Chapter 10

In the silver space, the lightning youth, who had not appeared for a long time, appeared once again.

He still had the same appearance as Zi Chen, but this time, he did not have the aura of a king. Instead, he gave off a misty and illusory feeling.

Zi Chen stood in front of the lightning youth and stared at him without blinking.

As the lightning radiance surged around his body, the lightning youth suddenly moved. His movements were as smooth as flowing water. His footwork flickered continuously. It was illusory and ethereal, making it impossible for others to predict where he would appear next.

Third-rate footwork, Flowing Cloud Steps.

In the past, Zi Chen had also learned it, so he had already memorized every move. However, now that he saw the lightning youth use it, he realized the difference between them.

He had seen it many times, but every time, he could not figure it out. A mere third-rate footwork actually made Zi Chen feel a vast sense of mystery.

It had been several days, but he still had not reached the threshold.

After another round of careful observation and careful comprehension, Zi Chen was still unable to grasp the threshold.

A third of the huge ice bear had already been eaten. Zi Chen had already stayed in the valley for more than ten days. At the same time, he also found the location of another ice bear.

"Let's try again."

Zi Chen stood up and walked towards the other valley a few miles away.

"Roar!"

In the valley, the ice bear saw Zi Chen as if it had seen an enemy. Its eyes were exceptionally red, and a strong wind blew as the bear's paw whistled towards Zi Chen.

This time, Zi Chen did not choose to take the initiative to attack. Instead, he chose to dodge using Flowing Cloud Steps.

"Pfft!"

With a soft sound, Zi Chen's clothes were cut open.

"Peng!"

In a moment of carelessness, Zi Chen was hit by the bear's paw, and his body was sent flying.

Due to deliberately learning and comprehending, Zi Chen was not only not proficient in using Flowing Cloud Steps, but also felt a sense of unfamiliarity with it.

On this day, Zi Chen returned with nothing to show for his efforts.

The ice bear could not catch up to Zi Chen. It let out an angry roar and could only continue to return to the valley.

In the blink of an eye, five days passed.

Within the silver space, Zi Chen's eyes were wide open as he watched the lightning youth use the Flowing Cloud Steps. But after such a long time, he still hadn't improved. Instead, he had regressed. His usage of the Flowing Cloud Steps had become even more rusty.

Feeling anxious, Zi Chen was in an extremely bad mood. At the same time, he became angry, especially when he saw the lightning youth constantly changing his feet. That kind of speed made Zi Chen's mood even worse, turning into irritation.

"Roar!"

The irritated Zi Chen had anger in his heart. With a tiger's roar, Zi Chen punched out at the lightning youth. This was the strongest punch of the Ferocious Tiger Fist. Back then, Zi Chen had used this punch to kill an Ice Bear.

In his imagination, the lightning youth would definitely be scattered by his fist. However, he didn't expect that just as the fist wind was about to reach him, the youth's figure would suddenly shift, dodging his fist by a hair's breadth.

Zi Chen attacked again after his first attack missed. The tiger roared, and the wind was stirred up, bringing with it a large amount of silver energy.

"Swish!"

However, the lightning youth once again dodged his attack by a hair's breadth.

Zi Chen continuously punched out four or five times, but he wasn't even able to touch the corner of his opponent's clothes. He was always missing by a hair's breadth. But the lightning youth was dodging his attacks very easily. He even had some strength left.

"This is …"

Zi Chen's eyes brightened. After several consecutive attacks, he had already awoken from his anger. Although he was still attacking, he was sensing the lightning youth's changes in his footwork.

He realized that the other party's every step was a very small distance, holding back his strength. When he changed his move, the other party would also change. The distance he moved was also very small. With the strength he held back, the other party's figure became extremely nimble.

"That's right. Although every step I took was very big, I was always able to dodge an attack. But I didn't have any strength left. When I was exhausted, I couldn't quickly respond to a second attack. So I wanted to take another step. That way, I would consume a lot of energy and it wouldn't be consistent. That's why I feel like the more I train, the worse I get."

After understanding all of this, Zi Chen's Flowing Cloud Steps naturally improved.

It could be considered as a true beginner.

"Although that big bear's attacks are powerful, its speed is very slow. I can test it out."

Thus, Zi Chen once again went to find the ice bear.

"Roar!"

In the valley, the ice bear's roar rang out once again. The bear's paw swept over with a gust of wind. However, Zi Chen had only calculated the opponent's attack. His body moved slightly, and he dodged the ice bear's attack.

After dodging the attack, Zi Chen still had some strength left. In his eyes, the ice bear's entire body was exposed in front of him. He could attack at any time.

"Roar!"

The ice bear roared once again. Then, it attacked again. Zi Chen didn't attack, but dodged again and again.

"Ah, not good. This time, I took half a step too far."

Zi Chen cried out in his heart. After that, he was exhausted and was hit by the bear's paw. Fortunately, his body was tough enough to withstand the ice bear's attack.

