My Arts Evolve When Perfected

"With the appearance of the Demon King [Chen] at Kunlun Mountain, a massive amount of Spirit Charm is overflowing from the Secret Realm. It might even coalesce into the Grotto Heaven Blessed Lands spoken of in ancient texts. Under his leadership, the many Demon Race clans in the Northwest Province have nearly recovered to their strength from before the Battle of the Twelve Great Halls, completely exceeding our initial assessment of his abilities.

Furthermore, there are rumors that Demon King [Chen] is contacting some of the Demon Race clans in the Northern Wilderness. The implications are self-evident. If this continues, in less than half a year, the Northwest Province will face a catastrophe far greater than the one at the start of the Secret Realms’ resurgence!"

Zhu Weiyi’s tone was heavy, his gaze grim. His right hand, clutching that token tightly, trembled slightly. "Ever since the incident you were involved in, Northwest Martial University has undergone an unprecedented inspection. More than two hundred people, including staff and faculty, were punished for lax supervision.

Their verification procedures were substandard, which allowed special larvae left by the Red Flame Spider Mother to slip onto campus through various channels. They proceeded to mentally erode and spy on over a hundred students. Even the personal disciple of a genius instructor was targeted.

The situation in the Northwest Province is unstable right now. It may seem like Demon King [Chen] has sheathed his claws and halted his assault on Tianshan City, but in reality, he’s just biding his time and building his strength.

The committee is preparing to mobilize Martial Artists and various experts. In about half a year, we will launch an assault on Kunlun Mountain. Before then, we hope to have more Martial Arts Grandmasters..."

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.

Jiang Qiu’s heart beat faster and faster, his expression stunned.

’Has the situation in the Northwest Province really gotten this bad?’

’Just six months ago, Grand General Luo slew three Demon Marshals and over a dozen Demon Generals! Those were all Great Demons at or above the Ancestral Realm. Even with peerless talent, it takes at least half a century to cultivate them!’

’But Demon King [Chen] has already replaced them!’

He took a deep breath, clenching his sweaty palms. "What Realm is Demon King [Chen] at now?"

"A month ago, Demon King [Chen] acted personally. He instantly killed a Major General and seized the ruins of Kunlun City," Zhu Weiyi said, his brow knitting together. "He’s at least at the Upper Ancestral Return Realm, stronger than most Demon Generals!"

One must surpass the Ancestral Realm to reach the Upper Ancestral Return Realm. Within the Demon Race, this rank is called Demon General. For a Xia Country Martial Artist, the equivalent is Major General.

Jiang Qiu swallowed hard, his eyelid twitching slightly.

’Starting out at the Ancestral Realm was bad enough, but now he’s already advanced to the Upper Ancestral Return Realm.’

’That’s equivalent to the threshold of the Grandmaster Realm, something most geniuses can’t even touch in their entire lifetime, and he just glanced down and stepped right over it.’

’Is this the power of a reincarnated Ancient Demon Emperor?’ 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

’If he reaches the Demon King Realm, will Grand General Luo still be able to protect the cities of the Northwest...?’

The veins on the back of Jiang Qiu’s hand pulsed as a thousand chaotic thoughts flooded his mind, each one feeling as heavy as a mountain.

’Once [Chen] reaches the Demon King Realm, he’ll be free to deal with my Great Dao Imperfection. If I don’t get stronger as fast as possible, my time will be up.’

’I have to go to the Northern Wilderness Great Secret Realm. I must get the Martial Arts Fruit and ascend to the Grandmaster Realm!’

"Grandmaster Zhu, how can I compete for a spot in the Great Secret Realm?"

Jiang Qiu’s every word was resolute, his gaze as sharp as a spear tip.

"When the stele for the Northern Wilderness Great Secret Realm emerged, it created ten Golden Tokens that flew toward the world’s major gathering places for the Human and Demon Races. The closest, North Border City, received two of them. One of them is with me."

Zhu Weiyi stared at the Golden Token in his hand, his gaze intense. "This Golden Token is of utmost importance. The Central Committee in the Capital City has already chosen the most talented Dharma Realm genius from the other seven provinces, and he will be coming to North Border City to claim the Golden Token.

If no one in the Northwest Province can compare to him, then he will represent the pinnacle of Xia Country’s Dharma Realm talent and enter the Great Secret Realm when it officially opens in a month."

"The most talented Dharma Realm genius from the seven provinces?"

