Within Subduing Dragon Mountain, darkness reigned as electric serpents writhed across the sky and torrential rain poured relentlessly, threatening to engulf the entire peak.
At the Chen Clan's ore vein, the camp lay in ruins, its uneven terrain pitted with rain-filled puddles.
A group clad in straw rain capes and conical bamboo hats approached swiftly.
A single glance revealed a scene of devastation: standing water, dilapidated shelters, and the scattered corpses of both humans and demon beasts.
"Let's see if anyone survived," a somber voice commanded, tinged with grief.
The group sprang into action, but found no survivors.
These were none other than members of the Chen Clan. Had Chen Zong been present, he would have recognized Elder Chen Liwei and Elder Chen Xing leading the group, flanked by the Chen Clan Iron Guard.
The cause of the demon beast horde's assault on the camp remained unclear. Chen Shaojie, the Hall Elder, had lost an arm and escaped with six Clan Hall disciples under the protection of the elders and Iron Guard. The elders were slain by Armored Barbarian Bulls, and all thirty Chen Clan Iron Guards ultimately sacrificed their lives.
For the Chen Clan, such a loss hadn't occurred in decades, causing them deep pain and profound grief.
"Four Clan Hall disciples are still missing," Elder Chen Liwei said. "Elder Xing, let's split into two teams and search the four areas separately."
The four missing were two Heaven Courtyard disciples and two Earth Courtyard disciples, including Chen Zong.
"Hmm," Elder Xing replied, his heart heavy.
Each Clan Hall disciple represented the future strength of the Chen Clan. Chen Zong, in particular, was one of the Wind Martial Four Young Heroes, possessing extraordinary talent. His future accomplishments might even surpass those of the elders. His death would undoubtedly be a catastrophic loss for the clan.
Moreover, Elder Xing had personally witnessed Chen Zong's growth and development, and held him in high regard.
Chen Zong carefully examined each of the six porcelain bottles.
Inside the oiled paper package were twenty Vitality Pills. Chen Zong consumed one to replenish his energy and stave off hunger.
Three of the porcelain bottles contained Beast Blood Pills—thirty in total. Another bottle held five Crimson Blood Pills. The final bottle contained a fragrant, bitter-sweet medicinal powder—a wound treatment that could disinfect, stop bleeding, and accelerate healing.
The three books were manuals for Foundation Establishment Martial Arts:
Serpent Shadow Technique!
Wind-Cleaving Palm Technique!
Lightning Flash Sword Technique!
The fist-sized black iron plate was surprisingly heavy, several times heavier than a similarly sized piece of Heavy Iron. Chen Zong didn't know what it was, but since the Snake-Man had treasured it, he figured it must be useful. He kept it safe.
There were also over a dozen medicinal herbs, ranging from Grade 2 to Grade 5.
Carrying the three manuals to the cave entrance, Chen Zong used the faint light to examine them. After skimming the Serpent Shadow Technique, he confirmed it was the same Foundation Establishment Martial Art the Snake-Man had been cultivating.
As for the Wind-Cleaving Palm Technique, Lightning Flash Sword Technique, and the porcelain bottles, they were likely spoils from the Snake-Man's battles against other martial artists—now rightfully Chen Zong's.
Out of the three Foundation Establishment Martial Arts, Chen Zong was only interested in the Lightning Flash Sword Technique. He studied it repeatedly.
This sword technique was on par with the Li Clan's renowned Clear Wind Sword Technique, yet still fell short of the True Sword Eight Forms.
"Practice?" Chen Zong muttered to himself.
"Then I'll practice it," he decided without hesitation.
Compared to his peers, Chen Zong had clearly cultivated a significantly greater number of Martial Arts. Normally, most martial artists rarely learned new Foundation Establishment Martial Arts due to time constraints. However, Chen Zong believed that mastering additional Foundation Establishment Sword Techniques might benefit him.
