Ascension Day

The Sword Qi grazed past him, struck the ground, and sliced across it into a massive Bronze Pillar.

The Bronze Pillar let out a loud CLANG. The sword technique grew stronger as it met resistance, and the power of the Sword Qi surged explosively. The pillar emitted another deafening CLANG, its resonance lingering in the air!

Xu Ying's sword strike missed, and he felt a chill. Placing one foot forward and the other back, he crouched and executed the Dragon and Python Dual Form technique from the Dragon and Snake Awakening Skill.

Suddenly, on a strange impulse, he thought of the third character of the Taiyin Yuan Yu Skill, "Yuan." A grand and resonant Dao Sound immediately echoed in his mind. The Primordial Qi in his body split into two paths, Yin and Yang, undergoing Water and Fire Inter-refining as he unleashed the Dragon and Python Dual Form technique!

"GRAAAWR—"

Xu Ying thrust his hands forward. His Pure Yang Yuan Qi transformed into a Divine Dragon, and his Pure Yin Yuan Qi became a Ba Snake. The Divine Dragon soared and roared with fury as the Ba Snake coiled and writhed, and together they surged forward like a tidal wave, bearing down on the white-haired youth to crush him!

The white-haired youth was none other than the Zhou Family's Sixth Young Master, Zhou Youyou, who had been contemplating the Tuo Yu Immortal Book in this great hall. Due to his extraordinary talent, he had been held in high regard since childhood and was allowed to study the Tuo Yu Immortal Book.

However, the Tuo Yu Immortal Book was so incredibly obscure and difficult to understand that his hair had turned white in his youth.

Still, his talent was indeed exceptionally high. Breaking Xu Ying's Breaking Realm Sword just now had only been a small taste of his abilities.

However, this attack from Xu Ying—a supremely hard and ferocious Dragon and Snake Unification—had its power instantly increased six or sevenfold. The successive waves of sound from the blow were so strong they even rippled the skin on his face!

Zhou Youyou protected the Zhou Family disciple behind him but was unable to stand his ground against Xu Ying's ferocious assault. He slid backward involuntarily, and seeing the Abnormal Phenomenon of the dragon and snake pouncing toward him, he hurriedly shouted, "A spar! This is a spar, not a grudge match!"

He did everything in his power to block the attack, and just as despair began to set in, the momentum of the Dragon and Snake Dual Form technique suddenly vanished.

Zhou Youyou was bewildered. He saw Xu Ying stagger backward, his face flushed red as if he were drunk.

"Your Cultivation is profound, Young Master, and your Divine Power is astonishing."

Xu Ying retreated several steps before finally steadying himself. He calmed his breathing and said, "It is my honor to spar with you. How about we call today's battle a draw?"

Zhou Youyou was stunned. His hands still trembling, he quickly said, "I'm no match for you..."

Xu Ying smiled. "Then it's a draw. I am Xu Ying. May I have your name?"

"Zhou Youyou." Zhou Youyou's face was a mask of confusion.

Xu Ying's expression turned respectful. "Brother Youyou, to have such skill at such a young age is truly admirable. May I ask your age?"

Zhou Youyou, still in a daze, muttered, "I'm sixteen..."

Xu Ying said, "So young and promising. I'm fourteen."

Zhou Youyou fell silent and said no more.

Yuan Qi quietly raised its tail toward Xu Ying and praised him in a low voice, "Ying, you finally know how to act properly. It seems your time in Qinyan Cave wasn't wasted. You've read a lot of books and become so polite. Don't tell me you read the *Comprehensive Examination of the Five Rites*?"

Xu Ying said cheerfully, "You noticed? It's that thickest book. I read it every day before bed. Helps me sleep very soundly."

They had just fought a battle that could shake the heavens, yet the thirteen Zhou Clan Elders in the center of the hall hadn't woken up. They remained completely focused on contemplating the Jade Scroll Daoist Scripture, which was truly admirable.

As for the other Zhou Family disciples, although they were eager to make a move, Xu Ying's final Dual Form technique had been truly terrifying. They couldn't gauge the depths of his power, so for the moment, none dared to step forward.

Yuan Weiyang's gaze remained fixed on Xu Ying. Suddenly, she said to the cyan-robed old servant beside her, "The Xu Demon King has obtained the true transmission."

"What?" Uncle Xiao asked, as if he hadn't heard clearly.

Yuan Weiyang said, "He has obtained the true transmission. The contents of the Tuo Yu Immortal Book are a forgery, not the real thing. Or perhaps it's only half of the true transmission."

Uncle Xiao still didn't understand. "Weiyang, what are you trying to say?" he asked.

A trace of disappointment flickered in Yuan Weiyang's eyes. She said nothing more and walked straight toward the Jade Scroll Daoist Scripture, muttering to herself, "When he executed that Dragon and Snake Joint Attack, a Martial Arts Technique, his own Primordial Qi wasn't that dense. But when he struck, there was an added Yin Yang Transformation, which caused a massive increase in the technique's power. That move secretly aligned with the Path of Taiyin described in the Tuo Yu Immortal Book, but it also had the transformation of Yang. It's clear the Tuo Yu Immortal Book is either an incomplete fragment or a forgery..."

She arrived before the Jade Scroll Daoist Scripture and examined the Jade Bamboo Scroll. 'How,' she wondered, 'did he obtain the true transmission from these eight characters?'

She sat down quietly, racking her brilliant mind as she contemplated the eight bird-and-worm seal script characters on the Jade Scroll Daoist Scripture. Yet, after a long time, she had gained nothing.

Suddenly, a flash of Spiritual Light went through Yuan Weiyang's mind as she recalled the strange movements Xu Ying had made in front of the Jade Scroll Daoist Scripture. 'Could that be the reason?' she thought.

She immediately decided to copy him, performing the same movements in front of the Jade Scroll Daoist Scripture.

The eight strange movements Xu Ying had made were not complicated. She had observed his actions carefully, so they were not difficult for her to learn.

The Cyan-robed Brave Uncle stared, dumbfounded. He heard a Zhou Family disciple mutter from the side, "Great, another one's gone mad!" It was unclear who the disciple was referring to.

Yuan Weiyang tried for a long time, perfectly mimicking Xu Ying's eight movements, but she still gained nothing. 'There must be a Heart Method as well,' she thought.

She looked for Xu Ying, only to find that he and Yuan Qi were no longer in the great hall.

She walked out of the great hall and saw that Xu Ying and Yuan Qi had, at some point, climbed onto the roof. One was performing the strange movements, while the other was coiled up. The man and the snake were breathing in and out, each breath like the pulling of a giant bellows, causing furious winds to howl.

Only in the interval between their breaths did the wind die down and the air grow still.

This method of Cultivation didn't look human in the slightest; it was the very picture of a demon's practice.

Yuan Weiyang leaped onto the roof and asked quizzically, "Aren't you two going to contemplate the Immortal Book?"

Without stopping his movements, Xu Ying continued to slowly cultivate the Taiyin Yuan Yu Skill. "I've already learned it," he said languidly, "so I'm not going back."