Wuxia: Starting Off With 60 Years of Inner Strength

A HOWLING gale swept between heaven and earth, accompanied by the dull rumble of thunder overhead.

At last, the fiery sun and bright moon, which had seemingly merged into one, came crashing down upon Jiang Ran.

This so-called ”sun and moon in the same sky” wasn’t all that fancy.

Ultimately, it was just a matter of using the properties of the Fiery Sun Divine Skill and the Cold Moon Skill to accommodate each other’s True Qi, achieving a union of yin and yang.

The final step was to combine their power and simply crush their opponent.

It was like the strike of a sun-and-moon sledgehammer.

But just then, Jiang Ran suddenly closed his eyes. The forms of the Nine Shocking God Sabers flashed through his mind one after another.

The Creation Sutra of the Righteous Heart began to circulate uncontrollably.

All at once, it felt as if something within him shattered. For no apparent reason, at this very moment, his Creation Sutra of the Righteous Heart broke through to the eighth level!

At the same time, the saber in Jiang Ran’s hand moved.

He traced a gentle half-circle, the blade leaving layered afterimages, before following up with a horizontal slash.

SHIIING!

A flash of saber light instantly tore through the air.

It seemed to be the same move as before—”Gods and Ghosts Alarmed.”

Having fought to this point, the Sun and Moon Monarchs naturally no longer feared this attack. Their True Qi was densely coiled around them, allowing them to clash with any martial art or technique in the world without the slightest bit of fear.

In an instant, the saber’s gleam collided with their combined True Qi.

BUZZZ!

The two streams of True Qi from the sun and moon began to wear down the saber’s gleam, causing it to dim in the blink of an eye.

The expressions of the onlookers watching the battle from a distance all changed.

Gui Shisan’s brow furrowed:

’Why isn’t he striking again?’

’It was just a casual slash. Even if it was ground down by their True Qi, why not follow up with another strike?’

Shi Miao also seemed puzzled, and the chill emanating from her grew even colder.

Ye Jingshuang didn’t understand the principles at play, but as she watched Jiang Ran, she had a feeling this attack was anything but casual.

Li Tianxin, however, quietly let out a breath and said nothing.

But just then, the saber’s gleam—on the verge of being extinguished by the Sun and Moon Monarchs—suddenly began to surge with power again.

There was no warning, no reason for it.

The saber’s gleam abruptly grew longer and wider. The magnificent light began to slice, bit by bit, into the True Qi of the Sun and Moon Monarchs.

”What’s happening?”

The few onlookers were stunned.

Only Li Tianxin’s mouth twitched. He couldn’t tell if he felt disappointed or relieved as he said:

”It’s the Creation Sutra of the Righteous Heart.”

Jiang Ran watched in silence. He had, in fact, put his full power into that strike.

Backed by the eighth level of the Creation Sutra of the Righteous Heart, he had unleashed the third stance of the Nine Shocking God Sabers he had comprehended so far.

Jiang Ran didn’t know the name of this stance...

Or rather, the way he used this strike was likely different from anyone else who cultivated the Nine Shocking God Sabers.

Because this strike was... endless!

Of course, ”endless” was just an exaggeration.

When one used the Creation Sutra of the Righteous Heart, yin and yang accompanied each other, and the two energies were self-generating.

The Inner Strength unleashed did not simply dissipate; instead, it used this principle to continuously grow stronger.

This was the so-called ”Seemingly Endless Drive.”

Because this rootless power, once unleashed, seemed inexhaustible.

Jiang Ran’s strike had captured the essence of this ”Seemingly Endless Drive,” allowing it to generate more power from itself, becoming endless as its might surged explosively.

The Sun and Moon Monarchs had thought this strike could be easily ground down, but they never expected such a sudden, unforeseen change.

By the time they wanted to suppress it, it was already too late.

The saber’s aura flashed, violently sweeping through the Sun and Moon Monarchs’ fiery sun and bright moon.

The two of them instantly froze in mid-air. After a brief pause, they crashed to the ground.

The Inner Strength of the fiery sun and cold moon dissipated completely, leaving only two corpses, sliced in half at the waist.

Jiang Ran, meanwhile, shielded his eyes with a hand and looked up at the saber gleam he had unleashed.

He watched as it eventually dissipated without cutting a single rift in the dark clouds above.

He couldn’t help but purse his lips.

”You really can’t believe the legends of the martial world.”

’They say that an old, nameless Daoist once split the Cyan Sea with a single sword strike, scattering half the sky’s clouds.’

’I used so much power and couldn’t even break through the cloud layer. How could that old Daoist possibly have scattered half the sky’s clouds?’

’Could he have really cultivated this martial art to the ninth level?’

Then again, Jiang Ran suddenly felt it might not be impossible after all.

The Creation Sutra of the Righteous Heart truly possessed an extraordinary ability.

Other people’s Inner Strength is spent once it’s unleashed.

Who ever heard of Inner Strength that could continuously grow stronger *after* being unleashed?

If that old Daoist truly reached the ninth level, his own reserves must have been terrifyingly vast.

If he then integrated the Creation Sutra of the Righteous Heart into his Swordsmanship, and if he could truly achieve an endless state, then perhaps even splitting the Cyan Sea wouldn’t be impossible.

However, to achieve that, the depth of one’s Inner Energy would have to be almost unimaginable.

In any case, for the current Jiang Ran, it was absolutely impossible...

”Brother Jiang!!”

Ye Jingshuang’s voice called out.

Jiang Ran followed the sound and saw the young woman had already reached his side. ”Are you alright?”

She looked him up and down as she spoke.

Jiang Ran smiled.

”Don’t worry, I’m fine. Did you take care of that other expert?”

”Mhm.”

Ye Jingshuang nodded.

Jiang Ran then said with a laugh:

”In that case, I’ll have to trouble you all with something else. I prepared a flatbed cart nearby.”

”Later, you can all help me load the bodies onto the cart, and we’ll push it out of here.”

”Huh?”

Gui Shisan was taken aback.

”What are you going to do with so many bodies?”

”Collect the bounties...”

Li Tianxin shot Jiang Ran a sidelong glance and said to Gui Shisan:

”This man is the greediest person alive. He’s already immensely wealthy, yet he never passes up an opportunity to fleece the Court.”

”I see.”

Gui Shisan finally understood.

Jiang Ran glanced at Gui Shisan. He suddenly realized this man should be very familiar with the people from the Heartless Ghost Mansion and could probably identify this group.

Just as he was about to ask, he noticed Shi Miao staring fixedly at the sky, her chilly aura creating an unapproachable air around her.

He immediately asked:

”Miss Shi, what’s wrong?”

Shi Miao stared at the sky above and spoke in a cold voice:

”The ’sun and moon in the same sky’ was able to cause the heavens to change color. But now that the Sun and Moon Monarchs are dead, why haven’t these dark clouds dispersed?”

”...”

Jiang Ran wore a strange expression.

”Miss Shi, have you considered the possibility that... the weather is simply changing?”

...

...