Yan Ming Jin, Heavenly Master Seal

The Daoist Boy's blue robes fluttered with their wide sleeves, his crossed collar revealing a sense of freedom. Yet, he wore a ferocious bronze ghost mask and wielded a Beast Slaying Saber nearly ten feet long.

The saber's long hilt rested on his shoulder, giving him a lazy, relaxed air as he walked.

This was Daoist Boy Ning Xuan.

At this moment, having retrieved his weapon, he was walking with Celestial Master Ugly Slave through the old mountains outside Star River County.

Suddenly, Ugly Slave stopped, glancing at a spot not far away.

It was a mountain, and beyond it lay a canyon.

But what was in the canyon, no one knew unless they climbed the adjacent mountain or entered it themselves.

However, Ugly Slave acted as if he could see straight through the mountain to the scene beyond, saying, "There's a wolf pack and a python nest in this canyon. The wolves are to the east, resting by the water; the python nest is to the west, devouring some unlucky prey. These two have harmed many travelers over the years; they are truly despicable. Qingfeng, go eliminate these two threats."

Ning Xuan knew his elder brother still didn't trust him and insisted on testing him, so he replied, "Yes, Celestial Master."

He didn't bother with a detour. Instead, he stepped onto the mountain. With a stretch of his arms, he was like a spirit ape in the deep mountains, leaping over a hundred feet in mere moments. A few more bounds and he reached the mountaintop, then surveyed the canyon below.

The canyon was filled with dense, lush forest, blocking much of the sunlight, making it appear dark and oppressive. Faintly, the sound of flowing water could be heard.

He observed carefully.

Finally, he had to admit he couldn't see anything.

Ning Xuan turned back and saw a surge of golden light erupting from below the cliff face beside him. Ugly Slave suddenly appeared at his side.

He grew even more curious.

Because he could clearly feel that Ugly Slave's vital energy was incredibly weak. To put it simply, if it were just about physical strength, one wouldn't even need a strong guard; any household servant could easily beat Ugly Slave to a pulp.

In other words, Ugly Slave's extraordinary perception and travel abilities had nothing to do with his own strength.

Sensing Ning Xuan's curious gaze, Ugly Slave said, "Don't be distracted."

Ning Xuan acknowledged him and charged directly into the forest below.

He already understood these wild beasts well.

If he summoned the Heavenly Demon Scroll, he would exude a demonic aura, and these beasts would sense his intrusion like demons and flee.

But if he didn't summon the Heavenly Demon Scroll, no matter how strong he was, these beasts wouldn't act preemptively. Instead, they would be drawn by the scent of a human and gather, preparing to eat him.

After a swift and decisive assault, the wolf pack was routed. The alpha wolf was slain, and the pack scattered. Ning Xuan pursued and slaughtered them as they fled.

The pythons, drawn by the scent of blood, came from afar. Ning Xuan, seeing these usual "training targets," easily cut them in half.

For someone who had wiped out an entire nest of Bear Demons, this was child's play.

However, there were still gains to be made.

Ning Xuan didn't deliberately engage in large-scale beast slaughters during his usual training. It was only after acting today that he discovered there were benefits.

He found that while beasts were beasts, every attack, retreat, and dodge they made contained a primal, efficient, and direct killing technique.

When facing these techniques, if he deliberately suppressed his own strength and focused solely on countering the moves themselves, the gains were substantial.

For example, during his charge earlier, for the first quarter of an hour, he had been focused on "completing the mission" and wanted to finish quickly. But after discovering this, he changed his approach.

He wanted to cherish these beasts that were giving him practice with their lives.

The battle lasted a full hour and a half.

When he returned to the cliff, Ning Xuan felt that his "Four Saber Strokes of Swallow Return" had become somewhat "blurred at the edges."

Ning Xuan looked up at Ugly Slave and cupped his hands. "Celestial Master, you've waited long."

Ugly Slave looked at him with a strange expression and said, "It is said that the world's strongest killing technique is a casual saber strike after a general's hundred battles. I doubted it before, but today I have seen it.

Qingfeng, since you have gained insight, sit down and ponder it slowly.

Don't rush to travel.

Moving forward is merely the instinct of a muddled body. Only by sitting can one seek the Dao.

Once the Dao is found, then one is on the path, and then one is truly traveling."

With that, he smoothed his purple robe, sat cross-legged at the cliff's edge, and gestured to the distance. "Sit."

Ning Xuan found it quite amusing, thinking to himself: Big brother is indeed a Celestial Master. His words carry weight. He looks like a proper person who wouldn't even indulge in drinking, gambling, or womanizing. Perhaps he's lived so long without even a wife. Ah, big brother's life is truly tragic.