As time passed, the ice and snow in the valley showed signs of melting. Snow had not appeared in the sky for a long time. The Ice Bear's attacks were getting fiercer and fiercer. Occasionally, there would be a few beastly roars in the huge forest.

Spring was coming.

In the entire valley, except for some places that were still cold, there were already signs of spring in other places.

"Spring is coming?"

In front of Zi Chen, there was a huge ice bear. There was only a pile of bones left, and there wasn't much meat left. He had already stayed here for several months.

"Spring is coming. The inner disciple examination is about to begin. Looks like it's time to leave."

Zi Chen muttered.

Time passed quickly in the valley. Zi Chen actually liked the carefree days by himself. He really didn't want to go back.

However, there was no more food, and there were no more resources for cultivation. Zi Chen had to go back.

Therefore, Zi Chen walked out of the valley and came to another valley.

In the valley, he saw the angry ice bear again.

"Come, it's the last battle."

Zi Chen's eyes flashed with a trace of fighting spirit. He then made a provocative gesture towards the ice bear.

"Roar!"

The ice bear was furious. It roared and charged again. This time, it was faster. The wind was louder. The ice bear was no longer sluggish and had become more agile.

Although spring was coming, there was another reason. It often sparred with Zi Chen. When Zi Chen found the ice bear as a sparring partner, the ice bear would also improve.

The ice bear's attacks were fierce and powerful. However, Zi Chen seemed to be relaxed. Every step he took was like flowing water. Although the movement of each step was very short, he was always able to dodge the ice bear's attack by a hair's breadth.

The ice bear was puzzled. Normally, it would be able to brush past the corner of the other party's clothes. However, today, it couldn't touch the other party. The other party was clearly in front of it and was very close to it, but it couldn't touch the other party.

"Today, I'm going to leave. Before I leave, I'll let you see the strongest attack I've recently comprehended."

Zi Chen smiled faintly. Suddenly, the aura of a king appeared around him. Zi Chen was preparing to use the Ferocious Tiger Fist.

"Roar!"

The ice bear felt a sense of danger. With a roar, it slammed its paw towards Zi Chen's head. At this moment, the aura of a king on Zi Chen's body changed again. It became like flowing water, illusory and ethereal.

"Whoosh!"

Zi Chen tapped his foot and dodged the ice bear's attack. He looked like an agile tiger. While possessing the majesty of a king, he also seemed as light as a swallow.

In the past few months, Zi Chen had already fused the Ferocious Tiger Fist and the Flowing Cloud Steps together. This caused the firm and fierce Ferocious Tiger Fist to have a trace of flexibility.

Zi Chen was like a nimble tiger. After dodging the first attack, he immediately launched a fatal attack. The aura of a king instantly erupted from his body as Zi Chen threw out a ferocious punch.

"Peng!"

The ice bear's body was sent flying backwards. It had been defeated by Zi Chen in one strike. At the crucial moment, Zi Chen had naturally held back. Otherwise, his punch would have definitely been able to kill it.

However, Zi Chen didn't kill it. In any case, the ice bear had been his sparring partner for several months. His success was naturally due to the ice bear's help.

Therefore, Zi Chen left in a carefree manner, taking with him the little food left on the other ice bear.

The ice bear fell to the ground and coldly watched the human leave. It suddenly had a trace of doubt. It didn't understand why the human had let it go.

With the arrival of spring, the warm wind blew across the land. This was a season filled with hope.

On the way back, the journey was no longer peaceful. Zi Chen had casually dealt with a few fierce beasts.

The fierce beasts here were all low-leveled. To the current Zi Chen, they weren't a threat at all. Usually, they were dealt with with with a single punch.

After that, Zi Chen brought some beast hides back to the sect.

The sect provided food, lodging, and clothing. Every day, the expenses were very high. These things naturally didn't come from nowhere. Every outer sect disciple had to do something in the sect. If they went out to train, they had to bring back some valuable things. It could be some refining materials or some ferocious beast's fur.

For inner sect disciples, they could receive corresponding contribution points by handing in these things. They could use these things to exchange for pills for cultivation.

However, this was limited to inner sect disciples. Even if an outer sect disciple brought a thousand-year-old elixir, they wouldn't be able to receive contribution points. They could only exchange for it from inner sect disciples.

This was also the main reason why Zhao Can had hooked up with Wang Xiong.

The Spiritual Martial Sect was very large. It occupied many mountains. One building after another stood on top of the mountains. It was a continuous stretch.

After disappearing for a few months, the Nimbus Martial Ancestor hadn't changed much. After ten days, Zi Chen returned to the sect and walked towards the place where he handed in his goods.

It didn't cause any commotion. Even some outer sect disciples rarely saw him.

"He should be cultivating and trying to break through to the inner sect."

This was the season when the outer sect disciples were the most nervous.

It happened once every two years. If they missed it, they would have to wait for another two years. No one wanted to miss it.

"Hey, Zi Chen, it's you. You're finally back."