed off most of the Demon Beasts in these mountains, how would they compete for the limited boosts from the Evil Qi?
At that point, conflict between people would become inevitable.
’Since a final battle is unavoidable, I might as well seize the initiative.’
Chu Bai’s gaze swept across the open terrain, a slight smile playing on his lips.
’Instead of scrambling all over the mountain later for the few remaining Demon Beasts, I’ll just occupy the summit, where the resources are most concentrated, and let them come to me.’
’If anyone tries to take it from me...’
He clenched his fist, feeling the power swelling within him. ’...then let them come.’
However, now was not the time to be conspicuous.
’Slaying that Tiger Demon, even with the help of a Dharma Artifact, still left me with some internal injuries from that final impact. The Rejuvenation Seal triggered automatically and healed most of them, but now the stored life-force imprints are nearly depleted.’
Chu Bai performed Introspection, assessing his condition and forming a plan.
’Time spent sharpening the axe is not time wasted. I should rest for a bit. It won’t be too late to hunt the next beast after I’ve fully restored my Rejuvenation Seals.’
’If I don’t maintain my peak combat strength and run into a truly tough opponent, it would be a disaster to fail due to carelessness.’
With this in mind, Chu Bai didn’t linger. Recalling his earlier survey of the terrain, he found a dry, hidden cave and slipped inside.
He sat cross-legged and began circulating the Guiyuan Technique, silently gathering Spiritual Power and re-forming the Rejuvenation Seals within his body—each one representing a second life.
Time passed slowly.
About fifteen minutes later, just as Chu Bai had mostly recovered, several hurried auras suddenly entered his range of perception.
’Hm? Cultivators?’
Chu Bai raised an eyebrow and slowly opened his eyes, the scene outside the cave reflecting in his golden pupils.
’It seems some other clever people have realized the total amount of Evil Qi is finite and are starting to head for the source.’
They were three or four powerful auras, clearly belonging to some of the top contenders in this examination.
Chu Bai didn’t rush out to engage them. Instead, he completely concealed his aura, melting into the cave as he lay in wait.
Before long, the sound of shattering rock and the furious roar of a Demon Beast echoed from outside.
Apparently, the group had found a Demon Beast at the Middle Stage of Qi Cultivation and engaged it in battle.
However, just as the Demon Beast’s roars grew faint and it was about to be defeated, another large, chaotic, yet powerful group of auras surged up the mountain.
’Another group?’
Chu Bai’s interest was piqued. His ears twitched, and he heard the sudden eruption of fierce battle cries and the clash of weapons.
He crept silently to the mouth of the cave and peered out through a fissure in the rock.
In a clearing not far away, the four Cultivators who had been besieging the Demon Beast were now forced to stand back-to-back, their faces furious as they stared down a group of uninvited guests.
Trapped between them, the once-majestic Demon Beast, now at the Middle Stage of Qi Cultivation, was bathed in blood and on its last breath. It wailed, trying to use the standoff as a chance to flee, but it was pinned in place by the auras of both groups, with no hope of escape.
"Chem Wangming! We were the ones who found this Demon Beast, and we’re the ones who spent our Spiritual Power to grievously wound it! What right do you have to swoop in and steal it now?!"
One of the four, a student wielding a longsword, glared with wide eyes, pointing at the opposing leader as he roared his question.
Across from him, Chem Wangming led his imposing seventeen-person team. They had formed a semicircle, trapping the four cultivators and the Demon Beast. A smile that was seemingly amiable, but actually ice-cold, hung on his face.
"My friend, why so angry?"
Chem Wangming said coolly, leisurely toying with the Streamlight Shuttle in his hand, "The rules of the examination encourage conflict, by any means necessary. You can only blame your bad luck for running into us."
"If you know what’s good for you, you’ll join us. I might even consider letting everyone split the Evil Qi. Otherwise..."
A cold glint flashed in his eyes. "...you’ll just become stepping stones on our path to the next round."
The words were shameless, but under the cruel rules of the Immortal Official Examination, they were also an irrefutable truth.
However, the sword-wielding student clearly wasn’t buying it. He sneered, looking with disdain at the team members behind Chem Wangming, whose expressions varied.
"Join you? What a joke!"
"Your team has over a dozen people. How could you possibly distribute the Evil Qi?"
He pointed at the gravely wounded Demon Beast, cutting straight to the heart of the lie. "The rules grant the boost only to the one who lands the final blow. What’s this nonsense about splitting it evenly? Even if you took turns with each kill, with so many of you and so few beasts, who would actually get anything?"
As soon as he said this, the expressions of many people in the group behind Chem Wangming shifted. A subtle crack appeared in their united front.
Chem Wangming cursed inwardly and hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "Everyone, don’t listen to him trying to sow discord! As we’ve traveled together, if someone doesn’t get enough Evil Qi from one hunt, we’ll make it up to them on the next! We’re all fellow students here. Would I really mistreat any of you?"

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