Cleaving the Waves with a Single Blade, Comprehension Breaks One Thousand!

"Quick, there's an assassin!" "Surround Blade Hall!" "Vice Hall Master Chen Shan is dead!" Before long, a swarm of Blade Hall members rushed in from outside. Looking down at the two halves of Chen Shan's corpse on the floor, every one of them fell as quiet as cicadas in winter, their expressions grim. This was the vice hall master of Blade Hall, a Divine Strength Realm martial artist, yet he had been slain in public right inside Blade Hall. All at once, everyone turned their gazes toward the inner room. Soon, an elderly man in luxurious robes stepped out. "Greetings, Hall Master!" Everyone hurriedly bowed. The elderly man was none other than the master of Blade Hall, Zhu Qingshan. Zhu Qingshan waved his hand, his face darkened with anger. He had been in the inner room moments ago and had effectively witnessed Chen Shan being cleaved in two with a single slash; he hadn't even had time to intervene. *Who on earth was that? To cut down Chen Shan with a single blade—that strike far exceeded the strength of a hundred tripods. It had to be at least a Hundred Tripods Realm expert.* *Fortunately, the assailant seemed to have come only to kill Chen Shan, with a very clear objective. Otherwise, even I might have died...* Zhu Qingshan felt immense shock and terror within. In fact, he even felt a lingering sense of relief. Lately, ever since the Yunying ore mother surfaced in Zhanhai City, all sorts of monsters had been coming out of the woodwork. Zhu Qingshan hurried off to report the situation to the gang leader. *** After slaying Chen Shan, Lu Changsheng returned to his residence and resumed his persona as the respected and beloved "Physician Lu." When he arrived at the clinic, Zhang Xuan immediately ran over, his face flushed with excitement. "Physician, evil truly meets evil! Who knows whom that Chen Shan offended, but someone cut him down with a single blade in public right inside Blade Hall! Even Chen Yan was caught in the crossfire and blown apart!" "Now, both Chen Yan and Chen Shan are dead!" Zhang Xuan looked as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his chest, visibly delighted. "Evil meets evil, does it?" Lu Changsheng merely smiled and said nothing. There was no such thing as evil meeting evil in this world—only provoking someone you shouldn't have provoked. Shortly after, people from the Medical Hall arrived and began clearing out Chen Yan's clinic. A vice hall master came up to Lu Changsheng and said with a smile, "Physician Lu, you've become quite the prominent figure in our Medical Hall lately. Word of the Scarless Ointment has spread throughout Zhanhai City, and many people have come seeking you out by name." "Your accumulated merits have already reached the requirement for a senior physician. Starting today, you are a senior physician of our Medical Hall!" Lu Changsheng's eyes lit up. The biggest difference between a senior physician and an ordinary physician was that the consultation fee increased significantly. For physicians of the Medical Hall, consultation fees were substituted with merits. In other words, by seeing the same patients, Lu Changsheng would earn more merits from now on. This was wonderful news; Lu Changsheng would never complain about having too many merits. After all, his merits had to be spent exchanging for a vast array of martial skills. He was far from wealthy—in fact, he had been stretched quite thin. *** Time slipped by. With Chen Shan slain, Lu Changsheng had no more worries lingering in the back of his mind. Moreover, the Four Seas Gang didn't seem to pursue Chen Shan's death any further. After all, Zhanhai City was in total disarray during this period, with all kinds of masters and monsters emerging in endless waves. The Four Seas Gang's primary focus remained fixed on the Yunying ore mother. Lu Changsheng tended to patients in the morning and boarded a vessel of the Ocean Commerce Guild to head out to sea in the afternoon. Sophie had arranged a ship specifically for Lu Changsheng's use. In the blink of an eye, two more months passed. Lu Changsheng sat cross-legged on the deck. Far out on the ocean, where the sea met the sky, a towering, monstrous wave surged forward. *Rumble!* The wave crested sky-high. Even though the Ocean Commerce Guild's vessel was plenty large, it was still battered violently by the swelling surge, rocking as if on the verge of capsizing. The captain cried out in terror, "Mister Dao, this wave is terrifying! The ship can't take it—we're going to sink!" The captain was highly experienced. If he said the ship was likely to sink, it was certainly no empty scare. This was not the first time Lu Changsheng had encountered massive waves at sea, but it was the first time he had faced one capable of overturning such a large vessel. Before the majestic might of heaven and earth, what was a mere ship? *Bang!* A great wave crashed down. The mast on the deck was snapped straight in two. Despair washed over the faces of every sailor. Today, they were likely destined to end up in the bellies of fish. Lu Changsheng was drenched from head to toe, yet no matter how fiercely the waves hammered against him, he remained as still as a submerged reef. Between life and death lay great terror. Likewise, between life and death lay great opportunity! Lu Changsheng's Ocean Wave Conception began climbing rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye. 16%, 17%, 19%... When Lu Changsheng's Ocean Wave Conception reached 20%— *Boom!