I Can Devour Spirits

The fragrant and fresh deer meat, with a faint burnt taste, gave an illusion of eating cured meat.

Duan Rong sat on a rock by the stream, eating deer meat, while watching the gradually setting sun. His eyes were deep and lively.

It wasn’t until Duan Rong advanced the Thunder Smoke Saber to the realm of Great Perfection that he fully understood another saying of Xiao Zongting.

The true power of the Five Tigers and Sheep Saber only manifests after achieving the Great Perfection realm!

The most distinctive feature of the Five Tigers and Sheep Saber is its balance. Initially, Xiao Zongting set out to improve this saber technique to reach the target of the Great Perfection realm.

At the level of Great Success, both the Five Tigers and Sheep Saber and the Thunder Smoke Saber had their merits, but once breaking through to the Great Perfection realm, the Thunder Smoke Saber couldn’t even catch up with the Five Tigers and Sheep Saber.

The original balance of the Five Tigers and Sheep Saber, under the harmonious state of Great Perfection, forms a perfect blend!

Duan Rong was almost certain that this was some form of the ultimate level of the Great Perfection realm, which was also where Xiao Zongting poured his heart and soul throughout his life!

The Great Perfection realm of this saber technique almost exhausts the Inner Breath Realm!

No further progress is possible; the slightest progress leads to the True Qi Realm!

Duan Rong originally wanted to use the Great Perfection realm to master several more saber techniques, but after finishing that piece of deer meat, he changed his mind.

Because he was convinced that in the Great Perfection realm, no saber technique could compare to the Five Tigers and Sheep Saber!

In the days Duan Rong was away, Ximen Kankan came looking for him several times but never saw him. After the Talent Selection Conference, Ximen Yong completely lifted his restrictions on Ximen Kankan. Ximen Kankan wanted to enjoy himself during the ten days of public display and came to Duan Rong hoping he could take him to the gambling house for a big win, but every time he came, Duan Rong wasn’t there.

The last time, Ximen Kankan even climbed over the wall into Liu’s House while no one was around. After checking around and confirming Duan Rong wasn’t there, he sighed and left in disappointment!

This afternoon, Xiao Yu also walked slowly to the gate of Liu’s House.

Seeing the gate of the courtyard piled with various gifts and invitations, Xiao Yu slightly frowned.

Still, she stepped forward and knocked on the door. Seeing no response after a long time, she said, ”This guy, where did he run off to for peace and quiet?”

In the life-and-death battle, Xiao Yu had almost exhausted her Inner Breath, and after this life-and-death tempering, she, upon returning, unexpectedly broke through the Great Success realm smoothly after recuperating for a few days!

Having broken through the Great Success realm and with her leg almost healed, Xiao Yu was itching to spar with Duan Rong to hone and consolidate her newly achieved Great Success realm, but Duan Rong was nowhere to be found.

In the valley of Wild Boar Mountain, Duan Rong suddenly sneezed twice!

Duan Rong rubbed his nose. ”There’s no wind, so why am I sneezing for no reason?!”

He displayed his agility, flashing and leaping between the steep rock walls of the valley!

He remembered that it was in this valley that he broke through the Minor Success realm of Cloud Serpent Step through free leaping, occasionally gaining insights!

But now, Duan Rong reconnected the Cloud Serpent Step with his achieved realm of Great Perfection!

Duan Rong’s movements were fast as a ghost, like a mountain spirit or wild ghost.

After reaching the Great Perfection realm, his understanding of Martial Arts had completely changed. The Cloud Serpent Step he now performed amidst the cliffs had a sense of ethereal clouds and mist.

After refining the Cloud Serpent Step, Duan Rong attempted to reconnect his hidden weapon techniques with the Great Perfection realm!

His hidden weapon techniques originally fused the Plum Blossom Needle Technique, Thousand-Handed Arhat, and Thousand Leaves Three Transformations—three entirely distinct techniques. The fusion of these techniques initially had many aspects that were not harmonious.

By reconnecting them with the Great Perfection realm, Duan Rong opened many gates.

Now, his hidden weapon techniques were more harmonious and natural. Flitting among the dappled shadows of the forest, a plum blossom silhouette bloomed by Duan Rong’s hand, and a Willow Leaf Saber silently shot out, slicing through the woods!

In the following days, Duan Rong continued his arduous cultivation in the mountains!

