Intentions, Part One

Headquarters of the Great Bright Teaching Alliance in Yi Province – Dust Sand Palace.

The greyish-white stone palace stands silently deep in the desert.

As the sun sets, the light curtain turns blood red, yellow sand swirls, and a rapid, dense sound of horses' hooves rushes from afar.

It was First Squad strong men and women dressed in gray and white robes.

They Upper Capital, and wore simple leather armor under their white robes.

Their lips were slightly chapped, their expressions were tired, and their eyes were sunken, clearly indicating that they had traveled a long distance and run for a long time without rest.

"We've arrived!" Suddenly, the person at the front saw the Dust Sand Palace in the distance, and his face lit up with joy. He slowed down his horse.

When he was still a hundred meters away from the palace, he picked up a mechanical device on his horse, placed a specially made arrow at the palace, and aimed.

With a whoosh, the arrow shot out, drawing a light parabola before landing steadily on the yellow earth in front of the Dust Sand Palace.

A Masked Woman dressed in white gauze leaped swiftly from the palace gate, grabbed an arrow from the ground, peeled open the shaft, took out the Paper Scroll inside, and turned to enter the palace gate.

Inside the spacious White Stone palace, there are five large stone pillars, resembling the outstretched five fingers of a giant, protruding from the ground and reaching towards the sky.

Each of the five fingers has a tall chair at its tip.

At the highest point, which is also the deepest part, sits a tall figure clad in heavy silver-black armor.

The man wore Helmet with horns resembling those of a triceratops, covering his entire head and face.

A cascade of long, shimmering silver hair, like flowing tassels, cascaded down from beneath his Helmet.

He sat upright on his throne, one hand supporting his chin and the other resting on the armrest, tapping it gently, listening to the voice of someone to his right.

On the other four stone pillars, three people were sitting respectively.

All three were at least 2.5 meters tall. Each of them had eyes that shone with a bright, star-like gleam.

"If we stick to the previous arrangement, not only will we be unable to stop the recording of the secret book, but it will also be a huge obstacle to our future plans. Therefore, I believe that our greatest hope now is to fully support King Mu Li and help him seize the throne."

"The throne? King Mu Li's chances are slim, but if we can persuade him to support another, forming an alliance, there might be a chance in the future. The Great Dao Sect is powerful now; we can't withstand it alone."

"The others have the support of the Heaven Lock Sect, the True One Sect, and the Western Sect, and their power is not weak. They look down on us. Now we are alone and unable to support ourselves. Perhaps we should seek external help."

Even if it were to succeed, I wouldn't approve of forming an alliance with the others. If we're going to form an alliance anyway, why not seek out the White Ten Sect, with whom we have no conflict of interest?"

"Alright. A new urgent message has arrived, everyone can take a look." The silver-haired, armored man sitting in the highest position spoke softly.

His voice wasn't loud, but it had a pure, clear quality.

The other three immediately fell silent, and soon maids brought them Letter Paper from different directions.

The four of them unfolded gently.

For a moment, the entire palace fell silent.

The only sound was the rustling of the Letter Paper turning.

Everyone carefully held the copied and decompiled Letter Paper, their eyes displaying different expressions.

"It seems Yue Dewen can't wait any longer," the silver-haired, armored man said softly.

"Even Lady Siya can't delay it anymore?" a middle-aged woman sighed.

"Although Lord Siya holds a very high position, he is not Divine General himself. It is already quite remarkable that he has been able to delay for so long," another old man replied in a deep voice.

"Alright, everyone, abandon your illusions and prepare for the final battle. Since the escape route has already been found, there's nothing more to say. Isn't that why we, the members of our Teaching Alliance, are sitting here?" the silver-haired, armored man said.

"Your Lord Kexiwo is absolutely right. Since it's already a fait accompli, let's face it head-on."

The three nodded in agreement; at this point, only war remained.

If the Great Dao Sect wants to unify all sects in the world, it will inevitably have to step over their corpses.

If they hadn't Worship God, they could have escaped the battle.

But since we've already worshipped the gods, and we're bound to both prosperity and adversity, then there's no other option but to fight to the death.

"With His Lord Kexiwo leading the way, even if Yue Dewen himself comes, we have nothing to fear. This is the Dust Sand Palace, not his Heavenly Sincerity Palace!" one of them said coldly.

"By the way, where's Ostandin? Why hasn't he come to this regular gathering yet?" Kexiwo suddenly asked.

"According to his disciple, he is still handling miscellaneous matters in Ze Province, and it seems that he was held up by some unexpected matter," one person replied.

"Really? Then..."

That would be such a shame.

Suddenly, a figure flashed in from outside the palace gate as if the light had been distorted, and landed between the five stone pillars.

"I timed my visit perfectly. How come not everyone is here?"

The newcomer raised his round face, revealing a flowing purple robe with wide sleeves. He was none other than Yue Dewen, the Grand Master the Great Dao Sect, who smiled amiably.

Behind him, a figure in a white dress slowly walked in from outside the palace gate; it was Jin Yuyan, dressed in white with a gold belt.

"Let's finish this quickly. Don't waste time," Jin Yuyan coldly, glancing at Yue Dewen.

"I just wanted to say hello to an old friend," Yue Dewen said with a smile to Kexiwo.

"It's been so many years, you're still so thin. I told you to eat more back then, but you wouldn't listen."

"You dare to come here?!" The three people on the stone pillar suddenly stood up, staring at the two with a mixture of shock and anger.