Through his practice of the Afterimage Willow-Sweeping, Eagle Strike, True Sword Eight Forms, and Basic Eighteen Forms, Chen Zong had already experienced clear improvements: greater mastery of the sword, increased flexibility in his techniques, and the ability to wield both soft and hard, strong and weak styles.
Each sword technique had its unique method of generating force. While many principles were shared, each technique also possessed its own distinct qualities. Chen Zong had a vague understanding of this, though the concept remained unclear.
The Lightning Flash Sword Technique consisted of seven forms. It involved using specialized techniques to vibrate the sword, producing flashes of light and thunderous sounds, emphasizing the interplay of light and sound.
The sequence began with the Hidden Thunder Stance and concluded with the Roaring Thunder Stance.
Outside, the torrential rain continued unabated. After reviewing the Lightning Flash Sword Technique several times and meditating on its principles, Chen Zong stepped into the cave's depths. Drawing his sword, he assumed the Hidden Thunder Stance.
With a cracked and injured right thumb, unsuitable for sword practice, Chen Zong switched to using his left hand.
His palm vibrated, sending tremors through the sword, producing faint, barely audible sounds, like lightning gathering strength within dark clouds.
For any Foundation Establishment martial art, the opening stance is crucial, as it sets the foundation for all subsequent moves.
He continuously adjusted his posture. As the frequency of his palm's vibrations increased, the sword's tremors quickened, and the muffled sounds grew more distinct.
He struck!
Sinking Thunder Stance!
The dull sound intensified instantly. With the second strike, it became even more powerful, resembling the rumble of thunder.
Resonating Thunder Stance!
One strike followed another, each more forceful than the last. Soon, light began to flash alongside the booming sounds, growing increasingly intense.
Finally, Roaring Thunder Stance!
The combined force of sound and light erupted into a dazzling, lethal beam.
After three repetitions, Chen Zong had mastered the basics of the Lightning Flash Sword Technique.
This learning speed was incomparably faster than before.
This breakthrough stemmed from several factors: Chen Zong's mastery of all four Foundation Establishment sword techniques reaching the Subtlety Realm; his completion of the first stage of the True Sword Heavenly Extinction Technique; and his significantly improved understanding and control of sword techniques.
After thirty repetitions, he achieved minor perfection in the Lightning Flash Sword Technique.
After a hundred repetitions, he reached great perfection.
However, the Perfection Realm beyond great perfection could not be attained through mere diligent practice alone.
However, the Foundation Establishment Sword Technique, even at the Great Mastery Realm, offered him little benefit. Even reaching the Perfection Realm only provided subtle improvements. Only by reaching the Subtlety Realm would there be a noticeable effect.
During his break, Chen Zong walked to the cave entrance to look outside.
The torrential rain continued unabated, as if the heavens and earth were about to be drowned. Fortunately, the cave entrance was high enough that water wouldn't flood in; otherwise, that would have been a major problem.
The sky was dark and oppressive, with countless layers of dark clouds coalescing, as if the very firmament was about to collapse.
Countless flashes of light danced within the clouds, like electric serpents writhing, accompanied by deep, violent thunderclaps that reverberated through the air.
As he watched, Chen Zong suddenly had an epiphany.
In an instant, he drew his sword and resumed cultivating the Lightning Flash Sword Technique. With each strike, images of the writhing electric serpents flashed through his mind, and unconsciously, his sword technique grew increasingly refined.
After an indeterminate number of repetitions, Chen Zong suddenly felt a profound change in the sword technique he was executing. A sense of perfect harmony arose spontaneously.
The Lightning Flash Sword Technique had reached the Perfection Realm!
"How fast!" Chen Zong marvelled.
Stronger foundations and the right environment had miraculously allowed him to cultivate the Lightning Flash Sword Technique to perfection in less than half a day.
Such a miracle was almost impossible to replicate.
Reaching the Subtlety Realm within the Perfection Realm—that was the true challenge.
