"Wind of Heaven and Earth Conception, progress 1%."
Seeing this new conception appear on his attribute panel, Lu Changsheng knew he had grasped yet another completely new martial conception.
And this new conception was a terrifying, immensely formidable one: the Wind of Heaven and Earth!
The world between heaven and earth was filled with wind.
In fact, it was permeated with wind at every single moment.
Fundamentally, wind was formed by the constant interplay of hot and cold air currents.
However, when the volume of these hot and cold air currents grew vast enough, it would generate howling gales and violent tempests, possessing horrifying destructive power and becoming a true natural disaster.
A tempest was, after all, a type of calamity.
In particular, Lu Changsheng recalled that violent winds and ocean waves naturally complemented each other.
If these two conceptions could be deployed at the same time, perhaps they would yield unexpected transformations.
Lu Changsheng remained immersed in this wonderful sensation.
Using the Wind of Perception Conception, he could continuously deepen his understanding of the Wind of Heaven and Earth Conception.
As a result, his progress in the Wind of Heaven and Earth Conception rose at a speed visible to the naked eye.
1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%...
With the passage of time, Lu Changsheng's grasp of the Wind of Heaven and Earth grew steadily.
*Whoosh...*
A gust of powerful wind swept past.
Across the vast grassland, countless green blades of grass danced in the breeze.
Some blades were snapped clean in two by the sheer force of the gale.
Seeing this, Lu Changsheng's progress in the Wind of Heaven and Earth Conception surged abruptly.
Such was the benefit of learning from nature.
So long as he could observe it with his own eyes, Lu Changsheng's comprehension of over two thousand points guaranteed he would gain insight.
Lu Changsheng strolled through the grassland. Buffeted by the fierce wind, he felt as if an endless fountain of strength welled within him.
It was as though his power could only be unleashed to its utmost within the wind.
"Integrating the Wind of Heaven and Earth into my saber technique will make my blade faster and imbue it with the power of the wind!" Lu Changsheng murmured softly.
In theory, the wind could accelerate a saber's strike.
When an object was accelerated to a certain point—when its velocity reached a sufficient degree—the corresponding impact force and destructive capability would inevitably multiply upon collision.
*Whoosh!*
The next instant, Lu Changsheng flickered and vanished without a trace.
The Wind of Heaven and Earth accelerated not only his saber, but also his movement technique.
In the past, Lu Changsheng's movement technique could not be called slow, but neither was it exceptionally fast.
At the very least, he had been slower than Tianxin.
Now, however, everything was different.
With the enhancement of the Wind of Heaven and Earth, the speed of his movement technique would reach a terrifying level.
Ten li to the southeast, a squad of northern barbarians advanced.
"Stay sharp, everyone. Dao Twelve might show up on the Northern Region Battlefield anytime recently."
"The moment anyone spots Dao Twelve, run immediately or call for help!"
"Who knows, Sheng Yuanyi might be nearby and could arrive in time!"
The northern barbarians called out warnings to one another.
They all knew Sheng Yuanyi was hunting for Dao Twelve, prowling all across the Northern Region Battlefield.
If they truly ran into Dao Twelve and were fortunate enough, Sheng Yuanyi might arrive in time.
Of course, the probability was minuscule.
After all, the grassland was simply too vast.
*Whoosh...*
A gentle breeze swept by.
The northern barbarians paid it no heed.
Winds were constant on the grassland.
Who would bother to care about the wind?
"Wait, what is that...?"
Suddenly, the barbarian squad felt something was wrong.
Why was there a blood-red light within the gentle breeze?
*Rip!*
The blood-red radiance crossed a vast distance.
Far beyond ten zhang!
Yet despite traversing such a great distance, it seemed fully merged with the wind.
Arriving in practically a single breath, it landed upon the squad of northern barbarians.
The blood-red saber light contained terrifying power.
Moving at such breakneck speed, it struck their bodies violently.
How could they possibly withstand it?
Even in the Divine Strength Realm, they could not endure such horrifying blade light.
In a mere instant, the northern barbarians were dead, their heads cleaved clean off.
*Whoosh!*
Lu Changsheng arrived.
Just now, he had unleashed his blood saber from a great distance away, essentially releasing his qi and blood externally.
Any external release of qi and blood drained the reserves of even a Divine Strength Realm martial artist.
The greater the distance, the greater the loss.
However, by blending his blood saber into the wind and traveling at the wind's speed to strike in an instant, the drained qi and blood was significantly reduced.
