The next day.
After Jiang Xie sobered up, his realm also broke through to Martial Emperor.
The entire process was muddle-headed. Even while sensing an unprecedented level and power, he still wondered how he broke through.
The reason was simple—the mental block and burden were released during yesterday’s painful drinking.
Heaven’s assist might have also played a tiny role.
“Sister.”
Jiang Xie stood before the bronze mirror adjusting his clothing, looking at his face that had become even more handsome, and murmured, “I will live well for you, for our parents!”
“Creak!”
The door opened as he stepped out.
The post-rain sunshine was very warm. Jiang Xie stood outside the courtyard with closed eyes, using his heart to experience everything in the world. His entire being seemed to sublimate.
“Elder Jiang, good morning.”
“Morning.”
“Elder Jiang seems even more handsome.”
“Obviously.”
“Elder Jiang, when will you teach at the Martial Hall? This disciple still has questions about martial dao waiting for your guidance.”
“Right away, right now.”
However, when Jiang Xie saw Shangguan Xinyao also entering the Martial Hall, he hurriedly pulled aside Old Ge passing by and said, “Can’t do it, can’t do it. I drank too much yesterday and have a stomach ache. Old Ge, help me substitute today.”
“Sure.”
Old Ge readily agreed.
However, just walking into the Martial Hall and seeing Shangguan Xinyao sitting properly, he immediately ran out shouting, “Come back here!”
“Running away, running away.”
Jiang Xie pretended not to hear and ran off.
Outside the main hall, Jun Changxiao saw him not only break through to Martial Emperor but also recover from his sad emotions. The corners of his mouth lifted in a smile.
Birth, aging, sickness, death—eternally unchanging.
The living shouldn’t dwell too much in grief, but rather face the future with a better mindset—that’s what matters.
“Sect Master.”
Li Luoqiu walked over and said, “Intelligence just came. The previous investigation was mistaken. The deceased wasn’t Elder Jiang’s sister.”
Jun Changxiao said, “So she’s still alive?”
Li Luoqiu shook her head and said, “We can only confirm the targeted person wasn’t who we’re looking for. As for whether she’s alive, we cannot determine.”
The information Jiang Xie provided was too limited. The Xingyun Continent was so vast—finding someone lost for so long was truly like finding a needle in a haystack.
“Cannot determine means there’s still hope,” Jun Changxiao said. “Tell Elder Jiang about this.”
“Yes.”
Li Luoqiu called Jiang Xie over. After hearing the news, his expression first froze, then filled with wild joy!
There was still hope.
Still a thread of hope!
“Hall Master Li,” Jiang Xie suppressed his excitement and said, “Please pay close attention. Whatever news comes, whether good or bad, you must tell me.”
“Yes,” Li Luoqiu said.
Jiang Xie walked out of Fine Rain Hall. In that moment, the sky seemed bluer, everyone seemed more handsome, his mood extremely comfortable.
…
The Life-Death Secret Realm’s cooldown time had finished.
Most disciples began successively gathering at the entrance, forming teams to challenge it, hoping to break through to higher levels.
“Need Wood element…”
“Need Fire element…”
Various team formation slogans rang out, the atmosphere very harmonious.
Core disciples like Li Qingyang and Xiao Zuiji weren’t rushing to enter because they were waiting for the Sect Master’s summons to pioneer Difficult Mode!
Previously challenging Normal Mode was already very difficult. Next challenging even higher difficulty would definitely be thrilling!
“I can hardly wait!” Li Fei’s eyes were full of fighting spirit.
Li Qingyang said, “This training mode is higher than before. When entering, we must be especially cautious.”
The core disciples all waited for Jun Changxiao’s summons, all actively preparing. Even Ye Xingchen and He Wudi were no exception.
What they pursued wasn’t thrills, but the exhilarating sensation of realm advancement after the thrills!
Three days later.
Jun Changxiao summoned the disciples.
