Xiaoyueâs eyes widened in shock: "The latest newsâWei Fan appeared and single-handedly killed all the Divine Realm Martial Sect members in Su City who wanted to seize the Celestial Roc Body Cleansing Skill. Iâve already asked Young Master Chengwu to confirm itâthereâs no mistake!"
Yue Shengfang shot to her feet, alarmed. "How many Divine Realm Martial Sects were there in Su City?"
For them to use the phrase âwiped out,â it canât just mean a few were killed.
Xiaoyue said, "He killed a total of twenty-five. Five were assassinated, the other twenty ganged up on Wei Fanâand he slaughtered them all in just a few seconds!"
Yue Shengfangâs expression shiftedâsince the report came from her younger brother, Yue Chengwu, there could be no doubt about it.
To wipe out twenty Divine Realm Martial Sect experts in a matter of secondsâsuch a feat was possible only for a Martial Venerable.
After a long moment, she sighed deeply: "I truly underestimated him."
Horizontal Cultivation of Innate was rare, but she knew plenty of people could reach that stageâthey just werenât willing to waste their time there.
Because, once you reach the Divine Realm, the advantages of Horizontal Cultivation of Innate arenât all that significant anymore.
Actually, Wei Fanâs situation was something Yue Chengwu had sought her help with before. But she had been angry that Long Xueyi and Wei Fan refused their invitation, and she didnât want to offend Zhang Juzheng or the Prime Minister, so in the end she didnât have Victory King intervene.
She realized now sheâd underestimated Wei Fanâs talents. With strength like that, thereâs just no way the Celestial Roc Body Cleansing Skill alone could account for it. If that technique could create such a monster, it wouldnât just be Jianghu sects trying to snatch itâthe royal family would want it, too.
Yue Shengfangâs heart was full of regretâshe knew sheâd missed yet another chance to win over this monstrous talent, Wei Fan.
"Princess Consort, people will still be coveting the Celestial Roc Body Cleansing Skill. We could have Victory King pressure Zhang Juzheng and have him rescind his previous orders," Xiaoyue suggested.
Yue Shengfang shook her head. "Itâs meaningless to intervene now. Weâd offend the Prime Ministerâs faction and only end up earning Wei Fanâs dislike."
If you donât send help when someone is suffering in the snow, but show up only when heâs powerfulâyouâll just annoy him.
With Wei Fan displaying such terrifying combat power, the Celestial Roc Body Cleansing Skill was no longer a fatal crisis for himâhe doesnât need the Demon Suppression Bureauâs protection anymore. Canceling the order now is pointless.
"Any other news?"
Xiaoyue nodded. "Old Master Long Jianying has reappearedâheâs become a Martial Venerable. Su Cityâs former Deputy Commander and Demon Hunter, Huo Tianzheng, has also broken through to the Martial Venerable Realm."
Yue Shengfangâs face went stiffâher guts twisted with regret.
If sheâd had Victory King act earlier, even if Huo Tianzheng and Long Jianying couldnât be fully brought into her camp, at least they wouldnât have become enemies. But now? Who knows.
And on top of that, with the monstrous Wei Fan, the move sheâd made this time was truly a foolish one.
Now, with two Martial Venerables guarding Su City, she no longer had the capital to win over people like Long Jianying.
"Young Master Chengwu wants us to quickly cut ties with the Prime Ministerâs faction. He said it wonât be long before Wei Fan will definitely kill Zhang Juzheng and the Prime Minister."
Yue Shengfang was stunned, then nodded. "Chengwuâs right. At the pace Wei Fan is growing, heâll soon become a Martial Venerableâand considering how ruthless he is, thereâs no way he wonât take revenge.
Go find out which Divine Realm Martial Sects in Su City were killed. If theyâre not connected to us, leave it be. If they are, cut ties with them immediately."
...
Wei Fan paid no attention to the uproar caused by the battle at Eagleâs Woe Cliff. By now, the factions behind those Divine Realm Martial Sects must already know what happened.
Let them dread for a while; after I break through to Martial Venerable, Iâll settle accounts with them one by one.
He landed on a mountainside, fully suppressing his presence.
Ever since heâd walked this path, he didnât know if anyone out there was hunting for his presence. Best to be cautious.
If someone found him while he was attempting to break through Martial Venerable, thatâd be trouble.
[Sea of Consciousness (900 zhang)]
...
[Ordinary Power: 63,000 years]
[Spirit Soul Power: 560 years]
He glanced at his statsâheâd reached Divine Realm Perfection, and could now attempt to break through to Martial Venerable.
Sixty-three thousand years of powerâthat should be enough to cross into the Martial Venerable Realm.
"Thereâs still over five hundred years of Spirit Soul Power!"
Wei Fan frowned slightly.
