Oh no! I, the weakling, have become the villain!

Although the process was quite painful, he could clearly feel that his body had become stronger and his meridians had been opened up.

The whole period was long and painful, but Xu Yao finally made it through without any major incidents.

After it was over, he lay on the ground, panting heavily.

At the same time, he heard a sound coming from his own body, like the sound of a tender sprout breaking through the ground.

The excruciating pain began to subside, which gradually allowed Xu Yao to regain some of the strength to stand.

"Alright, that's done. From now on, you can begin your cultivation."

The old man who had spoken to Xu Yao was about to leave when he saw the old man's action, and Xu Yao immediately knelt down before him.

"Thank you so much for your great kindness, senior. I will never forget your kindness in this lifetime. Although I did you a small favor before, it was just an unintentional act on my part."

That small favor is no way I can repay your kindness. If you ever encounter any danger in the future, I will certainly do everything in my power to help you, if I can.

The old man chuckled upon hearing this and simply said, "You've got a kind heart."

"Senior, may I ask your name?"

"Me? I have no name. I've long forgotten what a name is. I've just been walking around, traveling to different places."

The old man sighed softly and glanced at Xu Yao.

"I hope you can walk your own path from now on, and do it better than me. I can't give you any more help."

Because I know that you are like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. If you cannot successfully emerge from the cocoon on your own and instead need someone to help you, you are destined to be unable to fly on your own.

Strive to become stronger; I look forward to your future performance.

With the old man's last words, he disappeared from the scene. Xu Yao silently kowtowed several times in the direction the old man had vanished.

"Things are different now. Things will be different from now on."

Xu Yao muttered a few words to himself, secretly clenching his fists.

I will never be that coward again, and I will never be controlled by anyone again.

With these thoughts in mind, Xu Yao also left.

……

Time flew by, and before long, a month had passed.

The streets were bustling with activity as people discussed the events surrounding the Blood Demon Hall.

"Have you heard? Have you heard? Several prestigious sects have joined forces to attack the Blood Demon Hall."

"Hey, you're kidding, right? Who wouldn't know about this? After all, it was such a big deal."

"It is said that the Blood Demon Hall was completely caught off guard by this attack, and the entire Blood Demon Hall collapsed."

However, the leader of the Blood Demon Hall seems quite powerful; he actually managed to escape. Many people are still trying to capture him, and no one knows what the outcome will be.

"In short, let's hope he can be caught. If this guy manages to escape, he'll develop new forces in the future, otherwise we'll be in trouble again."

"Yes, I hope so too. I can only say that I hope everything will develop in a positive direction."

Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, Xu Yao followed a group of people and slowly left the area.

The two people he and Zhen were none other than the new disciples that the Qingyun Sect was about to assess.

If they fail the assessment, they will not be qualified to enter the Qingyun Sect; if they succeed, they will become outer disciples of the Qingyun Sect.

In one month, Xu Yao only managed to raise his cultivation level to the first level of Qi Refining.

Although he was only at the first level of Qi Refining, he was very confident in himself, after all, his fists were much stronger than others'.

This was also confirmed by the fact that he had been in several fights with others during that month.

The Qingyun Sect conducts a recruitment examination for disciples every three years, and only those who pass the examination can enter the Qingyun Sect.

The group Xu Yao was following was comprised of all the disciples who participated in this year's Qingyun Sect assessment, numbering approximately three thousand.

Although there are more than 3,000 people, at least two-thirds will be eliminated in the end.

Xu Yao sensed that there were several very powerful individuals among them, which is why the standard for me to participate in the disciple assessment a while ago was only the first level of Qi Refining.

However, some of them had ulterior motives. As for Xu Yao, he had already sensed the presence of two people at the fourth level of Qi Refining. They were not some fools; they were formidable figures.

After all, everyone knows that whoever passes the assessment will receive a reward, and the person who passes the assessment first will receive the highest prize.

It is said that this year's weapon is a low-grade Xuan-level weapon of choice, and it also comes with a Foundation Establishment Pill.

This Foundation Establishment Pill is a valuable item; for those still in the Qi Refining stage, it is the best way to stabilize their cultivation.

Even if you only take one pill, even if you suffer a severe injury, you won't easily lose combat power, and you can also avoid the possibility of being unable to cultivate after a severe injury.

Of course, the mnemonic slip is just an accessory; the most important thing is this low-grade weapon. You have to understand that ordinary people don't have any really good weapons; at best, they only have yellow-grade weapons.

Weapons are divided into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow.

Each grade has three sub-grades: upper, middle, and lower.

Xuan-rank weapons are already extremely rare, and obtaining one would greatly enhance combat capabilities.

To put it bluntly, as long as you possess a low-grade Xuan-level weapon, you can easily defeat an opponent at the third level of Qi Refining even if you are only at the first level of Qi Refining. That's how terrifying the bonus brought by the weapon's power is.

"In my opinion, Zhao Long will definitely be the top outer disciple in this year's assessment."

"Damn it, I've fought him before. There were four of us brothers, and even if all four of us attacked together, he would have killed us in one move. This guy is really strong, I guess it was him."

I also saw that guy named Zhao Long in the dormitory. He looked about the same age as me, but he had already become the center of attention.

To be honest, Zhao Long's cultivation level is only at the fourth level of Qi Refining, which is considered to be at the top level among these people.

However, it was nothing in Xu Yao's eyes, after all, Bai Lian, whom Xu Yao knew before, was also at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

Thinking of this, Xu Yao felt a pang of heartache. If Bai Lian were here, perhaps he could team up with her to participate in the disciple assessment. That would make life more interesting. It's just a pity that Bai Lian died young, and no matter how much he regrets it, he can't bring her back to life.

"Look at that person! Look at that person! Look!"

One person pointed at a middle-aged man, the man with the cute face full of a mocking smile. There was no doubt that this guy looked down on the middle-aged man.