After reading the message, Xia Wuyang didn’t begin his Cultivation immediately. Instead, he went to the window of the Practice Room, opened it a crack, and gazed in the direction of Kunning Palace.
The warm, early summer breeze drifted in, carrying the fragrant scent of flowers and herbs from the courtyard—enough to lift anyone’s spirits.
In the distance, palace buildings stretched on endlessly, their upturned eaves and interlocking brackets glittering in the sunlight. This Imperial City, a place that had devoured countless souls, looked tranquil and serene at this moment. Yet, countless people were still drawn to it like moths to a flame.
But he knew that a dark undercurrent surged beneath the tranquility. He especially wondered about Murong Wan’s state of mind within Kunning Palace.
War between the Northern Desert and the Southern Barbarians was on the verge of igniting. The Prince Zhenxi’s Mansion and Prince Zhenbei’s Mansion watched with predatory eyes. The Celestial Treasure Pavilion was stirring up trouble from the shadows... And the instigator of it all was currently standing in the most inconspicuous corner of this Deep Palace, observing coldly, completely unsuspected.
"Let there be chaos. The more chaos, the better," Xia Wuyang whispered to himself. "Only in chaos is there opportunity—an opportunity to make Xia Shengming pay the price. When you’re all at each other’s throats, my chance will come."
He returned to the Jade Couch, closed his eyes, focused his mind, and began to cultivate.
In his Sea of Consciousness, he had long since mastered the Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield. As the technique continuously operated, he had even made improvements to certain aspects of it.
His Qi Blood surged within him like a charging dragon and tiger, flowing ceaselessly along profound pathways inside his body. With each cycle, his physique grew a fraction stronger, building upon already great heights.
The faint golden sheen beneath his skin became more pronounced. The sound of a Tiger’s Roar from within his bones grew clearer, and the dragon’s cry from among his organs grew louder... His Body Refining Cultivation, which had already reached its peak, was actually growing again, bringing him ever closer to breaking through to the Extraordinary realm.
Outside the window, the chirping of cicadas suddenly swelled, rising and falling in waves, as if to announce the official arrival of summer.
And this summer was destined to be anything but peaceful, likely to be far more heated than any before.
Before he knew it, the hour approached midnight, and all was silent.
The chirping of insects outside and the distant watchman’s drum were all blocked by the heavy stone door. The window he had cracked open was long since shut, now impossible to open from the outside.
The only light in the room came from the soft glow of a Luminous Pearl, illuminating the figure seated cross-legged on the Jade Couch.
Xia Wuyang had been cultivating arduously here for a long time; it was what he spent most of his time doing every day.
His eyes were slightly closed, his breathing long and steady. The aura around him was concealed to the absolute extreme, making him seem like a lifeless piece of Jade. Even if an ordinary True Monarch were nearby, they likely wouldn’t notice a thing.
But if one could see inside his body, they would witness a breathtaking sight completely different from his external appearance.
His Qi Blood was like a great river, raging and surging through his wide meridians and letting out a faint rumble.
Although his blood was still crimson, it had a faint, crystalline hue. Each drop was as heavy as mercury, and its flow produced the sound of scraping metal. One could only imagine the might of such Qi Blood.
Beneath his skin, a faint luster had spread throughout his entire body, as if he were coated in a thin layer of fluorescent light.
His bones also shimmered with a fluorescent glow, revealing faint patterns of a dragon and tiger within. With each surge of Qi Blood, a faint Dragon’s Roar and Tiger’s Howl could be heard.
Most astonishing of all were his internal organs, which looked even more peculiar.
His heart beat slowly and powerfully. Each beat was like the pounding of a war drum, emitting a series of booming sounds.
As his lungs expanded and contracted, the airflow formed small whirlwinds—a clearly extraordinary sight.
The peristalsis of his stomach and intestines produced a rumbling sound like distant thunder... RUMBLE... This was no longer the body of a mortal. It was a treasured body transforming toward the Extraordinary realm, far beyond the imagination of an ordinary person.
