A tremendous force, like a stampede of wild horses, washed over him.
Shen Fan circulated his Primordial Qi and planted his feet firmly on the riverbed.
He was as immovable as a mountain, like a pine tree rooted in a cliff face.
‘The current is fierce right now, and the resistance is immense.
It’s a great opportunity to practice my blade work against the current, my palm techniques against the water, and my Body Technique using the buoyancy.’
He made up his mind.
He would practice his blade work in the counter-current.
If he could make his blade swift under these conditions, the power of his Fast Blade would be even greater.
Out of the water, the speed of his strikes would be doubled.
The same logic applied to cultivating his Great Sorrow Palm.
He drew his long saber, his focus absolute.
In his eyes, there was only the blade and the endless current.
Then, with a sharp glint in his gaze, he slashed viciously forward.
On the first day, he could execute one thousand slashes and one hundred palm strikes in the water.
On the second day, fifteen hundred slashes and two hundred palm strikes.
On the third day, two thousand slashes and three hundred palm strikes.
On the fourth day, five thousand slashes and seven hundred palm strikes.
…
Half a month later, he was performing ten thousand slashes and over three thousand palm strikes!
Suddenly, he felt something.
His body shuddered as he took a step forward and unleashed his Great Sorrow Palm.
A massive Power was born, and a whirlpool abruptly formed, churning the river water.
His bones crackled like popping soybeans.
A formidable aura erupted from within him, agitating the current!
With a light leap, he burst from the water’s surface.
With a great shout, he slammed his palm downward, making the ground tremble slightly.
A Palm Seal several inches deep appeared.
Within his Soul Sea, another speck of light appeared on the white Divine Pattern.
“Third Rank of Meridian Opening!” Shen Fan examined his body, overjoyed.
“All that hard work really paid off! After a month of intense training, I’ve successfully advanced!”
At this moment, his strength had increased to nearly four thousand jin.
Even the Primordial Qi in his Primordial Vein had become much denser, no worse than that of a Cultivator at the Peak of Meridian Opening Third Stage. This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
If he were to face Gu Gang now, he could completely suppress him!
‘My Fast Blade and Great Sorrow Palm are showing signs of a breakthrough.
I have to seize the moment and keep cultivating to reach Great Success!’
Fired up, Shen Fan dove back into the water and resumed his Cultivation.
「A few days later.」
He stood quietly at the bottom of the water, silently sensing something, when a Swordfish suddenly shot down from upstream.
The Swordfish was an extremely fast-swimming fish, and also a Low-Tier Fierce Beast comparable to the Peak of Meridian Opening Third Stage.
It was hungry.
The food upstream had been claimed by higher-Level Fierce Beasts, forcing it to swim downstream to hunt.
Shen Fan’s movements naturally caught its attention.
The Swordfish’s body was covered in spikes, like a multitude of small swords, and its streamlined form resembled a curved long sword.
Shen Fan had no doubt that if the Big Black Bear, known for its Defense, were to enter the river, it would never be able to withstand the Swordfish’s charge.
He had learned from some of the academy’s Scriptures that the Swordfish’s entire body was an extremely sharp weapon.
Combined with its speed, which was nearly impossible to track with the naked eye, it was undoubtedly the King among Low-Tier Fierce Beasts in the water.
The Swordfish moved slightly and suddenly vanished into the current.
Shen Fan knew it hadn’t disappeared; its speed was simply so fast it created an illusion.
He snapped his eyes open, drew his saber, and slashed at an abnormal fluctuation in the water to his right.
This slash was the epitome of Fast Blade.
Slashing against the current, it even split the water itself!
The Sword Shadow flashed past, as unstoppable as a landslide.
It sliced along the Swordfish’s lips, split open its belly, and continued all the way to its tail.
Only after the long saber was sheathed did the Swordfish split in two.
Blood stained a portion of the river, flowing downstream.