As far as he knew, once you reached Martial Venerable, you stopped cultivating the Divine Soul.
In other words, Spirit Soul Power might become worthless in the future.
"After reaching Divine Realm Perfection, can the Divine Soul really no longer improve?"
Well, thereâs only one way to find outâjust try it.
As he walked through the mountains, his stat panel flashed before his eyes.
[One year of Spirit Soul Powerâyour Sea of Consciousness doesnât change.]
[Two years of Spirit Soul Powerâyour Sea of Consciousness doesnât change.]
...
Part of his awareness dove into his Sea of Consciousness. Wei Fan saw that, although the Sea and his Divine Soul quivered as he used Spirit Soul Power, nothing really changed.
Above his silver Divine Soul, the Profound Yellow Tripod floated up and down, its spirituality blending ever more deeply with the Divine Soul, becoming increasingly mystical.
As he channeled more Spirit Soul Power, the Sea of Consciousness wasnât expanding, but the Profound Yellow Tripod seemed to be benefitingâits spirituality growing faster than usual.
"Boom!"
Still, the Sea of Consciousness didnât expand, but after a tremor, Wei Fan noticed his silver Divine Soul had grown by about thirty percentâit was bigger, more substantial.
"So, the Divine Soul can still improve!"
Wei Fanâs heart filled with delight.
For most people, after finally reaching Divine Realm Perfection, their lifespan is nearly over. No one has the luxury to focus on refining the Divine Soulâthey have to break through to Martial Venerable as fast as possible.
But he had more than five hundred years of Spirit Soul Power left. If he didnât use it now, itâd be worthless after stepping into Martial Venerable.
As for whether the Divine Soul could keep getting strongerâmost people probably never even tried, so how could they know?
[Three hundred years of Spirit Soul Powerâyour Divine Soul condenses further and grows stronger.]
...
As he checked his status, Wei Fan saw that the new notifications were different than before.
His Divine Soul surging like this left him feeling mentally invigoratedâhis Will Power more formidable by the moment.
"Everybodyâs Divine Soul is a bit different. The gap in Divine Realm power isnât just about Martial TechniquesâDivine Soul makes a huge difference, too.
Just because your Sea of Consciousness hits its limit doesnât mean your Divine Soul canât keep growing."
The stat panel continued flashing before his eyes.
In his Sea of Consciousness, his Divine Soul was swelling up like a balloon being inflated.
Whereas it used to be about as tall as he wasâaround six feet nowâafter burning through all that Spirit Soul Power, his Divine Soul now stood over two meters tall, its silvery glow more intense, almost tangible.
The Profound Yellow Tripod, more than a meter tall, no longer seemed so towering next to his Divine Soul.
[Sea of Consciousness (900 zhang)]
...
[Ordinary Power: 63,000 years]
[Spirit Soul Power: None]
A surge of overwhelming self-confidence filled his heart. Invisible Will Power stirred the air, grinding stones to dust around him.
"Since my Divine Soul can keep growing, no point in rushing the Martial Venerable breakthrough!"
The Martial Venerable Realm focuses on forging a Golden Body. How many colors oneâs Golden Body manifests depends not only on oneâs Cultivation Technique but body and Divine Soul as wellâitâs a true measure of potential.
Techniques are just icing on the cake. Theyâre not the key element.
Wei Fan gazed off into the distance. If he wasnât rushing the breakthrough, then heâd hunt down a few Demon Monarchs for power harvesting.
Heâd been a Demon Hunter for a couple months now, but had never actually ventured deep into demon territory.
Closing his eyes, he sensed the dozen or so Demon Monarch auras inside himâone in particular was pulsing, though it soon faded. But it was enough for Wei Fan to lock on to a direction.
"Cyan Bull Demon Monarch!"
The aura belonged to none other than the Cyan Bull Demon Monarch.
He didnât know whether his quarry had suddenly gone into hiding or moved beyond the range of his senses.
Guided by the Cyan Bull Demon Monarchâs trail, Wei Fan began heading into demon territory.
This was what demon hunting was really aboutâventuring deep into demon-infested lands, hunting and exterminating monsters at their source, not waiting until they invaded Human Race territory to act!
Heâd only been a Demon Hunter for a month or two, and hadnât yet done what a Demon Hunter was really supposed to do.
Suppressing his aura and relying on nothing but pure physical strength, Wei Fan became a gust of wind tearing across the mountains.
After a few hours, heâd traveled over a hundred miles into demon lands. While he hadnât found a trace of the Cyan Bull Demon Monarch, he did come to a demon gathering ground.
Standing atop a knoll, he saw demon miasma billowing aheadâa whole horde of monsters clustered together.
Some had taken human form, others were still in their primal shapes. Wei Fan even saw many houses peppered throughout the gathering.