With little Black keeping watch, Shun Long had nothing to worry about as he stood in front of the lake and decided to test the 'Monarch's Eternal body's' might.
He had already found out earlier that his speed was simply incomparable to the past. He was outrunning even rank 2 magical beasts at this point. However, what other change had occurred aside from his speed and his external appearance?
Shun Long clenched his right fist tightly as he punched in front of him and an air current traveled through the lake, creating a disturbance in the water's surface.
Little Black's eyes shone as he saw this and he thought inwardly
''Master seems to be at the peak of the first stage in body refinement and yet his punch can rival a full-out blow of an early second stage body cultivator.''
After throwing that punch, Shun Long stood still and closed his eyes as he stood in front of the lake.
Without opening them, he raised his left hand as he threw a downward chop in the air and the space in the area was suddenly torn. This chop was much stronger than the one he had used back in his room in the 'floating cloud city'.
The tear in space was so large that a human could easily fit inside it, but one tenth of Shun Long's physical energy was sapped to create this.
Having experienced this once already, Shun Long didn't put his hand inside the void this time. Instead he took a step forward as he walked inside the space tear.
There was a ripple in the space above the lake, and 10 meters away from Shun Long's original location, Shun Long's body appeared above the lake.
Having miscalculated this time, Shun Long fell inside the lake, his body now drenched in water. And yet there was a big smile hanging on his face as he had just figured things out.
Little Black's shock was evident as he flew in the air around Shun Long, who was now swimming towards the shore of the lake
''Master, how can you tear space open when you haven't even reached the Spirit realm?''
Shun Long was still smiling as he swam over to the shore.
He lied down on the grass next to the lake as he looked at little Black and said
''This is thanks to the 'Stone of Time's body refining technique, the 'Monarch's Eternal body'.''
Shun Long didn't hide anything from little Black as he continued
''This was the second time that I tried to tear space open. The first time, the tear in space was very small and as my hand passed through it, it had appeared just 2 meters away from me. However, this time the tear I created was at the size of a human and the distance I traveled was 5 times larger than before. This time I could also clearly feel my energy being drained as I was tearing the void open.
The larger the tear in space I create and the bigger the distance it covers, the more energy I have to use it seems.''
Little Black's astonishment was evident from his expression as he still hadn't recovered. His jaw was slightly trembling as he said
''Master, your affinity with the element of space must be at a very high level for you to be able to tear space open and only have to use such a small amount of energy for it. Usually peak rank 3 Spirit realm experts can tear space open just 100 meters away from their original location, but they have to use almost all their qi to do this, while master can create a tear in space 10 meters away just by using some of your physical energy. This is simply impossible to believe.''
And yet Shun Long knew that 10 meters wasn't his limit yet. After taking a deep breath, he clenched his fist tightly as he used his full strength to punch the air in front of him. A gust of wind followed after Shun Long's hand, as the space in front of him was once again torn apart.
The size of the space tear was the same as the last time, however little Black could feel a qualitative difference this time around. More than half of Shun Long's strength had been consumed with this move.
His body then instantly disappeared, as it appeared again on a patch of grass 45 meters away from his original location.
Shun Long then looked at little Black and pondered seriously for a while
''If I used little Black's strength, no one in the 'floating cloud sect' would probably be a match against him but... little Black is a dragon after all and right now he is extremely weak. If his existence is exposed it's unknown what problems it may bring. If anyone above the middle stages of the Spirit realm happens to hear about a black dragon... I doubt that they will let the opportunity go like that. In the end, I shouldn't allow little Black to reveal his existence unless absolutely necessary.''
With these thoughts in mind, Shun Long explained to little Black the situation they were in, as well as everything about the 'floating cloud sect' and the Demonic Mountain Region as well as the 'outer sect examination'. Little Black returned to the space inside the 'Stone of Time' but his spiritual strength was scanning everything around Shun Long.
Shun Long also stored the rank 3 'double-headed fish's' body inside the 'Stone of Time' as he asked little Black if there were any people or beasts around them.
''Master, in direct proximity of 2 miles around us, there is no human or magic beast. However, there are approximately 400 humans and more than 500 magic beasts in the surrounding 30 miles. From these magic beasts, more than a third of them have already reached rank 2. I also sense a group of humans in a secluded area around 14 miles away from our current location, fighting with a middle stage rank 2 'earth bear'. Apparently, the bear is protecting a 'Profound earth fruit' inside its cave.''