Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 393 - 387: The Path to Supreme Power II

Chapter 393: Chapter 387: The Path to Supreme Power II

Liaocheng, Su Family.

Su Xia, dressed in a green long gown with a red jade ornament on her head, sat upright at the main seat of the hall.

A thick black fox fur shawl was draped over her shoulders, and two Silver Armored Guards with powerful and prolonged auras stood erect by her side.

Su Mu was standing below, his head slightly lowered, reporting the situation to her.

"So, the people uncle encountered, they should at least possess cultivation of the Silver Level of our Su Family?" Su Xia, as the head of the leading family in Liaocheng, remained calm and composed, neither disturbed by the failed recruitment nor angered by challenges from other minor forces along the way.

"Indeed, from what I observed, the person in charge among them, that young master Lin, his cultivation could possibly surpass the Silver Level."

Su Mu frowned and said, "However, after entering the city, these people only stayed inside the inn and did not go out, except for a walk around the nearby streets; their purpose remains unclear."

"Pay it no mind," Su Xia lifted her hand and said. "Since they are unwilling, maintaining a good relationship is all we can do, offering conveniences whenever possible."

"Understood," Su Mu nodded.

"You can handle this matter. Uncle has worked hard to ensure the safe arrival of the goods. Go rest for now."

Su Mu took his leave upon receiving the order.

Immediately afterwards, twin sisters entered the room and bowed to Su Xia.

"Did the family head summon us for something?"

The sisters’ appearance was not outstanding, but they exuded an aura as sharp as ice.

"How is the situation with the other families?" Only then did a sharp glitter flash in Su Xia’s eyes as she slightly leaned forward, clearly placing great importance on the question she asked.

The twins exchanged glances.

"The thirteen clans are still negotiating with the Lion Fist Sect and have shown no interest in our offers. The situation isn’t good..."

"Is that so..." Su Xia frowned. "Organizing the martial arts tournament previously was indeed the right move, otherwise, things would be even worse now. Do you have any good strategies?"

One of the twins stepped forward and said.

"However, there is a slight turn of events."

"Oh? What turn of events?" Su Xia was slightly surprised.

"Today, while the thirteen clans were negotiating with the Lion Fist Sect, an unexpected incident happened there—a Branch Chief of the sect was mysteriously kidnapped. This has had a very bad impact. Because of it, the clans now doubt the Lion Fist Sect’s ability to protect the goods they were entrusted with."

The older sister explained in a grave tone.

"This is our opportunity!" the younger sister declared emphatically.

"Such a thing has happened?" Su Xia asked, somewhat startled, "When did this happen?"

"Just an hour ago."

Upon hearing this, Su Xia was slightly taken aback.

Su Mu had just informed her an hour ago that several Third Grade masters had entered Liaocheng. Normally, such high-level masters would have their entries recorded on account of the threat they could pose to local security.

As with any other places, the responsibility of the local authorities is never to casually allow someone of unknown origin who could threaten the public order to enter their jurisdiction without being put on record.

The Su family did the same.

Thus, as the family head, she was well aware of the total number of Silver Level masters who had entered Liaocheng within the past hour. Coincidentally, after these people entered, the place where they settled was very close to an outer city branch of the Lion Fist Sect.

"Which Branch Chief was abducted?" She thought for a moment, then asked.

"Qing Xiuzhen. She’s the sister of Qing Shishan, who is ranked fifth at headquarters," the older twin quickly replied.

"Tsk tsk... This complicates matters..."

Su Xia clearly remembered that the group of people’s location was precisely where Qing Xiuzhen, who held authority over that branch, was stationed.

*************************

After sending off Little Jade Fox, Wang Peng, and others, Lin Xin was left alone in Liaocheng, feeling utterly solitary. Accompanied by the bound Qing Xiuzhen and Shasha, he pasted a Concealment Formation Talisman on both, leading them out of the city. They casually rented a house by a riverside on the outskirts.

For several consecutive days, he semi-forcibly made Qing Xiuzhen spar with him, each session leaving her battered and bloody. He deliberately suppressed his strength to just a bit stronger than Qing Xiuzhen, giving her hope and forcing her to fight with all her might, using every technique she knew.

Regrettably, she never succeeded in escaping.

However, he had begun to understand the way of the Lion Fist Sect.

The tradition of this sect seemed quite ancient, surviving the narrow gaps between the Red Spine Sect and the Immortal Alliance so long, indeed holding a distinctive edge.

Bang!

Qing Xiuzhen threw a punch, with a lion’s roar echoing behind her. Muscles cascaded like waves, flowing layer by layer to her right fist, then erupting with full force, smashing hard onto Lin Xin’s left hand.

Vigor Qi splattered, grass and dirt flew around their feet, and if there were any ordinary people present, the giant sound wave would instantly deafen them.

Qing Xiuzhen was a full head taller than Lin Xin, but at that moment, her face was twisted in pain, with one eye bleeding, the blood flowing down from her nose bridge.

On her head, neck, vest, and chest, sweat gathered like a stream, flowing down the low points of her body.

Under the sunlight, she gazed at Lin Xin with an almost despairing look in her eyes.

"You... you... how could it be...?!" This was the strongest blow she had ever delivered, yet still...

"What are you trying to say?"

Lin Xin was bare-handed, wearing a black robe that served as a cloak behind him, torn madly backwards by the Vigor Qi, revealing only a simple black and red Armor beneath.

