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"Thank you, I'm going to cultivate now."

Xu Yan happily found an empty room and, upon entering, began to refine his true qi.

Leng Qiu was dumbfounded. Sure enough, he was here to freeload.

"Senior Brother should be on his way to Seven Star Academy, right? The whole Seven Star City is abuzz with talk of Senior Brother's strength and monstrous talent, and Seven Star Academy is even more excited. I wonder if Senior Brother, when he arrives, can bear up under this reputation."

Leng Qiu sighed inwardly.

Senior Brother's friend is unbelievably strong.

---

Xie Lingfeng and Hu Shan, after leaving Duke Wang's Mansion, headed straight for Unrivaled Pavilion.

The story of Xie Lingfeng, who stood before a Grandmaster and killed someone, then dared to confront the Grandmaster of Unrivaled Pavilion before leaving unscathed, was still circulating around Thousand Star Lake.

The Sword Sovereign Cliff, Xie Lingfeng! Truly worthy of being called the unparalleled genius of Sword Sovereign Cliff.

Rumors even spread that Xie Lingfeng and the mysterious beauty of Unrivaled Pavilion had some ambiguous love entanglement.

That legendary beauty was deeply captivated by Xie Lingfeng's unparalleled demeanor, falling deeply in love and unable to extricate herself!

And the rumors became more and more exaggerated!

"Young Master, I think it's better for you not to reveal your true name. I'm afraid it's dangerous!"

Hu Shan said worriedly.

Xie Lingfeng: ...

Xu Yan's reputation was too big. Killing someone in front of a Grandmaster and the rumored entanglement with the beauty of Unrivaled Pavilion could cause trouble if he were mistaken for an impostor.

"What you said makes sense!"

Xie Lingfeng nodded seriously.

The two headed straight for Unrivaled Pavilion to find Xu Yan's whereabouts.

"I am Xie Yan, I'm here only to inquire about the whereabouts of my brother, Xie Lingfeng!"

Xie Lingfeng asked the steward of Unrivaled Pavilion.

Hu Shan: ...

Suddenly, a voice came from the top floor of Unrivaled Pavilion.

"Are you the friend mentioned by Master Xie? You may come up for a chat."

Xie Lingfeng's spirits lifted. Could this be the legendary beauty who had a crush on his friend Xu?

"Thank you!"

Xie Lingfeng soared up towards the top floor of Unrivaled Pavilion.

Hu Shan followed closely behind but was suppressed by a force.

"Irrelevant people are not allowed up!"

A stern female voice came from somewhere.

Hu Shan: ...

He could only wait below in frustration.

As soon as Xie Lingfeng stepped into the courtyard, he saw a woman in plain clothes. His expression suddenly changed, and his hand couldn't help but grip the hilt of his sword.

Qi surrounded him, his expression incredibly solemn.

When the woman in plain clothes turned to look at him, her bright eyes seemed to arouse primal desires in people.

Although her face couldn't be seen, she gave off an aura of unparalleled beauty, standing there gracefully in the pavilion.

However, at that moment, Xie Lingfeng felt inexplicably restless!

It was as if his heart wanted to burst out, his blood surging, desires threatening to overwhelm his reason, yet these desires were not directed towards the woman in plain clothes; they came from nowhere, stirring restlessly within him.

"This is not good!"

Xie Lingfeng felt a chill in his heart.

What kind of technique is this? Although he was not as skilled as Xu Yan, he was still the top genius of Sword Sovereign Cliff in a millennium, naturally talented, with a strong comprehension of the sword path.

In this moment, Xie Lingfeng circulated his true qi, continuously calming his restless heart. Half of his sword was drawn, and sword energy enveloped him.

"Brother Xu once said, 'If there's no woman in your heart, the sword path becomes divine.' I finally understand a bit of this profound state, but it's too difficult to break through.

"Perhaps when I break through this barrier, I will truly comprehend the sword's enlightenment!"

Xie Lingfeng sighed inwardly.

The woman in plain clothes withdrew her gaze and chuckled softly, "Truly worthy of being Master Xie's friend, quite outstanding. Among your peers, there are probably very few who can match your level."

"You're too kind!"

Xie Lingfeng sheathed his sword and bowed.

"Where has Master Xie gone, I do not know. You may leave."

The woman waved her hand.

"Farewell!"

Xie Lingfeng turned and left.

He felt a chill in his heart, "This woman, though only an initial-stage Grandmaster, is not likely stronger than me. However, her strange bewitchment technique is extraordinary.

"If we were to really fight, and if I couldn't calm my restless heart, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to win!"

The rumored Unrivaled Courtesan of Unrivaled Pavilion was unexpectedly powerful.

