Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

Jiang Chen gripped his Fine Steel Sword, his eyes narrowed as he warily sized up the dozen or so Six-Eared Spiritual Apes before him.

These Six-Eared Spiritual Apes were all baring their teeth, their green faces and long fangs giving them a savage appearance.

Their gazes, fixed on Jiang Chen, were filled with blood-red violence. They looked ready to pounce and rip him to shreds the moment they got an opening.

’One, two, three, four, five... Fifteen Six-Eared Spiritual Apes in total. Good, the Ape King didn’t follow. There are only two at the Martial Arts Fifth Stage. This should be much more manageable!’ In an instant, Jiang Chen had assessed the situation and gotten a handle on his surroundings.

ROAR!

One of the Six-Eared Spiritual Apes, equivalent to the Fifth Stage of Martial Arts, let out a low growl.

The surrounding fourteen Six-Eared Spiritual Apes simultaneously revealed savage glints in their eyes, let out deafening roars, and charged toward Jiang Chen.

"Aurora Sword Technique, First Technique—Flowing Light!"

With a flick of his wrist, Jiang Chen’s Fine Steel Sword instantly left its sheath.

It produced a flash of silver light that vanished in an instant, like a flowing stream, accompanied by the faint sound of rending air.

The sword light swept past, grazing the neck of a Six-Eared Spiritual Ape.

An arrow of blood spurted out. The Six-Eared Spiritual Ape let out a pained shriek and collapsed into a pool of its own blood.

The pungent smell of blood enraged the other apes. The fourteen remaining Six-Eared Spiritual Apes let out furious roars as a chilling killing intent enveloped Jiang Chen.

One after another, the Six-Eared Spiritual Apes continuously pounced on Jiang Chen.

They bared their fangs and claws, desperate to tear him to pieces.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Although Jiang Chen’s sword was fast, he was overwhelmed by the sheer number of Six-Eared Spiritual Apes, who fought with savage ferocity.

Moreover, they fought with no fear of death!

Just as Jiang Chen cut down two Six-Eared Spiritual Apes equivalent to the Fourth Stage of Martial Arts with a single strike, another ape’s claw slashed his back, sending a searing pain across it.

A large chunk of flesh had been gouged from his back, and blood was flowing freely.

Gritting his teeth against the intense pain, Jiang Chen swung his sword horizontally, unleashing a brilliant flourish as the spinning blade pierced the heart of that Six-Eared Spiritual Ape.

The Six-Eared Spiritual Ape shuddered and collapsed to the ground.

After a bitter struggle, Jiang Chen finally killed all fifteen Six-Eared Spiritual Apes. He was exhausted and panting for breath.

He had three or four new wounds, all dripping with blood. Jiang Chen dragged his weary body over to clean up the battlefield.

He used his Fine Steel Sword to slice open the abdomens of the Six-Eared Spiritual Apes and retrieve fifteen Demon Cores. He glanced around; the thick, bloody scent hanging in the air was enough to make one’s brow furrow.

’The commotion here will probably attract other Demon Beasts soon. I shouldn’t stay here for long...’

He glanced in the direction of the Spiritual Monkey Valley and clenched his fists. ’That Ape King is too strong. Unless I break through to the Martial Arts Sixth Stage, I’m no match for it. Spiritual Monkey Valley, I will be back. And when I return, no one will be able to stand in my way!’

Jiang Chen was still thinking about the Spiritual Source Spring behind the waterfall in the Spiritual Monkey Valley!

With a flash, Jiang Chen took the Demon Cores and left the area as quickly as he could.

About five or six minutes after he left, a tall, silver figure smashed down from the sky, slamming into the ground and creating a deep crater. A powerful wave of energy spread out in all directions, blowing over the towering ancient trees and snapping them in half!

"ROAR—"

The silver figure glanced at the corpses of the dozen or so Six-Eared Spiritual Apes on the ground. It beat its chest repeatedly, producing a sound like war drums—THUMP THUMP—as it let out an enraged roar.

