Chapter 189 112: Wind and Thunder Slash, Perfection
Penglai Sect.
He had seen that name in the Martial Arts Storage Tower. It was one of the Three Sects and Six Gates, the true rulers of the Seventy-Two Islands Overseas.
A Martial Dao Holy Land, detached from the mortal world.
A fervent fire lit up in Shen Jun's eyes. "The Penglai Sect is a colossus that towers over the Four Islands Alliance. Their Sect is said to be located on a Floating Immortal Island, and the lowest cultivation of their disciples is the True Gang Realm. If you can enter their ranks, it would be like a fish leaping over the dragon gate—you would truly embark on the Heaven-Reaching Martial Dao!"
The room fell silent.
Liang Cheng could hear his own heart pounding.
The Four Islands Alliance, the Martial Dao Headquarters, the Penglai Sect...
He slowly raised his head and said solemnly, "I understand."
Bai Hong and Shen Jun glanced at each other, both seeing the relief and gratification in the other's eyes.
The path they couldn't walk, the dreams they couldn't realize—perhaps in this young man, they saw a glimmer of hope.
"For the time being, just focus on preparing for battle."
Bai Hong said in a deep voice, "The Martial Arts Academy will provide all the cultivation resources you need. You don't have to worry about a thing. Just give it your all."
"Yes. I will do my utmost."
...
Liang Cheng's Back Mountain Alchemy Room.
Inside the Alchemy Room, Elder Huang was processing herbs without so much as raising his head. Even though Liang Cheng had now advanced to the True Essence Realm, he still couldn't fathom the depths of Elder Huang's power.
He got straight to the point. "Elder Huang, what kind of elixir is best to take after advancing to the True Essence Realm?"
Upon hearing this, Elder Huang's figure flickered. Before Liang Cheng could react, his wrist was already in the elder's grip.
"Well now, boy, you broke through to the True Essence Realm this quickly."
"A twenty-year-old at the True Essence Realm, tsk tsk..."
Elder Huang shook his head, then took a cyan jade bottle from a wooden shelf. "True Essence Pills. The best supplementary elixir for cultivation in the True Essence Realm. It's named after the realm itself, so you can imagine its effects."
Liang Cheng's eyes lit up. "Elder Huang, how many Contribution Points?"
"Thirty thousand."
Elder Huang grinned. "Don't think it's expensive. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to cultivate in the True Essence Realm? That kid Bai Hong has been at the True Essence Realm for years and still can't even touch the threshold of the True Gang Realm."
Liang Cheng pondered for a moment, then took out his Identity Jade Token. "One hundred and fifty thousand points. I'll take five bottles."
"Attaboy!"
Elder Huang transferred the Contribution Points and handed him the five bottles of elixirs. He then suddenly lowered his voice. "Boy, Bai Hong and the others told you about the Three-City Grand Competition. That's why you're in such a hurry, enough to show your hand to me, right?"
Liang Cheng chuckled sheepishly.
"You little rascal. Did they tell you about the competition's rules?"
"Only that the winner is decided on the tournament stage."
"Decided?"
Elder Huang scoffed. "The Three-City Grand Competition is a feeding frenzy between the three cities. On that stage, as long as you don't surrender or leave, whether you're beaten to death or crippled is up to fate."
"Rock Solid City likes to break bones and tear tendons. Cyan Mist City aims exclusively for vitals. Why? Because only when you've beaten them into submission will others not dare to snatch what's yours!"
He stared at Liang Cheng, his gaze sharp. "Lin Wu City has lost for thirty years. Bai Hong and Shen Jun have been suppressing their anger for thirty years."
"They don't need a gentle, kind, and courteous champion. They need a killer who can strike terror into the hearts of others. When you get on that stage, if you get the chance, you go for the kill. As long as you're in the right, the two of them will be cheering you on inwardly."
Liang Cheng was silent for a moment, his expression growing calm. "I know what to do."
"If you know, then scram. Don't stand here being an eyesore."
Elder Huang waved his hand impatiently.
Liang Cheng bowed deeply, then turned and left the Alchemy Room.
...
Upon returning to True Inheritance Peak, Liang Cheng immediately went into seclusion.
When a True Essence Pill entered his stomach, he found it was just as Elder Huang had said. The medicinal power wasn't violent, but like a deep ocean undercurrent—heavy, thick, and enduring.
Guided by his True Essence, the medicinal power slowly spread, seeping into every one of his meridians and nourishing the nascent True Essence light groups.
With every full circulation, his True Essence grew a fraction more solid, and its total volume faintly increased.
The nine True Essence light groups shimmered brilliantly.
「Two months passed in the blink of an eye.」
On the summit of True Inheritance Peak, Liang Cheng stood with his fists lowered. The faint blue True Essence surrounding him slowly receded into his body, and the faint sound of tides in the air subsided with it.
He clenched his fists, feeling the nine pigeon-egg-sized True Essence light groups within him, which were now as dense as mercury. He felt an unprecedented surge of power.
His body, at the Golden Armor Realm Perfection, had been nourished day and night by his True Essence. It now faintly glowed with a warm, jade-like, dark gold luster and felt indestructible.
[Third Layer of Broken Wave Technique: Beginner Level (1147/5000)]
[Profound Yin Sword Technique: Great Success (9635/12000)]
[Wind and Thunder Slash: Great Success (11952/12000)]
In his two months of seclusion, he had not only stabilized his cultivation at the True Essence Realm Early Stage, but the True Essence in his dantian had also grown increasingly dense and pure. However, the most crucial breakthrough was in his combat technique, Wind and Thunder Slash.
Liang Cheng's gaze fell to the saber at his waist.
The Zhenxian Saber seemed to sense its master's intent and let out a faint hum.
His figure moved.
SHIIING—!
The instant the blade flashed from its sheath, the airflow on the summit became chaotic. He hadn't used any True Essence, relying solely on his physical strength and his mastery of the saber technique.
Liang Cheng stood holding the saber. With a turn of his wrist, the Zhenxian Saber carved a profound arc through the air.
It was extremely slow at first. Wherever the blade passed, the air seemed to be pulled by an invisible hand, and a faint whistling of the wind could be heard.
Then it grew faster and faster, the flashes of the blade becoming as dense as a net. The whistling wind turned into a low roar, like muffled thunder hidden within the clouds.
Suddenly—
The Saber Momentum changed drastically!
"The swiftness of wind, the fury of thunder!"
A sharp glint flashed in Liang Cheng's eyes as the True Essence in his body spontaneously surged, pouring into the saber's blade.
A faint blue luster flowed over the Zhenxian Saber, and the sound of wind and thunder exploded forth!
Thunder within the wind, thunder hidden by the wind!
Flashes of the saber swept out, churning up all the air within a thirty-foot radius. Infused with True Essence, it transformed into a visible, pale cyan vortex.
At the center of the vortex, every slash of the blade created a piercing crack—the sound of thunder born from extreme wind pressure!
"Slash!"
Liang Cheng let out a low shout, and his Saber Momentum abruptly converged into one.
A pale cyan Saber Qi, so condensed it was almost solid, shot from the blade. It flew thirty feet through the air and struck a massive black rock on the summit.