Wang Xu returned to Ya Sang's home and started cultivation to stabilize his Seventh Layer realm.

"You should choose a martial technique to cultivate."

A shadowy figure in a red robe appeared, lying on the bed, incredibly relaxed, "Martial techniques greatly enhance your current combat power, at least doubling your strength."

Wang Xu opened his eyes expressionlessly, glanced at the shadowy figure in red, and continued to sit cross-legged.

The shadowy figure reached out with pale, slender fingers and gently pressed them on Wang Xu's forehead.

Suddenly, a large amount of information appeared in Wang Xu's mind.

"Hehe, consider this as the reward for this sumptuous feast."

The shadowy figure lay back on the bed and chuckled, "These are martial techniques I acquired after devouring them. None of these people managed to cultivate the techniques to perfection and unleash their true power."

"So I specially combined them for you, creating a low-level martial technique that's very suitable for you. Don't be fooled by its low level; it can make your strength many times more powerful than it is now!"

Wang Xu remained silent, quietly focusing on the information in his mind.

Roughly after a day and a night, Wang Xu suddenly stood up, leaped into the courtyard, took out his great saber, and began to wield it.

The shadowy figure gave Wang Xu a low-level martial technique called "Sword River."

The power of "Sword River" lies in its endless flow, surging like a long river, crushing enemies until they're overwhelmed.

This domineering martial technique can unleash a martial artist's power to the fullest. Moreover, being a sword technique, Wang Xu felt quite touched and began cultivating it directly in the courtyard.

Shadows of the blade danced, and the great saber in Wang Xu's hand flew like an illusion. The invisible aura spread like ripples, raising dust and shaking down leaves.

Just this aura alone was enough to rival a Seventh Layer martial artist.

"Long River Strike!"

When the blade shadows reached their peak, Wang Xu turned around and thrust forward, as if gathering all the previous momentum for this one strike.

Thud!

A half-meter-high rock was pierced through by Wang Xu's saber.

The piercing mark was clean and sharp, with not a hint of a crack around the edge, showing how powerfully concentrated the Long River Strike was.

Withdrawing the saber, Wang Xu sat down to ponder, continuing to study "Sword River" in his mind.

......

Days passed.

In the blink of an eye, half a month had gone by.

"Has Ao Tian not returned yet?"

In a lavish room, a man wearing three gold rings on his hand heard the report from his subordinate and frowned.

The man looked about forty years old, but the intangible aura emanating from him made the subordinate in front of him immensely anxious.

He was an Earth Level martial artist.

He had surpassed the Mortal Level and completely detached from the mundane, capable of flying in the sky.

In front of Mortal Level martial artists, an Earth Level was like a deity, easily capable of extinguishing any Mortal Level warrior with a flick of the hand.

"Before Ao Tian left, he mentioned going to collect debts and took several Fifth and Sixth Layer martial artists with him. At the time, the subordinate thought Ao Tian was just going on a trip, but unexpectedly, he hasn't returned in half a month. I suspect something has changed and have sent people out to look for him while informing you, Third Lord."

The subordinate dared not hide anything. The person before him was a powerful presence in Flame Fire Main City second only to the City Lord, with a keen insight that no Mortal Level lies could deceive.

Ao Tian always used various excuses to go out, using the debt collection excuse numerous times, and everyone knew he was just making an excuse to play outside.

But due to his status, no one dared to speak out.

Now that Ao Tian hadn't returned for half a month, even with attempted concealment, the subordinate couldn't avoid the truth and had to come clean.

"If it's for debt collection, let him go collect properly. If he hasn't returned in another half a month, we can make a decision then."

The man contemplated for a moment and said.

"Yes."

The subordinate continued, "Recently, there has been an active group of horse thieves in the Piaoling Mountain Range, continuously raiding numerous villages around the range. After something happened, the Iron Blood horse thieves vanished without a trace."

"According to investigations, the second leader of the horse thieves, named Mad Scar, a Fifth Layer martial artist, died in Qingfeng Village."

"The leader of the horse thieves, Iron Blood, a Sixth Layer martial artist, also met his end in Qingfeng Village."

"Even nearly five hundred martial artists of the Iron Blood horse thieves all perished within Qingfeng Village."

"I suspect something unusual in Qingfeng Village. Should I investigate?"

The man shook his head.

"No need, it's not surprising for a disorganized crowd to be wiped out."

The strongest among the Iron Blood horse thieves was just a Sixth Layer warrior, and Ao Tian alone had two such warriors with him. In the man's eyes, the horse thieves were naturally a disorganized rabble.

"How long until this year's tax collection?"

The man asked.

"Sir, there's one month left."

"Move the timing up. The auction at 'Wind God Hall' is about to start, and I need more funds."

"Understood, I'll immediately order the tax collection team to set out."

After the subordinate spoke, the man waved his hand, and the subordinate respectfully withdrew.

......

Piaoling Mountain Range

Despite the sun hanging high in the sky, the snow remained thick on the mountain range, showing no signs of melting.

A swift shadow swept past as a snow wolf chased after a snow deer.

The snow deer ran swiftly, leaping over ten meters at a time, while the snow wolf pursued frantically from behind, howling to attract its companions.

