Chapter 102: One Saber Severed the Waves; Perception Broke a Thousand!

"Hurry up! There's an assassin! Surround the Saber Hall!"

"Deputy Hall Master Chen Shan is dead!"

Before long, a large number of Saber Hall members rushed in from outside. When they saw Chen Shan's two corpses on the ground, they fell silent in terror; their face turned pale as well. After all, Chen Shan was a Divine Strength martial artist, but he was slain inside the Saber Hall.

Everyone turned toward the inner chambers of the Saber Hall. Soon, an elderly man in luxurious robes walked out.

Everyone hurriedly bowed. "Greetings, Hall Master!"

The elderly man in luxurious robes was none other than Chu Qingshan, the hall master of the Saber Hall. Chu Qingshan waved his hand, and his expression darkened at the sight. He had been in the inner chamber and had witnessed Chen Shan being slashed in twain by a single strike.

There wasn't any time for him to intervene.

Who exactly was that person? To kill Chen Shan with a single saber strike, and with a strike that far exceeded a hundred cauldrons of strength. He was at least a Hundred Cauldrons Stage expert. Fortunately, he seemed to have come with a clear purpose to kill Chen Shan. Otherwise, I would have been killed as well.

Chu Qingshan felt utterly shaken. He even found himself feeling a little fortunate. Ever since the Alum Core Ore appeared, all sorts of terrifying figures had been showing up in Zhanhai City.

He hurried away to report the situation to the gang leader.

After killing Chen Shan, Lu Changsheng returned to his residence and once again became the respected and beloved Physician Lu. When he arrived at the consultation room, Zhang Xuan rushed over at once, brimming with excitement.

"Physician, this is truly retribution! Chen Shan must have offended someone, as he was publicly killed in the Saber Hall! Even Chen Yan was dragged into it and was blown apart. The two brothers are dead now!" Zhang Xuan exclaimed, looking pleased as if he had finally vented his pent-up anger.

"Retribution?" Lu Changsheng merely smiled and said nothing more. In this world, there was no such thing as retribution. There was only offending someone whom one couldn't afford to offend.

Before long, people from the Medical Hall arrived and began clearing out Chen Yan's consultation room. The deputy hall master came before Lu Changsheng and said with a smile, "Physician Lu, you have become quite the prominent figure in our Medical Hall. The Scarless Ointment has spread throughout Zhanhai City, and many people have come here because of your reputation.

"You've accumulated enough merits to become a senior physician. From today onward, you're officially a senior physician of our Medical Hall."

Lu Changsheng's eyes lit up. The greatest difference between a senior physician and an ordinary physician was a slightly higher consultation fee.

The consultation fees of the physicians here were tantamount to merit. In other words, Lu Changsheng would obtain more merit for treating the same patient. This was a great thing; Lu Changsheng would never complain about having too much merit. After all, he would use them all to exchange for martial techniques.

He wasn't well off at all and could even be described as barely making ends meet.

Time slipped by swiftly. After killing Chen Shan, Lu Changsheng no longer had any lingering concerns. Moreover, the Four Seas Gang didn't pursue the matter any further. Zhanhai City had been far too chaotic these days; powerful figures were appearing one after another, and the gang's attention was largely on the Alum Core Ore.

In the following days, Lu Changsheng held consultations in the morning and boarded a Far Ocean Merchant Association ship to go out to sea in the afternoon. Sophie had personally assigned an entire ship for his exclusive use.

In the blink of an eye, two months passed. Today, Lu Changsheng was sitting cross-legged on the deck of a ship. In the distance, a towering wave was sweeping toward him, and it was high enough to blot out the horizon.

Rumble Rumble...

The towering wave crashed down with overwhelming force. Even though the Far Ocean Merchant Association ship was large, the impact made a violent tremor run across it, making it seem as if it were about to capsize.

The captain shouted in terror, "Mr. Dao! These waves are far too terrifying. The ship cannot withstand them. We might sink!"

The captain was a seasoned sailor. Since he judged that the ship could sink, it could certainly sink.

Lu Changsheng had encountered enormous waves at sea before, but this was the first time he had faced one capable of overturning a large ship. Before the boundless might of heaven and earth, what could a mere ship amount to?

Bang!

The wave crashed down. The mast was snapped clean off, and despair appeared on every sailor's face. They could get buried in the sea today.

Meanwhile, Lu Changsheng was soaked from head to toe, yet he stood firm like a reef, unmoved by the relentless pounding of the waves. Between life and death lay great terror, but it contained immense opportunity as well.

Lu Changsheng's Wave Intent began to improve at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Sixteen percent, seventeen percent, eighteen percent, and nineteen percent...

When Lu Changsheng's Wave Intent reached twenty percent—

BOOM!

