Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

Chapter 655 The Sixth Inner Court

Inside the tower, a gray-white stone floor stretches out in front.

Xilun stood still, raising his Canglei Spear slightly.

Several projections coalesced from the thin mist in the distance, followed by the sound of weapons cutting through the air. An axe flashed from the left, followed by a heavy shield shadow in front.

Three months ago, faced with such coordinated attacks, he would have needed to first use his movement skills to create distance before looking for an opening.

This time, Xilun did not back down.

The spear shaft was raised horizontally, steadily catching the axe blade.

A muffled thud.

The arm that was swinging the axe suddenly trembled, and the force on the axe blade was quickly worn away, as if it had hit deep water.

Xilun's wrist rotated smoothly, the shaft of the spear slid along the axe handle, and the butt of the spear flicked backward.

The shield shadow had just approached when it was deflected by this attack.

A brief gap suddenly appeared in the coordination between the two projectors.

The Thunder Spear pierced through the gap.

A glimmer of golden light arrived first.

The throat of the shield-wielding projection was pierced, and before the light had even dissipated, Xilun had already drawn his spear and turned around. The spearhead swept half a circle around his shoulder, tearing apart another axe light along with the figure behind it.

The shattered light scattered.

Xilun looked down at the gun.

He only used 70% of his strength in that attack.

After reaching the pinnacle of the Abyss, while the sheer power of his aura certainly increased, what truly changed the nature of his combat prowess was the unprecedented composure he displayed in controlling his movements.

In the past, once the nine layers of surging energy were unleashed, it had to be done in one go.

Now, he can leave the unreleased power deep in his meridians, so that before the previous move is finished, the next move is already born.

The enemy may only be able to block one wave, but behind that wave lies a vast expanse of heavy water.

The strength is refined and concentrated, as if falling into the deep sea.

After perfecting one's cultivation, one's strength no longer leaks out lightly. One's every move may appear calm, but internally it is as powerful as the undercurrents of the deep sea.

Ordinary people who are extraordinary will feel a tightness in their chests as soon as they get close, as if they are at the bottom of the sea hundreds of feet deep.

The scene changed again.

Siron stepped forward, spear in hand.

Outside the tower, the gray-robed deacon stared at the patterns lighting up one after another in the array plate, his pen, which he had been preparing to use to record, paused for a long while.

"So fast?"

The disciple responsible for maintaining order asked in a low voice.

The deacon did not answer.

He had seen many people whose strength increased dramatically after breaking through their cultivation techniques, and he had also seen people who went into seclusion for half a year, only to emerge unable to fight.

Xilun clearly belongs to the former category, and every bit of new power he gains is quickly put into real combat.

The names on the stone tablet slowly moved upwards.

More and more people gathered to watch.

Some people were just passing by, but after seeing the crowd gathered and learning why, they refused to leave.

At the same time, the mist inside the tower dissipated, and a spacious stone path appeared at Xilun's feet.

At the end of the stone path stood a woman in gray.

Her face was blurred, she held a long, narrow gun in her hand, her clothes did not sway in the wind, and she was as quiet as a shadow stuck to the stone wall.

Xilun stopped in his tracks.

It's her again.

In their last encounter, he tried to seize the initiative by relying on his master-level spear skills, but as soon as he launched his offensive, his momentum was cut off by three consecutive shots from his opponent, and he spent almost the entire time on the defensive.

That's not just a simple matter of a move being countered.

Rather, every shot from his opponent was more stable, more precise, and more difficult to deflect.

The woman in gray raised her gun.

The next moment, she appeared more than ten steps away.

The spearhead had no dazzling light, only a faint white aura flowing slowly along the edge.

Xilun's pupils contracted slightly, and he thrust the Thunder Spear forward.

Guns clashed.

With a crisp sound, dust from both sides of the stone path swirled outwards.

Xilun took a half step back.

The woman in gray's gun was deflected by an inch.

It's blocked!

A thought struck him, but he didn't rush to retaliate.

With a slight twist of his wrist, the spear slashed across the shaft at a tricky angle, aimed directly at his right hand holding the spear.

Xilun released his right palm and pressed the butt of the gun downwards with his left hand, causing the gun barrel to flip and strike the woman's ribs.

The gun was suddenly withdrawn.

Another collision.

The two figures clashed on the stone path, exchanging more than ten moves in the blink of an eye.

The more Xilun fought, the brighter his eyes became.

In the past, after receiving a shot, the internal energy would be shaken for a moment. Now, the impact falls into the energy of the abyss and will be quickly dispersed layer by layer.

With the reduced weight on his shoulders and back, he has more options for changing his tactics.

In his twenty-third move, he took the initiative to approach the woman for the first time.

The spear is too long, which should put you at a disadvantage in close combat.

Instead of withdrawing, Xilun slid his palm forward along the spear shaft, instantly turning the long spear into a short weapon, the spearhead suddenly rising from an extremely low position.

