The beast horde came quickly and left just as swiftly. At the edge of the Black Ze Forest, only some low-level demon beasts remained, along with a sea of corpses scattered across the ground.

Of course, among these corpses were not only demon beasts but also humans, and the scene was extremely bloody. From these bodies alone, one could tell how fierce and devastating the beast horde had been.

This was merely a small beast horde. If a large one were to come, who knew what kind of situation would unfold.

At the edge of the Black Ze Forest, there were still many disciples of the Canghai Sect, mostly outer sect disciples, fighting ordinary beasts, attempting to hunt some to hone their skills and obtain beast cores.

"Haha, this is a spirit beast!!!! Hey Lei Jun, help me control that shit, and I'll deal the killing blow," a loud, cheerful voice rang out, followed by hearty laughter.

At that moment, two outer sect disciples of the Canghai Sect stood together, facing a spirit demon beast, a Unihorn Rhinoceros.

Between the two of them and the Unihorn Rhinoceros, there were numerous demon beast corpses, the air thick with the stench of blood, but the two disciples paid it no mind.

"The Unihorn Rhinoceros has strong defense. Are you confident in killing it?" said a youth named Lei Jun, slender and calm, his gaze cold as he watched the beast.

"Don't worry, bro, I got this...Wow..you don't trust my abilities...hub?" The other youth, muscular and sturdy, grinned confidently.

"I only trust myself," Lei Jun replied coldly. At the same time, two vines shot out from his body, moving faster than lightning, and instantly wrapped around the Unihorn Rhinoceros.

"Grrr..." The Unihorn Rhinoceros thrashed wildly, its body flailing as the Broken Army was shaken by the force. However, his eyes remained cold, and his hands steady. The vines that had coiled around the Unihorn Rhinoceros began sprouting more tendrils, tightening their grip.

"Move!" Lei Jun commanded. Without needing to be told twice, the muscular youth stepped forward.

His foot stomped heavily on the ground, sending dust flying, as though the earth itself trembled. With a savage punch, he struck the Unihorn Rhinoceros, and a single blow ended the beast's life.

"See? How was it, Lei Jun? Wasn't it a good decision to team up with me?" the muscular youth grinned as Lei Jun walked up and pulled a dagger to extract the beast's core.

"When reaching to the Spirit Martial Realm level, it's different. Even the martial soul can become materialized," Li Xiaoyao observed as he saw Lei Jun's vines, clearly a manifestation of his martial soul, which bore some similarities to Mo Xie's martial soul, though much weaker in comparison.

"I didn't expect this guy's strength to increase so quickly," Li Xiaoyao smiled slightly, walking toward the two who were extracting the beast core.

"Who?"

Just then, Lei Jun suddenly turned, a sharp, menacing aura bursting forth as he charged toward Li Xiaoyao. At the same time, two vines shot directly toward him.

"Hmm?"

Li Xiaoyao raised an eyebrow, surprised by Lei Jun's quick defensive response and his direct attack on him.

Taking a step forward, a sharp sword-like energy erupted from Li Xiaoyao's body, shooting straight at Lei Jun, creating a suffocating atmosphere.

"Lei Jun, stop! This is my friend," the muscular youth quickly turned and called out.

The vines retracted immediately, and the pressure surrounding Lei Jun vanished. However, his right foot took a step back, sinking slightly into the ground, his gaze fixed on Li Xiaoyao.

"This guy... Freaking strong!!"

"Hahaha, Li Xiaoyao, you finally showed up! I've been looking for you for more than ten times and couldn't find you. I thought you weren't planning to return to the sect," a loud voice boomed.

It turned out that the muscular man was Li Xiaoyao's friend, Han Kui.

"Hehe, I just got back not long ago," Li Xiaoyao responded with a smile. "Han Kui, you can even kill spirit demon beasts now. Your strength has really improved."

When Li Xiaoyao returned to Cangyun City, Han Kui was only at the level eight of the Qi Martial Realm. It hadn't been long, but now Han Kui had already reached the Spirit Martial Realm. This really surprised Li Xiaoyao, though he was also happy for his friend.

