First-rate

"Primordial Unity."

Zhou Juechen murmured the term.

His thoughts flowed freely, unbound and unfettered, his blood and qi circulating throughout his body.

Everything had actually been so simple.

It came naturally, like water flowing into a channel.

"As long as... I break through the barriers in my own mind."

"Congratulations."

Li Xian stepped forward and offered his congratulations with a smile.

Zhou Juechen did not respond, instead carefully sensing the changes within himself.

Only after a long while did he say, "It seems that only now have I truly begun living for myself."

"Having convictions, goals, attachments, and things to protect-none of those are the point. The point is not to let them become burdens that crush your beliefs and blind your heart, leaving you unable to see your true, pure self."

Li Xian spoke.

People could risk everything for their convictions, including sacrificing their lives.

But if those convictions had been imposed by someone else, even their eventual sacrifice would be meaningless.

Zhou Juechen nodded.

He agreed with Li Xian's words.

He looked at the young man before him, who had still been asking him about methods of cultivating Blood Exchange and Marrow Washing just over a month ago, and seemed to understand something. "You've already comprehended Primordial Unity."

It was not a question, but a statement of certainty.

In fact, before Li Xian could answer, he smiled and said, "Of course. How could someone as pure and clear as you be stopped by the barrier of Primordial Unity?"

"You flatter me."

Li Xian replied.

"Leave things here to me. But... what we've done today has thoroughly offended Prince Yue's Residence, after all. To keep them from leaping over the wall like cornered dogs, we should return to Lijiang City as soon as possible."

Zhou Juechen glanced at Li Xian. He knew what Li Xian wanted to do, and now had no intention of stopping him. "If we can kill Zhang Shuheng and cut down Prince Yue's Residence's strongest general, then however resentful and unwilling they might be, they won't dare openly wage war against us when it's beyond their power."

He closed his hand into a fist. "Ultimately, the power of the fist is the power to rule! Until they can deal with the two of us, if they dare implicate the innocent, the Zhou Family might suffer countless casualties, but Prince Yue's Residence will certainly be exterminated to the last person!"

Li Xian nodded. Zhou Juechen had finally turned that corner.

People should harbor a sense of awe.

But they did not need to cower.

The essence of power was the strong oppressing the weak.

That strength was not merely physical strength, but strength of mind as well.

Those in power held power because they dared, because they were ruthless.

With courage, a ruthless heart, and enough greed, promotion and riches naturally followed.

Enduring hardship did not put you above others; devouring others did.

That was the difference in disposition.

Previously, Zhou Juechen had lacked this resolve, constantly looking ahead and behind whenever he acted, and naturally could not fathom the Impervious Body. Now...

"I'll go pack my things, then."

Li Xian said.

He turned and went downstairs.

Downstairs, the Wave-Viewing Tower's proprietor and waiters had hidden themselves long ago.

And since the entire Wave-Viewing Tower had been booked, the fierce battle had not harmed any innocent bystanders.

Of course, such a commotion had naturally drawn countless onlookers.

When Li Xian emerged from the Wave-Viewing Tower, he could clearly see several rings of people gathered outside.

Li Xian paid them no mind and strode straight back to the Canglang Sword Sect.

Only after Li Xian left did all manner of discussions quickly rise from the crowd.

"What exactly happened? The fighting on the second floor looked fierce. Even the King of Yue's heir apparent fled in a panic. I remember he had two Blood Exchange martial masters with him when he went in-Daoist Xuantie and Ma Fu."

"The ones who went upstairs earlier were Zhou Juechen, the master of the Dragon Spring Martial Arts Hall, and Li Xian... oh, Li Xian changed the character in his name. Just yesterday, he killed Yan Lian, the chief steward of Prince Yue's Residence, outside the Canglang Sword Sect's gates, and today the two sides fought at the Wave-Viewing Tower... judging by how Heir Apparent Yan and the Prince's Residence Guards fled in panic... it looks like Li Xian and Master Zhou won?"

"Master Zhou has been famous for years, but he should be about evenly matched with Daoist Xuantie, or at most a shade stronger. Yet this time, Prince Yue's Residence had not just Daoist Xuantie and Ma Fu, but plenty of guards too, and they still lost to Master Zhou and Li Xian? Looks like there's no longer any doubt that Li Xian has the strength of Blood Exchange and Marrow Washing!"

"Brothers, I heard Li Xian practices the Blood Jade Art! Its hidden dangers are clearly enormous, so why can it unleash such power in Li Xian's hands? Aren't you curious?"

"Curious? Of course we are. Let's practice it when we get back."

The clamor outside did not affect Li Xian.

After returning to the courtyard the Canglang Sword Sect had arranged for Zhou Juechen, he did not even think about Daoist Xuantie, the Blood Exchange and Marrow Washing martial master who had just died at his hands. Instead...

He quietly sensed this body.

When he killed Liu Yanran, this body had actually resisted him instinctively.

Clearly...

He was the master of this body.

Although, after he asked that question and obtained the answer from the change in Liu Yanran's expression, the lingering instinctive reluctance in this body had gradually dissipated.

Still, the body's resistance had allowed him to keenly grasp this crucial point.

"This isn't a bad thing."

Li Xian's eyes brightened slightly.

