Once Master Lambert of Lion King Castle appeared, Harold's attempts at provoking a fight became
futile.
Even if he was a high-ranking core disciple of the Snow Sect, when faced with this powerful demi-
immortal, he had to behave himself. Unless he were a demi-immortal as well, or an innate spirit, he had
to show respect.
It was known that the Lion King Castle was one greatest power of the Snow Sect. All this was thanks to
Master Lambert, whose demi-immortal status reinforced the Castle's strength.
The young contestants who would enter the Sacred Blood Pond were announced. To no-one's
surprise, they were Ricky, Heather and Agnes.
The Sacred Blood Pond, situated in the Lion King Castle, was in a secluded spot in Castle Master's
stronghold.
Ushered in by Benson, the three participants arrived at a small grove inside the palace walls. In the
center of this grove was a large pond of bloody water, deep maroon and thick.
The three participant's ears began to hear the sound of bubbling water become nearer and nearer, and
more and more distinct. As they stood there, taking in the blood pond, they could immediately feel the
immense heat emitted by its water. The heat was so intense that they knew being too near the pond
could very well melt them.
'This must be the Sacred Blood Pond!' Ricky thought to himself.
His intuition told him that his cultivation would ascend to another level if he could manage to absorb the
great power of the pond. There was even a possibility for him to achieve the second degree of the
Nine-degree Body Refining Formula.
"If you are ready, you may begin! The energy of blood essence of the Sacred Blood Lion has been
completely infused into the Sacred Blood Pond. Whether you can obtain the Sacred Blood Crystal from
this pond will rest on your shoulders! It all depends on the level of your own ability!" Benson
proclaimed.
After a fleeting glance at each other, Ricky and the other participants sprinted for the pond and plunged
right into it.
Agnes, who had once been so prideful and haughty, hadn't thought of Ricky as a rival before this.
Aside from the staggering accomplishment of reaching the eighth grade of Skin Refinement in so short
a time, Ricky had even managed to kill a beast at the first grade of Blood Purification. He had fairly won
the title of champion of the trial cultivation. Considering he made all of those accomplishments without
a spiritual meridian, Agnes began to feel a grudging respect for him.
The beast, even if it had been severely injured, was still considerably powerful. And Ricky's triumph at
slaying it suggested at the capacity of his strength.
In addition to that, as she found out about Ricky's prior sufferings in the Snow Sect, her admiration for
him continued to grow.
...
The moment Ricky's body touched the waters of the Sacred Blood Pond, he an extremely searing,
scorching pain. This feeling spread all throughout his body in no time, and he felt as if he would be fully
roasted soon.
He pushed at the spiritual energy within him, sighing with relief once he felt the scorching feeling
alleviate slightly.
"The Sacred Blood Lion originates from fire, which is the very reason that the blood essence is
rendered in such a burning form. So you must be extremely careful during the whole course of
cultivation. If it becomes intolerable for you to withstand the heat, just leave and don't force yourself to
undergo this!" Benson advised, smiling as he watched the three youngsters struggling and grimacing in
the unbearable heat of the pond.
"Don't sweat it, father! I know I can do it!" Heather answered determinedly.
"Well then! I will await the good news of your success!" Benson said, pleased to see his daughter's
strong will. With that, he strode out of the grove, leaving the three youngsters practicing undisturbed.
Soon, they entered the refining stage. Given such scorching conditions, their practicing was a race
against time.
The Sacred Blood Crystal was a concentration of the energy of the blood essence in the Sacred Blood
Pond, which required the cultivator to exert his full spiritual energy and absorb the former energy.
Soon enough, a small bloody ball appeared on each of their palms. This was the very initial form of the
Sacred Blood Crystal.
The three kept going at it. However, their bodies began to tremble and sweat streamed down their
faces. Everyone's faces began to contort in ferocious grimaces.
Undoubtedly, they were suffering in the extreme heat.
On top of it all, they needed all the powers of concentration to practice.
After six hours, Heather and Agnes gave up, jumping onto the bank to catch their breath.
Whatever, they had good results already, with the fist-shaped Sacred Blood Crystals in their hands. As
they looked at their hard-won fruit, their eyes beamed with accomplishment and excitement.
Of course, for Heather, the daughter of the master of Lion King Castle, the fruit was a little less
meaningful than for Agnes. Being the daughter of the Lion King Castle, Heather would always have a
share of the blood essence of the Sacred Blood Lion for her.
After the initial reverie, the two girls shifted their gaze onto Ricky, the only one still practicing in the
pond.
"What a crazy man! He knows he doesn't need to stay in there if he couldn't handle it. He can come out
now! What a freak!" Heather muttered, pouting her cherry-like lips.
"Do you know him?" Agnes asked, curious upon hearing Heather's remarks.
"Yes, I met him in the Lion King Mountains, and we hunted beasts together." Heather replied, deciding
not to conceal anything. Agnes didn't strike her as an annoyingly gossipy girl.
"I see!" Agnes nodded.
"By the way, does Ricky have a reputation in the Snow Sect?" Heather inquired.
"Yes, kind of! Agnes answered.
"Suppose I were a member of the Snow Sect, how would I rank in the outer sect as far as you are
concerned?"
...
The two girls began to chitchat while waiting for Ricky. Mostly, it was Heather who asked questions
while Agnes answered. The latter now didn't look as haughty as she usually did. She patiently
answered every question, though in a tone that didn't sound so enthusiastic.
Fourteen hours seemed to have elapsed in a blink of an eye. Ricky's Sacred Blood Crystal had
become as big as two fists. It meant that the blood essence in the whole Sacred Blood Pond had
almost been entirely consumed.
But there was still no sign that Ricky was ready to come out.
"Is he numb to the heat? After fourteen whole hours, he doesn't seem to have any intention of coming
up!" Heather exclaimed, incredulous.
Sharing Heather's opinion, Agnes couldn't take her eyes off Ricky, as if she was trying to see through
him.
She knew the heat of Sacred Blood Pond. Even if Ricky was a man, she couldn't figure out how he
could tolerate it for such a long time.
"What a strong willpower he has! It makes sense to me now that he was able to achieve the eighth
grade of the Skin Refinement without a spiritual meridian!" Agnes let out a sigh of admiration.
"This boy is something else!" A loud and clear voice rang out; it was Benson, who was approaching. "In
the eighth hour, he had successfully created the Sacred Blood Crystal. At the moment, he is refining his
body using the infernal power of the Sacred Blood Pond."
"What?! Father, do you really mean he is refining his body?" Heather cried in total disbelief.
Agnes also widened her eyes, breaking her usual composure. To the best of their knowledge, even the
warriors at the level of Blood Purification had no assurance of being able to refine the mortal body by
infernal power successfully.
How could Ricky, a warrior at only the eighth grade of Skin Refinement have courage to try this?
"Freak!" the two girls said in chorus.
"The cultivation method he practices must be terribly advanced!" Benson uttered, eyeing Ricky
thoughtfully. Admiration shone in his eyes for this underdog warrior.
Of course, Benson, a master of those accomplishments, had no ill intentions of stealing the book of the
cultivation method from the young warrior.
'The cultivation method? Is it that Nine-degree Body Refining Formula he mentioned that was fit for
warriors without spiritual meridians?' Heather wondered to herself.
'Could it be the cultivation method that all the disciples of the Snow Sect are talking about? The one
everyone is dying to get their hands on?' Agnes's mind began to race as well.
She suddenly realized her interest in Ricky, the once-lowly warrior without a spiritual meridian, had
been thoroughly ignited.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda