In the mountain forest.
Inside a hidden, ruined temple.
Lu Chen sat cross-legged there, opened his panel, and checked it.
Name: Lu Chen Cultivation: Fifth Rank (14%) Cultivation Art: Azure Wave Art (Mastery), Righteous Heaven Art (Beginner) Martial Arts: Four Absolute Skills (Mastery), Grass Treading Flight (Mastery), Layered Wave Saber Technique (Mastery · Lone Boat Moon Slash), Blood Shadow Sword (Mastery · Blood Fury), Blood Fury Art (Mastery · Onefold Combat Strength), Cyclone Blade (Rudimentary), Severing Sky Finger (Beginner), Big Dipper Constellation Formation (Beginner) Talents: Might Makes Right, Iron Skin, Thunderbolt King Merit Points: 1244
"Merit Points, add points to the Cyclone Blade and Severing Sky Finger."
Lu Chen silently recited in his heart.
You have consumed 120 Merit Points. Cyclone Blade has been raised to Mastery. Derived secret technique: Cyclone Severing Breath Slash! You have consumed 140 Merit Points. Severing Sky Finger has been raised to Mastery. Derived secret technique: Severing Sky Claw!
Two lines of text emerged.
Whoosh!
Lu Chen once again felt countless streams of information flood his mind.
It was as though he had cultivated for more than a decade in an instant, all kinds of insights rapidly surfacing.
Even the power within his body rose once more.
His muscles swelled, veins bulging.
His cultivation rose from Fifth Rank (14%) to Fifth Rank (41%).
"Unfortunately, I still couldn't break through. I still need a higher-grade cultivation art. Without one, no matter how strong the martial arts I'm given, their power will ultimately be limited."
Lu Chen inwardly sighed.
The further one progressed, the more this held true.
In the early stages, perhaps one could manage without relying on a cultivation art.
But later on, the importance of a cultivation art became irreplaceable.
"I've heard there is a Wind Listening Pavilion in