Desolate Ancient Martial God

The Heavenly Net Sect covers a vast area, and the eight outer sect halls are scattered across different locations, each at least 300 miles apart. This is the area of the Heavenly Secrets Hall.

Although it had only been a few days since Xiao Yun left the Heavenly Secrets Hall, it felt as though years had passed.

“Xiao… Senior Brother Xiao Yun?” A Heavenly Secrets Hall outer sect disciple froze in surprise upon seeing Xiao Yun, then quickly bowed and saluted him with excitement.

Xiao Yun nodded slightly in response.

“He’s already a waste, and you still call him Senior Brother?” A young man in a blue martial arts robe approached with a sneer on his face, several young men and women trailing behind him.

The outer sect disciple’s expression turned to one of surprise.

The young man in the blue martial arts robe was named Liu Ye. He had been acquainted with Xiao Yun for a while but had parted ways with him after a conflict.

“You were already sent away, yet you managed to come back? Are you unwilling to accept your fate, so you bought an outer sect disciple order to sneak back?” Liu Ye stood on the steps, looking down at Xiao Yun with a mocking smile. “The Xiao family is really generous, but spending so much on a useless person like you isn’t worth it.”

If it had been the old Xiao Yun, he would have been furious. But Xiao Yun, who had now faced life and death twice, had a new perspective. Why would he waste his precious time on someone like Liu Ye?

Ignoring him, Xiao Yun turned to leave.

“Wait a minute. Did I say you could go?” Liu Ye stopped Xiao Yun.

“What do you want?” Xiao Yun frowned.

“You’re no longer the Xiao Yun of the past, and the Heavenly Secrets Hall of today isn’t the same as it was before. Out of consideration for our old friendship, I’ll give you a chance to stay in the Heavenly Secrets Hall. How about this: I need someone to empty my chamber pot. From now on, you’ll do it for me.” Liu Ye smiled, his eyes narrowing with malice.

“You want me to empty your chamber pot? Are you even qualified?” Xiao Yun retorted angrily.

At that moment, the outer sect disciples behind Liu Ye quickly surrounded Xiao Yun, glaring at him with hostile expressions.

“What? You want to fight here? Have you forgotten the rules of the Heavenly Secrets Hall? Disciples of the same hall aren’t allowed to fight without reason. Violating the rules will result in punishment—at the lightest, solitary confinement, and at the worst, expulsion. Do you want to try it?” Xiao Yun said coldly.

The disciples surrounding him hesitated, their expressions faltering.

“Xiao Yun, you can scare them, but you can’t scare me. Even if I don’t kill you today, as long as you stay in Heavenly Secrets Hall, I’ll find a hundred ways to make your life miserable!” Liu Ye glared at Xiao Yun coldly.

“Do you hate me that much?” Xiao Yun stared at Liu Ye. He had helped Liu Ye resolve many problems in the past. Though they had fallen out later, they had merely gone their separate ways.

“I hate you to death. Do you remember humiliating me in public and making me lose face? I couldn’t retaliate before, but now I finally have my chance.” Liu Ye’s voice was icy.

At the time, Xiao Yun had reprimanded Liu Ye publicly because he had used Xiao Yun’s name to do shameful things. Xiao Yun hadn’t expected Liu Ye to hold such a grudge.

“At this time tomorrow, we’ll fight to the death on the Yin-Yang Stage. Do you dare? If not, take your people and get out. Don’t waste my time,” Xiao Yun said in a deep voice.

“Fine! I’ll wait for you on the Yin-Yang Stage tomorrow.” Liu Ye grinned and waved his hand. The outer sect disciples who had surrounded Xiao Yun stepped aside, clearing the way for him.

As Xiao Yun walked away, Liu Ye’s lips curled into a sinister smile. A waste like him dares to act so arrogant? Tomorrow, I’ll beat him to death.

When Xiao Yun had been expelled from the inner sect, Liu Ye had made it a point to investigate.

It was confirmed—Xiao Yun was disabled, with 70% of his Qi Sea destroyed.

Losing 70% of one’s Qi Sea was a devastating blow for any martial artist. It not only crippled future cultivation but also put them at a significant disadvantage in combat. After all, with only 30% of his Qi Sea intact, Xiao Yun couldn’t store much true Qi.

Liu Ye estimated that with Xiao Yun’s current state, his cultivation level would at most be at the fifth level of the Qi Refining realm—perhaps the sixth level at best.

As for Liu Ye himself, he had already reached the seventh level of the Qi Refining realm, which was more than enough to crush Xiao Yun.