For this Difficult Mode pioneering attempt, he was also very cautious, directly deploying two hundred Martial King disciples and bringing along the four F4—Jiang Xie, the Ning brothers, and Old Ge.
Ding Xingwang and Gongsun Haohao didn’t go because Difficult Mode didn’t allow Martial Saints and Half-Saints to enter.
“Depart!”
At the secret realm entrance, Jun Changxiao announced loudly.
“Swish!”
“Swish!”
Two hundred Martial King disciples and four Martial Emperor elders followed him inside.
Difficult Mode was truly difficult—so difficult the author had no ink left to write about it, directly activating the ten-thousand-character omission technique to skip through.
“Huff!”
“Huff huff!”
In the third checkpoint’s Ethereal Void Land, Li Qingyang, Xiao Zuiji, and others collapsed on the ground breathing heavily.
Li Fei directly spread out in a “big” character shape, weakly saying, “Almost finished.”
The camera pulled back and up, showing that of the two hundred disciples who entered, after finally passing the three checkpoint trials, eighty had been eliminated.
However.
They still cleared it.
Except for those eliminated, all participating disciples received experience point rewards, their realms advancing by one grade.
Jiang Xie, the Ning brothers, and Old Ge also broke through, but were exhausted enough to stand in place constantly wiping sweat from their foreheads.
“Huff huff!”
At the very front, Jun Changxiao leaned on his Azure Dragon Crescent Blade, advancement momentum surging around his body as he successfully broke through to Eighth Grade Sword-Blade Dual Emperor.
A genuine Sword Emperor fighting with a blade—truly baffling.
Mainly because he had no suitable sword weapon. Although the True Yang Sword was decent, it still fell short compared to the Azure Dragon Crescent Blade with special effects.
Moreover.
The significance of the Sword Emperor realm lay in stacking with martial dao to make himself stronger.
Unless using ultimate sword techniques like Myriad Swords Returning to Origin, Jun Changxiao in most situations preferred hacking with the blade because it was simpler, more brutal, more satisfying.
Previously chasing Half-Saints hacking wildly under the setting sun—the sense of imagery immediately emerged. Holding a sword hacking wildly under the setting sun might make people think: this is a big fool.
…
Although pioneering Difficult Mode succeeded, eliminating so many disciples across three checkpoints was considered quite a failure.
No problem.
With this experience, the next time challenging Difficult Mode they’d have enough confidence because they already knew the enemy inside and out. Fighting again would be easier.
Of course.
Jun Changxiao also realized a problem—disciples had flawless cooperation, but lacked combination martial techniques, like Lily Holy Sect’s Seven Stars Embracing Moon Formation.
Especially at the Dragon-Tiger Competition, the first-rate sects encountered all had formation-type martial techniques, and when deployed, their power was extremely terrifying.
The System said, “The Shop has everything, lacking nothing!”
“Here we go again.”
Jun Changxiao finally couldn’t resist and opened the Advanced Shop. However, after carefully reviewing everything, he only found Superior Sect Protection Grand Formations, with no formation-type martial techniques.
“The enemies faced are getting stronger. The Medium-grade Sect Protection Grand Formation is obviously inadequate. We can consider getting the Superior-grade.”
Jun Changxiao didn’t hesitate, spending ten thousand Contribution Points to purchase the Superior-grade Sect Protection Grand Formation.
This higher-level formation was not only stronger defensively but also had extremely wide coverage. After complete installation, even Tiegu Town at the mountain’s foot was covered.
Previously the Basic and Medium-grade Sect Protection Grand Formations only protected the sect. Now covering half of Tiegu Mountain—that was truly impressive.
High defensive strength and high coverage meant high consumption. Activating it once consumed 100 Contribution Points.
“So expensive!”
Jun Changxiao sighed.
Thinking back to when the system first activated, the upper limit was only 100 points. Now even opening the Superior-grade Sect Protection Grand Formation required 100 points, which proved…
Jun Changxiao stood in the main hall, took a puff of his cigar, and said calmly, “I’ve become stronger and wealthier.”