Cultivation and a Self-Created Blade Technique

Opening the first page of the "Nine Heavens Thunder Blade," Qin Hao saw the word "fast" emblazoned before his eyes. He felt as though waves of blade light were rushing toward him, making his heart tremble.

As an Ultimate Secret Manual and the original creation of Thor, the world's second-strongest person, the "Nine Heavens Thunder Blade" was among the finest techniques on Earth. The single word "fast" explained the core of the entire manual.

"Of all martial arts under heaven, nothing is unbreakable; only speed cannot be defeated. Once your speed reaches the extreme, you will be invincible."

Qin Hao continuously flipped through the "Nine Heavens Thunder Blade." The Movement Technique, Guidance Technique, and Blade Technique corresponding to each level all expounded Thor's understanding of the blade. After reading through the first five levels, Qin Hao returned to the First Level and began studying it carefully. The First Level was the simplest, but it was also the most crucial. Whether one could cultivate the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade depended on how well this level was cultivated.

"Let's test this Blade Technique." After reading it over several times, Qin Hao set the manual aside, took out the battle saber resting nearby, and began practicing.

The long blade in Qin Hao's hand slashed out again and again as he continuously put the eighteen forms of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade's First Level into practice. From initial clumsiness, he quickly became proficient, and the speed of his execution steadily increased.

"It's not as difficult as I imagined." An hour later, the eighteen forms had become second nature in Qin Hao's hands. He felt that successfully cultivating the First Level was within reach.

"I have a greater advantage than Luo Feng now. My Mastery-level Blade Technique lets me grasp the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade faster and complete its cultivation sooner."

After all, when Luo Feng joined the Elite Training Camp, he had already cultivated the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade to the Second Layer or Third Level, yet his Blade Technique had not reached Mastery level.

After resting for a moment, Qin Hao continued practicing the eighteen forms of the First Level. His insights deepened with every round of practice, and the way his entire body generated force gradually changed. It felt as though power could burst through his body at any moment.

"Puff, puff!" After nearly another hour of practice, Qin Hao slashed out. Two layers of Hidden Force from the First Level of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade empowered the strike, and the battle saber accelerated twice as it sliced through the air.

"Two layers of Hidden Force at seventy percent power. It's powerful, but Earth's path isn't the right one. The Nine Heavens Thunder Blade can only serve as a reference." Qin Hao was not overly excited. The Nine Heavens Thunder Blade was top-tier on Earth, but it was unremarkable in the universe—perhaps even a mistaken path.

Now, what he needed most was accumulation and to forge his own path. Qin Hao already had some ideas about that path. One of the requirements for breaking through to Immortal was achieving one hundredfold Force Generation. Those hundredfolds represented control over power and control over oneself. Only by attaining one hundred percent control over one's body could one complete the Divine Body transformation during the breakthrough to Immortal.

"Then next, I need to continuously control my body—my skin, muscles, bones, even every single cell." Being able to think of this was also thanks to cultivating the Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens. As a top-tier God-Demon Body Refining Technique, its training in bodily control was equally top-tier.

"Brother, dinner's ready!"

"Brother, hurry up!"

Qin Ying's voice came from outside the door.

"I'm coming." Qin Hao returned the battle saber to its place and put away the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade manual before heading to the dining room. After a period of adjustment, Qin Hao's parents and Qin Ying had all adapted to their current lives. They chatted and laughed during meals, their faces filled with happy smiles.

For Qin Hao, this might have been one of the reasons he wanted to grow stronger. He had to become powerful as quickly as possible—not only because of the coming Golden Horn Beast and the Universe Genius Battle, but also because of the entire Human Race he would have to face after Earth was exposed in the future.

Only by being strong enough and talented enough could he possess enough influence to protect Earth and prevent it from being occupied by aliens.

Over the next month, Qin Hao threw himself into frenzied training. He even found excuses to delay the martial artist squad that Zhuge Tao and Wu Tong had arranged for him.

He definitely had to go to the Wilderness Zone, but sufficient strength was the key. Having just obtained the secret manual, he was in a period of explosive growth. It was not yet time for Qin Hao to use slaughter to pressure himself.

Qin Hao's improvement over that month was extremely apparent. He had completed the first three levels of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade, and his strength had surpassed 16,000 kilograms, directly reaching the Intermediate War General level.

Moreover, besides cultivating the "Nine Heavens Thunder Blade," Qin Hao began exploring a Force Generation method of his own. After a month, he recreated the slash he had used against the Four-Tailed Cat Demon during the Combat Assessment.

Unlike the stacked Hidden Force of the "Nine Heavens Thunder Blade," this strike leaned more toward the explosive release of power in Internal Martial Arts and National Martial Arts. Its twofold Force Generation already rivaled the Second Layer of the "Nine Heavens Thunder Blade." Qin Hao named this self-created Blade Technique Startling Thunder.

"Looks like I need some real combat to stimulate me." In the Training Room, Qin Hao slashed out, swiftly sheathed his blade, and stopped practicing. After a month of cultivation, his strength had improved greatly, but whether it was the Fourth Level of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade or the self-created techniques he had recorded, both required the accumulation of real combat. Otherwise, it was merely empty theory.

Having made his decision, Qin Hao did not hesitate. After informing his parents, he began organizing the things he would need to enter the Wilderness Zone. He prepared his full set of equipment, along with some medicine and supplies for the wilderness.

Early the next morning, Qin Hao left home and headed for the Wilderness Zone. He had not planned to follow a martial artist squad; he intended to travel alone. At first, he could stay around the military district like Luo Feng had, focusing on tempering himself and adapting. Once he had adjusted to the Wilderness Zone environment, he would venture deeper inside.

At a military district several hundred miles north of Jiangnan Base City, Qin Hao arrived close to noon. After resting for an afternoon in the small building assigned to him within the Martial Artist Supply Base, he put on all his equipment and entered the Wilderness Zone.

Though he had brought all his equipment, Qin Hao only had a full set of combat armor and a battle saber. Compared to other martial artist squads, he was traveling light.

Upon entering the Wilderness Zone, Qin Hao truly felt how different this world was. The desolation and savage aura of the Wilderness Zone felt completely opposite to Human Civilization.

Behind that savagery lay naked laws of survival. This was true not only for Monsters, but also for the humans who entered the Wilderness Zone. Even fellow humans had to be guarded against. In this Wilderness Zone, there was savagery, but also freedom—and the price of that freedom was the possibility of being attacked at any time.

The attack might come from a Monster, or it might come from a human. After all, in this lawless Wilderness Zone, the darkness in human nature would gradually be unleashed. Even with rules agreed upon by the various factions, battles and hunts between humans still existed in the original story.