"Horizontal Sword Style?"
Lin Zhao frowned, opened his skill list, and indeed a bright button had been added. He reached out and brushed it, and the skill description appeared, making his heart race. This Horizontal Sword Style was obviously much more powerful than the Sinking Sword Style—
[Horizontal Sword Style] (Eternal Grade): Gathers sword intent and sweeps forward with a horizontal slash, dealing massive damage to targets within a 100-yard radius in a fan shape, and causing them to enter a state of shock and stun for 2 seconds.
...
Group damage plus a 2-second stun, if this isn't a divine skill, what is?
For a moment, Lin Zhao felt as if he had found a treasure, his eyes full of stars. With the Horizontal Sword Style, his operational space would be greatly improved. Even if he wanted to stun someone, he wouldn't have to rely on sword qi collision or the Dragon Ascending Slash of the formation horse and windy sails at close range. A distant Horizontal Sword Style would be much more stable.
"That's enough."
He took a deep breath, feeling his spiritual power was almost depleted. He stopped cultivating the Eternal Sword Scripture, got up, and stood on the mountain peak, beginning to practice the Farmer's Nine Fists. Immediately, wisps of fist qi condensed, and he appeared extremely elegant.
Before long, after the fist intent flowed through his body, Lin Zhao entered a state of focused practice. In this state, his spiritual power recovered extremely quickly, which pleasantly surprised him. It seemed that practicing fists, while strengthening the body, had a certain effect of feeding back spiritual power.
Thus, practicing swords and practicing fists became a situation where neither was delayed, officially complementing each other. According to Lin Zhao's current level of mastery, after practicing the Eternal Sword Scripture for half an hour, he would practice fists for two hours, and then continue practicing the Eternal Sword Scripture. This state had the highest persistence and efficiency.
Instantly, he entered a state of "selflessness," as if only the two matters of practicing fists and practicing swords existed between heaven and earth.
Until, much later, a "ding" message came from Leng Yan: "New Year is coming soon, any thoughts?"
"Not yet."
Lin Zhao continued to practice his fists, fist intent flowing all over him, and said with a smile, "What do you want to do? I'll accompany you. We can eat hot pot, watch movies, whatever you like."
"Ah?"
Leng Yan's face immediately flushed. Was her status this high? She pursed her red lips and said, "I haven't thought of anything yet. I won't be allowed out on New Year's Eve, and my dad will definitely order me to stay home. How about this, on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, Xu Ran and I will come to your place to pay our respects."
"Okay!"
Lin Zhao said with a smile, "Then I won't go out on the first day either. I'll wait for you at the studio."
"Mhm mhm."
Leng Yan smiled and said, "It's a deal."
"Oh, Yan!"
Lin Zhao coughed and said, "Don't bring any New Year's gifts... If there are too many formalities, I won't know how to reciprocate. How about neither side prepares anything, and we just eat melon seeds and watch TV?"
"Okay, I'll do as you say."
Leng Yan smiled lightly, "Then I'll see you then."
"Mhm!"
...
While Lin Zhao was chatting with Leng Yan, a confrontation was taking place in the Upper Realm.
Wuwang Mountain.
Wei Huarou, holding a compass, landed gracefully on a mountain peak. She frowned, as if the Wuwang Mountain area could no longer detect any traces of the umbrella-wielding heart demons, or even that the heart demon aura had completely disappeared here.
Beside her followed the Kunpeng Demon Ancestor, Nine-Tails, and the Fourteenth and Thirteenth Realm great demons, all of them looking menacing, as if they could tear Wei Huarou's spiritual body apart at any moment.
"Swish swish..."
In the sky, two streams of light flashed by. One was a young man in green with an empty sword sheath on his back, and the other was a Daoist sage in a purple Daoist robe. They stood with their arms crossed, one on each side of Wei Huarou, like guardians.
"How is it?"
The young man in green asked mentally, "Junior Sister Wei, have you found any clues in Wuwang Mountain? I'll say this, Old Kunpeng is the most cunning. The Upper Realm's redistribution of power greatly benefited the demon race, so Wuwang Mountain has the highest probability of harboring millions of umbrella-wielding heart demons."
"Still no clues."
Wei Huarou frowned. "Either Wuwang Mountain is truly innocent, or the Kunpeng Demon Ancestor's methods are too brilliant, so even I can't find any traces."
"Is that so..." The young man in green pondered silently.
At this moment, the young Daoist sage stood in the wind, his Daoist robe billowing. He smiled slightly, "The ancestral home of Daoism, Lieyun, has troubled Wuwang Mountain. I hope the Kunpeng Demon Ancestor will not take offense."
"Dare not, dare not."
The Kunpeng Demon Ancestor looked respectful and said with a smile, "May I ask what brings the Daoist Sage to Wuwang Mountain... for guidance?"
"No guidance, just looking."
The Daoist sage smiled indifferently. "Demon Ancestor, there's no need to be nervous."
"It seems Wuwang Mountain has made full preparations..." The young man in green suddenly chuckled.
"Ding Muchen!"
The Fourteenth Realm White Egret Demon frowned and said, "What are you trying to do by coming to Wuwang Mountain this time?"
"None of your business."
The young man in green said faintly, "Wuwang Mountain is ultimately a place of sin. As someone from the Eternal Secret Realm, I can come and go as I please. Do you have any objections?"
"Martial Sage."
The Kunpeng Demon Ancestor coughed and said, "The talk of sin is a matter of ten thousand years ago. In recent years, Wuwang Mountain has consolidated its destiny in the Upper Realm, and we demon races have worked diligently, never overstepping our bounds. In fact, Martial Sage doesn't need to keep mentioning the term 'place of sin'."
