Lin Fuxiang

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Boom!

With one slash, all the snow in the valley surged backward into the sky, rising a full half-foot before drifting down again in a complete mess.

"Finally... I've finally grasped a trace of the profundity within the Heaven-Soaring Nine Styles and learned the First Form of Heaven-Soaring!" Zhou Heng's face brimmed with wild joy. At that moment, he was as happy as a simple child.

He had merely mastered the first form!

Recalling the complete nine forms of swordplay the Black Sword had performed in his mind, Zhou Heng felt even more shaken. The Heaven-Soaring Nine Styles grew more powerful with every form. If he could comprehend the full essence of these Nine Sword Styles and wield them, they might truly possess the power to cleave the heavens and destroy the earth!

Now that he had truly executed the First Form of Heaven-Soaring, its power was even greater, yet it consumed far less of his strength than before—this strike had used only one-fifth of his True Essence Power!

"Before, I had only imitated the form. The Heaven-Soaring Nine Styles were too powerful, so I had needed to use my own strength to make up for the sword technique's power. Naturally, that drained more than half my True Essence Power in one go!"

"But now that I've grasped its true meaning, when the sword emerges, heaven and earth answer in harmony. It is as though some power from the unseen has attached itself to the sword technique. All I need to do is set the sword technique in motion!"

"It's like before, when I was pushing a cart with my hands—laborious and slow! Now, I'm sitting on the driver's seat, urging a horse-drawn carriage onward. I only need to guide it and point the way. Not only does it save effort, it is even faster!"

Zhou Heng revealed a satisfied smile. With that slash, who in the Zhou Family could evade him?

But being able to hit an opponent and being able to injure one were two different things!

Martial artists of the Bone Refining Realm and Blood Refining Realm had tempered their bodies until they were like hardened iron. Even if they stood still and let others hack at them, they would not be hurt! Against enemies at such a realm, unless one possessed a true divine weapon or precious blade, blunt-force strikes would actually be more effective.

"Divine weapons and precious blades?" Zhou Heng could not help sighing. How could such treasures be obtained so easily?

"Forget it. I'll get a good night's rest and leave the valley tomorrow!"

He retreated into the cave. Though the temperature remained low, after reaching the Skin Refining Realm, a martial artist possessed considerable resistance to the cold. Besides, Zhou Heng was nearly done with the Flesh Refining Realm now. He could still endure this bit of cold!

If he could reach the Blood Refining Realm, with the vitality and blood throughout his body flourishing, neither cold nor heat could invade him. He reckoned he could even dive into that icy pool in the valley.

"Once I reach the Blood Refining Realm, I'll come back. I must uncover the secret of that Mysterious Figure!"

One night passed. The heavy snow had stopped, and the snow in the valley was a full foot deep. Every step left a deep footprint. After one final look, Zhou Heng decisively turned around and strode away.

Two hours later, he emerged from the cave and saw the entire forest blanketed in white. Snow lay thick everywhere, icicles hung upside down, and the sight was spectacular beyond compare.

"I'm off!"

Zhou Heng let out a long howl. Naturally, he was not worried that the people from White Jade Valley would still be searching the forest for his trail. Unleashing the Flying Cloud Steps, he raced across the snow as swiftly as flight. Each step left only a faint footprint, without hindering his speed in the slightest.

Wonderfully profound!

After running for nearly two hours in one breath, he finally stopped to catch his breath. He only felt the blood and vitality throughout his body fully circulating, leaving him warm and indescribably comfortable.

But the moment he stopped, both feet sank deeply into the snow, and he could only move forward slowly.

Hm?

Zhou Heng suddenly tensed. He heard the sounds of fighting from afar. Driven by curiosity, he leaped up and skimmed over the branches.

A massive boulder appeared ahead, its surface remarkably flat. An intense battle was unfolding atop it.

One side was human; the other was an ape as tall as two men!

The ape was covered in golden fur, its eyes a vivid green. Combined with its massive body, it gave off an overwhelming pressure.

