Ling Xiao felt very sentimental.
The goal he had been striving for his entire life had been achieved in just half a month, making him feel as though he was dreaming.
It seemed that actual combat was indeed necessary for the improvement of strength.
Previously, he had used a Gang Qi Pill but was stuck at ninety-nine percent and couldn’t break through; however, after a day of fighting and sparring with experts, he had broken through so effortlessly.
It hadn’t even been one shichen.
It should be said that Ling Feng’s father, Ling Shisan, had played a crucial role!
Had it not been for the terrifying pressure exerted by Ling Shisan, he could not have exploded with his full potential amidst the great crisis.
It was also the oppression and threat from Ling Shisan that gave Ling Xiao a strong sense of urgency to improve his strength.
Adding up other factors, everything naturally fell into place.
Actually, he should really thank Ling Shisan.
Now, having broken through to the Martial Vein Quadruple Layer, and paired with the nearly top-tier martial art, "Ox Demon Technique: Meteor Evil Fist", along with "Soaring Cloud Step: Transforming Flood Dragon",
even if Ling Shisan, at the Martial Pulse Fifth Level, wanted to kill him, it wouldn’t be that easy.
Now he had the ability to save his own life.
However, the template needed a slight update. Before, he was a Martial Vein Triple Layer martial artist without Gang Qi.
But he had already exposed his strength during the tournament, so continuing to use that template would be too fake.
Therefore, he revised it. The current template is Martial Meridian Third Layer Peak, with Gang Qi reaching over ninety percent in the third meridian.
This strength is actually another honorific known as Pinnacle Martial Student!
In other words, within the realm of Martial Student, he should be close to the strongest. Generally, those at the Martial Meridian Third Layer Peak with over ninety percent of Gang Qi converted in the third meridian, could earn this honor.
After breaking through to the Martial Vein Quadruple Layer, Ling Xiao did not stop cultivating.
Breaking through was one thing.
But stabilizing it was another matter altogether.
Moreover, there was still much to be done in terms of increasing combat strength.
All sorts of martial arts, regardless of how many layers or levels they have, can ultimately be divided into five stages.
The first stage is called Small Success, meaning one can exert thirty percent of a martial art’s power.
The second stage is called Proficient, meaning one can utilize sixty percent of a martial art’s power.
The third stage is called Great Success, which allows one to wield ninety percent of a martial art’s power.
The fourth stage is called Perfection, also known as Great Perfection, where one can perfectly exert the full power of a martial art.
The fifth stage is the Transcendental Realm, also known as becoming divinely proficient, where the martial art has no flaws and can even increase its power by two to five times, which is quite terrifying.
Ling Xiao had only achieved the Transcendental Realm with the basic martial skill "Barbaric Bull Strength"; the rest were at most at Great Success, far from Perfection, let alone the Transcendental Realm.
He planned to elevate the "Ox Demon Technique: Meteor Evil Fist" to the Transcendental Realm first. In doing so, the power of this move could be multiplied, making his combat ability even more astonishing.
However, advancing from Small Success to Perfection required diligent practice, which anyone could achieve, except for the Transcendental Realm, which is truly mysterious and greatly tied to one’s comprehension.
To reach the Transcendental Realm, aside from effort, one also needs opportunity and insight.
Of course, this was not a problem for Ling Xiao.
With the Mountain and River Martial Soul, even if his comprehension was poor, he could perfectly reach the Transcendental Realm through analysis and practice skills.
All he needed was time.
Throughout the night, he repeatedly practiced the "Ox Demon Technique: Meteor Evil Fist", focusing on elevating its realm.
After all, this move is currently his strongest attack.
The Bull Demon Technique: Hundred-Step Killing Sword, though also powerful, is not meant for sustained combat; it’s better as a surprise attack or a trump card.
As dawn broke, Ling Xiao slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.
Although he hadn’t managed to elevate the Meteor Evil Fist of the Ox Demon Technique to the Transcendental Realm, he had progressed from Great Success to the Perfect Realm, significantly enhancing its power.
After some consideration, he spent another two shichen to also raise the Bull Demon Technique: Hundred-Step Killing Sword to the Perfect Realm.
Reaching Perfection was relatively easy, after all, with the continuous demonstrations by the figures in the Mountain and River Map, making it easy to learn.
Having this move as his ace in the hole, stronger was definitely better.
Taking a deep breath, he massaged his head, feeling somewhat tired, it seemed it was time to rest for a while.
But before resting, he decided to see what special changes occurred to his Mountain and River Martial Soul after his Martial Veins improved to the Martial Vein Quadruple Layer.
"Analytical practice, productive creativeness, along with a realm template, were the abilities I originally possessed; and after advancing in realm, a new ability emerged—Martial Dao Will!"
Ling Xiao had previously thought analytical and practice were two separate abilities, only to realize his mistake now; they are one and the same, without analysis, practice is ineffective, and without practice, analysis is pointless.
Productive creativeness is also an ability, but its current level is low, and creativeness isn’t yet possible, only production for the time being.
As for the realm template, it currently only serves to alter his outward strength, merely concealing his true capabilities from others, but with future upgrades, the results are unknown.
This newly emerged ability, however, surprised Ling Xiao even more.
He had heard of Martial Dao Will, this indescribable state of mind, where Swordmasters have Sword Intent, and Dao Ke have Dao Intent.
And other martial artists also possess their unique Martial Dao Will.
According to the Mountain and River Map, Martial Dao Will is actually a rudimentary version of the Martial Soul; once the will can materialize, it becomes a Martial Soul.
However, despite cases over nearly ten thousand years where individuals enhanced their Martial Dao Will to the Transcendental Realm, very few have managed to condense it into a Martial Soul.
Martial Dao Will, like Martial Arts, has stages of Small Success, Proficiency, Great Success, Perfection, and the Transcendental Realm, ultimately culminating in a Martial Soul.
In Ling Xiao’s view, his current strength wasn’t sufficient to wield the Mountain and River Martial Soul in combat, which is why the ability of Martial Dao Will emerged.
He suspected that the Mountain and River Martial Soul was there to help him adapt to the combat style of Martial Dao Will and that once his Martial Dao Will ascended to the Transcendental Realm, he could directly employ the Mountain and River Martial Soul in battle.
He was all set to rest, but the sight of this new emerge Martial Dao Will made Ling Xiao lose the desire to sleep.
Generally speaking, there are two major combat advantages of having Martial Dao Will.
One is the suppression of the opponent’s will, causing them to become timid.
The other is the enhancement of Martial Arts.
The stronger the Martial Dao Will, the greater the enhancement.
Ling Xiao’s Martial Dao Will had an advantage: it wasn’t fixed on just one kind of will. Since it was extracted from the Mountain and River Martial Soul, which encompasses all things, his Martial Dao Will did the same.
When he used a sword, it was Sword Intent!
When he used a knife, it was Dao Intent!
When he used a spear, naturally, it was Spear Intent!
He could switch seamlessly, without any impact whatsoever.
These were all the insights he gained from the Mountain and River Martial Soul, with no falsehoods.
Currently, without possessing any top-tier Martial Arts, Ling Xiao hadn’t decided which weapon he would specialize in.
Generally, while a martial artist can learn many Martial Skills, it’s still best to specialize in one.
However, he would wait until he acquired top-tier Martial Arts to decide. Otherwise, deciding now wouldn’t be very meaningful.
Fortunately, his Martial Dao Will could be exchanged at will, which wouldn’t hinder his future cultivation. So, enhancing his Martial Dao Will for now was beneficial.