‘Damn,’ the old monsters all rolled their eyes at this. Then why didn’t you say this sooner? That way, they’d have been able to gather the geniuses of their Clans early on to come over. But now, everything was in a rush, so they weren’t sure how many they could actually gather.
All of them once again left, and naturally, one after another, messenger birds flew off, sending the message back to the Imperial City.
Ling Han sat in his tent, quietly cultivating. He had practically robbed the Eight Great Clans and the Imperial Family in one go this time, and had managed to concoct various valuable alchemical pills, which would be enough for him to enjoy quite a while without worrying about money.
‘Robbery is really fun!’ He thought as he swallowed an alchemical pill.
Four days passed very quickly, and continuously, there would be arrivals of various young men and women. These were all the younger generation of the Eight Great Clans and the Imperial Family. They were either Gushing Spring Tier or, at the very least, Element Gathering Tier. Obviously, the old monsters suspected that there lay a secret treasure behind the restriction, and hoped that the youths of their own Clans would be able to get this secret treasure. Thus, they naturally sent as many people as they could.
On the seventh day, there were about two hundred people of the younger generation of the various Clans that had made it there. The old monsters also felt that they could no longer delay it, because there was only three days’ time left for them.
Set out!
Chapter 125
Translator: _Dark_Angel_ Editor: Kurisu
Within these few days, Ling Han and the two girls also achieved their own breakthroughs.
Liu Yu Tong had accumulated energy for a long time, plus she also had the Three Yin Vanishing Veins which, together with the Three Yin Mysterious Arts, allowed her to maintain an overwhelmingly rapid cultivation pace. Moreover, she also had in her hands the Four Transformations Pill, so naturally her cultivation speed was even faster than before.
Most importantly, the Four Transformations Pill would help her break through to the second layer of Gushing Spring Tier!
For most people, the barrier between cultivation levels was the hardest to pass. As long as you were willing to put in real effort—or had enough alchemical pills to support your cultivation—you would be able to smoothly cultivate from the early period of any layer all the way to the peak period.
But to successfully break through, that was another problem. Even if it was only from the first layer of Gushing Spring Tier to the second, this one step forward was extremely difficult to take.
Why were there so few Spiritual Pedestal Tier warriors in Rain Country? That was simple, they did not have enough comprehension of their cultivation levels, and were all stuck in Spiritual Ocean Tier! And below Spiritual Ocean Tier, there was also a large number of people who were stuck in Gushing Spring Tier and Element Gathering Tier.
The Four Transformations Pill could help a martial artist gain the comprehension of his cultivation level. If this spread out, it would be a hair-raising shock to anyone who found out.
Liu Yu Tong was intelligent in the first place, plus she had already been at the peak period of the first layer of Gushing Spring Tier—now that she had the aid of the Four Transformations Pill, after a few days trying to break through, everything naturally went smoothly and she advanced to the next level.
She did not continue to raise her cultivation level. Instead, she put effort into strengthening her foundation. After all, she managed to reach her cultivation level with the help of medicine, so if she was too greedy and continued to advance, it would lead to her foundation being unstable. In the future, this would mean that she would be unable to reach a higher cultivation level.
Ling Han also taught her the Four Seasons Sword Technique, which was a Black Grade high level martial arts technique. Chances were high that not even the Liu Clan had this kind of martial arts technique. Perhaps only the Imperial Family owned such a high-level martial arts technique.
Thus, Liu Yu Tong had broken through the day before yesterday. After breaking through, she had spent the last two days studying the secrets of the Four Seasons Sword Technique, and if there was anything she didn’t understand, she would ask Ling Han. As a result, her power rose at an extremely quick pace.
A Gushing Spring Tier elite actually asked for guidance about martial arts technique from an Element Gathering Tier martial artist. This seemed to be a preposterous thing, yet Liu Yu Tong and Li Si Chan both felt that this was very natural and there was nothing strange about it.
…Ling Han was too much of a monster. Had he been now able to use Heaven Grade martial arts techniques, most likely, the two girls would have only given an “ah”, and then accept reality.
Li Si Chan also managed to advance from the third layer of Element Gathering Tier to the fourth layer. Most alchemists were pill bottles, depending on alchemical pills to forcibly raise their cultivation levels, so naturally her body was highly immune to medicinal effects. Thankfully, her cultivation level was still low, so this immunity to medicines was not too strong, thus she also managed to advance to the next layer.
Meanwhile, Ling Han broke through to the sixth layer of Element Gathering Tier, and while his cultivation level was very low, his battle prowess was an extremely terrifying thing.
…Five Elements Origin Nuclei, six flashes of Sword Qi, Indestructible Heaven Scroll, Body of Dead Tree—all these added together would be enough to raise his attack power to fifteen Stars, while his defenses were even stronger. It would not be wrong to claim his defenses reached the level of twenty Stars.