Kexiwo, however, was not as surprised as the other three Great Grandmaster.

Instead, he slowly got up, his eyes calm.

"I thought about this a long time ago. If you want to simply confront each other during such a boring time, you will need to spend far too much time."

Therefore, your most likely plan is a surprise attack on the high command. That is, a direct confrontation between top experts, rather than military annihilation.

"So?" Yue Dewen asked with a smile.

"So." Kexiwo clapped three times softly.

"So, I've been waiting here for a long time." A tall figure suddenly appeared in the shadows behind him.

The man had a square face, a thick beard, eyes like copper bells, dark skin, and a head of messy black hair that spread out like a lion's.

He carried three swords on his back and wore simple black clothes.

He looks like a weapons craftsman.

The moment they saw this person, both Yue Dewen and Jin Yuyan's eyes changed slightly.

"You guys got involved too?" Jin Yuyan couldn't help but ask.

"Long time no see, Yu Yan." The black-haired man looked at Jin Yuyan with a faint, inexplicable emotion in his eyes.

"It's been a long time. I thought you were long dead." Jin Yuyan's eyes were cold and sharp. "I didn't expect you to still be alive, and living a good life!"

"Crimson List Second, Heavenly Artisan - Jin Hong!" Yue Dewen clapped and laughed, "Truly amazing! Back then, you led your martial uncle to the Extreme Realm, and now you actually dare to appear before her?"

"Why wouldn't I dare? Yu Yan's talent is unparalleled throughout history, and he should rightfully walk the path of the strongest. Back when I roamed the world, you, Little Yue, were still just chanting scriptures and meditating in the Heavenly Treasure Palace. I never imagined that decades later, that little puppy would become the so-called number one expert in the Number One Under Heaven." Heavenly Artisan Jin Hong smiled faintly.

"I've come today to learn from your experience and see if the Number One Under Heaven one is truly deserved."

He slowly drew the first crimson Long Sword from the back of his body.

"That's why I hate you Old Undying the most. Since you're already halfway to the grave, why don't you just stay in your coffins and wait to die instead of coming out here to torture yourselves!" Yue Dewen's right hand hung down, and circles of invisible energy swirled rapidly around his palm.

*** Linghua Mountain.

Zhang Rongfang and Ostandin stood facing each other.

In an instant, the two stepped forward simultaneously, their figures blurring as they passed each other.

Puff.

A bloody gash appeared on the outside of Zhang Rongfang's right arm.

"Why did I feel that your attack was not fast, yet you were able to accurately break through my moves?" he asked, straightening up.

"Do you feel that your moves are flawless?" Ostandin quickly wiped the blood from his fingertips to avoid being poisoned.

"Indeed, I have reviewed my moves one by one as you instructed, and in theory, there should be no flaws left," Zhang Rongfang replied.

"That's because your heart is too slow," Ostandin replied.

"My heart has slowed down."

"You thought I would use this move, but I actually saw through your plan and changed it to the same move, but added an extra layer of variation at the crucial moment."

By the time you realize it, it's too late. Therefore, when faced with the unknown, and new responses and choices arise, you're slow and hesitant,"Ostandin sighed.

This guy's martial arts Daoist Scripture is really poor; he seems like one of those brutes who rely entirely on brute force to achieve his strength.

However, considering that Zhang Ying is not a Civilian Skill who often engages in actual combat, it is understandable.

"Then may I ask, senior, how can one improve their ability to predict moves?" Zhang Rongfang asked again.

"This is the core of Enemy Anticipation. You must first deal with lightning speed; only with absolute concentration and focus can you achieve this."

Then, you can explore various martial arts styles and categorize them yourself. In this way, you can initially develop your own Enemy Anticipation,"Ostandin replied.

Zhang Rongfang seemed to be deep in thought.

Three days have passed since the special training began atop Linghua Mountain.

Over the past three days, he has been sparring with Ostandin every day, and has gradually gained a clear understanding of the combat power of Great Grandmaster.

In reality, the Great Grandmaster's physique, speed, and strength were not much stronger than his.

The key is their control over their every move.

This ability allows them to use their strongest points to attack their weakest points at any time.

And yet, he couldn't hit them.

This is far superior to that of a Grandmaster.

The martial arts realm of the Grandmaster did not create a significant generational gap between him and the Grandmaster in terms of Enemy Anticipation; the difference was not yet very noticeable.

But when you reach the Great Grandmaster, it's completely different.

"Take a break and have something to eat." Ostandin's attitude has been very good lately, and he has been very dedicated to teaching Zhang Rongfang.

The two immediately sat down separately, picked up the various foods that Ran Xin Yue had brought, and began to enjoy them.

While eating, Zhang Rongfang silently opened the Attribute Panel.

Now, including the time he had spent before, he has accumulated a total of ten Attribute Points.

Now that he understands the path to the next level of martial arts, he feels he can mention it.

Sitting on the ground, he kept chewing his food, his eyes slightly narrowed, seemingly deep in thought, but actually considering how to improve.

"His martial arts have reached the pinnacle of Internal Method; the next step is the Three Voids. Following the Three Voids training method is actually laying the foundation for becoming a grandmaster."

The Three Voids also involve spiritual cultivation. They include three realms: Evil Essence Emptiness, Evil Thought Emptiness, and Evil Qi Emptiness.

These three processes are respectively the process of cleansing impurities from one's own Essence, Qi, and Spirit, and spirit.