A Small Test of Skill

"Hah!"

From the back mountain of the Lingxiao Sect, shouts of exertion could be heard. A figure was seen wielding his palms, continuously striking a giant rock.

Bang!

As his palms moved, palm strikes whistled through the air, heavily impacting the rock and leaving deep imprints on its surface.

Lu Changsheng practiced his martial arts day and night, foregoing sleep and food. Through such diligent training, he quickly made significant progress.

In just half a month, he had finally mastered the three martial arts!

"Raging Waves Palm!"

Lu Changsheng shouted suddenly, his palms rapidly gathering spiritual energy, condensing a powerful hidden force in his palm. When the hidden force reached its peak, he struck forward with a palm!

Boom!

As the palm strike was unleashed, the powerful palm energy, like surging waves, caused the air to ripple layer by layer, forming rings of distortion. It fiercely collided with a massive rock in front of him.

With a bang, the hard, giant rock instantly shattered into dust!

"Finally, success..."

Seeing the pulverized rock, Lu Changsheng couldn't help but curve his lips. He then slowly retracted his palms. However, his palms were now covered in thick blisters, a testament to his efforts during this period.

Still, his arduous training had paid off. He had finally achieved a preliminary mastery of the three martial arts!

"It's truly strange. Among these three martial arts, Wind Thunder Fist has the highest grade, yet why does its power seem somewhat lacking?"

Lu Changsheng frowned.

His expression was puzzled. Wind Thunder Fist was a Yellow-grade, fifth-rank martial art, and by all rights, it should have been the most powerful. However, after practicing all three martial arts, Lu Changsheng was surprised to find that the power of Wind Thunder Fist seemed somewhat deficient.

In fact, the power of Wind Thunder Fist was even inferior to Raging Waves Palm, a Yellow-grade, third-rank martial art. He couldn't fathom the reason, wondering why Wind Thunder Fist seemed to be missing something.

Of course, Lu Changsheng had only achieved preliminary mastery of the three martial arts; he was still far from perfect proficiency.

For instance, Raging Waves Palm could continuously stack palm energy, making its power like ceaseless waves, one wave building upon another, multiplying its might.

As for Lu Changsheng, he was currently unable to execute palm energy stacking to form a continuous, powerful offensive.

"Although I've only preliminarily mastered these three martial arts, my combat strength has increased by more than ten percent. Next, I should test them in actual combat to see their true power."

Lu Changsheng muttered to himself.

Actual combat was the true standard for testing one's strength, so Lu Changsheng decided to use it to further evaluate his achievements.

And finding an opportunity for actual combat was simple enough. The back mountain of the Lingxiao Sect had a dense forest, teeming with demonic beasts. Thus, he could engage in combat with these beasts.

Only through fighting could one improve their practical combat experience.

With this thought, Lu Changsheng moved like a gibbon, leaping into the dense forest with a whoosh, beginning to search for demonic beasts to fight.

The dense forest exuded a primal aura, and naturally, there were many demonic beasts within such woods.

"Movement!"

Soon, Lu Changsheng spotted his first target, his sharp gaze fixed on the depths of the forest ahead.

Whoosh!

Lu Changsheng leaped, springing from a tree. His figure moved like an afterimage through the trees.

Roar!

Before long, a low growl echoed from the front.

Lu Changsheng landed on a treetop, his gaze sweeping towards a spot not far away. He saw a ferocious beast.

"Spirit Rock Leopard."

On a rock, a grayish-brown leopard was crouched. It had a slender yet sturdy build, its body covered in mottled patterns. Its pair of crimson eyes exuded a fierce aura.

However, upon seeing this Spirit Rock Leopard, Lu Changsheng felt a bit disappointed.

This Spirit Rock Leopard's strength was merely at the second level of the Core Condensation Realm.

Roar!

Swish—

The Spirit Rock Leopard roared and shot forward like an arrow. It bared its ferocious fangs and extended its incredibly sharp claws, lunging towards Lu Changsheng.

"Wind Thunder Fist!"

Lu Changsheng didn't dodge. Instead, he directly unleashed his trump card.

Chit!

On his fist, faint lightning seemed to crackle.

Bang!

His lightning-infused fist directly smashed into the Spirit Rock Leopard's head. The force contained within this punch pierced through the leopard's skull, and blood spurted out like a fountain.

"Pathetic!"

Lu Changsheng shook his head.

He instantly killed this second-level Core Condensation Realm Spirit Rock Leopard with a single move.

Lu Changsheng pondered for a moment, then approached the Spirit Rock Leopard's corpse. He immediately reached into its body and pulled out a grayish-brown demon core.

This demon core was a treasure. It could be used to aid cultivation, assist in alchemy, and could also be sold for a considerable price.

Lu Changsheng grinned and then put the demon core into his pouch.

"This Spirit Rock Leopard is too weak. I hope I encounter a slightly stronger demonic beast later; it'll be perfect to use as a whetstone for my skills."

Lu Changsheng said with anticipation.

With that, he continued to walk deeper into the dense forest.

Along the way, he hunted several more demonic beasts, but unfortunately, their strength was all too ordinary. Lu Changsheng killed almost all of them with a single move.

Unknowingly, Lu Changsheng had entered the deeper parts of the dense forest.

His expression also turned vigilant. In this primeval forest, he sensed some fierce auras, clearly belonging to powerful demonic beasts.

"Help!"

Just then, a cry for help suddenly came from not far away.

Hearing the cry for help, Lu Changsheng quickly darted towards the sound.

In a short while, he entered a secluded valley.

Boom, boom, boom!

As soon as he entered the valley, bursts of loud noises erupted. Lu Changsheng focused his gaze and saw a giant beast, like an ironclad behemoth, fiercely attacking a young woman in white.

"Azure Armored Demonic Scorpion!"

Lu Changsheng was startled.

The Azure Armored Demonic Scorpion was exceptionally large. Its entire body was covered in emerald green armor, making it appear indestructible. Its two massive pincers continuously swung towards the woman in white, and its tail stinger also launched sneak attacks from time to time.

This Azure Armored Demonic Scorpion's strength had at least reached the fourth level of the Core Condensation Realm!

The young woman in white was clearly no match for the Azure Armored Demonic Scorpion. Under its attacks, she appeared to be in a precarious situation.

"Miss Cheng Xue..."

Lu Changsheng took a look and recognized the identity of the young woman in white.

Cheng Xue was known among the Outer Disciples as the most beautiful Outer Disciple and the object of affection for countless disciples. Lu Changsheng had only seen Cheng Xue from afar once, but he had deeply remembered her.

However, back then, he was merely a menial disciple and wouldn't dare to harbor any fantasies about Cheng Xue. He never expected to encounter Cheng Xue here in the back mountain dense forest, and she was clearly in mortal danger