Renowned Throughout the Realm, Great Grandmaster Tenth Heaven

For hundreds of years, the three-way balance of power between Cloud Sword Palace, Heavenly Star Valley, and Ice Frost City had long since become deeply ingrained in the hearts of the people.

In everyone's eyes, these three Martial Arts Holy Lands had always been evenly matched.

Yet no one had expected Cloud Sword Palace to rise abruptly, sweeping aside two opponents of the same rank with lightning speed before they could cover their ears. It slaughtered countless experts from both factions, and from then on, there was no longer any force in the world capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with it.

Although, ever since news of Lin Heng's peerless talent had spread through the Jianghu, discerning people had seen that Cloud Sword Palace was destined to rise, even they had never imagined that it would rise so quickly that everyone was caught utterly off guard.

Many people secretly discussed whether Cloud Sword Palace had relied on some sinister scheme to achieve such astonishing results.

Perhaps Cloud Sword Palace's High-End Combat Power had also suffered severe losses in that battle.

Their chance had come!

But before they could think any further,

as time passed, more news spread throughout the Jianghu of Lan Continent.

Quite a few Jianghu people who made their living gathering intelligence in various places witnessed Cloud Sword Palace Experts, after wiping out the experts of Heavenly Star Valley and Ice Frost City, dispatching disciples to launch overnight surprise attacks on Heavenly Star Valley and Ice Frost City, slaughtering the remaining disciples and followers within the two sects' mountain gates.

Such combat power clearly was not the narrow victory many had guessed at, but an unquestionable, overwhelming triumph. They had destroyed two opponents of equal standing while suffering little loss themselves.

On the first day of the new year, these two Martial Arts Holy Lands, each with a heritage spanning centuries, formally declared their destruction.

Like those Martial Arts Holy Lands that had once perished for one reason or another, they were buried in the river of history.

Afterward, the great reckoning began. The Nine Clans Stripping Technique was repeatedly unleashed, and families and subordinate forces closely tied to Ice Frost City and Heavenly Star Valley began to be purged. Across Lan Continent, Cloud Sword Palace disciples could be seen embarking on killing sprees.

After the High-End Combat Power of Ice Frost City and Heavenly Star Valley had been dealt with, Cloud Sword Palace Experts moved through every region as though entering an uninhabited land.

After that, as the experts who had come to lend their support returned home, many details of the battle that had taken place at the Cloud Sword Palace Mountain Gate on New Year's Eve were revealed.

An even more shocking piece of news spread throughout Lan Continent. Everyone learned that Cloud Sword Palace's tremendous victory had all been because of Lin Heng, its Young Sect Master, who was only fifteen years old.

After becoming a Great Grandmaster at fourteen, Lin Heng had taken merely one year to become a Supreme Great Grandmaster.

This was far too astonishing. Many Neutral Forces in the Jianghu, who had been at a loss because of Cloud Sword Palace's sudden rise, suddenly had a flash of insight. Their eyes cleared, and in an instant, they understood exactly what they should do next.

They abandoned their unrealistic thoughts and immediately brought Rare Treasures to the Cloud Sword Palace Mountain Gate to pay their respects, expressing their reverence and submission to Lan Continent's foremost power.

The names Lin Heng, the Number One Expert Under Heaven, and Cloud Sword Palace, the number one sect under heaven, began to spread widely through the Jianghu.

For a time, Cloud Sword Palace's prestige reached an unprecedented peak.

The shifting winds and clouds outside had nothing to do with Lin Heng at that moment.

He sat cross-legged, his mind entering an ethereal state as he merged with Heaven and Earth Nature.

Surging primordial energy rushed in from between heaven and earth, absorbed and refined by Lin Heng to replenish the depleted Essence, Qi, and Spirit he had expended in battle.

The internal power in his Meridians and Acupoints, which had nearly run dry, began to fill once more. His exhausted blood and qi gradually flourished, his weary spirit was nourished, and the aftereffects of that fierce Great Battle were gradually smoothed away completely.

Lin Heng's thoughts gradually accelerated to their Peak as he began recalling and reviewing the entire course of his battle against the experts of Heavenly Star Valley and Ice Frost City.

From it, he comprehended the ultimate principles of martial arts, sought out his own shortcomings in Combat, and corrected them.

With every passing day, the sword intent surrounding the quietly seated Lin Heng grew sharper. By the third day, although that sword intent remained restrained and unloosed, Cloud Sword Palace disciples who saw him meditating from afar still felt stabbing pain in their eyes.

Yet beginning on the fourth day, the sword intent around Lin Heng gradually drew inward instead, becoming Returning to Simplicity.

By the seventh day, when no unusual fluctuations remained around Lin Heng, a Transformation silently took place within his body.

Within his Meridians and Acupoints, Internal Breath as pure white as thick mist became even more Condensed under the impetus of sword intent, allowing his Meridians and Acupoints to contain more internal power. At the same time, his body broke through its shackles, and his Essence, Qi, and Spirit rose to a higher level.

"Great Grandmaster Tenth Heaven."

Lin Heng ended this cultivation session and murmured calmly to himself.

More than a month earlier, Lin Heng had already reached the Great Grandmaster Eighth Heaven through cultivating the Vast Sea Limitless Art. He had then spent over a month creating a complete set of external martial arts, including Sword Art, Movement Art, finger techniques, and a Body Protection Divine Art, consolidating and stabilizing his cultivation in the process.

Afterward, he emerged from seclusion and fought the experts of Heavenly Star Valley and Ice Frost City in a Great Battle.

After digesting the gains from the battle, Lin Heng's cultivation had broken through two heavens in succession, reaching the current Great Grandmaster Tenth Heaven.

"I wonder what level I must reach before I can break through to the Heaven-Human Realm?"

"But that is not important. I have plenty of time to seek the answer to that question."

Even without knowledge of health preservation, a Great Grandmaster had a lifespan of one hundred and twenty years. Lin Heng was now at the Great Grandmaster Tenth Heaven, with each heaven adding ten years to his lifespan, meaning he could live to two hundred and twenty.

Lin Heng was only fifteen this year. Including the lifespan he would gain by raising his Realm later, he had at least three hundred years to study how to break through to the Heaven-Human Realm. Even Shattering the Void and Ascension in Broad Daylight were not mere dreams, so he was in no hurry.

"Heng'er, have you finished cultivating?"

The moment he opened his eyes and ended his cultivation, Lin Heng saw his master, Xiao Rang.

Xiao Rang wore a smile, his face glowing with health. Clearly, he was in an excellent mood.

"I've finished cultivating and gained a little."

Lin Heng answered Xiao Rang's question in a calm tone.

As he spoke, he swept his gaze around and quickly understood why Xiao Rang was in such high spirits.

By now, half a month had passed since that Great Battle.

Through the efforts of the million Martial Artists under Cloud Sword Palace, the first round of reckoning against the twelve forces that had formed the Kill Heng Society had concluded.

Confiscating their homes and exterminating their clans had been done in one fell swoop.

At that moment, chest after chest of treasure was being transported endlessly into the Cloud Sword Palace Mountain Gate.

The chests and carts carrying these treasures stretched as far as the eye could see, forming a long dragon. With a casual glance, Lin Heng discovered that the line still extended more than ten kilometers beyond the Cloud Sword Palace Mountain Gate.

By conservative estimates, Cloud Sword Palace's gains this time had to be counted in hundreds of millions of taels.

Forget Xiao Rang—even the calmness on Lin Heng's face faded after he understood the scale of their gains, replaced by a broad smile.