[Physique: Hero (Great Success)]

[Extraordinary: Essence Devouring Art (71% Potential Release) +

Overlord Whale Fist 360 Years (Divine Arrival) +

Giant Whale Skill 400 Years (Eighth Layer) +]

[Teleportation Points: 210]

71% Potential Release!

Ninety Refinements of Essence Steel Bone, Eighty-nine Refinements of Steel Flesh!

Overlord Whale Fist’s power increased by another 60 years, reaching 360 years!

Four Hundred Years of Giant Whale Skill!

The Power of Eight Barbarian Whales imbued his body!

Unleashing the Giant Whale Dominating Body pushed him directly to the limit of Qi and Blood Burning Prison, the Horizontal Refining Second Door!

His strength had more than doubled.

And if he unleashed Divine Ghost Heaven, his body’s functions would be released at two hundred percent...

WHOOSH~

A strong wind swept by.

Wu Dao vanished from the training room. He quickly returned to his quarters and retrieved the Spirit Sword from his personal stash. He couldn’t wait to see just how hard he was now!

CLANG!

The Spirit Sword, coated in High-energy Spiritual Energy Fluid, slashed across his skin.

This time, it only left a shallow scratch, not even enough to be called a flesh wound. The fibers of his Eighty-nine Refinements of Steel Flesh healed in the span of a breath.

But Wu Dao was not satisfied!

The Spirit Sword was just an inanimate object.

Its power certainly couldn’t compare to being wielded by a person.

’It can still hurt me!’

’That means a Qi Refining Realm cultivator can still inflict lethal damage on me!’

’Not enough!’

’Still not hard enough!!’

With this in mind, Wu Dao grabbed a foot-square Spirit Stone. After a brief hesitation, he took the Spirit Sword as well, then quickly headed back to the training room.

...

「The next day.」

White Whale Martial Arts Hall Headquarters.

"Bastard!!"

BANG!

Inside the study, Qi Canghai slammed his palm down, pulverizing the fine sandalwood desk before him. His usually kind, Smiling Buddha-like face was now utterly grim.

"Grandmaster, please calm your anger. Since it has already happened, we must... come up with a proper plan to handle it."

Cold sweat beaded on the face of Pang Xin, the Vice Hall Master in charge of intelligence for the White Whale Martial Arts Hall. Under Qi Canghai’s oppressive presence, his already short stature seemed to stoop even lower.

After learning that Wu Dao had stormed Lin Village,

he knew things were going to get bad.

After all, as the man in charge of the hall’s intelligence network, he knew exactly who was behind Lin Village.

What he hadn’t expected was that Wu Dao would be so audacious—no, so rebellious. To have been in the martial arts hall for only a month and already dare to openly defy the Grandmaster’s orders and act on his own.

He knew exactly what kind of person Qi Canghai was.

Having followed him for over a decade, Pang Xin knew him inside and out.

On the surface, he was dignified and solemn, with a kind and benevolent face.

But deep down, he was extremely power-hungry and controlling, and he hated nothing more than subordinates who feigned compliance while secretly disobeying, those who were wild and difficult to control.

By causing such a commotion, Wu Dao had stomped all over Qi Canghai’s minefield.

"Handle it? You tell me how to handle it?!"

Qi Canghai’s face was dark as he rapidly fiddled with the Sandalwood Beads in his hand. He snorted coldly. "That Yellow Dragon Daoist advanced to the Qi Refining Realm thirty years ago. Although he hasn’t taken the Second Step, his strength still firmly places him in the top ten of the Prefecture.

Not to mention his Yellow Dragon Temple, with a century of accumulated resources and masters, is in no way inferior to any power in Guangqing Prefecture.

Even I have to show him some respect.

Did that Wu Dao have his brains eaten by a dog, or did he eat a bear’s heart and a leopard’s gall that he just had to go and provoke him!"

After the previous Hall Master of Tan County had his ’accident,’ I investigated Lin Village thoroughly.

Of course, I found out about the Yellow Dragon Daoist’s existence long ago. That’s why I didn’t pursue the matter further and later ordered Wu Dao to stay out of Lin Village’s affairs.

Otherwise, it was just a Three-Layered Black Lotus Fierce Gu.

Though it would be a bit troublesome, if I truly wanted to deal with it, it would’ve taken some effort at most, but it would have been nothing significant.

The reason I stayed out of it wasn’t because I, Qi Canghai, am afraid of the Yellow Dragon Temple.

Rather, with war on the horizon, it was not the time to start a major conflict and suffer losses. Doing so would affect the White Whale Martial Arts Hall’s bargaining chips when it comes time to pick a side.

But I never expected that this rebel, Wu Dao, would be so audacious as to roast me, Qi Canghai, over an open fire!

Beyond his anger, Qi Canghai also felt a deep sense of dread.

Or rather, it was this dread that had caused him to lose his composure.

’That big hedgehog in Lin Village...’

’Anyone below the Innate Realm, even someone at the Peak of Three Times Rebirth, wouldn’t dare to face it head-on.’

Yet Wu Dao was able to kill it without paying any price!

He reached this conclusion because the intelligence report stated that Wu Dao was completely unharmed after the battle.

’Only one month!’

’A month ago, Wu Dao was at most equivalent to the Peak of Second Rebirth.’

’But one month later!’

’His strength has surpassed the Third Rebirth!’

’That rate of growth is too terrifying.’

’Are Celestial Treasure Masters really that heaven-defying?’

The light in Qi Canghai’s eyes flickered uncertainly. His attitude toward Wu Dao had done a complete one-eighty.

His previous condescending scheming had all transformed into deep dread and rejection.

’A sword cannot be too sharp!’

’If it’s too sharp and lacks a good hilt, not only can you not use it, but you will also cut yourself!’