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

—A thunderous roar erupted in Lu Changsheng's mind, as brand-new understanding dawned on him.

Clang!

Unknowingly, he drew his saber in the midst of the surging waves. A ring of blood-colored saber light appeared. It seemed insignificant amid the towering waves, but the sound of rolling waves echoed faintly within it.

Lu Changsheng slashed out. The attack wasn't a mere projection of blood qi; it carried Wave Intent, making it similar to a true ocean wave. The terrifying, towering wave was severed cleanly in half by the single saber light.

Splash!

The towering wave crashed into the sea. Everyone stared at the scene in stunned disbelief.

"A saber cutting through a massive wave... Is that really something a martial artist can do?"

Many of the sailors aboard the ship were also martial artists. They knew well the old saying stating that drawing a saber against water was futile. Yet who could have imagined that with a single slash, Mr. Dao would cut straight through a towering wave? His terrifying power and technique left them utterly awestruck.

"So this is the Dao of Wave Intent..." Lu Changsheng smiled. At this moment, he felt even happier than if he had advanced to the Hundred Cauldrons Stage. Wave Intent seemed to have opened an entirely new door for him on the martial path.

He finally realized that martial arts could reach such wondrous heights.

When the towering waves receded, the sea became calm once again. Lu Changsheng's mind followed suit, settling into a rare calmness. Within that state, countless martial techniques surfaced in his thoughts. They were all second-tier and third-tier techniques, each poised on the verge of Perfection.

He had been waiting for that moment to arrive. Once a technique reached Perfection, his Perception would break through. The threshold of a thousand points was within his reach.

Immersed in that state, he lost track of time.

Buzz.

A line of small text appeared before Lu Changsheng's eyes.

Divine Movement Fist reached Perfection. Perception + 3.

As his Perception transformed from "Hidden Dragon in the Abyss" into "Praised in All Directions," Lu Changsheng saw the changes on his status panel. This was unmistakably a qualitative transformation. At the very instant his Perception increased, countless scenes flashed through his mind.

Before his eyes, nine great characters manifested—"Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Zhen, Lie, Qian, Xing." This was the complete version of the Nine-Character Mantra. In the past, no matter how he practiced or refined his approach, he had only been able to cultivate it to Initial Mastery.

When his Perception went past a thousand points, every character in the mantra unfolded naturally before him. It was like comprehension was flowing through him without any obstructions.

Initial Mastery, Advanced Mastery, Perfection.

Boom!

Lu Changsheng finally perfected the Nine-Character Mantra, and it all happened in an instant.

"The Nine-Character Mantra has reached Perfection, and my Perception has increased by 19."

Lu Changsheng's eyes widened. He had always known that the Nine-Character Mantra was powerful, but he had never imagined that it was a nineteenth-tier art.

It was an almost unimaginable idea! Up to this point, none of Lu Changsheng's martial arts had ever reached the nineteenth tier. Only the Nine-Character Mantra stood at that tier.

In addition, the second and third-tier martial techniques he had previously exchanged for within the Four Seas Gang had changed. In the past, practicing them required long hours of deep contemplation and repeated training. Now, everything was different. He needed only to practice a second-tier martial technique

once

for it to immediately reach Perfection.

The Nine-Whirlwind Footwork has reached Perfection. Perception + 2.

The Falling Leaf Saber Technique has reached Perfection. Perception + 2.

The Tiger Roar Fist has reached Perfection. Perception + 3.

As long as Lu Changsheng was willing to spend a bit of effort, he could easily reach perfection in all the second and third-tier martial techniques. In just a short span of time, the roughly twenty second and third-tier martial techniques he had exchanged for were all cultivated to Perfection.

In turn, his Perception increased by nearly 70 points.

My Perception has surpassed a thousand points. This is a qualitative transformation! Hmm, just how many points of Perception do I need for the next transformation?

Lu Changsheng didn't know the answer to that question, but one thing was certain—when his Perception broke through a thousand points, the speed at which he cultivated martial techniques increased dramatically.

As long as he had enough martial techniques, his Perception would increase at an astonishingly fast rate.

Without hesitation, Lu Changsheng summoned the status panel to examine his current state.

[Status Panel]

Host: Lu Changsheng

Perception: 1090 (Praised in All Directions)

[Skills]

Blood Qi Sword Crafting Secret Technique: Sword Crafting, 10 months and 6 days

Wave Intent: Progress 20%

Celestial Treasure-Refinement Secret Technique: Second Layer

Ninefold Carp-Dragon Ascension: Fourth Level

Nine-Character Mantra: Perfection

On Lu Changsheng's status panel, every aspect of his strength had improved significantly. However, some gains couldn't be fully displayed by the status panel alone. For example, his Wave Intent was displayed at twenty percent, but he had already touched upon its true essence.

