Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

Chapter 654 March Perfection

The roar of the Sea of ​​the Dead never ceases, not even for a single day.

In the first few days, disciples from the inner courtyard often gathered on the rocky beach below the cliff.

Some wanted to see what the Ancient Abyss looked like, while others waited for Swain to bring Xilun out of the sea so they could see the disheveled state of this newly promoted core disciple.

Later, the number of onlookers gradually decreased.

Every two days, Xilun would appear on the rocky beach on time, take off his outer robe, pick up the Cang Lei Spear in his hand, and walk into the sea along the rock covered with black moss.

Several hours later, he would be brought back by Swain, pale-faced, with heavy steps, and occasionally blood still hanging from the corner of his mouth.

They went ashore, took their medicine, and returned to their cave.

Recover, then go back to sea.

There were no earth-shattering phenomena, nor the screams and cries for help that everyone had been expecting.

That figure was like a reef repeatedly washed by the tide, the same today as it will be tomorrow.

A month has passed, and even the steward in charge of guarding the rocky beach has gotten used to it.

But deep beneath the sea, 500 feet below the surface, the changes within Xilun's body never ceased.

The dark water swirled against the rock face, and a stream of dark current crashed against my shoulder as if a heavy iron hammer had struck.

Xilun swayed slightly, not rushing to mobilize his strength to resist as he had at the beginning, but instead sinking half an inch with the current, stretching his back, and a low rumble slowly emanated from his chest and abdomen.

Thunder Dragon's heart skipped a beat.

The power of the Overturning Sea Technique, which had been surging wildly along the ribs, then contracted inwards, and under the pressure of the sea, inch by inch sank into the deeper meridians.

The pain persists.

But he can now distinguish between different types of pain that indicate the meridians are about to tear and different types of pain that simply indicate the body is adapting to stress.

The former must converge immediately, while the latter can continue.

Swain hovered several feet away, watching as Siron's right hand slowly opened and then closed again.

A faint wisp of energy flowed through his fingers.

There were no waves.

The seawater within a few feet around them slowed down in that instant, as if countless invisible iron particles had been mixed into it.

sand.

Swain's eyes flickered slightly.

Xilun himself also noticed the change.

He wasn't distracted by this; he simply remembered the rhythm of the energy flow from the previous time and tried again from the beginning.

Once, twice, ten times.

He can repeat the same action hundreds of times on the seabed.

He stopped breathing exercises only when his internal organs began to ache and he felt a pricking exhaustion deep in his mind, and then gestured to Swain.

This time, he didn't let his teacher carry him up; instead, he slowly swam upwards using the protective force that Swain had spread out.

When he had crossed the 300-foot-deep water, he finally had the strength to look back down.

The pitch-black seabed stretches endlessly.

That deep, dark place reminded him of the Blackwater Abyss and the dark red eye behind the crack in the sacrificial plate.

The blood lock on his right arm lay quietly beneath the skin.

Xilun withdrew his gaze and continued upwards.

The weather on the rocky beach gradually turned cold in the second month.

The wind from the open sea swept over the cliffs, making the copper bells outside the deacon's wooden house ring incessantly.

Occasionally, people come here to collect stones tainted by deathly energy. When they see Xilun walking into the sea from afar, they at most stop and discuss it briefly.

"Still practicing?"

"I heard it's never stopped."

"Elder Swain personally protecting us, this is indeed a rare privilege."

The people speaking sounded envious, but when they saw the blood seeping from Xilun's fingertips as he went ashore, they quickly shut their mouths.

Some things, even if they are right in front of you, may not be something anyone is willing to reach out and take.

Xilun returned to his cave, applied the ointment to his chest and ribs, and sat down cross-legged.

The medicinal properties seep into the flesh and blood, initially feeling cool, then burning along the meridians like tiny sparks.

Sweat beaded on his forehead, but his hands remained flat on his knees.

The Moon Memory Meditation Method slowly begins to operate.

After the mental fatigue subsides, he will recall every change in his energy that day and then reenact it in his body at an extremely slow pace.

The deep sea is suitable for tempering oneself, but not for figuring out every little detail.

What truly helped him improve was not just those few hours he endured the pressure of the sea.