* A roar echoed in Lu Changsheng's mind. Reaching 20% in the Ocean Wave Conception granted Lu Changsheng an entirely new revelation. Almost without thinking, amidst the boundless, crashing waves, he drew his blade in an instant. *Clang!* The blade cleared its scabbard. A crescent of blood-red blade light seemed almost insignificant amid the towering surge. Yet from that seemingly tiny red arc, the faint sound of roaring ocean waves resonated. This strike was not a simple external release of qi and blood. It was a strike imbued with the Ocean Wave Conception. It was like a genuine tidal wave. Under that single flash of blade light, the terrifying, colossal wave was cleaved clean in half across its waist. *Crash!* The colossal wave receded, collapsing back into the ocean. Everyone stared at the scene before them, dumbfounded. "Cleaving a wave with a blade?!" "A martial artist can do something like that?!" There were plenty of martial artists among the crew. They all understood the saying: *Draw a blade to cut water, and the water flows on all the same.* Yet who could have imagined that with a single slash, "Mister Dao" had solidly severed that towering wave? Such terrifying power and technique made them revere him as a celestial being. *So this is the true application of the Ocean Wave Conception...* Lu Changsheng smiled. At this moment, he felt even happier than when he had advanced to the Hundred Tripods Realm. The Ocean Wave Conception seemed to have opened an entirely new door into martial arts for him. Martial arts could actually reach such a miraculous, divine realm. As the wave subsided, the sea grew calm and tranquil. Lu Changsheng's mind settled into peace as well. Numerous martial skills surfaced in his thoughts. These were all second- and third-tier martial skills, on the verge of reaching perfection at any moment. And now, Lu Changsheng was waiting for them to culminate. Because his comprehension was already on the verge of hitting 1,000 points. After an unknown amount of time— *Buzz.* A line of small text appeared before Lu Changsheng's eyes. *Godspeed Fist has reached perfection. Comprehension +3.* This was a third-tier martial skill. However, its tier was not what mattered. What mattered was that after comprehension increased by 3 points, it pushed past 990-some points to break through the one-thousand mark, sharp and unstoppable! Lu Changsheng saw with his own eyes that on the attribute panel, his comprehension evaluation transformed from "Hidden Dragon in the Depths" into "Praised in All Directions." This was clearly a qualitative leap! The moment his comprehension underwent this metamorphosis, countless images flashed through his mind. Before him, nine great characters seemed to manifest: *Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Zhen, Lie, Qian, Xing.* This was the complete Nine-Word Mantra! Previously, no matter what methods Lu Changsheng devised, he had been unable to cultivate it to perfection, only managing to bring it to minor achievement. Now, however, as his comprehension broke past one thousand, the Nine-Word Mantra Secret Method seemed to hold no more secrets from him. Minor achievement, major achievement, perfection... *Boom!* The Nine-Word Mantra Secret Method reached perfection! In the span of a single instant, it reached perfection! *Nine-Word Mantra Secret Method has reached perfection. Comprehension +19.* Lu Changsheng's eyes widened. He knew the Nine-Word Mantra Secret Method was powerful, but he had never imagined it was a nineteenth-tier technique! What did a nineteenth-tier martial art signify? To this day, not a single one of Lu Changsheng's martial arts had ever reached the nineteenth tier. Only the Nine-Word Mantra Secret Method had! It was not just the Nine-Word Mantra Secret Method, either—there were also the second- and third-tier martial skills he had previously exchanged from the Four Seas Gang. Before, he had to rack his brains to cultivate them. Now, things were different. Practicing a second-tier martial skill just once was enough to bring it to perfection immediately. *Nine Whirl Footwork has reached perfection. Comprehension +2.* *Falling Leaf Blade has reached perfection. Comprehension +2.* *Tiger Roar Fist has reached perfection. Comprehension +3.* As long as Lu Changsheng was willing to invest even a tiny bit of focus, second- and third-tier martial skills reached perfection almost instantaneously. In a brief moment, the twenty-odd to thirty second- and third-tier martial skills Lu Changsheng had exchanged were all cultivated to perfection, adding nearly seventy more points of comprehension. *Surpassing one thousand points in comprehension truly is a qualitative leap in comprehension!* *Still, how many points of comprehension will be required for the next metamorphosis?