I Grind to Martial Saint

Cheng Sanhu snorted coldly.

News of Han Yuan’s exploits had already begun to spread throughout Jianghe Province, no longer confined to just Cangshui County.

”That’s right!”

”My master is the Fierce Tiger Saber, Cheng Sanhu!”

”Back in the day, he defeated countless Gang Essence Martial Artists in Jianghe Province!”

Hong Wan chimed in from the side.

”Never heard of him.” Han Yuan shook his head.

”You!!!” Cheng Sanhu was enraged. ”If you’ve got the guts, let’s have a match. Whoever loses leaves White Stone Island!”

Han Yuan said casually, ”Then let’s begin.”

This Cheng Sanhu still followed the rules of the Martial World. He stopped five meters from Han Yuan and said, ”Young man, I may be old, but my saber is no less sharp.”

Han Yuan urged, ”Hurry up and make your move. Why waste so much time talking?”

”Fine, take this!”

Like an enraged tiger, Cheng Sanhu drew the great saber from his back, gripping it with both hands and viciously slashing at Han Yuan.

ROAR~~

A furious tiger’s roar suddenly echoed.

Han Yuan snorted coldly and unleashed a whip kick!

WHOOSH~~

His kick was so fast it left a trail of afterimages, viciously slamming into Cheng Sanhu’s waist and abdomen.

BANG!!!

Cheng Sanhu cried out in pain as his entire body was sent flying over ten meters.

SPLASH.

He flew right into the Cangjiang River, sending up a massive spray of water.

”Old man... the times... have long since changed.”

Han Yuan shook his head.

As for the remaining Hong Wan, he didn’t even spare him a glance before turning to leave.

Zhang Cang and Old Yan naturally followed Han Yuan.

Hong Wan never expected his master to be defeated with a single kick. His mind went blank.

”Disciple, quick, save me...”

It wasn’t until he heard his master Cheng Sanhu’s cry for help that Hong Wan snapped back to his senses. He hurriedly rushed into the water and pulled Cheng Sanhu out.

Cheng Sanhu couldn’t even stand now and was continuously coughing up blood.

After checking Cheng Sanhu’s injuries, however, Hong Wan breathed a sigh of relief.

Cheng Sanhu’s internal organs had only suffered some shock and hadn’t ruptured.

He would be fine after a few days of rest.

”Master... let’s go back.”

”That Han Yuan is too terrifying!”

Hong Wan said in terror.

”Mm... let’s go back.”

”That guy is not someone we can afford to provoke.”

Cheng Sanhu thought the same.

He knew that if he remained on White Stone Island, the other party would likely show no mercy and kill him.

Hearing this, Hong Wan quickly hoisted Cheng Sanhu onto his back, boarded a small boat with him, and departed swiftly.

....

「Night fell.」

A figure swam through the waters of the Cangjiang River.

About an hour later.

The figure quietly landed on White Stone Island.

Since he didn’t take a boat, no one noticed his arrival.

He wore black Night Clothes, and with no light sources on the island, he practically blended into the darkness.

’I’d like to see who arrived before me.’

The man in black noticed a flicker of firelight deep within White Stone Island.

He moved swiftly toward the light and soon arrived near the White Stone Forest. He saw three figures around a campfire: one sat cross-legged in meditation, one was sound asleep, and one was resting with eyes closed.

The man in black’s gaze fell upon the figure sitting cross-legged in meditation.

His name was Wang Chen, and he was a notorious assassin.

Whether it was the old, the weak, women, and children, masters of the Martial World, or even officials and wealthy merchants.

As long as the price was right, he would take the job.

His career of more than ten years as an assassin had earned him a spot in the top five on the Jianghe Province Black List.

He had come to Cangshui County this time, naturally, for the emergence of the Spiritual Land.

Because Wang Chen was still relatively young, not yet forty, he had the potential to break through to the Innate Realm.

He wanted to use the emergence of this Spiritual Land to break through to the Half-Step Innate realm.

The Spiritual Qi concentration of a Lower-class Spiritual Land was insufficient to support a Martial Artist’s breakthrough to Innate Grandmaster.

One could only break through to Half-Step Innate first, then wait for an opportunity to find a Middle Spiritual Land.

On the surface, the Great Ling Dynasty only had one Middle Spiritual Land near the Capital.

In reality, the Ancient Sects hidden deep in remote mountains and old forests each possessed their own Middle Spiritual Land.

