The Heavens: Man Covers the Heavens, Refines Treasures to Become an Emperor

He saw a special "Beastmaster Station" with various strange spirit beasts tied up at the entrance, some majestic and some ferocious; there was a "Spirit Plant Master's Flower Pavilion" where various exotic flowers and herbs were cultivated, full of spiritual energy; and there were fruit and vegetable shops selling fruits and vegetables containing faint spiritual energy.

There's the "Spirit Chef Restaurant," wafting enticing aromas, said to cook spiritual food using special techniques to nourish cultivators' physical bodies and spiritual energy; there's also the grand "Arena," where shouts and roars can be faintly heard; there's the oppressive "Slave Market," and the "Antique Street," filled with all sorts of old objects, some genuine and some fake...

These places are extremely rare, if not non-existent, in Donglin City. Walking among them, Jiang Xuan could better feel the strength of the empire and the vastness and diversity of the cultivator world.

"The empire has a vast territory, a wealth of talented people, and abundant resources... but it is precisely because of this that the competition is even more intense."

Jiang Xuan thought to himself.

"To gain a foothold in such an environment, or even to reach the top, ultimately, the cultivator's own cultivation is the key."

He silently assessed his own situation. In terms of cultivation, he had only recently advanced to the Human Gang Realm, and his foundation needed to be solidified. It would be difficult for him to break through again in the short term, so there was no need to rush.

Therefore, the way to improve combat effectiveness lies in improving weapons and equipment and honing one's own martial arts skills.

In terms of weaponry, custom-made battle knives are already on the agenda.

As for his martial arts cultivation, he carefully reviewed what he had learned. His strongest killing move, "Star Gathering Style," possesses immense power thanks to the pure spiritual energy and unique artistic conception provided by "Storm Millstone," but its consumption is equally terrifying, making it only a trump card for critical moments.

Currently, his mastery of the "Star Gathering Style" has just reached the "microscopic" level, enabling him to initially control its power burst. There is still a long way to go before he can achieve "precise" control and ultimately "perfect" fulfillment.

In contrast, the "Six-Character Blade Technique" he honed his foundation in the Blood Killing Camp had already reached the level of "precision." His power, angle, and speed were all controlled to perfection, and he was only a hair's breadth away from the ultimate "perfect" state.

He plans to hone the "Six-Character Knife Technique" to perfection before the provincial examination, ensuring that he can pass the examination with a solid foundation even without using the "Star Gathering Style".

In terms of soul cultivation, the soul stars condensed in his sea of ​​consciousness through the visualization of the "Minor Underworld Divine Art" have actually increased by three more after the mental stimulation of the series of life-and-death battles that night. Now, a total of twenty-one soul stars are slowly rotating, making his soul perception range wider and more acute and clear.

"There are less than three months left until the opening of the third level of the 'Avenue of Azure Clouds,' the 'Hundred Battles.'"

Jiang Xuan's gaze was deep and thoughtful.

"As the name suggests, this level is definitely closely related to combat. There are three chances to pass the level, and failure will seal the secret realm for a thousand years... We must make full preparations and improve our combat power as much as possible."

As he strolled along, planning his next steps in his cultivation, a commotion and a woman's cries suddenly arose from a fork in the road not far ahead.

"Let me go! I don't know you! Help!"

A woman's piercing wail was particularly jarring.

A burly, fierce-looking man was roughly dragging a disheveled young woman with tattered clothes toward a carriage parked by the roadside.

The woman struggled desperately, her face streaked with tears and terror.

The burly man dragged the animal along while shouting at the passersby who had been drawn to the scene.

"What are you looking at? Your own wife cheated on you with another man and now she wants to run off with the family's money! I'm going to drag her back and teach her a lesson today!"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at the woman with disdain and accusation.

"So she's a slut who cheated on her husband!"

"Serves him right! He deserves to be beaten to death!"

"Brother, what a misfortune for your family..."

Hearing the surrounding whispers, the woman grew even more desperate and cried out.

"No! I don't know him! He's a fraud! Help! Someone please help me!"

However, her explanations seemed weak and powerless in the face of the burly man's seemingly "reasonable" words and the preconceived notions of the crowd.

A hint of smugness flashed in the burly man's eyes, and he feigned a gesture of respect to those around him.

"Thank you all for your understanding! I'll take this shameful woman home right now and never let her embarrass herself again!"

As he spoke, he used even more force, almost pulling, grabbing the woman's hair and shoving her into the carriage.

The woman let out a desperate scream.

