Chapter 58: 58 Flood Dragon Mountain

At the end of April, birds chirped and sang; the blind youth sat in the courtyard in a black robe.

Seeing none of the world's vanity, he instead found peace in his heart.

The closer the great chaos loomed, the more he needed peace within his heart.

He scanned the panel:

【Add Points: 146 points】

【Realm: Yellow Grade Grade B】

【Cultivation Methods】

Xuanwu True Form (4 Forms) (Yellow Grade Grade B) (Completion) (+)

Flying Wheel Force (Yellow Grade Grade C) (Not Yet Initiated (2/4)) Splitting Force (Yellow Grade Grade C) (Not Yet Initiated (1/4)) Savage Bear Force (Yellow Grade Grade C) (Not Yet Initiated (0/4)) (Conflicts with existing cultivation method)

Among these, "Splitting Force" was obtained from an "exchange" with the Giant Axe Martial Arts Hall and surprisingly proved compatible; "Savage Bear Force" was obtained from an "exchange" with the Big Bear Martial Arts Hall, and he was not so lucky with that one.

After obtaining them, he tried practicing them himself.

His cultivation speed was very fast; he was already practicing from a "superior" position.

For someone at the Completion of the Form Realm to go back and practice a Jin Realm technique, shouldn't it be extremely fast? The facts were indeed so; Song Cheng felt the practice went very smoothly.

Yet after a full eight days, his "Flying Wheel Force" had only progressed by 2 points, and Splitting Force had taken four days to progress by 1 point.

At this moment, he had two choices: first, to deduce the combat techniques of "Xuanwu True Form"; second, to practice "Flying Wheel Force" or "Splitting Force".

"80 points, deduce 'Xuanwu True Form' until successful."

The youth made his decision.

Instantly, a mysterious sensation surged up.

Form and intent merged, and internal energy generated itself; in the fragments of time, he used "Transforming into a Flood Dragon" as a foundation, practicing day and night, yet it remained insufficient.

So he stepped onto the Arena, transformed into a Gladiator, and then fought against one person after another with blurred faces.

In the constant fighting, he condensed killing moves that followed the form and intent.

Finally, in a life-and-death struggle, he narrowly won, but he also realized a move derived from "Transforming into a Flood Dragon": Shadowless.

Clashes in the Arena change in the blink of an eye; you need not only great strength but also sufficient speed to fight for that sliver of survival.

"Transforming into a Flood Dragon" still had form, but "Shadowless" was the formless flood dragon.

A blade slashed out, the speed extremely fast.

Slowly, he became a constant victor in the Arena.

The "Shadowless" move made the audience occasionally shout excited words like "Blade King, Shadowless Blade King" while cheering.

But he knew it was not enough.

His cultivation method could still give birth to even stronger power.

He had not yet pursued the moves corresponding to the cultivation method.

Day after day, year after year, he pursued that more exquisite blade technique, only to find he could never break through the scope of "Shadowless".

His physical strength began to decline, white hair began to grow at his temples, and the people in the audience seats changed batch after batch, also beginning to grow tired of him, a person who still hadn't left the Arena.

Finally, one day, he welcomed an incredibly strong swordsman.

This swordsman was far superior to ordinary contestants.

Perhaps the audience was tired of watching him, so they found an expert to end him? He did not fear, wielding his blade to meet the challenge as usual.

However, he was already old and tired.

His "Shadowless" speed was no longer so fast, but his opponent was incredibly brutal, his frantic strikes pressing him until he had no power to fight back.

He could only barely resist; the "Blade of Shadowless" was no longer used to kill, but to struggle to hold on.

At this moment, he suddenly realized one thing: perhaps his empty left hand could be equipped with a shield. If there were a shield, then the combined attack of blade and shield, one attacking and one defending, wouldn't that be good? Perhaps this was the terrifying move he had sought in his youth that could unleash his power.

One thought, and it seemed many years had passed.

The youth opened his eyes again.

The panel had already changed:

【Skills】

Xuanwu Second Style (Yellow Grade Grade B) (Blade and Shield) (Small Accomplishment (4/32)) The deduction was successful on the fourteenth attempt, and the remaining points were all added to "Xuanwu Second Style".

Song Cheng looked at the "Small Accomplishment" Xuanwu Second Style; he knew this so-called "Small Accomplishment" was actually the first style he had mastered—Shadowless.

And as for the second style, he had only just had a slight inkling of it.

The youth scanned the data: 90~149, the upper limit had increased by 8 points.

He pondered briefly and continued to add points.

"29 points, comprehend 'Xuanwu Second Style'."

The points were cast, and the progress of "Xuanwu Second Style" instantly became "Great Accomplishment (1/64)".

A mysterious sensation emerged once again.

In those "fragments of time", he had become a youth again, but this time, his left arm had an extra large shield half the height of a person.

He decided to use the blade and shield to hone his skills on the battlefield.

On the battlefield, weapons have no eyes; he was like someone submerged in raging waves, struggling within them every day, and after honing himself through a great battle, he finally realized a move—"Flood Dragon Mountain".

The shield is the mountain, hiding the person.

Yet this mountain is also full of killing intent, capable of taking the life of anyone who enters the mountain at any time, like a mountain hiding a man-eating flood dragon, hence it is called "Flood Dragon Mountain". This is a move that combines offense and defense, a solid shield combined with the Shadowless blade to form a killing technique.

