AGM 319 - Guidance by the Barbarian King
After he was interrupted, Qin Wentian tried to revisit that special state of epiphany, but it proved impossible to do so. He could only revise the eighty-one demonic arts again and again until his Astral Energy within his Yuanfu receptacles started to stir up once more, bringing him closer to that feeling again.
Currently, it was as though his body was totally that of a demon. Demonic qi swirled about as the Astral Energy within his Yuanfu seethed and surged.
Gradually, that feeling came back. Rumbling sounds echoed from his Yuanfu, as the aura he was emitting gradually climbed upwards, becoming even stronger.
On the precipice, a man and a dog quietly sat there. The only sounds were the unending waves crashing against the mountain. The faraway cultivators had stopped paying attention to Qin Wentian; after all, they had to cultivate as well.
Who was Yue Bingying? First off, leaving her status and talent aside, her companion was one of the most famous cultivators within the Unmatched Realm. Situ Po, had already cultivated for over a year here and was at the peak of the eighth level of Yuanfu. He wasn’t someone Qin Wentian could be compared to. The distance between them was too wide, they were on different levels.
A few days later, when Qin Wentian opened his eyes, a faint trace of a smile could be seen etched on his face.
At this moment, the demonic qi permeating the air gradually abated, as the aura he had been exuding, calmed down.
“Xiu!”
Little Rascal immediately flew towards Qin Wentian as it snuggled its head against his chest. Qin Wentian smiled and patted its head before adding, “Let’s go and take a bath.”
After that, Qin Wentian leisurely walked out towards the ocean while holding Little Rascal in his arms.
…………….
The Unmatched Realm was extremely vast. There were a total of thirty-six mountains with cave dwellings within them known as the Dao-Cultivation Halls, each with an eccentric presiding over. These eccentrics were known as the Elders of the Unmatched Realm.
Presently, on the waist of a certain mountain, a young man was walking up with a snowy puppy running behind him.
There were several cave dwellings in this mountain, some were carved out by cultivators while others were man-made. At the start of every month, elders of the Unmatched Realm would expound on their specialized Dao at the Dao-Cultivation Hall situated at the peak of the mountain. Those that gained access could participate and interact, and the elders may even personally coach those talented attendees who have caught their eye, maybe even going as far as accepting them as disciples.
“Qin Wentian.” A voice suddenly drifted over. As Qin Wentian turned his gaze over, he saw a beautiful young lady standing at the entrance of one of the numerous cave dwellings. Her eyes flashed with a strange glow, and when she noticed Qin Wentian shifted his gaze onto her, an expression of shyness couldn’t help but appear on her face. Earlier, she had unconsciously called out his name.
Qin Wentian lightly nodded to her, as a gentle smile appeared on his face. Momentarily, the young lady’s expression faltered, and she stood there in a stunned state.
This fellow was quite good-looking when he smiled, it was hard to believe he could be so violent, to men and women alike.
“The cave dwelling beside me is empty, do you want it?” The lady upon seeing Qin Wentian’s gaze shifting away, involuntarily called out once again.
Qin Wentian dumbfoundedly stared at the lady, causing her to feel somewhat embarrassed. However, she saw Qin Wentian nodding in agreement and so they both headed to the cave dwelling she mentioned. Indeed, that place wasn’t bad at all, there was even a floating platform outside where one could meditate in cultivation.
Ancient peaks and a natural waterfall right alongside the cave, it was a pretty pleasing environment.
“How did you know of me?” Qin Wentian smiled at the lady.
“Back then when you fought against Liu Xi, I was spectating from the crowd,” the girl replied with a bashful smile. “My name is Cang Lan, I didn’t expect you would still be so relaxed with so many people out looking for you.”
“Hmm, who’s looking for me?” Qin Wentian asked.
“Lin Haotian and his fellow disciples.”
“Lin Haotian?” Qin Wentian didn’t know of this person.
“Lin Haotian is a chosen from the Sword Extinction Sect, his cultivation base is at the seventh level of Yuanfu and is extremely formidable. I heard he met you before and you asked him to scram? But actually, he’s not the one looking to meet with you, but rather, it was Yue Bingying. I guess she wanted to see how you’d match up to Situ Po.”