Therefore, even across such a distance, that blood-saber strike retained seventy to eighty percent of Lu Changsheng's full might.
Most importantly, it was fast.
By the time the enemy sensed it, the blood saber had already descended.
This was a terrifying conception!
Especially with the boost of the Wind of Heaven and Earth, the force of Lu Changsheng's saber techniques increased accordingly.
And this was merely at five percent progress in the Wind of Heaven and Earth.
"Onward."
Lu Changsheng continued his hunt.
He discovered that by constantly deploying the Wind of Heaven and Earth Conception while hunting, his mastery over it deepened in tandem.
Moreover, the improvement was substantial.
*Boom!*
After hunting several squads, Lu Changsheng's Wind of Heaven and Earth reached ten percent.
Attaining ten percent in the Wind of Heaven and Earth Conception bolstered Lu Changsheng's saber techniques even further, making his blade swifter and its might even more formidable.
Lu Changsheng now possessed four conceptions.
The Wind of Perception Conception offered no direct combat enhancement.
The remaining three boosted his fighting strength, each with a different emphasis.
The Ocean Wave Conception focused on sustained combat and boundless endurance.
The Starry Sky Waterfall Conception emphasized explosive power, delivering catastrophic burst damage in an instant.
The Wind of Heaven and Earth Conception focused on acceleration, quickening the speed of his saber techniques.
These three conceptions actually complemented one another.
For example, if he executed a saber strike using the Starry Sky Waterfall Conception, its explosive power was already terrifying; yet if he further imbued it with the Wind of Heaven and Earth Conception to accelerate the blade before detonating its force, how terrifying would that might be?
And beneath such explosive force, the Ocean Wave Conception would allow Lu Changsheng to unleash successive bursts without interruption.
"Three conceptions, complementing one another; not one can be spared."
"Once all three conceptions are brought to bear, my actual combat strength might truly be enough to match Tianxin!"
Of course, the prerequisite was raising the progress of all three conceptions as high as possible.
The most troublesome one was the Starry Sky Waterfall Conception.
That was a conception Lu Changsheng had comprehended through inspiration drawn from poetry.
Improving it purely through imagination was difficult.
"Perhaps at night, I can gaze up at the starry sky and try to raise the progress of the Starry Sky Waterfall Conception."
That was the only method Lu Changsheng could think of.
For now, however, raising the Wind of Heaven and Earth Conception remained his top priority.
After all, the Northern Region Battlefield was filled with the winds of heaven and earth.
Here, his Wind of Heaven and Earth would surely progress at tremendous speed.
Thus, Lu Changsheng continuously channeled the Wind of Heaven and Earth Conception as he hunted squad after squad of northern barbarians.
In a single day, Lu Changsheng would hunt down at least seven or eight squads, roughly forty Divine Strength Realm martial artists.
Even without anyone from the top hundred of the Divine Strength Ranking among them, Lu Changsheng could still earn over seven thousand minor merits.
While short of ten thousand, it was more than enough for him.
One day, two days, three days...
Over three full days, Lu Changsheng hunted one hundred and twenty-seven northern barbarian Divine Strength Realm martial artists.
Adding the thirty-three he had slain previously, the count reached exactly one hundred and sixty Divine Strength Realm martial artists.
This number was utterly staggering.
Every day, people saw Lu Changsheng carrying a massive sack packed to the brim with the severed heads of Divine Strength Realm experts.
Anyone who laid eyes on that sight could not help but be shaken to the core.
It seemed that before Dao Twelve, these figures were not Divine Strength Realm martial artists at all, but weeds to be harvested at will.
"Twenty-two thousand minor merits."
"Exchange for two different Divine Strength Realm pills."
Lu Changsheng directly exchanged for two Divine Strength Realm pills.
His physical strength had already reached eight hundred tripods.
He was only two pills away from attaining the Thousand Tripods Realm!
Taking the pills, Lu Changsheng turned to leave the Martial Demonstration Tower.
*Whoosh!*
Suddenly, an uproar broke out ahead.
"Look quickly, isn't that Song Wuqing?"
"What happened to Song Wuqing? He looks heavily injured."
"I heard Song Wuqing ran into Sheng Yuanyi again on the Northern Region Battlefield. After a fierce clash, Sheng Yuanyi severely wounded him."
"*Sigh*, Song Wuqing lost again. Over the past year, aside from that very first time, Song Wuqing has been beaten almost every time he crossed paths with Sheng Yuanyi. Though he managed to escape with his life, Song Wuqing's strength is indeed inferior to Sheng Yuanyi's."