However, he had only realized it, and it was not yet proficient enough.

At the same time, he also felt that this mountain was only just taking shape, yet not hard enough.

He still needed more time to practice this move.

The youth opened his eyes and looked again; the data had not changed at all.

Why? Did he not take a shield?

He frowned, rose to leave, and went to the training grounds where many guards and even children were practicing martial arts. He scanned the weapon racks, did not "see" a "shield," and so hurried away again.

Some guards who had just wanted to greet the son-in-law were puzzled to see him suddenly run off. One person nearby said, "The son-in-law must be obsessed with martial arts," while another said, "The son-in-law is so strong; how could he not be obsessed? We must all learn from the son-in-law." Another person nearby mocked, "If you had one-tenth of the son-in-law's talent, then you could learn from the son-in-law." Gao Lin, the elite guard leading the drill today, coughed and scolded, "Focus."

Everyone immediately fell silent.

However, Gao Lin was also very curious.

What was the son-in-law looking for? In the end, Song Cheng, led by Ling'er, entered the storehouse and took an Iron Round Shield that could cover half his body.

The moment he gripped the round shield, his stats jumped sharply, changing from "90~149" to "93~164."

Not only did the upper limit change, but even the lower limit had changed.

Was it because the shield's combat power was 3? Was this encouraging one to carry more weapons? No. You don't just pick up weapons; you have to use them, and the two weapons must become one seamless whole.

Thinking of this, the youth pulled the straps of the round shield and slung it onto his back.

Ling'er looked at him in astonishment.

"Son-in-law, you... are using a shield?"

Song Cheng said, "I'm trying it out."

Ling'er was speechless.

A shield—what serious martial artist uses one? At most, it is equipped by heavy infantry in the front row of an army to withstand cavalry.

Song Cheng did not explain further, instead carrying the shield on his back and leaning on his saber.

Image or whatever was not that important; what was important was... this way, he was at his strongest.

Nine days ago, he had just shown his strength to An Jie.

Yet in the blink of an eye, he was already stronger than he was then.

He never had a bottom line.

He would always rapidly leave yesterday's self behind.

Nine days ago, his peak was no longer his peak, because he had already climbed higher.

This was the benefit of "relying on a force" and being in a "stable environment."

That evening, when the three women saw Song Cheng's new look, they all smiled.

Tong Niangzi laughed the most wildly, clutching her stomach and laughing without giving him any face, saying, "What kind of shield are you carrying?"; Ying'er was suppressing her laughter, and Young Miss An also raised her hand to cover her lips.

However, after An Chenyu confirmed that her man truly needed a shield, she did not say a word, dispatched guards, brought gold, and galloped to the Prefecture City to find the master weaponsmith "Shuimo Dashi" to forge a "Mechanism Shield" out of high-quality materials.

A shield is too inconvenient. But a "Mechanism Shield" is like a ball; when it needs to be used, one presses the mechanism in advance, and the ball rapidly expands to become a large shield.

The item is useful, but it burns money; anything with the word "mechanism" in it is not cheap.

Yet ordinary people don't even know about such "Mechanism Weapons."

This is the benefit of being well-informed.

When you have money, you know where to spend it and who to spend it on, rather than "replacing the iron hoe at home with a gold hoe."

And while the guards dispatched by Young Miss An were heading to the Prefecture City, a cavalry unit of six people from the Prefecture City was also rapidly approaching Shanghe County.

The two leaders were an old man and a youth.

The old man had a majestic appearance, a face weathered by the elements, and carried a long saber on his back.

The youth, however, was cursing and swearing, shouting, "My butt is sore from the bumping."

After shouting a few times, he added, "Wang Da Xiansheng, how could my sister be so indiscreet? How long has it been since we last met, and she just found some wild man, and a blind man at that? Tsk tsk tsk, how desperate could she be?"

The old man reminded him, "That blind man is at the Strength Realm Peak."

The youth sneered and said, "There are differences even at the peak; no matter what, can he compare to you, Da Xiansheng?"

The old man smiled with self-importance.

Thanks to the trust of the head of the family, he had been taught the "Jue Jin Jin Jin."

Now he had cultivated the "Jue Jin Jin Jin" to Completion and fused it with the "Fuliu Jin Jin Jin," forming a saber technique of dual-strength rotation.

Being at the Strength Realm Peak, he was no longer comparable to an ordinary peak expert.

This old man was none other than the An Family's Wang Da Xiansheng, and the youth was An Chenyu's eldest brother—An Zhangsheng.

In the manor, after the old master heard that "An Chenyu had recruited a son-in-law without permission," he was extremely angry and decided to teach this wild girl, whose mother had died early, a lesson.

The An Family was a family of status and reputation; the order of seniority and respect had to be clearly distinguished—how could she be so ignorant of the rules?

Thus, the "An Family's Number One Expert," Wang Da Xiansheng, was dispatched to accompany An Zhangsheng to Shanghe County.

This trip was to seize the seal, then escort An Chenyu back to the An Family in the Prefecture City immediately to be dealt with by family law! PS: I will fix the update times; from now on, there will be one chapter at 12:00 PM and one at 5:00 PM.

This will also be convenient for readers who follow the updates.

(End of chapter)