Chapter Five: All or Nothing

The two disciples felt that their earlier behavior seemed to show fear of Bai Feiyu, which was truly a blow to their pride, so they became fierce again.

“That was only because you refused to acknowledge your mistake, so Senior Brother Chen had to teach you a lesson. But you struck with deadly intent, trying to kill him. How dare you!”

Their ability to twist right and wrong was remarkable—by their words, Chen Xuan’s actions became the justifiable ones.

Bai Feiyu had no interest in arguing with them. He simply stepped forward.

“Do you two want to test yourselves against me as well?”

“You!” The pair were instantly both shocked and angry.

They hadn’t seen clearly what had happened moments ago, but they knew the technique Chen Xuan had used, and now that he’d ended up like this, what chance did they stand?

“You don’t even dare to face me, yet you’re still making a fuss here? Is this the pride of inner disciples?” Bai Feiyu sneered.

“What right do you have to criticize inner disciples?” Their faces darkened.

“A challenge it is! Do you really think we’re afraid of you?!”

“That’s enough!” Qianshuang interjected, her gentle features now icy cold.

“Aren’t you ashamed enough already? As inner disciples, you should be stronger than him, yet you’re reduced to this and still have the nerve to argue here?”

The two disciples’ faces turned red and then green, a truly spectacular sight.

Seeing their unwillingness to submit, Qianshuang’s tone grew firmer. “This matter is clearly Chen Xuan’s fault. Do you intend to add injustice to injury? Now that Chen Xuan is this badly wounded, the most urgent thing is to take him out of the secret realm!”

They didn’t dare utter another word. If the sect master’s daughter had spoken, there was nothing more for them to say. This way, they could avoid punishment, so there was no need to argue further—especially as they had no confidence left.

Qianshuang gave Bai Feiyu a deep look, a trace of admiration flickering in her eyes, and nodded at him.

“I will report the truth of this incident, you need not worry. He was simply outmatched.”

Facing Bai Feiyu, Qianshuang’s demeanor softened considerably. The strength he had displayed was proof enough: if he could be brought into the inner sect and given enough resources, he would surely become a dominant figure in the future.

The two disciples lifted Chen Xuan, and at Qianshuang’s nod, the three crushed a jade token in their hands and left the secret realm.

Bai Feiyu shrugged.

“What a pity. If that fellow could take a beating a bit better, it would’ve been more interesting.”

Muttering to himself, he shook his head, resolving to find a way to obtain more mutated fire-attributed energy when he returned.

But for now...

He turned his gaze to the surrounding forested mountains.

First, he dealt with the Clear Snow Tiger on the ground. Although his storage pouch couldn’t hold the whole beast, he could still take the important parts—the pelt and the inner core. These could be traded for resources.

Bai Feiyu stretched, feeling his strength gradually returning, and stepped into the woods.

...

Hiss—

While picking medicinal herbs from the ground, Bai Feiyu suddenly heard a tremendous commotion not far away.

The sound was the roar of some large beast.

Cautiously, he crept closer.

But when he caught sight of a massive black python, its entire body covered in scales that gleamed coldly under the sun, he couldn’t help but gasp.

From the memories of this body’s former owner, he recalled this kind of serpent was called a Rainbow-ringed Python. These creatures had a band of multicolored scales around their tails.

This python’s body stretched dozens of meters, nearly rivaling the nearby hill in size, radiating an aura of suffocating danger from top to bottom.

Instinctively, Bai Feiyu concealed his presence, doing his utmost not to be detected.

Still, he could not quell a restless surge of excitement.

The ring of colorful scales on the Rainbow-ringed Python came from their special bloodline, which allowed them to sense the presence of spiritual treasures. Whenever one was nearby, the scales would glow.

However, these serpents were all but blind, relying only on thermal perception to sense their surroundings.

Thus, Bai Feiyu did his best to lower his body temperature and carefully edged backward.

The python’s strength was such that a flick of its tail could reduce him to pulp—no matter how tempting the prize, he dared not risk it.

Nothing was more valuable than his own life.

Yet, this Rainbow-ringed Python seemed abnormally irritable today, for reasons unknown.

Its immense body quickly slithered several hundred meters, crushing all vegetation in its path, sending flocks of birds into flight, stones scattering, and the ground trembling.

Just then, Bai Feiyu’s retreat halted abruptly as his gaze locked onto a particular spot.

Every attribute orb radiated light, in various colors.

Now, after the python had left, at the center of a pond on a small island where it had been resting, a dazzling array of colored lights nearly blinded him.

The entire island was covered with attribute orbs!

Bai Feiyu held his breath, his eyes fixed unblinking on the orbs.

There was no need to trail after the python for treasure—he couldn’t survive a single blow from such a beast.

But on that tiny island, the orbs were so densely packed... and he even noticed some in the water.

He didn’t know how so many attribute orbs had appeared, but suspected it was connected to the python’s agitation.

Regardless, it was nothing to do with him.

All he needed was to sneak close and snatch as many as he could in one quick sweep.

He was no fool. He didn’t remember much about Chen Xuan’s background, but he understood well enough that the gap between inner and outer disciples was unbridgeable.

Judging by their attitudes, it was clear that hurting Chen Xuan would bring him trouble once he left this place.

And he’d already killed someone upon arrival.

So, once he returned, he was certain to face peril. Before that, he had to become even stronger—not only for self-preservation, but also to gain leverage.

Thus, he had no choice but to risk it!

Fortune favors the bold. The Rainbow-ringed Python’s strength meant the attribute orbs it dropped were bound to be powerful. Once he obtained this haul, he could find a place to absorb them all.

By then, his strength would surely advance by leaps and bounds.

With this thought, Bai Feiyu took a deep breath and immediately allocated all the attribute points he had just acquired, activating every technique at his disposal.

Seizing the moment before the python returned, Bai Feiyu dashed out, heading straight for the island in the pond.