Essence Devouring Art

After the incident at Harvest Village, Wu Dao entered a brief period of seclusion to digest his gains.

More than eight thousand Teleportation Points.

Although they couldn’t directly advance his Essence Devouring Art,

Wu Dao was hardly the type of useless weakling who relied solely on external aid.

He never missed a day of his extreme training.

The frequent thunderstorms were his ideal training equipment.

The weather in this world was far from ordinary.

The higher one went into the firmament,

the Gangfeng grew more violent, and the destructive power of the Celestial Thunder became increasingly terrifying.

Past five thousand meters,

the power of the Gangfeng and thunderbolts would double with every hundred meters of ascent.

Wu Dao wasn’t overambitious.

Each day, he would ascend another ten or so meters, keeping the power of the Gangfeng and thunderbolts at a level that could tear his flesh apart without completely annihilating him.

With an ample supply of resources

and constant, extreme tempering,

the overall pace of his body’s Potential Release far surpassed that of his previous life. The Power of his Overlord Whale Fist and Dragon Whale Dominating Body also saw slow but steady growth.

「Five days after the incident at Harvest Village.」

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH~

The Gangfeng raged, thunderbolts flickering in and out of view.

Wu Dao sat cross-legged atop the clouds. He deactivated his Divine Ghost Heaven, calmed his qi and blood, retracted the phenomena surrounding him, and opened his attribute panel—

[Physique: Overlord (Great Success)]

[Extraordinary: Essence Devouring Art (79% Potential Release) +

Overlord Whale Fist 830 years (Divine Manifestation) +

Dragon Whale Transformation 930 years (Fourth Layer) +]

[Teleportation Points: 8815]

His Potential Release progress was still at 79%.

But he was close.

Wu Dao was confident.

In ten days at most, he would be able to release 80% of his potential, reducing the requirements for teleportation and allowing him to cross into the Overlord Limit in one fell swoop.

His gaze flickered past the Essence Devouring Art,

and Wu Dao’s attention shifted to his Overlord Whale Fist and Dragon Whale Dominating Body.

These two Cultivation Techniques—

one a Fist Technique,

the other a Transverse Cultivation technique—

had each gained thirty years of Power during his recent days of extreme training, bringing them closer to the thousand-year mark.

He had a feeling that

once they crossed the thousand-year threshold, both techniques would undergo a metamorphosis—

True Boxing Dao!

The Horizontal Refining Fifth Door: the Qi Blood River!

Both of these were domains that only Celestial Beings, who stood above Land Immortals, could hope to touch.

If he could enter both at the same time,

Wu Dao was confident he could contend with a Celestial Being!

But,

at the same time, Wu Dao faced a future problem.

Once he reached the Horizontal Refining Fifth Door,

his Dragon Whale Transformation would have reached its limit.

Transverse Cultivation techniques weren’t like Fist Techniques.

Fist Techniques emphasized spiritual and soul refinement, placing less importance on the technique’s grade.

As long as one had enough talent and perseverance,

one could practice a million punches, ten million punches!

Even something as crude as a Mad Dog Fist could produce a Fist Dao Grandmaster; the ceiling was determined by the individual.

Transverse Cultivation was a different matter.

As one’s physical Power continuously increased, older refinement methods would inevitably become obsolete, their effects diminishing over time.

The Dragon Whale Transformation, created by fusing the Giant Whale Skill and the *Zhelong* technique, had a ceiling at the Horizontal Refining Fifth Door: the Qi Blood River.

After stepping through this door,

if he wanted to continue rapidly improving his physique to fuel his Essence Devouring Art, he would need to find a higher-grade Body Refining Technique,

otherwise,

Wu Dao would have to resort to the slow and steady methods from his past life.

However, Wu Dao wasn’t worried.

Ninety percent of the problems in this world could be solved with money.

And as it happened, he was very rich.

With him at the helm, the Overlord Whale Alliance was developing at a breakneck pace. It held sway over an entire prefecture, and its daily income was an astronomical figure to the average person.

When the time came, he could just buy one.

The Black Dragon Commerce Association, a behemoth with five or six centuries of history, had a collection of rare treasures from all over the world. Its resources were simply unimaginable.

And as long as one had money,

they would sell anything. They were bound to have a Body Refining Technique suitable for cultivators beyond the Celestial Being realm.

BZZZ~

A sudden vibration at his waist pulled Wu Dao from his thoughts.

He closed the attribute panel.

Wu Dao took the Communication Jade Talisman from his waist and projected his consciousness into it.

