In the game "High Martial Arts," players start with the blessing of the Martial God.

Chapter 78 Improvement of Strength

Several days later, in the cultivation room, Ji Ming sat cross-legged on the ground, holding a piece of Earth Core Spirit in his hands. He absorbed streams of peculiar energy, which then flowed through his meridians and finally attached to his Heavenly Meridian, enveloping it in a thick layer of purple light.

At the same time, he swallowed the drop of primordial liquid he had been holding in his mouth, and the vast primordial energy instantly filled his limbs and bones, and then he controlled it to surge towards the major meridians of his spine!

The celestial vein, which receives the will of heaven and earth, is hidden in nothingness, and its manifestation in reality is the spine.

Ji Ming frantically activated the "Azure Flame Meridian Opening Technique," and in the darkness, he saw a purple divine pillar. Most of the pillar was lit up, with only a small part still hidden in the darkness.

"Splash!"

The primordial energy transformed from the primordial liquid surged into the Heavenly Vein, constantly impacting the dark areas, and little by little, more and more bright places appeared.

boom-!

Finally, the energy poured out like a torrent, surging like a vast plain, illuminating the last bit of darkness, and Ji Ming felt a sense of clarity wash over him.

Without hesitation, he struck while the iron was hot and took out the last Pure Yuan Fruit. The fruit seemed to transform into a clear stream in his belly, and a sweet taste lingered in his heart.

With the God of War's blessing activated, he effortlessly guided this clear stream towards the next celestial vein.

In an instant, the energy transformed from the Pure Yuan Fruit was like dry wood meeting a raging fire. The violent Yuan Qi, like ocean waves, surged and crashed over, but the purple intent within the Heavenly Vein protected it firmly, as stable as Mount Tai. He rapidly refined this Yuan Qi.

Finally, after an unknown amount of time, a powerful aura surged from Ji Ming's body, his clothes billowed, his hair flew, and his whole body emitted a wisp of white light. The primordial energy of heaven and earth danced and cheered around him.

"call!"

Ji Ming exhaled, his breath lingering for several meters before dissipating. His aura gradually stabilized, and his eyes remained calm and serene.

"Finally, a breakthrough!"

A hint of joy flashed in his eyes as he opened the panel of his destiny card and took a look.

[Main Character: Martial Artist]

[Life Strength: Level 16 (Jade Unveiled Triple)]

[Talents: Strong Willpower (Intermediate), God of War's Blessing (Saint-level)]

[Cultivation Method: Azure Flame Meridian Opening Technique, Level 3 (35%)]

Skill: Star King Body lv.17 (36%)

Nine Luminaries Mystic Heaven Blade lv.10 (45%)

Tai Xu Yi Dun lv.11 (10%)

Blood Clotting Curse, Dream Realm Curse, Spirit Void Step (Perfect), Flowing Moon Blade (Perfect)

【Characteristics: Rainbow Sky, Azure Flame, Heart of Heaven and Earth, Moon Shadow Slash, Soaring Through the Void, Stellar Transformation】

[Number of moments of sudden enlightenment: 1 (89/100)]

"Today is the 29th!"

Ji Ming sighed. He was going to take the Star Realm Grand Exam the day after tomorrow. He had made considerable progress in recent days, and it was time to put his skills to the test.

The Star King is not far from the next stage, which will be another qualitative change. He is very much looking forward to it. He believes that this martial art has played an indispensable role in his journey to this point.

He chose to improve his other two martial arts skills first, successfully condensing the [Heavenly Rainbow] characteristic. However, the Nine Luminaries Profound Heaven Blade is not far behind. The [Heaven-Breaking Kill] will definitely greatly increase his attack power, and he may be able to rival those top geniuses in the late Jade Purity Realm!

He checked his chances of enlightenment; he had one left. After a little more time to process and digest the information, he could use it to break through to the Nine Luminaries Profound Heaven Blade tomorrow.

Speaking of which, the three martial arts techniques he has practiced are all extremely difficult, and in this respect, he may even surpass the top geniuses of the eastern provinces.

After all, human energy has its limits, so choices must be made. It is extremely rare to be able to reach the top in all aspects, at least in the eastern region.

Without enlightenment, even if he awakens the God of War's grace and can ignore bottlenecks, he wouldn't dare to challenge all the most difficult martial arts techniques. After all, time is limited, and if he can't master the special moves, their power will be inferior to martial arts techniques of the same quality.

The characteristics of a martial art are fundamental. They not only affect the path of future training, but also determine the power that it can unleash. A martial art without the enhancement of characteristics is just a paper tiger, easily defeated!

However, these three martial arts techniques are indeed quite difficult.

