Chapter 320: Cultivation (II)

For geniuses, the period before reaching the Force Transformation realm was a crucial stage of rapid growth in strength. Before advancing to the Force Transformation realm, they would rarely consider marriage and would deliberately avoid romantic entanglements. Affection would only hinder the speed of their progress.

After advancing to the Force Transformation realm, the improvement of strength would slow down, requiring more time to comprehend martial cultivation. The stages that had been skipped by relying on true intent diagrams would need to be reexperienced and compensated for through renewed understanding.

At this stage, the emphasis lay in experience and personal trials. Simply burying one's head in hard training alone no longer produced much effect. Most people chose to consider marriage and starting a family only after advancing to the Force Transformation realm.

"It is not urgent right now. We will talk about it after advancing to Force Transformation realm. By the way, how is the situation now? Are the yao martial artists still causing trouble everywhere?" Lin Zheyu said, changing the subject.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Yes. They hide extremely well and cultivate some powerful secret art that conceals their aura, making them very hard to find. After months of suppression and encirclement, those who survived are all powerhouses with strong survival abilities. Finding them is not easy," said Huang Youwei.

He had also accepted missions to kill yao martial artists. It took more than ten days just to locate the target, and another ten plus days, with several people besieging together, before the kill was finally achieved. These yao martial artists were like demons, possessing extremely tenacious vitality. What would be a fatal wound for a martial artist was merely a negligible injury to a yao martial artist and would recover very quickly.

"A few days ago, Senior Brother Bo Yi was injured by a yao martial artist while pursuing one. If not for a powerful expert arriving in time, it would have been dangerous," Xu Kai'en said gravely.

Amid their casual conversation, they soon arrived at the banquet venue. The banquet was held at Grand View Tower, and all those attending were prominent forces of Wuling City.

"Little Martial Uncle, we agreed that you will help me teach Heng Qiming a lesson later. No backing out," Huang Youwei reminded him deliberately as they were about to enter Grand View Tower.

"Do not worry. Since I promised you, I will definitely teach him a lesson. However, that is on the premise that Heng Qiming is only a Marrow Refining realm martial artist. If he has already begun condensing true strength, then you should seek someone else," Lin Zheyu said.

He had taken interest in an intriguing technique located on the third floor of the Heavenly Blessing Pavilion. Only true disciples were allowed to access the third floor of the Heavenly Blessing Pavilion. Lin Zheyu had thought that after becoming a true disciple, he would be able to freely browse the techniques on the third level, but it turned out he had overthought it.

The Wuji Sect did not advocate gaining without effort, and this applied even to the sect master and elders. Sect Master Huang Baizhong himself could not freely squander the sect's cultivation resources. The cultivation resources given to Lin Zheyu for Azure Tide Boundless True Technique all had to be purchased using contribution points and silver. Techniques on the third floor, although only open to true disciples, still required true disciples to exchange contribution points for them.

For several months, Lin Zheyu had stayed within the sect cultivating and had not earned a single contribution point. Later, Huang Youwei came looking for him, wanting to ask him to take action and teach someone a lesson. Thus, the two reached an agreement. Huang Youwei would use contribution points in exchange for Lin Zheyu making a move once.

"Do not worry. I specifically inquired about it. He has not yet begun condensing true strength. Heng Qiming plans to cultivate the Vast Sun Heavenly Saber and intends to condense multiple true intents before breaking through to the Force Transformation realm in one go. His ambitions are huge," Huang Youwei said with a chuckle.

"Vast Sun Heavenly Saber? Was the saber intent above Heavenly Blade Peak slashed by a senior who cultivated the Vast Sun Heavenly Saber?" Lin Zheyu asked curiously upon hearing the name.

Over these months, aside from cultivating, he had taken time to read various texts to make up for his lack of knowledge. In books describing secret lands and dangerous regions across the Guanghua Region, he discovered information related to Heavenly Blade Peak. According to the records, the saber intent at Heavenly Blade Peak was slashed by a terrifying powerhouse who cultivated Vast Sun Heavenly Saber.

At the time, in order to kill a terrifyingly powerful yao, that expert unleashed a heaven destroying saber radiance and slew the demon in a single strike. However, the yao's power was so fearsome and its recovery ability so formidable that even after being killed, it could revive over time. For this reason, the expert would slash a saber intent above Heavenly Blade Peak every year to annihilate the yao's remaining body. When Lin Zheyu read this part, he felt as though he were reading a mythological tale.

