From Five Animal Exercises to being hailed as a saint and ancestor

The excitement and fatigue from conquering the second level had not yet completely subsided.

Yao Mengkang took a deep breath and turned his gaze to the dark and deep staircase leading to the third floor.

The deafening cheers outside the tower seemed to be muffled by an invisible barrier.

He knew that the victory on the second level was largely due to the solid foundation of his twelve-level meridian opening and his powerful physique, achieved through sheer hard work, with little element of trickery.

According to rumors, the difficulty of this third level will be a qualitative leap.

"A guardian at the mid-stage or even late-stage of the Spirit Sea Realm..."

He licked his dry lips, his eyes showing no fear but instead burning with even stronger fighting spirit.

He needs to know where his limits are and to see the gap between himself and the truly strong.

Without much hesitation, he stepped onto the stairs.

The view on the third floor suddenly opened up, no longer a stone chamber similar to the first two floors, but a vast sea of ​​clouds that seemed to have no end.

Beneath their feet lay solid clouds, and the surroundings were shrouded in mist, resulting in extremely low visibility. Even their divine senses were severely suppressed here.

A heavy, mountain-like pressure silently permeated every inch of space.

This caused Yao Mengkang's blood and energy, which had just been through a fierce battle and had not yet fully recovered, to surge up again, making it difficult for him to breathe.

He focused his mind and became vigilant, his vital energy spreading throughout his body. The bear-shaped essence of the Five Animal Techniques flowed naturally, firmly guarding his central palace.

Suddenly, the clouds in front of them silently parted to the sides, and a figure slowly materialized.

It was not a puppet, but a blurry humanoid figure of light and shadow.

Its face was obscured; one could only vaguely discern that it held a long spear made of pure energy.

Just by standing there, its aura sent chills down Yao Mengkang's spine.

It felt like facing a volcano that could erupt at any moment!

"Not a physical entity... is it an energy projection? Or an evolution of an array?" Yao Mengkang thought with a chill.

The light and shadow moved.

There was no earth-shattering fanfare, not even a whisper of wind.

It simply raised its arm and aimed the energy spear at Yao Mengkang.

The next moment, the hairs on Yao Mengkang's body stood on end! An unprecedented sense of impending death overwhelmed him like ice water being poured over his head!

"not good!"

He didn't even have time to think; almost instinctively, he pushed the Five Animal Frolics to its limit and retreated violently backward!

At the same time, the vital energy in the twelve meridians of the body was circulating wildly.

He instantly pushed the lightness of the bird form, the agility of the deer form, and the nimbleness of the ape form in the Five Animal Techniques to their peak, just to avoid the fatal blow that was locked on!

At the very instant he moved, the energy spear in the figure's hand vanished.

No, it didn't disappear! It was just that it was moving too fast, so fast that it exceeded the limits of his visual perception!

"Sizzle—!"

A faint sound, like the tearing of cloth, rang out where he had been standing.

The vast sea of ​​clouds behind him was sliced ​​straight through by an invisible, sharp aura.

It left behind a vacuum channel that was tens of feet long and could not be closed for a long time!

Although Yao Mengkang avoided the head-on collision thanks to his extraordinary combat instincts and extreme speed.

But the terrifying force that the spear generated as it swept past was still palpable.

It still grazed his left shoulder like the sharpest blade.

The protective energy was torn apart like paper, and a deep wound that revealed the bone instantly appeared, with blood spurting out!

The intense pain caused him to groan, his face instantly turning deathly pale, and he staggered, almost unable to stand.

Fast! Powerful! Absolutely unstoppable!

The guardian of this third level was far stronger than he had imagined!

With just a casual strike, he was almost killed instantly!

If it weren't for his divine sense far surpassing that of his peers and his beast-like intuition for danger, that attack just now...

He would be penetrated before he could react at all!

After that flash of light, he did not continue attacking, but simply stood still with his gun.

The blurred face seemed to be "looking" at Yao Mengkang with a calm indifference, as if looking down on an ant.

Yao Mengkang clutched his bleeding left shoulder, the intense pain and the fear of surviving the ordeal instantly soaking his back in cold sweat.

He had no doubt that if that figure fired another shot, he would surely die!

"I give up!"

Without any hesitation, he shouted those three words with all his might. His voice echoed in the vast sea of ​​clouds.

The moment he finished speaking, the surrounding scenery changed rapidly, the sea of ​​clouds dissipated, and the light and shadow disappeared.

He reappeared on the open ground of the first floor of the Martial Arts Tower. The sharp pain in his left shoulder clearly told him that everything that had just happened was not an illusion.

The tower gate slowly opened, letting in the blinding sunlight and a deafening cacophony.

Yao Mengkang walked out with a somewhat unsteady gait.

Although the wound on his left shoulder had stopped bleeding profusely under the control of his powerful physique.

But the gruesome wound and pale face still brought all the cheers to an abrupt halt, turning into gasps of shock and concerned inquiries.

"Senior Brother Yao!"

"You're injured!"

"Is the third floor... really that terrifying?"

Xu Ziyi rushed over immediately and saw the injury on his shoulder.

Her beautiful eyes were filled with heartache and worry, and she quickly took out the best wound medicine to help him treat the wound.

Yao Mengkang waved his hand to indicate that he was alright. He looked at the elder guarding the tower and said in a deep voice, "Elder, this disciple has failed to challenge the third level."

