After handing over their passes, the power attached to their foreheads vanished, and Qin Ruqing let out a quiet sigh of relief.

The unfamiliar energy in her body always made her uneasy.

She was particularly afraid of encountering Prince Wu Mu again before they reached the Blood Pool—who knew if he would give another speech or something.

Qin Ruqing rarely felt such apprehension towards an individual or beast.

She didn’t understand why, but Wu Mu’s crimson eyes reminded her of the enormous eye she had seen in the Void Realm’s sky.

That was the soul of the Ancient Beast Emperor.

But the Beast Emperor’s soul was sealed by the Void’s barrier, and it shouldn’t be able to emerge.

Suppressing her doubts, Qin Ruqing waited to confirm that there would be no new speeches.

Once the selected group moved steadily toward the Blood Pool, she finally relaxed.

However, this relief was short-lived.

When they approached the Blood Pool, Qin Ruqing’s ease was quickly replaced by a sense of shock.

A wave of scarlet and malevolent energy hit her!

They were standing in a place that resembled a volcanic crater, but instead of magma, it was filled with blood.

The blood was not the usual bright red but a dark, purplish-red, thick and viscous!

The air around them was filled with a frenzied energy, almost suffocating them.

Qin Ruqing noticed with her peripheral vision that some of the beasts immediately had their eyes sharpened and bodies leaning forward, as if ready to attack.

There was a tense atmosphere that suggested these beasts might start fighting at any moment.

It was clear that the Beast Clan was prepared for this situation.

At least two powerful ancient demon beasts approached.

They were unmistakably ancient demon beast—their beast forms so large that their heads nearly touched the ceiling of the cave, naturally imposing a great pressure on the surrounding beasts.

“Anyone who dares to fight here will be immediately sent down the mountain!” one of the ancient demon beast warned in a deep voice.

The restless beasts were forcibly subdued.

Only their heavy breathing remained, and it seemed like they were struggling to control their instincts.

Another ancient demon beast spoke: “Enter the Blood Pool!”

Qin Ruqing felt a wave of relief hearing this command.

It meant she wouldn’t have to endure the suffocating atmosphere any longer.

The beasts jumped into the Blood Pool in the order of their rows, much faster than during the selection.

Although it was slightly chaotic, it was still somewhat orderly.

Qin Ruqing knew that this order was enforced by the ancient demon beasts at the side.

Finally, it was their turn.

Standing on the edge of the Blood Pool, the foul stench surged into her nostrils.

The closer she got, the more intense and frenzied the energy became, causing her head to throb with pain.

Qin Ruqing also detected a familiar scent, but the agitation in her mind made it hard to focus on identifying it.

Her companions, the other beasts, clearly showed signs of hesitation.

It was understandable; once they jumped in, they had no idea what would happen…

But the situation was pressing, and they had no choice but to act.

There were already impatient growls from the beasts behind them urging them on.

Enduring the pain in her head, Qin Ruqing gave her companions a look and leaped into the Blood Pool first.

She didn’t want to wait any longer.

Whether they lived or died, they would find out soon enough!

Surrounded by a world of crimson, Qin Ruqing felt as though she was drowning in violent energy.

It was as if she were submerged in thick, viscous swamp mud, not just ordinary water.

There was both good news and bad news.

The good news: her headache had disappeared.

The bad news: her entire body began to ache…

While grumbling internally about the suffering she was enduring, Qin Ruqing directed the wild energy into her beast core.

Other than this, she let her flesh absorb the strange blood water, which was making her body increasingly firm and flexible.

It made sense why the beast race was so resilient; their toughened bodies could withstand attacks from mid-level human practitioners.

Qin Ruqing soon became accustomed to the pain and even managed to observe her companions.

Her third sister was not far from her, with Xiao Tang the closest.

Feng Mingyue had chosen a corner and remained still.

Qin Ruqing transmitted to the approaching Black Panther:

“Continue your regular training. I need to find a secluded spot for some verification.”

This was her way of suggesting they split up.

The Black Panther stopped, understanding the need to locate Qin Ruqing first, and then halted.

The beasts in the blood pool maintained a certain distance from one another. This was important for focused training; disturbances should be avoided, and being highly focused reduced their awareness of external threats, making them more vulnerable to attacks.

Maintaining distance was a considerate approach for everyone.

This was also why Qin Ruqing had asked Tang Zifeng not to come closer.

From the outside, the blood pool resembled a volcanic crater, but inside, it felt vast, not like an ocean but at least as wide as a river.

No wonder so many beasts could be accommodated, while still keeping their distance.

Qin Ruqing marveled at this, while also perceiving a familiar scent.

This time, she did not miss it.

The pool’s energy was so concentrated that she constantly felt it; it was impossible to miss.

The familiar scent was human blood.

As she thought of this, a chill ran through her, spreading slowly through her blood as if to freeze her.

How much human blood was required to fill such a large pool?

When did they start collecting it?

Was the entire pool filled with human blood?

Her mind was in turmoil, remembering the night she entered the beast realm, absorbing moonlight and refining human blood on the altar.

She had felt clearly then that human blood accelerated the cultivation of the beast core.

This was the most direct effect.

However, human blood seemed to have other effects on beasts, prompting the creation of this blood pool.

Was it to quickly boost the strength of lower-level beast soldiers?

No, it had to be more than that.

Frowning, Qin Ruqing carefully analyzed and confirmed that this vast blood pool contained more than just human blood.

Human blood would create unbearable mental impacts on beasts if it were the sole content of the pool.

If the pool were entirely filled with human blood, the beast race’s already weak mental strength would have collapsed long ago.

They would have gone mad instantly, becoming mindless, murderous monsters.

Qin Ruqing estimated that even a tenth of the pool being human blood would be considered high.

This estimation made her feel somewhat better.

She didn’t know how much time had passed, but Qin Ruqing felt that the energy in her beast core was now full.

According to her memory, when the beast core was full, it was similar to reaching a certain stage of perfection in human cultivation, signaling that the next step was a breakthrough.

Humans break through to a higher realm, while the Beast Clan’s beast cores undergo mutations to accommodate more energy.

But something still feels off.

Qin Ruqing wasn’t bothered by the slow training speed in the Blood Pool—in fact, the speed was astonishingly fast and a rare opportunity for the Beast Clan.

What she found suspicious was that while the training was indeed fast, it felt rather ordinary.

If such a massive cost were spent to construct this Blood Pool, and its sole purpose was to accelerate the training of lower-level soldiers by just a bit, saving them a year or two, Qin Ruqing felt it would be unworthy.

There should at least be a qualitative change.

Just as Qin Ruqing was thinking this, she felt a sudden shift.

Her blood began to boil.

It was like ice cubes being thrown into boiling oil.

The pain made her body involuntarily convulse, her vision darkened, and she almost lost consciousness.

Qin Ruqing wasn’t sure how long the pain lasted, but she suddenly heard a cracking sound, and the pain began to ease.

At first, she absurdly thought her beast core had shattered (…); but when the pain subsided and her thinking returned, she realized it wasn’t the case.

It was the “confinement” that had shattered.

She had sensed this confinement when she refined human blood on the altar.

At that time, she vaguely felt that human blood had a weakening effect on some form of confinement, but the feeling was too subtle and difficult to describe.

It was so obscure that Qin Ruqing almost categorized it as an illusion.

Now she understood that it was not an illusion but a real thing.

This “confinement” seemed related to some kind of law, limiting the upper bound of an individual’s development, much like a natural talent.

Now, with the confinement being slightly loosened, an individual’s strength naturally increased.

Qin Ruqing calmly assessed her current strength and found it had indeed more than doubled compared to before.