"That is right. This saber technique contains an absurd number of true intents. Cultivating it to advanced mastery is extremely difficult," said Huang Youwei as he nodded.

"Did such a terrifying powerhouse really appear in the Heng Family's ancestry?" Lin Zheyu asked in surprise.

The Heng Family in Wuling City had developed fairly well, but it could not be considered top tier, and was only slightly better than the Li family. Logically speaking, if they had such a terrifying powerhouse, they should not have developed so poorly.

"No. Although this technique is an ancestral technique of the Heng family, that expert was not a member of the Heng Family. As for who it was, I do not know. That expert was very mysterious. Probably only the sect master and Elder Yang know," Xu Kai'en said.

The group entered Grand View Tower, and the banquet had already begun. As they walked along, Lin Zheyu saw quite a few familiar faces. Luo Dinglong, Luo Manghan, Li Yin, and others were all present. However, he had already restored his original appearance, and they did not recognize him.

"That is him. When the martial sparring for entertainment begins later, you go up and challenge him for me," Huang Youwei said, pointing at a sharp and imposing man not far away.

He was a man with sword-like brows and star bright eyes, sharp features, and a cold expression. Sitting alone at a table in the corner, he radiated a powerful presence, like a treasured blade drawn from its sheath, its edge fully revealed.

***

In Wuling City, a man with an ordinary appearance walked out of a dim alley. He cautiously glanced around, then let out a slight sigh of relief.

Damn it, I only caused a bit of trouble at Wuji Manor, and hardly anyone died. Was it really necessary to join forces with the Great Wei authorities to hunt us down everywhere?

the man cursed inwardly.

His figure shifted, slipping into the shadows as he moved swiftly forward. Before long, he stopped in front of a residence. With a light leap, he entered the courtyard.

"Why is it you? Where is my father?" The man frowned slightly as he looked at the person before him. He was the yao martial artist who had used the alias Wang Chen at the previous martial cultivation exchange, his real name being Pei Xuan, the son of Pei Yuchun.

"Something happened to your father. I wanted to inform you, but I could never find your whereabouts," the man in the courtyard said with a sigh.

The Wuji Sect reacted swiftly, dispatching a large number of experts that very day to hunt down the yao martial artists who had caused the chaos. As a result, Pei Xuan began a desperate escape. At his most perilous moment, he had nearly died at the hands of Huang Baizhong, but thanks to the astonishing recovery ability of yao martial artists, he managed to endure it.

"What happened to my father?" asked Pei Xuan with a frown, a fierce killing intent bursting from his eyes as black red aura surged from his body, his momentum terrifying.

"Do not get agitated. This is inside Wuling City. Be careful not to alert powerful experts," the man exclaimed hurriedly.

Huff~.

Pei Xuan took a deep breath and drew the black red aura back into his body, yet the killing intent in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

"He is dead. He died on the very day you caused the disturbance, killed by an unknown expert. This is the information we gathered over the past few months. The findings are quite thorough, but Pei Yuchun's death is inseparable from that martial artist named Zhao Hao. As for Zhao Hao, he vanished without a trace after the martial cultivation exchange and his whereabouts are unknown."

The man handed over a booklet containing the information they had investigated.

Boom!

Upon hearing that Pei Yuchun was dead, a violent surge of power erupted from Pei Xuan, blasting apart the bluestone beneath his feet. The overwhelming aura flashed briefly before he quickly drew it back into his body. With powerful experts stationed in Wuling City, he dared not expose too strong a yao martial artist aura.

"Good, very good! I will handle this matter. How did the task I gave you turn out?" Pei Xuan asked coldly as he put away the booklet.

"It has already been taken care of, but since there were no further instructions, we stopped," the man said.

"These are the follow up tasks. Just carry them out according to what is written." Pei Xuan tossed over a paper bundle, left the courtyard, and vanished into the night.

"The baleful qi on him is growing heavier and heavier. After Pei Yuchun's death, I wonder whether the bonds in his heart will completely sever, accelerating the process of yao transformation," the man murmured softly as he watched Pei Xuan's departing figure.

After standing in the courtyard for a while, he took the paper bundle Pei Xuan had given him and went inside. Lighting an oil lamp, he read carefully by the lamplight. As he read on, his eyes grew brighter and brighter. He murmured, "So it can be done like this. Could it be that yao martial artists follow the true orthodox path of martial artists?"

The man's arm holding the paper bundle trembled slightly as a burst of sharp light erupted from his eyes.