Suddenly, a faint light glowed between Xia Wuyang’s eyebrows.
Spirit +1!
In his Sea of Consciousness, three hundred and seventy points of Spiritual Power were arranged like brilliant stars. The newest point had just finished condensing, emitting a gentle glow that illuminated his Sea of Consciousness.
The arrival of this point of Spiritual Power seemed to flip a mysterious switch. The opportunity for enlightenment, long-since accumulated, descended with a crash and immersed him completely.
Xia Wuyang was already prepared for this.
VMMMM...
Deep in his mind, it was as if a long-silent ancient bell had been struck, bringing his entire being into sharp focus.
The bell’s resonant tone washed over his Heart Spirit. In an instant, countless insights flooded in like a bursting dam, surging into his Sea of Consciousness and immersing him completely.
The ten layers of the Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield’s Heart Method unfolded in his consciousness with unprecedented clarity. Insights from many days of contemplation all arrived at once, erupting in a brilliant radiance.
The Mantras that had once been obscure and difficult now seemed simple and clear. He effortlessly refined many aspects that he had previously been unable to improve.
The Force Transmission Techniques that would have required thousands of attempts to master were now grasped with natural ease, and he even improved upon them.
’So that’s how it is... So that’s it!’
Understanding dawned in Xia Wuyang’s mind, and he felt as if he had been suddenly enlightened.
’The ultimate secret of the Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield lies not in rigidity, but in resilience. Ferocious power is merely its external manifestation.’
’The Golden Bell Shielding Body isn’t about tanking every Attack head-on, but about using toughness to neutralize impacts, using smoothness to deflect force, and even rebounding some of it.’
’What is too rigid is easily broken. Only by combining hardness and softness can one achieve true indestructibility and reach an unprecedented state.’
At the same time, the essence of the Dragon Tiger Fist also surfaced in his mind—also an improved version, one tailor-made for him.
’A dragon soaring through the heavens is agile and ever-changing; a tiger squatting in the forest is mighty and ferocious. Dragon and tiger complementing each other, hardness and softness in harmony... Isn’t this just like the Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield’s principle of combining rigidity and resilience? They’re two different expressions of the same truth.’
At that moment, the two Cultivation Techniques resonated with each other in a wondrous way. Aspects that had previously been impossible to merge suddenly showed the potential for fusion.
In Xia Wuyang’s consciousness, they began to collide, merge, and recombine...
The Copper Skin and Iron Bones of the Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield fused with the Dragon Scale Tiger Armor of the Dragon Tiger Fist, forming a new Dragon and Tiger Body.
It was not only incredibly tough but also possessed both the suppleness of a dragon and the ferocity of a tiger, combining the greatest strengths of both.
The Golden Bell Shield’s Tiger Roar Sound Wave combined with the Dragon Tiger Roar of the Dragon Tiger Fist, transforming into the Dragon’s Roar and Tiger’s Howl.
Its Sound Attack had a wider range, its Intimidation was stronger, and it could even damage the Soul, possessing the effects of a Spiritual Attack.
The Bone Refining Skill, the Viscera Refining Secret Technique, the True Essence of Marrow Refining... every part of the two Cultivation Techniques, under the deductions of his enlightenment, found their most perfect point of compatibility, reaching an unprecedented level.
It was like two incomplete puzzle pieces finally fitting together to form a complete picture, achieving an astonishingly perfect fit.
Xia Wuyang could clearly feel a brand new, transcendent Body Refining Technique gradually taking shape in his mind, drawing ever closer to completion.
It possessed both the supreme Defense of the Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield and the agile offense of the Dragon Tiger Fist. More importantly, it had already touched the threshold of Spiritual Techniques. No, even among Spiritual Techniques, it would not be considered weak.
With just one more enlightenment, he could complete the fusion entirely, break through his shackles, and perhaps even have the chance to step into a higher realm.

Comments

Loading...