Chapter One Hundred: A Place of Seclusion

"From Luoyang Town, of the Ye family," Ye Cheng replied without deference or arrogance, showing no fear simply because the other man was a powerful expert at the Ancient Pill stage.

"Luoyang Town? That little town on the southwestern border?" Aside from Third Commander Wang Yang and Old Wu, everyone else in the hall fell momentarily silent. When they looked at Ye Cheng again, their expressions were filled with surprise. They had always assumed that a youth so young, yet already at the peak of the Blood Energy Realm, must have come from some great power. None of them had expected such a talent to be born in a small place like Luoyang Town.

Old Wu and Third Commander Wang Yang stood to the side, watching the crowd's reaction with some amusement. The first time they had seen him, they too had been astonished that such an extraordinary youth had come from so humble a place.

"Heh, Young Master Ye's talent really shames this old man," Nangong Hao said with a hearty laugh. "When I was your age, I wasn't nearly as strong as you are now."

"You flatter me, Senior. I only managed to reach this modest level by a bit of luck," Ye Cheng said with a smile.

"This boy is truly gifted, and his temperament is even rarer. The little girl Xue certainly has an eye for people." From the moment before, Nangong Hao had been paying close attention to every move Ye Cheng made. Seeing how calm and composed he was, he could not help but secretly praise him in his heart.

"Young Master Ye need not be modest. There is no strength in this world that comes for free. To have the chance to ask Young Master Ye for help is already a debt owed to our Nangong family," one of the stewards said.

"Since there are still four days until the day of the contest, please stay with our Nangong family for the time being, Young Master Ye. If you have any requests, feel free to speak them. My Nangong family will do everything we can to satisfy them. How does that sound?" Nangong Hao said to Ye Cheng, his tone sounding quite sincere. A genius like this was certainly worth winning over.

"Then I will trouble you," Ye Cheng said without refusing. "Just give me a quiet place to cultivate. During this time, I plan to go into seclusion."

"That is no problem at all." Nangong Hao nodded, then turned to look at the old man beside Ye Cheng. "Old Wu, take Young Master Ye to the Nangong family's secluded cultivation grounds at once. After that, choose a few maids to attend to him."

"Yes." Old Wu answered respectfully, then turned and led Ye Cheng out of the meeting hall.

After the two of them left, only the higher ranks of the Nangong family remained in the hall, together with the four stewards and the nine commanders.

"Everyone, what do you think of that young man from earlier?" Nangong Hao asked in a low voice, sweeping his gaze across the crowd.

"I had been observing him all along. The blood energy within his body is completely restrained, so there is no doubt that he is at the peak of the Blood Energy Realm. However, I do have one question. Ordinary peak Blood Energy Realm cultivators don't seem capable of restraining it so perfectly. Even without intent, they will still leak a trace of blood energy," the First Commander said after a moment of thought.

"Indeed. The First Commander's question is exactly what I was puzzled by as well," the Second Commander replied.

"I think the Third Commander should know a little more about this youth than the rest of us," said one of the stewards in a white robe, looking toward Third Commander Wang Yang.

The Third Commander walked to the empty seat, swept his sleeve, and sat down before slowly saying, "Actually, you all already have your suspicions, don't you? To be able to restrain blood energy so perfectly, aside from the possibility of having reached the Origin Realm, there is only one other situation. Brother Ye belongs to that second category."

"Hiss...!"

The other commanders drew in a sharp breath.

The other possibility he mentioned, of course, was clear to them. It meant that the young man had already condensed Star Blood Crystals, compressing all of his blood energy completely within his body. That was the sign of having already begun to step into the perfection stage of the Blood Energy Realm, far surpassing the level of an ordinary peak Blood Energy Realm cultivator. Although this had been only their own guess, after receiving the Third Commander's confirmation, they were still greatly shocked.

Even the four stewards on the front dais, including Nangong Hao, were somewhat stunned. All of them were experts at the Ancient Pill stage, and they too had once gone through the stage Ye Cheng was in now. Even so, they could not help but feel shaken. For a youth who came from a small town to reach this point, his future path in martial cultivation was bound to extend very far.

...

Led by Old Wu, Ye Cheng left the meeting hall, wound through several side paths, and passed through the Nangong family's back garden. The entire garden was filled with all manner of exotic flowers and rare herbs, their fragrance mingling in the air and drifting toward him. He could not help but feel refreshed, as though a sense of ease he had never known before had washed over him.

Every great clan usually had a place like this, somewhere to relax. The Ye family had one too, but compared with the Nangong family's garden before his eyes, it was still somewhat inferior.

The Nangong family occupied a vast estate. Ye Cheng and Old Wu walked for more than ten minutes before arriving at a secluded place. There, many bamboo stalks had been planted, forming a small bamboo grove that carried a distinctly natural air. Through the gaps in the not-so-dense bamboo, several small houses could be seen faintly in the distance.

"As expected of a great clan, to even create a place like this within the family estate," Ye Cheng said, looking at the small bamboo grove before him, unable to help admiring the person who had thought to make such a quiet little retreat inside the courtyard.

"Young Brother Ye, this is one of my Nangong family's secluded cultivation grounds. Usually, only a few of our strong experts come here when they are in seclusion, and very few others are allowed to disturb them," Old Wu said with a smile.

"Please rest for now. I will send a few maids over shortly. If you need anything, just tell them."

With that, Old Wu turned and left.

"This place really is不错," Mu Lao's voice sounded in Ye Cheng's mind after Old Wu had gone.

Ye Cheng nodded and stepped into the small bamboo grove. He was very satisfied with the place Old Wu had arranged for him. The atmosphere here was quiet and secluded, giving one a calm and peaceful feeling. It was indeed an excellent place for secluded cultivation.

"Teacher, can I continue absorbing the blood cores now?" Ye Cheng asked after some thought. He still had the blood cores he had obtained from the ancient cave in his pouch and had not yet absorbed them. His cultivation had advanced too quickly during this period, and he was somewhat worried that it might leave hidden problems that could hinder his future martial path.

"Of course you can," Mu Lao said grumpily. "When you first received that inheritance, your blood energy increased too quickly and your foundation became unstable. Fortunately, the compression you underwent some time ago has removed that hidden danger.

"Now your realm is already stable. As long as you continue to stimulate the blood energy within your body and compress it into Star Blood Crystals, repeating this cycle until you form nine Star Blood Crystals, you will reach the perfection stage of the Blood Energy Realm. By then, even if you were to fight an Origin Realm expert, you might not necessarily lose."

"The perfection stage is actually this powerful?" Ye Cheng exclaimed aloud. But after thinking about it, he also found it understandable. After all, among hundreds of thousands of Blood Energy Realm experts, there might not even be one who could truly reach the perfection stage.