—a Green-Eyed Ape, a demonic beast!

An adult Green-Eyed Ape was an existence of the Bone Refining Realm. Cruel by nature and immensely strong, it fed on the brains of tigers and leopards. It could easily wipe out a squad formed of Flesh Refining Realm martial artists!

What sort of extraordinary, three-headed, six-armed expert could contend with such a creature?

Zhou Heng shifted his gaze to the person fighting the Green-Eyed Ape, only to find that she was not some burly man with thick brows and leopard eyes. Instead, she was an exquisitely beautiful young woman of eighteen or nineteen. She wore a pale yellow dress, accented only by a red silk sash at her waist, yet it perfectly outlined her delicate, graceful figure.

This beauty also used a sword. Its blade was cold as water and clearly no ordinary weapon, which was why the Green-Eyed Ape had so many reservations and did not dare press too close.

Sword Qi crisscrossed the air like flying dragons soaring through the heavens. Coupled with the woman's outstanding beauty and proud figure, the sight was a feast for the eyes. And to face this Bone Refining Realm demonic beast head-on, this beauty had to be at least at the Eighth Layer of Body Refining, perhaps even the Ninth Layer of Body Refining!

Zhou Heng found the sight pleasing to the eye, but the Green-Eyed Ape was miserable. It kept letting out shrill cries, dodging and yielding again and again, not daring to meet her edge directly.

"This strike would work better if you thrust half an inch farther to the left!"

"Mm, that strike came too early. You could delay it by half a second!"

"Why are you so stupid? Once the sword momentum has been spent, can't you push it forward with the flow?"

As a fellow human, Zhou Heng naturally stood on the beauty's side. Yet after watching her swordsmanship, he felt an urge to jump down and give her a vicious beating. How could anyone be so foolish as to wield such a fine sword technique so terribly?

"Eh, when did my eye become so sharp?"

Only after a while did Zhou Heng realize that he could actually see through the flaws in the beauty's sword moves with ease!

Not only that, it was as if he had practiced her sword technique a thousand times, ten thousand times, and knew it like the back of his hand. Its strengths and weaknesses alike were entirely within his grasp!

But he had been unable to cultivate before. He had only truly begun learning the sword a little over two months ago, and from beginning to end, he had learned only the Heaven-Soaring Nine Styles. Even now, he had only grasped the subtleties of the first form!

Hiss!

Just what heights had he reached?

Grasping the essentials, he had already stepped beyond the confines of individual moves and forms. From high above, he looked down upon them, almost approaching the Dao itself!

Zhou Heng's blood surged to his head, and his mind became a little dizzy. When he came back to himself, the Green-Eyed Ape had already roared and leaped away. Its body flashed like lightning, vanishing into the distance in an instant.

The beauty did not pursue it. She seemed to know that, with the Green-Eyed Ape's agility, she could never catch it in the forest. With a clang, she sheathed her sharp sword, but her pair of clear black-and-white eyes turned toward the tree where Zhou Heng was hiding.

"Have you not seen enough yet?" she coldly rebuked. Yet her voice was like a clear spring flowing from a valley, incomparably pleasant to hear.

So she had discovered him long ago!

Zhou Heng leaped down from the tree. The Flying Cloud Steps unfolded naturally, and the snow only covered the soles of his feet.

The beauty could not help revealing a trace of shock. Her lovely willow brows furrowed as she said, "Who are you, sir? Why were you peeping from the side?"

Zhou Heng waved both hands and smiled. "Don't misunderstand. I was merely passing by!"

Watching others practice or fight was a grave taboo!

"Hmph, do you think I'll believe you just because you say that?" The beauty slapped her right hand against the hilt, and her longsword sprang from its sheath. Cold and gleaming, it flashed before her. She believed Zhou Heng had been hiding nearby to secretly learn her sword technique.

Zhou Heng was still only seventeen, naturally carrying the pride of youth. Curling his lips, he said, "With your chaotic, disorderly swordsmanship, do I really need to steal it?"