Thinking of this, Ji Ming couldn't help but smile bitterly. The difficulty of these three martial arts techniques increased with each level. After returning from the secret realm, he had to have two moments of enlightenment to master [Heavenly Rainbow], and he still fell short even after three attempts with the Nine Luminaries Profound Heaven Blade. The difficulty of cultivation was on a completely different level from when he first started.

Of course, they can't compare to Qian Tian Yi Qi Gong.

But this is only the first stage of cultivation. If he breaks through, he estimates that the difficulty of cultivating the second characteristic will exceed that of the Qian Tian Yi Qi Gong.

However, this is understandable. After all, the Qian Tian Yi Qi Gong is only a mortal realm technique. Although its quality is high, its level is limited. Martial arts at higher realms are bound to be more difficult to master.

Finally, there's the improvement in cultivation level. Most of the energy from the first Pure Yuan Fruit was used to purify source power and strengthen the foundation, so the increase in cultivation level wasn't significant, but it wasn't a loss.

Although he didn't care about its effect of reducing bottlenecks, the purification of source energy not only made his combat power stronger, but also made his usual cultivation when opening up the Heavenly Veins much simpler, increasing his cultivation speed by at least 10%. In the long run, it was a huge gain.

A wisp of Origin Power appeared at Ji Ming's fingertips as he felt its power. Compared to others at the same level, the strength of his Origin Power was more than 30% higher, making any martial arts technique he used much more powerful. This was why he was confident in fighting against Yu Pu in the later stages.

The increase in strength from the sixth to the seventh level of Jade Unearth is enormous, which can be seen from the merit points. Killing someone in the middle stage of Jade Unearth only earns three merit points, but killing someone in the late stage of Jade Unearth is worth ten merit points.

This applies to any profession; once you break through to the later stages, your strength will increase dramatically!

Speaking of merit points, Ji Ming took out a black card, which was the merit card he had obtained from the Patrol Division. It was already linked to him personally and displayed the number "12".

Since his first operation in the small town, he has participated in two more operations to annihilate the Heavenly Demon Sect. The results of those two operations were not as good as the first one, but they still brought him seven merit points.

"Unfortunately, after so long, the Heavenly Demon Sect should have completely withdrawn from Baichuan City."

Ji Ming was somewhat disappointed. The Patrol Division had not taken any action for several days. Perhaps there were still members of the Heavenly Demon Cult in the city, but they should have all become deeply hidden, making it virtually impossible to dig them out.

"The faction value has increased quite a bit, but it's still far from enough." He sighed.

[Activation conditions for Trait 4: Reputation value 7/10, Faction value 6/100]

These traitors aren't stupid; they're usually well-hidden and won't line up to be killed by him. His biggest gain was confirming how to obtain faction points. As for the others, he could figure out a way later.

"This Astral Trial might be an opportunity." Ji Ming stroked his chin thoughtfully. It's said that the Astral Trial sometimes tests them by having them kill alien races. If that's the case, that would be wonderful!

But that's not necessarily true. The assessment methods change every year, and nobody knows for sure until the day comes.

"Let's hope so!"

Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to gain faction points; he might have to wait until he breaks through to the third tier and arrives at the Battlefield of Myriad Realms.

As for going to the second tier, he never even considered it. The second tier is too weak. In this battlefield of myriad realms, he would just be cannon fodder. Some soldiers from small clans are all at the second tier. There is nothing weaker than that. If he went there, he would be crushed to death by the slightest storm!

In fact, even Tier 3 is not safe. Tier 4 is the only one that can truly protect itself in the Battlefield of Myriad Realms. They are the backbone of the force and will not suffer heavy casualties.

His eyes flickered, and Ji Ming stopped thinking about these things. Activating the four characteristics was important, but life was more important. He could tell which was more important.

The next goal is to secure a core student spot in the Astral Trial. This will undoubtedly boost my reputation, which should be enough for me to gain prestige. I'll figure out other ways to increase my faction points later.

Ji Ming carefully put away the dim Earth Core Spirit in his hand. This was his last one, and it seemed he wouldn't need it for much longer.

In the past half month, he broke through two realms, but at a great cost. He had used up both the Pure Yuan Fruit and the Yuan Liquid, and now he only had this "half-crippled" Earth Core Yuan Spirit left. Fortunately, the Pure Yuan Fruit was worth its value, as it allowed him to directly open up a small part of his Heavenly Vein after the breakthrough.

Furthermore, he participated in several patrol operations; otherwise, he would be penniless now.

As for the Ji family's support, it's already a drop in the ocean in the Jade Purity Realm. Grandfather Ji Shanhai is retired in the rear, and some resources are no longer available. All the resources in the Xuanhuang Realm must be tilted towards the military and academies. This is an ironclad rule!

In fact, the latter is also training talents for the military, and most students will go to the three first-line army groups after graduation.

