Chapter 10: Life or Death arena

Looking at Lin Pheng as if he was an unreachable hero, Han Man grinned: "we're like brothers. You killed Jing Pheng. We would not have had the conviction to act. We will all share the responsibility for it. People may call me many things, but no one has ever called me a coward."

He had easily grasped the real reason why Lin Pheng had killed Jing Pheng. He had done everything with his own hands as he didn't want to get them involved in any future trouble. Han Man felt true admiration for Lin Pheng. Lin Pheng's heart was true and his kind actions made his pure intentions easily seen through.

"Exactly, if there are consequences then we can share the burden together. Besides, Yun Hai sect's disciples are not permitted to kill each other, so we are safe within the sect. Even if Jing Hao was suspicious that we had killed Jing Pheng, he could not retaliate " Qing Yi determined.

"Do not forget about me, I am also with Lin Pheng until the end" said Jing Yun blushing. Her smile was particularly beautiful at this moment.

"Alright" said Lin Pheng happy to have made such good friends. Qing Yi was right, even though the Yun Hai sect didn't mind things happening outside of the sect, they had still imposed strict restrictions within the sect in order to stop anyone causing any problems.

Lin Pheng crouched down and started searching Jing Pheng's body looking for the things he had been carrying. He took out a book: it was a skill book.

"Roaring Thunder: Sword Skill."

Lin Pheng opened the skill book while whispering the name of the skill. Roaring Thunder was a yellow level skill. If the skill was mastered to perfection, each hit would look like a lightning strike followed by an explosive roar of thunder. The roar would travel in the trajectory of the sword with tremendous destructive power.

"Roaring Thunder is a sword skill from the Xing Chen Pavilion. Jing Pheng's two brothers had recommended this to practice. It is a powerful skill but is particularly hard to learn and master to the point where you can always make roars of thunder appear."

"I also practiced that skill but I failed to grasp its concept. My power when using it is limited" explained Qing Yi. Qing Yi was training to become a sword Cultivator, therefore he had read many of the sword skill books previously.

Lin Pheng simply nodded. He had only been practicing three skills: Nine Heavy Waves as both an offensive and a defensive technique, the indispensable movement technique Moonlight Feather Agility and Sword Unsheathing which enabled him to swiftly strike with monstrous killing power. If he practiced Roaring Thunder, he could combine it harmoniously with Nine Heavy Waves and at the same time achieve a new power which could possibly overcome the Sword Unsheathing skill.

"Are we going back now?" Jing Yun asked Lin Pheng. These days, they all considered Lin Pheng as the leader of the group.

"Since we're already here, why hurry back? Wouldn't it be better to look for more ferocious beasts to hunt?" said Lin Pheng who didn't want to go back to the sect early. In the Black Wind Mountain, he could get battle experience and practice the Roaring Thunder skill at the same time. Wasn't it much better this way?

The others didn't have anything to fear by staying. Lin Pheng was there with them, provided they didn't run into extremely strong ferocious beasts, they wouldn't be in any danger especially now that Lin Pheng had shown his true power. There was no need to hurry back to the sect.

"If we could get some profound pills in exchange for the materials we have collected, that'd be good" said Jing Yun looking forward to harvesting more ferocious beasts. A profound pill was a pill which helped improve a Cultivators' training and enabled them to reach higher Qi layers. It was an extremely useful item for Cultivators. However, it required killing lots of ferocious beasts in order to get a single profound pill. Items which were tradable for a profound pill could only be found in higher level ferocious beasts making it extremely dangerous.

Lin Pheng's eyes were shining. He remembered how useful a single profound pill could be to lower level disciples. Even though he was able to defeat level eight ferocious beasts with little effort, he was still at the seventh Qi layer which was still only an average level within the disciples. If he could reach the next Qi layer, he maybe wouldn't have to rely on the Sword Unsheathing skill anymore and would be able to defeat a Cultivator who had already reached the ninth Qi layer.

Five days later, in the middle of the thick and dense forest, powerful roars were heard from Ling Pheng's sword. Small explosive sounds were crackling in the air all around. The sounds produced by the sword still made Jing Yun jump from fright.

"boom, boom," Trees were splintering and bursting apart from contact with the thunderous roars. Lin Pheng was using his sword so gracefully and elegantly that it seemed like the sword was dancing in the air. You would not be able to tell from a glance that his sword held such a terrifying power.

"Being able to use the Roaring Thunder skill like this after five days, he really is a monster" said Qing Yi while making a wry smile and observing from a safe distance. He had also practiced sword skills and had already practiced the Roaring Thunder Sword skill. He knew how difficult it was to use. Lin Pheng had been practicing for five days and every single hit produced a loud explosive sound. That was an astonishing achievement. Qing Yi's heart was feeling heavy watching this.

"Don't compare yourself with Lin Pheng. He is using a clouded leopard as part of his training." said Han Man with both hands crossed over his chest while looking at the fight between Lin Pheng and the clouded leopard. What made Lin Pheng so terrifying is that he could have killed the ferocious beast at any time, but instead was using it for training. He was so quick at using the sword that it seemed like an invisible wall appeared in front of him, blocking anything which approached. Even if the clouded leopard was extremely quick, there was no way it could match Lin Pheng's speed.

"HAA!" shouted Lin Pheng cheerfully while stabbing the clouded leopard in the head causing its head to rumble then violently explode into pieces.

Lin Pheng sheathed his sword with a smile. He was extremely satisfied with the Roaring Thunder skill. The skill had reached a level now where it made the roaring sound with each strike. If Lin Pheng managed to perfectly master the skill, it would be even stronger than Nine Heavy Waves. Its biggest advantage was that it was an attack of pure oppressive force.