With this in mind, Qi Canghai made a decision. The movement of his fingers on the Sandalwood Beads slowed as he asked in a cold voice, "How many people know about this?"

"For now..."

Pang Xin hesitated for a moment, then said with certainty, "There’s no word of it yet at the Tan County Branch.

The people at the branch only think that Wu Dao stormed Lin Village to avenge the previous Hall Master and an Instructor, and that he dealt with a Fierce Gu disaster. They have no idea that the Yellow Dragon Daoist is involved.

In fact, this subordinate speculates that Wu Dao himself might not have known about it when he made his move. As for whether he knows now, that’s uncertain.

Our people over there noticed that the Tan County clerk, Zhao Jianji, went to the Black Dragon Commerce Association afterward. He should be aware of the situation by now."

"What has that bastard done since?"

"Well, he doesn’t seem to have made any moves. It’s hard to say if he’s fearless because he’s confident, or if he just assumes headquarters will clean up his mess."

"Heh, he sure is bold!"

Qi Canghai sneered and said,

"The Yellow Dragon Temple is a Hermit Sect from On the Mountain; they don’t walk the same path as our White Whale Martial Arts Hall.

If they really decide to act, they won’t follow the Jianghu rules of the world below, like confronting the organization before the individual. Once they’ve investigated, they’ll go straight to the culprit in private to hold him accountable.

Since the people in Tan County don’t know about this yet, there’s no need for us to jump in and clean up his mess. We’ll just pretend we don’t know anything."

"Understood."

Pang Xin nodded in agreement.

’This way of handling it, the people below really can’t find any fault with it.’

’How can you clean up a mess you don’t know about?’

’By the time we ’find out,’ Wu Dao will already be dead.’

’At that point, at most, we’ll just have to put on a show for the subordinates.’

’We avoid completely antagonizing the Yellow Dragon Temple, and we get rid of the potential threat of Wu Dao without losing face. It’s truly the best of both worlds.’

"Oh, right..."

Finally, Qi Canghai added, "Later, go to the treasury and take out one hundred thousand taels. Also, bring a personal letter of commendation from me. Publicly praise the Tan County Branch for their recent actions.

If you’re going to put on an act, do it convincingly. Make sure everyone in Tan County knows our official stance, so there’s no gossip among the ranks later."

"Yes, I’ll see to it immediately."

Pang Xin bowed, accepted the order, and quietly withdrew.

Within the study,

silence fell once more.

Qi Canghai glanced at the pulverized desk, his expression darkening further. Then, a look of regret crossed his face as he muttered to himself with a sigh:

"What a pity. That bastard’s growth rate has exceeded my expectations. I can’t take him down in a short time, and I’ll likely be exposed if I try.

I had originally planned to ’raise’ him for a while and offer him to the Mountain Master. Now I’ll have to come up with a new plan."

WHOOSH~

A cool breeze gusted into the study.

In the air, the faint, musky scent of a fox inexplicably appeared.

...

「Evening.」

Tan County Branch.

In the training room.

CRUNCH—CRUNCH—

Wu Dao tossed finger-sized fragments of Spirit Stone into his mouth like they were candy beans. After scanning the contents of the commendation letter, Blood Flame erupted from the pores of his palm, burning it to ash.

WHOOSH~

The black ashes scattered.

Wu Dao’s expression was as impassive as ever, showing no change.

Whether Qi Canghai was genuinely unaware of the Yellow Dragon Daoist’s existence or just pretending not to know, hoping to use the Yellow Dragon Temple to eliminate him as a threat—none of it mattered anymore.

Confidence comes from strength.

And now, he had the strength to be fearless.

GULP~

He swallowed another mouthful of Spirit Stone.

His physique grew slightly warm.

Wu Dao mentally checked the progress of his Giant Whale Skill on the panel—

[Giant Whale Skill 430 Years (Eighth Layer) +]

After a full day and night of demonic, arduous cultivation,

using the Divine Ghost Heaven State, the Celestial Human State...

and bolstered by High-Energy Spirit Stones,

while his Giant Whale Skill hadn’t broken through the Eighth Layer, its power had still increased by 30 years, saving him a lot of Teleportation Points.

Wu Dao had a premonition.

With a few more decades of power, he could use his remaining Teleportation Points to reach the Ninth Layer!

The Ninth Layer of the Giant Whale Skill!

The power of nine Barbarian Whales!

The quality of his qi and blood would be enough to break through the Horizontal Training Third Gate: Qi Blood Smoke. After the feedback loop, his body would definitively enter the Heroic Limit Domain—

Hundred Refinements of Refined Steel Bone!

Nine Hundred and Ninety-nine Refinements of Steel Flesh!

WHOOSH~

He let out a slow, turbid breath.

Wu Dao unleashed his Giant Whale Dominating Body. Raging Blood Flame surged, flooding the training room. The ambient temperature skyrocketed instantly, and the entire branch hall became unbearably hot.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG—

The sound of grinding and colliding steel!

In the center of a Flame Prison Volcano,

Wu Dao’s towering, Ancient Flame Demon-like physique slowly moved through the strange Body Refinement postures of the Giant Whale Skill’s Ninth Layer.

As if he were moving with a mountain on his back, every motion was incredibly heavy, his muscles and bones constantly ringing out with metallic clangs.

He repeated the cycle over and over.

Under the catalytic effect of the Divine Ghost Heaven of the Three Secret Techniques of Essence Devouring, his stomach’s digestive power transformed into a furnace.

The Spirit Stones began to digest and burn frantically, transforming into streams of Healing Fluid that ceaselessly reconstructed the tissues torn by extreme training, rapidly increasing his body’s strength and the power of his Giant Whale Skill!

Tonight, would be another sleepless night!