The Path of the Martial Arts BOSS

Daybreak pierced the sky, its first light gradually shifting and casting its glow onto a towering tombstone.

This place was the cemetery behind Taizhen Palace, where Taoists from Taizhen Palace who died without kin to claim their bodies were buried.

Due to the prevalence of Yin Qi in the cemetery, it was seldom visited on ordinary days. Especially since a chaotic burial ground had recently opened nearby, even fewer people came.

In recent days, demonic people had frequently attacked Taizhen Palace, leaving behind at least tens of corpses each time. All these corpses were buried in the chaotic burial ground.

Thus, people from Taizhen Palace would definitely not come here if they didn't have to. Only the unfortunate Taoists assigned to transport corpses would occasionally bring bodies for burial.

After burying the dead, they would hastily leave, not wanting to stay a moment longer. After all, the deceased were demonic people, and no one cared much about them. The bodies of people from the righteous path were cremated into ashes and taken back by their peers.

However, last night, an additional guest had appeared in the cemetery.

Qing Yu slowly opened his eyes, and a large amount of gray-white powder scattered with the wind, adding an eerie quality to the already somber cemetery.

"I spent the whole night and used two relics, but I finally stabilized the Xuanyin Sword Energy in my left hand."

Qing Yu lifted his left hand and looked at the vein-like pathways hidden beneath his pale skin, letting out a sigh of relief.

He had underestimated the corruption of the Xuanyin Sword Energy; had he not carried two relics with him, the corruption might have spread to his torso.

"However, I didn't lose out. Although much of the relic's energy was consumed battling the sword energy, this battle was a form of refinement in disguise, enhancing the cultivation of my Golden Bell Shield. The rest was completely refined using the 'Pure Land Six God Technique,' leaving none to waste."

Each of the two relics, left by Vajra Temple monks near the peak of the True Pill Realm, contained Essence Qi and energy far surpassing Qing Yu's own power.

After this night, while Qing Yu's power had not increased dramatically, he had made substantial progress.

He felt that the Golden Bell had reached a certain bottleneck; if he could break through this bottleneck, he could advance to the eleventh level of the Golden Bell.

Beyond the Tenth Level of the Golden Bell, the eleventh and twelfth levels each required breaking through extreme limits, each breakthrough immensely difficult but also greatly rewarding. If he could achieve the twelfth level, Qing Yu's physical strength would surpass the True Pill Realm.

Thus, the use of the two relics was well worth it.

"Now that I've stabilized it, it's time to proceed with that matter."

"System, I want to challenge Po Jun."

Po Jun, the character Qing Yu had randomly drawn in his last lottery, was extremely powerful. Because he possessed a Dragon Essence, Qing Yu had been wary of him.

But now, there was no need for wariness; Qing Yu was fully confident in his ability to defeat him.

The integration of Xuanyin Sword Energy had indeed brought its troubles, but it had also greatly enhanced Qing Yu's combat power. The fact that he had only sustained minor injuries from a surprise attack by someone in the Divinity Realm last night was entirely thanks to the Xuanyin Su Sword.

Although the attacker from the Divinity Realm had only launched one move, and a real battle would surely lead to Qing Yu's defeat, his combat power now still exceeded the scope of the True Pill Realm.

"The host challenges Po Jun, Inheritance Space opening..."

As the mechanical voice of the system sounded, a long-lost blur occurred before his eyes, and Qing Yu found himself in the Inheritance Space, which he hadn't visited for over five months.

A biting cold invaded the area, the ground beneath him covered in frost, surrounded by twelve ice pillars, each layered in ice.

Within each pillar, a formidable master was sealed in ice. Although these so-called masters could be defeated by Qing Yu in a single move, they were indeed considered top-notch in the early stages of Feng Yun.

Before him stood an old man with his palms raised to the sky, also covered in frost—Jian Hui, the father of Po Jun and the master of Wuming.

This place was the Sword Sect Ice House, where Po Jun and Wuming had once dueled.

In times past, when Wuming had achieved great success in his Sword Dao, he had asked his master for the Sword Sect's ultimate sword technique "All Swords Return to the Sect." However, his master, Jian Hui, harbored a selfish desire to see his son, Po Jun, triumph and demanded Wuming to duel Po Jun to decide who would be the strongest disciple, with the winner inheriting "All Swords Return to the Sect."

Naturally, Wuming comfortably defeated Po Jun, even though Jian Hui had secretly taught Po Jun a legendary sword move, "Ten Thousand Swords to the Emperor," which did not give Po Jun any chance of victory.

Inevitably, although Lao Ma always mentioned that Po Jun was "not inferior to Wuming," the actual gap was apparent to all.

Just as Po Jun was about to be defeated under Wuming's sword, Jian Hui, acting as the referee, started to play dirty by throwing the Jade Pendant that Wuming had presented as a gift when he first became a disciple, causing Wuming, with his soft heart, to withdraw his move.

Unexpectedly, Jian Hui made another move, whether to be called cunning or foolish was hard to say. Perhaps fearing that the twelve watching masters might reveal his partiality, Jian Hui executed the "Heavenly Return Ice Technique," freezing both himself and all twelve masters.

Perhaps Jian Hui thought that after Wuming showed mercy, Po Jun was sure to win and, after learning "All Swords Return to the Sect," could save his dishonorably biased father and deal properly with the twelve masters to keep them from speaking, or even kill them all, ensuring no word would spread.

However, in reality, despite his father's bias, Po Jun was defeated anyway. Po Jun simply walked away, not bothering to check if his father was still alive.

He went off to green Nie Renwang and then to Japan, where he bitterly cultivated martial arts for twenty years. When he returned, if not for the ice seal, his father's corpse would have completely decayed.

"I wonder if there's a secret manual for 'All Swords Return to the Sect' hidden in this ice house, or maybe some fool guarding it without cultivating it," Qing Yu mused, looking around, trying to locate the secret cave holding the fool and the manual.

"No need to search, what you're looking for isn't here."

Footsteps echoed from afar, growing closer, as a big man with white hair and no nose entered the ice house with an indifferent stride.

Po Jun, he had arrived.

Qing Yu looked at Po Jun's white hair and then at his own, now restored to its true form, feeling that this guy was a serious letdown for all white-haired individuals.

Though people from Hua Country generally liked silvery white hair, Po Jun's type of white hair was truly hard to admire. If he shaved his head, he might as well join the cast of Voldemort in the nearby Britain film set.

"Though I don't know why I ended up back here, it won't stop me from killing you, you little thief."

"Daring to intrude upon the Sword Sect's sanctuary and covet the Sword Sect Divine Skill, Boy, you are courting death!"

Po Jun, clearly unwilling to talk more with Qing Yu, roared, and with the Greedy Wolf Sword unsheathing from his back, a great battle commenced.