In particular, students from the four major star palaces and ten holy lands have to go to the battlefield of myriad worlds for training during their school years. Their status and responsibilities are equal, and star palace students have made many sacrifices every year.

After making a plan in his mind, Ji Ming opened the cultivation room, his body was enveloped in a red light, and then he soared into the sky.

The whistling wind echoed in his ears, and Ji Ming was overjoyed. He no longer needed to envy cultivators who could fly on swords. His rainbow transformation speed was no slower than theirs, and it was even more agile. After fully cultivating the [Heavenly Rainbow], he could maintain this state for a long time without consuming too much energy, which could be used as a means of traveling.

If he could complete the Tai Xu Escape technique at Tianyi Star Palace and form a fully-fledged Saint-grade movement technique, his speed would increase even further, truly reaching the realm of flight.

Soon, Ji Ming landed in Luo Shi's courtyard.

Luo Zhao was in the courtyard when he saw this and his eyes lit up. "Not bad, you've built a rainbow."

"Movement technique is just as important as body-refining martial arts for a martial artist, especially when fighting against mages and cultivators. If your movement technique is weak, you'll be constantly kited and worn down!"

Ji Ming nodded in agreement. Arena battles are actually heavily biased towards martial artists. Once the distance is widened, you'll understand why lower-level martial artists are so weak.

"The Astral Trial venue is very large, so you must be extra careful of the mages' magical traps."

Luo Zhao shared his experience, saying he didn't know what kind of opportunity Ji Ming had obtained in the Qingxuan Secret Realm, but his realm had recently broken through one after another. However, this was a good thing, as with the foundation of ascending to godhood, Ji Ming had truly gained the ability to compete for a spot among the core students.

After all, he only participated in the Eastern Region Star Realm Examination. There was a reason why the Education Department divided the Star Realm Examination into five regions. If they were combined, the eight provinces in the Central Region would take up more than half of the spots, leaving no chance for anyone else!

"During the Astral Trials, you may encounter professions you've never seen before. Don't be careless, as some professions are quite treacherous!"

""

Ji Ming listened attentively, then suddenly asked, "Will there be any mecha pilots?"

If we're talking about which low-level class is the strongest, it has to be the Mech Pilot. No matter how strong your fists are, can they compare to the alloy exoskeleton of a mech?

"There definitely will be!"

Luo Zhao nodded in affirmation, "But you don't need to worry too much. During the Grand Exam, mecha pilots can only use the mechas they make themselves. With the strength of a second-tier mecha pilot's Mind Light, the maximum they can create is a Source-level mecha. As long as you master the Sky-Shattering Strike, you can cut it in half with one strike without any problem."

Ji Ming breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes filled with confidence. The Heaven-Shattering Strike would be over soon.

"Some niche professions, while having a lower skill ceiling, are quite strong within their tier, such as the Warlock and the Ranger!"

Luo Zhao explained in detail, "I've sent you the information on these professions; take a look yourself later."

Ji Ming accepted the request, but couldn't help asking, "What about the pastor? How does the pastor participate in the major exam, or is it a separate exam like the regular college entrance exam?"

There is no such thing as a combat priest in this world. The distinction between professions is not meaningless. All priests can learn are healing spells; they cannot learn other skills.

For example, non-martial artists cannot sense the Heavenly Meridian at all. Another example is that after a martial artist reaches the third level, they can open their Divine Sea to cultivate spiritual power, but they are completely unable to cultivate any magic.

"The Astral Examination treats everyone equally!"

Luo Zhao shook his head. "You can think of the Astral Trial as a rehearsal for the Multiverse Battlefield. In the Multiverse Battlefield, priests will only be targeted, not given preferential treatment!"

"Priests will join a team when they participate in the Astral Examinations, and their final results will be linked to that team. Of course, because priests are rare, it is much easier for them to get into the same academy than for other professions."

Ji Ming understood. This was probably why the Astral Trial didn't prohibit teamwork. No team would refuse a priest's participation. Second-tier priests already had very strong healing abilities, capable of quickly healing even serious injuries. It was said that fourth-tier priests could even regenerate severed limbs!

He thought of Li Pengtao; perhaps there was a priest in his team, which was essential for a mature team.

"Alright, enough talk, let me show you how to do it."

Luo Zhao tossed over a wooden sword, and then a similar wooden sword appeared in his own hand. He then waved to Ji Ming.

The latter calmed his breathing for a moment, then moved his feet and slashed with his sword. He did not use any source power, but relied on the strength of his physical body, and the air made a loud bang.

boom!

Luo Zhao raised his sword and directly blocked Ji Ming's blade, remaining unmoved. The latter was not surprised and instantly changed his move, turning his blade to slash at Luo Zhao's armpit.

