Volume 1, Chapter 495 – Changes

‘If there really is an immortal, why not act directly and cleanse the court? Why go to such lengths?’

The two men behind Zhang Jiao came to the same thought at the same time and let out quiet sighs.

Most likely, he was being kept in the dark and had become someone else’s blade.

But Zhang Jiao, as he was now, clearly could no longer hear what they were saying.

Left with no choice, the two men could only rise one after the other, leave the cave dwelling, and do as they had been told, hurrying toward the Nine Provinces.

…

Youzhou, Zhuo Commandery, Tianyu Tower.

Inside a guest room, Shi Lan sat cross-legged on the bed, studying the Fist Classic word by word, line by line.

As she delved deeper, her eyes grew brighter and brighter. Subtle changes began to appear in the rhythm of her breathing. Her fair skin took on a faint flush, and the blood and qi within her body began to pulse in step with her breath. A force hidden deep within her blood and qi was unearthed and started to circulate through her sinews and bones.

Lingyang martial arts had already pushed the development of the fleshly body to near its limit. In the Body Tempering Realm, one could already perfectly control the force within the body and gather it into a single point. A martial artist in the Heavenly Astral Realm, with all the acupoints in the body opened and connected, could control every inch of skin on the body, with the stretching and tightening of sinew and bone following the mind at will.

And now, the breathing method contained in this Fist Classic was nearly overturning her understanding of blood and qi. Between flesh, blood, sinew, and bone, there was still a portion of potential that had never been tapped.

After a while, Shi Lan put away the Fist Classic, let her consciousness sink into the system’s virtual space, and activated the battle simulation.

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Beneath the starry sky of the cosmos, three figures stood before her. All of them were foreign Supremes who had died in battle in the Qiongluo Realm, their cultivation suppressed to the peak of the seventh tier.

As Supremes who had cultivated Dao Fruit, even when held at the peak of the seventh tier, their combat power remained terrifying. An ordinary consummate seventh-tier cultivator would be killed with a casual gesture.

Over the more than twenty years she had spent tempering her martial techniques in the virtual space, these Supremes had become her regular sparring partners.

Crack.

Beneath the stars, an ice lotus suddenly bloomed. A Supreme of the Frostmirror race struck first, freezing the void. Her icy blue hair fell over her shoulders, and her expression was cold and lifeless.

An icy river carrying shards of profound ice poured downward, crushing several dead stars in succession and dragging heaven and earth into a frozen purgatory.

“Haa…”

Shi Lan slowly exhaled a turbid breath. Her hands were empty, the soul-light in her eyes withdrawn and dim, and her entire person seemed to sink into silence.

Beneath that calm exterior, however, her heart was pounding more violently than ever before. Several times more blood-essence than usual coursed through her heart, surging like a raging tide into all four limbs and every bone in her body. An explosive sense of fullness rose into her mind.

Buzz.

Shi Lan lifted her leg and stepped forward. The pale blue river of ice slanting down through the void seemed to be split by a sharp blade, dividing cleanly into two.

In the next instant, Shi Lan was already standing before that Supreme. Without the slightest wasted motion, she opened her frame, drew apart her sinews and bones, raised an arm, and threw a punch.

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Boom!

The void shattered, and a piercing, ear-splitting blast exploded into being!

That Frostmirror Supreme’s body simply could not withstand such savage force. Her chest was torn open in an instant, her bones exploded apart, and her blood sprayed outward, congealing into tiny ice crystals that scattered across the starry sky.

With a single punch, Shi Lan killed a Supreme of the same realm, yet the seemingly endless power inside her still continued to surge.

Her gaze flashed like lightning, locking onto the two remaining Supremes. Like a tiger breaking free of its cage, she streaked across the starry sky like thunder. Her fist was heavy and overwhelming, and in an instant she smashed apart another Supreme’s skull.

