After leaving Sky Listening Pavilion, Chen Chen did not immediately head to the gambling house known as Immortal's Abode.
He knew very well that a gambling match was also a battlefield.
Although Liang Feng was a spoiled young master, a place like Immortal's Abode was a mingling of dragons and snakes. It was bound to have its own rules and experts standing guard.
If he wanted to walk away safely with an Azure Cloud Token that would make countless people green with envy, gambling skills alone were far from enough.
He needed absolute strength as his foundation.
He still had 1,860 Cultivation Points, enough to raise his strength another level.
Chen Chen did not linger in Tianfeng City. Instead, he left the city directly and entered a boundless mountain range outside it.
—Black Mist Mountain Range.
This place was shrouded in a layer of black miasma all year round. Demonic Beasts ran rampant within, and danger lurked on every side. It was a renowned perilous region near Tianfeng City.
But for Chen Chen, who needed a place to cultivate without disturbance, there was nowhere more suitable.
He ventured dozens of miles deep into the mountains and found an exceptionally hidden cave.
After sealing the entrance with a massive boulder, he sat cross-legged and immersed his consciousness in the system.
"System, I want to break through!"
[Breaking through from the Qi Condensation First Stage to the Second Level of Qi Condensation requires 1,000 Cultivation Points. Confirm?]
"Confirm!"
[Command received! Consuming 1,000 Cultivation Points. Beginning breakthrough...]
Boom!
A surge of energy purer and vaster than any before exploded within his body!
Within his dantian, the blood-colored vortex that had originally been no larger than a grain of rice began spinning and expanding at a frenzied pace beneath the infusion of immense energy!
One revolution, two revolutions...
With every turn, it seemed to undergo some profound and mysterious transformation.
The vortex continued to grow, while its color became ever deeper and more demonic.
Chen Chen's body was also undergoing a new round of cleansing.
True qi washed through his eight extraordinary meridians, slowly forcing the lingering impurities from his body.
His bones became harder, like jade.
His flesh became more condensed, brimming with explosive power.
The process lasted a full three hours.
When the final wisp of energy was completely absorbed by the vortex—
Chen Chen's body suddenly trembled!
The vortex in his dantian had expanded to the size of a dragon's eye. Both its spinning speed and the energy it contained were several times stronger than before!
A powerful aura far surpassing the Qi Condensation First Layer erupted from his body!
Second Level of Qi Condensation!
Success!
[Name: Chen Chen] [Realm: Second Level of Qi Condensation] [Arts: Asura God Transformation Art (Second Layer), Nine Nether Soul Refining Art (Minor Mastery)] [Martial Skill: Seven Shadows Step (Perfected)] [Divine Abilities: Eye of Asura, Asura Battle Body (Initial Stage)] [Cultivation Points: 860]
Feeling the brand-new power surging endlessly within him, Chen Chen smiled in satisfaction.
If he faced trash like the Ghost Shadow Three Fiends again now, he would not even need to use the Eye of Asura. Strength alone would let him crush them with ease.
But he knew this was still not enough.
His gaze fell upon the divine ability, Asura Battle Body.
Ever since awakening this divine ability, he had never truly used it in actual combat.
He needed a battle to test its power.
He also needed a battle to thoroughly stabilize his skyrocketing cultivation.
Chen Chen pushed aside the boulder at the cave entrance and walked out.
He completely released his aura.
The powerful aura of the Second Level of Qi Condensation swept through the silent mountain forest like a storm.
This was a provocation!
A naked, undisguised provocation!
"Roar—!"
A response came swiftly.
A beast roar filled with fury and brutality rang out from deep within the dense forest.
Immediately afterward, the ground began to quake violently.
One enormous tree after another was smashed apart by a tyrannical force!
A gigantic ape over five meters tall, with a body like a small mountain, entered Chen Chen's sight.
Its entire body was covered in thick black fur, its muscles seemed cast from steel, and its eyes glimmered with bloodthirsty red light.
A Third-tier Demonic Beast, the Mighty Demonic Ape!
Known for its strength and defense, it was violent by nature and one of the famed overlords of the Black Mist Mountain Range.
Its battle prowess was enough to rival cultivators at the fourth or fifth level of Qi Condensation!
