I Want to Become Stronger!

At the instant Su Ming swung his right hand, the crescent moon that had been fading from the sky suddenly blazed with an almost blinding silver light. No one else could see it; only Su Ming could witness it clearly.

That silver light suddenly descended from the heavens. As Su Ming swung his hand, he saw the world before him twist. Then, in a flash, the moonlight he seemed to have drawn down from the full moon roared into being. A vast stretch of rocks ahead of him split apart into countless fragments and scattered, some tumbling into the ravine. The echoes lingered for a long time.

Su Ming's eyes widened. He sucked in a sharp breath and stared blankly at his right hand. It took him a while to come to his senses. When he abruptly looked up at the sky, the moon had vanished, and the sun was rising. Light spread across the whole world.

"This... is the Fire Barbarian technique? But this technique is connected to the moon, yet there isn't the slightest trace of fire in it. Why?" Su Ming murmured. His heart pounded faster. The power of the moonlight he had drawn forth with his right hand just moments ago contained a strange quality he couldn't understand, but the sharpness within it had made his heart leap.

He abruptly clenched his right fist and, with a flicker in his eyes, punched another boulder nearby. His blood surged through his body, and twenty-five blood lines crisscrossed. The instant his fist struck the boulder, a muffled boom rang out. Several cracks appeared across the stone with a series of sharp snaps. At the same time, a tremendous force rebounded into Su Ming's right hand and coursed through his body, but the flow of his blood qi dispersed it.

Su Ming took a step back and gazed at the boulder, now marked with several cracks. Excitement gradually appeared in his eyes.

"With the strength I have now, at the fourth layer of the Blood Condensation Realm, I can only crack this boulder... If I use the Spirit Devouring Barbarian Art and find the right beast spirit, perhaps I could shatter it... But this is already the limit of my strength, and it still falls far short of that sliver of moonlight.

"If a single sliver of moonlight can do that, then if I draw down more..." Su Ming took a deep breath, then smiled, looking quite pleased. He could feel the changes in himself and the power within his body. More than anything, he looked forward to... the arrival of night.

"The only pity is that this moonlight power seems to be usable only at night." Su Ming pondered briefly, then turned and returned to the cave.

Never before had Su Ming looked forward so intensely to nightfall. From time to time, he peered through the small holes to check the sky, feeling as though the day was passing especially slowly. Gradually, the sky darkened once more. When moonlight spilled across the earth, Su Ming suppressed his excitement and gazed at the full moon. He let out a long breath, and a gleam appeared in his eyes.

From the inheritance of the Barbarian Statue, Su Ming knew that once he reached the fifth layer of the Blood Condensation Realm or higher, he would be able to use two immensely powerful Barbarian Arts passed down from the medium-sized Wu Mountain Tribe of hundreds of years ago!

Black Blood Dust and Three Baleful Slashes!

Black Blood Dust condensed a single drop of Barbarian Blood within the body, unleashing astonishing power in an instant. As for Three Baleful Slashes, whenever Su Ming thought of it, his heart leaped with excitement.

Black Blood Dust required at least fifty blood lines to use. Three Baleful Slashes was even more difficult. Only those who had condensed two hundred blood lines could begin to use it, and even then they could only strike down one Baleful Intent!

The fifth layer of the Blood Condensation Realm required fifty-three blood lines. To become a Barbarian Warrior of the sixth layer, one needed one hundred and nine! The seventh layer required two hundred and forty-three!

The peak of the middle stage of the Blood Condensation Realm was the eighth layer, which required three hundred and ninety-nine blood lines!

The ninth layer and above marked the late stage of the Blood Condensation Realm. By the eleventh layer, the requirement reached the limit of an ordinary Barbarian Warrior: seven hundred and eighty-one blood lines. More than that meant greater strength and a better chance of reaching the Dust Opening Realm!

Su Ming's eyes glimmered as he watched the moon in the sky. His anticipation grew stronger and stronger. As he silently pictured the moon as red in his mind, it gradually turned red before his eyes. The burning sensation in his gaze appeared once more.

This time, Su Ming didn't hesitate. He bit his fingertip, lifted his hand, and smeared the blood across his eyes. A roar seemed to resound through his whole body, and the strange changes that had appeared the day before, both inside and outside Black Flame Peak, surfaced once again.

"I want to become stronger!" Su Ming murmured. Twenty-five blood lines appeared across his body, their light flashing as they continuously absorbed the mountain's aura from all directions. At the same time, the Blood Moon in his eyes flashed violently. He abruptly raised his right hand and smeared his eyes again!

