Chapter 42: Famous Throughout the World, Grandmaster Tenth Heavenly Layer

For hundreds of years, the tripartite balance of power among the Cloud Sword Palace, the Heavenly Star Valley, and the Frost City had long been deeply rooted in people's minds.

In everyone's eyes, these three martial arts holy lands were equal in strength, none truly superior to the others.

Yet unexpectedly, the Cloud Sword Palace emerged like a dark horse, sweeping away two peers of equal standing with lightning speed. It slaughtered numerous masters from both factions, and since then, no force in the world could ever match it again.

Although ever since Lin Heng's peerless talent spread across the martial arts world, perceptive individuals had already foreseen the inevitable rise of the Cloud Sword Palace, none of them had anticipated it happening so swiftly that everyone was left completely caught off guard.

Many whispered in secret, wondering if the Cloud Sword Palace had resorted to some underhanded schemes to achieve such startling results.

Perhaps the elite combat strength of the Cloud Sword Palace had also suffered heavy losses in this battle.

Their opportunity had arrived!

However, before they could dwell further on these thoughts, as time passed, more news circulated throughout the Lanzhou martial arts world.

Numerous martial artists who made a living by gathering intelligence across various regions witnessed the elite fighters of the Cloud Sword Palace, immediately after annihilating the forces of the Heavenly Star Valley and the Frost City, launching overnight surprise raids on both sects' headquarters and executing all remaining disciples and members.

Such combat power clearly defied the narrow victories many had speculated about; it was an undisputed, resounding triumph. They had completely obliterated two peerless rivals without suffering significant losses of their own.

On the very first day of the new year, these two martial arts holy lands with centuries of heritage were officially declared destroyed.

Much like those martial arts holy lands that had perished for various reasons in the past, they were buried in the long river of history.

Subsequently, a massive reckoning began. The technique of stripping away nine familial generations was continuously applied. Families and vassal forces closely tied to the Frost City and the Heavenly Star Valley were purged, and disciples of the Cloud Sword Palace could be seen executing wholesale slaughters everywhere across Lanzhou.

With the elite combatants of the Frost City and the Heavenly Star Valley eliminated, the masters of the Cloud Sword Palace roamed the various regions entirely unopposed, as if walking through an uninhabited realm.

Following this, as the various auxiliary masters who had come to lend a hand returned to their homes, many details concerning the battle that took place at the Cloud Sword Palace's mountain gate on New Year's Eve were revealed.

An even more astonishing piece of news swept through Lanzhou: everyone learned that the Cloud Sword Palace had achieved such a resounding victory entirely because of its young sect master, Lin Heng, who was merely fifteen years old.

Having attained the realm of Grandmaster at age fourteen, Lin Heng spent just one single year ascending to the pinnacle realm of Supreme Grandmaster.

This was simply too astounding. Many neutral factions in the martial arts world, who had previously been somewhat flustered by the sudden rise of the Cloud Sword Palace, suddenly experienced a flash of insight. Their eyes cleared instantly, and they understood precisely what they needed to do next.

Abandoning any unrealistic notions, they immediately packed rare treasures and precious artifacts, heading to the mountain gate of the Cloud Sword Palace to pay their respects and express their submission and reverence to the premier power in Lanzhou.

The names of Lin Heng, the greatest martial artist in the world, and the Cloud Sword Palace, the preeminent sect under heaven, began to spread far and wide across the jianghu.

For a time, the prestige of the Cloud Sword Palace reached an unprecedented peak.

***

The turbulent winds and shifting clouds of the outside world had nothing to do with Lin Heng at this moment.

Sitting cross-legged, his mind entered a state of ethereal tranquility, merging seamlessly with the nature of heaven and earth.

Surging primordial energy rolled in from the cosmos, which Lin Heng absorbed and refined to replenish the vital essence, breath, and spirit he had expended during the battle.