"This Unrivaled Courtesan is not just an ordinary courtesan; she is here in Unrivaled Pavilion to cultivate some mysterious technique."

Xie Lingfeng contemplated deeply.

"How did Brother Xie deal with her back then?"

Xu Yan came to Unrivaled Pavilion to temper his state of mind. When he inevitably encounters her, how did he deal with her strange bewitchment technique?

Xie Lingfeng suspected that the woman in plain clothes didn't use her full power against him!

"Young Master, how did it go?"

Hu Shan approached curiously.

"No news, let's go!"

Xie Lingfeng dared not linger and hastily left.

On the top floor of Unrivaled Pavilion,

The figure of the Unrivaled Grandmaster appeared, looking at the woman in plain clothes and chuckled, "Little girl, you've taken a liking to him, haven't you? You called him up as soon as you heard he was his friend!"

"Master, don't talk nonsense. I'm just curious how powerful his friend, mentioned by him, really is."

The woman in plain clothes rolled her eyes at her master.

"It's truly extraordinary to be friends with Master Xie!"

She sighed.

"Young Master, where are we going next?"

After leaving Thousand Star Lake, Hu Shan asked.

Xie Lingfeng pondered for a moment and said, "Let's pay more attention to Sword Sovereign Cliff, see if my name has appeared anywhere."

As one of the top powers in the inner realm, Sword Sovereign Cliff naturally had its own information system to obtain news from the martial world.

Just then, a shadow flashed in the sky, and a fist-sized, gray bird, with a message tied to its leg, landed.

"A messenger falcon. What happened?"

Hu Shan exclaimed in surprise.

Messenger falcons were commonly used communication tools among the major powers in the inner realm. Specially trained, they belonged to the sects. These bird-like creatures, similar to spirit birds, were fast, concealed, and could travel high, delivering messages day and night.

And those who could recognize the messenger were able to quickly locate the person who needed the message within a certain range.

Each major power set up messenger falcon points within a certain range, forming a vast communication network. However, unless it was an emergency or a special circumstance, messenger falcons wouldn't be used casually, as each usage consumed a considerable amount of resources, requiring spirit medicines to maintain the falcon's communication.

Xie Lingfeng opened the message attached to the falcon's leg and read the contents.

"Xu Yan has gone to Seven Star Academy and has even passed through the ninth level of the Martial Arts Stage..."

Xie Lingfeng's scalp tingled.

"Hiss!"

Hu Shan exclaimed, "Xu Yan can already defeat a Grandmaster?"

The guardian of the ninth level of the Seven Star Academy's Martial Arts Stage was a Grandmaster!

"No, Brother Xu broke the rules. He defeated ten peak Grandmasters on the ninth level and used my name to enter the Seven Star Academy's Treasury."

Xie Lingfeng handed the letter to Hu Shan.

After reading it, Hu Shan said excitedly, "Young Master, this is great news. Your reputation has shaken Seven Star Academy and will shake the entire inner realm."

Xie Lingfeng was speechless with tears in his eyes, "What's Brother Xu's strength, and what's mine? Do you think I can bear such a reputation?"

Hu Shan thought for a moment and agreed.

"To Seven Star Academy!"

Xie Lingfeng said in a deep voice.

He must clarify that he is Xie Lingfeng. Otherwise, if this continues, one day he'll have to change his name. With such a reputation, he couldn't bear it.

Xie Lingfeng set off for Seven Star Academy. In Unrivaled Pavilion, the woman in plain clothes also took a letter from the leg of a messenger falcon, becoming more and more shocked as she read it.

"Master Xie, truly incomparable!"

She exclaimed sincerely, then looked at her master, "Master, I want to go to Seven Star Academy."

The Unrivaled Grandmaster smiled ambiguously, "See, I told you it's not just curiosity!"

The woman in plain clothes rolled her eyes, ignoring her master's teasing, and turned to the other side, saying, "Yao Granny, will you come with me?"

An old woman appeared in the courtyard and said, "Alright!"

She was a Grandmaster.

---

Even though three days had passed, the waves caused by Xu Yan at Seven Star Academy had not subsided; instead, they had become the hot topic of discussion among the students wherever they went, discussing Xu Yan's feats of challenging the ninth level of the Martial Arts Stage.

"Miss, Master Xie has arrived at Seven Star Academy!"

In a secluded courtyard within Seven Star Academy, Cui'er ran over, her face filled with excitement.

Upon hearing this, Du Yuying's eyes lit up. "Cui'er, where is Master Xie?"

"I'm not sure, but everyone in the academy is talking about Master Xie. He broke through the ninth level of the Martial Arts Stage and defeated ten senior instructors of the academy single-handedly."

Cui'er's eyes were full of admiration.

"Cui'er, quickly have someone find out where Master Xie is. I'll go meet him!"