This was one of the full body Fire Attribute Armors he had forged before, which, at this level, was suitable for specialized combat training.

Ordinary robes, without using Demonic Qi for protection and relying solely on the flesh, had been ruined countless times over.

So, Lin Xin had started using this Armor set for regular combat training.

With his now Master Level Formation Talisman prowess, modifying the finished product was not difficult. He had added an automatic repair Formation Talisman to the Armor, making it a rather easy task.

"Your body... how could it possibly be trained to this level...?!" Qing Xiuzhen could not believe that someone in this world could strengthen the human body to such an incredible extent.

One must know that Body Cultivation, regardless of the Cultivation Technique, essentially attempts to imitate Primordial Demons and Demon Gods. Ultimately, one would transform unrecognizably and eventually discard the physical body completely to become a true Demon God. This is the ultimate goal of Body Cultivation.

Because no matter how one cultivates and trains, the human body has its limits. This is decided by the innate structural limitations.

Just like a glass cup will always be a glass cup, you cannot suddenly turn it into a diamond cup. One needs to gradually discard the glass, replace it with different materials, and reconstitute its structure to fundamentally enhance its strength.

In Lin Xin’s case, it was as if he had directly strengthened a glass cup into diamond, which left Qing Xiuzhen utterly stunned and shocked.

"Having a formidable body is indeed a goal that ordinary humans cannot reach. Therefore, almost all Demonic Cultivators go down the route of transforming themselves," Lin Xin said calmly, "This is what’s called transforming into a Demon Body."

He then changed the subject.

"However, there are always exceptions in this world. I once encountered people from a land where individuals had terrifyingly powerful bodies. I gained enlightenment from their cultivation system, which is why I have reached this stage now."

Qing Xiuzhen staggered back two steps and sat down on the ground with a thump.

She stared dazedly at Lin Xin, no longer speaking of leaving.

Shasha was also utterly alarmed by the scene. These two were like humanoid ferocious beasts. Merely grazing a punch could shatter rocks and smash steel.

The gusts thrown out during their exchanges were so fierce that she didn’t dare to approach, lest she got accidentally hurt by the airflow.

She once carelessly got too close and was slashed by an invisible gust, which disfigured her cheek on the spot and almost hit her vulnerable eyes.

Frightened, she had turned tail and ran, pissing herself in the process.

Then, she happened to run too far, reaching the limit of the restriction around Lin Xin’s body, and ended up writhing in agony on the ground, howling miserably for half an hour.

It was truly a heartrending and tearful scene.

"Here’s compensation for practicing so long; consider this payment," Lin Xin casually tossed a Jade Token, which strikingly contained a hundred pieces of Spirit Jade.

For him, who had often been raiding homes lately, a single raid could yield several hundred pieces, and on the way here, before encountering Su Mu, he had cleared several bandit dens, two of which housed Third Grade Level cultivators.

The result was, naturally, a huge windfall. After selecting the most precious parts of his loot, he carried around a thousand pieces of Spirit Jade. And this was all within half a month.

So, giving her a hundred pieces of Spirit Jade was nothing to him.

"Could it be... it’s over?" Qing Xiuzhen froze, catching the flying Jade Token and still not recovered from the beating.

"It’s over," Lin Xin answered offhandedly.

He turned and walked towards the rented house. The area was a desolate rocky terrain with a solitary wooden structure and a small vegetable garden beside it. Being a place rarely visited by people and shielded by a Concealment Formation, he was not worried about noise from their fight leaking out.

Finally having fully comprehended the Taoist Intent of the Lion’s Fist, Lin Xin felt a slight release in his heart.

Having mastered another Taoist Intent, his Yuan Dou Demonic Technique grew stronger by a fraction.

"The Fourth Layer of the Yuan Dou Demonic Technique required an astonishing accumulation, needing a full convergence of thousands of different Taoist Intents. I really don’t know how those two managed to collect them all," he felt reflective.

He had asked the Great Princess and the Second Princess about their experiences practicing the Yuan Dou Demonic Technique in the past, and their trials were much harder, much more so than his.

It was said that the two had spent a hundred years gathering various Taoist Intents, then another thirty years mutually confirming and gaining insights through sparring, and finally three hundred years to reach the Fifth Layer, step into Yuan Jing, and discover the Primitive Demonic Realm of Yuan Jing.

"In other words, there is actually no corresponding Golden Core Realm in the middle of the Yuan Dou Demonic Technique," Lin Xin realized, "Gathering a thousand Taoist Intents and merging them into one, to transform into the Demonic Realm, is directly stepping into the Yuan Jing Level. It seems different systems truly are worlds apart."

He stretched out his hand and looked at his arms.

Ever since he started enhancing his attributes, Lin Xin had felt an unprecedented sense of fulfillment and reality.

It was as if he, in this form, was truly alive, truly experiencing this world—a world that was exceedingly real and extremely dangerous.

Attribute points constantly accumulated, evenly spreading outwards, and he could feel himself becoming stronger.

Up to now, Lin Xin himself had not had a true all-out fight for a very long time.

He knew he was strong, terrifyingly so, but he did not know just how strong he was.

Sometimes, unable to control his strength, merely his breath would shoot out like arrows, punching holes of various sizes into the wooden wall by his bed.