First-Class
"Primordial Unity."
Zhou Juechen murmured the phrase aloud.
His thoughts flowed smoothly, unrestrained; his ki and blood coursed through his entire body.
Everything—simply everything—seemed so effortless.
Naturally, everything fell into place as if by itself.
"As long as... I break through the barrier in my mind."
"Congratulations."
Li Xian stepped forward and offered his congratulations with a smile.
But Zhou Juechen did not respond immediately.
Instead, he carefully sensed the changes within himself.
After a long moment, he finally spoke: "It's as if, only now, my life has truly become my own."
"To have persistence, purpose, attachments, and things to protect—none of these are the main thing. What matters is not letting these become burdens, let them crush your conviction, or shroud your own heart, blinding you from seeing your true and untainted self."
Li Xian said.
A person may risk everything for their own ideals, even their life.
However, if those ideals were forced upon them by others, then even if they make the ultimate sacrifice, it will all be meaningless.
Zhou Juechen nodded.
He agreed with what Li Xian had said.
He looked at the young man before him, who just a month earlier, had been asking him about the Marrow Cleansing cultivation methods.
Suddenly, he seemed to come to an understanding: "You've already grasped Primordial Unity."
It was not a question, but a certainty.
Even before Li Xian could reply, he already laughed, "Of course, someone as pure and clear as you could hardly be held back by the Primordial Unity bottleneck."
"You flatter me,"
Li Xian responded.
"I'll handle things here. Still... After what we did today, we've completely offended the Duke of Yue's Residence. To prevent them from getting desperate, we should hurry back to Lijiang City."
Zhou Juechen glanced at Li Xian. He knew what Li Xian wanted to do, and at this moment, had no intention to stop him either: "If we can slay Zhang Shuheng, and cripple the Duke of Yue's strongest general, no matter how much they resent us, being unable to match us in strength, they wouldn't dare declare open war on us."
He mimed clenching a fist: "In the end, the power of the fist is the power of authority! If they can't deal with the two of us, and still dare implicate innocents, the Zhou family may suffer casualties, but the Duke of Yue's Residence would be eradicated to the last!"
Li Xian nodded. Zhou Juechen had indeed come around.
A man must harbor awe in his heart.
But there is no need to be cowering.
The nature of power is the strong suppressing the weak.
This "strong" is not merely physical strength, but strength of spirit as well.
Those in power rule because they dare, because they are ruthless.
Those with the courage, the heart to be ruthless, and enough greed, naturally rise to prominence.
Toil alone cannot make one rise above others—one must rise by stepping over others.
Such is the difference in temperament.
Previously, Zhou Juechen lacked this resolve—always worrying about potential consequences, so he never could perceive the leakless state of his body. But now...
"Then I'll go pack my things,"
Li Xian said.
He turned and went downstairs.
Below, the innkeeper and servers of Guan Tao Tower had long hidden themselves away.
Moreover, as the whole building had been taken over, the violent fight hadn't harmed any innocents.
Naturally, such a commotion had attracted countless onlookers.
When Li Xian exited Guan Tao Tower, he could clearly see that several rings of people surrounded the outside.
Li Xian ignored them, striding away in long steps, heading straight back to Canglang Sword Sect.
Only after Li Xian had left did discussions suddenly erupt among the crowd outside.
"What exactly happened? I saw a fierce fight on the second floor! Even the Heir Apparent of the Duke of Yue's Residence had to flee in panic. I remember when he went in, he had Daoist Xuan Tie and Ma Fu, both marrow cleansing martial masters, by his side."
"The ones who went upstairs earlier were Zhou Juechen, head of Longquan Martial Hall, and Li Xian... oh, Li Xian changed his name from Li Xian to Li Xian. Yesterday this Li Xian was beheading the manager of the Duke of Yue's Residence, Yan Lian, right at the mountain gates of Canglang Sword Sect! And today they had a great brawl at the Guan Tao Tower... From what I saw—since Young Lord Yan and the palace guards fled in panic—does it mean Li Xian and Hall Master Zhou won?"
"Though Hall Master Zhou has been famous for years, he and Daoist Xuan Tie are roughly on par, at best slightly ahead. But this time, the Duke's Residence not only had Daoist Xuan Tie and Ma Fu, but also many guards, and yet were still defeated by Hall Master Zhou and Li Xian? Looks like Li Xian's strength at the Marrow Cleansing stage is without question now!"
"Guys, I heard Li Xian practices the Blood Jade Art! I heard the Blood Jade Art has a huge hidden danger, so why is Li Xian able to wield such power? Aren't you curious?"
"Curious? Of course I am. Let's go home and try it ourselves."
...
The clamor outside did not affect Li Xian.
After returning to the compound that Canglang Sword Sect arranged for Zhou Juechen, he didn't spare a thought for Daoist Xuan Tie—the marrow cleansing master he had just killed.
Instead...
He quietly felt his body.
When he killed Liu Yanran, this body instinctively resisted him.
Clearly...
He was supposed to be the master of this body.