Thinking about tomorrow’s fight on the Yin-Yang Stage, Liu Ye couldn’t hide his excitement. Once I defeat Xiao Yun in public, I’ll become famous. Taking down the former top outer sect disciple of the Heavenly Secrets Hall will be a glorious achievement and bolster my qualifications for the future.

Xiao Yun returned to his former residence.

This courtyard, situated in the northernmost corner of the Heavenly Secrets Hall, had been specially chosen by Xiao Yun because of his preference for quietness.

Being so remote, few people ever visited this independent courtyard.

Additionally, the previous batch of top disciples, including Xiao Yun, had already entered the inner sect. Until new top disciples emerged, this place would remain empty and unused.

Under a tree, Xiao Yun dug up a box.

Opening it, he found four neatly arranged low-grade spirit stones.

When Xiao Yun left the Xiao family three years ago, the family had given him these four low-grade spirit stones, which they had kept for hundreds of years.

Xiao Yun had always been reluctant to use them. Originally, he planned to rely on them to break through to the Fused Essence realm, but his circumstances in the inner sect had changed drastically.

Fortunately, he had left the four spirit stones here. Otherwise, they might not have remained safe.

Low-grade spirit stones were incredibly rare. Not only were they scarce among outer sect disciples of Heavenly Secrets Hall, but even in the inner sect, it was unusual to hear of anyone possessing spirit stones.

Spirit stones were highly valuable and rarely traded. Most people kept them for cultivation purposes.

In martial arts, talent and hard work were crucial, but sufficient cultivation resources—such as spirit stones, which contained immense spiritual energy—were equally important.

Xiao Yun sat cross-legged in his room, took a deep breath, and crushed all four low-grade spirit stones.

Rich spiritual energy flooded the room. Xiao Yun circulated his true energy, absorbing the spiritual energy into his body and guiding it directly into his Qi Sea.

As the Qi Sea gradually filled, waves of true energy surged within him.

After about a quarter of an hour, Xiao Yun’s body trembled slightly as his cultivation broke through from the fourth level of Qi Refining to the fifth level. Two low-grade spirit stones had been consumed in the process.

The remaining two spirit stones continued to pour spiritual energy into his Qi Sea.

When the final spirit stones were exhausted, Xiao Yun’s body shook once again. His cultivation rose from the fifth level to the sixth level of Qi Refining.

The damage to his Qi Sea was undeniable. With only 30% of it intact, the effect of the spirit stones was greatly reduced. If his Qi Sea had been whole, these four spirit stones could have propelled him to the seventh or even the eighth level of Qi Refining.

However, for now, reaching the sixth level was enough.

After all, most outer sect disciples were at the fifth or sixth level. The more talented ones reached the seventh level, the excellent ones the eighth, and only the very best reached the ninth level.

Xiao Yun entered the ancient secret realm.

Thousand-Pound Fist!

He threw a punch, and the force of his fist began to evolve.

The ancient secret realm could recreate the origin of martial arts, but this didn’t mean a martial artist could master it instantly. One still had to learn and cultivate it through their own effort.

For martial arts, achieving great mastery meant reaching their strongest state. Reaching the pinnacle, however, exceeded those limits entirely.

Even with basic martial arts, cultivating them to the pinnacle was extraordinarily rare in the Heavenly Net Sect. Only members of the older generation had ever achieved such a feat.

Punch after punch, Xiao Yun’s strikes grew sharper and stronger.

In the past three years, Xiao Yun had focused entirely on improving his cultivation, neglecting his martial arts practice because it consumed too much time and effort.

Above basic martial arts, there were higher tiers: yellow level, black level, earth level, and heaven level, each divided into low, middle, and high grades.

This was the extent of martial arts Xiao Yun had known before. However, through Heavenly Venerable Yun’s memories, Xiao Yun had seen martial arts that transcended even the heaven level.

Yet those techniques were far beyond his current reach.

Heavenly Venerable Yun’s memory had dissipated, leaving behind fragments of powerful techniques and skills that Xiao Yun couldn’t comprehend, let alone practice. They were too mysterious and profound for someone at his level.

Since he couldn’t remember or practice them, Xiao Yun chose not to dwell on them. Before Heavenly Venerable Yun’s memories completely faded, Xiao Yun had recorded the essential information he needed.

Xiao Yun continued his practice, his punches growing increasingly refined.

Time flew by…

At the moment he threw his 100,000th punch, the air around his fist exploded with a sharp sound, sending a wave of force outward.

Lowering his fist, Xiao Yun realized that he had reached the pinnacle of Thousand-Pound Fist. The power had exceeded its original state, elevating it to a level comparable to lower-grade yellow-level martial arts.