Of course, some peerless geniuses with terrifying talent could still break through using a Lower-class Spiritual Land, even without a Middle Spiritual Land.

A Spiritual Land just made the breakthrough easier.

Even the publicly acknowledged number one expert of the Great Ling Dynasty, Innate Grandmaster Tong Zhengyang, had not used any Spiritual Land. He relied solely on his own talent, comprehending the Dao for thirty years at Youlao Mountain, a Land of Absolute Spirit, before achieving his breakthrough to the Innate Realm in a single day.

But Wang Chen knew his own limits.

He knew full well that with his level of talent, his only chance of breaking through to the Innate Realm was to rely on successively breaking through in Spiritual Lands.

The reason Wang Chen’s gaze was fixed on the meditating figure was entirely due to his own intuition.

Throughout his long career as an assassin, he had encountered many dangers.

And every time, his intuition had seen him through. This time, his intuition was telling him that this figure was very dangerous.

The other two figures were of no consequence.

Wang Chen concealed his aura and stealthily approached the figure sitting cross-legged in meditation.

’As long as I deal with this person, the other two will be no threat.’

As a veteran assassin, Wang Chen naturally had his own unique methods.

He stopped when he was about five meters away from the meditating figure.

’This distance is relatively safe; far enough that I won’t be discovered, yet within my attack range.’

Wang Chen quietly took out a blowgun.

Inside the blowgun was a single Silver Needle.

This Silver Needle was no simple thing. It was crafted by Abnormal People from a special metal, possessed an Armor-Piercing effect, and was coated in an extremely vicious poison.

A single scratch was all it took; even a Gang Essence Martial Artist would surely die.

FWOOSH!

Wang Chen aimed at Han Yuan and blew out the Silver Needle.

The Silver Needle instantly transformed into a fine silver gleam, flying out without a sound.

SWISH~~

Han Yuan was still meditating, showing no reaction at all.

But the next moment, the Silver Needle struck Han Yuan’s temple and passed right through.

Han Yuan’s figure vanished on the spot.

’What’s going on?!’

Wang Chen’s eyes suddenly widened.

”I’m behind you.”

A voice that seemed to come from Hell itself sounded from behind Wang Chen.

A chill instantly ran down Wang Chen’s spine.

But before he could even turn his head,

CRACK!

his head was suddenly crushed by an immense force.

Zhang Cang and Old Yan opened their eyes at that moment.

”This fellow probably never imagined that I’d already set up a surveillance Array on White Stone Island.”

”I’m aware of every little disturbance.”

Old Yan said, shaking his head as he looked at Wang Chen’s corpse.

Han Yuan thought for a moment, then picked up Wang Chen’s body and tossed it at the edge of White Stone Island.

This also served as a warning.

If anyone else came looking for trouble, Han Yuan would not be so courteous.

The three of them returned to the White Stone Forest to continue resting.

「When the sun rose.」

A thick white fog suddenly rose over White Stone Island.

The morning clouds in the sky burned like fire, a crimson blaze filling the heavens.

Even the surface of the river was dyed red.

This strange celestial phenomenon was, of course, reflected in Han Yuan’s eyes.

’It’s finally emerging.’

Han Yuan could feel the concentration of Spiritual Qi on White Stone Island steadily increasing.

This was especially true in the White Stone Forest, where the Spiritual Qi was terrifyingly dense.

It made Han Yuan feel as if he were cultivating at a point of Spiritual Qi eruption.

”Whether I live or die, it all comes down to this.”

Old Yan took a harsh swig of wine.

He was already very old. If this breakthrough attempt wasn’t a success—if he failed—he would never get another chance in this lifetime.

But if he broke through to the Seven Spirits Realm, his lifespan would increase dramatically.

So, Old Yan was extremely nervous.

Zhang Cang himself had just broken through to the Three Soul Realm and was still a long way from the Seven Spirits Realm.

He had come this time to accumulate Magical Power and prepare for his future breakthrough to the Seven Spirits Realm.

As for Han Yuan, his reasons were even more pressing.

For him, the Spirit Sun Sect would be arriving soon.

This was an Ancient Sect that had been passed down since the Chaotic Ancient Era, and it boasted three Innate Grandmasters.

Even Han Yuan felt immense pressure.

He had to use the opportunity of this Spiritual Land’s emergence to increase his combat strength as quickly as possible.

The three of them spread out in the White Stone Forest as they had previously agreed.

This way, they could absorb the explosive burst of Spiritual Qi from the Spiritual Land’s emergence to the greatest extent.