Swain would occasionally come to check on him. He would see a sheet of paper covered with tiny writing in front of him and the well-worn Overturning Sea Technique beside him. He would not say much, but would simply reach out and check his pulse.

"The third meridian on the right side is circulating too rapidly today."

"I know." Xilun opened his eyes. "When the second undercurrent came, my strength dissipated prematurely."

"If you know it, then change it. What you lack now is not a bit of ruthlessness, but that final bit of composure."

Xilun nodded, moved the paper forward, and added a line at the end.

Swain looked at it for a moment, then suddenly said, "These are the things the Celts were most impatient with back then."

The pen tip paused slightly.

Xilun did not look up.

That's his business.

Swain's lips twitched, then he turned and left.

In the third month, Xilun in the deep sea finally stopped being like a stone being pushed along by the undercurrent.

He hovered there, the water flowing around him in layers, his clothes floating slowly, but his body barely moved.

The pressure from the sea was still heavy, but now he had absorbed that weight with his strength.

Within his dantian, the surging and turbulent energy gradually calmed down.

The surface still flows, but the depths become increasingly solid, like a bottomless deep sea that absorbs all the forces that come crashing in.

Xilun slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

The tiny bubbles had barely left the lips when they were crushed by the pressure of the sea.

Just then, an undercurrent crashed in from afar.

The shoulders, back, waist, abdomen, legs—all the areas that bore the impact—simultaneously revealed a very faint, ethereal blue sheen.

The dark current that was powerful enough to break the bones and tendons of an ordinary third-tier extraordinary person did not explode immediately after hitting him, but instead slowly split to both sides along his strength.

At the same time, the last sluggish node in the body's operation was quietly pushed open by a heavy force.

There was no roar.

Xilun felt a sudden relaxation deep in his chest and abdomen.

The cycle of energy that previously required deliberate maintenance now connects automatically; before the previous surge of energy has even dissipated, the next surge silently follows.

The layers of surging energy no longer simply pile up outwards, but also accumulate inwards, sinking deep into the body, and then being released in an instant.

The third level of the Overturning Sea Technique.

Sinking into the abyss!

He opened his eyes, raised his right hand, and gently pressed his palm against the rock wall beside him.

The surface of the rock wall remained unchanged.

A moment later, the stone chips around the palm print slowly fell off, revealing a large area of ​​gray-black rock that had been shaken into fine powder.

Xilun stared at his palm, and a glimmer of light finally appeared in his eyes.

In the past, his power was like waves, fierce and swift, one after another.

And now, beneath those rolling waves, there is finally a sea that can truly contain them.

Swain had come close.

The old man reached out and placed his hand on his shoulder, probing his strength slightly, and his previously calm gaze paused for a moment.

"Eighty percent."

Xilun nodded.

Eighty percent of his strength has been tempered.

Although there is still a gap between it and the third-order extreme realm, the operation of the third level of the Overturning Sea Technique is already smooth and unimpeded.

The level of skill and the accumulation of strength are not the same thing. Now that the most difficult path has been cleared, the remaining 20% ​​can be gradually filled by continuing to refine it.

"Perfecting your cultivation technique doesn't mean you can dominate the third tier." Swain withdrew his hand.

"Disciple understands."

"Um."

The old man turned around, and the corners of his mouth slowly lifted in the dark seawater.

"Go on up. No need to practice today."

On the rocky beach in the afternoon, several disciples were carrying wooden boxes filled with black stones.

The sea surface suddenly parted.

Xilun stepped onto the rocks, his soaked clothes clinging to his shoulders and back.

Instead of pausing to catch his breath as he usually did, he went straight to where his outer robe was kept.

A young man carrying boxes looked up instinctively, then stopped in his tracks.

The wooden crate tilted and nearly hit his companion's foot.

"What are you doing?"

"Look at him—"

His companion impatiently followed his gaze, but the words that were about to come out of his mouth suddenly fell silent.

Xilun's aura was not ostentatious.

But as he walked out of the sea, the group had a strange feeling, as if the deep, heavy sea behind him was also following him ashore.

The deacon guarding the rocky beach emerged from the wooden hut, his gaze lingering on Xilun for a moment before his expression gradually changed.

"The third level of the Overturning Sea Technique?"

Xilun picked up his outer robe and nodded slightly.

The deacon then looked at Swain, who had come ashore afterward.

