Earth Vein Force

Qin Yu spread his hands and stood with his feet slightly apart, sensing the surging Earth Vein Force deep beneath the ground.

Han Yue understood perfectly well just how unstoppable Qin Yu's Earth Dragon Overturning was. Once he unleashed it, she would have no chance of winning.

So she had only one strategy: end this quickly.

Thus, her very first strike was a full-force attack. Fine ice crystals condensed in the air wherever her sword tip passed.

Qin Yu did not dodge. He stepped forward with his right foot, clenched his right fist, and drove it straight at Han Yue's sword tip!

At the same time, the ground beneath Qin Yu's feet suddenly trembled. The entire mountain seemed to answer his call as an invisible momentum gathered from all directions and empowered his body.

This was the first time since cultivating the Mysterious Earth Qilin Formula that he had drawn upon the power of a mountain in an actual battle.

Qilin Fist!

"Boom!"

His fist collided with the sword tip, erupting in a dull, thunderous crash.

Their Dou Qi clashed fiercely, creating a visible ring of air that spread outward.

The pond's surface was whipped into waves five feet high, while loose stones along the shore were blasted in every direction.

Han Yue was sent flying back more than ten meters. A flush rose to her usually cool face as her blood and qi churned.

So this was his strength when fighting in a favorable environment.

After taking a deep breath, Han Yue advanced again. Her longsword danced, and silver-white sword light continued to pour toward Qin Yu.

Yet Qin Yu's feet remained firmly planted on the ground. With every step he took, the earth beneath him gave a faint tremor.

Using the simplest possible method, he forcibly blocked every one of Han Yue's strikes.

The more Han Yue fought, the more alarmed she became. Qin Yu's strength had not weakened as the battle dragged on. Instead, it seemed to be growing stronger and stronger.

When they exchanged their twelfth move, Han Yue finally could not hold back any longer and prepared to unleash her strongest attack.

Just then, Qin Yu's right foot slammed into the ground, and a visible shockwave spread across the earth toward Han Yue.

Wherever the ripple passed, pebbles on the ground leaped into the air, while withered leaves were shaken into a swirling storm. It looked like a miniature Earth Dragon Overturning.

Han Yue's expression changed. She hurriedly leaped into the air to avoid the wave.

But when she landed again, Qin Yu was already standing before her, his fist less than three inches from her chest.

He did not actually throw the punch.

Han Yue lowered her head and looked at the fist. She fell silent for two seconds, then sheathed her sword and sighed.

"I lost."

With that, Han Yue turned and headed down the mountain.

Xiao Yu watched Han Yue leave, then quickly ran to Qin Yu's side. Tugging at his sleeve, she said with a serious expression,

"Brother Yu, let's hurry up and start cultivating!"

"Hm? Why are you so enthusiastic today?"

Qin Yu gave her a surprised glance.

"Nothing! I just want to get stronger faster!"

Ever since Han Yue had suggested sparring with Qin Yu, the inexplicable sense of crisis in Xiao Yu's heart had yet to fade.

Senior Han Yue was prettier than her and stronger too. Although she did not seem to have those kinds of feelings for Qin Yu right now, what if she did someday?

If Xiao Yu did not work harder at cultivating, wouldn't she be caught off guard without any way to do anything about it?

No, no, absolutely not!

Thinking of this, Xiao Yu's grip on Qin Yu's sleeve tightened further.

"Come on, Brother Yu, let's start!"

Qin Yu did not understand why she had suddenly become so fired up, but he did not ask.

Once they entered their cultivation state, Qin Yu discovered that Xiao Yu was unusually serious today. Her mind was wholly immersed in cultivation.

"Brother Yu! I broke through!"

After a day of cultivation, Xiao Yu had broken through once again, which surprised Qin Yu considerably.

What had gotten this girl so worked up?

...Oh~

Thinking of Han Yue's earlier words, Qin Yu seemed to understand.

"Let's stop here for today, Yu'er. With the remaining time, I plan to test out a new battle skill."

"Alright!"

After her breakthrough, Xiao Yu smiled so brightly that her eyes curved into crescents, her heart brimming with joy.

But after walking only a short distance, Xiao Yu stopped again.

"What is it?"

Qin Yu walked over to her. The next second, Xiao Yu suddenly turned around, wrapped her arms around his neck, and planted a hard kiss on his cheek.

Then...

Qin Yu swore that this was the fastest he had ever seen Xiao Yu run in her life.

"This girl..."

Qin Yu touched the cheek she had kissed and smiled faintly before turning toward the mountaintop.

Ever since gaining the ability of Earth Sovereign, Qin Yu had been thinking.

Since he could draw upon Earth Vein Force in battle, could he use that power directly for cultivation as well?

Earth Vein Force was dense, vast, and inexhaustible.

If he could absorb that power into his body and convert it into his own Dou Qi, his cultivation speed would surely reach an unimaginably terrifying level.

Moreover, with Earth Sovereign empowering him, Earth Vein Force was naturally close to him, giving him the confidence to attempt it.

After reaching the mountaintop, Qin Yu closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into the earth beneath his feet.

He could clearly "see" Earth Veins winding through the depths of the mountain, carrying the power deep within the earth in every direction.

One of them happened to pass through the mountain beneath his feet.

Qin Yu took a deep breath and cautiously guided a tiny strand of Earth Vein Force into his body.

But the moment that power entered his meridians, Qin Yu's expression changed.

Heavy—far too heavy.

Even though it was only a tiny strand of Earth Vein Force, the power it contained was immensely vast and dense. It felt as if someone had forcibly stuffed a stone into his meridians.

Even if that stone actively smoothed itself out so it would not harm him, Qin Yu still could not merge it into his own Dou Qi.

It was like placing a stone in dirt. The stone remained a stone, and the dirt remained dirt. They simply could not truly fuse together.

Unless he crushed the stone and mixed it with the dirt, but with his current strength, he could not do that yet.

However, after experimenting for some time, Qin Yu found a rather unconventional method.

He could use the Attribute Conversion he had comprehended earlier and use Metal-Attribute Battle Qi to "scrape" the surface of that stone.

Even if he could only scrape off a little at a time, the Earth Vein contained such enormous power that even that little was immensely useful.

"Phew..."

After trying for a while longer, Qin Yu withdrew from his cultivation state.

Although he had not successfully merged with the Earth Vein Force, it was not without results. Earth Vein Force could indeed be used for cultivation, and he did not need to worry about it going berserk and damaging his meridians.

But if an ordinary Battle Master dared to do this, their meridians would likely have long since been shattered by the Earth Vein Force, ruining their foundation.

Lastly, he had roughly figured out the conditions required to merge Earth Vein Force.

He had to be at least a Da Dou Shi and have condensed a Battle Crystal.

By then, the density of his Dou Qi would increase dramatically, narrowing the gap between it and Earth Vein Force.

At that point, crushing the Earth Vein Force and merging it into his Dou Qi would become much easier.