Chapter 552 – Middle Xiantian Realm
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Xing Tian said, “I also think the High Lord is making a big deal over nothing. Although this human’s talent is decent, he hasn’t developed enough that we need to bother with him. It would be better if we wait several years and have him solve some potential problems for us before we act again.”
In Skysplit Tower, letting the geniuses kill each other was the best method to solve all the potential threats. If two strong challengers fought each other, then one of them would be wounded. Lan Xing originally would have been considered a strong threat, but he actually fell at Lin Ming’s hands.
“In any case, this is a direct command handed down by the High Lord. Since it’s so, we have to handle this situation. This is mainly because he is a human – if he were a Giant Demon or Goliath, then High Lord would have been glad to train him.”
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While cultivating in the practice area, Lin Ming was unaware of all that was happening around him. He was in a peculiar state; he grasped his spear, thrusting out again and again, without a single ounce of true essence infused into it.
With Lin Ming’s spear speed, he could have thrust out hundreds of times in a single moment, where even the afterimages would link together and where he wouldn’t cause a single drop of water to splash if he hit a lake. But currently, Lin Ming’s spear speed wasn’t fast. Rather, it was slow to the point where even a mortal could clearly see it.
Without true essence, without the limit of speed, Lin Ming’s spear looked like it was from a martial arts rookie. If his old instructor from the Seven Profound Martial House saw him now, he would certainly criticize that his foundation was weak and give his spear play a bad grade.
It was just that there was something special about Lin Ming’s spear moves. Whether it was his speed or trajectory, both were constantly changing, giving off an unpredictable feeling. Sometimes it would start fast and then slow down, or start out in a straight line and then diverge midway.
These strange spear moves seemed very uncoordinated.
Time passed slowly. As the sand in the hourglass slowly dripped down, Lin Ming was completely immersed in his cultivation.
Unconsciously, Lin Ming’s spear shadow began to twist. Although the Purple Comet Spear was straight, it seemed to erratically flit around, like a ubiquitous phantom.
Three days passed… five days… ten days…
Before going into closed-door cultivation, Lin Ming had taken three fasting pills to ward off hunger. Now, he had completely forgotten about time and the match that was to be held in five days. In the dark, he practiced his spear, ignorant of everything else.
In this practice area rich with infernal energy, the infernal energy was gradually pushed around by Lin Ming’s spear powers. Every spear thrust was filled with killing intent. Although there was no true essence behind it, for some strange reason, when facing this spear, it seemed to be like facing an unstoppable army. The spear seemed to confuse space and time itself, making one unable to accurately determine just where the spear was.
Lin Ming didn’t know how many spear strikes he had practiced, but the great hourglass in the corner of the room had already been cleaned of sand.
Lin Ming’s eyes suddenly flashed open. In that instant, all of the infernal energy he cultivated with coiled into a whirlpool that centered on Lin Ming’s dantian, compressing into essence.
“Middle Xiantian realm!”
Lin Ming let out a long breath, his heart overjoyed. He had finally broken through to the middle Xiantian realm. If he could enter the Revolving Core realm, he would have the ability to return to the South Horizon Region!
Lin Ming glanced over at the hourglass in the corner of the room. Because the sand had already drained down, he didn’t know how long he had spent here. Every turn of the hourglass was four days, so it must have been at least four days.
“Over four days passed like that?” Lin Ming was stunned a bit. He thought it had only been 14 or 15 hours. “Xing Tian said I had a five day deadline, I wonder whether I passed it or not. Well, even if I did it doesn’t matter.”
Lin Ming thought for a moment and then passed a sound transmitting talisman to the young Fey girl. After he asked what day it was and then received her reply, he froze.
It was the Silkfire month, Rainglaze day…
Counting the days since he entered, it had been a total of 30 days!
He had cultivated here for 30 days?
Lin Ming found this hard to believe. Although when a martial artist went into seclusion, it was normal if they did so for eight to 10 years at a time. But, Lin Ming had never experienced such a long closed-door seclusion before. Just like that, 30 days had passed in a flash. But for him, it felt like it had only been several hours.
“It was said that cultivation was timeless. If so, then when I reach the Revolving Core realm, going into closed-door seclusion for 30 days unaware would be nothing. If I were a Life Destruction powerhouse or Divine Sea Supreme Elder, then even dozens of years might pass in the blink of an eye!
Lin Ming looked inward and inspected his dantian and meridians. He found that in his dantian, the true essence cyclone there had already condensed a bit of liquid mist; his foundation couldn’t be any more solid. This sort of cultivation effect had far exceeded Lin Ming’s hopes.
“I don’t know if it’s because I entered into an ethereal state or because of the high degree of my spiritual concentration, but the effects of these last 30 days have been far better than usual. Not only did I gain new insights into the Concepts of Space and Time, but my cultivation has firmly stepped into the middle Xiantian realm. If this continues, I wonder if I can reach the Revolving Core realm before I turn 20 years old…”
Normally, a Saint level talent like Mu Qianyu would be able to reach the Revolving Core realm by 30 years of age. A normal Emperor level talent would be able to reach the Revolving Core realm at around 25 or 26 years of age. For someone to reach the Revolving Core realm at 20 years of age… that could be considered unprecedented within the Sky Spill Continent.
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“F*ck! Big Brother, we’ve been tricked by that boy!”
