Demon Face Left Envoy

Grand Tutor Gao Fan glanced at his grandson, Gao Yi, took a sip of tea, and said unhurriedly, "If you want to accomplish something great, you have to keep your composure!"

He continued, "Even if that old man Xing Yao really intends to let that boy Zhou Cheng take charge of the Ten Thousand Stars Sect, Zhou Cheng still needs the strength to back it up."

"Otherwise, he won't be able to win people over."

"Besides, old man Xing Yao is advanced in years, and his qi and blood are gradually running dry. He won't last more than a few years. Once he dies, who will still remember what he said?"

Hearing this, Gao Yi lowered his head. "You're right, Grandpa." Then he said, "But wasn't Zhou Cheng supposed to have only average talent in martial arts? Why would Grandmaster accept him as his final disciple?"

Gao Fan also looked puzzled. "I had someone look into it. The people at Zhou Mansion said that Xing Yao claimed Zhou Cheng's talent in martial arts was astonishing."

Gao Yi scoffed. "Zhou Cheng only just broke through to Body Refining Level Four. He was thirteen when he finally reached Body Refining Level Four. And that's astonishing talent?"

Gao Fan couldn't make sense of it either.

At that moment, in his courtyard, Zhou Cheng swallowed a Nine-Orifice Golden Pill.

As the medicinal power of the Nine-Orifice Golden Pill surged through him, his Northern Dark Divine Technique continued to soar.

Before long, the Northern Dark Divine Technique reached 100% progress and broke through to Qi Refining Second Layer.

At the same time, his Black Tortoise Divine Body and Indestructible Vajra Divine Body each increased by 4 again.

Zhou Cheng checked his character panel.

Host: Zhou Cheng

Northern Dark Divine Technique: Qi Refining Second Layer, progress 12

Black Tortoise Divine Body: Initial Mastery, progress 12

Indestructible Vajra Divine Body: Initial Mastery, progress 12

When he broke through to Qi Refining First Layer, there hadn't been a realm breakthrough gift pack. Now that he'd reached Qi Refining Second Layer, there still wasn't one, making Zhou Cheng furrow his brow.

Could it be that there wouldn't be any more from now on?

That afternoon, Xing Yao came to see Zhou Cheng. He had originally left the Ten Thousand Stars Sect this time to take care of something important, but then he'd run into Zhou Cheng and been delayed. He'd come to say his farewells; it wouldn't be convenient to bring Zhou Cheng along while he took care of his business.

Then Xing Yao and Zhou Cheng agreed to meet again at the Ten Thousand Stars Sect in ten days.

Ten days later, they would hold the apprenticeship ceremony at the Ten Thousand Stars Sect.

As one of Da Feng's five Supreme Grandmasters, Xing Yao naturally couldn't treat accepting a disciple casually. They would hold a grand Apprenticeship Ceremony.

Beneath the setting sun, Xing Yao swept away in his gray robes.

Night fell.

Zhou Cheng stood in the courtyard, gazing up at the stars.

Since the Northern Dark Divine Technique absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to cultivate automatically, Zhou Cheng had actually found himself with more free time after breaking through to the Qi Refining Realm.

With nothing else to do, Zhou Cheng decided to spar with Qin Meng.

Qin Meng used a saber, so Zhou Cheng sparred with him using the Demon-Subduing Saber Technique.

Of course, Qin Meng suppressed his cultivation to Qi Refining Second Layer during their spar.

Qin Meng's saber technique was broad and sweeping, utterly natural. He had already mastered it to the point of perfection.

After they'd sparred for a while, the system's voice suddenly rang out in Zhou Cheng's mind.

"Your Demon-Subduing Saber Technique has sparred with a Xiantian Grandmaster's perfected saber technique. You've gained a great deal, and your cultivation progress has increased substantially."

Zhou Cheng was taken aback.

He opened the system and saw that the Demon-Subduing Saber Technique's cultivation speed really was much faster than usual.

After the Demon-Subduing Saber Technique reached the Mastery stage, its cultivation speed had slowed. Through automatic cultivation, it only gained 1 progress a day. But after sparring with Qin Meng for a while just now, its progress had increased by 1.

Seeing how much faster the Demon-Subduing Saber Technique cultivated after sparring with Qin Meng, Zhou Cheng immediately threw himself into it, using every trick he had and unleashing the Demon-Subduing Saber Technique with all his might.

