That's right!
The incomplete Martial Skill Lu Xuan had tossed into the Bronze Gourd was actually completed in an instant, with cultivation insights even added in the annotations!
He hurriedly took the Martial Skill out of the gourd.
The Martial Skill's name had not changed. It was still called I Have One Slash.
But unlike before, the sheepskin scroll, which had originally contained only a few sparse words, was now covered in writing. It also gave off an eerie aura that was difficult to conceal.
This was the aura unique to an Earth-level Martial Art Manual.
"I never thought the Bronze Gourd would actually complete the Martial Art Manual!"
Despite his delight, Lu Xuan did not rush to cultivate the Martial Skill.
He did not plan to return to Jiangnan Martial University, either. Instead, he headed to the Martial Artist Association, preparing to exchange everything in his possession for resources.
In the future, his younger sister would die because of this Citywide Martial Arts Tournament.
He absolutely could not sit around and await death.
Whenever an opportunity arose, he had to seize it at the first moment and improve his strength as quickly as possible, until he became a Qi and Blood Martial Master.
First,
he had to make good use of the Bronze Gourd's other functions.
That would be how he improved his strength.
"The intelligence mentioned in Future Mail is still several days away. During this time, I have to rely on the Bronze Gourd to cultivate to a higher realm as quickly as possible. I should try to break through to Qi and Blood Martial Master before the tournament begins!"
Lu Xuan's expression was grave.
The mail had clearly stated that the Martial Artists hunting his younger sister were all Ninth-order Martial Artists.
But without breaking through to Martial Master, he had no confidence.
Who knew whether the Monster Potion Company had arranged for a Martial Master to keep watch behind the scenes?
After exchanging some resources at the Martial Artist Association, he sent messages to his younger sister and Shen Liyue.
He absolutely would not return home until he had broken through to Martial Master before the tournament began.
Jiangnan Martial University.
After receiving Lu Xuan's message, Shen Liyue knitted her brows. "What is that guy up to? He left after only one day at Jiangnan Martial University. Isn't that just drawing attention to himself?"
Xuan Xiaoxiao giggled beside her. "Mommy, is Daddy shy around you?"
"Impossible. There is no one like that among our Holy Cult followers." Shen Liyue shook her head. Just as she was about to stand, the room's notification chime rang.
[You have a guest waiting outside!]
The two exchanged a glance and turned toward the monitor.
On the screen,
an aged old man stood at the door. The moment they saw him, Shen Liyue and Xuan Xiaoxiao's pupils contracted. They did not dare to be even slightly negligent and hurried forward to open the door and welcome him.
"Good day, Principal Long!"
Shen Liyue and Xuan Xiaoxiao called out respectfully.
The old man before them was slightly hunched, his eyes listless, and several corpse spots marred his face. Yet even so, merely standing there, he exerted tremendous pressure.
"Not bad..."
He raised his head and chuckled.
Before the two could react, his figure had already appeared inside the room.
Shen Liyue and Xuan Xiaoxiao quickly turned around.
"Where's the other person?"
Principal Long asked.
A bead of sweat appeared on Shen Liyue's forehead. Clenching her sweaty hand, she said,
"He went to the Wilderness."
Principal Long raised his brows. "He seems like the type who enjoys cultivating... Forget it. It doesn't matter if he's not here. I came today only to tell you two something."
"Please, go ahead."
Shen Liyue and Xuan Xiaoxiao stood respectfully to one side.
Principal Long first took out a Storage Ring and placed it on the table. "These are resources for Xuan Xiaoxiao to improve her strength. Raise her to a Third-order Martial Artist within half a month."
"Wouldn't that be too fast?"
Shen Liyue hesitated.
Principal Long sneered. "This speed isn't enough to ruin her foundation. In half a month, Jinling City will hold a Citywide Martial Arts Tournament. At that time, all Martial Artists below the Third-order will participate... I've already arranged for people to assassinate this year's geniuses. Once they've been crippled, it'll naturally be your turn to act."
"Isn't that too soon?"
Shen Liyue spoke instinctively.
It was no wonder she reacted this way. If it truly attracted a federal investigation, they would likely suffer for it.
By then, she would become a discarded pawn!
"Hmph. Whether it's the Federation, the Holy Cult, or the various major powers across the globe, someone long ago deduced that a Purple Star would be born in Huaxia. This concerns the life and death of every faction... Such a person must be won over while still in the nascent stage."
Principal Long snorted coldly.
The Purple Star was a legend passed down through the ages.
It had an ancient name: Ziwei Emperor Star.
Xuan Xiaoxiao narrowed her little eyes and murmured, "Is it possible that someone like that would be difficult to knock down with setbacks, let alone by being crippled like this?"
"No, no, no!"
