All eyes burned on Xiao Ye, some even whispering about his origins. To defy Gu Chen—a sixth-stage Posterior Heaven Realm prodigy—and even overpower him? Such talent was unheard of. Soon, Xiao Ye's name would echo across Wutang City.
"Su Meng, since you've won, open the Vein-Purifying Pool," Gu Chuchen declared coldly.
"Hmph!" Su Meng strode forward, flanked by Zhang Clan's patriarch, Zhang Tao. The three clan lords activated the green energy dome sealing the pool.
Crack!
The barrier shattered, releasing a tidal wave of white vapor, like serpents coiling over boiling water.
The Pool's Power
Xiao Ye stepped in, the warm water enveloping him. Breathable? He marveled. Around him, others activated their Absorption Technique, vortexes pulling white mist into their bodies.
"Let's go," Xiao Ye grinned, swimming toward deeper waters. But then—a shadow loomed.
Gu Chen's Ambush
"So, you came to flee?" Gu Chen sneered, activating eighteen Qi vortices. Turbulent waves erupted as he lunged, his Absorption Technique draining the pool's energy.
"Eighteen vortices!" Onlookers roared. "Gu Chen's unstoppable!"
Xiao Ye, however, swam leisurely, his twenty-five vortices already spinning. When Gu Chen noticed, it was too late.
The Turnaround
"You think you can escape?" Gu Chen snarled, but Xiao Ye's vortices reversed the flow, sucking Gu Chen's energy.
"Impossible! How many vortices do you have?!" Gu Chen screamed, fleeing.
Xiao Ye trailed him, cold laughter echoing. "You're the one who chose to follow me."
The Trap
Gu Chen's panic turned desperate. His vortices, once fearsome, now siphoned nothing but water. Meanwhile, Xiao Ye's twenty-five vortices devoured the pool's essence, refining his true Qi into pure clarity.
"This… this is the Vein-Purifying Pool's power?" Xiao Ye marveled. Each absorption purged impurities, accelerating his cultivation by leaps.
The Aftermath
When Xiao Ye finally surfaced, twenty-five plumes of vapor stunned everyone.
"Gu Chen has twenty-five vortices?!" someone shouted.
Gu Chuchen's face twisted. "That… that brat must've hidden his progress!"
But the crowd's cheers were for Gu Chen—unaware Xiao Ye had outmaneuvered them all.