Facing off against Lu Tianxu of the Cave True Realm was, in truth, something Zhang Qingyuan had no choice but to do.
This succession of attacks made it plain that the other side was determined to kill him.
There was no possibility of reconciliation.
There was only the saying that a thief could prowl for a thousand days, but no one could guard against a thief for a thousand days.
When facing a Cave True-level enemy lurking in the shadows,
one could either remain on edge at every moment, cower and flee from facing them, or take the risk of striking first and eliminate the source of the problem.
Zhang Qingyuan did not choose the former.
After all, cultivation could not be broken through by relying solely on closed-door cultivation. Otherwise, why would the sects that had declined throughout history not simply lock their Genius Disciples within their sects, let them cultivate endlessly, provide sufficient resources for them to break through to the Cave True Realm, and become the cornerstone sustaining the sect's power?
If it were truly that simple, then no large sect would ever decline.
Hiding somewhere and spending decades in seclusion cultivation without emerging—not to mention whether one could endure it,
even if one could endure it,
it would greatly increase the difficulty of making a breakthrough.
The path from True Essence to Cave True
required cultivation resources, Heaven's fortune and luck, and a tempered state of mind. Not one could be lacking.
And these things
were clearly extremely difficult to obtain by cowering in seclusion to avoid a great enemy, hoping to cultivate for decades until one's Divine Skill Great Accomplishment before emerging.
Perhaps after cultivating for fifty years, one would more likely still be stuck at the threshold of that realm, unable to advance an