"No, I must raise the ’Nine Revolutions Golden Body Technique’ to the Small Success of the Fifth Layer before the finals. Only then will my bodily defense massively improve, making me truly impervious to swords and spears!"
Having reached the Four-level Perfection of defensive martial arts, Ling Xiao was not satisfied, but he had now encountered a rather big problem.
Breaking through from the fourth layer to the fifth required at least one hundred thousand taels of gold.
And he currently had only about ten thousand taels of gold left, which, even if all were used up, could only slightly improve the ’Nine Revolutions Golden Body Technique’ on the basis of the fourth layer.
To make a breakthrough to the fifth layer was simply impossible!
However, having some was better than none, and Ling Xiao planned to use up the remaining ten thousand taels of gold first.
Afterward, he would find ways to hunt Monster Beasts and exchange them for gold.
The stronger he was, the higher his chances of successfully hunting Monster Beasts!
During this period of cultivation, he also used the only two Gang Qi Pills in Li Xingyun’s Storage Ring.
Ling Xiao exhaled a breath of turbid air, and a faint golden Gang Qi began to materialize around his body.
This Gang Qi was clearly much stronger than the Gang Qi of a typical Martial Veins Quadruple Layer martial artist.
After completely absorbing the two Gang Qi Pills, the ten thousand taels of gold were also thoroughly used up.
Although far from reaching the Small Success of the fifth layer of the ’Nine Revolutions Golden Body Technique’, his Gang Qi had greatly improved, now nearing the Martial Meridians Fourth Level Peak.
Without top-tier Internal Cultivation Mind Techniques, raising his cultivation level from the initial stage of Martial Veins Quadruple Layer to near the Martial Meridians Fourth Level Peak in such a short time was impressive. Besides the contribution of the Gang Qi Pills, the greatest merit was still from the ’Nine Revolutions Golden Body Technique’.
There were only four days left until the finals of the annual competition.
"Not enough, far from enough! A pinnacle Fourth-tier Peak strength should defeat an ordinary Martial Pulse Fifth Level martial artist, but Ling Yun is not ordinary; he has Sword Intent and is a genius! He must possess top-tier Martial Arts!"
Right now, facing Ling Yun while using Martial Dao Will, the chances of victory were roughly fifty-fifty.
But does Ling Yun have any other trump cards?
Has he continued to improve during this period?
All these were question marks, so the odds of victory were still too low.
Moreover, there was Ling Feifan to consider, and he absolutely didn’t believe that the one known as the top prodigy of the Ling Family, Ling Feifan, would be less capable than Ling Yun.
Probably, Ling Feifan was even more formidable than Ling Yun!
Ling Xiao aimed to secure the third place and contend for the first, but if he could secure the first, he absolutely wouldn’t settle for second.
The attention and preferential treatment awarded for first place were unimaginable and would undoubtedly be better than his current situation.
He must continue to enhance his strength!
Whether it was breaking through in cultivation or raising the realm of the ’Nine Revolutions Golden Body Technique’, both now required gold and pills!
It was time to head to the Fulong Mountain Range!
Killing a Level 4 Demon Beast or even a Fourth-tier Peak Demon Beast should be relatively easy now.
Moreover, combat experience could also be honed in the process of hunting Monster Beasts.
Those were battles of life and death, not self-entertainment in the Practice Room; the combat experience gained was crucial for improving combat effectiveness.
With this in mind, he left the Practice Room, entrusted Grandfather Hong Qi and Xiao Tudou with a message, then prepared some dry food and directly placed it in the Mountain and River Map.
As for Li Xingyun’s Storage Ring, he hid it at home.
That item was too conspicuous; as he had no immediate use for it, it was best not to carry it if possible.
Upon leaving the Ling Family and heading to the Fulong Mountain Range, Ling Xiao didn’t notice a pair of malevolent eyes watching him from the shadows.
Just as Ling Xiao left the Ling Family, the owner of those eyes also left the premises.
About a li away from the Ling Family, this individual met up with three other people.