“It’s still not enough!” Ling Han shook his head. Only once he stepped into Gushing Spring Tier would he be able to use Black Grade high level martial arts techniques—the power upgrade from Black Grade martial arts techniques was not something that Yellow Grade martial arts techniques could compare to. He was sitting on a mountain of treasures, yet he could only sigh. This feeling really displeased him.
Liu Yu Tong only rolled her eyes at him. This guy was only in the second layer of Body Refining Tier just over half a year ago, yet he had already broken through to the sixth layer of Element Gathering Tier now, and he still thought that it was too slow. What about other normal martial artists then?
They left their tents to meet with the others.
“Yi, Yu Tong, so you’ve already arrived!” When a young man saw Liu Yu Tong, he immediately approached them. This man was Hu Bo.
“Watch my sword!” When Liu Yu Tong saw him, she did not say anything else, but simply drew her sword and attacked him.
That day, Hu Bo, in order to find her, went over to the Ling Clan Residence and made a huge commotion, killing and injuring a considerable number of people, which caused her to feel extremely guilty. Now that she had seen him, it was as if she had seen a mortal enemy. How could she hold herself back anymore? Naturally, from the first instant she saw him, she immediately began attacking him.
“What?!” When Liu Yu Tong attacked him, Hu Bo’s expression immediately changed.
Second layer of Gushing Spring Tier, she had actually reached the second layer of Gushing Spring Tier!
Previously, when he had seen Liu Yu Tong in Gray Cloud Town, she had just broken through to Gushing Spring Tier, and now it was only half a month later and she had already reached the second layer of Gushing Spring Tier. The word genius was no longer enough to describe her, right?
She was like him who had also gotten the full support of his Clan to develop his talent, but he was still in the peak period of the first layer of Gushing Spring Tier. It would at least be another month before he would be able to break through, and his progress was already very much praised by his Clan, and he was claimed to be an exceptional genius!
Yet when compared to Liu Yu Tong, he was an absolute idiot!
Being under the fierce attacks of an elite of the second layer of Gushing Spring Tier, how could Hu Bo dare to hesitate any further? He
quickly drew his own sword. If he had any slightest bit of reservations at this moment, he was likely to be defeated.
…If he were defeated by a woman he was pursuing, how would he still have the face to see Liu Yu Tong in the future?
“Ding, ding, ding, ding.” The two long swords continued to clash with each other, creating fierce sparks of fire from the friction.
Ordinarily, the second layer of Gushing Spring Tier against the first layer would be a completely one-sided domination battle, but Liu Yu Tong had just broken through. Moreover, her breakthrough was successful because she had used alchemical pills, so her foundation was not yet strong enough, which naturally affected her battle prowess. And though Hu Bo had also reached his current cultivation level with the help of alchemical pills, he had after all been stuck at the peak period of the first layer for quite some time, so naturally, he had already solidified his foundation.
Thus, the battle prowess these two could display was more or less equal, and it would be difficult to decide the victor of this battle in a short period of time.
“Yi, isn’t this the pearl of the Liu Clan, why is she so strong?”
“That’s right, I remember that just barely half a year ago, she was still in the eighth layer of Element Gathering Tier, and it should be at least another two years before she’d be able to break through to Gushing Spring Tier! Yet she is now actually in the second layer of Gushing Spring Tier! This is practically unbelievable!”
“Tsk, this beautiful flower is really getting harder and harder to pluck!”
“However, she is also becoming more and more desirable, such talent, tsk, tsk, tsk, I have my eye on this woman!”
“Nonsense, you think you’re worthy of her?”
Those who were gathered were all embroiled in their discussions. They were all either from the Imperial Family or the Eight Great Clans, and all of their Clans had power that was no weaker than the Liu Clan’s. And since they were able to come here, this also meant that their power and talent were the best of the best, so naturally, all of them had their own pride.
Liu Yu Tong had attacked for a very long time, yet did not manage to get the upper hand, so the flames of rage in her heart became stronger and stronger. She suddenly flicked her sword, and a powerful sword intent circulated through her sword, and her whole figure became extremely solemn.
Four Seasons Sword Techniques, a Black Grade high level martial arts technique!
This sword technique was separated into four different parts, each representing Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. In truth, it could be considered as four different sword techniques, which combined into a major sword technique. The best scenario was for four different people to use each sword technique at the same time, which will drastically increase the power.
But it was not impossible for a single person to circulate this sword technique. This required the user to have a high control over their sword, one move following after another. Spring followed by Summer, Autumn followed by Winter, to form the cycle of the four seasons, which would also create a formidably powerful attack technique.
Liu Yu Tong had only just learnt a few moves of the Spring Rain Sword Technique, so naturally she was not able to form the cycle of seasons yet, which were the sword intents of Spring Rain, Summer Thunder, Autumn Wind, and Winter Snow. However, Black Grade high level martial arts techniques were still Black Grade high level martial arts techniques, any single move would be enough to create a terrifying power.