"Perfect!"
Chen Chen's eyes blazed with battle intent.
This was exactly the kind of powerful opponent he wanted!
"Roar!"
The Mighty Demonic Ape had clearly taken Chen Chen for a provocateur invading its territory. It hammered its solid chest, producing booming sounds like war drums, then its enormous body transformed into a black whirlwind as it charged fiercely toward Chen Chen!
Its fist, as large as a sand basin, shrieked through the air as it smashed viciously toward Chen Chen's head!
That punch was enough to level even a small hill!
Yet Chen Chen neither dodged nor retreated before this terrifying blow.
Instead, a crazed smile curled across his lips.
"Asura Battle Body, activate!"
Boom!
Violent blood-colored Killing Intent erupted from his body!
Mysterious blood-red patterns instantly crawled across his entire body!
His body seemed to grow taller at that moment. His muscles bulged, veins coiled like horned dragons, and his entire being radiated the terrifying aura of a primordial savage beast!
He threw a punch as well!
He used no true qi—only pure physical strength!
One large and one small, two utterly disproportionate fists collided fiercely in midair!
"Bang—!!!"
A deafening boom echoed through the mountain forest!
A visible shockwave spread madly outward from the two of them!
Every tree within a hundred meters was snapped apart by the shockwave!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Chen Chen was forced back three steps by the tremendous force. Each step left a deep footprint in the hard ground.
Yet the previously invincible Mighty Demonic Ape was also knocked back a step. A crisp crack of shattering bone came from its enormous fist!
For the first time, its bloodthirsty red eyes revealed a humanlike expression of disbelief!
It had actually... lost in a contest of pure strength to a human nearly ten times smaller than itself?!
"Roar!"
Pain and humiliation drove the Mighty Demonic Ape completely mad!
It let out an even more violent roar, its fists falling toward Chen Chen like raindrops!
Every punch carried the force of ten thousand jun!
But at that moment, Chen Chen had also completely unleashed the savagery buried in his bones!
"Come on!"
He let out a long roar. Rather than retreating, he advanced, charging boldly into that storm of fists!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sounds of fists striking flesh rang frantically through the forest like the densest drumbeat!
This was the most primitive, most savage kind of hand-to-hand battle!
Chen Chen completely abandoned technique and movement arts.
He used only his fists and his body to clash head-on with this Third-tier Demonic Beast famed for its strength!
One punch!
Two punches!
Ten punches!
A hundred punches!
Chen Chen was already covered in wounds, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
Yet his eyes grew brighter and brighter, crazier and crazier!
He could feel that under the enhancement of the Asura Battle Body, his physical body was continuously growing stronger at an unbelievable speed!
Every hit brought agonizing pain, but immediately afterward, an even greater force surged from the depths of his marrow!
Meanwhile, the Mighty Demonic Ape across from him became more alarmed and more terrified the longer they fought.
Its fists had long since become mangled masses of flesh and blood, its bones shattered to pieces.
The strength it had always been proud of was being utterly suppressed before this human who resembled a demon god!
This human was not human at all!
He was a monster!
"Roar..."
At last, the Mighty Demonic Ape was afraid.
It feinted, then turned to flee.
"Trying to run now? Too late!"
Killing intent flashed explosively in Chen Chen's eyes. His body shot after it like a cannonball. He leaped high into the air, brought his arms together like a battle-axe, and smashed them fiercely onto the back of the Mighty Demonic Ape's head!
Crack!
A crisp sound of breaking bone rang out.
The Mighty Demonic Ape's massive head was smashed straight down into its chest by that blow!
Its enormous body crashed to the ground, all life gone.
[Ding! Third-tier Demonic Beast Mighty Demonic Ape killed. Cultivation Points +180!]
"Phew... phew..."
Chen Chen dropped to one knee, gasping heavily as the blood-red patterns on his body slowly faded away.
The fierce battle had exhausted both his true qi and physical strength.
Yet he felt that his soaring cultivation had been thoroughly stabilized after this battle.
Moreover, his use of the Asura Battle Body had become far more natural and skillful.
"Immortal's Abode... Liang Feng..."
Chen Chen rose to his feet and gazed toward Tianfeng City in the distance.
"Your Azure Cloud Token is mine!"
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