"Hiss, hiss..." The little dragon circled around a huge rock, its tiny head watching Li Lin, then, seemingly bored, crawled down the rock to play on its own.
Li Lin, immersed in deep concentration, repeatedly practiced the Furious Sea Roar technique. Martial arts could not be mastered in a short time, especially higher-level techniques, which were even harder to cultivate.
Patience and perseverance were not lacking in Li Lin. In this valley, he felt no discomfort; rather, he reached a wonderful state of mind. The quiet environment was very suitable for focused cultivation.
In this tranquility, Li Lin knew that people from the Violent Wolf Mercenary Group outside the valley must be searching the world for him. The grudge of being chased must be avenged; not seeking revenge was not in his character.
Therefore, in this quiet environment, Li Lin also felt a sense of urgency; he must enhance his strength as soon as possible.
In such conditions, Li Lin’s training progressed rapidly. In just half a month, he had already reached the introductory stage of mastering the Furious Sea Roar, a Yellow-Level beginner martial technique. For ordinary people, even three months might not yield such results. If an outsider were present, they would undoubtedly be amazed.
At nightfall, the afterglow of the setting sun cast over the valley, dressing it in a layer of red. Li Lin ceased his cultivation and gathered his Qi.
When Li Lin returned to the cave, the little dragon, with a wild rabbit in its mouth, entered the cave, holding its head high. Its small eyes, turning gleefully, watched Li Lin with a proud expression.
"You are really impressive," Li Lin said as he patted the little dragon's head. During this period, the little dragon brought wild animals to the cave every day, so Li Lin didn't need to go out to find food.
"Hiss, hiss..." The little dragon shook its head, once again looking smug, then climbed onto Li Lin's shoulder.
After roasting the wild rabbit, both the human and the beast ate heartily. The little dragon had a huge appetite, but Li Lin did not let it eat too much. Cooked food like this, which wasn't a magical beast, did not benefit the little dragon.
Observing in the Wudu City Mountain Range, Li Lin noticed that when the little dragon ate magical beasts raw, it always gained more or less benefit. Its skin became more lustrous, and its size gradually increased.
Not allowing it to eat the delicious food, the little dragon glared at Li Lin huffily, then ran to a rock in the cave and coiled up, ignoring Li Lin.
Li Lin smiled slightly; the little dragon could even get angry. However, every time it got angry, it would climb back onto him in less than half an hour.
"It's about time to take a pill. If I can break through to the seventh level warrior, my strength will increase again," Li Lin sat cross-legged, taking out the five third-grade pills from the space bag he obtained from the Fire Yin Monster. Among the five third-grade pills, two were Qi Recovery Pills for healing, and he had already taken one.
In addition to the two Qi Recovery Pills, Li Lin had three other pills, all of which were designed to enhance Qi, called True Yang Pills. Now, Li Lin planned to consume one True Yang Pill in preparation to break through to the seventh level of the warrior. A third-grade pill should be sufficient for him to reach the seventh level, but as the energy needed for his breakthroughs increased, even a third-grade pill might not be enough to reach the eighth level.
Having refined the Qi of the Violent Wolf Mercenary Group for almost a month, Li Lin now dared to consume the pill to attempt a breakthrough. Uncle Jiang had repeatedly warned him not to be too eager for quick success; if he could not fully refine the acquired energy, it would greatly impact his future cultivation.
Li Lin understood the importance of a solid foundation. A skyscraper starts from the ground, and a shaky foundation could lead to a collapse at higher levels. Therefore, he dared not be careless. Despite wanting to enhance his strength as quickly as possible, he knew he needed to proceed step by step.
With the Yin-Yang Spirit Martial Technique, he was already progressing much faster than others. Delaying a little while to avoid future detriments to his cultivation was acceptable.
After consuming the pill, a tremendous surge of energy immediately spread throughout Li Lin's body. He quickly entered a state of cultivation, circulating the Yin-Yang Spirit Martial Technique within his body to refine this massive energy for his own use.
At this time, Li Lin's recent training and exertions had left his muscles, bones, and tissues in a state of fatigue. With this sudden influx of immense energy, his muscles and bones naturally absorbed it, rapidly recovering and becoming even more robust.
Li Lin had confidence in his physique, which had been tempered by Uncle Jiang, and had even been soaked in Marrow Cleansing Pills for a month. In terms of physical robustness among his peers of the same cultivation level, he was certainly top-notch. Additionally, with the Qing Ling Armor, his defensive capability was also quite formidable.
As time slowly passed, Qi began to seep out from the pores of Li Lin's body, enveloping him in a yellowish glow. His main attribute was the Earth element, known for its strong offensive and defensive capabilities within the full spectrum of elemental attributes.