Just as her head was about to be pushed into the carriage, a figure silently appeared in front of the burly man, blocking his way.

It was Jiang Xuan.

The burly man was taken aback, then roared angrily.

"Kid, get out of my way! Mind your own business!"

Jiang Xuan looked at him calmly without saying a word.

The burly man felt a little uneasy under Jiang Xuan's gaze, but relying on his numbers and believing he was in the right, he reached out and pushed Jiang Xuan's shoulder.

"Didn't you hear me tell you to get out of here?!"

Just as his hand was about to touch Jiang Xuan's shoulder, Jiang Xuan moved.

His movements were as fast as a ghost. His right hand, like an iron clamp, instantly grabbed the wrist that the strong man was pushing towards him, and twisted and shook it in one smooth motion!
"Crack!"

A sickening cracking sound of bones dislocating rang out.

"what--!"

The burly man let out a pig-like scream as his arm twisted at an odd angle. The excruciating pain caused him to instantly kneel on the ground, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

This sudden turn of events left everyone around stunned.

"You...what are you doing?"

"How dare they commit such a crime in broad daylight!"

"Young man, are you perhaps attracted to this woman's beauty and planning to play the hero and rescue her?"

After a brief silence, the onlookers began to criticize Jiang Xuan, using harsh words.

They had already accepted the burly man's words, and now that they saw Jiang Xuan's ruthless actions, they naturally turned their anger towards him.

Jiang Xuan ignored the accusations around him. He released the burly man's wrist, and before the man could recover from the excruciating pain, he stomped his feet several times like a butterfly flitting among flowers.

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

Several more crisp sounds rang out, accompanied by the burly man's even more shrill screams. In an instant, Jiang Xuan skillfully dislocated all four of his joints! His entire body slumped to the ground like a boneless mollusk, his face contorted in agony as he let out inhuman howls.

This caused an uproar among the onlookers, with shouts of condemnation, gasps of surprise, and gasps filling the air, attracting even more people to the scene.

……

Not far away, there was a three-story, lavishly decorated restaurant with elegant window seats.

Qi Yunxiao, the young master of Biguang Pavilion, was drinking and having fun with a few cronies when he was suddenly drawn to the commotion at the street corner.

When he saw the calm-looking young man standing in front of the burly man, his face instantly darkened, and he gripped the wine glass in his hand so tightly it creaked.

“Jiang Xuan…”

Qi Yunxiao practically gritted his teeth as he uttered the name. The humiliation he suffered at Guanchao Pavilion that night, and the frustration of being slapped hard by his father afterward and being strictly forbidden from provoking this person again, all surged into his mind instantly.

He watched as Jiang Xuan swiftly and decisively dislocated the burly man's limbs, causing an uproar among the crowd. A hint of malice flashed in his eyes, and he sneered.

"Hmph! They've only been quiet for a few days, and they're already causing trouble again? In broad daylight, in full view of everyone, they dare to interfere in other people's affairs and commit violence and injury. What an arrogant attitude! Let's go down and see what's going on!"

As he spoke, he got up to go downstairs.

A servant beside him quickly whispered a dissuasion.

"Young Master, the Clan Chief has strictly ordered us not to provoke Jiang Xuan again..."

Qi Yunxiao waved his hand impatiently, interrupting.

"What's there to be afraid of? I'm just going to watch the show, I didn't say I was going to fight! Can't I even watch? I want to see how he's going to clean up this 'trouble' today!"

After saying this, disregarding the servants' worries, and with a touch of drunkenness and resentment, he and several companions got up and went downstairs, heading towards the street corner from which the commotion had originated.

On the bustling street, the crowd grew larger and larger, layer upon layer, completely blocking the intersection. Many of the later cultivators, upon hearing that someone had stood up for a woman who was "unfaithful" and even committed violence in public, all showed anger on their faces and looked at Jiang Xuan in the middle of the scene with great hostility.

The woman rescued by Jiang Xuan had fainted due to extreme fear and emotional distress, coupled with the exhaustion from her previous struggles. She lay limply beside the carriage, unable to defend herself in any way.

Jiang Xuan seemed oblivious to the increasingly loud accusations and angry stares around him. His icy gaze, like two sharp boning knives, was fixed on the burly man who was slumped on the ground, groaning in pain as his limbs were dislocated.

"Name, origin, background."

Jiang Xuan spoke, his voice not loud, but it carried an undeniable penetrating power, clearly overwhelming the surrounding noise.

