Chapter 125: Changing Personnel, Learning the Blade, and Achieving Mastery

"It's alright, the Spirit-Eye clansman didn't die."

"Senior brothers, this place is extremely hidden. You can leave me here alone to recover. Please go ahead and treasure-hunt as you planned." Xu Chen stretched his body.

"I'll have Little Fu stay here to look after you; I’ll go out to scout for information," Zong Changshou replied after some thought. "I've already identified several locations suspected to hold treasures, but they are surrounded by alien activity. We will head there once Junior Brother Xu has fully recovered."

"Agreed," Xu Chen nodded.

In the time that followed, being injured and bored, Xu Chen had no choice but to pass the time by entering the Saint-White Space. Gazing at the still-sealed Golden Gate, he turned and entered the bronze door of the Cicada Transformation Three Methods.

"Long time no see. How have you been?"

Under the moonlit sea, the sound of waves echoed on the beach. His avatar was drinking and enjoying the moonlight.

"Wine without meat?"

"It’s there, grill it yourself."

The avatar flicked his sleeve. A pile of materials appeared before Xu Chen, who didn't stand on ceremony and immediately started a fire to roast the meat.

"Not bad. I thought I was nearly invincible at the Blood-Qi Realm," Xu Chen said leisurely. "Turns out I was just invincible inside the well, looking at the sky from the bottom. I recently ran into a frog from outside the well and got beaten to a pulp."

"Seeing a larger world is not a bad thing." The avatar sat on the beach, looking at the moon over the sea, and took another sip from his flask.

"It’s a good thing I learned the Cicada Transformation Three Methods and accumulated vast life force within my body. Otherwise, I would have been 'restarted' by now."

The avatar waved his hand, and a wine gourd flew toward Xu Chen. "Floating through the world, whether we know our fate or struggle against the heavens—since you've made your choice, life and death are normal."

"If you have time, help me complete it as soon as possible. If I get hurt again in the future, maybe I can recover faster."

Xu Chen and the avatar drank and chatted. In a daze, the tipsy Xu Chen felt dizzy and drifted off to sleep. When he awoke, he was back in the Saint-White Space.

At this moment, Xu Chen, who had intended to return to his physical body, suddenly looked toward the Golden Gate of the Saint-Yang Treasure Aspect Body. The sealing light had vanished.

"I won't be bored while healing anymore!"

In the Saint-White Space, Xu Chen was in his prime. The only thing in the space that could spar with his avatar was the Golden Gate, which had been sealed until now. With it unlocked, he felt like a gaming addict who had finally seen the doors to an internet cafe open.

He pushed open the Golden Gate. Inside, the Saint-Yang fire still burned, and the avatar stood with his back to him. However, Xu Chen vaguely sensed that the Saint-Yang fire was not as strong as before. The phantom of the Nether Sea appeared, and a pale moon rose.

"Your centurion has arrived," Xu Chen said casually, trying to confirm if it was the same avatar as before.

The avatar turned slowly to look at Xu Chen, wearing the same divine face. "The previous one was taken away by the rules of the Great Dao. I am here to take over now. The rules of this space are quite interesting. How about you give me a few days to study them, and then we fight?"

"I'm healing these days, so I'm a bit bored," Xu Chen replied. "Since you're so easy to talk to, I'll give you ten days. But within these ten days, will you spar with me without being restricted by the rules?"

Behind Xu Chen, a dragon gate emerged faintly within the phantom of the Nether Sea.

"Very well, but you must not report me to this space for bypassing the rules." The avatar beckoned, and a mass of Saint-Yang fire condensed into a long blade in his hand.

"Deal." Xu Chen's eyes lit up; this avatar was definitely a master of the blade. "How about adding another condition?"

"Teach me your blade technique." Xu Chen channeled his power, and a blade made of raw energy formed in his hand.

"I am not good at teaching apprentices. How much you can grasp depends on you."

The avatar vanished in an instant, and a flaming blade appeared above Xu Chen. Xu Chen hurriedly blocked.

"Boom!"

Even by pushing his power to the Nine-Dragon Blood-Qi level and giving it his all, Xu Chen barely managed to block the strike. This blow had only the power of eight dragons, but the blade energy within was incredibly domineering, like thunder from the heavens.

"This is a blade technique I created in my childhood, observed from an elder undergoing a tribulation. I created it on the spot and never gave it a name. There are eight forms in total; figure it out yourself."

Although the blade was condensed from Saint-Yang fire, it felt to Xu Chen like lightning gathered within thunderclouds.

"First form."

A majestic blade intent locked onto Xu Chen, making the very sky feel like it had dimmed. Every strike the avatar dealt seemed to be gathering power, poised and ready. The first form held no killing intent, yet it gave Xu Chen a chill that permeated his entire body.

"Bang!"

The final strike of the first form was like a flash of lightning within a thundercloud, the prelude to a thunderbolt. Xu Chen retreated dozens of steps, his entire body feeling numb.

"Watch closely. This is the second form."

Over the next few days, Xu Chen spent almost all his time in the Saint-White Space, learning the blade technique from the avatar. His body recovered faster and faster. On the tenth day, he was fully healed, and on that very day, he mastered all eight forms of the blade technique.

