With half a game of chess, I vanquish all demons!

In the library, amidst the bookshelves, Zhao Yao sat cross-legged on the floor, holding a book, and read aloud the words within:

"One of the reasons why the training of strongmen is inferior to that of martial artists lies in this crucial point."

There were originally ten realms for strongmen. After two realms were combined, they were divided into five realms: Iron, Demigod, Bronze, Silver, and Gold, corresponding to the five realms for martial artists.

The five realms of martial arts naturally correspond to five key points.

However, there are nine key points in the cultivation of a strongman!

Entering the first realm of Black Iron has no key points, but because the body of a warrior is different from that of an ordinary person due to the training of the warrior, there is a taboo that leads to the severing of one's martial arts path, which is jokingly called the "natural barrier trap".

...Besides the breathing techniques of the warrior, there is another proper path in the training of a warrior, which is called "practicing the way of the warrior". The way of the black iron warrior lies in toil and fatigue.

When both body and mind are exhausted, progress is rapid…

On the city tower of Wangzhou.

Zhao Yao stood there, asking the two princess guards beside him about the key to the warrior's breakthrough.

He stared longingly at the two of them, but received no response whatsoever.

The two powerful warriors, one with a cold expression and the other with a smile, neither replied, clearly demonstrating their aloofness.

Why are you two so stingy?

Looking at their expressions, Zhao Yao felt disappointed.

Fine, if you don't want to tell me, then don't. I'll just search through the library; I don't believe I can't find it.

"Hmph~ It's just a trick, what's the big deal? I'm just satisfying my curiosity, can't I even answer it?"

As a princess's guard, he wouldn't say more. I've really learned something new, haha~

Not far away, County Magistrate Zhou, seeing the scene unfold, couldn't help but sneer at the two strongmen.

He turned his gaze to Zhao Yao, his expression softening, and said:

"I don't know about the ancient heritage of the Warriors, but I do know about the key to breaking through... They won't tell you, but I will!"

Listen up, kid. The key to breaking through the Warrior realm lies in one thing. Find this thing, and you can break through your realm.

In short, when a cultivator reaches the limit of their realm, they can naturally break through the boundary and smoothly reach the higher realm by bathing in the blood of gods and demons, dragons, phoenixes, monsters, etc.

It's such a simple thing; if no one tells you, you really wouldn't know.

As County Magistrate Zhou spoke, he glanced at the two high-level warriors, his meaning quite clear.

That's it!

Bathing in the blood of gods and demons, dragons, phoenixes, monsters, etc., allows one to naturally break through boundaries and smoothly reach the higher realms... So what does the ancient inheritance refer to?

Zhao Yao's thoughts flashed through his mind.

Now that his future was clear and his heart was filled with joy, he bowed sincerely to County Magistrate Zhou:

"Many thanks to the county magistrate for being my teacher and for clearing up my doubts. I am deeply grateful."

After he finished thanking the county magistrate, he looked at him hopefully and asked again:

"Does the county magistrate know the meaning of that strongman's ancient lineage?"

"Well..."

County Magistrate Zhou stroked his chin and said bluntly:

"I only know it's something like the training methods of a warrior, but I don't know the specifics. I have heard a saying, 'Practicing the Way of the Warrior.' If one can practice the Way of the Warrior, then one must have inherited a part of the legacy of the ancient warriors."

As for how to practice the Way of the Warrior... we don't cultivate the Way of the Warrior, so knowing this is useless to us. However, the two people next to you definitely know what it's all about.

Unfortunately, they are reluctant to speak.

As he spoke, he couldn't help but start making sarcastic remarks again.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yao turned to look at the two princess guards, pursed his lips tightly, and did not ask any further questions.

He put on an expression of unwillingness to be humiliated any longer, but inwardly he was overjoyed.

Practicing the Way of the Warrior...

"The way of the Black Iron Warrior lies in toil and exhaustion; when both body and mind are exhausted, progress is rapid." Isn't this exactly what I just read in the book?

Is this thing actually part of the ancient heritage of the strongmen?

Now that we understand the way of the Black Iron Warrior, how far away is the way of the High-Level Warrior?

In the library, Zhao Yao stood up, carrying a book, and turned to look at the books on the surrounding bookshelves.

He relaxed his brows and eyes, stretched vigorously, and yawned widely.

"Haha, no rush, take your time looking."

He put the book back on the shelf, walked to a clean spot, sat cross-legged, and closed his eyes.

Deep within the soul, on the shattered jade chessboard, of the three unsealed jade chess pieces, only two remain.

The jade chess piece, which was not in its original position, is now standing on the city wall.

He looked at the third jade chess piece and recalled what had happened before.