The roar shook the heavens, causing all the weaker Demon Beasts within a radius of several hundred li to freeze in terror, prostrating themselves on the ground and trembling uncontrollably.

But Jiang Chen was oblivious to all of this!

He ran for dozens of kilometers before stopping in a hidden valley. He sat down cross-legged, circulated the Profound Yellow Undying Technique, and began to regulate his condition.

Before he knew it, night had fallen. The moon was bright and the stars were few. Faint starlight and moonlight filtered through the leaves and branches, dappling his body with specks of white light, creating a unique scene.

Hooo—

Jiang Chen let out a long, turbid breath. The battle had made the True Qi in his body much more condensed, bringing him another step closer to the Martial Arts Fifth Stage. ’Life-and-death battles really are the fastest way to raise one’s cultivation,’ he thought. ’But after such high-intensity fights, what’s more important is accumulation and consolidation. Only by reflecting, thinking, and completely digesting the combat experience can I achieve the greatest possible progress!’

’I’ve already cultivated the First Technique of the Aurora Sword Technique, Flowing Light, to the Great Success Realm. Now that I’ve also entered the Fourth Stage of Martial Arts, I can start practicing the second technique, Thunderbolt!’

The Aurora Sword Technique had three techniques in total: Flowing Light, Thunderbolt, and Instant Sword!

The second technique, Thunderbolt, required one to enter the Fourth Stage of Martial Arts and have condensed their True Qi before it could be used.

As for the third technique, Instant Sword, one had to reach the Seventh Stage of Martial Arts, Refining Essence, where True Qi began converting into True Essence, before it could be unleashed!

At the thought of the Seventh Stage of Martial Arts, a hint of excitement appeared in Jiang Chen’s eyes. ’Once I reach the Seventh Stage of Martial Arts, I’ll have the chance for my Martial Soul Talent Secret Skill Awakening. The God-slaying Sword is a Destructive Sword, a terrifying existence capable of killing even a Divine Spirit. I’m really looking forward to seeing what its talent will be.’

’But you can’t get fat from one bite. The path of cultivation must be taken one step at a time. From today onward, I’ll practice my Cultivation Technique and Martial Skills in the valley during the day, and at night, I’ll go out to fight Demon Beasts to improve my combat experience and hone my skills!’

Jiang Chen had a plan.

He took advantage of the night to leave the valley. After a full hour of searching, he finally came across a sleeping Black-armored Rhinoceros!

The Black-armored Rhinoceros was a Tier One Demon Beast, equivalent to the Fourth Stage of Martial Arts, but its defense was comparable to the Martial Arts Fifth Stage Peak.

It took Jiang Chen a full thirty minutes to kill the Black-armored Rhinoceros. He cut off its precious horn and Demon Core, then continued to play the role of a hunter in the night.

During the day, he would train diligently in his Martial Skills and the Profound Yellow Undying Technique in the valley.

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, more than ten days had passed since Jiang Chen left the Spiritual Monkey Valley.

There was now only one month left until the Yulan Festival.

During this time, Jiang Chen’s cultivation broke through once again, reaching the Martial Arts Fifth Stage Peak. He had also cultivated the second technique of the Aurora Sword Technique, Thunderbolt, to the Minor Achievement Realm.

His combat power had increased by leaps and bounds!

Night fell once again...

’Time to head out!’

Jiang Chen took a deep breath, his eyes shining. He had come to love this life of fighting and killing in the dark of night.

His target for this excursion was a Tier One Demon Beast eighty-five kilometers east of the valley: a Purple Crowned Golden Ring Snake. This Purple Crowned Golden Ring Snake was very powerful, comparable to an expert at the Martial Arts Sixth Stage.

Jiang Chen had discovered the Purple Crowned Golden Ring Snake’s tracks a few days prior and had fought it for a while, but was ultimately defeated.

Now that he had finally broken through to the Fifth Stage of Martial Arts and his strength had greatly increased, it was time for revenge!