Opening the first page of "Ninefold Thunderblade," the character for "Fast" immediately caught his eye. Qin Hao felt as if waves of blade light were rushing towards him, and his heart couldn't help but tremble.
As an ultimate secret technique, "Ninefold Thunderblade," the unique creation of Thunder God, the world's second strongest individual, was also top-tier on Earth. The single character "Fast" elucidated the core of the entire secret technique.
"Among all martial arts, there is nothing that cannot be broken, only that which is not fast enough. When you achieve ultimate speed, you will be invincible."
Qin Hao continuously flipped through "Ninefold Thunderblade." Each layer corresponded to movement techniques, guiding methods, and blade techniques, all explaining Thunder God's insights into blade arts. After reading the first five layers once, Qin Hao returned to the first layer and began to read it carefully. The first layer was the simplest, but also the most crucial. Whether one could cultivate Ninefold Thunderblade depended on how well this layer was cultivated.
"Time to test this blade technique." After reading it carefully several times, Qin Hao set the secret manual aside, took out the combat blade placed beside him, and began to practice.
Qin Hao's long blade slashed out repeatedly. The eighteen blade forms of the first layer of Ninefold Thunderblade were continuously put into practice by him. From the initial clumsiness, he quickly became proficient, and the speed of his execution continuously increased.
"It's not as difficult as I imagined." An hour later, the eighteen blade forms had become second nature in Qin Hao's hands. He felt that the successful cultivation of the first layer was within reach.
"Currently, I have an advantage over Luo Feng. My specialized blade technique allows me to grasp Ninefold Thunderblade faster and complete its cultivation more quickly."
After all, when Luo Feng joined the Elite Training Camp, he had already cultivated Ninefold Thunderblade to the second or third layer, but his blade technique had not reached the specialized level.
After resting for a moment, Qin Hao continued practicing the 18 blade forms of the first layer. His understanding deepened with each practice, and the way he exerted force throughout his body gradually changed, as if his power could erupt at any moment.
"Pfft, pfft." After nearly another hour of practice, Qin Hao unleashed a strike. With the two hidden force enhancements of the first layer of Ninefold Thunderblade, his combat blade accelerated twice as it cut through the air, striking out.
"Two hidden forces at seventy percent power. The power is strong, but the path on Earth is not the correct one. Ninefold Thunderblade can only serve as a reference." Qin Hao wasn't overly excited. Ninefold Thunderblade was top-tier on Earth, but in the universe, it was not even considered mainstream, and might even be a flawed path.
Now, his learning was more about accumulation, about forging his own path. Regarding his own path, Qin Hao already had some ideas. One of the conditions for breaking through to Undying was to achieve 100 times the force exertion. This 100 times represented mastery over power, and mastery over oneself. Only by achieving 100% control over one's body could one complete the divine body transformation upon breaking through to Undying.
"Then, the next step is to continuously gain control over my body—skin, muscles, bones, and even every single cell." The ability to think of these things was also thanks to the cultivation of Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Diagram. As a top-tier divine demon body refining technique, its training in body control was also top-notch.
"Gege, dinner's ready!"
"Gege, hurry up!"
Qin Ying's voice came from outside the door.
"Coming!" Qin Hao put the blade back in its place, put away the Ninefold Thunderblade manual, and then went to the dining room for dinner. After a period of adjustment, Qin Hao's parents and Qin Ying had all adapted to their current life. They laughed and chatted during dinner, their faces beaming with happy smiles.
For Qin Hao, perhaps this was one of his motivations to become stronger. He needed to become strong quickly, not only because of the impending Golden-Horned Beast and the Universe Genius Battle, but also because of the entire Human Race he would have to face once Earth's existence was exposed in the future.
Only by being strong enough and talented enough could he have sufficient influence to protect Earth and prevent it from being occupied by aliens.
Over the next month, Qin Hao directly plunged into intense training, even finding excuses to postpone the warrior team assignments arranged by Zhuge Tao and Wu Tong.
The Wilderness Area was a definite destination, but sufficient strength was key. Having just acquired the secret manual, it was a period of explosive growth in his strength. For Qin Hao, it wasn't yet time to rely on combat to push himself.
During this month, Qin Hao's improvement was also very noticeable. The first three layers of Ninefold Thunderblade had been cultivated, his strength had exceeded 16,000 kilograms, directly breaking through to the intermediate Warlord level.
Furthermore, in addition to cultivating "Ninefold Thunderblade," Qin Hao also began to explore his own method of force exertion. After a month, the strike he had used during the combat assessment against the Four-Tailed Cat Demon was also recreated by Qin Hao.
Unlike the layered hidden force of "Ninefold Thunderblade," this strike's force exertion leaned more towards the explosive power found in Inner Force and traditional martial arts. A 2x force exertion was already comparable to the second layer of "Ninefold Thunderblade." Qin Hao named this self-created blade technique Thunderclap.
"It seems I need actual combat to stimulate myself." In the training room, Qin Hao unleashed a strike, quickly sheathed his blade, and stopped his training. After a month of training, his strength had improved significantly, but whether it was the fourth layer of "Ninefold Thunderblade" or the self-created technique he was developing, both required accumulation through actual combat; otherwise, it would just be theoretical.
Having made his decision, Qin Hao didn't hesitate. After explaining to his parents, he began to pack the necessities for entering the Wilderness Area. He prepared a full set of equipment, some medicines, and supplies needed in the wilderness.
Early the next morning, Qin Hao left his home and headed for the Wilderness Area. He didn't plan to follow a warrior team; Qin Hao intended to go alone. Initially, he could stay around the military zone like Luo Feng, focusing on honing skills and adapting, and then venture deeper into the Wilderness Area once he had adjusted to its environment.
In the military zone several hundred miles north of Jiangnan Base City, Qin Hao entered the military zone near noon. After resting for an afternoon in the small building allocated at the warrior supply base, he immediately took all his equipment and entered the Wilderness Area.
Although he said "all equipment," Qin Hao's gear consisted only of a full set of battle armor and a combat blade. Compared to other warrior teams, he could be said to be lightly equipped.
Upon entering the Wilderness Area, Qin Hao truly felt the difference in this world. The desolation and savage aura of the Wilderness Area were completely opposite to the feeling of human civilization.
Behind the savagery lay the naked law of survival. This was true not only for monsters but also for humans entering the Wilderness Area. Even among fellow humans, one had to be wary. In this Wilderness Area, there was savagery, and also freedom, but the price of freedom was the possibility of being attacked at any time.
Attacks could come from monsters or from humans. After all, in this unregulated Wilderness Area, the darkness of human nature would gradually be unleashed. Even with agreements between various factions, in the original work, conflicts and hunts between humans also existed.