Chapter 161: Chapter 159: Imperial Capital

I’ve created the "Eight Desolates and Six Harmonies, I Alone Am Honored" group, group number: 605481292. All sorts of experts have gathered inside. Everyone is welcome to come in and discuss the plot with Little Tian, chat, and shoot the breeze! Also, I’m asking for recommendation votes again! There will be three updates today!

In a valley, a waterfall cascaded down, rumbling and churning up monstrous waves.

Before the waterfall...

A topless young man’s body shone with brilliant rays of golden light, flowing over his perfectly proportioned physique.

Beads of sweat rolled down every muscle.

SWISH SWISH—

Two Demon Beasts, one black and one white, were launching powerful attacks at the young man.

"Icebound Hundred-Mile!"

"Light of Darkness..."

The bone-chilling ice transformed into a ferocious ice dragon, which twisted its massive body and slammed viciously into the young man.

This ice dragon was incredibly hard, comparable to a Low-grade Profound Tier Weapon.

But upon impact, it abruptly halted. Cracks spread across its body before it shattered, dissolving into a shower of ice shards that drifted down from the sky.

A black pillar of light carried a destructive power.

BOOM—

The moment it touched the young man, the pillar of darkness exploded. The terrifying energy sent him flying backward, straight into the waterfall.

"Damn, Brother Black, wasn’t that a little too harsh?" Little White said, looking speechless.

Little Black looked embarrassed. "Didn’t Jiang Chen himself ask us to attack with all our strength?" he said sheepishly. "He should... maybe... probably be fine, right?"

BANG!

As the two beasts were talking, a column of water shot up from beneath the waterfall.

Jiang Chen burst out from the column of water. Despite enduring such a terrifying attack, his body was completely unscathed. Golden light flowed around him like a Golden Armor War God. He patted his chest, a hint of joy on his face. "I’ve finally advanced the Divine Demon Tyrant Body to the Middle Stage of the Second Stage! My body is now as tough as a Profound Tier Intermediate Profound Weapon!"

"Boss, are you okay?" Little White flew over and asked anxiously.

Jiang Chen ruffled his head and smiled. "I’m fine. It’s all thanks to you two sparring with me these past days that I was able to advance the Divine Demon Tyrant Body to the Middle Stage of the Second Stage so quickly!"

"That’s also the result of you working yourself to death!" the Black Emperor said with a sigh.

Thinking back on Jiang Chen’s desperate, frenzied cultivation over the past two months, even the worldly-wise Black Emperor couldn’t help but feel emotional.

A full two months had passed since the battle in Yunxian Valley.

During these two months, Jiang Chen’s group had stayed in this valley.

More than a month ago, Jiang Chen and Little Black’s injuries had already fully healed. After recovering, Jiang Chen had entered a frenzied state of cultivation.

After more than a month of arduous cultivation, Jiang Chen’s cultivation also smoothly broke through to the Sixth Stage of the True Martial Realm.

His Wind Sword Intent had also advanced to the Tier One High Level.

His combat power had increased by a huge margin!

Especially his Divine Demon Tyrant Body, which had just broken through to the Middle Stage of the Second Stage. His physical strength was now comparable to a Profound Tier Middle Level Profound Weapon. With his current power, if he were to face an expert like Luo Meng again, he could defeat him even without relying on his Talent Devouring God.

As for Heavenly Destiny Realm experts...

Jiang Chen wasn’t confident he could deal with them yet!

Jiang Chen smiled at the Black Emperor and said, "I got a late start. If I don’t work hard, how can I ever catch up to those monstrous geniuses who stepped into the True Martial Realm at the age of ten?"

The image of Lan Haichen couldn’t help but surface in his mind.

That arrogant genius, like a Monarch of the mortal world.

A terrifying being who could stop the surging Yulan River with a single cold snort and severely injure him with just a glance.

’There’s still a huge gap between him and me.’

The Black Emperor nodded. "That’s true... But, your Divine Demon Tyrant Body has just broken through. Unless you have enough Spirit Crystals to aid your cultivation, the speed of your physical enhancement will only get slower and slower. Moreover, your Sword Intent comprehension has hit a bottleneck, and you don’t have any suitable Martial Skills for now!"

The Black Emperor’s words were blunt, but they hit right at the core of Jiang Chen’s current predicament.

The First Stage of the Divine Demon Tyrant Body was the simplest, but the difficulty increased with each subsequent stage. Only by devouring enough Spirit Crystals could he speed up his physical enhancement.

But Spirit Crystals were priceless and not easy to obtain.

As for his Sword Intent, his Wind Sword Intent was at Tier One Advanced. To break through to the level of Tier Two Sword Intent, arduous training alone was not enough.

Martial Skills were an even more unavoidable problem.

The Black Emperor was a Demon Beast. He had many powerful Divine Techniques recorded in his inherited memories, but he had never dabbled in Martial Skills. Therefore, if Jiang Chen wanted to obtain High Level Martial Skills, he had to rely on himself to find them.

