Divine Strength Realm

Watching the cold gleam on the treasured sword, Fang Xuan drifted lightly backward, his heart filled with regret.

What a pity.

Ren Qianxing finally gained a moment to catch his breath after his frenzied assault. His mouth tasted bloody, and pain radiated from his internal organs. Although true qi had protected him from those kicks, the impacts had still shaken his insides.

Bracing his longsword against the ground, he slowly rose to his feet and glared hatefully at the masked Fang Xuan.

"Rat hiding its head and showing its tail, die."

Ren Qianxing had never been a magnanimous man, much less toward someone who had taken advantage of the situation to injure him.

True qi circulated from his dantian through his meridians. An invisible aura spread from his body, making his clothes rustle loudly. With a stomp, he leaped at Fang Xuan as lightly as a goose feather, while the sword in his hand emitted a three-inch radiance.

Fang Xuan grew solemn.

It was a trope worn to death in martial arts novels. That glow on the treasured sword was clearly sword qi, said to be able to pierce anything.

"Divide Light Slash."

In this situation, Fang Xuan naturally would not meet the attack barehanded again. The Black Ice Sword left its sheath, transforming into a streak of black, icy light as it met the blow.

Clang—

The violent impact forced both men back. They stared at each other grimly.

Ren Qianxing only felt his arm go numb, even the bones in it trembling faintly.

Fang Xuan, meanwhile, felt stabbing pain in the meridians of his arm. An invisible force raged within them, pricking him like needles.

"So this is internal force? It truly is profound."

He finally shook his blood and qi, forcibly suppressing the stabbing force in his arm's meridians.

"Ren Qianxing's martial arts are stronger than mine. He might even rival the Divine Strength Realm. This is troublesome."

As he considered this, Ren Qianxing closed in again. His body swayed like a great tree in the wind, its hundred branches shaking, while his sword faintly carried the sound of wind and thunder.

"I'll fight."

His martial arts were inferior to the other man's. Dodging would not work; he could only meet him head-on.

His advantage lay in his powerful muscles and bones and his enduring stamina. Unfortunately, Ren Qianxing possessed internal force. Though his physique was inferior to Fang Xuan's, his killing power was exceptionally high.

Having silently decided on a strategy, Fang Xuan's thigh muscles trembled. Using the White Crane in the Clouds technique from the Pine Crane Longevity Fist, he floated dozens of steps in an instant while unleashing Divide Shadow Three Strikes with his sword.

This was a supreme art taught in the Myriad Phenomena Garden. It could strike out three swords in an instant, every one of them real. Reality hid within illusion, and illusion hid within reality, leaving opponents impossible to guard against.

Only martial artists at the fourth level of the physical body, the Suppleness Realm, could use this sword move. It could be hard or soft, shifting freely in battle.

Clang—

The two swords collided, and Fang Xuan felt a hidden force slam down viciously. The bones in his wrist seemed struck by lightning, immediately turning sore and numb.

Ren Qianxing was also forced back two steps by Fang Xuan's strength. Strange light flashed in his eyes as he saw that his opponent's muscles and bones seemed extraordinarily tough.

He shook his wrist twice, circulated his internal force, and the throbbing pain vanished. Without a second thought, he stabbed at Fang Xuan again.

"Fallen Starfall."

The longsword rose like a comet striking the moon, a white rainbow shooting toward Fang Xuan.

"Immortal Crane Shakes Feathers."

"Divide Shadow Three Strikes."

Ren Qianxing sneered. He had already seen this sword technique, so he naturally knew how to break it.

His sword light slipped through the opening and stabbed toward Fang Xuan's cheek. If it struck, his Six Yang Heads would be pierced through, and he would die a miserable death.

At the critical moment, Fang Xuan twisted his body. Even so, the sword light still sliced away the veil over his face.

The instant Ren Qianxing saw Fang Xuan's face, his heart jolted. His eyes filled with disbelief, as if he had witnessed something terrifying.

"Now, kill—"

He leaped dozens of steps forward. The Black Ice Sword became a streak of cold light, and with a spray of blood, Ren Qianxing clutched his throat and collapsed to the ground.