From this point onward, whether he used saber techniques, fist techniques, or palm techniques, he no longer needed to activate Threefold Waves. He no longer needed to stack three strikes to unleash double the power.

He just had to directly overlay Wave Intent on his attacks. Regardless of how many punches or saber strikes he delivered, each would erupt with more than double the force.

The amplification of Wave Intent went far beyond a simple doubling of power.

When Lu Changsheng faced those towering waves, he had severed them with a single saber strike. It was a miraculous feat achieved not due to the terror of his saber technique, but all thanks to the wondrous effects of Wave Intent.

"Mr. Dao, can we return now?" the captain asked.

Lu Changsheng created a miraculous scene by severing such high waves, but neither the captain nor the sailors wanted to encounter those waves again. In addition, the ship had suffered extensive damage and had to be repaired.

Lu Changsheng calculated the time and found that the three-month appointment with Yun Haitang was nigh. Hence, he replied, "Alright, let's return."

With a wave of his hand, Lu Changsheng had the battered ship turn around and head back toward the docks of Zhanhai City.

***

The Heavenly Maiden Sect had been especially lively recently. The Heavenly Maiden was about to step down, and many candidates had resorted to every possible method to find Dao Guardians in hopes of relying on their strength to become the next Heavenly Maiden.

The competition was fierce, as the position came with immense benefits. For example, upon becoming a Heavenly Maiden, one could almost certainly advance to the Divine Strength Realm.

That

alone was enough for the candidates to fight desperately for it.

There weren't many candidates, only eight in total. However, only three truly possessed the qualifications to contend for the position. Yun Haitang was naturally not among them. In fact, she was widely regarded as the candidate with the least chance of winning.

After all, she had no notable background and no influential relatives to rely on.

Had it not been for the fact that she had somehow obtained a fire seed from the Divine Fire Palace, which pushed her cultivation to the peak of Organ Refinement, allowing her to qualify as a candidate, she wouldn't have made it to the list.

"Junior Sister Yun, has your Dao Guardian not arrived yet?" a Heavenly Maiden candidate asked.

"Senior Sister Zheng, there's no need to worry. My Dao Guardian should be on the way," Yun Haitang said calmly, her tone showing no sign of yielding. She had confidence in Dao Shi'er. Dao Shi'er hadn't arrived yet, but she believed that he would keep his word.

"

Oh

? You look pretty confident. But whether it is you or the rest of us, we are merely here to serve as foils for Senior Sister Zhang, Senior Sister Zhao, and Senior Sister Lu," said Senior Sister Zheng.

"Do you know who their Dao Guardians are?" asked Yun Haitang.

"I heard that every one of them is a Divine Strength martial artist at the Hundred Cauldrons Stage!" Senior Sister Zheng replied, her eyes dimming.

This was how things worked in the Heavenly Maiden Sect. What mattered was connections, status, and background. Personal strength and innate talent were not held to particularly high standards.

However, this was also the sect's way of survival.

"He's here!" Yun Haitang craned her neck and finally saw a black-clad man walking up from the foot of the mountain. The black-clad man was none other than Dao Shi'er.

"

Huh

?"

The Heavenly Maiden candidates noticed Dao Shi'er as well, and a flicker of surprise passed through their eyes. They clearly couldn't recognize him, yet they could tell at a glance that he was no ordinary figure.

"Whose Dao Guardian is that?"

"No idea."

"He seems to be a Divine Strength martial artist."

Lu Changsheng walked straight up and stopped behind Yun Haitang. He spoke in an even tone, saying, "Miss Yun, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

"Brother Dao, you arrived just in time," Yun Haitang said with a faint smile. With Dao Shi'er here, she felt at ease.

The moment Lu Changsheng took his place behind Yun Haitang, several gazes fell on him.

A cold-faced swordsman said icily, "He is an expert!"

"What? Yun Haitang managed to recruit an expert?"

The other candidates all widened their eyes in disbelief. They knew Yun Haitang all too well. With no background, no status, and no connections, how could she possibly recruit an expert? Dao Guardians were not so easily recruited, for their rise and fall would be tied to the candidate's.

What could Yun Haitang possibly offer to recruit such an expert?

"

Hehe

. Now this is interesting," a burly man holding a massive hammer said in a deep and muffled voice. In his eyes, whether saberman or swordsman, a single hammer strike would crush them all.

"Alright. All the Dao Guardians of the Heavenly Maiden candidates have arrived. Let us begin!"

The Heavenly Maiden competition was simple in nature. The candidates would draw lots, and their Dao Guardians would fight each other. Whoever remained standing at the end would claim the title of Heavenly Maiden.