The woman in gray took a step back.

This was her first time withdrawing.

A deep thunderous sound rang out from Xilun's chest and abdomen, and four lightning patterns lit up one after another, with golden arcs of electricity wrapping around his arms.

The gun's momentum surged!

One layer, two layers, three layers.

The ninefold surge of energy did not pour out all at once, but rather pressed up layer by layer with each step.

Just as the gunfire shattered one layer, another surged forth from the lingering force, forcing the gray-clad woman to repeatedly change her gun trajectory.

The thirty-seventh move.

The fifty-second move.

A cut was made on Xilun's left shoulder, and blood seeped out from his sleeve.

The simulated pain inside the tower was so realistic it made your teeth ache, but he didn't even blink. He turned around and stabbed the woman between the eyebrows with his gun.

The woman turned her head to avoid the attack, and the spear slashed horizontally.

Xilun lowered his spear shaft, suppressing the incoming spear thrust, and his feet plowed two shallow tracks into the stone ground.

He still has plenty of energy.

But his brows gradually furrowed.

wrong.

It appeared that he was the one pressing the other, but in reality, every time the woman in gray retreated, she only retreated to a position where she could comfortably draw her gun.

Her breathing remained unchanged, her strength did not falter, and she did not exert any extra force in the fingers gripping the gun.

That layer of pale white energy remained completely attached to the spearhead from beginning to end.

Perfect and flawless.

There were no flaws.

In the seventy-fourth move, the woman in gray suddenly took a step forward.

With just one step, the offensive and defensive positions of both sides were reversed.

The spear cut in from where the spear shadows overlapped. Xilun clearly saw the trajectory, but found that his next surge of energy had not yet caught up.

That brief interval was precisely seized by the opponent.

He turned to avoid a fatal blow to his chest, but still felt a chill under his ribs.

Blood splattered.

Xilun used the opportunity to retreat, spreading out his Canglang Step, attempting to readjust his rhythm.

The woman had already caught up.

One shot after another, neither too fast to see nor too heavy to defend against, but each one landed on his most vulnerable spot.

After eighty moves, Xilun finally understood the problem.

The abyss has been submerged.

However, 20% of his internal energy has not yet been fully tempered.

In casual matches, this difference isn't obvious, but against a truly well-rounded opponent, it's like a worn tooth in a precision gear; the faster it spins, the clearer it becomes.

The 103rd move.

Xilun gripped the Thunder Spear tightly, and the phantom of a thunder eagle suddenly unfolded behind him.

He no longer tried to cover up his shortcomings, but instead focused all his strength into his dantian, letting the spear tip graze his shoulder, and stepped into the white light.

One shot!

Layers of surging energy pressed together into a single line, and golden thunder exploded forward along the tip of the spear.

The woman in gray finally held her spear horizontally in front of her.

The spearhead struck the spine of the spear, and a piercing thud echoed through the stone path.

The woman took two steps back, while Xilun's arms went numb from the shock, and his tiger's mouth split open at the same time.

But he didn't stop.

Draw the gun, twist your waist, and stab again!

The 108th move: the spearhead slices open the woman's clothing on her shoulder.

The 112th move: a white flash of light from the gun barrel swept past and stopped in front of Xilun's chest.

The world suddenly fell silent.

Xilun looked down and saw that the spearhead had already penetrated his heart.

Then, all the pain and the scenery turned into white light.

Outside the Linglong Tower, Xilun's figure reappeared.

He stood for a moment after landing, slowly exhaling, still feeling as if his chest had been pierced by a gun.

"As expected, it's the third-tier extreme realm."

Upon hearing this, the gray-robed deacon looked up at him.

Xilun rubbed his wrist and looked back at the tower gate.

In extreme circumstances, defeating that woman head-on would be incredibly difficult.

However, this time it has already been more than a hundred moves.

Next time, the result may not be the same.

"Come again next time."

He muttered something under his breath, turned around to leave, but found that the stone steps were crowded with people.

Everyone was looking at the stone tablet.

Following everyone's gaze, Xilun saw his name displayed in a new position.

sixth.

After a moment of silence, someone in the crowd finally gasped.

"Sixth already?"

"He only took on the assessment three months ago!"

"Above that is Tuoyuan—"

Some people swallowed the rest of their sentence.

The news that just came from the Sea of ​​the Dead could be considered as an improvement in cultivation level, but it may not necessarily represent true combat strength.

But now, Linglong Tower has presented the results to everyone.

The sixth in the inner courtyard.

Xilun did not linger amidst the murmurs; he simply nodded to the deacon, picked up his spear, and descended the stone steps.

After returning to his cave, he first reviewed the entire battle from beginning to end, carefully memorizing the variations in the last twenty moves, before leaning against the stone wall and closing his eyes to regulate his breathing.

Completing the practice is only the first step.

The remaining energy tempering will take time, and resources need to be prepared for the next cycle of the Golden Thunder Vortex.