"Hehe, I got some opportunities then I naturally reached to the Spirit Martial Realm," Han Kui scratched his head and grinned. "By the way, Li Xiaoyao, how about you? You were much stronger than me before. I wonder how you are now."

"Wow, not bad bro congrats," Li Xiaoyao casually smiled, glancing at Lei Jun standing next to Han Kui. Lei Jun had a cold, unapproachable aura, with a calm and quick reaction, giving off a dangerous vibe. If this person had ill intentions, he would be a disaster for Han Kui.

"Ah, right, I forgot to introduce you two. Li Xiaoyao, this is Lei Jun. His strength is quite abnormal, but he keeps a low profile. He's much stronger than the top few outer sect disciples," Han Kui said with a smile.

"Lei Jun, this is Li Xiaoyao, my good brother. You two will be friends from now on."

"I'll just take the beast core first," Lei Jun said coldly, turning around and crouching down to use a dagger to open the Unihorn Rhinoceros' head.

"Li Xiaoyao, don't mind him. Lei Jun's just a cold person by nature," Han Kui said, trying to ease the awkwardness.

Li Xiaoyao wasn't bothered and just smiled. He wasn't close to Lei Jun, so it didn't matter to him how the person treated him.

"Han Kui, why are there only the two of you left here? Everyone else is gone."

"Of course, they went to the Sect Grand Competition. Only those who want to hunt beast cores are still here at this time. Lei Jun and I are among them, trying to gather as many beast cores as we can while everyone else is gone."

"Aren't you planning to participate in the Sect tournament and enter the inner sect?" Li Xiaoyao asked, a bit surprised.

"Of course I'm participating. We should still make it if we leave now. Hehe," Han Kui answered with his usual carefree grin, which made Li Xiaoyao speechless. This guy was completely carefree, but that was what made him simple and good-natured, with no malicious intent, easy to get along with.

"Lei Jun, are you done? Otherwise, we might miss it," Han Kui called to Lei Jun.

"Done, let's go," Lei Jun replied.

Lei Jun nodded, putting the beast core into his pouch.

"Li Xiaoyao, you should come too. Let's go together," Han Kui said, pulling Li Xiaoyao along. "By the way, Li Xiaoyao, how strong are you now?"

Li Xiaoyao thought for a moment before shaking his head. It was hard to say just how strong he was. Maybe he could try his strength against someone at the third level of the Spirit Martial Realm...

"You're still being mysterious? If you went all out, do you think you could take down a Unihorn Rhinoceros?" Han Kui pressed.

"Take down a Unihorn Rhinoceros while going all out?" Lei Jun, who was standing to the side, inwardly shook his head. Li Xiaoyao's strength must be in the Spirit Martial Realm. The sharp sword energy from earlier had even made him feel a sense of suffocation. If they fought, Lei Jun was certain he would lose—at least, without using all of his trump cards.

A Unihorn Rhinoceros had strong defenses, but with the overwhelming sword intent Li Xiaoyao exuded, it would be no problem for him to slay it.

"I think I should be able to handle it," Li Xiaoyao scratched his nose. Could he deal with a Unihorn Rhinoceros? A single strike would do. Was there a need to go all out?

"Hehe, as expected. You've reached the Spirit Martial Realm. With the inner sect spots up for grabs, there will definitely be three spots for the three of us. From now on, we'll make our way in the Canghai Sect together," Han Kui said, grinning happily. With three people in the Spirit Martial Realm, they would definitely do well.

"Make our way together? But who's going to be the leader?" Lei Jun asked casually. Han Kui's thinking was a bit naïve.

"Of course it's Li Xiaoyao. His talent is definitely better than mine. Even if he's a bit weaker now, he will surpass me in the future. Plus, he's a righteous person who once saved my life. I'll follow whatever he says," Han Kui said without a care.

"What about me?" Lei Jun asked.

"You can't even beat me, so if I'm listening to Li Xiaoyao, you should naturally listen to him as well," Han Kui said matter-of-factly, leaving Li Xiaoyao speechless. This guy's logic was so simple. Lei Jun was far from the simple person Han Kui thought he was—there was no way he would just listen to him.