Sign-In System: Starting With Invincible Physique

Chapter 37: Purple Striae Soul Fruits

Deep within the dense ancient woods, two figures lay completely flat against the damp soil, their breathing deliberately slowed to the absolute minimum.

One was a young woman wearing the deep purple robes of an Azure Cloud Sect inner disciple.

Beside her lay a young man clad in the dark, richly embroidered robes of the Graves family.

The alliance between the two factions had paid off early for these two; they had been teleported relatively close to one another and had met luckily by chance.

Right now, however, both of their faces were extremely solemn, and their eyes were fixed on a clearing about a hundred paces ahead.

In the center of the clearing stood a huge, ancient tree.

Hanging from its branches were exactly ten purple-colored fruits.

Purple Striae Soul Fruits.

Consuming just one of those fruits could save a cultivator months of training.

But neither of them dared to take a single step forward.

Lounging around the base of the tree and hanging from its thick lower branches were seven massive apes, easily twice the size of a grown man.

"We cannot match them," the Graves family youth subconsciously whispered, his face warping in unhappiness. "There are seven of them, and the strongest is at the ninth level."

The female disciple, Bria, also looked very unwilling.

She was ranked seventh among the Azure Cloud Sect’s inner disciples, currently at the peak of the eighth level of Essence Awakening.

The Graves youth beside her was Hale, at the ninth level.

He was the leader of their family’s young group.

Inspite of that, their strength was not enough to deal with three ninth level, and four eight level Essence Awakening realm apes.

They wouldn’t even last ten seconds.

The treasure was before their eyes, but they were unable to take it.

"We have to retreat," Hale spoke, "No treasure is worth throwing our lives away in the first hour."

Bria let out a bitter, silent sigh. She knew he was right.

"Alright," she nodded, her eyes lingering on the ten purple fruits one last time. "Let’s fall back quietly. We need to find the others—"

Swoosh!

Bria’s words were abruptly cut short.

Both of their bodies violently stiffened.

It wasn’t the apes. The sound hadn’t come from the clearing ahead of them.

It came from directly behind them.

The distinct, sharp sound of the wind being violently torn apart.

Someone was approaching them. And the speed was absolutely frightening.

"Enemy!" Hale alerted, his face instantly draining of all color.

Bria’s heart plummeted into her stomach.

To move with such speed through the heavy gravity of the Hollow Realm... it had to be an Essence Condensation expert!

If it was an elder from the Ironpeak Sect or the Barlowe family, they were entirely doomed.

Panic gripping their minds, both youths instantly scrambled to their feet, drawing their weapons and desperately circulating their essence to the absolute limit.

They turned around, preparing to fight a hopeless, bloody battle for their survival.

Through the dense grey mist, a blurry shadow shot toward them.

In the blink of an eye, the blurry figure crossed dozens of paces and materialized perfectly still, stopping just five feet in front of their drawn blades.

Their eyes locked on the newcomer.

"Rhain." Bria called out in a low voice, her shoulders relaxing with profound relief.

It wasn’t a bloodthirsty elder from the Ironpeak Sect.

It was one of their own!

Rhain’s dark grey eyes swept over the two of them.

When he realized that the stationary dot on his tracker was merely Bria, and not Seris, a flicker of disappointment flashed across his usually indifferent face.

He let out a quiet sigh.

"What are you two doing hiding in the dirt?" Rhain asked casually, his voice completely unbothered by the tense atmosphere.

"Shh!" Bria’s face instantly paled.

She frantically made a hushing gesture, pointing a trembling finger through the dense brush toward the clearing ahead. "Speak softly!"

Rhain followed her gaze, and looked at the colossal ancient tree in the center of the clearing.

More specifically, his gaze locked onto the ten glowing, purple-colored fruits hanging from its thick branches.

"What kind of fruits are those?" Rhain asked, his interest slightly piqued.

Hale leaned in and whispered with a heavy tone of both greed and dread. "Those are Purple Striae Soul Fruits. They are incredibly precious. It’s impossible to find one in the Greymist Town. Just consuming one of these is enough to skip months of training."

Hale swallowed hard, his eyes lingering fearfully on the massive beasts lounging in the branches. "But they are guarded by those seven ferocious apes. It’s suicide to approach them."