Understanding this, Chen Zong didn't force the issue and instead began cultivating the Dividing Light Sword Technique.
His previous battle with the Snake-Man had given him some insight into Dividing Light Shadowing, and now he sought to deepen that understanding.
When he executed Dividing Light Shadowing at the Great Mastery Realm, the eight sword glares didn't appear simultaneously. Under Chen Zong's control, they materialized one by one in a random sequence.
Then, each of the eight sword glares struck out independently, not in a straight line or in any fixed order, but in a chaotic, seemingly random pattern.
As he practiced, Chen Zong suddenly froze, like a statue. All his insights into Dividing Light Shadowing surged forth in his mind, as if he had broken through some barrier.
He knew he had grasped the full essence of Dividing Light Shadowing and had broken through to the Perfection Realm.
In the Perfection Realm, Dividing Light Shadowing still involved eight sword glares, but their control became more intuitive and flexible, indirectly enhancing their power.
Having perfected Dividing Light Shadowing, another realization spontaneously emerged in Chen Zong's mind: an understanding of Dividing Light No Shadow.
"So that's how it is..." A sudden clarity washed over him, bringing a profound sense of enlightenment.
Chen Zong practiced the nine guided movements of Dividing Light No Shadow. He completed the eighth movement with remarkable fluidity, a place where he had previously always gotten stuck, unable to seamlessly transition into the ninth.
Without hesitation, he executed the ninth movement with perfect smoothness.
His understanding grew clearer.
After repeating the sequence thirty times, Chen Zong completed the nine movements and unleashed a final sword strike. Eight sword glares flashed momentarily before four vanished, merging into the remaining four, intensifying their brilliance and doubling their power.
Dividing Light No Shadow—Mastery Achieved!
In terms of offensive power, the introductory-level Dividing Light No Shadow surpassed even the Great Mastery Realm of Dividing Light Shadowing, yet it consumed twice as much Qi Blood Power.
"Even at the Mastery level, Dividing Light No Shadow is slightly more powerful than the Exploding Sword Stance," Chen Zong concluded after comparison.
After consolidating his practice and exhausting his Qi Blood Power, he used the True Sword Heavenly Extinction Technique to recover.
Having mastered the first layer of the True Sword Heavenly Extinction Technique, he could now begin cultivating the second layer.
The second layer built upon the foundation of the first but with subtle variations. These refinements immediately accelerated the speed of cultivation and Qi Blood recovery through the True Sword Heavenly Extinction Technique.
Thirty percent complete!
The Qi Blood Power was astonishingly sharp. As it circulated within him, Chen Zong felt a faint stinging sensation, as if being lightly grazed by a sword tip.
"Hmm... The True Sword Heavenly Extinction Technique itself is of a grade superior to Top-Grade Human Rank. It emphasizes refining Qi Blood into a sword-like force. The higher the cultivation level, the sharper the Qi Blood becomes, and the greater the sword's power will be." Chen Zong pondered, identifying the cause.
"My physique hasn't broken through its current limit, but its strength can still be enhanced further, allowing me to withstand the power of higher levels of the True Sword Heavenly Extinction Technique."
Chen Zong estimated that with his current level of sinew, bone, and muscle strength, he could only withstand up to the third layer of the True Sword Heavenly Extinction Technique. The fourth layer would be beyond his capacity.
"The Chen Clan's Tiger Sun Bone-Strengthening Ointment effectively strengthens bones, but how can I further enhance my tendons, veins, and muscles?"
For the moment, Chen Zong couldn't think of any solutions. Setting the matter aside, he replenished his Qi Blood Power and resumed cultivating the Wind-Treading Steps.
Through repeated life-and-death struggles, Chen Zong had frequently used the Wind-Treading Steps, relying on them to survive crises and deepen his understanding of the technique.
He practiced over and over, replenishing his Qi Blood Power whenever it was depleted.
One step, two steps...
Three steps!
The Wind-Treading Steps had finally reached the Great Mastery Realm.