After pondering hard and temporarily setting aside his martial arts practice, David Clark stepped into the living room, grabbed a scroll, and began to read. This book did not record martial arts techniques, but rather introduced the situation of the Dayuan Sect, as well as the rules that servant disciples needed to follow.

As he flipped through the pages, David Clark's eyes suddenly lit up.

Blood Prison Trial??

"The Dayuan Sect actually has a place called the Blood Prison? The Blood Prison is simply a stretch of forest shrouded by formations, where countless wild demon beasts are left to roam. The first level has first-rank demon beasts corresponding to the first level of spiritual awakening, the second level has second-rank demon beasts... Disciples who enter for the trial fight for their lives against demon beasts in the wilderness, leaving life and death to fate. This is meant to train a martial artist's real combat ability!"

"A martial artist's real combat ability isn't just about cultivation level or mastery of techniques. When facing life and death, whether you can stay calm and fully unleash your usual strength is what matters most. The Blood Prison is a bloody trial ground, filled with countless wild and ferocious demon beasts!"

……

This was a great place. The more he read, the brighter his eyes became. David Clark then clapped his hands in delight, and with a loud "crack," he actually shattered the stone table. David Clark was speechless—he had broken the living room's stone table again?

But soon he didn't care, only growing more and more excited.

Normally, even martial artists with high cultivation who haven't experienced bloody battles would face almost certain death in the Blood Prison. But David Clark was different. He had followed his father into the mountains to hunt since he was ten, and at fifteen, he trekked thousands of miles on foot, encountering countless life-and-death chases by powerful wild beasts and enduring countless trials.

"Demon beasts? The flesh and blood of demon beasts contain powerful vital energy. A pound of demon beast meat is far more filling than ordinary wild game! Although I'm only at the peak of the first level now, and my martial arts mastery is still lacking, my physical strength and speed... Looks like I need to try the Blood Prison and see if I can find something to eat!"

Excited, David Clark immediately got up and strode out of the courtyard.

Wangshan County was a relatively quiet and peaceful inland county, with over a hundred martial sects entrenched and towns everywhere. Although the county was crisscrossed with mountains and rivers, outside the county there were generally only powerful wild beasts and rarely demon beasts, because demon beasts had long been captured by the sects for their disciples to use in trials.

Otherwise, David Clark would have died countless times in the wild over the past two years.

And even though the sects had demon beasts for tempering disciples' bloodlust and combat skills, the Dayuan Sect did not strictly require this. Except for a few disciples favored by the sect master or elders, who were ordered to enter the Blood Prison for trials, almost no one from the outer or servant disciples went to the Blood Prison. After all, in such a peaceful environment, how many people would willingly put themselves in mortal danger for training?

Within the Dayuan Sect, among the tens of thousands of outer court servant disciples on the thirteen peaks, the Blood Prison was basically a terrifying place that everyone avoided. If outsiders knew that David Clark wanted to go to the Blood Prison just to find something to eat... it would absolutely shock countless people.

But David Clark didn't care about any of this. He quickly walked out of the courtyard and headed toward the outskirts of the Servant Valley.

"David Clark? Are you David Clark?"

After leaving the side courtyard and walking several hundred meters, he reached the main stone path of the Servant Valley. Following the ten-meter-wide stone road would lead out of the valley. David Clark had just walked a few dozen meters along the main path when a surprised voice suddenly sounded from another alley to his right. A handsome young man then strode over, followed by several other servant disciples who all treated him with great respect.

It was even obvious that, among the figures following the handsome youth, several had a much stronger aura than him, yet they still fawned over him with flattering smiles, while the handsome youth simply stared at David Clark with a strange expression as he approached.

"That's me." David Clark glanced at the handsome youth, then looked over in confusion.

"I'm Ethan Wright!" The handsome youth finally gave a light laugh, his smile radiant, his eyebrows blooming like flowers. David Clark was taken aback by these words—Ethan Wright??

He had already spent some time in the Servant Valley and knew that he would be facing a servant disciple chosen by Brian Harris in the upcoming servant competition. He hadn't met that disciple before, since he had kept to himself these past days, but he had heard the name—it was Ethan Wright!

"Junior Brother Wright, this kid David Clark only reached the peak of the first level a few days ago, and before that, it took him over ten days just to sense spiritual energy. Heh, in a little over twenty days, you'll be competing against him."

"Pfft~ Don't insult Junior Brother Wright. He's a genius among us servants—he sensed spiritual energy within an hour of joining, reached the peak of the first level in seven days, and mastered the Fire Fist technique in just over ten days. No wonder he was chosen by Inner Sect Brother Harris!"

"Letting Junior Brother Wright compete with this kid David Clark? That's just an insult to Junior Brother Wright. This kid will probably be crippled by Junior Brother Wright the moment they meet!"

……

As David Clark recognized Ethan Wright, the handsome Ethan Wright kept sizing him up, looking more and more amused, while the servant disciples behind him continued to flatter him.

The most powerful figures in the Servant Valley were undoubtedly the top ten ranked disciples. As long as a servant disciple made the top ten in the competition for three consecutive years, they had a chance to be promoted to the outer sect. Even without considering promotion, the top ten disciples served as stewards among the servants, with the other six hundred or so servant disciples all working under them.