Bright Jade Art

Zhou Heng smiled and clasped his fists. "I'd be grateful if Senior Sister Shen would give me some pointers!"

With her background as someone from the Third Heaven of Spirit Gathering, she was sure to have a far broader knowledge of martial arts than he did. He might as well hear what she had to say.

Shen Xinqi smiled radiantly. She had long wanted to mend her relationship with Zhou Heng, but until now, she hadn't had the chance. Naturally, she wouldn't let this one slip by. She walked over to him and took the list of martial arts manuals from his hands.

"Junior Brother Zhou probably doesn't know this, but martial arts techniques are divided into grades!" Her gaze rested on Zhou Heng.

Zhou Heng was taken aback, then thought of the Moon Shadow Heart Art. Compared to the Blazing Sun Art, it was more than twice as efficient at refining True Essence Power. Since cultivation arts had their advantages, it wasn't surprising that martial arts techniques also had different grades.

"I really didn't know." Zhou Heng nodded honestly.

Shen Xinqi smiled again. "Martial arts techniques are divided into three grades: upper, middle, and lower. Upper-grade techniques are the best, and lower-grade ones are the worst. The ones you're holding, hee-hee, are all lower-grade!"

If he was going to learn one, he might as well learn the best!

"Then why are you telling me this, Senior Sister Shen?"

"Ah, it's not that I don't want to help you. It's just that this floor only has lower-grade techniques. You'll have to go to the second floor to find middle-grade ones!" Shen Xinqi's beautiful eyes sparkled, radiating a charm that was hard to describe.

But Zhou Heng had no interest in women. To him, Shen Xinqi was nowhere near as practical as the manuals in his hands. He frowned, thinking that if the middle-grade techniques were on the second floor, wasn't she just messing with him?

"But there is one upper-grade technique on this floor. I wonder if Junior Brother Zhou might be interested?" Shen Xinqi turned the conversation around again.

No wonder people said that only petty men and women were hard to deal with!

Zhou Heng asked in confusion, "How can there be an upper-grade technique on this floor?"

Shen Xinqi smiled faintly. "It's nothing mysterious. That technique is called the Bright Jade Art. It's said to be an upper-grade martial art, but no one has ever mastered it—not even its first layer! Besides, this technique wasn't handed down by the Nine Spirits Sect's founding ancestor. The old sect master found it in some ruins more than a hundred years ago, and it was believed to be an upper-grade technique."

"Since no one ever managed to master it, people gradually began to wonder whether it was just a joke played by some predecessor."

"Besides, cultivating the Bright Jade Art requires a great deal of investment early on. You need to temper your body in medicinal baths, and afterward, you still can't see the slightest hope of success. Naturally, fewer and fewer people chose this technique. By now, hardly anyone even knows that the sect has an upper-grade martial art!"

After hearing her explanation, Zhou Heng grew interested. Following Shen Xinqi's directions, he found a manual in an inconspicuous corner of the last row. The words Bright Jade Art leapt into view.

He opened it and found that, just as Shen Xinqi had said, cultivating the Bright Jade Art required medicinal baths to cleanse the body and lay a foundation. Without that, tempering the body with True Essence Power alone could never make it both indestructible and capable of shattering anything in its path.

Should he choose this one?

Shen Xinqi had said no one had ever mastered the Bright Jade Art!

Perhaps the technique was simply too profound for anyone to know where to begin. But it was also possible that it really was a joke played by some predecessor. If that were the case, he'd be wasting his time for nothing.

He hesitated for only a moment before deciding to choose it. He was proud; if he was going to choose, he would naturally choose the best!

Zhou Heng put down the other martial arts techniques and kept only the Bright Jade Art.

"Junior Brother Zhou, are you really planning to cultivate this technique?" Shen Xinqi was somewhat surprised. She hadn't expected Zhou Heng to be so decisive.

"Mm!" Zhou Heng nodded. Once he had made up his mind, he wouldn't waver. "Thank you for your guidance, Senior Sister Shen!"

"You're welcome!" Shen Xinqi was about to say more, but Zhou Heng had already turned and walked away with the Bright Jade Art in hand. Frustration welled up in her as she thought, Why is this brat so clueless about romance?

A great beauty like her usually had people scrambling to crowd around her and curry favor. She hadn't expected this brat to get a chance to be alone with her and still fail to appreciate it!

No wonder he was so strong in battle. He must have devoted all his attention to martial arts, just like Jing Tian. But which of them had the brighter future?

Zhou Heng carried the Bright Jade Art over to the old man in green robes and said, "Senior, I'll choose this martial art!"

"Oh? The Bright Jade Art?" The old man was slightly surprised. He looked up at Zhou Heng and said, "Young man, do you know that no one has ever mastered this technique?"

"Yes." Zhou Heng nodded.

"Even so, you still want to choose it?"

"Yes!" Zhou Heng answered firmly.

"Very well. I'll fetch you a copy." The old man went through a door and returned shortly afterward with a book in his hand. He placed it on the table and said, "You have one month to study it. You must return it after a month. You must not pass it on to anyone else, or you will be sentenced to the most severe punishment!"

"Yes!" Zhou Heng replied solemnly.

The law forbidding the transmission of techniques beyond the sect was something he understood. For instance, the Zhou Family never passed on its important cultivation arts to outsiders. The techniques taught to boys from other families in town were all the most basic ones; only exceptionally talented boys could receive the inheritance of advanced arts.

He took the Bright Jade Art back to his residence and immediately began reading.