* Lu Changsheng didn't know. However, after his comprehension broke past one thousand, the speed at which he practiced martial skills accelerated drastically. As long as he had enough martial skills, his accumulation of comprehension would be astonishingly swift. Lu Changsheng immediately brought up his attribute panel to review his current status. Host: Lu Changsheng Comprehension: 1,090 (Praised in All Directions) Qi and Blood Sword Casting Secret Method: Sword cast for 10 months and 6 days Ocean Wave Conception: Progress 20% Qiantian Treasure Transformation Secret Method: Second layer Ninefold Carp Leaping Dragon Gate Art: Fourth fold Nine-Word Mantra Secret Method: Perfection On Lu Changsheng's attribute panel, every facet of his strength had advanced tremendously. Moreover, some elements were not reflected on the panel, such as the 20% Ocean Wave Conception. Lu Changsheng had already grasped the true essence of the Ocean Wave Conception. From now on, whether he executed blade techniques, fist techniques, palm strikes, or anything else, he would have no need to employ Triple Waves. He would no longer need to stack three palm strikes just to unleash double the force. He only needed to coat his attacks directly with the Ocean Wave Conception, and no matter how many punches or slashes he delivered, every single one could burst with more than double the power. In fact, with the enhancement of martial conception, the amplification was far more than merely doubling his strength. Earlier, facing that towering wave, Lu Changsheng had cleaved it in half with a single blade strike. That miraculous feat was not due to the terror of his blade technique, but to the wonder of the Ocean Wave Conception. "Mister Dao, can we head back now?" the captain asked. Although "Dao Twelve" cleaving the wave with a single blade looked miraculously divine, the captain and crew never wanted to encounter such monstrous waves again. Battered by the great surge, the vessel was damaged and had to return to port for repairs. Lu Changsheng calculated the time. His three-month pact with Yun Haitang was just about due. "Return to port." Lu Changsheng waved his hand, and the battered ship began turning around, sailing back toward the docks of Zhanhai City. *** The Heavenly Maiden Sect had been quite bustling of late. The previous Heavenly Maiden was about to step down, and many candidates were using every means at their disposal to find Dao Protectors, hoping to rely on their strength to become the new Heavenly Maiden. The reason the competition was so fierce was that being the Heavenly Maiden carried immense benefits. For instance, once one became the Heavenly Maiden, advancement to the Divine Strength Realm was virtually guaranteed! That point alone was enough for the candidates to fight tooth and nail. There were not many candidates this time—only eight in total. However, those who genuinely possessed the ability to compete for the position of current Heavenly Maiden amounted to only three. Naturally, that did not include Yun Haitang. In truth, Yun Haitang was considered the candidate with the least hope of winning. She lacked an influential background and had no family clan to rely on. Last time, she had somehow obtained a fire seed from the Sacred Fire Palace, thereby reaching the limit of Refining Organs and becoming a candidate. Otherwise, Yun Haitang wouldn't have qualified to be a candidate in the first place. "Junior Sister Yun, has your Dao Protector still not arrived?" a fellow candidate asked. "There is no need for Senior Sister Zheng to worry. My Dao Protector should already be on the way," Yun Haitang replied indifferently, showing no sign of weakness in her tone. She had faith in Dao Twelve! Although Dao Twelve had not yet arrived, she believed that as long as he had agreed to something, he would keep his word! "Oh? Judging by Junior Sister Yun's appearance, you seem quite confident." "In truth, whether it is you or the rest of us, we are merely foils for Senior Sister Zhang, Senior Sister Zhao, and Senior Sister Lu." "Do you know who they hired as their Dao Protectors?" "Every single one is a Divine Strength Realm martial artist of the Hundred Tripods Realm!" When Senior Sister Zheng reached this point, her gaze dimmed. That was how things were in the Heavenly Maiden Sect: one had to rely on connections, status, and background. By contrast, requirements for personal strength and talent were not particularly high. This was also the Heavenly Maiden Sect's way of survival. "He's here!" Yun Haitang craned her neck and finally spotted a black-clad bladesman slowly walking up the mountain. It was none other than Dao Twelve! "Eh?" Many candidates noticed Dao Twelve as well. A strange look flashed in their eyes. Clearly, none of them recognized Dao Twelve. Yet they could also tell that he was by no means an ordinary figure. "Whose Dao Protector is that?" "No idea." "He seems to be an unfamiliar Divine Strength Realm martial artist." Lu Changsheng walked straight up behind Yun Haitang. "Miss Yun, forgive me for keeping you waiting," Lu Changsheng said calmly. "Brother Dao, you arrived right on time." A faint smile appeared on Yun Haitang's face. With Dao Twelve here, her heart was at ease. *Swish!* The moment Lu Changsheng took his place behind Yun Haitang, several gazes visibly locked onto him. A cold-faced swordsman remarked chillingly, "This man is an expert!" "What? Yun Haitang managed to recruit an expert?!" The other candidates widened their eyes. They knew Yun Haitang all too well. Without lineage, backing, or network, how could she have recruited an expert? A Dao Protector was not easy to enlist; their fortunes were almost entirely tied to the candidate—sharing both glory and ruin. What bargaining chip could Yun Haitang possibly offer to move an expert? "Heh heh, it's only interesting if there are experts," a burly, heavily built man carrying a massive war hammer said in a deep, booming voice. Before him, whether bladesman or swordsman, he would smash them all to death with a single strike of his hammer! "Very well, the Dao Protectors of all Heavenly Maiden candidates have arrived." "Let us begin!" The competition for Heavenly Maiden was simple: they would draw lots, and then their Dao Protectors would fight. Whoever laughed last would be the Heavenly Maiden!