Entering the Apex Realm, Rat Fiends Attack!

"Boss Wang, I want to look at all of them first."

Wang Debiao pursed his lips and said nothing.

After all, it wasn't like he could learn them just by casually flipping through them.

Li Xuanxiao first picked up the "Soaring Hawk Nine Steps." Footwork martial arts were what he lacked the most right now.

He opened "Soaring Hawk Nine Steps" and flipped through it roughly.

The next second, a system screen immediately appeared.

[Martial Art Recorded - "Soaring Hawk Nine Steps"!]

Li Xuanxiao was stunned. It can be like this too? He couldn't help but show a look of joy.

After flipping through a few more pages, Li Xuanxiao picked up another book.

Wang Debiao watched from the side, shaking his head. He's just a young lad, too impatient.

Cultivating any one of these techniques was no simple matter.

It required a huge investment of energy and effort.

He himself had cultivated diligently for many years and had only barely reached great accomplishment.

Not to mention, two of them were prepared for him to step into the Apex Realm.

They were exceptionally obscure and difficult to understand, and he had spent years without being able to decipher them.

It didn't take too long before Li Xuanxiao finally finished flipping through the four martial arts manuals.

Four new names had also appeared on his personal panel.

[Host: Li Xuanxiao] [Realm: Profound Realm Peak] [Techniques: Evergreen Art (Great Accomplishment), Apex-Myriad Manifestations Violet Zenith Art (Not Yet Mastered)] [Martial Arts: Focused Spirit Slash (Great Accomplishment), Soaring Hawk Nine Steps (Not Yet Mastered), Thousand Peaks Ruin Blade (Not Yet Mastered), Apex-Silent Heart Sutra (Not Yet Mastered)] [Demon Points: 20]

Seeing the changes on his panel, Li Xuanxiao was secretly delighted.

In just a moment, he had gained four more techniques and martial arts that he could improve.

The two techniques with "Apex" in their names were likely meant for Apex Realm cultivators.

This was truly a massive profit!

After returning the martial arts manuals to Wang Debiao, Li Xuanxiao went back to his room.

He couldn't wait to open his personal panel and check the uses of each technique and martial art.

First were the two Apex Realm martial arts – the Myriad Manifestations Violet Zenith Art and the Silent Heart Sutra.

The former was a relatively conventional Apex Realm technique, capable of absorbing true qi from heaven and earth, accelerating its absorption and release.

The latter was a more auxiliary Apex Realm martial art, which could improve control over aura and true qi.

The other two, for the Profound Realm, were quite exquisite blade and footwork techniques.

They were at least much more refined than the Focused Spirit Slash he had been practicing.

At the Profound Realm level, they were definitely rare and valuable items!

With limited Demon Points, Li Xuanxiao thought for a moment and decided to prioritize improving his own realm.

This was the most crucial thing, the foundation of everything.

With a thought, Demon Points were instantly deducted.

[Consumed 10 Demon Points. Apex-Myriad Manifestations Violet Zenith Art has achieved initial comprehension!]

Hiss—

Li Xuanxiao raised an eyebrow. It took 10 Demon Points just to get started?

He remembered that previously, cultivating the Evergreen Art and Focused Spirit Slash from beginner to minor accomplishment only cost 3 points.

Li Xuanxiao marveled internally, and then felt the un-transformed internal energy within him begin to convert into true qi at an astonishing rate!

As the true qi surged, it gradually formed a vortex of true qi centered around him.

The vortex spun faster and faster, drawing in the invisible true qi from the surroundings.

Finally, it was all absorbed into Li Xuanxiao's body.

Li Xuanxiao's Profound Realm Peak cultivation began to loosen once more, climbing upwards.

Pfft—

As if some bottleneck had been broken, Li Xuanxiao felt his entire body lighten, and a pleasure that originated from the depths of his soul emerged in his heart.

He slowly opened his eyes, and for a moment, a faint purple aura seemed to linger within them.

"Stepped into the Apex Realm..."

Li Xuanxiao let out a soft sigh. The internal energy within his body had already completely transformed into true qi.

The power contained within was countless times more potent than internal energy.

The realm advancement brought about a complete qualitative change.

It was absolutely incomparable to previous advancements within the same realm!

Even when performing the same martial arts, he was now far, far stronger than before.

A casual strike now was equivalent to what previously required his full effort to barely achieve.

"Whoosh—"

He exhaled deeply, calming the excitement in his heart, and turned his gaze back to the other martial arts manuals.

He currently had 10 Demon Points remaining, and it was impossible to spread them evenly.

Just to get a basic grasp of the "Apex-Silent Heart Sutra," another Apex Realm technique, would likely cost him another 10 Demon Points.

So, he decided not to consider it for now. He would first invest his Demon Points into those two Profound Realm martial arts that could effectively boost his combat power.

[Consumed 3 Demon Points. Soaring Hawk Nine Steps has reached the initial stage!]

[Consumed 3 Demon Points. Thousand Peaks Ruin Blade has reached the initial stage!]

Huh?

Li Xuanxiao was slightly surprised. He remembered that previously, upgrading a Profound Realm martial art from beginner to minor success only cost 3 points.

He hadn't expected that for these two techniques, also classified as Profound Realm, it would take 3 points just to reach the initial stage.

It seemed his guess was correct. Although both were Profound Realm techniques, they were significantly more refined than the one he had practiced before.

These "Soaring Hawk Nine Steps" and "Thousand Peaks Ruin Blade" were at least one tier higher than "Focused Spirit Slash"!

It was a shame he didn't have enough Demon Points now. Otherwise, he would definitely max them out!

After the upgrades, his Demon Points had significantly dwindled again.

Only 4 points remained.

"Looks like I need to go hunt more demons!"

Ning'an City, the wilderness.

Several demons in the late Profound Realm were gathered, raising their cups in celebration.

A Dog Demon lifted a rough wooden bucket and drank it down in one gulp.

The bright red liquid flowed down the corners of its mouth, and a fishy smell immediately permeated the air.

After downing the drink, it revealed a look of satisfaction.

It then picked up a blood-stained human thigh from beside it, tore off large chunks of bloody meat, and began to eat.

"Brother Rat, why aren't you eating?"

"Yeah, Brother Rat, on such a great day, you should be eating meat and drinking blood heartily!"

"Why the long face?"

The Rat Fiend chuckled in agreement, but an unconcealable sinister look flickered in its eyes. "My grandsons, after they went into the city with me last time, there's been no news of them..."

The Dog Demon chuckled dismissively, "Heh, what's the big deal? Aren't my own useless brats always running around everywhere?"

The others chimed in, "Exactly, exactly! What demon doesn't run wild? They'll just be a few days late, it's nothing."

The Rat Fiend's mood lightened slightly. It picked up a piece of bloody meat and swallowed it.

A few flecks of blood splattered on its face, and its nose twitched.

Suddenly, a flash of lightning struck its mind!

Blood!

Its thoughts instantly returned to the yamen entrance, to the moment it brushed past that young constable.

At that time, it had smelled a faint, familiar scent, but it hadn't thought much of it.

Now, thinking back carefully, that was the scent of its own clan's blood!

It was just that the young constable's aura at the time was quite mixed.

With so many scents mingled together, it hadn't considered it further.

Now, it was certain it was related to its grandsons!

The Rat Fiend shot to its feet, its expression turning extremely grim.

"Everyone, you eat first. I have something to attend to!"

With that, the Rat Fiend instantly transformed into its original form.

It charged straight towards Ning'an City!

"Kid, you'd better have just accidentally gotten it on you!"

"Otherwise..."

"I will definitely make you regret being born into this world!"