Lu Changsheng was among the crowd.
He saw Song Wuqing.
Though on the surface Song Wuqing bore only traces of blood and no visible wounds, a Divine Strength Realm martial artist possessed astonishing physical recuperative ability.
Superficial wounds rarely lingered.
Song Wuqing's wounds were primarily mental.
Suffering repeated defeats at Sheng Yuanyi's hands was a monumental blow to him.
Song Wuqing raised his head, clearly spotting "Dao Twelve" in the crowd as well.
Previously, Song Wuqing had boasted that if Lu Changsheng teamed up with him, he could guarantee his safety.
Yet now, facing Sheng Yuanyi, he had fallen in defeat.
Song Wuqing looked at Lu Changsheng and spoke slowly, "Dao Twelve, Sheng Yuanyi is indeed looking for you. What's more, his strength has grown again. If you encounter him, the odds will be heavily stacked against you."
"For the time being, you should try your best to stay away from the Northern Region Battlefield."
Having said his piece, Song Wuqing turned and left.
For a time, countless martial artists outside the Martial Demonstration Tower hung their heads in dejection.
Even Song Wuqing had lost. There was not even any need for Tianxin to make a move; Sheng Yuanyi alone had defeated Song Wuqing time and time again.
"Sheng Yuanyi... If I really run into him, I will cut him down!" Lu Changsheng said in a calm tone.
Paying no mind to the stunned disbelief of the surrounding martial artists, he walked straight back to his courtyard.
Inside the courtyard, Lu Changsheng sat cross-legged on the ground in silence.
Back at the Martial Demonstration Tower, he had not been uttering empty boasts.
He genuinely wanted to kill Sheng Yuanyi!
Over the past few days, Lu Changsheng had essentially confirmed that Tianxin would not make a move.
Regardless of the reason, so long as Tianxin did not act, Lu Changsheng would have no chance to slay him.
However, that did not mean Lu Changsheng was out of options.
He naturally had his ways.
If he cut down Sheng Yuanyi, he refused to believe Tianxin could remain indifferent.
Even so, his current strength was not yet sufficient to kill Sheng Yuanyi.
He had to reach the Thousand Tripods Realm!
At the very least, his cultivation realm could not be inferior to Sheng Yuanyi's.
Fortunately, Lu Changsheng had secured two Divine Strength Realm pills—enough for him to break through to the Thousand Tripods Realm!
Lu Changsheng wasted no time.
He swallowed both Divine Strength Realm pills in a single gulp.
With his current physique of eight hundred tripods, he could easily withstand ingesting two pills of that tier simultaneously.
*Boom!*
As the pills dissolved, his physical body began to strengthen violently from within.
Because he had consumed two pills at once, the physical surge was exceedingly fierce.
Fortunately, Lu Changsheng's body had already reached eight hundred tripods; he showed no fear, allowing his body to undergo this violent metamorphosis.
Time ticked away, bit by bit.
Lu Changsheng felt as though his fleshly body were a bottle.
The improvements in every aspect of his physique were like pouring liquid into this vessel.
Finally, the bottle was filled to the brim.
The moment it was completely full, a sudden spark of inspiration struck Lu Changsheng.
A clear realization dawned upon him.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, his physical body could no longer improve.
This was the limit!
And the limit of the Divine Strength Realm was the Thousand Tripods Realm!
At this moment, Lu Changsheng had finally reached the Thousand Tripods Realm—the true pinnacle of the Divine Strength Realm!
*Swish!*
Lu Changsheng opened his eyes.
His physical body had reached the absolute maximum it could currently attain.
In terms of cultivation realm, Lu Changsheng had finally stepped into the very front ranks of the Divine Strength Ranking.
Whether it was Tianxin, Sheng Yuanyi, or Song Wuqing, all of their cultivation realms were at the Thousand Tripods Realm.
In realm, Lu Changsheng stood shoulder to shoulder with the top three on the Divine Strength Ranking.
Calculating the time, it had been a little over four years since he first began practicing martial arts—a few months shy of five full years.
To advance from an ordinary mortal to the pinnacle of the Divine Strength Realm in just over four years was almost unbelievable.
Lu Changsheng examined his body closely.
In truth, he could sense residual medicinal power lingering within his flesh.
Reasonably speaking, that power should have continued strengthening his body.
Yet as he probed further, he discovered that his body had reached an impenetrable bottleneck, making further improvement impossible.