"I’ve also thought about the problems you mentioned... Qingyi has already stepped into the Ninth Stage of Martial Arts and should be able to break through to the True Martial Realm soon. Once she breaks through, we’ll leave the Hundred Beasts Mountains and Rivers and head for the Imperial Capital... I believe we should be able to find suitable Martial Skills and Spirit Crystals in the Imperial Capital..." Jiang Chen nodded, laying out his plan.

The Imperial Capital!

It was the core of the entire Saint Martial Dynasty, incredibly prosperous, with experts as numerous as trees in a forest. Finding suitable Martial Skills and Spirit Crystals wouldn’t be difficult.

What’s more...

’My two apprentices, Cui Zheng and Kumu, are both in the Imperial Capital!’

’With their status and resources, they should be able to provide me with a lot of help.’

Of course.

Most importantly, the Saint Martial Sword Sect was located in the Imperial Capital.

The day of his appointment with Jiang Ziyou was drawing nearer and nearer. It was about time to head to the Saint Martial Sword Sect.

’With Lan Haichen’s full support, Jiang Ziyou’s cultivation progress must be impressive! I really look forward to seeing the look on Lan Haichen’s face when I defeat you during the Celestial Fate Hunting...’ Jiang Chen clenched his fists, his eyes burning with fighting spirit.

Just then...

A faint fragrance drifted through the valley, followed by Xiao Qingyi’s pleasant voice. "Brother Jiang Chen, it’s time to eat!"

Watching the beautiful figure waving at him, the corners of Jiang Chen’s mouth curved up into a warm smile. "Coming!" he said.

After spending two months together, his relationship with Xiao Qingyi had grown even closer!

Even the two Demon Beasts had grown fond of Xiao Qingyi.

They were calling her "Sister Qingyi" all day long. That rascal Little Black, in particular, shamelessly used the excuse of being afraid of the dark to snuggle into Xiao Qingyi’s arms to sleep. For fuck’s sake, a Purple-winged Heaven-devouring Bat that claims to swallow True Dragons and eat Divine Phoenixes is afraid of the dark?

Every time he saw it sleeping in Xiao Qingyi’s warm embrace, Jiang Chen had the urge to grab it and beat it senseless.

The man and two beasts returned to the front of the cave.

Xiao Qingyi had already prepared a sumptuous meal. After gobbling down their fill, the two beasts left the valley again to hunt Demon Beasts and hone their skills.

"Be careful!"

Watching the two beasts rush off, Jiang Chen couldn’t help but call out a warning. He then turned to Xiao Qingyi. "Qingyi, your True Qi seems abundant. You must be about to break through to the True Martial Realm, right?"

"Mhm, probably in the next day or two!" Xiao Qingyi nodded.

Jiang Chen laughed. "My Qingyi’s talent is truly enviable! It’s only been a few days, and you’ve already broken through from the Martial Arts Fifth Stage to the Ninth Stage."

"Who’s yours? I’m not!" Xiao Qingyi’s pretty face flushed red as she pouted.

Her phoenix eyes were full of charm, endlessly captivating!

Jiang Chen couldn’t resist taking her hands. "You are mine," he smiled, "and no one can take you away!"

"You’re annoying! I’m going to cultivate!" Blushing, Xiao Qingyi fled back into the cave and sat down, but her heart was pounding like a frantic deer, and she couldn’t calm down enough to enter a state of cultivation.

Jiang Chen smiled faintly, also sitting down cross-legged to cultivate in silence.

But little did either of them know...

...that their entire exchange had been watched by two little fellows in the darkness. Shrouded in a ball of black light, Little White tilted his head and looked at the Black Emperor in confusion. "Brother Black, you said there was a good show to watch. This is it?"

The Black Emperor’s face darkened. He shot Jiang Chen a vicious glare and said in a tone of someone disappointed in a hopeless case, "This useless Jiang Chen! I went to all the trouble of creating this private moment for you two. What’s he being so reserved for at a time like this? Just push her down already! Damn it, this is no fun at all..."

As he spoke, the Black Emperor draped a fleshy wing over Little White’s shoulder. "This is boring. Come on, I’ll take you out for a look. Yesterday, I discovered a Jade Water Scale Snake in heat. We might get a good show tonight!"

"AWOO, let’s go see the show!"

Little White was ecstatic.

The innocent Little White had no idea that the Black Emperor was leading him further and further down the path of a seasoned pervert.

Time flowed like water...

In the blink of an eye, another five days passed. Xiao Qingyi had officially stepped into the True Martial Realm, but to the great confusion of both Jiang Chen and the Black Emperor, she had failed to awaken a Martial Soul Talent, which was truly baffling.

However...

Xiao Qingyi herself was quite calm about it, so Jiang Chen didn’t dwell on it too much, merely thinking he would find a way to figure out the reason once they reached the Saint Martial Sword Sect.

And so, the two people and two beasts set off on the road to the Imperial Capital as planned.

With the strength of their group, they were invincible as long as they didn’t run into Yun Jianshen or the few Tier Three Beast Kings in the depths of the Hundred Beasts Mountains and Rivers. Thus, after only a month and a half, they had left the Hundred Beasts Mountains and Rivers and arrived at their destination.

The heart of the Saint Martial Dynasty—the Imperial Capital!