Overwhelming Force Defeats Ten Techniques

Kill Drooping-Ear Monk, and a blade technique will be yours...

The moment those words fell, Lu Li saw the white canvas curtains around him split open along a seam that continued to widen. The horses frozen beside him also regained their ability to move.

The vast whiteness faded, and his vision returned.

Looking up again, he saw that the stage had already been withdrawn. Thousand Theater sped away, leaving Lu Li thoughtful.

He knew Thousand Theater's rules. After testing someone, Thousand Theater would reward them with a cultivation technique or medicinal pills, then assign them an assassination mission.

After successfully completing the assassination, they would receive the next reward, and so the cycle continued.

However, this was not mandatory. If one failed to complete the assassination within the allotted time, Thousand Theater would deem them to have given up their qualification to wield a divine weapon.

"Drooping-Ear Monk..."

Lu Li's gaze flickered. He knew of this man.

Drooping-Ear Monk was one of the Xue Household's retainers and also a guest elder of the Myriad Life Sect. He tortured children to death and raped innocent women; there was no evil he would not commit.

"They want me to kill Drooping-Ear Monk... More likely, they want to use this to make me cross the Xue Household."

Lu Li understood it clearly. Missions issued in the game might have been random, but in reality, they were most likely deliberate.

"Tch... Trying to tempt me with a superior blade technique?"

Lu Li could not help shaking his head. Compared to a blade technique, what he lacked more was a movement technique.

As for using a blade, any ordinary blade manual he found at random would be enough. After all, he followed the body-refining path, relying purely on great strength and high defense.

Lu Li firmly believed that overwhelming force defeated ten techniques.

Screech!

A piercing cry drew near from afar. Lu Li followed the sound and looked up, only to see Ground Owl returning through the air with Liu Yueling.

"Brother Li, are you all right?"

After landing safely, Liu Yueling hurried forward and looked worriedly at Lu Li's injuries. The wound pierced through by sword qi had already healed, leaving only the holes in his clothing conspicuous.

Lu Li smiled and rubbed Liu Yueling's head.

"Don't worry. I'm fine."

He had indeed suffered no losses in this incident with Thousand Theater. He had even obtained a lightness skill.

Only his carriage had been ruined, and he needed another change of clothes.

Lu Li looked toward the carriage not far away. The horses were unharmed, but the carriage itself had been riddled with holes, its surface covered in dense punctures.

It could barely still be used if necessary, but it let in the wind and offered no protection from rain. On bumpy roads, it would probably fall apart outright.

At that thought, Lu Li felt somewhat helpless.

Traveling the martial world, carriages and clothing suffered battle damage at a slightly alarming rate.

Thousand Theater's enormous carriage rolled over the road. Inside this mechanical vehicle, three people were whispering among themselves.

These three were, astonishingly, the people behind the paper figures. Their faces and builds were identical. The difference was that they were now their true bodies rather than paper puppets.

"Senior Sister, why did you give him that lightness skill?"

The burly man looked at the beautiful woman, his tone rather helpless.

"That breaks the rules."

The Ride Things, Roam the Mind Manual was one of Thousand Theater's exceptionally precious cultivation techniques.

Normally, only those who truly passed all the trials and earned the qualification to wield a divine weapon could cultivate it.

Upon hearing this, the beautiful woman gave a charming laugh. Her graceful figure was voluptuous and alluring. Rather than answering directly, she asked in return,

"Just now, we broke the rules Master set and directly used Wind Sword's puppet, which surpassed him by eight realms. Yet he still took one strike without harm. What do you think of the divine art he cultivates?"

At these words, the old man stroked his beard.

"I clearly saw that sword pierce his flesh, yet there wasn't a trace of blood on the blade. That boy has refined all the flesh in his body into lead and mercury..."

Thinking of Lu Li's Fifth Layer of Meridian Opening cultivation, a trace of shock flashed through the old man's eyes.

"The technique that boy cultivates must be among the finest in the world. And his talent for body refinement is likely peerless as well."