The Communication Jade Talismans were part of the inheritance from the Yellow Dragon Temple. There were very few of them, so Wu Dao had only given them to a handful of core leaders.

"Alliance Leader, someone claiming to be a representative from the Nanyang Prince’s Mansion has arrived. What are your instructions?"

Upon projecting his consciousness inside,

Zhao Jianji’s voice rang out from the Jade Talisman.

’A representative from the Nanyang Prince’s Mansion?’

Wu Dao’s eyes flickered upon hearing this.

He had expected this day to come, just not so soon.

The Overlord Whale Alliance was no minor power.

It held dominion over an entire prefecture, a scale incomparable to ordinary Jianghu factions.

Although Guangqing Prefecture was considered a minor player among the Thirteen Prefectures of the South Border, in the Warring States Era it would have been tantamount to a feudal kingdom.

It was also a juicy piece of meat for the taking.

Whoever could swallow this morsel would gain control of a prefecture—the temptation was obvious.

Over the past few days,

several major powers from outside the prefecture, not just from Pingliang City initially, had sent representatives to try and win over the Overlord Whale Alliance.

However, Wu Dao had rejected them all, citing his dislike for conflict and contentment with the status quo.

Of course, this was just a pretense. Given his reputation and past actions, no one believed him.

The tide of events was inevitable.

Some things couldn’t be avoided simply by wishing it.

So...

since he couldn’t avoid it, he had to choose the right side, wait for the best offer, and secure the greatest possible benefit for himself.

In the Southern Border Land today,

Prince Nanyang towered above all others.

As for the other powers,

to put it bluntly, they were like grasshoppers in late autumn—still jumping, but not for much longer.

Any smart person knew which side to choose.

"Host them in the assembly hall."

After sending his reply,

Wu Dao put away the Communication Jade Talisman, manipulated the magnetic field around him, and shot downward.

It came back to the same principle.

He could pick a side, but he wouldn’t be doing their dirty work.

A predator hunts to fill its belly.

Pointless struggles for dominance were a waste of energy and yielded no profit.

He could make way for Prince Nanyang,

but he would never sell his life for him.

...

Overlord Whale Alliance Headquarters.

Assembly Hall.

"The Alliance Leader is here!"

At the call of a guard outside, all eyes in the hall turned toward the entrance, drawn to a towering, majestic figure who nearly brushed the top of the doorframe.

"What presence!"

someone remarked in genuine admiration.

Wu Dao’s gaze swept across the Assembly Hall. Besides Zhao Jianji and the other high-ranking members of the Overlord Whale Alliance, three new faces were present.

Two men and a woman.

Judging by their postures, the woman appeared to be their leader.

The woman was in the prime of her youth. A white dress concealed her graceful figure, and her long black hair cascaded to her hips. Her strength was roughly at the Grandmaster realm, and the faint Spiritual Energy radiating from her skin, whiter than frost or snow, suggested she followed the Immortal Dao.

Her looks weren’t what one would call nation-toppling,

but her temperament was elegant and extraordinary, possessing an innate nobility. Her long, beautiful phoenix eyes held an intelligent and unshakeable calm.

As for the two men behind her...

’Quite the entourage.’

Wu Dao’s gaze flickered, and he couldn’t help but speculate on the woman’s identity.

This was because of the two men.

One old, one middle-aged,

were both in the Land Immortal Realm!

Furthermore, both were Soldier Cultivators, one armed with a saber and the other a sword. A sharp Soldier Qi faintly emanated from them, protectively enveloping the woman.

The one who had just spoken—

—was the elder carrying the sword. He had the face of a young man but the white hair of an old one, an otherworldly air, and a perpetual, faint smile on his lips.

The other man, who carried a saber at his side,

was stone-faced and clad in black. He remained silent, but after Wu Dao entered the hall, a hint of vigilance appeared in his quiet eyes.

"I have long heard of Alliance Leader Wu’s draconic and tiger-like might, and how his domineering will is second to none in Guangqing. Seeing you today, I find your reputation is well-deserved."

A flicker of surprise crossed the white-robed woman’s beautiful eyes as she saw Wu Dao. She parted her lips and offered her genuine praise.

Rumors abound that the Overlord Whale Alliance Leader, Wu Dao, is a Body Treasure Master whose Transverse Cultivation allows him to fight a Land Immortal.

But seeing him today...

He was more than that...

"I am but a brutish man from the countryside with a bit of paltry strength, a big fish in a small pond."

Wu Dao wasn’t arrogant. He took his seat, had a sip of tea, and then said, "And you three are...?"

