Martial Saint with Passives

Jiang Che listened to his master’s words, his gaze falling upon the pile of Rejuvenation Pills before him. His thoughts then turned to the legendary Spirit-level Cultivation Room.

In an instant, his heart was filled with an indescribable warmth.

He knew that these twenty-three Elixir Pills and the access to the Spirit-level Cultivation Room represented more than just a massive amount of resources.

They were a symbol of the entire Sect’s—of all the Elders’—unreserved trust and expectations in him!

He took a deep breath and gave Xu Qingshan a deep, solemn bow.

”Thank you, Master!”

”Thank you, Sect Leader!”

”And thank you... to all the deans and Elders!”

”I... understand!”

”I will not let you down!”

...

After returning, Jiang Che wasted no time.

He took the twenty-three Rejuvenation Pills and headed straight for the Cultivation Rooms.

Upon his arrival at the Cultivation Rooms, the guard, Master Shen, immediately came forward to greet him, his face wreathed in smiles.

”Well, if it isn’t Chief Jiang! You’re here! The usual, I presume? A Level A Cultivation Room?”

As he spoke, he skillfully moved to retrieve the Jade Key for Level A Cultivation Room Number One.

However, Jiang Che shook his head.

”No.”

He looked at Master Shen and said calmly, ”Master Shen, today, I would like to use... the Spirit-level Cultivation Room.”

”What?!”

Master Shen’s hand froze in mid-air. He even wondered if his hearing was failing him in his old age.

He hesitated. ”Chief Jiang, you... you can’t be serious? The Spirit-level Cultivation Room... but that’s...”

Jiang Che offered no explanation, simply taking an unadorned Token from his robes and handing it over.

The moment Master Shen saw the Token, his pupils contracted sharply!

He took the Token with extreme care.

’Is this... the Sect Leader’s personal command Token?!’

A tempest of shock raged in his heart!

He had guarded these Cultivation Rooms for decades, yet he had never seen any disciple receive such immense favor from the Sect Leader!

When he looked up at Jiang Che again, the way he saw him had completely changed.

It was a look of reverence, as if he were gazing upon the future Sect Leader!

”I... understand.”

He took a deep breath and respectfully returned the command Token to Jiang Che.

”Please, follow me.”

Then, he personally led the way, guiding Jiang Che past the A, B, C, and D-level Cultivation Rooms, to the deepest, most central part of the entire area.

Here, there was only a single door.

It was a massive Stone Door, thirty feet tall, crafted from some unknown black crystal.

The door was covered in complex carvings and patterns that emanated a profound, heart-stopping aura.

Master Shen walked to the door, took out a black key of the same material from his robes, and inserted it, along with the Sect Leader’s command Token from Jiang Che’s hand, into two inconspicuous slots on the Stone Door.

VMMMM—

With a low hum, the incredibly heavy black crystal door slowly slid inward.

A terrifying wave of Spiritual Qi—countless times denser and purer than that in the Level A Cultivation Rooms—instantly surged from the opening!

Jiang Che felt every pore in his body open up, greedily devouring this exquisitely pure energy!

But what truly shook him to his core was this!

Amidst this majestic Spiritual Qi, he could clearly sense a trace...

A faint, yet incredibly distinct trace of...

The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism!

’There’s... there’s actually a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism here?!’

A tempest of shock raged in his heart!

He slowly stepped inside.

The space inside the Spirit-level Cultivation Room was not large, only about the size of an ordinary meditation chamber.

But the entire space—the floor, the walls, and the ceiling—was paved with a strange, unknown crystal that shimmered with a seven-colored light!

The entire layout and design were also different from a normal Cultivation Room.

It looked more like a hewn-out cave!

’Could it be...’

A guess formed in Jiang Che’s mind.

This place was perhaps not an ordinary Cultivation Room at all!

Instead, it was a place the Cangyun Sect had artificially created in imitation of the legendary Grotto Heaven Blessed Lands...

A pseudo-Grotto Heaven Blessed Land!

Although the concentration of the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism here was likely thousands, if not tens of thousands, of times thinner than in a true Grotto Heaven Blessed Land.

And although this was merely a knock-off version.

Nevertheless, for a Martial Artist who wasn’t from one of the Three Top Sects...

...to have a Cultivation Holy Land like this, one that could continuously generate the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism...

...was already an immense stroke of Creation!

His heart stirred. Without further hesitation, Jiang Che closed the door, sat cross-legged on the cushion in the center, and began a new round of secluded cultivation!

First, he took out the twenty-three priceless Rejuvenation Pills and placed them to the side.

Then, from his Storage Ring, he retrieved the manual for the Fourth Layer of the Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Technique, which he had already redeemed.

This layer of the Cultivation Technique recorded the Cultivation Method for the True Master Realm and was incomparably profound!

For the current Jiang Che, however, it wasn’t too difficult.

Not only was his foundation now solid to an unbelievable degree...

...but he also possessed the complete inherited insights of True Master Bai Yi in his mind, a veritable encyclopedia of knowledge.

It was no exaggeration to say that in the entire Great Chu Dynasty, one would be hard-pressed to find another person who understood Martial Arts better than he did!

Even with his previous, subpar Root Bone, his cultivation speed for such a profound Dharma Gate would not have been slow.

