Chapter 35 – The Trial Concludes

The jostling movement woke up Zhao Ren. It took him a moment to blearily open his eyes and take in his surroundings. He was being carried. From his vantage, all he could see was the ground and the legs of the one carrying him. Muffled whispering reached his ears.

“I thought I was done for when I felt something hit my back! I kept waiting to be finished off when I realized how light the weight on me was.”

“Hush, I think he’s awake. Are you injured anywhere, Ren? Put him down carefully, Hua!”

Ren was laid next to a gnarled trunk. He was finally conscious enough to ask,

“Where are we? Did we make it out?!”

Hua laughed and pointed up. Ren’s gaze followed to the sky where the moon was its usual color and the blood red comet was nowhere to be seen.

“We made it out in time. We’re a short distance from the frontier camp.”

“What happened to you there at the end? Nobody saw anything.” Mei Ling asked him curiously.

Ren’s fists clenched as he recalled the betrayal. “It was Mo Ying. He attacked me from behind.”

Hua just looked clueless, muttering, “Who…?”

“Why would he attack you?” Mei Ling looked deadly serious all of a sudden. That cold look usually meant someone’s meal was going to receive an extra seasoning of poison.

“I’m not sure, but I think he held a grudge for losing at the tournament. I can’t believe it myself. It makes no sense!”

Neither of the two had seen Mo Ying since they left, and Ren, going by his last memory, didn’t think Mo Ying had much chance of surviving. They didn’t know what to say to Ren that could help. Bao Hua awkwardly patted his shoulder. Mei Ling just said, “People do things for all kinds of reasons. We can try guessing why he did it, but ultimately it doesn’t matter now. I’m just glad you’re alive.”

Bao Hua picked up Ren, who was still too injured to walk just yet. Together they silently trudged back. Once they left the forest, they could see the large crowd assembled in the camp. Seeing that the elders of all the sects were about to address them, Ren held off on going to the medical tents.

As the last of the survivors trickled in, the patriarch of the Heavenly Sword Sect began speaking.

“Well done on surviving! I hope the trial pushed you to greater heights. With its conclusion, we will host an inter-sect tournament in a month’s time. This tournament will serve not just to exchange pointers with the best of your peers but also for earning further rewards. So go recover, meditate, and breakthrough. Digest your gains and become even stronger.”

The sect leader’s presence had a gentle touch. He stepped back and began speaking with the other elders. Amongst them, Ren could clearly see the ugly expressions on the Hidden Sea Sect’s elders and on some of the Celestial Instruments Sect.

‘Subo was probably right about them having to pay reparations.’ He idly thought.

After receiving some healing, Ren made his way to his courtyard, ready to sleep for a week!

The next morning, despite his wounds still restricting movement, he slowly made his way to the courtyard of the disciple in whose care he had left his pet Myriad Path tortoises. This disciple was one he liked and trusted, the one who liked to have discussions about tea. The tortoises all looked healthy, clearly having been well looked after. He gave her three cores from the blood beasts in addition to what he had already paid her and thanked her sincerely. He carried his pets back to his home, occasionally petting them. He had missed the cute little fellows.

His courtyard was a little barren without any spirit herbs, but it still had a higher level of qi than the outside. It didn’t matter much since he wasn’t going to stay here much longer anyway. In the rush to become eligible for the trial, he had only registered as an inner sect disciple. He hadn’t yet found an abode to move into. Nor had he gotten accustomed to the rules of the inner sect. There was much that he had put off that he now needed to address.

There was nothing he needed to do right away except sleep but what he truly desired was to sort and trade the loot he had gathered! He had risked a lot, lost sleep, even been injured, but he had definitely earned more than enough to make it worth it.

27 cores and 14 corpses of the 9th layer qi gathering realm blood beasts. 46 cores and 9 corpses of 3rd or 4th layer foundation realm slasher beasts. 19 assorted spirit plants including the red blossoms and one lotus. An entire blood pool and the large red crystal he found at its base. A large chunk of lunar silver. A large patch of flesh-eating moss. A number of insect cocoons on a branch. Large quantities of beast bones. 1 small yin flame with yet unclear properties. 1 spatial pouch and 20 spirit stones.

Zhao Ren was wealthy beyond belief!! The beast corpses had largely come from their desperate escape. While he split the qi gathering ones with his friends, his solo hunt of the foundation realm slashers had been incredibly successful. Ren didn’t know the exact value of the cores, but they were definitely worth several hundred spirit stones. He could also feed his tortoises with them. They were already looking at the pile in curiosity, drawn in by the large amounts of qi emanating from it.

As for the blood pool and the moss, he already had an idea he wanted to implement. If it worked, he stood to earn a lot.

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The cocoons he had found on a vibrant tree while hunting. Amidst the gnarled trees, this one had stood out from its neighbors with how it was teeming with life. He had kept the sparkling white cocoons as a curiosity, but maybe some insect cultivator would be interested.

The spatial pouch would have cost him a 100 spirit stones or a mid-grade spirit stone, but he was spared that cost now. It had already proved its usefulness by allowing him to bring back his current treasure trove.

By far the best prize was the yin flame. It would need to be nurtured over time, and he needed to find out its exact properties, but when it grew enough, he could begin really raking in the wealth. He still couldn’t believe his luck!