Chapter 73: Arrival

After writing the four characters 'Towards the Rising Sun,' Meng Chuan carefully examined the three paintings arranged in order. Meng Chuan felt that the six months he spent painting these three works had been a purification for his soul.

When he first put brush to paper, he felt stifled, angry, and confused. After all, many people had died in Dongning Prefecture, and he had witnessed numerous scenes of slaughter. But after finishing the paintings, his heart became calm. Yet, deep within his tranquil, ocean-like soul, an unshakable fighting spirit resided. Countless generations of humanity fought against the demon race, one after another, driven by 'hope.' For this hope, for the lives of their loved ones and children, everyone was willing to struggle. Both ordinary mortals and Godfiends were willing to fight.

"I will not be reckless," Meng Chuan murmured to himself. "I will strive to become stronger, to become a Godfiend, a powerful Godfiend. One day, our human race will completely defeat the demon race."

The rising sun would eventually ascend; no one could stop it.

"Creak."

Meng Chuan pushed open the door and stepped into the courtyard. The sun was setting in the west, painting the sky a fiery red.

Meng Chuan sat in the courtyard, looking inward at the space between his brows. The miniature figure in his mind's eye was no longer translucent as before; it had solidified considerably.

"I gained soul power because of painting," Meng Chuan thought. "Ordinary paintings didn't work; only *Myriad Forms of Life* and *Towards the Rising Sun* caused this transformation in me. For two years after painting *Myriad Forms of Life*, I painted every day, immersing myself fully in each one, but none of them brought about any change in my soul. Clearly, enhancing the soul is a demanding process."

"My soul has solidified."

"Yet, I still only have a ten-zhang domain, and my perception range remains one li," Meng Chuan mused, feeling a bit puzzled.

"Time to try my saber techniques."

With a thought, his soul power was immediately mobilized, completely merging with his physical true essence. His control over his entire body instantly reached an extremely high level. Meng Chuan's figure flashed forward three zhang, then he unleashed a saber strike! The saber light, flowing like water, cut through the air without disturbing a single breeze. Yet, its raw power was enough to make one's heart tremble just by witnessing it.

"The soul power itself hasn't changed; my strength is the same as before," Meng Chuan noted, continuing to practice his saber techniques.

In the courtyard, saber lights, flowing like water, flickered. Each strike was delivered with full power, unleashing its peak might.

"Fifth move, sixth move, seventh move..." Meng Chuan continued to practice, his heart filling with joy. He realized that while the miniature figure was now much more solid, his soul power was significantly more abundant than before.

"Sixteenth move!"

It was only after executing the sixteenth saber strike with his movement technique that Meng Chuan felt his soul power was almost depleted and he could no longer fully perform another strike.

Standing in the courtyard, Meng Chuan smiled. "This soul transformation hasn't changed the power of each strike, but it has vastly increased the quantity. In the past, I could only execute five full-power moves; now I can perform sixteen."

In the adjacent courtyard, Yan Jin held his twin swords, gazing intently ahead. He seemed to see again the stern, burly man and his 'Heavenly Tribulation Sword' technique, which soared across the sky. Yan Jin's cultivation goal was to defeat that man. But having personally witnessed that 'Heavenly Tribulation Sword' move—a sealed sword imprint, with only one-tenth or two-tenths of the true Heavenly Tribulation Sword's power—Yan Jin truly felt how formidable that man was.

"I will defeat you eventually," Yan Jin declared, swinging his sword once more at the stern, burly man before him.

Days passed one by one. Meng Chuan and Yan Jin trained every day. During this time, Liu Qiyue occasionally sent letters, always one for her father and one for Meng Chuan. In the blink of an eye, winter arrived, and it was the twelfth lunar month.

On the eighteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, a heavy snow fell. Only three days remained until the Yuanchu Mountain entrance examination.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh."

Meng Chuan repeatedly practiced his draw-saber technique. With each strike, the power of heaven and earth was naturally drawn, enveloping an area of about one hundred zhang around him. Within this hundred-zhang radius, he could perceive everything.

"My saber momentum has reached its peak," Meng Chuan realized.

'Momentum' allows one to draw upon the power of heaven and earth. At its pinnacle, one can even use the power of heaven and earth to perceive all things enveloped by it! This is how saber momentum forms a 'domain.' However, this domain has flaws: it relies on the power of heaven and earth for perception. If an opponent can also influence the power of heaven and earth, then this perception becomes blurry and inaccurate. Still, reaching this level significantly enhances one's ability to unleash the potential of their physical true essence. Currently, Meng Chuan's normal strength was about fifty percent stronger than at the beginning of the year.