Yet, when he asked that question and saw the change in Liu Yanran's expression, the lingering reluctance within this body slowly dissipated.
Even so, the body's resistance had made him acutely aware of something crucial.
"This isn't necessarily a bad thing."
A glint flashed in Li Xian's eyes.
At the time, he had relied on the property of [Once Attained Forever Attained, Never Regress], and quickly stabilized this critical moment.
Now...
Letting his thoughts drift, he once again induced that peculiar state, where the body instinctively repelled his conscious will.
This state slightly undermined his control over the body, but correspondingly...
It dramatically weakened the body's shackle over his mind.
Relying on this special state, he held both hands level, and easily managed to draw a circle with his left hand and a square with his right.
"Martial artists need the body to sense the world, but I always believe that, apart from the physical body, what matters most is the mind! It is through the mind's meeting with the world that we truly comprehend existence!"
He hadn't read many books, but living on the information-explosive Blue Star, he knew that ancient cultivation often spoke of out-of-body experiences, wandering souls, and roaming the nine heavens.
Therefore...
"It's still far too early for me to have my soul leave my body or roam the nine heavens, but perhaps, if I don't disturb my body's control, I can observe and command myself from a super-perspective..."
Li Xian slightly clenched his fist, flowed his ki, then unleashed a blow.
"Moreover, just now, I already noticed an advantage! By using my will to override my body's instincts, to a certain extent, I could unlock the body's protective mechanisms and unleash strength beyond its normal limits!"
When people are in danger, they instinctively shut their eyes.
When punching a wall, they instinctively hold back.
When suffocating, they instinctively gasp for air.
Thus, a person cannot deliberately break their own arm.
Cannot hold their breath to death.
Cannot keep harming themselves until they die of pain.
But if one truly shatters these limits...
They could mute their own sense of pain, ignore the weakening signals pain sends.
They could unlock muscular shackles to explode with strength at the body's theoretical limit.
They could cause a surge of adrenaline, entering a state beyond normal limits.
"This state..."
Li Xian mulled over it and gave it a name.
"Limit-Break State!"
This would be another trump card of his, one enabling the weak to overcome the strong.
...
While Li Xian was studying the Limit-Break State, the events at Guan Tao Tower spread at lightning speed to the Canglang Sword Sect, reached the Swordsage of Guangyuan, and was laid out before all the well-informed Marrow Cleansing, Leakless-stage martial artists.
When it became known that the fight had not only cost the lives of over a dozen palace guards, but also took the life of a commandery princess, and, more remarkably, that both Daoist Xuan Tie and Ma Fu—two Marrow Cleansing experts—were slain, none could remain unmoved.
All were deeply shocked by the ferocity, audacity, and ruthlessness of Li Xian and Zhou Juechen.
Many immediately instructed their disciples that the two should now be marked as untouchables.
...
Just yesterday, the Swordsage of Guangyuan had made a small investment in Li Xian, so he was naturally quite concerned about the matter and had detailed intelligence.
He had little regard that the Duke of Yue's Residence had lost a minor commandery princess.
Not as if a Duke had died.
Even among the Imperial family, there were more than a dozen royal princes, let alone dukes?
What truly interested him was Li Xian's slaying of Daoist Xuan Tie.
After reading the report carefully for a moment, this top expert could not help but sigh: "Truly the newborn calf that fears no tiger—Li Xian's performance surpasses even my expectations."
"There are still many strong individuals within the Duke of Yue's Residence. Some martial artists even owe favors to the palace. For Li Xian to kill the little princess, and even attempt to kill the Heir Apparent, the consequences will be severe... The Duke of Yue's Residence will not let this go easily for the sake of face."
Yinsha said in a low voice.
"They won't let it go... But isn't that just a test for the youngster?"
The Swordsage of Guangyuan pondered, then added, "If it's the people of the Duke's Residence taking action, so be it. But those unrelated should stay far, far away."
He removed a jade tablet from his person.
"In my name, nominate him for the Hidden Dragon Ranking."
Yinsha was momentarily stunned.
The Hidden Dragon Ranking?
If one gets on the Hidden Dragon Ranking, they stand a chance to Leap Over the Dragon Gate. Such a prodigy...
Those with only shallow ties to the Duke of Yue's Residence truly wouldn't dare offend such a figure lightly.
"I'll see to it at once."
Yinsha accepted the tablet and acted as instructed.
But she had barely been gone an hour before she returned in haste, bearing a new intelligence report.
"Master, look at this."
"Hmm?"
The Swordsage of Guangyuan looked over the missive, first stunned, then smiling: "Looks like I won't need to play the good guy after all."
This intelligence...
Was less a report than a declaration.
A declaration spread by Zhou Juechen himself.
And after its release, it caused an unprecedented sensation throughout the whole of Mount Canglang in the shortest time imaginable.
The declaration was personally verified by Baiyun Resident and several famed martial elders.
Zhou Juechen, Hall Master of Longquan Martial Hall, had, through a life-and-death struggle, attained insight into Primordial Unity and formally stepped into the Leakless stage!
The martial world of Jiangzhou now had one more first-class expert!