In chaotic times, one can become a martial immortal.

Lu Yuan stared intently at the wall in front of him, where he saw complete human skins hanging.

There are men and women, old and young.

Clearly, these human skins were the ones the young woman had used to change her appearance.

Even the appearance of a young woman may not be her true self.

As for where these human skins came from, there's no need to elaborate.

This alone is enough to show that it is not without reason that the imperial court, the Ziyang Sect, and other major forces regard the Changsheng Sect as an evil cult and carry out a full-scale crackdown on it.

Without much thought of further investigation, Lu Yuan searched carefully but still found nothing of value.

Immediately, he picked up the corpse from the ground and walked straight out of the cave.

"Ninth rank, 500 contribution points!"

After registering again, Lu Yuan went to the depths of the canyon once more.

However, they found that most of the caves were completely silent, indicating that they had been ransacked by others.

With too many monks and too little porridge, nearly two hundred people entered the valley. Unless there were hundreds or even thousands of remnants of the Longevity Cult, there simply wouldn't be enough to go around.

Fortunately, Lu Yuan had already killed two ninth-rank remnants of the Longevity Cult, and had just enough to reach the thousand contribution points required to pass the new student assessment.

After searching for a while, they suddenly heard the sounds of fighting ahead, mixed with screams.

"Run...it's an eighth-rank official!"

Immediately afterwards, Lu Yuan saw people frantically fleeing towards him.

Among them were two familiar faces: Chu Jun, the second-ranked student in the martial arts examination of Qinghe County, and Qian Rou, the third-ranked student.

Not far behind them, a middle-aged man dressed in a black robe was seen chasing closely.

His figure was like a ghost, getting closer and closer.

In the blink of an eye, a young man in blue was caught up.

Although the red markings on his body indicated that he had already developed a copper-like skin, he was as fragile as paper under the black-robed man's claws, offering no resistance whatsoever.

The black-robed man's five fingers, like hooks, gleamed with black light, and easily pierced through the blue-clad youth's copper skin.

"what!"

He barely had time to let out a scream before the man in black ripped out his heart, causing blood to splatter everywhere.

"Run...run faster..."

This scene terrified everyone, and they scattered like headless flies.

Many of them even hid inside the caves on either side.

Without hesitation, Lu Yuan instantly slipped into the nearest cave.

However, almost at the same time, he casually picked up a pebble and threw it at the man in black robes with incredible speed.

"Thump!"

With a muffled thud, the pebble struck the man in black robes squarely on the head.

Although the stones were completely shattered and did not cause him any real harm, he felt as if he had been greatly insulted.

Without any hesitation, the black-robed man trembled and lunged directly towards the cave where Lu Yuan was.

The moment he entered the cave, his expression changed drastically in horror.

Because he saw lightning flashing and electric arcs crackling ahead.

"Sword energy...no...retreat!retreat!retreat!"

The man in black robes was terrified and was about to retreat violently.

However, it was too late!

A lightning sword aura, seemingly imbued with destructive power, instantly pierced through his body.

Before he could even scream, the man in black robes collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

Although Lu Yuan did not use the Thunder Sword Intent, his sword strike just now was still enough to easily kill him.

He had previously verified that even if the same amount of internal energy was used, the destructive power of the lightning sword energy was at least twice as strong as that of the blazing sun sword energy. If even one-tenth of the lightning sword intent was used, it would be several times stronger.

Perhaps it is because the concept of the Blazing Sun Sword Technique itself is profound and therefore has some shortcomings.

Once the limit is successfully broken, it should be able to be filled.

"Lu Yuan, you killed him?"

Chu Jun, Qian Rou, and the others, who had already fled outside the valley, were all shocked to see Lu Yuan carrying the corpse of the man in black robes out.

Although they had all successfully broken through to the eighth rank, they were almost powerless against the man in black robes.

No matter how they attacked, they couldn't do anything to the other side.

If he hadn't run fast, he would have been killed long ago by having his heart ripped out.

Even though Lu Yuan has already reached the eighth rank, how did he manage to do it?

Lu Yuan simply nodded, showing no intention of explaining anything.

"Eighth rank, one thousand contribution points!"

Jiao Lu glanced at Lu Yuan with a look of surprise, then smiled and nodded.

Lu Yuan remained silent and made no further attempt to enter the valley.

The remnants of the Longevity Cult inside must be few in number. Even if we went in now, there would probably be nothing left, not even the last drop of soup. There's no need to waste any more time.

Moreover, he has not only gained two thousand contribution points, but has also demonstrated a certain level of strength. Today's goal can be considered to have been basically achieved.

Revealing his ability to kill an eighth-rank official was naturally his own initiative.

He has now not only advanced to the seventh rank, but has also successfully reached the pinnacle of the ninth and eighth ranks. Furthermore, he has comprehended 30% of the Thunder Sword Intent. Revealing a little bit of it appropriately is not actually a bad thing.

After all, he is about to enter the inner courtyard, and the resources and other aspects he will be able to access will definitely be far greater than they are now. If he does not reveal anything, it may cause trouble.

Moreover, his cultivation level can be described as improving rapidly.

Even if they reveal everything now, they can hide a lot again in no time, so there's no need to worry about others figuring out their hand.

Sure enough, not long after, Jin Wuming, Bai Xiaotang, Murong Jue and the others also came out one after another, and none of them went back into the valley.

Although many of them had some injuries, they all had happy expressions on their faces, clearly having made a significant contribution.

Finally, except for those who had no chance to leave, all the new students gathered again outside the valley.

"First of all, I want to congratulate some of you. You have already collected enough contribution points to enter the inner courtyard directly. Secondly, those of you who haven't collected enough contribution points don't need to worry, because you will have another opportunity to earn contribution points!"

Jiao Lu looked at everyone and said with a faint smile.

Upon hearing his words, those who had not yet collected a thousand contribution points immediately showed expressions of joy.

The Martial Academy truly doesn't easily give up on any genius; there are always opportunities.

……

Back at the martial arts academy's training ground, Jiao Lu began to randomly draw lots for everyone to engage in duels.

The rules of the fight are simple: if one side loses, they either have to admit defeat.

The winner receives 300 contribution points, while the loser receives only 100 contribution points. Each person has a total of three chances.

You can earn contribution points regardless of whether you win or lose. If you win three consecutive times, you can earn up to 900 contribution points. Otherwise, you can only earn up to 300 contribution points.

"Lu Yuan, my first opponent is actually you!"

A short while later, Ji Baiying came over with the lottery results in hand, her face beaming with joy.

What great luck!

He was confident that he would win this battle, and that it would be like getting 300 contribution points for free.

Lu Yuan remained calm as he stood there, waiting for the duel to begin.

……