Saint Realm, Saint Realm!

Maki's one eye had turned into a panda eye again.

Count Lewis and Baron Chris hit it off immediately. After a friendly discussion and consulting the parties involved, they agreed to hold the wedding for Jie Ning and Arannis next year's War God Festival, with the venue set in Tieling Town.

Count Lewis stayed in Tieling Town for a week.

During this time, Jie Ning cut back on his training to accompany Aslannie on tours around Tieling Town, and their relationship steadily warmed.

Until a week passed and the Lewis family departed.

Arannis reluctantly bid Jie Ning farewell and left, and Jie Ning's life returned to its original rhythm.

Two months after Arannis left, Tieling Town saw its first snowfall of the year.

"Hoo~" Jie Ning was still dressed only in a thin training suit.

Standing in the courtyard, Jie Ning finished a set of Tai Chi—ward off, roll back, press, push, pluck, split, elbow, shoulder—and the core of every part of his body began to warm slightly.

"The practice method of Tai Chi is truly the best choice for nurturing the body." Jie Ning felt a sense of exhilaration throughout his body. "No matter the martial art, the core essence lies in strengthening the body and health."

"With a sharp blade in the chest, the urge to kill arises on its own. Once the body is strong and healthy, a certain energy naturally rises in the heart. If one doesn't cultivate the mind and calm the nature, it easily degenerates into a vicious energy."

"Of course, this energy itself is harmless; as long as one follows their true heart, anything is permissible."

"In my past life, when I first started learning martial arts, I didn't pay much attention to this either. I accumulated a great deal of vicious energy, and in the end, it was that very energy that propelled me to the Grandmaster realm."

"But later, as I grew older and experienced more, I gradually let go of some things."

"To attain emotion and then forget it, as if reaching the state of supreme forgetfulness—not being emotionless, but rather this emotion being so true and pure, unchanging through a hundred generations, seeming emotionless yet like water, nearly approaching the Dao."

"The body is a Bodhi tree, the mind like a clear mirror stand. Always diligently wipe it, lest it gather dust. This is a principle shared by Dao and Buddha."

"Speaking of which, since I don't want to nurture this vicious energy now, Tai Chi is naturally the most suitable for my daily practice. Practicing the form is calming the mind."

"However, I originally thought Internal Family Boxing had no room for improvement for me now, but I didn't expect an unexpected gain."

Jie Ning waved his hand, and a ball of Battle Qi appeared in his palm. "I never noticed before, but when I practice the form while simultaneously circulating Battle Qi, there's this kind of gain."

He could clearly feel a portion of the Battle Qi's energy merging into his body, while his physical strength was slowly increasing.

"I should have thought of this earlier. The power of this world inherently has an excellent strengthening effect on the body, from the highest Primordial Qi to ordinary natural elements."

"Even mages, without specifically training their bodies, can possess decent physical fitness under the nourishment of magical power."

"And the energy levels one can access at different stages are different, and the effects are different too."

"Now that my realm meets the requirements of the Saint Domain, in fact, after I reached Level Nine, the Battle Qi within me began to gradually transform."

"Previously, the energy at that level had indeed reached a limit for enhancing my physical strength, but now the transformed Battle Qi can strengthen my body again."

"Theoretically, as long as a Saint Domain mage lives long enough, the energy within their body will passively strengthen their body step by step, until the body's enhancement reaches the absorption limit."

"But this would be an extremely long process."

"On the other hand, many God-level experts do this, using their divine power to actively strengthen their Sanctuary Main Body."

"And when I practice Internal Family Boxing, the surging of blood and energy throughout my body instinctively and actively devours Battle Qi to strengthen itself."

"Once my body becomes stronger, the speed of cultivating Battle Qi will increase a bit. Perhaps my time to become a Saint Domain will be even sooner."

"Is this like stepping on my left foot to rise with my right?" Jie Ning thought with some delight.

"Now it seems there are about five months until Lan Ni's and my wedding. Maybe I can give Lan Ni a little surprise."

Time flew by.

Soon, another three months passed. Jie Ning and Arannis hadn't seen each other for nearly five months, but before she left, Arannis had given him a Sound Transmission Box.

The two could communicate through the boxes by speaking after inputting magical power or Battle Qi, and the message would be transmitted to the other side.

Although there was still some delay—about an hour for the message to reach the other party—it was still much faster than sending messages through merchant caravans.

However, Jie Ning vaguely noticed that when the wind direction aligned with the direction of the message, the transmission speed was faster.

This was the exclusive work of Master Kimir, a wind-element Saint Domain mage and grand alchemist of the Dinar Empire. It could only be made by the master himself, and the price was extremely high, even once in a state of having a market price but no supply.

It wasn't until Master Kimir established the Kimir Merchant Guild and made it the guild's flagship product that the number of Sound Transmission Boxes on the market increased, but it still wasn't something ordinary people could afford.

At this moment, Jie Ning was also preparing to set off for Kading City, since he needed to go pick up his bride first.

As for Tieling Town, he would leave it in the hands of his mother, Ms. Melinda.

In Kading City, Count Lewis watched his daughter, who was grinning foolishly in the courtyard, and shook his head helplessly.

Ever since she received the message from the Sound Transmission Box that Jie Ning was on his way to pick her up, she had been in this silly smiling state.

Step by step, Jie Ning walked along the road as if shrinking the ground into inches.

Along the way, he received countless gazes of awe from passersby.

But Jie Ning couldn't care about that now. 'Almost there, just a little more.'

At this moment, Jie Ning's two eyes shone like bright pearls, radiant and brilliant.

Feeling the Battle Qi within him had subtly reached a limit.

In a daze, Jie Ning seemed to hear the sound of Battle Qi flowing through his meridians, like a great river emptying into the sea.

Pfft—as if something had been punctured, Jie Ning felt his Battle Qi undergo a fundamental transformation.

So this is the Saint Realm? Sensing the changes within his body, Jie Ning could only use one word to describe how he felt now: powerful. It was a power that belonged to an entirely different world from before.

Looking at the world again, Jie Ning felt that his five senses had also evolved to a new level, and the world itself had undergone a tremendous change.

It was as if a membrane had originally covered the world, and now it had been peeled away.

Earth-walking Technique.

With a slight stir in his heart, Jie Ning vanished from where he stood, and the next instant appeared at a great distance.

Incomparable—there was none of the awkwardness and discomfort he had felt when forcibly using it at Level Nine. It was as natural as instinct.

Jie Ning excitedly tested the various abilities he had gained from his breakthrough.

After a good while, his excitement finally began to settle down.

At last, Jie Ning thought to himself, Only one last item remains.

"Hoo—" Jie Ning instantly took flight.

"Hahaha..." Jie Ning couldn't help but burst into hearty laughter.

As the laughter subsided, he looked at his own hands, then glanced around.

Finding the direction of Kading City, he flew straight toward it.

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