"Why did you make trouble again? I've only been gone for a few days, and you couldn't help but
misbehave, could you?" Tessa complained as she placed her hands on her hips and glared at Rocky. A
few days ago, she had left for Sword Spirit Sect after receiving an urgent summons from the sect.
However, when she returned to the city, she heard that Rocky had defeated Cory in the competition.
What complicated the matter was that some mysterious woman had injured Cory yesterday, and Tessa
was sure that Rocky had something to do with it.
"No, I've been good. I swear!" Rocky blinked as he ardently proclaimed his innocence.
"This guard team comprises of experienced and inexperienced members. It is a place where dragons
and fishes jumbled together. As you've been here for a short while, the others might consider you an
easy target. Perhaps it's better if you did not stay here. I'll request my father to arrange a leisurely job
for you, or if you prefer, you can train Nightshade on a full-time basis for me. Over the past few days,
I've noticed that it's been listless on the days that you don't show up, almost as if you are its master,"
Tessa said, dejection evident in her tone. Not once had she imagined that Nightshade would prefer
Rocky over her.
"No, thanks. I believe the guard team is the best place for me at the moment. Please be assured that
Captain Ramon takes good care of me." Rocky waved his hand as if to dismiss her offer.
"But..." Tessa started to object. She was worried that the guard team would bully Rocky if he continued
to stay.
"I know you care about me, but I can look after myself," Rocky interjected. He needed to settle her
worries if he intended to continue as part of the guard team.
"How dare you insinuate that I care about you? What a nerve!" Tessa stared at Rocky, somewhat
indignantly. She was horrified that he would make such a suggestion. And yet, her face turned red.
During her trip to Sword Spirit Sect, she had thought of Rocky from time to time, which left her quite
distressed. Of course, she did not want to believe or accept that she had a crush on Rocky.
And yet, Rocky had unintentionally succeeded in winning another girl's heart with his unique charm!
"By the way, Tessa, is there any spiritual land around the city suitable for cultivation of those at the
Spirit Realm?" Rocky asked.
Places with rich spiritual power in the Supreme Ether Land were referred to as spiritual land by the
spirit warriors.
"Why do you ask this?" Tessa furrowed her brows in confusion.
"Oh, I want to search for powerful spiritual beasts, collect samples of their blood for research, and
cultivate my strength alongside," Rocky explained with a grin. He didn't want to reveal his intention of
enhancing his strength enough to break through to the King Realm to Tessa, and so, he used research
as his excuse.
To enter the Martial Spirit Graveyard, he would have to qualify during the fiercely competitive selection
battle. Even though he had the confidence to enter the final battle, he would be no match for Xavier, the
number one Spirit Realm master of the Sword Spirit Sect, if they were paired as opponents. He had
learned Xavier's strength before and knew that Xavier was superior. If he wanted to meet the eligibility
criteria for entry to the Martial Spirit Graveyard, Rocky needed to enhance his strength.
"The spiritual lands for cultivation around Sword Spirit City are very dangerous. Only powerful warriors
at the King Realm dare to enter these. Take Ghost Valley for instance. Nightshade was severely injured
the last time I went there with it," Tessa advised with a shake of her head. Just the mention of how
Nightshade had been hurt brought back terrifying memories. She didn't want Rocky to find himself in a
similar situation.
"Don't worry about me. When I was in my hometown, I often went to some dangerous spiritual lands to
collect spiritual beasts' blood samples. Trust me when I say that I can protect myself," Rocky promised,
confidence dripping from every word.
"No way. It's more dangerous than you imagine," Tessa protested with a roll of her eyes. Refusing to
accept advice and the urge to explore dangerous places were typical traits for Rocky. She wondered
why he was so stubborn about placing himself in harm's way.
"If you won't help me, then I'll ask Captain Ramon." Determination reflected in his expression and
voice. To add to her sense of urgency, Rocky then turned and pretended to leave.
"No. Wait!" Tessa hesitated. She racked her brain for a way to convince Rocky. When she couldn't think
of anything, she conceded. "Fine. I'll tell you, but you have to assure me that you will not go alone.
Promise me that you will inform me when you go. I will accompany you so that you don't get into
trouble." Tessa grabbed Rocky's arm and forced him to look at her as she implored. She was
concerned for his safety. He had to see that!
