I'm a major player in a parallel universe

The bald man and the rat stared in shock as their faces turned pale and cold. They never expected that Yang Haoxuan, this Martial Artist at Level 6, had been pretending to be weak all along, hiding his true strength.

As soon as they had gathered the Blood Pills, they were suddenly attacked. Their surprise was evident. The bald man and the rat exchanged a glance and immediately charged forward.

"Martial Artist, be careful! They're trying to escape! The bald man has two Blood Pills, and we must not let them leave. If the Heaven and Earth Society finds out, we'll be in serious trouble!" The soldier quickly warned.

Yang Haoxuan froze. He hadn't realized before that they were planning to flee, but now, the situation had changed.

"Spiral True Energy!" With a roar, Yang Haoxuan unleashed his battle blade, infused with a powerful spiral true energy, aimed at the two charging figures, particularly the bald man.

"Boss! I'm sorry! I swear, if I get out, I'll avenge you!" The rat suddenly spoke, his body disappearing underground, burrowing away at high speed.

"Damn it!" The bald man's face twisted in fury, his expression fierce.

It turned out that the two had planned to use a deceptive technique, but the rat was too frightened by Yang Haoxuan's display of power. Realizing he wasn't the primary target, he made a quick escape.

As for the bald man, he charged straight into the blade's path, where his earlier Mountain Splitting Palm had dispersed the spiraling poison energy. However, this time, Yang Haoxuan had gathered all the spiral true energy into his blade, maintaining steady control. As the bald man attacked, the Mountain Splitting Palm was instantly entangled, and with a push and a pull, the bald man was sent flying by the force of the blade.

A large hole appeared in his chest, roughly the size of a bowl. He died without even a chance to blink.

Suddenly, Yang Haoxuan was startled as a notification appeared in his mind, telling him that he had gained experience for killing a Martial Artist at Level 10. The message was unexpected; he had never thought that killing someone would grant him experience points. In games, it was different, but here in the world of Tianhe, everyone was a real person.

This outcome left him conflicted. On the one hand, the experience was substantial, but on the other, it made him feel a bit repulsed.

"I swear I'll never kill for experience again!" This thought immediately solidified in his mind. He knew that if he started hunting people like animals for experience, he would become a monster.

Ignoring the surprised expressions of Yan Ya and the soldiers, Yang Haoxuan approached the bald man's corpse and retrieved two Blood Pills. They were just like the name suggested—blood red, like a blood-colored pill.

These two Blood Pills made Yang Haoxuan's complexion flush. With them, the Martial Master realm seemed within his grasp. With two in hand, his cultivation would likely increase significantly.

However, as if reading his thoughts, the soldier stepped forward and said, "Martial Artist! The medicinal properties of these Blood Pills are extremely potent, but they're filled with killing intent. If a Martial Artist takes them, you must break through to Martial Master within a year, or the killing intent will consume you."

Yang Haoxuan felt a tinge of regret but now understood why no one at Martial Artist Level 9 had coveted the Blood Pills. They were dangerous.

The soldier had his reasons for mentioning this. He was clearly worried that Yang Haoxuan's terrifying strength might tempt him to take the Blood Pills for himself. So, the soldier continued, "Thanks to your help, after we leave here, you won't have to pay the 20% profit on the Blood Pills. The Great Yan Dynasty will reward you as well!"

"Heh, no need for that. Just give me the two Blood Pills you promised," Yang Haoxuan said, extending his hand. Though he could only use one, he could still bring the other back to his family and use it to train a few talents.

The soldier looked toward Yan Ya, and Yang Haoxuan followed his gaze.

When they both looked, their expressions shifted in surprise. Yan Ya had taken off her veil, revealing a face scarred horribly, as though it had been burned. Her eyes, filled with fury and resentment, were locked onto Yang Haoxuan.

"Shit! She recognized me!" In that split second, Yang Haoxuan immediately understood and gripped his battle blade. He awkwardly cleared his throat, "Ahem... It seems the Ninth Princess has recognized me, but I assure you, it was unintentional!"

Yang Haoxuan was telling the truth. Who would intentionally scar a beauty like her?

Yan Ya didn't seem to care what he said. Perhaps she was weighing the situation—whether to act on her anger or to wait. When she heard Yang Haoxuan's admission, her fury exploded, and she drew her sword, aiming to kill.

"But I can help restore your beauty!" Yang Haoxuan, feeling guilty, quickly added. He didn't want to hurt her further, and with his newfound power, he was eager to make amends.

Yan Ya paused, seemingly conflicted. Her eyes, which had been filled with anger, softened slightly as she spoke with a tinge of expectation, "Really?"

"Of course! Once I've consumed the Blood Pills, I'll be able to restore your appearance!" Yang Haoxuan said confidently, knowing that after taking the Blood Pills, his cultivation would increase, and he could finally attempt the restoration.

Yan Ya was still hesitant, calculating her options. Taking the Blood Pills was easy, but it would take a year of cultivation to fully absorb their power. She wasn't sure whether she could trust Yang Haoxuan, but seeing his sincere expression and the fact that he seemed desperate, she reluctantly agreed. She also realized that pushing him further might not be wise.