The tower-guarding elder gave him a deep look, his gaze lingering on the wound on his shoulder for a moment, then nodded and said in a calm, even voice:

"To be able to evade a single attack from the third-level gatekeeper at the Meridian Opening stage and then voluntarily admit defeat and withdraw is already quite remarkable."

"Once you pass through the second level, according to the rules, you can go to the second level of the Spirit Treasure Pavilion and choose a martial art."

"Thank you, Elder." Yao Mengkang bowed.

He did not linger in front of the tower and refused Xu Ziyi's offer of help.

Alone, dragging his injured body, he walked towards the Spirit Treasure Pavilion.

He seemed oblivious to the whispers and stares behind him.

Although this battle was a humiliating defeat, it was like a bucket of ice water, extinguishing the slight arrogance that had arisen from his continuous breakthroughs and championship wins.

"The gap... is too big." He reflected as he walked.

The Five Animal Frolics is very powerful and comprehensive, combining offense and defense, and covering movement techniques, body tempering, and fist and foot techniques, which laid an extremely solid foundation for him.

However, precisely because it is so comprehensive, it falls short in certain areas where it is truly exceptional.

Faced with the extremely fast and powerful attacks of the light and shadow guardians on the third level.

The Five Animal Frolics lacks a killing move that can burst out instantly and break through the entire area!

Whether it's the bear's imposing weight or the tiger's ferocity, both appear somewhat clumsy and powerless in the face of an absolute difference in speed and strength.

At the same time, he also realized the necessity of weapons.

While hand-to-hand combat may seem exhilarating, in a life-or-death duel, a suitable weapon can often greatly enhance attack power and range.

He needs a weapon technique that can perfectly unleash his power.

The words "outbreak...weapons..." swirled in his mind.

Soon, he arrived at the ancient and magnificent Lingzang Pavilion.

After showing the credentials given to him by the tower-guarding elder, he was able to enter the second floor, which was usually inaccessible to outer court disciples.

The second floor of the Spirit Treasure Pavilion is even more secluded than the first floor, and the bookshelves are no longer made of ordinary wood, but of some kind of warm and spiritual wood.

What was placed on it was no longer a scroll, but a series of jade slips emitting various colored halos.

The air was filled with a rich spiritual energy and an ancient atmosphere.

Yao Mengkang composed himself, ignoring the pain in his shoulder, and began to carefully browse the documents.

He skipped over cultivation techniques, as the "Primordial Qi Technique" had immense potential, and he had no plans to change it for the time being.

In terms of movement techniques, the bird, ape, and deer forms of the Five Animal Frolics are already exquisite enough, so there is no need to worry about other forms for the time being.

He focused on finding offensive martial arts techniques, especially those using common weapons such as knife and sword techniques.

His gaze swept over the jade slips:

"Splitting Light Sword Technique" is a fast sword technique that pursues extreme speed and uses illusory sword light to confuse the enemy.

The Chongyue Sword Technique is powerful and forceful, suitable for strength-based cultivators.

"Thunderclap Finger" is a finger technique that highly compresses Yuan energy and explodes it instantly, resulting in extremely strong penetrating power.

"Advanced Layered Wave Palm - Nine Waves" is a palm technique that pursues layering and stacking, resulting in endless power.

These martial arts techniques were all good, each with its own merits, but they all seemed to lack that feeling of truly catching his eye.

Until his gaze settled on a dark, subdued black jade slip in the corner.

The jade slip only had simple annotations next to it:

"Thousand Waves Slash", a sword technique, incomplete scroll (the first three forms are still extant).

Rank: Suspected to be high-grade Xuan rank (complete version or reaches Di rank).

Characteristics: The attacks are continuous, each move stronger than the last, and the circulation of Yuan energy is unique, requiring extremely high control over the cultivator's physical body and Yuan energy.

Note: This exercise should not be undertaken lightly by those who do not possess exceptional perseverance and a solid foundation.

"Sword technique... a continuous barrage of attacks... each strike stronger than the last... requiring a high level of control over the physical body and internal energy..."

Yao Mengkang's eyes lit up!

This "Thousand Waves Slash" technique was practically tailor-made for him! He had reached the twelfth level of the Meridian Opening stage, possessed a powerful physical body, and had abundant Yuan energy, perfectly meeting the requirements for cultivation.

Its characteristic of "each move being stronger than the last" perfectly compensates for his lack of sustained bursts of power!

Although it is only a fragment, if he can master the first three moves, it will be enough for him to have powerful attack methods in the Opening Meridian Realm or even the early stage of the Spirit Sea Realm!

"This is it!"

Without hesitation, he reached out and took the black jade slip. The jade slip felt slightly heavy in his hand, cool to the touch, and a faint, sharp aura entered his palm.

With the newly acquired jade slip of "Thousand Waves Slash", Yao Mengkang left the Spirit Treasure Pavilion.

The wound on his shoulder still throbbed faintly, but his eyes were more determined and brighter than when he arrived.

The failure on the third level made him realize his shortcomings.

The jade slip containing the sword technique in his hand pointed him in the direction to make amends.

In the next three days before entering the Meteorite Secret Realm, he had a clear goal—to heal his injuries and gain initial insight into the "Thousand Wave Slash" technique!

He looked up into the distance, as if he could see that secret realm where crisis and opportunity coexisted.

"The secret realm is the perfect place to test my new sword against the Star Beast!"