"Okay, I will take you with me. You're a great friend!" Rocky smiled perfunctorily, but of course, he had
no intention of taking Tessa along.
Later, Tessa shared details of the location of the three spiritual lands for cultivation with Rocky.
He memorized all the information before returning to the beast farm to prepare.
At night, when the city was quiet,
Rocky left under cover of darkness, grateful that the moon hadn't graced the night sky yet. His first stop
was the Ghost Valley, located five miles west of Sword Spirit City.
Most of the spiritual beasts in the Ghost Valley were between the fifth and seventh grade of the Spirit
Realm and a few at the King Realm. Thus, it was natural that ordinary warriors at the King Realm
wouldn't set foot in the valley alone.
However, for the Ethereal Region where humans lived, the spiritual lands there only had a few spiritual
beasts. Considering their number, these spiritual beasts remained hidden, making it a challenge to find
them.
Of course, only the spirit warriors of the Supreme Ether Land would face such a difficulty. Rocky, on the
other hand, didn't need to look for them. As long as he used the saliva left by Uriah as a lure, the
spiritual beasts would come to him. It saved him a lot of effort.
After entering the Ghost Valley, Rocky first checked the terrain before dividing the area into several
zones depending on the level of danger. Then he began to search for spiritual beasts and spiritual
treasures in the less dangerous areas first.
Naturally formed spiritual treasures were plentiful in places full of spiritual power. The spiritual treasures
in the Supreme Ether Land were far superior to those in the Wild Spirit Land. And so, their function
went well beyond what anyone from the Wild Spirit Land had experienced. However, with Rocky's
current strength, he had to find enough high-grade Spirit Realm treasures to trigger a realm upgrade, or
his efforts would be in vain.
As Rocky was familiar with this unique cultivation method and had the magical saliva as bait, he
managed to lure a wild spiritual beast at fifth grade of the Spirit Realm in less than two hours. Without
any trouble, he earned the wild spirit beast's obedience, smoothly collected its blood, and also found
two pieces of natural spiritual treasures in its lair. Although the natural spiritual treasure's grade was not
very high, it could help him increase some of his strength.
As the night bore on, Rocky successfully collected the blood samples of five spiritual beasts, as well as
some spiritual treasures. He had a good harvest.
Despite the results, he felt a sense of urgency as there was less than a month left before the
competition for the qualification to enter the Martial Spirit Graveyard. Although he had experienced
breaking through to the King Realm before, which was an advantage, it was still uncertain whether he
could successfully make the breakthrough in one month.
Unfortunately, he was pressed for time and could not afford to wait. In the blink of an eye, the
competition for qualification to enter the Martial Spirit Graveyard arrived, as scheduled.
Since this was the only chance for the Sword Spirit City's disciples to enter the Martial Spirit Graveyard,
they would definitely spare no effort.
The first stage of the competition was a melee, which meant that all the spirit warriors participating in
the competition would fight in the same region until only eight warriors remained. These warriors would
then enter the second stage.
Such a battle was intense, as well as unpredictable.
The Martial Spirit Graveyard was a forbidden area of the Sword Spirit Sect, which was why they
attached great importance to the competition. To ensure fairness, the Sword Spirit Sect sent two elders
with high prestige to oversee the battle in person, as well as Hannah and Miguel.
Harrison, Sword Spirit City's governor, and all the other officials were present, not to mention the Sword
Spirit City's disciples. They filled the audience section of the competition area. Such a scene was
second only to the Sword Spirit Sect's grand ceremony in terms of eminence, and none were willing to
miss it.
Soon, all the disciples shortlisted for the competition were ready to fight. They glanced at each other,
restless and anxious to begin. Tessa and Rocky stood together and watched the crowd.
"Hey, I'll fight with you when the competition starts. I'll try my best to help you enter the final round,"
Tessa said. Since she had already secured a place among those deemed fit to enter the Martial Spirit
Graveyard, she wanted to help Rocky capture a spot as well. While ranking was a concern, Tessa felt
that she could give her father an explanation to appease him as long as she entered the top ten.
"It seems that I'm going to depend on a girl right till the end!" Rocky remarked wittily. The satire was not
lost on him or Tessa. That being said, he was happy to have Tessa as his shield! He didn't want to
expose his strength so soon, and any help she could offer would allow him to keep a low
profile.
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