Jiang Qiu’s heart skipped a beat. ’But I only just entered the Dharma Realm!’

"Mm. The gap in your Realms is significant, but in terms of talent alone, you’re not necessarily worse than him. If you have the confidence to challenge him, he can suppress his Realm to fight you on even ground.

After all, the stele of the Northern Wilderness Great Secret Realm doesn’t emphasize one’s Realm or power. The main factor is one’s capacity for Enlightenment—in other words, talent."

Meeting Zhu Weiyi’s expectant gaze, Jiang Qiu slowly exhaled. "I’m willing to give it a shot!"

"Good! You truly are Old Hong’s personal disciple. Full of confidence!"

Zhu Weiyi clapped him on the shoulder and laughed heartily. "To be honest, I’m being selfish. I really don’t want this Golden Token that ended up in my hands to be taken by a genius from another province. If someone from our Northwest Martial University has what it takes to claim the Golden Token, nothing would be better!"

The two of them talked for a long time. Zhu Weiyi gave him plenty of instructions and also mentioned that the Secret Technique and the Flame Spirit Melting Fragrance—his rewards from the rookie tournament—would be shipped to him soon.

Afterward, Jiang Qiu smoothly checked into the grand hotel reserved for Xia Country Martial Artists, took a nice long shower, and changed into a clean black shirt and a cotton jacket.

He also sent a message to Liu Zili to let her know he was safe. After waiting for a while with no reply, he saw her status was set to offline.

Jiang Qiu let out a soft sigh and replied to everyone else who had sent him a message. Soon, notifications started chiming one after another.

[Yang Yu: Glad you’re okay. That’s all that matters.]

[Sun Yongsheng: Holy shit, Jiang Divine, you even survived that! You’re fucking awesome, as expected of you!]

[...]

After chatting for a bit, his senior brother, Zhai Song, also sent a message.

[Zhai Song: Junior Brother Jiang Qiu, I heard you already reached the Dharma Realm? And that Elder Zhu directly named you the rookie tournament champion and you’re preparing to compete with that genius from Jiangnan Province for the Golden Token?]

[Jiang Qiu: Yes.]

[Zhai Song: You have to be careful. That genius from Jiangnan Province is no joke. His name is Tang Guang. He’s very, very strong. He’s the number one Sword Dao genius from Jiangnan Province in the last hundred years, and he has Ninth Rank Thunderous Jade Sinews!]

[Jiang Qiu: Senior Brother, you know about him?]

A flash of delight went through Jiang Qiu. He thought he had no way of learning about his competitor, but it turned out his senior brother was familiar with him.

[Zhai Song: Actually, before the news came out that you were alive, the Central Committee in the Capital City had already decided to give the Golden Token to him. After all, he defeated the geniuses recommended by all eight provinces. I was one of them.]

[Zhai Song: It’s shameful to admit, but like the geniuses from the other provinces, I was defeated in a single strike.]

’Defeated in a single strike?!’

Jiang Qiu’s eyes widened, his mind reeling.

’Setting aside the geniuses from the other provinces, his senior brother, Zhai Song, was a personal disciple of Dean Hong Wu and one of the ten great instructors at the Soldier Cultivation Academy! He had long since stepped into the Dharma Realm and had even slain an Ancestral Great Demon before.’

’To be defeated in a single strike... that Sword Dao genius, Tang Guang, is a true monster.’

[Zhai Song: Junior Brother, you’ve crossed two High Realms in such a short time. I don’t know what kind of Great Dao you walk, but your only chance to beat Tang Guang at the same Realm is to comprehend Spear Intent and learn a perception-type Secret Technique...]

The longer they talked, the deeper Jiang Qiu’s brow furrowed and the tighter he clenched his fists.

The mainstream path of Ancient Martial Arts in Jiangnan Province is that of the Sword Cultivator. Once one fully masters Sword Intent, they can touch the threshold of the Martial Arts Grandmaster Realm. Tang Guang was already known as a Half-Step Grandmaster.

In a fight against him, it seemed Jiang Qiu would be at a disadvantage in many respects.

’But if I don’t get the Golden Token, if I don’t go to the Great Secret Realm to fight for the Enlightenment Fruit, how will I possibly resist [Chen] when he steps into the Demon King Realm!’

Jiang Qiu’s will was as sharp as a spear. ’Until the Great Secret Realm officially opens, I still have a chance!’