"I have more or less seen through the rules of this space. These ten days of interaction—we can call it fate. We shall meet again if destiny allows." The avatar paused. "By the way, I know who the previous avatar was. The title of 'Centurion' is a bit low for you. You have the qualifications to compete for 'Chiliarch'."

After the avatar spoke, cracks began to appear in the space.

"Why stop fighting?" Xu Chen asked, his expression surprised.

"Within the rules, I am the one being beaten. It is boring."

As soon as the avatar finished, the entire world shattered, and Xu Chen's soul was pulled into an unknown space. There lay an endless staircase a hundred feet wide, forged from gold, appearing to stretch toward the sun. A group of people in white robes stepped onto the stairs with sacred expressions. Looking toward the end of the golden stairs, one could see a scorching sun.

Xu Chen was inhabiting one of these robed figures. They walked upward step by step with resolute gazes, as if on a pilgrimage. One day, two days, ten days, twenty days, a month, two months... Xu Chen watched the sun along with the monks. Gradually, he felt a marvelous sensation, as if his soul was being sublimated under the radiance of that sun.

After walking on the golden stairs for an entire year, the robed figure stopped and knelt upon the golden steps. At that moment, Xu Chen felt his soul being pulled away; he knew this was a sign of returning.

"An inexplicable world."

The world shattered, and Xu Chen returned to the Saint-White Space. Instantly, a sea of insights surged into his mind.

"So overwhelming!"

The sheer volume of insight nearly caused Xu Chen to faint. He stayed in the Saint-White Space for two full days just to digest it all. When his consciousness returned to his body, Xu Chen walked out of the cave. They were at the bottom of a mountain rift, and looking up from the valley floor, the chasm felt like an abyss.

"Junior Brother, how is your recovery?" asked Li Chengfu, who had been guarding and cultivating outside.

"Fully recovered. However, I have had a sudden realization and need to go for a walk. Senior brother, please wait for me a few more days to improve my strength. Also, could you give me a few bottles of Blood-Qi Pills?"

Hearing this, Li Chengfu was delighted and immediately retrieved five bottles of Blood-Qi Pills from the storage room and handed them to Xu Chen.

High on a cliff, Xu Chen sat cross-legged, a scorching aura diffusing from him. He stared directly at the incomplete sun in the sky and circulated his Blood-Qi. As his power rose rapidly, he had to use the Blood-Qi Pills to replenish himself.

Two days later, a Saint-Yang sun slowly rose behind Xu Chen. With a wave of his hand, a blast of scorching energy was unleashed. Where the energy passed, the air twisted as if burning the void.

"Nine-Dragon Power, combined with the Fish-Dragon Transformation dance technique."

A phantom of a Saint-Yang sea of fire appeared behind Xu Chen, with a dragon gate rising above the flames. A giant whale condensed from Saint-Yang fire leaped out of the sea, crossed the dragon gate, and transformed into a dragon. A terrifying, scorching aura radiated from Xu Chen.

"Nine Dragons, one tiger, and five oxen in strength."

Although it seemed like an increase of only one tiger and five oxen, Xu Chen felt the jump in his combat power was equivalent to at least two dragons. He stepped into the void and slammed a palm down toward a mountain range below with all his might.

"Boom!"

A massive palm print, the size of half a basketball court, appeared on the mountain. Beneath the print, everything showed signs of high-temperature scorching, and the center of the palm print had begun to crystallize.

"Whew! In the past, I might have thought I was invincible at the Blood-Qi Realm." Xu Chen withdrew his aura and laughed at himself. Since jumping out of the well, he felt much more humble. "I still need to work hard."

He returned to their hideout. "When Senior Brother Zong returns, let's set out. This time, we must collect as many damaged artifacts and inheritance items as possible to exchange for Human Race Contribution points." A flame seemed to burn in Xu Chen's eyes.

In the Desolate Ancient Battlefield, if one couldn't obtain a Blood-Qi Foundation Building method, no amount of improvement in strength would lead to a breakthrough in the Blood-Qi realm. Therefore, the grudge against the Spirit-Eye clansman Tong Xuan would have to wait for another day.

"Agreed."

Li Chengfu felt the faint, scorching aura on Xu Chen and suddenly realized something, his eyes filled with shock. "Junior Brother Xu, you have reached Great Completion in the Saint-Yang Treasure Aspect Body!"

"Just luck. Between life and death, the mysteries are unpredictable," Xu Chen explained.

"Good, good, good! I thought this trip would be where you defied the heavens to change your fate, but who would have thought that it would be us who defied our fates?" Li Chengfu was emotional. The three of them had made a contract before entering the battlefield: whatever they obtained, whether exchanged for spirit coins or contribution points, Xu Chen would get half, and the two of them would split the rest.

They had only been here for three months, and with such a powerful "thigh" to lean on, as long as they avoided the top-tier entities, they could practically walk sideways through the battlefield. If they brought back the spoils to exchange for contribution points, the treatment he would receive upon returning to his clan was unimaginable.

"The three of us working together will surely achieve what we desire."