Mid-stage of the eighth level
At that moment, the Silver Dragon Wa'ersi finally descended from the sky and let out a roar at Luo Feng.
"Wa'ersi, what would you say that move I just used was? How did it suddenly become so much stronger?" Luo Feng asked with a faint smile.
The Silver Dragon Wa'ersi nodded, his enormous dragon eyes full of curiosity. Luo Feng had been on the defensive and taking a beating the whole time, so he wondered how Luo Feng had suddenly turned the tables and beaten the Level Eight Magical Beast, the Crimson Wind Cloud Leopard, until it cried for its parents.
Although the Silver Dragon was a Level Nine Magical Beast, and a peak Level Nine Magical Beast at that, he had an indescribable feeling about the Level Eight Magical Beast, the Crimson Wind Cloud Leopard. If he fought it on the ground without using his wings to fly, he too would have to go to great lengths to defeat it.
And he certainly couldn't have done it as decisively as Luo Feng. This wasn't a defeat; it was an utter thrashing. Moreover, the Crimson Wind Cloud Leopard was already at the peak of the Level Eight Magical Beast stage. If it broke through to become a Level Nine Magical Beast, either of them would have a fifty-fifty chance of winning. Yet Luo Feng had utterly thrashed the Crimson Wind Cloud Leopard, leaving the Silver Dragon Wa'ersi struggling to make sense of it.
Luo Feng said quietly, "During these past two-plus years in the Magical Beast Forest, I've combined my strength and Battle-qi to a nearly perfect degree, and I've honed my combat skills to a level of mastery. Originally, I couldn't beat that Crimson Wind Cloud Leopard either, but just now I gained an insight into wind. Combining it with my understanding of wind, I broke through beyond simple strength and Battle-qi and reached the level of Wielding Something Light as Though It Were Heavy. I created this move based on the profound mystery of speed within the Laws of Wind. I call it... Swift Wind."
Although the Silver Dragon Wa'ersi was a Level Nine Magical Beast with intelligence no less than a human's, he was thoroughly confused by what Luo Feng said. He only vaguely understood that Luo Feng had gained insight into some powerful realm.
"Wa'ersi, what do you think? I've only just become an Eighth-level Warrior, and I've already grasped Wielding Something Light as Though It Were Heavy. Once I reach the Peak of the Eighth-level Warrior and further refine Wielding Something Heavy as Though It Were Light, you definitely won't be a match for me. Well? Submit to me," Luo Feng said with a smile. Defeating the Level Nine Magical Beast, the Silver Dragon Wa'ersi, now posed no difficulty at all. All he lacked now was cultivation of his Battle-qi.
Battle-qi was indeed difficult, but once you entered a given level, there were no obstacles within that level. All that remained was to accumulate Battle-qi. For example, once you became an Eighth-level Warrior, even if you had only just entered the level, there were no bottlenecks between the early and late stages. It was simply a matter of accumulating Battle-qi. The same was true in the Saint Domain, except that accumulation took an especially long time.
Moreover, when cultivating Battle-qi, if one obtained some miraculous natural treasure or spiritual medicine and swallowed it, one's Battle-qi might increase greatly.
That was why there had been quite a few Saint Warriors in their twenties throughout the Yulan Continent's history. People who reached the Saint Domain in their twenties had existed in history, and there had been more than ten of them. That was also why mages were more valuable than warriors.
Some people might even see several Saint Warriors in their lifetime, yet never see a Saint-level Magus.
Thus, Luo Feng was absolutely confident that once he reached the Peak of the Eighth-level Warrior, it was only a matter of time before he defeated the Silver Dragon Wa'ersi with the realm of Wielding Something Heavy as Though It Were Light.
"Hmph." The Silver Dragon Wa'ersi's only response to Luo Feng was a loud snort. I can't be bothered with you. Beat me first. Then he flapped his wings and flew into the sky, though a trace of hidden delight shone in his eyes.