Ren Qianxing stared fixedly at Fang Xuan's face and said with difficulty, "So... that's it. So... that's it. Transcending... All Heavens. Hahaha... hahaha."

At the final moment before death, Ren Qianxing understood Fang Xuan's identity and knew everything.

Fang Xuan sheathed his sword and stood there. Looking at Ren Qianxing's face, identical to his own, he felt strangely unsettled. "Sorry," he said in a low voice.

As his life ebbed away, Ren Qianxing's eyelids grew heavier and heavier. He struggled to stretch out an arm toward Fang Xuan, clawing at empty air before it fell. His eyes were filled with unwillingness.

With Ren Qianxing's death, an invisible force flew from his corpse and entered Fang Xuan's body.

As the energy entered him, Fang Xuan felt his body grow heavier. His blood and qi surged and circulated on their own, becoming denser and more solid. His muscles and bones itched and tingled, as though they were about to develop once more.

As if guided by some unseen force, Fang Xuan tossed the Black Ice Sword aside in the open ground and began practicing the Pine Crane Longevity Fist.

Crane Claw Imprints Sand.

White Crane Spreads Wings.

White Crane in the Clouds.

Immortal Crane Shakes Feathers.

Snake Crane Conflict.

As he performed the Pine Crane Longevity Fist, the force within his body surged and crashed, his blood and qi roiled, and rolling thunder erupted from his muscles and bones.

The strength in his body continued to rise.

Five hundred jin.

Seven hundred jin.

Nine hundred jin.

One thousand jin.

Two thousand jin.

Three thousand jin.

Five thousand jin.

At that moment, the beating of Fang Xuan's heart slowed, more than twice as slow as before. Yet it became far stronger, every beat solid and powerful like an earthquake.

Fang Xuan abruptly opened his eyes, his gaze overflowing with ecstasy.

"Hahaha, the Divine Strength Realm is complete."

Feeling the changes throughout his body, Fang Xuan was filled with wild joy. He knew he had entered the fifth level of the Physical Body Secret Realm, the Divine Strength Realm.

The most distinctive traits of this realm were abundant, enduring blood and qi, powerful muscles and bones, and vastly increased strength.

With a casual movement of his entire body, he could unleash sharp, ferocious force at incredible speed.

His strength was like a galloping horse, his agility like an ape.

This horse was no ordinary horse, but the Profound Yellow Steed of the Great Xuan Empire, the foremost empire of the Profound Yellow Great World.

Profound Yellow Steeds were huge and powerfully built. Clad in armor, they could smash through city walls at full charge. Throughout the Profound Yellow Great World, the Profound Yellow Steed of the Great Xuan Empire was used as a unit of measurement.

If a person could hold back a Profound Yellow Steed charging at full force and prevent it from moving, that represented One Horse Strength.

Above One Horse Strength was the strength of one dragon, and the conversion ratio between the two was one hundred million.

In other words, one hundred million Profound Yellow Steed Strength equaled the strength of one dragon. The very thought of that conversion was terrifying.

It was frightening just to imagine.

Ignoring the immense power that awaited him in the future, Fang Xuan was rejoicing over his own transformation.

Strength like a galloping horse was universally acknowledged among cultivators of the Profound Yellow Great World as the hallmark of the Divine Strength Realm. Even those with extraordinary talent could only exceed it by a limited amount unless they possessed special bloodlines. Yet Fang Xuan had just entered the Divine Strength Realm and already possessed the strength of five horses. It was truly shocking.

The depth of his foundation was unmatched.

And that was the benefit of killing his duplicate.

Doubling the strength of a mouse and doubling the strength of an elephant were fundamentally incomparable.

That was what foundation meant.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

The sounds of air tearing rang out as Ren Qianxing's subordinates finally arrived.

However, when they saw Ren Qianxing's corpse lying on the ground, their expressions changed dramatically.

"Is that... the hall master?"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible."

"The hall master's martial arts were so powerful. How could he be dead?"

"Why does he look exactly like the hall master?"

"Kill him! Avenge the hall master!"