“Hmm, then I’ll bet on him…” The Young Man in Purple was overjoyed, and in his excitement tried to say something along those lines, but halfway through his sentence, his eyes widened in shock as he glanced at Junior Brother Cooper and burst out cursing, “You little brat, you’re cheating!”

This brat had clearly thought that David Clark wasn’t simple before, so by all logic, he should have bet that David Clark would make it out alive.

“Pah, you think you can trick me? You really take me for a fool, huh? That kid looked calm when he went in, but maybe he’s just too dumb—he’s new to the sect and doesn’t understand how dangerous the Blood Prison is at all. There are people like that, you know. Why would I fall for your trap?” Junior Brother Cooper rolled his eyes in disdain.

He did think David Clark seemed a bit too calm and composed, but he didn’t believe David Clark would survive. It was perfectly normal for ordinary martial artists to underestimate the dangers of the Blood Prison. After all, Wangshan County was generally peaceful and safe. People who grew up in such a tranquil environment, even if they had some idea or speculation about life-and-death crises, would never truly understand the taste of real death without experiencing bloody combat firsthand.

It’s like a teenager growing up in a peaceful town—even if they know war is cruel, unless they actually set foot on the battlefield, they can’t possibly grasp just how brutal war really is!

The gap between imagination and reality is absolutely huge.

All the menial disciples were single-path martial artists, and they were nowhere near strong enough to challenge those above their level. Even facing a single wild beast of the same rank was a life-or-death struggle, but in the Blood Prison, you could run into two or three beasts attacking you at once at any time…

So even though Junior Brother Cooper thought David Clark was a bit calm, maybe that was just the kid overestimating himself—being arrogant? There were people like that. Quite a few outer disciples had entered the Blood Prison before, only to disappear forever as soon as they went in. As for menial disciples? It was normal for not a single one to attempt the trial in half a year or more.

“Can I even play with you anymore? It’s so hard to find a bit of fun!”

As Junior Brother Cooper rolled his eyes, The Young Man in Purple also cursed under his breath. The Blood Prison could go seven or eight days without a single visitor—it was just too boring. With only the two of them there, it was rare to have a little fun, and now this guy surnamed Hu was even trying to trap him with word games? So frustrating.

……

“Pfft~”

David Clark, who stepped onto the light screen, had no idea that his appearance had caught the interest of the two guardian disciples. He only felt a wave of dizziness and disorientation as he stepped onto the light screen, and after a moment of confusion, he found himself standing on a different land.

Once he steadied himself and looked around, he realized he was in a mountain valley, surrounded on three sides by mountains. Behind him, a portal of light shimmered on the stone wall, and ahead lay dense wild forests and undulating mountains.

After a quick look around, David Clark started walking out of the valley, but after only a few dozen meters, his body tensed. Beneath the mountain wall ahead, a beast as tall as a man, covered in short, bristling black fur, looking like a cross between a pig and a wolf, with a mouth full of fangs, was pawing the ground and glaring at David Clark with a low growl.

David Clark immediately tensed up. He knew the Blood Prison was dangerous, but he hadn’t expected to encounter such a beast right at the entrance to the first level!

As David Clark braced himself, the pig-wolf-like beast stomped its hoof and let out a furious roar. Its fat, sturdy body turned into a black whirlwind, snorting angrily as it charged.

Although it looked huge—taller than David Clark, over two meters long and half a meter wide—its speed was astonishing. In just a dozen breaths, it covered several hundred meters, thundering forward with its jaws wide open, dagger-like fangs aimed straight down at him.

“So slow! This speed is so slow!”

If it were an ordinary single-path first-level spiritualist, they’d probably be so shocked by the beast’s speed that they wouldn’t have time to dodge. But the more David Clark watched, the more surprised he became, because in his eyes, the beast was actually moving very slowly. When it leapt at him from just a few meters away, David Clark simply sidestepped with ease, relying only on his physical reflexes, not even using any martial techniques, and dodged effortlessly.

As the beast thundered past him, David Clark’s eyes flashed with a strange light. With a loud crack, he threw a punch, and the blow exploded in the air with a thunderous boom.

The next moment, there was the sound of flesh tearing—his iron fist had ripped through the beast’s hide and sunk deep into its flesh.

He struck and instantly pulled back. Blood sprayed from the beast’s body, and as it staggered forward from inertia, it let out a miserable howl. David Clark looked at his own fist in disbelief.

That easy?

A first-rank beast! And he’d torn through its defenses with just his physical strength?

While David Clark was still stunned, the beast, now more than ten meters away, suddenly stopped, glared at him with blood-red eyes, and let out another furious roar before charging at him again. This time, David Clark didn’t dodge. As the beast lunged, he reached out and grabbed its two upturned fangs with a snap, pinning the charging beast firmly in place.

No matter how the beast struggled, using all its strength to try to knock David Clark over, he stood as steady as a mountain. Relying solely on his physical power, he easily suppressed the first-rank beast.

David Clark was overjoyed again. He knew that after that strange transformation, his physical strength and speed had become monstrous, but he hadn’t expected it to be to this extent.

……

“Gaaah~”