Before she could even catch her breath, a blood-colored axe-shadow chopped down from the dome of the starry sky. The axe blade gleamed with cold light, and in a moment it had already reached the top of her head.

Beneath the giant axe, Shi Lan drew in her waist and bowed her body. The sinews and bones in both legs tightened, then with a thunderous step, the void beneath her feet caved in layer by layer. Her body suddenly lengthened and turned into a black shadow that shot skyward along the edge of the axe blade.

Slash!

The edge of her fist cut through the brilliant starry sky like a sword blade, and from bottom to top, she ripped the last Supreme in two.

“Haa…”

Shi Lan raised a hand to her chest and slowly calmed the blood and qi churning inside her. With a single thought, the surrounding starry sky and the three mangled corpses of the Supremes vanished without a trace, turning into a vast blank white space.

She did not try to adjust her condition, instead carefully sensing every change that had come after the battle.

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This fight was different from the ones before, when her blood and qi would often surge into the heavens. This time, every fluctuation of blood and qi had been locked inside her body without the slightest leakage.

Now that the True Martial Undying Body had reached major accomplishment, the potential hidden within her fleshly body far exceeded her imagination. Under this breathing method, her battle power had nearly risen by geometric leaps. When three Supremes of the same realm joined forces before, she still had to spend some effort. Now, she had thrown only three punches.

But comparatively speaking, this style of fighting was far too fierce. Combined with Lingyang martial arts, if pushed to the limit, the burden it placed on the fleshly body was simply too heavy. In just a few breaths, even her heart had begun to struggle under the strain.

Still, if she could properly control the speed at which the blood and qi flowed through her body, perhaps she could reduce that burden.

After pondering for a moment, Shi Lan’s thoughts stirred. The virtual space twisted for a moment and turned into a wilderness.

At the end of the wilderness, five figures appeared.

…

“Knock… knock-knock…”

A round of knocking entered her ears. Shi Lan withdrew from the virtual space, rose, and opened the door.

Standing outside, in addition to Zhang Fei, whom she had not seen for several days, was a young man who looked not even twenty. He wore spotless white robes, stood over eight chi tall, and had thick brows, large eyes, sharply defined features, and an upright, handsome appearance.

“This is Miss Shi Lan.”

Zhang Fei had just spoken and was about to introduce Shi Lan when the man at his side had already lowered his head first, cupped his hands, and said:

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“My surname is Zhao, my given name is Yun, and my courtesy name is Zilong. I am from Zhending in Changshan, Jizhou. I am not yet married. I have no parents or relatives left, and I now serve under Governor Gongsun.”

“I have long heard of you.”

Shi Lan sized Zhao Yun up for a couple of moments. As expected, another eighth-tier. After replying indifferently, she cast Zhang Fei a puzzled look.

Ever since the day she left Liu Bei’s residence, she had not seen Zhang Fei again. That talk of exchanging martial arts had clearly been no more than courtesy. People did not come calling without reason. Now that he had suddenly appeared at her door, there was certainly something important.

“Zilong is the final disciple of Tong Yuan, the Penglai Spear God, one of the few absolute peak experts of this age. Tomorrow, he will be returning to his master’s mountain to visit him.”

Zhang Fei gave Zhao Yun a glance whose meaning was hard to read, then said:

“You came out into the world to temper your Martial Dao. If some great expert were to offer you a little guidance, it would surely save you a great deal of hard effort. Why not travel with him? It would also spare you some trouble on the road.”

The moment those words entered her ears, Shi Lan’s eyes lit up. In a great world like this, anyone honored as one of the absolute peaks of the age had to be, at the very least, a peak powerhouse of the Supreme Realm. And since he was a Supreme who cultivated the martial arts of this world, he would certainly possess peerless insight into the martial path.

To receive guidance from such a figure was undoubtedly an opportunity for her.

With that thought, the way Shi Lan looked at Zhao Yun immediately became much friendlier.

“I’ll be troubling you, Brother Zilong.”