The inner disciples at the scene felt their hearts quiver. A heart scale close to thirty. Not merely surpassing ten, but nearly thirty at that!

"Lu Changsheng has only been in the sect for just over four months. He just moved up from the outer sect, just condensed divine fortification... He probably hasn't even taken many Dao Comprehension Pills. So how did he get his heart scale up to 28?"

"Absolutely incredible! This is what real talent looks like. He's still so young. He probably hasn't gone through much hardship in life, nor any real mental transformation... and likely hasn't faced many life-and-death battles either. And yet, just through comprehending heaven and earth, grasping Intent, and evolving Domains... he's raised his heart scale to 28!"

"This is what a true scion looks like! Divine fortification, Domains, Intent—none of that really matters in the end. In the inner sect, what truly counts is heart power. Even if you're peerless and dominate everyone in battle, so what? Without great heart power, you can't step into the Mind Space. And without that, you'll never reach the Divine Treasury Realm."

"And Lu Changsheng already has 28 marks... his future's limitless. He has a real chance of opening the Mind Space and stepping into Divine Treasury."

As inner disciples, they understood better than anyone what heart power truly meant. In the inner sect, even if you were incredibly strong and talented, it was all meaningless without heart power.

Moreover, the Divine Treasury had a crucial advantage. It increased one's lifespan—not merely stretching it, but truly adding to it. No matter how formidable the martial artist was in the Divine Fortification Realm, they would still end up as dust without breaking through to the Divine Treasury Realm.

Divine Treasury martial artists stood apart from the rest, as most of them could live past one hundred, even one hundred fifty years. In that sense, Divine Treasury martial artists stood somewhat on par with Immortal Masters.

In the past, no matter how strong the Divine Fortification martial artists were, they had to bow before Immortal Masters. Nothing in their arsenal could threaten an Immortal Master. The two paths were simply not on the same level. Only by opening the Mind Space and stepping into the Divine Treasury Realm could a martial artist contend with an Immortal Master.

"A heart scale of 28... Not bad."

Lu Changsheng gazed up at the Heart Monument, nodding in satisfaction. He already knew that new inner disciples generally started with around five marks of heart power. He, however, had 28, which was more than five times the average.

After some thought, he understood why that was. It was undoubtedly related to his Domains. By comprehending Intents and evolving domains, one also comprehended heaven and earth. Moreover, he had mastered not just four domains but five. Five Domains meant five different paths of insight into heaven and earth. It was only natural that his heart scale would be high.

If I want to increase my heart power, there are three paths. Gaining insight into heaven and earth, tempering myself through life-and-death battles, or refining the mind through worldly experience. For me, the best path is understanding heaven and earth. After all, my Perception will only keep improving, and I will surpass most people... maybe even everyone. With Perception like this, it would be a waste not to use it to deepen my comprehension into heaven and earth...

One thought followed another in his mind. He knew his greatest advantage was his Perception. That was his foundation, and he would never lose sight of it. With exceptional Perception, comprehending heaven and earth would only become more efficient.

Eventually, he left the Transmission Hall and returned to Courtyard No. 83. There, he summoned his status panel and examined his current condition.

[Status Panel]

Host: Lu Changsheng

Perception: 3780 (Praised by All)

[Skills]

Blood Qi Sword Crafting Secret Technique: Sword Crafting, 8 years and 1 month

Heart Sword Art: Progress 26%

Wave Domain: Progress 1%

Storm Domain: Progress 6%

Sense Domain: Progress 29%

Starry Sky Domain: Progress 1%

Waterfall Domain: Progress 1%

Among Lu Changsheng's five Domains, the only one with relatively high progress was the Sense Domain; the others were merely average. It seemed he struggled to improve a Domain further after evolving it.

In any case, his attention was focused not on the Domains but on the Heart Sword Art.

What exactly is the Heart Sword?

He had just learned about heart power, so he immediately thought of the Heart Sword. However, it did not seem to be the same as heart power. Rather, they seemed to be akin to the mind and the spirit; they were both intangible yet entirely different. Spirit was related to personal will. The stronger the will, the stronger the spirit. The mind, however, was not directly linked to will.

After all, heart power could not enhance combat strength. Even reaching one hundred marks would not grant any amplification in the combat ability. It was merely a path of cultivation. By contrast, Divine Fortification, Domains, and spirits were methods of safeguarding the Dao that could directly increase the strength.