Xue Man was angrily shouting in a restaurant. He had already let out the word that he would fight against Lin Ming five days after obtaining his 70 win streak. But then, not even his shadow was seen.
Now an entire 30 days had passed by!
“This boy clearly knows he isn’t my match so he’s trying to avoid me. He’s hiding in his practice area and not coming out!”
In front of Xue Man, Xing Tian was also frowning. If Lin Ming stayed in that top-grade practice area, then there just wasn’t anything they could do to him.
“That boy isn’t as stupid as we thought. I thought he was a hot-headed emotional idiot, but to think that he was actually so cautious. Maybe he’ll be like Lan Xing and hide away, cultivating for an entire year!”
“An entire year! With his talent, then a year later, even if I can defeat him, I would still have to put in some effort.” Xue Man hesitated for a moment. Although he didn’t think too highly of Lin Ming’s current strength, he had to acknowledge that human boy’s latent talent.
“It doesn’t matter. Even if we give him more time to cultivate, he’ll have to come out sooner or later. I remember that he only rented out that practice area for 50 days. If he just cultivates with nothing else, then there’s no reason to come to Skysplit Tower to begin with. If he doesn’t experience true combat, then he will inevitably encounter a bottleneck in his cultivation.”
There was no martial artist that could rely on just closed-door training to repeatedly break through the shackles of martial arts. They had to go into the wide world, experiencing and adventuring.
As Xing Tian spoke, a bright flame sparked in front of him. After hearing the message, he smiled and said, “Hehe, I never thought this fellow to be so restless. He’s already come out, and now he’s bathing at the Morningdew Inn.”
Xue Man’s eyes brightened, “Then let’s go to the martial arena. I wonder if this boy will dare to follow.”
Xing Tian slyly smiled, “Don’t worry. That sound transmitting talisman just now was from that boy. He said to me that he forgot about the time because he was cultivating and that’s what took him so long. He also asks me if he can make up the missed opportunity to enter the stage.”
Xue Man listened, paused, and then burst out in great laughs, “That boy is really in a hurry to die! I thought he was being careful and afraid to come out, but now it looks like I was just worrying too much.”
“Xue Man, don’t underestimate him. Although his cultivation is low, his strength isn’t. He might have hidden trump cards, so be careful.”
“Heh, don’t worry, I’m well aware!”
…………………..
News of Xue Man’s match with Lin Ming spread like a tidal wave.
With a 70 win streak, Xue Man was one of the second floor’s top masters. The Heavenly Demon Tattoo on his arm had already condensed six wings. At his level, it was already difficult to accumulate a higher winning streak unless he ascended to the third level.
With Xue Man acting, it required notification ahead of time in order to attract all the masters. Otherwise, it would just be a complete blowout.
“Oh? Xue Man is fighting today?” In a deteriorated section on the second floor’s southeast area, a martial artist just obtained this news.
“Hey, if Xue Man goes onstage then he’s just playing around. It’s probably going to be a clownish mess.” Another martial artist quickly dismissed the idea.
“Mm. Xue Man is too ruthless, there are rarely any survivors. The average person wouldn’t dare to challenge him, but Skysplit Tower’s second floor is a den of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. Although Xue Man is one of the top masters here, there are several martial artists that aren’t weak either. There’s a chance that one of them managed to break through a realm and declared war on Xue Man. After all, Xue Man has obtained a 70 win streak. If he were defeated, not only could someone obtain seven slaughter points but they’ll also be able to take a certain portion of their winning streak.”
“Let’s go! We’ll head to the martial arena and see what’s going on!”
There were many people that shared this idea. Soon, a great number of martial artists gathered at the martial arena, quickly filled up the auditorium.
Most of them had come to join in on the fun. Over 20 days ago, Xue Man had just obtained his 70 win streak. Now within the entire second floor, there wasn’t anyone that could threaten him besides Xing Tian. Now with him personally going on stage, it would just be a bunch of theatrics; nothing much would come of it.
In this group of people, Lin Ming had changed into a new set of blue robes and entered the martial arena.
The reason that Lin Ming had contacted Xing Tian was entirely for slaughter points. Right now, he only had a mere two slaughter points on him. Once his rental time was up for the top-grade practice area, he would not have the slaughter points to renew it, so he would have to go to a lower level practice area. Lin Ming certainly didn’t want this to happen.
At this moment onstage, there was currently a match happening between a Giant Demon and a Goliath. Lin Ming glanced over before ignoring it. If the other party’s strength was poor, then there was no reason to watch it.
Lin Ming quickly entered into the ethereal martial intent state, and sat with his eyes closed in meditation.
Many of the surrounding martial artists recognized Lin Ming but weren’t concerned with him. The reason that they came today was for Xue Man. Although Lin Ming’s limelight was bright, in the end he was still a newcomer and thus naturally inferior to an established powerhouse.
“You think that someone will challenge Xue Man?” A martial artist suddenly asked.
“I think Crazy Dog might do it. Half a year ago he challenged Xue Man, and although he was defeated, he was able to retreat with his life intact. Against Xue Man, there aren’t many that can leave alive! I heard that Crazy Dog went into closed-door seclusion after his defeat. Today should also be the day that he comes out.”
“Hehe, it’s impossible for Crazy Dog to come out. As far as I know, he still has one month left to cultivate. I think the one stepping up this time might be that Fey Sable Witch…”