Luo Zhao pressed down with the back of his blade, deflecting the blow, and the hilt struck Ji Ming's hand, instantly turning it bright red.

Ji Ming's expression remained unchanged as he unleashed the Nine Luminaries Profound Heaven Blade techniques one after another. Luo Zhao did the same, each move exactly the same as his, but always slightly stronger. It wasn't that he used more power, but rather that he had mastered the Nine Luminaries Profound Heaven Blade to an unparalleled level, making the moves come naturally to him.

With slashing, chopping, and thrusting, Ji Ming's movements and swordsmanship became one, making him seem like a ghostly figure. His presence filled the entire courtyard, yet he maintained excellent control over his strength, without harming even a single flower or blade of grass.

Finally, the seventy-two moves culminated in a final strike, without using any source power, yet a black light seemed to appear on the blade, and the air made a tearing sound.

"good!"

Luo Zhao's eyes lit up, and he also unleashed a slash. His aura remained unchanged, but a sharpness capable of shattering heaven and earth shot out from his eyes!

"Snap!"

The two wooden swords clashed, and Ji Ming's sword was instantly severed, leaving a smooth, mirror-like cut. The sword still carried a strong artistic conception that lingered for a long time.

【Nine Luminaries Mystic Heaven Blade: lv.10 (45%→48%)】

At the current level of this martial art, even a single enlightenment might not be enough to raise it by one level. A 3% increase is already a significant improvement. Moreover, martial arts and cultivation techniques are ultimately different. It is difficult to fully master them by enlightenment alone; one must also practice them to transform the ideas in one's mind into actual martial arts skills in order to truly perfect them. This is why he has been saving his enlightenment for a while.

Understanding in your mind is like talking about war on paper; you can only truly understand it by practicing in your hands!

"very good!"

Luo Zhao praised, "You are very close to mastering the Heaven-Shattering Strike. You must now understand a trace of the true meaning of this martial art, right?"

""

The improvement was three percentage points, saving him several days of hard work. Ji Ming nodded happily, "This martial art is related to willpower?"

As he cultivated, he discovered that the Heaven-Shattering Strike was an unparalleled attack that combined essence, energy, and spirit, capable of cleaving the heavens and splitting the earth, and that it required the unity of will to truly master.

"That's right!"

Luo Zhao looked on with admiration, "The Nine Luminaries Profound Heaven Blade is not only an offensive technique, but it can also help you refine your will in advance, which has many benefits."

Ji Ming nodded. He already knew that willpower was a major hurdle in breaking through the Nascent Soul Realm in martial arts. Many martial artists who had reached the peak of the Divine Realm failed at this step and did not even have the qualifications to break through the bottleneck.

Cultivating willpower is something that can only be considered at the Divine Realm. The fact that it allows those at the Jade Purity Realm to condense their willpower ahead of time speaks volumes about the preciousness of this martial art.

"Come on, let's continue!"

Luo Zhao tossed him another wooden sword. "Remember to carefully comprehend the essence of the Heaven-Shattering Kill. You already have enough proficiency. The next challenge is to condense a wisp of the Heaven-Shattering True Meaning."

Ji Ming picked up his sword and continued sparring with Master Luo. Whenever he practiced alone for a few days, Master Luo would give him this guidance once, which would quickly resolve any doubts he had accumulated during the sparring, greatly benefiting him.

Enlightenment is indeed very useful, but one cannot rely on it too much. Moreover, he found that the effect of enlightenment was even better after he had comprehended and cultivated. His own efforts were also indispensable in making such great progress.

A few hours later, Ji Ming walked out of Luo Shiyuan covered in sweat. He went home, took a shower, picked up a knife, and went to the rooftop.

That's about it.

Ji Ming thought to himself, after an afternoon of sparring with Master Luo, he had fully grasped the key points of using Enlightenment to enhance the Nine Luminaries Profound Heaven Blade last time, and now it was time to use Enlightenment again.

"call!"

He took a deep breath and did not sit cross-legged, but stood with his sword at the ready. With a thought, his mind became active and his inspiration exploded like fireworks, as if there were no problems in front of him now.

The essence and true meaning of the Nine Luminaries Profound Heaven Blade flashed through his mind, and at the same time, the blade in his hand began to move.

Each move unfolded as if in slow motion, and even the slightest discordancy completely vanished in the process. Ji Ming seemed to merge with the sword, feeling its breath and fusing his own will into it.

"My heart is the heart of the blade, shattering the true intent of heaven, solidify!"

Sudden--!

Ji Ming froze like a statue, his eyes closed, the knife in his hand trembling slowly. A deep black light appeared on the blade, extremely condensed. He only moved slightly, and a stone block in front of him split in two. This was not a violent split, but a perfectly timed, unified blade intent that was excited and humming!

Breaking the Heavens, accomplished!