Translator: CinderTL
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"Killed a Level 7 creature, +20 experience!"
"Killed a Level 9 creature, +109 experience!"
...
[Life Level: 13 (81/3000)]
...
A cold sweat trickled down the left side of Zhang San's face.
He stared intently at Li Chunjun, who had just killed the Beast Taming Martial Master under the protection of him and two other top-tier martial masters, and had already readjusted his combat stance to face Zhang San's attack.
The brief life-and-death exchange, the stunningly brilliant art of killing, made him ask himself: if it were him, could he have done better than Li Chunjun?
The answer filled him with despair.
He couldn't!
No matter what, he couldn't have done it!
He couldn't even figure out how to break through the defenses of over twenty blood wolves and a Innate Martial Master of the same level as him to get close to the Beast Taming Martial Master.
And how, after finally breaking through those defenses, he could instantly kill the Beast Taming Martial Master under the protection of two top-tier martial masters.
Yet, Li Chunjun had done it—something he himself could never achieve.
And he had done it so cleanly and decisively.
Like a hot knife through butter!
With unstoppable momentum!
Especially...
As he readied his stance for the next kill, there seemed to be an indescribable sense of exhilaration in him.
He was enjoying the slaughter!
He felt joy in the act of killing!
This kind of person...
...
"The Golden Cauldron, I won't fight for it anymore. You are undoubtedly the one who will reach the Summit this time," Zhang San said solemnly.
But Li Chunjun didn't respond.
He held his sword, quietly feeling the new round of enhancements from reaching Life Level 13.
His memories became clearer.
His thoughts grew sharper.
His perception further heightened.
As his energy circulated, his hair and skin seemed to resonate strangely with the natural energy of the world.
However, due to the weak natural energy in this area, he couldn't achieve the state of energy infusion.
But...
Through intense training and special techniques to expel the old and absorb the new, increasing the exchange of energy between himself and the natural world, he could eventually complete the process of energy tempering.
And this tempering process would have no side effects, with no risk of being overwhelmed by the energy infusion.
In a way, his method of energy tempering seemed to be the true path.
Using immortal arrays to infuse energy was like walking a dangerous tightrope.
It was like throwing someone who couldn't swim into deep water.
If they learned, they lived.
If they didn't, they died.
Unfortunately...
"One year," Li Chunjun concluded.
In one year, he could complete the energy tempering process and officially become a cultivator.
This time frame...
Was incredibly short!
Even cultivators with spiritual roots often took three to five years to go through the stages of sensing, drawing in energy, and refining it into true energy.
For him to complete energy tempering in one year was almost equivalent to the cultivation efficiency of someone with a top-tier spiritual root.
But he couldn't wait a year.
Level 14!
Reaching Level 14 and undergoing another enhancement would definitely shorten this time to six months, three months, or even a month and a half!
With this thought, Li Chunjun didn't bother responding to Zhang San. Instead, he flicked his sword and charged straight at the Innate Martial Master.
Seeing this, Zhang San didn't hesitate. He retreated rapidly while shouting in a low voice, "Li Chunjun! I'm willing to trade a secret for my life!"
He didn't dare delay, glancing at the drone in the sky and quickly lowering his voice, "You're fighting in the Summit Battle to become a cultivator, to gain the legal exemptions that departments tacitly allow for cultivators. But the energy infusion array of Master Qing has a problem!"
Unfortunately, these words didn't slow Li Chunjun's sword in the slightest.
With long strides, he closed the distance in a few dashes, his sword carrying streaks of thunder as it roared toward Zhang San.
The Nine Heavens Thunder Sword Technique was a legacy of the Chiyang Sword Sect.
It was one of the foundational sword techniques that could be converted into a cultivator's sword art, and in terms of sophistication, it was top-tier.
At least within the Xuanzhou region.
Under such sword light, Zhang San had no way to defend himself.
The sword strike he desperately swung out didn't even manage to block Li Chunjun's sword before his wrist was severed.
Immediately after, the sword pierced through the air, driving straight into his throat.
The entire process...
For Li Chunjun, was no more difficult than killing a top-tier martial master.
After killing Zhang San, Li Chunjun turned to the other top-tier martial master.
Seeing that even the Innate Martial Master Zhang San was no match for Li Chunjun, how could he dare to fight to the death?
As soon as Zhang San began his retreat, he had already started running at full speed toward the depths of the snowy forest.
But the blood wolves, having lost control of the Beast Taming Martial Master, began to attack any living thing around them, slowing his escape. He had only managed to get thirty or forty meters away.
Li Chunjun didn't waste the opportunity.
He leaned his upper body slightly back, then suddenly lunged forward, channeling all the force in his body into the sword in his hand.
In the next moment, the sword shot out like an arrow from a crossbow, tearing through the air and piercing the top-tier martial master's head just as he was entangled by the blood wolves.
"Thud!"
The top-tier martial master didn't even have time to scream before he died on the spot.
His body quickly became food for the blood wolves.
After throwing the sword, Li Chunjun immediately picked up Zhang San's sword.
During his fight with the Innate Martial Master, he had noticed that Zhang San's sword was a grade above his own!
Even compared to the sword he had used the longest from the Pinjian Martial Hall, it was superior.
That was why he hadn't hesitated to throw his own sword.
As soon as the sword was in his hand, its cold light instantly tore through two blood wolves that had tried to pounce on him.
These two, plus the three he had killed earlier, created a strong deterrent for the remaining blood wolves.
With "food" available, the less than twenty blood wolves dragged their prey away and retreated from the battlefield.
Seeing this, Li Chunjun didn't pursue them.
He simply retrieved the thrown wolf-tooth sword.
After doing this, he turned his attention to the Golden Cauldron.
At this point, although the other participants in the Battle of the Hunters hadn't all been killed by Li Chunjun, only a few small fries remained.
The Summit Battle was essentially over.
However, the Summit Tower still followed its rules and didn't declare an early end.
Li Chunjun waited patiently by the Golden Cauldron.
As for what Zhang San had said...
It didn't matter!
After understanding the nature of the Summit Tower, whether Master Qing had problems, whether he was good or bad, no longer mattered.
What mattered was that he needed greater strength.
So he waited patiently, adapting to the changes in his strength brought by the increase in his Life Level.
Every time his Life Level increased, the enhancements were comprehensive.
Sometimes, seemingly insignificant details could become the key to his victory.
Like the time when Blood Fang and Lei Long led a group to ambush him.
If he had relied solely on the speed and explosiveness from his physique, even if he had won, it would have been a pyrrhic victory.
But with the addition of keen perception, sharp tactical thinking, and the instinctive fusion of sword techniques and habits, he seemed to possess a "full vision" advantage, allowing him to achieve a crushing victory.
These advantages were waiting for him to explore, utilize, and turn the tide in high-level battles.
...
Three hours passed quickly.
As a dazzling light erupted from the Golden Cauldron, illuminating the sky, the Summit Battle ended with Li Chunjun's unprecedented victory.
Almost immediately after the Summit Battle ended, Shi Fu Hu, Master Qing's trusted assistant and a body-refining cultivator, arrived with several Innate Martial Masters, including Ye Sheng, to "greet" Li Chunjun.
"Li Chunjun, congratulations on reaching the Summit," Shi Fu Hu said solemnly. "Come, Master Qing wants to see you."
(End of the Chapter)
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