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As dawn broke, the morning light pierced the mist of the West Mountain Branch, casting a pale gold hue on the scorched canyon entrance.

Lin Feng's figure slowly emerged from the dim forest. His dark combat suit was stained with night dew and a few dried purple bloodstains, but his back was straight, his eyes sharp like a quenched blade, and a subtle, heart-stopping, contained aura of thunder flowed around him.

After a night of fighting for survival in the Secret Realm, he had narrowly escaped death and reaped immense rewards.

He found a secluded mountain stream, scooped up the icy spring water to wash away the fatigue and dirt from his face, then sat down cross-legged. His consciousness sank into his body, carefully sensing the changes after his breakthrough.

With a thought, the Thunder Foundation Establishment Chapter began to circulate naturally. The thin Spiritual Energy in the surroundings, especially the free-roaming Lightning Attribute particles, were drawn by an invisible force field and joyfully surged into his limbs and bones. They were rapidly refined into pure, condensed, purple True Qi with a slight numbing sensation, which then flowed into his Dantian sea of Qi. The efficiency was many times faster than when he had cultivated the Basic Body Tempering Technique: Body Tempering Chapter before!

He slowly clenched his right fist, without using any martial skills, just pure True Qi infusion. The air around his fist slightly distorted, emitting a faint crackling sound, as if invisible sparks were leaping.

"Strength, close to nine hundred kilograms... Speed has also greatly increased." A satisfied smile touched Lin Feng's lips. Mid-stage Martial Artist, this was a qualitative leap. More importantly, his mastery of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade had reached fifty percent, and the bottleneck had loosened, meaning he had found a direction to continue progressing.

He opened the tactical backpack he carried and took stock of his gains from this Secret Realm expedition.

Three first-order high-grade Thunder Lizard cores, brimming with energy, their purple light flowing.

One first-order peak Thunder Lizard Leader core, larger in size, with what seemed like liquid thunder surging within, its energy fluctuations far exceeding the former.

And, most precious of all—the "Thunder Fluorite Grass" sealed in a jade box, and the drop on its leaf tip, the "Source Thunder Dew," which had condensed into a perfect purple diamond. Even through the jade box, he could feel the immense and pure Source Thunder power it contained.

"These resources are enough for me to completely stabilize my realm at the mid-stage Martial Artist, and even push towards the late stage. They will also support the System in a few critical deductions," Lin Feng calculated in his mind. Especially that drop of Source Thunder Dew, it was an excellent treasure for breaking through bottlenecks and refining True Intent at a critical moment.

He turned his gaze to the Thunder Lizard Leader core with the most surging energy.

"System, absorb the energy of this core and attempt to deduce the subsequent direction of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade (Initial Chapter)!"

[Command received. Beginning to absorb first-order peak Lightning Attribute core energy...]

[Energy infusion... Analyzing cultivation bottleneck... Deducing subsequent possibilities...]

[Deduction progress: 1%... 5%... 15%...]

The core in his hand visibly dimmed at a rapid pace, eventually turning to dust. A massive amount of pure thunder energy was extracted by the System to impact that invisible barrier.

[Deduction complete!]

[Based on the existing initial chapter and the host's comprehension, the core circulation method for the second level of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade has been deduced (incomplete).]

[Estimated effects of the second level: True Qi burst power increased by 80%, True Meaning of Thunder condensation speed increased by 50%, capable of initially projecting Thunder True Qi to form a brief shockwave (Thunder Gang).]

[Warning: The second level method places immense strain on the physical body and meridians. The host needs to complete the details and cultivate with caution.]

A more complex and profound circulation diagram and True Qi flow route surged into Lin Feng's mind. Although still incomplete and requiring him to explore and fill in the gaps himself, it undoubtedly opened a new door for him! Projecting True Qi to form Thunder Gang? This was a realm that even Martial Masters could only initially touch!

"Excellent!" Lin Feng felt exhilarated. Once this second level was mastered, his combat ability would undergo a seismic shift!

He suppressed the urge to try cultivating immediately and carefully put everything away. This was not a place to linger; the closing of the Secret Realm might attract other interested parties.

He stood up, his gaze sweeping over the canyon entrance, where the land had returned to calm, leaving only a few scorch marks. Then, he turned and headed in the direction of Jiangnan City, accelerating.

Alternating between "Galloping Thunder Steps" and "Lightning Flash," his figure became a blurry afterimage among the mountains and forests, moving at a speed far exceeding his arrival!

He was eager to return.

He needed to get back to Jiangnan City as quickly as possible, digest his gains, and exchange the Thunder Fluorite Grass and some cores for much-needed resources, making final preparations for the upcoming Jiangnan Province Martial Arts Examination.

However, just as he swept out of the West Mountain Branch and stepped onto the road back to the city, a faint, cold, snake-like sense of being watched suddenly came from behind!

Lin Feng's footsteps didn't falter, but his eyes instantly turned as cold as frost.

"Finally... can't hold back anymore?"

He didn't look back, but his Spiritual Power spread out like an invisible spiderweb, clearly capturing a figure hundreds of meters behind him, who moved like a ghost and had perfectly concealed his aura.

It was the sinister middle-aged man he had met once at the Secret Realm entrance!

It seemed his gains in the Secret Realm had been noticed by the other party. Or rather, the other party had been aiming for murder and robbery from the very beginning.

A cold, sharp smile curved Lin Feng's lips.

Thinking I'm a fat sheep?

Then let's see who the real hunter is!

He didn't accelerate to escape or turn to fight immediately. Instead, he maintained a steady speed towards the city, as if completely unaware of the tracking behind him.

However, the Thunder True Qi within him had already begun to circulate at an accelerated pace, and a faint, almost imperceptible dark purple electric glow flashed and vanished on his fist.