“Shua,” the light from the sword was extremely cold, and there actually appeared droplets of rain dancing through the air that followed the sword as it moved. It was an impressive sight.
The beauty was like a painting, and her sword was like the most beautiful scene, causing all the others to feel as if they had become drunk just from watching her dance. Even some of them who had determined to spend their whole lives on martial arts now could not help their hearts from wavering, getting drunk from watching Liu Yu Tong’s beauty.
The beauty was like jade while her sword was like a rainbow, causing a lot of them to feel the urge to write a poem or sing a song in her honor.
There was only one thing left to say: it was too beautiful.
Chapter 126
Translator: _Dark_Angel_ Editor: Kurisu
Meanwhile, Hu Bo did not have such a refined and elegant state of mind. On the contrary, he felt a colossal pressure, and beads of cold sweat continuously rolled down his forehead.
Although Liu Yu Tong was as agile as a deity and her movements were so heartbreakingly beautiful, she was also like a female Goddess of Battle. The pressure emanating from her was so high that all his nerves were tensed. He almost felt like he wanted to throw away his sword and surrender.
But, if he were to give up so easily in front of so many eyes, he would definitely be harshly scolded by the Elders of his Clan upon his return.
He gave a huge shout, and his sword quivered at a quick rhythm as he used his strongest martial arts technique.
Cloud Slashing Sword!
This was a secret art of the Hu Clan, and was also a Black Grade martial arts technique, but was only a Black Grade low level martial arts technique—the Hu Clan of course also had Black Grade mid level martial arts techniques, but those were the core secret treasures of the Hu Clan. How could a junior that had just broken through to Gushing Spring Tier recently be allowed to learn these techniques?
If one wanted to learn Black Grade mid level martial arts techniques, one would have to be at least in Spiritual Ocean Tier and prove that one was fully loyal to the Clan, ensuring no possibility of betrayal.
“Hong!”
The two of them once again clashed together, and the environment immediately became explosive and fiery. Even a few of the old monsters had come out, observing the battle with a smile, hands behind their backs. Though this level of battle in their eyes was like a child’s game, Liu Yu Tong and Hu Bo were both likely to reach their level in the future, so naturally, their attention was attracted.
The Cloud Slashing Sword Technique was a swift and fierce technique. It would even be able to cut the clouds floating in the sky in half, thus it was a very overbearing sword technique. On the other hand, the Spring Rain Sword Technique was like a gust of wind in spring transforming into rain, silently nurturing the earth, seeming very peaceful and beautiful, an extremely gentle technique.
But, why was the Spring Rain Sword Technique a Black Grade high level martial arts technique then?
Although the rain in spring was very gentle, but at the same time, it could also contain killing intent!
“Shua, shua, shua.” Uncountable droplets of rain flew and danced in the air, and actually transformed into uncountable number of tiny needles, as if they were sharp swords that had shrunk an uncountable number of times. They pierced into the pores of Hu Bo’s skin, and went directly into his veins.
These droplets of rain were all created by the Spring Rain Sword Technique, and contained Liu Yu Tong’s own Origin Power. Once they entered into Hu Bo’s veins, they naturally contained a very strong destructive effect.
They had only exchanged three moves, and Hu Bo’s battle prowess took a drastic drop; he was completely dominated by Liu Yu Tong.
…Under the conditions where power was almost equal on both sides, the one who had the advantage in martial arts technique would naturally gain the upper hand, what more when this was a high level martial arts technique dominating a low level martial arts technique. The gap between the two was not just a little bit.
Ling Han nodded slightly. Yu Tong truly was quite talented. She had already managed to grasp the concept behind the Spring Rain Sword Technique. Although this was also in some part due to his guidance, it also proved that Liu Yu Tong had quite a high talent in the field of martial arts.
Being able to move the Spiritual Qi in their surroundings and transform it into a real, solid attack—that was the strongest advantage of a Black Grade martial arts technique!
“This can’t be right. Even though Hu Bo cannot be considered to be part of the strongest elite in the younger generation of the Imperial City, he can definitely fit into the third class, and definitely can be named as a well-known figure. How is it that he is so quickly at a disadvantage?”
“It’s not that Liu Yu Tong is so much stronger than him, but that her sword technique is much too scary, using softness to counter strength. It’s a very mysterious sword technique!”
“En, if it was me against her…. unless my power was strong enough to completely overwhelm her, I would be absolutely under her control because of this sword technique.”
“Gods, what sword technique is that?”
The youths continued to discuss among themselves, and more and more old monsters were attracted to the commotion happening here. Their eyes were completely focused on Liu Yu Tong. The longer they watched her, the more anxious their expressions became, and the more of a very deep dread they contained.
Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao c1-1294 Page 75