Apotheosis

At that point, a jet of silver light skimmed over the snake's head, and a second later, the snake was cut in half.

"We haven't found demons yet. But there are other creatures in the forest as well. Be careful, Qiu." The inner disciple who had killed the snake said flatly, a shiny sword in his hand.

The inner disciple, Qiu saw what his peer had done. Qiu hurriedly cupped one hand in the other to salute him. "Thanks for saving my life, Cleve!"

Zen who had been trailing behind them saw how Cleve Lin had killed the snake. His brow arched. Even though Drizzle Peak ranked bottom among the other peaks, it didn't lack talented body refiners. Cleve Lin had shown exceptional power in this kill. The snake was only a fourth-rank beast, but Cleve's reaction wasn't much slower than Zen's.

Zen had his hand on his space ring at that moment. If Cleve had not killed the snake, Zen would have finished it with his flying knife.

Cleve nodded, took back his sword, and then led the team forward.

Cleve Lin was the leader of the Drizzle Peak disciples.

They did kill many beasts along the way, but they hadn't met any demons either. The five inner disciples complemented each other pretty well and killed some fierce beasts. Once the beasts were dead, they cut their bodies open and took the crystal cores.

Henry, Gury, Zen, and the other two disciples had been reduced to the role of bystanders.

It wasn't until noon that they stopped at the edge of a valley after a long stuttering journey.

"You and you, go find some firewood and make a fire," Qiu said cur

They gathered around the campfire and ate their meal.

"Cleve, have you really killed a demon before?" Qiu asked as they ate.

"Yes. It was four years ago," Cleve replied with a smug smile as he ripped off a chunk of meat from a roe deer. "At that time, I was still an outer disciple of Drizzle Peak, and the Shura Battlefield was about to close. I entered the trial to slay demons. We cornered a demon soldier, and I made the lethal strike."

Killing a demon soldier as an outer disciple was something Cleve should be proud of. Nevertheless, he continued with a little modesty. "Still, it was pure luck. I was not as strong as I am now. If I meet a demon soldier now, I can kill it in three strikes."

Just as Cleve was prattling on about his history with demons, an inner disciple who had been busy devouring his meat, suddenly interrupted in a sharp, rasping voice, "Is that so? I'd like to see if I can survive three strikes from you. Show me your sword!"

All of a sudden, a terrifying evil spirit emanated from the inner disciple.