Cultivation

The next morning, atop the cliff face of the mist-shrouded Grand Canyon.

Facing the rising sun, Zhou Zheng sat cross-legged, quietly tempering the Battle Qi within his body.

After breaking through to Title-level, his materialized Battle Qi had condensed into a Solid Core within his Dantian Qi Sea. To truly break through and become a transcendent, he needed to constantly temper and nurture this Solid Core until it underwent a qualitative change and produced the first wisp of Transcendent Battle Qi.

This tempering and nurturing was a tedious affair, and unless one possessed particularly precious treasures, there was almost no shortcut to take.

As for when Transcendent Battle Qi would be born, no one could say for certain.

Of course, Zhou Zheng had reached the Myriad Realms and grasped the Mysteries of All Things, giving him a far greater advantage than ordinary Title-level experts when it came to nurturing Battle Qi.

He was not yet sixteen. Logically speaking, if he continued nurturing it step by step, he would eventually break through and become a transcendent.

Back in the Xia Clan World, Zhou Zheng had never worried about this matter, because he only needed to let nature take its course. But now that he had entered the Temporal Temple, breaking through sooner versus later made an enormous difference.

If he broke through early, his strength would be greater. During Temporal Temple missions, he would be able to accomplish more, acquire more resources, and grow even stronger. This would form a virtuous cycle, giving him a greater chance of survival and a better hope of holding out until the Gate of Time and Space finished cooling down.

But if he failed to break through for a long time, then whether he could survive mission after mission would depend on luck.

"Being anxious won't help!"

Zhou Zheng stopped nurturing his Battle Qi. His consciousness entered the depths of his soul, where a gate that seemed infinitely vast yet infinitely small floated within pitch-black Void.

This was the Gate of Time and Space.

The Gate of Time and Space constantly emitted a peculiar energy. Imperceptibly, this energy altered the aptitude of Zhou Zheng's body and soul. This was the key to his becoming a genius.

"There's still a long way to go before the cooldown ends!"

Zhou Zheng sensed the situation within the Gate of Time and Space and understood.

Perhaps because this world was of too high a level, Zhou Zheng could clearly sense that the Gate of Time and Space would need at least several centuries, perhaps even over a thousand years, to finish cooling down.

A Flying Celestial level transcendent only had a lifespan of eight hundred years, while ordinary mortals lived for barely more than a hundred.

In other words, if Zhou Zheng could not break through and become a transcendent, he would not even be qualified to wait for the Gate of Time and Space to finish cooling down!

"Take it slowly!"

With that thought, Zhou Zheng rose from the boulder, drew the longsword from his back, and began carefully wiping it down.

This was a pitch-black longsword. Apart from some golden ornamentation on the hilt, everything from the grip to the blade was dark and profound.

This sword had been forged entirely from a material known as Deep Sea Gold. It was spoils Zhou Zheng had won through a hard-fought duel.

Not only was Deep Sea Gold incomparably tough, more importantly, it was a transcendent material.

To be transcendent was to transcend the mundane. Using mortal weapons, no matter how great one's strength or how fierce the weapon's power, it was impossible to inflict even the slightest harm upon a transcendent.

For a mortal lifeform to injure a transcendent, there was only hope if they wielded a weapon forged from transcendent materials!

Back in the Xia Clan World, Zhou Zheng had not planned to provoke any transcendent beings, so his weapon had not mattered much. But now, under the control of the Temporal Temple, he might one day be forced to face a transcendent. At such a time, this longsword forged from transcendent material would be of vital importance.

If he encountered a transcendent, this sword would give Zhou Zheng a sliver of hope to contend against one. Without it, he might as well wait to die!

Mortals could not harm transcendent beings!

After meticulously wiping down the sword in his hand, Zhou Zheng soon moved.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

It was as if flashes of lightning streaked through the air. Countless sword shadows appeared around him, sealing off all space. The power faintly contained within them made the surrounding airflow tremble violently.

Lightning Swordplay—this was the sword art Zhou Zheng had practiced since childhood. It had been created by an exceptionally formidable transcendent, and after obtaining it by chance, Zhou Zheng had learned a great deal from it.

But at his current realm, the Lightning Swordplay that had once left him utterly astonished was no longer flawless like a textbook. Instead, it had revealed many areas that could be improved.

Thus, what Zhou Zheng used now was the Lightning Swordplay he had modified himself!

He did not dare claim that the sword art he had altered surpassed the original, but it was certainly the one best suited to him.

Zhou Zheng's figure shifted constantly alongside his swordplay, emphasizing only two things: speed and ferocity.

The characteristics of lightning were speed and ferocity!

"During a fight, pure speed and ferocity may be unmatched for a time, but if I want to go further, my sword must be flexible enough." Zhou Zheng was not practicing blindly; he was thinking as well.

Gradually, a gentle breeze arose within a radius of more than a thousand meters around Zhou Zheng. These winds were light and elusive.

The wind blew, and Zhou Zheng also tried to incorporate that feeling into his swordplay.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Zhou Zheng's swordplay began to grow lighter and instantly much more agile, but its speed was affected.

However, Zhou Zheng was not discouraged. Instead, he continued trying again and again.

He did not stop until the sky began to darken.

"That's enough for today!" Zhou Zheng sheathed the black longsword on his back.

However, he did not leave immediately. Instead, he stood where he was, pondering what he had gained throughout the day.

"I'm becoming increasingly skilled at combining the Mystery of Wind and the Mystery of Lightning, but it still feels like something is missing!" Zhou Zheng contemplated quietly.

The Mysteries of All Things Zhou Zheng had grasped did not consist solely of lightning. He also had the Myriad Wind.

Long ago, Zhou Zheng had wanted to combine the two Mysteries and incorporate them into his swordplay. Now he could achieve a preliminary fusion, but he still could not attain a perfect result.

"The combination of the Mystery of Wind and the Mystery of Lightning should not only make my swordplay more agile; it should also make my sword strikes faster. Yet the truth is that wind has affected lightning's speed!" Zhou Zheng could not understand it no matter how much he thought.

Half an hour later, Zhou Zheng shook his head and leaped directly down into the Grand Canyon before him.

A moment later, Zhou Zheng arrived at a cave within the Gorge.

At that moment, Feng Zhuhong, the Mage, was setting up various spell arrays nearby. For Mages, having ample time to prepare and suddenly entering battle were completely different situations in terms of the strength they could display.

If a Title-level Mage had sufficient time to set up spell arrays, they might even have a chance of affecting a transcendent.

They planned to hide here for a month until the mission ended, but they could not rule out the possibility of being found by another team. Naturally, they had to be cautious, and Feng Zhuhong's spell arrays were for that reason.

Deep within the cave, the fat man Herk had transformed into was gulping down wine and meat, while Wang Chongshan carefully attended to him nearby.

It seemed Wang Chongshan had made up his mind to cling to Herk's thigh.

One wondered what he would think once he learned that Herk's true identity was an Abyss Demon.