This was a handwritten copy, not the original Bright Jade Art. That made sense. After so many years, the original text must have been in tatters, crumbling at the slightest touch.

The Bright Jade Art was extremely complex. Every line of its incantation was profoundly mysterious and very difficult to understand.

"No wonder no one has mastered it. Most people would probably think these incantations were just nonsense scribbled down by some bored person. Once something gets profound enough, it really is no different from gibberish!"

A faint smile appeared on Zhou Heng's face. Unfortunately for everyone else, the Black Sword had imperceptibly transformed his comprehension to a terrifying degree. On top of that, he had been pondering the Heaven-Soaring Nine Styles. No matter how profound something was, it seemed simple to him, and he quickly grasped its mysteries.

The Bright Jade Art had ten layers. Upon reaching its highest level, one's physical body could rival a humanoid weapon!

The technique itself wasn't difficult to cultivate. The hard part was laying the foundation with medicinal baths beforehand. If he skipped this step and cultivated it directly, the flow of True Essence Power would first burst him apart from within.

Zhou Heng looked over the medicinal ingredients needed to cultivate the Bright Jade Art and couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

He was no longer the boy who had first left Raw Stone Town. His horizons had broadened considerably. Preparing this medicinal bath would cost at least tens of thousands of taels of silver.

He had no money!

Apart from the gallbladder of a Golden-Crowned Snake, Zhou Heng had nothing of value. He couldn't exactly sell his Frost Cold Sword, could he?

Where could he get some money?

The Heaven-Leveling Mountain Range!

It was a vast treasure trove. He had dared to venture in when he had only just reached the Flesh Refining Realm; how much more could he do now?

Besides, he wasn't far from the Blood Refining Realm. He also wanted to visit the Cold Pool in Absolute Valley and find out what was going on with the human figure beneath the water.

After taking the necessary supplies, he set off at once. After all, he had already received fifteen Gathering Essence Pills.

The Nine Spirits Sect didn't restrict its disciples' movements. They only had to complete the required tasks each month, but that didn't apply to Zhou Heng. The Top Ten of the Outer Sect only needed to cultivate and were exempt from all tasks.

In less than half a day, he had entered the vast mountains. Surrounded by lush green peaks and clear waters, he felt his spirits soar. True Essence Power surged within him like a tide, like mountains collapsing and seas roaring.

So relaxed! He had never felt so relaxed!

Zhou Heng gazed at the brilliant sun overhead, and his state of mind suddenly rose to a new height.

In that moment, he understood his own heart.

He was an eagle in the sky, and he needed a boundless expanse to soar through—not a confined place or a limited Domain.

Whether in the Zhou Family or the Nine Spirits Sect, he had always seemed bound by an invisible force. But in that moment, his heart took flight. He could soar into the ninth heaven to slay dragons, dive into the deep sea to roam, and finally unleash himself completely!

The Black Broken Sword quivered faintly. It was as if heaven and earth had responded, as streams of pure power surged toward him from every direction and entered his body.

It wasn't the Black Broken Sword releasing its power. Rather, the change in Zhou Heng's state of mind had stirred the sword's resonance, which in turn caused heaven and earth to respond and brought about this inexplicable change.

"Could this... be the spiritual energy of heaven and earth?" Zhou Heng was stunned. He had heard many times that experts in the Spirit Gathering Realm didn't cultivate by refining energy from food, but by directly absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth!

But he hadn't even reached the Blood Refining Realm. How could he sense, much less absorb, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth? Yet if it wasn't that, how else could he explain this? Had it simply appeared out of nowhere?

The Black Sword!

That was it. A martial artist had to open their Dantian to enter the Spirit Gathering Realm, merging their Dantian world with the natural world to absorb its spiritual energy! And the Black Sword was in his Dantian, serving as a bridge that let him connect directly to heaven and earth!

Zhou Heng sat cross-legged. He had no time to ponder whether that was really the case. He hurriedly circulated the Moon Shadow Heart Art, transforming the vast energy into True Essence Power and rapidly increasing his cultivation.

Late stage of the Ninth Layer of Body Refining!

Half an hour later, Zhou Heng stopped. No more power was flowing into his body from the surrounding area, which meant that the opportunity he had unexpectedly gained was over.

"I'm only a hair's breadth from reaching the peak of the Ninth Layer of Body Refining. The energy released by the Black Sword has been getting weaker and weaker, but it's still far more effective than Gathering Essence Pills. I should reach the peak of the Ninth Layer of Body Refining within ten days!"

"There's still some time. I'll hunt a few demonic beasts first, then head to the Cold Pool in that secluded valley!"

He leapt to his feet and raced through the mountains. As he used the Flying Cloud Steps, it was as if heaven and earth were propelling him forward. His footwork was profound and swift, yet consumed very little energy. On top of that, his body was approaching the peak of the Bone Refining Realm, and his constitution had grown stronger still—more than enough to sustain a long journey.

Two days later, he arrived in front of a dense forest. Just as he was about to enter, four people came walking out. Every one of them was cursing under his breath.

"That damned donkey! If I run into it again, I'll kill it and eat donkey meat!"

"It's so despicable, shameless, and vile! I've never encountered a demonic beast like that!"

"It actually dared to trick us into thinking it was some kind of wondrous beast of heaven and earth!"

Zhou Heng nearly spat with laughter. There was no doubt that the donkey they were talking about was the Despicable Donkey from Mist Death Valley!

That Despicable Donkey still hadn't left the Heaven-Leveling Mountain Range?