"I'm happy to."
The young man in green revealed an unreasonable smile. "The Eternal Secret Realm punishes sin without any reason. Everything is done on a whim. You can accept it if you like, and you have to accept it if you don't."
Saying that, he suddenly lowered his body, and a Martial Sage Dharma image tens of thousands of feet tall rose behind him, connecting heaven and earth. He was still in a green shirt, wearing armor underneath, holding a Fusang sword, and emanating a dense bloody-red killing intent. His eyes surged with golden light, full of majesty.
"Boom—"
He stomped his foot, and the Dharma image was surrounded by golden characters conferred by heaven and earth. With this stomp, a colossal force from heaven and earth surged from under his feet, directly shaking the entire Wuwang Mountain with a tremor. In an instant, Wuwang Mountain sank by a hundred feet, the earth roared, and tens of thousands of mountain roots and base roots were broken.
"Sect Leader Wei?"
The young man in green raised an eyebrow and said mentally, "I have already damaged the roots and destiny of Wuwang Mountain. The spiritual energy of Wuwang Mountain is in chaos. Quickly check if there are any signs of millions of umbrella-wielding heart demons."
"Mhm."
Wei Huarou raised her palm, and the golden compass rapidly expanded, covering the entire Wuwang Mountain.
"Ding Muchen, you've gone too far!"
The Kunpeng Demon Ancestor let out a roar, and a giant golden Kunpeng Dharma image instantly materialized behind him, covering the sky and obscuring the sun. A pair of great roc wings protected Wuwang Mountain on both sides, propping up the entire mountain and barely halting its downward trend.
"Oh?"
The young Daoist sage narrowed his eyes, lightly traced the wind through the mountains with his fingertips, and frowned. Golden light filled his eyes as he constantly observed any disturbance in the Wuwang Mountain area.
"You..."
The Fourteenth Realm White Egret Demon's eyes were cold, but he didn't make a move, nor did he dare to. The three Fourteenth Realm human cultivators before him were all top-tier combat powers. To put it bluntly, even if all the demons in Wuwang Mountain attacked together, they might not be able to defeat them.
Especially the Martial Sage and the Daoist Sage. These two Fourteenth Realm cultivators with the title "Sage" were conferred by heaven and earth, and they were undoubtedly the two most formidable fighters among the "Sage" tier. If a fight broke out, Wuwang Mountain would likely gain no advantage, and half the mountain could be shattered.
"Enough..."
The Kunpeng Demon Ancestor's face was slightly pale, and the wings protecting Wuwang Mountain trembled slightly. After absorbing the force of the young man in green's stomp, the Kunpeng Demon Ancestor seemed extremely uncomfortable. He frowned. "How about we call it a day? Otherwise, everyone will find it difficult to back down..."
The young man in green did not speak, but mentally asked Wei Huarou, "Sect Leader Wei, have you found any clues?"
"No."
Wei Huarou was slightly disappointed. "There isn't a single trace of heart demon aura in the entire Wuwang Mountain. Unless they have sealed the umbrella-wielding heart demons within the mountain's core, but the possibility is slim. If they did that, Wuwang Mountain would quickly become a barren mountain, and the demon race couldn't afford to gamble."
"Understood."
The young man in green floated up and smiled at the Kunpeng Demon Ancestor, "Senior Kunpeng, Ding Muchen has been rude. As a thank you, I'll treat you to a drink later!"
The Kunpeng Demon Ancestor looked ashen. This "later" might never come. When it came to treating people to drinks, his nickname as a stingy Martial Sage was not without reason.
"Farewell."
The Daoist Sage Lieyun also ascended into the sky, while Wei Huarou, holding her compass, smiled at the group of great demons, and her spiritual body also ascended.
...
After seeing the three Fourteenth Realm human cultivators leave, the great demons were filled with indignation.
The Fourteenth Realm White Deer created a small world and frowned. "Demon Ancestor, these people are too arrogant. If Your Excellency had attacked just now, we would all have joined the fight. Even if we died in battle, it would be better than enduring so much humiliation. In this way, the human race will truly believe that our Demon Ancestor's spine has been broken!"
"Suppress anger, enlighten wisdom."
The Kunpeng Demon Ancestor said calmly, "This is the principle of Confucian scholars. Should we demons, who are considered barbaric, not learn their knowledge and methods?"
Nine-Tails' eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Does the Demon Ancestor have a plan?"
"Yes, but no rush."
The Kunpeng Demon Ancestor's gaze was cold. "Don't worry, all the humiliation suffered today will be repaid doubly in the future. Ding Muchen, this Martial Sage, will be the next Wang Xu."
"Yes!"
...
The twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month.
In the early morning, Shen Xingchen, dressed in a pink woolen coat with her long hair flowing, looked exceptionally elegant. She carried a heavy suitcase and went out. Outside, a transport plane belonging to the Su City Shen family was ready. Nangong Ji Lin and other guards had activated their Yan Emperor-level combat armor and were lined up between the villa and the transport plane.
The travel of the eldest daughter of the Su family was indeed of extremely high security.
"Alright, I'll carry your suitcase."
Lin Zhao stepped forward and lightly picked up Shen Xingchen's suitcase with one hand. He glanced at Shen Xingchen's fair and beautiful face and couldn't help but whisper, "Weak as a chicken, useless..."
"Damn it!"
Shen Xingchen glared at him, punched him with her pink fist, and then angrily followed him onto the plane.
After seeing Shen Xingchen off on the plane, Lin Zhao, Ding Chi, Chen Xue, and others waved goodbye, and they would meet again after the New Year.