Cang Lan laughed as she continued, “But I’m sure you wouldn’t know their names. Yue Bingying is someone from the Azure Emperor Palace with a cultivation base at the seventh level of Yuanfu. She’s one of the most beautiful women currently in the Unmatched Realm and also, the companion of Situ Po. Situ Po shares your accomplishment. He too, gained the approval of the thirty-six eccentrics. Although his cultivation is currently at the eighth level of Yuanfu, he can easily defeat opponents at the ninth level. Whether you like it or not, I’m afraid it's better for you to meet with Yue Bingying this time around.”
“Not interested.” Qin Wentian smiled.
Yue Bingying, a person from the Azure Emperor Palace. Did he finally have the chance to come into contact with someone from the Azure Emperor Palace? Not only that, her surname wasn’t Di, but Yue!
Apparently, the current greatest faction of power in the Azure Emperor Palace no longer belonged to the Di Clan.
“How about me? Are you interested?” Another silhouette descended from the skies, instantly landing behind Qin Wentian. As Qin Wentian stared at that silhouette, he felt shock rocking his heart. He couldn’t even sense his presence until the moment he appeared. What a terrifying speed.
This person had a herculean frame, and his looks appeared middle-aged.
“Qin Wentian offers his greetings to Senior.” Qin Wentian bowed, his actions causing the middle-aged man to break out in a laugh. “Hehe, I’ve always taken an interest in you. Been wanting to meet you ages ago. Come with me?”
Qin Wentian rolled his eyes, this guy was so direct.
“What? Are you not willing to?” That person glared at Qin Wentian.
“Junior wouldn’t dare, Junior will most certainly follow Senior’s instruction.” Qin Wentian shook his head and replied.
“That’s what I wanted to hear.” That person soared up through the skies as Qin Wentian followed behind, the swiftness of their departure causing Cang Lan to be stunned. Cang Lan could only gaze at their departing back views and bitterly smile while shaking her head.
The Barbarian King had personally appeared!
The middle-aged man then brought Qin Wentian to a cultivation ground atop a mountain peak. The mountain breeze here felt extremely cooling, and before Qin Wentian could say anything, the middle-aged man laughed out, “Hey brat, when I saw your test, I could feel the vast strength within you. How did you achieve that?”
“Junior comprehended the Mandate of Force, and has already reached the Transformation Boundary of the first level insight, enhancing my strength by a factor of eight,” Qin Wentian replied.
“Don’t lie to me, even with an enhancement at a factor of eight, your cultivation base is merely at the fifth level of Yuanfu, there’s no way you could have reached such a level of strength.” The Barbarian King stared at Qin Wentian with a smile that was not quite a smile.
“I’ve also comprehended the Mandate of Demons and cultivated some demonic cultivation arts, which has granted me a tyrannical physique. Hence, with the enhancement of a factor of eight, in addition to the power of my physique, I really could reach that level of strength.” Qin Wentian stretched out his arms as demonic qi coated it. The Barbarian King nodded, “That would explain it. But I’m still curious, you’re obviously a human yet you have the physique of a demon? Exactly what kind of demonic art did you cultivate?”
“I’m just casually asking, there’s no need to give me an answer.” The Barbarian King waved his hands when he saw Qin Wentian was in a difficult position. He understood that everyone had secrets, and it wasn’t polite to pry too deeply.
“Now, use your entire strength and attack me. I want to feel it for myself.” The Barbarian King stood in front of Qin Wentian.
“Mhm.” Qin Wentian nodded. He gathered his strength and stepped forth, unleashing the will of both his Mandates. The blood in his body surged as his bloodline limit activated, delivering a punch of immense might right into the chest of the Barbarian King. As a thunderous sound of impact echoed, the Barbarian King stood there unfazed. The force of Qin Wentian’s full-powered punch only disintegrated his clothes, it didn’t injure him in the slightest.
“Hu…” The Barbarian King spat out a breath of turbid air. “Good one, young man. You’ve already reached the sixth level of Yuanfu. With the augmentation from both your Mandates, the explosiveness of your attacks would even enable you to slay cultivators at the seventh level of Yuanfu with ease.”
