A Hefty Reward

"My Mind's Eye could see that this was an extremely young man. The fluctuations of his life force showed that he could not have been older than thirty. He hid in the darkness, so I could not make out his true face. I could only see his eyes shining like stars. I could not see through him; it seemed that an immensely powerful Holy Spirit was protecting him."

Sect Master Mingxin's words left every powerhouse in the world utterly shocked and unable to believe it.

If an Innate powerhouse reached the pinnacle, rejuvenated, and remained forever young, then it was entirely possible for someone four or five hundred years old to look twenty or thirty.

But for a young man under thirty to have already reached the Innate realm—that was simply too inconceivable...

Just what immortal pills or spiritual medicines had this brat consumed? He had reached the Innate realm before thirty. Once he truly grew up, who could possibly contain him? Even the Four Great Sects, with countless spiritual medicines to consume and sacred beasts and divine beasts to aid them, needed nearly a century of cultivation to reach the Innate realm. Compared to that, this brat's cultivation speed was far too outrageous.

Just what cultivation method did he practice?

For a time, all the powerhouses were filled with yearning, hoping to find that young Innate powerhouse as soon as possible and obtain his method for swiftly reaching the Innate realm.

Yue Yang knew nothing of any of this. He had no idea that he had caused the entire Great Xia to erupt in turmoil.

Mercenaries, assassins, and thieves went mad. The mercenaries of White Stone City, Red Forest City, and Black Rock City in particular regretted it until their guts turned green. Why had they gone to sleep? Even if they had only gotten up in the middle of the night to take a piss, they could have seen that brilliant pillar of light and earned fifty gold coins. What kind of staggering reward was that?

Hunting a level-three Lightning Leopard, with its pelt kept completely intact, could earn at most sixty silver coins—not even one gold coin.

If they were lucky and the Lightning Leopard had mutated and produced a magic crystal, it would only be worth five gold coins.

But hunting a mutated Lightning Leopard with a mercenary squad of fewer than five people was basically a suicide mission; with fewer than ten, they probably would not even get a single hair from it. To kill a mutated Lightning Leopard, one needed a mercenary group of at least a hundred people...

The fifty-gold reward was equal to the total value of killing ten mutated Lightning Leopards.

Now, they only needed to glimpse the brilliant pillar of light marking an Innate powerhouse's birth. How could the mercenaries in those three cities not beat their chests and stamp their feet in bitter regret?

Yet strangely enough, not a single person had actually seen the pillar of light soaring into the sky from the small courtyard where Yue Yang lived in White Stone City. Although a large number of informants soon emerged, the Imperial Preceptor, who possessed the talent of Revelation, could easily distinguish truth from lies. In a fit of rage, he turned all those greedy mercenaries who had falsely reported sightings into idiots!

Yue Yang cultivated diligently and rarely left home, unaware of the uproar outside.

Every day, he played with the little girl. A dignified Innate powerhouse let her ride on his neck and "ride a horned horse."

During the day, he was either lying on the ground counting ants with her or chasing red dragonflies together. Sometimes, he even taught the little one to raise her middle finger to summon powerful online divine beasts such as "River Crab" and "Grass Mud Horse." In short, he never tired of leading people astray.

"Divine beasts like Grass Mud Horse and River Crab are incredibly powerful. Remember, you mustn't summon them against your own people. You can only use them on enemies or bad people! Understand? Right, remember to raise your middle finger. Both Grass Mud Horse and River Crab like this summoning gesture... Right, when you say 'Holy Crap' and 'Horse Gobi,' say them with spirit. Fine, it's okay if you say them in a babyish voice too... As expected of Qingyin's little loli!"

If other Innate powerhouses saw Yue Yang like this, they would probably topple headfirst to the ground.

The beautiful woman occasionally scolded him, saying he never acted properly.

But seeing him dote on the little girl so much made her happy as well.

Having cultivated the first layer of the Innate Formless Body-Breaking Sword Aura, Yue Yang had now truly stepped into the Innate realm.

His current goal was the second layer!

Cultivating the second layer was not nearly as easy as the first.

The second layer of the Innate Formless Body-Breaking Sword Aura required not only using true qi to open the body's 108 acupoints, but also connecting the Ren and Du Meridians with the previous twelve meridians, joining all the meridians throughout the body into one. With the meridians linked throughout his body and flowing freely without obstruction, there would no longer be any divisions between them. Once he cultivated the second layer, Yue Yang's power would advance greatly, and he would also be able to release sword qi from any part of his body at will. If enemies relied solely on their own reactions, it would be impossible for them to defend against such terrifying attacks—attacks that could be unleashed with every gesture, from anywhere, and were fatal the instant they struck.

Compared to before, Yue Yang, who now possessed the first layer's power, already had considerable combat strength. The second layer no longer required secluded cultivation at home; he could boldly venture outside.

He could cultivate while seeking opportunities for breakthroughs in battle.

Moreover, he had the Black Jade Necklace's energy absorption. Cultivating the second layer was only a matter of time, so Yue Yang was not anxious.

However, the peerless combat techniques that had only just surfaced in his mind upon touching the second layer were like a priceless treasure to the transmigrator. He could not wait to practice them. After all, no matter how formidable one's power was, without exquisite techniques to complement it, the combat strength one could ultimately unleash would surely be greatly diminished.

Another month passed. During the day, Yue Yang occasionally carried the little girl out for walks, trying to learn about the customs, geography, and environment of the Dragon Soaring Continent. Every night, he desperately practiced the second layer's techniques. At last, he learned the second layer of the Innate Formless Body-Breaking Sword Aura: the Three Profound Forms. That evening, inwardly thrilled beyond measure, he decided to go out and register as a mercenary, then find an opponent for actual combat so he could completely master the Three Profound Forms.

Yue Yang was now brimming with confidence.

After officially entering the Innate realm, Yue Yang could already unleash three strikes of Formless Body-Piercing Sword Qi. Using them to instantly kill mercenaries who practiced crude combat techniques would certainly be no problem.

He dared not claim anything in a group fight, but in a one-on-one duel against anyone below level six, Yue Yang believed himself absolutely invincible!

And even without using the Formless Body-Piercing Sword Qi that could instantly kill enemies the moment it was unleashed, the wondrous Three Profound Forms of the second layer alone would be enough to handle any enemy or unexpected situation.

Even taking ten thousand steps back, without using the Three Profound Forms, the Yue Family Spearmanship Yue Yang had grasped through analogical understanding could still knock down a whole crowd of mercenaries.

Although Yue Family Spearmanship was, in Yue Yang's eyes, only an elementary school-level combat technique, it was still far better than the kindergarten-level combat techniques practiced by mercenaries.

Unfortunately, the Yue Family Spearmanship inherited by the Tragic Cup Man was incomplete, containing only the first six forms. Yue Family Spearmanship itself had originally been incomplete; the most essential portions of the manual had been lost a thousand years ago. Moreover, the clan still retained three so-called secret techniques that were never passed on. Only descendants who reached the level-four "Hero" realm could learn them. Otherwise, Yue Yang's assessment of this Yue Family Spearmanship might have been a little higher.

Now, if he used the university-level Three Profound Forms and still could not defeat mercenary kindergarten combat techniques, then Yue Yang could jump into a river and kill himself like the Tragic Cup Man.

That night, instead of cultivating as usual, Yue Yang secretly climbed over the wall and headed to the Mercenary Guild in the city.

After arriving at the Mercenary Guild, Yue Yang saw the imperial bounty notice displayed in the most conspicuous place and discovered in astonishment that he had become a celebrity throughout the nation.

The royal family was even offering a hefty reward for him...