While the Water element is the most sensitive and its defensive capability second only to Earth, the Wind element boasts the fastest speed. The Wood element is extremely tricky and unpredictable, making it hard to defend against, and the Fire element is known for its terrifying power. Each elemental attribute has its own strengths, but very few people are capable of cultivating two attributes simultaneously. Thus, warriors with dual elemental attributes are highly valued. By utilizing the characteristics of dual elements, their strength becomes considerably more formidable.
Generally speaking, among cultivators of the same level, a single-element warrior facing a dual-element warrior would have virtually no chance of winning.
As Li Lin refined the immense energy of the third-grade True Yang Pill, the Qi in his Dantian Qi Sea was continuously strengthening and becoming purer. The earthy yellow light enveloping Li Lin grew brighter and more intense, with a formidable aura radiating a fierce momentum. To any onlooker, it would be clear that Li Lin was in the midst of a breakthrough.
This momentum kept growing stronger. Even the little dragon perched on the rock could feel this powerful aura and raised its head to watch.
Li Lin's breakthrough at this moment wasn't surprising. Having refined the Qi energy previously, he had already reached the peak of the sixth-level warrior. Now, refining the True Yang Pill, a breakthrough was expected.
As time passed, the luminous aura around Li Lin became increasingly dense. In his Dantian Qi Sea, the Qi was full to the brim, and his meridians were also filled with Qi. His meridians expanded, causing pain to emerge.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"Converge," Li Lin commanded softly, forming a hand seal. The Qi in his meridians surged into his Dantian Qi Sea in unison.
A muffled sound echoed within the Dantian Qi Sea. Simultaneously, an invisible force from the surrounding world seemed to be drawn into Li Lin's body through every pore.
Li Lin's aura continued to climb, exponentially stronger than before.
Until dawn, when the first ray of sunlight pierced through the mountain crevices, Li Lin ceased his cultivation. He exhaled a long breath from his Dantian Qi Sea, and at that moment, his aura was completely different from the previous night.
Feeling the enhanced Qi within his body, Li Lin's lips curled into a lazy smile. Stretching languidly, he commented, "Using half of a third-grade pill just to break through from the peak of the sixth-level warrior to the seventh level, the effect of consuming pills is not as strong as directly absorbing the energy from other warriors."
At this moment, Li Lin sensed that the energy from the True Yang Pill he had consumed was already half depleted. Considering that a third-grade pill was worth thousands of gold coins, relying solely on pills for breakthroughs was akin to burning money.
"Let's continue practicing the 'Raging Sea Roar'," Li Lin said as he stood up and brushed off his robe. A flash of yellow light swiftly landed on his shoulder, revealing the little dragon.
"So, you're done being angry?" Li Lin cradled the little dragon in his hands, gently stroking its head with a smile.
"Chichi…" The little dragon gave Li Lin a glare before swiftly darting away, disappearing into the valley to play on its own.
Li Lin smiled lightly and headed to the riverbank to resume his training in the Raging Sea Roar. Practicing a water-based martial skill by the riverbank was somewhat beneficial, which was one of the reasons Li Lin had chosen this valley as his base.
Beside the tumultuous river, where the water crashed against the rocks, sending up sprays of mist, Li Lin stood in the river with the water reaching his thighs. His Qi vibrated, and a blue light enveloped him, forming water spheres that continuously struck down.
As the force of the water pressed against him, Li Lin slowly moved downstream. He recalled the first time he practiced in the river, how he was immediately swept away by the waves. Now, his progress was significant.
Waves of power converged in the river, causing sonic booms. Water spheres, palm prints, and mist attacks stirred up large waves that crashed violently against the riverbank's rocks.
Two hours later, Li Lin returned to the shore and sat cross-legged on a rock. This kind of training was exhausting, and it was time to recuperate. This Yellow-grade martial skill consumed much more Qi compared to Star-grade skills.
Having broken through to the seventh level of warrior last night, the power of the Raging Sea Roar I used today has significantly increased. The mastery of Raging Sea Roar is becoming more proficient. However, the Qi consumption of Raging Sea Roar is substantial. Although it's not as terrifying as the Vermillion Bird Art, the consumption is still astonishing.
Outside the valley, two figures cautiously made their way through the dense forest.
"It's been over a month, where could that man and woman have hidden themselves?" whispered a lean man with a missing arm in the forest, followed by a muscular man. Both were members of the Brutal Wolf Mercenary Group, and the one-armed man was their third leader who had his arm severed by Lan Ling.
"Third leader, could that man and woman have run away? Otherwise, it's impossible that we haven't found them in over a month," the muscular man suggested.
"It's unlikely. They must be hiding in some corner. I must catch that woman and have my revenge to quell the hatred in my heart," the lean man said coldly.
"Third leader, look, there's a valley." They passed through the forest and unexpectedly came upon a majestic valley, a place they had never been to during their many years in the Misty Mountain Range.