Du Yuying's face blushed with anticipation.

"Yes, Miss, I'll spend some money to have someone help find out."

Cui'er was also eager.

"Be quick!"

Du Yuying urged.

Cui'er hurriedly left.

In the branch courtyard of Sword Sovereign Cliff, Xu Yan's true qi on his fingertips split into ten parts, each strand incredibly dense, rather than dispersed.

"I finally succeeded."

Contemplating the true qi on his fingertips, Xu Yan's true qi surged out of his body, continuously splitting apart. One strand became two... As the splitting continued, the true qi became finer and denser.

In the end, Xu Yan was surrounded by densely packed, thread-like true qi needles, making him look like a humanoid porcupine.

"So, true qi is so profound. By splitting it, I'm actually enhancing it, bringing it close to its limit. Now, my true qi purity has increased by about thirty percent."

"This is almost the limit of true qi purity. And I've gained some understanding of the mysteries of true qi manipulation."

Xu Yan was ecstatic.

With his strength improved once again,

With a thought, the needle-like true qi gathered together, forming a small true qi dragon.

This wasn't a dragon formed by the Dragon Subduing Palm but a shape formed by splitting and combining true qi.

"My Dragon Subduing Palm's power has also increased."

With his control over true qi becoming stronger, especially after being able to split and combine it, the power and attack methods of the Dragon Subduing Palm had also improved.

"It's time to break through to the Grandmaster realm."

Xu Yan's excitement was palpable.

After breaking through to the Grandmaster realm, he wouldn't fear Grandmasters anymore.

Even if it was a peak Grandmaster, he wouldn't fear them. Even if he couldn't defeat them, they wouldn't be able to do anything to him.

"Gaining strength by crossing a major realm."

Xu Yan was excited.

With the Grandmaster realm complete, he would no longer fear Grandmasters. Once he broke through to the Transcendence realm, sweeping Grandmasters would be easy. Even the top peak Grandmasters of the inner realm would be easily defeated.

Xu Yan sat cross-legged, beginning to break through to the Grandmaster realm. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged into his body, continuously condensing into Grandmaster-level true qi.

"The spiritual energy of the inner realm is so gentle, lacking a bit of fierceness and dominance. Is this the reason for the spiritual essence of heaven and earth?"

"In an instant, I can let the spiritual essence of heaven and earth enter my body, almost controlling it. I feel a gentle rhythm between heaven and earth."

"Could this be the so-called spiritual essence of heaven and earth?"

Xu Yan pondered silently.

The spiritual energy of the inner realm was so gentle that he hardly needed to operate his techniques. With just a thought, the spiritual essence of heaven and earth would actively enter his body, condensing into true qi and flowing into his dantian.

"I wonder if the martial practitioners of the inner realm also experience this?"

Xu Yan mused.

The Heaven and Earth Bridge connected to the Borderlands could absorb and cultivate spiritual energy of heaven and earth. After coming to the inner realm, the speed of absorbing spiritual energy was almost unimaginable.

Even without operating techniques, with just a thought, the spiritual essence of heaven and earth would enter his body.

Xu Yan speculated that this might be the function of the spiritual essence of heaven and earth. He was curious whether martial practitioners in the inner realm also experienced this.

Boom!

As the true qi in his body continued to strengthen, his dantian expanded continuously, as if it had truly become a vast ocean.

Breaking through to the Grandmaster realm was smooth without any hindrance. Xu Yan directly broke through to the Grandmaster realm.

"This is the Grandmaster realm. With my current strength, Fu Yuntian, the Grandmaster, won't be able to threaten me."

Xu Yan evaluated silently in his heart, "Fu Yuntian is the Chief Supervisor of Seven Star Academy, a Grandmaster at the Grandmaster realm, one realm higher than me. He's also one of the top experts among Grandmasters."

"He must have mastered many powerful martial arts secrets of Seven Star Academy."

"And he must have cultivated some secret technique that can instantly increase his strength, even at the cost of injuring himself. So, it won't be easy for me to defeat him."

Since Seven Star Academy existed, how could the martial practitioners of Seven Star Academy not cultivate such techniques?

They might not use them often, but they couldn't be ignorant of them.

Once their lives were in danger, they could use them. It was better to severely injure the enemy together than to die alone.

So, there was no doubt that Fu Yuntian had cultivated such a technique.

Recalling how his master could palm a Grandmaster to ashes with one palm, Xu Yan's heart burned with excitement, "Although I can't do that, palm-smashing Fu Yuntian shouldn't be a problem."

"With eighteen Golden Dragons unleashed, hitting him with a dozen or so palms, I should be able to crush him."

Xu Yan made a rough estimate in his heart.

(End of this chapter)