At the time, he had used the trait of [One Proof, Eternal Proof, never regressing] to quickly lock this crucial point in place.

Now...

His thoughts shifted, and Li Xian once again entered that special state in which his body's instincts rejected his own consciousness.

This state slightly weakened his control over his physical body, but at the same time...

The body's restraining effect on him was significantly reduced.

Relying on this special state, he thought for a moment, raised both hands level, and easily drew a circle with his left hand and a square with his right.

"Martial artists need their physical bodies to perceive the world, but I've always believed that beyond the physical body, the most important part of humanity's true perception of the world is the mind! Only the intersection of the mind and the world brings true understanding of the world!"

He had not read many books, but having lived on Blue Star amid an explosion of information, he knew of ancient cultivation accounts describing souls leaving their shells, yin spirits leaving the body, and spirits roaming the nine heavens.

So...

"It's far too early for my soul to leave its shell, my yin spirit to leave my body, or my spirit to roam the nine heavens, but I can try controlling myself from a kind of transcendent perspective without affecting my control over my physical body..."

Li Xian lightly clenched his fist, circulated his force, and then suddenly punched.

"Moreover, I've already noticed one advantage! By using my will to overcome my body's instincts, I can, to a certain extent, flip the protective switch those instincts impose on my body, allowing it to unleash power beyond its limits!"

People instinctively closed their eyes when faced with danger.

They instinctively held back when punching a wall.

They instinctively opened their mouths to breathe when suffocating from holding their breath.

Thus, people could not bend their own arms backward and snap them.

They could not hold their breath until they died.

They could not keep harming themselves until they died of pain.

And once he could truly break through these restrictions...

He could block his sense of pain, ignoring the weakening effects of his pain nerves.

He could unlock his muscles' restraints and unleash his body's theoretical maximum strength.

He could cause his adrenaline to surge and enter a state beyond his limits.

"This state..."

Li Xian pondered briefly, then gave it a name.

"Limit-Breaking State!"

This would become another trump card that let him defeat the strong while weak.

While Li Xian studied the Limit-Breaking State, word of what had happened at the Wave-Viewing Tower spread with extraordinary speed to the Canglang Sword Sect and the Sword Saint Guangyuan, and was laid before every well-informed martial master in the Blood Exchange and Marrow Washing and Body Without Leaks Realms.

When they learned that the battle had claimed not only a dozen or so Prince's Residence Guards and a commandery princess of the Prince's Mansion, but also two Blood Exchange and Marrow Washing experts, Daoist Xuantie and Ma Fu, everyone was moved, deeply shocked by Li Xian and Zhou Juechen's vicious, ruthless, and outrageously bold slaughter.

Many immediately instructed their disciples to list the two as people they must not provoke.

The Sword Saint Guangyuan had made a small investment in Li Xian only yesterday, so he naturally paid closer attention to this matter and had more detailed information.

He did not particularly care that a young commandery princess of Prince Yue's Residence had died.

It was not as though a commandery prince had died.

In fact, given his status, even a commandery prince amounted to little.

The Great Zhou Imperial Clan had more than a dozen princes of the first rank, to say nothing of commandery princes.

What truly caught his attention was Li Xian's feat of killing Daoist Xuantie.

After carefully reviewing the report for a while, this top expert could not help remarking, "Truly, a newborn calf has no fear of the tiger. Still, Li Xian's performance really has surprised me."

"Prince Yue's Residence still has quite a few experts, and some martial masters owe the Prince's Mansion favors. Li Xian killed the young commandery princess and even intended to put the King of Yue's heir apparent to death. The repercussions of this affair are extremely bad... to preserve their dignity, I'm afraid the Prince's Mansion won't let the matter rest."

Yinsha spoke softly.

"They won't let it rest... but isn't this also a trial for the boy?"

The Sword Saint Guangyuan considered it, but still added, "It's one thing for people from Prince Yue's Residence to act. Have those unrelated people stay out of the excitement."

He took a jade token directly from his person. "Use my name to recommend him for the Hidden Dragon Ranking."

Yinsha was momentarily taken aback.

The Hidden Dragon Ranking?

Those who entered the Hidden Dragon Ranking had hopes of Leaping Over the Dragon Gate. A prodigy capable of Leaping Over the Dragon Gate...

Those factions with ties to Prince Yue's Residence, but not deep ones, would indeed not dare offend him lightly.

"I'll go right away."

Yinsha took the jade token and quickly went to carry out his instructions.

Yet less than two hours after leaving, she hurried back with a fresh piece of intelligence.

"Master, take a look."

"Hmm?"

As the Sword Saint Guangyuan read the intelligence, he was first taken aback, then began to laugh. "It seems there's no need for me to do him this favor."

This intelligence...

Rather than intelligence, it would be better described as a declaration.

A declaration Zhou Juechen had taken the initiative to spread.

And within an extremely short time after its release, it shook all of Canglang Mountain with unbelievable speed.

The declaration was verified by several renowned veterans of the martial world, including Recluse Baiyun, who had witnessed it firsthand.

Zhou Juechen, master of the Dragon Spring Martial Arts Hall, had glimpsed the opportunity for Primordial Unity in a battle to the death and officially entered the realm of the Impervious Body!

Jiangzhou's martial world had gained another first-rate expert!

(End of chapter)