The elder was right. Since Master Ye was the pride of the Haoqi Pavilion, he would naturally choose the most outstanding person to be his protector. Unfortunately, that person was Xiu Qiyu. Xiu Qiyu's achievement of eleven levels was enough to make people despair.

The assessment had reached its end, but unexpectedly, a dark horse emerged and managed to stay on the eighth floor for so long, which was truly beyond expectations.

After Ye Xiruo sold out of her pills, she didn't rush to pack up and go home. Instead, she took out a few booklets.

"These are some spiritual herbs I need for alchemy. If any of you swordsmen happen to have them, you can exchange them for pills." High-grade pills are not cheap to begin with, and these swordsmen don't seem to be very wealthy. Buying spiritual herbs would be good for all of them; it's a win-win situation.

"Remember, the elixir must be kept intact and of medium to high quality."

Does this include mid-grade items?

"Of course it includes."

"That's great, Master Ye." I had been wanting to find an opportunity to ask Master Ye if he accepted spirit herbs, since they weren't of much use to them.

They don't know how to refine pills, and if they were to refine them for others, they would have to hand over at least three portions of medicinal herbs, and there's no guarantee of success. Selling the herbs directly wouldn't fetch a high price, unless they were very rare or of a very high grade.

Although the medicinal herbs listed in Ye Xiruo's book include some precious ones, the quantity is not large, and most of them are common medicinal herbs.

This is wonderful! Master Ye's pills are poisonous; once you buy them, you can't stop. I'll buy them even if it means going on a shopping spree. Unfortunately, my wallet is almost empty.

Now that elixirs can be exchanged for other elixirs, this is absolutely fantastic news for many swordsmen.

"Thank you, Master Ye."

“It’s no trouble at all. The medicinal herbs I use also need to be purchased, and it’s very convenient to exchange them directly with you.”

"Thank you very much, Master Ye." Ye Xiruo's popularity was soaring.

Those who once thought of dueling with Ye Xiruo are now ashamed. They were crazy to think that Ye Xiruo was such a good person.

Night Alchemist's choice seems to be correct. When choosing a protector, one should indeed choose someone with high strength. They now only regret not cultivating properly before, and now that Xiu Qiyu has benefited from it. They feel extremely frustrated.

It was now around 3 p.m., and Zishu had finally passed through the eighth floor and arrived at the ninth floor.

Thinking back to the scene on the ninth floor, it took Ye Xiruo quite a bit of effort. It was like being chased and killed repeatedly, and he almost ran out of breath.

They hadn't even grasped the true essence and meaning of their sword formation; they had merely forcibly imprinted it into their minds, making them utterly pathetic.

The ninth floor shouldn't be too difficult for the senior disciple.

Indeed, Zishu adapted very well to each level, and he adapted very well to the changes in the sword formation and the coordination between the sword moves.

Junior Sister's observation was correct; these sword techniques and formations are all passed down from the same lineage and are interconnected.

At each level, the number of sword slaves increases by two, and their cultivation level also increases by one minor level. Their sword moves gain sixteen more variations, and their power increases tenfold.

Feeling the oppressive aura emanating from the dozen or so sword slaves, Zishu's expression became more serious.

This is a test that Junior Sister should absolutely not be able to pass with her current strength. Since she passed it, she must have used extraordinary means.

That's right, it must be mental energy. For Junior Sister to find an opportunity to counterattack and ultimately kill these sword slaves with such an intense attack, she must have expended a lot of mental energy.

Like Xiu Qiyu, Zishu was also driven by revenge. His aura changed instantly. If it was a friendly sparring match before, it had now turned into a life-or-death duel.

Zishu and a dozen or so sword slaves fought fiercely, their sword energy crisscrossing, and the space inside the sword tower was directly torn apart by the collision. However, the spatial rift quickly closed, and the energy from those stages was absorbed by the sword tower, without causing significant damage.

In this round, Zishu and the dozen or so sword slaves were evenly matched, of course, this was before Zishu unleashed his ultimate move and before he had absorbed and comprehended the sword formation.

An hour later, as Zishu gradually figured out the myriad variations of the sword formation, the situation began to slowly turn around. Of course, although Zishu had an advantage, it was not significant.

It looks like this is going to be a protracted battle.

However, how could Zishu allow this battle to become a protracted war? This is only the ninth level; there is a tenth level above.

I heard that Xiu Qiyu actually climbed to the eleventh floor, and it seems he still retains some of his vitality. He should at least reach the eleventh floor too, so as not to disappoint his junior sister.

He would never give Xiu Qiyu a chance to show off, absolutely not.

If Xiu Qiyu ever does anything to wrong his junior sister, he will definitely tear Xiu Qiyu to pieces.

After drinking a bottle of spiritual water, Zishu charged directly into the circle of sword slaves, his speed increasing several times over. Countless afterimages, mixed with unparalleled sword energy, flew swiftly and powerfully.

In the end, Zishu ended the lives of all the sword slaves on this level at the cost of minor injuries and successfully reached the tenth level.

The group of swordsmen who had come to watch outside were all shocked. What the hell was going on? Had anyone seen him take drugs? What kind of drugs were they? How could they be so effective? Never mind, he still came out. Let's ask Master Ye Dan first.

"Master Ye, did that swordsman inside buy any pills from you? If so, what kind of pills did he buy?"

Ye Xiruo shook her head: "No."

That's strange. He didn't take any drugs, yet he still managed to reach the tenth floor, becoming the fourth swordsman to reach the tenth floor in this assessment.

Moreover, he wasn't thrown out after he went up, which means his strength has surpassed that of Master Ye. So why is Master Ye still so calm? Does he really not care at all?

The only question now is whether he can break Ye Liusha's record. As for Xiu Qiyu, that freak, it's probably a bit difficult.

The tenth floor, I've heard, is also quite perverse.

If Zishu passes through the tenth level and reaches the eleventh level, will Night Alchemist change his choice and choose this biggest dark horse?

Soon, someone asked the question, and Ye Xiruo subtly suggested that they wait until the assessment results were released before discussing it, as it was too early to talk about such things now.

As a result, Zishu became the object of everyone's attention. The tenth level was ten times more difficult than the ninth level, and Zishu's face had already turned somewhat pale.

These sword slaves are like cockroaches that can't be killed. If he had a strange fire, he would definitely burn them all to ashes.