Having achieved the Great Perfection realm was akin to entering the hall.

The first task upon entering the hall was a thorough cleaning—discarding the useless, sorting and organizing the useful.

In these days of arduous cultivation, Duan Rong elevated his saber techniques, lightweight skill, and hidden weapon techniques by several levels, his overall strength renewed!

That morning, Duan Rong sat on a large stone by the stream, gnawing on roasted, golden-brown, but somewhat stale deer meat.

Though the mountains and fields were full of game, Duan Rong did not want to blindly kill for fresh game every day. He believed it was against the harmony of nature!

Chewing the deer meat, his eyes showed deep contemplation.

After these days of arduous cultivation, his understanding of the subtle relationship between spiritual strength and Martial Arts had deepened further.

The reason spiritual strength is the core of Martial Arts is because it commands from the highest position!

Duan Rong suddenly recalled a historical anecdote he had learned in his past life, called Li Guang Shooting a Tiger!

This anecdote is from the Records of the Grand Historian: ”Li Guang went hunting, saw a stone in the grass, mistook it for a tiger, and shot it—his arrow penetrated deep into the stone. Upon seeing it was a stone, he tried shooting it again but could no longer penetrate it.”

This anecdote talks about Li Guang going hunting, seeing a stone covered with grass and leaves, mistaking it for a tiger, and shooting an arrow that plunged deep into the stone!

But when he knew it was a stone, not a tiger, no matter how he tried, he could no longer shoot an arrow into the stone.

In this anecdote from the Records of the Grand Historian, the historian Sima Qian used a Spring and Autumn brush to demonstrate the commanding role of spiritual strength in Martial Arts!

When Li Guang believed it was a tiger, his inner and outer were in unison, focused and singular, enabling him to shoot an arrow deep into the stone!

When he knew it wasn’t a tiger but a stone, despite pretending it was a tiger, his subconscious had already formed the idea that it was stone, not a tiger.

When your spiritual strength has flaws, its ability to integrate and command Martial Arts diminishes.

Thus, when Li Guang shot again, he could no longer penetrate the stone.

So, as the saying goes, the reason spiritual strength is the core of Martial Arts is because it commands from the highest position!

After finishing the last piece of deer meat, Duan Rong flickered back into the cave!

His arduous mountain training had come to an end! And with the ten-day public display period almost over, it was time for him to return.

Duan Rong stood at the mouth of the cave, projecting his Divine Sense, scanning every inch of the cave, frowning in thought...

This trip to the Taiyi Sect might last as short as three years or he might never return!

This cave stronghold, inherited from the evil doctor Shen Ping, was quite hidden. Duan Rong now had to decide what to leave behind and what to take, only taking the necessary. The rest would remain in this cave.

If anything unexpected happened to him outside, or if he never returned, this cave and the rare treasures within would become ownerless relics...

In a corner of a tea house at the entrance of an alley inside the East City Gate of Xianggu County, Jie Daohan sat slumped, wearing a felt hat.

The tea house owner, wiping the counter, occasionally glanced at Jie Daohan’s back, a curious and peculiar look in his eyes.

This person had been sitting there for several days in a row! Each time with a pot of tea and a plate of peanuts.

The owner scrutinized him, but his hat was pulled down too low to see his face.

The owner’s gaze landed on the saber at Jie Daohan’s waist. Though curious, he dared not approach and inquire, as there had been significant cases in Xianggu County lately, and this man’s strange behavior led the owner to avoid unnecessary trouble.

The old wisdom advised him that fewer matters result in fewer troubles.

He ran a tea house; if others wanted to sit quietly and drink tea without disturbing his business, why should he meddle?

Jie Daohan plucked a peanut, chewed it slowly, and when it lost its flavor, he took a sip of tea.

The tea, ordered in the morning, was hot and steaming then, but by now, at dusk, it was cold, chilling his teeth when he sipped it.

Jie Daohan waited in vain for a few days without seeing Duan Rong, but he wasn’t anxious because, in two days, the ten-day public display period would end, and Jie Daohan anticipated Duan Rong’s return!

Just after gulping down the cold tea, Jie Daohan saw a desolate figure, riding a chestnut horse, entering the city with a weary face!

His heart skipped a beat, and he immediately lowered his head!

The one entering the city was Duan Rong!