"They are here, in this valley." Suddenly, the lean man's gaze fell upon the young man in a blue robe, sitting cross-legged on a rock by the river.
"Quickly go inform the boss and the second leader. I'll keep watch here. Don't startle them and be careful not to let other mercenary groups know," he whispered to his muscular companion.
"Understood." After the muscular man quietly retreated back into the forest, the one-armed third leader hid in a bush.
"Wait for the boss to arrive. Who knows, this kid might leave. I wonder if that wench is here too?" The third leader peered out from his hiding spot, watching Li Lin in the distance, his expression filled with indecision.
“This kid only has the strength of a warrior, should be easy to handle. That wench might not be in the valley. It's not bad to deal with this kid first, then the treasure will be mine.” The skinny man watched Li Lin with a greedy look in his eyes, a hint of coldness emerging. He then started to crawl forward quietly, very slowly, for fear of alarming the other party.
Time slowly passed, and Li Lin was in the midst of meditating, unaware that this hidden valley could be so easily discovered. He didn't pay much attention, not expecting anyone to approach.
The true energy inside his body was slowly recovering. Suddenly, Li Lin felt something unusual in the valley. Although he wasn't deliberately on guard, as a spiritual being, he still possessed keen perception.
"There's danger." Li Lin quickly realized this. There was a new presence in the valley. Having been in the valley for a while, Li Lin was well aware of everything in it.
"Twenty meters, a surprise attack to kill this kid should be no problem." At this moment, the skinny man had already reached a spot twenty meters behind Li Lin, hidden under a rock. The skinny man calculated that the other party was only a warrior in strength, and he had a 90% chance of killing him with a sneak attack.
Having made up his mind, the skinny man's expression turned cold. His body silently drifted out, moving towards Li Lin like a phantom shadow. In that instant, a fierce aura also spread out.
Li Lin suddenly felt a surge of panic and quickly leapt back, only to see a skinny figure with a long sword in his left hand stabbing directly at him. The sword qi tore through the air, aiming straight at his heart. Retreating again and again, Li Lin was pushed back to the turbulent river. With true energy forming a protective circle around him, he hovered over the river. At this moment, a sly smile crossed Li Lin's eyes.
Seeing Li Lin's smile, the one-armed skinny man felt an inexplicable danger spreading in his heart. His expression turned cold, his true energy surged out, and his sword became even faster. The two were hovering over the river, and the sword tip was about to reach Li Lin's chest.
"Revenge starts with you. Let's see the power of my Furious Sea Roar." Suddenly, Li Lin stabilized his body, his hand gestures seemingly ready.
"Furious Sea Roar."
With a shout from Li Lin, the hand gesture was made, and his body's light instantly turned blue. A powerful and wild force spread out in an instant.
As the shout fell, Li Lin waved his blue sleeve robe, his hand gesture instantly striking out. Around him, a huge and dense water energy surged, converging at an astonishing speed. In an instant, it gathered in front of Li Lin into a continuously spinning curtain of rain, appearing extremely eerie.
The skinny man thrust his sword straight forward, but it could not penetrate any further in front of the curtain of rain, entangled by a vortex of ripples and whirlpools.
At this moment, the third leader's face suddenly turned to shock. The opponent was clearly a warrior in cultivation, but his strength was terrifying. What shocked him the most was that in the canyon, he had seen this young man as a fire-type warrior, but now, he was using water-type martial techniques.
"You, you are a dual-type warrior?" The skinny man exclaimed in shock. Missing his strike and about to withdraw his sword for another attack, his expression suddenly changed again.
At this time, the entire space seemed to tremble. On the surface of the river below, huge waves surged and howled continuously, instantly converging at an astonishing and terrifying speed. In the blink of an eye, a massive blue vortex about a hundred meters in size emerged, roaring into existence.
The blue vortex was entirely blue, rapidly spinning like the giant waves of a tsunami in the ocean. The roaring sea, with its terrifying and pervasive aura, and its fierce and terrifying power, caused a series of explosive sounds in the entire space. The river water sunk below the surface, converging into the vortex, and waves tens of meters high crashed against the shore.
In the terrifying vortex, the skinny man's eyes were filled with horror. A wild force suppressed him, his protective circle began to distort, and a massive force violently assaulted him, as if his body was about to be torn into pieces in an instant.
"Die, Furious Sea Roar." Li Lin made his final hand gesture. In the roaring vortex in front of him, a massive force drew away most of his true energy. As his shout fell, he fiercely pushed forward with both hands. The huge vortex trembled and then suddenly spun at high speed. In the deafening whistling and wind-breaking sound, it expanded like lightning. The terrifying aura and fierce pressure emanated from within, distorting the surrounding space and airflow, sweeping out like a tornado.
Such a huge vortex, like the sea roaring in anger, possessed an extremely powerful and terrifying force.