After all, if Luo Feng could defeat him, a Level Nine Magical Beast, while still an Eighth-level Warrior-and he was a member of the dragon race at the very peak of Level Nine Magical Beasts-having such a master would be no loss. Even being the mount of a future Saint Domain expert would be no loss. Perhaps following him might even give him a chance to reach the Saint Domain someday. How could the Silver Dragon Wa'ersi not be delighted? Of course, he could never express that to Luo Feng. The proud dragon race was not so easily subdued.
As late autumn arrived, most of the leaves on even the ancient trees in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts had withered and turned yellow.
Each day was devoted mainly to cultivation, and they traveled only about ten li a day.
Late at night, all was quiet. Beneath a tree in the core region of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, its trunk so broad that four or five people would be needed to encircle it, Luo Feng sat cross-legged, quietly cultivating his Battle-qi.
Gradually...
Day broke, and Luo Feng opened his eyes. He carefully savored the rhythm of the wind and enjoyed its gentleness, its caress, and its freedom. Luo Feng's state of mind improved greatly each time, something inseparable from his understanding of wind. His exceptional Wind Element talent really was that monstrous; his understanding of the Wind Element deepened with each passing day.
Luo Feng stood up, cyan Battle-qi surging brilliantly around his fists. He casually chopped, slapped, and smashed at the space around him... Every movement was effortless and graceful.
Countless fist shadows filled the air, forming an impenetrable screen under Luo Feng's control. Whenever the gusts from his fists touched the boulders, they instantly crumbled, some breaking into dozens of pieces, some exploding outright, and others turning to powder...
Luo Feng kept experimenting with how to make Swift Wind more powerful, how to increase its power while using the same amount of Battle-qi.
The most basic part of Luo Feng's current training was using his strength and Battle-qi in conjunction with his fists.
Throwing punches didn't mean rigidly striking one punch after another, still less relying on brute force to squeeze out power. Rather, it meant conserving every bit of strength possible to make his fists faster, while bringing the coordination of his strength, Battle-qi, and fists as close to perfection as possible.
Luo Feng could now fill the air completely with fist shadows, even throwing hundreds of punches in the blink of an eye. The fierce gusts from his fists could break through anything, and anyone who entered the fighting zone he created would find it very difficult to escape. Just like the Crimson Wind Cloud Leopard back then: if it had been intent on fleeing, Luo Feng couldn't have caught it, but once it entered his fighting zone, escaping was no ordinary feat.
Now, after spending more than half a year on it, Luo Feng had finally learned to control even the gusts generated by his fists as readily as his own arms, without wasting the slightest bit of strength or Battle-qi. With a limited amount of strength and Battle-qi, he brought the power of his fists to its maximum.
Luo Feng finally understood that combat skill was the first step toward Wielding Something Heavy as Though It Were Light.
Combat skill was essentially perfect control over Battle-qi and strength, like floodwaters being continually held back and accumulated. Wielding Something Heavy as Though It Were Light was like the moment the dam burst, so the power it unleashed was terrifying.
Luo Feng's Swift Wind worked on the same principle.
By his reckoning, it was now late autumn of the year 9818 of the Yulan Calendar. Luo Feng had been in the Magical Beast Forest for two and a half years, with another half year to go before it was three. By then, he planned to return to Philipzi Warrior Academy.
After half a year of honing his skills, Luo Feng hadn't neglected his Battle-qi either. He had reached the Middle Stage of the Eighth-level Warrior, thanks to a Nine-Leaf Red Crabapple Fruit Yin Longhua had found several months earlier. The four-thousand-year-old fruit was extremely beneficial to Battle-qi, and he still hadn't fully digested it. Luo Feng estimated that he would be able to absorb it completely in about half a year. By then, he should be at the Peak of the Eighth-level Warrior. With Swift Wind as well, Luo Feng was utterly confident he could subdue the Silver Dragon Wa'ersi.