What’s more, after True Master Bai Yi reshaped his Root Bone, his current Root Bone was now of the highest grade.

And on top of all that, he had the heaven-defying cheat that was the [Skill Proficiency Panel]!

He quickly scanned through the Cultivation Technique.

Then, as he began to circulate the technique, the familiar text quietly reappeared in his vision.

[Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Technique, Fourth Layer: Entry Level (1/5000)]

’Five thousand points?’

Jiang Che couldn’t help but be inwardly amazed at the terrifying Skill Level requirement.

’A True Master Realm Cultivation Technique... it’s as insane as I thought.’

But he wasn’t afraid.

What he feared was never a progress bar that was too long.

It was... having no progress bar at all!

After all, for all the other Martial Artists in this world...

...Cultivation was an incredibly painful process without a progress bar.

They not only didn’t know how far they were from the next Realm...

...they didn’t even know if the path they had chosen was right or wrong.

They were like a worker digging a tunnel in the dark. Perhaps the bright exit was just one more inch ahead.

But because they couldn’t see any hope and had no sense of direction, they would ultimately give up in the final moments before the dawn.

But Jiang Che didn’t have this problem.

All he had to do was steadfastly fill up the crystal-clear progress bar before him!

With that, he picked up a Rejuvenation Pill and tossed it into his mouth like a piece of candy.

He then closed his eyes and focused all his effort on circulating his Cultivation Technique, continuously generating new True Qi.

...

Time flew by amidst his tedious yet fulfilling cultivation.

Jiang Che’s life became incredibly simple.

When one Rejuvenation Pill was used up, he would eat another.

The True Qi in his body grew more and more powerful.

The Skill Level of his Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Technique also increased rapidly.

[Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Technique, Fourth Layer Skill Level +50]

[Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Technique, Fourth Layer Skill Level +52]

...

Jiang Che had no idea how much time had passed during his absorbed cultivation.

The moment he completely refined and absorbed the Medicinal Power of the tenth Rejuvenation Pill!

[Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Technique, Fourth Layer Skill Level +55]

[Cultivation Technique: Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Technique, Fourth Layer has reached Perfection!]

RUMBLE!!!!!!

An incomparably vast and terrifying aura suddenly erupted from within him!

His cross-legged body began to slowly levitate!

The light azure True Qi surrounding him seemed to come alive, transforming into countless lifelike miniature azure dragons that spiraled and whistled madly around his body, letting out a series of high-pitched draconic roars!

Second Layer of the True Master Realm!

He’d done it!

Jiang Che slowly opened his eyes. Within their profound depths, the sun, moon, and stars seemed to live and die, making them utterly unfathomable!

He glanced at the remaining Rejuvenation Pills.

’Thirteen left...’

’Keep going!’

He immediately got up, left the Spirit-level Cultivation Room, and redeemed the fifth layer of the Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Technique.

Then, without a moment’s rest, he returned to push forward once more!

Time passed without him noticing.

The remaining thirteen Rejuvenation Pills were all consumed.

In the end, Jiang Che’s Cultivation reached the Second Layer Peak of the True Master Realm!

He was just a sliver away from the Third Layer of the True Master Realm!

However, because he had run out of Elixir Pills...

...this final sliver was not something he could break through in a short amount of time.

Jiang Che slowly retracted his power and stood up from the cushion.

Although he felt a slight pang of regret for not breaking through to the Third Layer of the True Master Realm in one go...

...he could clearly feel that his current strength was on a completely different level than before!

’With my current strength...’

He felt the majestic True Qi surging like a great river within him.

’Even without using my trump cards, I should be able to defeat a Martial Artist at the Third Layer Peak of the True Master Realm!’

’If I use the Black Armor Transformation, combined with a twenty-five-fold Silent Extinction Star-Chasing Arrow or the Azure Dragon Annihilation...’

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes!

’Even against a master of the Fourth Layer, or even the Fifth Layer of the True Master Realm... I might stand a chance!’

And that wasn’t all.

As he cultivated the Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Technique to the fifth layer...

...a brand-new Dharma Gate, one that had been sealed deep within the technique’s legacy and could only be comprehended by experts at the Second Layer of the True Master Realm...

...also surfaced in his mind!

It was an ultimate move unique to the Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Technique for the True Master Realm!

Unlike Azure Dragon Annihilation, which pursued the ultimate in single-target penetration and destruction...

...this move was an area-of-effect attack of unparalleled power!

[Ultimate Technique Activated: Ten Thousand Dragons Prison Suppression!]

[Ten Thousand Dragons Prison Suppression: Transform your own True Qi into the shadows of thousands of azure dragons that descend from the sky, inflicting indiscriminate, devastating strikes upon all enemies within a designated area! This move is immensely powerful with a vast area of effect, making it a supreme Divine Technique for clearing out minions and suppressing the battlefield!]

’An area-of-effect attack...’

Jiang Che read the description of this new Ultimate Technique, and understanding dawned on him.

’Against a single target, its power is surely not as direct as Azure Dragon Annihilation.’

’But... if used against enemies in large groups...’

He could almost imagine it. If he were to unleash a twenty-five-fold Ten Thousand Dragons Prison Suppression...

...the entire battlefield would probably turn into a living hell in an instant!

...