"Hmph, then let you have a taste of the power of this chaotic, disorderly swordsmanship!" the beauty shouted angrily. Her sword shot out with a swish, stabbing swiftly at Zhou Heng's wrist.

Her name was Lin Fuxiang, daughter of the Nine Spirits Sect's sect master. She was a born martial arts prodigy, brilliantly intelligent! The Flying Waterfall Sword Technique she cultivated was one of the Nine Spirits Sect's extraordinary arts, extremely difficult to practice. Fewer than ten people in the sect had mastered it!

Yet she had achieved minor success in merely three years, winning countless praises! Earlier, she had even forced back the Green-Eyed Ape. Although the might of her divine weapon had played a part, that was enough to demonstrate this sword technique's power!

This was what she took the greatest pride in, yet Zhou Heng actually dared slander her swordsmanship. How could that not enrage her?

She was not cruel by nature. This strike was merely meant to teach Zhou Heng a lesson; she had no intention of injuring him.

Who would have thought that Zhou Heng merely tapped his foot lightly and evaded it, then even gave her a brilliantly sunny smile, nearly driving her mad with anger!

That hateful brat—was he provoking her?

Lin Fuxiang felt a blaze of fury rise within her. Swish, swish, swish! She swung her sword without pause, determined to make this hateful brat suffer a little.

At this level of swordsmanship... he would not touch even the corner of her clothes in ten thousand years!

In Zhou Heng's eyes, Lin Fuxiang's swordsmanship was riddled with flaws. He could evade it with effortless ease. Before her wrist had even fully moved, he already knew what move she would use and had reacted in advance.

Of course, that was also because he had learned the Flying Cloud Steps. Seeing a flaw was one thing; being able to dodge it in time was another! And if Lin Fuxiang were a little stronger and a little faster, exceeding the limits of the Flying Cloud Steps, then she would not need any techniques at all. A single thrust of her sword would be enough to wound and kill!

One force could defeat ten thousand techniques. Once strength reached a certain level, no skill was needed at all.

"You brat, do you only know how to dodge?" Lin Fuxiang had attacked for so long without success that she actually resorted to provoking him.

Zhou Heng laughed heartily. Pride surged within him, and he could not help saying, "Then I'll break it for you to see!"

Clang! The longsword at his waist also left its sheath. Seeing Lin Fuxiang's sword coming at him, he casually raised his own blade upright.

Lin Fuxiang's lovely face immediately changed color. This seemingly careless stroke pointed directly at the sole flaw in her sword technique. If she did not alter her move, her lower abdomen would be pierced first, and only afterward would her own sword slice across Zhou Heng's shoulder.

She hurriedly gave a sharp cry, tapped her lotus foot, and sent her graceful body spinning through the air as she retreated seven meters.

—In truth, with her Bone Refining Realm defenses, even if Zhou Heng stabbed her lower abdomen, he might not cause her much harm. On the other hand, her treasured sword could cut gold and jade; with one slash, it could even sever his upper body!

But firstly, Lin Fuxiang did not wish to take such a risk. Secondly, they were only exchanging pointers, competing for a breath of pride. What meaning was there in winning by relying on a higher realm and a sharper weapon?

It had merely been a coincidence, right?

Lin Fuxiang refused to believe Zhou Heng could break her Flying Waterfall Sword Technique. Tapping her foot again, she shot forward once more. Her sword danced, drawing out a waterfall-like shadow of blades.

Zhou Heng smiled faintly and casually swung his sword.

Had this brat stumbled upon it by chance again?

Lin Fuxiang hurriedly changed direction once more, rallied herself, and continued attacking without believing in evil.

Back, back, back, back, back!

After thirty-six consecutive strikes, the shock on Lin Fuxiang's face grew ever deeper. That hateful brat could not possibly have chanced upon it thirty-six times in a row, completely dismantling the sword technique she took such pride in!

She stopped, stamped her foot fiercely, and her full breasts trembled violently with the motion, rolling like waves in a most spectacular sight.