"Saber momentum has reached its peak; the next step should be to condense saber intent."

"But how does one condense saber intent?" Meng Chuan pondered. Saber intent was the third major realm of saber techniques. The difficulty of breaking through was even greater than becoming a Godfiend. This was because the thresholds for becoming a Godfiend included comprehending 'momentum,' condensing a core, and passing through the trial of life and death! Therefore, almost all newly advanced Godfiends were at the 'momentum' level.

" 'Intent' is a level my grand-aunt told me about," Meng Chuan mused. "She became a Godfiend at thirty-five, but only reached the 'intent' realm after fifty, which was the highest realm she ever achieved in her life." Meng Xianggu was considered early. Family records showed that many newly advanced Godfiends struggled until their eighties, nineties, or even over a hundred years old before comprehending 'intent.'

Those who could become Godfiends were all extraordinary. Yet, comprehending 'intent' was so incredibly difficult. Many were stuck at the peak of 'momentum' for many years.

"Slow down," Meng Chuan thought. "The Yuanchu Mountain entrance examination is in three days. Once I enter Yuanchu Mountain and receive its guidance, and perhaps consult some of its texts, there should be better ways to cultivate saber intent. To truly learn, one must enter Yuanchu Mountain. Blindly exploring on one's own would naturally be much slower."

Suddenly, a voice came from outside.

"Chuan'er, Young Master Yan, the people from Wuzhou have arrived!" Meng Dajiang called out loudly.

"The people from Wuzhou?" Meng Chuan put away his saber and walked out of the house. Yan Jin also stepped out.

Meng Chuan and Yan Jin looked into the distance and saw a fiery red giant bird swooping down from mid-air. A large group of people were sitting cross-legged on its back; it seemed to be landing at the main entrance of the guesthouse.

"Let's go meet them quickly," Meng Dajiang and Liu Yebai urged.

Meng Chuan and Yan Jin followed them.

As the four walked into the main hall of the Wuzhou Guesthouse, a large group of people had also arrived in the hall, led by the amiable Marquis Nanyun. As soon as Meng Chuan and his companions entered, they drew many eyes.

"That's Meng Chuan."

"He consecutively slew two great demon commanders," someone whispered to a companion.

Meng Chuan, Yan Jin, Liu Yebai, and Meng Dajiang all respectfully bowed. "Greetings, Marquis."

Meng Chuan also noticed that there were ten young people in the hall, almost all accompanied by older individuals. These were also candidates for the Yuanchu Mountain examination, all of them geniuses from Wuzhou.

"Mm," Marquis Nanyun nodded with a smile.

"This time, there are a total of twelve candidates from Wuzhou participating in the Yuanchu Mountain entrance examination," Marquis Nanyun said with a smile. "These two are from Dongning Prefecture, one named Meng Chuan and the other Yan Jin. They both arrived in Yuanchu City early. You all should get acquainted. Also... three days from now, on the twenty-first day of the twelfth lunar month, is the day of the Yuanchu Mountain entrance examination. I will take you there early that morning, so make sure you don't get lost."

"Yes, sir."

Each one respectfully assented. Marquis Nanyun's status was far superior to theirs; this time, he had specifically escorted them to protect this group of geniuses. Otherwise, it would not have been easy for these geniuses to meet Marquis Nanyun.

"Young Master Meng, I am Wang Buyu from the Wang family of the Prefectural City," a graceful young man immediately came forward and said with a smile, "I heard you consecutively slew demon commanders with a single strike? After learning this news, I've always wanted to meet you, Young Master Meng, and today I finally get the chance."

"Young Master Wang," Meng Chuan replied politely.

The elders temporarily left to arrange accommodation. The young people, meanwhile, began to get acquainted with each other.

"This is terrible, terrible," one young man sighed, sending a voice transmission to his companion. "Only twelve of us came from Wuzhou. The entire Great Zhou Dynasty has twenty-three prefectures! And the capital and Yuanchu City have an exceptionally large number of geniuses. Yet, Yuanchu Mountain only recruits twenty people, meaning not even one per prefecture on average! With a group of exceptionally powerful geniuses like Meng Chuan among them, the entrance examination in three days is going to be incredibly tough."

"Yuanchu Mountain's examination tests many aspects; we might still have a chance," his companion replied with a smile via voice transmission.

After a brief introduction, the group of young people returned to their respective lodgings, all beginning to prepare diligently for the Yuanchu Mountain entrance examination three days later. This examination would affect their entire lives.

(End of this chapter)