C9 Challenge!

The persistent clanging of the long pickaxe echoed in Ye Wentian and his wife Tang Waner's ears as they toiled away. Their labor was arduous and slow-going; they were digging through mauve soil, a product of the mountain's base rocks weathered over eons into nutrient-rich earth, essential for cultivating the Silver Spirit Mountain herbs.

Despite being called soil, it was nearly as hard as stone.

They were aware that Ye Xiangguang was intentionally making their work difficult, yet they remained silent, choosing not to complain or haggle.

Both Wentian and Waner were resilient souls. Once without much hope, resigned to a life of quiet despair, their son's future now spurred them on. With his Grade 2 martial talent, their boy was mere days away from entering the Ye's Compound and joining the Inner Courtyard.

In just over twenty days, they too would join their son as members of the Ye Family's Inner Courtyard.

Anticipating a future free from backbreaking labor, the current hardships seemed trivial. What was a momentary slight against the promise of a brighter tomorrow?

An hour later, their sweat-soaked clothes clung to their bodies. Wentian stripped off his shirt, revealing a back darkened by the sun and muscles honed by years of physical work. Each movement caused his muscles to quiver, sending rivulets of sweat cascading down his skin.

Exhausted, Ye Xiangyang collapsed onto the ground. The morning's grueling training had repeatedly pushed him to his limits, depleting the essence of the Demon Beast Blood he'd absorbed the day before.

Previously, he had no prospects of becoming a Martial Cultivator, but now, with the peak within reach, he was determined to give his all. One's destiny is carved through struggle, and for the sake of his parents' sacrifices and his own future, Xiangyang was committed to pushing his limits.

He could sense the increase in his body's strength and his power surge after a relentless morning workout. His grasp of the Southern Bear Fist grew more profound.

"I will reach the peak," he vowed, "and become a figure of renown in the Jiuzhou Empire, just like the Ye Family's ancestor."

This fervent aspiration was etched deep within his heart.

Weighed down by fatigue, Ye Xiangyang emerged from the slaughterhouse, struggling to carry two hefty barrels of beast blood.

Ye Xiangyang firmly grasped the wooden barrels and hoisted them onto his shoulders, advancing with a steady gait. Each step was deliberate, his shoulders rock-solid, ensuring not a single drop of demon beast blood was spilled from the buckets.

Upon reaching the Black Tortoise Spring, Ye Xiangyang set the barrels down, splashed water on his face, took a sip, and rested briefly before lifting the barrels once more and resuming his trek home.

Under the harsh sunlight, one could spot the slight figure of a thirteen-year-old boy, slowly trudging westward, clutching a pair of unusually large casks. The journey took him over four times longer than usual.

At last, Ye Xiangyang neared his home, feeling as though he could barely lift his feet.

Once home, he stored the demon beast blood, stripped off his garments, and plunged into a barrel of the blood. He then activated the Martial God Heavenly Arts and the South Bear Arts, commencing his cultivation. His body radiated with a crimson glow as vivid tortoise shell patterns emerged, casting light upon the demon beast blood.

The essence of the demon beast blood swiftly converged upon these patterns, coursing through his body and settling into the fingernail-sized sections of skin within the tortoise shell markings.

Profound Qi from the surrounding environment seeped into his body, transforming into Profound Strength and accumulating within his meridians.

Ye Xiangyang opened his eyes to the evening light; he had been cultivating intensely since dawn. The Martial God Heavenly Arts replenished his physical strength, but his mental fatigue was harder to shake off. He had inadvertently drifted to sleep during his practice.

Awakening, he sensed a slight advancement in his Martial God Heavenly Arts. The color was shifting towards orange, and the Profound Strength within his hand's meridians had now amassed in three channels.

This rate of progress was astonishing. Typically, it would take an average person six months to reach the level of a One Star Profound Warrior. The Ye Family would spend a month just to verify the presence of Profound Strength within an individual's body.

After bathing and dressing, Ye Xiangyang prepared to cook for his parents. But upon lifting the lid of the rice bin, he discovered it was completely empty, not a single grain remaining.

Ye Xiangyang borrowed a scoop of rice from the neighbors, shut his door, and set out to forage for wild greens.

Dinner would be a simple affair of wild vegetable and millet porridge.

With the meal prepared, Ye Xiangyang practiced his punches, awaiting his parents' return for dinner.

Darkness had fallen, yet his parents had not come back.

In the medicine field, Ye Xiangguang's voice cut through the air with icy detachment, "If you fail to complete today's task, I can't pay you. I'll stay right here with you until it's done."

Ye Wentian and his wife, Tang Waner, remained silent, their energy spent from the day's grueling labor. Hunger gnawed at them.

They were utterly drained. Lifting their pickaxes was one thing; turning the soil with them was another. They had no idea when they would finish the daunting remainder of their task.

Today, they had pushed themselves to the limit, managing to overturn three-quarters of the Medicine Herbs Field—a feat beyond the halfway mark of their task, yet still a quarter short of the quota set by Ye Xiangguang.

Undeterred, they persisted in their toil.

"Dad, Mom," Ye Xiangyang's voice called out. Soon after, his slender figure stood by his parents' side.

Ye Wentian gave a wry smile. "Son, we haven't finished today's task."

A shadow crossed Ye Xiangyang's face as he glanced at Ye Xiangguang, who sat nonchalantly on a nearby rock. He realized this was retaliation for the injury he had inflicted on Ye Xiangguang's brother. Ye Xiangguang was exacting vengeance on his parents as payback.

Ye Xiangyang's fists tightened, then relaxed. He knew he was no match for Ye Xiangguang. With a sense of desperation, Ye Xiangyang approached him, fixing him with a steady gaze. "What must I do for you to call it off?"

Ye Xiangguang's smile was taunting. "You boasted that you'd break the limbs of anyone who crossed you, right? If you can break my arms and legs, we'll consider the matter settled."

A gleam of determination shone in Ye Xiangyang's eyes. "How about this: in a little over twenty days, once I've passed the test, I challenge you. You won't have to answer for my life or death, and you agree to leave my parents out of this going forward. Deal?"

Ye Xiangguang bellowed with laughter. "Agreed, it's a promise."

Their palms met with a resounding clap, sealing their vow with the unspoken understanding that neither would ever renege.