Nine-Fold Thunder Blade

If even mid-level Beast General monsters could be tamed at will, it could turn human society upside down. This was far too valuable. With tamed Beast Generals, humanity could once again dominate the entire planet.

"Hmph, that's a trade secret!"

Liu Yun thought about how the only way to get the Iron Armored Dragon's teeth he needed was from these tamed "spy" monsters!

There were plenty of War General-level monsters. If Liu Yun could control them all, he might stand a chance against a Lord-level Monster. After all, a so-called Lord-level Monster still wasn't a Planetary Stage monster. If he could control one with a chip, then Liu Yun would truly be defying the heavens.

But in the eyes of Yang Xiaolong, Ruby, and the others, being able to tame War Generals at will was already terrifying enough.

"I think that's what Glinda meant. He may not be a War God, but he's an excellent beast tamer! He's just as capable."

Xueni toyed with the Rose Rapier, as if she had found the answer. The others pondered for a moment and decided it made sense. So Liu Yun was simply a very unusual mid-level War General.

Liu Yun was, of course, unimpressed by their sudden realization. He couldn't even be bothered to explain. He simply continued practicing on the beach, this time with Fishmen guarding him.

Training was essential, and Liu Yun was most devoted to the Nine-Fold Thunder Blade, which had stayed with him all along. The first layer allowed him to release one extra wave of hidden force, giving him 1.4 times his strength. The second layer let him release two extra waves, giving him 2.1 times his strength. By the third layer, he could release three extra waves, giving him 2.8 times his strength.

The Thunder Blade had no actual lightning; it was simply as fast as lightning. Liu Yun trained hard on his own, using his Machine Race Clone only afterward to analyze where his movements had gone wrong and what he needed to improve.

It was like having an exceptionally skilled master constantly guiding him, correcting every misunderstanding and helping him improve at astonishing speed. Even Thunder God himself would have been hard-pressed to match it.

"First layer, Thunder Motion First Appearance!" Liu Yun shouted, springing forward like an arrow loosed from a bow toward a boulder nearby. His Straight Blade flashed. With a soft hum, it was as if lightning had burst through the air. A wave of hidden force clung to the tip of his blade and struck the target in an instant. The boulder cracked on impact, a clean fissure spreading from the blade mark and revealing the astonishing power of the strike.

"Second layer, Double Thunder Roar!" Before the first strike's force had faded, Liu Yun pivoted and swung again. This time, his blade moved faster, his strength more concentrated. The blade traced a brilliant arc through the air. Two rumbles of thunder sounded almost simultaneously as two waves of hidden force intertwined like twin bolts of lightning and slammed into another boulder. It shattered with a crash, fragments flying everywhere as the second layer's terrifying destructive power was laid bare.

"Third layer, Triple Thunder Storm!" As Liu Yun's understanding of the Nine-Fold Thunder Blade deepened, his technique grew ever more polished. He closed his eyes, as if merging with the lightning between heaven and earth, faint sparks of light encircling him. When he opened them again, his gaze was resolute. With a shout, he moved like a leaf tossed about in a gale, his Straight Blade seeming almost alive as it traced dazzling paths through the air. Three deafening rumbles followed, and three waves of hidden force erupted at once like a triple thunderstorm, pulverizing an enormous reef ahead of him. Sand and stone flew everywhere, the display magnificent in its power.

He had completely mastered these three layers. After running through them a few times, he rested briefly and felt that he was on the verge of a breakthrough today.

"Nine-Fold Thunder Blade, fourth layer—Four Symbols Thunder Vortex!"

Liu Yun suddenly accelerated, darting between the beach and the reefs like a bolt of lightning. His Straight Blade traced intricate, mysterious patterns through the air, like the turning of the stars or the rotation of the Four Symbols. With a thunderous shout, four streams of hidden force burst from the tip of his blade. They intertwined in midair, colliding to form a vortex!

Yet Liu Yun's breakthrough did not stop there. He knew that the path of a true powerhouse had no end. After a brief pause to catch his breath, he gathered his focus again, preparing to break through to the fifth layer of the Nine-Fold Thunder Blade.

"Nine-Fold Thunder Blade, fifth layer—Five Thunders Break Evil!" Liu Yun's voice rang out even louder. This time, instead of striking immediately, he stood still and closed his eyes to focus, as though communicating with heaven and earth through some mysterious means. Four streams of hidden force formed a vortex of air around him, circling like a tornado that refused to disperse.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Five deafening blasts rang out. Five massive tornadoes of hidden force descended from the sky like divine punishment, tearing apart the Four Symbols Thunder Vortex before slamming into the sea in front of Liu Yun. The seawater evaporated instantly, revealing the reefs on the seabed. Under the barrage of lightning, those reefs were reduced to dust.

