Chapter 10

In the silver space, the lightning youth, who had not appeared for a long time, reappeared.

He still had the same appearance as Zichen, but this time, he did not exude the aura of a king. Instead, he gave off a feeling of being ethereal and elusive.

Zichen stood opposite the lightning youth, staring at him without blinking.

As the lightning around him surged, the lightning youth suddenly moved, like flowing clouds and running water. His footwork flickered continuously, making it impossible to predict where he would appear next.

Third-rate footwork, Flowing Cloud Step.

Zichen used to know it well, having memorized every move and form. But seeing the lightning youth use it now, he realized the gap between them.

He had seen it many times, but each time he could not grasp it. A mere third-rate footwork made Zichen feel a profound and mysterious sense.

It had been several days, and he still had not touched the threshold.

After another careful observation and deep contemplation, Zichen still could not grasp the threshold.

The giant ice bear had already been eaten a third, and Zichen had stayed in the valley for over ten days. He also found the location of another ice bear.

"Let's try again."

Zichen got up and walked to another valley a few miles away.

"Roar!"

In the valley, the ice bear saw Zichen and, as if seeing an enemy, turned red with anger. A gust of wind blew, and the bear's paw swiped at Zichen.

This time, Zichen did not choose to attack but to dodge, using the Flowing Cloud Step.

"Puff!"

A light sound, and a tear appeared in Zichen's clothes.

"Boom!"

Carelessly, Zichen was hit by the bear's paw and was thrown away.

Deliberate learning and comprehension made Zichen's use of the Flowing Cloud Step not only unskilled but also awkward.

Another day passed with no gains, and Zichen returned again.

The ice bear, unable to catch Zichen, let out an angry roar and returned to the valley.

Time flew by, and another five days passed.

In the silver space, Zichen's eyes were wide open, watching the lightning youth use the Flowing Cloud Step. But after so long, he had not improved; instead, he had regressed, making his use of the Flowing Cloud Step even more awkward.

Feeling anxious, Zichen's mood was very bad, and he became angry, especially when he saw the lightning youth's feet constantly changing, moving at a speed that made Zichen even more frustrated, turning his mood irritable.

"Roar!"

Annoyed, Zichen let out a tiger roar and punched the lightning youth, using the strongest punch of the Tiger Roar Fist. On that day, Zichen used this punch to kill an ice bear.

He imagined that the lightning youth would surely be scattered by his punch, but unexpectedly, just as the punch wind reached the youth, his figure suddenly shifted, narrowly avoiding the punch.

Missing the first hit, Zichen struck again, the Tiger Roar Fist roaring, generating a large amount of silver energy.

"Swish!"

However, the lightning youth again narrowly avoided the hit.

Zichen struck four or five times in a row, but he did not even touch the youth's clothes, always missing by a hair. The lightning youth dodged his attacks with ease, even having spare energy.

"This is..."

Zichen's eyes lit up. After several consecutive attacks, he had calmed down from his anger. Although he continued to attack, he was sensing the changes in the lightning youth's footwork.

He found that each step the youth took was a small distance, leaving spare energy. When Zichen's moves changed, the youth followed suit, moving a small distance, leaving spare energy, making his movements extremely flexible.

"Right, every step I took before was large, and although I could dodge an attack, I had no spare energy. Exhausted, I could not quickly respond to the second attack, so I had to take another step. This way, the consumption was great, and it was not smooth, which is why I felt I was getting worse the more I practiced."

Understanding this, Zichen's Flowing Cloud Step naturally improved.

He had truly entered the door.

"The big bear's attacks are strong, but its speed is slow, perfect for testing."

Thus, Zichen found the ice bear again.

"Roar!"

In the valley, the ice bear's roar sounded again. The bear's paw brought a strong wind, but Zichen calculated the attack, slightly shifted his body, and dodged the bear's strike.

After dodging the attack, Zichen still had spare energy. In his eyes, the ice bear's entire body was exposed, and he could attack at any time.

"Roar!"

The ice bear roared again and attacked again. Zichen did not attack but dodged continuously.

"Oh no, this time I took half a step too much."

Zichen inwardly called it bad. Exhausted, he was hit by the bear's paw. Fortunately, his body was tough enough to withstand the ice bear's attack.