They fought until midnight before Zhou Cheng finally stopped.

Even with his Dual Divine Body, after several hours of battle, Zhou Cheng was drenched in sweat, his blood and qi roiling as if boiling.

Ordinarily, Zhou Cheng could spend an entire night killing demon beasts in the Green Demon Mountain Range and only gain 1 progress. But after several hours of sparring, he discovered that the Demon-Subduing Saber Technique had gained 10.

At the same time, Zhou Cheng wondered: if sparring could rapidly improve the Demon-Subduing Saber Technique, what about the Wind-Facing Willow Steps and Roaming Dragon White Tiger Fist? Could sparring help them improve rapidly, too?

Although Qin Meng used a saber, his fist technique was also profound. He had a fist technique that had reached the perfected stage as well.

As for Lin Ru, he had a footwork technique that had reached the perfected stage.

But it was already late at night, so Zhou Cheng suppressed his urge to keep sparring.

He slept until he woke naturally.

Early the next morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, Zhou Cheng dragged Qin Meng out of bed to spar again.

This time, Zhou Cheng sparred with Qin Meng using fist techniques.

Sure enough, after a round of sparring, his Roaming Dragon White Tiger Fist cultivated much faster. And because it had the Azure Dragon and White Tiger Divine Beast, it cultivated even faster than the Demon-Subduing Saber Technique.

After sparring with Qin Meng using fist techniques in the morning, Zhou Cheng sparred with Lin Ru using footwork in the afternoon.

Zhou Cheng's Wind-Facing Willow Steps had now reached the Mastery stage, allowing him to drift through the air for more than a dozen steps. From a distance, he looked like a willow branch floating through the air, dancing with the wind and shifting in unpredictable ways. Lin Ru's footwork was even more impressive; it left a trail of afterimages in midair.

After sparring with Lin Ru, the Wind-Facing Willow Steps also cultivated much faster. Its rate of improvement wasn't as high as the Roaming Dragon White Tiger Fist's, but it was no slower than the Demon-Subduing Saber Technique's.

This made Zhou Cheng breathe a sigh of relief.

He'd been worrying about where he could find a storm.

Now that sparring could improve the Wind-Facing Willow Steps, why bother looking for a storm?

That afternoon, after Zhou Cheng finished sparring with Lin Ru, Qin Meng reported that a worker from the smithy had gone missing.

Zhou Cheng sent Jiang Chen, Yang Yu, and several others out to search.

In the end, they found the worker's body in a wooded area outside the Capital City.

By then, night had grown deep.

Zhou Cheng, Qin Meng, Lin Ru, and the others gathered around the corpse. They found a wound on its neck—a saber cut, fatal with a single strike.

The wound revealed nothing at a glance, but Lin Ru stepped forward and held one hand over it. A faint wisp of black demonic energy seeped out from deep within the wound.

"Demonic energy," Qin Meng said in a low voice. "Did someone from the Demonic Cult do this?"

Almost everyone in the Demonic Cult cultivated demonic arts, and their inner energy contained demonic energy.

Just then, a shocking saber flash tore through the night sky and shot toward Zhou Cheng. It was as fast as lightning, reaching him in an instant.

The saber flash was about to slash across Zhou Cheng's throat when Zhou Cheng's saber appeared in his hand. He swept it across, while Lin Ru struck at the same time with his sword, sword qi drifting down like snowflakes.

Clang!

A sharp, ringing crash split the air.

The saber in Qin Meng's hand hummed as he staggered back several steps.

But the other party was also forced back by Lin Ru's sword qi.

Seven or eight meters away stood a man wearing a mask. He wore a black robe, and his cold gaze swept over Zhou Cheng, Qin Meng, Lin Ru, Jiang Chen, and Lin Yu.

His eyes settled on Qin Meng and Lin Ru, and his voice rasped, "Two Xiantian Seventh Level experts!"

At that moment, Zhou Cheng wore the Demon God Garment, demonic energy surging around him. He looked at the man. "The Demonic Cult's Demon Face Left Envoy."

The person who had arrived was none other than the Demonic Cult's Demon Face Left Envoy.

The Demon Face Left Envoy looked coldly at Zhou Cheng. "You're the owner of the Demon God Smithy?" Then he pointed at Qin Meng. "Did one of your men kill the Four Great Dharma Kings of my Demonic Cult?"