The internal energy within his meridians and acupoints, which had been on the verge of exhaustion, began to fill once more. His dried-up blood and qi gradually grew vibrant, his fatigued spirit was nourished, and the lingering aftereffects of the fierce battle were completely smoothed away.

Lin Heng's cognitive speed accelerated to its absolute limit as he began to review and replay in his mind the entire process of his combat against the masters of the Heavenly Star Valley and the Frost City.

From this, he comprehended the profound principles of martial arts, identified his own shortcomings during the fight, and corrected them accordingly.

With each passing day, as Lin Heng sat in quiet meditation, the sword intent radiating from his body grew one shade sharper. By the third day, even though this sword intent was restrained and unreleased, it still caused Cloud Sword Palace disciples who caught a distant glimpse of his meditating figure to feel a stinging pain in their eyes.

Yet starting from the fourth day, the sword intent surrounding Lin Heng gradually retracted, returning to a state of profound simplicity and naturalness.

By the seventh day, when all unusual fluctuations around Lin Heng vanished entirely, a metamorphosis quietly took place deep within his body.

Within his meridians and acupoints, the pure white, mist-like internal breath became even more condensed under the drive of the sword intent. This allowed his meridians and acupoints to harbor a greater volume of cultivation, while his physical body broke through its previous shackles, lifting his vital essence, breath, and spirit to an even higher plane.

"The tenth heaven of the Grandmaster realm."

Lin Heng concluded this session of cultivation, speaking in a calm tone as he whispered inwardly to himself.

Over a month ago, Lin Heng had already reached the eighth heaven of the Grandmaster realm through practicing the Ocean's Boundless Art. Afterward, he spent over a month creating an entire set of external martial arts—including sword techniques, movement arts, finger techniques, and protective divine skills—during which he consolidated and deepened his cultivation base.

Following that, he emerged from seclusion to battle the masters of the Heavenly Star Valley and the Frost City.

Having digested the gains from that battle, his cultivation realm broke through two consecutive levels, bringing him to his current status at the tenth heaven of the Grandmaster realm.

"I wonder to what extent one must reach in order to break through to the Celestial Realm?"

"However, that is not important. Right now, I have plenty of time to pursue the answer to this question."

Without any focus on longevity preservation, a standard Grandmaster possessed a lifespan of one hundred and twenty years. Lin Heng was now at the tenth heaven of the Grandmaster realm, with each level adding ten years to his lifespan; thus, he could live up to two hundred and twenty years.

Lin Heng was only fifteen years old this year. Counting the lifespan extensions gained from further breakthroughs in his realm, he had at least three hundred years to study how to break through to the Celestial Realm. Even shattering the void and ascending in broad daylight was not merely a daydream, so he felt no sense of urgency.

"Has Heng'er finished his cultivation?"

The moment he opened his eyes and concluded his session, Lin Heng caught sight of his master, Xiao Rang.

Xiao Rang wore a wide smile, his face glowing with health, clearly in an excellent mood.

"My cultivation session has ended, and I have gained a few insights."

Lin Heng replied to Xiao Rang's inquiry in an even tone.

As he spoke, he glanced around his surroundings and quickly understood why his master was in such high spirits.

At present, half a month had passed since that momentous battle.

Through the efforts of the million martial artists under the banner of the Cloud Sword Palace, the first wave of reckoning against the twelve factions that formed the Alliance to Slay Heng had already concluded.

Raid and extermination of their clans had been accomplished in one sweeping motion.

At this moment, endless crates of treasures were being continuously transported into the mountain gate of the Cloud Sword Palace.

These boxes and carts carrying treasures stretched out endlessly like a vast-conquering dragon. A casual glance from Lin Heng revealed that the procession still extended more than ten kilometers beyond the mountain gate of the Cloud Sword Palace.

Conservatively estimated, the wealth harvested by the Cloud Sword Palace this time would have to be calculated in hundreds of millions of taels.

Let alone Xiao Rang, even Lin Heng, upon realizing the extent of this harvest, saw his usual calm expression fade, replaced by a rich, radiant smile.