Time passed, and the snow in the valley began to melt. Snow had not fallen from the sky for a long time, and the ice bear's attacks became more fierce. Occasionally, the sound of beasts roared in the vast forest.

Spring was coming.

In the entire valley, except for a few places that were still cold, other areas showed signs of spring.

"Spring is coming?"

In front of Zichen, a giant ice bear was left with only a pile of bones, with little meat left. He had been here for several months.

"Spring is coming, and the inner disciples' assessment will begin. It seems it's time to leave."

Zichen muttered.

Time passed quickly in the valley, and Zichen actually enjoyed the carefree days. He really did not want to go back.

But with no food and no more resources for cultivation, Zichen had to return.

Thus, Zichen left the valley and came to another valley.

In the valley, he saw the angry ice bear again.

"Come on, one last battle."

Zichen's eyes showed a hint of fighting spirit, and he made a provocative gesture towards the ice bear.

"Roar."

The ice bear roared in anger and flew towards Zichen again. This time, it was faster, and the wind was stronger. The ice bear had become more agile.

Although the arrival of spring was a factor, another reason was that the ice bear had been fighting Zichen frequently. As Zichen's strength grew, so did the bear's.

The ice bear's attacks were fierce and powerful, but Zichen seemed relaxed and composed. Each step he took was like flowing clouds and running water. Each step he took, although the movement was short, always narrowly avoided the ice bear's attacks.

The ice bear was puzzled. Usually, it could touch the edge of Zichen's clothes, but today it could not touch him at all. Zichen was clearly right in front of it, very close, but it could not touch him.

"Today I am leaving. Before I go, I will show you my strongest move that I have recently comprehended."

Zichen smiled faintly, and a kingly aura suddenly emerged around him. Zichen prepared to use the Tiger Roar Fist.

"Roar."

The ice bear sensed danger and roared, its huge paw swiping at Zichen's head. At this moment, the kingly aura around Zichen changed, becoming like flowing clouds and running water, ethereal and elusive.

"Swish."

Zichen's foot touched the ground, and he dodged the ice bear's attack. He looked like a flexible tiger, with the dignity of a king, and also had a lightness like a swallow.

In these few months, Zichen had integrated the Tiger Roar Fist and the Flowing Cloud Step, making the fierce Tiger Roar Fist more flexible and resilient, combining hardness and softness.

Like a flexible tiger, after dodging an attack, he launched a fatal strike. The kingly aura around him burst out, and Zichen delivered a powerful punch.

"Boom."

The ice bear's body was thrown back, defeated by Zichen in one hit. At the critical moment, Zichen naturally held back his strength; otherwise, this punch would have killed it.

But Zichen did not kill it. After all, the ice bear had been his sparring partner for several months, and his success was partly due to the ice bear.

So Zichen left gracefully, taking some food from another ice bear.

The ice bear lay on the ground, its cold eyes watching the human leave, suddenly feeling puzzled. It did not understand why the human let it go.

Spring arrived, and the warm wind turned the earth green. It was a season full of hope.

On the way back, the journey was not peaceful, and Zichen dealt with some fierce beasts along the way.

The fierce beasts here were of low level and posed no threat to Zichen. He often defeated them with one punch.

After that, Zichen returned to the sect with some animal skins.

The sect provided food, accommodation, and clothing, and the daily expenses were high. These things did not come from nowhere. Every outer disciple had to work in the sect. If they went out to train, they had to bring back something valuable, such as some refining materials or the skins of fierce beasts.

For inner disciples, submitting items could earn contribution points, which could be used to exchange for cultivation pills.

But this was only for inner disciples. Even if an outer disciple brought back a thousand-year-old medicinal herb, they could not earn contribution points and could only exchange it with inner disciples.

This was one of the main reasons why Zhao Can had hooked up with Wang Xiong.

The Lingwu Sect was vast, occupying many mountains. Buildings stood on the mountains, forming a continuous cluster.

After disappearing for several months, the Lingwu Sect had not changed much. After ten days, Zichen returned to the sect and walked to the place for submitting goods.

There was no ripple, and even some outer disciples were rarely seen.

"They must be cultivating, striving to break through and enter the inner sect."

This was always the most tense time for outer disciples.

Every two years, missing it meant waiting another two years. No one wanted to miss it.

"Hey, Zichen, you're back."

As soon as he entered the office hall, a surprised voice sounded.