Lin Pheng's face looked delicate and his facial features gave a handsome yet gentle feeling. In comparison with what he looked like in his previous life, he looked more refined.

Han Man started picking up the precious items from the corpse of the leopard while mumbling that his original intention was to come to improve his own skills, hunt and kill some ferocious beasts, but now he was just collecting the precious items Lin Pheng had left behind. He was not unhappy though as he was benefitting a lot from watching Lin Pheng fight against level seven and eight ferocious beasts.

"Han Man, how many profound pills can we get in exchange of the materials we collected from the beasts?" Lin Pheng asked.

"Thirteen at least." Said Han Man whose eyes were filled with excitement. They hadn't imagined that they would collect so many items. That was all thanks to Lin Pheng. If Lin Pheng hadn't been there, then it would have been difficult to kill level seven ferocious beasts.

"Very good, we can each have 3 profound pills. We can exchange the other materials for useful items or weapon. Now, we can go back to the sect and enjoy our hard work."

Profound pellets were a very efficient way to increase a person's power on the path of Cultivation. Pills were most effective the first three times, after each pill the Qi within the body would begin to show resistance. The first pill would cause the body to overflow with Qi and the probability to reach the next Qi layer would be extremely high. Each following pill the effect would greatly decrease and after the third the pill effects would be minimal.

"Three profound pills." Han Man and the others were all extremely happy. There were many pills to choose from and they would have the opportunity to cultivate to the eighth Qi layer with the help of pills. Within the Yun Hai sect, the lowest Cultivators are at the fifth Qi layer. Disciples who had reached the seventh Qi layer were also considered average. Only those who had reached the eighth Qi layer received the full benefits from the sect.

During those days with Lin Pheng they had started to understand his personality and how he acted. He was determined on his path of Cultivation and had an incredible god-like aura which radiated from him at all times.

"Let's go back" said Lin Pheng.

The first thing they did after returning to the sect was go and exchange their precious items for twelve profound pills which each of them were given three. Lin Pheng also exchanged some extra materials for a long sword. Han Man got himself a new axe. Qing Yi exchanged items for two earth profound pills which would strengthen one's basics on the foundation of Cultivation. Qing Yi was finally aware that the foundation of his Cultivation was not strong enough.

What Jing Yun exchanged with her items somewhat surprised Lin Pheng: beauty pills. These profound pills were used to make a woman more attractive and beautiful. If an evil woman used beauty pills, they would not have a great effect as it would reflect the nature of their Qi essence. Jing Yun however was a very pure and innocent girl and it would have an increased effect on her beauty. Lin Pheng didn't understand why she had chosen beauty pills as she was already incredibly beautiful to him.

"Why are you looking at me that way?" Jing Yun asked Lin Pheng who could not stop staring at her. She couldn't help but blush and look away.

"Nothing, it's just that you're already very beautiful. I do not feel you should change in any way" Said Lin Pheng who suddenly looked very embarrassed before starting to laugh awkwardly. Since Jing Yun had chosen the beauty pill, who was he to intervene.

"Lin Pheng, do you plan to go back?" Han Man asked Lin Pheng. He was thinking that if they had the opportunity, Lin Pheng and he could go back to Black Wind Mountain together and collect even more materials.

"Let's practice and improve our skills first. I think being at the seventh Qi layer is still too low within the sect" said Lin Pheng. It was indeed only enough to be considered average by others.

"Indeed, we all need to improve our skills as Cultivators. Lin Pheng, considering your current strength, you can go anywhere to practice. I don't think anyone would stop you" Said Han Man shaking his head. He then recommended a distant place where there was an immense canyon. It was Yun Han sect's most famous place: Stormy Gorge.

The Yun Hai sect was surrounded by eight extremely high mountain peaks. In the middle of the Yun Hai sect's mountain peaks was the Stormy Gorge which had a deepest point of a few hundred meters. It covered extremely vast area and was divided into several areas like an underground city. The gorge was vast and many different landscapes could be seen within. If you entered it, maybe you'd end up in the middle of a forest or possibly a desert oasis.

Provided they didn't enter the gorge looking for people to fight, no matter what their level, the Yun Hai sect would encourage its disciples to go and gather near death experiences. Only the strongest of disciples would enter the Stormy Gorge. Being weak and still entering would just lead to certain death.

Therefore Yun Hai sect's disciples who hadn't at least reached the eighth Qi layer wouldn't dare go to the Stormy Gorge.

Besides, there was another place deep inside the Stormy Gorge called the Life or Death arena. Provided a disciple voluntarily set a foot into the Life or Death arena, they could fight to the death over a grudge and if they accidently got killed, the Yun Hai sect would not get involved. While direct killing was not allowed here, once beaten within an inch of their life it was near impossible to return safely. Some people would even secretly kill wounded disciples as they attempted to return to the sect. If you had enough power, you could even publicly kill another disciple and the sect would turn a blind eye.

The people who would enter the Life or Death arena had their family members or best friends killed and were unable to live without getting revenge.

"Of course I will go" said Lin Pheng looking towards the area where the Stormy Gorge was located. Observing a crowd of people on the horizon heading towards the gorge, his expression changed greatly as he remembered the past.

If it had been when Lin Pheng had only reached the fifth Qi layer and people still could call him a piece of trash, he would have had no choice but to watch the fighting in the Stormy Gorge from a distance while avoiding all other disciples.

This is of course how he was tricked.

Friday is here! This is a regular release. I have translated and edited it this morning, but I just proofread it during my lunch break. So please enjoy!

I have made the changes to sponsored chapters as the overwhelming majority suggested on my poll. We have a sponsored chapter in queue. I will try and release this by tonight. If not I will completely clear the queue this weekend.

Enjoy xoxo