Soon, several more snow wolves leapt out from the forest, their eyes fixed on the snow deer with a ravenous look.

Suddenly—

"Squelch!"

A shadow descended from the sky, and simultaneously, a long saber slashed down fiercely, splitting one of the snow wolves in half.

With the wolf's head splattering out along with a spray of blood, the appearance of this shadow caused the rest of the snow wolves to halt, turning to encircle it.

Howl~~

The snow wolves called out to their companions in unison, their bloodthirsty green eyes fixed on the intruder.

Whoosh!

However, before they could make a move, the shadow moved, sweeping the great saber horizontally. The white cold gleam shimmered dazzlingly in the sunlight and whistled away.

"Puchi!"

"Puchi!"

"Puchi!"

Each slash of the shadow claimed the life of a snow wolf. With several successive strokes, all the snow wolves met their end under the saber.

The shadow did not leave but stood amidst the blood-soaked corpses of the snow wolves, waiting for the arrival of the larger pack.

As he wished, the snow wolf pack arrived, with over thirty pairs of green eyes filled with murderous intent.

Yet no matter how numerous, the snow wolves could only add a touch of scarlet to the snow.

......

Wang Xu continued his path, slaughtering beasts relentlessly.

The snow wolf pack was wiped out by him, not even sparing their lair.

Even the White Plain Bear, a beast comparable to a Fourth Layer martial artist, was completely devoured without a trace left.

And the Traceless Python, which hibernates in winter and is as powerful as a Fifth Layer martial artist, was cut in half by the long saber.

...…In the Piaoling Mountain Range, every beast encountered by Wang Xu was slain. Sensing any presence, be it in the sky or underground, all became souls under his saber.

"Next is the Frosthawk."

The Frosthawk, a fierce beast in the Piaoling Mountain Range, has icy blue steel-like feathers. The tremendous power from its claws could crush iron into a ball.

Comparable to a Seventh Layer martial artist, the Frosthawk holds a strong advantage in the sky and reigns in the Piaoling Mountain Range. Even a powerful Eighth Layer white-haired snow ape hesitates to engage with it.

Screech!

As Wang Xu stepped into the Frosthawk's territory, a sharp bird cry echoed from the sky.

Soon, a dark blue swift shadow, like a blue arrow, shot swiftly toward Wang Xu.

Clang!

Wang Xu immediately lifted his long saber to block this strike, simultaneously discerning the true form of the Frosthawk.

The Frosthawk's size was enormous, standing upright, it reached Wang Xu's shoulder.

Crack…

With a forceful grip of its iron claws, the blade of the long saber in Wang Xu's hand was crushed into a lump.

Wang Xu's expression remained calm as water, disregarding the state of the saber blade, and he continued to wield it.

The Frosthawk flapped its wings to rise, its blue eyes gleaming with a human-like mockery, seemingly ridiculing Wang Xu's overestimation of himself.

Clink, clank…

The Frosthawk utilized its advantage of flight to relentlessly harass Wang Xu.

Its claws, as sharp as steel, caused the saber blade to crack a bit more with each defense.

Yet Wang Xu remained calm, his long saber swinging as if following a certain trajectory, gradually beginning to change.

The Frosthawk noticed nothing, continuing madly to attack Wang Xu.

Suddenly—

Long River Strike!

Seizing an instant opportunity, Wang Xu launched his most intense attack, thrusting forth fiercely.

Clang!

The shattered long saber seemed not to unleash the full power of the Long River Strike, merely knocking off a feather from the Frosthawk.

The Frosthawk attempted to flap its wings and ascend, hoping to continue harassing Wang Xu from the air.

Yet as the wings unfolded, a sharp pain surged through its left wing, causing the Frosthawk's body to tilt, nearly crashing to the ground.

The wing was injured!

The Frosthawk hadn't realized when its wing had sustained such severe damage, rendering it unable to fly.

But in Wang Xu's mind, the situation was crystal clear.

He had been on the defensive, yet his long saber struck the same spot with precision.

Until the Long River Strike knocked off the Frosthawk's feather, concentrating all force on a single point, causing severe damage to the left wing of the Frosthawk.

Without its flying advantage, the Frosthawk was no different from an ordinary beast, inferior to even a Seventh Layer beast, able to exert at most Fourth Layer power.

At this point, the Frosthawk was, of course, no match for Wang Xu.

Screech!

With a mournful cry, blood splattered on the icy blue steel-like feathers, and the Frosthawk expired completely.

You Ji flew out laughing, devouring the Frosthawk whole.

Wang Xu's strength suddenly soared, reaching the peak of the Seventh Layer.

Wang Xu moved forward to a large tree and punched it hard.

The large tree cracked with a loud boom, toppling over with a crash.

Yet beneath this tree was a Spirit Flower emitting a gentle fragrance, swirling with the misty Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. Just taking a whiff invigorated the spirit.

"Let me devour the 'Primordial Spirit Flower'; this way, the feedback of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi to you will be even purer!"

Without waiting for Wang Xu's response, You Ji eagerly rushed out to burn and consume the Primordial Spirit Flower. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to recommend or vote for it on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com for reading.)

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.