In addition, he needs something that can truly change the way battles are fought.

Xilun opened his eyes and laid a blank sheet of paper on the table.

The pen tip touched the paper, writing four characters.

Hunting sea monsters.

His gaze lingered on the paper, recalling the northern tribes Elena had mentioned earlier.

Perhaps we should investigate the information there more thoroughly.

Only one copper lamp was lit inside the cave.

Xilun placed the Thunder Spear horizontally on the table, and on the paper spread out in front of him, there were already a few lines of brief notes.

Qi tempering, lightning magic, spear techniques.

The last one is the talent of sea beasts.

He looked at his right hand, his five fingers slowly closing together, and a very faint muffled sound came from between his metacarpal bones.

The power of the shattered gold clamp rose up along his arm and then quickly subsided.

This talent comes from the sea monsters of the Blackwater Abyss and can still be effective in close combat.

However, the improvement it brought was not as significant as it was initially.

The reason is not complicated.

He became stronger.

An attack talent that allows a second-tier extraordinary individual to sweep aside others in the same realm might only be icing on the cake when applied to a third-tier physique.

If one has already reached the top of the third tier, it would be unrealistic to rely on the talents of ordinary mutants to determine the outcome of a battle.

Xiren had previously hoped that certain talents would grow stronger as he matured.

But after so many battles, he has gradually come to see the boundaries.

Talent relies on one's own abilities to unleash its power, which will naturally vary depending on physique and strength, but that does not mean it has no upper limit.

No matter how sharp the claws and teeth of a low-level sea beast are, or how peculiar its structure, it cannot magically transform into the power of a high-level alien species capable of tearing through armor.

The claw-like talent bestowed upon him by Subelle Bear had only a mediocre effect as early as the second tier, and was almost never used after the third tier.

The same principle applies to defense as to offense.

The abilities like swimming and underwater breathing are different.

As long as they can still move freely underwater, they will always have value and do not need to confront the enemy's strength head-on.

However, if they want to acquire a truly significant trump card in their matches against Torres and Celtics, they must aim higher.

Moreover, it can't just be about having thick skin and coarse flesh.

Xilun added a sentence on the paper: "The methods are unusual, but the information is accurate."

He did not think that he could freely venture into the outer sea just because he ranked sixth in the Linglong Tower competition.

The sea beasts are not bound by the formations within the tower and will not stop attacking after striking a vital point.

The sea, tides, herds of animals, and even the presence of other extraordinary beings nearby can all alter the outcome of a hunt.

Moreover, outside the monastery, there are old enemies like Tinos.

Xilun folded the paper and the next day asked a familiar disciple to inquire about the strange creatures in the nearby seas. At the same time, he left a message for Elena, asking if there were any new clues from the Fire Nether Tribe.

Several messages arrived quickly.

There are giant scaled fish encountered on merchant ships at sea, black-shelled aliens that devour fishing nets, and a long-bearded monster that has been rumored to be a god.

Xilun looked at them one by one, and put most of them aside.

Either their rank is too low, or there are only vague rumors.

Another report claimed that the monster could swallow a steamship whole, but upon closer examination, it turned out that the so-called steamship was just a fishing boat equipped with a small boiler.

What he needed was intelligence, not stories from the tavern.

After a moment's thought, Xilun thought of the Drunken Flower Residence at the foot of the mountain.

Veronica's shop has a lot of customers. In addition to her regular business, she also collects information and takes on commissions.

If it comes to miscellaneous information about the area around the monastery, she might be able to get it faster than asking someone else directly.

That afternoon, Xilun descended the mountain.

The market at the end of the mountain road was still bustling.

The steam engine slowly drove across the stone road, leaving trails of white steam. Its wheels rolled over puddles, splashing up tiny specks of mud.

Steam billowed from the bakery's chimney, two porters on the street corner were arguing over their wages, and the air was filled with the smells of coal smoke, alcohol, and the damp sea breeze.

Xiren walked through the crowd and strolled around several shops selling exotic materials.

On the counter were teeth, scales, and dried glands, some still faintly reeking of a scent. He examined them carefully but didn't utter a single purchase.

The materials that had already been stripped and processed were of little help to his hunting plan.

By the time we left the last shop, it was already getting dark.

Two glass lamps hung in front of Zuihua Residence, and hushed conversations could be heard from inside.

Xilun pushed open the door and glanced at the area displaying consignments.

Escorting cargo, searching for missing hunters, and acquiring marine mammal gallbladders —

No suitable one.

A waiter approached, his gaze lingering briefly on the man's spear before his attitude became more polite.

"What do you need?"

"Is Veronica there?"

The waiter didn't ask any further questions and turned to go to the back.

A moment later, the curtain was lifted by a slender hand, and Veronica came out.

When she saw Xilun, she was taken aback at first, and then her gaze lingered on him.

"It's been so long, I almost didn't recognize you."

"His appearance hasn't changed much."

"I'm not talking about appearance."