Qin Wentian stared at the now half-naked body of the Barbarian King as he let out an awkward laugh, feeling a little embarrassed.
“Sigh, why are you not destined to be my disciple? This is too depressing, you are such a good seedling.” The Barbarian King lamented. His character was direct and he always said what he thought, he didn’t put on any airs even when it came to interacting with those from the junior generations.
“Even though you might not be my master, I can still call you my Teacher.” Qin Wentian smiled. His words caused the Barbarian King to be stunned before he roared in laughter,
“Hey brat, I haven’t promised to teach you anything yet.”
“Hehe.” Qin Wentian could only laugh somewhat embarrassedly.
“Fine, I’ll give you some pointers and teach you some techniques that can further increase your might when you are attacking.” The Barbarian King shrugged when he saw how bright Qin Wentian’s eyes were when he looked at him.
“Many thanks to Senior.” Qin Wentian bowed. Such a good opportunity, how could he not grab it?
“Have you met powerful Sword Cultivators before?” the Barbarian King asked.“I’m not sure, but those sword-users I’ve faced before couldn’t be considered powerful I guess.” Qin Wentian replied.
“The attacks of Sword Cultivators are like that of moving clouds and flowing water. Powerful sword arts all contain their own ‘Rhythm’. When the Rhythm is potent enough, the instant the sword slashes out, the sword becomes the only thing in the entire world. The stronger the Rhythm is, the more terrifying that sword’s might will be,” the Barbarian King explained.A look of contemplation dawned on Qin Wentian’s face. A complete set of sword techniques needed to flow smoothly. If one wanted that set of sword techniques to be perfect, not a single stance could be missed out. The rhythm of the sword, would naturally be powerful.
“This isn’t merely applicable for just sword techniques, it’s the same for sabre and spear techniques as well. In fact, it’s a universal concept for all kinds of power attacks.” The Barbarian King continued explaining. “Try thinking about it, there are those with attacks at a certain level of power, and then there are those at the same level of strength but their attacks are many times stronger. With the use of appropriate innate techniques, they can explode with boundless strength, like a tiger lunging at its opponents.”
“Other than using innate techniques to amplify one’s strength, one could use ‘Rhythm’ as well.” Barbarian King laughed as he punched out, a single punch, causing an explosive sound to reverberate in the air.
The Barbarian King then stepped about in a unique manner and punched out another time. The force of the second punch was clearly stronger compared to the first, it was infused by a barbaric, violent rhythm, causing the entire space in front of him to tremble.
“Two attacks of differing might, yet the strength used to unleash them were both the same. I will show you a few more times.” The Barbarian King’s demeanour turned serious, he stood in a stance, appearing as immovable as the mountains. His body then trembled slightly, as the muscles of his entire body were suddenly mobilised. He stepped in spirals, while a fearsome aura exploded out of him, originating from a single punch. “BOOM!” The moment the punch with towering might lashed out, the Heavens and Earth were struck by a sudden clap of thunder.
“The same strike, with you integrating the entire strength of your body with the Heavens and Earth, something similar to the concept of being One with Heaven. You, are the only thing existing in this world, you are the Heavens, you are the Earth, harmonizing together so perfectly that there will no longer be any sense of ‘you’ remaining. Only in this state will you be able to use ‘Rhythm’, with your attacks explosively increased in power.”
The Barbarian King laughed as he looked at Qin Wentian, “Brat, this can be quite difficult to learn. Have you comprehended it yet?”
“Yeah.” Qin Wentian nodded. Stilling his heart, free of all distractions, integrating the strength of him alone (man), together with that of the Heavens and Earth, achieving the state of One with Heaven. The words of the Barbarian King weren’t difficult to understand.
“Are you sure?” Stop boasting, practice this for two months and learn to use it as you will. You have to be able to use this freely in any state. From now on, just practice here, I want to see how long it’ll take you.” The Barbarian King laughed. Although it could be simple, it wasn’t so easy to completely control. Once Qin Wentian’s comprehensions on this were completed, even when using the same amount of strength, each and every one of his attacks would be at a different level of power!