"The desire of the Barbarian Dao reaches the ends of the eight directions. The remaining fire fuses with blood; a thought burns the skies; when thought is spent, the heavens ignite... When the fiery moon emerges from the clouds, amid the boundless world... At that moment, meditate in silence: Blood Fire Stacking, nine as the limit, one as the law. Burn the Barbarian Fire and bow nine times to complete the Fire Worship Technique!

"Nine is the limit! Nine is the limit!! To me, those words mean that Blood Fire Stacking must be performed nine times!" After Su Ming's right hand passed over his eyes for the second time, his entire body suddenly trembled. All of Black Flame Peak shook, though no one could sense it.

An even more powerful mountain aura surged in, flooding Su Ming's body and making him feel as though he might burst apart. The twenty-five blood lines across his body blazed so brightly they seemed alive, writhing and twisting.

In that instant, a twenty-sixth blood line appeared on Su Ming's body. And it didn't stop there. The twenty-seventh, twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth... all the way to the thirty-third blood line appeared at once!

Su Ming's breathing quickened, and his heart pounded faster. The feeling of possessing such powerful strength consumed him, as though he never wanted to wake from it. Yet his mind remained clear. The Blood Moon in his eyes flashed, and he slowly raised his right hand, biting into a third finger.

A strange power seemed to reside in the blood on his fingertip. Su Ming watched it, then slowly brought it before his eyes. He was going to perform Blood Fire Stacking for the third time!

He felt with overwhelming certainty that if he could perform Blood Fire Stacking three times, his cultivation would advance by leaps and bounds! The strength of this feeling made his body tremble. Fixing his gaze on his fingertip, Su Ming gritted his teeth, pressed it to his right eye, and gently smeared it. He had barely spread the blood when all of Wu Mountain shook as one!

It wasn't just Black Flame Peak that trembled. The other four peaks shuddered as well, as if their souls had been shaken. Countless birds and beasts stared at the sky in terror, not daring to move a muscle. Yet to anyone looking at the mountains, they seemed as usual, with no visible change.

The Black Dragon Tribe didn't notice it, and neither did the Wu Mountain Tribe. Only Bi Tu, who was meditating in the Black Mountain Tribe as he absorbed the Moon Wing's blood and attempted to break into the Dust Opening Realm, felt his heart clench. He opened his eyes, alarm flashing within them, then immediately rose and left his dwelling to look up at the sky.

But the sensation vanished in an instant, like smoke in the wind. No matter how carefully he searched, he couldn't find the source of his alarm.

At the same time, the instant Su Ming attempted Blood Fire Stacking for the third time, all the Moon Wings deep within the five peaks of Wu Mountain showed signs of excitement. They thrashed wildly within the strange tree trunks where they dwelled, as if they wanted to break free and seek out their king!

But some force held them in place, and they seemed unable to leave.

The strange red trees within Wu Mountain trembled as well. It was impossible to tell whether they were excited or afraid.

Inside the cave, Su Ming's body trembled after he had smeared a little blood across his right eye. He had no choice but to stop. The immense aura surging from all of Wu Mountain poured madly into his body, and the blood lines across him multiplied at a speed that even he found terrifying.

Thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six... forty-two, forty-four... until they reached forty-seven!!

Su Ming couldn't continue. The sensation of his body about to burst grew ever clearer. At that moment, he could even faintly hear the roars of Moon Wings echoing somewhere across Wu Mountain.

He abruptly raised his right hand, breathing hard and gasping for air. Sweat drenched his entire body. At the same time, the soul-shaking tremor of Wu Mountain ceased, the immense aura that had surged toward him dissipated, and the faint roars vanished. Everything returned to normal.

But Su Ming knew that nothing about what had just happened was normal!

"What a powerful Barbarian Art!! I can feel it: if I complete Blood Fire Stacking for the third time, my blood lines will double! And this is only the third time. What if I do it nine times..." Su Ming sucked in a sharp breath. He was beginning to fear the thought of continuing his cultivation.

"This is only nine times. If my understanding is right, after nine rounds of Blood Fire Stacking, I can bow once to the fiery moon in the sky... After nine bows, I can reach the heavens through the Fire Barbarian!" Su Ming murmured. He felt the incredible strength within him and, after a long while, slowly lifted his head. A trace of resolve appeared in his eyes.

"With Medicine Stones to support my cultivation of this technique... I have hope of reaching the Dust Opening Realm!" Su Ming clenched his fist.