Principal Long took a step, his figure flashing to the doorway.
With his hands behind his back, he looked up at the sky and said, "The Purple Star has never been a bearer of great fortune. It is instead synonymous with calamity. Whenever the Purple Star descends, great chaos is certain to follow. The balance between humans and monsters won't last much longer."
"Someone like that won't have a very good fate."
Satellite City No. 2, Wilderness.
Beneath the black clouds, a drizzling rain fell without end.
Boom—!
A blade flash exploded like thunder and lightning, striking a one-horned horse and cleaving it in two.
Lu Xuan landed atop the ruins, rain beating against his body.
Yet it could not wash the bloodstains from him in the slightest.
He had spent the entire day tempering himself with an Earth-level Martial Skill in the Wilderness.
"I've finally reached the entry level."
Lu Xuan swung the long blade in his hand. The blade cut through the air, producing peals of ringing resonance.
"Earth-level Martial Skills truly are extraordinary. Without powerful Psychic Power, I'm afraid I might not have reached the entry level even after cultivating for half a year."
The core strength of Psychic Power lay in analyzing things.
It possessed an innate advantage when it came to creating Martial Skills, learning Martial Art Manuals, and so on.
"Now that I have an Earth-level Martial Skill in hand, I might even be able to fight an Advanced Martial Artist." Lu Xuan jumped to the ground and stored the one-horned horse's corpse inside the Bronze Gourd.
"Next, I'll try breaking through."
He used his Mental Power to scan the surroundings.
Soon,
Lu Xuan discovered an abandoned building and slipped inside.
The gray-white walls, crawling with moss and stained with blood, were dyed a dark yellow by the firelight.
Lu Xuan tore off a piece of roasted meat and tossed it into his mouth.
Future Mail had explicitly mentioned that a Qi and Blood Golden Elixir would appear in Satellite City No. 2. It had even specifically advised him to give it to the Bronze Gourd if possible.
Therefore,
Lu Xuan decided to cultivate in this stretch of Wilderness for a while.
For the time being, his cultivation could only rely on the Bronze Gourd.
He first tossed some monster-beast flesh into the Bronze Gourd, which secreted several drops of Spiritual Energy liquid.
Only then did he begin swallowing it and cultivating.
"My Mental Power gives me the feeling of a vast sea. At present, I have no clue how to break through..." Lu Xuan swallowed the Spiritual Energy liquid and silently circulated his Martial Art Manual, his thoughts shifting without pause:
"Then I'll have to improve my qi and blood."
The Spiritual Energy contained an extremely dense aura of Spiritual Energy.
At the Martial Artist stage, the foundation was the most important thing. Vigorous qi and blood, along with dense Spiritual Energy, formed the cornerstone of everything. As long as the body could withstand it, one could continuously pour qi, blood, and Spiritual Energy into it until breaking through to Ninth-order Martial Artist.
But this had one prerequisite: one's Mental Power had to be sufficiently strong.
In other words,
one's talent had to be good enough.
Strong Mental Power did not necessarily mean equally high talent;
but with high talent, one's innate Mental Power was absolutely strong!
Although Lu Xuan did not possess extraordinarily high talent, he had the advantage of immense acquired Psychic Power.
Therefore,
there was no such thing as a bottleneck during the Martial Artist stage.
As long as he had enough qi, blood, and Spiritual Energy, he could keep breaking through.
The Spiritual Energy liquid produced by the Bronze Gourd had been transformed from the flesh and blood of countless monsters. The energy it provided was enough to help an ordinary person break through to the First-order.
Because Lu Xuan had tempered his body,
the energy he consumed was enormous. A single drop of Spiritual Energy liquid was nowhere near enough.
That was why he hunted monsters and even spent a fortune buying resources to feed the Bronze Gourd.
Buzz!
The Spiritual Energy liquid entered his mouth.
A vast surge of Spiritual Energy coursed through every meridian in his body. His heart and blood surged, and terrifying energy ignited his cells like a torch.
A searing sensation spread through his limbs.
Lu Xuan felt his body continuously swell, as though it were about to burst him apart.
He circulated his Martial Art Manual while mobilizing his Mental Power to suppress it.
One breath,
two breaths,
three breaths...
Bang!
At last,
a wave of qi burst from within him and spread toward the surroundings.
The flames went out in an instant, and the ruins collapsed in the blink of an eye.
The entire building shuddered and came crashing down with a rumble.
Boom!
At nearly the same time, Lu Xuan clenched both fists and unleashed qi and blood as vast as the sea, shattering the ruins and flying out.
Standing in the rain,
an invisible qi-and-blood barrier held the rain back half an inch from his body.
His qi and blood had left his body, fully under his control.
He had become a Seventh-order Martial Artist!
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