After exchanging news from various states with Luo Shiyuan, Jiang Liu sent a message to Murong Yin and then left the secret room to go downstairs.
Jiang Liu went outside to have lunch before returning to his residence. He then calmed down and began practicing his martial arts.
Jiang Liu Liuteng leaped into the air and unleashed the Eight Steps of Trampling, taking six consecutive steps. An invisible aura immediately swept towards the large tree beside him.
In an instant, the rustling branches and leaves seemed to freeze, no longer trembling even when a gentle breeze blew by.
Then, Jiang Liu slowly raised his right hand as if to punch the air. The invisible aura dissipated instantly, and the branches and leaves of the tree rustled loudly from the force of the punch.
Jiang Liu knew he had failed. If he had succeeded, the branches and leaves should have been hit by the force of the punch without making a sound.
In other words, the idea of using the Eight Steps of Trampling to immobilize the enemy and then knocking them down with a single punch still has issues with the transition. If the opponent reacts quickly, it's basically useless.
Jiang Liu was not discouraged and continued to experiment, guessing that he needed to master the connection between the various techniques and simplify the movements as much as possible so that he could connect them.
Jiang Liu then tested the Eight Steps of Trampling Combo Palm Technique and the Knife Technique, with the same result.
The problem is even greater when using swordsmanship. Once the sword is drawn, the momentum of the Eight Steps of Trampling dissipates. Even drawing the sword first doesn't work; the momentum immediately dissipates as soon as the swordsmanship begins.
As for using the "Annihilation by Thought" technique, we've already tested it before. The "Annihilation by Thought is mainly used to deal with opponents whose mental strength is lower than your own, and it can truly be Annihilation by Thought. However, when dealing with opponents whose mental strength is higher than your own, it can backfire at any time if you're not careful.
So now that Jiang Liu has entered the Grandmaster Realm, he understands that the Annihilation by Thought technique really cannot be used indiscriminately. This may be the reason why the Soul Valley technique is not well-known, because those who know about it are all dead, and they will not use it when faced with something that cannot be killed.
As for those whose mental strength is roughly equal to one's own, the Annihilation by Thought technique is a real help, because one can take advantage of the moment the enemy is hit by Annihilation by Thought to cut them down.
Just like when he killed those three in the secret realm, Jiang Liu killed them the moment they were hit by the Annihilation by Thought. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy and quick to kill them.
Finally, Jiang Liu practiced with the Ice Blade again, mainly to increase Ice Blade toughness and sharpness. As long as the Ice Blade could break through defenses, they would be an invincible Killing God.
Although the current Ice Blade is clearly inadequate against martial artists stronger than oneself, it is still very useful against those of the same level or weaker than oneself.
The main reason is that after using it for so long, I can control the Ice Blade at will. When firing both blades at the same time, within the range of my Divine Sense, I can change the firing trajectory at will, making it impossible to defend against.
Jiang Liu spent the whole day practicing martial arts in the courtyard. When he saw the messy courtyard at dinner time, he felt a little embarrassed.
Both trees were bare, with no branches or leaves left. The stone slabs on the ground were broken into small pieces, the tables and chairs nearby were reduced to broken planks, and the weapon rack was split in two.
Thankfully, the rooms next to it didn't collapse, otherwise I probably would have had to stay out tonight.
Jiang Liu thought to himself, should I go out and buy a big courtyard to live in so that it would be more convenient for me to practice my skills?
It's only a little past November, and there's still more than a month until the Martial Arts Tournament starts. Maybe I should go into the mountains again to train? This time, I'll mainly focus on the coordination between different techniques.
Jiang Liu left his residence and encountered a waitress on the way. He casually asked her to have someone tidy up the courtyard.
When Jiang Liu returned after having dinner outside, he found that everything except the bare tree had been tidied up. The floor had been re-laid, the weapon racks had been replaced, and the tables and chairs were left untouched as instructed by Jiang Liu.
Jiang Liu thought to himself, the efficiency of the Ascension Tower is indeed impressive.
Jiang Liu sat cross-legged on the floor and began cultivating the Saintly Sky Art. As the moonlight shifted, it was time to Soul Refining Technique.
As Jiang Liu assumed the posture for Soul Refining Technique, he released his Divine Sense to envelop his entire courtyard, preventing others from spying on him.
Jiang Liu always felt that it was best not to reveal the Soul Technique. The mysterious old man had not yet shown up, and he always felt that there was something he did not understand.
Moreover, there are very few rumors about Soul Valley in the Jianghu; its elusive nature must have its reasons. Jiang Liu searched for a long time at the Ascension Tower but found very little information about Soul Valley.
However, the person who composed the ballad included Soul Valley in it, so there must be something they didn't know.
The next morning, Jiang Liu decided that it would be more convenient to cultivate in the mountains, since he had quite a few secrets. Not only the Soul Technique, but also the Saintly Sky Art would be a fatal problem if exposed.
Jiang Liu packed his bag, carried it out of the courtyard, came to the hall, casually beckoned a waitress, said a few words to her, and then left through the gate of Ascension Tower.
As soon as Jiang Liu arrived at the entrance, he leaped into the air and flew towards the mountains.
Meanwhile, on the Ascension Tower, Luo Shiyuan was standing at the window, watching Jiang Liu's departing figure. He didn't go out to check on him, but simply shook his head. He knew that Jiang Liu probably wouldn't be used to living here, so he simply ignored him.
Jiang Liu flew directly into the depths of the mountain range, seeing many martial artists along the way. Moreover, these martial artists from Azure Dragon City were all quite strong, and they must have all entered the mountain range to cultivate.
Jiang Liu saw that the martial artists were all in twos and threes, and he didn't see any lone ones. Judging from their cheerful appearance, they probably thought that entering the mountains to cultivate was like picking up money.
Jiang Liu flew over several small mountain ranges before finally spotting some Exotic Beast. He guessed that the warriors from Azure Dragon City had cleared out the previous mountain ranges. Jiang Liu shook his head. If things continued like this, the Exotic Beast deep in the mountains would definitely start to stir.
Jiang Liu continued along the mountain range, and soon a large grassland appeared before him. Jiang Liu stopped here, not because there were many Exotic Beasts, but because it was quiet and spacious.
Jiang Liu stood suspended in mid-air, preparing to continue practicing his martial arts. He took six steps in succession in the air, and a powerful aura of the Eight Steps of Trampling Technique condensed, ready to strike forward. Suddenly, a sound of wind breaking rang in his ears.
Jiang Liu quickly dispersed the aura of the Eight Steps of Trampling, and saw a figure appear on the horizon, approaching from afar and soon appearing in front of Jiang Liu.
Jiang Liu looked closely and saw a middle-aged man dressed in black, with a mask on, exuding the aura of Minor Grandmaster. His eyes were fixed on Jiang Liu as if he were looking at prey.
Jiang Liu sensed the other party's ill intentions and immediately became alert.
"Who sent you?" the man in black asked coldly.