It is basically impossible for me to progress in my Domains in a short time. I only have four divine fortifications for now, and the Sense Domain doesn't even have a matching technique to condense one. If there's any way to boost my strength quickly... it might have to be the Heart Sword Art.

Once I improve the Heart Sword, the results should be immediate. Even against other Divine Fortification martial artists, the Heart Sword is silent, formless, and strikes the spirit directly. By all means, it's a killing move. And if I combine it with the Nine-Character Mantra...

Lu Changsheng understood the importance of the Heart Sword Art, and he even considered fusing the Nine-Character Mantra into it, so that every strike would carry the mantra's effect. If successful, the Heart Sword's power would surge, turning it into a truly formidable spirit-related secret technique. With his current level of Perception, merging the two techniques should not be too difficult.

Over the course of the next month, Lu Changsheng devoted himself almost entirely to that fusion. Even with nearly 4,000 Perception points, it still took him an entire month to complete it.

I finally did it... The Heart Sword True Mantra.

Both techniques targeted the spirit, so their fusion was natural. Lu Changsheng could disrupt his adversary's spirit with the Nine-Character Mantra and then sever it with the Heart Sword.

This new art was significantly more powerful than the Heart Sword Art. When the Heart Sword struck one's spirit, it shook their entire being, making it incredibly difficult to endure.

This alone significantly enhanced Lu Changsheng's strength. The only drawback was the slow pace of cultivation. Over the month, progress in the Heart Sword True Mantra was limited, and his five Domains advanced just as slowly.

He could not help but resort to the Dao Comprehension Pill again. Even with his exceptional Perception, he still longed for it. After all, a single pill could plunge a person into an epiphany, and it truly felt like a divine pill. At the moment, Lu Changsheng had 8,000 contribution points left, 2,000 short of the 10,000 needed for a Dao Comprehension Pill.

"2,000 points isn't that much."

After a moment's thought, he decided to visit the Mission Hall. Since entering the sect, regardless of the outer and inner parts, he had never gone out of his way to take on missions. The few times he earned contribution points had been completely casual. Yet even with just one or two such missions, he had gained a considerable amount.

But opportunities like that were rare. In fact, most disciples in the sect had to complete missions to earn contribution points.

Before long, Lu Changsheng arrived at the Mission Hall. The place was bustling with people. Outer and inner disciples moved about constantly. From time to time, even the legendary true inheritors could be seen.

Of course, true inheritors rarely took on missions, but if they did, it was definitely for contribution points. For that reason, the Mission Hall was one of the busiest places in the entire sect.

Lu Changsheng swept his gaze across the missions on a board. Many clearly listed strength requirements, and some were restricted to inner disciples who had evolved a Domain. Others could only be taken by true inheritors.

These restrictions were not meant to create obstacles. On the contrary, it was to protect disciples. Many missions were dangerous, and a single mistake could lead to serious consequences, even death.

At that moment, an inner disciple spotted Lu Changsheng, his eyes lit up as he quickly approached. "Senior Brother Lu."

Lu Changsheng looked at the disciple, his face unfamiliar. "You are..."

"Senior Brother Lu, I am an inner disciple, Xiao Zhenyi. Looks like you're here to take on missions and earn some contribution points, right? Well, that's perfect. I've just taken on a mission, and I'm putting a team together. If we complete it, we receive 20,000 contribution points as a reward. I've already gathered some intel, but we're still missing someone strong enough to hold the line for the group. With your strength, you'd be ideal. So... would you be interested?"

Xiao Zhenyi was clearly interested in using Lu Changsheng's strength. Any team would want to recruit someone of his caliber, someone who possessed four Domains and four layers of divine fortification.

Lu Changsheng raised an eyebrow. The reward of 20,000 contribution points did interest him. There were not many missions that offered that much. However, after hearing the details, he quickly lost interest. The mission would take a long time and depended heavily on luck. However high the reward, it did not suit him. What he wanted were missions that could be completed quickly and paid well.

"Sorry, I'm not looking to join a team right now."

Xiao Zhenyi showed no sign of being surprised. He had just taken the chance to approach him, and even though Lu Changsheng had declined his invitation, at least he had made his acquaintance. Building ties with a promising disciple would always be beneficial.

"No problem. Sorry to bother you, Senior Brother Lu," Xiao Zhenyi replied. He did not overstay his welcome.

Lu Changsheng turned and kept browsing the missions in the hall.