"This is your advance payment, a total of ten thousand taels of gold and three Gang Qi Pills! After the job is done, the remaining forty thousand taels of gold are yours!"
He took out a Storage Ring and transferred the gold to the three people opposite him.
Those three wore black scarves, obviously members of the Black Scarf Thieves, who were quite active in the Fulong Mountain Range.
"Hahaha, rest assured, taking people’s money and helping them avert disaster," he said. "Moreover, that young man had killed our men before, so this time it’s just revenge!"
Having said this, one of the three Black Scarf Thieves collected the gold and Gang Qi Pills into his Storage Ring and turned to pursue Ling Xiao.
Upon entering the Fulong Mountain Range, Ling Xiao displayed the Soaring Cloud Step: Transforming Flood Dragon without any reservations.
His body seemed to transform into a Flood Dragon, spiraling and soaring through the woods, and even capable of hovering mid-air.
This was no longer the realm of light-footedness, but actual flying.
As of now, Ling Xiao’s Soaring Cloud Step: Transforming Flood Dragon had reached the Great Perfection, and the next step would either be to enter the Transcendental Realm,
or to evolve once again.
However, relying solely on advanced body movement techniques was no longer sufficient to evolve the Soaring Cloud Step; it required a top-tier body movement technique to be eligible for evolution.
Therefore, for the time being, the only option was to continue developing towards the Transcendental Realm.
At home, he couldn’t fully exhibit his skills, but here in the Fulong Mountain Range, there were no such concerns.
Traveling itself was a constant honing and enhancement of body movement techniques.
In the forest, Ling Xiao’s speed was indeed no worse than that of the birds, the only possible disadvantage being the height.
At present, he could fly to a maximum height of twenty or thirty meters.
And even when flying, he could only remain in the air for about a quarter of an hour before needing to find a place to leverage from.
Even so, the sensation of soaring freely was still incredibly exhilarating.
His current strength was merely at the Martial Vein Quadruple Layer, yet the Soaring Cloud Step was already so powerful. If he advanced to Martial Pulse Ninth Level,
or if the Soaring Cloud Step further evolved, perhaps he really could ride the clouds and sail through the sky freely.
Ling Xiao was filled with anticipation for the future.
Ever since he obtained the Mountain and River Martial Soul, his confidence had grown day by day.
Although he had been unwilling to give up striving in the past, it was truly painful not to see any hope.
Now, however, the future was bright, and all that needed to be done was to work hard!
In less than half an hour, Ling Xiao had reached his destination at the edge of the Fulong Mountain Range, just a bit further inside than the last time,
After all, his strength had increased this time, and wanting to hunt down a Level 4 Peak Demon Beast more towards the edges would not be easy.
In the distance, roars and howls of wild beasts occasionally echoed from the Fulong Mountain Range, sending shivers down one’s spine.
In Tianfeng City, no one knew exactly what lay deep within the Fulong Mountain Range.
It was only known that the farther inside one went, the higher the level of Monster Beasts and the more terrifying it became.
At the core of the Fulong Mountain Range, there even resided a Divine Dragon!
Although Ling Xiao was very curious to go deeper and see for himself, he was aware of his limitations; entering deep into the Fulong Mountain Range with his current strength would be purely seeking death.
But venturing a little further from the edge into the interior posed no problem.
He took no interest in the wild beasts he passed.
His target was only Monster Beasts!
The Gentle Breeze Sword had already been retrieved from the Mountain and River Map and was carried on his back for immediate use.
During the grand competition, he did not wield the Gentle Breeze Sword because it was a Fine Treasure Sword that could easily attract others’ envy.
Luckily, even without using the Hundred Steps Flying Sword Technique to defeat Ling Yihang, the secret was naturally kept.
In the Fulong Mountain Range, there was no need to withhold any secrets.
This was deep in the mountains, with not a soul in sight.
The map within the Mountain and River Map could also promptly alert him to the approach of anyone, so he was not too worried about his secrets being exposed.