However, there was one thing big brother said that was right.

He had indeed gained considerable insight.

Last time, when he fought the bear, he had almost exclusively used "Flying Swallow Mountain Collapse" in every move. Today, however, he acted more freely. The former was tense, the latter relaxed. Coupled with countering different techniques, he truly felt like something was "brewing."

He didn't stand on ceremony.

Since big brother told him to sit, he plopped down and entered a state of contemplation.

In his mind, the three stances of the Swallow Chasing Wind Saber, along with the Swallow Return Step, and the fourth stance he had devised himself, the "Flying Swallow Mountain Collapse" which could be integrated into any stance, began to merge.

He realized that stances served two purposes.

First, to gain the initiative and catch the enemy off guard. For example, "Flying Swallow Chasing Wind" sought speed; "Swallow Piercing Raging Waves" transitioned from speed to ferocity, aiming to surprise the enemy and make them unable to defend; "Skillful Swallow Returning to Roost" served the same purpose.

Second, it was to unleash a certain power. For example, when he fought the Bear Demon before, he needed to maintain a high level of physical exertion and a state of high-speed explosive movement to unleash "Flying Swallow Mountain Collapse."

If one could enhance their own reaction speed and hide all future possibilities within a single casual strike, then even if they were the last to act, they would hold all the initiative.

If one could unleash maximum speed in a short distance with minimal movement, they could avoid large-scale actions and motion, thus progressing further.

Ning Xuan recalled the postures of the wolf pack and the pythons.

His flesh and blood began to writhe.

All this writhing was for the sake of unleashing that subtle, profound force, a sliver of profundity gleaned from demonic arts, in "Flying Swallow Mountain Collapse."

A long time passed.

An even longer time passed.

A faint hum suddenly emanated from Ning Xuan's arm. The hum was fleeting, but the air around his arm seemed to be struck by a fierce impact and abruptly expanded.

BOOM!

An explosive sound.

Ugly Slave also opened his eyes and looked at him.

Ning Xuan said, "Swallow the vibrating energy."

He gave his self-created secret technique a name.

Ugly Slave asked curiously, "Swallow the power of the wind?"

Ning Xuan walked over to a large boulder, embraced it with both hands, and tossed it upward, then stood directly beneath it.

Just as the boulder began to fall, he suddenly took a step forward. His flesh and blood began to writhe, and this writhing instantly transmitted a rapidly surging force to his left shoulder, allowing him to unleash "Flying Swallow Mountain Collapse" over an extremely short distance.

The boulder fell, and the moment it touched his left shoulder, it was suddenly torn apart by an unbelievable force.

CRASH!

The boulder shattered, and dust billowed.

From the need for running in "Bear Prowess Mountain Collapse," to the short-distance acceleration of "Swallow Return Step," and now to "Swallow's Cry Strength," which could be unleashed with flesh and blood power even without invoking the Heavenly Demon Scroll.

Ning Xuan felt a great sense of accomplishment.

Ugly Slave looked at him for a long time before commenting, "I don't know what realm you are in. Because, you don't seem to be within the realm system I know."

Ning Xuan asked, "May I ask, Celestial Master, what realms do you recognize?"

This was a question he had been curious about for a long time.

Ugly Slave replied, "Alchemist Realm, where one can crudely channel dragon qi, commonly referred to as True Person externally. After that is the Celestial Master Realm.

The Celestial Master Realm is divided into three minor realms.

The first is the Mountain Moving Realm. This is not about moving actual mountains, but about suppressing the soul and body as if they were pinned by a mountain, rendering them immobile;

The second is the Earth Evasion Realm. One merges with the dragon qi of mountains and rivers, achieving the ability to shrink distances, covering a mile with a single step, a hundred miles with a hundred steps. Simultaneously, one gains precognition of distant scenes across the land;

The third is the Celestial Master Seal. Different individuals have different seals, but in reality, only when one possesses their own seal can they be considered a true Celestial Master.

I... have barely mastered my own Celestial Master Seal."

Ning Xuan asked curiously, "Then, Celestial Master, how do you assess my aptitude? Can I also cultivate this?"

Ugly Slave shook his head and said, "You cannot cultivate it. Your blood qi is too potent, and your physique too strong. You cannot touch the dragon qi."

Ning Xuan then asked, "Where does this dragon qi come from, and where is it?"

Ugly Slave replied, "Once the mission is complete, Mr. Taiyi will tell you personally. Let's go."