When the dust settled, Liu Yun still stood where he had been. His clothes had been torn by the power of the lightning, but his gaze was more resolute than ever, as though he had undergone a trial and been reborn.

Blacka was astonished. She could never have imagined Liu Yun would improve so quickly, reaching a level beyond anything she could conceive.

She was stunned, even captivated. She was the first to realize that Liu Yun was definitely a War God—and an extraordinarily powerful one. She had already resolved to follow him, no matter what happened.

"You use a Straight Blade too! I heard that, for historical reasons, people in the China Region now all use the curved blades of the nomadic tribes."

She gently stroked the Straight Blade in her hand, a tender look passing through her eyes. It seemed the weapon was not only her tool, but also her companion.

Blacka was perceptive. She was slender, yet she possessed astonishing explosive power and endurance. She held a long, sharp Straight Blade much like Liu Yun's. Its cold sheen in the sunlight suited her calm, resolute manner.

"Hmph, I just like it! Straight Blades originated here in the first place. Is it really that strange for me to use one?"

The past came to mind, and even the usually languid Liu Yun showed some displeasure. Still, he didn't think much of it.

Many monsters stood guard around them. They were Beast Generals Liu Yun had recently brought under his control with chips. Some resembled dragons, others sea turtles, and several were flying monsters. Ruby and the others immediately began fighting over them.

Flying Beast Generals were extremely precious, but Liu Yun didn't care much. He simply gave them to the girls and let them choose freely. That finally made them accept him as one of their own.

Amid the shrieks of the monsters and the girls squabbling over them, Blacka remained beside Liu Yun, chatting with him. She was very interested in his blade technique.

"What? Aren't you going to pick a battle pet?"

Liu Yun himself was surprised. If he'd been a War General and come across free Beast General battle pets, he wouldn't have been able to sit still either.

A Ghost Fighter at the Beast General level usually cost at least five or six hundred million. And a fighter was, after all, lifeless and less flexible than a battle pet. Generally speaking, battle pets were even more valuable than fighters.

Even the commotion Liu Yun had made earlier hadn't lessened their eagerness to fight over the monsters, leaving him at a loss for words.

"I..."

Blacka lowered her head slightly, her gaze shifting between the Straight Blade in her hand and Liu Yun. Sunlight filtered through the clouds and fell in dappled patches across her, giving her already fair skin a faint golden glow and adding to her almost sickly beauty.

"I've been training in the Nine-Fold Thunder Blade too, but I've never managed to get past the second layer. Watching you train just now, I suddenly felt I was on the verge of a breakthrough. That's why I stayed."

At that, Blacka sighed softly, a hint of loneliness flickering in her eyes. She continued, "Besides, I'm used to fighting alone. Battle pets can make you stronger, but they can also become a burden. I like the feeling of being free and unrestrained, just like the Straight Blade in your hand—following your will, bound by nothing."

Liu Yun laughed when he saw her reaction. She certainly knew what she was talking about, but he didn't answer directly.

He had always relied on pills to advance his level. His Psychic ability was at the mid-level War God stage, while his Martial Artist ability was still only at the high-level War General stage. He had been training in the Nine-Fold Thunder Blade lately, hoping to break through to the War God level through his own efforts.

With help from the Machine Race Clone, anything was possible. In fact, by the time Liu Yun had reached the fifth layer of the Nine-Fold Thunder Blade, he had already become a War God-level expert—and he had trained to that level himself. The Machine Race Clone had only given him "a tiny bit" of instruction.

"I'll be training here for a while longer. You can watch from behind, but don't make a sound, and don't tell them how strong I am."

He was still training hard, waiting for the day he could go after the Iron Armored Dragon. His strength was now close to that evil dragon's. When the time came, he would show them what true power looked like: the return of an Invincible War God.

"Mm, okay! We're the same age, so I won't ask you to take me as your disciple. I hope I can keep following you from now on!"

Blacka had no powerful backing, so she had long since made plans for the future. Being able to train under an Invincible War God was as good as it got. In truth, spying on someone's training could be a serious offense if they chose to make an issue of it. Blacka could even have been crippled for it.

Now that she had such a good opportunity, she naturally wouldn't let it pass. She drew her own elegant Straight Blade and began practicing the Nine-Fold Thunder Blade alongside him.

Liu Yun thought that, thanks to his diligent training, his strength had undergone a fundamental transformation. With help from the tamed Beast Generals, his chances of winning were now at least fifty percent.

That meant upgrading his base was finally within reach. This time, he was determined to upgrade it and break into the Councilor ranks as soon as possible. There was so much excitement waiting for him—how could he get by without even holding the title of a Planetary Stage Martial Artist?