No matter how many pills he took now, consuming them would yield no effect whatsoever.
That medicinal efficacy would simply dissipate with time.
"The human body has its limits. Once it hits that ceiling, advancing further becomes extraordinarily difficult."
"To break past it, one must break through to the next realm, equivalent to undergoing another life metamorphosis. The realm above the Divine Strength Realm is the Divine Gang Realm."
"Divine Gang... isn't that essentially a power obtained after undergoing a physical metamorphosis?"
Lu Changsheng thought of the "Divine Gang" unleashed by Divine Gang Realm martial artists.
That kind of Divine Gang could ward off any attack.
As long as the Divine Gang remained unbroken, the martial artist would suffer no harm.
Upon reaching the Divine Gang Realm, one truly had no need to fear battle formations or sheer numbers.
Even so, breaking through to the Divine Gang Realm was seemingly far from easy.
It was said that achieving that breakthrough was exceptionally arduous.
One required a matching martial art.
Only through a specific method outlined in such a martial art could one step into the Divine Gang Realm.
Furthermore, breakthroughs to the Divine Gang Realm were purportedly tied to martial conceptions.
A martial artist who had not comprehended a conception had almost no hope of breaking through to the Divine Gang Realm.
For now, however, Lu Changsheng had no thoughts of attempting that breakthrough.
He did not even have the martial art for it.
The Martial Demonstration Tower did offer Divine Gang Realm martial arts, but the price tag made it abundantly clear that they were not meant to be obtained by normal means.
It was merely an ornamental display.
"Now that my body has reached the Thousand Tripods Realm, how much power can I unleash?"
Lu Changsheng was currently most concerned with his combat strength.
Just how powerful was his fighting ability now?
To be honest, even Lu Changsheng himself was not entirely certain.
If he activated the Three Transformations of the Divine Dragon, his body would erupt with the force of three thousand tripods.
Then, with the Triple Waves martial technique integrated into his saber, fist, and sword arts, every strike would double that power, reaching six thousand tripods of force.
Without even drawing upon any conceptions, the amplification from his secret method and martial technique alone brought him to six thousand tripods of force.
This was already immensely terrifying.
Song Wuqing and Sheng Yuanyi were roughly at this level.
Even if Sheng Yuanyi's strength had grown somewhat, it could not be by much—at most seven thousand tripods of force.
Yet Lu Changsheng still had his conceptions.
If he unleashed the Starry Sky Waterfall Conception, the Ocean Wave Conception, and the Wind of Heaven and Earth Conception all at once, then even if his mastery of these three was not yet profound, bolstering his strikes with them should easily raise his power by another fifty percent.
That would be nine thousand tripods of force.
If the progress of those three conceptions advanced further, achieving ten thousand tripods of force would not be difficult.
Tianxin had dominated the top spot of the Divine Strength Ranking precisely by combining his secret method, martial techniques, and martial conception!
Lu Changsheng was the same.
Bolstered by three conceptions, unleashing force approaching ten thousand tripods would not be hard.
Yet to fully surpass ten thousand tripods of force, the three conceptions still needed to improve.
Currently, progressing in the Ocean Wave Conception and Starry Sky Waterfall Conception was difficult.
His only viable route was to advance the Wind of Heaven and Earth Conception.
If he could push the Wind of Heaven and Earth Conception past thirty percent progress, he should be able to unleash power comparable to Tianxin's.
In terms of versatility, Lu Changsheng would be even stronger.
After all, he had comprehended four conceptions.
What was more, Lu Changsheng still possessed the Nine-Word Mantra Secret Method and the Qi and Blood Sword Casting Secret Method.
Those were his true trump cards!
"Since I have attained the Thousand Tripods Realm, there is no need to wait."
"I will slaughter Sheng Yuanyi first and see if Tianxin can still sit still!"
"If Tianxin can still keep his seat, I will unleash a slaughter so terrifying the northern barbarians tremble, forcing Tianxin to act!"
Four years of bitter cultivation, today at last attaining the Thousand Tripods Realm!
A fierce glint flashed across Lu Changsheng's eyes as the events of a year ago resurfaced in his mind.
The sight of Tianxin slaying You Shifei and the others remained vividly etched in his memory; he could never forget it.
He had waited for this day for an entire year!
Now, Lu Changsheng was unwilling to wait any longer.
He would take the initiative!
With that, Lu Changsheng rose abruptly and headed straight for the Northern Region Battlefield!
Chapter 124