The old man brushed the water droplets from his sleeve and said calmly, "Register me. The first assessment is complete."

The rocky beach fell silent.

One of the disciples was stunned for a while before whispering, "Isn't it supposed to be half a year?"

No one responded immediately.

When an elder assigns an assessment, he certainly doesn't just casually write down a deadline.

The completion of the Overturning Sea Technique within six months means that, based on Xilun's previous cultivation progress, even without any mishaps, he should have been able to achieve it by the time the deadline was approaching.

But it's only been three months!

"Ancient methods sink into the abyss—is it really that fast?"

"Why don't you go down and give it a try?"

The person who asked the question immediately fell silent.

The ancient methods have always existed, and the Sea of ​​the Dead has never been hidden.

If one could perfect their skills simply by jumping into the sea, why would they need to move stones on the rocky beach?

The news quickly spread back to the inner courtyard with the disciples who had left the rocky beach.

Some people didn't believe it and went to ask the guards. Some people took out the assessment items they had copied down and recalculated the dates, feeling increasingly uneasy.

"He took three months for the six-month requirement."

"Judging from this, defeating Toyuan within eight months is not necessarily impossible."

"And what about the Celtics?"

Upon hearing this, the people gathered in front of the notice board fell silent for a moment.

Three months ago, most people would have just shaken their heads.

Now, however, someone hesitated and said, "A year—it's not entirely hopeless, is it?"

At the same moment, in the luxurious villa, Celtic looked at the message handed to him by his servant and remained silent for a long time.

The wine in the glass had gone cold.

"Is it really a perfect outcome?"

"Elder Swain himself said that the Stone Beach Deacon has already registered."

Celtic's fingers, gripping the rim of the cup, slowly tightened.

He originally thought that Xilun would at most barely pass the deadline, and then drag his still unstable foundation to challenge Tuoyuan.

Now that he has three extra months out of nowhere, how much can that guy do?

Continue to hone your strength, refine your marksmanship, and extract rewards —

He suddenly didn't want to think about it anymore.

Why would someone with such talent be willing to endure such hardship?

Are the medicines sent by the family not good enough? Is it not safe enough to accumulate them gradually?

Why force yourself to act like you have a knife in your back when you can walk faster than most people?

The Celts couldn't understand it.

He could only recall the legendary image of Xilun when he came ashore from the deep sea: pale, silent, wounded, and after two days of rest, he would head to the same place again.

That doesn't seem like simply wanting to win an assessment.

It was more like something was constantly pushing him forward.

"Young Master, there's one more thing."

The servant's voice pulled him back to reality.

"Xilun did not return to his cave."

Celtic looked up.

"He went to the Linglong Tower."

Outside the Linglong Tower, the gray-robed deacon had just put a wooden plaque into a box when he saw Xilun walking up the stone steps.

His hair was dry, and he had changed into a dark outer robe. He held the Cang Lei Spear in his hand, and the butt of the spear lightly touched the stone surface with each step.

The deacon glanced at him, his gaze quickly settling on his shoulders and back.

"A breakthrough?"

"The technique has just been perfected, let's give it a try."

Xilun handed over his identification card.

The gray-robed deacon did not rush to activate the formation, but instead reached out and wiped the card surface to look at the records left behind.

"Shall we continue from last time?"

"Um."

"That projection with a gun is not easy to deal with." The deacon looked up. "You learned your lesson last time, you should know that."

Xilun smiled.

That's why I came.

During his ascetic training in the deep sea, he did visit the Linglong Tower more than once.

Those few times were mainly for familiarizing themselves with strength and testing their marksmanship; they did not linger outside the tower, nor did they publicize their achievements in a big way.

But what stood in his way was no longer just the black-clad gunman from the beginning.

Seeing that he was calm, the gray-robed deacon stopped trying to persuade him and embedded his identity token into the array plate.

A white light appeared.

Xilun stepped into it.

There were only about twenty people outside the tower at first, but it gradually became lively after someone recognized his back.

"Is it Xilun?"

"The one that just came out of the Sea of ​​the Dead?"

"I heard that the Overturning the Sea Technique has been completed."

"I heard? My senior brother is right on the shore. Elder Swain confirmed it on the spot!"

As they were talking, the light spots on the stone tablet began to move.