Rhain’s expression remained completely uninterested.

Instead, he looked back at them and asked his real question. "Have either of you met a girl with silver-white hair along the way?"

Bria blinked, slightly taken aback by the sudden shift in topic. "Are you asking about Seris?"

Rhain gave a slight nod.

Bria shook her head. "No. I was teleported alone. I only ran into Hale by chance a few minutes ago. I haven’t seen anyone else."

Hale also shook his head firmly. "I haven’t seen any silver-white haired girl either."

Rhain nodded, he didn’t have much hope for a positive answer. He needed to keep moving.

But since the resources were already right in front of his eyes, he naturally wouldn’t just leave them behind.

"Wait here," Rhain said flatly.

Before Bria or Hale could even process what he meant, Rhain’s figure abruptly blurred.

Swoosh!

A sharp gust of wind tore through the brush, violently scattering the dead leaves.

Bria and Hale’s eyes widened in absolute horror.

They hastily turned their heads toward the clearing.

In the span of a single heartbeat, Rhain had completely bypassed the hundred paces of open ground.

He was already standing casually at the very base of the colossal ancient tree.

The sudden intrusion instantly shattered the quiet atmosphere of the clearing.

The seven massive apes snaps their heavy heads downward.

Seeing a tiny human standing directly beneath their precious treasure, their wild instincts ignited instantly.

"Ghuu-krahkk!"

Hanging from the thick lower branches, they began violently thumping their massive chests, letting out sharp screech, and making aggressive warning gestures.

Rhain completely ignored the aggressive posturing.

He casually pulled his right fist back, and drove it directly into the trunk of the colossal ancient tree.

BOOM!

The colossal ancient tree, which had likely stood for centuries and was thick enough that ten men couldn’t wrap their arms around it, violently shuddered.

"Graaaack?"

The violent tremor caught the apes completely off guard.

They tumbled through the branches, crashing heavily into the dirt below with dull thuds.

Now, all seven giant apes had fell on the ground.

But they didn’t attack immediately.

Their primal instincts warned them that something was deeply wrong.

They crouched low, their bloodshot eyes glaring at Rhain with intense wariness.

For a moment, no one moved.

Ghuu-krahkk!

Suddenly, the largest ape—a Level 9 Essence Awakening beast standing over ten feet tall—lost its patience.

It leaped into the air, its massive shadow completely blotting out the grey light above Rhain.

Its giant arm swung downward like a falling stone pillar, carrying enough brutal force to flatten a boulder into powder.

Smack.

Rhain didn’t even shift his stance. He simply raised his left hand.

The giant ape’s massive, fur-covered arm abruptly stopped in mid-air, caught effortlessly by a hand less than a third of its size.

With a casual twist of his wrist, Rhain forcefully yanked the giant arm downward. He used the beast’s own weight against it, swinging its massive, multi-ton body off the ground like a helpless pendulum.

Whoosh!

The sheer physical force generated a sharp gust of wind.

After completing a full half-circle, Rhain casually opened his hand and released the beast.

The giant ape was launched through the air like a discarded ragdoll.

It flew horizontally across the clearing, helplessly flailing its limbs, before crashing heavily into the trunk of another massive tree fifty paces away.

BANG!!

The ape slid down the cracked wood, and slumped into the dirt.

The remaining six apes froze perfectly still.

Their ferocious hostility evaporated instantly, replaced by absolute terror.

They rolled their widened eyes at Rhain, then at their strongest member groaning in the distance, their massive bodies trembling instinctively.

A hundred paces away, Hale’s jaw dropped so far it nearly hit the damp soil.

"Who... who the hell is this guy!!!" He mechanically turned his stiff neck to look at Bria.

"He is Rhain," Bria swallowed hard, "Our disciple leader."

"Disciple leader?" Hale stammered, his gaze still glued to the terrifying scene in the clearing. "Wasn’t Victor supposed to be your leader?"

Bria shook her head with a bitter smile. "We had all been expecting that as well... until yesterday. Rhain completely crush—defeated Victor."

"Wait! Rhain...?" he repeated, the name suddenly clicking in his mind. " This name sounds so similar to the one..."