[Flaming Bull Fists!]

As he channelled the move, he felt his spiritual power flowing through him in a way he had never experienced before. When the column of flame died down, Van was ecstatic.

Now his Fists of Devouring Flame had risen to the mid-level. He had also learned a new move!

"Searing Serpent Strike!"

Three twisting elongated flames extruded out of his fist.

Hsssst!

The three cobrlike flames leapt forward into the air at extreme speed. The atmosphere immediately became extremely hot. The flames in the fireplace jumped up in response.

Van recalled his power quickly, afraid of damaging his room.

[This Searing Serpent Strike is extremely fast and hits multiple times in quick succession. Its reach is also a few metres better than Flaming Bull Fists. Flaming Bull Fist's raw power is better.]

[Searing Serpent Strike will be very useful against more nimble enemies as it takes less time to use again compared to Flaming Bull Fists.]

Extremely satisfied with his new move, Van practiced Searing Serpent Strike for another two hours.

When he finished practicing, he immediately turned his attention back to Dark Seas Palm. Now that he had reached the expert-level in Dark Seas Palm, he had unlocked another move!

"Depths of the Dark Seas!"

An invisible, icy wind moved his robes as a chilly qi filled the room. In the centre – just above his bed – a tiny spinning vortex began to grow and grow.

The windows rattled, and the gla.s.s frosted over.

Seconds later, an enormous spinning whirlpool of dark, icy water filled with vicious qi encompa.s.sed the room.

Van felt the power of the whirlpool getting stronger and started to struggle to control it.

[Such attractive power…! I feel as if my whole body is being pulled towards it!]

Van grimaced and forcefully cancelled the move.

The whirlpool collapsed into a tiny dot.

Van breathed heavily. He pulled out the Dark Seas Palm manual and flipped to the relevant page.

['Depths of the Dark Sea.']

[Unlike 'River Splitting the Rocks' and 'Tide Swallows the Earth,' which are mainly focused on damage, the focus of 'Depths of the Dark Sea' is the isolation and entrapment of the enemy.]

[Inside the whirlpool, they will be surrounding by high walls of rus.h.i.+ng, icy water. If they do not resist, they will slowly be freezing to death and their minds will become muddled. Even if they successfully escape, the act of moving through the extremely rapid water causes significant damage.]

Van was thoughtful.

[This move has many tactical usages. It is probably most effective when fighting groups of enemies in order to isolate them.]

Van sat down and meditated on the move. He familiarised himself with it by envisioning the flow of energy and the rhythm at which he needed to channel his qi.

After that, he stood up and practiced it for two hours. When he was satisfied with his progress, he grabbed dinner with Ryan and then returned to his room to cultivate.

Van did not sleep until it was nearly morning.

____

"Sect Master Musheng," Tutor Zhang said as he bowed deeply.

"Old Zhang," Sect Master Musheng hurried forwards and lifted Tutor Zhang from his bow, "No need to be so courteous with me, old fellow. A teacher for a day is a teacher for a lifetime. You may not be my Master, but you have taught generations of disciples. You are worthy of my respect."

Tutor Zhang tried to resist only for a moment. When he relented, he straightened his back and pretended that he had not been moved by Sect Master Musheng's words. Although he had only tutored Musheng once or twice when he was a child, and could not be considered Musheng's Master, seeing how grown up that little brat Musheng had become nearly brought a tear to his eye.

[Late Sect Master!] Tutor Zhang called out in his mind, [You would be so proud to see your son like this!]

Musheng tilted his head. With his purple eyes, he looked quizzically at Tutor Zhang, "Why have you come to find me today, Old Zhang? Is there something urgent?"

Tutor Zhang was shaken back to the present. He dipped his neck, "Indeed, Sect Master. I was under the impression that you were having a headache regarding those outer disciples of yours?"

Musheng's elegant smile sagged a little. He sighed.