"Furthermore, what is the purpose of abducting a woman in broad daylight?"

The burly man grimaced in pain, his forehead covered in sweat, but he remained defiant, hissing as he spoke.

"Boy...you...you're meddling in my business! She...she's my wife! It's only right for me to discipline my own wife! You...you'd better let me go right now, or...or you'll be in big trouble!"

Immediately, "enthusiastic" onlookers chimed in.

"Young hero, one should be lenient when possible! Even an upright official finds it hard to settle family disputes. Even if you saw injustice, you should at least ask for clarification before speaking! This woman is unconscious now; you can't just take one side of the story and resort to such harsh measures, can you?"

"That's right! Release them immediately!"

"Young man, don't be reckless and violent!"

Jiang Xuan's eyes remained unchanged, as if he had not heard the advice and accusations.

He lifted his foot and seemingly casually stepped on the burly man's intact right hand.

"Crack!"

A sickening cracking sound of bones breaking accompanied the burly man's shrill, distorted screams! The bones in that hand had been crushed by Jiang Xuan's bare foot!

"Ah—! My hand! My hand!"

The burly man convulsed in pain, tears and snot streaming down his face.

"My patience is limited."

Jiang Xuan's voice remained calm, yet it made the burly man feel as if he were hearing the whispers of death.

"One last time, ask your name, background, origin, and purpose."

"me……"

The burly man was in so much pain he almost fainted. Looking into Jiang Xuan's emotionless eyes, a chilling feeling finally overwhelmed the pain and his sense of relief.

Just then, a cultivator in the crowd, dressed in a tight-fitting outfit and with an aura of about the seventh or eighth level of the True Martial Realm, seemed to find it unbearable and shouted sharply.

"Kid! You're too arrogant! Do you really think there's no one in Yanhua City? Stop right there!"

As he spoke, he moved and reached out to grab Jiang Xuan's shoulder, his finger flashing sharply, clearly intending to teach Jiang Xuan a lesson.

However, before his hand could even touch Jiang Xuan's clothes, his wrist was firmly gripped by a hand as strong as an iron clamp!
The cultivator's expression changed as he felt an irresistible force surge through him. His spiritual energy dissipated instantly, as if it had encountered its nemesis!
Immediately afterwards, he experienced the same treatment as the burly man on the ground.

"Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!"

With a slight flick of Jiang Xuan's wrist, a skillful force penetrated, instantly dislocating the joints of the True Martial Realm cultivator's arms and legs! He couldn't even let out a complete scream before collapsing to the ground like a rag doll, only gurgling sounds coming from his throat, his eyes filled with horror and pain.

quiet!
Deathly silence!

If some people thought Jiang Xuan's attack on the burly man earlier was a sneak attack or that the burly man was weak, then the shock of a high-level True Martial Realm cultivator being instantly crippled by the same method without even lasting a single exchange when he took the initiative is enough to silence all the clamor of accusations!

The ordinary people were terrified and fell silent, while the cultivators who had initially been indignant were now pale-faced, their gazes towards Jiang Xuan filled with fear and dread. This young man, so young, acted with such ruthlessness and decisiveness; his strength was unfathomable!

Qi Yunxiao, who was mixed in with the crowd, saw this scene and his face turned even uglier. He cursed under his breath.

"Useless! All of you are useless! So many people, and you can't even handle a kid!"

As he watched Jiang Xuan display his power under the spotlight, the resentment he had harbored since that night gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake.

Jiang Xuan seemed to have done something insignificant. He walked to the unconscious burly man and gently kicked one of his pressure points with his toe.

"Uh……"

The burly man convulsed violently, waking from his semi-conscious state; the intense pain contorted his face.

Jiang Xuan crouched down, and gently pressed the cold tip of the Black Spirit Battle Blade against the burly man's throat, pressing down slightly to pierce the skin and draw out a bead of blood.

"I'll count to three."

Jiang Xuan's voice sounded as if it came from the deepest hell.

"one."

"No! Don't kill me!"

The fear of death gripped the burly man's heart instantly, and he screamed.

"two."

Jiang Xuan's gaze remained unchanged, and the tip of his knife pressed down even further.

"I'll talk! I'll talk! My name is Hu Debiao! I'm from the south of the city!"

The burly man completely broke down, howling incoherently.

"I'm not her man! I... I saw she was all alone and looked alright, so I thought... I thought I'd kidnap her and sell her to a brothel for some money! Mercy! Mercy!"

The truth is revealed!

The onlookers erupted in an uproar! (End of Chapter)