The soldier, seeing that both of them were calm, didn't dare to look directly at the princess's disfigured face. He hurried to the side and began stabbing the four members of the Heaven and Earth Society, one by one.

Yang Haoxuan watched, his thoughts complex. He let out a long sigh and casually waved his hand. Suddenly, a figure of light appeared in the air, a woman dancing gracefully. The woman then sank into the soldier's body.

"This... what is this?!" The soldier gasped in shock as he felt a soothing warmth spread through his body. His previously exhausted body began to recover. "Thank you, my lord!"

Yang Haoxuan didn't say anything but thought to himself, I'm just too powerful. He had never used his healing dance before, and now was the perfect moment.

"Princess! Should I go after the rat who escaped?" The soldier, now fully recovered, asked eagerly.

"No need. The Ten Thousand Wasteland is too vast. It'll be difficult to track him down. Instead, we'll wait at the designated place outside and ambush him when he shows up!" Yan Ya said, then looked at Yang Haoxuan. Two Blood Pills appeared in her hand and flew toward him, almost imperceptibly revealing her hand.

Yang Haoxuan took the Blood Pills with a wry smile and cupped his hands. "In that case, let's go. The soldier corpses are piling up."

The three of them exited the cave, and Yang Haoxuan spoke, "I'm going to find a quiet place to take the Blood Pills now."

"My lord, it's best to take them in a secluded area," the soldier replied respectfully, having gained a newfound admiration for Yang Haoxuan. "Also, the Five-Flower Snakes will invade the cave soon. We should head to the Wasteland."

"The Five-Flower Snake King is already dead by my hand. The remaining snakes will flee from me! Besides, time waits for no one!" Yang Haoxuan said, ignoring their surprised looks. "Farewell!"

With that, he sped off, vanishing from their sight in an instant.

Yang Haoxuan didn't leave without reason. There was still a month before they would leave the area. For someone who was racing against time, he couldn't afford to wait.

He couldn't take the Blood Pills in front of them either—he had to be cautious. Anything could happen. As for the rat who escaped, with only a cultivation of Level 9, he would stand no chance against any of the three of them.

Yang Haoxuan didn't worry. Soon, he arrived at the Black Forest, the place where the Wolf King once resided. It was now devoid of any Blood Wolves or other strange trees.

A lake nearby made it an ideal location. After confirming that there were no threats, Yang Haoxuan wiped the Blood Pills clean and swallowed them whole. The pills were too powerful to simply hold in his mouth.

As soon as the Blood Pills entered his stomach, they broke open like seeds sprouting. The medicinal power began to spread throughout his body. Yang Haoxuan could feel his entire body strengthening as the energy flowed into his flesh.

The small Blood Pills seemed to release an endless stream of medicinal power, nourishing his body. Since Yang Haoxuan didn't have a dantian, the energy was absorbed directly by his physical form.

At that moment, he prepared to assume the posture for the Long Life Scripture, but suddenly, as the energy reached his blood vessels, they began to act like the time he had consumed the Five-Flower Poison Leaf—sucking in the medicinal power at an alarming rate.

In a flash, the first Blood Pill was completely absorbed.

"What's going on?" Yang Haoxuan

gasped in shock. Normally, the Blood Pills would quickly elevate a Martial Artist at Level 9 to Level 10. But his cultivation didn't budge beyond the peak of Level 9.

Instead, his body was rapidly enhanced. His vitality nearly broke through 10,000.

"Is it because of my bloodline?" Yang Haoxuan realized, smiling wryly. The Bloodline Body was absorbing the power too quickly, preventing him from advancing in cultivation. His progress with the Long Life Scripture also slowed down.

This situation could go in two directions.

The first: Although his cultivation level was lower than others, his overall strength could surpass those of higher levels. His martial path would be wider and longer than anyone else's.

But the downside was that his cultivation would struggle to break through. As a Martial Artist turned Martial Master, the breakthrough would bring a qualitative change to his body.

If Yang Haoxuan had to choose, he would prefer to break through to Martial Master at this time.

For now, he could only hope the remaining Blood Pills would allow him to progress further.

With the previous three Blood Pills used up, Yang Haoxuan no longer worried about the killing intent. He relaxed and consumed the second pill.

As the medicinal power spread, his cultivation reached Level 10, and he felt his body undergoing a complete transformation.

With the steady cultivation of the Long Life Scripture, he began to feel the first of the Long Life Meridians open. Once he broke through to Martial Master, the second meridian would open as well.

Finally, after using all the Blood Pills, Yang Haoxuan reached the peak of Martial Artist Level 10. But more importantly, his strength had increased dramatically.

The surroundings hummed with the spiraling power of his true energy. Even the nearby trees were being cut down by the sharp, spinning winds of his Spiral True Energy.

Yang Haoxuan was now on the verge of breaking through to Martial Master, with his power growing exponentially with each passing moment.

The Martial Master realm was closer than ever.