‘I can’t believe I achieved Great Success in Fast Blade by using the pressure of the water!
With my current strength, I can definitely crush Gu Gang.
Even against that Fang Jian, as long as his Martial Technique Cultivation isn’t better than mine, I can still dominate him!’
The corners of his mouth curled up.
Feeling the change in his strength, his entire being became more spirited, like a newly sharpened, cold blade, exuding a piercing aura.
‘No wonder the auras of those Martial Artists are so terrifying.
When a person’s strength changes, their Essence, Qi, and Spirit grow stronger imperceptibly.
Legends say that some experts can kill with nothing but their ethereal killing intent.
It seems that’s actually possible.
But I’m still a long way from that Realm.’
His thoughts swirled before he returned to reality.
The month-long Trial had been very fruitful.
Not only had he raised his Cultivation to the Third Rank of Meridian Opening, but he had also cultivated his Fast Blade to Great Success.
He had also obtained a large quantity of Fierce Beast Materials.
If he sold them at the Marketplace, he could definitely get a good price and use the money to buy Elixirs for his Cultivation, which would lead to another significant boost.
He shouldered his large pack and sped off toward the path leading into the mountains.
Shen Fan moved like lightning.
Just as he had traveled a dozen or so li, a long howl shook the mountain forest!
“A Wolf Howl?” Shen Fan muttered.
At that moment, an extremely terrifying aura swept over from ahead.
It carried a faint, acrid smell that made his nose itch.
He activated his Soul Eye, extending his perception along the trail of the aura.
As his Cultivation had improved, his Soul Eye could now observe everything within a three-li radius.
Two li away, a giant wolf, five to six meters tall and over ten meters long, stood on a cliff’s edge.
Its green fur stood on end like steel needles, and its crimson eyes blazed like two balls of fire, emitting a baleful light so intense it seemed tangible.
“The Red-eyed Wolf King! A Red-eyed Wolf King comparable to the Fifth Rank of Meridian Opening!” Shen Fan’s hair stood on end as he exclaimed in shock.
‘Since when are there Mid-Tier Fierce Beasts in the outer 1st Layer?
And it’s the Red-eyed Wolf King, a King among Mid-Tier Fierce Beasts, no less!’
Before setting out, when Shen Fan went to the Library Hall to return the Jade Scroll, Elder Qing Pao had taken a liking to him.
Hearing that he was going to the Sunset Mountain Range for his Trial, the elder had given him special permission to read many Scriptures about the mountain range and had personally told him about many of its taboos.
One of those taboos was to never provoke the wolves in the Sunset Mountain Range, especially not the Red-eyed Wolf King!
The Red-eyed Wolf King was said to possess a partial Demon Beast bloodline.
Shen Fan didn’t know much about Demon Beasts, but he knew that even the weakest ones possessed strength comparable to the Cave Profound Realm and could easily devour a Martial Artist at the Ninth Rank of Meridian Opening.
Those Demon Beasts could ride clouds and mist, breathe fire, and summon rain.
The more powerful ones could even overturn rivers and seas, destroy an entire city, or even a whole country.
The Red-eyed Wolf King could command wind and fire.
Its Flesh Body was tough, its strength immense, and it was immune to damage from ordinary weapons.
Its crimson eyes, in particular, had inherited an ability from some Demon Beast that could bewilder a person’s Heart Spirit.
A stronger Red-eyed Wolf King could even create an Illusion Realm.
By using the Illusion Realm, even some powerful Martial Artists would die under their Wolf Fangs.
After killing their enemies, they would devour their heads to enhance their own Heart and Spirit Power.
Although this Red-eyed Wolf King’s Cultivation was only at the Mid-Tier Fierce Beast level, with an aura comparable to a Martial Artist at the Fifth Rank of Meridian Opening, even an expert at the Sixth Rank of Meridian Opening wouldn’t dare to face it head-on in a fight.
‘Just who would dare to provoke a Red-eyed Wolf King?’