Body-refining techniques did not place much value on comprehension, but they demanded aptitude above all else. In his view, Lu Li would certainly reach the Qi Solidification realm in the future. He might even be able to touch the realm of Divine Intent.

The beautiful woman asked again,

"Then what do you think of that boy's blade technique and movement technique?"

The old man shook his head slightly.

"His movement technique is crude, and his blade has no form. Both are beneath notice."

The beautiful woman smiled softly.

"Precisely. We gave him a superior lightness skill, so he will surely want to make up for his shortcomings and yearn for a blade technique."

"By Master's command, we have chosen candidates to become divine weapon masters for many years without success. Wu Huan, whom we found before, even rejected us outright. Since that is the case, we might as well cultivate someone while his strength is still low."

"That boy has good aptitude. He is currently only limited by the flaws in his cultivation technique, but his future achievements will not be low. When a treasure weapon chooses its master, how could it choose an ordinary person?"

The old man nodded at this. "That is true."

"I have never even heard of his cultivation technique. It can actually release inner qi outward and form a wondrous domain. It seems that boy's fortune is not shallow."

Hearing this, the burly man no longer dwelled on the matter.

"Since Wu Huan rejected us, once we find a master for the divine weapon, we must make the Phoenix Spirit Fan the foremost weapon on the Divine Weapon Ranking and make that madman regret it beyond measure!"

He gritted his teeth slightly, his tone resentful.

The three senior and junior disciples had traveled the martial world and tested countless people, yet very few possessed the qualifications to wield a divine weapon. The only person they had truly favored, Wu Huan, had rejected them.

Wu Huan was the Jing Dynasty's current and last champion of the martial examinations. He had reached the realm of Divine Intent ten years ago, but he was exceedingly arrogant and would not contend unless it was for first place.

The Phoenix Spirit Fan, a Heavenly Profound Divine Weapon ranked eighth on the Divine Weapon Ranking, had been personally offered to him by Thousand Theater, yet Wu Huan had refused it. He remained single-mindedly obsessed with the Heaven-Burning Departure Fire Sword, the number-one divine weapon.

"That madman will definitely regret it!"

The beautiful woman sneered, gritting her teeth in anger as well.

Their divine weapon, which they held in such high esteem, had not even earned a glance from him. No matter how one looked at it, this was a tremendous humiliation to them.

If they had not been unable to defeat Wu Huan, they would certainly have made him taste the might of a divine weapon.

"Eggs cannot be placed in one basket. We need to pick up the pace."

As if recalling something, the old man sighed leisurely, his expression turning solemn.

"According to that old fellow Feng Xuanzi, demons are about to revive. The tragedy in Cloud Province City is one sign of it. The legendary Mirage Demon is already close to fully awakening."

At these words, all three grew grave. Ordinary martial artists knew nothing of this, but as inheritors of divine weapons, they knew certain hidden truths.

Demons were not some fabricated, illusory legend. They truly existed.

"Will the demonic chaos descend in around thirty years?"

The beautiful woman fell silent for a long while before speaking.

"That old fellow Feng Xuanzi has concealed things from us. We cannot fully trust his words, but we truly must prepare for the worst."

"The divine weapons are gradually reviving. This is now an era of great contention. Our top priority is still to choose a master for the Phoenix Spirit Fan and allow the divine weapon to fully awaken."

"Then, even if things truly unfold as Feng Xuanzi said, we will be able to remain safe and composed."

The old man and the burly man nodded. Ever since their master died, the divine weapon had fallen silent, like an unyielding stone that could not be used at all.

Yet in recent years, the divine weapon had gradually begun to revive and become active. This also meant that it could begin a new round of acknowledging a master.

In other words, the same was true for the other divine weapons. It was foreseeable that turmoil would once again rise in the martial world.

Thousand Theater's purpose was to pass down the Phoenix Spirit Fan as its inheritance, generation after generation.

"Let's go... Continue searching for the next candidate."

The beautiful woman waved a hand, and the Thousand Theater carriage slowly drove into the depths of the forest.