Previously, in the desolate lower realm, he swallowed two demon cores, causing his primordial energy to explode. After filling the second jade chess piece, the increased primordial energy also filled the third jade chess piece with three small primordial energy figures.

As for the pills he later obtained from Black Light, he hadn't had a chance to take them yet, but now was the perfect time.

He took out the pill from the jade ring, pulled out a dagger, broke the wax seal, and swallowed it.

"Gurgle~"

"Gurgle~"

He repeated this process, swallowing pill after pill, which spurred the generation of primordial energy within his body. In the third jade chess piece, a vortex was created, continuously absorbing primordial energy.

After a long while, he stopped.

Zhao Yao glanced at the Yuan Qi reserves of the third jade chess piece, thought for a moment, stood up, and went to find someone.

Before long, through the Brother Zhou who had made contact with him, he exchanged money with his teacher Zhou Yan for many pills that could increase one's vital energy, including the Great Rejuvenation Pill.

It seemed that Zhou Yan had given prior instructions, and his process of exchanging money for pills went very smoothly without anyone interfering or obstructing him.

He carried with him all the gold and silver he had earned on his journey to and from the Wenyan mission, as well as the apology gifts from the Su family, so he had no worries about money for the time being.

His only fear now is that he won't be able to eat, his body won't be able to handle it, and he has developed a tolerance to the pills.

Back in his small room in the library, a row of bottles of elixirs were placed on the table.

Zhao Yao's eyes were firm. He reached out, picked up a bottle of pills, poured out the pills, and began to gulp them down.

"Gurgle~"

"Gurgle~"

"Gurgle~"

"..."

His body was feverish, and he swallowed pills without stopping. The primordial energy within the jade chess piece was also increasing without pause.

The amount of primordial energy stored in the Jade Chess set is visibly increasing!

Zhao Yao stopped swallowing the pills only after half of them on the table had disappeared.

He can't eat anymore, and his body can't take it; his tolerance to the pills has increased. After today, he won't be able to rely on these pills to quickly increase his vital energy reserves for a while.

He looked inside and saw that the third jade chess piece had already been filled!

The fourth jade chess piece has also been cleansed of its impurities and unsealed. Two of its flame layers are full, and its third flame layer also contains two parts of primordial energy.

With a thought, the ten primordial energy figures within the third jade chess piece instantly merged into one and came to life.

The jade soldier moved around on the broken jade chessboard for a while, then leaped up and transformed into a jade-colored radiance. It passed through the flesh and appeared in the room, landing in front of Zhao Yao. It transformed into a man who looked exactly like Zhao Yao and was wearing jade armor.

The man in jade armor stood there, gazing silently at Zhao Yao, as if awaiting instructions.

"From now on, your name will be Zhao San."

Zhao Yao looked at the newly appeared jade soldier and habitually gave him a name.

His gaze swept over Zhao San from head to toe as he pondered.

The fusion of ten Yuanqi figures would definitely surpass the Black Iron Realm and rival the power of a demigod warrior, only lacking the unique advantages of the warrior realm.

The unique characteristic of those in the Black Iron Realm is that their bodies are like cast iron.

What are the unique characteristics of the demigod realm and the bronze realm?

He looked at the other person with anticipation and satisfaction, then, with another thought, he pulled Zhao San back into his body.

"Primordial Qi, unite!"

"Primordial Qi, unite!"

"..."

Buzz~ Buzz~ Buzz~ Buzz~ Buzz~

He summoned five miniature figures of primordial energy to merge into his body, and five layers of jade-colored halos exploded from his body surface, his skin was stained with the black of cast iron, and his body grew taller and taller, quickly reaching a height of six and a half meters.

In the cramped room, he raised his arms and swayed his body, feeling his physical condition.

The fusion of five primordial energy figures into one's body represents the limit for a Black Iron Realm Warrior. If one more were to be fused, not only would the Warrior realm not be broken through, but the muscles would explode.

Standing at 2.5 meters tall, with five Yuan Qi figures fused into his body, he reached the peak of the Black Iron Realm and was still not satisfied. If he fused with ten Yuan Qi figures, he could probably reach the level of a demigod warrior.

This is exactly the same as the power of the jade soldier molded from the clay, which is the result of the fusion of ten primordial energy figures.

"Only by bathing in the blood of gods and demons, dragons, phoenixes, and monsters can one break through to a higher realm... Are those demigod warriors considered gods? Am I, a god from the lower realm, considered a god? Do the dragon and phoenix blood from a human body with demonic blood have any effect?"

Zhao Yao muttered to himself, his mind filled with speculation.

Suddenly, a thought struck him, and his attention turned to the city gate.

There's been a big commotion...