Three and a Half Years of Secluded Training

After the Church bestowed its rewards and the fighting over the Magic Crystal Vein ended, Shiheng's mind settled completely.

He had personally endured the desperate battle at the Magic Crystal Vein, been driven into a corner by the Shadow Church, and nearly lost his life. Had he not been fortunate enough to encounter Huohe's group, he would already have died in the wilderness. Those repeated brushes with death had made one cruel reality utterly clear to him: on the Yulan Continent, where strength reigned supreme, anyone without sufficient power could only remain at others' mercy, unable even to control their own fate.

Someone else had saved him from danger this time, but what about next time? He could not count on good luck every time, nor could he rely on others' protection forever.

His resolve grew ever firmer. Casting aside every distracting thought, Shiheng immediately decided to shut out all outside disturbances and enter the deepest seclusion to cultivate.

The Destruction Battle Qi he cultivated was unique, and the way his cultivation method operated reached the same end as his Berserk talent by a different path. The two complemented and validated each other, leaving his cultivation path unobstructed, without any of the bottlenecks and restrictions ordinary warriors faced. Destruction Battle Qi surged wildly through his meridians. Every complete circulation continued to temper his body and refine his strength, while the aura of destruction hidden within his flesh and blood gradually reshaped his foundations.

Time passed, the years flowed silently, and three and a half years slipped by.

The once somewhat callow boy had long since shed his immaturity and grown into a tall, imposing young man. He now stood 1.88 meters tall, straight as a pine. His muscles were neither exaggerated nor obtrusive, yet, like a lurking ferocious beast, they held tightly coiled, explosive strength. Even Shiheng himself could not accurately gauge just how terrifying the fighting power accumulated within him had become.

More than three years of quiet cultivation and single-minded refinement had brought a dramatic transformation in Shiheng's strength—he had officially broken through to the Peak Eighth-level Warrior stage. Both his physical toughness and the potency of his battle qi had reached the utmost limits of that rank.

His trump card, Berserk, had also undergone a complete transformation as his strength increased. Once he activated it, the Destruction Battle Qi within him would instantly multiply severalfold, sending his fighting power straight to the peak of a Warrior of the Ninth Rank. His aura was savage and overbearing, carrying unrivaled destructive power, enough to crush the vast majority of ninth-rank experts.

Even more gratifyingly, through years of cultivating Destruction Battle Qi and contemplating the aura of destruction within him, Shiheng had faintly touched the edge of the Destruction Laws. Though it was only an insignificant trace of their surface, it had already transformed his fighting power and given him the means to fight opponents above his rank.

Measured against the original story, he now possessed the formidable fighting power the protagonist had wielded when slaying an early-stage Saint Four-Winged Angel.

Shiheng stood among the trees in Wu Mountain Town, feeling the power surging within him and that faint, elusive trace of the Destruction Laws. His gaze was sharp and steady, and a clear understanding had formed in his mind:

Below the Saint level, I am invincible! Against an early-stage Saint expert, I can trade my life for theirs!

Those three years of lying low had not been wasted. He finally possessed the formidable strength to establish himself on the continent and protect himself without fear. He no longer had to dread the Dark Church's pursuit, nor struggle desperately on the brink of death.

Yet this long seclusion was ultimately interrupted by a joyous occasion in Wu Mountain Town.

Huohe and Lindana, Xifaman and Lindajin-the two loving couples chose to marry on the same day. All of Wu Mountain Town was adorned with lanterns and decorations. Gongs and drums resounded, festive red silk fluttered everywhere, and laughter filled the town, its lively bustle carrying for miles.

Huohe had rendered great service in the earlier battle at the Magic Crystal Vein and received a generous reward of gold coins from the Church. Now wealthy, he had long since left behind his former straitened, penny-pinching ways. On his wedding day, he publicly announced tax relief for the entire year for the three towns under Wu Mountain Town's jurisdiction. The townspeople cheered endlessly and supported Huohe wholeheartedly, and the wedding was celebrated with great splendor and the utmost ceremony.

Roused from his years of seclusion by the town's festive clamor, Shiheng slowly walked out of his cultivation grounds. Looking at the red carpets spread across the ground and the guests crowding the doors, his gaze settled on Huohe and Lindana, dressed in wedding finery, their faces filled with tenderness.

Watching his loved ones finally find fulfillment after their trials, feeling the happiness of everyday life in the town and the unfolding of fate through the bonds between people, Shiheng's mind, previously focused only on Destruction Battle Qi, was suddenly stirred.

Unseen, a profoundly mysterious aura wound around him. It was the power of laws transcending battle qi and the physical body-the Fate Laws. The mysterious laws of which he had understood nothing a moment before suddenly became clear within his heart. The aura around him abruptly stilled, and he fell directly into a deep state of enlightenment.

That enlightenment lasted three full days.

Huohe was widely experienced and knew well that enlightenment in the martial path was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and that interrupting it would cause an immense loss. Without another word, he personally led the clan's elites to guard Shiheng, turning away every guest and towns-person who approached. They kept watch with bated breath throughout, not daring to make the slightest sound for fear of disturbing this heaven-sent opportunity.

Three days later, Shiheng slowly opened his eyes. Pale golden Fate Runes flashed through them for an instant before they returned to calm.

His battle qi cultivation had not advanced during this enlightenment, but his spiritual power had soared directly to the Saint level, its potency far surpassing that of ordinary Saint mages. Unfortunately, he did not have the slightest trace of magical power within him, nor had he comprehended how to wield the Fate Laws. Unable to draw upon the power of laws and condense Saint power, he was, at most, a false Saint with nothing but Saint-level spiritual power.

Yet Shiheng felt no regret. Instead, towering waves surged through his heart.

He knew all too well how terrifying spiritual power could be: even the spiritual power of an ordinary ninth-rank mage could easily shake a Saint Warrior's mind. If he refined his Saint-level spiritual power to its utmost and formed it into a spiritual needle as fine as a hair, then silently drove it into an opponent's sea of consciousness, even an ordinary Saint expert would have their soul pierced through in an instant and die on the spot!

At that moment, Shiheng gained another trump card capable of killing a Saint outright. His fighting power rose once more, and he grew ever more confident in his ability to survive on the Yulan Continent.