"It is not that my outer disciples are weak, it is just that there seems to be a big gap between the new disciples and the older ones. The top outer disciples and the other famous ones are strong enough, but there are no stand outs in the cultivation levels below the 7th…"

"Besides that, they also lack good leaders…I'm afraid they'll be a disorganised mess in the Monster Mausoleum. Then our chances of sending more disciples to the Secret Realm will decrease."

Musheng sighed again. His black hair blew lightly in the wind as he looked contemplatively in the distance.

Tutor Zhang smiled.

"Actually, I may have a solution for you, Sect Master. You see, during my public forum today I b.u.mped into two very interesting outer disciples. I believe they may be the gems you have been longing for."

Musheng heard the old tutor's words and looked curiously at him, "It is rare for you to heap praise upon disciples, Old Zhang. Who could have impressed you this much?"

Tutor Zhang chuckled, "Two outer disciples, one in the 4th and the other in the 5th level of Qi Distillation!"

Musheng's curious expression faded somewhat, "Oh. That's very good. However, their levels are a little low…"

Tutor Zhang felt Musheng's disappointment, "Do not worry about their current cultivation levels."

"One entered the sect a month ago and has shot from the 1st level to the 5th, as well as achieved the expert-level in their 'Seven Stances of the Sand Scorpion'. The other is only in the 4th level of Qi Distillation and has achieved expert-level in their skill 'Dark Seas Palm'!"

"A cultivation genius and a martial genius! They have already gained fame in the outer sect as the 'twin dragons!'" Tutor Zhang told the Sect Master.

Musheng had regained some excitement in his eyes, "Is this truly as you say?"

"Yes! Swear on my life!"

Musheng nodded, "This is indeed very good. If they are as talented as you may them out to be, reaching at least the 6th level should qualify them to enter the Monster Mausoleum in two months' time."

The Sect Master looked up into the clear blue sky, "If they can enter the 6th level of Qi Distillation in two months' time, I will let them enter the Monster Mausoleum…"

Tutor Zhang was surprised, "Eh?"

Sect Master Musheng smiled, "Tell them that if they are willing to lead a group of thirty disciples during the Monster Mausoleum and ensure not a single casualty occurs, I will directly grant them the t.i.tle of 'inner disciple'!"

Tutor Zhang felt his mouth drop to the ground, "S-Sect Master! Leading a battalion of thirty disciples? Directly entering the inner sect without pa.s.sing any of our exams? All of the protocols will be broken!"

Musheng smiled, "So be it. I have a good feeling about those two."

The old tutor shook his head, "They are only young, that is a heavy burden!"

The old man continued to shake his head, but several moments later he realised something, "Did you say achieving 6th level of Qi Distillation in two months? That is impossibly hard as well!"

Musheng's smile deepened. His eyes felt fathomless.

"A true genius will not back off from a challenge."

Tutor Zhang heard these words and felt them knock him on the head. Eventually, he sighed.

"That is true, Sect Master. That is true…"

In the end, Tutor Zhang still felt a slight discomfort in his heart. He struggled to put this discomfort into words, but eventually realised the cause of it.

"Sect Master… May I ask you something?"

Musheng nodded, "Speak, Old Zhang."

Tutor Zhang explained his thoughts, "This time, the opening of the Secret Realm… I feel we are placing much more weight on it this year compared to ten years ago!"

Sect Master Musheng's face darkened. He drew the old tutor to a corner of the pavilion they stood on.

"It is as you say, Old Zhang. I am indeed placing much importance on the opening of the realm this time… And I'm afraid that…"

Musheng narrowed his eyes and spoke quietly, "What do you know about the sea that borders our realm, Old Zhang?"

The old tutor shook his head, "Barely anything. It surrounds our realm and we cannot pa.s.s through it. It is the end of the world."

Sect Master Musheng leant closer, "What if I told you… it's not?"

