“No way, I have to get the Nine Transformations Golden Body Art to the Fifth Transformation, small success, before the grand finals. Only then will my body’s defense see a massive leap, truly becoming impervious to blades and spears!”
After reaching the Fourth Transformation of this defensive martial art, Ling Xiao wasn’t satisfied, but he faced a significant problem.
Breaking through from the Fourth to the Fifth Transformation required at least 100,000 taels of gold.
And right now, he only had about 10,000 taels left, even if he used it all, it would only push the Nine Transformations Golden Body Art a tiny bit further within the Fourth Transformation.
Reaching the Fifth Transformation was simply impossible!
Still, something was better than nothing, so Ling Xiao decided to use up the remaining 10,000 taels first.
After that, he’d figure out a way to hunt demonic beasts to exchange for more gold.
The stronger he got, the higher his chances of successfully hunting those beasts!
During this cultivation session, he also used the only two Gang Qi Pills left in Li Xingyun’s storage ring.
After a night passed.
Ling Xiao exhaled a breath of turbid air, and a faint golden Gang Qi began to shimmer around his body.
This Gang Qi was noticeably stronger than that of an average Martial Vein Fourth Level martial artist.
With the two Gang Qi Pills fully absorbed and the 10,000 taels of gold completely consumed, though he was still far from the Fifth Transformation of the Nine Transformations Golden Body Art, his Gang Qi had surged significantly, nearing the peak of Martial Vein Fourth Level.
Without a top-tier inner cultivation method, advancing from the early stage of Martial Vein Fourth Level to nearly its peak in such a short time was remarkable, thanks not only to the Gang Qi Pills but primarily to the Nine Transformations Golden Body Art.
At this point, there were four days left until the grand finals of the annual competition.
“Not enough, far from enough! Peak Martial Vein Fourth Level strength might let me defeat an ordinary Martial Vein Fifth Level martial artist, but Ling Yun isn’t ordinary, he has Sword Intent and is a genius! He definitely has top-tier martial arts!”
If he faced Ling Yun now, with the Will of the Martial Path, it’d be a 50-50 shot.
But did Ling Yun have other trump cards?
Had he improved further during this time?
Those were unknowns, so this win rate was still too low.
Not to mention Ling Feifan, he absolutely didn’t believe that Ling Feifan, hailed as the Ling Clan’s number one genius, would be weaker than Ling Yun.
For all he knew, Ling Feifan might be even more terrifying than Ling Yun!
Ling Xiao’s goal was to secure a top-three spot and aim for first, but if he could take first, he’d never settle for second.
The attention and privileges that came with first place were unimaginable, far better than what he had now.
He had to keep boosting his strength!
Whether it was breaking through his cultivation or advancing the Nine Transformations Golden Body Art, he needed money and pills right now!
It was time to head to the Fulong Mountain Range!
Killing a Level Four demonic beast, even a peak Level Four one, should be relatively easy now.
Plus, combat experience could be honed through hunting demonic beasts.
That was life-and-death combat, not just playing around in the training room, the experience gained would be crucial for boosting his fighting ability.
With that in mind, he left the training room, gave some instructions to Grandpa Hong Qi and Little Potato, then packed some dry rations into the Mountain and River Diagram.
As for Li Xingyun’s storage ring, he hid it at home.
That thing was too conspicuous, and he didn’t need it for now, better not to carry it if he could avoid it.
Leaving the Ling Clan and heading to the Fulong Mountain Range, Ling Xiao didn’t notice a pair of malicious eyes staring at him from the shadows.
The moment Ling Xiao departed the Ling Clan, the owner of those eyes left as well.
About a li (half a kilometer) from the Ling Clan, this person met up with three others.
“Here’s the deposit, 10,000 taels of gold in total! Three Gang Qi Pills! Once it’s done, you’ll get the remaining 40,000 taels of gold!”
The person took out a storage ring and handed the gold over to the three across from them.
Those three wore black masks, clearly the notorious black-masked bandits active in the Fulong Mountain Range.
“Hahaha, don’t worry, we take money to solve problems, besides, that kid killed some of our people before, this is just revenge!”
With that, one of the black-masked bandits stored the gold and Gang Qi Pills in his own storage ring, then turned and chased after Ling Xiao.
…
Entering the Fulong Mountain Range, Ling Xiao unleashed Soaring Cloud Steps: Dragon Transformation without holding back.
His body seemed to transform into a dragon, weaving and soaring through the jungle, even able to hover in midair.
This wasn’t just a lightness skill anymore, it was flight.
Currently, Ling Xiao’s Soaring Cloud Steps: Dragon Transformation had reached the Great Perfection realm, to go further, it’d either need to enter the Transcendent realm.
Or evolve again.
But relying solely on an advanced movement technique wouldn’t allow Soaring Cloud Steps to evolve anymore, it’d need a top-tier movement technique to qualify for that leap.
So for now, he could only aim for the Transcendent realm.
At home, he couldn’t fully unleash it, but in the Fulong Mountain Range, there were no such constraints.
Traveling itself was a constant grind and improvement for his movement technique.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
In the forest, Ling Xiao’s speed was honestly no less than that of the birds, the only thing he might lack was altitude.
For now, he could only fly up to twenty or thirty meters at most.
And even in flight, he could only stay airborne for about fifteen minutes before needing a foothold to push off again.
But even so, this free and unrestrained soaring sensation was incredibly exhilarating.
His current strength was only Martial Vein Fourth Level, yet Soaring Cloud Steps was already this impressive, if he advanced to Martial Vein Ninth Level.
Or if Soaring Cloud Steps evolved further, he might actually be able to ride the clouds and soar freely across the skies.
Ling Xiao was full of anticipation for the future.
Ever since gaining the Mountain and River Martial Soul, his confidence had been growing day by day.
Before, though he refused to give up, the lack of hope had been genuinely painful.
Now, things were different, his future was bright, all he needed to do was work hard!
In less than half an hour, Ling Xiao reached his destination, the outer edge of the Fulong Mountain Range, a bit deeper than last time.
With his strength improved, he wanted to hunt peak Level Four demonic beasts, staying too close to the outskirts wouldn’t easily yield such targets.
In the distance, the Fulong Mountain Range echoed with the roars and growls of wild beasts, sending chills down the spine.
In Tianfeng City, no one knew what lay deep within the Fulong Mountain Range.
They only knew that the deeper you went, the higher the level and the more terrifying the demonic beasts became.
At the core of the Fulong Mountain Range, it was said a divine dragon resided!
Though Ling Xiao was curious to explore, he had enough self-awareness to know that with his current strength, venturing deep into the Fulong Mountain Range was pure suicide.
But moving slightly inward from the outer edge was still manageable.
He had no interest in the ordinary wild beasts he passed.
His target was demonic beasts!
He’d already taken the Clear Breeze Sword from the Mountain and River Diagram, strapping it to his back for easy access.
During the competition, he hadn’t used the Clear Breeze Sword, mainly because it was a fine-grade treasure sword, too eye-catching and likely to draw envy.
Fortunately, even when defeating Ling Yihang in the end, he hadn’t needed the Hundred-Step Flying Sword Technique, so that secret stayed hidden.
In the Fulong Mountain Range, there was no need to keep secrets.
This was a deep forest with no one around.
The map in the Mountain and River Diagram could also alert him in real-time if anyone approached, so he wasn’t too worried about his secrets leaking.