"I am Zhou Zhiyin, a representative from the Nanyang Prince’s Mansion."

The white-robed woman’s bearing was exceptional, yet her voice was calm and magnetic, exuding a sense of approachability rather than condescending arrogance.

"This old one is Tong Yi, an elder of Zige Mountain. I currently have the honor of serving as an Honored Guest for the Prince’s Mansion,"

the sword-bearing elder said with a gentle smile.

"Shen Ruixin of Zige Mountain."

The stone-faced man in black spoke with a hoarse voice, as if he were unaccustomed to speaking.

’Zhou Zhiyin...’

Prince Nanyang’s name is Zhou Nandou. He only has two children, a son and a daughter, and their names are no secret.

’Is it a coincidence? Or...’

Wu Dao’s expression shifted. In his mind, he had already reached a conclusion about Zhou Zhiyin’s identity.

Another piece of information also caught his attention.

It was Zige Mountain, the power behind these two Soldier Cultivators!

The Southern Border has the Five Sacred Mountains.

This didn’t refer to the names of mountains, but to five top-tier Extraordinary Influences, each with a thousand-year legacy. Zige Mountain was one of these Five Peaks, a Holy Land for Soldier Cultivators, and belonged to the ’worldly’ faction.

For an elder of Zige Mountain to now be an Honored Guest of the Nanyang Prince’s Mansion... the implications were self-evident.

If Wu Dao remembered correctly,

Prince Nanyang himself was the chief disciple of Martial King Mountain, another of the Five Peaks, and was rumored to be the designated next Martial King.

In other words,

of the five supreme powers that held sway over the Southern Border’s Extraordinary Realm, two of the "Peaks" had already thrown their lot in with the Nanyang Prince’s Mansion. The number of first- and second-rate powers following suit would only be greater.

With such backing, 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

it was no wonder Prince Nanyang had the confidence to reshape the world and contend for the Central Plains.

But...

’Isn’t Prince Nanyang making a bit of a mountain out of a molehill when it comes to the Overlord Whale Alliance?’

A Commandery Princess.

Two Land Soldier Immortals as escorts.

This lineup...

It wasn’t that Wu Dao was being overly humble, but no matter how he looked at it, the Overlord Whale Alliance simply didn’t warrant this level of attention.

As thoughts churned in his mind,

Wu Dao waved away a serving girl who was about to refill his tea and addressed Zhou Zhiyin.

"I already know the purpose of your visit. I’ve long heard of Prince Nanyang’s worthy reputation. For him to take notice of my humble Overlord Whale Alliance is an honor we don’t deserve.

However,"

Wu Dao paused before continuing.

"I am just a brutish man from the mountains, uncultured and ignorant of strategy. I cannot command great armies, and I have never been a belligerent person by nature, so..."

Wu Dao left the rest unsaid,

but his meaning was clear.

The Overlord Whale Alliance would pledge allegiance to the Nanyang Prince’s Mansion.

But only in a logistical support role—supplying material resources, not fighting on the front lines.

’Not belligerent?’

Upon hearing this, even Tong Yi’s ever-present smile stiffened for a moment.

Although Nanyang Prefecture was several prefectures away from Guangqing, they had thoroughly reviewed Wu Dao’s dossier before their arrival.

Every incident that had built his reputation,

involved either wiping out entire families or seizing power through a coup, always after careful planning.

’Uncultured?’

’Not belligerent?’

’The gall of him to say that.’

"Alliance Leader Wu, you’re too humble."

A strange look flashed in Zhou Zhiyin’s beautiful eyes, but she didn’t call him out on it; it was all within her expectations. She simply gave a captivating smile and said,

"The Overlord Whale Alliance has its own difficulties, and my lord is not an unreasonable man. We can agree to the terms you’ve stated, Alliance Leader Wu."

Huh?

’They agreed? Just like that?’

A hint of surprise flickered in Wu Dao’s eyes.

The Overlord Whale Alliance, despite its size, couldn’t compare to the great Extraordinary Influences with their long histories.

But after annexing the Four Seas Gang,

the alliance had nearly thirty thousand members!

And these weren’t thirty thousand ordinary people. They were skilled martial artists, daring and ruthless. Even without formal military training, they were a force that no ordinary army could hope to match.

With a bit of training,

they would become an army of tigers and wolves.

While wars in the Extraordinary World weren’t decided by numbers alone,

in a war for dominion over the world, the top experts on each side would likely reach a stalemate, preventing any one of them from acting with impunity.