"What if I told you that beyond the sea is a wall, and beyond this wall is a vast s.p.a.ce beyond our wildest imaginings? What if it is filled with dangerous beings who could kill us with a look, who were waiting for the chance to enter our realm and plunder it?"

Tutor Zhang felt shaken, "All the scholars have dreamed about the s.p.a.ce beyond the sea…are you telling me that we actually have known all along what is beyond it?"

Musheng nodded, "The Late Sect Master told me a tale that had been pa.s.sed on to him by his Master, and his Master before him, and his Master's Master and so on."

"The mystic sea surrounding our Divine River Realm. It has always been there. But the barrier? Someone put it there, hundreds of millions of years ago. Master guessed that it was to protect this realm from the world beyond. The barrier in the mystic sea has been opened before, however."

Tutor Zhang gasped, "It has been opened before?"

Musheng nodded, "It has been opened multiple times. Each time, it was opened with a very special key. A singular key. The person who held this key was known as the 'gatekeeper,' and he controlled who entered and exited the realm."

"From ancient records handed down in the Cedar Sect, we know that people have only ever entered the Divine River realm. Never the opposite."

"Do you know what is even more shocking?" Musheng asked.

The old tutor shook his head vigorously, his heart was beating fast as he listened to the Sect Master's outlandish story.

"The last person to enter our realm from beyond… they came here only a couple hundred years ago. They are still here, and they are still alive!"

Old Zhang gasped, "Still alive? Then we could ask them what is beyond the barrier in the mystic sea!"

Musheng shook his head, "That person's ident.i.ty is unknown. They have been in hiding since they arrived!"

Tutor Zhang found one curious point, "You said that this person who entered our realm… you said that they are still inside the Divine River realm. How do you know this?"

Sect Master Musheng leaned forwards once more. His purple eyes flashed, "Because I know they could not have left our realm. They could not have. The precious key was destroyed into three fragments and hidden all over the Divine River Realm!"

Tutor Zhang suddenly felt that he had learned something deadly, he couldn't help the patter of his heart.

"Sect Master, you are telling this old man that not only was there a key that could allow one to enter or exit our realm, it was also split into many pieces? And they have been hidden so well that no one could find them for hundreds of years?"

Musheng shook his head, "It is not that no one could find them. It is that they could not be found."

"However, all signs are pointing to the opening of the Secret Realm. Not only does it open rarely, but only those under the Sea Establishment realm can also enter and survive within it. This cunning hiding place is probably why the fragment has not been found for hundreds of years."

Tutor Zhang was worried, "Why can we not just leave the fragment within there? If it only opens every ten years, isn't it quite safe?"

Musheng smiled grimly, "In an ideal world, I would leave it there and it would be safe. However, we are not the only ones who know that the fragment might be in there. I suspect that the Star-Cutting Sword Sect Master also knows this secret. He wishes to grasp this fragment and eventually open the barrier!"

Tutor Zhang was frightened, "But didn't you say that evil beings of vast might roamed beyond these barriers? Wouldn't opening the barrier be leading the tiger into our midst?"

Sect Master Musheng looked deeply at him, "Indeed. That is why we must stop them at all costs!"

Tutor Zhang continued to press, "Then why do they want to open the barrier? Do they not know the dangers?"

Musheng raised his neck and stared once more at the blue sky. It was just slightly beginning to darken.

"I suspect there are other forces working behind the scenes. Perhaps the Star-Cutting Sword Sect believe that untold riches lay beyond the barrier and untold opportunity. Perhaps they have been blinded by their greed…" The Sect Master trailed off.

He looked down at Old Zhang in front of him and felt a little bad for revealing such heavy secrets to such an old fellow.

[This guy should have retired a long time ago, yet here I am sharing my burdens with him…]

"Old Zhang, I shall not trouble you further. Just tell your disciples what I have told you. I must increase the number of people we can take within the Secret Realm and stop the Star-Cutting Sect's nefarious plots at all cost!"